Hi, my name is Rick Bloodworth. This is the Common Sense Christian channel, and today, we're going to look at the fourth part of the series we've been doing on how to fix America. And basically, what we've been doing is we've been looking at the problems we have in our nation, and we want to figure out if they can be solved, and if they can, how best to go about that. And so we began by looking at a four step process of problem solving that's been around, I suppose, as, as long as the world has. It's very basic, but typically when you have a problem, there are four things you need to do and in this order as well. The first is to define the problem. What are you working with? with the second is to analyze the problem. What does it mean? What if I don't do anything about it? What if I do something about that? And then the third is to come up with a solution. Specific steps to correct the problem that you have at hand. And then the fourth step, which we're gonna be talking about today is to actually act on that solution. You can have all the good intentions in the world. You can have a brilliant solution to any problem, but unless you actually act upon that solution, it does you no good. So that's what we're going to talk about today is acting on the solution so that we can fix the problem. And if you'll recall, we started with an example, I believe it was given by Zig Ziglar of a, of a, of a real city in the South. from a number of years back that was having a problem. They were starting to grow in the direction of a garbage dump that had been outside the town for many years. But now as the town grew into a city and was getting bigger and bigger, it was actually in danger of encompassing that garbage dump to where the people were actually going to be living on top of garbage if they didn't do anything. So they did this. First, they defined the problem. We got a garbage dump and we're going to be living on top of it if we don't do something about it. Second was to analyze the problem. What does it mean? What if we do nothing? But what if we did something? And so it was with this analysis that they began to come up with a solution. And their solution for it was to do this, to get rid of the garbage dump. And to build a shopping center in its place, and they had the steps to do that. They first were going to stop dumping garbage. The second was to take away any garbage that they could and put it in a new landfill well outside of the city. The third thing was to cover over what garbage they couldn't remove with clean fill dirt. And then the fourth was to build a shopping center. And so that's what they did. They acted upon it. They started, they, they started immediately. with their plan and implementing this plan, they stopped dumping the garbage, and then they started hauling away any garbage that they were able to, and then they filled the rest with clean fill dirt, put a good foundation, a solid foundation, and then And then they built a shopping center that employed hundreds of people and serviced thousands of people, bringing in millions of dollars to the city's economy. And so as you can see, they turned something that was a big problem, a large area, that was a dump, that was empty. almost in town, into something that was a tremendous asset, a gleaming shopping mall that people enjoyed that gave good employment to the people of the region and also serviced the people of the region with all sorts of shops and stores that they could take advantage of. And so as we look about, look at this idea now from a broader perspective of a much more serious problem that we have here in America and really all over the world. This particular solution is something that's needed for all over the world, isn't it? And the problem that we have is this sin. has gotten out of hand. Sin is beginning to rule our lives and we're starting to pay the consequence for that. I just did a gospel meeting in Denver, Colorado. I grew up around Denver a number of years ago, and it was a beautiful city. It was a small city, relatively speaking, but a beautiful town. And it was something that was very safe to grow up in. I lived outside of the city limits when I was first born in a town called Broomfield. And then later on, we moved back to a, to a suburb called Lakewood that was just outside of the city. But we spent a lot of time in the city and over the years we've, we've done different things. We've gone to the zoo and we've, we've gone up at to the mountains just outside of Denver. We've watched baseball games there. And again, it's always been pretty safe. But in recent years, that started to turn. The drug problem that they have has led to a crime problem. They've, they've recently been inundated with numerous illegal immigrants from, from different parts of the world. So much so that it's using up all their resources that they had to take care of, of, of their people. And so now, the town is just crowded. With, with a lot of people, some of them good people, but still in difficult situations and a lot of crime. In addition to that, they legalized drugs in, in Colorado. Not all drugs, but marijuana, and, and that's a gateway drug for anyone who understands that. And it nearly always leads to something else. Their particular problem is with methamphetamines and, and crack and other things. And it's just a different town. It's a dangerous town. Children are at risk and have had terrible things happen to them as have all sorts of innocent adults. And so this is just kind of a microcosm of what's going on in our nation. And it's because for all practical purposes we've left God. And, and we've stopped recognizing God as our master and Christ as our Lord. We've stopped living for them and have started living for ourselves and for the devil. And as you can see, it's, it's not working. And so the problem defined is. the sin and the consequences of sin. The, the analysis of that problem is, what does it mean? What if we don't do anything about it, but what if we do something? And so the solution is to repent, to, to in our own lives, make sure that we're right before God and then to help others to repent as well. And those who won't repent, start enforcing our laws that we already have to take care of the crimes that are being committed and stop pandering to the guilty and start protecting the innocent, especially our children. Because what we've been doing in recent years isn't working and it's starting to overwhelm us, not just financially, but It's taking a toll on us mentally as well. And, and people are getting mad at one