Rescue At Night

Rescue At Night


John 3:1-15

1.) An Urgent Situation
a. Nicodemus was a ruler and a religious leader.
b. Nicodemus did not know how to enter the Kingdom of God.

2.) A Skilful Intervention
a. Jesus immediately addressed the victim’s primary need.
b. Jesus overcame the victim’s ignorance.
c. Jesus simplified the process for Nicodemus.

3.) A Successful Rescue
a. Nicodemus Defended Jesus before the Sanhedrin. John 7:50,51
b. Nicodemus aided in the burial of Jesus. John 19:38-40

Personal Application: As a religious leader, even Nicodemus was in need of rescue. How about you?

GROWING GOD’s WAY III

GROWING GOD’s WAY III

II Peter 3:18
Grow in Grace

Over the last few weeks we have focused on growing God's way.
It is not a natural nor easy way to grow.
Your flesh and mine would rather grow in our own timing and fashion.
However God has a much better and fuller plan for your life if you will surrender your will and grow His way.

Two weeks ago we saw that God is not just interested in us increasing our religious experience but is rather interested in us Flourishing.
We are to Flourish like the Palm and the Cedar trees.
When our lives take on the characteristics of the Cedar and the Palm we will be faithful in church and constant in our faith, with no wavering in whatever climate or circumstance we are in, because we have a greater interest in reflecting the faithfulness and the righteousness of God than the furtherance of our own agenda.

Last week we saw that before we can grow God's way we must first remove the obstacles that have come into our way.
We saw what can happen if a Christian is determined to leave these obstacles in place.
We end up scarred and disfigured and ill equipped to reflect the nature of God to the world.
Then, we must cultivate a desire for the Word of God.

This morning we will conclude the series with the challenge of our text:

READ TEXT
PRAY

The Epistles of Peter are extremely helpful to us, who, like the Christians of the 1st century church, need to be encouraged and equipped to simply grow in grace.

It is the simplicity of this command that stands out in this passage.
Peter had a knack for simplicity.
He didn't write much, nor did He assert himself nearly as much as the Apostle Paul did in the 1st century church.
It is quite clear that he considered himself to be nothing more than another man in the church and one of 12 to whom God had given Apostolic authority.

He even makes note of the deeper writings of Paul in the verses previous to our text, pointing out that some had taken Paul's words out of context and had twisted them to their own ends.
He encourages the reader to not be led away by the error of the wicked and fall from the steadfastness of a firm and constant faith.

Peter ends his second of only two letters that he penned to the church in general with this simple command.

GROW IN GRACE

Since it is in grace we must grow, let us focus on that word, grace, and see what it might mean to grow therein.

First, we notice that it is translated from the Greek word "karis" which is as near an identical word in usage and meaning as you will find in two languages.
Karis means an unmerited goodness, a gift, a benefit, a joy, a pleasure, but specifically one undeserved and thereby overwhelming in its goodness.

Our English word, "grace," is a perfect translation of God's intended thought as He uses this word throughout the New Testament.

The following are some of the definitions pulled from a dictionary of the English language:

MERRIAM-WEBSTER - unmerited divine assistance given humans, a virtue coming from God, an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency, a pleasing appearance or effect

I recently read one man's explanation of Grace and modified it to fit what we see reflected in the Bible:
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage.
When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.
When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.
But when a person is not capable of or willing to earn a wage, has lost the race and thereby won no prize, and has done nothing to deserve a reward - yet receives such a gift anyway - that is grace.

I would challenge you this morning to analyze the level of grace in your life.
Are you growing in the among of grace you exhibit in your life?

Do your words minister grace to the hearers as commanded in
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the

If you were to die today, would there be evidence of grace that you bestowed upon others as there was when Tabitha/Dorcus passed away in
Ac 9:39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.

I am not asking if you give people what they deserve or what they are due.
I am asking if you are growing in grace.

I am not asking if you put up with people.
I am asking if you show them grace by your words and your actions.

It is high time that Christians began to see the need for showing grace in their day to day lives.

Let us look to our text for motivation and instruction on this.


Every Christian must grow in grace:

1.) Because of the judgment of the lost is coming. II Peter 3:11-12
> They will receive judgment on that day
> Today, they will be won by grace
> This is not an absence of truth Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

2.) Because of the reward of the saints is coming. II Peter 3:13-14
> We will receive grace on that day
> Today we must show grace to others
> This is only fitting when we focus on eternity

3.) Because of the great grace that has been shown us. II Peter 3:15
> Were it not for God's longsuffering we would not be saved.
> Jesus showed us grace so that we might share that same grace with others.
Mt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.


