July 2, 2023 / How Does God Bless a Nation?

Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest

questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search

and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead

pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth

for the life we're searching for. We're so glad that you're with us this morning.

If you have your Bibles, please take them and turn to Psalm 33 today. Psalm 33. We'll

spend some time in Psalm 33 and then walk through a number of texts today. As I answer

the question, how does God bless a nation? How does God bless a nation? How would God

bless America, for example? Or how has God blessed nations over the years? It's a fair

question to ask. It's also a difficult question to ask and answer in a day when you know a

nation is not perfect. You know it's far from that. Lots to be grateful for, as we've

said. Lots to be grieved about. How does God bless a nation though? This is part of our

series of first message in our Dear God series. It's a series of tough questions that people

have today that maybe we haven't answered or maybe we don't know the answer to and need

to spend some time with. For example, next week we'll look at questions like, where is

God when evil happens around us? Where was God during the Holocaust? How does a good

God allow bad things to happen to good people? Those are great questions all centered around

that main theme I just mentioned about that tough question. We'll talk about transgenderism

and gender dysphoria in three or four weeks down the road. How does a Christian approach

that? What does the Bible say? How do we lovingly lead and speak truth in a culture that is

not listening to truth? Those are some tough questions that God has answers to in the Word

and he has every answer that we can ever need in the Word, which I believe is all sufficient

for us. So today, how does God bless a nation? Would you stand with me as we read Psalm 33

together beginning in verse 6 of Psalm 33? You need to know right away that Psalm 33

as was all the Old Testament was written to the people of God Israel in the Old Testament

era. Some of the things that you read in the Old Testament are direct promises to the nation

Israel, God's chosen people. But at the same time, there are many principles in the Old

Testament that apply to us today exactly in our circumstance and situation. This is one

of those chapters that apply to us, those spoken to Old Testament Israel.

Psalm 33 beginning in verse 6 starts in a really familiar spot, the creation of the

world. It says this in verse 6, by the word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the

breath of his mouth all their lights. He gathers the water of the sea to gather as a heap.

He puts the depths in the storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants

of the world stand in awe of him. For me that is not hard to do. When I look up at the sky

every morning and look at the God who created all this, it is all inspiring for me to remember

that. Verse 9, for he spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood firm. The Lord nullifies

the plans of the nations. He frustrates the plans of the people. The plans of the Lord

stand forever. The plans of his heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation

whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. The Lord looks from

heaven. He sees all the sons of mankind. From his dwelling place he looks out on all the

inhabitants of the earth. He who fashions the hearts of them all, who understands all

their works. The king is not saved by a mighty army. The warrior is not rescued by great

strength. The horse is a false hope for victory. Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who wait for his faithfulness

to rescue their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord.

He is our help and our shield. Our heart rejoices in him because we trust his holy name. Let

your favor, Lord, be upon us just as we have waited for you. What a song. What a word of

encouragement for us today. It basically says when you wait on the Lord, when you look to

the Lord, God will bless those around you through you by your relationship with him.

Father, in Jesus' name speak to us today answering the question, how would you bless

a nation? And that question really begins with how would you bless us? Father, I pray

that you would give us a place at this space, at this time to know what our role is in the

nation that we live in. And Father, I pray that you would move in a powerful way in our

hearts for us to grab hold of our responsibility and our opportunity in a day like this. Father,

thank you for all you've done and all you're going to do. We ask this in Jesus' name.

All God's people said. Amen. Please be seated if you would. Well, this is Independence Weekend.

Most of you are doing some sort of celebrating. I don't know what you do with fireworks. You

may go somewhere where fireworks go off. I was raised in a small town where we're fortunate

to have all of our fingers because we could pop all the fireworks we wanted to pop on

July 4th weekend. We could eat all the barbecue we wanted to eat. And I grew up celebrating

July 4th in a really, really big way. I love America. I really do. I was brought up to

have a fascination and be grateful for all the freedoms that we have in America. There

was a couple of television shows my dad and I used to watch regularly when we were growing

up. We would lay on the floor, this hardwood floor. We would watch a black and white television.

