Sow to yourselves in righteousness,
reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for
IT IS TIME TO SEEK THE LORD
Till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
H O S E A 1 0 : 1 2
Good Morning Friends of FCC,
Two weeks from today Americans will head to the
polls to elect a President, 33 senators, and 435 members of the House of
Representatives. Here in Missouri we
will be choosing a Governor, a Secretary of State, and a host of representatives.
When asked by pollsters about the direction of our
nation, most citizens believe that America is on the wrong track. We could not agree more.
Poverty is
stubbornly high. Violence is rampant. Drug (illegal and prescription) and alcohol
abuse is epidemic. Child abuse is
sickening. Nearly every cultural
indicator is negative. Church attendance
is down 50% from a few decades ago. Marriage
is on the decline. Sexual immorality is
pervasive. Pornography is ubiquitous. Almost
half of the children born in our nation are born into single parent families.
Student scores are too low. Suicide rates are on the rise. Corporate and
individual greed is unchecked. We are a nation adrift.
All of this
has come at great cost to society and to the public treasury. Our Federal Government borrows 40 cents of
every dollar they spend. Our national
debt is $16,000,000,000,000.00 and climbing at a rate of $3,800,000,000.00 a
day. From 1776 to 2008, the total debt grew to $9.86 trillion dollars. From 2008 to 2012 it has grown another $5
trillion.
There is a practical, workable, sound, tried,
tested, and sure way to resolve these problems.
ALL THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A BETTER AMERICA IS BETTER
AMERICANS!
So long as we are not what we ought to be, our
nation will not be what it ought to be.
Because we are a representative democracy, we are
the government. Our leaders reflect who we are.
Because we have capitalistic free-markets, we are
the producers and owners of the means of production—we are the businessmen, we
are the managers, and we are the workers.
Because our laws were written to guarantee the
greatest degree of liberty to the greatest number of citizens, our ideal is a
government that is “of the people, by the
people, and for the people.” We have
never fully realized our ideal, yet we are sure that our constitutional
government has secured the God given rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” to more citizens in our
United States of America than any other government or form of government has
secured in the history of the world.
Who are these “Better Americans?”
The question itself implies that there are some
Americans who are not “better.” Indeed.
Some are better than others. Jesus said,
“By their fruits ye shall know them.”
Better Americans are not of a particular race.
Better Americans are not of a particular cultural
heritage.
Better Americans are not of a particular economic
class.
Better Americans are not of a particular region in
the nation.
Better Americans are not of a particular denomination,
political party, or organizational affiliation.
Better Americans are better because they think
prudently—they look ahead.
Better Americans are better because they act with
temperance—they are disciplined and work hard.
Better Americans are better because they uphold
justice—with “liberty and justice for
all.”
Better Americans are better because they are
courageous—who “more than self their
country love, and mercy more than life.”
Better Americans are inspired by faith in the God
of our Fathers, encouraged by hope, and motivated by self-less love.
Better Americans are moral—they want to think
right.
Better Americans are ethical—they want to act
right.
Better Americans are virtuous—they want to be
right.
Better Americans are known by the content of the
character.
To what standard do these “Better Americans”
ascribe?
Better Americans honor the previous generation.
Better Americans respect life as God-given.
Better Americans are moral in their relationships.
Better Americans are respectful.
Better Americans are truthful.
Better Americans are not greedy.
I would like to think that I discovered these
principles, but God revealed them to Moses 3,400 years ago. Think how different
our nation would be if Americans would follow the 10 Commandments.
Better Americans honor the previous generation.
HONOR THY FATHER AND THY
MOTHER
Better Americans respect life as God-given.
THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
Better Americans are moral and sexually disciplined in their
relationships.
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT
ADULTERY.
Better Americans are respectful of other people and their property.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
Better Americans are truthful.
THOU SHALT NOT LIE.
Better Americans are not greedy.
THOU SHALT NOT COVET.
These principles are so foundational to peace and
societal happiness that nearly every major world religion espouses them. But recognizing the rectitude and necessity
of these principles is not the same as possessing them.
How are “Better Americans” made?
Better Americans are made when their minds are
serious about the first four of the Ten Commandments.
THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER
GODS BEFORE ME.
THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO
THEE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE.
THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE
NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.
REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY
AND KEEP IT HOLY.
And better Americans are made when their hearts are
transformed by Christ. “Ye must be born again.” (John 3:3) Christians,
called to “salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,” (2 Thessalonians
2:13) are the salt and light that is so essential to making our nation a better
nation.
For most of our nation’s history, Americans admired
and desired Christianity. There were no
laws that demanded that citizens be Christians.
There was no formal constitutional or legislative directive that our
nation be designated a Christian nation.
Yet as David Aikman observed in the Wall Street Journal “America was
Christian in the values and morality that most people wanted to observe.”
But today’s America is increasingly secular. We say “In
God We Trust,” but according to recent surveys, more and more Americans say
that they are not affiliated with any religion.
Among those who are affiliated, more and more are aberrant and
non-orthodox in their doctrine. The
Apostle Paul warned of a day when people would “have a form of godliness,” “giving heed to seducing spirits,” “having
their conscience seared,” and be “lovers
of pleasure more than lovers of God.”
We are there.
That’s why we are convinced that our nation stands
in desperate need of a GREAT AWAKENING!
- We
will be better…when we recognize that God is the ultimate moral authority.
- We
will be better…when we acknowledge that the Bible is true—inspired and
inerrant.
- We
will be better…when we believe that Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
- We
will be better…when we repent—humbly acknowledge our sins and turn from
them.
- We
will be better…when we decide to “pursue
peace with all men and holiness without which no man will see the Lord.”
(Hebrews 12:14).
- We
will be better…when Christ is Lord of all—our resources, our energies, our
talents, our time, our relationships, our entertainments, our adornments, our
all. If Christ is not Lord of all,
He is not Lord at all.
- We
will be better…when the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit. Jesus said that His
disciples would be known not by their wealth, not by their popularity, not
by their physical beauty or impressive skills, but by their love! Love for God without a rival. Love for one another that is sacrificial.
ELECTION DAY IS
COMING
As you consider your vote in the upcoming election,
I trust that you will join me in praying that those candidates that would most
advance the cause of Biblical righteousness will be elected to office.
God cannot bless a nation that wantonly disregards
His will. Without God’s blessing our
nation will stand unprotected, impoverished, and dissatisfied. It’s time to
seek the Lord!
If we can help
you in any way please let us know. We
love and appreciate you every one!
Onward!
Pastor Richard M. Jones
FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH – Crusaders Church USA
2969 North Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, Missouri 63074 - Telephone (314) 298-5840; Cell (314)
607-1424