What You Can Do For Your Country

Well, it is a delight to see all of you, here today. how many of you were at the harvest dinner last night? Excellent, really, wanna give thanks to the Lord and express our appreciation to the 70+ people that had a hand in putting the harvest dinner together in one way or another for last night. Thank you very much for your ministry to us in this way.

a special, thanks to the three people that shared their testimony. I, my expectations were already pretty high going into the night with regard to those testimonies, but man, they were giving blazing hot gospel, really bringing it last night. In fact, I had a message prepared for the evening. with PowerPoint slides and everything, but sitting there under their ministry, the way that they were bringing the gospel.

I was left with nothing to do except to wrap up what they had said, so just really appreciate their boldness and, their, they're bringing the gospel to us with heat, last night and, just, there's so many people to thank Irsa and the decorating crew you guys did a phenomenal job last night. Thank you very much. The beauty, the detail, every nook and cranny was accounted for last night all the way down to a popcorn machine that we've never had there before, but, just thank you for, adding that beautifying touch to the night.

Mark Montgomery, you were huge again.

Mark is the behind the scenes mover and shaker for events like this in the life of our church, and he's not up front, but I'm telling you things like this don't happen without a guy like Mark, behind the scenes, orchestrating things so we really appreciate his ministry and wanna thank Steve McCullough for the video camera last night really enhanced the evening. enlarging everyone's, face, I found myself watching the screen rather than the live person's. few people complained that they could see my nose hairs, but I will trim them before next year's harvest dinner.

but just thank you to, all of you that came, those of you that brought saved and unsaved, family and friends.

I was delighted to know that these nonbelievers that were brought last night were sitting under such an awesome gospel ministry through the singing, as it was led by Joe Sapko and the worship team and also the testimonies that were shared last night. So just my heart is filled with gratitude for. What God did last night. Also, we wanna thank the Lord for what he's doing in the Iana ministry on Wednesday nights, both here at the church and at the Kumamoto's home.

Just this past week, a young man accepted Christ at the Ina here at the church and a lady accepted Christ at the senior high Ina Ministry. So I wanna thank the Lord for the impact of, of these ministries. a couple of ministry, opportunities that we just wanna, bring to your attention. November 20th, you'll find a little bit of information about this, I believe, in your, actually not the specific announcements in your bulletin, but November 20th, there's gonna be a meal provided for needy and homeless families here in the community.

It'll be here on the church campus. It'll be November 20th from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock that day. And if you would like to help. in any way, shape, or form with this ministry on November 20th and the preparations leading up to it, you'll want to contact Cindy Okamura.

And all you need to do is open up your bulletin and under ministry opportunities, the second ministry there is the food pantry. And at the end of that announcement is Cindy's phone number and you're welcome to call her and let her know if you're interest in helping. Also in your bulletin, you'll see an insert regarding Angel Tree, the Angel Tree, ministry, and, we wanna make this available to you again this year as we have in past years, provide you the opportunity to, purchase a gift for a son or a daughter of someone who is in prison.

And you yourself can take that gift over to that home.

It'll be someone in your local area and tangibly share the love of Christ with an individual who's in a family that is hurting in this way. If you're, if you don't wanna bring the gift over, a lot of times people bring them to the church and then we have a team of people that distributes and delivers those, gifts. So read that insert. We'll be saying more about it in coming weeks and you're welcome to be involved in this ministry once again.

also, and lastly, on behalf of the pastoral staff, I wanna thank you guys for your expressions of love and appreciation. over the month of, October, which is Pastor Appreciation Month, and, thank you for the cookies and more cookies and more cookies and, gift cards and, greeting cards and what have you expressing your love and appreciation for us, all of that served to remind us of why we're blessed to be here ministering to a congregation of people as wonderful as you. And so often during the month of October because of these expressions of love, it only enhances our appreciation for you.

So thank you for ministering to us in this way.

well, with those, things having been said, let me invite you guys to turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2. I wanna let today I'm gonna be preaching a topical message on what you can do for your country. What you can do for your country.

next Sunday, Lord willing, the plan is that we will come back to Ephesians and resume our verse by verse study through the book of Ephesians. And so you can expect that next Sunday unless the Lord dramatically leads otherwise, but for today I want us to take some time to think about our nation with the midterm elections coming up this week. it's impossible to watch any television without seeing commercials and stuff and just thinking about. just watching the news, also our country and, the needs of our country at this time.

some of you are old enough to recall a day when John F. Kennedy stood before our nation and gave a piece of counsel to the American people. It is a piece of council that I know I've heard so much throughout my life that it, it is almost cliched. And loses some of its meaning, but when he spoke these words, it was a rallying cry that really resonated in the hearts of the younger generation.

