Our faithful choir has been standing up through the whole service already, so we want to let them all sit down. It's long been my practice to provide an outline of my sermon to the congregation, and you'll find that in the bulletin, especially I know some of you like my wife, Marty, like to take notes, so that's there for your help in following along with the sermon. Our oldest son, David, who probably is here with us this morning, was born while I was serving with the United States Army in Germany. And as our son, he became a citizen of the United States at birth, but because he was born on German soil, he also became a citizen of Germany, a scripture that I'm about to read this morning, speaks of our dual citizenship as Christians. Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter 2, we'll be reading verses 11 through 25. That's page 1015 for those of you that are using the Pew Bible this morning. Let's stand together for the reading of God's Holy Word. Peter 2 at verse 11, dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Permit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men, whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men, live as free men but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, live as servants of God, show proper respect to everyone, love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king, slay, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. This you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth when they hurled their insults at him. He did not retaliate when he suffered. He made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray. But now you have returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls, the grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever. We pray with me. Father now as we come to this time when we look at your word, we pray as your word says that it would be living an active shopper than a two-edged sword. Lord pierce our hearts this morning, transform us into the likeness of your son because we've been here today. Help us not to walk away from your word one more time. Teach us to be our shepherd for Jesus' sake. Amen. You may be seated. This week, of course, on Friday we will celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This historic and important, very important document in the life of our country begins with these words. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are your rights, my rights, as American citizens. These are the rights that our armed forces have fought and died for. But you see, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are also the rights of those of us whose citizenship is in heaven. In the very first place this morning, we want to look together at your right to life. As an American citizen, this is a right to life here on this earth. This right to life carries with it ideas like physical protection, self-determination, the freedom to realize my full potential. The Declaration of Independence that I just quoted from tells us that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. This word unalienable, of course, the lawyers among us would tell us it's a legal term. It means incapable of being transferred to somebody else. But since 1973, in this country, this most basic, this most fundamental, this from the beginning right to life has been transferred from an unborn child to the life of the mother who bears that child. And now this woman can choose for myriad personal reasons to terminate the life of the God-given life of that child. We might wonder, we ought to wonder, as we sit here this morning, who our unalienable right to life will be transferred to next. We already hear and see some problems, some murmurings at the other end of our lives. We can only begin to speculate whether the economic pressures that will be brought about by what they're calling our grain population, and I'm one of them, whether the economic pressures of that grain population will push us even further in that direction. For the Christian citizen, however, there is yet another right to life, a right to life for eternity. You see, your right to life as a citizen of heaven can never ever be taken from you. It's a right to life that has been purchased by your Savior. Verse 21, Christ suffered for you. Verse 24, He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree. You were a sinner. I was a sinner. We were going our own way. We were, as the Bible says, without hope and without God in this world. And then God sent His Son. He sent Him to die for you. You couldn't do it all by yourself. I couldn't do it all by myself, Frank Sinatra saying, I did it my way, but that done work to get us to God. Jesus came, Jesus died, not because of any wrong that He had done, and surely not because of any right that I had done or you had done. Eternal life is your right, but only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you received this right, this gift of eternal life, you haven't done that, do it today. What's in the way? Mount Sin was in my way, come to Christ. And then your eternal right to life will be preserved by your shepherd. Now we have seen already this morning that in spite of our heritage, in spite of the laws of this land, we have seen the right to life in our own country disintegrate. Our rights as Americans therefore are not guaranteed. They can be taken from us and given to someone else, but this is not true of your heavenly citizenship because your right to life in heaven is not only purchased by your Savior, but it is preserved by your shepherd. Verse 25, you were like sheep going astray. But now you have returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your soul. This shepherd, this good shepherd said in John chapter 10, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. As Christian citizens therefore we enjoy an eternal right to life that no one can take away, an eternal right to life that is truly unalienable. And so as Christian citizens here on this earth, we of all people, we of all people, we ought to be working, we ought to be voting, we ought to be leading in the efforts to guarantee an earthly right to life for all Americans, especially those ones that can't talk yet. Those ones who are not yet born, the declaration of independence. It speaks next of your right to liberty. Now this right is generally understood to include a whole lot of other rights, proclaim liberty throughout the land. The Liberty Bell rang out this quote from the book of Leviticus, the city of Philadelphia on that very first fourth of July in 1776. Now over 230 years have passed and our concept of liberty is vastly different from that envisioned by you the Bible or our forefathers. Liberty now seems to mean at least in some way that any vocal minority can impress its will upon the country as a whole. To many Americans today, liberty means simply my right to do my own thing, my right to be my own boss. We began in our beginning with human rights and rightly so. We've gone on to civil rights, women's rights, gay rights. And now we come somehow to animal rights and it's a complete redefinition, isn't it? Of what started out as human rights and