I Pledge Allegiance to Jesus

Pastor Mike will be speaking on I Pledge Allegiance to Jesus. He will be reading out of Matthew 10:32.

My confidence is not in the government. It is not the world. My confidence is not in mankind. But my confidence is in my great shepherd who leads me everywhere that I go. Welcome to Hope Worth Happen.

This is Pastor Mike Sanders and we are looking forward to what God has for us today as we study the Bible together. I want to share with you a special message and I’ve entitled it I Pledge Allegiance to Jesus.

So take your Bible and join me in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 32 as we continue to study this great passage of Matthew Chapter 10 verse 30. As we celebrate Independence Day and the beginning of our country at the very core of what we are celebrating as Americans and certainly as believers in Jesus Christ is the freedom that we enjoy and I know that sometimes it’s a struggle because there is so much conflict and there is, so, much things taken out of context that grieve our heart and cause us maybe to wonder about the greatness of this nation.

But what makes our nation so great is the fact that, we have this freedom. What means so to us as believers in Christ is that And we have this freedom to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as we understand that the Scriptures teach us.

It is to that end that we do not see celebrating July 4th, Independence Day, as an act of idolatry, but rather as a act of gratefulness from our hearts to God. And even though we are not so foolish to believe that every person that helped founded this nation was a Bible -believing Christian, or that this Nation somehow was perfect in its inception.

But rather we understand the concept of freedom is what we celebrate. We are not celebrating the flaws and the failures of our country or even particular individuals that have been recognized and honored for great moments in history to which they stood up for freedom.

We recognize this morning that every July 4th there is a patriotism that sweeps throughout our population and we unite behind our flag and our country and emotions well up within us to sing patriotic songs as As we look for ways that we can serve our nation and our neighbor.

We celebrate Independence Day every year with family, friends, neighbors, food, fireworks. All of that is important. It is because we are the citizens of the United States of America. As Americans, we remember the sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom, and particularly our freedom to worship the Lord Jesus Christ according to what the Bible teaches as opposed to a particular government agency.

It is this celebration and remembrance of those who have fought for our freedoms that we take the opportunity at their funerals to present them with an American flag and to give to their family always expressing that on behalf of a grateful nation.

One of our founding fathers, John Quincy Adams, said you’ll never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it. And that is a statement that perhaps every generation needs to remember.

What matters most for us as believers is that we have this great privilege that is not for every country unfortunately but we have this unique opportunity in this land at this moment to be able to worship Jesus Christ as our conscience is led by the Word of God.

We say our pledge to the American flag because we believe in our hearts that at the inception that we truly were one nation under God. That has unfortunately changed over the years and it seems that America is trying to deny her Christian heritage those principles that help shape who America Is today.

And we ask the question, can we truly say we are one nation Under God? We can’t help but ask The question how much longer will America be the land of the free and the home of the brave. No matter what the future for America is, we must remember as believers and followers of Christ that we live in two worlds.

We have two citizenships. Heaven is our first citizenship. We must live a life that is pleasing to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As citizens of heaven, we must keep focused on the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As I get older, you kind of start narrowing down what is most important. You’re not as scattered and you’re not trying to be the jack -of -all -trades, but rather in my heart what I see is the very purpose and essence of my life.

I must do all that I can do, making sure we bring true honor and glory to Jesus Christ and second that we must work tirelessly to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so this is our focus as believers.

Out of gratefulness we thank God that, we can celebrate that. We can meet in freedom today. That we are allowed to worship the Lord Jesus. Christ that We understand that this freedom was not given to us but rather it is freedom that was fought for by men and women who sacrificed their life so that you and I can enjoy this great privilege.

But we also must remember that we have a role. We have a responsibility as followers of Christ and that is we must give glory to God and we much advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 10 verse 32 our text this morning he said therefore whoever confesses me before men him I will also confess before my father who is in heaven the word confess means to acknowledge or to agree with it is the idea of admitting so when we think about allegiance not only to a country we as believers who have dual citizenship we take this opportunity on this Sunday to renew our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ and we renew Our allegiance with this focus that we will do all that We can to lift up Christ in this nation and that we Will do All that, We Can to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is our role. This our responsibility. So how does that all unfold in our life? Well, very simply, it first starts with a pledge of allegiance to Jesus Christ as my Savior. The first step in personal life with Christ is to agree that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and you know, that may seem so simplistic to us.

