It's Time To Stand
Earlier this week, I was kind of stuck in a rut. I am sure that many of you have had that happen to you, and it happens to pastors as well. In short, I felt somewhat "stuck in neutral". The game plan, after a sabbatical of sorts from preaching in Revelation was to return to Chapter 12 of that book; in fact, I had already laid some of the groundwork to do just that.
As one should do anytime that they are down, "stuck in neutral" or just a bit confused about direction, I went to the Lord and sought His direction. Well, I have to say that ever since that morning in prayer, God has clearly shown me a path to take for the next few weeks. As much as I would like to return to Revelation, it is not the time. In fact, this message comes at a time unseen prior and unforeseen by most people in our country.
If we have not lost our country already, we are losing it rapidly. I am concerned about many different issues in our country, but what nearly every one comes down to is this: we have, by and large, abandoned God. We are reaping what we have sown, and the seeds that have grown into weeds that are stifling our country were planted decades ago.
Is this type of thing new? Not at all. Throughout the Old Testament, you can see the cycling up and down of the relationship of Israel with God: God would bless Israel, Israel would become fat and happy, complacent and fall into debauched living and idol worship. God would then bring judgment upon the nation, the people would cry out to God for vengeance against their enemies and prostrate themselves before God. Then, God would bless Israel, they would become fat and happy, complacent and fall into debauched living and idol worship and the cycle would go on and on. Finally, God sent Babylon after Israel, Israel was taken captive and in multiple invasions was transported to Babylon, Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed and laid waste. From that point onward in time, Israel had been under the control (with a few exceptions) and was scattered to the wind and across the world until 1948 when Israel was regathered.
It is said history is bound to repeat itself. This is so true; time and time again countries rise and countries fall. In fact, our country, two hundred forty six years old, is among a handful of countries with such longevity. Why? Because our country was founded as a Christian nation.
I feel led--no compelled--to preach this series of messages that will answer key questions: Was our country founded as a Christian country--or not? Should we, as Christians, "mix politics and 'religion'"? Should we disagree with our governmental leaders? What about topics such as abortion, legalization of drugs (marijuana), gay marriage and gambling? Buckle up-it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
The Ten Commandments And America
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
I think that before we get into the topic of America's Christian heritage (a deep subject worthy of at least one week or more of devotionals) we need to look at a basic subject: The Ten Commandments and America.
I start with this subject because, if you give this some thought, a proper moral compass has it's foundation in the Law. In the last week, there was a big kerfuffle in Fayette County concerning the covering and eventual removal of a monument listing the Ten Commandments. This monument, in front of a junior high school in Connellsville, was covered over by plywood along with the removal announcement in response to a the threat of a lawsuit from a law firm in Pittsburgh. The plaque has been in place for 55 years, and due to the outrage of people in the area, the school board has reversed it's decision and is keeping the monument for now and await a lawsuit. I applaud their decision.
I saw a picture of the covered Ten Commandments monument on Facebook, and made a comment concerning that monument. There was, of course, a firestorm of comments that followed both those for and against the monument. There were, however, one continual comment that flowed through that Facebook thread in favor of keeping the monument in place that is both puzzling and troubling at the same time: "If you don't like the Ten Commandments, just ignore them". Actually, I think that is a large part of the problem; Christians ignore the Ten Commandments!
I heard this question asked a few years back, asked by Ray Comfort, to teens at a local mall, and I ask you the same question: how many of the Ten Commandments can you name? While it was a bit humorous in a sense, it was also quite sad as most of the teens could name one or two at the most. However, when asked to name ten brands of beer, almost every teen complied without a hitch.
How many of the Ten Commandments can you name? One? Three? Seven? All? If you cannot name them, then how in the world to expect to live by them?
In the above verse, we are told that "time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God". This is not judgment in the sense that the church is going to Hell; Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all that repent, believe and trust in Him, and once a person is saved it is for good. However, being saved does not mean that you are saved from the persecution of the world (even small as we often see it in America). Also it does not mean that you will be spared from God "taking you to the woodshed" should you not act as you should (Hebrews 12:5-11). We can also look at this passage in another way; we as the church need to judge ourselves before we even think of looking at what the world is doing, lest we be labeled hypocrites.
The Resetting Of The Moral Standard
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20:2-3
The phrase "the Lord thy God" is repeated five times in this section (Exodus 20: 3, 5, 7, 10, 12) to remind the people of the authority behind these commandments. Moses isn't reporting "ten opinions" that he heard from a friendly counselor, but ten commandments spoken by Almighty God. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary
"Our country lives as though there is no God." How many times have we heard that? I have heard that, and said that, many times. But how many people that profess Jesus Christ seem to only act as though He exists only on Sunday? We see this filtered throughout society; those considered conservative today would have been considered liberal 50 years ago. God's standard has not changed, but people have, in there own mind, moved.
