Posted: 08/19/06

Celebrating America's 400th Birthday

Mayflower Institute

Dr. Marshall Foster

July 2006 Journal

Let's put aside our problems for a while and "celebrate."   This is not just a call to escape the world or to party all night to acknowledge the end of a work week.  It is time for the biggest birthday celebration of our lifetime. This summer is the beginning of America's 400th Anniversary.   It all began when the Virginia Company sailed three ships from England in December of 1606.  They landed at Cape Henry at the mouth of the Chesapeake on April 26, 1607.   Reverend Hunt planted a large cross there, and in a solemn religious service all of the settlers dedicated this land to Jesus Christ.  Then they sailed up the James River and founded Jamestown on May 14, 1607.

You might ask what is there to celebrate with the war in Iraq, Iran rattling its sword, our culture under attack etc. etc. etc?  Some would say this is no time to celebrate in light of these crisis.  But to the contrary it is absolutely vital in these difficult days to take our focus off of ourselves and celebrate what God has done in giving us the most blessed nation in history.

The reason that our national celebrations or holidays have become simply an excuse to party or take break is that the meaning of the word celebrate has been perverted to imply self indulgence.   To the contrary, Noah Webster's Dictionary defines celebrate to mean "to give praise, to make famous, as to celebrate the name of the Most High" and to honor by ceremonies.

What better time then this summer, to honor and celebrate God's mighty hand in orchestrating the 5000 years of recorded history so that the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ would come to the shores of America in the same generation that the Bible was unleashed to the common people in a revived, reformed England.  This event changed the world and laid the foundation for the coming of the Pilgrims, free enterprise, and our lasting constitutional republic.   This is a big deal but I bet you haven't seen anything in the news yet or even in church about it.

This summer I will be one of the 12 historians, pastors, and cultural experts who will speak at the first ever Christian History of the World conference to be held in Williamsburg, Virginia from July 11-15.  We will be there as the national celebration of our quadra-centenial is being launched at Jamestown that week.  I would highly recommend that you pack up the family and join us for this historic event if you can.  Log on to visionforum.org for registration info, speakers etc.  I will make the conference available on cd if you can't attend.

At times like this it is good to remember why such events as the 4th of July and the 400th anniversary of our founding are so important for our families, our spiritual lives and the future of our nation?  How can the proper celebration of such events change our world today?  Here are four powerful motivations to celebrate such events.

1. It takes our eyes off of ourselves and onto God's wonderful works that have made all we have today possible.  This simple act develops thankful hearts that can look to God in times of trial.  David escaped his depression while being chased by King Saul by declaring the "mighty deeds of God." Ps. 77:10.  Just last week, I saw hundreds of Christian high school students light up as I addressed them at the National Cemetery in Washington D.C., calling them to sacrifice for God and country as they were surveying the 300,000 graves of America's fallen heroes.

2. Jesus told us that "rememberance" is the foundation of revival.  In Rev. 2:5 Jesus tells the carnal church at Ephesus how to restore their love for Him.  He said, "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works."   Note here that remembrance of where we used to be is foundational before there can be repentance or restoration.  Ephesus ignored God's warning and their church and city were decimated, never to be rebuilt.

3. We are commanded in scripture to not forget the landmarks of our fathers (the monuments of great events).  God's landmarks did not end with the Jewish nation, but should be recognized throughout the centuries as His truth goes marching on.  Monuments and celebrations are necessary because we always tend to forget our history and focus on immediate crisis.

4. Remembering great events and people gives us the blueprint for success or failure.  In our "realativistic" times we are told that every one has their own way and there are no blueprints for men or nations.  This is a lie.  In the history of our early settlers we see the truth revealed.  As they followed the biblical pattern, turned to free enterprise, and to prayer, and to bringing in wives and children not just adventurers they were blessed more and more.  In contrast, when the biblical model was not followed like we see in much of the early settlement of Jamestown, disaster followed.

5. A fifth reason to celebrate our 400th Anniversary is that it causes us to fear God.  Paul says in                    I Corinthians 10: 11-12, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall?  When we remember His control of History we fear Him.

The story of the abandonment of Jamestown and its miraculous restoration in 1610 is one of the great providential events of world history.  By 1609, just 2 years after landing the Jamestown settlement was heading toward complete extinction.  They were on a mosquito infested island, with salt-ladened water wells, without food, surrounded by hostile Indians, and, John Smith, their leader had just been injured and sent home. To make matters worse eight ships arrived with 400 more settlers who had no food or utensils.  That winter was called the starving time.  Only 60 out of 600 survived, with one man eating his wife.  In the spring of 1610 the last souls got on a little boat and headed for England facing certain death with little food aboard.  Providentially they did not burn the settlement, as was customary.  Miraculously, as their boat reached the open sea going north, the long delayed Lord De LeWare's ship was spotted coming from the south.  The new governor forced the settlers back to Jamestown and the colony survived.

Why should we care about this amazing story of survival?  If Jamestown had failed the Pilgrims never would have been given a charter in 1620.  The Spanish or French would have settled the land.  Without the Pilgrim and Puritan believers who reasoned our republic and our free enterprise system from the Bible there would be no America.  And what would our nation be without the liberty loving founding generation of Virginians like George Washington and Patrick Henry.  All of this future rested on the success of Jamestown 400 years ago. 

Just think, the same God who saved our imperfect but courageous forefathers from catastrophe is at work today in our time to forward His Kingdom through us in spite of our trials.  May we commit ourselves afresh, to the restoration of the Christian civilization that so many have died to preserve.

By Marshall Foster Click here for bio and archived articles