7/6/2014
INDEPENDENCE IS WON ONLY BY SACRIFICE
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!
~ Psalm 33:12 ~
Our Spiritual Freedom Was Won By Sacrifice
Galatians 3:1 …Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified!
1st Corinthians 1:22-23 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…
The Declaration of Independence
…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…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…
Constitutional Signers Appealed To The Almighty!
…WE, THEREFORE, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES… And for the support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. Declaration of Independence
The Founders realized that Government Is From God and Rightly Belongs in His Hands
As the Declaration was being signed, “We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come!” Samuel Adams
1st Samuel 8:5-7 They said to Samuel, “…appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” …this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. The Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejectedMe as their King.
March 5 1770; The Boston Massacre
Angered by the presence of troops and Britain’s colonial policies, colonists demonstrate against a group of soldiers guarding the customs house; a soldier is knocked down by a snowball discharging his musket, it sparked a volley from the rest of the soldiers into the unarmed crowd killing five of them. One died of his wounds a week later.
Lexington— April 19th 1775
The Battle of Lexington lasted 15 minutes, 8 Minutemen were killed, ten were wounded. The eight colonists killed were John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Asahel Porter, and Jonas Parker.
Concord— April 19th 1775
News of the attack at Lexington, caused more militia to join and fight the British at Concord’s North Bridge. The British killed 14 colonists before marching back to Boston. They met stiff resistance as farmers and patriots sniped at them all the way back. 250 British soldiers were killed or wounded the Americans lost about 100. Soon it blossomed into the full-fledged American Revolution with the Declaration of Independence being officially issued on July 4, 1776.
Victory is From God & He Determines Outcomes
After the battle of Lexington/Concord; Ministers all over the Colonies reminded the people that it was God Who gave them the victory.
Proverbs 21:31The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory is determined by the Lord.
Matthew 24:6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed, Such things must happen…
There Is Divine Intervention in War
August 27, 1776 British General Howe trapped Washington and his 8,000 troops on Brooklyn Heights on Long Island, he intended to advance the next morning to destroy them. But Washington gathered every vessel he could find and spent all night ferrying his men across the East River. In the morning there was still a large number of soldiers facing annihilation by Howe. But a heavy fog descended on the area enabling all of Washington’s troops to escape. This was nothing less than a miracle!
Even the smallest detail can Win a War
A British sympathizer saw the American evacuation happening and wrote a note to the British army. Miraculously the note was held up by German soldiers fighting for Britain who couldn’t read English! When the British got the note & checked to see if it was true, they found Long Island empty and the last rowboats in the distance, out of harms way!
Trenton, New Jersey… Washington was outnumbered. His army of 2400 soldiers began crossing the Delaware River. It was dangerously icy with chunks of ice threatening to break the overloaded boats. The weather was awful; it was raining, then sleeting. At 4 am, the whole army was ashore marching 9 miles to get to the British soldiers. The storm hadn’t let up, yet Washington’s army nearly ran the distance, racing to their foe. When they arrived around 8 am, they found the drunk German mercenaries asleep and easily overwhelmed them. One thousand British soldiers were captured, 83 wounded and 22 killed. Of Washington’s’ army, only 3 deaths and 6 injuries were reported. (Two had dropped and froze to death during the march.)
The Battle of Princeton—Washington crossed the Delaware again and was almost trapped by Lord Cornwallis’ forces. The British formed their battle lines and were about to slice the Patriots to ribbons. Washington, seeing confusion among his ranks, galloped to the front. On his huge white horse at 6’ 3”, he was a conspicuous target. He stopped only 30 yards from the first British line, directing his men to take aim. When the two forces came in range, both fired; Washington was between them. An aide, Colonel Richard Fitzgerald, covered his face with his hat to keep from seeing the Commander in Chief killed. When he lowered his hat, he saw many men dead and dying, but the General was sitting untouched on his horse.
Almighty God, and most merciful Father, who didst command the children of Israel to offer a daily sacrifice to Thee, that thereby they might glorify and praise Thee for Thy protection both night and day . . . I beseech Thee, my sins, remove them from Thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept of me for the merits of Thy Son Jesus Christ . . . Let my heart, therefore, gracious God, be so affected with the glory and majesty of (Thine honor) that I may not do mine own works, but wait on Thee . . . As Thou wouldst hear me calling upon Thee in my prayers, so give me grace to hear Thee calling on me in Thy word, that it may be wisdom, righteousness, reconciliation and peace to the saving of my soul in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Washington’s Prayer Book