The practical instruction for growing in grace is simple:
1.) Learn of Jesus
2.) Meet Jesus
3.) Know Jesus
Ac 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Are you growing in grace?

The Power of Prayer

The Power of Prayer

Nehemiah’s Prayer

Nehemiah 2:4

1.) Preceding Prayer
> A realization of need (1:1-3)
> A discipline of devotion (1:4)
> A prayer of repentance (1:5-11)
- An acknowledgement of God’s Glory
- An acknowledgement of sin
- An acknowledgement of promise
- An acknowledgement of mercy

2.) Present Prayer
> A testimony of joy (2:1-2)
> A testimony of truth (2:3)
> A prayer for courage and blessing (2:4)
> A testimony of boldness (2:5-8)

3.) Prevailing Prayer
> A great responsibility to fulfill (2:8-16)
> A great obstacle to overcome (2:17-20)
> A great victory to be won (6:15)

Nehemiah prayed, for a moment is all;
God gave Him courage, and he built the wall.

Psalm 50 When God Judges the World

When God Judges the World

Psalm 50

Introduction: The psalmist, Asaph, seems to be painting a picture of the coming judgment. He begins with the glorious entry of Jehovah into the Courtroom of final justice. Then we see the judgment of the saints, using Israel as a called out group. Finally, the judgment of the wicked takes place with a warning to those whose are not prepared for judgment day.

1.) God Enters the Courtroom Verse 1-6
> A call to all the earth V. 1
> A call for witnesses V. 4
> A call to gather the saints V. 5
> A call of righteous judgment V. 6

2.) The Saints are Judged Verse 7-15
> God will testify against the saints. V. 7
> He is not looking for more sacrifices. V. 8
> He does not need our offerings. V. 9-11
> He does not grow hungry for blood. V.12-13
> He desires thanksgiving. V. 14a
> He desires fulfilled commitments. V. 14b
> He desires to be called upon in need. V. 15a
> He desires to be glorified. V. 15b

3.) The Wicked are Judged Verse 16-21
> They have rejected His Word. V. 16-17
> They have joined the enemies of God. V. 18
> They have sinned with their mouths.V.19-20
> They have misjudged God. V21a
> God will set the record straight. V21b

4.) God Warns the Wicked of the Coming Judgment Verse 22-23
> Those who forget Him will be destroyed. V. 22
> Those who follow His ways will be saved. V.23

Conclusion: This psalm reminds us of the day toward which our life must be directed. This is judgment day. Will you be ready?

Growing God's Way PART II

Growing God's Way PART II

Prerequisites for Growth

I Peter 2:1-3

READ TEXT
PRAY

The first item to which I would draw your attention is the imperative in the passage.
We must always look for the command first.
Then we can see how God would have us change our lives.
In verse two, we are commanded to "desire the sincere milk of the word."
The way we are to desire the sincere milk of the word is, "As newborn babes."

Illustration: I had little opportunity to feed our first two children. Tiffany had that well under control. I had only to bring them to the bedside. However, as Allyson was two months early, I sat up with her in the ICU and bottle fed her for the first days of her life. I learned a few things about how newborn babes desire their milk.
1.) They are not happy without it.
2.) They devour it when it is available.
3.) It is their primary concern in life.
This is how we must desire to study the Word of God.

Now, I want to direct you to the object of verse 2.
We are commanded to desire the sincere milk of the word for this purpose: THAT YE MAY GROW THEREBY

It is God's purpose that we grow.
He requires it of us.
He is glorified by our proper growth.
Let us recognize that God is intent upon our growing and specifically our growing his way.

This morning, I want to challenge you from Scripture, to see some mandatory prerequisites to growth.

It is verse 1 that gives us the 1st clear and practical instructions by which we can grow God's way.

We must:

1.) Lay aside the obstacles to growth.

Illustration: Recently, I had the opportunity to go to the local trash dump. I usually enjoy going to the dump. There is always some odd item that someone has thrown out that arouses my curiosity. This last Sunday afternoon was no exception. As we drove out I noticed a bicycle parked on the side of the road with a sign beside it. The sign read, "Organic kick stand." Upon further investigation, I discovered that there was a stump from a tree that had grown around the bicycle, which was holding it up at the moment. Evidently, this tree had grown around the obstacle until the bicycle had become a permanent part of the tree.

I believe many Christians are growing the same way that this tree did.
There is a substantial obstacle in their life: a sin, a habit, an attitude even a circumstance that compromises their testimony.
And yet they leave that obstacle in its place and grow around it until it has scarred and deformed their spiritual life to the extent that they cannot bear fruit and cannot fill out God's plan for their life.

