JESUS, LORD OF YOUR CITIZENSHIP

PART 10 OF 11

TEXT- 1 PETER 2:13-17

INTRODUCTION

This morning is our theme day and I am going to continue with my series of messages emphasizing our 1996 theme which is, "The Church Where Jesus Is Lord."

Each first Sunday of the month I have been preaching on the need to make Jesus the lord of your life showing the practical side of the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Today our text is found in 1 Peter 3:13-17 and the title of my message is, "Jesus, Lord of Your Citizenship."

With next Tuesday being election day I felt that this would be a good time to show how the lordship of Jesus Christ should affect our life as citizens of the United States of America.

In 1883 in Allentown, New Jersey, a wooden Indian- -the kind that was seen in front of cigar stores-- was placed on the ballot as a candidate for justice of the peace. It was registered under the fictitious name of Abner Robbins.  When the ballots were counted, Abner won over the incumbent Sam Davis by seven votes.   A similar thing happened in 1938.  The name Boston Curtis appeared on the ballot as a candidate for Republican Committeeman from Wilton, Washington. Actually, Boston Curtis was a mule.  The town's Mayor had sponsored the animal to demonstrate that people know very little about the candidates.  And he proved his point.  The mule won!

As Christians if we are surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ we are going to take our responsibilities as citizens of the United States seriously.

That means we will take time to investigate the candidates before we vote for them and find out about their moral standards, their political philosophies, and position on important issues.

Christians should be among the best citizens found in the United States, but often times they are not because they are not surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

This morning I would like us to consider six things found in our text that is involved in making Jesus the lord of our citizenship.