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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org
Christian Nationalism
Good morning, everyone. As we have more and more people taking their seats, I want to welcome you this morning to Cornerstone Church.
John Laskin has a few things to say and some announcements to give us. Thanks for coming back, John. I do want to, if you're in the hallway, come on in.
If you're in, grab a seat. I know for the last couple of weeks
I was away, I know Pastor Jeff was away, spending time with my family was awesome, but coming back together with my family here at Cornerstone has always, always a special thing.
Getting to see some people that I haven't seen for a while. I'm going to embarrass my friend
Kyle, being able to share how things are going with him. First service we had Ryan and Dede and Samantha with us.
It's always good, always good to see our brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to open us up in Psalm 119.
If you have not spent time in Psalm 119 meditating on it because it's so long, do it.
I'm finding that just taking my time going through it, there is so much the Lord has to teach.
Psalm 119 .27, make me understand the way of your precepts.
There is a boldness in that statement that says there are things or influences of the world that are going to steer me this way or that way and to have the boldness in prayer to address the
Lord with such a strong request, make me understand your precepts.
You're not going to gain knowledge of the things of God. You can read the thing of God, you can listen to Pastor Jeff, but if it isn't
God and if it isn't his Holy Spirit making you understand it, it's going to be words.
This needs to get deep into your heart. Make me understand the way of your precepts and get this and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
There are so many things that we experience during the week and to be able to see them in light of God and to see them in the light of his truth and then just to meditate on the wondrous works of God.
Pastor Jeff's going to take us on a journey today of some of the attacks and some of the influences that the world would have, that Satan would have, but we have a higher calling than that.
Make me understand the way of your precepts and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
A few announcements for us today. First of all, next Sunday that will be the 10th.
The ladies are going to have a Ladies Covered Dish Fellowship.
It will be in the evening from 5 to 8. Guys, we're not invited this time.
This is for the women. They're going to have some speakers. They're going to have times of sharing. It's going to be an amazing time for the women to come back 5 to 8 here at the building next
Sunday. Registration is online. Pastor Jeff's Thursday, Pastor Graham will have guidance for that.
Men are not meeting tomorrow morning. It's July 4th for our Men's Prayer Breakfast.
That will be the following Monday. That will be on the 11th at 6 o 'clock. Put that on your list there.
And Love Life will have their prayer walk not this coming Saturday, but the following Saturday on the 16th.
Come back this evening as we have our time of prayer. Let's not lose focus of that.
So please come back this evening for our prayer meeting. VBS, this is an advanced warning.
We're going to have in the middle of August a two -day VBS on August 11th and 12th.
It's a Thursday and Friday. Rumor has it that giant water slide that was going to be outside for our baptism is going to show up.
Anyway, watch for more information on that. Let's pray. Lord, we do come to you seeking you.
We pray, Lord, make me understand the way of your precepts because the world is pushing me in so many different ways.
Make me understand your word, your truth, the whole counsel of your word. Make me understand.
I will meditate what a way to spend my life on your wondrous works this summer as we have so many activities that go on.
Good activities, spending time with the family, getting out. I pray, Lord, that this would be a summer of devotion to you, a summer of spiritual growth that we could proclaim as Paul would proclaim to Galatians, that we would walk in the spirit, not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Make that our path today, this summer. Lord, we do pray for our country.
There are so many divisions and so many false teachings going on, so much of Satan's humanistic teaching going on.
Lord, we ask for protection for our country and Lord, for us in the midst of all of this turmoil, that we would be bold with our testimony because we know truth.
We have the Holy Spirit. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.
In the midst of turmoil, whether it's Roe v. Wade, whether it's abortion going on, whether it's attack against godly values, keep us bold and true to your word.
Lord, we continue to pray for those in need here around the world. We pray for the men and women, the children that are under attack around the world.
Today, Lord, as Pastor Jeff brings us back into Second Thessalonians, the advancement of your word, of our role in your plan, that you honor us, that we can be part of it, strengthen us.