It's like the high jump competition we saw in the Olympics; there is a standard, or bar, for the athletes to jump over. In that competition the bar progressively moved until no athlete can clear or jump over that standard. Wouldn't it be ludicrous if the athletes were told that they were jumping over a standard of seven feet, when in fact they were jumping over four? Sure it would--and that is what has happened to the church. And how the church goes, the country goes.
I submit to you that the church--God's people--have failed greatly in that we have allowed the resetting of the moral standard. How? We have allowed society to get away with all sorts of things by maintaining our silence. Let's take a look an how Christians have failed at this, how we have ignored the problem and now it's time to pay the piper so to speak.
First, we have often not treated God as God--the First Commandment. There have been, and always will be, those that say there is no God. People do not want to be answerable to God, therefore they say God does not exist. However, just as troubling is the thought, contrary to the First Commandment, that there is more than one God. Let's clarify that.
It is a common thought in our society--and also amongst many that claim Christ--that the God of the Christian, the Muslim, the Mormon, the Jehovah's Witness and other religions of the world is the same God. There is one God, and He is the God of the Bible; He is the first Person of the Trinity; He is the Father, Jesus is God the Son, with the third Person being the Holy Spirit. The Muslim denies Jesus as the path to eternity and the triune God. Mormons deny the Holy Trinity say that God was once a mere man and the Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Jehovah's Witnesses deny the Holy Trinity and state that Jesus is "a god" not God. Likewise, we make God less that God when we state "God is not...", and you fill in the blank. Wiersbe notes that "before Me", means "in opposition to Me". It is as though God is put in second place. Do you do this? Is God first in your life in obedience and creed?-JH
Idols In Their Hearts
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Ex 20:4-6
Of all of the Ten Commandments broken, this is probably the most abused with close competition from "bearing false witness" (lying). I think that idol worship is rampant in the church with people not even being aware that they have committed this violation. Now I will tell you that you might get a bit angry with me over what I say, but if you give it careful consideration I think you will think these comments are spot on.
First, we have made the church worship service less about the study of God and more about the worship of the form of worship. In short, some are worshipping worship and not worshiping He whom the worship is about. This is not a diatribe against contemporary worship because that would be hypocritical as our church uses a contemporary format. But is your church so into the music (contemporary or traditional) that the Word of God plays second fiddle? "I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name." (Psalm 138:2). God's Word must be predominant in the worship service because that study is the highest form of worship!
Second, when we make God to be other than whom the Word says He is we are setting up a false idol in our heart (Ezekiel 14:3). Some folks will say about a certain Scripture "God did not mean that" because of a person bias, and that makes God less than He really is, it puts limits upon Him. God is whom He says He is, whether you like it or not, whether it meets your particular sense of taste or not, or your theological model or not.
Third, we make idols out of stuff, and that stuff takes people right out of church. Here are two examples. Let's say you want to get a speedboat (or RV, or cabin in the woods, etc). You work extra hours to either pay for it in advance or you work extra hours once you have it to pay off the loan. Some folks will work Sundays taking them right out of church. But then, once you get that boat (or other premium item) you will feel totally stupid if you never use it, so that is where you spend your weekends (including Sundays). While having a hobby is a great idea and a great stress reliever, some people go to the extreme and make their lives all about their hobby and make an idol out of it. The accumulation of wealth (love of money) can be an idol as well.
Lastly, look at the idea of "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me". In short, what you believe will be adopted by your children and their children. Scary thought.
God's Day and Spoiled Brats
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:8-12, NKJV
Now before anyone goes ape on me and tells me that we are not under the fourth law, let me make it clear that yes, Jesus did say "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27b, NKJV). However, this is the same for all laws in regards for all Christians; the Law is meant for our good. Randy Alcorn compares the Law--the Ten Commandments--to guard rails on a narrow, winding mountain road; they keep the car from careening off the cliff and the Law's guard rails keep us from careening off the path into grave sin!
But there is, by and large, a huge number of people that skip out on church, only go when it suits them or only go on Christmas and Resurrection Sunday. Because I have just addressed this thought recently in devotional form I leave you with three thoughts. First, when you are saved, you become part of the body of Christ and a body without all of it's parts functional does not function well. You contribute to a dysfunctional body when you are absent because of your God-given gifts and talents.
Secondly, if the church is not important why were most of the books of the New Testament written to churches? Third, you miss the benefit of enjoying the gifts and talents of others.
Now the fifth commandment is one that I see Christians violating all over the place: Honor your father and mother. The main benefit shown here to being a good child is a long life. Let me explain why that is so.
