[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 11th of September, 2016 - Patriots Day. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Spend just a little time reading the Old Testament and you’ll see that the children of Israel really experienced a roller-coaster ride with God. Their history has been a long series of ups and downs. When times are good and they’re at a high point, they forget about God and what He commands them. Then He takes His favor from them and they start going down, down, down. Finally, they realize they must return to honoring and obeying God, and He begins to smile on them again and things get better. And the cycle repeats, over and over. They disobey and ignore God and life gets tough. They obey and honor God and life gets good again.
The thing is, God told them this could happen. Listen and follow along to how God warned His chosen people, as recorded in the 2nd Book of Chronicles, chapter 7, verses 13 through 22, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
The thing is, God told them this could happen. Listen and follow along to how God warned His chosen people, as recorded in the 2nd Book of Chronicles, chapter 7, verses 13 through 22, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
13 “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 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. 16 For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’
19 “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
21 “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’”
--2 Chronicles 7:13-22 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, we have come together this morning in the name of Your Son Jesus and we humble ourselves now before Your glorious presence. Speak to us, Father, the message You need us to hear this day. In the holy name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
A man received a promotion to the position of Vice President of the company he worked for. The promotion went to his head, and for weeks on end he bragged to anyone and everyone that he was now a Vice President. His bragging came to an abrupt halt when his wife, so utterly embarrassed by his behavior finally said, “Listen Bob, it’s not that big a deal. These days everyone’s a vice president. Why they even have a vice president of peas down at the supermarket!”
Somewhat deflated, Bob called the local supermarket to find out if this was true. “Can I speak to the Vice President of peas, please?” he asked, to which came the reply: “Which one: fresh or frozen peas?”
I bet we’ve all had one of those humbling moments. And I can’t help but think of the old Mac Davis song: “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” Perhaps like Bob, we’ve made a big deal out of some accomplishment, until someone points out that maybe it’s not that big a deal after all. Bob seems to have let his pride blind him to reality.
Our Bible warns us about being prideful. In Proverbs 3, verse 34, wise King Solomon wrote…
A man received a promotion to the position of Vice President of the company he worked for. The promotion went to his head, and for weeks on end he bragged to anyone and everyone that he was now a Vice President. His bragging came to an abrupt halt when his wife, so utterly embarrassed by his behavior finally said, “Listen Bob, it’s not that big a deal. These days everyone’s a vice president. Why they even have a vice president of peas down at the supermarket!”
Somewhat deflated, Bob called the local supermarket to find out if this was true. “Can I speak to the Vice President of peas, please?” he asked, to which came the reply: “Which one: fresh or frozen peas?”
I bet we’ve all had one of those humbling moments. And I can’t help but think of the old Mac Davis song: “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” Perhaps like Bob, we’ve made a big deal out of some accomplishment, until someone points out that maybe it’s not that big a deal after all. Bob seems to have let his pride blind him to reality.
Our Bible warns us about being prideful. In Proverbs 3, verse 34, wise King Solomon wrote…
34 The Lord sneers at those
who sneer at Him,
but He is kind to everyone
who is humble.
--Proverbs 3:34 (CEV)
James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us in the 4th chapter and 10th verse of his letter…
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
--James 4:10 (NKJV)
This is what God is trying to get across to the people of Israel. “If you would just humble yourselves before Me, I will lift you up. “But if you don’t, things aren’t going to go so well for you.”
What about us today? Do we take to heart what God told the ancient Jews? Do we humble ourselves before God, praying and seeking His face?
We don’t have to take what the Old Testament provides as our only warning. Jesus Himself makes it quite clear, as recorded by the Apostle Luke in the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, verse 11…
What about us today? Do we take to heart what God told the ancient Jews? Do we humble ourselves before God, praying and seeking His face?
We don’t have to take what the Old Testament provides as our only warning. Jesus Himself makes it quite clear, as recorded by the Apostle Luke in the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, verse 11…
11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
--Luke 14:11 (NKJV)
If we let our foolish pride lift us up too high, we will be humbled, just like the ancient Israelis. But if we humble ourselves before God, we will be lifted up and exalted.
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation’s soil. That date holds a special place in my memory because this night 5 years ago was the first time I walked into this beautiful church building, the first time I had the blessing to meet this wonderful church family. Pastor John Bigelow had invited me to bring the message on the opening night of Revival, September 11th, 2011, the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
Looking back to that infamous day in 2001, do you remember what followed? America came together. People flocked into churches all across the land. They turned to God in that hour of darkness. People were afraid, so they sought God’s protection.
It was like a great revival… only it didn’t last very long. Pretty soon, once things settled down and new security measures were put in place and no more attacks occurred, people pretty much went back to life as normal. We let an opportunity to return to God and His good graces slip between our fingers. We figured we could handle it on our own after all. We let our national pride once again get in our way.
Where are we now, as a people, as a nation? Do we humble ourselves regularly before God? Do we pray to Him so that He might hear and pay attention to our needs? Do we walk before Him always, doing as He commands, obeying His statutes, recognizing His judgments? Or have we turned away from Him, forsaking His laws and commandments? Do we serve other gods: the gods of finance, the gods of sports, the gods of fashion, the gods of pride – do we worship them?
Look across our land. What do you see? Unity or division? Love or hatred? Fellowship or enmity? If someone were to look upon us objectively, might they ask, “Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?” And might the answer be, “Because they forsook the Lord God… and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.”?