We pray, Lord, that you would empower Pastor Jeff with your word, prepare our hearts to hear, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Let's stand and sing. There is no other that can compare to you.
You are the one alone in greatness.
The one who changes. Jesus, you are the one.
Jesus, the one true God. One light of the world.
Way to be saved.
One lamb that was slain. One. There is no other that can compare to you.
The one who never changes. Jesus, you are, oh,
Jesus, the one true God. You're the one true
God. And we have seen the glory of the one and only
Son of God. Yes, we have seen the glory of the only
Son of God. You are the one true alone in greatness.
The one who never changes. Jesus, you are the one true
God. As we prepare for communion this morning, let's sing praise to his name.
Crown him with many crowns, his throne of crowns, all music but its own.
My soul, I sing a matchless king through all eternity.
Majesty, Lord, who triumphed for the victorious in the strife.
For those he came to save his glory.
Majesty, Lord, let a king of kings.
Majesty, Lord. Good morning.
We will be passing out the elements for communion. However, if you prefer the individual serving size, they are back there by the offering box.
However, we will be passing out the elements during communion. So the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, and they cried out to God for deliverance.
Exodus tells us that God heard their groaning. It says that God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God saw the people of Israel, and God knew. God sent
Moses to deliver them, and he sent 10 plagues against the gods of Egypt, which I like to prefer to call miracles.
And the final plague involved death of the firstborn and death of a lamb and blood.
God instructed Moses to tell every household to take a lamb on the 10th of the month, bring it in, and to keep it until the 14th of the month.
And on the 14th, they were instructed to slay the lamb, to take its life, and to kill it.
And take the blood and put that on the doorposts and on the lintel. And God instructed
Moses that when the angel of death came through, that he would pass over those houses that had the blood on the doorpost and lintel, which is where the word
Passover comes from. And this Passover was celebrated annually every year.
And it was at Passover that Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 22,
I have earnestly desired to celebrate this Passover with you. And it was
Passover that Jesus chose to identify himself with when he said to take this bread, this is my body, and to take this cup, this is my blood of the new covenant.
He identified with Passover for communion because it's a story of redemption from slavery.
It's a story of an atonement of a sacrifice for people that were delivered.
Lamb had to be without blemish. And it's interesting during Passover that the worshiper was not judged.
It was the offering. The offering had to be without blemish. And Jesus was that lamb.
And the scripture identifies him as that lamb. John the Baptist, when he saw
Jesus, he declared, behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. In Revelation, John the apostle, he's found weeping because there was no one found worthy to open the scrolls.
And yet he's instructed to stop weeping and to look where the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered.
And he is worthy to open the scrolls. So John turns and looks and expects to see a lion.
And it says that I saw a lamb standing as it had been slain. That word slain is four times used in Revelation to refer to Jesus.
And the word literally means an animal that is slaughtered for sacrifice. What did
John see when he saw Jesus standing there as a lamb that had been slain? Thomas, when he saw the risen
Lord, Jesus instructed him to take your hand and put it in my side.
Take your hand and touch the nail prints on my hands. Zachariah, when he declares the second coming, scripture says, they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.
He shall be known by his scars. The marks of death that God chose never to erase are still there.
Yes, he has a resurrected body. He is on the right hand of the father, pleading on our behalf, but he still has the scars.
He heals our scars, but his still remain because he was the lamb that was sacrificed for our sins.
If you have that faith, then the table is for you. If you are covered by his blood, then the communion table is for you.
But if not, I ask you to please believe by faith in the sacrifice that was on the cross for you.
And he didn't just die on the cross for our sins. He was tortured. He was slain.
He was beaten and spit upon. And when Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me, I think that we need to reflect on the fact that he didn't just die on the cross.
He was whipped probably 39 times with a whip that had probably shards of pottery on it.
He was a sacrifice for our sins, and he chose Passover to identify communion for us to celebrate as we do this in remembrance of him.
So if I have the servers come forward, please. We'll take it together.
