God is in control - or is He really?
Last Sunday we took a look at - is God in control of the earth, planets,
stars, etc., basically, all of nature
Next Sunday we'll be looking at - is God in control of you and me
Today - is God in control of the nations
So, is God in control of the nations of the earth?
But, before we get starting talking about all of this, does anyone know who this is? (Hold up an “action figure” of Irwin R. Schyster)
You know how professional wrestling goes …
First person A is stomping person B’s face into the ground
Person B gets up and it looks like he’s gonna make a comeback but it’s not to be
Person A does something illegal or mean to person B
The crowd turns against person A
Person B suddenly springs back to life and starts stomping person A
And back and forth it goes until the end of the script … I mean the end of the match when the person you’ve never heard of before loses.
With professional wrestling it’s easy to see who is in control; the script writers!
But, with nations? God? Us? Nobody?
When you’re reading through the kings of Israel and Judah in the OT doesn’t it seem like the same twists and turns that take place in professional wrestling are taking place but with nations instead of people???
Sometimes the Israelites are beating up the Philistines
Sometimes the Philistines are beating up the Israelites
After the reign of Solomon, Pharoah Shishak of Egypt attacks Jerusalem and takes all the temple treasure.
Then there’s the continual war between Israel and Judah
- Imagine if the American Civil War was never concluded
- it would just ebb back and forth over the decades
- that is what the relationship was like between the Israel and Judah
Is God in control of the nations?
Israel and Judah agree to fight the Arameans together
Moab revolts against Israel
The Arameans return to besiege Samaria
Edom's successful revolt against Judah.
Israel and Judah fight against Hazael king of Aram
Israel has continuing war with Judah and Aram
Assyria invades Israel multiple times finally taking them in to exile and dispersion
Babylon invades Judea multiple times taking them into exile
It sounds like a version of a WWE pay per view on a national scale!
We have the advantage of reading all of it in just a few hours. How long would it take to read Exodus, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles? Probably just two or three hours and we would have the story of Israel and even a retelling of the era of the kings.
What does God’s word say? Is God in control of the nations of the earth or isn’t He?
Acts 17:26
“From one ancestor He made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and He allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live.”
Romans 9:17
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing My power in you, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth’.”
Isaiah 45:1-6
“Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him - and the gates shall not be closed:
“I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
“For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me.”
“so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
Verse one calls Cyrus the Lord’s “anointed” one. Why?
God has raised Cyrus up to power to defeat the Babylonians
God has given Cyrus not only the desire to set the Israelites free but to give
them his protection and resources
God has done this because the 70 years of captivity ordained by God have
come to an end
We see from these three Scriptures that God created nations,
God raises up nations in order to demonstrate His power for His glory and
God even uses pagan nations to discipline and then restore the nation of Israel.
So, are nations powerless to determine their own fate?
Or, are nations in the hand of God like professional wrestlers who can only do what the script writers say they can do?
Jeremiah 18:1-12
“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you My message.’
“So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
“Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, Israel.’
“If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
“And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in My sight and does not obey Me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem,
‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you.
“So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions. But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
Now, here’s where the analogy of comparing the scripting of professional wrestling with the working of God in the nations ends.
We have a gracious and awesome God! Not just a script writer. His great grace means that He enables us to be righteous, not on our own power but by His grace!
When we look back at the history of Israel we see that times of peace and prosperity were always the result of living in harmony with God. They were faithful to the Lord and He was faithful to them.
It was when their heart went astray to idols or when they trusted in their own might and power that they were brought low by enemies or famine or pestilence.
This principle is so eloquently expressed in
2 Chronicles 7:13
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people …”
Why would the LORD God do that? We see it over and over in the OT, it is because they have abandoned the LORD God and worshiped idols which cannot speak or hear.
The LORD God is disciplining them to bring them to repentance and a renewed love for Him, their God, their protector, their provider.
What should their response be?
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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
This is one of the most quoted Scriptures in churches around the nation every time a Sunday falls near a national holiday. Why?
Is it because of this phrase, “and heal their land?”
Is that why we love that verse so much?
