MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2021)
TEXT: Acts 7:51-52; Luke 13:34
Feelings of patriotism tend to flow rather freely at this time of the year. When we sing the "Star Spangled Banner," or hear a choir sing about America & the freedoms that we enjoy, we often want to stand up & salute or just do something to show that we're proud of our nation.
Sometimes we hear patriotic speeches which contain that ringing phrase, "I'm proud to be an American!" And we echo those sentiments, too. But think about it for a moment. Maybe what we ought to be saying is, "I'm grateful that I'm an American!"
You see, we could have been born in China or Pakistan. We could have found ourselves on the streets of some other nation this morning, wondering where our next meal is coming from, surrounded by squalor.
But here we are, in a nice air conditioned building, surrounded by beautiful people, in a loving church, in the great state of OK.
A. I am deeply grateful to be a citizen of the United States. And I trust that you are grateful as well.
ILL. A father was talking with his rather rebellious son & said, "Every person who lives in the United States is a privileged person." The boy answered, "I disagree." And the father replied, "That's the privilege."
We have the privilege to disagree. We have the privilege to speak our mind. We have freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, & the right of petition. We have freedom to hope & dream & pursue our dreams. We are free in so many ways!
We have these rights because of what our forefathers have done. You & I didn't earn the privileges we enjoy as citizens of this land. But I am thankful for those who did earn them & passed them on to me, & that is what I celebrate on the 4th of July.
ILL. During the 1800’s, Alexis de Toqueville, a famous French political philosopher, visited our nation seeking to uncover the secret of our greatness. He traveled from town to town, asking questions, examining every facet of our society, & then wrote his conclusions in his famous work, “Democracy in America.”
Dr. John McDowell, a Presbyterian minister, attributed the following statement to Toqueville. While proof is lacking that he is the author, Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, & Clinton have quoted it. And I believe the message is still relevant today.
"I sought for America's greatness. I found it not in her fields & forests. I found it not in her mines & factories. I found it not in her Congress & great tribunals.
“It was only when I entered her churches & heard her pulpits thundering against sin & preaching righteousness that I discovered her greatness.
“America is great because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
The soul of America is God. O beware, America, lest we lose our soul!
SUM. Folks, if we put our trust in education, we'll get what education can give us. If we put our trust in money, we'll get what money can give us. If we put our trust in government, we'll get what government can give us. But if we put our trust in God, we'll have everything we need, for all eternity.
B. Now think with me for just a moment. Do you remember the names of the great prophets of the O.T.? How about Isaiah, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or Jonah, or Hosea? And our list could go on & on.
But listen to the words of Jesus in Luke 13:34 as He approached Jerusalem, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets & stone those sent to you."
Stephen, the first Christian martyr, said to the angry crowd that was soon to stone him to death, "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts & ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?" (Acts 7:51-52)
Why were prophets treated in such terrible ways by their own people? Why didn't the people honor the prophets of God & listen to what they said? Because the role of a faithful prophet was to point out the evils of society, the things that were wrong in the land.
May I dare to be a prophet this morning? There is so much that is right in our land, but allow me for a moment to look at the other side, at some of the things that are wrong.
ILL. A few years ago a picture of the historic flag designed by Betsy Ross appeared on the front page of a Chicago newspaper, & underneath it was this caption, "It's time to check our stitches again."
APPL. Maybe it is time for us to check the stitches & to make sure that we are still the home of the brave, & the land of the free.
PROP. Let me call your attention this morning to three temptations that I think Americans are facing today.
I. TEMPTATION TO ENJOY FRUITS OF CITIZENSHIP WITHOUT TENDING THE TREE OF LIBERTY
The first is this, there is a very strong temptation to enjoy the fruits of citizenship without tending the tree of liberty.
ILL. Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon a number of years ago entitled "Parking on Someone Else's Nickel." Obviously the sermon is pretty old because you don't park anyplace for a nickel anymore. But the point is true.
ILL. I have a friend whose hometown had only one street with parking meters on it. He says that when he was a teenager he remembers driving up & down Main Street looking for a place to park.
There were always plenty of parking places because not too many people lived in his town. But not just any parking place would do. He always looked for one that still had time left on its parking meter.
And when he didn't find it going down one side, he would make a U turn & go back the other. He might burn up a gallon of gas looking for a parking meter with some time left on it. But when he wheeled into one that still had 30 minutes left it made his day. He was parking on someone else's nickel!
