1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,880 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:41,520 to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:52,080 Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. My name is David Bigford. 9 00:00:52,080 --> 00:01:00,360 I am the pastor here in Salmon Arm and today's message I put together is, The Lord is One. 10 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:05,720 The subheading would be, Unity Begins and Ends with God. When I wrote this sermon, originally 11 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:13,680 it was back in February, and there was a standoff at the border. I will be using that as an 12 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:20,960 illustration as the basis for this message. The text I will be using is Deuteronomy 6, 13 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:26,680 4-9. I will kind of divert off of what I originally preached because there have been a lot of 14 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:32,280 comings and goings in society the last little week. We are celebrating Canada Day up here 15 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:39,360 today at the time of this recording. We also got to see the spectacle of the presidential 16 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:45,400 debates or debate last week. I will probably end up talking a little bit about that I am 17 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:50,320 sure. Anyway, as I put this together, if you can remember back, there was a standoff at 18 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:55,920 the border. We are living in this age of discord and disunity. We have to think, what is the 19 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:01,960 basis for these troubles? Why does it seem that everyone is at odds with each other? 20 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:07,340 We have a new war in the Middle East. We have the threats of the Russian-Ukrainian war spilling 21 00:02:07,340 --> 00:02:12,600 over into the rest of Europe, all the saber rattling happening there. We also have China 22 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:18,440 who is constantly and always been threatening to invade Taiwan, claiming it is theirs. They 23 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:26,280 have even done military exercises recently to that effect to show us that they can take 24 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:33,160 it at the drop of a hat. When you contrast that to what happened last week with the presidential 25 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:40,840 debate in the United States, it makes an even darker potential image or thought because 26 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:47,280 now we really do not know who is in control of the US government in large part. 27 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,800 Anyway, let us keep focused on this standoff on the America's southern border that took 28 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:58,320 place earlier in the year. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is determined to continue the 29 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:03,920 battle over razor wire along the US-Mexico border despite the Supreme Court ruling allowing 30 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:09,880 border patrol agents to cut it while a lawsuit is ongoing. Abbott views the razor wire as 31 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:15,400 an effective deterrent to illegal crossings encouraged by the Biden administration. The 32 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,840 court's temporary order had sparked a standoff between Texas and the Biden administration 33 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:24,760 at the border. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed his intention to defend the 34 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:29,460 state's sovereignty. The Department of Homeland Security argued that the razor wire hampers 35 00:03:29,460 --> 00:03:35,920 agents' ability to assist migrants and complicates apprehensions. The legal dispute began in 36 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:41,320 October and Texas has also installed floating barriers and allowed troopers to arrest migrants 37 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:48,640 on trespassing charges, actions challenged by the administration in federal court. 38 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:54,000 So what does this mean and how are we supposed to respond to this as Christians? This is 39 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:00,220 such an interesting idea, the thought that a state would be able to or is having to argue 40 00:04:00,220 --> 00:04:04,080 their own sovereignty while the federal government that is supposed to be there to protect the 41 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:11,720 states is saying no, no, you need to stand down and allow this illegality to take place 42 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:19,280 and to hamper and hurt your own citizens and your own residents of the state and you're 43 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:24,360 just supposed to stand aside while all this goes down. And all of this gets highlighted 44 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:32,400 even more as we're celebrating the founding of Canada as its own country and entity today 45 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:38,060 and also we have the 4th of July coming up in the United States this week and then we 46 00:04:38,060 --> 00:04:45,320 have this contrasted by the really troubling events of the presidential debate that happened 47 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:51,560 last week because as we understand even though I live in Canada I am an American by birth 48 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:57,400 and the rest of the world all turns to what's going on in the United States because really 49 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:03,560 the United States still is the arbitrator of freedom in the West and if America was 50 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,840 to cease to exist as it currently stands who would take that vacuum, who would fill that 51 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:16,600 vacuum and this isn't a political discussion, I'm not a political pundit by any means but 52 