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March 12, 2020 1:00 am
The cross of Christ is inherently in conflict with our culture, especially when the media flaunts immorality as normal. Politicians compete for position, while debating issues the Bible settled long ago. Thankfully, the cross can do what politics can’t.
Click here to listen (Duration 25:02)Looking to Jesus Christ is inherently in conflict with our culture, especially when the media wants numerology is politicians body for position on issues the Bible so long ago. Thankfully, the cross, politics can stay with the Moody Church in Chicago this morning when Erwin loops are clear teaching make it across the finish line looser. It seems our culture is essentially abandoned across as having any real meaning. That's right Dave and this is done in many different ways. The cross is often times blended with other religions is that there is no distinction between them. The cross of Jesus Christ is often used as a political platform and we have lost the message that is most essential for all Americans and all the people in the world that Jesus died for sinners. You know, it is our privilege to minister to many people through running to win. It gladdens my heart to know that we are now in Arabic and running to win can be heard in a racket ran, Israel, Jordan and Syria. Imagine that places where there is a tremendous amount of terrorism. Often times, displacement of populations so much turmoil and strife. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is going to these countries would you help us. Would you consider becoming an endurance partner when you do that you are investing in the lives of people that you and I will never meet.
But there listening to the word of God.
To learn more, go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com. Click on the endurance partner button or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 and now we continue our study of the cross and politics and the need for us to understand clearly what our priorities really are, and the question that is before us is how shall the city of God, live in the midst of the city of man, what is our agenda at this very critical moment of American history. That's the question before us. What do we do. People are asking Christians are asking what is God's answer. Well, do we withdraw after the Scopes trial in America. Fundamentalism tended to withdraw from culture.
It had its Bible studies it preached at sermons largely go to itself. There was really no bridge to culture because the world was deemed to be evil in the best way that you separate yourself from the world is to be isolated from it. While it does not seem to be the problem today. There is another extreme that people are falling into and that is to say let's do this. Let's capture the city of man. Let's take over. Let's elect a Congress that is distinctively Christian. Let us elect a president who is distinctively Christian. Let us make sure that our judges of the land become Christian and we will be in charge and you will see the changes that will be made in America will be great again. Maybe if we can capture the city of man we can turn it into a paradise. What I want you to know the day that history does not bear out the possibility of that being successful.
Surely the greatest time when the city of man was captured by the city of God was during medieval times when even the political authorities were subject to the popes of Europe and during that period of time. What happened sometime some of the best believers that God had got caught in the crossfire and ended up dying as heretics in the Calvin and I greatly admire, but there in Geneva trying to bring about a Christian enclave and forcing people to go to church and forcing them to conform to his rules and he didn't pull it off because those kinds of changes do not change and transform the human heart. Now I'm going to be saying some things today and probably in the series that some of you are going to disagree with. That's all right. Our intention is to find out what the Bible has to say and then have some good discussions as to what the Scripture has to say, but I'm just going to plow ahead naïvely believing that all of you are going to agree with me at the end of right and as I frequently said if you disagree with me you come up later and I'll accept your apology date. I'm going to share the burden that is on my heart for this wonderful country of America.
What do we do three lines of argument three propositions to share with you today about what we do number one we choose the right battle we choose the right battle. Let me ask you today. What is the focus of the great battle in America today is it family values is that really the issue or is it something much more fundamental that lies behind what we generally call quote is it political is it moral is that social is in a class of cultures, or is the matter deeper. I am here to affirm to you today that I believe very deeply that the issue that is at stake is distinctly and uniquely spiritual. That's the issue with the great issue in America today is namely how do sinners get to God is Christ the only way or are there other options that's number one issue that lies at the heart of what our debate is believers should be all about. That's the issue. What good does it do to get people to pray a prayer in school that they don't believe people are out there trying to get prayers back into the school. I have a better idea, let's get prayer back into our churches.
Let's get prayer back into our homes.
That's what we have to do you know when you do that you just inspire me to keep going. Last Tuesday I was on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem showing some people around as we were leaving here was this heated argument of the people were really going to it. I mean they were shouting at each other and fortunately there debate was in German, which was therefore probably not widely understood but I was able to pick it up and you know what the debate was whether or not the God of all, the God of the Muslims, the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians was the same God or not the kind of discussion I'd like to get into if I had known German a little better. I've got over there and offered my services. That's the issue I sent to those that we are touring with. I said no, there is an issue that's important. They are discussing whether or not the Earth's total supply is going to run out.
