He Loved Us First

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 26th of July, 2015, after being on vacation last week.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I’ve had reason the last few weeks to give thought to what it means to love someone else.  I’m not talking about the kind of love between married couples or parents and children or family members for each other, although even those are sometimes difficult to maintain.  No, my thoughts swirled around how to love as Jesus would have us love.

And as I prayed and pondered over all this, the Holy Spirit led me to John’s 1st letter to the early church, and what he had to share with those first Christians.  Listen and follow along as I read from the New Living Translation of 1st John, chapter 4, verses 7 through 13 and 19 through 21…

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.

13 And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us.

19 We love each other because He loved us first.

20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

--1 John 4:7-13, 19-21 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You would think we know a great deal about love considering how many songs and movies and books center on it.  But Lord, loving others as You love us is difficult to grasp and carry out for so many.  Speak to us this morning Your message of love that we might better understand it’s true meaning.  In the grace-filled name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


One of my favorite comic strips is “Peanuts”, and I like it so much because it very often puts everyday normal life events and experiences into proper perspective.  Such is the case when Peppermint Patty exclaimed to Charlie Brown in exasperation: “You know what I don’t understand? I don’t understand love!”  Charlie Brown shrugged and replied, “Who does?”  Patty pleaded, “Explain love to me, Charlie Brown.”  Charlie replied, “You can’t explain love.  I can recommend a book or a poem or a painting, but I can’t explain love.”  Patty said, “Well try, Charlie Brown.  Try.”

So Charlie Brown begins, “Well, let’s say I see this beautiful, cute little girl walk by.”  Peppermint Patty interrupts: “Why does she have to be cute?  Huh?  Why can’t someone fall in love with someone with freckles and a big nose?  Explain that!”  Charlie stammers, “Well, maybe you are right.  Let’s just say I saw this girl walk by with this great big nose…”  Patty interrupts again: “I didn’t say a GREAT BIG NOSE!!!”  Charlie throws up his hands and says, “You not only can’t explain love, you can’t even talk about it.”

[Based on 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking by Michael Hodgin, page 215, #553, “Can’t Talk About Love”.]


There’s a lot of truth in that.  Sometimes it seems we can’t talk about love.  Our own perceptions and sensitivities get in the way.  We too easily become hurt or offended.  And finally we just give up the attempt.

And trying to explain love, as Charlie Brown found out, is almost impossible.  It’s sort of like “good art”…  we may not be able to define it, but we know it when we see it.  Sometimes, though, I wonder if we even know love when we do see it.


I love verses 7 and 8 of our reading this morning.  In this, the Apostle John tells us that not only does love come from God our Father, but that God is love.

The word most often translated as “love” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word “agape”, which is characterized by self-sacrifice.  Agape is not romantic or sexual love.  It does not refer to close friendships or brotherly love.

Charity can be seen as an aspect of agape, when it indeed involves self-sacrifice – the phrase “giving ‘til it hurts” puts charity into the agape mold.  The King James Version of our Bible even sometimes uses charity interchangeably with love – the best example of this can be seen by reading 1 Corinthians 13 in both the King James Version and the New King James Version, side by side.

But agape is much more than just charity.  It is love that is from and of God, because, as verse 8 affirms, God is love.  And God’s love is most clearly evident at the cross.

Verse 9 points to an example of how God loves us.  We’re all familiar with John 3:16 as an expression of God’s love, with Him sending His only Son into the world so that the world might not perish.  Well, I think the next verse, John 3:17, further emphasizes that love and shows God’s mercy and grace as well…

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

--John 3:17 (NKJV)

Jesus is God, and His great love for us is manifested in His allowing Himself to be sacrificed on our behalf.  But Jesus did not willingly go to the cross just for Christians.  He did not die just so the Jews might have a chance of being saved.  No, God gave us His only begotten Son that whosoever might believe in Him would have everlasting life!  Whosoever!  That means anyone – not just Christians, not just all the folks who try really hard to do what the Lord would have us do.

Jesus died for anyone and everyone that might come to believe in Him as the Son of God, turn from their sinful ways, and follow and serve Him as their Lord and Master.  Jesus died for sinners, for all sinners.  It’s up to the sinner to choose to return the great love He showed us by that huge sacrifice.  He loved us first.


