WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.679 All right, let's pray. 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:04.639 Father, we just thank you for being such a great God. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:06.799 We thank you for adopting us as your kids. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:09.439 What a wonderful gift that was. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:17.359 And uh this morning we also thank you for this wonderful gift you've given us to be Americans and and to live in this great country. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:19.760 And so we thank you and we we praise you for that. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:21.839 Holy Spirit, please teach us this morning. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:30.800 Just ask that you would even translate what I say or what we talk about, and that each one of us could come away with with uh a word um from you. 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:33.679 And so we just thank you and we trust you in Jesus. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:35.920 We just praise you and and we love you. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:37.840 And it's in your name that we pray. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:38.799 Amen. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:53.600 So this is an unusually great morning, I think, for us to to talk about um being a Christian and and America, and especially, I think, with an attitude of of thankfulness. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:56.799 And I don't really want to talk about politics. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:00.960 I get this thing, and I whenever I do this, I make people mad, so just get ready. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:08.239 But um my uh and I think it's the way I explain it, because I don't know that my perspective is that irritating. 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:12.000 Either way, it's just really my opinion, so I'm not sure that it matters. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:17.840 But um I wish churches weren't quite so actively involved in politics. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:34.480 I I believe that Christians, we should be, man, we should be active, and we should be aggressive, and we should go for the candidates we believe in and do what we can and want to do to help them get elected, and I do that personally, I like it, you know, it's uh and and all that. 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:41.120 But um, you know, as churches, there's a real balance, you know, because there's this idea of us being a Christian nation. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:50.239 And what makes us a Christian nation is not really um uh power and and and laws and those types of things. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.599 What makes us a Christian nation is that we're a nation of Christians. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:02:01.040 That's what that's that's how we are going to stay and and thrive as as a Christian nation. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:14.159 And so to that end, I think that we're a lot better off promoting fewer candidates and instead promoting Jesus, that he is the hope of the world. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:23.520 He is the hope for America, he is what even gives us the opportunity to be Christians and part of a great country like that. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:36.240 So I say all that so I can get that off my chest and I can just focus on what a great uh country America is, and and and I want to look at um a couple of uh of aspects of that. 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:42.719 And the third the first really is just is the idea of thankfulness. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:53.759 And I've been thinking about this for a couple months, and it was really ever since um my niece and nephew um were sworn in as American citizens. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:03:01.120 Uh you might know that John and Stephanie Newby adopted um Valeria and David from Latvia. 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:07.439 And so the uh it's such a huge thing uh for um for them. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:22.800 I mean, they they they get a wonderful, God gave them really now a wonderful mom, a wonderful dad, a uh a home, and people that that love them and and care about them and and are gonna take care of them. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:31.360 And then almost as an aside, they remember that part of the deal is they get to be American citizens. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.319 And what a gift is that. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:35.840 I mean, what a gift is that. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:49.439 It's something that people all over the world dream of having, to having the the freedom and the and the rights and all the thing that that things that come with being an American. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:51.120 In fact, we got a picture. 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:54.319 That's them uh at their swearing in ceremony. 00:03:54.479 --> 00:04:00.159 Uh Emma's already a citizen, but uh Valerie is in the red and David in the blue. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:05.280 But uh it was such a big day, you know, and they uh um it was very emotional. 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:18.079 There was a lot of people being sworn in, and they they had a slideshow and uh with uh Lee Greenwood singing, God bless America, you know, and everybody's crying, and uh and it's a big deal. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:31.040 And what had struck me is how much of a gift being an American is to me, and how it's just like, in a sense, it's just it's just a gift. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:35.199 It's not something I deserve, it's something that was thrown in by God. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:47.040 And um and I don't want to take that for granted, and and I want to be thankful, and we pray, you know, we ask God to bless us, and we ask God uh to bless each other. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:05:01.519 But just by living in America, we are some of the most blessed people that have ever lived in the history of creation, and it is such a um amazing and wonderful thing. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:11.439 The the first time it started to sink in, I think for me, was when um my son Andrew and I went to Uganda on a mission trip. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:17.920 Now we had been, Susan and I had traveled, but it wasn't exactly mission trips, you know, it was uh vacation trips. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:22.959 And and um but uh but we're over there and it's just so strikingly different. