I want to begin this morning by again thanking you for who you are. You are some of the rare American Christians who want to be Biblical and practical instead of being a partisan and politically correct. You are some of God’s people who know that the Bible is not just a religious and churchy book for Sunday. You know that the Bible is God’s Word for everyday of the week and every aspect of life, especially and including politics.
You know that God thought of government and delegated His authority to governments. You know that contrary to popular opinion, our nation and government is built upon and organized by the concepts and principles of the Word of God. You also know that one of the reasons our nation is in the mess we are in is because for generations, for too many years the Church and the pastors in our nation have abandoned their places of prophetic and citizenship responsibility.
While other pastors are being forebodingly rebuked for teaching and preaching Biblical truths that directly relate to hot-topics in our culture, you are glad for me to teach you and lead us to both pray about and speak out on issues in our city, county, state, and nation.
One pastor in our community after speaking to his people about the costly issue of alcohol sales in our community was recently warned by a church member who said, “Pastor, you had better stop meddling in politics”. Church members like that are why the Church and our nation are so messed up. So, thank you and hear me again say that when politicians stop meddling with Biblical issues I will consider not meddling in politics!
The title of my sermon this morning is “God, Trump, and the Border Wall”. It is obviously a political sermon with which I will be meddling in a culturally political “hot-topic”. Immigration, the Border Wall, and the plight of foreigners illegally in our nation are all emotionally charged issues about which God has something to say.
God’s people need to know what He says about these issues in His Word. God’s people need to tell their families, friends, neighbors, and elected officials God’s Will and Ways for Immigration, a Border Wall, and foreigners in our nation. And God’s people need to vote for people who can be trusted to represent us on these issues according to God’s Will and Ways.
What does God say in His Word about border walls? Does God like walls? Does God want nations to have border walls? Does God want His people to live behind a wall? Listen and learn.
With that general introduction, I want to specifically introduce to you the special topic for today by reminding you about who and where we are from God’s point of view. For the past three months I have been repeatedly reminding you that we are God’s point of the plow in the Land of JASPER. This morning I want to focus on the issue of the Border Wall, and it may surprise you to learn that what God has to say about the Border Wall is directly related to what God has to say about the Land of JASPER.
Did you hear at I just said? What many are derogatively calling “Trump’s Border Wall”, an obvious hot-topic political issue, is actually a Biblical topic that God directly relates to the Land of JASPER.
What does God say in His Word about walls? The English words “wall-walled-walls” are in the New American Standard Bible 256 times in 234 verses. You know about the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, and the fallen wall of Jericho. But you also know about the eternal wall of the New Jerusalem that an angel showed the Apostle John. Look with at Revelation 21.
Revelation 21:9-10, 12, 15-18 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I shall show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God...12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel...15 And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. 16 And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 And the material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
Did you see and hear what I just read? The most eternally famous wall in all of creation and for all of time is made of jasper! If any political issue is important to our God, it is the issue of a border wall. This issue is so important to God that He will make His border wall out of His favorite stone, jasper.
God chose the jasper stone to picture, represent, and symbolize the kind of worship He likes, multi-colored worship in the beauty of holiness in His presence at His feet. In Jesus He has made us to be a holy nation of living stones who minister to Him. Jesus is our Rock and the stone that pictures Jesus is the jasper stone. The stone that pictures salvation is the jasper stone. The stone God uses throughout the Bible to picture us is the jasper stone. Look again closely at verse 18-“the material of the wall was jasper”.
Does God like walls? He must. He has planned for His eternal holy city to be surrounded by a wall. We are going to live with Him forever inside that wall of jasper. We need to learn and remember that our God is in favor of walls. We need to share that in discussions and remember that as we vote.
The Great Wall of China is about 20 feet high and 16 feet wide. The Berlin Wall was 12 feet high and 160 yards wide. In 1968 I stood in West Berlin at the western side of the Berlin Wall, looking over that wall into East Berlin. And a few days before that I spent 63 hours in that 160 yards between two high barbed wire fences on the border of East and West Germany as Communist soldiers with machine guns held the group I was part of, harassing us over our “papers”.
Archaeologists have learned that the wall of Jericho was 9 feet deep into the ground, 17 feet high above ground, and 27 feet wide. The Western Wall, sometimes called the Wailing Wall, in Jerusalem, is about 62 feet high and 4 feet wide. But look at the eternal jasper wall God is planning. God is preparing a wall that will be 1,500 miles high and 72 yards wide.
I want all of us to learn from these measurements that the concept and purpose of a wall is not just to have a boundary marker. Athletic fields and courts have lines that mark boundaries, but those lines are not walls. Just as God puts up a wall for a very specific purpose that is other than and more than a boundary marker, nations put up walls for a reason.
If all we need is a boundary, we have signs, lines, and all sorts of other high-tech markers. But we need a wall. We need a wall to protect us from lawlessness, evil, wickedness, and the abominations of depraved humanity. A deep wall, a long wall, and a high wall is God’s idea. Learn that. Apply that. Tell others that. Vote that.
Our God is love and His lovingkindness is everlasting? Our God is gracious and merciful, and His mercy endures forever. Our God loves humanity so much that He became one of us so He could die for us so we could live with Him forever. You know that because you know Him and experience Him.
Take what you know about God and His promised wall and apply that to our lives in our nation. Is a deep, long, and high wall unloving? Not according to God, His Word, and His wall. Is a deep, long, and high wall cruel and inhumane? Not according to God, His Word, and His wall. Prepare yourselves to tell others that. Tell our elected officials that and vote that.
More than anyone else in our nation, more than conservatives, more than Republicans, more than even President Donald Trump, we, the people of God in the Land of JASPER ought to know God’s opinion of walls. We live, and breathe, and move, and have our being in the land of YASPAH because of the Rock of YASPAH who is known as YESHUAH and who gives us YESHUAH.
There is more that I want to show you in the Word of God about God’s Will and Ways concerning border walls, immigration, and foreigners in our nation, but for now I just want to ask you to agree with what I have shown you today in God’s Word. I appeal to you to think about this issue the way God thinks about this issue. And as you are transformed by the renewing of your mind concerning this issue, I want you to influence others to know and be set free by the truth of God.
As we stand in honor of God and to worship Him, tell Him that you will tell others about YESHUAH, about the salvation of YESHUAH, and about the wall of YESHUAH made of YASPAH.
Two weeks ago I began a series on what God and His Word have to say about the issue of Immigration. I started this series with a sermon about God’s view of border walls. I hope you learned and will remember that God favors border walls. He likes them long, high, and wide. I also hope you realize the God-chosen significance that connects the Land of JASPER to the border wall of our eternal home in Heaven.
God’s people always need to know God’s Word, Will, and Ways on every issue of their lives, and the issue of Immigration is one of the most important issues we face in our nation right now. Under the Lordship of Jesus we must think and choose according to what the Word of God says. Regardless of what others think or say, we are not entitled to our opinion-we must know, embrace, live, and share God’s opinion.
In some churches sermons are designed to impact and stir emotions. In those congregations the people want a sermon with hyped-up and expressive feelings. In other places the sermons are aimed at reminding the members of the doctrines, traditions, and rituals of their congregation and denomination. Those people want a sermon of predetermined normalcy with no change.
But in our church family, you want and God gives me sermons for us that target the practical issues of our daily lives in the context of our God’s specific purpose and plan for our church family. Instead of perishing for lacking and rejecting knowledge, our Heavenly Father wants us to know His Word, Will, and Ways. Instead of being rejected as His priestly representatives, with the knowledge He gives us from His Word we can live with obedience to Him and be able to serve and bless others with the love, life, and favor He gives us.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
So, this morning I want to continue leading you into the Word of God to learn and live what He says about Immigration. Without hype and with an obstinate disregard for what might be politically correct, I want to show you what God says in His Word about Immigration. I want us to know, understand, intercede for, and righteously serve the people, the places, and the politics of Immigration.
Let’s start with the issue of the people of Immigration. What is the factual and unemotional definition of Immigration? According to God’s Word, who are the people of Immigration? And what is God’s Will and what are God’s Ways for how a nation is to relate to the people of Immigration?
The New American Heritage Dictionary defines the act of immigrating as “entering and settling in a country or region to which one is not native”, and defines an immigrant as “a person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another”. I hope you see and understand from these definitions that some people in our country can be considered to be immigrants and some people are just visitors. Keep this in mind as I continue. Righteous intercession and servant-hearted ministry can’t happen if we do not correctly define and understand the people of the issue of Immigration.
In the New American Standard Bible there are four words used that can be applied to immigrants and immigration: foreigner, alien, stranger, and sojourner. The word “foreigner(s)” is used 45 times in 44 verses. The word “alien(s)” is used 76 times in 73 verses. The word “stranger(s)” is used 83 times in 76 verses. And the word “sojourner(s)” is used 17 times in 17 verses. That totals to 221 times in 210 verses that words defining and describing immigrants are found in the Bible.
I think that should be enough to convince us that God has something to say to us about immigrants and immigration. But remember, not all foreigners, aliens, strangers from other nations, and sojourners are immigrants who want to immigrate to our nation. Real immigrants leave their nation to immigrate to and settle in our nation. Real immigrants desire to become legally naturalized citizens.
Those four English words that can be applied to immigrants and immigration are the translations of five Hebrew words and seven Greek words.
The meanings of the five Hebrew words are:
a person not known and not recognized
a person of non-acquaintance or non-relatedness
a person intermingling and mixing in
a temporary wage earner that owns no land
a person who having no civil rights is depending on the hospitality of the nation
The meanings of the seven Greek words are:
a person belonging to another (family, group, nation)
a person from another people group or nation
a person from another tribe
a person with an unknown language
a person without the knowledge or share
a person living in a place without the right of citizenship
a person from a foreign country who comes to reside next to the citizens
For simplicity, for the rest of this sermon and this series, I would like to use the word foreigner to include the concepts and meanings of the words “alien”, “stranger”, and “sojourner”. And based on those five Hebrew words and those seven Greek words, I would like to say that according to the Old and New Testaments and the New American Heritage Dictionary, a foreigner is “someone from another nation that is at least temporarily living among us, but is not a legal citizen of our nation”.
