Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #10: Matthew 6:33

 

Matthew 6:33     New International Version

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When Peter Jackson adapted one of my favorite books, the LOTR, he and his screenwriters kept a line from Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring uttered by Frodo Baggins when he chooses to accept the burden of seeking the ring's destruction in the fires of Mt. Doom: “I will take the Ring", he said, "though I do not know the way.”  Frodo was willing to attempt the quest, but he admitted up front that he would need guidance if he had any chance of getting there.  The movie version adds a comical note when Frodo leads the Fellowship out of Rivendell asking at the very first fork in the road, "Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right?"

What has this to do with 'Christian' Nationalism?  Everything.  As Christians, we already know our destination AND unlike Frodo we know the way to get there.  When God established the New Covenant, appointing the Church to be its steward and sending his Spirit to empower it, he also explained in more than sufficient detail how the journey from Dark to Light, Death to Life, Wickedness to Holiness, Fallen Humanity to Christ-likeness, had to be conducted.  God's kingdom has to come first, and it has to be pursued with righteousness.

'Christian' Nationalism has this wrong on both fronts.  It offers the siren's call of earthly power, of 'winning' here and now, instead of the far more impactful, and difficult, commitment to the Kingdom of God.  In fantasy terms, 'Christian' Nationalism is distracted by a side quest, not the true hero's journey, they've embraced Boromir's suggestion to go to Minas Tirith instead of Mordor.  In addition, 'Christian' Nationalism subsumes methods beneath goals, embracing such lies of the Devil as, "might makes right", "the ends justify the means", and "fight fire with fire."  In nerd terms, they think they can master the Ring and use it for good.  Tolkien new better than such nonsense, and so should we.

In the end, the focus of Christians, and the Church MUST be first and foremost the Kingdom of God, the kingdoms of this earth will come and go, but God's kingdom is forever.  The means of advancing and supporting that Kingdom MUST be righteous, or they will fail.  Any other goal, and any other method is a fool's errand.  

For a recent essay on this twisting of both goals and methods see: Christian Political Ethics Are Upside Down We’re adamant about politics and flexible about virtue. - by David French in The Dispatch

Out of Control: The unspoken cost of over-scheduled children

The most recent issue of Time magazine featured a cover story, "How Kid Sports Turned Pro" which highlights many of the financial dangers to families of the traveling sports teams for children, some younger than ten, which can cost a family tens of thousands of dollars a year in the pursuit of the dream of raising a professional athlete or simply netting a college scholarship.  In addition to this financial burden, the article emphasizes the serious potential for emotional and physical injury to these children (from the frantic schedules, high pressure performances, and too specialized exercise).

All of these things, and more, should be warning signs to parents of the danger of over-scheduling the lives of their children, and of raising a narcissist by teaching that child that the world revolves around him/her, and yet there was one area of danger that the article failed to address: the elevation of these athletic pursuits above devotion to God.   It should come as no surprise that the weekend tournaments that families travel, often half-way across the country to attend, necessitate that the family will not be attending church on Sunday.  As a pastor, I've seen this trend increase over the years, as families feel pressured to choose the hobby/sport that their child loves (or at least the parent thinks they love it) over spending time as a family in the house of God at worship.

Going to church isn't the priority it once was and our society (and countless individuals and families) have lost an intangible asset as a result.  In a world where human connections are more tenuous and rare, our spiritual connection to God and each other looms ever more crucial.  Will my child someday participate in a sport that holds games/tournaments on Sunday morning?  No, she will not, and not just because I'm a pastor and my absence would be noticed; because my wife and I recognize that our time spent as a family in the house of the Lord is an invest in our family and an example to our daughter of how highly we value God.



** This is not an indictment of parents who must work on Sunday to provide for their family, such things are unavoidable for some, nor does it concern those who miss church to take a family vacation or attend a family event.  My concern is with those for whom church is such a low priority that attendance a "we're not doing anything else" option instead of being the high priority that our devotion to God ought to demand of us.**

Sermon Video - "Who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Luke 12:13-21

In this passage, Jesus uses the occasion of an inheritance dispute that is brought to him to instead give a warning about the perils of greed which he illustrates with a parable about a rich man with an abundant harvest who in his prosperity fails to consider his obligations to God.  The words of Jesus are a direct attack on the notion that the accumulation of things can somehow have anything to do with the purpose and meaning of life, "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  Wealth is a fickle purpose in life, dependent upon factors beyond our control and liable to be taken away as quickly as it may come, far better to devout oneself to being "rich toward God", a purpose with lasting implications and eternal rewards.  With death as the inevitable end to life, and everything we accumulate destined to be left behind for others to claim, only a fool would chase after wealth and neglect God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Is Pope Francis right about the Gospel?

Nothing like an attention grabbing headline to get people to read an article.  This particular headline is most likely worth a chuckle to most readers, perhaps a shocked double-take to the few who wouldn't believe a Pope if he said the grass was green.  In a recent interview that was widely published by the Vatican, Pope Francis commented on the centrality of the Gospel message to the work and teachings of the Church.

