A GREAT NATION
Psalm 33:12
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose
for his inheritance.”
(NIV)
What does it mean, “the people He chose for His inheritance”?
God chose to set apart a people who would belong to Him.
Humans normally do not get the opportunity to choose their
inheritance. When we inherit something, it is because a generous
benefactor considered us worthy to receive a prized possession. It
may be a piece of property, or jewelry, or furniture. But whatever
it is, we did not choose it for ourselves.
The Scripture says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.” God made a choice
before the world spun into motion from His fingertips, before
mankind was created. God chose to set apart a people who would
belong to Him. He reminded the nation Israel, as recorded for us in
Deuteronomy 4:20, “But as for you, the LORD took you and
brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be
the people of his inheritance, as you now are.” Israel was to be
His inheritance by His choice. But Israel chose to serve idols, to
follow their own ways in unrighteousness rather than God’s
righteousness. Even though repeatedly reminded, the inheritance
God chose did not choose Him.
God still seeks for a nation to bless, a nation “whose God is the
LORD”, a people who recognize their chosenness and choose to
make Him Lord! Is America that nation? How does a nation make
that choice? How can America be a Great Nation?
G - GOOD
French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831,
said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her
commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and
boundless forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich
mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in
her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for
it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and
it was not there. Not until I went into the churches
of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I
understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great
because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good,
America will cease to be great!"
"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their own
independence upon the overruling power of God . . . and to
recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and
proved by all history, that those nations only are blest whose God is
the Lord." - Abraham Lincoln
R - Righteous
Peter Marshall, before the U.S. Senate said it ever so well in a
prayer many years ago. "Lord Jesus, thou who art the way, the
truth, and the life; hear us as we pray for the truth that shall make
all free. Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved but also to be
lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. It costs
too much to be hoarded. Help us see that our liberty is not the right
to do as we please, but the opportunity to please to do what is
right."
Understand three principles regarding “Righteousness”
• We are not righteous by nature…we are sinners.
• We do NOT become righteous by being good
• We are made righteous through Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 5:21 “God
made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.”
Our forefathers understood righteousness. They knew that
righteousness was the catalyst to give birth to this nation of people
looking for freedom and liberty. They knew that just as CHRIST
paid the price for our liberty that they too would pay for
LIBERTY. Liberty and freedom has ALWAYS EXACTED A
PRICE.
It all began 226 years ago, when on July 4th, 1776, 56 brave men
signed the document known as “The Declaration of Independence.”
Do you have any idea what price these men paid for the
independence to live in a nation built on the Righteousness of God?
• Five were captured and tortured by the British before they died.
• Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned to the ground.
• Two lost their sons in the war.
• One had two sons captured.
• Nine fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war.
• Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his
ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home to
pay his debts and died in rags.
• Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was
forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in Congress
without pay and he died in poverty.
• Thomas Nelson’s home was seized by the British at the Battle of
Yorktown and used as a command post. He urged General George
Washington to open fire on it. The home was destroyed and Nelson
died bankrupt.
Liberty and freedom has ALWAYS EXACTED A PRICE.
E - Eternally Grateful to God
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose
for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)
“Blessed is the nation”—the idea here is, that the nation referred to
is happy, or content, or that its condition is desirable for all. What is
true of a nation is also as true of an individual.
“Whose God is the Lord”—This reads, “The nation which worships
the Lord is under his protection.” This is evidently said to
distinguish such a nation from those which worshipped false gods
or idols. Such a nation is blessed or happy, because:
(a) He is a real God, the true God, not man made, imagination or
fiction
(b) Because His laws are just and good, and their observance will
always tend to promote the public welfare and prosperity;
(c) Because His protection will be provided to such a nation; and
(d) Because His worship, and the influence of our faith in Him, will
tend to promote virtue, intelligence, purity, and truth, over a land,
and thus will promote the welfare of the nation.
