Daniel 5 Reformation Church

Christ and the Reformation of culture is the only hope to save the world. Reformation = Repentance + Revival Salt & Light = 1. Honoring God + 2. Honoring God's Word Great Commission = 1. Prayer + 2. Preaching + 3. Power of the Holy Spirit

Notes

Transcript

Intro

How can America be saved?

When you start talking like that, someone’s going to say that’s Christian nationalism. You’re idolizing America.

No.

We want all nations to glorify Christ. That’s the Great Commission.

We just live here. This is where God has placed us.

We could say how could Canada be saved? China? Iraq? Any nation, and the answer will be the same.

Wholesale Reformation. That is our mission.

What does it look like? How do we have a Reformation in our day?

This sermons going to be a little weird, but I don’t want you to get lost and I want you to be with me to the end.

We are going to start off going through the whole story of Daniel 5.

Then after that, the last half of the sermon we are going to talk about what it means for us.

And I’m going to give you three points, or rather, three formulas to save the world.

But lets start with Daniel 5:1...

Story

Belshazzar Trusts in Idols

Daniel 5:1 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

Belshazzar is now king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar has been dead for about twenty years, and there have been a few kings in between.

In fact, Belshazzar’s father, Nabonidus, was still king of the Babylonian empire.

But wait a second, I thought Belshazzar was king of Babylon?

Well, Nabonidus had relocated his palace to rule the Empire from present day Saudi Arabia, and when he did, he left Belshazzar on the throne in Babylon as his co-regent. So Think of Belshazzar like a vice-king.

He is the king of Babylon, and his father is the king of the Babylonian Empire.

And Belshazzar threw a great feast and this feast was not just any other party.

Persia was at the door.

Nabonidus had just been defeated near a city called Opis which was around 50 miles north of Babylon where Belshazzar was holding down the fort.

And now nothing was standing in the way of Persia and Babylon.

Seeing his dire situation, Belshazzar throws this feast to rally the troops. To rally the leaders and the city to get ready to fight.

So this is not necessarily foolishness on Belshazzar’s part like its usually assumed.

This was a way Kings in the Ancient Near East built confidence in their leadership.

We aren’t going to be destroyed. We are going to win! There’s nothing to worry about. There’s no chance we lose so why not feast?

So they were drinking and eating, and Belshazzar gets what he thinks is a great idea.

Daniel 5:2-4 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

When Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar’s father he means his ancestor. He’s probably his grandfather.

But Belshazzar remembers that when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah he brought back the temple vessels and put them in the temple of Marduk.

This is what ancient nations did.

When a king conquered a nation, they took the idol of that nation and put them in their god’s temple as a way of saying either:

Our god is stronger than their god OR

Their god switched sides and now serves our god.

Well the 2nd commandment prohibited Israel from making an idol of Yahweh, so Nebuchadnezzar took the next best thing.

He took the worship of Yahweh.

With this in mind, Belshazzar says go get the vessels from Jerusalem’s temple so that we can drink from them.

It was a way of saying Remember how our gods defeated their God. We are not going to be defeated by the Persians.

Our gods are strong. They gave us victory once. And they will give us victory again!

And so they drank and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

So here’s what’s happening.

Belshazzar and the Babylonian Empire is staring straight down the barrel of its own doom and destruction.

And so what do they do? They turn to their gods for help.

They put their trust in idols.

And they used the very cups and vessels that were set apart and made to worship Yahweh alone to do it.

Instead of repenting of their sin and turning to God for deliverance, Babylon put their hope in idols to save them.

And here’s what’s so ironic.

The vessels are made of gold and silver. Why? Because those are the most valuable things on earth.

And when God says worship me with these things, with vessels made of gold and silver and costly metals, He’s saying if you want to worship me you need the best.

I am infinitely glorious, and the only way you can truly worship me is with the most valuable things you can possibly make.

That starts to shed new light on Christ’s blood being more precious than gold or silver. His blood brings us into true worship.

But what does Belshazzar do? He takes these vessels of gold and silver, and instead of worshiping someone greater than the gold and silver, he worships gods made of the same and even inferior things: bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

This is absolute foolishness.

These dead idols have absolutely no power to save.

Look at Isaiah 46:1-4.

Isaiah 46:1-4 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts. They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.

I love this passage. Bel and Nebo are both gods of Babylon.

And God says, “You know, these false gods say they can take away your burden. They can save you. But they themselves are burdens. They are so heavy the even weigh down beasts of burdens and make them weary.

How can they carry anything if they can’t even carry themselves.

