What a Godly Patriot Does

What a Godly Patriot Does

Memory Verse: Romans 13:1 (NIV) Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

TEXT:

Romans 13:1–6

Jokes: church signs

INTRODUCTION:

Patriotism mans: having a

“devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty.”—Online Dictionary

 “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”  ~Abraham Lincoln

 “If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.”  ~Hamilton Fish

God has established 3 Institutions:

1.   The Family in Genesis chapter 2,

2.   The Government in Genesis chapter 9,

3.   The Church in Acts chapter 2.

I.              We must be Preservatives, Purifiers and positive Illuminations for our society.

Matthew 5:13–15

Cf. Leviticus 2:13; Mark 9:49–50; Psalm 119:105

 “The good word without the good walk is of no avail.”-- Rudolph Stier

 “Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him” (Bonheoffer, p. 106).

II.            We must pray for those who rule over us.

1Timothy 2:1–2

Cf. Romans 13:1–2 ; 1 Peter 2:13–14 ; Psalm 103:19 ; Psalm 22:28 ; Daniel 2:21; 1 Timothy 2:1–2 ; Proverbs 21:1;  29:2 (NKJV) ; 2 Chronicles 7:14

"Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by the clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings. . . . The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire, it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest; extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt."--Saint John Chrysostom

III.           We must be Passionate about our nation

Proverbs 14:34

Illustration: My Country ’Tis Of Thee by Samuel Francis Smith

My Country ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring.

The fourth verse proclaims:
Our fathers’ God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light:
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.

IV.          We must Participate in Government of our nation

Acts 5:29 (NKJV) ²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.

Cf. Romans 13:5–6 ; Mark 12:14–17

Illustration: Conscientious Tax Payer

“Let each citizen remember….that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.” --Samuel Adams declared in 1781.

 “Christianity and patriotism are synonyms… hell and traitors are synonyms.” –Billy Sunday

V.           We must Preach the word of God to correct the ills of our Society

1 Kings 17:1

Cf. Mark 6:18; 2 Samuel 12:1 , 7; 1 Kings 22:7–8, 15-23; Psalm 33:12

CONLUSION:

John 14:6; Revelation 3:20

AGAPE'S FINAL MOVE OUT FROM 605 W. MADILL, ANTIOCH APRIL23

I am still overwhelmed with yesterday's move. It was a big move. You never know how much belongings you have until you are relocating from one location to the other. We came to 605 W. Madill, Antioch in November 2009 with less properties. But we left with a lot of stuff. It is amazing how quick we accumulate things. 


Yesterday's move out event was so hectic. But I was encouraged by the presence of some of our church members who were on hand to help with the moving. I know that many of our Agape members could have helped yesterday but Monday is not the best day for most people due to their work schedule. Most of our parishioners have been involved in the Saturday packing for the past 4 weeks. I will be eternally grateful to everyone of you. 


Yesterday, the following members did outstanding job in the final move out. They are: Brother Daniel, Sister Peace, Sister Gale, Sister Ebidoere, Sister Lilian, Brother Michael, Sister Alice. Also, someone worked behind the scene. That person is Brother Leroy, our renown and acclaimed chef from New Orleans, who prepared some delicious chickens for us with the support of his wife, sister Ebi. Those chickens were tender, tasty and palatable. I will be eternally grateful to all of them for their outstanding job.


The move out process started around 10:00am yesterday morning. We were there at the premises till around 8:30pm last night. But that was not the end of everything. Some members of the group went to my residence to deliver some of the church office properties. They were in my home till around 9:45pm last night. Wow, brother Michael and Brother Dan were amazing. These guys are godsent. Wehn we were all done at my residence, brother Dan and I went to the Uhaul office to drop the truck. Brother Dan was the one driving the Uhaul truck. I took brother Dan to the former church premises (605 West Madill has become a former church premises) by sometimes around 11:15pm or so. Why? Because all along, his automobile was packed in front of the former church space.  


One of the things that made me happy is that we cleaned up the church space and returned the property to the new owner better than the way we met it in November 2009. We handed the keys of the premises to the new owner late last nigh. It is very sad that the we could not take the audio-visual center that we built with us. But I know that we will have something much more better when we move to our permanent church edifice. 


Through it all, I have many more reasons to thank the Lord for his grace and mercy. See some of the pictures taken yesterday here below....