My Declaration of
Independence
John 8:32-36 And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Galatians 5:1 Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Introduction: This weekend we are celebrating the
240th Birthday of the United States of America. In Philadelphia
Pennsylvania on July 4th, 1776, a document was approved that stated
to the world that the people of this country would no longer be under the
dominion of England. This document accumulated the signatures of 56 patriots
that pledged their life, their fortunes and their sacred honor to see that this
new country would survive.
I. The Bondage
The Declaration
of Independence is really a list of 28 indictments against the King of England.
It was
amazing to me as we watched and listened to the Declaration of Independence at
just how many of the grievances listed are synonymous with the tyranny in which
Satan rules the world today:
Here are just a few of them:
1. He has called together legislative
bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant …for the sole purpose of
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
2. … (leaving) the State remaining in
the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and
convulsions within.
3. He has erected a multitude of New
Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out
their substance.
4. For protecting them, by a mock Trial,
from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of
these States:
5. For depriving us in many cases, of
the benefits of Trial by Jury:
6. and waging War against us.
7. He has plundered our seas, ravaged
our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
8. He is at this time transporting large
Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and
tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty
And the list
goes on and on…
They closed
with this statement: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by
repeated injury.
The Bondage
that the colonist were under is amazingly similar to the bondage that Satan has
on people today.
One of the
biggest complaints of the colonist was “taxation without representation”.
That was the
reason for the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston
Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December
16, 1773
The American
colonist were sick and tired of paying taxes without the privilege of their
voice being heard.
Just like
the King of England, Satan has established a worldwide empire – God calls him
the prince and the power of the air.
His demands
on his subjects are cruel and painful and ruthless.
Those under
his rule are slaves of the worst description.
They served
him and served his purpose, and their only payment was broken hearts, broken
lives, broken dreams and broken homes.
Romans 6
calls the unsaved person “a servant to sin”. The Bible says “sin hath dominion
over you”.
Do you
remember what it was like when you were paying the “wages of sin?”
·
Remember
the sleepless nights?
·
Remember
the pain, the guilt, the misery, the hollow, empty feeling?
·
Remember
the dread, the torments, the loneliness that serving Satan brought?
Do you remember
what it was like to not have an “advocate with the Father?”
·
You
were serving him, and you were paying out the nose, but you had no voice?
·
Remember
the times you prayed and got no answer?
·
Remember
the times you tried to stop, and the times you tried to change, and couldn’t?
·
Remember
the frustration at the dead end road you were on with no hope of deliverance?
·
Remember
the scars and the marks that being the devil’s servant left on you??
I just want
to say that I’m grateful that My Lord and King doesn’t treat His servants that
way!!!
II. The Battle
The American
War for Independence has been one of the most significant battles in history.
At the beginning
of the Revolutionary War, the population of England was 8 million/America 2.5
million, and half a million of that were slaves.
A bunch of
untrained and unprofessional militiamen defeated the greatest army on the
planet.
April 19, 1775, approximately 700 British soldiers
encountered a ragtag army of 70 militia men.
Nobody knows
who did it, but someone fired a shot. That shot has been called “the shot heard
‘round the world”
From
Lexington the British troops moved on to Concord where they were routed and
sent back to Boston in defeat.
That was the
beginning of the American War for Independence.
On October 19, 1781, British General
Charles Cornwallis formally surrendered 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a
French and American force at Yorktown, Virginia.
The Treaty
of Paris in 1783 officially ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the
United States.
Eight years
of war.
Throughout
the course of the war, an estimated 6,800 Americans were killed in action,
6,100 wounded, and upwards of 20,000 were taken prisoner. Historians believe
that at least an additional 17,000 deaths were the result of disease, including
about 8,000–12,000 who died while prisoners of war
But that
wasn’t the greatest battle ever fought.
Without a
doubt – the greatest battle ever fought was fought on the cross of Calvary the
day Jesus died.
That day on
Calvary, the battle that was raging was not over land, territory or trade or
taxes or money.
The battle
that was fought that day was over the souls of every man, woman, boy and girl
that has ever lived.
Song lyrics: written in 1976
1. There’s a
line that’s been drawn through the ages; On that line stands the old rugged
cross.
On that
cross a battle is raging For the gain of a man’s soul or its loss.
2. On one
side march the forces of evil, All the demons and devils of hell;
On the other
the angels of glory, And they meet on Golgotha’s hill.
3. The earth
shakes with the force of the conflict; The sun refuses to shine,
For there hangs
God’s Son in the balance, And then through the darkness He cries—
Chorus
It is
finished! The battle is over. It is finished! There’ll be no more war.
It is finished!
The end of the conflict. It is finished! And Jesus is Lord!
Yet in my
heart the battle was raging; Not all pris’ners of war have come home.
These were
battlefields of my own making; I didn’t know that the war had been won.
Then I heard
that the King of the Ages Had fought all my battles for me,
And vict’ry
was mine for the claiming, And now, praise His name I am free!
Chorus
It is
finished! The battle is over. It is finished! There’ll be no more war.
It is finished!
The end of the conflict. It is finished! And Jesus is Lord!
Jesus hung
on the cross for 6 hours – purchasing our freedom.
At the end
of that 6 hours, Jesus cried – IT IS FINISHED!!!
III. The Blessing
The blessing
is the liberty – the freedom that a believer has.
Liberty to
live for God:
·
Free
from the pain of sin.
·
Free
from the penalty of sin.
·
Free
from the punishment for sin.
We are no
longer under the dominion of sin.
