INTRO.- We prefer blessing over cursing. We prefer to be blessed by God than to be cursed by the devil or by anything that is evil, evil people included. And there are times we wonder about our country. We wonder if God has withdrawn His blessing from America. And we may wonder the same thing about our own lives.
Life’s difficulties make some people wonder, “Where is God?”
ILL.- Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (President from 1901 to 1909) once said, “The times are evil; that is, there is much that is evil in them. It would be to our shame and discredit if we failed to recognize that evil; if we wrapped ourselves in a foolish optimism and failed to war with heart and strength against the evil. It would be equally to our discredit if we declined to strive for good because we feared the strength of evil. There is much evil. There is much good, too.” Amen.
His words go well with the truth of scripture.
Ephesians 5:15-17 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
The days are evil. Why? Because the evil one still exists and lives on planet earth. It’s like the 1972 book by Hal Lindsey, “Satan is alive and well on planet earth.” He is but only because God allows him to be here and do his evil deeds.
Evil exists because the devils exists, but this doesn’t mean we have to contribute to that evil. This is why Paul said, “Be very careful how you live...” Make the most of your time on planet earth and don’t contribute to evil. Live for the Lord. Understand the Lord’s will and do His will.
We who are in Christ should never contribute to the evil in this world or in America! Instead, we should, we must live for Christ in every way and in every area of life: at home, at work, while we’re socializing, vacationing, etc.
I love it whenever I hear people in every day life take a stand for the Lord and speak up for Him. And speaking up for Him is the pathway to personal blessings and for our country.
ILL.- Sir Edmund Burke (an Irish statesman, author, orator, and philosopher who moved to England in the 1700’s) said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Job 1:10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.”
Who is speaking in this text? It’s Satan, the evil one and he recognizes what God has done to bless Job. People take note of those who are blessed by God. Don’t you want God’s blessing on your life and our country as well? Here’s how!
Psalm 72:17 “May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.”
PROP.- What is the path to blessing for us personally and as a nation? That path is listed in scripture.
1- We must receive God’s correction
2- We must have God’s friendship
3- We must trust God’s wisdom
I. WE MUST RECEIVE GOD’S CORRECTION
ILL.- Someone said that the handwriting on the wall usually means someone is going to get a spanking.
We all know about those days. We were either the one who did the handwriting on the wall or the one who did the spanking. And maybe both. Correction is a part of life and it’s definitely a part of the Christian life.
Job 5:17 “Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.”
Blessed we are if God loves us enough to correct us. Parents who just let their kids do anything they want and run wild are not doing them a favor. In fact, it’s almost like they are cursing that child. Parents who love their children will make the effort to discipline and correct them. AND SO WITH GOD.
Psalm 94:12 “Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law.”
Proverbs 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
The scripture tells us that as God’s children we must receive His discipline and correction in this life. And who doesn’t need it at times? Even the best of God’s people need correction occasionally. Even the Billy Graham’s of our world.
David of old was a man “after God’s own heart,” but whenever he fell into sin he needed to be straightened out. God sent Nathan the prophet to him who said to David, “Thou art the man.” (II Samuel 12) And Nathan was not pointing out David as being a Mr. Nice Guy at that time. It was after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. And God disciplined David for his sin.
While we may not commit adultery we have done plenty of stuff that the Lord wouldn’t approve of and this is why we need His correction and discipline.
ILL.- Backslidden State Most Miserable by John Charles Ryle. (10 May 1816 - 10 June 1900 - was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool, England) Ryle wrote: “It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose “backsliding” is the worst. A stranded ship, a broken-winged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins—all these are sad sights.
“But a backslider is a sadder sight still. That true grace shall never be extinguished, and true union with Christ never be broken off, I feel no doubt. But I do believe that a man may fall away so far that he shall lose sight of his own grace, and despair of his own salvation. And if this is not hell, it is certainly the next thing to it!”
I believe Mr. Ryle is right. I think many people are backsliders when it comes to God and Christ and so is America. Even though some people have called our country “Christian America,” I’m not sure that’s accurate.