Compare my definition of an alien to the definition of a citizen: “a person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation”. Whether here legally or illegally, aliens are not citizens of the United States of America and are not entitled to the rights of citizens. But, everyone should remember that our nation has a naturalization process, and as we will learn from God and His Word, God has Ways in His Word that at least the Church if not also our nation needs to learn and apply to our current Immigration crisis.
Whether legal or illegal, aliens living among us may or may not be recognized, known, or related to any if us. They may or may not speak our language. They may be temporary or more permanent and they may earn a wage, but until they obtain legal citizenship, they are guests in our nation who do not have the rights of citizens. Please make note of and remember that I said that aliens are guests in our nation.
I think that anyone who disagrees with all the above does not know and accept God’s Word. I think that anyone who disagrees with all the above does not know and understand the basic definitions of these words important to the issue of Immigration. And I think that anyone who disagrees with all the above does not know and want to obey the laws of our nation.
To conclude I want to introduce the first point of next week’s sermon on Immigration. It is a well-known point, a point that is very applicable to the issue of Immigration, and a point that is foundational to whom our God is. Here is the point-God loves aliens-and you already know the foundational verse!
God Loves Foreigners
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
God loves every person that has or will be conceived. God loves everyone. God loves every tribe, tongue, and people group. God loves those that know Him, those that don’t know Him, and He also loves those that hate Him.
Now that we have rejoicingly finished the celebration of our God’s Appointed Time of the Feast of Booths I want to get back to what God has to say about Foreigners and Immigration.
We have already seen in God’s Word that He favors border walls. He likes them long, high, and wide. We also saw that God’s opinion of border walls is significantly connected to the Land of JASPER.
I showed you that our Bibles use four English words as translation of five Hebrew and 7 Greek words, and I summed up all those words with the following definition: a foreigner is “someone from another nation that is at least temporarily living among us, but is not a legal citizen of our nation”.
The title of my message today is God, the Church, and Foreigners. You need to notice and pay attention to the word choice of the title so there will be no confusing misapplication of verses. God has some things to say about Immigration that apply to the Church. God has other things to say that apply to nations.
As you will see this morning, the Church has some God-given responsibilities on how to relate to foreigners. In another message I will show you the responsibilities that God gives to nations about how to properly deal with foreigners. When God’s instructions for nations are mistakenly applied to the Church, or when God’s instructions for the Church are mistakenly applied to nations the result is usually confusion, disorder, anger, strife, hatred, and rebellion. Look, listen, learn, and remember so that will not happen in you or because of you.
I concluded my last sermon on this important issue with the first point of today’s message: God loves foreigners. And I used the well-known verse of John 3:16 to prove the fact that God loves foreigners. The love of God is where we begin today.
But, remember, what I will show you this morning that God says in His Word about Immigration only applies to the Church. Today’s truths are for the Church. These Biblical facts fit the Church. Governments make laws. The Church makes friends. Don’t try to miss-match these facts or you will misunderstand the truth.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
1 - God Loves Foreigners
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
In addition to John 3:16, I want you to see two other verses that God uses to communicate His love for foreigners, but before I show you those verses, I want to remind you of a Bible study principle we regularly use to understand and apply God’s Word.
The Church is in a covenant relationship with God, but He calls the covenant He cut with us the New Covenant. He cut the Old Covenant in stone and called it Law. He cut the New Covenant in the body and with the blood of His only begotten Son, and He calls that Love.
We may not be under the Law, but we are under something much more strict, stringent, and severe, the love of God! The Church is supposed to hear and obey because He loves us and we love Him. We don’t have stone-cold rules to follow. We have the fire of the love of God living in us to help us follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
This means that any Old Testament verses the Holy Spirit uses to teach us God’s Will on the issues of Immigration are expressions of His heart. We never want to disregard expressions of God’s heart. Because He loves us and we love Him we want to know and obey the desires of His heart. So, look with me at Deuteronomy 10:18 and then Psalm 146:9.
Deuteronomy 10:18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.
God loves foreigners and He shows His love to them by providing two basic needs that all humans have, food and clothing. Remember that love, real love, God’s kind of love always gives. And learn and remember that God expresses His love with His provisions.
Another expression of God’s love is protection. God loves foreigners and one of the ways He expresses His love to foreigners is by the protection that He gives them. As we go to the second point of my sermon, remember that God sets the pattern of love with provision and protection. The Church needs to understand and remember this.
2 - God Expects the Church to Love Foreigners
Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
God loves us. We love God. And He expects us to love others the way He loves us. The Church is accountable to God for how we treat foreigners, and God gives us one word that is supposed to characterize the way we relate to foreigners: love. Look at Leviticus 19:34 and Deuteronomy 10:19.
Leviticus 19:34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were alien in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 10:19 So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
I want to give you three words that should characterize the love that the Church gives to foreigners in our nation: compassion, hospitality, and effort. If we really love the people around us who are not yet legal citizens of our nation we will do tangible efforts of compassion and hospitality. Look at Hebrews 13:2 and 3 John 1:5.
Psalm 146:9 The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; but He thwarts the way of the wicked.
3 John 1:5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers;
Jesus told a parable about loving Him as our King, and in this parable He made it very clear that we demonstrate our love for Him by demonstrating our love for those around us who are “the least”. Historically, for years and for generations, foreigners in our nation have often been among “the least”. Look at His parable in Matthew 25.
Matthew 25:34-36, 40 ...the King will say...35...“I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.”...40 And the King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
It takes effort to love people. It takes effort to show compassion to people. It takes effort to be hospitable to people. God expects the Church to make this effort!
3 – God Wants the Church to Set Aside Some Increase To Help Foreigners
Deuteronomy 26:12 When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns, and be satisfied.
Are you attentively listening? Anyone who does not understand and obey the whole Biblical counsel of God about tithing will not be able to understand and obey this third point God makes about how the Church is to love foreigners.
Are you regularly and repeatedly tithing on the increase God gives you? If you aren’t, then you might as well shut your Bible and tell God that you don’t love Him and you will not love foreigners. But if you obediently know and understand tithing, then look at and listen to these verses that express God’s heart.
Leviticus 19:10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the strangers. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 24:19 When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 24:20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
Deuteronomy 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
Deuteronomy 26:13 And you shall say before the LORD your God, “Ihave removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.
Leviticus 25:5-6 Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. And all of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you.
All of these verses are given in the context of an agricultural economy, but the concept applies in our monetary economy. God’s Way for the Church to love foreigners includes the practical effort of setting aside a part of the 90% that is left after we have tithed on the 100% of the increase God gave us. In other words, individually, we can give an offering designated to practically love and help foreigners. And congregations, associations, and denominations can budget funds to love and help foreigners.
Do you know that God loves you? Does He know that you love Him? Then, you can and should know that He loves foreigners and wants you and the Church to love them with Him. You can and should know that God wants His people to show personal and practical love with compassion and hospitality.
Tonight we will talk about the best and most practical ways to do that in our community. And we will talk about the best way we can invest in the lives of foreigners in our area. But for now, let’s work on settling the main issue-is Jesus your personal God, King, and Lord? Until that issue is settled, you will never really love foreigners.
Is Jesus Lord? Is Jesus your Lord? Then stand up in His honor and tell Him so as we worship Him. But, if you are not hearing and obeying Jesus every moment of everyday, while others worship, come tell me of your struggles and let me pray with you. You stand, you decide, you come.
Our nation has immigration issues. We-through our elected leaders and the bureaucracy they have created-we have an immigration mess. One very important aspect of this mess is the fact that immigration is about people. Our mess is hurting people.
By the definition I have previously given you, some of the people being hurt are foreigners. But other people that are being hurt by our immigration crisis are naturally born citizens. We, the citizens of our nation need to know what God says about this issue so we can wisely choose leaders who will wisely lead us out of this social catastrophe.
I have shown you what God says in His Word about border walls. I showed you the words and meanings of those words that God uses in His Word to describe foreigners. And from God’s Word I showed you how He wants the Church to relate to foreigners.
The title of my sermon this morning is God, Nations, and Foreigners, part one. With it, I want you to see, learn, and remember a foundational truth from the Word of God about nations. One of the reasons that we are having an immigration crisis is a lack of a Biblical understanding of the concept of nations. Many of our national leaders, both elected and bureaucratic, have rejected that Biblical concept. Most foreigners seem to have never known that Biblical concept. And over the past three or four generations, most citizens of our nation have been and are being taught the exact opposite of the Biblical concept of nations.
I want to use a song written 47 years ago to introduce what God says in His Word about nations. The song is an artistic expression of the exact opposite of what God says. Most of you know the song, but do you know the Biblical concept of nations? Many of you can sing the song, but can you declare and explain the Biblical concept of nations? The song matches our mess, but until we reestablish the truth of God’s Word concerning nations as the foundation for our immigration policies, we are standing on shifting sand and we might as well try to shovel the oceans dry.
As you listen to the song, pay close attention to the words.
VIDEO – “Imagine” {3:05}
Everything about that song, every word, every phrase, and each concept is against God, against God’s Word, and against the wisdom we need to solve our immigration crisis. Instead of singing this song as a philosophy for life, our nation needs to stand on the concept of nations as taught to us by God in His Word.
God, Nations, and Foreigners, what does the Bible tell us about this? I want to show you in God’s Word four things about God, nations, and foreigners:
1 - God wants nations;
2 - God wants nations to have borders;
3 - God wants nations to have laws; and
4 - God wants nations to have laws that respect borders.
This morning I want to focus your attention on the first point: God wants nations.
God Wants Nations
Sometimes the best way to learn the lesson that needs to be learned is through a struggle, a hardship, or a negative experience, so listen and learn from the very negative opposite of God’s Will.
