In America we Trust???
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· 1 viewIn times of upheaval, who are we really trusting in?
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Open: Supreme Court Justice nomination process; the political divide in the US; continuing battle over abortion; racial disharmony; differences over immigration policies; and the moral rebellion of the homosexual & transgender activists. It appears that our country is being torn apart by our differences
Open: Supreme Court Justice nomination process; the political divide in the US; continuing battle over abortion; racial disharmony; differences over immigration policies; and the moral rebellion of the homosexual & transgender activists. It appears that our country is being torn apart by our differences
Transition: Given this current state of affairs, how is the church to respond? Some in the Church would even question whether it is even appropriate for the Church to respond at all. These have already given in to the culture. and want the Church to stay out of the public square. This of course, is not the answer. But however we respond, it MUST be from a position of confidence in God, not in fear of the culture itself!
Transition: Given this current state of affairs, how is the church to respond? Some in the Church would even question whether it is even appropriate for the Church to respond at all. These have already given in to the culture. and want the Church to stay out of the public square. This of course, is not the answer. But however we respond, it MUST be from a position of confidence in God, not in fear of the culture itself!
Believers are to place their confidence in Christ, not the Civic State (Jer 9:23-24)
Believers are to place their confidence in Christ, not the Civic State (Jer 9:23-24)
Explanation: It is easy for believers to misplace our trust. Ask any of us who we trust, and our answer will be “God.” And while that is the correct answer, do we actually live according to our answer? In many cases, the answer is “No, we don’t live as people of faith.”
We pay more attention to the Headlines than we do the Word of God. Many of us are riveted by the hearings of Judge Kavenaugh, or another high-profile scandal, or the damage of hurricanes and earthquakes. We tend to focus on the negative, and as a result, our outlook on the future is bleak and dismal.
Argument: Believers live in the already - not yet, and by definition that results in tension. We are called to be loyal citizens of our country, but more importantly, we are called to be loyal citizens of Heaven, our true home. While we live on this earth, we are to consider ourselves pilgrims and aliens - sojourners who are traveling to another, better destination.
When we put our roots down too deep here we can more easily fall into the sin of misplace loyalties. We can look to the State to provide for our needs and for our security. Not just our security from other foreign powers, but our security as in peace and comfort for daily live. This shows up in our being very concerned and disturbed by cultural upheavals. As the moral framework of the USA unravels around us, we should not be disturbed to the point of thinking “our country is being destroyed, and all is hopeless.”
In such times as these, we are called to remember that God is still on His Throne and He is in control. America is not the Chosen Nation, and the Kingdom of God will continue on even if America falls.
Application: How do we as individuals respond to this? Is our faith in our country or in the God of all nations? Consider our conversations in the workplace: If a non-believer is listening, would he or she hear any hope in your words or just despair and woe is us talk?
Call for Prayer for our nation, and more importantly, our confidence as believers in spite of the chaos
Believers are to be confident in God’s Provision: we are not forgotten ()
Believers are to be confident in God’s Provision: we are not forgotten ()
Explanation: In turbulent times, especially when the conflict hits home, we have a tendency to think that God cares little for us, or, even worse, He has forgotten us. We sense God is far away and we are left to fend for ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. God hasn’t moved - He is right here with us.
Illustration: Father tells the story of doing yard work with infant son. He was behind some bushes and the child was on a blanket with the family dog, (a big dog). A couple of women walking by stopped in alarm because all they saw was a baby left by itself with a big, vicious looking dog that might injure it.
Argument: It may seem to others, and even to ourselves that God has abandoned us, but that is not the truth of our situation. The disciples thought Jesus didn’t care about them in the storm () because they thought they were about to die. They had not yet heard the Truth of their situation. Truth was with them in the boat, and they were not perishing!
In the Isaiah passage, the Jews were complaining that God had forgotten them, and that He didn’t even see how bad their situation was. The prophet reminds them that the Eternal God is never unaware of His children’s situation and the answer is for us to trust Him and depend on Him - not anyone or anything else
Application: We suffer discouragement and defeat when we look on our circumstances. We are told in to look up! to gaze where Christ is, instead of focusing on earthly matters.
Prayer for God to change our vision & focus; that we may look to Him instead of our circumstances