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:33.120 You know, Kampala, which is the main city, is just teeming with with uh people, and there's there's and and they're great people, and they're generally happy people. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:42.879 And uh, but it's just teeming with people and the roads are just rudded, you know, dirt roads, and even in the city, the electricity, a lot of places there isn't any. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:49.040 When there is, it's they have these rolling blackouts because they don't have enough power to generate, so it'll be like one day on, one day off. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:53.600 You you know, there may or may not be um running water. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:06:07.279 And then as you get outside the city, oh, and there's one other thing is that there's shops, these little um like uh entrepreneur type shops just line the cities and they've got uh and they're all different, but they have one thing in common. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:18.319 And the thing in common is that in front of every one of them there's a young man standing with a rival just to protect the shop and protect the people, and it's very different than than than here. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:27.279 And then you get outside uh Kampala, and we spend most of the time out more in rural areas and villages, and there's not even electricity um at all. 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:40.160 And the uh you know the people live in in small uh huts or or I mean mostly huts, but that they've built by themselves, they've dug the bricks out of the ground and they big make these huts. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.800 And and to be rich is to own a goat. 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:45.759 It's to uh to own a goat. 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.920 And to be really rich is to have a bicycle. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:07:05.360 And we had interpreters or you know, translators, and they'd speak with Gandan Swahili, but the kids, no matter we were kind of like rock stars in the villages because most of the children had never seen a Mazunga, which is a white person. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.240 And so um and they just mopped us. 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:27.279 It was really cool, and they wanted to touch our hair and and uh all that all that stuff, and and um the but anyway, the and so through the translators we talked to the kids and we talked to the adults and and and what almost all of them wanted to talk about was America. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.800 Is it true in America is everybody rich? 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.560 Is it true that you can just go and buy whatever food you want? 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:43.920 You know, is it is it true that that uh um that it's safe and you can be out at night and and all those types of things? 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:47.279 And it is true. 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:54.720 I mean, we have a different relativity, but but relative to them, everybody in America is rich. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:08:08.000 And the idea of go walking into a Publix or a Kroger or something and just picking whatever sounded good that day, even if you're using coupons, you know, I mean, it's just a uh it's it's it's an amazing thing. 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:09.920 And it's an amazing opportunity. 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:13.680 I came back and everything looked, you know, it wears off, you know how that is. 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:17.759 But but but right when you come back, I cannot believe the roads. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:40.480 I mean, that the the we've got, you know, we could get in our car this afternoon if we want to and drive to Seattle, Washington on a safe, paved road, you know, and just having the safe, the the relative, you know, security and the peace and the freedom and the opportunity and the economic stability and all those things is a wonderful thing. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.840 And 1 Thessalonians 5 it says, be cheerful no matter what. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.519 Pray all the time, thank God no matter what happens. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:53.120 This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:56.799 It's just to be cheerful and to be thankful. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:02.720 You know, the thank being thankful is talked about as one of the greatest forms of worship to God. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:04.159 Just being thankful. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:12.000 And I think that when we think about America and living in America, really are overwhelming. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:16.879 My overwhelming emotion and attitude should just be thankfulness. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.720 Just just uh pure thankfulness. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.000 What a what a gift to be here. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:24.960 And it's a gift from God, thankful to Him. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:34.080 You know, it's a gift from people, you know, the founders of the country, you know, it's uh people that have have died and and protected our country. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:40.639 You know, there's over 700,000 Americans that have died in battle, protecting our country. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:46.080 Right now, there's 23 million veterans living in America. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:48.240 How many veterans do we have this morning? 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.600 If you're a veteran, would you and you don't mind, would you stand up really quick? 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:06.639 No, you know we thank you. 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.480 So we thank God and and and and we thank you. 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:32.480 And we just have you know an overwhelming sense when we stop like we get to this morning and and just think about what a gift it is to be part of this uh country. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:45.440 I get um I get frustrated with Christians that talk as if America is just going to hell in a handbasket. 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:48.159 Um because I don't believe it's true. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:48.960 It's not. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:56.080 You know, we we think that this country used to be so godly and now we're so heathen, and it's not true. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.799 This country's always been in process. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:04.559 There was a time in this country when abandoned children was a huge problem. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.159 You know, and so churches stepped in. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:11.759 They built orphanages all over the place to take care of children that were just being abandoned. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:23.759 You know, today not only do we adopt children in need here, but we get on waiting lists and stand in line to adopt children in need across the world. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.559 You know, this is this is a great country. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:32.159 And in many ways, we're becoming more godly, more pleasing to God. 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:34.399 You know, oppression's a huge thing to God. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:40.559 I mean, for years and years, women were dramatically oppressed in this country. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:57.519 Now, you may or may not like to hear that, but it but it's true, and it's a big thing to God, because women are God's daughters, and He wants you to be respected, and He wants you to have your rights, and He wants you to be treated with equality. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:03.600 And all over the world, women look to America as just this twinkle of hope. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:15.679 Because still most places in the world, women are disrespected and women are oppressed, you know, and this is really a great country, and we're getting we're getting better. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:20.559 You know, same's true with uh with minorities. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:27.120 For years and years, um there was discrimination and oppression. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:32.320 I mean, and and it wasn't that long ago, you know, 30, 40 years ago. 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.720 But, you know, it's getting better and better and better. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:56.480 And okay, this I probably okay, you know, politics aside, the fact that as a country we can elect an African American president is an amazing testament to how far that we've come. 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:58.000 It really is. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:06.399 And in many ways, as a country, we're getting better and better and better. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:11.279 You know that Americans uh lead the world in giving? 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:18.960 That per capita, as Americans, we give more than twice as much as any other country on earth. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:20.240 More than twice as much. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:26.159 And anytime there's a disaster across the world, we are dropping everything. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:28.240 And we're running to help. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:30.159 Because we care and we're loving. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:35.200 And it's part of the culture of America. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:38.960 And we've got some areas we've got to get better at. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:41.039 We've always had areas we've got to get better at. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.080 You know, we need to protect all life. 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:44.720 We do. 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:46.559 We've got to get better at that. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:52.159 We need to make sure God isn't removed from how we we govern and how we are as a country. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:58.480 Um, we've got to stop spending money and having these immoral deficits. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:04.559 I mean, there's things that that where we can just get better and better and better, but it's always been that way. 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:08.240 And this is a great country. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:15.679 And I do not believe for a minute that God is just waiting to punish us and strike us and all that stuff. 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:26.799 God is good, you know, and and he, I believe, providentially founded this country, and that he is not ready to punish us, he just keeps getting us back on track. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:32.960 And he and he blesses us so much, and he's gonna uh continue to bless us. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:39.519 And so our attitude, I really think, uh, should not be looking for the bad. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:45.120 The Bible says that we should be looking for the good and pointing out the good and thanking God for the good. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:50.399 And it's it really is an amazing country. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.200 And a good reason to be thankful. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:02.480 Okay, part of what made has made this country work is that as citizens we have rights. 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:14.000 And uh I bring that up because really July 4th, you know, is the birth date, if you will, of the country, but but it's it's the it's that because it's the day the Declaration of Independence was uh was signed. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:19.919 And the Declaration of Independence is basically a letter that the colonies wrote to King George. 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:28.639 And there's and the letter is hey, this is pretty drastic, but but it's gotten to a point where we have to do this. 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:30.240 And here's why we have to do this. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:39.279 And so they itemized this whole list of grievances, if you will, um, that were forcing us to uh to declare our freedom. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:16:01.759 And what's most famous in this letter is the start of the second paragraph, it says, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.320 And so what I want to talk about is does God really give us rights? 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:10.879 Do we really have um rights? 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:14.240 He does. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:15.759 He does. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.559 Our rights really do come from God. