INTRO.- ILL.- Someone wrote: WHERE WOULD YOU BE...
If you had all the money your heart desires?
If you had the most fabulous home in the perfect neighborhood?
If you had no worries?
If you came home and the finest gourmet meal was waiting for you?
If your bathwater had been prepared?
If you had the perfect kids?
If your wife was waiting for you with open arms and kisses?
So where would you be?
WELL HELLO! YOU’D BE IN THE WRONG HOUSE!
These thoughts could well apply to the new administration in America. Many people think, believe or dream that we will have a new beginning in America as a result of the new President.
But I would say hello! America has some serious problems and she will not change overnight! Our new President is not the Messiah, as some might think. No President is a Messiah.
I have actually read that some people think they won’t have to pay taxes and that their rent will be paid because of the new President. Again, I say, hello! Are you thinking at all?
People are saying that history has been made because we have a new President who is African-American. This is history in the making. But what is going to happen in America in the future remains to be seen.
We do hope for a better America! We hope for an improved economy and world peace. We hope for leaders to become more committed to the improvement of America instead of the improvement of their own pocket books.
ILL.- Someone wrote that this is how the government works: Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in DC: One is from Chicago, another is from Tennessee, and the third is from Florida. All three go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Florida contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. ’Well,’ he says, ’I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.’
The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, ’I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.’
The Chicago contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, ’$2,700.’ The official says, ’Why, you didn’t even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?’
The Chicago contractor whispers back, ’$1000 for me, $1000 for you (and I’ll even throw in a Senate seat to sweeten the deal), and then we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence.’ ’Done!’ replies the government official. And that, my friends, is how government contracting works!
Let’s hope this is not true but we certainly often wonder.
ILL.- Let me share a few parts of President Obama’s inaugural address. "America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents." (I hope so. I pray so)
"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." (I hope so. I pray so)
"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics." (I hope so. I pray so)
"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things." (I hope so. I pray so)
For the most part, President Obama was optimistic in his speech. And well, he should be. You don’t build on negatives. You can only build on that which is positive. And there are still many positive things going on in America.
But we need to think about what WE can do to help build a better America or make a new beginning for America. Government by itself is not the answer, nor is a new President. We still need God’s help and God’s blessing if America is to get better or have a new beginning.
PROP.- The apostle Paul gives us some specific things we can do to help America get better.
1- We must pray unceasingly
2- We must live righteously
3- We must evangelize fervently
I. WE MUST PRAY UNCEASINGLY
Vs. 1-2 “I urge that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority.”
ILL.- A teacher went into her classroom about fifteen minutes before the class was supposed to begin and caught a bunch of boys in a huddle on their knees in the corner of the room. She asked what they were doing, and one of them shouted back, "We are shooting craps." She replied, "That’s all right. I was afraid you were praying."
This is a part of the sadness of America. People often huddle together here in America, but it is not for prayer. They are generally huddled together to play something, to attend something, to watch something, but seldom to attend church and pray. However, we are charged in scripture again and again to pray.
II Chronicles 7:14 "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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Phil. 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Heb. 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
ILL.- Samuel Chadwick said, "The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray."
ILL.- Andrew Murray said, "The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history."
ILL.- Charles Spurgeon said, "I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach."
ILL.- E.M. Bounds said, “What the church needs today is not machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use - men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men of prayer.” And we might add, through women of prayer.
We must be a people of prayer if we are going to see any good come to America and our own lives.
We must pray. We must pray for everyone who means anything at all to us and for some who don’t mean anything to us. We must pray for our mates, for our children, for our family members, for our ministers, for our church members, for our church leaders, for our country’s leaders, and for our new President!
We must pray at home! We must pray at church! We must pray at prayer meetings! We must pray while driving our cars, while doing our laundry, while cleaning our houses, while doing our chores!
We must pray when we get up in the morning and when we go to bed at night! We must pray every chance we get if we want to see some good things happen to America and in our own lives!
Brothers and sisters, think of it this way: every time you think of anyone, say a quick prayer for them: the new President, your children, your mate, your neighbor, etc.
James 5:16 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” If we believe this and believe in our all-powerful God then we must pray as never before!
II. WE MUST LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY
Vs. 2 “That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” God wants us to be godly people, holy people, living in peace with others, etc.
ILL.- A preacher wrote, “The ugly part of me sure showed his beastly face the other night. I was driving on a two-lane road that was about to become a single lane. A woman in a car beside me was in the lane that continued. I was in the one that stopped. I needed to be ahead of her. My schedule was, no doubt, more important than hers. After all, am I not a man of the cloth?
“So I floored it. Guess what? She did too. When my lane ended, she was a fender ahead of me. I growled and slowed and let her go ahead. Over her shoulder she gave me a sweet little bye-bye wave. Grrrr.
“I started to dim my headlights. Then I paused. The sinister part of me said, ‘Wait a minute.’ Am I not to shed light on dark places? SO I PUT A LITTLE HIGH BEAM IN HER REARVIEW MIRROR.
“She retaliated by slowing down. To a crawl. This woman was mean. She wasn’t going to go beyond fifteen miles per hour. And I wasn’t going to take my lights out of her rearview mirror. Like two stubborn donkeys, she kept it slow and I kept it bright.