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,880 what the reality is is that as Christians we have to remember who we're supposed to 53 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,520 be focused on. Are we supposed to be focused on a man? Are we supposed to be focused on 54 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:31,080 politicians? Are we supposed to put our faith in politicians? So with that in mind let's 55 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:39,240 take a first look at our text this morning. In Deuteronomy 6, 4 through 9 it says, 56 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:44,800 Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with 57 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:49,880 all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command 58 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,360 you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and 59 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:59,840 shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you 60 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:04,280 lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as signs on your hands and they shall 61 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:09,320 be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house 62 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:16,120 and on your gates. So today as we are going through this piece of scripture which is commonly 63 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:21,260 referred to as the Shema, I just want us to really focus in on who we're putting our trust 64 00:06:21,260 --> 00:06:26,760 and faith into. There's always going to be wars and rumors of war. There's always going 65 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:33,800 to be these tumultuous times in our body politic from the countries we live in. But the Shema 66 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,960 prayer is one of the most famous prayers in the Bible. It was meant to be and it is still 67 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:48,440 today a daily prayer for Israelites and it's constantly being recited today. Professor 68 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:59,420 of Classical Rabbinic Literature, Reuven Kimelon said that the Shema summons Jews to feel an 69 00:06:59,420 --> 00:07:06,120 all-consuming love of God. So as Christians we too are told that we should have an all-consuming 70 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:11,600 love for God. When Jesus talks about the two most important commandments it's the love 71 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:18,520 of God, the Shema, and then the love of your neighbor as yourself. So Shema Yisrael or 72 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:26,120 the Shema is the central affirmation of Judaism. The prayer expresses the belief in the singularity 73 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:36,880 of God, that is in God's oneness and his incomparability. What's really interesting in society today 74 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:43,120 is how willingly we will leave our love for God or the incomparability of our God so that 75 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:51,880 we can worship idols made of stone or wood or idols that are men, worshiping the created 76 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:58,280 rather than the creator. So this prayer is traditionally recited twice a day as part of 77 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:03,200 the morning and evening services within Judaism. It serves as the climax of the liturgy of 78 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:08,320 Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. Jews often recite the prayer as their 79 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:13,080 dying words, including Jewish martyrs who throughout the ages made it their final profession 80 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:20,240 of faith before being put to death. So as we live in a time of fracturing unions, the 81 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:26,440 dissolution of alliances, it is critical for us to understand the oneness of our God and 82 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:32,520 the perfection of the Trinity. We can only be unified in and by God and the Father and 83 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:38,560 the Holy Spirit. So let's look at the Shema, the purpose of unity with respect to the Shema 84 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:42,920 and how we should respond to the discord of our time, of the times that we are living 85 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:49,680 in throughout today or through today. So as we look at the political landscapes in Canada, 86 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:59,280 we see divisions, we see fracturing of unions, we see the rising up of other political parties 87 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:05,800 to take control. And while we might associate and align ourselves with one party over the 88 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:11,040 other, it's important to remember that we put God first in all of this. Similarly in 89 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:17,400 the States, with that troublesome debate performance that happened last week, it's important to 90 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:22,960 remember that we're not to worship any of these people running for president, but we're 91 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:30,120 supposed to put God first in everything. So let's look first at the Shema. We're going 92 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:34,040 to go ahead and break down the Shema to gain a little bit more understanding to this powerful 93 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:41,120 prayer and how we should place it within historical context. So now the first word of the Shema 94 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:48,680 is hear or listen, which in Hebrew is pronounced Shema, which is the title of the prayer. That's 95 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:56,200 where this prayer is named after because the first idea of the prayer is to listen. Now 96 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,840 Shema is really a common word in the Hebrew Bible and it's obvious why. Hearing is a very 97 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:07,920 universal activity. It is usually connected with the ear, as in Proverbs 2012 it says, 98 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:14,880 ears that Shema and eyes that see, the Lord has made them both. Now that seems simple 99 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,640 to understand, but if you look at the other ways that Hebrew authors can use the word 100 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:25,440 Shema, they use it to mean more than just hearing sounds. In Hebrew Shema can also mean 101 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:32,600 pay attention or to focus. So when Jacob's wife Leah, who wasn't loved, had a son, she 102 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:43,140 names him Simon, or in Hebrew Shemon, because she says, the Lord has Shema, that I am unloved. 