Isaiah 53 says, Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, as one from whom men hid their faces.
He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.
First Peter tells us, Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Prepare our hearts, opening up God's word.
You sing with me. To receive the food planted deep in us, shape and fashion us in your goodness, that the highest would be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your promises for your glory.
Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see your majestic love and authority.
To words of power that can never the truth prevail.
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds.
Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us.
Truth unchanged from the dawn of time that will echo now through eternity.
And my grace will stand on your promises, and my faith will walk as you walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till your church is built, and the earth is filled with your glory.
Well, I missed you all very much. I was on vacation the last couple weeks, and well, thank you.
Thank you. I can't say I missed you that much. I was in Florida after all, but no,
I did truly miss you all. And I'm very excited to be back in the pulpit today. And let's go to the
Lord in prayer. So Father, thank you so much. Speak, Lord. Your servants are listening.
Lord, Habakkuk tells us of a time when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord as the waters cover the seas. Lord, let us see a glimpse of that today.
Let us see your glory. Show us your glory, Lord. Lord, we need you here, and we pray that as we get a glimpse of you, you would strengthen us in the inner man.
Sanctify us. Give us courage. Lord, establish us in every good work and word.
We pray that you would use this broken vessel, this piece of pottery that holds a treasure.
Use this broken jar to deliver your word to your people this morning.
In Jesus' name, amen. Anybody ever been to the city of Münster in Germany?
Nobody. Okay. Well, Münster is just shy of the Netherlands on the
German side of the border. In the year 1534, it was a
Roman Catholic city. But as you know, the Reformation began in 1517 with Martin Luther in Wittenberg, and the
Reformation began to gain momentum for a number of decades there until the rise of the
Anabaptist movement, which was wonderful and strong because it taught people that baptism is for believers.
You can't just sprinkle a baby into the kingdom of God. Someone must come to saving faith on their own, and baptism symbolizes that.
That was a wonderful thing. However, there was an Anabaptist preacher named Melchior Hoffman in Strausburg.
Looks like you guys don't know who that is either, right? Melchior? No? Nobody? Melchior Hoffman was an
Anabaptist preacher in Strausburg, and he began to teach that the millennial kingdom had begun, that this
Reformation was actually the outcome of the millennium, and he himself was one of the two witnesses in the book of Revelation.
Bold claim. Well, as he began to teach this doctrine, it began to spread, and in this place called
Münster in Germany, Westphalia at the time, people began to convert to this doctrine.
And one named Jan Mathis claimed to be the other of the two witnesses, and at that time they proclaimed
Münster the new Jerusalem. And so people began to flock to Münster, and as the
Roman Catholics saw this influx of Anabaptists, they got a little nervous, and many of them fled the town, which reduced the population of Catholics, and before long, the
Anabaptist ran the city, so much so that the bishop, who was also like the prince, now notice at that time, it was a sacral society.
Sacralism is when church and state are melded together as one, and the church runs the city.
So the bishop, he was the prince, and he had a town of people that had a council, maybe 16 men, but most of them had become
Anabaptists, so the prince left the city. However, he wasn't willing to give up his city, so he rallied from surrounding towns, mostly
Catholics, who would stand with him to take the city back, and before long, you had a siege, where they surrounded the city, and the
Anabaptists on the inside were seeking to set up the new Jerusalem, but they were surrounded by an army.
What could possibly go wrong here, right? Well, we told you that Jan Mathis was one of the two witnesses in his own mind.
Of course, he was not. He began to teach some radical doctrines and proclaimed himself to be king.
He said that the second coming would happen on Easter of that year. I think it was 1534, and as that day approached, to his chagrin,
Jesus did not come back. So sitting there in the church service, all the people noticed their leader seemed to slunk down in his chair and close his eyes, and they wondered, what is he thinking?
He rose and declared that God had spoke to him, because he also claimed to be a prophet, and told him that he is the next
Gideon, to gather 12 apostles behind him, and he alone would go and vanquish the enemy surrounding the town.
