Fresh Manna 2021

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Strong Tower Radio

Fresh Manna by Sean Brizendine

Sean Brizendine

The Declaration of Dependence

Fresh manna fell to the ground as a gift from God while the Israelites were in the wilderness.

It was fresh from the ovens of heaven, baked by the Master Baker himself.

How the Israelites must have anticipated the taste and smell of each morning's delivery.

Just like the Israelites, you too can taste and smell fresh manna.

Today you'll be listening to Pastor Sean Grisendein, pastor of the Houghton Seventh-day Adventist Church and Assistant Pastor of the Bessemer and Greenland Seventh-day Adventist Churches.

It's a blessing to be here and worship God together and so thankful for the freedom that we have in Christ.

I'd like us to begin our message on our knees asking God to teach us through His Holy Spirit.

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy name.

We thank you that you sent your son Jesus into this world to set us free from sin.

And we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I pray that you would hide me behind the cross of Christ, that Jesus will be lifted up, that your Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts and minds personally and individually, and that we would come to know your voice and to walk where you lead.

We thank you, Lord, that you've given us freedom, not only in this country, but for eternity through you.

The title of our message this morning is the Declaration of Dependence.

According to the Washington Post, in an article entitled, Why July 2 is Really America's Independence Day, a few key facts come forth about history that have many striking parallels as to God's declaration of dependence that he gave to his children of Israel after they came out of Egypt.

The article states that it was on July 2, 1776, that the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, voted to approve a resolution for independence from Britain.

On that same day, July 2, the Pennsylvania Evening Post published this, This day, The Continental Congress declared the United Colonies free and independent states.

So it's natural for us to ask, why do we celebrate independence on July 4?

The answer is that we do so because of a little thing called the Declaration of Independence.

The document was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, but it wasn't instantly celebrated.

It's now believed that most of the delegates signed it on July 2.

In fact, that's when the assistant to the Secretary of Congress, Timothy Matlack, produced a clean copy.

The city of Philadelphia, where the declaration was actually signed, waited until July 8 to celebrate with a parade and the firing of guns.

And the Continental Army, under the leadership of George Washington, didn't learn about it until July 9.

And then, as for the British government in London, from which they declared independence, it didn't even know that the United States had declared this independence until August 30 of 1776.

We can't miss the parallel to the Christian life.

Jesus has come in this world to set us free, and sometimes it takes a while for us to realize the freedom that he's offered.

Truly, Jesus wants us to be set free from the power of sin.

I've thought about it many times, that there's often a struggle for us, the sense of, okay, I'm set free in Christ, but now what?

The reality is that we as human beings, we need something to see as an example in order for us to even know what freedom is.

Because we live in a society, and we're seeing it happening more and more, that definitions of morality and definitions of freedom are being redefined.

And as things get redefined, are people necessarily happier?

Because the presence of Christ alone can make men and women happy, as it says in the Adventist home, page 28, paragraph 1.

I remember when I was a student at Pasumian College, I was about 20 at the time, and I was really wrestling with what I was going to be or do in life.

I was a business major, but I was quickly falling out of love with the idea of selling people stuff they didn't need for the rest of my life.

I had a little pocket Bible on my lap and I remember reading Romans while I was in my advertising class and Romans 3 31 came to me like a bolt of lightning.

It just really clarified things because I'd had kind of this struggle like obedience is that somehow like you know antithetical to freedom into being a Christian And it just put it all together.

And truly, when we think about the Declaration of Dependence, it's nothing short of God's law.

Let's look at Romans chapter 3 and verse 31.

And here the Apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, begins with a rhetorical question.

He says, Do we then make void the law through faith?

I remember contemplating this and things began to fit together in my mind because growing up I had heard about the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

I had even attended the Seventh-day Adventist Church when I would visit my family in Michigan, but I was not a Seventh-day Adventist.

And God was beginning to unfold to me that definitional freedom in the law is not antithetical to Christian freedom in Jesus.

It's actually, it fits perfectly together.

And so as these pieces began to fit together, I got super excited, and my heart was open to what would take place not long after that experience when God would call me to become a pastor in October of 2007.

Well, of course, God leads our lives in ways that we know not, but if we look back We're like, wow, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

And it's truly the gospel coming into clarity that sets us free.

Because sometimes people think that they're set free to keep sinning.

That was my great struggle, because I'd grown up in a Christian experience that talked about freedom in Christ and yet struggled with all kinds of sin issues and then said, well you're Christian, did you say the sinner's prayer?

And I'm like, yeah, I've said it many times, it seems to not be working.

The reason it wasn't working is I had had a misunderstanding of the power of God's grace.

God's grace catapults us into supernatural power through the Holy Spirit to live obedient lives.

And so Jesus, when he came to this world, Matthew 5, 17 and 18, here in the Sermon on the Mount, he repeats the same thought.

He didn't come to take away the holiness of the law of God or do away with these exceedingly high requirements, He says, you've fallen and sinned, I'm going to bring you up into my highest places.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets.

I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, 1 jot or 1 tittle shall in no wise pass in the law, till all be fulfilled.

You know, you think about how when you talk about the law, many times we read that and we have this idea that that sounds like bondage.

But there's actually something so different in Scripture.

If you go to James chapter 2 in verse 12, and this actually presents a good thought, is if what the Bible calls the law is true, then anything short of it is actually slavery and truly something that will destroy us.

So James chapter 2, when we're looking at verse 12, here the law is given a specific name.

James 2 and verse 12, it says, "...so speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." I don't know that we often think of the law as liberty because sometimes we're like, well that's condemning my sin.

Yes, but I praise God that there is a standard that shows us our sinfulness so we'll feel our need of a Savior.

If you didn't feel your need, you'd never come.

I mean, if you never had maybe that test, the doctor was like, there's something wrong with your health, you need to get that checked out.

I'm reminded of the time that my mom and my sister and I were going to the chiropractor and things weren't just quite right.

Well, that's what revealed that she had cancer.

Well, you know, I don't think anyone wants to get the bad news that you have a major health crisis, but wouldn't you rather know what's going on so it can be treated?

He's like, wouldn't you rather know there's a problem so I can heal it?

And so when we think about the Declaration of Independence, you know, this country, we talk about freedom.

And yet, I'll be very honest with you, did you know that statistically, Americans are less happy than they've ever been in history?

Well, it's Because immorality and iniquity are on the rise, and we think that that's freedom.

Because it flies in the face of God's moral law.

It's actually bringing us into bondage to the enemy of souls, and that's the devil.

God wants to deliver us with supernatural grace and power.

Series

Fresh Manna by Sean Brizendine

The Declaration of Dependence

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

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