Independence

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Independence Day, Sunday morning, the 4th of July, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

On this very day in 1776, our nation’s founders gathered around a table and put their fortunes and lives on the line.  By signing the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject to the British crown, but were now united, free, and independent states.  But even then we were not truly independent.  Each of these men, and especially one named George Washington, knew that without God’s intervention, this new nation would not survive its birthing pains.

Jesus understood both the independent nature of man as well as our need to depend on a higher source of strength and authority.  He knew all about choices, seeing so many who chose not to believe in Him even after witnessing His many miracles and mighty works.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Mark recorded for us in the 6th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 13, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Then Jesus went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff — no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts — 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

--Mark 6:1-13 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus as Your Son.  It is this belief, even without physical proof, that leads us to accept Him as our Lord.  Thank You, God, for allowing us the free will to choose dependence.  Please help us remember that everything we have and ever will have comes from Your hand.  Help us see that we are not really as independent as we’d like to think we are.  And Father, please shield us from Satan and those who so willingly do his evil bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and our service to Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these extraordinary times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Whisper into our hearts what true freedom really means.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, your Son, who takes away our burdens.   Amen.

Edward Gibbon, author of the book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, attributed that fall to these five key points:

1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.
4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within, the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion -- faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people.

The Roman Empire fell over 1600 years ago, but does any of that sound familiar?  History has a way of repeating itself if we don’t remember and learn from past mistakes.  We are seeing all five of those elements in our nation, our society, today.

But this is not what our Founding Fathers intended.  Patrick Henry noted that, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!”  John Quincy Adams added, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: that it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”  In his farewell address, George Washington warned, “Do not let anyone claim the tribute of American patriotism if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”

And then we have Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed, “The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall; it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.”  And yet, in the past year and a half, we have seen churches across the US forced by government to close their doors to worship, for the sake of health and safety.  There are even some at the highest levels of government in our land who would increase the hardship on Christians to gather and worship.  Our freedom of worship is at risk of being infringed.  The Founders would be heartbroken.

You may be wondering what our scripture reading has to do with independence.  Quite frankly, I did too, when the Spirit gave it to me.  Well, think about it a little.  What better exemplifies independence than free will?  God has given us the freedom to do as we please.

When Jesus went back to His home town of Nazareth, the people who had known Him all His life chose not to believe in Him as anything other than the son of a carpenter.  Even though He performed mighty works, they refused to accept Him as the Son of God, sent from heaven.  That was their choice and they were free to make it.

Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs into the surrounding villages and towns.  In His instructions to them, He made it clear that there would be some who would refuse to receive them or listen to what they had to say, while some would.  At this point in time, faith had little to do with it because Jesus was performing miracles right before their very eyes, and so did His disciples.  Each person had the independence to choose whether to believe or not.

Now we today can only read of the great works Jesus accomplished, so faith plays a major role in our choice.  We are still independent, we believers - we still have and exercise free will.  We choose to believe.  We choose to accept Jesus as the one true Son of God, as our Lord and Master.

In other words, by our independence, we choose to be totally dependent on our Father God and His Son Jesus.  When we accepted Jesus as Lord, we established our own, individual dependence day.  And that choice truly frees us.

The Apostle Paul clearly understood this dichotomy of being dependent and independent at the same time.  In chapter 12 of his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, the last part of verse 5 through verse 10, Paul proclaims…

5b ...of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. 6 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

--2 Corinthians 12:5b-10 (NKJV)

We Americans are a fiercely independent lot.  In our early history we had to be, for there was often few others we could depend on.  Any sign of weakness was seen as an imperfection, a fault.

But once we have chosen to be dependent on God, we can see how truly weak we are, knowing that we need Him for everything in this life.  Our weakness highlights His strength in taking care of us and providing for our needs.  Our acknowledged weakness is our greatest strength in that we place all our trust in the powerful, strong hands of the Almighty.  And our true independence derives from our dependence on God.

Today we celebrate the birth of our nation, when we declared our independence from England’s kings.  And my prayer is that today we also celebrate our dependence on the King of all kings, our Lord Jesus and our heavenly Father God.  Our independence, our free will, allows us the choice: believe or not, accept Jesus or reject Him.  Let us choose to be dependent.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for allowing us to choose our destiny.  Thank You for providing for our needs.  And thank You for being strong in our weakness.  Please, Father, help us stay strong in our faith and our service.  Sometimes our independent nature gets in the way of our realization that we are fully dependent on You and Your mercy for all that we have and all that we will become.  Please, Father, keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You knew that many people would reject You and Your disciples, even as You did the impossible right before their eyes.  Even some of the folks in Your home town, including relatives and friends, refused to believe You were sent from God.  Thank You, Jesus, for all that You did so that we, who did not see, could believe.  Lord Jesus, we ask You to help us celebrate our independence by reminding us of our dependence on our Father God.  Strengthen our will to do what He wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love in a world filled with so much hatred and distrust.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.