OUR NATION HAS A HISTORY -
· It is an accumulation
· of all our yesterdays -
· and our yesterdays have brought us
· to where we are today
BUT AMERICA IS NOW FACING MANY PROBLEMS -
· And what our tomorrows bring
· Will depend on how
· We handle our problems today
THE BIGGEST THREAT WE FACE TODAY
· is something called, ‘Political Correctness.’
· That is when we try so hard
· To be nice to other people,
· We end up keeping the truth from them
AND WHEN WE DON’T TELL THE TRUTH,
· There is only one thing left
· And that would be a lie.
I READ A REPORT THAT SAYS
· Sweden has outlawed
· Men from publically showing
· Grunts of satisfaction
· When their team wins
BECAUSE
· They say these type of men
· Will easily go from that,
· To beating their wives
ANOTHER NEWS STORY SAID
· a school in America has outlawed all touching
· no hi-fives - no handshakes -
· all so people will be safe from each other !
· How can a football team play without hi-fives ?
THERE ARE THESE THINGS AND MORE
· In reality - political correctness
· is nothing but a cheap substitute for common sense
· And a way to forego any personal responsibility !
AN OLD FARMER CAME INTO TOWN ONCE-A-MONTH
· He would drive around for hours
· Looking for a parking place
· Where money was already in the meter
WHEN HE FOUND ONE
· He would quickly park,
· Take care of his business,
· And then drive away before it expired
HE DID NOTHING
· to earn the space he was parking in.
· In essence, he was only willing
· To park on someone else’s dime !
AND THAT IS WHAT MANY AMERICANS
· Are doing today –
· We have done nothing ourselves
· To earn the freedoms we enjoy –
THEY WERE ALL EARNED
· By those who lived before us.
· But we aren’t adverse to taking
· Full advantage of them, are we ?
NOW THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT
· But we still have a responsibility
· To do what we can
· to keep those freedoms for our kids
BUT SOMETIMES, WE DON’T DO ANYTHING
· Most Americans are more worried
· Where their next Latte is coming from
· Than they are about how to keep their freedoms
NEXT SATURDAY -
· We celebrate our Independence Day.
· A day that should make us
· Stand tall and proud ….
BUT FOR MOST AMERICANS
· It will only mean
· a day off of work
· or barbeques in backyards
WE NEED TO ONCE AGAIN
· Feel the pride of America -
· And realize how much we have been blessed -
· More than any other nation in history
DURING THE LAST 300 YEARS
· We have become the world’s
· greatest economic - political - and military power
AND WE HAVE DONE SOMETHING ELSE
· Something you never hear about
· We have sent more missionaries into the world
· Than any other nation ever has
WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED
· Because of what prior generations have done for us
· Will future generations be blessed
· Because of what we are doing for them ?
EXODUS 20:5-6 we read where
· God will punish the children
· Up to 4 generations for their father’s sins
BUT GOD WILL ALSO
· bless 1,000 generations
· who love Him
WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY
· For our future generations ?
· Are we living a Godly & righteous life ?
ANOTHER WORD FOR ‘RIGHTEOUS’ IS ‘RIGHTNESS.’
· we must realize - true ‘rightness’
· can only be found in the Lord.
A NATION’S GREATNESS IS NOT BASED ON
· its numbers - military - or politics
IT IS NOT MEASURED ON
· Her progress or wealth
A NATIONS’S GREATNESS
· Is only determined
· By how much that nation
· Depends on God to be their leader
PSALM 33:12 says
’Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, for these are the people He chose for His inheritance.’
IT IS NO COINCIDENCE
· That we have been abundantly blessed
· All because our forefathers
· Put God over this nation
1. AMERICA WAS FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION
IT ALL STARTED ONE CHILLY DAY IN 1607
· three boats were seen on the horizon
· barely larger than today’s cabin cruisers up at any lake
· these boats slowly emerged from the cold fog
AND WHEN THEY REACHED LAND
· 120 very tired Englishmen came ashore.
· For the first time in months,
· They were able to walk around uncramped
IMAGINE BEING COOPED UP
· on a small boat like that for several months?
· What would be the first thing you’d do
· When you got on dry ground ?
I WOULD TAKE OFF MY SHOES
· and walk barefooted
· or go pick a blade of grass and make a whistle
BUT THESE PEOPLE DIDN’T DO THAT
· They immediately started exploring
· And they continued to do so for 3 days
AND THEN THEY DID SOMETHING
· That would get them sued today.
THEY CARRIED A 7-FOOT CROSS FROM ENGLAND
· From the boat.
· It had been made in England …
· And they planted it on the beach
AND THEN, HISTORY TELLS US
· They gathered to pray
· By kneeling down
· And asking for God’s blessings
THIS PLACE WOULD BECOME VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.
· In the 1930’s, a huge monument was erected
· to honor what they did
HERE ARE THE WORDS INSCRIBED ON IT
’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 in this land
· It was called the Mayflower Compact.
· the first 2 paragraphs read -
’In the name of God, Amen. By His grace, we plant the first colony in Virginia for His Glory and for the advancement of the Christian Faith.’