9/11/2001 was a low point for this nation. We turned to God and things got better. We slowly turned away from God and things got worse over time. And here we are, 15 years later, at what I feel is another low point for this land. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it – just like those ancient Israelis.
Has our national pride once again gotten the better of us? Does our personal pride keep us from doing what should be done? If we just humble ourselves before God, as individuals and as a nation, He will lift us up, in His time. We might think that there’s very little we can do to affect this entire nation. And there indeed is little we can do, as long as we think we have to do it ourselves.
We start right here – right in our own hearts. We humble ourselves, as individuals, before God, praying to Him, seeking His counsel and guidance, obeying His voice. And we pray for His mercy over our nation, over our people, that they too might turn back to God.
Next Sunday is Homecoming and that night we start our revival services. During the morning service, I am going to show you a very powerful video clip calling this nation to revival. And then our dear friends, the Reverends John Bigelow, William Sowers, and Steve Disher will deliver their own messages of revival.
But I want us to begin revival right here, right now, today! Don’t worry about what others may think. Don’t let pride get in the way. We need to humble ourselves in God’s presence.
Come join me here at the foot of the cross of our Lord Jesus during our closing hymn. Bow down there at your seat or in the aisle or here at the altar. Let us humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord God Almighty, that He might lift us up out of this mess we have made. In the holy name of Jesus.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You show us countless times in Your word that if we fail to worship You, if we turn from You and ignore Your commandments, You will remove Your gracious favor from us. You promise that if we would only humble ourselves before You, if we would put away our pride in ourselves and our accomplishments and acknowledge that without You we are nothing, that You will once again smile upon us and heal our land. Forgive us, Father, of our prideful ways. Forgive us when we worship the gods of this world, the gods of possessions, the gods of lust. Lift us up, please Father, from the depths of our depravity.
Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, bowing before You, seeking Your mercy…
Lord Jesus, You warn us not to let our pride get in the way, but to instead be humble in all things just as You were humble. Everything You did was for the glory of God. Help us follow You and live the same way, in humble service and obedience to God.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope. Amen.
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation’s soil. That date holds a special place in my memory because this night 5 years ago was the first time I walked into this beautiful church building, the first time I had the blessing to meet this wonderful church family. Pastor John Bigelow had invited me to bring the message on the opening night of Revival, September 11th, 2011, the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
Looking back to that infamous day in 2001, do you remember what followed? America came together. People flocked into churches all across the land. They turned to God in that hour of darkness. People were afraid, so they sought God’s protection.
It was like a great revival… only it didn’t last very long. Pretty soon, once things settled down and new security measures were put in place and no more attacks occurred, people pretty much went back to life as normal. We let an opportunity to return to God and His good graces slip between our fingers. We figured we could handle it on our own after all. We let our national pride once again get in our way.
Where are we now, as a people, as a nation? Do we humble ourselves regularly before God? Do we pray to Him so that He might hear and pay attention to our needs? Do we walk before Him always, doing as He commands, obeying His statutes, recognizing His judgments? Or have we turned away from Him, forsaking His laws and commandments? Do we serve other gods: the gods of finance, the gods of sports, the gods of fashion, the gods of pride – do we worship them?
Look across our land. What do you see? Unity or division? Love or hatred? Fellowship or enmity? If someone were to look upon us objectively, might they ask, “Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?” And might the answer be, “Because they forsook the Lord God… and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.”?
9/11/2001 was a low point for this nation. We turned to God and things got better. We slowly turned away from God and things got worse over time. And here we are, 15 years later, at what I feel is another low point for this land. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it – just like those ancient Israelis.
Has our national pride once again gotten the better of us? Does our personal pride keep us from doing what should be done? If we just humble ourselves before God, as individuals and as a nation, He will lift us up, in His time. We might think that there’s very little we can do to affect this entire nation. And there indeed is little we can do, as long as we think we have to do it ourselves.
We start right here – right in our own hearts. We humble ourselves, as individuals, before God, praying to Him, seeking His counsel and guidance, obeying His voice. And we pray for His mercy over our nation, over our people, that they too might turn back to God.
Next Sunday is Homecoming and that night we start our revival services. During the morning service, I am going to show you a very powerful video clip calling this nation to revival. And then our dear friends, the Reverends John Bigelow, William Sowers, and Steve Disher will deliver their own messages of revival.
But I want us to begin revival right here, right now, today! Don’t worry about what others may think. Don’t let pride get in the way. We need to humble ourselves in God’s presence.
Come join me here at the foot of the cross of our Lord Jesus during our closing hymn. Bow down there at your seat or in the aisle or here at the altar. Let us humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord God Almighty, that He might lift us up out of this mess we have made. In the holy name of Jesus.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You show us countless times in Your word that if we fail to worship You, if we turn from You and ignore Your commandments, You will remove Your gracious favor from us. You promise that if we would only humble ourselves before You, if we would put away our pride in ourselves and our accomplishments and acknowledge that without You we are nothing, that You will once again smile upon us and heal our land. Forgive us, Father, of our prideful ways. Forgive us when we worship the gods of this world, the gods of possessions, the gods of lust. Lift us up, please Father, from the depths of our depravity.
Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, bowing before You, seeking Your mercy…
Lord Jesus, You warn us not to let our pride get in the way, but to instead be humble in all things just as You were humble. Everything You did was for the glory of God. Help us follow You and live the same way, in humble service and obedience to God.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope. Amen.
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