GOD HAS ALWAYS HAD A PEOPLE

 GOD HAS ALWAYS HAD A PEOPLE

November 1, 2020

 

This will be my 12^th Presidential election as a pastor. I have usually talked some about each one, mostly encouraging the folks to make sure they voted, saying things like, “If you don’t vote, you can’t gripe!”

 

We have tried to take a non-partisan position because we have members from both political parties and many political viewpoints. The times I have strayed from that position did not have good outcomes.

 

I have addressed political issues a couple of times here at Restoration. In July of 2015, I did a month long series on the “State of the Union” after the Supreme Court decision legalizing same sex marriage. On the Sunday before the 2016 Presidential election I spoke on voting for righteous men and righteous principles.  

 

Today, I am not going to talk about the election or who to vote for or how to vote. I am sure many of you have already voted, as have I, or have made your mind up who to vote for. If not, please go vote. It is very important for us to do our duty as citizen believers. Our government is “of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Lincoln used this phrase in “The Gettysburg Address”, but in 1384, John Wycliffe wrote in the prologue to his translation of the Bible, “The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People” (Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett, 1951 edition).

 

I want to speak today on what the key is to our future as a country. I believe that our country is headed for destruction regardless of the results of Tuesday’s elections. This is because our country has, by and large, moved away from the Bible and the God of the Bible. Not only that, but the church in America now reflects the same views as the population in general on many issues of morality and truth. 

 

This doesn’t mean that we are helpless and hopeless. God has given us a prescription for the sickness that besets us. Let’s read it together. 

 

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (NKJV) If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

 

This promise is an answer to the prayers of Solomon, 7 times in 2 Chronicles 6, at the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a conditional promise. If you do this, God will do this. 

 

CONDITIONS

 

If My people… God has always had a remnant, and that remnant would determine the future of the country. Elijah thought he was alone in his convictions, yet God had reserved 7,000 who had not bowed their knee to Baal. God always has a remnant. 

 

Isaiah 1:9 (NKJV) Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah.

 

Israel had a remnant that preserved them in Babylon. Sodom had no such remnant and perished. God has a remnant in this country. 

 

Romans 11:5 (NKJV) Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

 

It is the righteous acts of the remnant that God is looking for. He is calling His people to rise up and save the nation. We shall see how later in this message. 

 

Called by My Name

 

 Isaiah 43:1–2 (NKJV) But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

 

Christians, “little Christs”, are the key to both revival and recovery. God is not judging nations based on the actions of the ungodly. They cannot be who they are not. God is looking for His people, called by His Name, who bear His image and His DNA, to rise up and save the nation. 

 

How? Samuel gives us four steps. 

 

Humble themselves

 

James 4:6–10 (NKJV) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

 

Pray

 

Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV) Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

 

Seek My face

 

Psalms 27:8 (NKJV) When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

 

Turn from his wicked ways, repentance

 

Isaiah 55:7 (NKJV) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

 

These are the conditions. Not on the worldly, they can’t. On us, because we can; we must. If not, we will be like Sodom, consumed by the fire of judgment where the air itself begins to burn and the elements melt with fervent heat!

 

If we meet the conditions, then these promises await us and our country. 

 

PROMISES

 

I will hear from heaven

 

Psalms 34:4 (NKJV) I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

 

Proverbs 15:29 (NKJV) The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

 

Forgive their sin

 

I John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Heal their land

 

Psalms 103:3 (NKJV) Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,

 

My eyes and ears will be open

 

Psalms 34:15 (NKJV) The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.

 

So the question is before us today: Will we rise up and be the remnant for the sake of our country, our children, and our future? We can do it. We can change the direction of our country from, as Robert Bork said, “Slouching Toward Gomorrah”, to returning to God! Remember, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” Psalms 33:12 (NKJV)

 

Gloria Gaither wrote about the power of the remnant: God has always had a people. Many a foolish conqueror has made the mistake of thinking that because he had driven the church of Jesus Christ out of sight, that he had stilled its voice and snuffed out its life, but God has always had a people. The powerful current of a rushing river is not diminished because it is forced to flow underground. The purest water is the stream that bursts crystal clear into the sunlight after it has forced its way through solid rock. There have been charlatans, who like Simon The Magician, sought to barter on the open market that power which cannot be bought or sold, but God has always had a people. Men who could not be bought and women who were beyond purchase. God has always had a people. There have been times of affluence and prosperity when the church's message has been nearly deluded into oblivion by those who sought to make it socially attractive, neatly organized, and financially profitable. It has been gold platted, draped in purple and encrusted with jewels. It has been misrepresented, ridiculed, lauded and scorned. These followers of Jesus Christ have been, according to the whim of the times, elevated as sacred leaders and martyred as heretics. Yet through it all, there marches on that powerful army of the meek. God's chosen people who cannot be bought, murdered, flattered or stilled. On through the ages they march, the church, God's church triumphant, alive and well!

