“A Nation Under God: The Solution”
Jer. 3:6-4:4
As a story goes, there was once an elderly man who used to get up regularly at the prayer meeting in his church, always with the same prayer: “Use me, Lord, use me – in some advisory capacity!” Whether or not it’s true, it’s cute – but perhaps it’s all too accurate a picture of many Christians. Consider these words, spoken decades ago by a French Communist: “The Gospel is a much more powerful weapon for the renewal of society than is our Marxist philosophy. All the same, it is we who will finally beat you. We are only a handful – you Christians are numbered in the millions; but, if you remember the story of Gideon and his companions, you will understand why I am right. We Communists do not play with words. We are realists and determined to achieve our objective; we know how to obtain the means. Of our salaries and wages, we keep only what is strictly necessary and we give up the rest for propaganda purposes. To this propaganda, we also consecrate all of our free time and part of our holidays. You, however, give only a little time, hardly any money, for the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can any of you believe in the supreme power of the Gospel if you do not practice it? If you do not spread it? If you do not sacrifice either time or money for it? Believe me, it is we who will win for we believe in the Communist message and we are ready to sacrifice everything, even our life, in order that social justice may triumph; but you people are afraid to soil your hands.” Perhaps the solution for becoming a nation under God lies in we Christians moving out of our advisory mindset and into soiling our hands in the work of transformation.
Scripture certainly supports this. The chronicler, in 2 Chronicles 7, believed it. “…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.” Laid alongside the words of Jeremiah our solution becomes clear. First, we must ADOPT A POSITION. The government cannot solve all our problems – in fact, it creates some of them. The chronicler said (7:13) that when God issues judgment, when the seasons and times are bad, He’s waiting to act: “I will heal their land…my eyes will be open and my ears attentive…” As The people of God we must BE DIFFERENCE MAKERS. God said (Jer. 5:1) “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.” All it takes is one difference maker. But God does not expect the ungodly to make the difference.
The chronicler says the people who are called by God’s name are the ones who make that difference. We are the people called by His name! As Pope John Paul II said, “…if man allows himself to be prompted by God, if he walks together with Him, he is capable of changing the world.” (1) God placed Esther (4:14) in the king’s court at a crucial time to do what only she could do, and she preserved the Jewish race. God placed Joseph in a powerful position in Egypt at just the right time to save Jacob and his family and thus preserve the lineage of Jesus. God, the Sovereign Lord of history, has placed us where we are for a purpose. God has placed and equipped us to do what needs to be done here and now at this point in history.
Bill Bright, the late founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, similarly noted, “Spiritual revival is the key to changing America…In my opinion, the only way to change the world is to change individuals.” (2) As we established last week, change needs to begin with and in us. And it BEGINS WITH HUMILITY. 2ND Chronicles 7: “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves…” Humility STARTS WITH REPENTANCE. Jeremiah 3:13 & 25: “‘Only acknowledge your guilt – you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ declares the Lord…Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth until this day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
Our nation’s founding fathers understood the need for repentance. John Hancock, on April 15, 1775 in response to the beginning of the war for independence, declared a day of fasting. “Resolved; ...Thursday the 11th of May...to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation…” In his famous declaration for a national day of ‘public humiliation, prayer and fasting’ President Lincoln said, “[It] is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals, to humble ourselves before Him, and to pray for His mercy, -- to pray that we may be spared further punishment, though most justly deserved…”
Today we must honestly admit that often WE HAVE MADE THINGS WORSE. As individuals we have been selfish, lacked love, used others, held grudges, been judgmental, have un-reconciled relationships, have become addicted to the next ‘good feeling’, have pursued our own desires and directions, have become so busy and troubled that we spend less time thinking of and serving others – to mention just a few of our sins! As a nation we have celebrated immorality as entertainment, have mortgaged our children’s future for today’s wants, have watched the family unit disintegrate, have stood passively by and watched our leaders legislate ungodly laws, and have allowed personal convenience to trump the sanctity of life- to mention just a few sins.
Humility starts with repentance which LEADS TO DEPENDENCE. To sincerely repent helps us recognize that we cannot go it alone – we are not capable of doing so. Our knowledge is not sufficient; the more we come to know the more we come to know what we don’t know. Our power is not sufficient; we cannot control ourselves, let alone anyone or anything else. Our love is not sufficient; we cannot live peacefully with each other in our homes and churches, let alone love enough to bring peace to the world. WE NEED HELP. Ben Franklin understood this dependence. On June 28, 1787 in a motion for prayers to be part of the Constitutional Convention he said, “I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this Truth, that God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?” We cannot do it alone. The late Charles Colson often pointed out that the more cops we have inside ourselves, the fewer we need outside. We cannot do it alone – but as the Apostle Peter reminds us (2 Pt. 1:3) that God “has given us everything we need for life and godliness…” Paul wrote (Eph. 3:20) that God “…is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”
Are you willing to admit your dependence? Tony Snow was a respected conservative commentator and TV personality who later became presidential press secretary. Most importantly, Tony was a committed follower of Christ. Tony fought a long battle with colon cancer and went to be with the Lord on July 12 (2008). Even in the midst of his struggle, Tony wrote these words in a Christianity Today article: "Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so we might devote our remaining days to things that do?" Can we? Will we?