What could possibly go wrong? So these 13 men rode out from the city, and within minutes, they were completely slaughtered.
You'd think that'd be the end of it, but this story is only beginning to get good.
One named Jan of Leiden rose up to take his place, and also claimed to be a prophet, and so the people, being very gullible, rallied to him, and they devised a little plot where they would create a shirt to give to the bishop, a beautiful shirt, only lace it with poison in order to kill him, and a young girl volunteered to take it, but the plot was discovered, and the bishop was not killed by the poisonous shirt, and instead over time, they found a way to strangle the city, break through the walls, and kill
Jan of Leiden alongside of all of his cohorts. They tortured him, they killed him, and then they put his body in a cage along with two others, and these corpses were hung off of the church in the city.
I asked at the beginning if any of you have ever visited Munster, would you believe that if you were to go to Munster today, you would see three cages hanging from the church to this day?
It's still there. What a terrible story, horrible way to begin a sermon, but it's an important story because this was an attempt at a
Christian nation, only not according to the word of God, but in direct opposition to it.
People claiming to be prophets who were not, no longer regarding the sola scriptura by which we live, but claiming to be a king, and claiming the divine right of a king.
Contrast that with what brought us together today. John Calvin taught very differently.
At the end of his institutes, he wrote about the doctrine of the lesser magistrates, and he trained
John Knox, and John Knox and the reformers led to freedom in Scotland.
You guys know some of the stories of that, and then ultimately in America. Matthew Henry was a
Puritan who wrote about the establishment of Christian nations, and it was to be done upon the word of God.
Well, the pilgrims took that teaching and brought it to the United States of America, at that time, colonies of England.
George Whitfield traveled up and down the coast preaching the word of God, and reading from Matthew Henry, a doctrine that he learned in the
Reformation. You guys know the story that ensued. By the teaching of the scriptures, because mankind was understood to be sinful, totally depraved, and the
Reformation taught this total depravity doctrine, the Bible informed the formation of a
Christian nation to separate powers. The separation of powers came about by recognition that man is sinful, and a king should not be given absolute authority and power, but rather there should be a separation with checks and balances.
The idea of inalienable rights, that is, rights that are not conferred by a ruler, but that rather come from who?
God, the creator. These concepts come from the Reformation, and the formation of this nation, with checks and balances, separation of power, the imago dei, the image of God, granting to people inalienable rights, is the foundation of a country.
In a sense, the founding of a quote -unquote Christian nation, but designed as it was by biblical principles.
We live at a very peculiar time in American history. We live at a time where you look out at the country in which you live with that Christian worldview having formed the foundation, and you would be a fool to say that this is a
Christian nation. If you mean by that it's a culturally
Christian nation, it is not. This is a nation where the president declares pride month for the month of June, and the whole
LGBTQ agenda is celebrated at the national level, where most states enshrine a right to abortion, to the murdering of innocent children.
The culture is not Christian. The nation from the top down, which is probably more socialistic already than it is capitalistic, is not functioning upon the word of God.
So you have these different ways of looking at the question, is this a Christian nation? If you drive into some neighborhood on Christmas and look around, you'll see
Christmas lights, you'll hear Christmas music in the stores, and someone from a foreign country would say, oh, this is a
Christian nation, because they're still the capital of a
Christian society functioning in some ways. But in other ways, we're the farthest thing from it.
If you look at our country and the decay of the family, the breakdown of the family, the murder rates, the devastation of our cities, we might be the back of the pack in terms of representing
Christ. It's a complicated question at that level. But here's what you'll find.
You as a Christian seek to evangelize and disciple and win converts, and that is an important aspect, the important aspect of the
Christian life. But you also seek to influence government to operate with righteousness in the land and establish justice.
And so we appeal to senators and congressmen and presidents to do the right thing. We're salt and light in the world.
