AMERICA, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

AMERICA, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? (Editorial Note: Over a decade ago I read an excellent little book titled, America, Where Do We Go from Here? It was authored by Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Senior Pastor of the Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Illinois. At that time I was struggling to make sense out of the disappointing outcome of the 1996 Presidential election. His book equipped me to adopt a Biblical perspective that remains to this day. Dr. Lutzer recently preached a sermon on the gist of that book. It provides an insightful, Biblical and helpful perspective on how the Church in America can survive and thrive in an increasingly oppositional culture. Edited down for space considerations, here is the bulk of his outstanding and incredibly timely message.) “Folks, it’s gone. Some of you are old enough to remember the days back in the 1970’s when Frances Schaeffer told us that the day would come when we’d wake up and discover that the America that we once knew was gone. I believe that that day is here. Like a boat caught on the mighty Niagara River, the speed of the river and its size is continually increasing, and we’re living at a very critical moment of history here in the United States. Of course we have already seen this cultural shift 20 and 30 years ago, but it does seem as if the river is increasing in size and speed. I believe that in this culture there are (some) irreversible trends that we have seen during the last ten or fifteen years. These trends are continuing and they should be disturbing. 1) Economic Decline. 2) Moral Breakdown. 3) Break-up of the family. 4) Educational Indoctrination. 5) Arbitrary Legal Rulings. 6) Continued Decline of Christianity and Christian Values. Isn’t it wonderful to realize that historically the Church of Jesus Christ has always been an island of righteousness in a sea of opposition and a sea of paganism? That’s been the story of the Church. Today I’m going to invite you to take your Bibles and turn to 1 Peter, and let’s remember why this book was written. 1 Peter was written to a scattered group of Christians living in the Roman Empire areas of the world and they were being harassed, being marginalized, and being put to death. Remember when you open your Bibles to 1 Peter these were people who did not have the opportunity to vote on their leadership. They were not people who had the opportunity to oppose their governments because they were weak. They had to buckle under and they had to endure it. Peter is writing this letter to encourage them, and he’s telling them how they can live as a suffering church and witness for Christ in the midst of it. And I would certainly not say that we are a suffering church; not yet in some ways as I’ve outlined, but we still have a lot of freedom. We have a lot of opportunity, and we’re not in their category. If the people who were living under Roman rule, which was so hostile to Christianity, were able to live faithfully, why shouldn’t we be able to live faithfully in a culture that has still given us many freedoms and many opportunities? With that background, let us look at five unshakeable pillars so when the ground around us, figuratively speaking, is shaking, and we see so many things going on in our culture that trouble us, what is it that we hang on to so that we continue to worship Jesus with gladness and joy, and embrace our place in this world with a sense of optimism and deep commitment? Pillar #1: God Still Reigns. Now Peter doesn’t speak about leadership directly, though he does say in 1 Peter 2:13, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil,” and so forth. And he’s writing at a time when the Christians couldn’t be completely loyal when their consciences were violated, but as much as they were able, they were supposed to be able to honor the king and the emperor. Wow! What a challenge, because Peter understood, as is so clearly revealed in the Bible, that God reigns. God sometimes gives a nation a leader that is better than it deserves. For example in 2 Kings we have the story of Josiah who was a righteous ruler and did everything according to God’s laws, and the people though wouldn’t turn back to God, but he did what he could. He was more righteous than the people deserved. Sometimes God gives a nation a leader that is far worse than they deserve. Certainly the people in Russia didn’t deserve a Stalin or a Lenin. Certainly the people in Germany didn’t deserve a Hitler. And so sometimes God does that. Then sometimes God gives a nation exactly the kind of leader that it deserves. The best example of this is in 1 Samuel where the people voted and they voted for Saul to be their leader. And God reluctantly gave them that opportunity and said, “If they want this leader to be theirs, they’ll have him.” And I would say, on balance, Saul was about the kind of man that the nation deserved at that time, and they lived with the consequences. Scripture says that all authority comes from God. That means that we have to embrace our leaders whether we voted for them or voted against them. We have to embrace our leaders as those who have been appointed by God, and accept that we are to be their subjects at this moment in history, living out our faith as we shall see, knowing that God still rules in the affairs of men. And the Scripture says that He does everything according to the counsel of His own will. Let us rejoice in the fact that God is king, God still rules, and therefore we don’t have to wring our hands in fear, wondering what the future holds, because if God is God, we can live in peace and in faith. Pillar #2: The Church is Still Precious. Let’s look at this in 1 Peter 2:9. “But you are a chosen race.” We are a chosen race. You’ll notice we are a royal priesthood. In the Old Testament the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies only on one day of the year. The New Testament teaches us that Jesus Christ has brought us into the presence of God, and we live all of our life in the Holy of Holies, in the presence of God. We are always in His presence, and when we pray in His name we know that we are accepted and received. That’s why the Bible says it is with confidence that we come to Him because we are all priests now before God. That’s why we do not accept a priesthood because all believers are priests in the sight of the Living God. Think of how wonderful that is. You are a holy nation, that is to say, a nation set apart for God, a people for His own possession. You belong to God. It solves the issue of