"LEARNING TO BE A MODEL PARENT"
Luke 1:30-38
Posted May 2, 2001
PLEASE GOD, BLESS AMERICA, AGAIN!
As Christians, we are not primarily Democrats and Republicans, we are Christians. Our goal in life is not to promote the cause of a political party, but to promote the cause of Christ and His Word. Our highest calling is not to express a political agenda or philosophy, but to share the good news of our Savior.
One can be a Democrat, an Independent, or a Republican, because we are first Christians. There can be honest and heated debate on policies that affect our Nation, our State, and our County. Because one Christian does not agree with another on an issue doesn't mean that person is any less a Christian.
However, there is a time when Christians must speak out on subjects that at first glance appear to be political but which are in reality moral.
Never in my life-time have there been more clear choices on such important moral issues. We may never again have the opportunity to stand up and vote on matters of such extreme urgency.
Folks, I love America. I love what America stands for. I love our flag, and what it represents. I believe America to be the greatest country on the face of the earth. As Francis Scott Key wrote, we are the "Land of the free, and the home of the brave".
Our America has seen the hand of God's blessing again and again.
In our America we are protected by law this morning to meet, to pray, to share God's Word, without governmental interference.
In this America, we are free to say what is on our mind. The newspapers are free to write what they want. We can and many of us have criticized certain things in our government and we are free, rather than in prison.
In this America the government recognizes and protects the unalienable rights of each and every citizen. Those are protected by the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of the United States.
This is America - The land of the Free - Home of the Brave.
My friends, as much as I love my Country, I've got to tell you something many of you already know. Our country is in trouble. God is not blessing our Country as He has in the past. Some things have got to change. Some things really concern me. Some things I believe really concern God.
I want God to bless America....the land of the free and the home of the brave...
Today, I have chosen some moral issues we face as a nation. I am going to address them from a biblical point of view.
I am a Minster of the Gospel. I am a spokesman for His Word. At my ordination on May 28, 1978, I made a pledge to "Preach the Word" when it was popular to do so, and when it is not. In America today, some of the things I am going to share with you, are not popular. In some parts of our America today, it is unwise and dangerous to say some of the things I will share with you from God's Holy Word.
But they have to be said, they have to be heard. For it seems to me, that the time to change the course of events in our society may be now, or never.
1. GOD BLESS AMERICA IS A PRAYER SONG.
Listen again to the words of this famous song:
God Bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her, and
Guide her, through the night with a
Light from above.
From the mountains
To the prairies, to the oceans,
White with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home,
God bless America,
My home sweet home.
As Christians, we are pilgrims in this land. I know spiritually our citizenship is in heaven.
We are citizens of America. We know the rich heritage of our country. We are aware of the struggle for religious freedom that brought our forefathers to this continent. We know the blessings of God that have been bestowed upon this country and it's people.
This song, reflects my prayer for America, and the prayers of many bible-believing people across our country.
We want God to bless America....the land of the free and the home of the brave.
One of the first lessons we learn in life is we do not always get what we want.
We want God to bless our Country. We need His blessings for the security of our children and our grandchildren.
The big question this morning is, while we sing God bless America, and as we pray for God to bless America...
If you were God, would you do it?
If you were God, and looked down at America would you answer your people's prayer? Would you bless this country?
2. GOD BLESS AMERICA - WILL OUR PRAYER BE ANSWERED?
Can God Bless America....when?
In our Country the egg of the Bald Eagle is more sacred to the heritage of our nation than a baby in the womb of his/her mother?
In our Country the habitat of the Spotted Owl is more worthy of protection than the habitat of an unborn child.
One of the saddest events to occur in our Country was the legalization of abortion. The killing of the unborn child who did not ask to be brought into the world.
In the Old Testament the Canaanites worshiped their god "Molech". God issued instructions to Israel regarding how they should view the worship of Molech, and what would occur if they worshipped in this manner.
The worship of Molech is described as follows: "The image of his idol, made of brass, resembled a bull sitting up on its back legs with its front legs extended so as to form a sort of platform. On this platform, once the statue had been heated till it was burning hot, infants were placed to fry to death. Part of the worship consisted of the priests' beating drums and cymbals to drown out the screams of the burning child."
The scripture tells us:
Leviticus 18:21 "Neither shall you give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord."
Jeremiah 32:35 "And they built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through {the fire} to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin."
Perhaps the most important instruction is found in Leviticus 20:1-4
The worship of Molech is punishable by death! [2]
Interestingly, verse 3 tells us God will cut off the person who sacrifices to Molech, after he is dead.
Verse 4 cannot be overlooked. Listen to it from two other translations:
"If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death..." (NIV)
"And if the people of the land pretend they do not know what the man has done and refuse to put him to death..." (TLB)
In America today, Molech is worshipped under another name. It is referred to as "A woman's right to choose". And in this name we have degenerated into another group of Canaanites who are more sophisticated. We kill them before they are born so as not to have to hear the screams....but if you listen closely, one can not help but hear the silent screams of so many children dying in the safety of a mother's womb.
Can God continue to bless America...the land of the free and the home of the brave, when He destroyed a civilization that practiced what we practice.
When we say we'd never do that, what about being aware it is going on and doing nothing to stop it? We cannot bury our heads in the sand, hoping this abomination will go away.
It is no longer enough to just pray or sing "God Bless America", it is time we do what we can so that Our Heavenly Father can bless America...the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Can God bless America when...
Our Country promotes as an alternative life style Homosexuality. It is one thing to allow the homosexual the rights to rent houses, buy land, have jobs, and protect their right to live their life-style. It is altogether another thing to suggest our Government should allow them "minority rights status", or special status.
It is another thing when the government schools promote and educate our children saying homosexuality is another alternative relationship choice.
