SERMON - CHRISTIANS WILL HAVE NO SHAME

Christians Will Have No

Shame

 

 

As people all around our nation concern themselves with the failing economy those of us who are TRUE Christians have no shame to worry about. We have done nothing to cause outrage in heaven and can look one another squarely in the eye and confidently know we are not to blame.

 

Psalm 37: ¹⁸ The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever.  ¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;   in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

 

In Psalm 37 we learn that that the Lord rises up to action against societies whose sins have outraged heaven. The prophesies set forth in this Psalm convey promises to God’s children as well as His anger at those who refuse to obey His will. There is hope for all who fully trust in the Lord and none for those that are filled with greed, covetousness and wicked fraud that evil men perpetrate on the poor and needy.

 

A fate, worse than death, awaits those who are not blameless as they practice skullduggery on us. . As they use their ill gotten gains and/or political power to feed of the rest of our nation they are earning their just dues. 

 

Psalm 37: ²⁰ But the wicked will perish: The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish—vanish like smoke. ²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;  ²² those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

 

Look at what is happening to the wealth of those who have been greedy as they sought to ruin America ’s economy. In a short time span more than $4 TRILLION of American wealth vanished. 

 

Although the hardest hit are the little people you must realize that God is not asleep and will wreak His vengeance.

 

Isaiah 34: ⁶ The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats,  fat from the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom. ⁷ And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat.⁸ For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause.

 

Why am I so very confident in the Lord? That question is also a question each and every Christian should have a ready answer for.

 

Isaiah 65:  ² All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations- ³ a people who continually provoke me
to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick;  ⁴ who sit among the graves  and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; ⁵ who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!' Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.  ⁶ "See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps-

 

God is not One to stand by as He sees His children suffering losses due to the acts of charlatans. He has His plan for our lives and no one, no matter his earthly position can stand against His will with any degree of success.

 

Ezekiel 7: ¹² The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller grieve, for wrath is upon the whole crowd.

 

God has sounded His warnings and by the voices of His ordained has told of His righteous anger at the way His children are being abused. 

 

I have heard and read sermons of the many Pastors who have made their voices heard as they warned our politicians and financiers of the error of their ways only to be ignored. I have sounded my voice as well and have been ignored.

 

The Word of God, as written by Paul goes ignored and the financial gouging continues. First it was by greedy men and women in the guise of businesspeople. Now our own elected officials have joined in the abuse of the very people that put them in office!

 

2 Timothy 3: ¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—

 

Think of the honest people living within their means that were seduced by huge mortgage companies and banks that were run by unscrupulous men and women who ‘bailed out’ under the ill-gotten gains afforded them by their ‘golden parachutes’ that paid them million of dollars for being among the most unscrupulous!

 

We read of a few, a very few, that are now serving time in prisons for their dastardly deeds. There are more that are going unpunished by society as they hide behind laws and their friends in both the judiciary as well as in political power.

 

Fear not as they too will receive their just rewards for their heinous actions.

 

Psalm 37:  ¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,  for he knows their day is coming. ¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow   to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. ¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. ¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; ¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

 

Think of what I am saying to you. No matter what happens in the world, no matter how fearful the news becomes, how severely the world shakes, how economies may teeter toward collapse, God’s people will not be left ashamed. The Lord will act on our faith to fulfill His promises to us. We may suffer but He will come through for all who fully trust in Him as the world will never be able to say, with any degree of honesty, “Your God did not keep His Word.”

 

We may face what may seem to be impossibilities in the days ahead. With God, nothing, and I mean nothing, is impossible. Our God is a God who delivers miracles at the most unexpected moments in time. Expect many and be willing to understand any that He delivers. 

 

At the same time as our finances are being set upon so is our belief in the One True God. There are people that seek to remove Him from all facets of our lives. They seek to remove monuments that contain The 10 Commandments, Manger scenes or any other writing, document and/or thing that might have, in their opinion, religious significance. We must stand up and defend our right to worship and believe as we do.

 

There are too many that will say, “God will defend His own name, He does not need our help.”

 

NOT SO! 

 

God has chosen each of us to give his/her testimony to a numb, unmoved world! He is calling to each of us to openly commit to Him and to expect His promises to be delivered.

 

Sadly, in this world, God is forever on trial by those who refuse to believe in Him and to obey His Word... As they watch and chide us for facing seemingly impossible situations and says, “Where is your God now? Will He deliver you from this situation?”

 

In the days of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, He too heard skeptics as they cried, “If You are King of the Jews, save Yourself.” Jesus was in process of being crucified as they mocked Him.

 

Jesus knew, without a shred of doubt, He would be resurrected and brought back to life. He chose to ignore His tormentors and undergo a death that He knew would bring millions to believe in Him.

 

A TRUE Christian must be willing to stand up for his/her faith and belief in God. To sit silent is to deny the very One upon whom you believe. Share your testimony with all and any that you think needs a word of hope.

 

 In understanding the Word as written in Verse 17 of this Psalm, “…but the Lord upholds the righteous,” you can now realize just why the title of this sermon as we Christians will have no shame.

 

(Closing prayer)

Almighty God, Father of Righteousness, it is You that we praise and You that alone is worthy of our worship. We come before You with hearts filled with joy but with concern as to the plight of earthly woes facing us as it appears as if our own government is bent on our financial and religious destruction of all we hold as Holy. 

 

Lord, keep us strong and in Your Mighty Hand. Shield us from harm and as well as the many concerns as to our earthly needs. Make us strong of purpose, firm in our reliance on You and see us worthy of Your presence. You are our God and it is only to You that we bow.

 

Lord, please help us as we testify to your greatness and to the power of Your love. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit as we face the days ahead.

 

We ask that You protect those elected leaders that are worthy of You love and those that accept Your guidance. Protect the judges, police, security personnel that are worthy of Your protection. Please send Your angels to protect our military and see them safe.

 

Lord, spread Your Mighty Arms as You protect the many people that are oppressed in other countries and shed Your many mercies upon them. Bless them with Your tenderness and see them home to You.

 

These things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, You Son and our Lord and  Savior, who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever,

Amen, amen and amen.