Scripture:
Acts
4:5-12
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Read: Psalm 80
Thursday Jeremiah 31:10-14
Sometimes
it pays to be careful what you ask for. While
all the "rulers, elders and scribes" who were assembled in Jerusalem,
along with the entire ruling priesthood, would not have allowed the gospel of
Jesus Christ to be preached to them, our Biblical author Dr. Luke details that
this is exactly the consequence of their demanding to know of Peter, "By
what power or by what name did you do this?" And Peter, bless his heart, loving his Lord
so, was not going to pussyfoot around but preached to them boldly "by the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead. This Jesus is 'the stone that was
rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.' There is salvation in no one else, for there
is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be
saved."
They
asked for it, and Peter gave it to them, for Jesus was the cornerstone, and God
built all that was to come upon Him.
There
is a very old nursery rhyme which speaks of consequences, and how seemingly
small things are built up together.
While it's an old, old story, dating back to the year 1485 and the death of King
Richard III of
England at the Battle of Bosworth Field, old truths never
die and this one speaks loudly to the people of our nation today.
The
ancient rhyme, "For Want of a Nail," author unknown, goes like this
.....
America
finds itself today in the midst of such consequences, apparently not having
learned from history, we now find ourselves repeating it.
A
modern parallel might begin .....
For want of ethical behavior respect was
lost.
For want of respect spiritual commitment was
lost.
For want of spiritual commitment the message
was lost.
For want of the message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
All for the want of ethical behavior.
Do the problems we in this nation face today
really come down to ethics?
The
simplest definition of ethics, from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is, first,
"Moral
principles that govern a person's or group's behavior," and second, "The
moral correctness of specified conduct."
Some people will tell you that truth
and morals are relative to your own language, culture and even biological
makeup. But making up your own rules for
your behavior is a slippery slope that leads only downward. It isn't that most people don't know what is
right or wrong, every mature person, and even a child, has a sense of good and
evil.
And yet we hear people say, "No
one has a monopoly on the truth," or "One man's truth is another
man's lie," or "You can be who you want and do what you want."
The problem comes in when you must
decide what you will do in the face of great desires and hungers for your own
satisfaction. It's at that point that
the welfare of your neighbors, your friends and family can fall by the wayside,
and your position as a follower of Jesus Christ comes into question.
How many times have we heard that
question, "What would Jesus do?"
For starters, Jesus was guided by the
Father. There are 75 verses in the Old
and New Testaments which say that He is the God of truth. So Jesus was guided not by laws but by God's
principles; principles from the God of truth.
The purpose of any law is to keep order and punish those who break the
law, but as the writer of Hebrews tells us, the law of the Old Testament was
merely a shadow of things to come. And
when Jesus who is the Christ came to live among us, in flesh, he fulfilled that
law. His life became the embodiment of
God's principles to us.
The fact is, God's principles by which
we are to live are not difficult to discern.
They are logical and make sense. It
is normally easy to see the difference between what will serve me, alone, and
yet will be detrimental to my neighbor, to those I love. But what serves me may be of such momentary
pleasure that I lose sight of the whole picture, convincing myself that what is
good for me is good for everyone. That's
called rationalization, and we live in an age when rationalization can be seen
in abundance.
In many, many ways today we serve
ourselves, titillate our own desires, pleasure ourselves physically, visually,
and emotionally without regard to what it does to others, how it uses others,
the state in which it leaves them. We
rationalize that since it makes us feel good, it's all good.
But hear this. God doesn't rationalize. Nowhere in the Bible will you find God making
excuses for His actions, flying in the face of logic and common sense so that
it brings pleasure to Him and pain to others.
2nd Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not willing that anyone should
perish. They cross that threshold on
their own merit.
So if God is not willing, how do we
find ourselves, as a nation built on the principles of God, especially we as
followers of Jesus Christ, how do we find ourselves so deeply enmeshed in
national agendas that pleasure some at the expense of others?
Chuck Colson, author, Christian
speaker, founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship, and who only
recently passed away, wrote several books that have shaped the way we see the
world around us. "How Now Shall We
Live?" is an important look at the Christian worldview. But a few years ago he wrote a book titled
"Lies That Go Unchallenged."
When you read that book, it becomes clear how we became so removed from
the presence and the principles of God; how this nation came to be in the
situation it is in today. It wasn't God
who moved away from us.
For example, here are some of the lies
we, as a nation, have accepted as truth, which Chuck Colson's book addresses:
1.
"We have the freedom of choice to be who we want and to do what we
want." Judging just by the actions
we see in this world today by many who profess to belong to Jesus Christ, to
say that is a lie is going to be a great shock to many people. But if you know the Christ -- not know of
Him, but know Him -- you already know that's a lie. For if you have already turned your life over
to Him, He is in charge of your life, and His decisions are your decisions.
