BULLETIN STUDY OUTLINE:
THE DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE:
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for Christians to remove the bonds that have connected them with the world’s value systems and to separate themselves to the freedom that God has provided through Jesus Christ, they should declare the causes that led them to this separation (Galatians 5:1, 13).
We hold these truths to be biblical and God-inspired, that all men are lost and without hope except for the grace of God (Romans 3:10, 23). But God has manifested Himself to this fallen world through the Person of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. God loves us so much He gave His Son’s life as the only payment for our sins. We enter willingly into this relationship of love and trust by receiving through faith His sacrifice and His Son (John 3:16; Revelation 3:20).
Only by grace do we merit salvation, keep salvation and do good works, the latter being a sign of our salvation, never a means to earn it (Ephesians 2:8-10).
It is fitting, therefore, that we live as separated people from the world, not by distance, but by lifestyle. We honor our Creator-Maker by lives lived in obedience and glory to Him.
We determine to learn and live the precepts of the Holy Bible for righteousness, strength and success (Joshua 1:8; Psalms 119:9-11). We will submit to and derive strength from one another in Christ’s Church, His Body on earth, with Him as Head (I Corinthians 12-14).
We determine to live in the power and fullness of the abundant, true Life God’s Holy Spirit gives to us by His living IN us. This requires daily surrender to His leadings and His will (Romans 8:9-11). We will come constantly to Jesus Christ for our strength, sustenance and life (Matthew 11:28-30).
We shall accomplish this declaration, and yea, do all things through Christ who gives us His strength (Philippians 4:13). To Him we mutually pledge our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor.
Dependence. In the midst of the bloody Civil War, 1863, Lincoln made a proclamation for a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer: “We have been recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever known. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” Is that us today? Do we need to pray, fast & humble ourselves lest He humble us?
THE 10 “CANNOTS” OF LINCOLN
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and
independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. Pulpit Helps, Feb 1993
I. INTRO: WHOI WAS THIS? [ATTACHED, in riddle form.]
A. Much is “known” of Lincoln’s early years, though some is clouded by myth and legend. We do know his mother died when he was nine. But up till age nine she told him countless Bible stories and lived the life of Jesus in front of him. Her final words to him were that she was going away and told him: “I want you to live as I have taught you, to love your heavenly Father and keep His commandments.”
B. He promised. Many a time he said he found the courage to “decline some tempting bribe or resist some insidious suggestion” because at that critical hour he heard his mother’s voice repeating the Word of the Bible once more, “I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
C. Lincoln came under fierce criticism through much of his political life. Once he was even criticized for carrying such an expensive pocketknife. Lincoln told how he acquired it. A man gave it to Lincoln with the same challenge it had been given to him: to keep until he found a man homelier than he. “I have carried this knife for years, he told Lincoln, but let me say that you are fairly entitled to the property with the same injunction.” It is commonly believed Lincoln was buried with that knife, having never found a man he thought was homelier than he. Great humility revealed.
It is also Lincoln lore that in his pocket when he died were also a few confederate coins, a kerchief and a faded, much folded note of encouragement. We all, from Presidents to paupers, need encouragement.
D. He was fiercely criticized by his enemies, the press, and even men who were supposed to be his allies, like the men he appointed to his cabinet, Sec of State Seward, called him a gorilla in a suit, and other uncomplimentary names. After Lincoln was elected in 1860 he chose former political opponents-including three who had run against him for the Republican Party nomination-to serve in his cabinet. Why?
1. One such practice of Lincoln’s, never seen so much before, was to put men on your cabinet, not repaying political favors or friendship, but because they were the best for the job. But, is it any wonder this great man needed encouragement?
2. Lincoln knew how to not cling to grudges, to make friends of former enemies, how to deal with people when they were down, defeated and hurting, to acknowledge error, and to share credit. These are some of the same principles best-selling author, Jim Collins dusted off a few years ago, pretended they were brand new, and made millions with his book From Good To Great. (Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, quoted in American Profile mag).
3. Lincoln never retaliated against his critics and attackers. His graciousness to friend and foe moved many. Most of the northern representation wanted to punish the South for their sedition. But Lincoln knew the best way to heal the nation was to help their former opponents rebuild and regain their dignity, not to trample them further. It was then his famous quote came: “I will destroy my enemies…by making them my friends.”
4. Once a critic of Stephen Douglass wanted Lincoln to jump on the bandwagon of criticism of his political rival, with whom he had vigorously debated the issue of slavery. God used these debates to launch into the national limelight Lincoln’s political career. The critic wanted Lincoln to comment on how short Mr. Douglas was, especially in contrast to the lanky Lincoln: “How long should a man’s legs be, Mr. Lincoln?” “I suspect they should be long enough to reach from his body to the ground.”
5. One of his famous “Ten Cannots” [BULLETIN] emerged.
E. At one presidential reception the speaker, a preacher, spoke about the Lord being on “our side.” Lincoln had an opportunity to follow up his sermon with some comments. [Fortunately you don’t get that opportunity too often.] Lincoln said that we shouldn’t worry if the Lord was on our side, but if we were on His side.
F. We understand now why the same man that called him a gorilla, at the foot of his casket called him “the greatest leader the world has ever known.”
