Have We Blessed God?

 Surveys show that currently about 13% of Americans don't celebrate the 4th of July. There are various reasons, and feelings of patriotism ebb and flow for some based on the political landscape. And I want to be clear - you don't have to be patriotic to be a Christian. My first loyalty lies in the fact that I am a citizen of God's Kingdom. And I've always said - our only hope is, and always has been, in God and in His Word. The solution to America's problems isn't politics.

That being said - I do wholeheartedly celebrate the 4th, not because America is perfect, or that Americans are inherently superior to everyone else. But properly understood - the 4th of July is about celebrating a nation that was founded, rooted and established on Christian principles and freedoms!

There are many today who would deny that truth. But let me share some of the words of those who were there at the beginning. If you do some digging through the writings of the original documents and speeches and letters penned by our founding fathers, you'll find these words.

George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." And in his farewell address to the nation, he said, "Morality is a necessary spring of popular government. And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion." - But that's what modern America is currently attempting - freedom from religion.

Thomas Jefferson, regarding religious denominations said, "To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others."

John Adams, "Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people... it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." And in an excerpt from his personal diary, "The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity, and humanity."

John Quincy Adams, from a speech celebrating the 4th of July, "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birth-day of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?" - Sounds to me like Mr. Adams viewed the 4th of July more of a religious celebration than solely a patriotic one...

John Jay, one of the framers of the constitution and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, wrote, "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

It's not my intention to 'lionize' or lift up any man as perfect. None of the men I just quoted were – but even imperfect people can place their trust wholeheartedly in God. Despite what the historical revisionists say - America was founded as a Christian nation. And because of our early leader's sacrifice and their devotion to God - in this country…

I. We are blessed

There's no denying, even despite inflation and whatever other complaints we might have, we are still amazingly blessed! - And not just financially. And we have to remember that the blessings we now enjoy are not solely because of any founder's brilliance or greatness on their own, but in their submission to God! Even with all our problems - we are still the freest and most prosperous nation on the face of the planet!

Many times we take for granted the freedom and the blessings that we have. So it's important that we remember...

A. The source of blessings

We could say that it's simply our hard work and determination that has made us so blessed, but that's not accurate. Hard work is important – but if God and His values are rejected - no amount of hard work will lead to any real success. God is the source of our blessings! Many in our nation reject that - so it's up to us to remember and remind others.

Patrick Henry said, "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."

The Apostle Paul wrote this about God in the context of an offering he was taking up for the poor saints in Jerusalem in 2 Corinthians 9:9-12 (NIV)...

As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." (10) Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

(11) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (12) This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

At the first Constitutional Convention, the delegates were fighting against time to develop this new nation's precepts. Some were so frustrated at not being able to agree that they were ready to give up. At that point, Benjamin Franklin stood up and said, "Gentlemen, if it is true that not one single petal from any flower falls to the ground without escaping God's attention, will the distress of this nation go unheeded? Let us therefore determine to seek His face."

They then did something that would cause an uproar and many legal challenges today. They immediately put down their pens and together got on their knees in prayer. They sought God's guidance rather than trust their own judgment. That idea is now opposed and mocked. Anyone in office today who admits they're a Christian and that they pray to God for guidance is labeled a Christian nationalist. 'How dare you bring your personal beliefs into politics!' But that's exactly what every one of those early believers did!

God is the source of our blessings in this nation!

B. Lest we forget…

In the Old Testament, we see a cycle of events that occurs over and over. Israel praises God and follows His commands, and they prosper. They then get comfortable enjoying their prosperity and forget the source of their blessings. They start to worship other 'gods' and ignore the One true God. Trouble comes in one form or another; they end up enslaved and only then do they cry out again to God. God delivers them from their troubles and they praise Him again – and the cycle starts all over.

Christians in this nation are here for a reason - and one reason is to acknowledge God openly and bring God's blessings to others. There's a quote that has been repeated by Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan and Clinton. It says, "America is great because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

If we forget the source of our blessings and turn from God's commands – we lose His blessing. If we cease to pursue 'goodness', we risk facing the same cycle the nation of Israel did in the Old Testament. As I thought about that quote, I had to ask, as a nation…

II. Have we redefined "good"?

And I put the word "good" in quotes because it's such a relative term. Being 'good' used to have a specific moral component to it that was directly tied to Christian values. Now simply holding the values of diversity, tolerance and open mindedness qualify you as a 'good person'. You can embrace immorality and wholeheartedly reject God and still be called 'good' in today's society.