And it's not that the TV was black and white, but the picture was for some of you that don't

know what the difference is. And we would watch the Dallas Cowboys lose to every opponent

that they played when Don Meredith was the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. How many

of you know who Don Meredith is? Raise your hand. Okay, some of you know that. A world

begun era, a horrible era in cowboy football. We would also watch war movies. My dad was

a Navy pilot and a mechanic in the Korean conflict years ago. And so we would watch

war movies in black and white television. And I gained an appreciation for the sacrifice

that was made around the world for the freedoms that people enjoy. I love America. I love

the fact that I can be grateful for so many things that God has done in America. It's

very evident to me that part of the reason that God has blessed this nation is because

many of the founders and many of the laws that went into the making of America had great

Christian and biblical values. Not all of them. Certainly America had its dark places.

It had its dark laws. It had its dark movements as well. But God has blessed America. I think

it's undeniable that He has. And it's really, really important for us to know what our role

in America is today. Because America is not the same America that it was even five years

ago and ten years ago and thirty years ago and certainly not a hundred years ago. How

many of you remember that old hymn, that old song, God Bless America? Who hasn't heard

that? And when you hear that song, I don't know what it evokes in you, but I went back

into some study of God Bless America a number of years ago. Irving Berlin was the one who

wrote that song. And he wrote it back during the 20s. It wasn't released until 1938. But

it was a song that was written to be a prayer for America. It wasn't a song of expectation

that God ought to bless America just because we're America or because we just want Him

to. But it was a song that basically says in 1938, with all the rise of Nazi Germany

and fascism in Europe and all the wars that were happening and taking place that were

almost unstoppable at the time, it was a prayer, a song that was a prayer that said, God, please

bless our nation. Please help us go the right way. Please help us make the right decisions

while saying, God bless America. I think about those kinds of thoughts. But it also begs

the question, how can God bless America? I mean, I remember preaching a message years

ago when I was a young pastor and the title of the message was, why should God bless America?

Because there were so many things about our country that were in conflict with truth and

with the Bible and with God and with good. And I wondered, why should God bless America?

And I've come to realize that God can bless America, but not just because of America,

not because of its national interest. God will bless a nation. God will bless any nation

when those who follow Him in that nation allow them to be a blessing through them. And that's

really the heart of what I want to share with you today. Everything in Psalm 33 talks about

how individuals, all of us, look to God and ask God to work in our lives as we obey Him,

as we follow Him. And through that, God blesses those around Him. Sometimes people find Old

Testament passages referring to Israel and say, well, God ought to bless America because

He wrote those words. But America is not Israel, as you know. But the Bible does teach that

God can bless any nation through those who hope and fear Him in a healthy way. Part of

Psalm 33 is this verse, verse 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

on those who hope for His loving kindness. Now, can I just make a statement to you today

that's important to keep in mind? As much as we may talk about a nation, as much as

we may talk about America on any given day, there is a bigger kingdom coming, and I hope

you keep that in mind. There's a bigger kingdom coming and a bigger king coming, a monarchy,

and His name is Jesus Christ on the throne. And no matter how much we talk about the here

and now, we also have to keep in mind there is a kingdom coming that is undefeated and

always will be, and Jesus Christ is on the throne. So have this perspective with me.

We are duly citizens of earth and of heaven at the same time. We've got to live in the

here and now, while at the same time watching for the eternal to come. Paul wrote to the

church at Rome under heavy Roman rule of the time. Now, he wrote to that church and said

this, for our citizenship is in heaven. No matter how bad it gets for you on earth, our

citizenship is in heaven, which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I know my king hasn't arrived yet. I know the one that I worship and trust in is not

yet here physically on the earth, and at the same time, even though things sometimes seem

dark in our nation and dark in other nations in the world, it's important to remember that

God is sovereign and God is on the throne. That's why I'm glad we're dual citizens,

citizens of earth and citizens of heaven. So how do we live in a day and time like this?