G. Lincoln’s individualized, free-lance Christianity didn’t go over well in that day. Neither did his free-thinking in regard to Christian doctrine in his early years. But as he grew older and the responsibilities of the presidency, especially the war, weighed on him he commented more and more on his profound and personal dependence on God.
1. Polls continually show Americans believe Lincoln was our greatest president. Why?
2. Because so many of the decisions Lincoln made in his short presidency have had an influence on the country that could truly be called divinely empowered endurance & dependence. They go together when the dependence is on the Lord.
II. The emphasis in 1&2 Kgs was more on Israel’s disobedience & resulting punishment from God. In 1&2 Chron more on restoration and repentance. While 1&2 Kgs focus on both dynasties of David and Saul, 1&2 Chron zeroes in on David’s dynasty and the priests. Jesus is revealed here, fulfilling both roles perfectly when He came, priest & king--the perfect son of David.
A. (2 Chr 5-7, PB 310). Here we find the wisest man who ever lived (God’s Word says that). He’s bringing the Ark of the Covenant, that wood and gold box symbolizing the awesome presence of God, back to the elaborate, newly constructed Temple 5:6). It’s not like God hadn’t been present before, but the Ark was a beautiful reminder.
1. Don’t we sometimes need reminded of God’s presence? Why is it that SO many of the 366 commands/assurances are followed by “because I will work it out…I will give you what you asked for…just pray…patience…it’ll be fine?”
2. NO! They simply say: “For I will be with you.” Knowing God’s presence is huge…or SHOULD BE. His presence should bring practical benefits, NOT that He’ll give us what we ask, but that He’s with us—which is HUGE!
3. “Peace” comes, which is more than just calm. It’s the biblical “shalom” that’s hard to translate. But suffice it to say it means wellness, wholeness in EVERY area of our lives: heart, soul, body & mind (Ex 33:14). Is that you?
B. We all struggle with a tension we see here between God’s immanence and His transcendence. Those are 50 cent theological words to mean God’s “nearness & intimacy,” vs. His “distance & awesomeness.”
1. A key to His presence is true worship (5:13-14). I know all our worship leaders’ #1 desire is to lead us into His presence each Sunday. That’s the #1 thing most people say they are looking for in a church.
2. Solomon here tells us what will make unsaved people come to check us out--that you hear their prayers because you are here (6:32-33)!
3. That’s what all the pleas to “Hear from Heaven…” are about (7x Ch 6 + 7:14; 14x “hear”; and I thought God was supposed to live in the Ark?!?).
C. “House” used 26x in I Kgs 8 & 37x in 2 Chr 5-7. His presence is what made it His house, not the fact He’d commanded it, supplied it, or His boy wonder built it (Ex 33:14-16. Look @ Ezek 8-11; 43; I Sam 4:19-22, “Ichabod,” for the opposite).
D. How do we best manifest His presence and glory today? (I Cor 6:19-20; 3:16; 14:23-25; Eph 2:19-22) primarily say thru our lives & our worship.
E. His presenceàdependenceàendurance. Solomon forgot & lost this as he aged. By contrast, Lincoln grew. Which direction are you going?
III. Lincoln’s spiritual life has been debated much by historians and biographers. There’s no question he struggled a long time with his conversion. Hopefully this will help some of you who have struggled a lot through your life with what total commitment to Christ means. It is a serious decision after all. I pray some here are ready today. What’s stopping you?
A. Historians tell how this total commitment did not come during a series of revivals at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, or after a sermon: “You Must Be Born Again” by the pastor of the United Methodist Church there, though there is evidence of much spiritual turmoil after those sermons.
1. But there was later a definite time when peace with God came into his heart: “When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son- the severest trial of my life- I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg, and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.”
2. With tears in his eyes he told his friends that he had at last the best gift, which God has given to man (The Man And His Faith, by G. Frederick Owen, quoted in Pulpit Helps, Feb. 1993, p. 20).
3. Few people know the link between his surrender to Christ, the death of his beloved son (which almost sent him into nervous breakdown and a resignation from the presidency), and the influence of the Christian nurse who stood with Lincoln through long night vigils in his little son’s room. She consistently pointed Lincoln to Jesus for comfort and hope.
4. A letter found at the New York Presbyterian Church of Washington DC in its archives stating he had given a lot of thought to the matter of his soul’s salvation, and he was ready to make a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, dated Tuesday Apr. 13, 1865. Barely 24 hours later the shot rang out in Ford’s theater, and he was gone.
B. Complete dependence on God was reflected in his constant entire nights in prayer. One night his prayer was overheard: overheard to pray: “O, God, I cannot lead this people. O God unless Thou dost help us, we shall have no victory. O God, help me. Thou must help me…let this cup pass from me.”
1. During the worst reports from Gettysburg he told one of his generals: “when everyone seemed panic-stricken…[I] got down on my knees before almighty God and prayed…. Soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into his own hands.”
2. His utter dependence was seen in his classic calling our nation to a solemn assembly, like (2 Chron 6-7 QUO Bulle.). Do we ever need that again?
3. This utter dependenceàendurance/obedience came from a sense of His presence. Which do you need? Which does our country need? Time to pray.
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