We said that we were going to hinge our class on three Scriptures:
Phill 2:3
. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Eph 4:2-5
2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Gal 3:28
. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
As a representative democracy, with officials elected by the people to do the will of the people, the strongest influence makes the decisions. I believe if we were doing our jobs (under the guidelines we looked at last week), we would not have these problems.
How to be an Influence – Christian Advocacy
There is a saying that I have heard that I think is appropriate for our topic today. It says,
“Pray like it depends on God, but work like it depends on you.”
Based on that saying we are going to look at our topic today in two sections, Spiritual Participation, and Physical Participation.
Spiritual Participation
This is a spiritual war, we need to use spiritual weapons.
The first thing we must do is to continually pray – believing
Luke 18:1-8
181Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, `Grant me justice against my adversary.'
4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, `Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "
6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Why is it important to continually pray?
God wants us to tell Him what is on our hearts, and as this scriptural example shows, continual prayer, can be effectual.
Why is it important to pray believing?
Prayer without faith is pointless.
The second spiritual weapon is to know the Word.
Acts 17:11
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
2 Timothy 2:15
. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
This is a huge stumbling block for people. They don’t know the Word so they don’t participate because they are afraid of being backed into a corner and trapped into saying “I don’t’ know.” Those words should be an opportunity, not a deterrent.
The third spiritual weapon is fellowship;
Strategize (fellowship) with like-minded Christians.
- Knowing you are not alone will strengthen your resolve.
Note : None of these are “endorsed” by the Church, they are all here as examples that you might find interesting and useful.
I've left this section as an outline as it will better serve as a guide.
1. Become a part of a cause.
-----a. Strength of voice.
----------i. You may have to step outside your comfort zone to make a difference.
---------------1. There are roughly 5 million Church of Christ members world-wide.
---------------2. There are roughly 670 million Protestants world-wide.
---------------3. There are roughly 1.2 million Catholics world-wide.
----------ii. T
he more people that speak up, the stronger the message.-----b. Remember our talk on ecumenicalism though. Don’t align with similar voices but inappropriate motives. Be careful and remember that influence goes both ways.
2. Keep informed – Pay attention to the media.
-----a. Mainstream television stations
----------i. Conservative
---------------1. FOX News – Bill O’Reilly
---------------2. CNN (used to be liberal)
---------------3. CBS
----------ii. Liberal
---------------1. NBC
----------iii. Neutral
---------------1. ABC
-----b. Online Christian News – Use Bing to search for them online.
-----c. Christian Radio – Spirit 105.3
----------i. Advertising dollars spent on companies with Christian values.
----------ii. No un-Christian editorials.
----------iii. It helps you to “Set your mind on the things above…” Col 3:2
-----d. Christian Periodicals
----------i. The Gospel Advocate
----------ii. The Christian Chronicle
-----e. Email articles – These can be a good way to spread the word,
----------i. Whatever you pass on, remember our “checklist” of Christian characteristics from Session 2.
----------ii. Also use http://www.snopes.com/ to verify “most” stories.
3. Provide Support to those that share your values.
-----a. Christian Organizations, Schools, Colleges
----------i. Give Recommendations – Tell people why you support them.
----------ii. Give Time - Volunteer
----------iii. Give Funds
----------iv. Give Encouragement
----------v. Give Your Childs Education – If you are going to send them outside the home for school, it’s better for them to be taught by Godly people using Godly examples.
-----b. Christian companies – No big lists - either they don’t exist or they don’t speak out. Be careful and investigate first.
----------i. http://www.christianlink.com/
----------ii. http://www.christianet.com/
-----c. Christian products
4. Withhold support from those that support values other than yours.
-----a. You can vote with your feet and with your funds.
-----b. Companies – see lists below.
----------i. Most companies support what their employees want them to support.
----------ii. Remember – Influence floats both ways.
----------iii. Even if I wanted to shop at a totally Christian store there would be problems:
---------------1. Most search engines, clothing manufactures, auto makers, snack food providers, cereal manufacturers, petroleum companies, and credit card companies support values I disagree with.
---------------2. I couldn’t use my credit card to pay for my gas.
---------------3. Wait, I couldn’t buy gas to make my car go.
---------------4. Wait, I couldn’t buy a car. So I’d have to dress warm and walk.
---------------5. Wait, I couldn’t purchase clothes. So I’d just carbo-load and produce my own heat.
---------------6. Wait, no snacks or cereal.
--------------------a. I guess I’d have to stumble around hungry and naked until I accidentally ran into a Bible Book Store.
----------iv. I believe it’s impossible to boycott all companies that promote un-Christian values. But we can pick 1 or 2 that makes the news and all ban together and make a difference.
---------------1. Hmmm… which one to pick?
--------------------a. I drive a Chrysler, eat Cheerios, love Pepsi, work for one company, bank there, have my mortgage there, use both the credit cards. It’s tough to be in the world but not of the world.
-----c. Celebrities – Many openly portray non-Christian values. We don’t have to view their movies.
----------i. By the way, what is the difference between non-Christian and anti-Christian values?
5. Raise your voice.
-----a. Express your opinion. It’s a door opener.
----------i. Let your friends and coworkers know where you stand.
---------------1. Perhaps while you are serving them in some way.
----------ii. Companies - you may have to do business but you can always leave a comment card.
---------------1. Please stop promoting _______.
---------------2. Please promote __________.
-----b. Write your public officials.
----------i. Include local government like Mayors, and City Council members.
----------ii. Include State and Federal Governments – see list below.
-----c. Join / Support Christian organizations or advocacy groups that support your view on a particular value. Be careful though as they may not see the same as you on every value. (neither myself or the Church are “recommending” any particular organization) Many have petitions.
-----------i. Citizen Action - http://www.citizen.org/action/ - activist.
-----------ii. Citizen Link - http://www.citizenlink.com/ - activist.
----------iii. League of American Voters - http://leagueofamericanvoters.com/ - activist.
----------iv. Americans United for Life - http://www.aul.org/ - anti abortion.
----------v. Moms Rising - http://www.momsrising.org/ - mothers out to change the world.
----------vi. American Family Association - http://www.afa.net/ - promoting family values.
----------vii. Tea Party - http://www.jointheteaparty.us/home.html - local right leaning activist.
----------viii. Focus on the Family – http://www.focusonthefamily.com/ - Family oriented.
----------ix. One Christian Nation – http://www.onechristiannation.com/ - Christian advocacy.
----------x. The Christian Coalition – http://cc.org/ - Perhaps a tad to the right – very active.
-----d. Sign Petitions – many orgs above have petitions going regularly.
-----e. Vote
Additional Resources:
Contact info for Washington State Officials
List of companies that support Gay Marriage
List of companies that support Planned Parenthood / Abortion,
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