PRAY
Lord God and Father,
open our eyes so we can see Your truth.
Open our ears so w can hear Your voice.
Open our mind so we can understand Your Word.
And open our heart so we may receive all that You want me to receive. AMEN
This past week half the people in our nation were happy because of the election results and half the people were not happy about the election results.
America is becoming a divided nation because of man’s politics and it is a scary place to be.
America is also becoming a nation that depends less on God and that is an even scarier place to be.
1.2 million abortions each year.
3.3 million reports of children being sexually abused each year in the US. How many go unreported?
31% of all traffic fatalities in 2011 were cause by drunk drivers.
A national divorce rate of 51%.
Nearly 1 million same sex households were listed in 2010 in the USA.
Colorado and Washington legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner every year.
Families being torn apart every day in the US because of pornography, drugs, alcohol, and gambling.
And I could go on with more stats, but what I think is important about all of these issues is this, who is to blame?
Maybe the ones to blame are the same people who provide America’s only hope to avoid God’s judgment.
It is easy to blame the president of the United States or the Supreme Court. It’s easy to blame congress or the radical groups that lobby in Washington. And I will say that they are all a part of the problem.
But in reality, who should be the ones who are truly influencing our society? We should!
There are over 300 million people in the United States. In the US there are There are nearly 500,000 churches in America. Out of all the people in America there are less that 25% of them who regularly attend church 2 to 3 times each month. Only 41% of America’s go once monthly.
Out of the 25% who go to church regularly, I would hope that they are born again.
33% of all American claim to be born again. Even with that number of people claiming to be in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we should be able to make a difference in this nation.
There are plenty of believers in this nation who should be making a difference and yet it seems that we lose battle after battle in regards to the moral compass of the United States.
Could it be that the church is not suffering from the sins of the world as much as the world is suffering from the sins of the church?
You know it is so much easier to see the sin in the drunk, the hooker, the homosexual, the murderer, the thief and so on, but when it comes time to turn the examination on ourselves, well that is no fun!
Listen to what Jesus told us during His sermon on the mount.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16 NIV
I believe that the church in America has been too quiet for too long in regards to moral issues and in regards to the truth in God’s Word.
The church in America remains quiet on sin issues and then when the church does speak up and puts its foot down people just leave the church.
The salt has lost is saltiness and the church is afraid to stand up for the things it should be standing up for.
Because of our silence there is an erosion of Godly morals in our cities, states, and in our nation.
Even after what many called God’s wake up calls, the church continues to remain silent.
Wake up calls like the terrorist attacks of 9/11 or like the tsunami’s in 2004 and 2011, or hurricane Katrina or hurricane Sandy.
Yes, it’s true that people returned to God during these times but they left just as fast.
When we need God we are quick to go to Him but if we don’t need anything then who is our God?
Because the church in America has lost its saltiness we have become ineffective in the work we are called to do by God.
The church in America as a whole has neglected the lost. We have been called by God to reach the lost with the full Gospel message.
We have been called by God to bind up the wounded and heal the broken hearted.
We have been called to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
We have been called to proclaim the truth of God and stand firm in that truth.
And yet so many in our churches today sit back and think that it is someone else’s job. They will let the Pat Robertson and the 700 Club do it or TD Jakes or Tony Evans.
But it is not Pat Robertson, TD Jakes, or Tony Evans that is going to go to your work place, your school, your grocery store, or any place else you go and tell them about Jesus or show the love of God to them.
Those are all good men with good ministries but it’s not their job nor is it my job to go where you live and work. It’s your job.
Could you imagine what Bismarck, ND would be like if all the born again believers in this town were telling others about Jesus?
If each of us in this church led just 1 person to Christ in 1 year we would double the attendance in this church.
And then if each of them led someone to Christ that is 4 times the growth.
The possibilities are endless if the salt would become salty again!
Not only has the church neglected the lost, but the church has failed to do good to all. We refuse to live by the Golden Rule, which says, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Today so many people are treated with contempt and shame and indifference. We make fun of them, we talk about them behind their backs, when instead we should be loving them into the kingdom of God.
The salt has lost its saltiness.
Something else that we need to see is that the church in America has begun to accept the worlds values more and more in entertainment, work, relationships and leisure.
The world’s way of doing things does not have a model for righteousness. The values of the world are failing, the morals are declining, the integrity is weakening.
The world has been teaching and the church has been accepting that all you need to do is what makes you happy, powerful, prosperous, and successful. And the world view will tell you that it doesn’t matter how you get those things. Step on who you want to get there, do whatever it takes no matter the cost.