And to the degree that you get involved in calling out for the protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to the degree that you do that, you will be called a
Christian nationalist. In the minds of the world, you might as well be
Melchior Hoffman or Jan Mathis or Jan of Leiden. That is how the world will view you.
But is it our political charge from the scriptures to be involved in turning this nation back to the gospel and to the word of God?
Let's read it. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verses 1 to 3.
This is where our effort ought to be placed. Both our prayer and our work.
It says, finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of the
Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you.
And that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith, but the
Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
Our mission is stated in this verse. It's a reminder of the Great Commission, which all of you know from Matthew 28.
Jesus said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, says the
Lord. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded.
This is our commission, and this is Paul's prayer, his first priority. And so look at verse 1 with me.
Finally, brothers, he's writing to the church, pray for us that the word of the
Lord may speed ahead and be honored. The first thing to notice is that Paul unapologetically, without apology, seeks the conversion of the nations.
He seeks for the word of God to be honored. Notice, though, that it doesn't say for the gospel to speed ahead and be honored.
What does it say in verse 1? Pray that the word of the
Lord may speed ahead and be honored. It's a broader category.
The gospel particularly, according to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 to 4, refers to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Forgiveness of sin, eternal life in his name. It is the work of Christ, person of Christ, and that sacrifice that gives us eternal life.
But word of God here has a broader context, which we saw back in verse 15, referenced as of the previous chapter, chapter 2, verse 15, as the traditions that you were taught, either by a spoken word or by our letter.
It's what Paul has written to the churches. It's what Paul has taught the churches. It's that full panoply of traditions and teachings that are the
Christian faith, the Christian religion. In verse 17 of chapter 2, it says, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
The word here that Paul is referring to is the teaching, the broad teaching of the
Bible, and all that is part of the Christian religion. It says, establish them in every good work and word.
I saw good news yesterday on Facebook. I noticed that our brother
Hamilton, Banda, who was with us for one year from Malawi, has landed safely in Malawi, and he's there to establish an orphanage and to preach the gospel.
It is a good work to which we were called to be involved, and we are. We thank
God for that work being established in Malawi. But it goes on to say, in every word.
That refers to the teaching, the whole message of Christianity. And so,
Paul's first point in his first prayer is that we are to preach the good news, preach the word, be instant, in season and out of season, bring the full counsel of God's word to bear.
And notice it says that it may speed ahead. That word speed means progress, advancement.
Our goal as Christians is to see the gospel move quickly and thoroughly throughout the land.
We desire to evangelize in order that everybody will hear and have the opportunity to believe.
And going beyond that, it says, and be honored. We desire also that the full counsel of God's word would be honored.
That what God says about life, that it begins at conception.
That God knits together a baby in the of God would be honored in the land in which we live.
That's what it says. Pray for us that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored. And notice with the rest of the phrase, the second point, it says, as happened among you.
Why does he say as happened among you? Well, of course, the purpose here is to show Paul is on a mission journey.
He had come to Thessalonica, but he moved on to another place. Before Paul got to Thessalonica, there was no gospel sown.
It was a dark and pagan culture. But Paul came and brought the light of the gospel, the salt to preserve that culture and to save those who would believe.
But he moved on from there. Where did he go next? Remember the book of Acts chapter 17?
After Thessalonica, he goes to, pop quiz, some of you know,
Berea. And he says in chapter 17, verse 11, the Bereans were more noble than the
Thessalonians. Sounds kind of bigoted, doesn't it? Listen, the cultures of this earth, not informed by Christianity, are in darkness without God and without hope in the world.
Paul says to Titus in the first chapter about those in Crete that the
Cretans are lazy gluttons and liars. Not a very flattering way to describe a culture other than his own.
But the point being, they did not have that gospel light. They did not have that salt. And so the culture itself was dark.
Now, the culture in which we live is pluralistic. And it falsely claims that all cultures are equal.
Tell that to John Chow, who in 2018 had left the comforts of the
United States of America and for nine years had trained to bring the gospel to North Sentinel, to an island just outside of India.
