July 4 Sabbath Message - The Real Nation of God
Today, July 4, 2009 is the 233rd birthday of the United States.
Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is a day of fireworks and flags and speeches about freedom.
As we commemorate the inception of this "nation under God", let us take a moment to reflect on what it really means to be free and to be a people of God.
Call to Worship
Click below. Listen and recite the invocation in Hebrew along with the cantor. Let the words resonate within you and prepare your heart to worship. Deuteronomy 6:4
Opening Hymn
Listen to the music and prepare your heart to seek the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
Opening Prayer
Our Father and Mother in heaven
and on earth and within us,
we come before you this sabbath
humbly seeking to be ambassadors of Your kingdom on this earth.
We recognize that You placed us on this particular part of the world
at this particular time of eternity for a special reason.
We are not here by accident.
There is a plan.
We are Your children called by Your name.
Rekindle the Light within us today
so that we may be candles in the darkness
shining the way to heaven on earth.
Scripture Reading
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them, "
declares the LORD.
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,"
Jeremiah 31:31-34
36Yeshua said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
John 18:36
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Yeshua replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
22Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. 24For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all."...
30"It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed"Luke 17:20-27, 30
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
among the survivors
whom the LORD calls.
Joel 2:28-32
Message
This is Independence day. On this day, 233 years ago, representatives of the 13 British colonies dissolved "the political bonds" that had connected them to England and declared in writing "the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them." They asserted that certain truths were "self-evident,...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Later, after the revolution and a failed first attempt at self-government, the founding fathers met again to create a foundation for our fledgling democracy. Out of that meeting came our bill of rights and the constitution. Those documents were created "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" The noble statements of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States set the tone for a new type of government. It was intended to be be a more equitable government than the monarchies of Europe.
Americans, as a whole, tend to be rather patriotic. We share a great pride in being part of this noble experiment of democracy. Though we are a melting pot of many nations, we share a similar feeling of uniqueness of being "Americans". It is a feeling of higher moral station because of our core beliefs and the founding principles of our nation. People of other countries may consider it a "smugness" and may also rightly or not believe it is unmerited.
Our nation certainly has a remarkable foundation. No one can deny the many accomplishments and achievements of our past. However, a great past does not guarantee a good future. The problem is that though our nation was founded on great moral ideals, it requires a continued flow of good, moral people to put those ideals into action. We are what we do. As a democracy, America is run by the citizens of this nation. Therefore, America can only be as great as the people themselves. It is often quoted that "America is great because she is good and if America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." To paraphrase that quote, America is only great if her inhabitants are good.
Unfortunately, there is another very popular quote. "Power corrupts." America, because of its size and resources, has become a very powerful nation. Many of the people running this powerful nation have also become very corrupt. Our history provides many examples of the corrupt state of our government. The current financial crisis is the most recent result of abuses of power. Laws and regulations were manipulated to create wealth for an elite class without regard to the welfare of the nation as a whole
It is ironic that on the back of all United States currency are the words, "In God we trust" and our government set aside all godly principle in the pursuit of that same currency.
Our pledge of allegiance declares that we are "one nation under God." The preface of Christ the King mass states: "His kingdom is one of truth and life, of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace." When we look at our government and see so much corruption and injustice and manipulation, we wonder if this really is a "Nation of God". As we read above, the foundations were great and good. Where did we go astray?
The answer to that question is, again, within each person. We read in the scriptures above that there will come a time when God will write His laws on the hearts and minds of His people and the Holy Spirit Mother will be poured out upon all mankind. When we become aware of the Father's law and the Mother's spirit within us, that is when we become citizens of the Kingdom of God. Yeshua, was guiding us to this awareness when He stated, "the Kingdom of God is within you".
Judah in Yeshua's lifetime, was not much different than the United States today. Israel was founded on great principles too. It was supposed to be a nation founded on God. However, as the rulers and priests obtained more power, they became more corrupt. These leaders felt threatened by the crowds that were surrounding Yeshua. Then Yeshua overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple and challenged a financial system that favored the powerful elite. The powers-that-be felt they had to take action.
They arrested Yeshua and accused him of declaring himself "King of the Jews". The High Priests said that Yeshua was attempting to instigate a rebellion against Roman rule. He was brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over Judah. Pontius Pilate asked Yeshua if he was, indeed, king. Yeshua said that he was but in the same breath, he explained that he was not the kind of king Pilate imagined. He was not a military or political ruler whose followers would fight for Him or whose domain was limited to one nation.
The word used for kingdom in aramaic is better translated "reign". It implies more than a physical place that one thinks of as a kingdom in the world. It implies an active rule or dominion that permeates a person's heart from which the motives, values and attitudes originate. This is what Yeshua meant when He said "the kingdom of God is within you." Yeshua sent His disciples out with the instructions to "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you." He was speaking of a Kingdom of the heart in which the Spirit of God reigns.
When the Kingdom of God reigns within, it does not change our individuality. We still have the same personalities but, instead, have a different attitude. Our vantage point is different. We have a different worldview and a different approach to life.
There is a Chinese proverb that states," If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world." Remember the song, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me?" It really is that simple. Peace inside happens when we allow the Light... the one true Light...to shine.
Our Heavenly Father and Mother created all Mankind in their image. Within each of our souls is a candle of God's light. Mother Shekkinah is waiting to light it. On each heart is the law that Father God has written and He is waiting for us to wake up and read it. Unfortunately, there are many people sleepwalking through life who have never turned on their inner lights. These people have allowed the mundane things of the physical realm to take precedence. They go to work, come home, mow their yards, take care of their kids, stay busy with everything around them and see nothing within themselves.
There is no time to waste, though. A new age, a new world is on the threshold. This is the day of the Son of Man that Yeshua foretold. The turmoil, the wars, and earthquakes and crazy weather that we have been experiencing are the beginnings of the birth pains of this new age. Creation is waiting for us to rise up to our responsibility to reign and rule as children of the Kingdom. Don't worry, it is easy. It requires no work on our behalf. It merely requires allowing God to reign and work through us. Just open your eyes, stretch your spiritual self, turn on the Light, wake up and remember who you are.
Time of Reflection
Click on site below listen to the music. Remind yourself that you are a child of God. Remember that the Kingdom of God lives within you.
Discussion of the Message
Those of you who are participating with us on line, can take this time to quietly reflect on the message. If you have comments or questions that come to your mind, you are welcome to write them in the comments section below.
Closing Prayer
Our Father and Mother in Heaven,
and on earth and within us.
Your kingdom is upon us
as is Your will.
We are your children
and You reside in us,
We ask You to reign within us,
allow Your light to shine through us.
Then we will be a nation of God
and usher in heaven on earth
For within us is Your kingdom,
and power and glory
Praise Your holy name forever
Closing Hymn
Before we leave our Sabbath worship this week, sing along with the song below. Invite the Mother and Father to reign in your heart, in your mind, in your soul so that you can proclaim to the world that the Kingdom of God is near.
Comments
I have been enjoying this site for a few months now and would like to comment on how peaceful I feel when visiting and reading the Sabbath post. I would like to learn more about the church.
Peace, Tim
Posted by: Timothy Cottle | August 7, 2009 02:26 AM