(intense music) (bluesy religious music) ♪ Your day's already fallen to pieces ♪ ♪ And you just stumbled out of bed ♪ ♪ You ain't even poured your coffee ♪ ♪ And the voice of fear ♪ ♪ Is filling up your head ♪ ♪ You're anxious about tomorrow ♪ ♪ When you ain't even lived today ♪ ♪ If you've got time to worry ♪ ♪ Then you've got time to pray ♪ ♪ Just take it to the Lord ♪ ♪ Drop your troubles at his door ♪ ♪ Turn around and leave them there ♪ ♪ Why carry all your burdens ♪ ♪ When I know for certain ♪ ♪ It's a weight that the Lord can bear ♪ ♪ Don't waste a minute dreading ♪ ♪ Or live a life regretting ♪ ♪ All the moments you've been fretting away ♪ ♪ 'Cause if you've got time to worry ♪ ♪ Then you've got time to pray ♪ ♪ You're looking out across the valley ♪ ♪ And it sure does seem wide and deep ♪ ♪ Who knows what's waiting in the shadows ♪ ♪ The uncertainty has got you losing sleep ♪ ♪ But you can kneel on knees that are knocking ♪ ♪ It just takes a little bit of faith ♪ ♪ If you've got time to worry ♪ ♪ Then you've got time to pray ♪ ♪ Just take it to the Lord ♪ ♪ Drop your troubles at his door ♪ ♪ Turn around and leave them there ♪ ♪ Why carry all your burdens ♪ ♪ When I know for certain ♪ ♪ It's a weight that the Lord can bear ♪ ♪ Don't waste a minute dreading ♪ ♪ Or live a life regretting ♪ ♪ All the moments you've been fretting away ♪ ♪ 'Cause if you've got time to worry ♪ ♪ Then you've got time to pray ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ So don't waste a minute dreading ♪ ♪ Or live your life regretting ♪ ♪ All the moments you've been fretting away ♪ ♪ 'Cause if you've got time to worry ♪ ♪ Time to worry ♪ ♪ Then you've got time to pray ♪ ♪ Yes, if you've got time to worry ♪ ♪ Then you've got time to pray ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ Whoo ♪ ♪ Oh, we've all got time to pray ♪ Many of us grew up signing the old song amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now I see. A song that brings comfort to the Christian, to those of us who have accepted Jesus as Lord and savior. Many people sing it that really have no idea what they're singing about. Yes, it may bring 'em comfort. Maybe it reminds 'em of a simpler time in life. Maybe a time when they were in church. Maybe a time they can remember mom and dad sitting around the dinner table saying grace. But to them, it's just a song. I remember being eight years old and being at a revival meeting in the heat of summer in Alabama where I grew up. Man, it was hot. And the evangelist preached that night on the love of God and he said something that really made a huge impact on me as an eight year old. He said, "If I'd been the only person on earth who needed a Savior, Jesus would've died just for me." And then he gave the invitation and he said, "If you hear Jesus knocking at your heart's door," and he kinda (knocks) went like that. He said, "Tonight's the night for you to come forward and accept Jesus as Lord and savior over your life." Well, with my heart beating outta my chest, (laughs) I reached over to my mom who was sitting on my right and I tapped her and I said, "Mama, I think I just heard Jesus knocking at my heart's door." That was the moment that Amazing Grace became more than just a song, it became an experience. (gentle religious music) ♪ I remember how it felt ♪ ♪ When I heard about the cross ♪ ♪ And I was thinking to myself ♪ ♪ How could I be worth that great a cost ♪ ♪ And as the story was unfolding ♪ ♪ I heard a voice like I had never known ♪ ♪ That's when mercy called my name ♪ ♪ That's when love broke every chain ♪ ♪ When his blood covered my sin ♪ ♪ And my life began changing ♪ ♪ And grace became amazing ♪ ♪ I have walked so many miles ♪ ♪ I'm no stranger to the rain ♪ ♪ But I'm learning through each trial ♪ ♪ Healing cannot come without the pain ♪ ♪ And on those days I feel defeated ♪ ♪ God takes me back to one day long ago ♪ ♪ That's when mercy called my name ♪ ♪ That's when love broke every chain ♪ ♪ When his blood covered my sin ♪ ♪ And my life began changing ♪ ♪ And grace became amazing ♪ ♪ When hope was lost ♪ ♪ My soul was found ♪ ♪ And when my strength was running out ♪ ♪ That's when mercy called my name ♪ ♪ That's when love broke every chain ♪ ♪ When his blood covered my sin ♪ ♪ And my life began changing ♪ ♪ Yes, my life began changing ♪ ♪ And grace became amazing ♪ You know, for those of you at home, there's nothing that brings the family of God together like singing a hymn, and boy, I can't think of a hymn that's any more beautiful than this one. Let's all sing it together. ♪ Amazing grace ♪ ♪ How sweet the sound ♪ ♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost ♪ ♪ But now am found ♪ ♪ Was blind but now I see ♪ ♪ When we've been there ♪ ♪ When we've been there ♪ ♪ 10,000 years ♪ ♪ Bright shining as the sun ♪ ♪ We've no less days ♪ ♪ To sing God's praise ♪ ♪ Than when we'd first begun ♪ And all the church said amen. Every year, during this weekend, we like to honor the men and women that have served in our military, the