103 00:10:43,140 --> 00:10:48,460 So Shema means to hear, to pay attention to, and even more it can also mean responding 104 00:10:48,460 --> 00:10:54,720 to what you hear. This is why so many of the cries for help in the book of Psalms begin 105 00:10:54,720 --> 00:11:01,120 with a call that God listen. In Psalm 27, it says, hear O Lord when I cry aloud, be 106 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:09,080 gracious to me and answer me. So asking God to Shema is at the same time asking God to 107 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:17,040 act to do something. So listen to this excerpt that I pulled from the Bible project on their 108 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:23,520 amazing work that they put together for the Shema and the study of the prayer, the Shema. 109 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,320 It goes like this, now there are a couple of interesting things about this verse in Exodus. 110 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:33,840 In Hebrew the word Shema is repeated twice in this sentence to give it emphasis. If you 111 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,800 Shema Shema, meaning listen closely, but also notice that from God's point of view, listening 112 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:45,880 is basically the same as keeping the covenant. So when God asks the people to Shema, what 113 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:53,000 he means is that they listen and obey. And that's the last, one of the most fascinating 114 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:58,320 things about the Shema. In ancient Hebrew there is no separate word for obey, meaning 115 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:04,020 to carry out the wishes of somebody who knows better than you or is an authority over you. 116 00:12:04,020 --> 00:12:09,880 So in the Bible, if you want to say, I will listen and do what you say, you use the single 117 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:16,000 word Shema. In Hebrew, listening and doing are two sides of the same coin. This is why 118 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,720 later in Israel's history, when people were breaking their covenant promises to God, the 119 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:27,200 Hebrew prophets would say things like they have ears, but they're not listening. The 120 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:32,120 prophets of course could hear just fine, but they weren't actually listening or else they 121 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:39,840 would act differently. And so in the end, listening in the Bible is about giving respect 122 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:48,200 to one speaking to you and doing what they say. Real listening takes effort and action. 123 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:54,200 And that's the Hebrew word Shema. So we're going to look at some other words that are 124 00:12:54,200 --> 00:13:00,080 used in the Shema in Hebrew. And I won't bother with going back and forth between Hebrew and 125 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:05,040 English too much because I don't want us to get hung up on it. But another word that's 126 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:11,240 used in the Shema in Hebrew is Yahweh for the Lord. So Yahweh is the ancient Hebrew 127 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:16,360 form of the verb he will be. And this is the personal name of God, the God of Israel. It 128 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:22,260 appears 6,500 times in the Old Testament. Over centuries, the Israelites wanted to honor 129 00:13:22,260 --> 00:13:28,320 the sacred nature of this divine name. So as they read the Hebrew Bible aloud, they came 130 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,840 to this name and they would stop saying Yahweh and instead started saying the Hebrew word 131 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:40,680 for Lord, which is Adonai. And then Ahava, which is the love, which means love. This 132 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:46,360 is a very common word in most languages as it is in Hebrew pronounced Ahava and is most 133 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:52,040 basically referring to the affection or care one person shows another. Ahava sometimes 134 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,560 describes physical affection like the King of Persia's love for Queen Esther. But there 135 00:13:56,560 --> 00:14:02,920 are other Hebrew words that are more specifically used to refer to physical love. Ahava is more 136 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:10,080 broad. So Abraham Ahava for his son Isaac. That's parental love. Jonathan showed Ahava 137 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:16,440 for his friend David. That would be brotherly love. A whole group of people can have Ahava 138 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:22,000 as their leader, like when the Israelites showed love for their King David. Ahava can 139 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:28,540 even describe loyalty between political allies like Heryum. The King of Tyre loved David. 140 00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:34,220 They had good relations and so Heryum wanted to help David's son Solomon build the temple. 