“After more unkind thoughts, the road widened and I started to pass. Wouldn’t you know it? A red light left the two of us side by side at an intersection. What happened next contains both good news and bad news. The good news is, she waved at me. The bad news is, her wave was not one you’d want to imitate.
“Moments later, conviction surfaced, ‘WHY DID I DO THAT?’ I’m typically a calm guy, but for fifteen minutes I was a beast!”
Brothers and sisters, is that you? Are you a beast at times? At home? At work? At Wal-mart? While driving or shopping?
We can be pretty good people at church most of the time, but God is very much interested in how we act and react outside the church.
Titus 3:1-2 "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men."
I Pet. 2:12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds (and your good life) and glorify God...”
ILL.- Another preacher wrote: "Today we have people who claim to be Christians shouting “God hates fags” at the funerals of soldiers who have died in Iraq, because these “Christians” believe God is punishing America for its tolerance of homosexuals. A recent editorial in the paper invited people to leave the country who did not like the influence of Christianity in the United States. All of this sees people divided into two camps: those who are for God and those who are against him. It is an “us and them” mentality that Jesus knew nothing about. We see sinners and atheists as the enemy and therefore we feel it is acceptable to treat them in any way we wish and say anything we want. It doesn’t matter how ugly our spirit is." OF COURSE, THE WRITER IS BEING SARCASTIC. It does matter. Your spirit does matter.
ILL.- Two women were riding on a train together and began to argue over the window. They called the conductor and one of them said, “If this window is open I will catch a cold and die.” The other woman said, “If this window is closed, I will suffocate.” And the two women glared at each other.
Finally, the conductor didn’t know what to do so he asked the advice of a man who was sitting nearby. The man said, “First, open the window and that will kill one of them. Then close the window and that will kill the other and then we’ll have some peace around here.”
Brothers and sisters, that is not the way to make friends and influence people. Instead, we should be thoughtful and considerate of others. We should be different from most people of the world. Be a shining example of kindness and of selflessness.
III. WE MUST EVANGELIZE FERVENTLY
Vs. 3-4 “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
God wants all people to be saved, not just a select few. And evangelism is presenting some kind of witness for Christ with the idea that perhaps they will come to believe in Him, trust and obey Him and be saved. And America needs Christ!
ILL.- Someone has well said, “Nature forms us. Sin deforms us. Education informs us. BUT ONLY CHRIST TRANSFORMS US.”
We believe this! We believe in the power of Christ to save a person and sanctify them. But it won’t happen unless we do something to point them to Christ!
ILL.- Have you ever heard of Rockin’ Roland Stuart? Have you have ever watched a sporting event on TV such as a Super Bowl or a major football game, and have seen the giant sign reading "John 3:16" in the audience?
Rockin’ Roland Stuart is responsible for that. At one time, Roland Stuart was a drunk, an alcoholic. Somehow he was introduced to Christ and became a Christian. God healed him of his alcoholism.
One day, the idea struck him that if he could just get into major sporting events and put the Word of God before the hundreds of thousands of people it might do some good.
So, Rockin’ Roland Stuart and his wife, Margaret, and a friend named William James, live a very strange life. They drive 55,000 miles a year in an old beat up van, using their money to buy tickets to major sporting events in order to hold up a sign reading, "John 3:16."
I don’t know if Roland Stuart is still doing this or not, but at least he was doing something to point people to Christ!
ILL.- One time many years ago preacher Dwight L. Moody was criticized because of the evangelistic methods he used. Moody replied, "I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it."
The sad truth is most Christian people do little or nothing to present a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. While the unbelieving world is shouting out its message, we go to church but do little outside the church to spread the message of Christ.
And if all we’re doing is saying "Amen" to the sermon inside the church and doing nothing outside the church to witness then we’re not reaching people for Christ.
The Lord doesn’t expect us to do everything, but He does expect us to do something. He expects us to be more alert to the opportunities around us to witness for Christ.
I Pet. 3:15 "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have..."
ILL.- One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand." The mother said, "Oh? What is it?" The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the world in His hand. Is that true?"
The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true, honey."
"But Mommy, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Is that true, too?" Again, the mother assured the little girl that what the pastor had said was true. With a puzzled look on her face the little girl then asked, "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"
If God is on the inside of us, He will show through to the outside! If the fire of Christ is burning on the inside of us, then that fire will spread to the outside and to those around us. We must constantly look for opportunities to witness, to testify, to invite, to encourage, and point people to Christ! We must evangelize fervently!
CONCLUSION--------------------------------
ILL.- An old Persian legend once pictured four angels watching God create the world. One said, “Why did God make it?” Another said, “How did God make it?” A third said, “Can I have it?” And the fourth said, “CAN I HELP TO MAKE IT BETTER?”
1st - philosophical attitude - why?
2nd - scientific attitude - how?
3rd - selfish attitude - can I have it?
4th - Christian attitude - Can I help to make it better?
The United States of America is not what she should be. And far too many have the wrong attitude about America. Some question why she is becoming so corrupted. Others ask, “how did America get this way?” And others just want all they can get out of America, not thinking of others. But the Christian person should be asking, “How can I help to make America better?”