The especially repugnant obstacles which God points out for us are:
> Malice - denoting extreme enmity of heart, ill-will, a disposition to injure others without cause, from mere personal gratification, or from a spirit of revenge.---Webster.
> Guile - Deceit of all kinds.
> Hypocrisies - feigning to be what we are not; assuming a false appearance of religion; cloaking a wicked purpose under the appearance of piety.
> Envies - A negative attitude toward someone because they have something that we don't
> All Evil Speaking - It would include all unkind or slanderous speaking against others.

Of course there are many other items that the Holy Spirit may be pointing out in your own heart, things that must be removed before you are allowed to grow freely and in a manner that glorifies God.

Realize this, if we grow our way we will end up scarred and deformed and of little use for the glorification of our God.

On the contrary, if we are determined to grow God's way, we will remove the obstacles that He signifies and we will indeed growth into an object of glory to God.

Now we see that if we are to grow God's way we must first lay aside the obstacles to growth.
Secondly:

2.) We must desire the Word of God.

As we noted earlier, this is the command in the passage and deserves special attention.
It is often said in the world that we cannot fight our feelings.
God's Word insists exactly the opposite.
We can and must shape our own desires.
Several times in Scripture we are commanded to desire this or that.
Never does God command us to do something that He does not empower us to do.
It is entirely possible and necessary to shape our desires.
> By immersing ourselves in the word.
> By disciplining ourselves to read the word.
> By praying for God to change our hearts.

Finally we see the concluding verse which serves to motivate us to obey the instructions in the previous verses.

It is the grace of God that drives us.
We tasted it when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior.

If you have not tasted His grace you must make that decision today.

Then His grace can motivate you to grow God's way.

The Power of Prayer

The Power of Prayer

The Prayer of Solomon

(1 Kings 3:5-15; 10:1-24)
A Powerful Opportunity
1.) God was interested in Solomon's desires.
2.) Solomon was charged to ask for his desires.
A Prudent Prayer
1.) He acknowledged the blessings of the past.
2.) He recognized his personal shortcomings.
3.) He accepted the great responsibility.
4.) He requested the ability to fulfill his responsibility.
A Pleased Response
1.) God granted his request fully.
2.) God gave him much more than he requested.
3.) God glorified Himself in Solomon's life.
SOLOMON prayed for wisdom; then
God made him the wisest of mortal men.

Growing God's Way PART I

Growing God's Way PART I

"Flourishing"

Psalm 92:12-15

The Righteous Must Flourish

This psalm gives a contrast between the righteous and the wicked.
Both are given symbols by which we can identify them.
The wicked are compared to the grass of the field. V7

Certainly the wicked do grow in knowledge and in wisdom after a fashion, but like the flower of the grass, they will wither and fade.

The object of today's sermon and those that will follow in this series is to challenge you to analyze your growth.
Are you growing spiritually?
Are you growing God's way?

Before you answer that with the first thoughts that come to mind, you should know that there are many that appear to be growing spiritually, who have God on their lips constantly, but they do not have Him in their hearts.
It has become a way of life, but never a motivation for life.

Jesus gave a parable about the wheat and the tares.
Tares are weeds that are very similar to wheat in appearance.
He said that it was very difficult to tell the difference between the two, but in the last day God would separate them.
Both are growing and appear similar, but only one is growing God's way.

Are you growing your way or God's way?

Our text gives us some powerful pointers on how the righteous must grow.

READ TEXT

PRAY


The key word that is repeated in our text is the word "flourish."
It means "to grow well or luxuriantly, to thrive."
The Hebrew word translated "flourish" is "parach."
It means "to bloom and spread."

God does not want you to just increase in the size of your spiritual schemata.
He wants you to bloom and spread, to thrive.

Out text gives us some beautiful pictures and likenesses of how, where, when, and why the righteous must flourish.

This morning I would challenge you to that end.
Don't just grow, Flourish!

See our text:

1.) How they Flourish V12
> Like the Palm Tree
- Which stands in both inclimate and favorable weather.
- Which grows slowly but steadily all of its life.
- Which bears useful fruit.
> Like the Cedar Tree
- Which is strong and useful.
- Which is an evergreen, always green.
- Which is long lasting and stable.

2.) Where they Flourish V13
> They are planted permanently in the House of the LORD.
- Church is not a temporary phase for them.
- Church is a place they place their roots and decide to stay.
> They Flourish in the courts of God.
- Their greatest show of fruit is around God's people.
- They understand the need to be around God's people.