But then God says...

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Don’t trust in false gods who can’t carry you. Trust in me.

I can carry you. I’ve been carrying you since before you were born, and I will still be carrying you after you die.

You are mine. I will bear you. I will carry you. I will save you.

This reminds us to put all of our hope, all of our trust in God alone.

But Babylon refused and so God did what He always does to nations who refuse to repent of their sin and idolatry. He brought judgment.

Daniel 5:5-6 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.

Immediately, while Belshazzar was still toasting his idols, he saw a human hand carve into a wall.

And when Belshazzar saw it, it terrified him.

In fact, when it says his limbs gave way and his knees knocked together, that might be a nice way of saying he wet himself.

He was that scared, and that was before he knew what the hand had even written.

So, verse 7.

Daniel 5:7-9 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.

At this point, everyone is freaking out.

So hearing the commotion, the queen in verse 10, comes into the banqueting hall.

Now this is probably the queen mother. Either Belshazzar’s mother or grandmother.

Verse 2 says all of his wives and concubines were at the feast with him, and the queen is old enough to remember the days of Nebuchadnezzar.

She tells Belshazzar there is someone in the kingdom who can read the message. Daniel, and since he has no other options, Belshazzar calls him in, and He says if you can interpret the writing, I’ll give you the same deal as everyone else.

I will give you wealth and power and make you the third ruler in Babylon, only my father and I will be greater than you.

Belshazzar’s Sin

Here’s what Daniel said

Daniel 5:17 “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation.”

Keep your gifts. I can’t be bought.

I’m just going to tell you the truth, even if you don’t like it. That way you’ll know whatever I say is what God actually says.

And so Daniel starts his interpretation by telling Belshazzar why God sent him the message in the first place.

Verse 18.

Daniel 5:18-21 “O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.

But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven...

This all happened in chapter 4.

God humbled this glorious king and here was the purpose.

until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.

God wanted Nebuchadnezzar and everyone else to know, He’s the King.

And in verse 22 we come to the point.

Daniel 5:22-23 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Here’s whats going on.

The way Daniel described Nebuchadnezzar, his greatness glory, and majesty. How all peoples, nations, and languages feared him.

All of that was a gift from God.

It this reminder of what we talked about last week. The State is not God.

Kings are given authority to glorify God and serve His Kingdom. Not themselves or their petty tyrant kingdoms.

No matter how high or powerful they are, they are still under the authority of God, and the King of Heaven will judge them.

Nebuchadnezzar learned that. He learned that all kings must bow down and serve Him.

That even the greatest king on earth is still nothing before the king of heaven.

And Daniel’s words are a jab at Belshazzar.

If Nebuchadnezzar who was actually great humbled himself and bowed down to God, it is ridiculous that Belshazzar who was only a vice king would lift himself up against the LORD of heaven.

God wants humble kings because humble kings serve Him.

Belshazzar, as a vice king gives us a perfect picture of everything a king should be.

He did not serve his own will, he served his fathers will.

He wielded his authority in a way, and only in a way, that would please his father.

That’s what every king is called to do.

But when kings worship idols, when they don’t serve God, they grow drunk on their own power and see themselves as independent from God and His authority.

Here was Daniel’s condemnation.

Belshazzar worshiped dead gods who do not see, hear, or know.

But the God who gave him breath and held his destiny in His hands Belshazzar did not honor.

So because Belshazzar raged against God, and led his kingdom to rage against God, God promised judgment.

Belshazzar’s Judgment

Daniel 5:24-28 Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.

When translated as verbs, Mene, Mene Tekel and Parsin says “Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.”

And Daniel gives the interpretation.

Numbered. God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.

God raises up kings and takes them down. He’s the true King. He’s the true Sovereign.

He rules over the kingdoms of men, and Belshazzar’s time is done.

God even says it twice to make it clear.

Weighed. You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.

This is the great truth that God judges kings and kingdoms.

And His scale is himself.

I gave you authority. Do you serve me?

Belshazzar didn’t. He lifted himself against God, raged against the King of kings and so God found him wanting, which brings God’s judgment.

Divided. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Your kingdom is going to be destroyed. I’m going to rip it away from you and give it to the Medes and the Persians.

And there is no God that can deliver you from my hand.

And even still, after all this, Belshazzar didn’t repent.

Verse 29.

Daniel 5:29-31 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

This wasn’t just Belshazzar being true to his word. By giving Daniel what he promised he was saying, I’d like to see God try.

He was going to defeat the Persians, and still have his kingdom.

But he was wrong.