Max Locato explains God's omniscient sovereignty in this way. He said, it's like doing a movie

after you've read the book. When something bad happens, others may be disturbed, but

you're not disturbed because you know how the story ends. Just like the song we've been

singing a few moments ago. I read the Bible, I know how the story ends. I know the king

is coming and the king is undefeated and the king is King Jesus. I know that's going to

happen someday. So no matter how bad it gets, no matter how good it gets, I don't get too

excited or too dismayed because I know this is not the final story and I know the way

the story ends and that story ends well. So how then do we live in the middle of that

story until the story ends well? How would God use people to bless their nation? Well,

I took a journey all the way through the Old Testament and then coming back into the New

Testament and I've identified five different ways that I want to share with you today.

And I know that you will each pick up at least one or two of these ways that God can bless

those around you through your walk, through your obedience with the Lord Jesus Christ

himself. And the way God will bless those around you is through your faithful walk with

him. And I want you to take note of these five things because these five things are

ways to live that make a difference around us. So first of all, we'll start with the

man named Daniel. Daniel prayed. Daniel prayed. I mean that's the first point, Daniel prayed.

Here's the man Daniel that most of us know a lot about in the Old Testament. It's a phenomenal

book, the book of Daniel. Daniel prayed while in Babylon in exile. In other words, he was

carried out of his homeland into Babylon and served the king, King Nebuchadnezzar, as a

subject of that kingdom. And God through Daniel intervened in the life of that nation. In

fact, those kings and that nation were radically different after Daniel's presence and after

Daniel's prayers than they were before. That is such an incredible encouragement. And we

can talk a lot about Daniel. Daniel 1 talks about Daniel being a man without compromise.

He drew a line and he said, I will not compromise. I will not give in to the king's commands

to do something contrary to what my God wants me to do. We saw him being a man of courage.

We saw Daniel's life being one that he heard from God and interpreted dreams. So many things

we could say about Daniel. But the overriding character of Daniel's life is that Daniel

prayed. Daniel's prayer life was the subject of conversation in that kingdom. Ultimately

it sent him to the lions den. We'll talk about that in just a moment. But Daniel's life was

a life of prayer. It was a foundation for everything else he did. In Daniel chapter

Daniel 2:20

2, verse 20, Daniel prays this way. He says, May the name of God be blessed forever and

ever for wisdom and power belong to him. It is he who changes the times and the periods.

Now take note of that. God changes the times and the periods. He removes kings and appoints

kings. He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to people of understanding. That's the God

we pray to. The God who spoke and the world came into existence is the same God who can

appoint kings and remove kings at will. Daniel's praying to this God under heavy rules and

epic measure. God, we know you can change things. We know you can radically change this

man's life, this king's life, and you can change this nation even though I'm just a

prisoner here. Now maybe you recall the story of how Daniel prayed for Nebuchadnezzar and

for that kingdom Babylon and how everything changed all of a sudden. If you remember the

story of Nebuchadnezzar, he became proud of all the accomplishments he had done and one

day stood at the wall of a city looking out and said, I'm so proud of everything I've

built. Look at all the kingdoms that I've taken over. Look at the big buildings and

projects I've completed. And he was at the pinnacle of pride and God struck him down.

You may also remember that Nebuchadnezzar ended up crawling on the ground like an animal

for a long space of time until he came to himself. All the time Daniel was praying while

God was taking Nebuchadnezzar through that period of time. I'm convinced that Daniel's

prayers had a great deal to do with Nebuchadnezzar's fall and later his repentance. By his own

testimony Nebuchadnezzar eventually said, I raised my eyes towards heaven and my reason

returned to me and I blessed the most high. What a prayer for a pagan king. Daniel prayed

and this pagan king sounded like a worshiper on the front row of a worship service. I came

to myself. I put my eyes on God. That didn't just happen once in Daniel's time in Babylon,

it also happened with another king, Darius. Some of the counselors of Darius wanted Daniel

to be punished because of his prayer life. His prayer life was vivid, it was regular,

he would pray while opening the windows of his housing quarters and people would see

him pray. They feared his prayer. They wanted his prayers to stop because he was such a