A beautiful homily, a genuine sermon must begin with the first proclamation, with the proclamation of salvation. There is nothing more solid, deep and sure than this proclamation. Then you have to do catechesis. Then you can draw even a moral consequence. But the proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives. (America Magazine)

The take-away from the media was that the Pope wants Catholics to downplay the issues of the culture wars such as abortion and homosexuality; in other words, "Watch out conservatives, this Pope is a liberal!"  That erroneous reporting actually proves Pope Francis' point, the Church (and our message as perceived by the media) has been hijacked by moral and religious imperatives at the expense of the core message of our faith: that Christ died to save sinners. 
As a Church, we're in the business of reconciliation.  Reconciliation is our ministry, it is our mission.  We exist to help people find their way back home to their Heavenly Father.  If we fail in that mission, no other victory that we may achieve, political, cultural, or otherwise, will be worth anything.  If we win the culture wars, but lose the battle over for the souls of the Lost, we haven't won a thing.  In actuality, the Pope didn't say anything that hundreds of old-time Gospel revival preachers hadn't said before.  For example, the epitome of the revival sermon style given by one of history's great preachers, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", by Jonathen Edwards, focuses very clearly on the absolute need for each and every person to make a personal commitment to Christ.

And now you have an extraordinary Opportunity,

a Day wherein Christ has flung the Door

of Mercy wide open, and stands in the Door calling

and crying with a loud Voice to poor Sinners; a

Day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing

into the Kingdom of God; many are daily coming

from the East, West, North and South; many

that were very lately in the same miserable Condition

that you are in, are in now an happy State,

with their Hearts filled with Love to Him that has

loved them and washed them for their Sins in his

own Blood, and rejoycing in Hope of the Glory

of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such

a Day!

Is Pope Francis right about the Gospel?  Absolutely, it is and must always be our highest priority.  As ministers of the Gospel, our number one goal is to heal the broken-hearted, to share Christ's offer of forgiveness.  It is only then that our secondary goals, moral growth and maturity have any hope of success.  We cannot convince culture to cherish the unborn if they won't even save themselves from God's judgment, and we cannot hope to save marriages if we don't elevate the Bride of Christ by proclaiming to any and all that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb still has room for many guests. (Rev. 19:6-9)
Does that mean we walk away from moral issues, of course not.  It means that we should have our priorities straight, we should give no man just cause to think that any issue is more important to us than the Gospel, and it means that we need to not worry about our ancestors rolling over in their graves, we need to agree with Pope Francis.  The proclamation of the saving love of God comes first.
To read an excellent article on how poorly the intent of Pope Francis' words have been reported, click on the following link: Edward Morrissey's article

A Mary vs. Martha kind of day

In Luke 10:38-42, Martha invites Jesus to her home and then becomes swamped with the preparation that had to be made.  Martha's sister, Mary, sits at Jesus' feet and listens to what he had to say.  When Martha grumbles to Jesus that Mary is helping her with the work, Jesus replies, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only on thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
This passage is often interpreted as a reminder to focus upon the important things and not get bogged down in the details; it can be applied to the functioning of a business, a family, or a church.  We must be aware of what is critical and not let what is important get in its way.
When you're a pastor, these sort of questions can pop up every day.  This past Friday I still had a lot of work to do on my sermon for Sunday, because of prior meetings earlier in the week I was a lot less done than usual for a Friday.  The meetings earlier in the week were important in their own right, they were about expanding the work of Mustard Seed Missions; worth doing, necessary, but time consuming.
Thus as Friday began, I was hoping for a relatively quite day to get my work done.  If there is one thing that most pastors don't like, it's being unprepared for the Sunday sermon as the end of the week approaches.  God had other plans in store for me that day.  Late on Thursday I heard of a local grandmother who had been kicked out of her apartment by a new owner and found herself, and her two grand kids living with her, living with virtually no furniture.  After a couple of phone calls, one bed and a table was located; the woman herself had obtained a fridge and range, it seemed that a couple of hours of delivery were in order. 
I was able to find a helper for moving the stuff, Cheryl's husband John, and we set to work on it.  Several hours, and a sore back later, the furniture was moved and a person in need was helped (a start on it anyway, this project, like so many MSM projects is ongoing).
At that moment, I was eager to get back to my office, sit and my desk and finish that sermon.  Mere moments after I sat down, however, the phone rang, it was a man who hadn't eaten or slept in days; someone in need of emergency help.  After looking for the man for an hour (he had given me the wrong street number in his sleep deprived state), I was able to take him to a local group, Heart to Heart, who were able to meet with him and get him some food.
By this time it was nearly 3 PM and I had a Christmas party to go to; yikes.  When did I finish the sermon?  Saturday morning, my day off.  Was there any help for it?  Not really, that message is one of my most important responsibilities each week, but if I can't set it aside to help those in real need, who am I being Mary or Martha?  By the way, the sermon went fine on Sunday morning; God knows what he's doing.

Sermon Video: "prayer and the ministry of the word" - Acts 6:1-7

What begins as a food distribution issue to widows, turns into a decision about ministry priorities and delegation of authority.  As such, the solution of the Apostles to this age old problem, the tendency for leadership to become bogged down with worthy pursuits, becomes an examples for each local church today.  The church can do many things, but what must it do?  Pastors and other church leaders have a vast array of possible ministries, but what should always be the foundation of their ministry?

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video