God wants nations, but a whole lot of people want what is now called one-world-government or globalism. God does not want one-world-government. God does not want globalism. Globalism is demonic, satanic, and un-Biblical. To help you learn and understand our God’s Biblical concept of nations, I want to contrast it with the Devil’s concept of globalism.
God wants nations, multiple nations, but Satan wants one nation. The Devil wants to eliminate nations and have the globalism of one-world-government.
God wants nations, multiple nations, but John Lennon wrote his song to eliminate God and promote the one nation concept of globalism. Nimrod, one of the Old Testament types of the antichrist, led his failed effort of globalism with the city and the tower known as Babel.
Genesis 10:8, 10 ...Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth...10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
We are living in the time when the spirit of the antichrist is preparing people for the one-world-government of the antichrist with the apostasy of globalism. Globalism is lawless, destructive, prideful, and elitist. Globalism is anti-Christ!
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
The antichrist denies that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah. The antichrist denies Father God. One major practical part and application of his denial is one-world-government globalism. More than all of its other attributes, globalism is against Jesus. Whether they understand this or not, anyone that supports globalism is against Jesus. When we let our national leaders administrate our immigration policies from a globalist point of view, we are letting our nation administrate against Jesus.
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
Look at how the lying and denying antichrist is introduced in Revelation 13.
Revelation 13:1, 7 ...And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea...3...And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast...7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
Think about this with me. Besides opposing God and everything God wants, why does the Devil oppose God’s desire for nations and lyingly propose the one nation concept of globalism? Let me show you the answers to that from God’s Word.
One reason is to detract from or make null and void Psalm 2:8. Father God promises Jesus, His Son, the nations as an inheritance. How can this verse be true and become a reality, how can Jesus inherit the nations if there are no nations to give?
Psalm 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
Another reason the Devil wants globalism is to make the Son of God to be a liar. Look at what Jesus promised to the overcomers of the Church that tolerated Jezebel. In Revelation 2:26 Jesus promised to give to those obedient overcomers authority over nations. How can Jesus keep this promise if there are no nations?
Revelation 2:26 And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
And how about the Blood of Jesus, do you love and appreciate His Blood? Does the Devil hate and denigrate the Blood? Look at Revelation 5:9. How worthy is Jesus and how redemptive is His Blood if there are no nations from which to purchase men, women, and children?
Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, and did purchase for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
One more example of why the Devil deceives people with the delusion of globalism is his futile attempt to take praise and worship away from God. Look at and listen to Revelation 7:9-10 and Revelation 15:2-4.
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Revelation 15:3 And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and thesong of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your Ways, You King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
If there is only one nation, one world government, if there is globalism, how can “all the nations” come and worship the Lord God Almighty?
God wants nations and our God will get what He wants! Remember, our God is the Creator. Nations are His idea, nations are what He wants, so He makes nations. Do you realize that globalism tells Creator God that He is wrong to want and make nations?
Acts 17:26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation,
God wants nations and He is the One who makes some nations great and destroys others. Our current president’s slogan and hat can be viewed as a Biblical prayer: “Lord God, we ask You to make America great again!” Do you realize that globalism is a Satanic warfare strategy against God and that prayer?
Job 12:23 He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
God wants nations and He promised to make a great nation out of Abraham. We call that nation Israel. Do you realize that Satan and globalism want to stop God, destroy Israel, and negate every blessing found in the Abrahamic Covenant?
Genesis 12:1-2 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing;
God wants nations and He wants all of us, all of the Church to make disciples of all the nations. Do you realize that globalism is against the Great Commission?
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
So, do you want globalism or our God’s kind of nationalism? Do you want our nation’s immigration policies to be based upon the lies of the Devil or the truth of God’s Word? Are you going to vote for candidates and political parties that stand for Biblical principles or for candidates and parties that publicly deny God and make their stand on platforms of deception, delusion, and death?
The day is coming soon when every globalist, every one-world government elitist, and every Jesus-hating and Jesus-denying person will bow before Jesus declaring that He is Lord. On that day even the antichrist will bow, kneel, and admit the truth that Jesus is Lord.
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the Name which is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in Heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Have you bowed your heart to Jesus? Do you regularly bend the knee of your life to Him? Do you exalt Jesus over every thought, word, decision, and issue of your life? Do you confess His Lordship authority over you in all your relationships? If not, you are one of the reasons our nation has gotten into such an immigration mess.
As we stand to honor, exalt, and worship Jesus, bow your heart, and bend your life before Him. Tell Him that you want Him to sit on the throne of your life. Tell Him that you will live for Him and vote for people that honor Him and His Word.
Most of us know that a few weeks ago Hillary Clinton said that Democrats cannot be civil and will not be civil until they are ruling our nation again. The definition of “civil” is “courteous and polite actions, words, and behavior”. Most of us also know that being civil is about having good manners. Whatever happened to good manners? Are good manners important?
Be careful how you answer, because the issue of good manners is about the boundaries that we set for ourselves and respect for others. The concept of personal and social boundaries is a practical application of one part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God calls that part SELF-control.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, SELF-CONTROL; against such things there is no law.
I mention this because boundaries and SELF-control are lifestyle aspects of part two of what I began to share with you last week. My sermon title is God, Nations, and Foreigners. In part one of this sermon I told you that God wants nations. God does want nations, but the Devil opposes God by wanting globalism, and the Devil is lying to and deceiving people in all sorts of ways to get the globalism of a one-world-government for the antichrist.
We know that the Devil will not win and that our God gets what He wants, and in this second part of God, Nations, and Foreigners, I want you to know and understand that God not only wants nations, He wants nations to have a very specific, practical, and tangible expression of civility and manners. We call that specific, practical, and tangible expression borders.
God wants nations to have borders. In fact, it is technically impossible to have a nation without having borders. That is why the Devil is lying and deceiving to get rid of borders-he gets rid of nations by getting rid of their borders.
This morning I want to focus your attention on my second point: God wants nations to have borders. Look again with me at Acts 17:26.
God Wants Nations To Have Borders
Acts 17:26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the BOUNDARIES of their habitation,
Notice the word “boundaries”. The Greek word for “boundaries” means “a set and definite border”. It does not take much explanation to know that this verse in God’s Word makes it clear that God wants nations to have borders. He sets those borders and He wants those borders to be very definite.
I guess I could end my sermon right now, but there is more in God’s Word that I want you to see and know.
Because walls in the Old Testament were built on the borders of cities, and because what is said about walls can apply to our current concept of borders, I want to point out five principles of walls to help us understand why God wants nations to have borders.
1 - Walls were built for protection
Isaiah 26:1-2 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security. 2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful.”
Borders are set for the protection of the nation. A nation without borders is a nation without protection. God wants nations to have borders so they can be protected.
2 - Walls had gates for regulation
Psalm 147:12-13 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your sons within you.
Deuteronomy 16:18 You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your gates which the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
The entrance and exit of people and their possessions had to be regulated. Borders need crossings, entry points, check points, and officers to regulate who leaves nations, who enters nations, what is taken out of nations, and what is brought into nations. God wants nations to have borders so their citizenry, goods, and services can be regulated for the good of the nation.
3 - Walls provided peace
Psalm 147:12-14 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your sons within you. 14He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
A nation without peace will not last long as a nation. Borders, regulated borders provide a greater opportunity for peace and help insure peace. Regulated borders provide a means of control. Notice the analogy in the book of Proverbs of a city without a border wall and a person without self-control. God wants nations to have borders so they can have peace.
Proverbs 25:28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.
4 - Walls were celebrated
Nehemiah 12:27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres.
The most famous celebrated wall in Bible is the one Nehemiah built. The celebration included songs, instruments, and declarations to God.
The priests, the people, the wall, and the gates were purified.
Nehemiah 12:30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
Two choirs march around the wall in opposite directions and then met in the House of God.
Nehemiah 12:31, 38, 40 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate...38 The second choir proceeded to the left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of Furnaces, to the Broad Wall...40 Then the two choirs took their stand in the House of God. So did I and half of the officials with me;
The people rejoiced and did so with methods according to God’s Ways.
Nehemiah 12:43 and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.
Borders can and should be established and celebrated. God not only wants nations to have borders, He wants nations to have borders His Way so they can celebrate those borders His Way.
5 - Walls could be blessed or judged by God
Psalm 51:18 By Your favor do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
God blessed Israel by building, strengthening, and watching over their walls. God wants borders and He wants to bless the borders of nations. But God also judged walls and one way He did that was by having those walls breached and destroyed. The best example of this is the wall of Jericho.
Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and it came about, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.
God wants nations to have borders, but God can also judge nations by causing their borders to be breached. From the point of view of the Word of God, walls that were breached and broken were considered shameful.
Nehemiah 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer be a reproach.”
Anyone that thinks that all this was for then and not for now, that person does not understand our God or His Word. And they probably are not aware that God has set a huge boundary or border between where most people will be forever and where you and I will spend eternity. Do you remember that Jesus told a true story, one that is not just a parable, about a rich man in Hell and a poor man in Heaven. Look at Luke 16:26.
Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.
On which side of that great firmly placed and established chasm are you? Are you being blessed or judged?
Do you notice that I asked that question for the present, not the past or the future? I asked it that way because God places that choice for everyone in the now of the present. No one can go back into the past to choose Jesus and no one has the future guaranteed to them so they can put off choosing Jesus.
As we stand in honor of Jesus and to worship Him, if you have not already settled the issue of the impenetrable border of the great fixed chasm, while others stand and worship, I invite you to come and let me help you give your life to Jesus. Don’t wait till it’s too late. Come now as we all stand.
As I continue with my message entitled, God, Foreigners, and Nations, I have made it to my third point, God wants nations to have laws. I’ve already demonstrated from the Word of God that God wants nations. Our God does not want globalism and a one-world-government. He wants nations. I’ve also shown you with His Word that our God wants nations to have specific and clear borders.
