Introduction

On June 27, 2021, Pastor Eric spoke on the importance of standing on guard for one’s country: to stand for peace, for justice and for freedoms. How do we stand on guard for our country? We know what it means for the veterans and law enforcement, but what does it mean for God’s people? Do you know that Christians are called to stand on guard for their nation?

Here are two ways to safeguard our country.

By calling on the Lord’s help and on His mercy.

As Christians, prayer is to be our first order of business. It should be at the top of our priority list and not a last resort. Why? Because prayer is effective and God answers the prayers of His people.

Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer and asked His followers to pray for their daily bread. (Matthew 6:11) In the Old Testament, bread was a symbol of God’s provision for His people: a reminder that He would provide for their daily needs. When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He said they should ask that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10). Praying like God taught us is to accept that His plan is right and good for everyone. Therefore, we are to provide for the needs of those around us: the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the hopeless and the lost. We are also to pray for our leaders and people in authority. Prayer is a strategy given by God to help solve humanity’s problems.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says,

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Prayer is the solution to many of the world’s problems. We are called to pray for all people, businesses, institutions and governments. Our prayers can change the trends and impact our world in a positive way. If every person, business, institution and government followed the principles of God’s Kingdom, our world would be a much better place.

How do we stand on guard for our country? We pray. We intercede. We ask God for forgiveness. Our nation needs healing. There is a lot of anger in our country today and evil was done in the name of the Lord. A lot of innocent people were killed in the name of Jesus Christ. Innocent bloodshed brings God’s judgment on a nation. We need to ask God for forgiveness. We need God to heal our land.

Abraham, Nehemiah, Moses, David and Daniel made intercessions on behalf of their people and took responsibility for their sins. God is calling churches to stand in the gap and to pray for their country. Ezekiel 22:30 says,

I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.

God is looking for someone to step in the gap.

By showing extravagant love to our neighbours. 

Read Luke 10:25-37 (The Parable of the Good Samaritan).

How many people were in need of us and we passed by without helping them? It’s easy to close our eyes to the needs of others. Jesus is calling us to love our neighbour. He wants us to share our bread with the oppressed and give them a reason to celebrate. Jesus showed compassion in many ways. Jesus showed compassion by spending more of His time teaching his disciples and by healing their diseases. If we are followers of Christ, we need to show compassion. We are Christ’s hands and feet. Jesus said to love our neighbour, whether he is an atheist, a Mormon, a Muslim, a Catholic, a Pentecostal, a Baptist or a transvestite. The Bible says ‘for God so loved the world’. That includes the righteous and evil people; those who share our beliefs and those who don’t. All the other commandments stem from loving God and loving our neighbour. If we obey these two commandments, we obey all the others.

Edmund Burke said,

All that is necessary for evil to prosper is that enough good men do nothing.

Love should compel us to act, whether it be with our words or our actions. We are called to love our neighbours.

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said,

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

We are not to lose our saltiness. It’s ok to be angry. It’s ok not to be in agreement with what is happening around us, but we must remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors and we represent Him. Therefore, we are to bring our anger, our injustices and our frustrations to Jesus. In Romans 12:19, Jesus promised that one day, there will be true justice. He said “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” But in the meantime, let’s not lose our saltiness. Salt adds flavour to food and it is also a preservative. We are to preserve the earth until Jesus returns. We stand on guard for Canada by not losing our saltiness.

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