And produced a volunteer spirit in the hearts of people wanting to step out, step to the plate and do whatever was needed to be done for our country and his counsel to the American people was ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. And that council is something that ought to resonate in the church of all places. There are some people that are very obsessed on what their country can do for them and what their government can do for them and if the government ever lets them down in any way, boy do they hear about it.

And I'm not saying that the government should not do anything for us, nor am I saying that we should not tell the government when they fail in doing something that they have promised to do, but often in our culture that's where the focus is, and the focus is not so much upon a person looking at himself and asking what can I do for my country? What can I do to make my country a better place. Well, what we're gonna do today with the time that we have is ask this question what you can do for your country.

I wanna give you 6 services that you can render, 6 things that you can do that if you do them, if we do them as a church, our country will be a better place, indeed, and God will use us as he wants to use us.

first of all though, consider how much our country needs us. If our country ever needed the church. And ever needed godly Christians to render services on behalf of their nation. it is, today, consider some of the things that our country is faced with right now.

This is not exhausted by any means, the war on terror. an incredibly complex war. I do not envy our president. to be in a position that he is in requires the wisdom of Solomon that I know that I lack.

it is a war against those who have attacked our nation on September 11th, and we were assaulted on that day, and our government has the right to bear the sword for the protection of what is right. And for the protection of the American people, and force seems to be the only thing that the terrorists will listen to nonetheless, while there are some successes, the war on terror and the force that is used and the deaths and the damage and the ruin that it causes seems to create a breeding ground for even more terrorists to come out of the woodwork.

It's an incredibly complicated situation. that we're gonna be dealing with long into the future.

I have found myself saying to people in recent months, I missed the Cold War. life seems simple comparatively back then. We had national easily identifiable enemies. Now, it's way more complicated, a much more difficult war to fight, and so our country's going through a lot.

There are tens of thousands of American citizens that are in harm's way right now fighting, in this war on terror. also you think of the war that rages within our country, a war for what is right, a war, with regard to, moral values that are advocated in scripture, and there is an assault upon those moral, values. There is a war that is being raged by the enemies of the cross and the enemies of the Bible, the enemies of morality who are seeking to redefine marriage. Both in the Congress and also in the courts, seeking to radically redefine marriage in a way that is anti-biblical.

you also think of the immorality that is rampant, in our culture, people unthinkingly engaging in immoral acts without considering the consequences and also without considering that there is a God in heaven that they will be answerable, to. Do you realize that in terms of businesses in America, the 7th largest business in America is the pornography business, the 7th largest industry in this nation. Is the pornography business. One half of all hotel guests who stay in hotels in America, one half of them order pornographic pay per view movies.

One half of them. 800 million pornographic videos are rented every year, and that doesn't even touch pornography on the Internet. And in magazines, and now on cell phones that people are downloading onto their cell phones. I read this week.

That of Internet users from the age of 18 to 24, ages 18 to 24, 70% of Internet users from 18 to 24 years of age, 70% of them have viewed pornography on the Internet. There is an evil in our country that all of these forms of media and venues are feeding and we are seeing like occasional explosions of this evil that enter into the public arena. A man a few months ago, comes into a school and ends up shooting people and he lines up some students against the wall, commits unspeakable acts of evil against them before he shoots and kills them.

A man whom this evil of lust set its grip upon him and took control of him and caused him to do unspeakable acts of evil in this way just recently, as we all, we even talked about two or three weeks ago, a man who was haunted by dreams.

And lust of committing immoral acts that I'm not even gonna mention specifically breaks into a one room Amish schoolhouse and fully intending to carry out those acts but ends up killing shooting about 10 or 11 Amish girls and actually killing about half of them, a man who said that he dreamed about committing immoral acts. This is a. man who no doubt tinkered with the sin of lust and then thinking he can control it, but eventually it seized control of him and caused him to act out in these unspeakable ways resulting in not only his own death but the ruin and the death of other people also.

These are explosions of evil and when you see them you begin to realize something's feeding this beast.

And it's a marvel that there are not more explosions of evil in this way, but I want to warn you guys, these explosions of evil will become more frequent. The apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:1, in the last days, dangerous times will come. And to summarize why, it's because of sin. It is because of sin men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and guys, in our society today we are living in a dangerous day and it will only become more dangerous in the days that lie ahead.