praying man. And some amazing things happened as a result of his prayer. So they issued

an edict, a law, and eventually threw him into the lion's den. Now you know the story

of Daniel in the lion's den and that story was a great story. We know the end of it because

we've read the Bible. But his praying saved him in the midst of that lion's den and brought

about another revival in Babylon as he prayed from the lion's den. You know I think we

have to be in positions of power. We just have to know who is in a position of power,

our God. Daniel prayed and Babylon changed. I've seen God do some amazing things through

prayer but the Bible gives us over and over the examples of the fact that we must be a

people of prayer for our nation and when we pray for our nation, when you pray for America,

God can work in America like never before. You must believe that. I talked to someone

the other day who expressed difficulty in praying for our country and I get it, it's

hard sometimes to pray for our country but don't stop praying for America. Like Daniel,

we can do nothing well until we pray and we must pray steadfastly for our nation and for

the world around us. Daniel prayed, be a Daniel, be a Daniel. Let God use you as you call out

to Him to change the world around you. Daniel prayed. Well as I read my Bible, I found yet

someone else that God used to bless the nation and that's the man named Joseph. Through Joseph's

leadership, Egypt was blessed. Babylon was blessed through Daniel's prayers and now Joseph

was used to bless Egypt. Now we know the story of Joseph and we know the favor that his father

gave him, the story of the many-colored colts, the resentment of his brother. We recently

walked through a message or even a message series about that. We remember his rises and

falls, all the circumstances in his life and eventually he ended up being placed as second

in command to the leader of Egypt, Pharaoh. And he interpreted Pharaoh's dreams in such

a way where Pharaoh says, okay, nobody else has interpreted it like that. Through Joseph's

prayer life, God gave him the interpretation and it was going to be seven years of plenty

followed by seven years of famine. And as a result of all that God did in Joseph's life

and placing him there as a result of his prayer life and his insights from God, he was promoted

to second in command in all of Egypt. A phenomenal kind of rise. In Genesis chapter 41 verse

Genesis 41:39

39, the Bible says, so Pharaoh said to Joseph, since God has informed you of all this, there

is no one as discerning and wise as you are. You shall be in charge of my house and all

my people shall be obedient to you. And Daniel, I mean Joseph did exactly what God told him

to do. Seven years of plenty, set aside food for the storehouses. The seven years of famine,

everybody was fed in Egypt and everybody in Israel also was fed. So God used this man,

Joseph, not only to bless Egypt, but to bless Israel all because of his faithfulness to

God. Listen, God can use any one individual to change the course of a nation just like

we read in the scripture a moment ago. And he wants to do it in your life in some ways.

Well, what about Queen Esther? Queen Esther was in a very similar role as Joseph. She

was placed in an unusual series of events to be the queen to the king, the hazardous.

She was in a position of rescuing all of Israel. We all know this famous line in Esther chapter

four, verse 14. It's where Mordecai says to her, you've been placed in this amazing position

of influence. And he says, and who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time

as this. Now you and I may not be a Joseph and you and I may not be an Esther. We may

not be a king or a queen. We may not be second in command anywhere at all. We don't have

the freedom of walking into a throne room and saying, this is what someone needs to

do, but we do have freedom to run for office. We do have freedom to be in a position of

leadership. We do have freedom to vote for the things that are morally valuable and truth

that God has given us to do it. I always encourage people who are in our nation vote, run for

office. Let the truth that you know or God's truth to come through you. God's truths are

good for everybody, not just for you. It was Tim Keller that said something a few years

ago that was so important. He said, Christians cannot pretend that they can transcend politics

and simply preach the gospel. Those who avoid all political discussions and engagement are

essentially casting a vote for the status quo. American churches in the early 19th century

that did not speak out against slavery because that was what would be now called getting

political were actually supporting slavery by doing so. To not be political is to be

political Tim Keller said. What about the voice God has given us? What about the truth

he has placed inside of us? It has to be spoken. It's important to vote. It's important to

run for office. Lead the way by exercising all the freedoms we have in our nation and