13-YEARS LATER
· another legal document was written
· the Charter of Massachusetts Bay
· Let me quote the first paragraph:
’Whereby our said people may, by the way we live our lives, win the natives of this country, to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of mankind and the Christian faith.’
MOST OF OUR ORIGINAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS
· referenced their belief in Jesus as Savior
· and God as head of this nation
· and their belief in Christianity
IT INSULTS MY INTELLIGENCE
· When people say our founding fathers
· did not desire a Christian nation!
· I HAVE PROOF THAT SHOWS OTHERWISE!!!
FACTS PROVE THIS NATION WAS “UNDER GOD”
· long before Abraham Lincoln
· uttered those words in a speech.
· And long before the nightly news
· Started saying God has no place in this nation !
2. WE THINK WE ARE SELF-SUFFICIENT
AMERICA HAS TURNED A CORNER
· We have decided
· we do not need God any more
IF WE GET SICK,
· we don’t have to ask God for healing
· like our ancestors did
· we just go to Walgreen’s & get medicine
IF WE GET HUNGRY
· we don’t ask God to provide
· we just run over to Reasors
WE HAVE TAKEN GOD OUT OF OUR LIVES
· and we are plunging headlong
· into a dark and painful reality
AND THIS DOESN’T JUST APPLY TO NATIONS
· It applies to every individual
· Who puts their selfish desires above God’s
· We had better be careful ….. very, very careful
PSALM 33:10 says,
’The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples.’
WE HAVE NOT ONLY FORGOTTEN
· this nation was designed to be a Christian nation
· now, faced with proof of it, we actually dispute it
· God will foil our plans and thwart our purposes.
· (If we don’t repent)
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES
· Of what our founding fathers
· Said concerning this nation & God
PATRICK HENRY - A Founding Father
‘It cannot be emphasized too strongly that this great nation was founded – not by religionists, but by Christians, on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.’
JAMES MADISON, our 4th President
‘We have staked the 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 prosper, but it we neglect its authority, a catastrophe will someday overcome us.’
RONALD REAGAN once said,
‘Without God, democracy will not and cannot endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, we will soon be a nation gone under.’
HERE ARE SOME STATISTICS
· That should scare you to death !
1962
· the Supreme Court made prayer in the classroom illegal
· punishable by a fine and/or jail time.
Since then, our schools
have become dangerous & non-productive
1963
· reading the Bible in public schools made illegal
· punishable by a fine and/or jail time.
Since then, students have been expelled
for just carrying a bible
1973
· the Supreme Court legalized the murder of unborn babies.
· If you try to prevent it - fine and or/ imprisonment.
Since then, millions of babies
have been murdered
1980
· the 10 Commandments outlawed on government property
· the enforcement ? Punishable by a fine and/or jail time
Since then, America has
Purposely walked away from God
2003
· Supreme Court struck down a Texas law
· banning the public practice of homosexuality
Since then, if you even say anything
Negative about homosexuality,
You can be sent to prison for violating
The FEDERAL HATE CRIMES law
WE ARE WITNESSING
· The fall of America
AT THE RATE OUR NATION IS DECAYING
· We should change our national bird
· from an eagle to a buzzard.
EVERYWHERE YOU TURN
· You see hatred and belligerence
· You see God being attacked
· And it just keeps getting worse
WE ENJOY MANY FREEDOMS
· But we have to be honest and say
· we did nothing to earn them
OUR FOREFATHERS EARNED THEM FOR US
· Because they trusted God enough
· to put Him over this nation
JUST LIKE THAT OLD FARMER
· who parked on somebody else’s dime -
· we are enjoying somebody else’s rewards
· while refusing to add to them ourselves
· in essence – we are parking on
· somebody else’s dime, too !
AMERICA NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION !
· America is on the brink
· of receiving God’s punishment
· just like the ancient Israelites received
AND WHEN IT COMES -
· It will be for believers & unbelievers alike
· Because today’s lukewarm Christians
· Have helped drop the ball in this nation
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT OTHERS DO
· For what others may do,
· But we are responsible for what we do.
· And very few of us do anything
· To be responsible for.
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. God was instrumental in the formation of this nation, and continues to stand ready to respond to the cries of His people, as they humble themselves to Him.’
‘And He is only waiting for His people, the Christians, to rise up and commit themselves to His standard of conduct in the way they live their lives.’
THERE IS A WAY WE CAN GET OUT
· of this trouble
It 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.’
LOOK AT WHAT GOD PROMISES
· if we become humble (put him above ourselves)
· if we pray (go to Him for help)
· if we will seek after God (pursue more of Him in our lives)
· and if we will repent (start living for Him)
THEN GOD WILL
· hear our calls for help,
· He will forgive our sins
· And He will heal our lands (and our individual hearts)
WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED BECAUSE OF
· what others have done
· for the Lord in the past --
· But where we go tomorrow
· Depends on what we do today
WE CAN SUCCEED
· but the first thing we need to do
· is the hardest thing we can do --
· humble our hearts to the Lord
WILL YOU DO THAT NOW
· as your personal profession of faith ?
INVITATION