We live in a society where over 1 million abortion. are committed every year and this is horrifying to me but some states require parental notification and so there's actually stories of daughters that have gone to their parents and told their parents I'm pregnant the daughters actually would prefer to keep the child, but the parents are driving their daughters to the abortion clinic and demanding that they abort the child so much for parental leadership. And notification our society does not value life and morality evil is running rampant in many quarters of our society and to make matters worse, if there ever was a day where the church, where our society needed the church to be taking a strong stand and being a light in a dark place, it is today and yet we live in a land where an increasing number of churches are celebrating.

the evil that the world is wanting to be celebrated, we have churches that are saying that homosexual behavior is OK and the Bible doesn't say that it's wrong, and churches that celebrate that and even officiate homosexual unions and are on the cutting edge of the redefinition of marriage movement that is moving across our country.

We are in a land that has a compromised church within it. And even churches that are evangelical that are preaching the truth in many ways we're not doing the job that we should be doing, of producing a younger generation of people that are gonna stand firm in the faith, taking a strong stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, in evangelical churches across the board, one of the statistics that I read recently about a couple of months ago is that of children that grow up in the church.

Only 4% of them continue on in the faith after they become adults and so our land, it has evil within it running rampant.

The church is a compromised church that is failing our nation and not being the light that God has called it. Be and if there ever was a time when we as Christians should ask what can I do for my country it's today it's today and with the midterm elections that are coming up and our nation very much being in the news in the newspapers on TV and in our own minds as well, let's take some time to ask the question what can we do for our country. By the way, let me just say that. America is not our home country, OK?

We're citizens of another kingdom. We're just strangers and aliens here, all right? So our allegiance is not to this country as much as it is to the heavenly kingdom where we are heading. Nonetheless, God in His providence has us passing through here, all right?

He's put us here in this. Because he wants us to be a light here where he has placed us and so let's ask what can we do for the good of our country. Number one, the first two things I want to tell you are not so much things you do as much as things that you want to remember. If you remember these things, then you would do your country a great service by remembering them and especially with the elections coming up.

this week, and if you listen to people on the Republican and Democratic side, if one or the other ends up gaining control or maintaining control of the Congress and what have you, it is the end of civilization as we now know it and so. Maybe we can, be fearful. Oh no, the Democrats may get control or the Republicans may maintain control and what will we do if that happens? Let us calm our hearts with this biblical truth, and that is that God is in control of who gains positions of power.

God is sovereign. And he is absolutely in control of who gains positions of political power in our country. No person ever has or ever will win an election without God's sovereign allowance. People only rise to power and are situated in positions of power because they serve to further God's sovereign purposes for human history, bringing history to its ultimate climax with the coming of Jesus.

And so we can rest assured in this. Daniel, and, and by the way, Daniel's living in a day where the Jews have been taken into Babylon in this pagan empire, and it's like, where is God? And Daniel really wanted people to know, listen, God is in control. God has caused this empire to arise to carry out his purposes.

In judgment for the people of Israel. In Daniel 2:20 and 21, Daniel answered and said, Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him, and it is he who changes the times and the epochs. He removes kings and establishes kings. That's what the Bible teaches.

not just he removes and establishes kings in the land of Israel, but in all of the nations of the world, including the Babylonian Empire, God is the one who removes kings and establishes kings. In fact, King Nebuchadnezzar, totally pagan king. got full of himself thinking he was really something and really the one with power and authority and seeking to deify himself, and God leveled him to the ground in a, in a humiliating rebuke and God said to Nebuchadnezzar after announcing the judgment that was going to befall Nebuchadnezzar.

He says, because the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and he bestows it on whomever he wishes.

He's instructing this pagan king. I'm the one who is the real power broker in the universe and on earth, and I give power to whomever I wish. And so even as a pagan king, you'd better understand, Nebuchadnezzar, that you only have power because I have granted that power to you. For my 40th birthday in preparation for that, I memorized Isaiah 40.

It's a wonderful chapter in scripture and look at what it says in this section of this chapter. It is he, God, who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but he merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like the stubble.

God is sovereign over all of the realms and empires and nations of mankind, and judges. No judge will ever sit on the Supreme Court without God's sovereign allowance. No president, vice president, senator, representative on the federal or state level will ever assume a position of power apart from God's sovereign allowance. A second thing that we need to do, that would render a service to our country, and that is remember that whoever does assume office, once he assumes office, will only be able to do what God sovereignly allows him to do.

It's not just that God determines who's in power, but once they're in power, then God has no control. They can do whatever they want. No, the Bible teaches that those who do assume positions of power, however they assume that position, once they assume power, they can only do what God sovereignly allows them to do. in Proverbs 21:1, Solomon says the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord.

