INDEPENDENCE... FOR YOU??

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD...Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that FEAR HIM, upon them that hope in His Mercy" (Psalm 33:12,18).
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 "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10 as inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia)

INDEPENDENCE

. One of America's greatest historic foundational documents, The Declaration of Independence, was approved on July 4, 1776 by the Continental Congress and signed by John Hancock in the city of Philadelphia. George Washington said that The Declaration marked “an experiment on the practicability of republican government, and with what dose of liberty man could be trusted for his own good.” The independence in this American republic was to be free from foreign control, free to follow and to find its dependence upon God.


DEPENDENCE

. What we forget is that, in declaring independence from an earthly power, our forefathers made a forthright declaration of DEPENDENCE UPON ALMIGHTY GOD. The closing words of this historic document solemnly declare: “With a firm RELIANCE on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Fifty-six men placed their names beneath that pledge and they lived up to it. They personally paid a great price for the freedoms we now enjoy.

TRUE FREEDOM
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Our country was founded upon the basis of an idea — LIBERTY. It was not to be a FREEDOM FROM GOD which always leads to license and ultimate slavery but rather a FREEDOM BUILT UPON GOD AND HIS WORD. Freedom is not free but must be earned anew by each succeeding generation. “Liberty without obedience is confusion. Obedience without liberty is slavery” (William Penn). Rights without responsibility are the seeds of anarchy (disorder, violence). The issue is not freedom from want, war, etc. but the issue is freedom to work, worship, buy, sell, to succeed, to fail, etc.

TERRIBLE

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“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34). America today is experiencing the effects of FORGETTING the God of our Fathers. We need to be reminded of a solemn warning that God gave to another great nation which had just been declared independent from bondage to another nation. Although written over 3,000 years ago it applies to modern America today: “What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou FORGET the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons...Then beware lest thou FORGET the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage...And it shall be, if thou do at all FORGET the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient into the voice of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 4:8-9; 6:12; 8:19-20).

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but SIN is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). “For the WAGES of SIN is death; but the gift of God is eternal LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). “If the Son therefore shall make you FREE, ye shall be FREE INDEED” (John 8:36) “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED" (Romans 10:9).

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

MBC I.F.