God may well bless our nation through you and through your service. It wasn't so long

ago, just a few months ago, that a local school board was considering and actually practicing

some very objectionable things to parents. Objectionable because of some of the radical

truths that were being shared in public school classrooms that thousands of kids were being

exposed to. After realizing what was going on, several individuals including a few from

this church actually began to publicize what was happening and found a leader that would

run for election. They elected that leader and overturned some of the worst things that

were happening with our school. There's a lot of activists out there today, a lot of

political activists that would like to promote things that are contrary to God's word. It's

so important for God's absolute truths to be represented in our nation today because

here's the deal. When a nation moves away from the truths and the ways of God, all of

us will feel the judgment of God on that nation and God has a history of judgments, nations

that turn their back on him. We won't all be worshipers in the same way but we can all

respect the truths that God has given us in the word of God. We need some pretty salty

people to be able to stand up during those difficult times against really aggressive

political activists today in order to keep our communities closer to absolute truth than

the relative meandering that often happens. God will never bless that kind of thing unless

we align with his truths. It's so important for us to realize we all have a different

role and it's not going to be the same as the other. But what we do have is that opportunity

to lead like Joseph led. We have the opportunity to lead like Esther led and you and I can

help be a blessing to those around us by doing those things. So Daniel prayed, Joseph and

Esther led, Jonah preached. Jonah's this little book in the Bible, four chapters, and it doesn't

take long to read the book of Jonah but man what a great, great story Jonah is. It's really

the story of one of the greatest revivals in history where a whole city, Nineveh, in

the nation of Assyria was under the judgment of God. God was going to destroy Nineveh and

this reluctant prophet named Jonah was called to go and preach that gospel, that repentance

if you would, to the city of Nineveh. Many of you know Jonah because he's associated

with the whale that swallowed him. And I love the story, the way it unfolds, it's so fun

to read because it says this man was running as fast as he could away from God and God

sends a big fish to swallow him up and the Bible says, actually in the Bible it says

that the fish hurled him out onto the shore. I love that the Bible uses the word hurl,

don't ask me why, I just like it, on the seashore right where he needed to be in order to preach

to Nineveh. God has a way to place us in the right places at the right time to bless a

nation that we may be reluctant to bless but that was the life of Jonah. And even though

he was reluctant he marched through the city of Nineveh and preached repentance. He told

the people that they should turn to God and when they did that God saw and relented. Let

me read the result of that, Jonah 3 10 says, when God saw their deeds that they turned

from their wicked way then God relented concerning the calamity which he had declared he would

bring upon them and he did not do it. Now if you're tracking with me, you're watching

someone like Daniel causing blessing to happen to Nebuchadnezzar and to Babylon. You're watching

a Joseph cause blessing to go to Egypt. You're watching Jonah cause blessing to go to the

city of Nineveh in Assyria. Are you getting the pattern here? When people are faithful

to God, when people obey God and God can use them, he blesses those around them, sometimes

whole cities, sometimes whole nations because of the obedience of one. What has God caused

you to do? Jonah preached. You know we're all preachers in some sense of the word and

we preach the gospel everywhere we are. While under Roman rule the Apostle Paul reminded

the church that praying and preaching were two of the most important things the church

could do. In fact, 1 Timothy chapter 2, those first four verses are really really important

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

at this time of a year where we think about our nation, we think about the responsibilities

that we have with that nation. Here's what Paul said, first of all I urge that in treaties

and prayers, petitions and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all men and then he gets

very specific, for kings and all those who are in authority. That's why every sitting

president has a place on my prayer list. I pray for Joe Biden all the time. I pray for

Trump before then and I pray for all the presidents before then for years and years and years.

