Allen Jackson - A Choice to Make - Part 1
It's good to be with you again. We're working through a series looking at our nation and what God is doing in our midst. The reality is, America, we have a choice to make, what our future is going to be. I think we've mistakenly been waiting for a politician to fix us, or for Congress to wake up, or for our governors to change their minds, or for a virus to go away. And all of those things may be a part of a solution, but they'll be driven by spiritual forces and it will start with the hearts of God's people. Will we choose the Lord as never before? Our nation has an amazing Christian heritage. The laws that we have, the educational system, the things that have bound us together and brought the blessings of God to us came from a foundation of the Christian faith, a biblical worldview. We have gradually, year by year, decade by decade, walked away from those. We've done it in the name of tolerance and inclusivity, and we didn't want to offend anyone. Truthfully, we have denied the Lord in many, many places. We've allowed him to be taken out of the public square, out of the public schools, in many ways out of our judicial system. And the question is, will we have the courage to choose the Lord with our whole heart, mind, soul, and body? If we do, I believe we'll see his blessings again. Grab your Bible. Most of all, open your heart. Let's listen for what God has for us today.
We're working through a little series around our nation. In this particular session, I'd like to talk to you about America. I believe we have a choice to make. Not around elections, or candidates, or individuals that provide leadership to us. It's a much more significant choice than that. Some weeks ago when we started talking about being outside this month, I really felt prompted to take some time during this season while we were outdoors to celebrate some of the good things that God has done in our nation.
And I'm very aware that patriotism is a little out of fashion right now, and I'm equally aware that you can take patriotism to destructive places, and I'm not advocating for that. We'll talk about that a bit more, but I had this little phrase in my head about, "As American as apple pie". And I kept repeating it. Everybody kept looking at me like it was only in my head. And I finally stopped and did what every smart person does. I asked Rabbi Google, and I was very relieved to discover that there was quite a significant ad campaign in the '70s.
Now, I was much too young to remember that, thus I just had a subliminal impression. But there was a little song that went in it about baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and... you've watched it on Nickelodeon too. Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. It was effective enough they've even reprised a version for 2021. But that notion, "As American as apple pie," far more American than apple pie, or hot dogs is the Christian faith. It has shaped this nation. It has shaped our legal system and our academic system. The freedoms and liberties that we enjoy and that we have continued to grow into as a nation have come to us from that biblical worldview. It doesn't mean we've been perfect.
There are some grave mistakes that are a part of our national history, and it's popular right now to dredge those up and to be reminded of those, but there's no collection of human beings on planet earth that has worked together perfectly and cooperatively. In fact, I think it's important to start this discussion with the awareness that we have dual citizenship. In a season when citizenship is a talking point, you need to be aware that you have dual citizenship. If you're a citizen of this nation, you have citizenship in the United States. I've got a little blue passport acknowledging that there are certain rights and privileges that are available to me as a citizen of this nation. But it's a temporary assignment.
I'm only here for a brief season, I don't mean I'm relocating or changing my citizenship, but that citizenship is only as durable as my earth suit. When my earth suit wears out, that citizenship is no longer relevant. But I have a secondary... I have a second citizenship. It's not secondary. I have a second citizenship. I'm a citizen of the kingdom of God, and I hope you are as well. Now, the spiritual kingdom to which you belong is an eternal alignment. Now, you can be aligned with the kingdom of darkness or you can be aligned with the kingdom of God, but be certain of this, that you have citizenship in a spiritual kingdom and it's eternal.
And the differentiation, participation in the kingdom of God is not linked to a particular church, or a particular denomination, or even a particular rule set. It's linked to a person. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. You can sit in a church and not be a Christ follower. You can join the church and not be a Christ follower. You can be a faithful attender, a generous giver, a volunteer, and not be a Christ follower. You can be a biblical scholar. I've studied in some academic settings with brilliant biblical scholars that were not Christ followers.
