The simple thought for today is that we, as a nation celebrate our independence. We are a proud people that are very self-reliant and self-made. We want to do it on our own!
This slide shows two documents- both printed about the same time. The one on the left declares our Independence. The one on the right declares our Dependence! However, even the document that our Nation cherishes as a symbol of Independence actually states this:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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
So, the founders of our country had no trouble in acknowledging that even our right to declare independence was a reflection of dependence upon God!
Even our pledge of allegiance restates this truth that we are ‘one nation under God’.
In America we like to hear stories of people that have gone from rags to riches with no help from anyone.
Take for instance this one guy- born to an unwed teen mother, he now is worth $35 billion and climbing- Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com. America loves stories to promote the idea that it’s still the land of opportunity.
I want to declare this to be ‘In-Dependence’ Day!
As believers in Christ, we are to be totally and completely in-dependence upon God!
This independence that we Americans cherish so much is actually somewhat of an illusion.
We can be pacified by the perception of independence for a while, but we were created to live in community.
We were created to be hopelessly, completely, unashamedly dependent on God! And we find that creation to be worked out in us as we learn to depend on each other!
God’s Declaration of our Dependence:
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Let’s break down this familiar and important passage:
11For I know the plans I have for you…
God knows us! God’s plans for us are greater, higher, deeper than anything we can imagine!
1 Cor 2:9 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him
We are told that God has plans for us, and that those plans are basically beyond our imagination! Take this promise and bank it!
I’m OK being dependent on a God that planned the Universe and included me, specifically in that plan! He has prepared a place for us!
…plans for welfare (for our good) and not for evil
Some versions say ‘for our good’ so we will understand that His plan for us is a good one! When we are in a difficult time (or trial), though the circumstances are not good, we know that God has only our ultimate good in mind!
A familiar verse, Rom 8:28 ESV :
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
I’ve said this a bunch, but in God’s ultimate scheme of things, (or His purposes) there will be a good end result for us.
…to give you a future and a hope…
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 2 Cor 4:17
The good plan of God for us is so vastly better than mere earthly fame and fortune it will last forever, rather than a mere lifetime!
…call upon me and come and pray to me…
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. James 4:8
God is the ultimate gentleman. He doesn’t violate your free will or your space. You take a step towards him, he reciprocates and steps towards you!
I will hear you…
14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. 1 John 5:14-15
What pleases God? We do! We were created to bring him pleasure. When we ask him for things that make us more able to be pleasing to him, he’s all over that request!
...You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart...
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God mmust believe that he exists and mthat he rewards those who seek him. Heb 11:6
If we seek God we will find him! That is one promise that I always tell ‘pre-Christians’.
Seek God, seek truth honestly and with all your heart. If you do that, you will find God! When we have that figured out, our faith increases. When our faith increases we draw nearer to him and experience all that He has for us!
This faith life we are called to is one of inter-dependence. We depend on God, we depend on each other. We have been called to place our trust in God. We have been called the Body of Christ, His ‘hands and feet’, He is the Vine and we are the branches! Paul says it like this:
28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
Paul continues to paint this picture of inter dependence while admonishing us to ‘get in the game’ in the book of Colossians:
6–7 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given.
You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.
You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith.
Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!
And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Col 2:6-7 The Message
In closing, I would challenge to to find a copy of A.W. Tozer’s important book called ‘The Pursuit of God’.
I’ve read it in the past and am re-reading it now. I think you can even download it for free on Amazon. Read (or re-read) it with me as we continue for rom here into a series of messages on Pursuing God.
I promise it will activate your faith and change the course of your life in the most positively incredible way!
