I would love to meet the Pastor of this predominantly black church in Virginia. He definitely seems to "get it". Perhaps we should each decide who our real leader is. It is amazing to see that very little has changed in 4,000 years.
Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will to the 47th chapter of Genesis, we'll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27. Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us? ....(reading)...
Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray... So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt , and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock -their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.
But the famine wasn't over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh.." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes.. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master?
Yes.
But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen .. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one.
We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth " once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr.Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"?
Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh.
Bow with me in prayer, if you will.
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.."
And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.
In God We Trust...
4 comments:
Hmmmm....a church openly engaging in partisan politics. Yet another reason to remove tax exempt status from religious institutions.
I do concede your point there, Splash.
Let it be said that I have attended more than one church service in years past where the homily/sermon was little more than a campaign fund-raiser for Clinton or another Democrat at the time. I decided to worship elsewhere accordingly.
I'm all for religious freedom, but if they engage in politics (which most do in one way or another) they need to lose their tax exemption. This should be a non-controversial idea, yet whenever anyone brings it up, they are viciously attacked as being anti-Christian or anti-religion.
I think churches should be able to espouse moral positions as they apply to politics or a particular piece of legislation. Indeed, I think it is their duty to do so.
When a church starts advocating for a certain party or candidate by name, that is when the line is crossed in my opinion.
The sermon in the post is probably just on the wrong side of that gray area as it compares Obama to Pharoah, even though the pastor is making a point of the dangers of relying upon government instead of God.
Support of issues, such as voting for a pro-life piece of legislation or candidate (if that candidate is not specifically named in church) should be preached loudly and consistently in my opinion.
A church that preaches a moral stance and then does not encourage or rather remains silent on the particulars of amoral legislation is not in keeping with God and His commandments, in my opinion.
If one does not act on his convictions, then it is just words that are being payed lip-service to.
You can be a community organizer and do that, Dave!
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