almost any bizarre behavior is now sanctioned under the gods of my rights. God says here at verse 16, live as free men but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil. As Christian citizens, the sun has set us free, praise God. But he has set us free to do God's thing, not free to do our own thing. And that freedom in Christ begins with the word respect. The concept of Christian liberty is not found in the word rights but is rather found in the word respect. And this begins of course with our respect for God. Because as Christian citizens were reminded here at verse 9 that we belong to God. We are the people of God, verse 10. And therefore he deserves, he desires our respect and our worship and our honor. I submit to all the other authorities for the Lord's sake, verse 13. I am the fear God. I hope I'm preaching to the choir this morning, besides this one back here. You know this respect for God ought to seem kind of basic as we sit here in this beautiful sanctuary this morning. I mean if I interviewed you one on one, you'd probably want to start off by telling me that you respect God, but do we? Do I? Do I really respect God? If you love me, if you honor me, if you respect me, Jesus said then you will do what I say. You think it's always that way for you, it's not always that way for me. Too often you and I must sound a lot like little children, you know in a minute Lord. When I get to it Lord, why Lord? We don't often put the word Lord with that because then it kind of comes back and hits us. That's the simplest form of disobedience is when somehow I think or say in my mind, I know it says that but he can't really mean that. Respect for God is simply this. God says it and you and I do it. No question's that. I respect for God, naturally leads us particularly here in this passage to our respect for our government. The Bible so clearly teaches that here and elsewhere that you and I are to respect human authority in our nation, here in our church, in our homes, young people in our schools and in the workplace. Verse 13, submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men, instituted by whom. Every authority among men is instituted by God. And so we're to submit to these human authorities for the Lord's sake. Some of us are not happy with our leaders. I think that's probably been true throughout human history. Surely it was true in Peter's day. I mean Caesar couldn't have had a very high approval rating, particularly among those Christians that he was regularly feeding to the lions. We are to give honor and respect to all authority over us. Now look back over the years of my adult life, I really believe that respect for the office of the President of the United States as well as lesser officials in our country respect for those men and women has eroded. Now perhaps there are some historical reasons for that, Watergate, Vietnam, but somewhere along the line we've gone beyond healthy political disagreement to a lack of respect for authority. And we're going to pay for that at all different levels of our society and our homes and our schools who are already seeing it. I don't get to choose which authority I respect. God says over in Romans 13 there is no authority except that which God has established. Now don't hear me wrong, it doesn't mean that we never disagree, never object, but it does mean at a minimum that I do this in a very respectful way. Now we're going to come to our third point, we're going to have a difficult time, you're going to have a tough time with a third point, I'm going to have a tough time. Our final right as Christian citizens involves your right to the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, that right has now degenerated into a pursuit of selfishness. Sounds so good to us originally anyhow, the pursuit of happiness. Well, it's so American, I mean the good life, what we're all about in this country and surely we have been blessed with a good life that's way beyond what most of the world has enjoyed throughout history. So if you might remember, I don't know whether somebody challenged me on this dollar before, I think it was Franklin Roosevelt back in his day who promised a chicken in every pot. Others might remember Lyndon Johnson speaking of a great society and indeed every president, especially when they're running for office, have promised all manner of greater opportunity for all Americans. But as good life seems to have taken a much more selfish turn, hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure has become almost our national religion, sports, recreation, entertainment while beneficial and useful perhaps in moderation, have become multi-billion dollar businesses in our country. Now it appears that our great economic hope in this land is the gambling industry. I'm not yet familiar with all of the operation of that industry here in Tennessee, not that I'm looking for the nearest casino yet. Perhaps this state here has escaped the direct influence so far, but I seem to remember because I was over in the mountains in North Carolina for a couple of years that there's a casino kind of right over the line in Cherokee, I crop fish, didn't gamble. And there's some in Mississippi at the other end of this state. But folks, just a matter of time, more gambling is going to come to this state. I watched it all come to Missouri in the almost 20 years that we were there. We fought it. We stopped it for a time, but it's all there now. Because gambling is such a good fit for today's version of the American Dream. We can all just play games, a whole lot more fun than paying our taxes. And you and I can have the opportunity and we dare not call it chance. We can have the opportunity to solve all of our problems by winning the jackpot. I mean the American Dream no longer has to involve work. You just go down and buy a lottery ticket, and you can pursue all manner of happiness for $80 million or even $60 or $40 million of somebody else's money. Now it did seem, didn't it, for a few weeks after September 11th, that we might just have turned away from some of this self-interest and selfishness in our country, but being rest easy, things are pretty much back to normal. And now only the men and women in uniform are making the sacrifice for the rest of us. I mean poor Peter here, he sounds like a voice crying in the wilderness. Because his prescription, God's prescription for our happiness involves sacrifice. Listen to verse 18, slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect. Not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. But it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. Peter's particular illustration by God's design is the life of a slave, but his principle is more general. His principle is sacrifice. As a Christian citizen, you and I cannot buy in to a value system that is largely built upon self-interest now. Our Christian citizenship is always going to involve sacrifice because God says here that sacrifices are privileged. Sacrifice can take all kinds of different forms. It might be the loss of your job because you can't compromise your principles. It might mean for some of you that you have to pay twice for