SUPPER TIME

 SUPPER TIME

RF, Sunday Morning

October 25, 2020

 

One of the top cooking shows around today is “Rev Run's Sunday Suppers”. This is the description from Food Network. Rev Run, of Run-D.M.C. fame, and his wife Justine know Sunday supper is about family, good friends and great food. With four of their six children now out of the house, the duo have discovered the best way to gather the whole gang together is with truly show-stopping cuisine. With food this good, it’s no surprise it’s not just the kids coming to the table, but friends and family also! As Rev and Justine know, the perfect family meal isn’t just about the food, but about who’s sitting down to share it.

 

Another popular TV series is “Blue Bloods”. A feature of this show is the weekly Sunday supper where the entire family gathers around the supper table and discuss various things going on in their lives. 

 

When I was growing up, we always ate supper. When I left the farm and moved to the city, folks talked about eating dinner. I thought they were talking about the noon meal, but they were talking about the evening meal. I have always liked calling the evening meal “supper”. It conjures up feelings of family and fellowship. For me, is a term of comfort. 

 

Today, we will celebrate Communion together during the ministry time at the end of the service. It is also called the Eucharist and the Lord’s Table. Traditionally, we have called it, “The Lord’s Supper”. The title of my sermon today is “Supper Time”. My purpose is to talk about why the Lord’s Supper is powerful for us today. 

 

TEXT Luke 22:14–21 (NKJV) When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ forI say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

 

PRAYER

 

The whole idea of Communion is intimacy and identification. 

 

The term for communion and intimacy is koinonia. This word means “to share, participate, partake”. The absolute sense of the word is “fellowship”. 

 

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NKJV) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

1 John 1:3 (NKJV) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 

We also have fellowship with one another. 

 

1 John 1:7 (NKJV) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

As we partake of the bread and cup, we identify with Jesus Himself. 

 

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 (NKJV) The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? ¹⁷ For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

 

Romans 6:5 (NKJV) For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

 

However, Paul warns is that we can also identify with the enemy and his forces. 

 

1 Corinthians 10:20–21 (NKJV) Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

 

Paul goes on to give us instructions about the Lord’s Supper. 

 

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NKJV) For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

 

When we eat the Lord’s Supper, we do three main things. 

 

1.    We remember.

What do we remember? 

 

a.    His death.

 

                                              i.     His body broken for us. 

 

Everything we need is in the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJV) Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

 

What do you need today? 

 

Are you grieving? 

 

Do you have sorrow and regret? 

 

Have you made critical mistakes? 

 

Do you have long standing issues with addictions and strongholds? 

 

Is your peace gone? 

 

Are there things in your life that need healing: body, soul, spirit, relationships, finances, family, children? 

 

The list goes on and on. The body of Jesus was broken to bring healing into every area of your life!

 

                                            ii.     His blood shed for us.

 

His blood was shed to affirm and validate a new covenant. 

 

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NKJV): Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—³² not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

 

When we take the cup, we are blessed by the benefits of that covenant. Look at them:

 

The Word of God in our minds: we can understand the Bible. 

 

The Law written on our hearts: we have the anointing and can know the will of God. 

 

We know the Lord personally and intimately.

 

Our sin nature is put to death. 

 

All our sins are forgiven and removed: this is called remission.

 

Hebrews 9:22 (NKJV) And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

 

Remission means removal. It was demonstrated by the two sacrifices on the Day of Atonement. One was killed; another was led into the wilderness to “bear away” or remove all the sin of Israel. This has to be done every year, but Jesus did it “once, for all!”

 

Hebrews 9:12 (NKJV) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

 

2.    We proclaim. 

 

What do we proclaim? His death and resurrection. Because Jesus died, the chain of sin, the hold the enemy had on, you is broken!