Throughout His three year ministry, Jesus made it quite clear what He expects of us.  He should have left no doubt, as often as He said it.  But some of us have a tough time carrying out His wishes in this regard.  Again we can turn to the Apostle John’s Gospel account, chapter 13 verse 34, for one of those times Jesus gave us this command…

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

--John 13:34 (NKJV)

He loved us first, and He expects us to love each other just like He loves us.  That’s a pretty clear directive, isn’t it?  There’s no way we can mistake His intentions, is there?  Then why do we have so much trouble carrying out this instruction?  I can’t help but feel that it’s because we don’t really understand what it means to love someone as He would have us love them.  Like Peppermint Patty, we need someone to explain it to us a little better.  But rather than ask Charlie Brown, let’s go to Jesus Himself and what He might provide.

Do you remember the parable of the Good Samaritan?  That’s one most people are familiar with, how the hated Samaritan helped the injured Jew after other Jews, including a religious leader, passed him by.  The story can be found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 25 through 37.

In my opinion, Jesus uses this parable to provide us with an excellent explanation by example of what He means to love others, an example of sacrificial love, of agape.  Here He shows us we should be willing to sacrifice for the sake of others, even for those who might care nothing at all for us, even for those who might hate us and wish us harm.

Do we angrily rail at homosexuals and our government for legalizing same-sex marriage across our land, or do we use that action to open dialogues with others about the life-changing effect on a person that comes with accepting Jesus as Lord and Master?  Do we curse ISIS and radical Muslims for their horrible deeds and the evil they spread, or do we pray that our merciful Father God will forgive them and touch them in that very special way to soften their hearts and allow them to know Jesus and escape from their misguided beliefs?  Do we turn the other cheek when we’re offended, or do we strike back?  Do we forgive as we are forgiven?

Think of the church and the families of those so heartlessly slain at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.  How did they react to that terrible tragedy?  What was their response to the shooter?  Family, those good folk live and practice the love that Jesus requires of us.  Love without conditions.  Love without qualifications.  Love without ifs.  Just like He loves us.  And He loved us first.


Folks, as verse 10 of our message text says, this is real love – not that we love God, but that He loves us.  So since He does love us this much, as verse 11 points out, the least we can do is to love each other.  And if the parable of the Good Samaritan isn’t a good and timely enough example for us, we can use the people of Emanuel AME Church as our role models.

Then the beauty of verse 12 will come to pass, and God’s love will be brought to full reality within us.  His Spirit living within us is the proof of His love, the reminder to us of Jesus’ sacrifice, the gift of His mercy and grace.  And all because He loved us first.

But verse 20 cautions us to be truthful in our hearts.  If we feel hatred toward another person, if we hold any resentment or grudge or misgiving against another, then we must not truly love God and Jesus.

I really believe Jesus wants this applied to all mankind, not just those who believe in Him, because He never made any distinction in His own words.  And even John goes on to wonder how we could ever claim to love God, whom we can’t see with our own eyes and have to accept on faith, when we don’t really love those people all around us every day that we can see and touch and react to.

Jesus puts no conditions on love.  He shows no discrimination between believer and non-believer, nor between sinner and saint.  He simply wants us to love one another, as He loves us.  Because He loved us first.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord God, loving others should be such an easy task for us.  We speak so often of love.  We write books and poems about it.  We sing songs and watch movies centered on it.  We so easily love those closest to us in our lives, and we even love certain things.  So Father, why do we have so much trouble loving others, all others?  You command us to love all, not just those who look and feel and think and act like us.  Jesus makes no exceptions when He orders us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  This is unconditional love.  This is what our Lord Jesus commands.  This is what You want of us.  And this is what we have so much trouble with.

Help us, Lord, to be more loving.  Help us to look past their actions, their beliefs, their thoughts, and to look at the person as one of Your most treasured creations.  Help us to look at them as You look at us.  This is simply an application of that Golden Rule we learned as children, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.  Lord, Jesus, please help us see others as You see us.  Help us treat them as we ourselves prefer to be treated.  Help us love them as You love them.

Hear us now, please Lord, as we speak to You softly from our hearts, repenting of our own sin before accusing others of sin, pleading for Your mercy and Your help…

Father God, Your holy word tells us we become more like Jesus as we follow Him and serve Your will.  Please help us become more like our gracious Savior in how He loves, that we might love others as He does, as He loves us.  This in the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Where is Freedom?

