Moving sermon this weekend
This weekend at my church we had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Richard Mouw, the President at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. He gave a moving sermon about how we need to take a “time out”. We are so wrapped up in our own lives that we need to take some time to come back to God and let Him guide our lives. He talked about how the churches in Asia/Africa/Latin America are growing rapidly while churches in the western world are in decline. He said there is an Anglican church in Africa that has a congregation larger than all of the Anglican churches in the UK combined! It’s an interesting issue and here are some thoughts I have on it.
We as Americans, but even as Westerners I think this largely applies to. We are too concerned with busyness and content with the freedoms and independence that in most places in North America and Western Europe we enjoy. We live in very comfortable homes, have our basic needs covered, and most of us have good jobs that earn a decent wage. We like to think we are in control of our lives. Sadly this couldn’t be further from the truth:
” Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (NIV)
This is a quote from David’s prayer to the Lord after he commissions his son Solomon to God to build the temple.
From my experiences in Latin America, but mostly Bolivia, I think people are more open to talking about their faith. I think in this country because of all of the “politically correct” movement, it is no longer looked on as ok to share our faith with others or we could be seen as “imposing”. Look at Christmas and all of the legal fights that happen every year across the country with Nativity scenes. I even heard of one mayor who said he was going to call a Christmas tree a “Holiday tree” this year. Christianity is under siege in this country, and much of the western world.
In Bolivia and Latin America though, people struggle to make ends meet, consistently and are yearning for something more. They see the grave problems of this life and feel there has to be something more and are searching for it. As a result, the Gospel is really the Good News it is supposed to be and many people are coming to the Lord and as a result, churches are ballooning all over Latin America.
I think of the disasters this country has endured in the past decade. Although many people died in the attacks on 9/11, there were thousands more who came to faith from those attacks. Maybe the current economic situation is God’s way of getting through to us, reminding us that He is in control. It is so sad that so soon after the worst terrorist attack in US history, we are back to our mundane daily lives, ignoring God’s warnings. I believe at present, the US is headed for some serious problems down the road that will have ramifications for multiple generations. We need to wake up and find our way with God again, not be slaves to our busyness and fight to keep this country one that is “under God” and not one that worships idolatry, power, fame and money. Instead of relying on government to protect us and prosper us, we need to put our weight down 100% on God giving everything up to him – our hopes, our future, our plans, our money. Everything is His and we are but stewards of it. We will be held accountable for our usage and no one will escape God’s justice.
