After a wonderful worship time, Pastor Josiah shared how the Lord was moving his heart and
opening up his mind. He talked about honoring God in every area of our lives and said,”Let us live spiritually minded.” Then he introduced a video that expressed his stand very well from the Pray Vote Stand Summit 2024 with Pastor Gary Hamrick speaking.
Around 61 A.D., Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, and he commended them for their
faithfulness. Thirty five years later John wrote to the Ephesians from the island of Patmos. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:4 (NIV)
Another version states, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first
love.” (NKJV) In one generation the church went from being commended for being faithful to being rebuked for its lukewarm attitude..
How can it be that after one generation the church moved from one positive stand to a negative one? This decline can be true in our church, our faith, and our country. Think about some of the things that have happened in the last thirty five years in our society: gender confusion, marriage redefinition, disregard for life, environmental worship, stripping of parental authority to name a few. Look at “the trend of things when you remove God from the equation,” reminded Pastor Hamrick. As evidence of the foretelling of our moral condition, he cited Romans 1:25. ”They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the created things rather than the Creator…” (NIV) In our society, right is called wrong, and the truth is a lie.
When it comes to the “decline of our nation, we have no one to blame but ourselves,” stated Pastor Hamrick. Then he cited the surprising statistics: In the US, there are 90 million self proclaimed evangelical Christians, 40 million do not vote, and of the 90 million 15 million are not even registered. Fifty five million who are eligible to vote do not vote. “When we are not involved in the political process, we open the door for every evil ideology to fill the vacuum.” Do we want more of the same decline?
Further, God established three institutions: the family Genesis 2:24, government Genesis 9:6,
the church Ephesians 2:20. Christians defend the family and the church, but why do Christians opt out of government? We leave government to others. When we do, we cede our stand to others who do not share our Biblical view; the list above is evidence. God has called us to be His ambassadors; our dignitary is God Himself, and He is to be represented in every aspect of life. Pastor Hamrick declared, “We know that good government cannot save us, but bad government can destroy us all.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said,”The church is the conscience of the state.” Through our involvement in politics, we Christ followers can affect politics, which shape polices and thus the nation. We understand Psalm 33:12 .”Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” (NIV) What policies most closely reflect the heart of the Lord? If we remain silent, what policies will we see in thirty five years?
If I love Jesus, I want to spread His love. If I don’t, I don’t care. Is our silence because we have
left our first love? If so, Revelation 2:5 tells us to “Repent and do the things you did at first.”
When you first were a believer, did you share Him wherever you went? You were Jesus’
ambassador. Are you now? Let us repent and reflect Him in every corner of our lives: the family, the government, and the church. Then Pastor Hamrick reminded us, ”My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”
Our mission is to culture like Christ, and our vision is Jesus. May Jesus be the center of our
lives, and may we be informed and responsible ambassadors for Jesus. Pastor Josiah
reminded us that last week we learned about Jesus’ healing of the demoniac, who became the apostolic missionary to Decapolis, the ten cities.
This week Pastor Josiah shared a familiar story of Jairus, the temple administrator whose
twelve year old daughter was deathly sick, and the woman, who had a bleeding problem for
twelve years. Jairus was desperate. He “fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home
with him.” Luke 8:41 (NLT) The bleeding woman boldly approached Jesus and frantically
touched the hem of His garment. “Jesus said, ‘Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt
the healing power go out of me.’” Luke 8:46 (NLT) Desperation will take you to places
typically off limits to you. Both were desperate people who took daring measures.
In addition both people were associated the number twelve. Biblical numerology shows us
that the number twelve, in Scripture, speaks of government. We need to see Jesus in every
aspect of our lives. Jesus is the answer, and you as His ambassador are the answer to every
dying and lost family member.
The Paramount Point is Jesus is still the answer-and we must present that answer to the
lost and dying world riddled with questions.
When the healed woman realized what had happened, she fell at His feet and explained her
desperation. Jesus replied, ”’Daughter,’ he said to her,’your faith has made you well. Go in
peace.’” Luke 8:48 (NLT) If we’re not reaching out in faith to touch Jesus deliberately, how
can we ever expect governing authorities to? Jesus told His disciples to go and tell, and He
gave them/us the Great Commission.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28;19-20 (NIV)
Back to Luke 8, a messenger reported to Jairus that his daughter had died, but Jesus, the
Answer, said,”Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” Luke 8:50 (NLT)
No nation is lost when a remnant is willing to pray and stand for godliness!
“When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter,
John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother.” Luke 8:51 (NLT) God wants the
parents in the room.
“The house was filled with people weeping and wailing,
but he said,’Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only
sleeping. But the crowd laughed at him because they knew
she was already dead. Then Jesus took her by the hand and
said in a loud voice,’My child, get up!’ And at that moment
her life returned, and she immediately stood up.” Luke 8:52-53 (NLT)
Through the shed blood of Jesus, our day of redemption is already here! We must pray
and not be ignorant. With Jesus at the core of our lives, may we reflect Him, be salt and light in this troubled world, and be the remnant rising!
Calendar:
10/30-Midweek Encounter
11/2-Anne Wilson concert
11/14-Change of date-LB sponsored Thanksgiving luncheon for FC and FCLA staffs-12-2
Submitted by
Larry and Annette Linthicum
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