July the 4th has always been a favorite holiday for me. I usually think about the day off and barbecue more than the real reason we celebrate. It is a federal holiday in the U.S. commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. A great day for our country. We celebrate the fact we are self ruled by our own government and not that of any other nation on earth. I hope and pray we can remain this way.
We all like our freedom. I remember when I was a senior in high school, I couldn't wait until I went to college. I wanted to be independent from mom and dad. After the first month of being a college freshman, this country boy went home every chance he got. I found out being dependent on the security of the home I was raised in and the love of a mother and father wasn't such a bad thing after all. Later I did choose to be independent from home to start another home with my wife Debbie. That also was a very good thing.
Even after we declare independence from one source, we are lead to being dependent upon another. Even in our country after obtaining independence from Great Britain, we were dependent on our newly formed government to govern and protect us. Let's look into this a little more closely.
The supreme court ruled last week to remove the ban on same sex marriages. The gays and lesbians celebrated their independence from a law that they said discriminated against them. In other words the law refrained them from same sex marriage. They celebrated their independence with rainbow flags and other things that made them happy. What they do not realize is they gained their independence from a law which ran parallel to God's law. They then were made slaves to something else more enslaving. That something is the lust of the flesh. It is totally their master now and it will desire more and more from them to appease it. God has given them up to their vile passions, and a debased mind, since they do not have Him in their knowledge any more. They will now do those things which are not befitting to the will of God. (Romans 1:26-28) They are now slaves to sin. (John 8:34)
Before we get too hard on our gay and lesbians brothers and sisters in humanity, let's also take a look at ourselves. Who do we serve? We either serve the Lord our God (Matthew 4:10) or Satan the god and ruler of this world. (John 12:31; 2Cor.4:4; Ephesians 2:2) We cannot serve two masters. We are serving either God or Satan.(Matthew 6:24) We either love the Father or the world. (1 John 2:15-17) If you say you are a Christian, yet are slaves to the works of the flesh, ( Galatians 5:19-21) you are trying to hold on to two masters and Christ says that is not possible.
God gets us to love and serve Him by showing His love for us. He even sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8) What does loving and following God give us? How about love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) That's just in this life. We also get eternal life by following and obeying God. (John 3:15-21)
What does Satan give us to follow the world? How about the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. (Matthew 4:1-11) The fruits of following the flesh are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I also told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21) These have not been so great for family life in America. Broken families, addictions, murders, hatred among a few. Not a lot of love in communities that practice these things.
We can't serve a little of both of the above. It is either one or the other. We can be a slave to our fleshly cravings, initiated by Satan, or we can seek to choose God in spirit and truth. We must be like Joshua. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". (Joshua 24:15)
God's commandments are superior to any man made laws. In changing our culture to be free from the lust and enslavement of fleshly desires, we are going to have to change one heart at a time with God's love and His word.
Which of the two above, would you want in your neighborhood around your children and grandchildren? Those who follow God or those who follow the world without God? We are going to serve one of the two. Which will it be?
How do we know which we are now following? Have we prayed today? Have we earnestly read and studied God's word? Have we demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit to a total stranger? Or have we had thoughts fulfilling desires of the flesh?
We don't like slavery in this country but we are slaves either to God or Satan. Christ said we would hate one and love the other. Which one do we hate? Satan can't give us forgiveness but God can. Satan does not want our lives to get any better, but God does. Obey God and He will forgive us and He desires for us to be in heaven with Him some day. Satan desires to deceive us into being lost in a devil's hell with him and his angels. What choice are we making?
I thank God I was born and raised in the greatest country on earth. This country was once made up of God fearing, courageous, and patriotic people. I have seen in my lifetime teachers reading the word of God before class every morning and having the pledge of allegiance to our flag, to teachers being dismissed if they even had a Bible laying in plain view on their desk. It all started from a small group. First they took God's word out of the schools, next they approved of killing babies in the womb, next they were adamant about teaching evolution to our children and not mentioning God's creation account and now they are going to force our children to accept a sexual sin as normal and punish anyone who disagrees.
We are fighting an unseen battle. It is not flesh and blood that is leading this battle. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12,NKJV) There are still good honest people in this country. We remember when evil was called evil and good was called good. We remember the works of our God in the Bible. We read of His power and protection of His people when they humbled themselves and called on Him as their God.
Read 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Jehoshaphat the king of Judah was sent the word that a great multitude was coming against him and Judah from beyond the sea. What did he do? He feared and set himself to seek the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And do you know what they did? They gathered together to ask help from the Lord. It says that all of the cities of Judah came to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of the people and prayed to God.( 2 Chro.20:6-12) Look at his questions to God. "Are You not God in heaven and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might so no one is able to withstand you? He already knows the answer to this question. Is he praying this, to remind the people of who God is?
He then he shows his trust in God's help. Verse 9, If disaster comes upon us--sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine--we will stand before this temple in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to you in our affliction, and You will hear and save. Do we have his same confidence in God?
I like verse 13. Now all of Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord. When was the last time in our worship assemblies were all the families with their children, mothers and fathers in attendance together? Then they heard an answer from God. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and said, Do not be afraid nor be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. In verse 20 Jehoshaphat told the people to believe in the Lord their God and they would be established and believe in His prophets and they would prosper. Read in verse 21-30 of the victory the Lord gave them.
God will do the same for us today. In a previous post I wrote about humbling ourselves before God and obeying Him and He would forgive our sins and heal our land. If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chr. 7:14, NKJV)
What if this July the Fourth the American people chose to be independent from the love of this world (1 John 2:15-17) and chose to believe, trust, obey and be dependent on the God in heaven? What if this Sunday in the assemblies of God's people there were husbands, wives, and children together before the Lord? What if we acknowledged the sins of our nation, including the last ruling by the highest court in this land and humbled ourselves before God and repented of following the world instead of God? What if we cried out to God as Judah did? Do we believe God would hear us? The promises He has left us in His word (the Bible) says He will. Have things gotten bad enough for us to take it to the Lord? I believe He is stronger than Satan. Don't you?
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Thanks
Rick