3.) When they Flourish V14
> All of their lives.
- not taking "time out"
> Even in old age.
- Utilizing the benefits of maturity and wisdom.
> Overflowing with fruit.
- Being a blessing to all around them.

4.) Why they Flourish V15
> To show the righteousness of God.
- They recognize they are reflections of God on earth.
> To show the purity and consistency of God.
- They recognize that they reflect god's character to man.

Psalm 48 Mount Zion

Mount Zion
Psalm 48
Introduction: Here we see the city of Jerusalem given powerful symbolic status in the nation of Israel. It was the place where Israel came to worship God. So Zion is symbolic of our worship of God now. Often we see Zion used in the Bible as an idea more than a Physical place. Hebrews 12:18-24

1.) The Defender of Zion
> The LORD inhabits Zion. V. 1,2
> The LORD makes Zion a refuge. V. 3
> The Lord makes Zion impregnable. V. 4-6
> The LORD defeats Zion’s enemies. V. 7
2.) The God of Zion
> His Word and his actions are always the same. V. 8
> His loving kindness is in the thoughts of His worshippers. V. 9
> His praise is throughout the earth. V. 10a
> His hand is full of righteousness. V.10b
> His subjects have reason to rejoice. V. 11
> His subjects have reason to feel secure. V.12
> His blessing is a testimony to the next generation. V. 13
> His guidance is good through this life and into the next. V. 14

Conclusion: Mount Zion symbolizes for us what our spiritual life should be. As we walk around the building of our relationship with God, let us admire the great structural aspects of it and learn to find our refuge and our victory inside its walls. What a powerful refrain, “This God is our God!”

The God of Our Nation

The God of Our Nation

Psalm 33:12-22

It is always good to examine our past so that we might understand our present and so that we might see purpose in our future.
It is especially important to examine the value and the reality of a Godly heritage so that we might see the importance of upholding it and the necessity of preserving it.
Our text this morning is one of many examples in the Bible of a man rejoicing in and reminiscing over the beauty of a Godly heritage.

This week, on Wednesday, we will celebrate our nation's birth and independence.
We have the distinct privilege and responsibility in this country to remember the Christian values upon which our nation was founded.
The consequences of not doing so are disastrous.
The principles and morals that keep order and law in this country would erode away until we become a nation without a moral compass.
The pagan immorality and corruption that brought Rome to its knees will crumble this country as well.
And the most horrific of all consequences, if we forget the God that blessed us in our early years and do not give Him the glory for our successes, He will withhold His hand of blessing and will allow our country to collapse under the weight of its own sin.

Indeed, we owe our nation's successes and strength to the fact that our forefathers spent as much time on their knees as at the table of legislative work.
They attributed their vision to the inspiration of the God of the Bible.

Before we read the text this morning let us examine our past so that we might see the powerful application of the text to our own situation.

John Adams and John Hancock:
We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus! [April 18, 1775]

John Adams:
“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798

December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson
"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen."

Samuel Adams:
[ "American Independence," August 1, 1776. Speech delivered at the State House in Philadelphia]
“ He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all.”

[October 4, 1790]
“ Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.”

John Quincy Adams:
--1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts.
• “Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [the Fourth of July]?" “Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity"?

Charles Carroll - signer of the Declaration of Independence Portrait of Charles Carroll
[Source: To James McHenry on November 4, 1800.]
" Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure...are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."

Benjamin Franklin: Portrait of Ben Franklin
–Constitutional Convention of 1787 original manuscript of this speech
“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel”

In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach "the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern."

Alexander Hamilton:
• Hamilton began work with the Rev. James Bayard to form the Christian Constitutional Society to help spread over the world the two things which Hamilton said made America great:
(1) Christianity
(2) a Constitution formed under Christianity.

On July 12, 1804 at his death, Hamilton said, “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me.”

[1787 after the Constitutional Convention]
"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests."

Patrick Henry:
"Orator of the Revolution."
• This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”
—The Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry

[May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]
“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

John Jay:
Source: October 12, 1816. The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay
“ Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

Thomas Jefferson:
“ The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.”

“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.”

(excerpts are inscribed on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in the nations capital)
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

James Madison
“ We’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all of our heart.”

[Letter by Madison to William Bradford [urging him to make sure of his own salvation] November 9, 1772]
• A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest, while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22;
“For the LORD is our judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
He will save us.”

Jedediah Morse:
"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. . . . Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all blessings which flow from them, must fall with them."

Benjamin Rush:
[Letter written (1790’s) in Defense of the Bible in all schools in America]
• “I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them…we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the soul of republicanism.” “By withholding the knowledge of [the Scriptures] from children, we deprive ourselves of the best means of awakening moral sensibility in their minds.”

