Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church
Come Back Home
Wonderful privilege for several years to teach high school American history. I am a history guy. I like history. I believe we ought to know our history. I believe we should know all of it, the good and the bad. I don't believe in getting rid of history. How do we learn? We see what was done wrong so we can improve. We can make it better. Amen. I love history. I used to ask my students, "Why was America so great in its beginning? What made the United States of America such a great place? Why was it so strong and why was it so great?" I used to ask those questions to them. I asked them questions like, "How could 13 little colonies take a stand against a king of a world power?" I mean, think about Great Britain and the kingdom of Great Britain and all the stretch that it had over the world at that time. The power that the king had at his fingertips really had his voice. How else did all the right men? How could it that they took a stand against it? How was it that they were able to secure a victory and they had the courage to stand and say, "We choose to be independent from you," and then to defend that independence? The Declaration of Independence did not end at all. The Revolutionary War went on for several years. I think the Treaty of Paris was at 1783, I think, if I'm not mistaken. They had to defend that declaration that they had declared, that they sent to the king. How was it that, again, at a later time, a few decades later, they had to, again, defend themselves against the same giant of an enemy, but they came out victorious in the War of 1812? You with me? How is that possible? Such a small nation. Do you remember when they declared their independence? They had no money to go to war to defend themselves. Our United States had a little continental army and that army didn't even know if they were going to get paid or not. Our country was at the beginning, it was the infant stages, it was how did our country become so great? How was it that just after our declaration, a decade later, 1789, another wonderful document was put into place after the Articles of Confederation had failed? How was it that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was written? Wonderful, wonderful thing. Amen. I haven't read that either recently, I encourage you to do so. We need to know these things. It was simply an experiment by some men that had studied. I mean, they considered it an experiment. Nobody had done it before and they put it together and fashioned our government into three branches and then secured a Bill of Rights so that the people would have their freedoms stamped in there that the government was not to infringe upon the people. Amen. Liberty. How is it that America was fashioned so great? As I would teach my students this and obviously I was teaching them the answer to all of this, I believe the answer to why America was great in its foundation is due to the character of its people. And say that again, I believe why America was great in its foundation is due to the character of its people. I wish for you to follow me on this thought today as the scripture that we've read righteousness exultive and nation. Proverbs 14 verse 34. Character, what do I mean by that? The character of its people. Character is defined as a moral or ethical quality. Qualities of honesty, of courage or the like, integrity might be another way to put it. When the Bible calls that word character, it calls it virtue. We read that word virtue in the scriptures and that virtue means a conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles of brightness. You know what another word for uprightness is? Righteousness, righteousness. God here says that righteousness is what exulting nation. When a person is righteous, they develop an outlook or characteristics of virtue that make them become people of great character. I ask you to remember just for a moment some things. I know that I bring a lot of history and different things into that. But I ask you just to walk through time with me just for a moment. Consider our foundation. Brother Randy, think about our foundation as a country. Before we were a country, we had people that traveled across the sea. If you haven't read about the Mayflower and the trouble and the difficulties that they faced coming across there, coming across the sea, it wasn't like hopping on a plane and six hours later you were landing or whatever it takes to get from over there, okay? It wasn't like that. It was months on a ship in not very good environment and then they came to a wilderness that they really didn't know what to expect. Many people died in the process. They ventured across all of that because they said, "We believe that we should be able to worship God the way that the Holy Spirit leads us and not the way that some King tells us to." That's why they came across, right? Many of them didn't. Think about as you move into the history, into the early, that was 1605, was Jamestown, 1620, was the pilgrims and the Puritans on the Mayflower and all of that. But then you move into the 1630s and their education was based on the scripture. They said, "We've got to train up our next generation to follow the Lord and if we're going to found a colony here, a group of people here, then we need to found a place that's based off of scripture." Their education to their children was based on such. The Bible was a textbook, if you will, Harvard University, consider this, many people don't know this. It's history and it's even history on their own website, Harvard University 1636. It was founded, I wrote it down, it's founded by a vote of the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the training of clergy for the Commonwealth. Harvard University was a Bible college because these folks said, "We need to train preachers for the next generation to make sure that we don't lose what we came over here for." That's why Harvard was started. Eight graduates of Harvard would sign the Declaration of Independence. Eight