For centuries homosexuality has been a moral issue. It has been wrong, and illegal in most States. In the last ten years homosexuality has become a political issue, coming back to freedom of choice. It should never have become a political issue. However, when a society refuses to call wrong, wrong, one avenue to govern life-styles is in the political arena.
What does Bible Say about Homosexuality?
The Bible says Homosexuality is an Abomination!
Leviticus 18:22 'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."
The word "abomination" is a Hebrew word meaning a loathsome and detestable act.
Verse 22 from the Living Bible "Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin."
The Bible says Homosexuality is a Detestable Act.
Leviticus 20:13 "If {there is} a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them."
The Bible says Homosexuality is a Depraved act committed by Haters of God.
Romans 1:27-28 "and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper"
Romans 1:30, 32 "slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."
The word "depraved" is a Greek word meaning "not standing the test, rejected". The homosexuals choice has been rejected by God and called "indecent".
They are termed as "haters of God" and are worthy of death, according to Paul. These are not my words. Perhaps the "death" is spiritual death rather than physical.
The last phrase of verse 32 speaks of people not homosexuals who give their "hearty approval".
To stand back and say, "live and let live" is not wise. To pretend the problem does not exist, and will somehow go away, is naive.
The Bible graphically tells us how God feels about homosexuality.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah details God's disfavor toward homosexuality. The account is found in Genesis 19.
Abortion and Homosexuality are wrong. There is no way I could stand before you today and share with you anything less than God's truth on this subject.
Neither issue should have ever become political in nature, for both are moral issues. However, they are today political issues that we as Christians need to take a moral stand on. I urge you to do that in your support of the political candidates, as well as in the ballot measures.
3. GOD BLESS AMERICA - AGAIN!
I asked a few moments ago, if you were God would you bless America...the land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?
Could you bless America when you had destroyed other civilizations for practicing the very abominations that are running unchecked and rampant in our Country?
Is God blessing America?
America today has severe problems with Drugs, Gangs, Sexual Abuse, Divorce, Homelessness, a four trillion dollar national debt that is devastating our economy. We have an economic crisis in America. We have a nation that borders on violent chaos, evidenced recently in the Los Angeles riots.
God has not stopped blessing America, but it does not seem He blesses us as He at one time did. Why?
America has walked away from God. By so doing we have lost our moral bearing, and become an amoral society.
Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
Christians have set back and allowed this decline to take place. My friends, we have not prayed as we should have prayed. We have not been evangelistic as we should have been. We have not followed Paul's counsel as we should have.
Ephesians 5:11 "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them..."
To a very large degree we have sit back telling ourselves we are the salt of the earth, and what great lights we are, and how we are going to do something for the Lord.
The Churches have to stop talking and start doing. We've already allowed it to go too far.
The bible tells us to "...prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."
Many are saying we need a change in America. We certainly do need a change. If God is to bless America, there must be a change.
Please understand what that change must be. Some are suggesting we need a change in the White House because of the economy.
If we believe as Christians the economic woes of this country are related to the Man in the Oval office, we might be a bit naive.
The economic woes of our Country are due primarily to our departure from God, His Word, and morality. God will not bless us economically, or monetarily as long as we are on the road to moral depravity.
The change that needs to occur for the sake of our Country, the sake of our children, the sake of our freedom, and possibly for the sake of our entire society as we now know it, is a change back to morality.
That change can begin as we pray for it, work for it, vote for it, and elect men and women who will take a stand for God, and for morality.
Morality means pro-life and pro-heterosexual, not kill the babies and make the homosexuals a minority.
As we vote as Christians, do not confuse economic recovery with a new administration, but with an old ideal...
2 Chronicles 7:14 "and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Those of you who have been with me over the years, know I do not often preach messages with a political overtone, even though I personally have a great deal of political opinions and subscribe to a political philosophy.
However, there comes a time when one must speak out on the moral issues facing our nation so we as Christians can be challenged to vote for change. There comes a time when we have no choice but to "preach the word in season and out of season..."
Abortion and Homosexuality are wrong. They are an abomination to God. They are decimating our Country and undermining our National Security, for as long as they exist, God may not bless America.
Someone recently asked me if the new found religious freedom and hunger for God in the former Soviet Union is God's way of preparing another nation for the Gospel, for we are on our way to destruction.
My only answer is I hope not. I love America, I love what it stands for. It grieves me to see her great stature begin to crumble from within.
Two stories as we close...
William H. Hinson, in his book, SOLID LIVING IN A SHATTERED WORLD (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1985), tells about some sheep ranchers out West who came up with an age-old problem--a problem that concerned a mother sheep and her lamb. When the ranchers let the ewe and her lamb go out to graze in early winter, the mother sheep wouldn't feel the drop in temperature or the snow falling. She would continue to walk and forage until, finally, the little lamb would die of exposure. The ranchers struggled with this problem. How on earth could they get the ewe to come back to the safety of the barn? Finally, they came upon a very practical solution. They brought all of those sheep into the corral, and taking some electric clippers, they quickly shaved the wool from between the ears of the sheep, exposing the tops of their heads, and then released them. This time, as the sheep walked across the plains, with the temperatures plummeting and the snow falling, for the first time in their lives, they felt it, and when they felt it, they went back to the barn and took the little ones with them.
Maybe some of us need a little patch of wool clipped between our ears to give us a sensitivity to the fact that our lives are getting out of control.
In Ancient China, the people desired security form the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great Chinese wall. It was so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall's existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over the top. Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying upon the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children. [Sunday School Times]
Folks, someone left the gate open....isn't it time we help close it.
It is our hope and our Prayer that God will bless America. But it will mean more than just singing a song, or praying a prayer. It will mean taking a stand as unpopular as it is.
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