your children's education, you know, once in your property taxes and then again in your private school tuition. Some of us means sacrifice means that we simply defer to somebody else. And we could go on, the list is long, but most of the time you and I would try to avoid sacrifice. And yet God says it's our privilege. It's commendable. He says if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering. Sacrifice is not only our privilege, but it says here it's our purpose in life. Verse 21, To this, referring back to a life of sacrifice, you were called. I was called. Sacrifice, therefore, is not some higher form of Christianity. It's a way of life for all of us. We all enjoy our American citizenship. We celebrate it this weekend because other people have sacrificed. Our men and women in uniform are called to a life of sacrifice. We honor those who have made the supreme sacrifice and given their lives for our country. But you see, in the case of those men and women, their uniform was not the call to sacrifice their citizenship was. When Todd Beamer and those others stormed that cockpit on American Airlines flight 93 on 9-11, they weren't wearing uniforms. They were Americans. They simply saw the need for sacrifice. Peter's line of reasoning says that you and I are called to sacrifice and suffering why? Because Christ suffered for you. This is our purpose in life. There is no other way. I mean, we've all, I think, seen that polling data that they keep rolling out in the, pretty much in the Christian magazines, although sometimes you can see it on the national news as well. There are supposedly more professing Christians in this country, real Christians, they say, never before. But it appears that in spite of that, we're having very, very little effect upon our national morality. Why is that? Well, one of the reasons is that as American Christians, we just don't believe that sacrifice is God's purpose for us. And so even as Christians, we buy into this selfish pursuit of happiness right along with everybody else. Why aren't we making more of a difference here in Chattanooga? Why aren't we making more of a difference in our own country? As American Christians, where's our sacrifice? I mean, Jesus was so very clear, as always, and most of you are very familiar, you've heard this verse before, if anyone would come after me, he said, he must deny himself. That's pretty clear. And that command is found in all four of the gospels and a couple of times in some of them. But somehow we just don't seem to get it. Sacrifices are privileged. It's our purpose. And finally, Peter gives the pattern for our sacrifice. That pattern, of course, is the Lord Jesus himself. Left you an example that you should follow in his steps. Our nation was built upon this Christian principle of mutual sacrifice for the common good. We began and we ended the Revolutionary War by mutual sacrifice. We were totally unprepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and then as Americans, we all began to sacrifice, and we, one World War II, do in part, at least from the human side of this principle of mutual sacrifice. Now we're in a war on terrorism. The principle of sacrifice wears a little thinner and thinner, the further we get away. From September 11th. The Lord Jesus is the pattern. He is the model. He did not earn. He did not deserve the abuse he suffered. It says he committed no sin. No deceit was found in his mouth, but they abused him, didn't they? Verily, physically, did he complain? Did he protest? When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats. What was his secret? It wasn't because he was the God-man, and he somehow was mostly God when he was being abused. No, it is more significant than that, more helpful than that. How did Jesus do it? Peter tells us simply he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. I have found that principle so helpful. You see the problem that I have and you have with suffering and sacrifice is that we look to a different judge. We look to our own judgment, and surprise none of us chooses to suffer. I mean, I don't like it. You don't like it. Before we look to public opinion, and that public opinion generally goes like this, yeah, losers suffer. The good guys win. Be a good guy. God alone is the one who judges justly, and he will have the final word. In the meantime, you and I, as Christian citizens, are called to sacrifice. Well we need to wind this up. What will this country be like in 20 years? The Lord tears, 50 years. Will our children, will our grandchildren enjoy the same rights and opportunities we have had? I mean, we're saddened by the current state of our country, especially in its moral character, and our pledge to the flag we still call ourselves one nation under God. One sense we are. We always will be. God is going to be in control, but we somehow don't want to acknowledge that fact. But what can we do? I mean, we're Christians and we're citizens of this country. God says here, at verse 12, lived such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. How should we do that? I'm going to break it down into three points. First of all, live your life not for the Earth, but in light of eternity. That begins with a question which only you can answer in your own heart. If you were to die tonight, or even this afternoon, and go out into eternity, would you be headed for heaven, or would you be headed for hell? It's a question. Are you certain you would go to heaven? If you're unsure at that point, trust the Lord Jesus Christ right now, right here. It's only through faith in Him that you can be sure of heaven. Are you living each day Christian in the light of eternity? Secondly, practice your liberty under the law of God. Do not use your freedom, either as an American or as a Christian. Somehow as a cover-up for evil. And then in the third place, pursue happiness through sacrifice. Why? The only motivation ultimately that we can have for living like that is our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered not just as an example, but you see He suffered for you, so sacrifice. Sacrifice first of all your own desire for the glory of God. And then sacrifice your own comfort for the good of your neighbor. Begin with your nearest neighbors. You're talking here about the members of your own family. As American Christians, we have a dual citizenship. One citizenship as Americans is temporary, but the other citizenship dear people is in heaven. And it will last forever and ever. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the unbelievable blessings that we enjoy as American Christians. Father, help us to be those who sacrifice so that we can share. Not every country on the earth is blessed anywhere near like we have been and help our thanksgiving to overflow and generosity. And then, O Lord, help us as American Christians to take seriously the need to have a voice in our nation, to set an example in our nation, to not go along with the crowd. O Lord, we can't do this except by Your grace. And Father, help our enjoyment of Your grace now to motivate us as we give, back to You, what You have so freely given to us, for Jesus' sake, amen.