Why? Because of this command right here, pray for kings and all who are in authority. It

goes on and says so that we might lead a tranquil and quiet life and all godliness and dignity.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved

and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Prayer and preaching, preaching and prayer,

that's what Paul said to those in the church during Roman rule time. Now you preach everywhere

you go. You say, pastor when do we preach? I'm not talking about preaching like from

a pulpit right now. I'm not talking about preaching like Jonah preached as he marched

through the city of Nineveh, but you preach everywhere you go. We preach everywhere where

shining light and sprinkling salt. Did you know that? We preach when we're in our neighborhoods

and we reach out and help hurting friends. We preach in our community ministries when

we feed someone that's hungry, we clothe someone that's poor and can't put clothing on themselves.

We preach to those looking for answers with unplanned pregnancies or solutions to challenges

in the home. We preach in public schools when we enter into those schools and teach kids

the scripture in after school ministry time. We preach wherever we're a witness to the

hurting and our message is Jesus is the answer. The world's not the answer, the government's

not the answer, the community's not the answer, Jesus is the answer. Jonah preached, we should

preach and wherever we preach and wherever we pray, God may well use us to bring blessing

not only to those immediately around us but to those in our community and our world. Daniel

preached, Joseph, Esther led, Jonah preached, I mean Daniel prayed I should say, then Jonah

preached and then the apostles stood firm. By the time you get to the New Testament,

the apostles began to be key leaders in the movement of the kingdom of God and as they

began to be those key leaders, they began to be opposed at every turn. Now you have

to remember the church was born in the midst of the Roman Empire under Roman rule and as

a result it ended up being quite persecuted during the first hundred to two hundred years

of the church. Most of the time, most of the time when historians compare nations at different

eras, they compare modern day America with ancient Rome in the first century or two.

We're very much alike in so many different ways. Early Rome was a republican country

just like America is a republican country, a representative form of government. Ancient

Rome was blessed with great material wealth, so is America. Ancient Rome eventually turned

its back on truth and reality and began to pursue all kinds of pleasurable things apart

from the help to the nation. In the same way, so has America in so many ways, so many comparisons

there. By the New Testament, apostles were walking out the ministry of God in early Rome.

Often they were commanded to be silent about Jesus. I mean, the Roman government didn't

want to hear a lot about Jesus and the Israeli leaders, the Judaism leaders didn't want

Jesus to be preached. Many of the scribes and the Pharisees had actually helped put

him to death under the hand of Rome, wanted Jesus' name not to be mentioned. And so as

you read the book of Acts, you see these important moments where the apostles stood firm against

the pressure and the persecution that was coming. For example, in Acts chapter four,

verse nineteen, the Bible says, in answer to those who were told to be quiet about the

name of Jesus, the apostles said, whether it's right in the sight of God to listen

to you rather than God, make your own judgment, for we cannot stop speaking about what we

have seen and heard. In other words, Jesus has made such a huge difference in our lives,

we're not going to be quiet. And as a result of those, many were coming to faith in Christ

in spite of the persecution. Now there are times in history where Christian followers

of Christ just have to stand firm, where they can't make much progress this way or that

way, but they just have to stand firm sometimes in the face of persecution. And I fear we're

moving that way in America today, where it's costly to own your faith in Jesus Christ,

but it's still the way of blessing. In Acts chapter five, verse twenty-nine, Peter and

the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than man. In other words, it doesn't matter

what you say and doesn't matter what you try to shut down in the way of our message in

our life and the fact that we follow Jesus Christ, we're going to obey God rather than

man. And the New Testament church was focused solely on living out the Christian principles

of the kingdom of God. Now I want you to hear this, this is interesting. The New Testament

church numbered about 1,000 people by 100 AD in Rome, and Rome was growing rapidly.

By 350 AD, there were 33 million believers in Rome. They went from 2% of the population

to over 50% of the population in 300 years. And most of those 300 years were years in

which oppression and persecution was taking place. Tens of thousands of believers were

put to death just because of their faith in Jesus Christ. In spite of the persecution,

more and more people came to follow Jesus because those apostles stood firm. And here's

what I want you to hear today. The New Testament church birthed in persecution, birthed in

a difficult kind of nation in which you can live and be inspired and yet it thrived in

the face of opposition. If the New Testament church can thrive in ancient Rome's heavy

hand, you and I can thrive in America. If ancient Christianity was able not only to

