Sermon Central
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The Audacity Of Faith - Inauguration Week
Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Jan 14, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: Talk about ‘change we can believe in’--you’ll never be more changed than when you believe in the real Messiah, Jesus Christ, and when you have the audacity to place your faith in ‘That One’. Link inc. to formatted text, audio & video, PowerPoint.
The Audacity of Faith
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/AudacityOfFaith.html
On Tuesday we will inaugurate a new President. It is truly historic, and I don’t mind saying that I’m still proud to be an American, and proud of the progress we have made toward racial equality. I’m not rooting for Obama to fail. I want success, morality, victory, and peace!
Christians should be people of hope. But though I am hoping for the best, I find myself some times fearing the worst. And that’s not good. Because fear is the opposite of faith.
Obama has run on a platform of hope, as you can see in this most popular poster of his [slide]. And I have seen some hopeful things from him so far, not the least of which is that his personal life at least seems a lot better than his party predecessor from Hope, Arkansas [Clinton ‘grope’ slide!] I thought that was pretty funny until I realized how sad it is.
Obama’s book is entitled, “The Audacity of Hope”. But when I sense my hope turning into fear I must look up in faith...and that’s the most audacious quality any of us can possess! You want to talk about ‘change we can believe in’ ... well, you’ll never be more changed than when you believe in the real Messiah, Jesus Christ, and when you have the audacity to place your faith in ‘That One’, well, there’s plenty of hope that will result.
During the campaign we all got used to the “Yes we can” chants at their rallies. But Biblically speaking... “No, we can’t!” Only God can and I hope we stay close to Him at this time! But Christians need to be positive people. We need to be realistic but it wouldn’t hurt us to be optimistic.
We need to be “yes we can” people to a certain extent. Answer me like you are at a rally--Can we obey the Bible’s commands for us to prayerfully support our new president? “Yes, we can!” Can we be above the racial innuendos that some are already spreading around? Can we show ourselves to be more mature than many who are actually hoping for another attack on our soil? Can we accept the result of the election as fitting within God’s will and trust Proverbs that the heart of the leader can be led by God’s hand? “Yes, we can.”
I said we need to be “yes we can” people to a CERTAIN extent. So where do we as believers need to draw the line?
Well, let me ask you—Can we sit quietly by and allow the abortion movement to make great strides over the next 4 years? “No, we can’t!!” Can we ignore the cries of the unborn and accept legislation that stands in stark contrast to God’s Word? Can we allow political correctness to silence us from speaking the truth in regard to homosexuality? Can we trade Biblical morality in for hopes of medical breakthroughs that could result from embryonic stem cell research? Should we join in the chorus of hero worshipers that want to set up a man as being a Savior? Can we give more priority to our wallets than to what is right and pleasing to God? Can we make room for socialism in hopes that we’ll get a stimulus check? Can we bow to peer pressure and give up in the global fight against terrorism, and try to turn into Switzerland? Can we allow our rights under the Constitution to be taken away? “No, we can’t!”
If they are allowed to take our guns away [2nd Amendment, right to bear arms] can we expect them to infringe upon our 1st Amendment right to freedom of religion? “Yes, we can!” There is a danger of the US turning into England again. May I remind you we left there for a reason? There’s also the danger of not existing anymore, nuked into oblivion, or of a social collapse that could turn us into something akin to a 3rd world country.
Let’s inaugurate some Bible truth now. I call your attention today to Daniel 3. We must keep in mind that this story is included in the Aramaic portion of Daniel. It is a part of God’s message to those who rule during the Times of the Gentiles. [including our age today!] It is a stern reminder that no man will circumvent the purposes of God. What He has decreed will come to pass. At the same time, this account is of great comfort to God’s people who must live in a godless world. Frequently in history, the Saints of God have been forced to decide between bowing and burning. Not all have been delivered like Daniel’s three friends were. Many have died for their faith. Yet, the name of God has always been exalted and the faith of God advanced when Christians have chosen to suffer rather than compromise their faith.