Armed Forces. We are so grateful for the sacrifices that they have made, amen? Well, we do a medley of the Armed Forces' songs and every year, it gets even more thrilling as the year before, but today we want to do it again because we want to recognize the men and women of our Armed Forces, and this is how we do it. We sing through those five branches and if you are here today and you have served or you are serving, we'd like for you to stand when you hear your song represented. We would ask that you remain standing to give us opportunity to be able to appreciate you and honor you and let you know how much we love you. This is our salute to the Armed Forces today. (martial music) ♪ Over hill over dale ♪ ♪ We will hit the dusty trail ♪ ♪ As those caissons ♪ ♪ Go rolling along ♪ ♪ In and out hear them shout ♪ ♪ Counter marching all about ♪ ♪ As those caissons go rolling along ♪ ♪ For it's hi, hi, hee ♪ ♪ In the field artillery ♪ ♪ Count out your numbers loud and strong ♪ ♪ Two, three, four, hut, two, three ♪ ♪ And where'er you go ♪ ♪ You will always know ♪ ♪ That those caissons go rolling along ♪ ♪ Anchors aweigh, my boys ♪ ♪ Anchors aweigh ♪ ♪ Farewell to college joys ♪ ♪ We sail at break of day day day day ♪ ♪ Through our last night on shore ♪ ♪ Hail to the foam ♪ ♪ Until we meet once more ♪ ♪ Here's wishing you a happy voyage home ♪ ♪ We're always ready for the call ♪ ♪ We place our trust in thee ♪ ♪ Through howling gale and shot and shell ♪ ♪ To win our victory ♪ ♪ Semper paratus is our guide ♪ ♪ Our pledge ♪ ♪ Our motto too ♪ ♪ We're always ready ♪ ♪ Do or die ♪ ♪ Aye, Coast Guard, we fight for you ♪ ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Into the wild blue yonder ♪ ♪ Climbing high into the sun ♪ ♪ Here they come ♪ ♪ Zooming to meet our thunder ♪ ♪ At 'em boys ♪ ♪ Give 'em the gun ♪ ♪ Down we dive ♪ ♪ Spouting from our flame from under ♪ ♪ Off with one terrible roar ♪ ♪ We live in fame ♪ ♪ Or go down in flame ♪ ♪ For nothing can stop the US Air Force ♪ ♪ From the halls of Montezuma ♪ ♪ To the shores of Tripoli ♪ ♪ We fight our country's battles ♪ ♪ In the air, on land, and sea ♪ ♪ First to fight for right and freedom ♪ ♪ And to keep our honor clean ♪ ♪ We are proud to claim the title ♪ ♪ Of United States Marine ♪ ♪ Army ♪ ♪ Navy ♪ ♪ Coast Guard ♪ ♪ Air Force ♪ ♪ The United States Marines ♪ (choir vocalizes) (congregation cheers)
(congregation applauds) (gentle music) ♪ Oh beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ For amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ For purple mountain's majesties ♪ ♪ Above the fruited plain ♪ ♪ America, America ♪ ♪ God shed his grace on thee ♪ ♪ And crown thy good with brotherhood ♪ ♪ From sea to shining sea ♪ ♪ Oh beautiful for patriot dreams ♪ ♪ That sees beyond the years ♪ ♪ Thine alabaster cities gleam ♪ ♪ Undimmed by human tears ♪ ♪ America, America ♪ ♪ God mend thine every flaw ♪ ♪ Confirm thy soul ♪ ♪ With self control ♪ ♪ Thy liberty in law ♪ ♪ Oh beautiful ♪ ♪ For those who hoped ♪ ♪ To find a land so free ♪ ♪ Where they could worship ♪ ♪ As they chose ♪ ♪ And live out their beliefs ♪ ♪ America, America ♪ ♪ God give us liberty ♪ ♪ So every conscience ♪ ♪ Every heart ♪ ♪ Can honor you in peace ♪ ♪ America, sweet America ♪ ♪ God shed his grace on thee ♪ ♪ And crown thy good ♪ ♪ With brotherhood ♪ ♪ From sea to shining sea ♪ ♪ From sea to shining sea ♪ ♪ America ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ (bluesy music) ♪ Babies are crying ♪ ♪ People are dying ♪ ♪ Violence is the law of the land ♪ ♪ The world's in a shake up ♪ ♪ It's time we wake up ♪ ♪ And answer to a higher command ♪ ♪ Fightin' and fussin' ♪ ♪ Screamin' and cussin' ♪ ♪ Never solved a single thing ♪ ♪ Come let us reason ♪ ♪ And let's start believing ♪ ♪ It's time for us to make a change ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ We must find a way ♪ ♪ To love one another ♪ ♪ And stop the hate ♪ ♪ That breaks us in two ♪ ♪ We must learn to live ♪ ♪ Together as brothers ♪ ♪ Or we will perish ♪ ♪ Together as fools ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ You see it your way ♪ ♪ I see it my way ♪ ♪ What if we both could agree ♪ ♪ There's a solution ♪ ♪ A love revolution ♪ ♪ That starts and ends ♪ ♪ With you and me ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ We must find a way ♪ ♪ To love one another ♪ ♪ And stop the hate ♪ ♪ That breaks us in two ♪ ♪ We must learn to live ♪ ♪ Together as brothers ♪ ♪ Or we will perish ♪ ♪ Together as fools ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Sing it ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Sounding good ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ We've got to learn to live ♪ ♪ And love one another ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ We've got to learn to live ♪ ♪ With our sisters and brothers ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Love, sweet, sweet love ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ The world's in a shake up ♪ ♪ It's time that we wake up ♪ ♪ Love is