No Christian had ever gone there. As late as 2018, we talk about the gospel speeding ahead.
Well, here's one place in the world where the gospel had tarried to go. And John Chow prepared himself in every way he could.
And then the time came for him to sail in a small boat by himself to the island of North Sentinel.
And as he got off the boat and approached the people, they speared him to death.
Because this was a culture without light. This was a dark culture without Christ, without hope in the world.
A cannibalistic people, animistic, worshiping their ancestors, and spearing to death anybody who would approach them.
Paul says, as happened among you, recognizing that the gospel must make progress across boundaries from one place to another place.
And a Thessalonian is not a Berean. A Berean is not a
Corinthian. And someone from North Sentinel is not an American. These national boundaries, as it were, are real.
The gospel needs to take root in a place in order to be that salt, that preservative that changes a culture from bottom up and transforms the people from the inside out.
Moving on to verse 2, notice also the need for God's protection and the reason given.
It says, pray for us in verse 1, that, verse 2, we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith.
Deliver us from evil, for not all have faith. Francis Schaeffer was an apologist from some time ago.
He's passed away now, but just a generation before us. He says that humanism, with its lack of any final case for values or law, always leads to chaos.
It then naturally leads to some form of authoritarianism to control the chaos.
Having produced the sickness, humanism gives more of the same kind of medicine for a cure.
We live in a culture that has rapidly departed from the
Christian heritage upon which it was built in favor of a secularity, secular humanism.
And Schaeffer points out that humanism, making man the center of the universe without reference to God, marginalizing
God as if he's unimportant, humanism always leads to valueless society.
No values, there's no basis for law, and so the result of that is, of course, chaos.
Has anybody noticed chaos in the United States of America? Yeah? We've seen some of that.
Well, then there's got to be a solution to chaos, and if you do not have God setting absolute standards of right and wrong, each person does what is right in their own eye.
That's the book of Judges. If that's the case, and chaos breaks loose in a land, what's the solution without God?
Government. The highest thing that remains is government, and so that government steps in to regulate the chaos.
But of course, the cure is worse than the disease, and that turns into authoritarianism, which is the totalitarian rise of power, which will one day become the one world empire, the one world government headed by the
Antichrist that we read about in chapter two of this selfsame book. This is the predicament in which this country finds itself.
The abandonment of Christianity for humanism has resulted in chaos, and a government is trying to manage that, and that government will become the strongest, beast -like,
Revelation 13 opposition to the very
Christianity upon which this country was founded. If it weren't for that small, thin line withholding the totalitarians from doing all that they desire to do, this sermon that I preach today would be illegal.
The Equality Act was proposed and passed by Nancy Pelosi in the House of Representatives, but denied in the
Senate and not yet to the desk of Joe Biden. It's a close call and a thin margin remaining, but God.
Let's look at the last point. It says in verse three, but the
Lord, and here I think the Lord refers to Jesus as he watches over his people. It says, but the
Lord is faithful. I don't know about you, but when I look at the next generation coming up behind ours, some of you are that next generation, and some of you might feel like you're the generation previous to me, but all of us look and see the statistics where 43 percent of those ages 17 to 23 are now identifying as LGBTQ, according to Barna.
We see the breakdown of family. We see chaos in the cities.
It would be very easy for us to feel hopeless.
It would be very easy for any of us to begin to get depressed and think this nation is gone, but I'll tell you this, even if the enemy had all 300 and something million people of this country, verse three is stronger than that.
It says, but the Lord is faithful. Take all the world and give us the
Lord Jesus Christ, the true king. If he is with us, then none can be against us.
He's stronger than all those forces combined. I love what Tim Robinson preached while I was away.
He pointed out that in the miracles of the book of Jonah, we tend to take notice of the supernatural storm and the huge miracle that was a giant fish swallowing a man and delivering him safely to the shore, but how great was the miracle of a heartless sermon where Jonah preached but five words, the city will be destroyed in Hebrew, five words, and God turned the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people from the least to the greatest, and they believed in God and they repented in dust and ashes.