graduates. Yale University, another very distinguished university in our country that focuses on academics and different things, but in the beginning, 1701 is when it started, 1701, not a country yet, but the university Yale was established. He was established as a school to train church leaders and community servants, civil leaders. Bible colleges, this is what they were. Why? Because our people said, "We want to train up our children in the ways that the Lord would have them to go." Amen. A lot of people aren't hearing these things anymore. You look at on their own history, they'll tell you that. I'll tell you that. This developed a generation of Americans that where God came first. Brother Shane, people were honest. People had integrity about them. They weren't about attacking other people and about doing just what would benefit them, but about what benefited their community and their countrymen. They were honest people. They put the Lord first, obviously, when we get into the Scripture, God teaches us what is right and what is wrong, and things of these nature's characteristics are developed in a person's life when they saturate themselves with Scripture. Amen. When we get saved, God desires us to be holy, and He teaches us that in His Word, and as we yield to the Holy Spirit of God in our life, once we're saved, Amen, the Scripture teaches us that we are to live differently. We're a new creation. When their freedoms were trampled upon, I've already referenced this today, when their freedoms were trampled on, they began to send petitions to the King and to Parliament. Say, "Would you please consider the English way of life that citizens have freedom?" When they petitioned, and one of them you might recognize that you learned in history at one time, the Olive Branch petition. The Olive Branch petition was given in July of 1775, one year before the Declaration of Independence, and it was the purpose was the last plea of the colonists, and say, "King, would you hear us? Would you hear us? Our rights and our freedoms, our liberties are being infringed upon? We're second-class citizens in the eyes of the British Empire and all of that." And they petitioned Him. This Olive Branch petition would go unanswered. In fact, I was just reading about it this week, that Olive Branch petition was refused by the King, and he wouldn't even read it. So then one year later, of course we know of understanding the history there, guys like Thomas Paine and others put out the common sense handbook that was started talking about freedom, about getting independence, and in the beginning it was a little bit of a shocker, but then after a while they began to see things that constant offenses against what they knew to be right under their English law as citizens. And they declared their independence from that tyrant across the sea. You fast forward. Again, I mentioned this as well, but when the government that they had set up, the Articles of Confederation put together a system of government, but it didn't give a balance of powers, it didn't give much opportunity for the federal government. They believed in states' rights, and they were after that, but the federal government was so weak they couldn't do anything, couldn't raise money, couldn't have an army, couldn't have these different things that pay for them. They come together for a constitutional convention. Remember this, 1780s, they put a constitutional convention and men that were righteous, and I'm talking about men that knew the Lord. George Washington was president of that, if I'm not mistaken, right? He was over top of that. And guys like Benjamin Franklin, he was old at this point. And I mean, an aged man, he led the way and he said, Benjamin Franklin, remember now, he's not a preacher, he's a scientist. I know he had a newspaper and everything, he was a little bit of everything, but he wasn't a preacher. And he said, let's start off this convention right and let's bow before a holy God and ask for his wisdom. And so therefore, a wonderful thing as the United States Constitution was fashioned, amen, where there was limited government and powers balanced out so that one man couldn't have the power. They knew that if one man or one branch got the power, it would go corrupt because of sinful men. We know our flesh. We know that man loves power. And when they put together the limited government, you say, where did they get the three branches? Where did they get the executive and the legislature and the judicial and all of that, right? Where did they get it from? The Bible. Isaiah chapter 33 verse 22 says this, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us." Three branches of government right there is what they based it upon. That wasn't by accident, it was based off a scripture. The limited government, three branches there. That one would keep the other in check, amen, thankful that there's a collective group as Congress that puts together laws, but there's a there's a president that can therefore veto that law. And then there's a judicial branch that then can therefore define the law. It keeps Congress in check with the same time Congress keeps the president in check. And then therefore, the judicial branch is kept in check because the president then appoints the judicial branch, amen, keeps it in check, amen, praise the Lord for that. These were men of character that fashioned this, praise God it didn't get fashioned today. I can say that because I had a prime example this last Thursday night of some of the character that's going on in our country today, you with me now? Come on now, the character of people is what made it America great, amen. Look at our scripture here, righteousness exalteth a nation. Think about that word righteousness, righteousness, it's defined as rightness doing right being just, the word exalteth here means to rise or to raise, to lift or to promote. You want to promote your family yourself. You want to promote your country, this church, then we must have be righteous. Righteousness is what exalts the nation, choosing