John sent me a picture of this bumper sticker that uses spiritual concepts to succinctly express this thought:
HEAVEN has a wall and strict immigration policies
HELL has open borders
On what basis can I declare that God wants nations to have laws? How can we know that God wants nations to have laws? You are probably aware that there is not a single verse in all of the Bible where God speaks to a nation or nations and says “You shall have laws!”. So how can I stand here and tell you with certainty that God wants nations to have laws?
I want to give you five Biblical facts and with inductive reasoning, I want to lead you to the conclusion that God wants nations to have laws.
Even though God never says, “You shall have laws”, there are many verses that point to the conclusive fact that God wants nations to have laws.
God Wants Nations To Have Laws
Fact #1 - God is
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
We start with the fact that God is and always has been and will be. He is Creator and all else is just created. No one made God. He did not need to be made because He is.
You remember that God told Moses that His Name is “I AM Who I AM”. Based on that Name Bible scholars say that Yahweh is the self-existing One. He also told Moses to tell all of Israel that I AM sent him.
Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
I begin with God is because everything began with God. Our God, and only our God is THE initiator and instigator, because only our God is.
Fact #2 - God is sovereign
Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established His throne in the Heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all.
The word “” sovereign” means, “One that exercises supreme, permanent authority”. Our God is the supreme and permanent authority over all of creation.
The Hebrew word for “sovereignty” in this verse means royal kingly rule. Our God is the all-powerful King over every thing and every one. Jehovah Elohim is and He is sovereign.
Fact #3 - God is Judge
Psalm 50:6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge.
This is my Bible, God’s Holy Word. The Word of is inspired, infallible, and inerrant. Every book, chapter, and verse is true. The sixth verse of Psalm 50 is true. God is Judge. He is THE Judge.
Please make note of the word “Judge”. The Hebrew word for “Judge” is jp;v' {shaw-fat'}, and it means, “to judge”. Also notice the word “righteousness”. God is righteous. His being is righteous. His thoughts, words, and actions are righteous. Our God is the righteous sovereign Judge.
Fact #4 - God judges by Law
Jude 1:14-15 And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
How does God judge and convict people of their ungodliness? He does not judge with a whim or on His emotions. He uses a tangible expression of His thoughts, words, and actions. We call that tangible expression, the Law. When we sin against God we are sinning against His holy righteousness, the essence of His being. God gave us the Law so we could know and understand our sin against Him. The ungodly do not think, speak, and live according to God’s Law, but we know and must remember that there is blessing in walking in God’s Law.
Romans 7:7 ...I would not have come to know sin except through the Law...
Psalm 119:1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.
The Hebrew word for “Law” is jP'v.mi {mish-pawt'}. This word means “ordinance, custom, or standard”. The Hebrew word for “Judge” comes from this Hebrew word for “Law”. Do you see and understand the connection? According to the key words and their meanings, judges judge according to the law. Our God is THE Judge and He judges by Law. That is one of the reasons why He writes His Law on our hearts.
Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Fact # 5 - God knows that people need Law
Just listen to how our holy and righteous God describes humanity:
Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Psalm 14:3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
God sees and knows that all of humanity is totally depraved. He knows that we need Law to provide some sort of control and direction for our lives. God knows that people need Law
1 Timothy 1:9-10 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers10and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
Therefore, I can conclusively declare that our God, the one true God, wants nations to have laws! People need Law. Nations are made of people. Therefore nations need Law. This plain and simple fact is described by the Apostle Paul in the first two verses of Romans 13 and he repeats this truth to Titus.
Romans 13:1-2 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
Titus 3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,
If that is not enough Biblical support, the Apostle Peter states this same truth of God in His first letter to Christians.
1 Peter 2:13-14 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
I want to conclude by making this Biblical fact very personal.
I know that you know that God is, but is God sovereign in your life? Do you regularly and repeatedly allow Him and His Word to judge your thoughts, words, and actions? Do you walk with Him enough to experience the reality of His Law speaking to you from the marker boards in your heart? Do you personally confess to Him your need for and the realities of your need for the Law?
Any child of God that does not confess sin must not understand the holiness of God and the unrighteousness of his or her daily life.
So, what about you and what about right now? How about standing before the Lord God Almighty confessing to Him your need for His Law and your desire to know and obey His Law. Let’s all do that right now as we stand in His honor and to worship Him.
This morning I want to begin to give you the fourth point of my immigration sermon about God, Nations, and Foreigners. Point 1 was God wants nations. Point 2 was God wants nations to have borders. And Point 3 was God wants nations to have laws. The 4th Point is God wants nations to have laws that respect borders.
Before I begin to show you Point 4 in God’s Word, on this last Lord’s Day before a very significant election for our city, county, region, state, and nation, I want you to see and hear something about the foundational values of the United States of America. Watch this:
VIDEO – “The American Trinity” {0:09-5:01=4:52}
The Lord God Almighty gives all people what is called “free will”. He gives us the ability to choose what we will think, what we will say, and what we will do. Since Adam and Eve we have proven that we have the desire and the ability to choose wrongly, to make choices that are both selfish and sinful.
Because of our free will ability to make choices that hurt and ruin ourselves and others, God wants us to have and exhibit SELF-control. SELF-control is the free will choice to limit ourselves for our benefit, for the benefit of others, and for the honor and glory of God. The concept and lifestyle of SELF-control is so important, the Word of God tells us that SELF-control is a part of the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, SELF-CONTROL; against such things there is no law.
But what does SELF-control have to do with God wanting nations to have laws that respect borders? Our respect for others begins inside us with the attitude and action of SELF-control, and that action and attitude is needed for national borders to be respected. Look at Proverbs 25:28.
Proverbs 25:28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.
According to God and His Word, people who disrespect established borders, people who illegally cross established borders are likened to people who have no SELF-control. Respect for borders is recognition of control over the borders and practically requires the enactment and the enforcement of laws that respect borders.
I want you to know that ancient cultures respected borders. Listen to this quote from the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament:
In the ancient near east there was...a great respect for another's boundaries whether these were national boundaries or individual and private boundaries. To violate them is to violate something God has ordained.
The concept of respect for borders is described in God’s Word as not moving the boundary marks.
Deuteronomy 19:14 You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.
One of the best examples of ancient cultures respect for borders is demonstrated by Moses and Israel. Look at the historical record in Numbers 20 and notice that Moses asked permission to cross a border and when permission was not given, he respected that decision and did not violate the border.
Numbers 20:14, 16-21 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “... 16 ... now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We shall not pass through field or through vineyard; we shall not even drink water from a well. We shall go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.” 18Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through us, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We shall go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing else.” 20But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy force, and with a strong hand. 21Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
I want to remind you that one of the reasons our nation, the United States of America, became great is because we enacted and enforced respect of our borders.
According to Julia Hahn, writing at Breitbart, “a review of public data from the World Bank and U.S. Census Bureau shows that there is no other country on Earth that has accepted even a fraction of the immigrants admitted to the United States over the last 40 years.”
We have a higher foreign-born population percentage than any of the world's largest countries. Although we represent just 5% of the world's population, we take in 20 percent of all the migrants worldwide. No other country even approaches five percent. We have, relative to population, taken in 24 times as many migrants as the pope's home country of Argentina, 40 times more than Mexico, and 75 times more than Brazil. We have taken in six times as many as all of Europe, even though the population of Europe exceeds ours by more than 50 percent.1
The US population today is 328 million. The population of the world is 7.6 billion, or 23 times the US population. If we allowed in everyone who wanted to enter, as many as half the world’s population might want to come – giving us over 10 times our current population. Even if only 10% of the world (a very low estimate) came in through open borders, the US would suddenly confront the impossible task of trying to assimilate 760 million new immigrants into a nation of 328 million... The US currently admits over 1,000,000 immigrants per year who come legally and stay permanently – far more than any other nation...2
Next week I will conclude this sermon by giving you three very important Biblical facts about our God’s view of disrespect for borders, but for now I want to suggest that disrespect for national borders is a direct affront against God.
God is the One who established all the boundaries of the earth. God is the one who set the borders of nations.
Psalm 74:17 You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter.
Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.
This means that every terrorized person or family seeking asylum in our nation that illegally breaches our borders is insulting the God of borders.
This means that every person or political party that wants illegal immigration is attacking God’s Ways and insulting the God of borders.
And in our nation of freedom and laws, this means that anyone that votes for a candidate who stands for illegal immigration is intentionally insulting and voting against God and His Word.
James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
As we stand in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ and to worship Him, I invite you to tell Him how you have or how you will vote in this election. If you don’t know and have a relationship with Jesus, while others worship, I invite you to come and let me introduce you to Jesus as we pray together.
Last week I began to show you from the Word of God that God wants nations to have laws that respect borders.
I showed you that according to God and His Word, people who disrespect established borders by illegally crossing those borders are likened to people who have no SELF-control.
I told you that ancient cultures respected borders and gave you as an example the illustration of Moses and God’s people respecting the borders of Edom.
I reminded you with national and international demographic census numbers and statistics that the previous greatness of our nation can partially be attributed to the enacted and enforced respect for our borders.
And with Biblical support I suggested that any and all forms of disrespect for national borders is a direct affront against God.
This morning I want to conclude this sermon I began last Lord’s Day by giving you three very important Biblical facts about our God’s view of disrespect for borders. Remember, this is our God’s view and opinion. We need to know and honor His view and opinion over the views and opinion of any person, denomination, or political party.
I want you to see and understand what God says, and because what God says is said to Israel, we need to see the concept or principle of what He says so we can apply that to all nations and their governments.
1 - Disrespect for Borders is theft
Deuteronomy 19:14 You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.
In ancient Israel property was marked with stones, which were easy to move. Moving these boundary markers was done to steal land, a violation of Commandment 10 and Commandment 8. To complicate and exacerbate the double sin of coveting and stealing what belongs to another, the theft of land was usually done by the strong and wealthy against the weak, poor, and elderly, such as orphans and widows.
Proverbs 22:28 Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.