You see, the entrance into the kingdom of God, Jesus himself described it as a birth, a spiritual birth. He said we have to be born of the water and the Spirit. And that new birth, it comes to us, it's a supernatural event. It comes to us by proclaiming, as Romans tells us, believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. And then the greatest miracle that will ever affect you as a human being takes place. There's a spiritual rebirth. A new authority comes into place over your life, an authority that has the power to defeat the bondage of sin; to bring forgiveness, and mercy, and grace; to initiate a transformation in your character and your personality that will redirect your journey through time.
We've misunderstood Christianity if we've thought about it as aligning ourselves with a group of people around an event on the weekends, based on social status, or income, or community alignment, or architecture, or worship styles. All of those things are legitimate and you can enter them into the discussion, but at the heart of our faith is the person of Jesus of Nazareth and the decision you've made with regard to him. And if you've chosen him as Lord of your life, not just acknowledged him as a historical character, but if you've chosen him as Lord of your life and yielded the authority of your life to him, that means he establishes the priorities. You're certainly entitled to your own feelings, to your own thoughts, but if Jesus is Lord, our decision is to subject our thoughts and feelings to his lordship.
So what I think and feel is subjugated to him these days. Now, that's a daily set of choices. I certainly made the decision to acknowledge him as Lord, to make that proclamation, that profession of faith, but serving him is a decision I have to make every day, typically several times through the day. So when we talk about patriotism and loving our country, I think we need to understand that our spiritual alignment can be reflected in our behavior during our temporary assignment. I'm a citizen of this nation for a very brief part of my existence and I'm here on an assignment, a kingdom assignment, to be an advocate for Jesus of Nazareth. I'm not confused. They won't be playing the "Star-Spangled Banner" in the elevators of heaven.
The flag poles right behind the Pearly Gates will not be waving the Red, White, and Blue. I'm not trying to subject my faith to the authority of this nation, but as I think about those issues, it also reminds me of the foolishness of imagining a state that isn't influenced by my faith. We don't want a state church. We don't want mandatory commitment to a particular faith or to a particular expression of the Christian faith. In fact, we'd prefer the state stay out of the business of the church. But a state that isn't influenced by the worldview of the Christian Church will become an increasingly oppressive organization.
Human history proves that. And we have rather naively gone along with the notion that our faith shouldn't influence the state, and that's a very destructive pathway to walk. It leaves your children and our grandchildren very, very vulnerable. We need a state that's influenced by a Christian worldview or it will become increasingly oppressive and authoritarian. That's what states do and there is much human history to support that idea. It's not some radical theory. Our spiritual alignment has to be reflected in our behavior during our temporary assignment. I want you to think with me just a moment about the fruit of your life.
In Ephesians chapter 5, and verse 8, it says, "Once you were in darkness, but now you're light in the Lord. Live as children of the light (for the fruit of light consistent all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them". Paul is writing to a church in Ephesus and he gives them three very direct assignments. He said, "Live as children of the light". Don't stand in the darkness. Don't be engaged in things you don't want exposed. Live as children of the light. And then he said, "Find out what pleases the Lord".
Don't wait for somebody to tell you. Find out what pleases the Lord. Engage in that. The goal of life is not to find out what pleases you and do more of that. The goal of life is to find out what pleases the Lord and sell yourself to that. And then his third instruction is, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness". Just don't do that. The question is not how far is too far. Well, how close can I get before I've gone too far? Very destructive set of questions. Imagine, and I'm not suggesting you do this, but imagine you took a gallon of Clorox and said, "I wonder how much I'd have to drink before I just go blind". Dumb question. I don't want to drink anything destructive. And we have tolerated wickedness and evil within the church to the point that it has significantly hampered our ability to be light in life.
I believe God has blessed our nation. I don't think there's any question about that. The blessings we enjoy, the abundance we have, the freedoms we know, the educational opportunities that our children have, all of those liberties seem to shout at us that our nation is exceptional. I've had the privilege of traveling a great deal around the world and there's no place quite like our nation. I'm not embarrassed to say that. I don't believe it's inappropriate. It's not a declaration that we're perfect or that our record is unsullied, because that's certainly not true. But we are uniquely blessed and it's very misleading and manipulative to suggest that all the nations of the world enjoy the things that we consider to be normal.
