Gtcotr/ss070311
People love heroes. Real heroes are not made, they are discovered. However, heroes are only discovered in times of crisis. And much of the time, the last person to discover a hero, is the hero himself.
Such was the case with so many who took the opportunity life afforded them during the American Revolution and brought birth to our great nation.
Tomorrow Americans will observe a national holiday called “Independence Day”. It is celebrated on the 4th of July each year commemorating our nation’s birth – we count it as a birthday party for the United States of America. This year the United States, land of the free, home of the brave – one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all will be 235 years old.
However, as many listening realize, The United States of America did not begin its history on that date … let’s look at our Key Scripture for this morning before we catch up on a little American history which we will use to confirm a central truth from God’s Word.
Job 22:28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.
The Central Truth we will discover today is:
Independence Day is whatever day you decide to be free.
The original thirteen colonies which eventually became the United States of America were settled by several different nationalities of peoples who emigrated mainly from Europe during the 1600’s and 1700’s. Those colonies were under the rule of Great Britain and were therefore subject to British law and governance.
Through time the American Colonist felt that the King and the country of England had lost contact with the colonies and began a reign of oppression. Those living under British rule believed they were over-taxed and under-represented; but what could be done? In response to the colonists official complaints, the parliament of Great Britain sent additional British soldiers to keep both the colonies and colonists under thumb.
These new Americans resented what they saw as forced occupation and forced taxation from an outside source – a mere form of slavery. After the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Boston Tea Party of 1773, everyone knew greater conflict was inevitable. In fact, several battles were fought between the British and the colonists during that time, the first were the battles at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
British attempts to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock near Concord early in 1775 led to the famous ride of Paul Revere sounding his alarm, “The British are coming … the British are coming!”. These noble patriots laid their lives on the line for God and country, a cause they felt well worth the costs, even before independence was a decided consideration.
Bear with me, but I want to tell you about a couple of battles which really intrigue me.
First is the Battle of Camden: Camden was a small town in South Carolina which was regularly occupied by about 1000 British soldiers. At this point the British controlled the port at Charleston, the town of Savannah, Georgia, and all the surrounding territories. In order for the colonies to gain independence, they had to push the British out!
Perhaps you have heard of a movie made in the recent past called, “National Treasure”. The movie starred Nicolas Cage who played a character named Benjamin Gates. This fictitious character, Benjamin Gates, was the supposed descendant of the real Revolutionary War General, Horatio Gates. This infamous general of the colonial army fought and lost both the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Camden.
In brief, (and it bears more time than I can give it here but I trust if you are interested that you will read the complete history for yourself), Gates positioned his army of perhaps 2000 men, made up of both regular soldiers and volunteers, about 6 miles north of the town of Camden. For some unknown reason Gates waited a few days before deciding to attack the British. This delay allowed the British General Cornwallis to arrive in Camden with 2000 additional British regular army reinforcements.
One hot night in mid August, Gates finally decided to march his men 10 miles along a road through the woods around Camden in order to deliver a surprise attack +on the British. It so happened that General Cornwallis decided to do the same thing on the same night and so the two opposing armies met along the road in the dark much to the surprise of them both.
The battle was chaotic and fierce sending many of those serving under Gates in a mad retreat. Colonial soldiers abandoned their loaded weapons along the roadside and ran from the British in fear. General Gates turned his own horse north and as history accounts, he road feverishly through the night to claim a distance of near 60 miles before daybreak.
Although he had put some space between him and the British army, he kept riding at breakneck speed until after three days he was more than 200 miles north and was found at the town of Hillsboro, North Carolina where he then attempted to report his defeat to the Continental Congress.
Gates would never occupy a field command again but on appeal to General George Washington, did receive a return letter in which Washington gave him some comfort, understanding and hope for his future. This is not the best example of bravery, but life is filled with both heroes and zeros, and with those who have compassion and encourage even the losers in war.
The second battle I want to share a brief glimpse of this morning, is a naval battle fought in sight of England’s coast, watched by many onlookers, which was fought between the British ship, the HMS Serapis and the American Colonial Navy ship, the Bonhomme Richard, commanded by the famous, Captain John Paul Jones.
The battle became heated with guns blazing through the night. Since the British ship was better able to position itself and deliver damage, Captain John Paul Jones decided to ram the British ship and lash them together for an all out hand to hand fight. During the ensuing battle, costs of life was great and even though both ships caught fire and suffered explosions and ultimately the Bonhomme Richard sank, nonetheless Jones won the victory and accepted the surrender of the British ship and its remaining crew. Jones then sailed the crippled Serapis to Holland and made repairs before reentering the war and pursuing Colonial independence.
Interesting to note, Jones was not his original name. Born John Paul he later added Jones in honor to General Jones of North Carolina. After the American Revolution John Paul Jones joined the Russian Navy and accepted a commission as Rear Admiral and was later Knighted.
Perhaps Captain John Paul Jones is best remembered for his reply to the British Commander of the Serapis when others had abandoned the fight and it looked like all hope was lost for Jones … the British Naval Commander asked if Jones was ready to surrender: Jones replied:
“I have not yet begun to fight!”
Well, as you know on July 4th, 1776, 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence, pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors.
However, both of the wars I just referenced, as well as most other American Revolutionary wars, were fought after the Declaration of Independence, not before …
July 4th, 1776, was not a day of peace nor was it a day of rest – it did not signal the first battle nor did it signal the last - it was more than 5 years later when Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, (October 19, 1781). It was a year after that before the preliminary treaty of peace was signed by the British government; and not until November 25, 1783 that the British army finally left New York.
July 4th, 1776 marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence even though it was not until April 19, 1783, a full 8 years after the initial battle of the Revolutionary War at Lexington that General George Washington proclaimed that the Revolutionary war was finally over.
If the war was not over until April 19th, 1783, why then do we celebrate Independence Day as though it occurred on July 4th, 1776. What do we learn from history? Independence Day is any day you choose!
Independence Day is whatever day you decide to be free.
Independence Day is celebrated on the day of declaration not on the day of Realization. The time between Declaration and Realization can be difficult, filled with gains and losses, victories and defeats – heroes and zeros - however, without declaration, there may never be a realization.
In order to be free, we need to do three things:
1. Decide to be free
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.
God gives everyone the same thing – opportunity. Life is a choice …
2. Declare your decision
Job 22:28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.
Without a vision; without a declaration; you will have no direction.
With every commitment to a cause comes light for the path.
3. Defend your freedom
What would you do … how bold would you be if you knew that victory was guaranteed? Well it is in Christ! So, be bold, be strong … be sober and vigilant … submit to God and resist the devil … he will flee from you!
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
