IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
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.
Source: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm
Where are we today?
The question at hand is where are we today? This portion of our Constitution, especially the last sentence, is one of the most quoted sections.
Do we have life?
We are certainly alive as a people, but are we living?
Where is liberty?
We certainly have liberty, but are we really free?
Have we pursued happiness?
We proclaim that we are happy, but are we?
Many of our forefathers were Christian, they understood what they meant in penning the Declaration of Independence as they framed it around their understanding of the Creator; God Himself…Perhaps the outcome of their proclamation was not intended to manifest into what has become the United States of America today.
Where are we today?
For the most part, we are lost and unwilling to ask for directions.
Where does this position of our nation lead us as follower of the Most High God?
It places us in a position of leadership in that we must separate ourselves and our lifestyle from the bulk of our society in order to be a beacon of hope and direction for those that are lost.
We have a similar statement within our Bible that provides us with a mandate and promise. Unlike our Nations Constitution, the written and proclaimed Word of God, when applied to the redeemed sinner’s life, has greater power and authority in that life becomes a person; liberty is declared from unseen bondage, and happiness is a lifestyle not a definition.
Scripture
Romans 14:17-19 KJV
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. 19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Observation
First, it is worthy to note that how we live as Christians, under the authority of God, is not a democratic state; it is a kingdom. With a kingdom comes a King. With the King comes a domain and our Kings domain is the entirety of creation, including humanity. (Psalm 24:1)
Second, this kingdom is not about eating and drinking (Paul was addressing this particular aspect within the context of the passage); houses and land; clothing and shoes…(Matthew 19:28-30)
Third, there are three aspects of kingdom living that we should adhere to as servants of the King.
Righteousness, peace, and joy…with one additional admonition, these are all done in the Holy Ghost.
Righteousness (Life) is not our own but His working through our lives (2 Corinthians 5:21) in the power of the Holy Ghost.
Peace (Liberty), he is our peace. Not a treaty, declaration, constitution, mandate, law, or any other created thing. Our joy is the freedom from the bondage and ravages of sin in the power of the Holy Ghost (Ephesians 2:13-17).
Joy (Pursuit of Happiness) unspeakable and in full. This is not something we pursue like a fading smoke cloud. Joy and its fullness are wrapped in the person of Jesus Christ and we experience it in our lives through the power of the Holy Ghost (John 16:23-24).
All three of these aspects of our life are not sections of God or a part of Gods “psyche”. God is righteous; God is peace; God is joy; it is His DNA…These three are not something we attain, they are a part of living under the Kingship and in the Kingdom of God.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…Mans best effort to placate a desire to live in these United States
Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost…DNA of God Himself whereby we can live in the Kingdom of God and be pleasing to the King; gain favor with Him and those around us. Thus empowering us to become effective and compassionate witnesses…
The Spirit Filled Walk – Part 2
Godly Seed Produces Spiritual Fruit
To be “filled” with the Sprit is to be yielded and controlled by the Spirit of the Living God. This part of our walk is crucial to living our Christian walk to the fullest. Ephesians 5:18 (from part 1) says: “be filled with the Spirit”. It is written in the present tense…Not past or future but present. It applies as much today as it did when Paul penned it. He knew the need for his reader to understand that the Spirit filled life is to be perpetually repetitive. When we wake up…We need to “be filled” to respond to the day. When we see other’s in need…We need to “be filled” to respond. When we hear of other’s need…We need to “be filled” to respond. When we….Whatever the need or moment, we need to “be filled” to respond.
What do we have to do to be filled?
1. Be a Christian
2. Ask
3. Receive
4. Believe
5. Respond
What is the indication of being filled with the Spirit?
The answer to this question is found in Acts 1 – It is the power to be an effective witness for the Lord!
Acts 1:5-8 KJV
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The power that we receive is not to walk two feet off the floor or be a super-healer or any other spiritual super star but the power to be a witness. Now with that being said, God will use this witness to show His power and it may be manifest in different measures and at different times. This witness is not to be a flesh pleaser or exhibition but one that demonstrates the effective and effectual working of the Holy Ghost in the life of a yielded person.
What are the results? The following scripture gives us the resluts of a life and walk that is filled witht the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16, 18, 19a, KJV
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19a Now the works of the flesh…
In verse 19 Concentrate on the word works (now go to your Bible and look at these works)…
In verse 19 we see how the flesh operates…Through work. It takes a lot of effort and work to keep up with all the lies our flesh wants us to believe. Kind of like when we really tell a lie and we have to constantly work at remembering the way we told it so that we do not mess the whole lie up. We have to lie to keep the lie going and so on and so forth until we really don’t know what is the truth and where it all started.
Galatians 5: 22-25 KJV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
A life yielded to the Holy Spirit will produce fruit. Fruit is the product of a branch being yileded to the trunk and simply be a conduit for the nutirents to flow to the end of the branch to produce fruit.
The results are in and….
1. Galatians 5:16 – We will not fulfill the lust of the flesh…Those things that are against the things of God. Our desire will be to please our Lord and not our own flesh.
2. Galatians 5:22-23 – Fruit begins to appear in our life that may not have been there before…Ever.
No law (did you read that…no law) can stand against these fruits, these absolutes in our walk with God. They are not a product of any worldly design, seminar, or motivational speaker…These fruits are a direct result of a yielded, submitted, controlled life to the Holy Ghost!
-Cautionary Note-
- We cannot allow these fruits to cause envy in each other or become prideful…
- Our lives should point to the Savior, the cross, the empty tomb…
- We are not our own, we were bought with a price…
Lastly:
Isn’t it time that we started living like we were designed to live? Living a life that is yielded to the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, and producing the Spiritual fruit that is only from God through His Spirit…It may seem difficult but that is what the world and religious people would have us to believe. Actually, it is very simple and this life can be summed up in a single description…Yielded.