Worship - Sunday at 10:30AM
Bible Study - Wednesday at 6:30PM
2004-03-28 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Job 40:9-14
9. Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
10. (can you) Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.
11. (can you) Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
12. (can you) Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Can you bring down the proud with only a look, and stomp evil under your feet?
13. (can you) Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. For if you are able to do these things...
14. Then will I (the LORD God Almighty) also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.
In my lifetime this country has removed God from public schools, taken Him out of public places, and even now the highest court in the land is deciding if God's name belongs in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Pledge of Allegiance: a promise of devotion, a promise to defend. Is it really all that important to honor God in it?
This country was born against great odds, with much travail, and undoubtedly with much prayer.
This Nation owes it's very existence to the same God that our founding fathers worshipped.
Through many wars and conflicts, this Nation owes it's freedom to the same God the soldiers and leaders prayed to.
When even one person complains that he's offended by the appearance or the sound of God's name, we'll stumble all over ourselves to remove the offence. In the name of diversity and sensitivity, we exalt ourselves and our feelings above God's feelings. How long can this nation continue to provoke Him?
Isaiah chapter 6
1. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2. Above it (His throne) stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12. And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13. But yet in it (the land) shall be a tenth, and it (the remnant) shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree (a mighty tree), and as an oak (a great tree), whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Even if a remnant does survive, it'll be cut down again, and with that remnant (the stump) God fulfils His purpose.
In the Job 40 passage, God challenges us: if we are able to do the things that He does, He'll be the first in line to admit that we can save ourselves. Hearing, we do hear Him, but not with understanding. Seeing, to our eyes He reveals Himself so that we are without excuse, but we still don't "get it." He sent His Son among us, to teach us, to guide us, to love us, and because we can't rise to the challenge and save ourselves, He sent His Son to save us, but for some reason this Nation has forgotten. How long, Lord? Must our cities be destroyed, and our land lied waste? How long will you suffer our iniquity, O Lord?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.