141 00:14:34,220 --> 00:14:39,600 These are all different kinds of affection described with one word, Ahava, and this helps 142 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:49,640 us to understand God's Ahava in the Old Testament. Ahava is an action and so in the Shema Israel 143 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:57,720 can be called to respond to God's love, Ahava, by showing love in return. You shall love 144 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:05,760 the Lord, your God, with all your heart. And just like God's love, human love should show 145 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:11,860 itself through actions. Like in Deuteronomy 10, 12-13, what does the Lord your God ask 146 00:15:11,860 --> 00:15:18,120 of you except to fear the Lord your God, to walk in his way, to love him and serve him, 147 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:23,520 to keep his commands? All of these actions are centered around love. If I am not doing 148 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:29,800 them I don't actually love God. I just say I do. All of this is rooted in God's own eternal 149 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:37,520 love, like we read in 1 John 4, 19. We love because God first loved us. 150 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:43,480 So then we come to the definition of heart. Different cultures throughout history have 151 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:49,520 had different conceptions of how the human body works and this is also true with ancient 152 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:54,720 Israelites who were writing the Bible. They knew that the heart was an organ in the chest 153 00:15:54,720 --> 00:16:01,160 that sustains life. There is mention of heart attacks in the Bible, Nabal whose heart died 154 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:06,680 inside of him and he became like stone. Biblical authors talk about the heart in many other 155 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:11,380 ways that might seem strange to modern readers. And that's because the Israelites had no 156 00:16:11,380 --> 00:16:16,980 concept of the brain or any word for it. They imagined that all of the human's intellectual 157 00:16:16,980 --> 00:16:24,900 activity takes place from the heart. For example, you know with your heart in the Bible. Your 158 00:16:24,900 --> 00:16:30,120 heart is where you understand and make connections. In the book of Proverbs, wisdom dwells in 159 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:35,300 the heart and your heart is what you use to discern between truth and error, like Solomon 160 00:16:35,300 --> 00:16:41,240 did when he was king. We still do this today. We feel the pain of a broken heart. We feel 161 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:45,420 fear at the core of our heart. It is because of this understanding that the Old Testament 162 00:16:45,420 --> 00:16:51,880 writers would talk about having a transformed heart. The prophets believed that the only 163 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:57,320 hope for humanity is the total renewal of the human heart. Moses said that if Israel 164 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:02,420 was ever going to love their God, their heart would need to be circumcised, which is a powerful 165 00:17:02,420 --> 00:17:09,960 metaphor about removing evil and stubbornness from our hearts. 166 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:16,380 So this elevates the idea of what it means, the whole heart. And it brings us to the next 167 00:17:16,380 --> 00:17:23,880 word that's used to describe or define soul back into the Hebrew. And that word is nephesh. 168 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:31,700 The word nephesh is important because it's important for us to remember that it was used 169 00:17:31,700 --> 00:17:38,520 to describe the whole person. The direct translation would be your throat. Like when the Israelites 170 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,140 are wandering in the desert, they're hungry and thirsty, and they say to God, we missed 171 00:17:42,140 --> 00:17:47,300 the cucumbers and melons we had in Egypt. And now our nephesh has dried up. Our throat 172 00:17:47,300 --> 00:17:52,380 has dried up. Or when Joseph was hauled off into slavery in Egypt and his nephesh was 173 00:17:52,380 --> 00:17:58,040 put into iron shackles, he was shackled around the throat. But nephesh doesn't only mean 174 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:03,380 throat. Since your whole life and body depend on what comes in and out of your throat, nephesh 175 00:18:03,380 --> 00:18:09,940 could also be used to refer to the whole person. So this helps us to understand the brilliance 176 00:18:09,940 --> 00:18:15,300 of other biblical poets who would combine multiple meanings of nephesh in one place. 177 00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:21,300 Like in Psalm 42, we read, as the deer pants for the water, so my nephesh, your throat, 178 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:27,260 pants after you. My nephesh thirsts for the living God, my whole being thirsts for the 179 00:18:27,260 --> 00:18:33,220 living God. So on a physical level, your throat can be thirsty like a deer's, but then on 180 00:18:33,220 --> 00:18:39,220 a, but then that physical thirst can become a metaphor for how your whole physical being 181 00:18:39,220 --> 00:18:45,340 longs to know and to be known by your creator. And so that brings us to the next word, which 182 00:18:45,340 --> 00:18:52,180 is strength or in the, in Hebrew, mayod. The Hebrew word mayod, and it occurs 300 times 183 00:18:52,180 --> 00:18:56,820 throughout the scripture and doesn't actually mean strength. There's a perfectly good word 184 00:18:56,820 --> 00:19:03,180 for strength in Hebrew, which is koak. I don't know how to pronounce that, but mayod is not 185 00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:09,020 the primary word for strength. In fact, in the Shema is one of the only places in the 186 00:19:09,020 --> 00:19:15,180 whole Bible where mayod is translated as strength. The most common meaning for this word is very 187 00:19:15,180 --> 00:19:21,100 or much. It's what the grammar nerds would call an adverb, a word that comes alongside 188 00:19:21,100 --> 00:19:26,900 another word to augment their meaning. And when Jesus was asked about the most important 189 00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:33,660 command in scripture, he quoted this Shema and he used two words to unpack the meaning 190 00:19:33,660 --> 00:19:41,620 of mayod. He said to love God with all your mind and with all your power. Both are human 191 00:19:41,620 --> 00:19:47,380 capacities that can be used to love God in an infinite number of ways. In Mark 