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:24.639 You know the Garden of Eden, which is a good place to always look back and see how God uh intended things and created things. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:31.440 God gave Adam and Eve life, he gave them freedom, and he allowed them to pursue happiness. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:35.679 And they didn't make the right choices, but he gave them that freedom. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:38.000 They had those rights. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:44.240 And as followers of Jesus, we can be really conflicted about whether or not we actually have rights. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.919 Um, I mean, didn't Jesus give up his rights? 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:49.519 Aren't we following him? 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.559 Don't we give up our rights? 00:16:52.799 --> 00:17:10.400 And so I want to talk about that for a few minutes and not to embolden anyone who's always going around demanding their rights, but actually to encourage anyone that is being mistreated or taken advantage of. 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:23.359 To stand up for yourself and assert the rights that God has given you and that we're legally protected of as Americans. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:31.200 Now, if there's confusion about whether or not we have personal rights as Christians, it starts suddenly uh Sermon on the Mount. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:37.039 Now, Jesus said, You've heard the law says that the punishment must match the injury, an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.279 But I say, do not resist an evil person. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:42.400 If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:46.480 If you're sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat too. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:50.799 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:55.039 Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:05.680 Now to understand the Sermon on the Mount, you know, the Sermon on the Mount is the most famous teaching, I think, that that Jesus did. 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:10.720 It's also probably the most misunderstood teaching that Jesus did. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:15.920 Because to understand it, you had to understand that Jesus is talking to two different groups of people at the same time. 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:22.720 And when we're reading it as it is written, we don't see, and you can tell when we look that he is going back and forth. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:34.880 He's speaking to normal people like us during part of the Sermon on the Mount, and then he's speaking to the religious leaders and the Pharisees and the self-righteous on other parts of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:39.759 So he talks to uh I'll say normal people. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.200 And he says, God blesses you when you're humble. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:46.559 He says, God blesses you when you're merciful. 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:50.000 God blesses you when you work for peace. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:56.000 He says, I haven't come to abolish the law, I've come to fulfill its purpose. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:00.960 And the whole purpose of the law was to show us that we need Jesus. 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:08.400 That was the whole purpose of the old law, was to get us to the point where we can see Jesus as our Savior. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.519 And so then he turns his attention to the Pharisees. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:18.480 He says, if you're going to be saved by your righteousness, you'll have to do a lot better than these Pharisees. 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.839 You'll have to far exceed these Pharisees. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.400 He says, You've heard that the law says, Don't murder, I say don't be angry. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:30.960 You've heard that the law says don't commit adultery, I say don't look at a woman lustfully. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:38.160 In fact, you should pluck out your right eye to make sure that you don't. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:45.680 And not only that, you should cut off your right hand to make sure that you don't do anything wrong. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:51.839 And then Jesus goes on to say, next, you've heard that the law says the punishment must match the injury, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.079 But I say, do not resist an evil person. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.960 If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer your other cheek. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:00.559 If you're sued in court and your shirt is taken, give your coat two. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.079 If a soldier demands you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:05.599 Give to those who ask. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:07.839 Don't turn away from those who want to borrow. 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:12.400 So, how many Christian men are walking around with one eye and one hand? 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:16.240 Not many. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:17.440 Why? 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.240 Because Jesus did not mean that literally. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:22.400 It was not literal. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.599 You know, you ask the questions. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.200 Do you take the Bible literally? 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:29.119 Yes, the parts that are literal, we absolutely take literally. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:30.640 But there's other parts. 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:32.160 There's parts that are metaphorical. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:33.920 There's parts that are making a point. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:35.039 There's parts that are poetry. 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:37.119 I mean, there's all different parts of the Bible. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.720 And the parts that are literal, we take literally and we apply literally. 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:42.160 This isn't one of them. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:45.599 Jesus is making a point to the Pharisees. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.119 I mean, is anger the same as murder? 