But the truth is that we live in a community and a culture that really doesn’t grasp the need for a savior They really do not acknowledge that they are sinners And so this is important for us as believers that as we are Communicating the gospel that We have to share the bad news so people can understand how great the good news of the Gospel is the Bible teaches us for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God there are many who claim to be saviors in the world but there is only one that is presented in The Word of G -d that Savior is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Jesus said himself I am the way the truth and the life and no man cometh unto to the Father, but by me.” Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

He was buried and then raised from the dead. No other religion can claim a living, risen Savior. Their leaders of other religions, they are still in the grave, they’re still in a tomb, and yet you and I today, we serve a risen savior.

here, can God’s people say amen? We need to confess that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. And again, I know that in a church like this, most likely some of you are saying, pastor, we know this.

But what I am calling you to is to reaffirm this in your heart. And I’m calling to this attention of these basic truths that you would continue to communicate it in pluralistic society. a society that believes there are many ways to heaven and there are Many gods and that you worship your God and I’ll worship my God that to be distinct and to make the claim that Christ is the only way is gonna cause you and i to stand out and it is going to sometimes bring about some communication that will not always be pleasant but we must remember this is our message that Jesus is the only way to heaven and the Scriptures teach us in Romans 10 verse 9 and 10 that if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth under righteousness and And with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.

We must not only say it with our mouths, but we must believe it in our heart. And it is unfortunate that so many have confessed the words, but have never truly believed in their heart, and so it is. We not say only it, with out mouths we must believe in it our hearts.

Again, the scripture says in 1 John 4 .15, Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in Him and He in God. It’s not again just some religious words. It is not just going through the motion.

But when the scriptures teach us that we confess something, it is something that is coming from our hearts. and that we truly mean that Jesus is the Son of God. We recognize Him as our Lord, and we know that when we confess that, that truly God is dwelling within us.

If we believe it in our hearts, then we will pledge allegiance today to Jesus Christ, to every person that We meet. We will tell those who are in Our circle of influences that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and that they need to receive Christ as their Savior.

Our Allegiance Church belongs to Jesus Christ first and foremost. There are many things as just a citizen of America that I disagree with that takes place among politicians, but I want you to know the The thing that always keeps me centered and keeps me focused is my allegiance to Christ first.

And that there are many times I put my preferences and my opinions on the back burner so that my allegiance Christ can show forth first, that’s what’s important church is that on this day as we are grateful for a nation that allows us to worship and freedom, that we are also confessing to God, our allegiance to Him, and that even though there are many things that wonder about and perhaps question, we can always know that we’re under the sovereign care of a great and mighty God who loves us so much, church, that He gave His Son to each one of us, that we might have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

As we consider this great thought of pledging our allegiance to Jesus, Christ this morning, we number two submit unto you that we should pledge allegiance, to Jesus. Christ as our shepherd. And I think that this is important in the times that, We live in because once we have Christ in hearts we can realize that He is the shepherd of our lives.

We are under the care of a shepherd who is watching over us and he is leading and guiding us. The scripture says that the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not what church? I shall NOT want. It is an idea not that every want in my life will be fulfilled but rather that within me, there is a contentment.

There is, a trust in a God who is my shepherd, a savior who leads me and he leads me in the direction that I need to go. And my confidence is not in, the government, it is in not the world. My confidence, is it not, in mankind.

but my confidence is in my great Shepherd who leads me everywhere that I go. And as he leads us, he has blessed us with a wonderful guidebook called the Bible. In his Word we find all that we need to live the Christian life.

However we must remember that if we are going to understand the Bible, this guide book that God has given us, that we must be people of prayer, because God has chosen to work through prayer. He has chosen, to worked through His word.