12 29 192 00:19:47,380 --> 00:19:53,540 30, it says, Jesus answered the most important is this hero Israel, the Lord, our God, the 193 00:19:53,540 --> 00:19:57,940 Word is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your 194 00:19:57,940 --> 00:20:03,380 soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The word mayod doesn't limit the 195 00:20:03,380 --> 00:20:08,860 number of ways you can show love for God. Just the opposite. The point is that everything 196 00:20:08,860 --> 00:20:15,680 in a person's life, every moment, every opportunity, every ability and capacity offers a chance 197 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:21,580 to love and honor the one who made you. It is called to love. It is a call to love God 198 00:20:21,580 --> 00:20:27,460 with all of your muchness. So now, so I know that this first part was a bit lengthy and 199 00:20:27,460 --> 00:20:33,460 I want to unpack this amazing prayer a little bit more. It is this that it's both foundational 200 00:20:33,460 --> 00:20:38,500 to Judaism and it's the culmination of this prayer in Jesus Christ. It is through God's 201 00:20:38,500 --> 00:20:45,340 love that he sent his sent his son and that we can come to the father and unity. And that 202 00:20:45,340 --> 00:20:51,000 brings me to my next point, which is unity in God. And for this, I want to use another 203 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:56,820 illustration I found, which is from the Constitution, the Constitutional Conference of the United 204 00:20:56,820 --> 00:21:01,980 States. So this goes back hundreds of years during the first Continental Congress, Samuel 205 00:21:01,980 --> 00:21:08,140 Adams called for a local pastor to come and pray because they couldn't agree on anything. 206 00:21:08,140 --> 00:21:13,100 This happened at the second time when Ben Franklin in 1787, but this first time that 207 00:21:13,100 --> 00:21:21,460 it happened was with Samuel Adams in 1774. The pastor Reverend Jacob Ducey, rector of 208 00:21:21,460 --> 00:21:27,900 Christ at Church of Philadelphia, delivered the opening prayer of the Continental Congress 209 00:21:27,900 --> 00:21:35,780 on September 7th, 1774. He did this at nine o'clock in the morning and he led this ceremony 210 00:21:35,780 --> 00:21:42,620 with Psalm 35. So just reading a little bit, Psalm 35 verses one through three, great is 211 00:21:42,620 --> 00:21:49,220 the Lord of David, contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me, fight against those who 212 00:21:49,220 --> 00:21:54,540 fight against me, take hold of the shield and buckler and rise for my help. Draw the 213 00:21:54,540 --> 00:22:01,580 spear and javelin against my pursuers says, say to my soul, I am your salvation. And then 214 00:22:01,580 --> 00:22:06,900 he continued on with his prayer and it goes, O Lord, our heavenly father, high and mighty 215 00:22:06,900 --> 00:22:11,880 king of kings, Lord of lords who doth from thou thrown, behold the dwellers of earth 216 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:18,760 and rainest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the kingdoms, empires, governments. 217 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:24,260 Look down in mercy. We beseech thee and on these are American states who have fled to 218 00:22:24,260 --> 00:22:30,480 thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on that gracious protection, desiring 219 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:36,560 to be henceforth dependent only on thee. To thee have they appealed for their righteousness 220 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:42,480 of their cause to thee they have. They do now look up from that countenance and support 221 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:50,440 which thou alone canst give. Take thee therefore heavenly father under thy nurturing care and 222 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:55,200 give them wisdom and counsel and valor in the field. Defeat the malicious designs of 223 00:22:55,200 --> 00:23:00,220 our cruel adversaries, convince them of the unrighteousness of their cause. And if they 224 00:23:00,220 --> 00:23:07,480 persist in their sanguary purposes of their unerring justice sounding in the hearts, constrain 225 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:12,760 them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle. Be thou 226 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:17,980 present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly. Enable them to 227 00:23:17,980 --> 00:23:24,880 settle things on their best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed, 228 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,320 that order, harmony, and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion 229 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:36,500 and piety prevail and flourish among the people. Preserve the health of the body and the vigor 230 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:43,280 of their minds. Shower down on them and the millions that they represent such temporal 231 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:49,480 blessings as thou seest expedient from them in this world, and crown them with everlasting 232 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:56,080 glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus 233 00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:02,840 Christ thy son and our savior. Amen. When this prayer went out, there was an immediate 234 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,900 change. Those in the room wrote and attested to the fact that there was almost an immediate 235 00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:13,820 spirit of unity among the Baptists, the Congregationalists, and the other denominations of the Founding 236 00:24:13,820 --> 00:24:19,700 Fathers. There was a lot that they did not agree with, but the Spirit of God moved and 237 00:24:19,700 --> 00:24:26,800 united them. How does God manage to do that? Is it by His grace and by His eternal dwelling 238 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:35,240 in us through Christ? As we look to what is going on in our world today, we need to remember 239 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,940 as Christians to put everything back under the blood of the Lamb, to bring everything 240 00:24:38,940 --> 00:24:47,760 back to unity in Christ. For what we saw in the presidential debates last week, we need 241 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:51,880 to remember that we're not worshiping a man, we're not worshiping a