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 12th of July, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This is the time of year when we give thought to freedom and just what that means to us on a personal level.  Our forefathers fought a long and horrible war to secure our freedom from foreign tyranny.  And our fathers fought wars over time to maintain that freedom for us all.  So if we ask where does freedom come from, we might easily answer it comes from the efforts of brave men and women, willing to fight at any and all costs.  Or we may say it comes from the blood of patriots.  And those are true, as far as they go.

We also learned last week that true freedom comes from the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, spilled for us to free us from the tyranny of sin.  And if we think of it in any of these terms, I believe we might consider that freedom is not merely a concept, not just an ideal, but is an actual, tangible entity – a thing.  And if freedom is a thing, it must be somewhere.

That train of thought led me to the question and title of today’s message: Where is freedom?  Listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle Paul’s 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 3, verses 7 through 18…

7 The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. 8 Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? 9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! 10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. 11 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!

12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

--2 Corinthians 3:7-18 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You so much for placing us in this great land, so rich in natural resources, so abundant in beauty.  Thank You for inspiring all those brave men and women over the years who have fought so valiantly, and in too many cases have died, to gain and protect our freedom.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us true freedom, so that we can live forever with You and our Father without fear of eternal death.  Speak to us now, Lord, through Your word and the touch of Your Holy Spirit, that we might receive Your message and perceive Your will for us this day.  In the wonderful name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Part of our scripture reading talks about old laws and old ways, and how the new way is so much better.  Well, that kind of reminded me of some of the old laws still on the books today, and some are quite odd in respect to our modern culture.  I dug up a few that pertain to churches:

• Young girls are never allowed to walk a tightrope in Wheeler, Mississippi, unless it’s in a church. 
• In Blackwater, Kentucky, tickling a woman under her chin with a feather duster while she’s in a church service carries a penalty of $10.00 and one day in jail. 
• No one can eat unshelled, roasted peanuts while attending church in Idanha, Oregon.
• In Honey Creek, Iowa, no one is permitted to carry a slingshot to church except police.
• No citizen in Leecreek, Arkansas, is allowed to attend church in any red-colored garment.
• Swinging a yo-yo in church or anywhere in public on the Sabbath is prohibited in Studley, Virginia.
• And in Slaughter, Louisiana, turtle races are not permitted within 100 yards of a local church at any time.

Pretty crazy, huh.  Well, more to the point of our scripture reading, one Sunday on their way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me."

The mother said, "Oh?  Why is that?"

The little girl answered, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are.  Is that true?"  The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true honey."

"And he also said that God lives in us?  Is that true, Mommy?"  Again the mother replied, "Yes."

"Well," said the little girl, "if God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"


The Apostle Paul spoke of old ways, based upon old laws, and he mentioned that those old ways led to death.  Some of those old laws I just listed might not lead to death, but we can clearly see how they just don’t seem to fit into the world today.  They’re outdated, obsolete, even silly, to a degree.  The new ways are better, aren’t they?  Or are they?

And that little girl asks some pretty tough questions, doesn’t she?  If God does live within us and is bigger than us, shouldn’t He show through?  Shouldn’t other people be able to see God in us?  Do they?


I wanted to continue our discussion on freedom this week since Independence Day is still fresh in our minds.  A well-known and oft-repeated passage from our Declaration of Independence reads:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

Endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, rights that cannot be taken away from us.  Thinking about today’s American society, I wonder how many people feel that statement ranks right alongside some of those old archaic laws.

Our Creator?  While the majority of Americans still claim to believe in some “higher being”, I wonder how many actually believe in God as we do, as the men who wrote and signed that Declaration did.  I’m not even getting into a discussion of whether they believe in Jesus as the Son of God, but just in God as the Creator of all, as the Sovereign Ruler over all, as a loving personal Father to us all who just happens to sit in heaven.

And of those across the US who do indeed believe like this, and those who accept Jesus as the Son of God our Father, as our Lord and Master, as our Savior…  How many of those actually proclaim that belief to the world?  How many do as Jesus commanded?

Noted author William Falkner once said: “We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”  Pastor and evangelist Francis Chan admonishes us all when he says: “God called you to be the church, not just gather in a room and listen to a sermon.”

Brothers and sisters, we must not only claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must practice that belief.  Jesus didn’t call us to be His Church just to sit here an hour a week listening to some preacher stand up here and orate for 15 or 20 minutes.  He called us to be His Church to go into the world, baptizing in His name and making disciples, and spreading His Gospel to all the earth so that all might be saved if they would only believe!