If God could do that for Nineveh, he could do it for us in a day. The question is not how many are for them versus how many do we have.
Is this a Christian nation? Head count. The question is, is he who is with us greater than he who is with them?
And so it says at the end of verse three, he will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
The ESV has chosen to translate that, the evil one, to put the emphasis upon the devil.
Now in the Greek, the word is paneru, and it's the same word that we saw in verse two, and so many translations will opt to just leave it as the evil, which would keep in context with verse two.
Notice in verse two, it says that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. Here's the problem.
There are men and women. There's a such thing as that, by the way.
There are men and women who are wicked and evil, and they seek harm, and particularly to Christians, it says in verse two.
But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil, referring to that evil that we just saw in verse two.
He is a shield to us. This is military language. If you actually look at the Greek behind guard, it is a military fortification.
The Lord is a mighty warrior, and the angels of the Lord encamp around those who fear him.
He is a strong leader and capable of guarding his own. None can snatch them out of his hand.
He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. Now, of course, we know that behind the flesh and blood, we battle not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers in heavenly places.
Behind the earthly opposition is a spiritual opposition. The devil and his minions are real.
And sometimes in our modern materialistic worldview, we forget that, that we are wrestling against real spiritual forces.
But these manifest in the works of men, wicked and evil men. So how does
God restrain that evil? He can supernaturally do it. When we were preaching the gospel in front of the murder mill in Cherry Hill, the gates of hell, a car swerved off the road, driving on the shoulder, aiming at us.
We looked to see the rage in the driver's face. He was ready to take us out. But at the last second, he veered his car and missed us by less than a foot.
The Lord is able to keep us safe from the wicked schemes of men.
He might have supernaturally sent an angel to jerk that wheel to the left and spare our lives.
But more likely, you know how he did it? He did it by the restraint of government.
That driver, contemplating murder, realized if he ran us over, he'd spend the rest of his life in jail.
And the threat of punishment caused him to turn the wheel like this and leave cursing and screaming as he went.
Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 give us the parameters of government. And that sword that the government bears is for the restraint of evil.
Notice I'll read a couple phrases from Romans 13. It's in your notes and also 1
Peter 2. Government is called instituted by God.
God has appointed. Government is God's servant who carries out
God's wrath. For the Lord's sake, government is sent by him.
Now, of course, government often oversteps the purpose for which it was sent and becomes authoritarian, which we will see in the rise of that beast system as the world progresses toward the end times.
But notice the design of government. It is to be a restraint on the wickedness of men.
The church is used by God to be a moral compass to the government.
In Matthew chapter 5, we're called what? Salt and light. The salt is a preservative.
The light brings truth, the full counsel of God to bear on the moral questions in the world.
And so part of how God restrains the wickedness of man is by the sword of government, threatening those who would do wrong that punishment would await them, the wrath of God.
So it is right for Christians to concern ourselves with government to some measure. But in closing, in application, our charge from these verses is not political per se.
It is a bottom -up approach. What are we to pray for? First of all, that the gospel would speed ahead and be established.
It is that bottom -up approach whereby we evangelize and disciple.
And so the morality of the people is shaped by the word of God. We also speak to government.
We're not voiceless, which is why I'm asking every one of you and those listening who believe the word of God to join me this
Thursday night at the Mount Laurel Community Center. And why should we go there, you ask?
Because at 530, there's a town hall meeting. And our third district representative named
Andy Kim has called this meeting. And he called it for the purpose of exploring what to do after the overthrow of Roe versus Wade.
And so the salt and the light of the church needs to show up, not because we're
Christian nationalists, as we'll be accused of being, but rather because we love the lives of the babies in the wombs of mothers, which should be the safest place on the planet.
We love the lives of those babies to protect them from the slaughter. And so he hopes,
Kim hopes, that the community will come out in force to say that we must pass a national law to replace
Roe versus Wade, because that's what's proposed in the Congress. But instead, the morality of the people of God needs to be there in the public square to inform the magistrate that it is not okay to murder, for God says, thou shall not murder.