political leader, but 242 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,400 we need to remember and cry out that God will protect us and God will help us and God will 243 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:05,360 turn our nations back to Him. As France just recently had some elections that looks to 244 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:13,360 be putting the right wing into power in France, we need to remember not to worship politicians, 245 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:18,680 not to look for our salvation in politicians, but to remember to cry out to God. Because 246 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:25,160 we've seen, especially in France, we've seen when revolution can be devoid of God, when 247 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:31,980 they had their revolution that eventually led to the Emperor Napoleon. A revolution 248 00:25:31,980 --> 00:25:37,920 without Christ can become a totalitarian very quickly. So as we look at our nations, we 249 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:43,720 look at the arguments and the strife within our countries, we need to remember to direct 250 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:50,320 all of our worship back to the oneness of God. We need to remember that that's how we 251 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:56,820 should respond. And that brings me to my final point, which is our response to this world. 252 00:25:56,820 --> 00:26:01,800 It would be great that if after that invocation everything went well for those at the first 253 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:09,240 Continental Conference. Similarly, it would be great if praying the Shema twice a day 254 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,400 over the course of several millennia would have been enough for the children of Israel, 255 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,600 enough to keep them in right relationship with God, to put their faith in God above 256 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:24,480 all other gods and all other idols. To fear God and to live free of the fear of this world, 257 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:30,180 we know that it was not enough though for the nation of Israel. And honestly and interestingly, 258 00:26:30,180 --> 00:26:37,520 it wasn't enough for Reverend Jacob Duché either. Amazingly, this Reverend who had been 259 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:44,200 used so mightily in that hour and throughout the year of 1775, when he started to see things 260 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:51,520 go so badly in 76 and 77, he turned away from his country. He ran to the British. He fled 261 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:59,120 Philadelphia for England. But let us remember that God reigns, not mankind. The scripture 262 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:04,300 that was read by Duché, ordained by God, and then spontaneously prayed, inspired a 263 00:27:04,300 --> 00:27:11,200 group of patriots who began their deliberations on their knees. This is what must happen again. 264 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:18,560 Oh, may the Spirit of God fill the delicates and move on our Congressional halls again, 265 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:25,780 our parliamentary halls again. So as we respond to the standoff that was taking place in Texas 266 00:27:25,780 --> 00:27:31,560 that I started with, we have to remember the governments that fail to prosecute lawlessness 267 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:38,840 are an offense to God and to man. We can see that in Proverbs 24 verses 24 to 25. When 268 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:46,720 a government is not the avenger who brings wrath on those who practice evil, it is not 269 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:54,400 a minister of God to its own people for good. In Romans 13, 14, we can also see that. Those 270 00:27:54,400 --> 00:28:00,040 who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with them. Evil 271 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:06,500 men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things. As is 272 00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:11,580 evidenced by numerous examples, we have long lived in a land governed by those who do not 273 00:28:11,580 --> 00:28:16,960 seek the Lord when it comes to protecting life, protecting borders, protecting children, 274 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:22,020 protecting righteousness as described by God's word. As such, we live in a land that will 275 00:28:22,020 --> 00:28:27,720 surely not only have increasing instability, but one that without repentance will soon 276 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:33,900 perish. It is good that a state like Texas has a legislature and a governor that are 277 00:28:33,900 --> 00:28:38,800 doing what they can to restrict the flow of illegal immigration, but we must pray and 278 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:44,640 continue to advocate for laws that maintain order and bring justice for all people. In 279 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:52,000 humility, we must pray for our governors and our premiers, our prime ministers, our presidents, 280 00:28:52,000 --> 00:29:01,300 who have to deal with the inept federal governance that we see in many of these countries today. 281 00:29:01,300 --> 00:29:08,280 Those that will lift up advocating wickedness. How can we advocate for justice and leading 282 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:15,060 others to love and kindness and teaching others to walk humbly with the Lord if we do not 283 00:29:15,060 --> 00:29:21,640 first turn to our Lord? The Shema is important because it reminds us who is in control, but 284 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:27,640 it also is a command for us. So let's read it again in Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 through 285 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:28,640 9. 