Sermons
The Tent Of The Upright Will Flourish
Series: TurbulenceLink to sermon video: The Tent Of The Upright Will Flourish - T Siverd
THE TENT OF THE UPRIGHT WILL FLOURISH
Sermon By Terry Siverd / November 01, 2020 / Cortland Church of Christ
This year started with an effort in The House of Representations to impeach our President Trump. Then came the dreadful pandemic, COVID-19, which continues to impact and alter our lifestyles. And now the year is drawing to an end with a hotly contested and highly contentious election season.
What a year this 2020 has been in America: a pandemic book-ended by political polarization and pandemonium.
This word pandemonium is defined as “any place characterized by uproar and noise”. In John Milton's, Paradise Lost, Pandemonium was the “captial of Hell”. Literally it means “all/full-demonic”. The non-stop bickering and partisan wrangling of the last several years is taking some of fun out of being an American. In case you didn't know it, our nation has endured several elections that were filled with volatility and animosity. Most of us can recollect the 2000 election between Al Gore and George Bush (hanging chads). The year 1948 brought another election fraught with tension. The Chicago Tribune's morning edition on election day falsely declared, “Dewey Defeats Truman”. In the 1912 election, which includes Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft and Woodrow Wilson, a fanatic shot Teddy Roosevelt in the chest while he was giving a speech in Wisconsin. Teddy, who was nicknamed, “Bull Moose”, actually finished delivering his speech after taking the bullet. Our nation suffered through other notoriously tumultuous elections as well: 1876 (Samuel Tilden v Rutherford Hayes) … 1860 (Abe Lincoln v Stephen Douglas v John Breckenridge v John Bell... 1824 (Andrew Jackson v John Quincy Adams v William Crawford v Henry Clay) … 1800 (Thomas Jefferson v Aaron Burr v John Adams + lots of chicanery interjected by Alexander Hamilton). All of the above were filled with scandals & shenanigans, deceit & duplicity and hanky-panky & hostility. In looking back over our nation's history it is a wondr that we have survived.
Our country today is not at all immune from that which has beset us in the past. In fact, rather than learning from our mistakes, in many ways we seem bent on multiplying our troubles. In addition to 24/7 News, we are now shaped by the world of social media which is not always a good thing.
Social media can be a genuine blessing but it also plays a part in amplifying the dissonance.
It is often a major player in fueling the flames of discord and stirring up controversy. Some of what's out there in cyber space may appear believable, but is not always trustworthy. From another vantage point, some of what's out there is trustworthy, but is now being censored by Tec giants. The idea of “Big Brother” is no longer just a literary term borrowed from dystopian novels written in the mid-1900s. cf. 1984/George Orwell ('49) … Brave New World/Aldous Huxley ('32) … Fahrenheit 451/Ray Bradbury ('53).
On the eve of the conclusion of this “extended” election cycle, I AM NOT WANTING TO TALK POLITICS. I only want to talk politics from the perspective of how we can get beyond it, or how to place ourselves above the fray. In saying this, I do not mean to imply that we need to be anti-political. An article in the latest Christian Chronicle details a revival of sorts among some Christians to follow the lead of David Lipscomb. Lipscomb contended that we Christians have no place at the ballot box. A kind of “this world” is not my world approach. I don't agree at all with Lipscomb's premise. To the contrary I think it is a sad commentary and truly harmful when Christians intentionally choose to disengage from the political arena.
Having said this, I want to remind us that we as a church of our Lord Jesus Christ must stay focused. Preaching includes many facets of instruction: teaching, proclamation, guidance/pastoring, rebuke, etc.. Preaching is also about EXHORTATION. We would be amiss if we viewed exhortation as “fluff”. One of Paul's most brilliant epistles is the one he wrote to the Hebrew Christians. It is quite heavy and very profound - - but he himself refers to it as this word of exhortation (Heb.13:22).
Wednesday Is coming and where do go from there? What comes after this election? I'm not talking personally, but rather, congregationally. If the one I voted for is elected, some of you will be not so glad and perhaps even sad and mad. Likewise, if the one you voted for is elected, some of the rest of us are going to benot so gland and perhaps even sad and mad.
Elections come and go and some may come and go with more gravity than we can see in that moment. Nations also come and go. I personally think that before our very eyes we have witnessed, over the last few decades, a precipitous moral decline within our culture/nation. I may be wrong. Time will tell. Here's my point: elections come and go; nations come and go; but the word of God endures forever. Isa.40:8 declares, grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Peter reiterated this grand truth (1Pet.1:24-25) - - All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever. And this is the word which was preached to you.
Whatever happens on November 3rd (and perhaps in the days or weeks that follow), we must keep our bearings. Jesus is the ALPHA and the OMEGA (the beginning and the end). He is our POLESTAR and our COMPASS. Our world is not centered in politics, it is anchored in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Whatever happens over the next few days is not determinative for us. Our steps are determined by the Lord (Prov.20:24). We need not fret; we need not hide; we need not run; and we certainly do not need to wallow in pity. We may bemoan the direction of our own beloved country, and perhaps rightly so, but, first and foremost, we must keep reminding ourselves that we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom that has no boundaries.
How inspiring to read from the book of Acts regarding the behavior of the early Christians who faced a double whammy. First, they were living in the Roman Empire ruled by a Caesar and others who were outright infidels. Secondly, as Jews many of them lived within the intimate orbit of Jewish religious leaders ensconced in Jerusalem whom Jesus Himself described with a variety of ignoble epithets. He spoke of these religious leaders as: hypocrites; blind guides; whitewashed tombs; a brood of vipers; a den of thieves, etal.. Yet the early saints did not cut and run; they did not crawl into a hole; they neither simmered nor sulked. They repeatedly got up of the ground, dusted themselves off, and went about being light in the name of Jesus. In one of his proverbs Solomon affirms (Prov.14:11) - - The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. Later in the same chapter he writes (vs.34) - - righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
As the church of the living God, we are no ordinary institution. In fact we are not an institution at all, we are an organism that is unlike anything around us. Our God is sovereign - - He is in charge and His power is greater than we can ever imagine. As Solomon also notes (Prov.15:3) - - the eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good. As Paul testified at Athens long ago: it is in Him we live and move and have our very being (Acts 17:28).
As Christ's church we are carriers of the glorious gospel.
It is a message that calls men to turn from their sins and to live in and under the grace of God. So after the election is decided, we need not stew and fuss about what we're going to do. We're going to keep on serving God. We will get up each and every day and love our family, nurture our children, respect our elders, look after our brothers and sisters in Christ and keep on trying to be a light to our neighbors. Whenever the world is in a state of flux, there will be more opportunities than ever to share the gospel of Christ.
Elections come and go; nations come and go; but the word of God endures forever and so does the church. Jesus said to His disciples (Mt.16:18) - - Upon this Rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hell shall not overpower it.
Dear Heavenly Father, As we gather each and every Sunday, continue to remind us that You are Sovereign. As we walk by faith, dwelling on Your wisdom and Your strength, grant us a peace that passes understanding. Through Christ Jesus, Who showed us how to trust You daily, we pray. Amen
