Several years ago a scary thing happened to two young beach goers. I read this in the newspaper. Two young ladies were at the beach, I think Pensacola beach, enjoying a summer vacation and enjoying the water. They got into a raft to relax and sun bath. While floating on the raft they did not pay attention to their location and began to drift out into the Gulf. When they realized what had happened they were too far out to paddle to shore. The Coast Guard was called out to rescue the girls.
The same thing can occur spiritually. We can drift away from safety. We can drift away from God. As we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend, I am concerned. I am concerned that we, as a nation, are drifting away from the values for which our fore-fathers fought and died. I do not want to come across as being negative, pessimistic, or discouraging. I want to be honest and share my heart with you. Some people may not want to hear my honesty. Some people go to church and want to hear nothing but positive. I equate this to walking up on a rattle snake while you are walking in your yard. When you see that snake you do not dismiss it as if it were an illusion. You cannot put a positive slant on a rattlesnake. A rattle snake is a threat. A rattle snake is a danger. That is the way I see this deadly drift we are facing.
Have you noticed that there is a natural drift which occurs as things get older? As we get older our weight drifts. As our faith gets older it tends to drift. For instance, the world in which Paul lived is no longer passionate about Jesus Christ. They drifted! We are told that only a small percentage of people in southern and eastern Europe attend church. The area from which we got our spiritual roots, Europe, is no longer passionate about Jesus Christ. They drifted!Only a small percentage of western Europeans attend church. In most places in western Europe I have been told that less than 10% of the people attend church on a regular basis. Drift is a very real danger.
Please turn to Judges 2:7-12. I believe the situation in this passage is comparable to our situation in America. We are drifting! “So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.” (NKJV)
If God’s people drifted from God, how was that so? Notice three ways God’s people drift away from God.
I. Drift occurs when we leave our spiritual roots. Notice the context of this passage. In verse 7 it says “the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua.” The generation that followed Joshua drifted away from God. When Joshua was not present to hold them accountable, they drifted.
A. America has a spiritual heritage. Many people would tell you that America was not founded on Christian principles. That is absolutely not true. I would not go so far as to call us a Christian nation. However, we were founded on Christian principles. Consider these examples.
Patrick Henry was a famous statesman in colonial Virginia. In 1774 he was a delegate to the First Continental Congress, during the Revolutionary War he became commander-in-chief of Virginia’s military forces, he was a member of the Second Continental Congress, and was largely responsible for drawing up the amendments to our Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. He became Virginia’s first governor, served as ambassador to Spain and France, and George Washington asked him to join his cabinet and become Secretary of State, and later wanted to appoint him the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Listen to the words spoken by Patrick Henry: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians - not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." His Last Will & Testament was filed in the Brookneal County courthouse in Virginia. You read his will and you’ll see that he bequeathed everything to his children, just as most people do. But the last paragraph in his will is especially interesting. He wrote, "I have now given everything I own to my children. There is one more thing I wish I could give them and that is Christ. Because if they have everything I gave them and don’t have Christ, they have nothing." SOURCE: Melvin Newland, Central Christian Church, Brownsville, Texas.
(Contributed by SermonCentral)
Many of our finest patriotic hymns have a Christian basis. “My Country Tis of Thee” was written in 1832 by a Baptist clergyman, Samuel Francis Smith. The pledge of allegiance to the flag was written in 1892 by another Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy.”
In affirming our spiritual heritage I believe it is important that we affirm what we mean by our spiritual heritage. I believe our spiritual heritage involves the personal God of Heaven who created this world and everything in it. I believe He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. I believe He is the God who loves us and sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Yes, I believe all religions should be free to worship in America. However, when we talk about our spiritual roots I think it is important to talk about what we mean. We are not talking about a generic god. We are not talking about a god that covers all religions. We are talking about the Christian God, the Father of Jesus Christ, who died that we might spend eternity in Heaven forever.
B. America also had a compassionate heritage. The words of Emma Lazarus that are engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the Statue of Liberty tell the story. These words were written in 1883.
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
America has a spiritual heritage but also a benevolent and compassionate heritage. We will drift away from God when we forget these principles.
II. We drift when we compromise. Notice what happened with the Israelites, as recorded in verse 12. It says “they forsook the Lord…and they followed other gods.” In short, they compromised in order to worship other gods. There are two specific ways that we have compromised in America.
