Declaring Dependence

The following blog is a summary of a message preached by Pastor Eddie Lawrence.

Watch the Sermon HERE!

As America celebrates 250 years of independence, it is worth asking a deeper question: what kind of independence are we actually celebrating? Freedom from an earthly king is worth honoring. But freedom from God is a different story entirely. True liberty is only found when we declare our complete dependence on the Almighty.

What Does the Bible Say About Blessed Nations?

The psalmist made it clear: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance." - Psalm 33:12

While this verse speaks directly to Israel, the principle carries forward. Nations that honor and reverence God invite His blessing. Many of America's founding fathers understood this. They believed God was involved in the affairs of nations and that Scripture should guide how people govern and live.

Where Did the Spirit of Independence Begin?

The Spirit of independence from God did not start with mankind. It started with Lucifer. Isaiah gives us a glimpse into what happened:

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning, how you are cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations." - Isaiah 14:12

Lucifer declared five "I wills" against God. He wanted to ascend above God, exalt His throne, and be like the Most High. That same Spirit showed up in the Garden of Eden when the serpent told Eve she could be like God on her own terms.

The enemy is still doing the same thing today. He wants to fill our minds with thoughts that pull us away from God and push us toward behaviors that are contrary to God's design. Recognizing this is the first step toward living differently.

Three Marks of a Life Dependent on God

There are three words that describe what it looks like to live in dependence on God rather than independence from Him: Inspiration, Influence, and Intercession.

1. Inspiration: Are You Living by God's Breath?

When God created Adam, He did something remarkable. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." - Genesis 2:7

The first face Adam ever saw was the face of God. The first voice he heard was God's voice. He was designed to walk with God daily, living breath by breath, inspired by His Creator. That was the original design for humanity.

When Adam and Eve sinned, that connection was broken. Jesus came to restore it. That is why He said you must be born again. The Spirit of God comes to dwell in the believer and makes them alive to God once more.

The Word of God is central to living an inspired life. Paul wrote: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Scripture is not like any other book. It carries the breath of God. It teaches us what to believe, what not to believe, what to do, and what to avoid. Getting into the Word regularly is not optional for the believer. It is how we stay aligned with what God is saying and where He is moving.

2. Influence: Are You Letting God Shape How You Think?

Every person has a sphere of influence. Whether you are a business owner, a teacher, a parent, or a mechanic, God has placed you somewhere specific to represent Him well. The question is whether your influence is shaped by divine inspiration or by the carnal mind.

"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." - Romans 8:6

The carnal mind is not neutral. It is described as enmity against God. It will not submit to His ways. Left unchecked, it pulls us away from God and toward the patterns of the world.

The answer is found in Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." - Romans 12:2

Transformation happens when the truth of God's Word confronts the lies we believe. The enemy wants to take one negative thought and copy and paste it into every area of your life. But the Holy Spirit wants to replace those lies with truth, renewing your mind one thought at a time.

What Happens When People Stop Wanting Sound Teaching?

Paul warned Timothy that a day would come when people would not endure sound doctrine. Instead, they would seek out teachers who tell them what they want to hear.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." - 2 Timothy 4:3-4

A fable is something humanly fabricated. There is no shortage of teaching today that sounds appealing but lacks the breath of God. The safeguard is staying in the Word, testing what you hear against Scripture, and paying attention when the Holy Spirit gives you an uneasy feeling about something.

What Are the Non-Negotiables of Christian Faith?

Some things cannot be moved on. The divinity of Jesus Christ is one of them. Jesus claimed to be God. He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." He said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." You cannot call Him a good moral teacher while denying His divinity without calling Him a liar.

The atoning work of Christ on the cross is another. He did not die as an innocent victim. He laid down His life willingly as a sacrifice accepted by God in our place. And the bodily resurrection is not optional either. Paul wrote that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

These are not negotiable. Be careful about who is discipling you, your children, and your grandchildren. What you soak in will shape what you believe.

3. Intercession: Are You Standing in the Gap?

Prayer is irreplaceable. God spoke through Ezekiel with a sobering word:

"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." - Ezekiel 22:30

God was looking for intercessors and could not find them. That is a warning for every generation. Revival does not start in the culture. It starts in the prayer closet. The fire begins in the praying church.

Jesus Himself connected prayer to harvest: "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." - Matthew 9:37-38

Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, called for a national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer. He said the nation had forgotten God and become too proud to pray to the One who made them. That was in the 1860s. The same warning applies today.

God's Promise to a Praying, Humble People

The answer to national and personal brokenness has not changed. God said it plainly:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Notice the three "I wills" of the Father. He will hear. He will forgive. He will heal. These are God's direct response to Lucifer's five rebellious "I wills." The answer to independence from God is humble dependence on Him.

Life Application

This week, choose one concrete way to declare your dependence on God rather than living independently from Him. It might mean opening your Bible every morning before you open your phone. It might mean praying with your spouse or your children before the week gets away from you. It might mean standing in the gap for someone in your life who is far from God.

The challenge is simple: do not let this week pass without intentionally seeking God through His Word, through prayer, and through listening to His Spirit.

Ask yourself these questions as you go:

• Am I living an inspired life, or am I making decisions based on my own desires and the noise of the culture around me?
• What lies have I been believing that need to be replaced with the truth of God's Word?
• Who in my sphere of influence needs me to stand in the gap for them in prayer this week?
• Am I protecting my mind and my family from voices that are pulling us away from sound teaching?

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. And blessed is the person, the family, and the home that chooses the same.