the golden rule ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ As we celebrate Independence Day weekend, I'm reminded of the national motto, e pluribus unum, which out of many have come one. That was the intent of those who charted the course for our country and wrote the founding documents and those who have championed its ideals throughout these 244 years of our nation's existence. Oh, how we wish, hope and pray that we could fulfill the ideal that out of many, with all of our differences, all of our backgrounds, all of our cultures, all of the things that make us unique and distinct, that we could truly be one As we think about being one, consider that our country really was founded by people from other places, those who came here of their own choosing and those were forced to come here against their will. We really are a nation forged out of many and it's part of what makes our country such a beautiful nation in which to live. As you think about your own heritage and what can be traced through your ancestry, I don't know if you've ever taken one of those tests, I did, several years ago, where you actually put some saliva in a tube and you seal it up and you send it off and they send you your results and it's kind of surprising to see some of the things that could be in your line of ancestry that no one had ever talked to you about. So when we think of the part of our ancestry that we do know about, it's something that we can often take pride in. Well, I had ancestors who came from this country or that country. And I hope that we're still living in a day and time where those of us, while having ancestry that reflects our origins from different countries, those of us who've been born in this country can say I am proud to be an American. So let me ask you a question and it's the title of the message today, which country do you call home? Which country do you consider to be your homeland? I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 11 with me this morning, and really when I say I want you to turn there I hope you'll get a Bible, a physical literal paper Bible and turn to this book in the New Testament. The Book of Hebrews and we're going to read in chapter 11 beginning in verse 13 from what we call the great hall of faith. You've heard of the hall of fame, but this is the hall of faith, where great men and women are listed as those who walked by faith, and having listed several of them already in the first 12 verses in verse 13, the writer says, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and they were assured of them. They embraced them and they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland and truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return and go back. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them." When we read these summary verses, he's talking about the people whose names appear in those first 12 verses. There will be other names that he lists, some new names that he draws from the pages of the Old Testament record and lists them too as heroes of faith, those whose examples can inspire us. And I want you to just take some time to write down some points that I'm going to draw out of these verses that we have just read and the first one is that the hope of a brighter future might always be in the future. The hope of a brighter future might always be in the future. In other words, the things that we hope for in this life, we may never get to. We may never achieve, we may never see come to pass. He's saying this about all of those who'd been listed prior to verse 13, at the time that he wrote this, of course, they had all died, that's how verse 13 begins. These all died in faith and what he's saying is that at the time of their death, the things that they had believed God would do before they died had not taken place. Well, that's a powerful admission on the part of someone who's writing a book in the Bible, that some of the great people who lived their lives by faith claiming promises from God actually died and left this world, never having seen those promises fulfilled in their lifetime. This really goes against much of what we're hearing among Christian teachers and preachers who peddle what we refer to as a prosperity teaching, that if you have enough faith, what you believe will come to pass. Usually it has to do with believing you're gonna have more money or believing that you're gonna be healed of a sickness or whatever it is you're telling God He's got to do just because you have enough faith to believe He can do it. There are people who actually teach that if those things that you're believing and asking God to do don't come to pass it's your fault because you didn't have enough faith. Oh, I'm not making this up. That's actually an essential part of what they teach. You and I know better than that. Verse 13 is proof positive that that is incorrect teaching. There's a lot of teaching that masquerades under the guise of Christianity and the gospel, that is actually nothing more than a