He is chosen ,to work, through his spirit, the third person of the trinity. And he is not only leading us but he is caring for us. And as he indwells in us through the Spirit of God, he feels us he seals us and we can walk in this world with hope peace and confidence we are not frazzled by the circumstances we’re not people who are panicking because our trust is in Jesus Christ Jesus said I am the Good Shepherd I know my sheep and I’m known by my own we need to be listening we’d need to be listening to our Savior’s voice on a regular basis.

Church, instead of complaining about our circumstances, instead finding fault with political leaders, let us hear the voice of our shepherd who is speaking to us and he is teaching us. The voice the Savior is reminding us that in this world you’ll have tribulation, but I have overcome this word.

The Voice of the savior is telling us that He does not give us the peace of the world. It’s based upon certain contracts and conditions and people willing to follow through. But He gives us a peace that is from heaven.

It is based on God’s character. It based his nature. It was based His covenant to each of our hearts. Church, make sure that in all of your voices that are trying to speak into your life, that you have cut out that time where you can daily meditate on the Word of God and hear the voice of your shepherd day by day.

And that, you continue to be led by Him in every circumstance that You are facing. Some of our problems that we have, well, they’re our own fault. We want to blame everybody. We wanna find fault with everybody, But sometimes we find ourselves in situations because we just made a bad decision or we just neglected to do something that we should have done.

But friends, these problems, no matter what we face, whether they are the cause of others or they the Cause of ourselves, that We have a Shepherd who leads us and guides us. And that He is using these trials to make us more like Jesus Christ.

as you hear the voice of the Savior please ask the Lord what do you want me to change what are you trying to say to my heart what is it that I need to do better in being more like Jesus Christ these are the things that are going to stand out to all who observe our life this is what God is going to make an impact as we are trying to shine the light of Jesus Christ.

We need to enjoy our Shepherd every day in prayer and Bible study, and we need to remember that He’s always with us. He is not going leave you, church. He isn’t going abandon you. He doesn’t walk out of your life, but every day as you surrender to Him, He will walk into your heart.

And today, I encourage you to pledge your allegiance, not only to a Savior, but to a Shepherd. The third thing that I submit unto you this morning as we reflect on pledging allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Let us pledge allegiance to Him as our High Priest once we have accepted the gift of salvation. Once we realize that we daily instruction on how to live the Christian life as As we follow our shepherd and listen to his voice through his word, then we also realize that we have this problem that, we wrestle with the flesh.

We succumb to the temptations of this world and that sin is something we have to deal with. Whether it is indeed or motive. Whether is an action or attitude. Whether its something that have done or we failed to do.

we are always wrestling with sin and that’s why in our hearts we so long to not only be delivered from the penalty of sin but we longed to be delivered for the power of Sin through the Power of the cross in our life but one day friends as we continue to walk this journey of faith God is going to promote us and we will be delivered form the presence of SIN and and we will not have to fight this fight.

We will have not to cry out like the apostle said, oh wretched man that I am, who can deliver me from this body of sin. What are we to do with sin? What do we do to with it in our life? You say, pastor, I’m saved.

I’ll never sin again. All my friends, do not be so foolish. Do not so misunderstanding of the challenges that are before you. What we are to to this sin, If all of our sins are forgiven when we have received Christ as our Savior, why do we have to do anything about them?

That’s a great question. If I have been forgiven of my past and my present and in my future, why is it that I had to address this issue in my life? Well, friends, I want you to understand some things as a believer.

And I think that Jesus illustrated it best when he was serving the disciples. you remember that he washed their feet and you remember Peter he did not want his feet washed and Jesus said this is necessary.

It was a great act of servanthood it was a Great Act of submission to the Heavenly Father as he strived to not only serve those whom he loved and cared about but even one who would betray him and turn his back on him.

Peter in his great excitement and sometimes speaking before he thought said no don’t wash my feet but Jesus said this is necessary Peter he said well if it’s necessary then wash My whole body and Jesus Said no no we don t need to do that just your feet as you and I walk the dusty roads of this world as we walk through the dust and dirt of everyday life There is a great need for cleansing and washing that we need a spiritual cleansing every day in my life Yes, my sins are forgiven in the past the present and the future But there is the necessity that I might live in clear conscience before God and before men.