You don't need to be particularly clever to figure out there's something happening here that's a positive if you just glance at our southern border. But we're not exceptional because of our mountains or our beaches, nor are we exceptional because of our wealth or our military might. I would submit to you what makes us exceptional is our values. The worldview that we've held has enabled Almighty God to bless us in a very exceptional way. Now, that's our truth. We don't get any credit for that. I've visited nations of the world with more beautiful beaches and more remarkable natural resources. It's a worldview.
In spite of us, we have been blessed. Spiritual forces are real and the church is struggling with this notion these days. We've become so invested in our traditions, and in the groups that we affiliate with, and how we prefer to worship that we've kind of devalued spiritual forces and we've raised the value in all those secondary things, but spiritual forces are real. The Bible's very clear on this point. And if we choose to ignore God, those of us in the church wearing the label, if we choose to ignore God and lead rebellious, ungodly lives, we'll bring a curse upon ourselves, and our children, and this nation. In the same way we've been blessed, we will see the hand of God against us. Our problem is not the wicked, the immoral, the Pagan, whatever label you call other.
Our greatest challenge is the indifference of the faithful. But I believe it's equally true that if we will seek God in humility and cultivate an attitude of the fear of the Lord while yielding to God in obedience, he will bless us. My consistent prayer for many months now has been, "God, bless America again". Again. But that requires a choice of this generation of Americans. Are you watching? Are you listening? Are you paying attention? Or are you just hoping that the storms clear and you can go back to normal? I think normal is gone. The question is, what will our future be? Who are we going to be? How are we going to behave? What will we yield to? What will be the authority of our lives? Are you watching and are you listening?
I hear things that are very unsettling to me. Our Attorney General of the United States recently suggested that the FBI should pay attention to local school boards, that parents wouldn't be too threatening or it might require some FBI investigation. Last time I checked, parents should be involved in a local school boards and that dissenting opinions are okay. Equally troubling, our reluctance or inability, and they both seem to contribute, just to work is becoming increasingly evident. Are you watching? Shortages, delays, things unavailable that you considered to be normal not too long ago.
And while that's happening, we are by day becoming more entitled, less motivated. We've become so conscious of our rights that we have scarcely remember we have any responsibilities. Folks, there are no rights without responsibilities. That equation won't work. It won't balance. It'll leave you bankrupt morally, emotionally, and ultimately financially. We begin with a discussion of responsibilities, and with that we can begin to imagine what the outcomes of accepting those responsibilities are, but the discussion cannot begin with my rights. I believe as Christians, I believe the churches in our nation have a duty to pray for our nation. Not as an expression of patriotism, as an expression of salt and light in this culture.
I believe we have to pray for America. You see, laws restrain evil but they don't produce good. Laws restrain evil, but they don't produce good. And we're confused on this point. We're waiting for someone to pass legislation. We're waiting for political expression or judicial expression to change the heart of America. That's not how this works. We've been praying for the government to do the church's job. You missed a wonderful place for an amen right there. I got to think about this ahead of time. I can do both sides.
You see, the government's job isn't to make people righteous. That's the assignment of the church. That's our assignment. If righteousness has diminished, if godliness has diminished, if holiness, and purity, and integrity have diminished, that's not governmental failure and political failure. That's church failure. That's us. That's a change within us that we communicate to the people around us. Those are values that we say, "We think these are important enough that we'll stand for these. We'll defend these. We'll advocate for these. We'll look for people who will stand with us on that".
But that's the church's assignment. You know, if you if you watch the news for very long, and I typically try not to do that, the message seems to be there's a lot more bad people than good. And if you watch much longer, you'll come to another conclusion that the bad people are getting worse and worse. Blatant immorality. Immorality's celebrated on the streets of Nashville. You don't have to leave our Middle Tennessee region any longer. We celebrate immorality as if it's something to be honored on Broad Street. Increasing violence while we reject our police officers, and our first responders, and the people who put themselves in harm's way on our behalf. Dishonest, disrespectful, the list goes on and on.