rehashed form of New Age enlightenment, New Ageism that teaches you to align your thoughts with the positive force in the universe, or maybe it's some type of psychological optimism that moves us closer and closer to the inevitable realization of our positive thinking, that if you can think it, it will come to pass. And all of this is blended into the gospel and it contaminates the truth of the gospel because it goes against what the Scripture teaches. This verse teaches us that believing in God's promises does not guarantee that they will be fulfilled in this lifetime, no matter how much faith you have, no matter how you cry out to God, is it right to claim promises, is it right to have faith, is it right to cry out to God? Yes, yes, and yes. But according to verse 13, where it says people who walk by faith, who pray by faith, who live by faith, that they can die and never see some of those promises come to pass, this teaches us today that faith in God is not a magic charm Faith in God is not just like sprinkling pixie dust on your wish list or your circumstances and magically it's going to turn around because of your great faith. Faith in God does not mean that somehow you and I as saved children of God, we can go around commanding God to do certain things. There's a heresy that is circulating that Christians possess the same power that God possesses, that just as God spoke, and created the world on which we live so you and I as Christians have the same creative force in our words that we can literally create things just by speaking them into existence as though we possess the same power God has, oh no. That's clearly not taught in Scripture. This verse, verse 13, is an eye opening reminder, that Christians, you and I, we can live our lives trusting God and claiming promises and still die. We can still reach the end of this life's journey, never having seen some of those promises come to fruition. He says, these died even though they hoped for a future and he says in verse 13, they saw what they were hoping for in the distance, they had even envisioned its reality, but they never possessed it, in this world, that is. You know, when you think about your road and the fact that one day my road and your road, our life's journey, will come to an end, how long do you plan on sticking around? Depending on who you are and how you feel, what day it is and what's going on in your life, most of us say I hope I stick around for a long time, but the truth is, none of us is going to be around much longer because life goes by that fast. And then it's over. In verse 13, it says, they, these people who lived and died by faith, they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. What do those two words mean, strangers and pilgrims? A stranger is someone who doesn't belong somewhere. Someone who is out of place and he says, the writer here says about these great men and women of faith is that they acknowledged that while living in this world, they realized, I'm a stranger here, isn't that interesting? I was born in this world, and I've lived my whole life in this world, but I'm still a stranger and then the word pilgrim. Pilgrim means a wanderer or a traveler. A migrant of sorts who goes from place to place to place so when you consider the fact that these great people of faith confessed with their own words, I'm a stranger in this world, I'm a pilgrim just passing through, isn't it interesting how when we start our lives, we are young and invincible and we've got the world by the tail and we believe we're going to live forever on this planet, and then we grow older and we start saying goodbye to precious loved ones and before long, we look in the mirror and we celebrate birthdays and we realize my life has flown by. Oh, no, I'm not going to live forever. But if you're growing in faith, if you're growing in your knowledge of the Scripture, you feel less and less at home in this crazy world. Faith causes you to realize that even though this world is the only place you've ever called home, this world really is not your home if you're a child of God. The writer says in verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the promises. How do you explain this, that people who know Jesus can live their whole lives trusting Him and not receive the promises, die, listen, die with unanswered prayers? Is this proof that God cannot be trusted? Is this maybe a suggestion that God doesn't know what He's doing or somehow the prayer line of communication has technical difficulty and He just didn't hear what His children have been praying? Or could it be that God's promises are given to build our faith in Him and that He knows the ultimate fulfillment of every one of these promises, in this book, the ultimate fulfillment is nothing that happens in this life, the ultimate fulfillment of every promise is when we see Him face to face? When He welcomes us to our eternal home? And I would say that's the option I choose. That no matter what promises have been claimed and fulfilled the