11/27/22

I got mine-don't want yours

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to "Try Jesus!" If this is your first time joining us, it’s great to have you with us. I would like to thank new members for joining "Try Jesus" this week from North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Louisiana, Missouri, and Florida.

How were those extra days off this week? Some of you worked right through the Thanksgiving weekend. I'm waiting to hear the financial windfall report on how many turkeys survived due to inflation.

Praise God we have a Savior who owns a cattle on a thousand hills. He supplies all our needs. Let's pray. "Heavenly Father, the earth belongs to you, and is your eternal footstool. You are the God of the living, who sent your son to give of new life, and life more abundantly. Lord, you are the good shepherd, let us rest in your provisions. You are the resurrection and the life, let us find true life and victory in you today, in Jesus’ name, amen."

Did you know there are many more people suffering from anxiety and living in insecurities than ever before? Most people do not like drastic changes to their personal lifestyles. Approximately, 73% of Americans think our country is headed in the wrong direction. Many think our children and young adults are trapped in the social media world. They don’t take enough time to look up from their I-phones to see all the chaotic things going on around them.

Many could care less about what is going on in their neighborhood and their country. In some cases, many who live here do not like America. I'm still amazed that as much as they dislike the land, they still live here.

Would you say there is a mindset of selfishness in America today? It seems we've lost the ability to connect with hurting people. Our leaders would rather berate and attack each other instead of inviting common sense into their discussions. It's understandable why their approval rating is always in the trash can.

They crave power over helpful solutions. Today, we live in a me-first society. We live in a "let em cake" society. Look at how we treat the homeless today. We call some of these places sanctuary cities. But what is so sanctuary about a place where your life gets worse instead of getting better. A place where they help you destroy yourself by giving you more needles and more drugs. Does America still look like the one you grew up in?

The Bible tells us to "hope in God." Why should we hope in God as all things around are morally decaying? As we look in our Bible today, we will find out that God desires that this nation would turn to him and be whole again. When people think of a place of sanctuary, I would think that their mental picture would be like a place that is filled with beauty, tranquility, and peace. A place of rest and security.

The word sanctuary is described as a place of refuge or safety. What is so safe about sanctuary cities in our country today? The word sanctuary comes from the Latin word sanctuarium, (sanctus) "Holy." It was used in reference to a church or other sacred place where a fugitive was immune from arrest.

◇ The biblical definition of the word sanctuary in short is a holy or sacred place. It is the most sacred part of a place of worship. In the Old Testament the word (miqdas), "Holy," implying a distinction between space that is "sacred" versus "profane." (Exodus 25:8).

In the New Testament (hagios) "holy place" means sanctuary in nine instances, all in the book of Hebrews. It also occurs three times as an adjective for the temple as the "holy place" of Israel (Matthew 24:15; Acts 6:13; 21:28). The Lord determined that he would dwell in a sanctuary in the midst of his "kingdom of priests," his "holy nation" (Exodus 19:6; Psalm 68:32-35 ). 

The writer of Hebrews who developed the theology of the "sanctuary" began with the "heavenly sanctuary" (8:22) as the model or "pattern" (8:5) of which the "earthly" and "man-made sanctuary" (Hebrews 9:1) and verses 23,24 was only a "copy." In the Old Testament earthly sanctuary there was a tabernacle (tent) or building in which there was an outer room called "the Holy Place" separated by a veil from an inner room called "the Most Holy Place," which only the high priest could enter once a year.

Jesus entered the "holy of holies" of the "heavenly" sanctuary for us (Hebrews 9:25) when he sacrificed his own body as our High Priest once for all. By this he granted us direct access into the heavenly sanctuary and, indeed, the very presence of God (Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19). ◇

The word profane written earlier in the definition space above is the opposite from sacred. Would you say homeless encampments are sacred? If they are, then why do so many see them as an eye soar in their communities? Why don't people get better instead of being worse? Profane conditions are just the opposite of sacred ones. It is characterized by irreverence or contempt for God or sacred principles or things; irreligious.

It is not devoted to holy or religious purposes. Without God, there is nothing these cities can do to help the helpless. You can throw trillions of dollars at the problem, you can build all the housing you want, you can let them move into hotels all you want, you can let them have all free stuff, and you can continue to give them free drugs and needles. None of it will work.

The Bible says people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6-8). The Bible tells us how to improve the quality of life in any nation. Please read aloud. 33} "Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known. 34} Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:33-34 KJV).

Did you know sin and depravity in certain cities will even force the criminals and unsavory characters to move away to a better place? God help us. We need a nation that turns to Jesus for his power, healing, and wisdom to help those whose lives have been destroyed by empty hands and laws.

Today's message, however, reaches beyond our crumbled cities. This message is centered on the attitudes of selfishness and pride. Last week I mentioned the phrase "let em eat cake!" This week, there's another attitude that has filled this nation, "I got mine, go get yours!"

Allow me to poke at your mental faculties. On a scale of 1-10, how would you consider your life as being in the right place? What about your relationships with spouse, children, family, friends, and coworkers? Are you satisfied with where things are in your life?

Have you noticed that people can act like they genuinely care about your broken situation just so long as you don't bring your mess to their tranquil lifestyle. There are people actually upset that people are moving others around to help in our boarder crisis.

You really get to see the hypocrisy up close and in the open when individuals show insensitivity to the realities of life for the unfortunate. A nation divided will fall extremely hard. God clearly tells us that pride and division in any nation will result in failures (Proverbs 16:18; 25:28; Mark 3:23-27).

The United States is being plundered. The eyes of leaders are closed to the moral decay that is happening around them. Did you know there are people in this world that are completely obstinate? What do I mean? Some individuals are stubborn and hard-headed concerning the right course of action.

Have you ever lived with someone who was resistant to change or did not want to listen to reason? Some individuals are just bull-headed. Even when they can see the damage they've done, they keep plowing straight ahead. This type of thinking can cause Irreparable harm, if not for God's intervention and healing of broken lives.

The word of God explains it this way, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6 KJVS). A nation without Godly leaders is like the men Jesus spoke about during his ministry. Jesus told his disciples to ignore the Pharisees because they were blind to God’s truth. Anyone who listened to their teaching would risk spiritual blindness as well.

Doesn't it seem like there are increased voices defying God’s order of creation. It's like their telling God, "We determine what is a male