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:52.480 Well, it's not. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:58.000 It's only the same as murder if you think that you're righteous with God because you don't murder. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.960 Well, in that case, maybe there's a context there. 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:01.920 But it's not the same. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:04.079 Lust isn't the same as adultery. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:08.319 Jesus is making a point that's saying, hey, see these self-righteous people? 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:15.279 If you're going to be saved by your own righteousness, man, you're going to have to up the bar really high. 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:17.359 And this is what it is. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.039 He didn't mean that literally. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:22.799 He doesn't want us to pluck out our eyes. 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.920 He doesn't want us to cut off our hands. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:31.119 And if somebody punches you in the face, you do not have to turn and let them punch you in the other side of the face. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:36.319 If someone sues you for 10 grand and you lose, you don't have to pay him 20 grand. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:43.279 He wasn't being literal. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:47.839 And the whole Sermon on the Mount is that way. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:49.119 He goes back and forth. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:51.359 He tells normal people about the golden rule. 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:54.559 He tells the religious people to stop showing off in front of everybody. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:21:59.759 He goes back to normal people and says, listen. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:00.960 Stop worrying. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.079 God's going to take care of you. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:03.119 He loves you. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.000 He'll take care of you. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:08.799 And he loves you. 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:10.079 And you're important to him. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.559 And he wants you taken care of. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.720 And he's given you rights. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:18.000 You have a right to be protected. 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:19.599 You have a right to live free. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:22.079 You have a right to pursue happiness. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:24.640 Because you're created by God. 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.279 You have inherent value as his creation. 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.079 We have those rights because they come from God. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:40.559 We have those rights legally because we're Americans. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:48.640 And so we exercise our rights with love and with compassion. 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.039 And sometimes we don't exercise our rights. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:52.880 We choose not to. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:59.359 And we have forgiveness and all those things. 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:04.880 But we don't throw away the rights that God's given us. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:12.960 Now the Apostle Paul understood what Jesus taught and what Jesus meant as much as anyone. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.279 Paul was a pretty unique guy. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:23.119 He was a Jewish scholar, well respected, you know, amongst the Jews, but he was also a Roman citizen. 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.319 Excuse me, that's uh it was really unusual. 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:29.039 Not many Jewish people were Roman citizens. 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:32.079 But Paul was a was a Roman citizen. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:34.400 Rome was an occupying force. 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:39.599 And so the Jewish people were allowed to, you know, live, but they didn't have rights. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:41.680 Roman citizens had special rights. 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.319 Some of their rights were similar to our rights as Americans. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:50.960 You know, they they couldn't be they had a right to a free trial, and they couldn't be punished without one. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:57.680 And if someone mistreated a Roman citizen, the punishment to them was really severe. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.160 So Paul was a Roman citizen. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:04.720 And the thought is that his dad was probably a Roman soldier. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:17.279 Um, because he says that he was a Roman citizen by birth, that is probably his dad married a Hebrew girl, and and they were converted, and he was raised in a Jewish family. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.559 Um Paul was good at a lot of things. 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:26.400 One of the things he was really good at was starting riots. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:30.079 He uh he actually kind of had a knack for it. 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:33.759 Um he would uh he would start riots for all sorts of reasons. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:47.359 You know, sometimes it would be he'd be talking about uh God being the one true God, and people are making idols get all mad, and the next thing you know, um and mobs are a little more common over there, but uh next thing you know, there's a mob, and then there's a riot. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:56.079 Or or he could be talking about um um God and then palm readers and groups that you know he was costing them money. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:57.839 They'd get mad and there'd there'd be riots. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:24:59.359 Sometimes it'd be the Jewish people. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:03.119 He'd be talking about his experience with Jesus, and people would get mad. 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:05.440 Next thing you know, um there'd be a riot. 