ownership, and all of those things indicate that we are still number one on God’s lists of things to take care of in the universe. The Church is His bride. He is the one who oversees it. He’s the one who wooed us to Himself, and through His love we were drawn to Him. So we have the good faith and the confidence that we belong to God forever, and that the Church is still precious to Him. Pillar #3: Our Mission is Still Clear. I’m still in 1 Peter 2:9. “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Wow! So what are we to do in the midst of our situation? What is God calling us to do as a church and as individuals, where you work, where you are not only employed but where you live? It is to show forth the excellencies of Christ. We do this, first of all, by our lifestyle. You’ll notice what the Apostle Peter says in verse 11. He says, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners, and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” Now notice. “Keep your conduct excellent among the Gentiles and keep it honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” Your first responsibility, even before you open your mouth about Christ, is to live in such a way that you have a sense of integrity, that people who look at your life say, “What is it that makes you tick? Why is it that you are able to be so kind in the midst of pressure? Why don’t you gossip like everyone else? Why don’t you backbite?” And they wonder what it is that keeps you afloat and why it is that you can be optimistic and thankful and joyful in the midst of very harsh conditions. Peter goes on in 1 Peter 3:13, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” What he’s saying is that it is not only the life you live. It’s the message that you convey. You set the Lord apart in your heart and be ready to give a defense of your faith. One of the best things that you can do is to just give a testimony. Ask someone, “Where are you on your spiritual journey?” and let him or her talk. Listen to them, and after listening, you may be surprised at how either then or in the future God gives you an entry point, and you witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mission is still clear – very clear. Pillar #4: Our Focus is Still Heaven. In chapter 1, verse 4 we are “called to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” If you are discouraged today and you are a believer in Jesus Christ, remember that there is a crown waiting for you that only you can wear. There is a door that only you can enter. There is a place reserved. It is kept in heaven for you so God says, “This is where you are going to be, and this is where you’re going to be.” Remember this! Our focus is still heaven. That’s why we can endure so much. You know that heaven is such a wonderful place, you begin to realize that even if it’s only half as good as we can imagine, it’s going to be a tremendous place. I can tell you that I can never oversell heaven. (applause) It’s going to be great. And it’s going to be eternal, whereas your boss, thank God, isn’t going to live eternally. The Apostle Peter says in First Peter 4:12, “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed. Live for Christ if you are marginalized because of your integrity and your love for Christ. Wow! And so it’s a great opportunity. Rejoice! Don’t be sad about it. Don’t be despondent. Look at it from the standpoint of eternity. Pillar # 5: Our Victory Is Still Certain. Do you remember how (Peter) speaks about Jesus Christ? It says in 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.” Jesus knew that eventually He’d receive justice. There is so much injustice in this world and we should do all that we possibly can to rectify the situation, to take up the cause of children, to take up the cause of the marginalized, the rejected. But what about those injustices that we can never address? Jesus taught us, He’s our example, and He said, “I don’t need justice in this life. I can put up with injustice.” Why? It’s because He kept committing Himself to God whom He knew would judge justly, and for this He was at peace therefore. He didn’t have to retaliate. And so what we know is that our victory is still certain. It will come to us, but we have to wait for it. We don’t get it all in this life. I am preaching this message because I have heard so much discouragement from Christians regarding what is happening in our culture, and I am saying, “You can’t find that kind of discouragement in the New Testament.” When you are worshipping Jesus, nothing can stop you or ultimately discourage you. Now there are two bottom lines that are very important here. Number one, and this is a lesson that comes to us from Church history over and over and over again, and that is … It is not necessary to have freedom of religion in order to be faithful. Freedom of religion is great but remember it’s rather recent if you look at the total chart of Church history, and the American experiment is indeed unique. But Christians have lived for centuries without freedom of religion, but they lived faithfully. There’s another bottom line. It’s not necessary to win in this life in order to win in the next. Let us remember – let us never forget – God is with us. Let us remember that. (applause) All of the hand-wringing is unscriptural. You know, I think of Jesus Himself. I’m emphasizing the fact that it’s not necessary to win in this life in order to win in the next. Did Jesus win in this life? Indeed not! It certainly didn’t appear that way. In dying on that cross, (He) died for us. He won a victory over Satan. In many respects, even though Jesus was crucified in weakness, it was His finest moment, and He knew that eternity was just around the corner, and in three days He would rise up, and then later on go into heaven, absolutely triumphant. You don’t have to win in this life in order to win in the next. And for those of you who have never trusted Christ, by the way, as I mentioned, it is because of His death that a sacrifice was made for our sin. Some of you have come with conviction of sin and what you don’t know is you are here today, listening to this message because God is talking to you, and He wants to bring you to the only one who is able to take your sin away – the Lord Jesus, the sin bearer. He’s the only one who is able to do that. I urge you to come to Him in faith and to receive His forgiveness and His gift of eternal life. My message today is simply summed up. If God be for us who can be against us? (applause) Jesus is King God, and in the end, we will win. (applause) And really it is, you know, because of His matchless, undeserved grace.