Proverbs 23:10 Do not move the ancient boundary, or go into the fields of the fatherless;
Jewish writers, such as Josephus, also applied this concept of the theft of land to the disrespect of national and international borders. Through the prophet Hosea God said that the political leaders of Judah were like those who disrespected established borders. What do you think our God thinks about our political leaders who want to disrespect our borders?
Hosea 5:10 The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary; on them I will pour out My wrath like water.
2 - Disrespect for Borders brings a curse
Deuteronomy 27:14, 17 The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice...17 Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark. And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
There are at least six Hebrew words translated into English as “to be cursed”. Each of those six Hebrew words has a distinct meaning. The Hebrew word in this verse, rr;a' {aw-rar'}, specifically means, “to bind (with a spell), to hem in with obstacles, or to render powerless to resist”.
Think about what the application of the meaning of this Hebrew word could mean to our state and nation:
Are the people who illegally cross our border cursed?
Are our elected political leaders who want to disregard our immigration laws cursed?
Did those who voted last week for candidates that want so-called “open borders”, vote to curse our nation?
Have “we the people” cast a God-designed curse on our nation?
By our personal yet national choices for the United States House of Representatives have we ask our God to bind, limit, and render powerless our nation?
3 - Disrespect for borders is lawlessness
The definition of the English word “lawlessness” is “to be unrestrained by law; to do that which is contrary to the law; to not be governed by law”. For over 136 years we have had laws in our nation about our borders and immigration. Disrespecting, disregarding, and violating those laws is lawlessness. What does God think about lawlessness? Consider what Jesus said toward the end of His famous sermon on the mountain.
Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?” 23 And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practiceLAWLESSNESS.”
The Greek word that Jesus used is avnomi,a {an-om-ee'-ah}. The literal translation of that word is “NO law”. That Greek word is also translated as unrighteousness, iniquity, and wickedness. From our God’s point of view “NO law” is unrighteousness iniquity and wickedness. Disrespect for our borders and our immigration laws is unrighteous, iniquitous, and wicked.
But more important than the definition is what God says to us in His Word about lawlessness. God’s Word tells us that Jesus loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. Disrespect for our borders is an action that Jesus hates. How dare anyone who claims Jesus as Lord vote for a person or a polity that disrespects our borders.
Hebrews 1:8-9 But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His Kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hatedLAWLESSNESS; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
Jesus said that as lawlessness is increased love would grow cold. Disrespect for our borders will decrease love in our nation. What church member in our nation would in their right mind vote for love to decrease? And yet it happened. God’s Word is true and what Jesus declared will happen.
Matthew 24:12 And becauseLAWLESSNESSis increased, most people’s love will grow cold.
The Word of God says that lawlessness is not only unrighteous, lawlessness is darkness. Disrespect for our borders will increase darkness in out nation. Here me now and listen closely: I believe and declare that most pastors in our nation are now responsible before God for the new wave of darkness that will be coming on our nation.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness andLAWLESSNESS, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
When is comes to God, Nations, and Foreigners, God wants nations to enact and enforce laws that respect borders. The Lord God Almighty wants that for all nations and our nation. But, He sees what we want and He will give us the consequences of our choices.
But what about you? The voting is over but lawfulness is still an available choice for each of us. Have you made lawfulness a personal lifestyle? Are you committed to know and follow God’s Laws? Are you committed to obey the laws of our city, county, state, and nation? As we stand in honor of the Lord Jesus and to worship Him, remember that in addition to being our King and Judge, He is our Lawgiver.
Isaiah 33:22 For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our LAWGIVER, The LORD is our King; He will save us-
Stand and tell our Lawgiver that you will hear and obey Him and all His delegated authorities and laws. If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, while others stand and worship, I invite you to stand and come let me introduce you to Jesus.
“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...”1
Do you believe that? Does our God-the One true God-does our God give “certain unalienable rights” to all humans? And does this fact have anything to do with Immigration?
And what about the “rights of citizenship”, are those “certain unalienable rights” the same or different from the “rights of citizenship”? Do foreigners have “certain unalienable rights” because those rights come from God, but not other rights because those other rights come from being a citizen? To effectively understand and deal with the issue of Immigration from our God’s point of view, these questions need to be answered and the answers need to be understood.
On the issue of Immigration, I have told you that God likes border walls, He loves foreigners, and He expects the Church to love and invest in the lives of foreigners. I have also told you that the Creator God wants nations to have borders and laws that respect those borders.
So, are there “rights of citizenship”, and if so, what are they? The definition of “rights of citizenship” is “the rights belonging to an individual by virtue of citizenship”. Therefore, the answer to the question about “rights of citizenship”, at least in our nation, must be a clear and resounding, “Yes”, because the 14th Amendment 2 to our Constitution declares that in our nation there are “rights of citizenship”. The first paragraph of that amendment reads:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
In addition to the “certain unalienable rights” given to us by God, we the people 3, give specific rights to those of us who are citizens of our nation. Just because a person is physically in our nation does not mean that they have the “rights of citizenship”. Listen closely and understand, foreigners do not have “rights of citizenship”. Foreigners who pay the price of time and effort to become citizens of our nation are the only foreigners who obtain “rights of citizenship”.
Declaration of Independence
Bill of Rights Handout {Amendments directly related to the rights of citizens}
Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America
But, having said that, does God have anything to say about how nations should treat the non-citizen foreign guests in a nation? You know I would not ask that question if I did not already know the answer.
So this morning I want to show you and tell you what God says in His Word about how nations should treat the foreigners within their borders. But, be careful how you look at and listen to what I show you in God’s Word and say to you today. My words and God’s Word can easily be misunderstood and misapplied.
To help you look, listen, and understand I need to remind you of five things I have already told you.
remember that real immigrants leave their nation to immigrate to and settle in another nation. Real immigrants desire to become legally naturalized citizens;
remember that righteous intercession and servant-hearted ministry can’t happen if we do not correctly define and understand the people of the issue of Immigration;
remember that of the four words that can be applied to immigrants and immigration (foreigner, alien, stranger, and sojourner), I chose to use to use the word foreigner to include the concepts and meanings of the other three words. Therefore, in the four passages in the Word of God that we will look at today, where the word “alien” is used, I have replaced that word with the word “foreigner”
remember that because what God says is said to Israel, we need to see the concept or principle of what He says so we can apply that to all nations and their governments;
and remember that whether here legally or illegally, foreigners are not citizens of the United States of America and are not entitled to the rights of citizens.
With four passages in the Word of God I want to show you that God wants righteous justice for all foreigners in any nation. Our God does not want foreigners oppressed by perverted justice. Oppression and perverted justice are not righteous. Look at Deuteronomy 24:17.
Deuteronomy 24:17 You shall not pervert the justice due an foreigner or an orphan, nor take a widow's garment in pledge.
Who God is, what God says, and what God does is always moral, right, and without sin. God is, God speaks, and God acts with righteousness.
Remember that God is THE Judge. He judges according to the Law. His judgment according to the Law and His application of the Law to real situations and the people of those situations is what we call justice.
The Hebrew word translated in this verse as justice, jP'v.mi {mish-pawt'}, is the same Hebrew word we saw translated in other verses as “law”. Remember that the Hebrew word for Law and Justice means “ordinance, custom, or standard”.
God does not want the Laws of a nation to be perverted so that those laws meant for righteousness can be used against foreigners. In the context of this verse, the Hebrew word translated as “pervert” means, “to stretch, to turn, or to bend”. God does not want our judicial leaders to stretch, turn, or bend existing laws in ways that oppress and mistreat people just because they are foreigners.
Let me illustrate perverted justice with a true story. Years ago one of our church members traveled to another part of our state to work on a construction job with another member of our church that owned a construction company. I’ll call the first member, Dan, and the second member Sam.
Dan said that after hours on the road to San Antonio Sam stopped at a convenience store to get a drink and a snack. While there a van load of Hispanic men also stopped for snacks. Dan and Sam saw and heard the storeowner overcharging the Hispanic men who did not speak English well. The owner also short-changed each of the men when they paid with tens or twenties.
In this story, righteous justice called for the storeowner to charge the Hispanic men the same price that he charged Dan and Sam. The storeowner perverted justice by charging them more and then broke the law by short-changing them.
But, this true story eventually does end with righteous justice. Dan said that seeing what was happening, Sam walked to and reached over the counter, grabbing the storeowner, lifting him up into the air, and then saying to him, “If you want me to put you down in one piece you better give back to each of these men what they are rightfully due!” The store owner quickly made the right decision to do exactly that, and everyone left the store happy.
Now look at Deuteronomy 24:14
Deuteronomy 24:14 You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your foreigners who is in your land in your towns.
The Biblical concept of oppression is concerned with acts of abuse of power or authority. Oppression takes place when those with authority and power burden, trample, and crush those in a lower station of life by deceiving them, defrauding them, or doing violence to them. God does not want justice perverted and He also does not want oppression imposed on anyone, especially the vulnerable.
Now look at Ezekiel 22:6-7
Ezekiel 22:6-7 Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. 7 They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The foreigner they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you.
I hope you notice that our God puts foreigners in the same group as the fatherless and widows. Foreigners are people that God knows can be more easily taken advantage of, oppressed, and mistreated.
The word oppression means, “to push around, to wrong, to exploit, or to violate”. Oppression is done by deceiving, defrauding, or doing violence to others. I know I have already said this, but God does not want justice perverted and He also does not want oppression imposed.
A good Biblical example of oppression is the distortion of justice due a foreigner. Look at what God says about this in Deuteronomy 27.
Deuteronomy 27:12, 14, 19 When you cross the Jordan...14 the Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice...19Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an foreigner, orphan, and widow. And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
When we as individuals or as a nation distort and pervert righteous justice to take advantage of the foreigners in our nation, we are inviting the Lord God Almighty to allow a curse to come upon ourselves and on our land. Remember, the Hebrew word for “cursed”, rr;a' {aw-rar'}, specifically means, “to bind (with a spell), to hem in with obstacles, or to render powerless to resist”.