The second step in the solution is to PURSUE A PERSON. “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face…” To SEEK THE LORD is a frequent invitation of Scripture. Jer. 3:12 & 14 – “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord… ‘Return, faithless people,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I am your husband. I will choose you…’” Is. 55:6-7 – “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near…turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” Jesus must be the pearl of great price for which we are willing to give our all. We must give ourselves to Him, literally, while he lets Himself be found. NOW IS THE TIME. An old Saxon king set out with his army one day to put down an insurrection in a distant part of his kingdom. When the rebellion had been quelled and the army of rebels defeated, the king placed a candle over the archway of his castle where he had his headquarters. Lighting the candle, the king announced to all who had been in rebellion against him that if they surrendered and took the oath of loyalty to him while the candle was still burning they would be spared. The king offered clemency and mercy but the offer was limited to the life of the candle. Do you know how long the candle of our nation will burn? How long will the candle of your life will burn? Will it go out 30 years from now? Twenty? Ten? One? Tomorrow? How long will the Lord let Himself be found? I do not know – no one does. All we know is that right here, right now, He is letting Himself be found. C. S. Lewis said, “Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won’t last forever.. We must take it or leave it.” (3)
To pursue the Lord also means to COMMIT TO PRAY. “…if my people… will humble themselves and pray…” Mother Teresa said, “People ask me: What will convert America and save the world? My answer is prayer.” (4) Jeremiah prophesied (29:7) “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Then in Jer. 33:1-3 – “While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Jeremiah was being held captive; Israel was in dire need; their city was surrounded; famine and pestilence were rampant. And God said to give Him a chance; He was longing for them to believe Him. In verse 11 God promises them He can and will act: “For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before…” God is not only faithful to His promises but He has the power to do what He promises.
God will not force anything on us; unless we are willing to open ourselves up to Him, we will remain void of what He promises. James 4:1-2 – “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.” Why can’t people and nations get along? It’s our fault. Why do we lack what we need when we need it? It’s our fault. God could give us everything we need for living life in this world and give it to us all at once – but then there would be no personal relationship with Him. God knows that prayer is the way we stay in touch with Him so He says, “JUST ASK!” It can’t be much more reasonable than that. As the great hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” puts it: “Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Let us pray as never before for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us and upon the Church of Jesus Christ – and outpouring that will transform us and restore our nation.
The third step of the solution is to FOLLOW A PATH. “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.” We must TURN AROUND. Repentance is more than confessing sin; at root it is turning around and heading in the opposite direction. If we confess broken relationships then we must also take steps to heal them. If we confess a lack of love then we must also begin to act in love. Jer. 4:3 – “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.” This is an echo of Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Stop being unproductive; make a radical new beginning; DO WHAT IS RIGHT; LIVE BY GOD’S STANDARDS. Soil your hands and lives with the things of God.
The next step after turning around is to MAKE A COMMITMENT TO OBEY. God said (Jer. 3:22), “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” And the people responded, “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God.” God them told them (4:4) “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts…” Commit you heart to obey. As Isaiah put it (30:21) “Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” DO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU; OBEY WHAT HE SAYS.
When we adopt a position, pursue a person, and follow a path God promises amazing things. (2nd Ch. 7:14-15) “…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.” (Ps. 37:5-6) “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Jesus summarized succinctly (Mt. 6:33) when he said, “But seek first is kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It’s a call to soil our hands in the work of Christ.
Dr. Paul Campbell wrote, “The future is rich with promise if the present is rich with decision – the decision to give our lives irrevocably for the remaking of the world; to let God have the right of way in my head, my heart, my banking account, my work, my relationships, everything that touches me; really, honestly, concretely, to let God have the right of way.” Remember God’s words? (Jeremiah 4:1-2) “If you will return , O Israel, return to me,” declares the LORD. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory. ”
When we let God have the right of way, we are new creations. In the words of the apostle Paul (2nd Cor. 5:20-21): “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that, in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That’s the righteousness that exalts a nation. Let it begin with us – here and now.
Quoted by James Robison & Jason W. Richards, Indivisible, Faith Words, New York, NY, © 2012 by James Robison & Jay W. Richards, p. 160
Ibid
Ibid, p. XV
Ibid, p. 160