ultimate, the greatest fulfillment of all the promises combined is when a child of God goes to be with God to live forever with God. It says they died in faith. You know, I want to point out that in this 11th chapter of Hebrews, the writer is saying, they not only lived by faith, but in verse 13, he says they died in faith, just as much as you can have faith while you're living, you can demonstrate faith as you're dying. What a tremendous commentary on their lives. They lived by faith, they died in faith and here's what all of us need to be reminded of. In a day and time where things are changing so quickly and we no longer recognize a place we call home, if it never gets any better here, we know the fulfillment of all of God's promises is that it is better over there. The second thing I want you to write down is this. The real hope we have is for a heavenly country. The real hope we have is for a heavenly country. This is a needed reminder in this day and time because everywhere we look, there are signs of disappointment and frustration and confusion and hostility, but for a Christian, our real hope is for different country, a land far far away from this land where we live. In verses 15 and 16, the writer says, "And truly, if they had called to mind," meaning if they had really thought about it, fixated on the country from which they had all come out, these people who live by faith, well, they would have had opportunity to go back to their homeland, but no, they don't want to turn back. He says in verse 16, "Now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country." The writer here is speaking of these pilgrims, these men and women who, the longer they walked with God, saw themselves as strangers just passing through and not fitting in in this world. They all faced difficulties. They all overcame obstacles. They all were met with opposition and all of them lived in environments where there was unrest, where there were tribulations and challenges and the temptation would've been to turn back, to go back where I came from, to cling to my identity of origin, oh, but that's not what they did. They kept moving forward and moving forward meant leaning less and less on where they came from and how that shaped their identity and looking more and more into who they are in Christ and where they're headed because the longer you walk with God, and the farther you go with God, the less where you came from matters and the more where you're going matters. I want to ask you a question as a Christian. What matters more to you, where you've come from, or where you're going? That is such an important question for us to ask ourselves today. This verse tells us that they, in verse 16 says, "They desire a better country," oh, and it's a better country. It's a better country than you or I have ever lived in or any country from which you've come. He describes it as being better and my question to you as you look at that word better, that adjective, it's saying here's their country, their homeland, let's throw ours in there, this is my country, this is my background, this is my ancestry, these are all the things I could be so proud of but rather than looking at that, he says they started to shift their focus on a better country. (laughs) A future that is better than the past. They desire a heavenly country, a better country, a heavenly country, and would you agree with me that our heavenly country is better? I mean, really it's a decision that you can only decide by faith because the only country you know is the country you've seen. The country spoken of in Scripture that we call heaven is a land we've never seen and so to speak the word that yes, it is better, my heavenly country is better, that's a statement of faith on our parts. I believe it's better. When you read Revelation chapter 21, it's the final ushering in of the new heaven and it's the eternal city where those who are saved will live. And John was told that there would be no more sorrow in that city, no more suffering in that city, no more sickness or sin, no more death in that city. Goes on to list the kinds of people who will not be there. Unrepentant people will not be there. Wicked and evil and ungodly people will not be there. They will be in another place while God's children are in their new country, their new homeland called heaven. There will be perfect peace in heaven, perfect happiness with God. We'll be united with the object of our worship. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We will see our Lord and our Redeemer Jesus with the evidence of those nail prints in His glorified hands and we will be joining the saints who've gone on before us, the saints who've died and have preceded us. I'm telling you streets of gold, walls of jasper and as you think about all the things the Bible says about heaven, is it not accurate to say that's better? Safety and security and never another fear, never another question, doubt, never another division between people, see, the truth is no matter how idealistic our founders were and no matter how idealistic e pluribus unum as our national motto is, the only real e pluribus unum is the country of heaven because the Bible says that out of every nation, tribe, and tongue, we will be redeemed by the blood of Christ. Out of many, he makes us one, and make no mistake about it, the only way that human beings can achieve true and lasting harmony and unity and fellowship is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that's what we'll enjoy in heaven. I hope that as you are growing in your faith, you call heaven home. Now I want to qualify this by simply saying, it does not mean we check out on our own country just because we know the country to which we're going is better. I grew up in Mississippi. I grew up in an integrated public school system. Many of my teachers were black. And what I remember growing up doesn't, I guess I was young and maybe I missed certain things that were going on around me, but I just remember every day in the classroom starting the day with the Pledge of Allegiance. I mean, I grew up in a time when the teacher would actually keep a Bible on his or her desk. And we were taught history as I grew up. It wasn't whitewashed history. We acknowledged the difficulties, especially things that had happened right in the state where I grew up and we dealt with the shame and we dealt with the reproach and we did not just sugarcoat the terrible injustices that were committed, but in spite of all those things I'm very thankful, the teachers of every stripe instilled in the classroom and in my hearts a love for America. I'm thankful that I was raised in that kind of a home where we didn't gloss over the injustices or the scars on our nation's past or the things that needed fixing even as I was a child, but I was still taught to love the country, to respect veterans. My grandmother on my mother's side drove this into our hearts, that you display the flag, that you honor the flag and that you never, ever forget the veterans who have fought for us and those especially who have died for us. I see the legitimate need for us to continue making adjustments and improvements in this ongoing 244 year experiment with liberty as someone has called our country, but I grieve as I see this season being exploited, the season in which we live, the season when we've got a moment to make meaningful changes, it is being exploited by God denying, America hating ingrates who are nothing but mere puppets of those whose agenda is to completely overturn the moral and spiritual order of civilization, you may not see it, that's okay. I see it for what it is. Whatever good or bad you see in America, past or present, here's what I know to be true about our great country, it is an undeniable fact, it is part of the record that no revisionist and no radical can reverse or undo this. The fact that our country has made the contribution of the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ more than any country in the history of planet earth. From our shores, from our soil, from our homeland, the great church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the United States of America has made our nation the greatest launching pad for the world missions movement in the 2000 years of Christian history. More missionaries have gone from our land to blanket the globe with the life changing, soul saving gospel of Jesus, why? Because we have had the freedom enshrined in the Constitution to spread the gospel, to preach without fear or favor, without wondering if there will be retaliation from our government for our propagating the truths, these eternal truths that are given to us in the Word of the Living God. And America has sent more missionaries out across this world to evangelize people of every nation, tribe and tongue than have come from any country at any time in history and through all the years of Christian history combined. That fact alone is a sign of the favor and blessing God has bestowed upon this land. I do not turn a blind eye to the things that are wrong with our nation and the things that were flawed from our founding but we move back and we think about the fact that however great our country is, it is a temporary nation and the greatest thing that has happened in our country is the promotion of a heavenly country. And the truth that so many countless, millions of people will be in heaven because the gospel has gone forth from our free country. As a believer in Jesus Christ, my primary question about everything that is going on in my country is how will this affect this gospel? How will this affect our ability to share the gospel and to preach the Bible? In Colossians chapter two and verse eight, Paul says "Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense." Let me read that again, "Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ." We are living in a time of these kinds of philosophies, high minded nonsense and it is nothing other than warmed up leftovers of philosophies that have been tried and tasted