to give in to selfish lusts and everything's about me. That doesn't exalt anybody. That doesn't exalt you. It doesn't exalt you, this church, it doesn't exalt this country. Look what the Bible says here, righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. You know what our approach is? I wrote it down, I wanted to get it right. It means this to be a cause of blame or discredit to bring shame. You know what sin does? Sin brings shame. Get it right in. When the first president, I was alive through many presidents, but the first presidential election that I remember, I was in great school and it was 1992 I believe, was just the one I remember paying attention to, I just remember that, okay. And after that point, our country had to go through a big, crazy thing with sin in the White House. That's what I'm saying. Sin and all of this nonsense and it brought great shame upon our government and our country. And it's happened many times throughout our history, I understand that. But sin is a reproach to any people. Righteousness exalts a nation. Praise God that George Washington. He wasn't even supposed to say it, he wasn't anything like that. But he put his hand on the Bible right when he was being put into place, inaugurated as that first president in God. So help me God. He said, "Let me put God first here. Let God help me, amen. Let it not be my flesh, not it, let it not be man that's doing this, but so help me God." And praise God for that tradition, I wish we'd have men that live like him. Amen. I'm not here to bash everybody today. Please forgive me for that. But what I am here to do is say that church family, we as Christians and as Americans need to live righteously if we are going to see our country come back. Too often we are so pointing the finger at everybody else, but what about me? It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord, sin and then need a prayer. Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord. I can't make anybody live righteously, I can't make any of you all, I can encourage, I can preach the Bible, I can teach, but I can't make you do anything. Praise God for a choice that God gave me, an individual choice to make that choice. And so therefore, I live in a country that is free, that proclaims liberty so I have choices. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful I'm not a robot, I'm not something that God made me where I don't have any freedom. Praise God for that. But in that, I have to as an individual make choices that please God, that are righteous if I want to see this country exalted. I look across here and there's a lot of folks in here today, I can't make any of you live righteously. I can't do that. I can't dictate that this church, all the different individuals, stay holy, but I can say that John Woolard is going to live righteously. I can say that, I can make that choice. So I can make a choice to be holy, live righteously, and then I can lead by example. Amen, that's what we're supposed to do. I wish for you, please now I'm going to ask you, please, to follow in your Bibles with me over to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15 this morning, I want to take you along a passage of Scripture here on an individual that lived the opposite of that and see what took place. Remember righteousness exalted the nation, but sin is a reproach, a shame, the opposite of being exalted to any people, right? Look at a boy here and we know this passage of Scripture, this is the prodigal son, Luke 15. Look, and we'll start in verse 11, but I ask you to follow along please and let's look at a few phrases in this passage and see what came of it. Look at verse 11 and he said, "A certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, "Father," what are the next two words? Give me. What was it again? He says, "Father, what?" Give me. Consider that. Give me, give me, give me, give me. We live in a day when everybody thinks they're entitled. Well, I deserve this. Well, well, you know, and we have children that are growing up that, "Well, well, mom and dad have to buy me a car, I'd turn 16," right? Well, I got to give my kid a cell phone, they're a teenager now, right? Where is that in the Bible? Now, I'm not against you all doing what's proper and right for your family. I'm saying, as long as we do it holy, as long as it makes sense, but we live in a day when people are acting like they're entitled, like they deserve everything. Well, it blows my mind that we're handing out money and just printing it out in the last few years. I just can't comprehend that. But yet here, give me, give me, give me. I don't care what benefits others, I don't care what benefits our church, I don't care what benefits our country, it's about me. I wish and I hope and I pray that we, as Christians, go to the polls, go to the voting booth and we vote according to what is righteous, what pleases God and not what I can get out of it. Because though through time, I understand certain platforms and certain candidates and certain things had passion about certain individual things and some people gave folks in their older years more things and some people gave these folks more things and some focused on this thing and all of that. But we need not base our voting on what I can get out of it, but that which is holy and right. I consider and implore you as a Christian, as according to what the Bible teaches, that when you choose who you choose, consider all that they stand for. Consider the platform, consider what they vocalize, consider how they live the life. All these things because righteousness exulted the nation. We should not be Christians, please understand. We should not have this mentality of give me, give me, give me, give me because it will destroy us as it is destroying many of younger generations now. And trust me, please understand, I'm of a generation that has received a lot more than those before me. You understand, I recognize that. And I see where people came back from World War II and the baby boom, all of that, right? And they