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:06.079 So what happens? 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:09.279 The Roman soldiers would come and they say, Who started it? 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.599 Everybody stops and they point to Paul. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.319 And so uh next thing you know, Paul's in jail. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:18.319 And it happened to him actually quite a um quite a bit. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:31.200 In Acts 16, he and his uh buddy Silas had uh gotten arrested and got beaten by uh soldiers, and uh it's kind of this this whole thing happens uh overnight. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:38.799 But then the city officials figured, well, that's probably good enough, and they're probably straightened out, so so they go to uh to let them go. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:43.839 And in Act 16, it says the next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, let those men go. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:49.839 So the jailer told Paul, these the city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave, go in peace. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:57.359 But Paul replied, they have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison, and we are Roman citizens. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:59.920 So now they want us to leave secretly? 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:01.440 Certainly not. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:05.839 Let them come themselves to release us. 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:09.839 You see, Paul was saying, I have rights. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:11.279 I'm a Roman citizen. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.480 You can't just beat me and then let me go. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:21.200 And so when the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:24.400 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:28.480 And then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:31.519 The apostle Paul says, I'm a Roman citizen. 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:34.319 He stood up for himself. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:36.480 He said, I have these rights. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:39.279 Releasing isn't enough. 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:40.720 I want an apology. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:43.519 The mayor can come and give me an apology. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:45.839 And that's what they did. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:51.680 Now, not long after that, Paul's telling a group about how he got saved on the road to Damascus. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:53.839 And the group gets really angry. 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:56.640 Turns into a mob, turns into a riot. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.920 Roman soldiers come to break it up, they ask who started it. 00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:01.759 They all point to Paul. 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:03.759 Paul's in jail. 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:06.000 This is Acts 22. 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:11.519 And the commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:14.640 He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious. 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:23.920 When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't even been tried? 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.440 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, What are you doing? 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:29.359 This man is a Roman citizen. 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:33.519 So the commander went over and asked Paul, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:35.920 Yes, I certainly am, Paul replied. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:37.680 I am too, the commander muttered. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:39.119 It cost me plenty. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:42.400 Paul answered, but I am a citizen by birth. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:47.680 The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen. 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:53.359 And the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped. 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:56.400 Paul said, You cannot mistreat me this way. 00:27:56.880 --> 00:28:01.119 He said, I am a Roman citizen, and I have rights. 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:06.640 And so it was not ungodly, was it, for Paul to stick up for himself? 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:11.759 To say, hey, I've been given these rights. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:18.000 And it's not unchristian for us to say, you know, you can't do this to me. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.680 You can't harm me. 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:21.519 You can't mistreat me. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:25.039 I'm an American citizen. 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:28.319 I have certain rights. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:41.359 Now the story with Paul keeps going like that, because they want to send him to Jerusalem, and he's afraid that if they do, he's going to get uh killed, and so he appeals his whole case to Caesar. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:43.759 It's like appealing it to the Supreme Court, sorta. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:46.480 And so he's got that right. 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:55.839 And so instead they uh they send him to Rome because that's what he had uh what we had wanted. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:01.039 And when we follow Jesus, we don't give up our basic rights. 00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:07.359 In fact, if anything, we appreciate them any more because we start to understand where they really come from. 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:13.039 And here's the the type of thing that I'm I'm thinking of. 00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:17.920 See, we've had women here that are really conflicted because they're owed child support. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:30.480 And they don't want to be unforgiving, and they want to be like Jesus, and they don't want the ex necessarily to get into a lot of trouble, and so they don't know what to do. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:34.799 And so if they ask me, I point them to Paul. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:37.519 You have rights. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:38.799 You have rights. 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:40.400 Do what you need to do. 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:46.880 God changes people's hearts, and he especially changes them in jail. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:58.000 And so it um it could be a win-win, you know. 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:00.799 But but we should. 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.319 It's good to stick up for yourself. 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:06.799 You know, yes, Jesus was taken advantage of. 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:19.920 Yes, Jesus was mistreated, but he didn't mean for that to be our fate every day of our lives. 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.839 He created with value and he gave us gifts. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.160 And he gave us rights. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:30.640 And so we should value those rights, and we shouldn't just give them away, you know? 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:33.839 And we shouldn't trade them away for security. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:37.279 Um every now and then we just might need them. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.359 We just might need them. 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:47.440 We should keep our rights, we should lovingly, with compassion, exercise our rights. 00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:52.319 And we should thank God for them because they do come from Him. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:54.240 They do come from Him. 00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:58.799 So if the worship team will come up, we're gonna stop here in a minute. 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:06.720 Does God give us rights? 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:08.720 Yes. 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:14.880 Jesus Himself gave us the most important right of all. 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:23.039 In John 1, verse 10, it says, He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:28.079 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:37.680 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:46.079 Now that is an amazing, unalienable, God-given right. 00:31:54.799 --> 00:32:01.920 If we accept him and believe him, we have the right to become children of God. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:05.200 And you know, it's it talked about Valerie and David. 00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:27.680 Paul gets to Rome and he's in he's in jail for for several years, waiting, awaiting trial, and he writes uh a letter to um some people in Philippi, and in it he says something pretty remarkable, because he said, you know, I'm a Roman citizen, I'm a Roman citizen, I'm a Roman citizen, I'm a Roman citizen. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:37.759 And he's in Rome, in jail, and he writes to these people, and he says, My citizenship is in heaven. 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:43.599 My citizenship is heaven, and that's the bigger perspective, the broader perspective. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:52.720 And just like Valerie and David got adopted into God's, or I mean into John and Steph's family, but then they got to be citizens of America? 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:59.359 God adopts us into his own family, and we get to be citizens of heaven. 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:03.920 And it's something that's maybe just an afterthought, but it's an amazing thing. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:06.319 I mean, what if we didn't have eternal life? 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:13.599 What if God, the creator of the universe, just adopted us for this life and said, I'll be with you, I'll take care of you. 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:16.319 What an amazing thing that would be. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:23.519 But no, with it, we get an even bigger citizenship, a more important citizenship. 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:25.920 We're citizens of heaven. 00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:29.440 And with that comes eternal life. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:31.759 We don't have to fear death. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:34.400 It's an amazing thing. 00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:36.400 We have an amazing God. 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:37.759 And you have that right. 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:44.160 If you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, man, exercise that right. 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:47.599 Accept Him, believe Him. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:50.480 Become a child of God. 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:59.440 He will fill you and strengthen you, and He will lead you, and He will take care of you, and He will provide for you, and He does love you. 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:03.920 And besides all that, we get to be citizens of heaven. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:05.680 It's an amazing thing. 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:07.119 We've got an amazing God. 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:09.920 So let's uh let's stand and let's pray. 00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:25.440 I want to make sure that we uh just take a minute and really thank God for this country and and and for our leaders and for all that He's given us. 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:27.119 So, Father, we just praise you. 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:29.440 Thank you for being such a great God. 00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:32.880 Thank you for giving us so many things. 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:38.480 Thank you for giving us through your son the right to be your children. 00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:40.320 We just praise you for that. 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:42.880 And we accept that gift. 00:34:43.119 --> 00:34:45.440 And we're proud and thankful to be your children. 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:49.679 We're proud and thankful to have you as our Father. 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:52.000 We thank you for this country. 00:34:52.239 --> 00:35:01.679 We thank you for getting to be part of this just remarkable experiment, I guess, of human self-governance and looking to you. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:07.440 And we thank you for how your your hand has been providentially on this country. 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:14.000