Let's just suppose that Junior is born into a Christian family, and let's track two methods of treatment: God's Way and the World's Way. God's way says: "He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly." and "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." (Prov 13:24,29:15 NKJV). Why would this be the case?
Christian family #1, the one that does not "spare the rod", ends up with a child that understands 1) that the world does not revolve around him 2) there are punishments for breaking the rules and 3) True love is shown in raising a child right. Christian family #2, however, spares the rod and will hate what that child grows up to be. He will think the world revolves around him, will think he is an exception to the rules and end up having no respect for anyone other than himself. Christian Parents #2 will end up hating what their child has become, and the mother will be ashamed of what Junior has become.
"You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Exodus 20:13-16 (NKJV)
The first four of the Ten Commandments (only one God, no idols, don't abuse God's name, Keep the Sabbath (for the Christian this is The Lord's Day, Sunday, not Saturday) are god centered. The rest are man centered, with the last one being self directed.
Now let's think for just a minute. If you do not observe the first four of these laws, you will most likely not observe the rest or do a pretty poor job in observing them. That is what is wrong with the world if you give it thought; the thought that we are not a Christian country has led to man-made law and that is getting out of hand. We now have a flipped society with flipped laws that make no sense, which I will elaborate upon.
The sixth commandment is "thou shalt not murder". We all murder in our hearts as we hold hatred in our hearts toward people; don't deny it, you do. If you have gotten so mad at someone you wanted to punch them, that is hatred! But many Christians do a flip on the law with this statement "you cannot tell a woman what to do with her body", as a justification for the murder of abortion. Since the Roe v Wade Supreme Court case, there have been upwards of fifty million babies killed in the name of not telling a woman what to do with her body, and many Christians are in the fold on this one. Their blood has defiled our land, and we have bloody, guilty hands.
The seventh commandment is "thou shalt not commit adultery". Adultery is cheating on your spouse, even if sex is not involved as Jesus redefined this law in the New Testament. But, as mentioned before, premarital sex and cohabitation is the same thing as you are cheating on your future spouse. The Greek term for fornication is pornea, and it refers to any and all types of illicit sex. While there are some churches that stand firm on gay marriage, we have missed the big picture of standing firm against extramarital sex as sex is a gift to the married man and woman only. Churches do not deal with this sin any more because too many of those in churches today participate in this sin!
The eighth commandment, "do not steal", is broken in so many ways by Christians that I cannot list them all in half this weekly devotional! Folks lie on their tax returns, in essence stealing from the government. We do not tithe, and that is stealing from God, and much, much more.
The ninth commandment is not to bear false witness, or lie. Churches intentionally overstate their attendance quite often so as not to lose face or for others to perhaps think that their church is not blessed by God. It is easy to inflate the numbers, folks. They lie about how often they pray and study the Bible, as is evident in the lack of spiritual maturity in churches today and the movement of the Holy Spirit as well. I do believe the first step in solid Christian growth it to stop lying--to yourself.-
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:17 (NKJV)
This, the last of the Ten Commandments, strikes at the hearts and minds of the Christian. It is about what we think. Sin comes from thoughts, as nearly all sin is premeditated.
We as a church (local and universal) must confess our covetous ways. We want a big church like the one down the street (yes, I have to confess that I used to be like this). We want great music like other churches. We want a preacher like the one at the nice big brick church on the corner, the guy with the powerful booming voice and always preaches about love. We want people in that church on the corner to attend our church, the ones that are pretty, handsome and oh my never, ever smell bad. We want the folks that have high paying jobs so that they can give money in the offering plate so we don't feel so bad about not tithing ourselves.
There is nothing wrong with church growth--as long as it is biblical. Often we change things with our church to attract the unsaved and be "seeker friendly" to bring them in.
The key scripture for this series, Exodus 22:30, speaks of the corruption of the nation of Israel and how God could not find one man to stand in the gap (a breach in the wall, keeping enemies out of a protected city) for Him. God is looking for men, women and yes even children to be that one that stands in the gap for Him, but we must understand two things based on 1 Peter 4:17:
First, the church must learn to correctly judge itself. As outlined, using the Ten Commandments, we must judge our own self and also judge the path our church is taking.
Second, we must understand that this will not be easy and that you will endure persecution from those that are against God, because they will be against you. When we as a church stand in the gap, when we stand for those things that are right and just and true, we will suffer in a fire of persecution. Some folks may leave the church because of it; why? Albert Barnes stated concerning the term judgment in 1 Peter 4:17: "The word "judgment" here, krima, seems to mean "the severe trial which would determine character." It refers to such calamities as would settle the question whether there was any religion, or would test the value of that which was professed."
Two thoughts come to mind: first, judgment is like a refinement of gold, in that the impurities (dross) is removed by the heat applied to the individual. Secondly, persecution shows those that are possessors and separates them from those that are mere possessors.
