Parable of the Trees
Judges 9:8-15
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/ParableTrees.html
Here is the first parable in the Bible, and it is about America in these last days. This passage shows us 3 steps in the decline of a nation.
1. The apostasy of an unthankful people.
God had given Gideon a great victory w/ just 300 men, trumpets and torches and clay pitchers. You'd think Israel would be so grateful that they would never again turn against God.
Judges 8:33
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
The latter is a god of fertility--they were worshipping sex. Like we do in America today.
Judges 8:34
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
What a sad verse. And it is as much about America as about Israel.
God literally GAVE America the victory in the Revolutionary War, as well as in WWII. There's so much that almost went wrong. You don't know how close we came to speaking German! Or being reclaimed by England.
And how do we thank God? By kicking Him out of virtually all public forums.
ill.--5 years after establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1647 the Puritans started the first public school system in America. They had 3 requirements:
• One qualified teacher for every 50 households.
• One school in every town of more than 100 families.
• The Bible must be used as the center of the curriculum.
That was the first public school system supported by tax dollars in America. They asserted, "It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_School_Laws
88 of the first 100 colleges organized in America were founded in order to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. And all but 1 prior to the Revolutionary War was established by the church. Places like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and many others were founded primarily to train ministers and to evangelize the eastern seaboard.
The first building ever erected on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania was put there to accommodate the crowds coming to the hear the preaching of Evangelist George Whitfield. His statue stands outside of it today.
We have a Godly Christian heritage and I could go on and on with story after story, but the main point is that we see that we have reacted just like Israel did...God has given us victory and been on our side but we turn on Him. We are blatantly immoral and apostate.
No wonder the apostasy permeates our government...because it permeates virtually every mainline denomination today!
Example: The Re-imagining God conference of 1993.
In Minneapolis-St. Paul 2,200 people from 49 states, representing most mainline denominations got together. 1/3rd of the attendees were clergy.
[remember, we're talking about apostasy, like when Israel would turn from God to other gods.]
Here's how Christianity Today reported it,
"The central task of conference participants was to re imagine God. There was little room for the triune God of Christianity. One pastor drew whoops and applause when she noted that 'we have done nothing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.' Another scoffed at the idea of Christ's atonement saying, 'I don't think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff like that.' 'We just need to listen to the god within us.'"
The deity of the conference was 'Sophia'. She is the suppressed part of the Biblical tradition and the female face of the human psyche. They prayed to her, naming her as our maker, creator god, mother, and guide.
They talked about how Sophia is god in all of us, deep in our hearts. The Christianity Today article then said, "Whether they realized it or not, the conference participants were worshiping themselves."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1994/november14/4td38a.html
These people may have been on the fringe of their denominations, but it points out very clearly the major doctrinal apostasy going on in America today which never would have been tolerated in early Christian America. Sure, you can have a cult and go your own way religiously, but not if you distort and twist the truth of our God!
Judges 8:33 is about America. We have gone from Theology to Me-ology, man centered religion.
The goal of modern religion is to feel good about yourself. We've moved from convictions to opinions.
It was once said, "America is great because America is Godly...and when America ceases to be Godly, she will cease to be great!"
To whom much is given, much is required. No nation has been given a Godly start like America, and so God holds us to a higher standard.
When will we wake up? The liberal left is eating away at our Christian heritage one bite at a time, while we just keep our head down at the table, allowing it to go on on our watch.
We've been brainwashed into thinking there really is a separation of church and state. And we allow them to silence us and push us into a corner.
I'm proud that many of us are today speaking up.
ill.--a valedictorian a few years ago was told he couldn't mention God in his speech, so he got up and began to sneeze, over and again, after each of which the whole student body would say, "God bless you!"
That's what we need, for the people to rise up and take America back!