There’s a necessity that i spiritually have my feet washed every That I understand this great truth in 1 John 1 9 that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sense and to cleanse us from all Unrighteousness you see I love this because the Apostle puts himself right in there He says if We John is not saying that somehow you pointing a finger at you if you do this But John has saying all of us together if we now the Apostle a great example a man of God who is writing the words of God as the Spirit of god is directing him he says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin see confession is essential to our allegiance to Jesus Christ without confession in my heart on a regular daily basis, my allegiance to Jesus will wane.

I will drift and the dirt and the grime of this world hardens in my heart and becomes a barrier in my walk and fellowship with Jesus Christ. For it is not only a barrier of my walking and my fellowship in Jesus Christ, but it’s a very barrier on my relationships on this earth.

I am convinced that there are many Christians who are struggling in their walk with Jesus because they have not taken time to practice confession. There are unresolved issues in there hearts, whether they are the result of it, meaning that they made bad choices or that, they were the victims of others.

But the point is that is a need for confession because confessing to God has a cleansing effect within each of our lives and there is nothing more cleansing in your heart than when you come to God not with arrogance in Your pride and saying God I’m glad I am not like that person.

Hear me church we see things on TV that we do not, like watch out that you don’t say in your arrogance I’ m glad i’m not liked them but let us be like the man who came to the temple and could not even look up to God but humbled himself before God and confessed his unrighteousness to god.

All that I see that is wrong in this world should never lead me to self -righteous, but it should lead to humbleness, confession, brokenness, and repentance. There is a process that’s going on in our life every day.

It is called sanctification. It is the process of God shaping your heart to be like Jesus. It what is often referred to as growing in grace. Growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. As I walk this journey of faith, I’ve learned, the more I grow, the the I’m confessing.

The more that I know my Savior, the closer I get to Him. There’s more stuff in Mike’s heart that he has to deal with. There are more things being exposed. And I understand how the Apostle felt when he said, O wretched man, that I am.

Do not be overwhelmed with the grief of your sin, because there is cleansing. And as we come to God and confess our sins to god, we are able to live in clear conscience to the God. As we came to each other and we confess to our sin’s church to one another, as confess our faults to one another there is cleansing between us and it is the work of Christ there are many times as a father I had to confess my fault to my children there many time that I have had to confes my faults my wife but it has never ever ever been a negative in our relationships but is always been powerful tool of not only cleansing but drawing us closer together and you are not less of a Christian or less of person because of your willingness to confess.

What is the foundation of our confession that is essential in all of our relationships? It is simply these words in Hebrews which says therefore in all things he, referring to Christ, had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propituation.

For the sins of the people for in that he himself has suffered being tempted he is able to aid those who are tempted. We have a high priest who aids us and he has made it possible for us to live in clear conscience to god and to man.

He has make it possible for us to walk in harmony. He has made it possible for to be in sync with our Savior and then sync within our relationships that God has blessed us with on this earth. Jesus is our high priest.

It is the responsibility of the high priest to go before the Holy Father with the sacrifice of the confession of the people and Christ is that sacrifice and Christ died on that cross and he brings the sacrifice to the Father and He is an advocate for you.

He’s an advocate and all who believe in Jesus Christ. We have a continual relationship and fellowship with God because we have high priest who continually serves to aid us, bringing us back to that focal point that he died on the cross for your sins.

So listen, our allegiance belongs to our high priests and that your sin are not final and they are not fatal to your life. That as you come in the act of confession to God and renew your heart to Him.

You can say, Lord, here’s my life. Yes, again, here is my Life, and yes, I failed. I missed the mark. Yes Lord I fell short of your holy righteous standard. Today I come back to the foot of the cross.

I came back from the work of Christ and I seek that cleansing that renews my heart and renews my faith, and renew my energy for the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hold on to those promises, church, that He takes our sins, and He casts them as far as the east is from the west to be remembered no more.

It’s been great to be with you today, and I just want to encourage you before we go, we appreciate your support. We appreciate all of our listeners who send positive notes and encourage us as we stay at the task.

Thank you for those who are praying and standing with us and I want you to know it is making a difference and it Is touching many lives. This is pastor Mike Sanders Reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.

Thank You for that.