By our declaration of Independence and with our Constitution we the people have declared and decided that all people have certain unalienable rights and that citizens of our nation have other rights due them as citizens. And as Christians with eternal allegiance to our God, Lord, and Redeemer, we want all people to be treated with righteous justice.
Is that how you treat people? Did you use your right of citizenship to vote and did you use Biblical foundational thinking to determine for whom you would vote?
Do you realize that God used righteous justice to place all of our sin, iniquity, and rebellion on Jesus so that He might declare us justified, righteous, and holy? As we stand to honor and worship Jesus, thank Him for His righteous justice and commit to live your life according to His righteous justice.
Isaiah 45:5-7 I AM the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I AM the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I AM the LORD who does all these.
What does God have to say about Immigration and the immigration crisis? I have been trying to answer that question for four months.
What does God say about borders? In God, Trump, and the Border Wall? I showed you that God likes and wants border walls.
What does God say about foreigners? In God, Foreigners, and Immigration I showed you the Biblical definitions and meanings of foreigners and immigration.
What does God say about His Church and foreigners? In God, the Church, and Foreigners I showed you that our God expects His Church to love and invest in the lives of foreigners.
What does God say about nations? In God, Nations, and Foreigners I showed you that God wants nations with borders and laws that respect those borders.
What does God say about the personal and national concept of rights? In God, Rights, and Foreigners I showed you that God gives everyone unalienable rights and nations give their citizens rights of citizenship.
But what about foreigners and their responsibilities as guests in a nation? Nations and the Church have God-given and God-declared responsibilities. Do foreigners have responsibilities or do they get to do what they want wherever they want? What does God say in His Word about the responsibilities of foreigners?
I want to begin to show you God’s answers to that question, and to emphasize what God says, I want to contrast His answers with the cultural mindset of our time.
This past week, under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly The Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration was convened in Marrakech, Morocco.1 According to Judith Bergman of the Gatestone Institute, the planned purpose of this conference is to make migration a human right.2
What does God think about this Conference and their Compact? Is migration a human right? We know what God thinks about this, but notice the wording. The founders of our nation knew God, honored God, and declared that God gives all of humanity certain unalienable rights.
But the United Nations and their spin-off conferences and compacts foundationally believe that there is no God and the ultimate authority is man. So, they did not declare that migration is a God-given unalienable right but a human right. Is there anyway that kind of thinking and action fits the declaration of God to us in Isaiah 45:5-7?
So, what does God say in His Word about foreigners and their responsibilities when they migrate to another nation? As I answer that question remember that because what God says, is often said to His people, we need to see the concept or principle of what He says so we can apply that to all nations and their governments.
Romans 13:1-2 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
Does the phrase “every person” only refer to church members? Does that phrase only apply to citizens? Or does “every person” actually mean every person?
God expects foreigners to subject themselves to the authority of the nation in which they are guests.
Apply the concepts and principles of this passage to our nation. Are we a nation ruled by people or by law? As a nation ruled by law, according to this part of God’s Word, foreigners are to subject themselves to the laws of our nation.
The word translated as “be in subjection” means, “to personally set yourself in order under”. This meaning includes the ideas of personal effort and orderly effort. God expects foreigners to choose to order their lives under the authority of our laws and to live according to those laws with an obedient attitude and obedient actions in relationship to the administrators of our laws.
Notice the emphasized part of verse 2. Any foreigner that does not orderly submit to and obey our laws is not only opposing our nation and resisting our laws and our law enforcement, that foreigner is opposing and resisting God.
What I have just said is not xenophobic hate speech; it is the Word of God. God expects foreigners to obey the law.
2 - God expects foreign immigrants to assimilate
Remember that foreigners are guests in a nation and while in that nation God expects them to obey the laws of that nation. Within the boundaries of the laws of that nation they can leave that nation, go to another nation, or go back to their nation, or they can choose to live the rest of their lives in that nation.
Foreigners that desire to permanently move to and live in another nation are called immigrants. Their movement to another nation is called immigration. An immigrant is a foreigner who leaves one nation to settle permanently in another nation. God’s Will and plan for foreigners who choose to be immigrants is summed up with the word and action of “assimilation”.
Assimilation is “the process whereby a person or group of people gradually adopt the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture”. That is the American heritage Dictionary definition of “assimilation”, but it is also God desire, design, and decree. Jesus said that any kingdom divided against itself would not last.
Matthew 12:25 And knowing their thoughts He said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”
The Lord God told Israel that they were to have one law for all those in their nation, one law and ordinance for all the citizens and all the foreigners.
Numbers 15:16 There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the foreigner who sojourns with you.
He also said that all the statutes concerning gathering before and worshipping Him also applied to the foreigners
Numbers 15:15 As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the foreigner who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the foreigners be before the LORD.
To save our time together this morning I have provided for you a long list of verses that illustrate this point. I hope you take the time later to read and study this list. For now I want you to know and remember that real immigrants leave their nation to immigrate to and settle in another nation. Real immigrants desire to become legally naturalized citizens, adopting and making the culture of their new nation, their culture.
Next week I will show you two Biblical examples of foreign immigrant assimilation, but for now, how about you and me, are we obeying our laws, and are we making the culture of Biblical Christianity our lifestyle?
No matter how any of us answer that question, the beginning point for all of us is the daily, personal, and practical Lordship of Jesus. Is Jesus the daily Lord and boss of your life? Is the Word of God your personal roadmap of life? Is the mind of Christ your practical standard? We can’t expect of foreigners what we are not living and demonstrating.
Stand with me in honor of Jesus and to worship Him, and as you stand, tell Jesus that He is your Lord and Boss today.
Last week, when I told you that I would show you two Biblical examples of foreign immigrant assimilation, I was mistaken. Instead of two, there are at least three fabulous and amazing Biblical examples of immigrant assimilation. This morning I want to show you the first of those three amazing examples.
Remember, an immigrant is a foreigner who leaves one country to settle permanently in another country. Their movement from one country to another country is called “immigration”. And remember that “assimilation” is “the process whereby a person or group of people gradually adopt the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture”.
God’s Will and plan for foreigners who choose to be immigrants is summed up with the word and action of “assimilation”. Assimilation is God’s desire, God’s design, and God’s decree for all foreigners who choose to become immigrants.
So, this morning as I present to you the most amazing Biblical example of a foreigner immigrating to another land and assimilating to the customs and culture of that land, pay attention to the gradualness of the process. Make note of the customs, attitudes, and other dynamics of the culture that was being adopted. If you will do that, I think you will forever be amazed by and appreciative of everyone that chooses to immigrate and assimilate to our nation and the Judeo-Christian culture of our nation.
Who do you know that left everything in their country to immigrate to our country and assimilate into our culture? Who do we know that left all they were and all they had to become one of us? All of us know at least one person. We know Him, and His Name is JESUS. Jesus is the ultimate example of immigration assimilation!
I want to read to you His story, and as I do, think about all we have recently learned from God and His Word about foreigners, immigration, and assimilation.
I want to introduce His story with the most concise passage in the Bible about immigration assimilation. Look at Philippians 2:5-8.
Philippians 2:5-8 ...Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus left the holiness, the righteousness, the purity, and all the beauty, of Heaven to immigrate to become one of us. Jesus did not come as the King of kings or as the Lord of lords. He emptied Himself of all His wisdom, all His power, and all of His authority to become one of us. With a level of humility never before seen on earth, Jesus, the Creator, willingly immigrated to the place of total dependence on other humans and the process of human development that included submissive obedience to those He created. And Jesus chose to become one of us so He could die for all of us on the Cross.
Now, follow along with the hand out I have provided as I read the story of the Lord Jesus Christ immigrating to the place and assimilating into the culture of humanity.
Matthew 1:1-16 The book of the genealogy of JESUS CHRIST, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 To Abraham was born Isaac; and to Isaac, Jacob; and to Jacob, Judah and his brothers; 3 and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; 4 and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; 5 and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; 6 and to Jesse was born David the King. And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah; 7 and to Solomon was born Rehoboam; and to Rehoboam, Abijah; and to Abijah, Asa; 8 and to Asa was born Jehoshaphat; and to Jehoshaphat, Joram; and to Joram, Uzziah; 9 and to Uzziah was born Jotham; and to Jotham, Ahaz; and to Ahaz, Hezekiah; 10 and to Hezekiah was born Manasseh; and to Manasseh, Amon; and to Amon, Josiah; 11 and to Josiah were born Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon, to Jeconiah was born Shealtiel; and to Shealtiel, Zerubbabel; 13 and to Zerubbabel was born Abihud; and to Abihud, Eliakim; and to Eliakim, Azor; 14 and to Azor was born Zadok; and to Zadok, Achim; and to Achim, Eliud; 15 and to Eliud was born Eleazar; and to Eleazar, Matthan; and to Matthan, Jacob; 16 and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born JESUS, who is called CHRIST.
Luke 1:26-35 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall Name Him JESUS. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His Kingdom will have no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.”
Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of JESUS CHRIST was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His Name JESUS, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His Name JESUS.
Luke 2:1-16 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is CHRIST THE LORD. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into Heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
Luke 2:21-33, 39 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His Name was then called JESUS, the Name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every first-born male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child JESUS, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 “Now Lord, you do let Your bond-servant depart In peace, according to Your word; 30 for my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” 33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him...39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. 40 And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Luke 2:41-52 And His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy JESUS stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. 46And it came about that after three days they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48And when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s House?" 50 And they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And JESUS kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Jesus is the ultimate example of immigration assimilation, and He immigrated and assimilated for us. Jesus chose to leave Heaven and immigrate to earth because He loves us. Jesus adopted the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture, the culture of humanity, so He could show all of us how to righteously live as humans.
Jesus the INFINITE, chose to assimilate by becoming finite and limited in His physical body so He could not only live for us, but also die for us. Jesus the Creator, chose to assimilate by becoming a human being so He could not only live for us, but also die for us.
