7/5/26 - WiFi Land / THE WAR OF DEPENDENCE

Good morning, Wi-Fi land all over the world. Today we greet you in the name of he who is the great emancipator of sin's bondage, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory both now and forevermore. Amen.

Well, yesterday our nation celebrated 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress. Of course, the purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to officially announce that the 13 American colonies were severing their political ties with Great Britain and were becoming independent sovereign states. Great Britain considered this an act of insurrection, which then led to the Revolutionary War, or the War of Independence.

So I thought, if there can be a War of Independence, what about a War of Dependence? If a war can be fought that leads to independence, can a war be fought that leads to dependence? And as I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that the Christian fights a War of Dependence every day. That's right. Every day, the enemy shoots his fiery darts at the believer in an attempt to move us away from complete trust in God. The father of lies that would have us to lose all confidence in God and his goodness is at work.

And this was the enemy's method of attack against Eve. It is as if the serpent said to Eve, "If God were good, he will allow you to eat of the fruit of the tree that is so good for food and whose fruit is so pleasing to the eye, which offers so much wisdom." The serpent accused God to Eve. His words were meant to convey that God was not good, nor worthy of her trust.

And Satan said the same to God himself when he was speaking of Job. Satan said that Job trusted God only because God had put a protective hedge around him and it blessed him. He inferred that God was not good and worthy of trust simply because of who God is.

And when the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert, Satan's method was the same. Satan showed the Lord Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory in a moment of time. And then he offered to give the Lord Jesus the rule of all those kingdoms if he would only worship him. It was as if the devil was saying, "Am I not more good than your God? He promised you all this power and glory if you first suffer for him. But I will give you all this power and glory now if you only bow to me."

And when we read in Revelation 12:10 that the devil is the accuser of the brethren, is it not true? He accuses them before God continually, day and night. But he also accuses the believer. And so if the believer falls in his walk with God, the devil is quick to shoot the fiery darts of condemnation: "You're not a spiritual person, not a true believer at all. You've sinned beyond remedy." With his fiery darts, he attacks the believer's heart and conscience so that they may forget that God is for them. The devil wants to hide Christ from the believer's immediate view.

And this is the same ploy he uses with the unsaved world. 2 Corinthians 4:3: "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god (small g) of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

And what is always the enemy's endgame? It is to win the War of Dependence by causing the believer to fear and to lose trust in God. He wants to bring the believer into distress of soul so that he will not be in the enjoyment of the blessings of God. And if the believer does not have a happy heart in the enjoyment of God's blessings, what testimony will we have before the world?

And in this War of Dependence, Satan's arsenal is full of the fiery darts of fear. He roars with the powerful roar of a fierce lion who is only feet away. His assault might be with persecution from friends or family or the world. Or he may use some storm of personal crisis to instill fear. But in all his attacks, the enemy's objective is to drive a wedge between God and the believer.

But hallelujah, God has provided the divine shield of faith to protect us against the inflamed darts of the wicked one. All that is required of us when the enemy is throwing his fiery darts is to put forward the shield of faith and bring God in between the enemy and ourselves, because the enemy is no match for God. In Christ, all the power of Satan has been broken. Glory! The lion has lost his teeth.

And God also has provided the helmet of salvation that we might continually be secure in Christ's finished work for us. In Christ, our victory over sin and Satan in the world has been won for us. There is no question that can be raised, because our victorious Redeemer is in the glory, glory.

In closing, it is important in this War of Dependence to remember that we are not told to overcome the devil but to resist the devil, and he will flee from us. James 4:7. If we remain dependent upon God, we will resist the devil, and his attacks, which are intended to stir doubts and fears within us, will fail. The devil will meet Christ in us and run away. Hallelujah! So why not right now take out a faith pin and sign your name to the spiritual Declaration of Dependence? And remember that this War of Dependence will continue until the Lord comes. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.