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