Happy Dependence Day!

by Brian Bill
Published October 2, 2007

Last year, in one of our Kiwanis meetings, we were given a quiz about the Declaration of Independence. We were asked to name just four of the guys who originally signed the document. The only name I could think of was John Hancock!

Here are some highlights from that amazing document: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… and for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

As we celebrate our independence and think about our country’s amazing heritage, we can’t help but be thankful for the courage and vision of our founding fathers. At the same time, as we look at how our country is doing right now, we can’t help but wonder what went wrong. Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” I’m convinced that when God’s people follow God’s plan they will receive God’s promises. When we do what God says we will enjoy His blessings.

I learned recently that when many of our U.S. Presidents have been sworn-in, the Bible that is used is open to this passage from 1 Chronicles 7:14: “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 will heal their land”

The first word of this verse introduces a conditional clause. God is saying that if we follow His plan, then we will receive His promises. The next phrase identifies whom He is addressing: “my people, who are called by my name.” Contrary to how we may view ourselves as Americans, we are not God’s chosen nation. Only ancient Israel is. Even though this verse is addressed to Israel, the New Testament teaches that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are now his people (see 1 Peter 2:9).

God knows that His people can lose their first love, that we can get soft in our spirituality, and that we can even get numb toward what we know is important. The psalmist, in Psalm 85:6 makes a request for revival: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” We need revival on a regular basis or we will lose our joy and spiritual intensity.

Who is revival for? According to 2 Chronicles 7:14, it’s for those who belong to God through conversion and for those who bear His name through commitment. God says, “I’ll be responsible and do certain things, if you will be responsible and do certain things.” This verse gives us 4 conditions to follow.

The first condition is to humble ourselves. It’s not easy for the average American to be humble because we are a proud people. James Hunter has said: “We Americans generally want to think of ourselves as good people. That, in many respects, is where the trouble begins.” To really humble ourselves, we must admit that there is nothing good within us and that we can do nothing apart from Christ. We tend to overestimate our goodness and underestimate the pervasiveness of sin in our lives. If the truth were known, many of us think our sins don’t smell as bad as other people’s.

After humbling ourselves, we are commanded to pray. This seems a little easier than the first one because we all know how to ask God for things. This verse reminds us to pray as Jesus taught His disciples to pray: Begin with the greatness of God and then focus on our needs.

The third condition is to “seek God’s face.” The idea of seeking implies a desire for something of great value. It’s like the woman who searched for her lost coin or the shepherd with 100 sheep who, having lost one, left the 99 and went searching for the one who had wandered off. It’s like the man seeking a pearl of great price, who having found it gives all that he has in order to purchase it. When you seek something of value, you rearrange your schedule and priorities until you find it.

The fourth test of biblical repentance is that we turn from our wicked ways. This is where our “wills” must engage and take action. The order here is significant. As we humble ourselves and pray and seek God with all that we have, we’ll be satisfied by the sight of God’s face and we will no longer want to hold on to those things that grieve Him.

Just as God’s people in the Old Testament often turned their backs on God, so too we have that same tendency. They were prone to follow idols and so are we. That which keeps us from being all that God desires for us is a “wicked way” in His sight.

Recently, Pastor Joe Wright of Kansas was asked to lead the Kansas State Senate in prayer. The senators were expecting to hear the usual kind of formal prayer but they got a big surprise. As he prayed, some of the senators got up and walked out. Paul Harvey read this prayer on his program and received more requests for copies than any other he has ever done.

Here’s a portion of his prayer: “Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have killed our unborn and called it a choice.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free…Amen.”

God accepts only one response to sin, not rationalizing, not excusing, and not comparing ourselves to others. He demands that WE TURN FROM IT! Do you want God’s best? Do we want our country to receive God’s blessings? Then deal with the “wicked ways” that are holding you back from the very answers you’re seeking.

When God’s people follow God’s plan they will receive God’s promises. There are three exciting promises in this verse.

First, when we pray the way God directs us to pray, He promises that He will hear our requests. We don’t have to worry about getting His attention. He’s on line 24/7 and delights in hearing the prayers of His children.

The second promise is that God will forgive our sins. To forgive means to “send away” or “to let go.” Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

The last promise has to do with national blessing for the nation of Israel. When God’s people committed to God’s plan, God sent healing to their land. During the reign of King Ahab the land experienced a bad famine, and only in response to the prayers of Elijah did the rains come. The word, “heal” means “to repair” or “to restore.”

I know this particular promise is to the nation of Israel, but I see an application for us today. Many of us are in need of repair and restoration. We long for healing of our emotions, our spirits, and our bodies. Our country is certainly in need of healing.

America’s problem is not so much in our system but in us. God always intends for revival to start with His people. It goes from the Christian to the Church to the Community to the County to the Country and then to the Continents. Are you willing for it to start with you?

When someone has a heart attack, sometimes doctors will use a defibrillator in order to restart the heart. They do it all the time on ER. Someone yells, “clear” and then they put the paddles on the chest. A jolt of electric current flows through the paddles in the hopes of getting the heart to start beating again.

I wonder if God wants to do the same thing with your heart this morning. A once strong spiritual life can start slowing down or even stop beating. Something radical has to be done to restart a heart for God. That’s when God brings out His paddles.

We see this in 1 Chronicles 7:13, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people…” God had to send a wake-up call to His people and so He sent the drought, the locusts, and the plague. Not because he doesn’t care but because He does. He knows it’s what it will take to bring the patient back to life.

Maybe this explains some of the jolts you’ve been getting hit with lately. Maybe you’ve hit bottom because God has been trying to get your attention. You’ve been asking “why” and God is answering, “Because I want to restart your failing heart.” Maybe you haven’t responded to gentler therapies so now He has sent some jolts to bring you back.

God loves you just the way you are but He doesn’t want you to stay the way you are. And, in order to reach you, He has allowed some situations that are totally beyond your power to fix. He wants you to surrender to Him by following His plan so that you can receive His promises. If you’ve been feeling some shocks lately, consider the possibility that God has sent them to bring you back to life.

When I think about the individuals who signed the declaration of independence 225 years ago, I’m impressed with their courage. They had come to the point of declaration. They were tired of the ways things were and wanted them to be different. They signed it knowing full well the penalty would be death if they were captured. Instead of declaring our independence today, let’s declare our dependence upon God. Then, as we follow His plan, we’ll receive His promises. Happy Dependence Day!

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