February 5, 2017
Morning Service

Jerry has begun a sermon series looking at the church; what it is, where it came from, and what that means for us as followers of Christ and members of His church.  This morning, I hope to express how we, the church, should be reacting to all the turmoil our recent election has brought upon our country.  We as a nation have become much divided in regards to our new president and his choices on leading our country.  There are those who are extremely opposed to him, those who are extremely loyal, and those who are more or less indifferent about the whole thing.  I will not ask for a show of hands as to where you stand because that is totally your choice to make.  What we will try to look at this morning is how we, as the church, a united body of believers and followers of Christ, should be forming and expressing our opinions on these current issues.

This election, more than any other in my lifetime, was heralded as how one candidate would lead us to greatness and the other would lead to certain disaster.  It was set as a “feast or famine” result.  The people’s hopes totally relied on their candidate winning.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 Thus says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart departs from the LORD.  (6)  For he shall be like the shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.

·         The world is placing its hope and trust in the election of a man or woman to change the world.   It is very clear that we as the church are wrong to do so, even cursed in fact to live in a dry, unfruitful land without hope.  We become much like the children of Israel as they wondered in the desert for 40 years.  We may always be moving and doing, but we are not getting anywhere.  We are accomplishing nothing along the way impacting no one (unfruitful as a dry shrub in the desert).

·         This is also true if we build our foundation upon anything else but Christ.  When we trust in our career, money, power, or material things to be the base of our security or happiness we will be disappointed.  There is a perfect peace and contentment that comes only through a personal relationship with our Savior.

 

 Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.  (8)  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

·         Here is what we as the church need to be building our foundation upon; trusting the Lord for everything.   We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).  When our roots are dug deep into Christ, we will never thirst or be without the spiritual nutrition we need to survive and grow in Christ.

·         We are promised here if we trust in the Lord that we will always be fruitful and impact those around us (verse 8).  We (the church) will be able to change the world through Him who gives us strength.

 

How now can I apply that to my everyday life and let God shine through me? 

 

To Trust in the Lord means to be committed to His Word.  We must read and study our Bibles so we can know God’s definition of right and wrong; also of good and evil.  We will not be fooled by false doctrine, but will be grounded securely in God’s Word.  We will not quickly fall into line with those who have allowed themselves to believe the opposite of truth because we stand on a solid foundation of the Word of God.

 

Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

·         We are to be changed by the “renewing of our minds.”  At the marriage conference we attended one point that stuck with me was this; “If we think rightly, it increases the chances that we act rightly.”  Are we feeding our mind from CNN, Fox, or our Bibles?

·         What does the scripture tell us (the church) about respecting our leaders?

 

1 Timothy 2:1-3  First of all, then, I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,  (2)  for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  (3)  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

 

Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities. For there is no authority but of God; the authorities that exist are ordained by God.  (2)  So that the one resisting the authority resists the ordinance of God; and the ones who resist will receive judgment to themselves.

·         We must come to the realization that God is in control and is in control of everything.  Was He surprised by the election results?  Of course not!

·         Trusting God means praying that His will would be done even if it is different from ours.  He knows what is best and we must trust Him!

·         Are we then called to sit quietly in the corner and not be heard or seen?  Of course not!

 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NLT) Be on guard.  Stand true to what you believe.  Be courageous. Be strong.  And everything you do must be in love.

·         We are called to action and to stand up for what we believe, but we must do it in love.  Read I Corinthians 13 because it defines love.  It is not disrespectful, but honors those in authority up to the point we are told to obey them rather than God.  At that point we will choose God.

 

Lord may we as Your church be the ones to change this world through the guidance and strength of Your Holy Spirit.