Our nation has a past and it is our yesterdays that have brought us to today. But we have many problems that we are dealing with as a nation and where our future takes us is dependent upon how we deal with those problems.
What is one of the biggest threats our nation faces today? It is something called, ‘Political Correctness.’ But it isn’t just America’s problem; it is a global problem. This week, I heard a report that says Sweden has abolished urinals in men’s bathrooms because they represent man’s dominance over women. This is but one example of how political correctness has changed the face of society.
Another news story said a school in America has a new policy that there will no touching at all in school. Even giving someone a hi-five can get you suspended from school. My first thought was what would you do if someone fell and needed help getting up. Can you imagine getting suspended over that, or because you shook hands with someone?
If you are an average person with even average intelligence, you know these things are ludicrous. In reality, political correctness is the perfect alternative to common sense. And what this is doing to the face of our nation hurts me deeply.
An old farmer used to come into town once a month to do his shopping and to take care of any business he had to take care of. This man hated to spend unnecessary money though, so he would drive all around the downtown area looking for an empty parking place with money still left on the meter. He would continue to do this until he saw one with time still left on it, and he would quickly pull in and go about his chores.
This man was truly parking on somebody else’s nickel.
On Wednesday, we will celebrate our national independence - our day to stand proud and tall for who and what we are. During the day, there will be cookouts and barbeques in most American backyards; and Wednesday night, America will have fireworks displays in every city across her great land.
We are proud to be Americans, aren’t we? We live in a land that by every single standard has been more blessed than any other country in the history of the world.
During the last two centuries, America has become the world’s greatest economy, political machine, and cultural power the world has ever seen. In short, we have become the world’s greatest – well, the greatest everything!
And, as much as we boast on these things, there is something else we have done that you rarely hear about. We have been used by God to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to millions around the world. And, if it is true that America has been blessed more than any other nation in the history or this world, then there is a question that needs to be asked: “Will we continue to receive God’s blessings in our future?”
PROVERBS 14:34
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
We have discussed that another word for ‘righteous’ is ‘rightness.’ What many of us fail to realize is that true ‘rightness’ can only be found in the Lord.
Our nation has been been lifted up by God Himself to be the example to the world. History will always confirm that a nation’s true greatness is not based on its numbers, its military, or its political structure. Nor is it a nation’s intellectualism, progress, or cultural greatness that determines its true greatness.
What determines a nation’s greatness is its conduct, and whether that conduct is in accordance with the standards of God.
PSALM 33:12 says it best.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.”
It is no coincidence that the blessings we have received came to us because we put God over this nation. Even though there are many today that will tell us otherwise –
1. AMERICA REALLY WAS FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION
It all started out on one chilly day back in 1607. That is the day when three boats were seen on the horizon. They were barely larger than today’s cabin cruisers that are up at any local lake. They quickly reached land and 120 very tired Englishmen came ashore.
Can you imagine being cooped up on a small boat like that for several months? What would be one of the first things you would do when you got to shore? I think I would take off my shoes and walk barefooted on the ground again, or go pick a blade of grass and make a whistle out of it. Or, I would just sit in the sand with my feet in the water.
But these people didn’t do any of that. They immediately set out and explored their surroundings for three days, and then they did something that would get them sued today. They carried a seven-foot cross to the beach that they brought over from England, and they erected it on the beach.
The next thing they did was to gather around it, get on their knees and begin to pray. They prayed that the blessings of Jesus Christ would prevail upon this new land.
This place would later become Virginia Beach, Virginia. In the 1930’s, a huge monument was erected to honor what those pilgrims did. On this monument, these words were inscribed:
Act one, scene one, of the unfolding drama that became the United States of America.
Within days of their arrival, they drafted the first legal document for this new nation. It was called the Mayflower Compact. Let me read the first 2 paragraphs it to you.
“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith … Having undertaken a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia for the Glory of God and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor of our King and Country.”
Thirteen years later, another legal document was drawn up. That document was the Charter of Massachusetts Bay. Let me quote the first paragraph:
“… Whereby our said people, inhabitants there, may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as their good life and orderly conversation may win and incite the natives of this country, to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of mankind and the Christian faith.”
Does that sound like these men didn’t care about the Lord?
Over the years, legal document after legal document referenced their absolute belief in Jesus as Savior and God as head of this nation. Please do not insult my intelligence by telling me that our founding fathers did not desire a Christian nation!
Facts prove that this nation was meant to be “under God” long before Abraham Lincoln uttered those words in a speech.
2. NOW, AMERICA THINKS SHE IS SELF-SUFFICIENT
America has turned a corner, though. We have decided that we do not need or want God to be over us. You see, we are capable of taking care of ourselves, aren’t we? We have the ability to give ourselves anything we want or need.
If we get sick, we don’t have to call upon God like our ancestors did for help. All we have to do is run down to the nearest pharmacy, 24 hours a day, and we can get any medications we need – as long as we have some money, of course.
And, we don’t have to ask God to provide food for us like our ancestors did when we get hungry. All we have to do is run into any of the conveniently located grocery stores in the area and we can buy whatever our hearts and stomachs desires – again, as long as we have some money to spend.
We have taken God out of the equation, and we are plunging headlong into a dark and painful world if we do not come to our senses fairly fast.
PSALM 33:10 says,
“The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples.”
We have not only forgotten that this nation was designed to be Christian, but we have now gotten to the point where we actually dispute it! And, God is getting ready to foil our plans and thwart our purposes.
Let’s read what a few of our founding fathers said on the subject concerning God.