Justice Joseph Story:
“ At the time of the adoption of the constitution, and of the amendment to it, now under consideration [i.e., the First Amendment], the general, if not the universal sentiment in America was, that Christianity ought to receive encouragement from the state, so far as was not incompatible with the private rights of conscience, and the freedom of religious worship.”

Noah Webster:
[Source: 1828, in the preface to his American Dictionary of the English Language]
“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

“Education is useless without the Bible” [Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage p.5 ]

George Washington:
“ It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”

[speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779]
“What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.”

[May 2, 1778, at Valley Forge]
"To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian"

[George Washington; from a 24 page authentic handwritten manuscript book dated April 21-23, 1752
I humbly beseech Thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my sins for the sake of Thy dear Son and only Savior Jesus Christ who came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me.”

These are just a few of the vast body of evidence that our nation looked to The Lord as their God in its early years.

READ TEXT
PRAY

EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST SEEK TO PRESERVE THE BLESSING OF GOD ON THEIR NATION

1.) Because God is actively involved and interested in the affairs of nations. (VS. 13-15)
2.) Because no amount of military might will save a country from destruction. (VS. 16,17)

1.) By living in the fear of God

> Does your life exhibit holiness?
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
> Do you fear His judgment above the judgment of your peers?
> Do you fear loss of His approval above the loss of your friend's approval?
> Are you deeply concerned that God might remove His hand of blessing from your country?
> Are you concerned that He might judge you in Eternity?
Mt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

2.) By hoping in his mercy
> Do you pray faithfully for your country to be spared from judgment?
> Do you rest in the personal knowledge that God will grant you mercy on the last day?
> Are you trusting in anything but God's mercy for your own salvation?
V19-22
Mercy is offered, will you accept it?

Repentance

Repentance
Zechariah 12:9-14

In a time when Israel has endured incredible suffering at the hands of her enemies God sent a prophet to turn His chosen people back to him.

Zechariah was a prophet of God to the nation of Israel.
He was a priest and of a priestly family.
He had the distinct privilege of giving Israel God's messages, which he received in the way of visions.

In these visions, Zechariah saw Israel brought out of captivity and into her homeland.
He saw Israel and the capital city of Jerusalem besieged by enemy armies.
He then saw God intervene as so often He has on behalf of His beloved Israel.
The armies of Israel's enemies would all be destroyed, but this is not the greatest of miracles that Zechariah predicted.

Our text begins a portion of Zechariah's vision that has not yet come to pass.

This morning I want you to notice the miraculous event that has occurred in this vision from Zechariah.
Hard hearted Israel has repented and turned back to God.
Not only this but, in her repentance she has recognized her Messiah.
This is a great day that is to come; there is such great sadness that comes with it.
Imagine the turning of an entire nation to God and the great remorse for sin that comes with it.
Such is the situation in the nation of Israel when she realizes she has been wrong about Jesus.

The national revival of which we read here is fantastic!
Imagine an entire nation coming back to God.

We pray for just such a revival to happen in America.
We speak of it as if it is a national movement that we are seeking, when it is a personal movement that must take place.
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When Pastor Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual politically correct generalities. But on January 23, 1996, what they heard instead was a stirring prayer, passionately calling our country to repentance and righteousness.

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, " Woe on those who call evil good," but that´s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism;
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism;
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle;
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery;
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation;
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare;
We have killed our unborn and called it choice;
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;
We have abused power and called it political savvy;
We have coveted our neighbor´s possessions and called it ambition;
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression;
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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We long to hear this prayer in our country from the lips of thousands, not just one brave man.

If any kind of spiritual revival is going to take place in our country or our city, we must know something of revival and how national repentance takes place.

Our text reveals this in a powerful way:

1.) Repentance is a work of the Holy Spirit. V.10
When people come back to God it is the work of God.
When people's hearts change from hard and prideful to soft and humble, it is the Holy Spirit of God working.

2.) Repentance involves great sorrow for sin. V.10,11
The first and foremost sin is the rejection of Christ.
Our hearts must be broken over the horridness of our sin.
Ro 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

3.) Repentance is an individual experience. V.12-14
As much as we long for a national revival and as much as we long for a local movement towards God, it is only ourselves that we can truly change.
If you are waiting for a movement of repentance so that you can be swept along in its flow, you will never repent.
We must repent now and for ourselves.
It is our sin that condemns us, and it is our lives that must change.

Now that we have learned something of repentance, we should see some practical steps toward a national revival:

1.) Mourn and repent for your own sin.
2.) Recognize the Messiah.
3.) Pray for God to convict others.