2.
"Marriage can be between any two people and it lasts only as long
as both are happy." Yes, that's a
lie.
3.
"We'll live in harmony if we tolerate the beliefs of others." A lie that is engulfing we who live in this
nation right now, as it always has down through the ages around the world.
4.
"Art should break traditional norms and challenge outworn beliefs." Yes, a lie the truth of which has to do with
getting it right in terms of substance over image, with being persuaded by the
myth rather than reality, with knowing whom the King of Glory really is and
saving our worship for Him.
5.
"Christian beliefs are a private matter." The new counterculture, promoted and
supported by the same old Father of Lies, would like Christian beliefs to be a
private matter so they can be quietly smothered to death. Early American patriot Patrick Henry had a
handle on this when in 1799 he said, "United we stand, divided we
fall."
6.
"Entertainment is a vehicle to help us fulfill personal desires." First of all, it's all about profit, it's not
about helping us do anything. Secondly, you
might be surprised to know that "desire" is mentioned 111 times in
God's inspired word, and most of those mentions have to do with "don't do
it." The fact is there is a great
deal of cruelty, evil and rudeness hidden in today's humor, in laughing at
others. The entertainment industry today
has done this nation a disservice on a grand scale in terms of speaking to
moral and ethical behavior. Just as in
politics, we have come to expect the worst, and are rarely disappointed.
7.
"God accepts us as we are, and there are many ways to Him." I was recently very disappointed to hear our
own President of the United States voice this opinion. It's a lie, but a lie many have accepted in
order to exchange liberty and truth for a little peace. Early statesman Benjamin Franklin wrote,
"They who can give up
essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty
nor safety." History shows they
neither deserve it nor will they have it long. It's also
a lie accepted by many who value the opportunity to make a profit rather than
stand for what is true. We make heroes
out of people who are good at behaving falsely as actors and actresses,
pretending to be what they are not, and we give them a public platform to
expound on things they know nothing about, and proclaim it as truth. Then so many of us eat it up with a spoon. Superstition, buying happiness with the
riches we have provided them, and exhibiting transformation without repentance
are the hallmarks of their lives. Why,
through any stretch of the imagination, would we accept such falsehoods from
those whose very lives are a lie?
Why would we accept the lies they
promote when in truth, they are no different from us? No wiser, no smarter, no better informed. Why?
Because we do not know what the very word of God says about such things. They gain acceptance through our ignorance.
The follower of Jesus Christ who is
immune to these lies also knows the truth of Psalm 119:11, "Thy word have
I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee."
2nd Timothy 3:16 wisely reminds us
that "All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness," If you have
THAT hid in your heart, all those lies we just went through are going to fall
to the wayside like water off a duck's back.
If you are a son or a daughter of God those lies are not meant for you,
mean nothing to you, have no place in the life God has planned for you. The sooner we recognize such lies for what
they are, leading us away from God, the sooner we can restore our own spiritual
health, and that of our nation.
If you do not belong to the family of God, if Jesus who is
the Christ is not your Lord and Savior, if you have not turned your life over
to Him who died to take away your sins and reunite you with Almighty God, then
you need to take care of that, right away.
Invite Jesus Christ into your life.
Why is this important?
First, so that you can be reunited with God, which is His desire for
you. Second, so you will have the tools
you need to avoid the lies and death traps of this world. This life is not all there is. You were meant for so much more. This world would entrap you in false
religions, and in religion itself. Jesus
Christ is not about religion. In fact,
in Hebrews 4:12 it tells us that the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper
than any two-edged sword, and in Matthew 11:18-19 we learn that we can wield
the sword of truth to cut through the bonds of religion.
Don't be caught up in that spider web of bondage. Pray with me right now,
“Father, I know that I have sinned against You, and my
sins have separated me from You. I am truly sorry, and I want to turn away from
my sinful past. Please forgive me, and
help me to avoid sinning again. I
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and my personal
savior. I believe Jesus died for my
sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive with You, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life,
to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy
Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In
Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
Amen and amen.
Week of Worship
April
29, 2012
Invocation: The shepherd of
our souls, who calls His own by name, help us this hour to hear and to heed
Your voice. we know no other voice, and
no other voice will we follow. Amen.
Daily
Scripture Readings
Monday
Jeremiah 23:1-8
Tuesday
Ezekiel 11:14-21
Wednesday
Romans
4:16-25
Friday
John 10:1-18
Saturday 1st
Peter 5:1-11
Sunday
Acts 4:8-12; 1st John
3:18-24; Psalm 23; John 10:11-18
Reflection: (silent and
written)
Prayers for the church,
for others, for yourself.
Hymn: "Savior, Like
a Shepherd Lead Us"
Benediction: In this
moment of quietness I have heard Your call, my Lord. Now, lead on, and I will follow. Amen.
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