PATRICK HENRY –
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly, or too often, that this great nation was founded – not by religionists – but by Christians ….. not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
JAMES MADISON, our 4th President –
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization on our capacity to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
DANIEL WEBSTER –
"If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering, but it we neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how soon a catastrophe may overcome us."
In PSALM 9:17, we are given a dire warning that if we were as smart as we seem to think we are, we would pay attention to.
“The wicked return to the grave – all the nations that forget God.”
I do not want to just return to a dirt grave. I want to be with Jesus!
Ronald Reagan once said,
“Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
Here are some interesting statistics that will show you where America is headed, and why we are headed there.
1962, without historical or legal precedent, the Supreme Court made it illegal for 39 million students to do what their families had done before them – pray in school. This was punishable by a fine and/or jail time.
1963, reading the Bible in public schools was made illegal, punishable by a fine and/or jail time.
1973, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized the murder of unborn babies. And to try and prevent it was punishable with a fine and or/ imprisonment.
1980, the Ten Commandments were outlawed from being displayed in public schools. This was punishable by a fine and/or jail time. The reasoning the court gave for their decision is as follows:
"If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all it would be to induce school children to read them. If they read them, they may mediate upon them and perhaps obey them. This is not a permissible objective."
2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning the public practice of homosexuality.
3. THE FALL OF AMERICA WILL SHOCK AND HURT
At the rate our nation is decaying, we will soon have to change our national bird from an eagle to a buzzard.
Everywhere you turn, you see outright and belligerent disobedience to the laws of God, and it just keeps getting worse with each passing year.
Several years ago, a pastor was asked to read a prayer before the state House in Kansas. His name is Pastor Joe Wright and he is the pastor at Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas. He has been severely criticized and maligned for his prayer. Let me read it to you.
"Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ’Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism; We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversions and called it alternative lifestyles; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation;We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbors’ possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the Living Savior; Jesus Christ. Amen."
Pastor Wright does not deserve to be persecuted and ridiculed for his prayer, but deserves the Medal Of Honor for what he attempted to do for his great nation! He uttered the words of truth that could save our wonderful country – if only we would heed them.
IN CONCLUSION
We enjoy many freedoms and liberties today. But, if we are to be honest, it isn’t us who did anything to earn them. Our forefathers earned these freedoms and liberties. They are the ones who put God in their hearts and instilled Him over this nation. All we have done is to enjoy the freedoms and liberties they earned.
Just like that old farmer who used to look for nickels in parking meters, we find that we, too, have been parking on somebody else’s nickel.
I am going to give you a truth right now that is also a dire warning. America is on the very edge of receiving the absolute and total wrath of God. When that wrath comes, it will not just be the non-believers that will find it insufferable. It will also be Christians, because Christians have dropped the ball, too, and we shall also pay the price for doing so.
If Christians had done their job throughout the years, there would be a hundred more churches just like this one in this area and every one of them would be full.
Our nation is made up of many people, and even though you cannot be responsible for what someone else does, you are responsible for what you do. And what you do influences others around you.
Dan Puckett in The Blessing of Freedom wrote:
”The key to continued freedom as a nation lies directly with the individual. It is not too late. The God of heaven who was instrumental in the formation of this nation stands ready to respond to the heartfelt cries of His people, as they humble themselves and own their dependence on Him. God is waiting for His people, the Christians, to rise up and commit themselves to His rule in their lives.”
Will the CrossRoads Singers please come forward?
America is on the brink of losing everything we treasure, including our freedoms. Our nation is ready to fall, and it will happen sooner than we realize, and it will land harder than we ever expected. Why? Because we have all but ushered God out of our country, telling Him we do not need Him or want Him.
But, we must keep those scientists in mind. The three scientists that decided God was not needed any longer, so they chose one of them to go tell God.
He meets with God and tells Him that we have no need for Him anymore and that we can do everything He can do. God asks the man if he can make weather, and the man said, “Yes.” God asks him if he can make food. The man said, “Yes.”
Then God asked him if he could actually make humans. The man said, “Yes,” and reached down to show God by picking up a hand full of dirt. Then God responded by saying, “That is My dirt! If you are going to do everything I do, you need to get your own dirt.”
The moral is even though we think we do not need God, everything we have is given to us by God – we just don’t seem to embrace that truth. But people find that when everything else is taken away from them and they have no place else to turn, they find everything they need when they turn to Jesus.
Scripture tells us that our enemies will rule over us. Might I prophecy that it just might be around the corner? But, be of glad heart, because we do have one ace in the hole. There is a way we can get out of this trouble that we have placed ourselves in, but that way is the only way out, and I am afraid that many people will not use it.
That way is found in 2 CHRONICLES 7:14 –
“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 will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Keep in mind that God did not say everyone had to do this in order for the nation to be healed. The only ones that have to do this is His people. Those that are called by His name. That would be Christians. That would be us.
We have been talking about our nation, but there is something else that mirrors what we have been talking about: Our church.
Even though it is only 9 months old, our church has a past, and it is our past that has brought us to our present. Today is our first day in our new church location. We have been blessed because of what we have done for the Lord in the past. But where we go from here will be dependent upon what we do for the Lord from this point on.
Just like our country, our church will have many obstacles to overcome, but we can if we take that same message given to our country and apply it to our church and our individual lives as Christians. That message of course is found in the verse I just read, 2 CHRONICLES 7:14. May I encourage you to read this verse each day in the coming week?
As a nation; as a church; and as individual Christians, we can succeed, but the first thing we need to do is the hardest thing we can do; humble our hearts to the Lord - fully and totally. Will you do that this morning as a profession of faith?
INVITATION