wanted to, now that they're flourishing a little bit, America's at its prime, at its top, the envy of the world and they're wanting to give their children benefits that they never had because they went through the depression and all those things and they want, I understand all of that, I understand all that, that doesn't mean that we should live our life like give me, give me, give me, give me, give me. Amen. When he did that, notice here what led to it, he says, Father, give me verse 12, the portion of goods that followed to me and he divided unto them his living, verse 13, and not many days after the younger son gathered altogether and took his journey into a far country and there saved it all, right? Wasted his substance with riotous living. Instead of thinking about others, that instead of thinking conservatively, if I can say it that way, amen, let's not turn this into something political today. I'm talking Bible and I'm talking civics here, okay? Not one against another and all that such, but we're talking about living conservative as the Bible teaches that a man is supposed to take care of his family, amen, that he's the least something for his children and his children's children. According to Scripture, amen, that a man that does not do so, God doesn't think very highly of him, he says that in Scripture. He didn't say, well, how much of this belongs to the Lord? He didn't say that. He didn't say, well, shouldn't I save a little bit from my family? I mean, what happens if I get married and what happens about this and what about my children and all these things? No. What did it say? It said he wasted his substance. Let me, I've got to have it now, now, now, now, now. Follow me here now. I believe I have liberty in the Scripture to teach this now, but if he was a modern day man, you know what that means? That means he's maxing out every credit card and he's stacking up every debt that he can be approved for. You know what that does? It brings bondage. That brings bondage. He wasted his substance on right to his living. If what's going out is more than what's coming in, we're in big trouble. We're in big trouble, amen? Verse 14, what happened when he wasted his substance? Look what it says. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land and he began to what? To be in what? It was fine and dandy. Listen to that, it was fine and dandy when it was easy times. I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel, but it's easy time. What happens when we've wasted everything and then normal things happen like the washing machine goes down or the tire blows, amen? We become in want. And then all we can do is stick our hand out and we're mooching off everybody. I don't see that as biblical. I don't see anywhere where God says, "I should go mooching off everybody." Amen. It says that a man ought to work and provide for his home. We can be helpful to people sometimes and praise God for that, but as a man, I shouldn't be looking for that. That's not a baseball inscripture, amen, but he began to be in want. He went without, look what happens here. Because of that, because he's in a difficult situation, because he's in want, some foolish decisions begin to be made. Look at verse 15. "And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him in the fields to feed." What? Swine pigs, Jewish boy in the field with pigs, you believe that? I can't comprehend that, all right? I mean, just knowing his heritage and where he came from. Look at verse 16. "Foolish decisions turn into some ridiculous things." Look at this. Verse 16. "And he would feign, or he would have desired to, he's longing after, have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him." Foolishness turned into some ridiculous things. Ladies and gentlemen, we must recognize the foolishness and ridiculous things that we're seeing today is because of bad choices that we're making as individuals. That goes for me as a Christian and citizen of this great country, and it also goes to the leadership as individuals and citizens of this country. It goes for all of us, and I can't dictate what somebody else does, but I can say what I'm going to do. Amen. And what I'm going to do, listen now, righteousness exalted the nation. So instead of me complaining all about my country and where it's going, I should start to live righteously and make decisions that please God, because therefore I will help and lead by example to exalt my nation. That's Bible, and that's what God's teaching us here. Notice as we go along here, he hits rock bottom in verse 16, and look at verse 17. And when he came to himself, he woke up, see that? He came to himself. You know what? If I would just swallow my pride and go back home, right? Look at what it says. And when he came to himself, he said, "How many hired servants of my fathers have bred enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. No more worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy hired servants." You know what that is right there? When he hit rock bottom, finally, he realized who he was in the condition he was in, and he got humbled. He said, "A proud, instead of I deserve everything, give me, give me, give me, let me take my father's wealth and all this that I think has owed to me and run off and waste it all." He says, "You know what? I know it'll be a little bit uncomfortable for me going back home with my tail between my legs, you understand? We go home defeated, but I'd be far better off than I am now." So if I just have a little bit of humility and go back home, even if I was just a servant in my father's house, I'd be far better off than I am now. He recognized that he had failed. Praise God for that. Admit, ladies and gentlemen, I implore especially those with us that have children in the home, admit when you are wrong. God resisteth the proud, doesn't it what the Bible says? He resisteth the proud, but he gave a grace to the humble. Admit when you are wrong. Your children see it when you blow up. When you mess it up, your children see it. We might as well