If Christianity was the dominant religion in American it’s getting less and less. And perhaps it will take God’s hand of discipline to get us back on track.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
As much as we may not like be corrected, we must receive it in order to be blessed by God. The key is knowing when God is correcting you and letting Him do His work.
And when we recognize the discipline of God we should cry out, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!”
II. WE MUST HAVE GOD’S FRIENDSHIP
Job 29:4 “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house.”
Are you in your prime? How about your spiritual prime? We must strive to be in our spiritual prime in order to be blessed.
Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
Psalm 40:4 “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”
Psalm 89:15 “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.”
Psalm 119:1-2 “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”
ILL.- Bible Commentator, William Barclay said of Samuel Coleridge (English poet): “He is the supreme example of the tragedy of lack of discipline. Never did so great a mind produce so little. He left Cambridge University to join the army; he left the army because he could not rub down a horse; he returned to Oxford and left without a degree.
“He began a paper called "The Watchman" which lived for ten numbers and then died. It has been said of him, "he lost himself in visions of work to be done, that always remained to be done. Coleridge had every poetic gift but one--the gift of sustained and concentrated effort. In his head and in his mind he had all kinds of books, as he said, "completed save for transcription."
“But the books were never composed outside of Coleridge's mind, because he would not face the discipline of sitting down to write them out.”
How sad that Coleridge never became the man he could of and it was simply because he would not buckle down and discipline himself to do the work he knew he could.
I think perhaps there are many talented people in our world who are just like him. They could be but they will not be because they refuse to take the bull by the horns and do what needs to be done!
This especially holds true in our relationship to God and Christ. If we don’t work at this relationship we will never be as devout as we should be, nor will we be the friend to God that we should be!
ILL.- Someone said that some people have just enough religion to be miserable: Too much religion to be happy at dances and too little to be happy at Prayer Meeting.
Many people are more interested in having fun than in knowing God! But actually, the greater joy in life is to be found in a close relationship to God who is the author of joy! We must have God’s friendship to have His blessing on our lives.
III. WE MUST TRUST GOD’S WISDOM
Job 42:12 “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.”
Job had to go through many trials before God’s ultimate or perhaps final blessing came to him. Patience, however, is not our good suit! We must trust God’s wisdom of how He does things and wait patiently on Him.
Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Wait and trust.
Psalm 27:13-14 “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
Psalm 33:20-21 “We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.”
Psalm 37:7-8 “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.”
Psalm 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”
ILL.- We all tend to be like preacher Phillips Brooks who suffered times of frustration. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion and asked, “What’s wrong?” Brooks replied, “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.”
We Americans are always in a hurry. We want what we want right now. We want God’s blessing right now and are unwilling to wait on Him. Daniel mourned for three weeks, waiting to hear from God. Daniel 10. When we pray, we want answers and right now.
Joseph of the Old Testament spent years struggling with family troubles in that his brothers hated him and tried to kill him. Then Joseph went to prison in Egypt because Potipher’s wife tried to seduce him, but all during that time he was faithful to God. He waited on the Lord and was finally given the second highest position in Egypt. But it took many years before Joseph saw the riches of God’s blessing on his life!
ILL.- Preacher Dwight L. Moody’s favorite verse was Isaiah 12:2: “I will trust, and not be afraid.” He used to say: “You can travel first-class or second-class to heaven. Second class is, ‘When I am afraid, I will trust.” First class is, ‘I will trust, and not be afraid.”
That is the better way. Why not buy a first-class ticket? God’s will and blessing are best, but they only come as we humble ourselves before Him, trust Him and wait on Him. TRUE FOR US PERSONALLY AND TRUE FOR OUR COUNTRY.
CONCLUSION----------------------
Someone wrote: There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.Many people want something for nothing but it doesn’t work that way.
Salvation is the free gift of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ but His blessing on our lives comes at an expense. What expense? The expense of allowing God to correct our lives, becoming His friend and trusting Him explicity. We put far too much faith in ourselves, thinking we can do it. But we are utterly helpless without God’s help. He alone can bring blessing on our lives.
Likewise, our country is not what she should be and she will not get corrected without God’s help. Americans, just like all people, need to humble themselves before the Lord. He alone is the one who can lift America out of her selfish and sinful ways.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