The late Jack Kemp said, "When gradeschoolers are encouraged to learn and read about condoms but forbidden to read the 10 Commandments on the wall something is vitally wrong with education in America. This is a double standard that undermines all standards. Our children need to learn less about the mechanics of sex and more about the meaning of character. When we accept the disintegration of religious freedom we compromise the means of our deliverance. Today while two or three are gathered together in His name there are also is the ACLU in their midst. We believe in a free church and a free state. But that means freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. We as a nation were conceived in faith, founded in faith, and prospered in faith." Well said!
4 effects of apostasy on American culture:
• Has normalized that which is abnormal. Sex before marriage used to be subnormal, but today it is normal. Look at entertainment, and look at people in your life. It is so rare to find someone who does it God's way.
• Has desensitized us to that which should shock us. We've forgotten how to blush. Nothing embarrasses us anymore. Show me humor that isn't filthy. Show me advertising that you can show your kids. Show me a news report that doesn't lead your kids to questions you aren't ready to talk about with them yet. Madonna kisses Britney and so Janet Jackson has to expose herself during the Superbowl, and somebody else has to do something more outrageous...no wonder America is falling...our society emulates this crowd, and not only is no longer shocked by it, but thirsty for more! We're desensitized. We allow profanity in our houses thru TV and music, and many Christians speak it...they don't even realize it many times!
• Has legitimized that would should be illegitimate. Homosexuality has gone from being a sin to being a sickness to being socially accepted. And if you don't agree you just don't get it.
• Has stigmatized anything good and Godly. If we don't agree with the secular progressive movement today, a stigma is placed upon us. Just try recommending monogamy in marriage or virginity in young people and you'll be laughed to scorn. And when I preach the truth I'm immediately tagged as part of the radical religious right, and I have the hate mail to prove it. By the way, I wear their label proudly. And I'm glad to post this on the internet. Love me or hate me, you just can't ignore me! Isaiah said woe unto them who call good evil and evil good. This world is changing but our God doesn't change, nor does His Word change, and nor should we!
Historically, God has given America victory, but we turn our backs on Him.
1. The Apostasy of an unthankful people.
2. The Arrogance of an ungodly leader.
Chapter 9:1-4 tells us about Abimelech. To sum it up, he says, "Should we have many leaders or just one?" He is nominating himself, knowing they will go along with it. He takes power from the people and places it all on himself. Sound familiar?
a. He bought his brethren.
v. 4 says he bought the election, and used money to buy his constituency.
b. He built upon blood.
v. 5 Today it is the blood of innocent babies. America used to be built on blood of heroes. If the Vietnam Memorial, which is 500 ft. long, had on it the names of our innocent blood, it would stretch for 60 miles!
Without stuttering or stammering I say again tonite that the moment you hear a politician state that he stands for a woman's right to choose you ought to automatically cross them off your list! It is the central issue of our day...and the one I expect America to be judged harshly for.
c. He basked in blasphemy.
v. 6 That pillar was the place where God made His covenant with Abraham...a holy place! Abimelech is trying to have it both ways, and has his inauguration at a holy site, making a farce of the God he rejected in practice.
Aren't you tired of seeing our leaders who stand for such moral decadence walking out of their photo op churches holding their Bibles? They say they are Christians but their life says otherwise. It makes me want to vomit! I'm proud of the Catholic church which in some cases is taking a stand and saying, hey, we're gonna throw you out if you don't stop what you are doing!
1. The Apostasy of an unthankful people.
2. The Arrogance of an ungodly leader.
3. The Apathy of an uncommitted people.
Here's the parable of the trees in a nutshell: Each of the trees said "No, I don't want to lead, let someone else." So the people turned to the bramble bush for leadership and the bush agreed, and said, "You can rest under my shade." The irony? It has no shade!
So when all the other trees forsook the call of duty, the people settled for what they got.
Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
The theme of Judges is that God would rather forgive than judge. But for that to happen Christians will need to rise up from their apathy, and their prayers be heard, their voices be heard, and their votes be heard.
It's still possible to save America, and bring her back to God!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/ParableTrees.html