They're not talking about who's going to win the next presidential election in America. All those are superficial and largely irrelevant.
Faced with the issue of which God is the right God and how do sinners come into his presence to be received fundamental issue.
I want you to know today my dear friends that I think were losing it could could you write this upon your heart so that it shall never, never leave you, that if there is some good news in America.
If there is some good news. It is never going to come out of Washington never is never going to come on NBC or ABC or even CNN.
If there is some good news in America. It will be proclaimed by the church and it will be good news. That is, come to us from the Scriptures that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself and those who believe in Christ can be reconciled to God is our message and the only ones were going to proclaim it are those who know it to be true through the Scripture responsibility the issue today is not political.
The issue today as always is spiritual and I believe that the church has largely lost its confidence in the ability of God to save sinners, even big ones number one. Choose your right target number two. Use the right weapons use the right weapons now because you clapped a few moments ago you gave me the courage to just keep plowing on we have in America what is called the Christian Coalition the Christian Christian coalition Christian Coalition that works with Protestants and Catholics and Jews and Mormons and anyone else that will joined to get across the quote Christian agenda conservative coalition preps would be a better term, but Christian Christian coalition really let me say this to you from the bottom of my heart from the depths of my spirit to you today, there may be some value in uniting for certain political causes with those who are believers in different gods of different religions. There may be some value. And of course politics is a game of numbers, and that's the purpose for these coalitions because you have to be able to outvote those whom you want to have in office or not to have an office and that's the name of the game, but it's a high-stakes game with all kinds with all kinds of problems and it has backfired significantly but listen to this. If there is ever a cause in which we unite with those for different religions. Whatever may be said about that because it cannot, it absolutely cannot be the main mission of the church can't be. It's gotta be something else, something of lesser importance because the mission of the church is going into all the world and preach the gospel and I am the way you see Jesus the truth and the life and that no man comes onto the father but by me. And that is our mandate and that is our mission and we must stick with those who agree with us and unite with them but we cannot even begin to think that we can make common cause with those who believe in different religions and somehow still be fulfilling impossible possible letter simply admitted PBS going to do a series or at least one presentation on the religious right in America sought advertised yesterday in the newspaper and news reporter working on it went to a friend of mine who is a scholar and who would have some input on those things and my friend tells me that he was speaking to this woman who had interviewed 40 people 40 people on the religious political right and he said to her, did anyone explain the gospel to you.
She said no, what is the gospel. What do you mean explain the gospel to her that Jesus Christ died for sinners, we can be reconciled to God. Because Christ met all of God's requirements and he's the only qualified Savior and salvation must be a free gift because if you understand the nature of who we are and who God is, it can be no other way. She had never heard that before.
I was news my friend has it really come to the point in America were news reporter can interview 4040 Christian politicians and not hear the message of the gospel of Christ, has it come to that could well be that we are missing it. We are missing it, and we have forgotten what our main mission is and that is to exalt Christ and couldn't be that the reason that we cast about for one of these political solutions is because we somehow think in the depths of our hearts that the cross does not work anymore could be. Of course there's place for political involvement.
All good citizens should be involved. They should vote. I believe Christian should run for office, but I'm very wary about an organization that says that this is the Christian view or this is the Christian party.
We need to think these things through.
Don't wait. We need to use the right weapons and what is the right weapons. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few years ago somebody came up with a document to try to unite those who are part of Christendom but do not believe in justification by faith alone with those who do and and the reason is because things are so bad we need one another and the contention was that that which unites us is greater than that which separates us. Let me tell you something today comes to justification by faith alone.
There is nothing possibly that could possibly unite us. If we disagree on that point and that which divides us on that issue is always much greater than that which could possibly unite us because it is the heart of what we believe to be most precious. There a few things that I would ever die for. I think I find it difficult to die for my country. I've never been asked to do that.
I think I find it difficult to die for a lot of different things but there's one thing I'd be willing to go to the stake for by God's grace and I hope that I would march there triumphantly and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is the distinctive message of today and the only message is the power of God.
We say we want to see God's power and so people going to all kinds of meetings with the ecstatic utterances and what have you. They said we want to see God's power. We want to see people who were touched by God pulses I offer you to the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. It is our most formidable weapon. I agree with Vaughn Hopper who said it is not before us, but it is before the cross, but the world trumpets third we fight with the right attitude. We fight with the right attitude. We fight with humility.
We don't come to the political process thinking that we have all the right answers. And if we did all the right things. Everything would come out nicely.
