Church Rick Green: We are teetering between Liberty vs. Tyranny
We do not need more politicians, but we need patriots
Politicians: only think about the next election
Patriots: focus on passing the torch on to the next generation
“Things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in truth would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands'' (Psalm 78: 3-7).
Moralistic therapeutic deism
-identification that God exists, but all he really wants is for us to be happy and nice
-feel good talks, pep rallies, not equipping congregation in the battle
-focus on a faith issue and not brush off it is a political issue
-Romans 12:2 not conform to the world-transform-renew our minds
-my faith has no play in the vote I just took
-word of god-principles and values
-motivate and take a stand to vote biblically
-25 million christians-167,000 churches-voting population of 22 state
-that many people of faith are not voting
-MFV impact is to get people to take their faith into the voting booth
-think biblically-studies-why it matters-abortion-socialism-other
Christian benevolence:
-under the guise of “having kindness, compassion, and being well mannered” our government has been removing God out of public life
-1962: Supreme Court ruled that school-sponsored prayer in public schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment
-1963: Abington School District vs. Schempp ruling, which made the corporate reading of the Bible and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer unlawful in public schools
-1980: Stone vs. Graham ruling, so the Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky law that required the posting of the Ten Commandments on the wall of ever public school classroom in the state violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment because the purpose of the display was essentially religious
Question:
Why do prayer, Bible, and the 10 commandments violate the establishment clause in our public school?
Answer:
-what has been established is a court-constitution
-removal because fear that students would see the 10 commandment, read them, study them, and obey them
***In its place we have removed God
Moral Relativism
-the idea that there is no universal or absolute moral principles
-It’s a version of morality and advocates “to each his own,” and those who follow it say, “Who am I to judge?”
-Formula: take out God then there is no right or wrong or consequences for behavior
-only left with feelings, so no moral compass
-no longer teaches God’s given authority
-the result is an overreaching power of government over the people
-it removes “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.”
***Don’t be fooled-have wise precautions-be prepared-we live in a fallen evil world
***we must have discernment on where authority should be God’s authority and involvement
Cultural Infusion
-requires intentional actions to address social inequities and to address social justice
-encourages lifelong learning about culture, cultural identities, social locations, and social justice
-neglects precepts in the Bible
-Only 9% of church members are actively involved in studying the Bible daily
**We need to recognize that America’s culture is crumbling
Cultural War
-Anti-God groups have won the war in education, entertainment, media, journalism, and pulpits
-Social Justice advocates forces the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society
(oppressor, oppressed, white supremacy, critical race theory, gender queer theory, intersectionality, redistribution)
-Tyranny: Government grows to stamp out bad behavior as they deem
Counter the Cultural War
-We need to counter with true justice, due process, and freedoms
-we need to preserve our liberty
-Liberty must have morality
-Secularism is the absolute separation of church and state
-Religion should neve be taken out of politics
-Secularism is incompatible with the Great Commission
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it"
(Thomas Payne).
"To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead"
(Thomas Payne).
"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to me"
(Matthew 28: 18).