God
Is Not Mocked – Gal
6:7, Lam
Introduction
– The week is already full of patriotic pride and melodramatic
memorials. Patriotism is good in its
place, and weeping with those who weep is appropriate. But the foundational issue by which this nation
will ultimately stand or fall is repentance.
As a nation, we continue in our outright rebellion of God’s laws, and
our embrace of the god of tolerism and his brother,
relativism, to the exclusion of the only true God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ., the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of all creation, the God
who has brought this judgment upon us.
Texts: “Do
not be deceived. God is not mocked; for
whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal 6:7). “Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass
when the Lord has not commanded it?…..Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to the Lord….” (Lam 3:37-44).
A World of Cause and Effect
(Gal 6:7-9) – This is the way God made the world, and we are instructed and
warned in Galatians to make sure we take notice of this fact. When a man acts in a certain way, certain
things will follow. When a nation acts
in a certain way, certain things will follow.
Verse 9 clarifies for us that the world does not work in this way like a
vending machine, but more like a farm.
“In due season” instructs us to not be too hasty to determine the
connections. We must search and examine
ourselves – in light of the Word.
Commanded to Examine (Lam 3:37-44) – God
commands His people to look carefully at why a tragedy has befallen
Jerusalem.
God Did It (vv
37-38) – “If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?” (Amos
3:6). Conversely, this passage declares
that a man cannot do anything that the Lord has not decreed will happen. When pleasant events occur, God has decreed
it. When woeful things occur, God wasn’t
caught by surprise.
Better Than We
Deserve (v39) – Some will deny that these are judgments
from the hand of God, because God would never treat us in such a way. In such statements, we deny the utter
holiness of God. Jesus was not afraid to
speak of judgment upon cities (Matt 11:20-24, 24:1-2). However, this is not to say that the wicked
acts of free moral agents are not still deemed wicked and worthy of God’s
judgment. Terrorists will reap what they
sow as well.
An Appropriate
Examination (vv40-44) – An exam presupposes a
standard. God’s Word alone must judge
us, our actions, our thoughts, our motives, our loyalties. Godly examination turns us to the Lord (v40),
not to ourselves for salvation or forgiveness.
A contrite heart and hands lifted to God in heaven expresses our trust
in Him alone, not in our ‘chariots’ (v41).
True repentance comes when we see that God is our enemy for we have
sinned against Him (vv42-43). And when
God does not turn the enemies away, we must carefully consider if He is
purposefully ignoring our prayers (v44).
Mourning and Hope (Joel 2:12-17) –
Christians must mourn when they are a part of the sin directly (and we are),
and they must mourn when they are connected to the sin as of a nation. In fact, it is only after God has granted
some repentance and obedience that any can rend their hearts and not their
garments. And when they turn to God,
they will know that they are turning to a God who is merciful, who does relent,
who does forgive, who is great in kindness (vv12-14), who has given His Son for
the salvation of the world.
Conclusions – Why have we called
upon our church to fast and pray?
We Are More
Vulnerable Than Ever – If my child continues to rebel after I
have disciplined him, should he expect more?
Our nation speaks of our vulnerability in terms of airport scanning
devices, satellite surveillance systems, and defense against weapons of mass destruction. But no one is speaking fundamentally to the
issue: God’s warning did not lead us to
repentance. And so, we should humble
ourselves with prayer and fasting.
The Church
Leads the Way (1 Pet 4:17) – We, the church, lead the way in
teaching moral relativism, polytheism, and historical revisionism as well as
selfish neglect of the poor and weak among us.
The scriptures are not treated as the only final and infallible
authority for our faith (what we believe) and what we practice (in worship and
in our lives). Hypocrisy is even more
ugly when it is practiced by those claiming to follow Christ. We must examine our own hearts, our own
homes, this local church, our denomination, as well as the church at
large. And so, we should humble
ourselves with prayer and fasting.
Praying Against
Enemies – Enemies of the church are to be engaged by a
spiritual warfare, for we are ministers or reconciliation. Our calling as His church is to declare all
men to repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. When a nation (whose God is the Lord) is attacked
by enemies, they are to be engaged with military might (Rom 13) for that nation
is a minister of vengeance. Paul and
Barnabas were sent with much prayer and fasting. Jehoshaphat called
for prayer and fasting as he prepared his military offensive. And so, we should humble ourselves with
prayer and fasting.
God is Merciful
– A year has gone by and we have been spared so much as a nation. Are we grateful, and are we grateful to
God? If so, we can pray, “Who knows if
He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him –“ (Joel 2:14). If we are not, then this year of relative
safety has simply been the ‘due season’ where the seed of unbelief and
rebellion is about to sprout. And we
will reap what we have sown. And so, we
should humble ourselves with prayer and fasting.