A. We have compromised in the name of tolerance. Many of you have probably read the prayer used by Joe Wright in the Kansas legislature in 1996. At the time of the prayer Joe Wright was the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS. On January 23, 1996, He was asked to be the guest chaplain for the Kansas State House in Topeka. He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. According to an article in the Kansas City Star from January 24, 1996, his prayer stirred controversy, and one member of the legislative body walked out. Others criticized the prayer. The controversy didn’t end there. Later that year in the Colorado House, Republican representative Mark Paschall angered lawmakers by using Joe Wright’s prayer as the invocation. Some members there also walked out in protest. Paul Harvey got a hold of the prayer and read it on his program. He got more requests for copies of it than any other thing he had ever done. Here’s what he prayed: "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it a choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will... Amen (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/kansasprayer.htm---Contributed to Sermon Central by Troy Borst)
B. We have compromised by rejecting the truth.
Joke: Several years ago someone wrote Billy Graham and asked how many of the Ten Commandments God expects us to keep? Billy said “All ten! Just because we have chosen to reduce our standards doesn’t mean God has lowered his.
(Illustration 375 in "Something To Think About". Raymond McHenry. p. 114)
Our society thinks the Ten Commandments are outdated and archaic rules. Think about it, are the commandments out of date?
You shall not murder.
You shall not steal.
You shall not lie.
The truth in these commandments is common sense. We have rejected the truth until common sense is out the window.
There are four “isms” that are poisoning our country today.
1. Relativism- Relativism teaches that everything is relative to your situation.
2. Humanism- Humanism teaches that you are your own god.
3. Liberalism- Liberalism teaches there is no truth.
4. Pluralism- Pluralism teaches that everything is okay so believe what you want to believe. A good example of pluralism is Oprah. Ophrah is one of the most influential spiritual leaders in America today. This ex Baptist now espouses the view that “one of the biggest mistakes we make is to believe there is only one way. There are many diverse paths leading to God.” She is described as a ‘postmodern priestess – an icon of church free spirituality’. And her tribe is growing. Oprah embodies the values of the new age and people like what she is saying.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Andrew Hamilton)
III. We drift when we hold to a meaningless faith.
George Moore tells the true story of Irish peasants in the depression era that were hired by a wealthy benefactor to build roads. When they started the job the men worked well, they sang their Irish songs and put their total energies into the job. They were so glad to be back at work. But little by little they discovered that the roads they were building were not leading anywhere. They simply ran out into the country-side and stopped. This philanthroper, meaning well, had given them a meaningless job in order to feed them and supply a living wage. As the truth began to dawn on them they stopped their singing, lost their enthusiasm and became listless. Commenting on the incident the author said, “For a man to work well and sing, there must be an end in sight. The roads to nowhere are difficult to build.”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Timothy Smith)
The same thing happens when faith becomes meaningless. When faith becomes meaningless you will lose the song in your heart.
In our text this drift is described. Look at verse 10. It says they “did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done.” You can see two identifying marks of a meaningless faith, in this verse. Their absence makes faith meaningless. Faith should be personal and faith should be experienced. Let me describe each of them individually.
A. Faith should be personal. Note the phrase “did not know the Lord.” All faith begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.
The 23rd Psalm is a good illustration of this point. Psalm 23:1 reads “The Lord is my shepherd.” Note the personal pronoun, “my.” The generation of Israelites who followed Joshua did not have that personal relationship.
Another passage that underscores the personal relationship is Ps. 27:1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Again, note the personal pronoun, “my.” The generation of Israelites who followed Joshua did not have that personal relationship.
Illustration: On Dec. 7 1941 a horrible thing happened to America. Pearl Harbor was bombed. That date and event should be etched into our memory forever. However, Pearl Harbor is becoming a distant memory kept alive only by the memory recorded in history books. The survivors of Pearl Harbor are slowly dying off. With their death the memories fade. This same thing happens with faith. Without a personal testimony the memory is meaningless.
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is he more than a word to you? Is he more than a religious concept? Have you placed your personal trust in Him to forgive your sins and to be your Lord and Savior?
B. Faith should be experienced. Note the phrase “the work which He had done.” People might question your use of the Bible but they cannot question what God has done in your life. Personal experience gives the proof that verifies faith. Personal experience is the glue that holds you solid in difficult times. Real faith will have experiences that verify and give validity.
Lets suppose you are making plans to climb Mt. Everest. In planning for such a trip there is a memory that haunts every climber. Climbers know that many people lost their lives while climbing Everest. With that thought in mind, would you hire an inexperienced guide or the best you can find? Would you hire a guide that has climbed Everest many times or a guide who has merely read about Everest in books.
Lets suppose you are planning to go sky diving for the very first time. Would you hire an instructor that has made many dives or a teacher who has merely read about sky diving in books?
Personal experience matters! Many people read about God. Many people talk about God. However, some people know God and have experienced His power. Faith that is not personal and proven by personal experience becomes meaningless.