Putting our belief into practice is not as easily done as said, for some folks.  The world is becoming less and less tolerant of what we might have to say in proclaiming Jesus as Lord.  Non-believers are less willing to listen to all the blessings that simple faith can provide.  The voice of Satan drips with honey and entices more and more to follow him.  Our task grows more difficult with each passing day, and in some cases seems downright impossible.  But let’s look again at what Paul’s says.

As I told the kids a few minutes ago, Moses spoke with God on Mt. Sinai and came down from that mountain with the Ten Commands.  He also came down with his face glowing so brightly with the glory of God that he had to cover himself with a veil so he could get near his people again.  Paul sums all this up in verse 7 and then in verse 8 plants the seed that the new way should be even more glorious than the old that began with those Ten Commandments, because the Holy Spirit is now giving life to all who believe.  The “new way” is what Jesus brings: the Gospel, eternal life through repentance and belief in the one true Son of God!

In verses 9 through 11, Paul continues that if Moses’ face shown so brightly just from speaking with God, how much more glorious must be those who know Jesus, the very Son of God, who have the Holy Spirit within them, sent directly from God our Father by Jesus His Son?!?

Then we get one of the kickers in verse 12.  The new way of faith, the Holy Spirit living within us, gives us confidence.  And with that confidence, we can be very bold.  Not just bold, but very bold.

Paul points out in verse 13 that we’re not like Moses.  We know more than he did because we know Jesus and the Good News He brings.  But look at the last part of verse 13…  The glory that shown on Moses’ face was destined to fade away.  The glorious brilliance that came to that mortal man was not meant to be permanent, to last forever.  In effect, Paul is saying that Moses covered his face for no real reason, except that the hearts of the people were hardened!  They refused to accept the truth – it had to be veiled.  The truth had to be hidden from the people.

Doesn’t that kind of sound like the world today?  Even in some of our churches?  Sadly, but there are too many good people who consider themselves Christians that simply will not listen to the full truth of God’s word.  Paul confirms this, in his 2nd letter to his dear friend and protégé Timothy, chapter 4 verse 3, and this is how the Contemporary English Version of our Bible puts it…

3 The time is coming when people won’t listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear.

--2 Timothy 4:3 (CEV)

Family, that time is now.  Too many Christians only want to hear about the salvation Jesus offers without worrying about the whole “Lord” and “Master” part.  Being saved by God’s amazing grace simply because we believe in Jesus as His Son is wonderful!  That is indeed the very best possible news.  But that belief must be complete.  We must obey Jesus as well.  We must surrender to Him completely, do everything He says, just like a slave would obey their master.  If we truly believe in and love Jesus, we will gladly give ourselves over to Him and be His servant, His slave.

But some people don’t want to hear that.  They want to know they’re saved and won’t burn for eternity in the lake of fire, but they don’t really want to give up the life they’ve been living, the life that includes the little sins that they enjoy so much.  They don’t want to give it all to Jesus and to trust in God to see to all their needs.

And that’s just the Christians!  How much harder will it be to reach the non-believers?!?  How tough will it be to get people to take the veil from their eyes and see the truth?

Look at the end of verse 14 from today’s scripture reading.  Only by believing in Jesus as Christ, by fully accepting Him as Lord and Savior, only then can the veil be completely removed.  That’s where the hope for both them and us lies, and it’s also the source of frustration.

We can only see the truth, unveiled, if we believe in Jesus, but we can only believe in Jesus if we can see the truth.  Is that what Paul is saying?  Well, yes, and no.

People’s hearts are hardened to the truth, but that shell is not impossible to penetrate.  We begin with an internal audit of our own faith and belief, making sure we truly love and follow our Lord Jesus.  We continue with prayer, fervent prayer, that those who are being misled will see the right path, and for those whose hearts are hardened that they will be made more pliant to the truth.  And we accept the confidence that the indwelling Holy Spirit imparts to us and we go forth in boldness, not being afraid to testify for our Lord Jesus.  And then maybe, by God’s will, verse 16 will come to pass and someone will turn to the Lord and their veil will be taken away.

Verses 17 and 18 bring us the second kicker of this passage, and speak a great and wonderful truth.  The Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit.  That is the beauty of the Holy Trinity, God in three persons.  Jesus is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is God, God is Jesus.