say, "You know what? You're right. I did it. Forgive me." Now, I'm not been perfect at that, and I ask my family to forgive me, but there are times when I've had to go to my children, own my knees and say, "Would you please forgive me?" Daddy got a little out of sorts right there. I crossed the line right there, and forgive me. That was wrong, and I apologize. Why can't a father do that? Because when a child sees that his father is real and not some dictator, just focused on his own power and whatever he says goes, "Amen." God resisteth the proud. I don't know about you, but listen now, I'm a visual guy, okay? I'm a visual guy, and I know that I could never stand up and compare to God here, but I just think about just God with a fingertip pushing against me while I'm doing this number. You understand what I'm saying there? God resisted the proud. He's pushing back against you, resisting you. I don't want that. I want the blessing of God. This young man, this prodigal, he woke up and he was humble enough to say, "It's time for me to go back home." But I want you to see this look in verse 18, he says, "I will arise. Let's go back home and go to my father," and I will say unto him, "Father, I have sinned." He confessed his sin, and he went back home. Amen? He confessed his sin, and he went back home. Church family, if you're getting nothing out of the message today, please get this. What we need to do, because we're all sinners, every single one of us, of all sin in our life this week. You know what we need to do? We need to confess our sin and go back home. Go back home means returning to the Father, returning to God and saying, "Lord, I have sinned." You know what Joseph said, when Potiphar's wife was trying to entice him in the home and all that, he said, "How can I do this before God? This would be against my God." And I'm not saying that all sin is out of that nature, but we are truly sinners in here. On that same line, let us men acknowledge that when it's up here and in here, it's the same. Jesus said it was. When we're looking and we're lusting and all that, it's the same thing as adultery. Let us return to a God and say, "God, I have sinned, forgive me of that sin and restore the joy and the relationship," like David said in Psalm 51. Let me come back home and let me be at peace with you again, right with you again. When my children do wrong, they are still my children, but sometimes the fellowship can be broken until it's made right, some humility and some correction. The same thing goes with my Father in heaven. Amen? Confession is necessary. Confess and come back home. That's the message of the day. I can't change this country. I can't snap my fingers and make anybody today do what I tell them to do. I can't make Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church all of a sudden, "boof, you're all holy, and you're all going to live righteously." I can't do that, but what I can do is say, "God, when I'm wrong, may I confess my sin before you and help me to stay home with you, stay back with you." I challenge us this morning, consider everybody that's in here now, and this is not for you to compare yourself with one another at all. This is between you and a holy God. Please understand that. You and a holy God, and I wonder this morning, there are some rebels in here. I used to be one, gripping on in my way and digging my heels down in and saying, "I'm not going to go back home. I'm not going to do it." No, no, I have a right to do that. You understand, he who hardeneth his neck will soon be destroyed, Proverbs says. God resisted that pride. Let us, as Peter talks about, put in a cloak of humility on, put in a coat of humility on. We have to choose to do that. I'm going to ask you to take your songbook, please, and go to 162. 162. Here's a great, great song. I was just talking to you about this last week with someone, and Lord, I'm a coming home. That's the hillbilly way of saying it, "Lord, I'm coming home, Lord, I'm a coming home." Whatever. You do what suits you. Look at verse 1 here, "I've wandered far away from God, but now I'm a coming home." Whoo! Come on now, that's a sinner right there that says, "I know who I am, and Lord forgive me of my sin. I'm coming home." The paths of sin too long I've tried, "Lord, I'm a coming home." Amen. Church, would you sing that with me? Would you sing a song with me, please? I'm about done preaching now, and we'll go into invitation in just a moment. But I ask you, please, if it's truly our spirit to be a people that are right with God confessing sin and coming back home. Let's sing it. Let's sing it. Join me on that first place, 1.62 on the first ready to begin. "I've wandered far away from God, now I'm coming home." The paths of sin too long I've tried, "Lord, I'm coming home." Miss Jessica, before we go to the invitation, go to verse 2 and sing it, would you? I've wasted many precious years, now I'm coming home. I now repent with bitter tears, "Lord, I'm coming home." Sing it with me, Church, now, "I'm coming home, coming home, never more to roam." Open wide, thine harms of love, "Lord, I'm coming." Would you stand with me? Keep your song books open. I want to keep singing this song. Look at verse 3 now, "I'm tired of sin and strain, Lord." You know, when we live a life of sin, it gets old. There's pleasure in sin for a season, the Bible says, but it gets bitter, and you get some guilt and some weight on you. You start looking over your shoulder every time you're going into something, you're looking over your shoulders. Hey, did they find out? It's a weight, it's guilt, it's junk on your life. God says, "Be free of that. Confess your sin and come back home." Let's sing with me now, verse 3, "Please, would you please?" Here we go, together, "I'm tired of sin and strain, Lord. Now I'm coming home, I've lost thy love, believe thy word, Lord, I'm coming home, keep singing church, keep singing," and here we go already, "Come Me, I invite, I'm gonna ask the pastoral staff, come down here on the front, I'm gonna ask some ladies that