 

Colossians 2:13–15 (NKJV) And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

 

Ephesians 4:7–10 (NKJV) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

 

3.    We promise. 

 

We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper until He comes! We look forward. Communion is a prophetic feast. Every time we take the bread and the cup, we do it knowing that we will drink it one day anew with Him! At the Last Supper, Jesus made this promise:

 

Matthew 26:29 (NKJV) But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.

 

John 14:1–3 (NKJV) Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

 

When the Jews would celebrate Passover, they drink the final cup with a declaration, “Next year in Jerusalem!” As we take the cup, let us proclaim, “Next year in the Kingdom!”

 

MINISTRY TIME/COMMUNION

 

A LIFE OF PRAISE

 A LIFE OF PRAISE

 

ME

 

I've lost some good friends along life's way; some loved ones departed in Heaven to stay. 
But thank God I didn't lose everything. 

 

I've lost faith in people who said they cared; in the time of my crisis, they were never there. 
But in my disappointment, in my season of pain; one thing never wavered, one thing never changed. 

 

I never lost my hope. 
I never lost my joy. 
I never lost my faith. 
But most of all, 
I never lost my praise. 

 

I've let some blessings slip away; and I lost my focus and went astray. But thank God I didn't lose everything. 

 

I lost possessions that were so dear; and I've lost some battles by walking in fear. 
But in the midst of my struggles, in my season of pain; one thing never wavered; one thing never changed. 

 

I never lost my hope. 
I never lost my joy. 
I never lost my faith. 
But most of all, 
I never lost my praise.

 

(“I Never Lost My Praise” by Kurt Carr and the Brooklyn Tabernacle)

 

WE

 

How can we maintain a life of praise that allows us to overcome the enemy and live in joy and peace?

 

GOD Let’s listen to King David. 

 

Psalm 103:1–5 (NLT)

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 

2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 

3 He forgives all my sins 

and heals all my diseases. 

4 He redeems me from death 

and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 

5 He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

 

Praise is a lifestyle. 

 

How do I live a life of praise? Let’s take this psalm apart and look for some answers. 

 

Psalms 103:1 (NLT) Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 

 

1.    With all that I am. 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

 

a.    Spirit

                                              i.     Conscience

                                            ii.     Communion

                                          iii.     Intuition

b.    Soul

                                              i.     Mind

                                            ii.     Will

                                          iii.     Emotions

c.    Body

                                              i.     Romans 12:1-2

 

2.    With all of my heart. 

 

Heart is the essence of life, like the breath of life; it speaks of the totality of life. We praise from the totality of our life. 

 

Hebrew words for praise…

 

Hallelujah: rave about God. 

 

Yadah: worship with lifted hands. 

 

Barak: bless. 

 

Tehillah: sing or laud. 

 

Zamar: to pluck an instrument. 

 

Todah: shout or address with a loud voice; includes an attitude of gratitude for God’s promised deliverance even while we are still in need.

 

Shabach: shout with a loud voice. 

 

Greek words for praise…

 

Ainos: praise and glorify. 

 

Doxazo: glorify. 

 

Eulogia: bless (eulogy). 

 

Humneo: singing. 

 

Megaluno: magnify. 

 

Psallo: sing in spiritual ecstasy.

 

Hallelujah: rave about God. 

 

There are many more words, but you can see that praise encompasses every fiber of our being! Praise can be vocal, like speaking, singing, or shouting. It can be audible, like playing instruments or clapping. It can be  demonstrable, like lifting hands or bowing low before the Lord. 

 

I must mention here that the Greek word used most for worship is proskuneo, to bow and kiss the hand. To live a life of praise and worship, we bow before the Lord and kiss His hand in love and honor.

 

We bow low, we bow low
Faces down to the ground 
In Your presence Lord
With our tears we wash Your feet
We bow low, we bow low 
Falling on our knees
We bow low, we bow low
To the King of Kings

 

(“We Bow Low” by Tim Sheppard and Gateway Worship)

 

Psalms 103:2 (NLT) Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

 

3.    Remembering the good things He does for us. 

 

Psalms 103:3-5 (NLT) He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

 

Let’s list these benefits and we will be praising Him all day and all night!

 

a.    He forgives all my sins!

b.    He heals all my diseases!

c.    He redeems me from death!

d.    He crowns me with love and mercy!

e.    He fills my life with good things!

f.     He renews my youth like the eagle!

 

Are y’all happy yet? Do y’all feel like praising yet? Do y’all feel like worshipping yet? Let’s do it!

 

WORSHIP AND MINISTRY