1. Engaged

How do we engage society today in the midst of one of the most polarized times since the 1860 election which caused the civil war.

Not a lot of examples in the Bible because there were no democracies anywhere and there was not a lot of freedom for many of the people.

Principles that we need to remember as a church called to be salt and light in this world.

2.  Church and Government

We have a number of examples of people to choose from when looking at people engaged  in pagan societies.

  1. Joseph in Pharaoh’s government
  2. Nehemiah in Aratexerxes
  3. Obadiah in Ahab
  4. Esther in Xerxes
  5. Joanna who worked in Herod’s household (Luke 8: 3)
  6. Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar which is the one we will look at.

3.  Statue Dream

Story of Dream

  1. Gold Babylon
  2. Silver Medes and Persians
  3. Bronze Greek
  4. Iron Rome
  5. Clay and Iron Future Kingdom.

Empires are going to continually rise and fall and societies change like shifting sand.

From this dream a statue of gold was made but with a command to bow down before it.

  1. Redefining marriage
  2. 63 different genders long way from checking the M or F
  3. Value of life and who is worthy of protection.
    1. Jerika Bolen 14 asks to die because of incurable disease and going to be free
    2. A teenager commits suicide in our valley we have county discussions about it.
  4. Romans 1: 29 – 32; every kind of wickedness, gossip backstabbers, inventing new ways of sinning.breaking promises, heartless with no mercy.  WORSE FOR THOSE WHO ENCOURAGE OTHERS.

Don’t want to spend a lot of time defining problem, we know it.

Constant changes happening around us and how are we to engage these changes?

Beth Moore. a panic sets in which leads to disappointment-in our country, candidates, our options, our leaders, each other, God, and ourselves leaving us to a rage.  Mad feels better than sad.”

4.  Focus on the Rock

There is one more kingdom mentioned in this dream of a statue. Daniel 3: 34 – 35 Who is this Rock?

  1. Matthew 21: 42 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone
  2. Isaiah 8: 14 He is a stone that makes people stumble a rock that makes them fall
  3. Isaiah 28: 16 I am placing a foundations stone in Jerusalem a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build upon
  4. 1 Peter 2: 6 I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem..anyone who trust in him will never be disgraced
  5. 1 Corinthians 10: 4 They drank from the rock, that rock was Christ.

We are not called to prop up the statues that are around us, but to focus on the kingdom of the rock which will topple all other kingdoms and fill the earth.

5.  Rock engaged Living

STORY Nebuchadnezzar killed many in Jerusalem, burned the walls down, killed the kings sons in front of him and then put out his eyes. destroyed the temple and dragged the people away.

  • Pray for who is over us.

Jeremiah 29: 7 work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into  Pray to the Lord for its welfare will determine your welfare

hard to let go of our security and we put our trust in what we are familiar with because the past has nostalgia.

So much easier to scream and rage than to pray and work with who God has put over us.

Alan Hood from IHOP We need to be a thorn in both parties.

  1. Over right to live
  2. Over the refugee crisis
    1. Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land. Treat them as you would an Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.(Leviticus 19:33-34)
    2. Malachi 3: 5 on trial for not taking care of foreigners who live among us.
  • Engage in what God is doing.
  1. Daniel prayed for Israel to be returned after reading Jeremiah.
  2. Moses and the people Exodus 32: 7
    1. Favor = grace 33: 12, 13
    2. Go with you singular Vs 14
    3. Go with us Vs 15
    4. Favor with us 16

Engage in what God is doing with no fear.

EXAMPLE: Daniel supported Nebuchadnezzar and maybe took care of him during his crisis.  Confronted his grandson Belshazzar and the ending of the kingdom. We are moving from Gold to Silver tonight.

  • 3. Remember we are not of this land

It’s painful to long, in the words of Hebrews 11:16, for a better country and embrace the hard, cold fact that we are strangers and exiles on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Jesus church is not going to rise or fall on the result of this election

We are a body together.

John Wesley  October 6, 1774

I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them

1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy

2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and

3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a utopian statue but in Daniel chapter 10 Daniel had a dream of “The Rock” Verses 4, 5

Hebrews 2: 8 We have not yet seen everything put under their authority, but we see Jesus.