These are not scriptural principles. They are the opposite. The Bible says that if we want to be the greatest that we should become the least.
We are at a very vulnerable moment in our nations history.
I don’t think that the implosion of America is imminent.
But the question that I am asking is, how much longer will God be patient before He decides to judge us for 54 million abortions, a celebration of homosexuality, rampant heterosexual immorality, marital affairs, separations, divorce, the implosion of whole families, rampant pornography, unprecedented murder and violent crime rates, massive deficits, unfathomable debt, and a weak and increasingly sleeping Church?
It is time the church in America begins to look at things the way we are supposed to be looking at things which is through the Word of God and through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
The Church has an awesome power that is available to us and with that power comes an awesome and unique responsibility to share the good news of the Kingdom of God with everyone else.
God has given us His Word, His Son, and His Holy Spirit to enable us to love others, share the good news, and make a difference in our world.
We have to stop giving into the influences of the world and get on our knees and get in the Word of God, and get together with other like minded people and overcome the enemy who rules this earth.
If we do not we will face the judgment of God. We know from Scripture that our disobedience to God will lead to sin and that sin will lead to death.
The disobedience of Adam brought sin and death into the world. But Jesus’ perfect obedience to God restored our fellowship with God. And just as Jesus was obedient we to should be obedient unto God.
For as by the one man's [Adam's] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's [Christ's] obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:19 ESV
There is only one hope for America.
We do not have to follow the influence of this world any longer. We do not have to settle for churches that are neglecting the lost. We do not have to watch people treated poorly. We do not have to sit by waiting for someone to do something good for others.
On the contrary, the church which is called to follow God are the very ones who hold the only hope for America.
What is it going to take to bring this hope to our nation?
It is going to take churches that are not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Romans 1:16 NIV
In the book of Esther, we see an important principle that applies to the church today.
Esther, was a Jewish woman who was made the Queen of Persia. Sometime after she was made queen a plot was devised to have all the Jewish people in the kingdom put to death. The king of Persia approved of this plan not knowing that his queen was Jewish.
In Esther 4 she is persuaded by her cousin Mordecai, to help the Jewish people by speaking to the king.
At first she was hesitant to go to the king but Mordecai said something to her that made a lot of sense.
“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:13-14 NIV
Esther had to make a decision. She had to lay her life on the line so that deliverance for the Jewish people would come. She understood that her position would not save her nor would any amount of money. Only God was going to be able to deliver them.
And something else that was on her mind was that God’s judgment would fall on her and her family if she did not do what God was calling her to do.
She was so aware of all of this that in Esther 4:16 she said, “And if I perish, I perish.”
She did what she had to do, she did what she was called to do. God had placed her in that position for such a time so that He could deliver the Jewish people once again.
She was the minority. And yet, God delivered His people.
Today there are over 300 million people in the United States. In the US there are There are nearly 500,000 churches in America. Out of all the people in America there are less that 25% of them who regularly attend church 2 to 3 times each month.
We are the minority!
And we were placed here at this time for a reason. The church is not here in America by accident. Prairie Family Church was not planted 15 years ago by accident. And you are not here today by accident.
God has placed us here. Just like God place Esther as the queen of Persia. God is good at placing people where they need to be and when they need to be there.
He has been doing it for a long time. He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden.
And just as God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to work it and watch over it, we to have the same responsibility today.
Adam worked the land which meant that he developed its potential so that it would provide all that he and others needed.
Adam watched over the land. He guarded the land. He was in charge of the land.
As God’s children we have the same responsibilities. That is what being a Kingdom Man and a Kingdom Woman is all about.
The time has come for the church to wake up, get up, and get out and do what it is supposed to be doing because we know what the only hope for America is.
The only hope for America is to turn to the living God.
It is time for the church to call generations of people to Christ. It is time for the church to infiltrate every area of society and become agents of change so that the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of the United States will become the Kingdom of God!
It is time for the church to bring hope to this nation.
How are we going to do this?
1. We need to make sure we are living for God ourselves. We need to repent of our sins and make a commitment to God that we are going to follow Him.
2. We need to make sure we are following His rule book and living by His Biblical principles.
3. We need to spend time with God in prayer and worship. Not just at church although that is important. We need to cultivate a lifestyle of prayer and worship in our lives.
4. We need to live our lives for Him when we are outside the church walls. People need to see a genuine life of faith when we are at school and at work and at play.
5. We need to share the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom of God with them in our words and in our deeds.
We must be agents of change in our world today and that change is to bring people back to God through Jesus Christ. He is the only way to God and the only hope for America is found in us turning to God.
That is why God said, “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.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
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