Perhaps you disagree with Luther, but at least some of us maybe have the humility to admit that he was right when he said I would rather be governed by a wise Turk than a stupid Christian and were not so foolish to think that just because a Christian is in power that somehow that's going to reverse everything that is wrong with America.
Of course, politics is important to no comment more on that next week, but it is not America's great hope it's not America's great hope so we come in. We serve with humility. We come with service yes we are at abortion clinics.
But what are we, therefore, shout to scream to rant and rave, are we there to minister to young women, some of whom think they have no other alternative.
And with tears in her eyes pleading with them to keep their offspring, and when the choose to do so are we there with our clinics and with our help in with our support, helping them with that alternative that's really the issue I told you before Bishop Sam well who died in that burst of gunfire with Anwar Sadat explaining to Ray Bockius to why Christianity captured does so much of northern Africa. Those were in the days of course, before such an invention is a baby bottle, and babies.
The pagans would just take them and leave them on the step to die. That was there abortion technique they would take nursing mothers and they would put them in the city's square than they would have other people go on baby runs and they would pick up these babies and they bring them to the nursing mothers in the nursing mothers would would nurse them and care for them and they would rerelease kids in the pagans said where in the world is all this compassion coming from and they were impressed with the compassion and the caring love of Christians and back began to turn the hearts of the pagans toward Christianity. Somebody asked the question will there's so many people with whom I work who are so hard to the gospel.
They are they worse, they are cynical yes and the way in which that is broken down scripturally as we shall see in this series it is broken down through living lives of humility and service and brokenness and integrity in the presence of the watching world. That's the way we impact culture is there an answer for us. I want you to know today that when the apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians. There was no Christian even represented on the Roman Senate were Nero ruled there was no possibility of appealing a special right sort or appealing for for your own rights as a Christian in the Roman Empire know the Christians got burned at the stake. That's what happened.
They had none of that. And yet about them. It is said that they turned the world, the world upside down by unshakable confidence that they had a message that could explode in the lives of the most wicked person and transform him into someone who would love God and whose life would be changed from the inside out.
I conclude by saying simply this. Our problems in America are far too deep to think that they can be changed by change of administrations in Washington. Certainly we should vote for the person who is best for the person who represents those values that we hold dear. But at the end of the day America needs something much more drastic.
What we need is a message that can come to men and women as members of the city of God reaching out in the arts in our businesses in our relationships in our families, reaching out to the city of man and showing them the beauty and the and the love in the service and the compassion and the wonder of Christ. That's what we in America and therefore I want you to know today that the destiny of this great country rests not in Washington but in Chicago and not in just in Chicago but in Peoria and in all the cities where the gospel is preached and were men and women gathered together in the name of Christ are willing to be witnesses wherever God has planted them in with his. I do conclude I urge those of you who are still members of the city of man. Augustine said whatever and then build man will destroy your retirement programs, your buildings, your prestige, your reputation will be destroyed, but only those who belong to the city of God to have found refuge in Christ our Lord, who have seen the cross and its beauty is the means and the instrument of death but also the instrument of reconciliation is only those who cleaved him. They will be spared because the city of man will will disintegrate, but only those who know God will live forever.
They have a treasurer that Alaric ago off could not touch and if you will let us pray our father we ask today in the name of Jesus that you shall help us even at the beginning of this series of messages to understand that you have entrusted into our hands. The most precious possession. But we could ever own and that is a message that changes people from the inside out, takes hardened abortionists and turns them into loving servants who takes people who have been disenfranchised and angry and grants them the gift of peace we ask today. Father, that you shall help us to understand our role in the world and take your cross and its message to a culture that is decaying rent is that privilege we ask in Jesus name on my friend, this is Pastor Luther, may I ask, honestly, even as I ask myself, are we concerned only with living in the city of man with all of its conveniences with all of its opportunities, to what extent are we committed to the city of God, we have to live into spears, but it is very important for us to know exactly where our priorities lie. I've written a book entitled Christians politics and the cross.
It was written to try to help all of us think through our relationships to this world to our government but always also emphasizing our relationship to God for the gift of any amount.
This book can be yours Christians politics and the cross.
Here's how you can connect with us. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337.
I'll give you that phone number again. But thanks in advance for your generosity and your prayers. You can call 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 when it comes to being citizens of heaven and earth believers running the race of life. Need to keep. First things first. Next time I'm running to win getting ready for some flying sparks as Sir takes aim at those white old glory with the one place Lori don't miss the cross in the file to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening, Dr. Erwin lutes this is Dave McAllister running to win his monster by the nature