286 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:33,500 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with 287 00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:38,780 all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. And these words that I command 288 00:29:38,780 --> 00:29:43,320 you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. You 289 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:48,680 shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie 290 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:54,880 down when you rise. You shall bind them as signs on your hand. They shall be as frontlets 291 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,940 between your eyes and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your 292 00:29:58,940 --> 00:30:07,960 gates. We need to hear and obey with all our hearts, mind and soul. We need to eat, drink, 293 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:14,120 breathe, dream, and live out this prayer with the new heart that we receive by salvation 294 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:20,360 through grace in Jesus Christ. With that, if I could have every head bowed, every eye 295 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:26,560 closed as I bring this message to an end. We see what's going on in the world today 296 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:32,480 and we need to have no fear and know that God is in control. It might not be great all 297 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:39,840 the time, but we have an everlasting loving God that we can look to. Our Lord and Savior, 298 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:46,760 Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we can put our faith in Him and live a life more 299 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:52,240 abundantly. With that, if this message is spoken to you and you know you're not right 300 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,640 with God, you know you're not right with the Lord, but you want to get your heart right, 301 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,920 maybe you've never done this and you want to accept Him as your Lord and Savior, or 302 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:04,440 maybe you've walked away from the faith and maybe put your faith in other men, put your 303 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:10,000 faith in politicians, put your faith in business leaders, or put your faith in musicians or 304 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:16,040 other idols. But you want to get back in the right relationship with God, then I want you 305 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:20,400 to signify that with an uplifted hand wherever you are. I can't see it, but God can see it. 306 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:30,440 God knows your heart. After all, He is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. He is an all-powerful 307 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:34,600 God. So if you rose your hand and you mean this, I want you to repeat this prayer with 308 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:39,160 me. Dear Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you sent your Son Jesus Christ 309 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:46,080 and He died for my sins. I accept Him as my Lord and Savior and I repent of my sins. In 310 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:51,040 Jesus' name I pray, amen. It's a simple prayer, and the purpose of repentance is because you 311 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:55,840 have to be able to repent. You have to be able to walk away from your past. Jesus did 312 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,680 this with everybody He talked to. When He met the woman at the well, He said, go and 313 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:07,560 sin no more. The idea of that is to turn away, to repent. But with that, let's remember the 314 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:12,440 Shema. Let's remember to put God first in everything we do and everything we see, everything 315 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:18,320 we read, everything interaction we have. God is first. And I love Jesus' second commandment, 316 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:24,200 which is to love your neighbor as yourself. Because if we can do these two things, we 317 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:30,520 can see revival in our land. We can see a resurgence of morality. We can see a resurgence 318 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:37,280 of godly understanding and discernment. So with that, I just want to thank you for listening 319 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:42,160 to me this long, if you lasted. And I just want to ask that if you did, you'd like and 320 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:47,120 share and subscribe to this podcast so that we can get it out to more people. And if you 321 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:51,240 live in Samanar, we'd love to see you come out to church. We're in the building. It's 322 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:57,180 the Samara building we share with the BMO bank. We're right above them. Please come 323 00:32:57,180 --> 00:33:03,520 out to service at 10.30 on Sunday mornings and 6.30 on Wednesday nights. We'd love to 324 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:08,400 have you come out. If you don't live nearby and you want to help finding the church that 325 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:13,800 preaches the undeluted gospel of Jesus Christ, reach out to me. The notes will have the contact 326 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:19,280 information, the show notes, because we have 3,500 churches worldwide. But ultimately, 327 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:24,280 I just want to thank you for listening. And I pray that this message speaks to you. And 328 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:28,320 I pray that you have a great Canada Day if you're in Canada and a great Fourth of July 329 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:32,400 if you're in the States. And I thank you for listening. Can't wait for you to come back 330 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:33,400 next time. God bless. 331 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:41,640 Thank you for listening to the P.H.S.A. Potter's House Samanar podcast. Be sure to follow us 332 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:46,680 on Instagram at pottershouse underscore Samanar to keep up to date on what we're doing. Join 333 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:50,760 the conversation and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize your life.