another. They're blaming one another for, for these problems. And certainly we've all got our, our fault that we can share with this. We've either taken part in the sin or we've permitted the sin. Whatever it is, the solution is going to be to stop taking part, to stop permitting, and to turn back to God in repentance. This is the only solution that will work. And so today we want to talk about acting upon that solution. In, in John, 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4, it gives us hope. And I believe we need hope as we start this because I, I, I think our problems are overwhelming to some and they don't think they can do anything about it. But in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4, John, who's an older man now, one of the original apostles of Christ is writing to the church. And, and he, he views them very affectionately as his children. And look at how John says this, You dear children, are from God and have overcome them. Well, who are them that they've overcome? The them that he's talking about are those who are opposed to God and to Christ, those who have the spirit of the Antichrist, where they reject Jesus as coming in the flesh. They reject his teachings. And essentially they're living for Satan rather than for God. And so John says, you've overcome them. And then he says, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. He's pointing out for Christians, we have God within us. We have his Holy spirit within us and God, his spirit within us is greater than the one Satan who's in the world. We're going to win and we need to keep that in mind, but we also need to understand it's not going to be easy as we start to implement the solution. to try and take care of the problems that we have. And so first, maybe after we talk about repenting ourselves, and we've certainly looked at that, now we want to talk about living a life that's worthy. In Colossians chapter 1, In verse 6, the Apostle Paul writes this, All over the world this gospel, the good news of Christ, all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it, and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learn from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and also, who also told you of your love, told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we've not stopped praying for you, and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, to through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Well, here, the apostle Paul, or God inspiring the apostle Paul to say this is pointing out that those who are saved by the grace of God, who understand the grace of God are then going to get to work. They're going to start bearing fruit. They're going to start doing good things. They're going to live a life that's worthy of the calling that they've received. We can't just keep the word to ourselves. We have to expand the kingdom. We have to share it with others who are lost so that they can no longer be lost. Be lost. That's what bearing fruit means. And and we have to understand that this bearing fruit is going to take a lot of effort. It's not something that just happens. And you can't just pray to God to take care of it. I believe the solution to our problems begins with our repenting of our sins and praying to God for forgiveness and also praying to him for help. But once we have been involving ourselves in prayer, we also need to be looking to his word to see what he expects. And then we need to get to the work. We need to actually do the hard labor that's going to be required to fix this problem. And as you, I'm sure are well aware, this problem is going to take a lot of work to fix. It's not going to be easy and because of that, there's a lot of people who aren't even going to try and it's a shame because they're missing the opportunity. Remember in our example of the large city, they didn't just cover over the garbage. They saw the opportunity to do something then with that fresh plot of land, and they made, they made something magnificent out of that. They took advantage of the opportunity. It was great work, hard work, but, but it was worth it. Henry Ford, One time talked about people missing opportunity because it showed up dressed in overalls and it looked too much like work. Well, I think maybe that's the way we are right now. We see only the problems. We don't see the potential once we've helped cure those problems to do something really good. magnificent for God. You look back at the founding of our nation. The founders had to go through the Revolutionary War to correct the wrongs that were happening, but they saw the opportunity and they took that opportunity to create, with God's help and God's direction, a mighty righteous nation. Our constitution is an incredible document. It's certainly something that's patterned for those who are servants of God. As a matter of fact, one of the founders said it was wholly inadequate for the governing of any other people, that it was made for a righteous people, a moral and a righteous people, religious. We have an opportunity, not, not just to take care of the problem, which we must, but then let's build something great from the foundation that we then have. And speaking of, of this work in James chapter two in verse 14, he said, what good is it my brothers? If a man claims to have faith but has no deeds, can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sisters without clothes and daily food, if one of you says to him, go, I wish you warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs. In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead. Well, one of the most popular prosperity type teachings in religion is faith only. You don't have to, you don't have to do anything in order to be saved. And while it's true that we are certainly saved because of God's grace, and we're saved because of God's grace, of Christ's sacrifice. We still have our part to do. Some people look at things and they say, well, I'm not going to do any works. I'm just going to believe. But if you go back to John chapter six, the people ask Jesus, what must we do to be doing the works of God? And Jesus replied, the work that God requires is to believe in the one he sent. Well, belief takes work. You have to dig into it. You have to do something about it. Faith is belief in action. It takes work. We've had to, for far too long, people buying the welfare spiritual notion that you can be saved just because you believe in Jesus and nothing else. No, you have your part to do. And all through scripture that is emphasized. Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3 warned Time after time after time, if you don't repent, if you don't start doing the things you're supposed to, you're going to be lost. You're going to be removed from the church. He requires effort. Is it because of our effort that we're saved? And the answer is, of course, it's not. But you can't be saved without effort. You can't be saved without faith and without belief. Nor can you be saved without digging in and bearing fruit for the gospel. The scriptures are very clear on this. Continuing in James chapter 2 and verse 18, after he said faith by itself if not accompanied by action is dead, someone will say you have faith, I have deeds, show me your faith without deeds and I'll show you my faith by what I do. In other words, James is just saying, prove it. You say you have faith, but you're not doing anything about it. I'll show you that I have faith by what I'm doing. And again, James wasn't claiming that he was being saved by these works. He was just pointing out that, you know, evidence of the faith needed in order to save him. And again, we've, we bought into a lot of lies in the religious world that allows us to think that we can go to heaven on the cheap without any effort. And that's never, been anything that's taught within scripture. And we've got to get away from that foolish notion because what it's resulted in is a very weak church. And because there's a very weak church in America right now, we have a lot of problems in America. Now, I'm not suggesting that all Christians are weak. There's some very strong Christians. There's some very strong churches in America as well. But overall, you'd have to admit that the church has been diluted It's been weakened, and it's no longer bearing fruit to the point where it's having an impact upon society. Part of our solution is to start having an impact on society again. Well, one of the questions is Now that we know what the solution is to stop the sin and to encourage others to stop the sin, and then to do it, replace that with righteous living, bearing fruit, who's going to do it? This was the question that was asked in Isaiah, or of Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 8, Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I. Well, this is the attitude that God desires. It's the attitude that God, that pleases God. And it's also the attitude that God expects. When he calls, who's going to do the work? Who will go? Isaiah, the great prophet said, I'm right here, send me. And so God did, and Isaiah's message was a message not only of warning, but also a message of repentance and hope. And this is what we need to be doing as well. In Isaiah chapter 50 and verse 2, we find out how disappointed God is when we don't answer the call. Isaiah 50 verse 2, Think about that for a moment. The call, the, the urgent plea right now is that we do something to rescue those who are sinking so far into their sin that they're very much in danger, not only of being lost themselves, but of causing many, many others to be lost. And so we have a duty. We have a duty, not just to do something, but also to warn others. And God said when I called, He asked the question, when I called, why? This question has bothered me for years. The, the idea that probably there's been a lot that I could have done, a lot more that I could have done when God called, when I knew that I had duty to help people and I didn't take that. I didn't, I didn't help enough people who were suffering. I didn't warn enough people who are slipping into sin. And very often I just didn't do it because I was comfortable. And if I'm honest, I was too lazy to do it. We can't afford that attitude anymore. If we're going to fix the problems in America, we're going to have to answer God's call. We're going to have to heed first His warning and then issue that warning to others and then help them to come out of their sin and to start doing things that will produce fruit for God. And we can't just listen to it. In James 1, verse 22, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, not talking about the law of Moses anymore, that was nailed to the cross. Now he's talking about what the New Testament refers to. As the law of Christ, the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it will be blessed in what he does. That's a powerful passage, isn't it? Don't just listen to the word, do what it says. Those who don't forget what they look, he said, it's like a man looking at a mirror and then going away and forgetting what he looks like. Well, what's he talking about? Well, we are Christians when we have our sins washed away in baptism. We've, we've heard the word, we've believed it. We've confessed that belief called on the name of the Lord. Proclaiming that we believe Jesus is Lord, the Son of God. We've repented of our sins, very private between you and God, but you have repented of your sins. And then you've had those sins washed away in baptism. God adds you to the church. You become a Christian at that point. And the thing is, a lot of people forget they're Christians. And they forget what a Christian looks like because they, they stop reading the word of God to see what a Christian is supposed to do. And it's very much like a man looking in a mirror and then walking away and forgetting what his own appearance is. We as Christians very often forget what a Christian is supposed to look like. The way we'll remember is by looking into the perfect law, into the Word of God, specifically the New Testament, and seeing how we're to live, how we're to pattern ourself after Christ so that we might be a reflection of Christ. Years ago I heard a story about a Sunday school teacher who was looking at an Old Testament passage that said, God sits over us like a refiner of silver. And so she went to a refiner of silver to find out what that meant. And so as it happened, she went to a silver refiner shop and this is a number of years ago. And here's a man getting the fire hot enough and, and, and peering into this. vat of silver that he's purifying and, and she said, what are you doing? What, what's your process? And, and he said, I'm, I'm, I'm heating the silver up to a certain temperature. He said, if it's too hot, it will ruin the silver, but if it's not hot enough, it won't burn off the impurities. And the, the Sunday school teacher thought, ah, well, that's what it's talking about. When it says he sits as a refiner of silver over the fire. But as she was walking out, the man still peering into that vat of silver, almost as an afterthought said, I know it's ready. when I can see my reflection. Now, when James talks about us being like a man who looks in the mirror and then goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like, we're talking about as Christians, we should be reflecting Christ. And the only way that we can see what Christ looks like is by reading the word of God. We pray for wisdom and insight as well, but, but we have to do the work of peering into the perfect law. Well, I might, I might start wrapping it up by saying this. This might not be the message you want to hear. You might not want to hear that the problems that we have in America are something that you and I are responsible for, for helping resolve. But, but this is what God told Isaiah and, and the people during Isaiah's time. Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 9, talking about his nation, his chosen people. They are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, see no more visions, and to the prophets, give us no more visions. What's right? Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel. Well, back during this time, there were genuine prophets, people whom God spoke to to give a warning and then they were to give the warning to the people. They were watchmen in that sense. Well, God doesn't speak to us in any way today other than through the scripture. It's true. He guides us through prayer and we need to be praying for that guidance. But don't be looking for a modern day prophet to be giving you a message that's outside of the scripture. The scripture is full. It's complete. We don't need anything else. We need the help of God through prayer. I'm not suggesting that, but we don't need anything else for our knowledge. And so we need to be listening to the word. Yet, I'm afraid that in our modern times, there's way too many people who are like the people of Isaiah's time who just said, don't tell us this anymore. Prophesy illusions. Well, a lot of people just look to the word of God and they pick and choose. They take what looks good to them and they just discard the rest. We can't do that. Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says. Now we're in verse 12 of chapter 30 of Isaiah. Because you've rejected this message, relied on oppression, and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly. in an instance and then in verse 15 he says this in repentance and rest is your salvation in quietness and trust is your strength but you'd have none of it you said no we'll flee on horses therefore you will flee you said we'll ride off on swift horses therefore your pursuers will be swift a thousand will flee at the threat of one and at the threat of five you will all flee away till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop Like a banner on a hill. Their sin had gotten so bad, and they wanted to run away so they could continue in their sin. And God told them, this is just going to leave you all alone. Like a flag on a mountaintop. But look at verse 18. Yet, the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion, for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him. Well, again, I know this has been a difficult message, maybe not exactly what you're wanting to hear, but sometimes we have to look at the cold, hard truth. You've had flat tires, likely, if you've driven much, maybe even on a highway. You didn't want to think about the fact that you really had a flat tire, but until you got out, checked, and made sure it wasn't flat, and if you found out that it was flat until you got it fixed, you weren't going anywhere. Until we start listening to God and heeding his warnings, we're not going anywhere but down. Our nation can't afford to go down much further. I think you'd agree. We have to do something. But with God's help, we're going to win the victory. And so I want to conclude this series with this note. It's found from Romans chapter 8, verse 31. Again, it's the Apostle Paul, but he's inspired. These are the very words God wants us to understand as we struggle with our difficulties. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us. Who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us. How will he not? Also along with him graciously give us all things. Who will bring any charges against those whom God has chosen? It's God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died. More than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God, and is also interceding for you. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? You think you got problems? It's not the first time. As it is written, for your face we've. For your sake we face death all day long, and we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But then he says this, No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him, Jesus, who loved us. For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, Neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are more than conquerors. We're going to win if we will do our part. We've got a lot of serious problems in America. We need to be doing our best to start taking care of them. It begins with our own repentance and then it begin, then it continues with our trying to encourage others to repent as well. I don't know if we're going to be able to escape a physical penalty for all the evil that we've done in this, in this nation, including the shedding of innocent blood. But I do know it's not too late for us to have our souls saved and for others. To have their souls saved and maybe by the grace of God, he'll be willing to allow us to continue a little bit longer in this physical nation that we enjoy and have enjoyed so many blessings from because of God giving those blessings. But even if America, as we know it, we're to end today, we're still Christians and we're still required to bear fruit and do as well. Are you willing to do that? The solution's not complex. Stop dumping garbage. Get rid of the garbage that you have in your life. Fill the rest with something that's clean. Build something magnificent, a life for Christ on top of it. It won't be easy. But with God's help, you can do it. And it'll be a whole lot easier than suffering the consequences of the sin that we find ourselves in today. Well, that's the lesson. I hope it's something that gives you something to think about. I also hope it's something that you can see. We have some very real solutions if we'll just do our part. And beseech God. That's all for today. Thank you for tuning in. I pray that God will richly bless you as you seek to do your best to serve Him in every way you can.