APPL. I wonder if that is a problem in our country today? Most of us haven't earned the freedoms we enjoy. We didn't go to foreign lands & fight for them. We have not shed our blood & sweat & tears for them. We are parking on someone else's nickel.
ILL. The poet expressed it well. "We eat from orchards we did not plant. We drink from wells we did not dig. We reap from fields we did not sow. We are warmed by fires we did not kindle. We are sheltered by roofs we did not build.”
I am thankful to be a citizen of these great United States. But as a citizen, you see, I have a responsibility to tend the tree of liberty.
Is the world a better place because you are a citizen of this country? Is our community a better place because you are a part of it? Is our church a better church because you are a member of it? What are you doing, for heaven's sake?
Or are you like many, enjoying the fruits, but not tending the tree of liberty?
II. TEMPTATION TO ENJOY BENEFITS OF CAPITALISM WHILE IGNORING CONSCIENCE
There is a 2nd temptation & that is to enjoy the benefits of capitalism while ignoring the cries of conscience. I'm glad that we live in a capitalistic country. I don't think that is a dirty word. Capitalism means free market. We are free to buy, sell, make a profit to earn our own living.
But capitalism without conscience becomes a cruel & ruthless form of life where competition & success & greed & materialism corrupt & we lose our con-cern for others.
You see, when our forefathers came to this country & founded our system of government, they were convinced that there was a Higher Power who was involved in the destinies of men & nations.
They believed that men were endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights & that among these were life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.
This was evident in the way they wrote, the way they lived, & the way our nation developed. There was a moral fiber, a moral strength in our nation.
But today it seems that our society is so caught up in greed & materialism that we're only interested in ourselves. It is survival of the fittest, & all we're concerned about is making more & more. The result is increased crime, increased drug addiction, increased immorality.
ILL. A few years ago a man sent a letter to Ann Landers. He wrote, "This is for the woman who was distressed about her son. I would like to ask her some questions about the boy. Is he disrespectful? Has he been arrested for drunk driving?
“Has he been kicked out of college for cheating? Has he made his girl friend pregnant? Does he get failing grades? Does he steal money from your purse?"
"If you can answer `No' to all these questions, stop complaining. You have a great kid." It was signed, "Ralph N., Oakland, CA."
I didn't always agree with Ann Landers, but I do appreciate how she answered him.
She wrote, "Your letter showed just how much times have changed. You said that if a kid today isn't on drugs, doesn't get failing grades, hasn't been arrested for drunk driving, or kicked out of college for cheating, hasn't made his girl friend pregnant, or stolen from your purse, that he's great.
“But you make no mention of achievement. There's not a word about integrity, a sense of responsibility, decency, morality or service to others."
Then she went on to add, "What a sad commentary on our times. Good Lord, where is our nation headed, & who is going to lead us there?"
SUM. The soul of America is God, & we're in danger of losing our soul!
III. TEMPTATION TO WANT CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT COMMITMENT
Our third temptation is to want Christianity without commitment. I'm talking about a commitment & surrender to God that results in a changed heart & life.
For too long there have been churches who have felt that it's all right for nice people to get together in their Sunday best, listen to choir specials & sermons that make them feel good about themselves, their homes & families & relationship to God.
"Just tell me how nice I am, how pretty I am, how righteous I am. Give me Christianity, but don't talk to me about conversion. I don't want to change. I want to remain exactly the way I am."
Somehow along the way, in our celebration of independence & freedom, we have forgotten the greatest freedom of all. Jesus went to the cross & gave His life to gain our freedom from sin. And that is a message that you & I & our country needs to hear again & again today.
So let's salute the flag. Let's allow our patriotic juices to flow freely, & get goose pimples up & down our spine. But remember this, we didn't earn our freedoms. We may not even deserve them.
CONCL. Folks, I hope that you are humbly thankful to be a part of this great country of ours, & that you'll not take your citizenship lightly, but be determined to hold high the freedoms we enjoy so that the generations that follow us will experience & treasure them also.
And I pray that you, too, will be a real Christian who is hungry & thirsty for the truth of God, & that you will never compromise it, but share it with a world that desperately needs to hear the only truth that can guarantee our freedom for all eternity.
INVITATION: This morning we offer to you the invitation of the greatest liberator of all, Jesus Christ who gained our freedom on the cross. We offer you His sacrifice, & we pray that you'll respond to His loving invitation as we stand & sing together.