And family, to answer our original question, wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!  It goes back to what we looked at last week, with the words of Jesus recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel, chapter 8, verses 31 and 32…

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

--John 8:31-32 (NLT)

There’s the truth for you, the truth that sets us all free, the truth of exactly where freedom can be found.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there true freedom can be found.

And once we understand that, once we accept that truth of Jesus our Lord, then an amazing thing begins to happen.  Our Lord – Jesus, the Spirit, God – will begin making us more and more like Him.  We are changing into the glorious image of God.  We will shine brightly with a glory that can never be veiled.


Where is freedom?  It is in Jesus our Lord.  Believe, and be free forever.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord God, the Apostle Paul tells us that where the Holy Spirit is, there is freedom.  When we turn to Your Son Jesus as our Lord, then He sends Your Holy Spirit to live within us, and the veil that shields our eyes is stripped away so we can see You in all Your glory.  Thank You, Lord, for allowing Your Spirit to live within us so that true freedom can be found within us.  Help us, Lord, to allow Your glory to shine from within us so that all might see.  You are so much bigger than us, Lord, so show through us, shine through us, that others might also bask in Your great glory.

Jesus, You are the Truth that sets us free, if we would only believe in You as the Son of God our Father in heaven and follow You as our Lord and serve You as our Master.  Lord God, we repent of our sin and ask Your forgiveness in the name of Jesus Your Son and under the authority of Your most Holy Spirit.  Cleanse us, Jesus, with Your blood that we may be able to stand clean of our wicked ways when we face our Father.  Help us to practice what we claim.  Encourage us to not just sit in this room listening to Your servant preach, but to go onto all the earth making disciples and spreading the wonderful Gospel, the Good News You bring to this hurting world.

Hear us now, please Father, as we cry out to You silently from our hearts…

Father God, we humble ourselves before You.  We praise You and worship You.  Lord Jesus, You are our salvation, our only hope in a dying world.  To You be all power and all glory for ever and ever.  This in the glorious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

I Pledge Allegiance

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 5th of July, 2015, Independence Day weekend.  This service also included the observance of Holy Communion following the sermon message.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Yesterday marked the 239th anniversary of the birth of our nation.  The United States of America was born on July the 4th, 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence from England and English rule.  The signers of that historic document put everything on the line to take a stand for liberty and freedom, and most lost everything, including their lives.  Folks who settled here left Europe seeking religious freedom, and then fought bravely to keep it and gain political freedom as well.  They refused to be slaves to the religious and political whims of rulers in a far off land.

But there is One, much longer ago, who also fought and died for our freedom, who provided us the means of escaping slavery forever.  Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel according to the Apostle John, chapter 8, verses 31 through 36, from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

--John 8:31-36 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You so much for placing us in this nation where we can still worship You freely, without fear of political or governmental intervention.  We pray Lord that You will continue to bless this great land so that future generations may also enjoy the liberties we’ve known so long.  Speak to us now so that we might receive Your message for us this day.  In the glorious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, had this to say:

 "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests -- and it was not there.  I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning -- and it was not there.  I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution -- and it was not there.  Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.  America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"


Edward Gibbon, author of the book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, attributed that fall to the following five points:

1. The rapid increase of divorce - the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure, with sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.
4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within: that being the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion - faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people.

Is America still good?  Many of her people are, sure.  But what of this country as a whole?  More to the point, how many of those five signs that Gibbon listed are in evidence in the US today?

• An ever increasing divorce rate.
• The tax burden on the working people growing heavier all the time.
• If it feels good, do it – don’t worry who else might suffer or be inconvenienced, the only thing that matters is personal pleasure.
• Spending more on our armed might to stand against other nations when our real enemy can be found in the moral decay of our fellow man.
• Religious freedom under attack from all quarters, even from within as we argue among ourselves, with the voices of true spiritual leaders being stifled everywhere.

Throughout history, those nations and peoples who were the strongest, the greatest, the most powerful…  each one was destroyed from within, not by some mightier opposing force, but by the decay and erosion started by its own people.  Have we, as a nation, lost touch of what true liberty and freedom encompass?  Have we turned our focus away from the One who offers to truly set us free?