For example, at the first Constitutional Convention, the delegates
were frustrated due to the burdens of the hour. They were burdened
and harassed by tremendous crisis. They were so fragmented that
they were just about to throw out the whole concept of a
constitution completely. Just then an old white-haired man by the
name of Benjamin Franklin rose to his feet and said:
“Gentlemen, if it is true that not one single petal from any flower
falls to the ground without escaping God’s attention, will the
distress of this nation go unheeded? Let us therefore determine to
seek His face.”
They promptly got down on their knees and when they arose from
prayer, the slogan, e pluribus unum was born: ONE OUT OF
MANY. Can you imagine what would happen today if all of
Congress would get down on it’s knees? REVIVAL would surely
come to these shores!
Our forefathers founded our nation on godly principles and
America will live on as long as the Lord is her God.
Do you recall the picture of Washington at Valley Forge? His little
army was almost starving and freezing to death. Everything that
they held dear was at stake. They were fighting against seemingly
insurmountable odds--but out in the snow George Washington was
down on his knees, praying.
A - Attentive to Our Alligiance
We didn’t have a “pledge” to our flag until a man by the name of
Francis Bellamy, who was on the magazine staff for a boys and
girl’s periodical entitled, “The Youth Companions” introduced the
idea in 1890. It was then President Benjamin Harrison who
proclaimed the first use of the original pledge during Columbus Day
observance in public schools:
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it
stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The words “my flag” were changed to “the flag of the United States
of America” by an amendment adopted on Flag Day, June 14, 1924.
Then in 1954 the Congress of United States jointly amended the
pledge with the words, “under God.” President Dwight D.
Eisenhower said as he signed this amendment, “This shows the
transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and in her
future.” It was finally spoken as “Our Pledge of Allegiance” for the
first time on June 14, 1954, Flag Day on the steps of the Capital in
Washington. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation, under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
T - True
“I TOO HAVE A DREAM!”
I too have a dream that those who claim to be children of God,
redeemed by Christ, will declare their faith without fear or shame
and live a life that matches their profession.
I too have a dream that America will one day realize that we can
not change man by simply changing his environment but
understanding that it is a work of God in man’s heart that effects an
eternal change in man’s life.
I too have a dream that the people of God would destroy the walls
men have created to divide us and join hands and hearts to show the
unified power and love that is ours as followers of Jesus Christ.
I too have a dream that one day in our great nation there will be
such a spiritual renewal and awakening that we won’t have to
worry about prayer in our schools because the witness in our homes
will produce godly young men and women that will impact their
schools, our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and our nation
with His righteousness.
I too have a dream that one day America will repent of our national
sin in killing the unborn child.
I too have a dream that revival will spread across this land reaching
into every community so that the LIGHT of the LORD will be seen
from America and HIS light will go into all the world.
I too have a dream that the men and women who aspire to serve
this nation would run for office from a conviction that as God has
made a difference in their lives and they can now serve the people in
moral purity, truth, conviction and righteousness.
I too have a dream that our families will be restored and protected
and we will seek to strengthen our homes with godly men who are
filled with God’s Spirit and understand their role as spiritual
leaders.
I too have a dream that God would give this nation divine wisdom
to understand the schemes of our enemy! Wisdom to know that if
allowing children to view pornography on the internet is judged a
constitutional right, then give us godly judges that will rightly
interpret our constitution.
I too have a dream that the Church, God’s CHURCH IN
AMERICA will once again rise up, awake from her slumber and
become the moral and spiritual voice of the community where
people will look for comfort, inspiration, direction and moral
leadership.
I too have a dream that the churches of America will be filled once
again and that there would be a great hunger for God’s Word that
will increase across this land.
I too have a dream that America will return to the faith of our
Founding Fathers. Yes, I too have a dream. A dream that this world
will once again say of these United States of America…
“BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD…”
WHAT CAN I DO?
1. The best thing you and I can do for America is to give her a
good Christian life. Be light and salt. Bloom where God has planted
you. God will see your life and will use it to bless our nation.
2. You can pray--for a national revival. God is at work. Congress is
riddled with Christians. Thank God for a Christian president.
3. You can depend on God as your true Source of liberty, courage,
and spiritual power.