You see, we need something that will change bad people into good people. That's the problem we face. How do we help bad people become good people? Not perfect people, but how do we initiate change? That is the message of the gospel. I'm not saying those of us that sit in churches are good people. I'm saying there is a power that comes into play in your life when you choose Jesus as Lord of your life that can help you defeat evil within yourself and thus in the world in which we live if you'll cooperate with it. But we haven't been focused on the passage from Ephesians. We didn't take Paul's advice to the church at Ephesus. We haven't chosen to live as children of the light. We didn't choose to find out what pleases the Lord. We didn't choose to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.
In fact, quite the opposite. We wanted to sit in church and then behave like those in the dark. We've excused it. We've denied it. We've looked away from it. We thought, "Well, it's not that significant". It's very significant. It's destructive. We have to pray for the gospel to be shared broadly. That's the solution to the problems we face. Not better politicians, not a transformation of the judiciary. If we don't have a change of heart, we will continue to select leaders that are increasingly authoritarian. Freedoms don't come to us from the government. They come to us from God. The church has been confused. We have lost the authority of Jesus in our lives. It's an exciting opportunity in front of us.
Jesus came to save the lost. The truth is we're to win people to the Lord, not make war on them. We've been confused on this point too. We gotta lose the anger, and the resentment, and the bitterness, and the hostility. We have good news to share. We've been trapped in darkness. We know what it is to be in bondage to sin, hopeless, and filled with despair, and to have everything but feel empty, to chase satisfaction and contentment, and every time we get to the top of the next hill that we thought would bring it to us, we find that persistent emptiness in us, until we found Jesus and there was a new meaning, a new purpose, a new contentment, a new satisfaction, a new value in this journey we're on.
We have a good story to tell. We've been forgiven of our sins. We found something to hand to our children that's more enduring than physical assets. I'm not opposed to those, but the church needs to be awakened to be revitalized. The most harsh words Jesus ever used were not for sinners. In fact, the sinners seemed to come to him quite frequently. People caught in adultery, people who were demonized, people that were in desperate places with family problems that were so devastating it would leave 'em on the periphery of society, but they could've cared less. They recognized in Jesus's hope and they would come let the darkest secrets of their life be known in broad daylight for the opportunity of being free through an interaction with Jesus.
Jesus didn't rebuke them, or condemn them, or criticize them. His harshest words were left for the religious, who had a form of godliness but denied its power, who maintained the trappings of religion but weren't invested in honoring God. Folks, we've had too much energy that way. I'm a part of it. I've spent my life in organized religion. I'm not throwing stones at anybody. I'm saying within us is a power to chart a new course for our nation. We have a story to tell. We have good news to share. We need the influence of Jesus to be spread more broadly. I appreciate the respectful way in which you're listening, that you're not disrupting your neighbors.
I would submit to you that God has placed before us an open door, an open door, and there's a decision to be made as I have said. What will we do? We're all at different life stages and different seasons, and we have different ambitions and different dreams that we have. And that's not inappropriate, that's very normal to the human condition, but I believe God has placed before us a new open door. I think he's used COVID to do that in the shaking he's brought to the earth. He's certainly changed our schedules. He's changed how we interact, how we travel, how we shop, how our children are educated, how we vacation. And in all of those changes, there's an open door. And I want to ask you to reflect, not in the moment of this lesson, but perhaps over the balance of the day, what have you done with that open door? How have you used the time?
I'm gonna pray with you before we go, but I want to ask you to join me in an assignment and begin to pray daily for our nation. Pray more for the nation than you complain about it. Pray more for our nation than you complain about our leaders, or the policies that are being enacted, or the things that aren't happening. Whichever side of the political spectrum you're on, complaining doesn't help. Prayer changes things so let's make a commitment to pray daily for our nation. Join me now:
Father, I thank you for the privilege of standing together. In the authority of Jesus's name, may you once again bring faith to our nation. Change our hearts. Change our focus. May you be honored in this place. In Jesus's name, amen.