Jesus, the Lord God Almighty and King, chose to assimilate by becoming a lowly and humble servant so that He could serve all of humanity as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus, the Resurrection and Life, chose to assimilate into the culture of humanity by leaving Heaven, laying aside His royal robes of authority, to wear the perishable flesh of humanity and become death for us, so that we might have Life in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate immigrant, chose to have all the blame of all the sin of all humanity laid on Him as He suffered and died on the Cross.
Starting right now as we all stand together in honor of and to worship Jesus, celebrate Jesus the King of Immigration, the Lord of Assimilation, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Stand with me and celebrate Immanuel, God with us!
Last week I read to you a total of 80 verses about an immigrant named Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of immigration assimilation. More than any other immigrant ever, Jesus gave up the most to leave Heaven and become one of us on earth.
Two of those verses from those 80 mention the other two Biblical examples of foreign immigrant assimilation. In the genealogy of Jesus written by Matthew in the first chapter of His Gospel two foreigners are mentioned. These two foreigners immigrated to Israel and assimilated into the culture of Israel so completely that they became part of the genealogy of Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Look at Matthew 1:5-6
Matthew 1:5-6 ...to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; 6 and to Jesse was born David the King.
I don’t know if you noticed last week, but there are a total of 45 people named in the genealogy of Jesus. Of those 45, only 4 are women. 2 of those women were widows, 1 was a harlot, and 1 was a teenage virgin. Rahab was the foreigner harlot from Jericho who assimilated into the nation and culture of Israel. Ruth was the foreigner widow from Moab who immigrated to Israel and assimilated into the culture of Israel.
Next week we will consider Ruth, but this morning I want to describe to you how Rahab demonstrated God’s desire, design, and decree for all foreigners who choose to become immigrants to assimilate into the culture of their new home and nation. To do that we need to look again at the story of Rahab. Follow along as I read selected verses from Joshua 2.
Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.
Joshua 2:9-18 and she said to the men, “I knowthat the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. 10 For we have heardhow the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in Heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, 13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” 15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go to the hill country, lest the pursuers happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days, until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” 17 And the men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, 18unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.
I see five things about Rahab in these verses that demonstrate her assimilation into the nation and culture of Israel. Foreigners in our nation need to know about Rahab’s example. Our elected leaders and bureaucrats who deal with Immigration ought to learn from Rahab’s example. And the Church in our nation can learn our God’s Ways from Rahab’s example.
1 - Rahab knew God’s Will for His people
Joshua 2:9 and she said to the men, “I knowthat the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.
Look at verse 9 and notice what Rahab said she knew about God’s Will. She knew that the Lord God was giving the land, her land, to Israel. She knew that God was standing with and energizing His people to win every battle with unbelievable authority and power. And she knew that God had already begun to press His Will onto the hearts and lives of the people of the land.
It would greatly help all foreigners to know the Word, Will, and Ways of the One true God. And, it would also be a very practical help if they knew and understood the religious realities of the land where and people with whom they are associating. Foreigners in our nation who choose to be immigrants to our nation need to know the Biblical foundations of our nation and the God of the Bible.
2 - Rahab knew God’s testimony for His people
Joshua 2:10 For we have heardhow the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
In verse 10 Rabab describes what she and all the other citizens of her land had already heard about the God of Israel and what He had done for His people. She mentioned the amazing and supernatural act of God’s people crossing the Red Sea on dry ground. She also mentioned the unbelievable fact of short in stature Jews fighting, winning, and utterly destroying two powerful kings and their armies who were giants.
The testimonies of what God has done for His people are always beneficial to hear and know, but these historical truths of personal experience will greatly help all immigrants know and understand what they are getting themselves into by immigrating and assimilating into our nation and culture. Effective assimilation requires genuine humility and knowing what God has done for His people helps produce genuine humility.
3 - Rahab knew God to be the One true God
Joshua 2:11 And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in Heaven above and on earth beneath.
Look at the words Rahab used to describe her body-soul-spirit experience of genuine humility before the One true God. She had a melted heart and no courage. Instead of a hard heart, instead of a prideful heart, instead of a heart lifted up with high and mighty thoughts and attitudes, realizing that the God of Israel is the One true God caused her heart to dissolve and drain out before this mighty God.
The phrase “no courage” literally means, “to have the breath knocked out of you”. Rahab experienced the fact that God is the One who gives us each breath and He is the One who can take from us everything, even the air we breathe. From her humble and melted heart and with her humble and breath-filled mouth she declared that Jehovah Elohim is the only One true God.
Every immigrant to our nation would be personally greatly blessed and would also be greatly helped in their assimilation to our nation and culture if they humbly knew and would humbly declare that the God of Israel is the One true God and the God over our nation.
I realize that what I am saying is not politically correct and may seem to be very impractical, but I am not trying to be politically correct, I am trying to be Biblically correct. And, I believe our national history demonstrates that the most practical thing any person can do is to know the God of the Bible and know and live the Bible of the One true God.
4 - Rahab obeyed the rhema revelation she knew
Joshua 2:15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.
Rahab may have been a harlot, she may have been considered a traitor to her people, but she took what she knew to be the absolute truth and she acted upon it. That is why in the New Testament she is described in the New Testament as a woman of faith.
Hebrews 11:31 By faithRahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
Our nation was founded by people of faith who obeyed both the Word of God and the rhema revelation given them by the Spirit of God. Instead of hearing and believing liberal lies, immigrants to our nation need to know the truth of our history and be given opportunities of assimilation to demonstrate their own obedience to God’s Word and His rhema revelation.
There is one more thing that Rabab did that is eternally amazing. What she did is an Old Testament picture of the New Testament spiritual reality of salvation and eternal life.
5 - Rahab identified with the scarlet thread
Joshua 2:18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.
In a little more than 24 hours from now I will celebrate the anniversary of a milestone in my life. 57 years ago as a twelve-year-old 7th grader, I went to church the Sunday evening of December 31, in 1961. My pastor, Dr. W. A. Criswell, began to preach a very special and unique sermon that evening at 7:00 PM and he did not finish that sermon until after Midnight. He literally preached from one year into the next, and I was there.
That deeply life-impacting sermon became a book by the same title: The Scarlet Thread Through The Bible. During that time of almost six hours I heard and even felt the fact that my God put examples and expressions of the blood of Jesus, His Beloved Son, in every book of the His Word.
Rahab chose to identify herself and her whole family with and by that scarlet thread. Just as that scarlet thread was salvation for Rahab and her entire family, for years, for generations, and for centuries and millennia the scarlet blood of Jesus has been cleansing deliverance and eternal salvation for millions and their families. Jesus and His blood are the scarlet thread in and throughout the Word of God.
Everybody ought to know that. Everybody needs to know that. Every foreigner in our nation and especially every foreigner who chooses to immigrate to our nation needs to know that real and eternal salvation is found in Jesus, the Lord and Messiah. Immigrants who will, like Rahab, identify with the scarlet thread of God’s Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, can more effectively develop the deep roots of lasting assimilation in our nation and into our culture.
Rahab’s assimilation put her in the lineage of Jesus. Just as we have been engrafted into the lineage of Jesus, so can any and all immigrants to our nation who will seek to know our God’s Will, seek to hear God’s testimony, and seek to know the One true God. I believe that God will give to those immigrants who will do this rhema revelation to obey. I believe that God will reveal Himself and His Son to them so they and their whole families can be saved. Watch this:
VIDEO – “Rahab” {3:54}
Do you know God’s Will and testimony for His people? Do you know the One true God as your personal Savior and Lord? Are you hearing His voice and obeying what He tells you? Like a beautiful and strong tapestry, have you woven into every aspect of your life the scarlet thread of the blood of Jesus?
If you have, with Rahab as one of those in our “cloud of witnesses”, stand in honor of Jesus and worship Him with all your mind, will, and emotions. But if you have not, while the rest of us stand to worship Jesus, I invite you to stand coming to give your life and being to Him. If you will come, I listen to you, pray for you, and celebrate with you. As we all stand, come to Jesus and worship Him.
VIDEO – “Only Jesus” {3:49}
...Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Last week I pointed out to you that in the genealogy of Jesus written by Matthew in the first chapter of His Gospel, two foreigners are mentioned. Those two foreigners, Rahab and Ruth, immigrated to and assimilated into the nation and culture of Israel. Their assimilation is an amazing example for all foreigners, but even more wonderfully awesome is the fact that they assimilated into the genetic line of Messiah Jesus.
Matthew 1:5-6 ...to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; 6 and to Jesse was born David the King.
Last week we looked at Rahab’s example of immigration and assimilation. This morning I want to show you some specific aspects of Ruth’s immigration and assimilation. And just as I did with Rahab, to understand and apply Ruth’s example, I want to begin by reading some selected verses in the book that bears her name. Let’s start with the first verse in the first chapter of Ruth.
Ruth 1:1, 3, 5, 7 Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons...3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons...5Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died...7So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon, and Chilion moved from the land of Judah to the land of Moab as refugees fleeing a famine. While there, Elimilech died, Mahlon and Chilion were married, and then Mahlon and Chiliion died. That left three widows in a pagan land and culture who severely needed help, so, Naomi began to do the only thing she knew to do, return to the land of Judah and Israel. On the way, she counsels her foreign pagan daughters-in-law. Look at verses 8 and 14.
Ruth 1:8, 14 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house...14 And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her...
Orpah and Ruth loved Naomi and Naomi loved them, but she counseled them to return to their parents. On the dangerous path traveled by refugees, immigrants, and criminals, they wept together, hugged and kissed each other, and made their choices. Notice in verse 14 the two different expressions, one by Orpah, and one by Ruth.
Orpah kissed Ruth and returned to her people, her culture, and her land and nation of Moab. In the Middle Eastern culture, the kiss is a social grace that does not mean much more than what is seen. Orpah kissed Naomi, turned away, and left to return to all it means to be a Moabite.