That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Darius the Mede is probably a Babylonian royal name for Cyrus the Great, King of Persia.

Isaiah had prophesied that Cyrus would be the one to free the Jews from exile.

And when Cyrus conquered Babylon it was obviously a work of God.

History tells us that Babylon had enough supplies of ten years of more.

And yet, when Cyrus took Babylon, he did it without a fight.

The Euphrates river flowed through Babylon, and so to get past the gates and walls, Cyrus built a dam and diverted the river and his army entered in on the dried riverbed while the feast was going on.

And one of his men entered the palace and murdered Belshazzar.

Summary

Well what does all of this mean? Why did God put this in the Bible?

There are several avenues and paths we could take, but I want to look at two, and then from those two get to what it means for us.

First, what was God trying to say to the world?

A significant portion of Daniel is written, not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic.

Why that matters is because Aramaic was the common language of the world.

So when God writes this in Aramaic, He’s wanting the world to know what He’s saying.

And what He is saying is that God controls History. All History is is His providence in the world to glorify his own name.

And that all kings and rulers, even the highest kings and rulers the world had ever known are called to bow down to Him and serve not their glory and kingdom, but His glory and Kingdom.

Well, what about the Jew who first read the book of Daniel? What was God saying to them?

God was saying, that no idol has the power to save. Only God can deliver and bear His people’s burden.

That Babylon, the kingdom of darkness, exile, judgment, and the curse, was not forever.

God would save his people.

He conquered Babylon, and every new Babylon that raises itself up against the Lord will be conquered too until the day when all the kingdoms of men come into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

He’s drawing their eyes to the Messiah, the one who would deliver them, establish justice and righteousness and the Kingdom of God over the whole earth so that the blessings of Eden can rain down again to the glory of God.

So what does all that mean for us? How do we apply this story today?

I want to look at this from the perspective of mission. What’s broken in the world and what does God want us to do about it?

Let’s start with number 1...

I. Reformation or Judgment

There are two roads for our nation. Two roads for every nation, but God has placed us here so that’s what we are going to focus on.

Reformation or judgment.

Make no mistake, God still judges nations.

I think a lot of Christians think that’s an Old Testament thing, but its not, its a Christ thing.

Psalm 2:7-12 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The nations belong to Christ. They are called to honor Him and worship Him and Him alone.

And why Kings are singled out is because as goes the king, so goes the kingdom.

When a nation has wicked kings, its because they are a wicked nation.

Wickedness and injustice pollute the land, and only the righteous groan.

And so just like with Belshazzar, Christ weighs Kings and nations, and He weighs them against whether or not they are carrying out His authority and His will, and if they are found wanting, he breaks them with a rod of iron.

He brings them under judgment.

And that’s exactly what is happening in our country today.

We are under judgment. The curses God pours out on a nation for trusting in idols and rebelling against Him are things like wars, famine, disease and pestilence, draught and economic downturn, sin and wickedness growing more and more so that a nation might fill up the measure of their sins, might fill up the cup of God’s wrath that eventually overflows and leads to their ultimate destruction.

Do we not see all these things in our country today?

Romans 1:28-32 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Can you think of a more fitting description of America today?

And just two verses earlier, God says the pinnacle of judgment on a nation...the flashing neon sign that a nation has been given over to sin and idolatry and judgment is when homosexuality runs rampant in the land is celebrated and loved as a virtue, because it shows just how far we’ve fallen.

Just how unnatural we have become in every area of our life as creatures accountable to God.

Paul takes it further, when talking about the wickedness and unrighteousness of men he says...

Romans 3:13-18 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Lies, cursing, a lust for murder, read that as abortion, with nothing but death, ruin and misery in their path.

And here’s why. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

They do not worship him or honor him, they worship idols.

They take the good things God has given like the vessels from the temple, and they use these good things, not to praise God but to feed their lusts and idolatries.

Now here’s why I say all of that. The brokenness in our nation, the things that make us grown are not political, economic, or cultural problems.

They are spiritual problems. Idolatry problems.

We can talk all day about homosexuality, transgenderism and abortion. Those three huge manifestations of wickedness and rebellion against God.

But even if we could snap our fingers and make all of those things go away, it still doesn’t fix the problem.

The rot in our culture is so much deeper than that.

Think about how pervasive lying is.

Media. Disinformation. Independent fact-checkers.

When’s the last time you thought you could trust anyone out in the world. You can’t take anyone at their word. It always feels like someone is lying to you or hiding something from you.

Or take covetousness.

Everybody wants what everybody else has.

