“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.” ~Declaration of Independence, Second paragraph, first sentence

Written by men, declared to other men, in the world of men, but it establishes its argument based on what it calls “truths…endowed by their Creator.”

We can reason among ourselves and conclude that these rights are situational, meaning, for instance that, if one man has a right to life, all do. Liberty? Then all do. Pursuing Happiness? Then so do all.

But the face value of these words does not provide such answers. The face value conclusion of that statement is that God gave ALL MEN the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We run into a problem, however, if we compare that beautiful script to the actual word of God. Let’s begin by turning to the Book of Romans to establish an undeniable fact about our rights... 

Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we accept the redemption fee Christ paid for it, life becomes a GIFT given to us by God our Father. So, this life is nothing to us if we don’t have a hold on the gift of eternal life through the sacrifice and resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ.

Think about the model prayer in Matthew 6, where our first request to the father is for our daily bread. If life is a right, then we should not have to ask for food, should we? We should be able to independently pick ourselves up by our boot straps and gather our own food without dependency on anybody else, even God.

We also learn from scripture that this gift of life by God is based upon His mercy, and as Christians we should know by now that God has not given mercy to all of mankind just yet. The sacrifice for all has been made, but not all understand how to take advantage of that gift.

Rom 9:15 For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOMEVER I WILL HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOMEVER I WILL HAVE COMPASSION."
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs,but of God who shows mercy. (NKJV)

Rom 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (NLT)

A couple of Psalms which show us we should not depend on people…

Psa 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes.(INSERT OTHERS)
Psa 146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.

But the scripture over and over again shows us we should wait for, rely upon, trust in the LORD. Let’s look at a couple of the many examples available to us in scripture…

Lam 3:22 Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Lam 3:24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"
Lam 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.
Lam 3:26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. (NKJV)

Lam 3:25 The LORD is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him.
Lam 3:26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD. (NLT)

Turn to Colossians for another…

Col 1:29  To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. (NKJV)

Col 1:29  That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me. (NLT)

Every year I look forward to Independence Day. For me it represents one of God’s fulfilled promises to the tribes of Jacob, because for the last almost 250 years, the Gospel has been possible to preach unhindered. Of course, so have the many false gospels been preached unhindered as well. Nevertheless, this has been the absolute greatest opportunity in history to share the Gospel of the Kingdom of God with the entire world; having the freedom to teach it, and having an ever growing number of technological tools made available to help it spread.

Naturally, I would like that kind of freedom to continue, but we should also know we don’t have a built-in right to keep it. Instead, we know that a time is coming when there will be a famine of the word of God even though the grave will not prevail against the church. This should not actually discourage us but should simply be yet another example of God’s fulfilled promises, promises we are meant to rely upon, lean on, trust in, depend upon.

On July 4th every year, our nation, the United States of America, celebrates its declared independence from the authority of the British Crown. We reflect on the freedoms we have gained. Some credit God. Some credit our founding fathers. Some figure out a way to give credit to both. But what is clear to me is that what we define as independence can totally obscure the fact that we are completely dependent on God for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Today’s title is, “A Declaration of Dependence.”

You see, we Christians, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, need to declare an International Day of DEPENDENCE,and that day should likely be the fourteenth day of the first month of the biblical year, for that is the day we must totally rely upon to be redeemed from death, and to give life purpose. It should then be followed by a week-long celebration of liberty, for it is within those days we see the proof of salvation from death through the resurrection of Jesus our LORD. Finally, from within that week, we can start counting to our International Day of Happiness, rejoicing in the grace of God’s gift, the Holy Spirit, the only power available to teach us how to be truly happy. That Spirit is a must for proving our dependence on God.

2Co 1:12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. (NKJV)

2Co 1:12 We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God's grace, not on our own human wisdom.That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. (NLT)

The Holy Days and festivals I just referenced will NEVER be governable by men, but by God, and a person governed by God, no matter how enslaved in this world, has the full blessing of remembrance of these days and how these days reflect upon our total dependence upon God. So, a Christian, whether a member of a Republic such as ours, or not, is able to declare their DEPENDENCE on God for life, liberty, and happiness, these three things being provided by God’s grace, via the Spirit of God, toward those who love Him.

Let us understand the meanings of God’s holy days and celebrate every day our total and complete dependence upon God.