Anybody willing to join me? Raise your hand. You can think about it. We got about half the group, so the rest of you, you don't have to commit now.
But at 530 on Thursday at the Mount Laurel Community Center, I'm asking you to show up.
How about we all wear those Tetelestai shirts we made a couple years ago? If you have one, if not a different Christian t -shirt, just so that they know what we're there to support.
The truth of God's word and not the lie that's being pushed in our culture. Let me give you the words of a professor.
Let me tell you where the other side is coming from. He is named Richard Rorty.
He's a leading scholar in our culture. He says, we do our best to convince students of the benefits of secularization.
We are going to go right on trying to discredit you Christians in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your
Christian religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable.
We are not so inclusivist as to tolerate intolerance such as yours. Those are fighting words.
You see, there is a culture war. And I want to say to the church, the culture war is winnable.
The culture war is winnable. It's been won time and time again for 2 ,000 years.
The gospel has been making progress. We advance from place to place. There are more Christians in the world today than 10 years ago.
And more 10 years ago than 10 years before that. It's been like yeast in the dough spreading to the ends of the earth.
We're led by a king who doesn't hold a sword in his hand, but a sword that comes from his mouth.
And that sword is the word of God. We have his word. It is the truth, the whole counsel of God.
And so our prayer is that the word of the Lord may speed and be honored as it was in Thessalonica and then
Berea and then Corinth and here in Mount Laurel, New Jersey and surrounding towns.
If we had time, I would read some quotes about how the states were established as Christian states.
Did you know that Pennsylvania was still established as a Christian state until 1968?
Vermont's original charter was for the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is
Christian heritage in this land. And of course we recognize it's gone the exact opposite direction.
Secularization, humanism has taken over. We make no pretense to be the majority because Jesus told us what?
Broad is the road that leads to destruction and many be that go that easy way.
But narrow is the road that leads to life and few there be who find it. And yet this remnant, the small number on the narrow road is
God's chosen people. And he uses us to restrain evil in a wicked and perverse generation.
Father, we thank you so much for these words. We pray like Paul that the gospel and the full counsel of God's word would speed ahead in this township and in New Jersey and in the
United States of America and to the ends of the earth. Lord, I pray that you would raise up a missionary to go to North Sentinel and establish the gospel of Jesus Christ amongst a heathen people.
Send missionaries where John Chow went that he did not lay down his life in vain.
And it's not in vain. We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you are strong tower, a mighty fortress is our
God. We run into you and we are safe. And so we pray in Jesus name that you would protect this church, your people, that no weapon formed against us shall prosper, that no accusation, no charge would land.
Protect us from the fiery darts of the evil one shot forth by wicked and evil men.
Protect us from attacks, Lord Jesus. And Lord, we pray that this church would not be afraid.
Give us courage, Lord. Give us the hearts of lions that we would not tremble at any enemy.
Give us strength in the battle. Lord, we pray that we would go with the good news of Jesus Christ, evangelizing, discipling.
Give us courage and go with us where we go. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. Let's stand and sing. He's our hope,
Christ alone, Christ alone. What is our hope but the confidence that our souls to him belong.
Who holds our days within his hands. What comes apart from his command.
And what will keep us to the end. The love of Christ in which we stand.
Oh sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal.
Oh sing hallelujah. Christ our hope and light of troubled souls.
God is good in our faith.
What shall we see. Christ he lives, Christ he lives.
And what reward will this to me.
The Lord in sin and death will be destroyed.
He will feast in endless joy when Christ is ours.
Forever Christ our hope in life and death.
Oh sing hallelujah. If you're not on my mailing list
I send out a pastorgram every Thursday. Send an email to cornerstone at cornerstone sj .org
and I'll add you to that. And on Thursday I'll send out the details for where we'll meet up on for the community center.
Let's take the at this time. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace.
Comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.