To better understand our God’s design, desire, and decree concerning immigration and assimilation, I want to remind you that in a previous study we learned that Orpah’s name means “stiff-necked”. Any foreigner that wants to immigrate needs to realize and understand that the responsibility of assimilation requires genuine humility. Being stiff-necked never allows Godly and proper assimilation. Do I also need to remind you that after returning to her people and her gods, Orpah married a giant and became the mother of Goliath and three other giants that hated God and His people (1 Samuel 17:4; 2 Samuel 21:16, 18; 1 Chronicles 20:5)? Orpah turned her back on Naomi and Naomi’s God.
Compare Orpah, her choice, and her actions to Ruth. Orpah kissed Naomi good-by, but Ruth clung to Naomi. You may not recognize qb;D' {daw-bak'}, the Hebrew word translated as “clung”, and you may not know that it is used 52 times in the Old Testament, but you know this word. The Hebrew word qb;D' {daw-bak'} is found in Genesis 2:24 and is the basis of the honor we give to couples married God’s Way. The Hebrew word qb;D' {daw-bak'} means to be “Stuck Like Glue”.
In Genesis 2:24 it is translated as “cleave”, and that is exactly what Ruth did with Naomi. She did not just hug and kiss Naomi, she cleaved herself to Naomi, so much so, that Ruth became like Naomi. The glue of God’s presence, the glue of God’s Word-Will-Ways assimilated Ruth into the family, the culture, and the nation of Naomi.
Any foreigner that wants to immigrate needs to realize and understand that the responsibility of assimilation is best expressed and understood with the word and concept of clinging and cleaving to the people of their new nation and culture and their God. Remember, no matter what anyone says, teaches, or thinks, the documented historical reality of the founding of our nation and culture points to the God of the Bible, His Son, Jesus, and the Judeo-Christian culture.
In addition to understanding what Ruth did, look at what she confessed with her mouth and began to live and be the rest of her life. Look at verses 16 and 17.
Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me”...
Ruth declares with her mouth and commits to five things that express and demonstrate the responsibility of assimilation. Three of her declarations and commitments are about the very personal and practical aspects of life and death:
Ruth said, “I will go where you go”. The Hebrew words used in this phrase are about the step-by-step processes of daily life. The words literally mean, “I will walk where you walk”. Ruth commits to walk through life everyday with Naomi.
Ruth said, “I will lodge where you lodge”. She means that she will sleep and live where Naomi sleeps and lives. Ruth makes the commitment to abide and establish her life with Naomi.
Ruth said, “I will die where you die, and I will be buried where you are buried.” No matter what the language, we know what that means. Ruth committed to be so “stuck together” with Naomi that as they are together in life so they will be together in death. We call that cemetery plots next to each other.
The responsibility of assimilation requires the commitment to learn and live daily life the same way, to have the same lifestyle the people of the adopted nation live, even to and including death and burial customs. The responsibility of assimilation is a life and death commitment.
Ruth’s fourth declaration and commitment is the best summary statement about the responsibility of assimilation in the all of the Bible. Ruth said, “Your people shall be my people”. With her mouth and then with her life Ruth committed to adopt and live the customs, the culture, the ways, and the means of Ruth’s family, Ruth’s city, Ruth’s tribe, and Ruth’s nation. I think that you will
agree that always includes things like foods, clothes, celebrations, and even language. I think that any and every foreigner that chooses to become an immigrant needs to hear, read, know, and understand the concept and commitment found in Ruth’s words, “your people shall be my people”.
Ruth’s fifth declaration is not required in our nation. It is not even required by our God. But-are you listening closely-but, it seems geographically and locally logical that to commit to the first four things declared by Ruth, an immigrant should at least know about if not actually commit to the God of their newly chosen and adopted nation.
Ruth said, “Your God shall be my God”. The God of Israel was Naomi’s God. Isn’t it logical that since Ruth is immigrating into Israel that she would choose and commit to Israel’s God? Jehovah Elohim was Naomi’s God and as a prophetic expression of God’s desire and design for you and me, Ruth chose, embraced, submitted her life to, and served Jehovah Elohim, the one true God. Do you recall that over 5 centuries later our God made a promise about this to and through the prophet Hosea? Look at the last part of verse 23 in Hosea 2.
Hosea 2:23 ...I will say to those who were not My people,
”You are My people!” And they will say, “You are my God!”
Along with Rahab and Ruth, you and I are benefited recipients of this promise. The God of Israel has said to us, “You are My people!” And we joyously have, with commitment, declared to Him, “You are our God!”
By our God’s desire, design, and decree, the responsibility of assimilation, at least in the Untied States of America, includes the opportunity to hear about and know Him, to know His Son, and to know His indwelling Spirit.
I said it last week but I need to say it again. Everybody ought to know Him. Everybody needs to know Him. Every foreigner in our nation and especially every foreigner who chooses to immigrate to our nation needs to know that real and eternal salvation is found in Jesus, the Lord and Messiah. Do you know Him?
VIDEO – “Do You Know Him” {0:34-4:10=3:36}
Do you know Jesus? Do you know His love? Do you know His grace, mercy and favor? Do you know His cleansing forgiveness? Do you know His Word? Do you know His voice? Do you know Jesus?
Stand with me and worshipfully tell Him that you know Him. If you can’t do that, while others worship Jesus, stand asking Jesus to reveal Himself to you. While we worship King Jesus, humbly ask Him to be your King, your Lord, your Boss, your Savior.
Bill of Rights
Amendment 1
Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2
The Right to Bear Arms
A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3
The Housing of Soldiers
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4
Protection from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5
Protection of Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Amendment 6
Rights of Accused Persons in Criminal Cases
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment 7
Rights in Civil Cases
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8
Excessive Bail, Fines, and Punishments Forbidden
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9
Other Rights Kept by the People
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10
Undelegated Powers Kept by the States and the People
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Amendment 11
Authority of Federal Courts Restricted
(Ratified February 7, 1795)
Amendment 12
Election of the President and Vice President
(Ratified June 15, 1804)
Amendment 13
Slavery Outlawed
(Ratified December 6, 1865)
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 14
Rights of Citizenship
(Ratified July 9, 1868)
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, [excluding Indians not taxed]amd. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15
Voting Rights for All Races
(Ratified February 3, 1870)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race,color, or previous condition of servitude.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 16
Federal Income Taxes
(Ratified February 3, 1913)
Amendment 17
Election of Senators by Popular Vote
(Ratified April 8, 1913)
Amendment 18
Liquor Outlawed
(Ratified January 16, 1919; Repealed by Amendment 21)
Amendment 19
Voting Rights for Men and Women
(Ratified August 18, 1920)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 20
Terms of the President and Congress; Replacing the President
(Ratified January 23, 1933)
Amendment 21
Control of Liquor Returned to the States
(Ratified December 5, 1933)
Amendment 22
Presidents Limited to Two Terms
(Ratified February 27, 1951)
Amendment 23
Presidential Electors for the District of Columbia
(Ratified March 29, 1961)
Amendment 24
Voting Rights Protected from Taxes
(Ratified January 23, 1964)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 25
Replacing the President and Vice President
(Ratified February 10, 1967)
Amendment 26
Voting Rights for All Citizens Eighteen or Older
(Ratified July 1, 1971)
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 27
Changes in Salaries of Senators and Representatives
(Ratified May 7, 1992)
VIDEO – “I Know” {4:05}
The Honorable Greg Abbott
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
Dear Governor Abbott,
The people I pastor and I thank you for leading our state with your Christian character and Biblically conservative values. We voted for you and we continue to support and pray for you.
We are well aware of the immigration crisis our nation is experiencing, and we want you to know how much we appreciate everything you are doing to wisely and properly secure our state and national borders. Your statement a few years ago that you “will secure our border” is just one example of your needed leadership.
With the encouragement of my congregation, I am sending you this manuscript of my recent sermon series, GOD, God’s Word, and Immigration. I hope it provides for you an easily accessed and specifically condensed reference to what our God says about the issue of immigration in general and the specifics of our national immigration crisis. We believe that His wisdom from above is greatly needed and the only viable solution.
If there is anything we can do to help you, please have your staff contact me.
Prayerfully,
Charles Z. Burchett
First Baptist Church · 105 N Barrow · Kirbyville, TX 75956 · 409-423-2739 · czburchett@juno.com
Luke 2:21-33, 39 21 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His Name was then called JESUS, the Name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every first-born male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child JESUS, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 “Now Lord, you do let Your bond-servant depart In peace, according to Your word; 30 for my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” 33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him...39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. 40 And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Luke 2:41-33 And His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy JESUS stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. 46 And it came about that after three days they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48And when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s House?" 50 And they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And JESUS kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
CELEBRATE THELORD JESUS CHRIST
the greatest immigrant of all times
The Immigration and Assimilation of THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST
...Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
Matthew 1:1-16 The book of the genealogy of JESUS CHRIST, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 To Abraham was born Isaac; and to Isaac, Jacob; and to Jacob, Judah and his brothers; 3 and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; 4 and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; 5 and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; 6 and to Jesse was born David the King. And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah; 7 and to Solomon was born Rehoboam; and to Rehoboam, Abijah; and to Abijah, Asa; 8 and to Asa was born Jehoshaphat; and to Jehoshaphat, Joram; and to Joram, Uzziah; 9 and to Uzziah was born Jotham; and to Jotham, Ahaz; and to Ahaz, Hezekiah; 10 and to Hezekiah was born Manasseh; and to Manasseh, Amon; and to Amon, Josiah; 11 and to Josiah were born Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon, to Jeconiah was born Shealtiel; and to Shealtiel, Zerubbabel; 13 and to Zerubbabel was born Abihud; and to Abihud, Eliakim; and to Eliakim, Azor; 14 and to Azor was born Zadok; and to Zadok, Achim; and to Achim, Eliud; 15 and to Eliud was born Eleazar; and to Eleazar, Matthan; and to Matthan, Jacob; 16 and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born JESUS, who is called CHRIST.
Luke 1:26-35 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall Name Him JESUS. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His Kingdom will have no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.”
Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of JESUS CHRIST was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His Name JESUS, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His Name JESUS.
Luke 2:1-16 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is CHRIST THE LORD. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into Heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