and have made civilization sick for years. And we are setting the stage in our country for the welcoming of these radical ideologies that have already been proven to be destructive to those who drink of its water. We're on a slippery slope and I want to submit to you a fear that I have that hate crime legislation sounds noble but the truth is, all crime against another human is done by hate so there was no need to develop a special category for it and from hate crime legislation we're now moving toward hate speech legislation. See, we used to be in a land where we defended people's right to say whatever they wanted to say, whether it was good, whether it was bad, it was part of what it meant to be free, but oh, if you're not careful, you'll miss the succession from hate crime legislation to hate speech legislation whether through corporate America or even through legislation and now we're getting into hate thought where we're going to be told that simply thinking a certain way makes you guilty of hate. In fact, I was recently told that it's not even hate crimes or hate speech or hate thought but that silence makes you guilty of hate, simply because you don't articulate your view in a way that others want you to. I've even had people try to contact me, members of our own church, expressing to me how I should word things or someone even contacted me and said, "Well, I heard what you said, but this is what you meant to say," no, let me tell you something. I say what I mean to say and my responsibility as a preacher of the truth of the Word of God is not to bow down, to yield, to send out a hashtag, to conform to cultural mandates no matter how trendy and fashionable they may be. My responsibility is to keep the main thing the main thing and the main thing is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the main thing is this. I love our country, but I love more the freedom to preach the message of Jesus. I love my country, but the longer I serve Him and the more that I love Him, the more that I realize this country is not my real home. My real country and my real homeland is heaven above. So today I want you to know I will not bow down. I will not capitulate. I have one Lord, one God. And only one before whom I will bow and to whom I will yield and I think it's time for all of us as Americans and as Christians to take the counsel of the apostle Paul in the book of Philippians where he said in Philippians four and verse eight, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing." He says this, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, what is honorable, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise," isn't that an amazing list? What we think about and fix our thoughts upon determines how we feel, how we speak, how we react. God says, think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, things that are excellent and things that are worthy of praise. Oh, that's what I have to do to keep my head cleared and to keep my heart centered in Jesus in the midst of so much chaos today. Our citizenship, if we're saved, and by the way, are you saved? I sure hope you're saved. I'm saved. And I know I'm saved. There's not a doubt in my mind that I'm saved but if you are saved as I hope you are, your real citizenship is in a different country. In Philippians chapter three and verse 20, Paul writes these words, "Our citizenship is in heaven, for which also we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Would you just say that out loud? My citizenship is in heaven. Say it again, my citizenship is in heaven. Well, I don't know as I think about our own country, how much longer we can forestall this tide of destruction and the self loathing of America. But this is what I do know, America is not the kingdom of God. America is not heaven. And one day America is going to fold like every other kingdom of this world has fallen and one day will fall. Only the kingdom of God will stand forever and in this we can be encouraged, but here's what I want you to write down, point number three, God is not ashamed to identify with people who trust Him. (laughs) Don't miss that. God is not ashamed to identify with people who trust Him. This is one of the most encouraging statements in the Book of Hebrews, that God is not ashamed to identify with you and me and with the people who are listed in chapter 11 of Hebrews. He says in verse 16, "Now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them." This is a staggering thought, that he says I'm not ashamed to be called their God but if you go back and you read their stories, they were flawed people. I mean, one of them is Abraham. You ever read about Abraham? You ever read about the woman he went to bed with 'cause he got tired of waiting on God to fulfill the promise? What happened to her and her young son? At God's direction, she and the boy were sent out into the wilderness, where God said he would take care of them, but what I'm telling you is, he was a flawed man, this Abraham guy and he's listed