survive but to impact people and bring them to salvation through the preaching of the

gospel, through the praying to this amazing God that answers our prayers, then today and

this day and time, you and I do not need to be pessimistic about the influence we have

in our country today. We're still the church. God is still God. Governments will be governments,

but the reality is we are called to stand firm. I'm calling you to stand firm. So Daniel

prayed, Joseph and Esther led, Jonah preached, the apostles stood firm, Jesus focused. In

one of the most riveting moments of Jesus' trial before Pilate at Praetorium, he was

asked, are you a king? He was being mocked. He was being ridiculed in so many different

ways. And so Pilate said, are you a king? And Jesus answered with this answer, my kingdom

is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting

so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of this

realm. Jesus' focus wasn't on political upheaval, but on personal repentance and redemption.

He walked it all the way out, died on the cross to pay for our sin. And he knew that

building the kingdom of God would flavor and influence not just that nation, but any nation

as it does today, just as it did in the Old Testament times and all those examples of

all those different nations, just as it does today. A coming kingdom, which will come one

day, will close it all out. And we should never lose sight of that hope, but until then

we trust that God can bless those around us by us being obedient and faithful to God.

You know, the movie that we're watching hasn't ended yet. We talked about that a few moments

ago. And you may feel like you're in crisis, but the reality is God is not worried. He's

not concerned. One day we'll see how it all ends and it will end well. James Dennison

recently shared an excellent quote. He said, there's not a square inch in the whole domain

of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not exclaim

mine. I want you to remember that when things look out of control. But I think maybe the

most important question is one that James Dennison poses as well. Can he say the same

thing of your life and your obedience today? In Christ, look at your life and say, they

are mine. And I'll be the one that wants to tell you today, if you belong to Christ,

Christ can bless those around you and even your nation through you as you allow him to

do that. God blesses people and nations through individual believers who know how to follow

him and fear him. It's God blessing others through your life. It's very simple. He blesses

others like Daniel's praying and Joseph's leading and Jonah's preaching and the apostles

standing firm and Jesus focused. We all have a place, but are you his? Are you his? In

just a moment, we'll give an invitation and really the most important invitation today

is asking and answering the question, am I his? Do I fear the Lord? Do I honor the Lord?

Do I obey the Lord? Because if I do that, then wherever I am, I'm going to be a blessing

to those around me. And whatever nation I'm a citizen of will be blessed because I am

literally walking out the kingdom agenda, the kingdom priorities, the focus that God

has for me. But are you his? Have you given your life to Christ? Have you given your life

to him and have you become faithful to him above all other agendas, above all other priorities

that you may hear about in your lifetime? Are you giving him the first place in your

life? In just a few moments as we close, my invitation will be for you to stop by the

decision station and ask that question and find that answer. Am I giving my life to Jesus?

Am I letting him be Lord and Savior of my life?

I have a second invitation for you today as well. I know it's a holiday weekend, but

I'd love to spend just a few moments with you after the worship service in the guest

reception room. Stop by, just let me share a little bit about Cross City Church and what

God is doing here. And thirdly, invite someone to come back with you next week. We have invite

cards that are out there. I'm going to be answering the question, where is God when

bad things happen that are unexplainable in any other way? Would you stand with me as

we close in prayer today? Father, today I want to thank you so much for these examples

of those that have walked the walk of faith that you've used in such a powerful way. It

astounds me that people like Jonah and people like Daniel can be the cause of blessing in

some of these clearly pagan nations, clearly wicked agendas, and yet somehow God you've

used these individuals. Today my prayer is that you'll help us be inspired to be those

kinds of individuals, the kind of people that God uses around and affects people around

him. Father, today for those that have never given their lives to you, I pray that that

question could be answered today. They step forward to talk about their faith, their personal

faith in you. Lord, let them know that they are loved, that you have a plan for their

life, that you can forgive sin, that you can restore lives. Today we pray for those decisions.

Thank you Father for the great things we can say about our country, but we also pray and

give to you those grievous things, asking you to bring the change that needs to be brought

to us and to those around us. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.