Because most of us love the USA and we want it to be a great nation.
Let me ask you a question … do you think that verse would be as popular if only one word was changed and it read like this?
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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their soul.”
What is a nation with no people? Land …
Can God save nations (as in eternal life)? No. God saves people.
2 Peter 3:9b AMP
“[The Lord] is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.”
God wants to save people. A nation full of righteous people would be a righteous nation. God blesses righteous nations.
The target of our affections, hopes, dreams and desires cannot be our nation but it must be our God and His kingdom!
Let’s go to the land of hypothetical for a moment. If every nation on earth was filled with people who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and who loved their neighbors as their selves would it really matter what nation you really lived in except for the climate. And, even then, the climate would not matter because you would just be content to live where the Lord would want you to live and where you could be of use to His kingdom.
I would hazard a guess that all of us here love the nation in which we live. We can think of ways in which it could be improved but it is still a great place to call home.
No matter who is the current resident of the governors office or the senate or the house of representatives or the white house there is one part of the nation over which you have control and that’s you are in charge of you and I am in charge of me.
In my heart I need to consider the weight of matters. Am I more concerned about the nation or am I more concerned about the Kingdom of God?
The only way to truly change any nation is to bring the Kingdom of God into that nation one person at a time as they place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
If the people of a nation repent of their sins, turn to God for salvation and start living holy lives which are pleasing to God the nation will take on a righteous character, pleasing to God.
But, it can’t be for the sake of the nation but for the sake of God.
God did not send His one and only Son into the world to save nations but to save souls.
How do we do this? We humble ourselves and pray and seek the face of God and turn from our wicked ways. It’s as simple as that.
Today the news if filled with the terrorist group known as ISIS. ISIS is not a nation but desires to be one. They are attempting to build a nation by destroying all others who do not believe as they do. The homes of Christians are marked with the Arabic letter “N” signifying that the people who live there are followers of Jesus the Nazarene. Believers in Jesus are given the choice to convert to Islam, pay a large fine, flee for their lives or be martyred for the cause of Christ.
Listen to this report form Christian Aid Mission
Fatima, an Iraqi woman who fled atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS), was drawn to the sound of singing in a tent in a refugee camp Iraq. She approached cautiously.
Though embarrassed when the Christians worshipping inside saw her, she came closer and asked if she could enter and listen to what they were saying. By the time the meeting finished at 4 a.m., she was on her way to embracing Christ as Savior and asked if she could bring friends and family to the next meeting.
Fatima, her husband and three daughters put their trust in Jesus for their salvation, and within a few weeks her involvement led to another 60 families making the same commitment, according to an area ministry leader.
“Tent churches are going on everywhere,” said the ministry leader. “Last week we had 68 families openly surrender their lives to the Lord. With all their large needs and difficult situations that they are going through, they thank God for the indwelling of Christ in their hearts. Twelve of those families were Muslims.”
In addition, 200 children who received Bibles and coloring materials prayed to accept Jesus into their hearts.
There is an enemy more evil that ISIS seeking to destroy everyone who ever lived.
On the other hand, we have a Savior who desires to rescue anyone who will come to Him for salvation!
And, He is the ultimate power of the universe.
Deliverance from the spiritual terrorist only comes through Christ!
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!
God, in the final judgment IS in control of the nations. Let Him be.
That’s His job not ours!
As long as the thought that burns deep down in our souls is the salvation of America as a nation we need to go to God and ask Him to change our hearts;
to reorient our priorities.
I could not think of any analogy that would work regarding salvation of souls and salvation of the nation.
If you want to hit a homerun you need to keep your eye on the ball all the way to the bat. Is like saying if you want to save America you need to be righteous, but, that is wrong. Saving America is NOT the homerun, bringing the Kingdom of God to earth is the homerun AND it is also the path of righteousness.
If our HIGHEST desire is to save America or anything other than serving and pleasing God then it is idolatry.
In the priorities of the universe there is God and everything else is just everything else. He is the King. He is the one to whom we all should swear our love and allegiance to until our dying breath.
(Conclusion as the Lord leads.)