in this chapter and even about Abraham, a man with major problems, major family struggles, he would be deemed socially unacceptable by our standards today, God says I'm not ashamed to be called his God. This is important for us to think about today. Throughout my years as a Pastor, I have had people approach me and say, how is it that somebody can have strong faith but still have so many weaknesses and inconsistencies, hypocrisies in their life, and what I often want to say is, I don't know, why don't you tell me? Why don't you tell me? Because the fact that you're asking that question about how someone can have virtues but also have vices and how those two are irreconcilable, do we not realize that every one of us who is called human suffers with the same syndrome? That just because we have faith in God, it does not mean that our lives are perfect, it does not mean that everything lines up as it should? It simply means that faith is what God is pleased with. In Romans chapter five, the Bible says, faith is what brings justification. Justification means God declares us righteous, as though we've never sinned. How does that happen? Because we are religious? No, because we're perfect? No. Because our life lines up with everything we say? Inwardly is backed up outwardly? No inconsistencies, no vices, no hypocrisies, no, the Bible says we are made right with God, not by our own personal moral perfection but simply by faith, faith. Faith is what makes us right with God and when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God declares you as though you've never sinned. That's right, read your Bible, it's there. And God sees you as holy. In verse number 11 of the second chapter, the writer of Hebrews uses similar terminology. He says, "Now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same father and that is why," look at this again, "Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters." That means that if you're saved, I know you're not perfect. I'm saved and I know I'm not perfect. If I have faith in God, even with all of my inconsistencies and vices in my life, God is not ashamed to be called my God. In chapter two and verse 11 says Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters because he has made God our father when we come to him by faith. How awesome is our God? Do you realize today that God is proud to call you His own? That's what it means, for God not to be ashamed. The opposite is He's proud to call you His own because He knows what you are worth. He knows the price He was willing to pay to make you His own and He knows that as long as you live in this life, there are things that you're trusting Him to accomplish for you, that His plan is never to give because He knows that His ultimate plan is to draw you home, to bring you to your true country, your new homeland, where your citizenship got transferred the moment you said yes to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to encourage you today because there are things that we're hoping for in the future that will always be in the future that we may never see until we get to heaven but I promise you, it'll be enough when we get there. I also want to encourage you by telling you that your citizenship, as much as you love our country, this country, or whatever country you're viewing from now or from whatever country you or your ancestors have come, the most important country to all of God's children must be our heavenly country. Have your shifted your primary allegiance and love from your country here to your country there? I have, and then finally, what God wants us to know when He looks down and He sees people like us who've decided we're just strangers and pilgrims passing through, we don't fit in here anymore. Our greatest longing is to be with Him. He looks down and says, oh, you want to be with me that bad? You love me that much? You're longing for the time when I release you from life on earth so you can be held in My embrace forever? Heh, I'm not ashamed to say I am your God. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. And Father, as we do lift up our country, we all have different views about what should happen. We all want there to be peace and unity in our midst but at the same time, help us to move beyond and to move past things about which we disagree and especially as Christians, help us to understand that we as believers, we're gonna live in the same country forever and ever and ever and that'll be a perfect place so as we see all the imperfections of the land that we love, we thank you and praise you, there are no imperfections in the land to which we're heading and I pray today, if there is just one person who does not know for certain that heaven is their country, heaven is their home, that they will say yes to Jesus, that they will cry out, oh, Jesus, please save me by the blood of your cross through your death for my sin and through your glorious resurrection from the grave. Oh Jesus, please save me and we pray this in Jesus's name, amen.