In fact – not only is evil now called good – sadly many even celebrate sin and have parades and use phrases like 'marriage equality', 'the right to choose', 'alternative lifestyle', 'open marriage'. Now I want to be careful here – I am calling the actions and choices of individuals 'sin' – but I want to be careful to not stand in judgment of any person. I'm not saying that they can't be compassionate or generous or even loving – but could they be called 'good' by any sort of Biblical definition?

After Louisiana decided to post the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, I saw pushback online from humanist groups. They wrote, "Whereas the Ten Commandments of the Hebrew Bible are a set of strict rules dictated by God, the 'Ten Commitments' stand on their own as humanist values..." So in rejection of God's authority, they set forth their own list of "Ten Commitments", they are - Critical Thinking, Ethical Development, Peace and Social Justice, Service and Participation, Empathy, Humility, Environmentalism, Global Awareness, Responsibility, and Altruism.

Those may be 'nice' values, but in their very creation apart from God, they set themselves up as the highest authority on morality and break the very first two commandments given by God in Exodus 20:1-4 (NIV)...

And God spoke all these words: (2) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (3) You shall have no other gods before me. (4) You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

How our actions line up with God's Word determines any sort of goodness or virtue. We can't redefine 'good', but we do need to acknowledge…

A. The purpose of 'good'

It's not my goal for us to go around labeling people as 'bad people'. But we do need to understand that Jesus took the concept of 'goodness' very seriously. Let's look at Mark 10:17-18 (NIV)...

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (18) "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone."

We can't redefine 'good' to fit our actions. It's not an arbitrary standard. If we're honest about really defining 'good' – none of us fit that description as determined by our actions. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So, if we 'all fall short' and can't even wear the label 'good' – what's the point of trying to be good? What's the purpose of doing good?

I'll say it over and over – we don't do good deeds to get to Heaven, we do good deeds because we are going to Heaven. You can't work your way to Heaven, but you can do things to show God you appreciate His grace and mercy when you fall short. There is a purpose in doing good. I want to go back again to the first passage we read from 2 Corinthians 9:12 (NIV)...

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

The purpose is not about us getting to call ourselves 'good', the purpose is so that God can be praised for working good in and through us. It's not enough for us to refrain from doing 'bad things', we're to be actively doing 'good things'. And it's not about 'good intentions' – it's about deliberately, enthusiastically doing something good!

It's exceedingly obvious that many around us have rejected God. They're fighting to turn this nation into a secular state devoid of any mention of faith or religion. And as this nation turns away from God, we can be sure that any blessings we've enjoyed from God will go by the wayside. The freedoms that we've been given to worship and openly share our faith will continue to erode. The question then becomes, what are you, what am I...

B. Willing to sacrifice?

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence says: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." And the closing words of their Declaration solemnly states: "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

They trusted God to protect them, but they also knew there was a cost. They were willing to actively do something and pay the price for their actions. Many have given their all for our freedoms over the course of our nation's history.

We remember the famous words of Patrick Henry "Give me liberty or give me death!" – But there are even more important words of his that we need to hear. Patrick Henry's "Last Will and Testament" was filed in the Brookneal County courthouse in Virginia, November 20th, 1798. The last two lines - he wrote, "This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed."

Those early revolutionaries backed up their words with action. But those men were not the first to sacrifice for our freedom. We are here because Jesus paid for our true freedom, our eternal freedom. Let's read a very familiar passage, one that even many 'un-churched' people know from John 3:16-17 (NIV)...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God gave His Son so that you and I could be saved. God incarnate gave His life for us. I am thankful to our founding fathers for my freedom to learn of the Gospel message and the freedom to preach it. I am eternally thankful for Jesus' sacrifice for my sins. We have the freedom to share the message of hope, but in order to do that – we have to act. It's more than just wanting God's will on earth.

It's one thing to gather in a Church building and sing songs and listen to a preacher and want God's Kingdom to grow – it's another to actively work toward that goal. That's the challenge today – to use your freedom to do something that will make a difference for God's Kingdom.

So What?

The nation that survives is not the nation with the most power; it's not the nation with the greatest military might; it is not the nation with all the intellect, nor the nation with all the wealth. The nation that survives will be the nation whose God is the Lord.

As a nation, we have to ask, "Have we blessed God?" Do we give Him credit and praise for His blessings? On a personal level – have you blessed God and His Kingdom? Is your life a blessing to God? Do you pray for God's Kingdom to grow here on earth? Do you pray for our nation, for our leaders? Our nation is in desperate need of prayer! I've heard it said that our nation needs a spiritual revival. That will only happen when our Churches experience revival. And that will only happen if each of us personally seek spiritual revival in our own lives.

What's the difference between us and our founding fathers? They chose to stand firm behind their convictions, in their time, no matter the cost. They gave their all for their beliefs, for freedom. Today is your time – what do you choose to do with the life God has given you?