We are an independent nation – we pride ourselves on our independence.  It’s that old “pioneering spirit” that built this country, and that basically built the Reformed Church in America.  And not being dependent on someone else, and especially not some foreign country, can be a good thing, as far as it goes.

But family, there’s a very simple truth summed up by two equations:  Independence from God equals slavery to sin, and that leads to death and damnation.  Dependence on Jesus equals freedom from sin and death, and that leads to salvation and eternal life.

This is the truth that Jesus spoke of in verse 32 of today’s scripture reading, the truth that sets us free.  Like those ancient Jews in verse 33, we today may think we have never been slaves to anyone, but Jesus would tell us we’re wrong, just as He told those proud descendants of Abraham in verse 34.  We have been slaves to sin because we sinned!  And for that very reason, we needed someone to free us from those bonds of slavery.  We needed a Savior.  We needed the Son, so that we could be truly free.  We needed Jesus.


God gave us a hint of what Jesus would do for us when He spoke to Moses in Exodus chapter 6, verses 6 and 7…

6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.'"

--Exodus 6:6-7 (NLT)

In his letter to the Galatians, chapter 5 verse 1, the Apostle Paul notes the liberation Jesus offers, but issues a warning …

5 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

--Galatians 5:1 (NLT)

That sounds like we have a choice, doesn’t it?  Stay free or return to our chains of slavery.  This is where free will comes in.  In the Book of Revelation, chapter 3 verse 20, Jesus says …

20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends."

--Revelation 3:20  (NLT)

It’s our choice whether to open the door and let Jesus in or to ignore Him.  And I’m not talking about the door to our house, but the door to our heart, our spirit, our soul.

So how do we heed Paul’s warning, how do we reach for the doorknob to our soul?  Joshua addressed free will in chapter 24 verse 15 of his book…

15 "But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

--Joshua 25:15  (NLT)

And that gives us an answer to how we can should respond to Paul’s warning: we should serve the Lord.  God Himself answered this question for us long ago, when in the 2nd book of Chronicles, chapter 7, verses 14 and 15, He promised us this…

14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”

--2 Chronicles 7:14-15  (NKJV)

Family, our nation is in desperate need of healing.  We need leaders who will lead us to a place of healing.  We need for our house to serve the Lord.  We need to humble ourselves and get down on our knees before God Almighty and pray, and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways.  For only then will our Creator hear our prayers.  Only then will the Great Physician heal our land.  Only then will the Son free us from slavery to sin.

Will we do as God asks?  Do we truly care enough about our nation to humble ourselves before God and pray for its healing?  Are we willing to stop focusing on the sins of others and instead repent of our own sin?

I invite you to humble yourself right now.  I wish we had a little more room in the pews so you could kneel if you felt it.  If you’d like to, come join me here at the foot of the cross of the One who offers us truth and freedom.  Let us repent of our sin and pray for our nation, that our Lord’s eyes be open and His ears attentive to our prayer, made here in this place.

Amen.


Join me now as we pray…  Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before You.  We seek Your face and Your favor, for ourselves and for our nation.  We are concerned, Lord, about the ultimate fate of our friends, our neighbors, and our loved ones.  We fear that our country is not headed in the right direction, which should be toward You.  We worry that we are too wrapped up in judging the actions of others that we fail to see how our own actions might not be pleasing in Your sight.  Forgive us, Father, when we self-righteously point out the splinter in someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own.  Forgive us for rebuking the sin of others yet seeing our own as acceptable.  Forgive us for picking and choosing which sins You would deem most vile and worthy of damnation.

Father we ask that You heal our land.  Not only has the earth suffered under our stewardship, but humanity itself shows far too many signs of widespread moral decay.  Please help us all, Father, as a people, to turn from our wicked ways, to be concerned more for our fellow man than for ourselves, to strive to do only what is right in Your eyes.  Remind us that Jesus sacrificed His all so that we could be freed from slavery to sin, freed from the threat of eternal damnation, freed from the grasp of Satan.  And show us that the freedom Jesus granted does not give us the liberty to return to our sin but to live as You would have us live.

Hear us now, Lord God, as we silently repent of our sin and seek Your forgiving grace…

Father, thank You so much for showing favor to this great land and for giving it to us as our home.  Please, Lord, continue to smile upon us and our nation.  Grant us Your blessings so that we might bless others.  Instill in us the vision of Jesus so that we might see all of Your creation through His eyes and not our own prejudices.  In the most holy name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.