He turns it wherever he wishes. God is the one who controls the heart of the king, and a king can only make a decision and do something or issue an edict or a law that God sovereignly allows. Think about this for a second. In the history of the world, who was the worst victim of politics?

Jesus. think about it. Jesus was developing a following. He raised Lazarus from the dead.

The Jews are going crazy about him, and the Jewish leadership became jealous. Does that ever appear in politics? Yes, it does. They're jealous because they're losing their power base and so they want to kill Jesus and destroy him, but they don't want to do it in front of the people because it would turn the people against them.

And so they're conniving and scheming, strategizing, how can we do away with him without losing favor with the people and they finally figured out a way and during the night they have this mock trial and before the Jewish people even know what has happened, Jesus is standing before Pilate and much of that happened during the night. There was a crowd that was gathered at the scene as Jesus stood before Pilate and Pilate examines Jesus and he's like, man, I find nothing wrong with this man, and he wanted to release him, but why he didn't?

Pure politics, politics. Because Pilate said to the Jewish leadership, I find nothing wrong with this man.

And they said, well, we do because he said that he's a king. And there's only one king, and that's Caesar and if you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar and we'll make sure word gets to Caesar that you have allowed a rival to his throne to go free. That's basically what they conveyed and so Pilate, who wanted to release Jesus, did the politically expedient thing and had Jesus killed. Now I bring all that up to say this when Jesus was standing in front of Pilate.

There was an interchange that happened where Pilate started asking Jesus questions. Jesus did not answer his questions. Pilate is offended that Jesus would not speak to one so powerful as himself, and so he rebukes Jesus. And in John 19:10-11, it says, Pilate said to him, You do not speak to me?

Do you not know that I have authority to release you and I have authority to crucify you? Do who you're talking to? Do who you're not talking to? Verse 11, Jesus answered, you would have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above.

Pilate, you're confused here. You are not the one with authority. My father is the one who is sovereign and in authority, and you ultimately can only do what he sovereignly permits you to do to accomplish his purposes. So here is Jesus who has already been victimized by politics, and he's gonna be victimized far worse than he knows it and he stands there knowing as he stands before this potentate.

And knows, what, the power is not in Pilate, it's not in the Jewish leaders, my God is the ultimate power broker. And he is in control and those in power can only do what God gives them the authority and the ability to do and so let's remember that let's remember that Karl Rove is not the real power broker in this country. It's not Howard Dean either. But it's God and nobody assumes a position of power without his sovereign allowance.

Now, just based on those two things, there's a wrong way to respond to this and a right way. Let me give you the wrong way first. You might say, well, if only, people will only attain power that God sovereignly allows, and if once they attain power, they can only do what God sovereignly allows them to do, well then. Why do we need to continue this sermon?

What is left for us to do? Pastor Milton, why don't you wrap up the sermon and let's close in prayer, because if it's all up to God, then there's nothing left for us to do. That's the wrong way to think. The right way to think is, if God is the real power broker, if he is the one who sets people in power and removes them from power, and if he is the one who is so powerful that those in power can only do what he allows them sovereignly to do, well then, if I wanna do some good for my country.

Then he's the one I need to talk to, because he's the one who has this incredible power. And so the third service that you can render for your country is to pray to this omnipotent, sovereign God on behalf of this country. Pray to this sovereign God on behalf. Of this country, he is the one.

Now if you have a chance to speak to Karl Rove, I hope you would speak to him and give him your input or to anyone else that might have power on a human scale but ultimately, ultimately God is the one with the power and as Christians he is the first and foremost one to whom we speak on behalf of this nation. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, Paul says, first of all, then I urge this is not just, hey, here's a pious thing to do, add this to your list. No, I beg, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, for kings, and all who are in authority.

Look at what we pray for.

We pray for the citizens of this country. we pray for those who are in positions of authority in this country on the federal and state level in order that here's one of the things we pray for that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Honestly, what he's saying is, pray that you will be able to fully live out your Christian life without government harassment, interference, that you can live it without persecution. Actually, pray for that.

God doesn't always answer that prayer, but pray that we will Be able to lead a tranquil and quiet life and all godliness and dignity without government interference. Verse 3, this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth that educates us as to something else we can pray for, and that is pray for the salvation. Of those who are in positions of political power, pray for them. We have a God who desires all men to be saved that includes them and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now guys, I don't wanna get into the Calvinistic Armenian debate here. Our philo. Philosophy here at Cornerstone is whatever a text of scripture says, we believe it and we preach it with passion, with equal passion to any other text, and this passage says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. In the Greek text, it says.