I want their money, their stuff, their life.

What God has given me is not good enough.

Or maybe the most fundamental problem. Fatherlessness and broken families.

Do you know why John the Baptist came to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children.

Because fathers teach their children to fear God. Honor Him. Worship Him.

Or when fathers aren’t in the home or aren’t doing their jobs raising their families in the fear and admonition of the Lord, you get…this.

A whole culture filled with people who have no fear of God before their eyes.

The rot is deep. And our culture feels it, but instead of turning to God, like Babylon they are putting all of their trust in idols who blind them from the truth and bring about their own destruction.

The answer is more government, more money, more programs and education. All we are saying is, we can save ourselves, when the only thing that can save us is Jesus Christ.

Our nation is on the road to judgment and the only thing that can change that is a wholesale, top to bottom transformation of every single level of our culture from the least to the greatest.

That’s why we need Reformation, and that’s why we need to be a reformation church.

Now saying that, that doesn’t mean if its God’s will to level our country that that discourages us.

Lord knows we deserve it, and our citizenship is in heaven.

Why we should hope for and work towards reformation is not because we want our life or our comforts or because we think America is essential for God’s plan in the world. Its not.

The reason we should give our lives to reformation is because we want Christ to be glorified.

All nations belong to Him. All nations are called to give Him glory, and Christ has sent the church to make that happen.

The results are the Lord’s, but we know what our job is.

So what is reformation? This is the first formula to save the world.

Reformation = Repentance + Revival

Repentance is turning from sin.

Revival is a work of the Spirit to take dead sinners and make them alive in Christ.

To pour out salvation and new birth and empower Christians to desire and live all of their lives for the glory of God.

Repent and believe. Turn from sin to Christ. And when you get a flood of people doing that that’s when reformation happens.

That’s when our country will turn from idols to serve the living and true God, and instead of judgment blessing to the glory of Christ.

Now God has to do these things. We can’t will it into existence.

Reformation is God’s work. It depends entirely on Him and His power.

But here’s the good news. He has entrusted us that power.

He has given us the gospel which is the power of God to save sinners and filled us with the Holy Spirit to boldly go and disciple the nations.

But its natural to ask how? How do we work towards reformation in hope that God will answer our prayers and reward our labor?

Well before we can start working towards reformation in the world, we need reformation in the church.

Point number 2...

II. Reformation Starts with the Church

Here’s the uncomfortable truth.

The state of the world is a reflection of the church’s faith and commitment to the Great Commission.

Why the world is what it is today is because the church has lost its saltiness, and has lost its light.

Matthew 5:13-16 You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We can’t call anyone to repent, honor God and fear Him if we don’t do it ourselves.

Peter says in 1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Would we withstand judgment or are we just like the world with a little bit of Jesus sprinkled in?

Let me ask it this way, if we want to be a reformation church, what kind of church does Reformation Baptist need to be?

A salt and light church.

Well what does that mean?

Salt & Light = Honoring God + Honoring God’s Word

Jesus said, If salt has lost its saltiness what good is it? Its good for nothing.

The reason the church has lost its saltiness today is because we no longer fear God.

Why would the world think that God is awesome, glorious, worthy of all honor and praise if we don’t believe it?

Do you exist to glorify God?

Now theologically we all say we do, but does that work itself out in practice. Is He our joy and our life? Our greatest hope?

Here’s the hard part. Fearing God means killing idols in our own heart. Anything we hold with a tight fist.

Anything we say this gives me life, this will save me, I can’t live without it.

Whether that’s money, pornography, respect, our job, or our way of life…we have to smash those idols, surrender ourselves to the Lord and say Christ alone.

We need to sharpen the arrows. Not only do we need to reform ourselves by the grace of God, we need to reform our families.

Are we giving everything to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

Giving everything to hand down the faith once delivered to all the saints.

Have the hearts of the fathers in our church been turned back to their children?

Here’s the idea. Honoring God means we are holy unto Him.

Be Holy for I am Holy.

Are we consecrated to the Lord, given wholly to Him?

If so, then the second part of the formula comes into play. Honoring God’s Word.

When Jesus talked about us being the light of the world, he said let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father.

If being salt is fearing God, being light is living like it.

Do we obey God out of love for saving us?

Transformed lives shows the world the gospel really does have the power to save.

But if we are not distinct from the world, if we live just like them with the same values, goals, dreams, and way of life, what are we really saying?

Jesus is great, but the world is where its at.

Now there can be some confusion here. What does it mean to honor God’s Word?

