What ever happened to that Can Do Attitude, That confidence that American Spirit that we once had in our Great nation?
Tomorrow is President’s Day and you know what? We have had some awesome presidents that have help mold this Country into what we are today. But what have we become? Have we become the nation that our forefathers had planned for? Would they be disappointed in us, at what we have become?
I am a firm believer that America was founded on Christian beliefs by Christian men and women. One of my favorite presidents during my lifetime is without a doubt President Ronald Reagan! I believe he was a great man of faith that God placed in office.
Illustration: Ronald Reagan said the following in February 9, 1982, at the National Religious Broadcasters Annual Convention: “Its been written that the most sublime figure in American history was George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. He personified a people who knew that it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness, that they must seek help from God - their Father and Preserver. Where did we begin to lose sight of that noble beginning, of our convictions that standards of right and wrong do exist and must be lived up to?"
Illustration: President Truman hit the nail on the head when he said: “I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.”
So very true! Our country once lived by God’s teachings. We had that old fashioned “Can Do Attitude that seemed to get us through all the difficulties that the world tossed our way. Where do you suppose we gained that Can Do Attitude? Yep, from Scripture.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
America once believed that our strength came from above and by acknowledging it came many blessings to our Great Nation. I believe we were once at a place in America when we could admit that we were weak in order to draw strength from God. And this is something that we still need to do today. In order for us to reclaim that Can do Attitude ….,
I.We Must Admit.
A.We must admit that we are weak and cannot do it alone.
1.I am sure we have all heard this before haven’t we? “The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem”. I am here to tell you that each and every soul on this planet has a problem.
2.We all have the same problem and it has been a problem since the beginning. We all have sin in our lives and our flesh has a hard time accepting it.
3.We all have our hang-ups, our faults, and imperfections. We want to blame all of it on someone else. We have a difficult time accepting the sin in our hearts.
4.In the book of Genesis we read about how Adam & Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. And when God questioned them about it, what did they do? They couldn’t admit their sin against God; they tried to pass the blame elsewhere.
Genesis 3: 11-13 “…..Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
5.It’s the oldest game known to man, “The Blame Game”. I believe it’s an issue of pride really.
B.And it is because of silly pride that many have missed out on the saving grace of God.
Illustration: Did you hear about the clever salesman who closed hundreds of sales with this line: "Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn't afford."
1.Isn’t this how it works? We have a serious problem. The problem of comparison, the problem of self, the problem of me and I is running ramped in our Country.
2.Yes, we are deemed as the land of the free but we all have become slaves to our own devices. With each technological leap we find ourselves needing and desiring the next best thing.
3.We fool ourselves into believing that we need more and the truth is we don’t even know what more is but we sure know we want it.
4.Our pride has elevated ourselves to a level that is above God. We feel we can do it on our own because if we have all the gadgets, self-help books, and Oprah to answer all of our questions, why would we need God?
5.The simple truth is that no matter how advanced we become as a nation, we have always and will always need God. God is the very reason our country was founded. God is the very reason our country has lasted. God is the very reason we have accomplished so very much.
6.We need to reclaim that CAN DO attitude that catapulted our country into greatness. We must get back to the basics and go back to our foundation and re-build what we have torn down for far too long.
7.We must deflate our view of ourselves, take away the pride and admit that we all have a problem that has been with us since the beginning and we need to hand it over to God in order to accomplish anything in life and in this beloved country.
II.We Must Submit.
A.We must submit everything to Jesus in order to move forward. It’s a matter of trust.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
1.Our trust must be in God, not ourselves. Man is not smart enough to take care of himself or save himself. And he is certainly not good enough to do this!
2.Our ultimate trust must be in the Lord! He alone can save us, protect us, and provide for us!
3.I think for the most part, American Christians will say they trust In God with their mouths but their actions tell a different story.
4. For example, how many of us when we have been sick have ever done this?
James 5:14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
5.My point is that we see the Bible as outdated and not relevant in today’s world. We say things like, “Oh that was for them not for us”. We cannot say we believe and have submitted to only part of the Scriptures and still claim to be Christians.
6.Many of us simply pick and choose what we want to believe, what we want to follow. We want the blessings of God but yet we have a hard time following His instructions, a hard time submitting to Him.
7.We have a Burger King mentality of Christianity, We want it our way! And if we feel uncomfortable about any of the Scriptures we simply turn to deaf ear and convince ourselves that certain parts of the Bible are not relevant to us today.
8.Some of the more popular parts of the Bible in which many are at odds with are: Homosexuality, Abortion, Gifts of the Spirit, Healings, the power of Prayer, Tithing, and even believing miracles.
VIDEO: “Little Darth Vader”
-I love that commercial! It reminds me of how God is there watching us and helping us even when we don’t know He’s there, He is!
9.Christians, ask yourself, “Where do you stand”? In agreement or disagreement with God’s Holy Word? Have you truly submitted to Him?
10.The main problem in our country is that we have swayed so very far from God’s Word. We live in a society that has watered down the Bible to suit our desires.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
11.Friends, the time that the scripture is speaking of has arrived. We are living in this time. And it is time we get back to the fundamentals and reclaim our country as a Christian nation.
12.It is time we realize that we have stalled as a nation. We have gone so far off track. But we can reclaim this Godly nation and get back where we need to be. We must submit to God completely.
13.Do we really want to see change in our country?
Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
III.We Must Never Quit.
A.We must never quit, never give up the good fight.
Illustration: "We have God's promise that what we give will be given back many times over, so let us go forth from here and rekindle the fire of our faith. Let our wisdom be vindicated by our deeds. We are told in II Timothy that when our work is done, we can say, 'We have fought the good fight. We have finished the race. We have kept the faith.'" RONALD REAGAN, FEBRUARY 4, 1982, AT THE ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
1.As I take a look at our nation, I see a nation that has given up. A nation that has given up on God. The great nation once deemed as a Christian nation by our forefathers is now deemed by our current president as the direct opposite.
Illustration: April 7th 2009, President Obama commented during a press conference in Turkey in which, speaking for Americans, he said that, "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values. Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation - at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."
2.“Whatever we once were”??? This is how far separated from God our country has become. We have quit God.
3.We have quit Him by kicking Him out of our schools, by kicking Him out of our Government; we have quit God by kicking Him out of our lives.
4.50 years ago I believe most Americans would never have imagined we would have become what we have become. We are a product of our own demise.
5.We became complacent and comfortable. We became tolerant and accepting. The bottom line is, We Quit! We quit living as a Christian Nation years ago, long before Obama and long before liberalism.
6.We quit when we placed God second to everything else in our lives. We quit when we became afraid to speak His name in public.
7.It’s time we ban together and reclaim the United States of America as One nation Under God. Where has our Can Do Attitude gone?
Conclusion: I love our country and I believe in America. I believe that we were founded on His Love. But unfortunately I believe we have strayed off course. It’s time we get back to where we need to be. Do you desire to reclaim our country? It may seem like and overwhelming task as we look at our current stat but we can do it with His guidance and we can find the strength to do all things through Him and Him alone