Of course it means obeying it, but does it mean we totally separate from the world? That we need to build a new commune and just go full Amish?

Hear Nehemiah 10:28 The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God.

Being in the world but not of it means being separated to the Word of God.

That’s what it means to honor God’s Word.

That we live all of our life, at every single level, from the top down according to the Word of God, and by the power of the Holy Spirit do everything we can to bring our lives into complete conformity to it.

So if we want to reform the culture, we need to reform the church first. It starts with us.

And that looks like being Salt and Light. It looks like honoring God and honoring God’s Word.

We gather to worship and fear Him and we scatter to the world to let our light shine and herald the good news of the gospel.

And that’s point number 3...

III. Reformation is Our Mission

If you really think about it, that’s all the Great Commission really is. A mission of reformation.

Matthew 28:18-20 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Now as we go about reformation, we need to keep our motivation in mind.

What’s driving us? Why are we working? Is it our comfort? Is it because we are afraid of losing our way of life?

Do we want reformation and our culture to change just because we don’t like what’s going on, or is our motivation the glory of Christ?

That all nations belong to Him and we want Him to receive the glory He deserves from the nation we live in.

One of those is living for the world and one of those is living for the Kingdom of God.

Remember Daniel. You can keep your wealth, power, and status in the world.

Do not love the world or the things of the world.

If we do there are two dangers.

Either, we will stop short. If God so blessed us to give us success, we would get to a point where everything is comfortable. Everything’s back to normal.

And we will stop pushing, cause it really wasn’t about the glory of Christ at all.

Or worse, we will become false prophets, so afraid of the hatred of the world, that we will just tell them what they want to hear.

In Micah 3:5 God talks about prophets who cry out peace when they have something to eat, but declare war on anyone who doesn’t put food on their table.

The idea is false prophets will change the message if they love the world.

Like Daniel, this world must have nothing for us. Christ and Him alone must be our mission.

Because Christ and Him alone is the hope for the World.

Cyrus was a type of Christ.

When Isaiah prophesied that he would free Israel from exile, God was giving us a picture of what Christ would ultimately do.

The only one that can truly deliver us and our nation from exile, judgment, sin, and the curse is Jesus.

Or as Acts 4:12 says There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

The answer to the rot that pervades our culture, the road to Reformation is only Christ.

The gospel is the only thing that can fix any of this. Politics, laws, morality, false gods and idols. None of them can bear the weight.

But Jesus can because he bore it on the cross 2000 years ago.

And it will be hard. The world will push back because men love the darkness less their evil works be exposed.

But look what the early church did when the world pushed back against their gospel that Jesus is the only one that can save.

Acts 4:29, 31 “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness”...And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

In this passage you have what I call the Three Ps of Postmillennialism, but since not everyone is Postmillennial, let’s just call it the Three Ps of the Great Commission and this is our last formula to save the world.

The Great Commission = 1. Prayer + 2. Preaching + 3. Power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s how God is going to save the world, and if He brings Reformation through our church this is how He is going to do it.

Prayer. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

It all depends on God. We do not do it. We do not build the Kingdom. God does. And He uses prayer so that we know who gets the glory.

If our nation is saved. It won’t be because of us. It will be because God was gracious to answer our prayers.

Preaching. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of Christ.

How will they repent and believe if we do not tell them.

And How will we tell them without boldness that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit.

If we want to fulfill the Great Commission these Three Ps are what we need to be giving our life to.

Be faithful servants. A faithful church. And let God do what He will.

Conclusion

How can America be saved?

Christ and only Christ.

We need Reformation. Repentance and Revival.

That’s the only thing that will take our nation off the road to judgment and onto the road of blessing and the glory of Christ.

Now we might look out at the world, and fill a pit in our stomach. We might see how far we have to go and feel hopeless.

I mean we are one itty bitty church. What can we do?

But doesn’t the Kingdom of God as small as mustard seed?

The question is do we believe the gospel is the power of God for salvation or do we not?

Do not forget what kept Israel in the wilderness and out of the Promise Land.

They looked and saw giants. They thought they were grasshoppers compared to them.

They did not believe God could do what He had promised.

And we know what God has promised. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Do we believe, our will lack of faith keep us out of the Promise Land?

And we might not see it?

Just like God told Belshazzar, He holds our life and destiny.

God will do what He has promised. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord (Psalm 22:27).

We might never see it this side of glory. We might not see the whole tree but only the first sprouts out of the ground.

But I know this. None of our labor will be in vain so why not live for Reformation.

Let’s Pray

Scripture Reading

Matthew 13:31-33 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

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