AMERICA IN CRISIS
The people of Iraq live today under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Iraq is a
country where women have no rights, where men are persecuted and tortured if they dare make any anti-government remarks, and where all people live in constant fear.
Until recently in Afghanistan, women were not allowed to be educated in the schools. Men were not allowed to shave their beards or mustaches; the growing of opium represented more than 50% of the farmer’s national crop, grown and
harvested and sold to provide for the needs of drug cartels and drug traffickers. And most certainly, the most evil, vile and despicable terrorists in the world were trained in Afghanistan under Al Qaeda and its sick and demented leader, Osama bin Laden.
Ninety miles south of the tip of Florida, the people of the island of Cuba continue to live in poverty as they have for more than 40 years now, under the communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.
The AIDS epidemic continues to sweep across Africa and into China. Medical care is poor at best, and only the few receive the treatment they so desperately need.
Church, I wonder, do we realize how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the history of the world. We are the most powerful, the wealthiest, the most well educated and most blessed country that mankind has ever known. We are a nation that was founded under the principle that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America states that we are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
For 116 years in New York Harbor, near the ruins of the once majestic World Trade Center buildings, the Statue of Liberty has stood steadfastly with its right hand raised holding the torch of freedom. Since October 28, 1886, Lady Liberty has been the first sight seen by many peoples of all nations, all religions, all nationalities, as they have emigrated to our country in search of a new life and new opportunity, that which we have come to know as the American Dream.
For 226 years America has been the beacon of light and the defender of freedom for all people. I am proud to call myself an American. I love my country, but my heart breaks and cries out in sadness for my beloved country, America, is in crisis.
We find in our Bible, in the Book of Galatians, Chapter 6, verse 7, that the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the people of Galatia, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: (meaning fooled), for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Today, in America, people of all walks of life have strayed from the very foundation upon which our country was built. The seeds or corruption have grown and flourished and as a country, we are reaping what we have sown.
The good news for all of us is that Almighty God has never changed, and when I think of His great love for me and for you, I am reminded of that beautiful old gospel hymn that we all love and have heard so many times.
Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same.
All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His Name! Glory to His Name! Glory to His Name!
All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His Name!
The Bible remains the same today as it was in the days of old. It was God’s unchanging Word yesterday, it is God’s unchanging Word today, and it will be God’s unchanging Word for all the tomorrows to come. The Bible is our textbook,
our map and our direction for all things we encounter in this earthly life, and when we stray from it, that is when we get in trouble.
I opened the local newspaper the other day to read and find out what was happening in our world. Certainly we all knew and were concerned about the snipers that were terrorizing cities in our state and bordering states and the District of Columbia, wherein resides the leaders of our country; congressmen, senators, Supreme Court Justices, and the President of the United States. I praise God this morning that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were able to join together in a united effort with one common purpose, and that being to stop the terror and arrest the two men responsible.
I do admit, however, that I feel a sense of sadness in the knowledge that one of those responsible was a 17-year-old high school student. My heart cries out asking where were his parents? Where were his teachers? Where were God’s witnesses that
could, perhaps, have steered him away from a life of violence and crime and into the path of God’s light?
As I continued to scan the newspaper further, I read a story about “dead beat dads,” men that had fathered children and now were running away and hiding to avoid supporting them. As I read this article I wondered how our society would be different today if all parents accepted the responsibility for the children that they
helped bring into this world. And let me be plain about this, I am not speaking about financial support alone.
Every parent needs to be a leader by example for his or her children. We need to provide homes where God is the center of all family life. We need to be teachers, caretakers, best friend disciplinarian, and role models for our children. We need to know where they are when they aren’t at home. We need to know who their friends are. We need to love them with all our hearts and all our souls, but sometimes that requires a tough love.
In order to be successful in today’s society our lives must be rooted in the things of God. We must teach our children the ways of the Lord. God has clearly promised us in the Book of Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Church, please understand that when I say the following I am neither boasting nor gloating, but merely stating the fact that in my life God has kept His Word. I am the proud father of five children, four daughters and one son. None of them have ever been involved in drugs or alcohol. They all accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior at an early age. They all remain churched today. They all are college educated. None has ever been in trouble with the law. They are all role models and leaders within their communities. This didn’t happen by accident.
All my children were raised in a home where God was first. They learned and practiced Christianity. Today, at last count anyway, they have honored me with eleven beautiful grand children, and these children are being raised in similar fashion. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Let me add that I do not condemn or sit in judgment of you that socially drink. I was merely stating that my children don’t. The Bible tells us that “there is none that is perfect, no not one,” and most certainly I am far, very far from
perfect myself.
Two out of every three marriages in America today end in divorce. Unwed mothers give birth to hundreds of illegitimate children each day. The responsibility for raising these children often goes to other family members, friends, or to the State in which they reside. Then again, many choose the easy way out of a difficult situation. They choose abortion. Make no mistake about this issue church, for abortion is wrong and against the very Will of God.
As I contemplated these issues, child support, divorce, leadership of parents and abortion, this thought occurred to me. What if God disowned me? What if He claimed no responsibility for me? What if He hadn’t given to me and to others like
me, that greatest gift of all, His gift of love to us, His only Son, Jesus Christ?
I thumbed through the pages of the newspaper further and read an article about a Judge from the state of Georgia that had been removed from office due to misconduct. I thought how awful it must be to have a dishonest Judge. I thanked
God for the knowledge that He had given me in His Holy Word about the Judge who reins supreme in Heaven above. Neither you nor I have to worry about where we will spend eternity if we have been saved through the precious blood of His
Lamb, Jesus Christ. We don’t have to worry about a dishonest Judge giving our mansion away to someone else. We need only claim the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Almighty God will reward us as promised in His Word, for His Word is forever, lasting and unchanging.
Then I thought about the millions of people in this world who either do not know or have not accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, and my heart became very sad, for their fate, without Jesus, is spending eternity in hell.
As I turned to the Sports section of the paper, a bold headline read, “Super Hero Barry Ready for Series” meaning Barry Bonds, baseball player extraordinaire. Yes, Barry’s a great player and I admire his talent. The problem is that many treat him as if he is God in the flesh. Barry is the role model for millions of children and adults, at a time in our country when our real hero needs to be Jesus Christ. I ask you, where did Barry’s tremendous talent come from? Indeed, it came from our God, from whom the Bible tells us “all blessings flow.” God and God alone gives each of us the talents that we have.
We all have talents although some have more than others. Whatever talents we have, it is the will of God that we use them to honor and glorify Him. You and I may not be great athletes but we do have God-given talents. We should all be
humble, not arrogant, grateful, not over-confident. God has given us everything good that we have in life. Glory to His name.
The next story that I read warmed my heart. The headline read “The Power of Love” and I said to myself, “oh boy, now you’re talking!” I know all about the power of love. I heard it first as a very young man when my mom read John 3:16 to me, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The story in the newspaper was about three special people that were caregivers to special people in their lives, people with disabilities. It was a beautiful article about three people that were placing the needs of others above their own needs. I thought to myself, this is what Christianity is all about.
The final thing that I looked at in the paper was the obituaries. I’ve aged a lot in the last few years, have lost some of my hair and what’s left has turned gray, so I was looking for my name but I didn’t find it. However, I did see your name Sister Wanda. As I looked over the names I was numbed when I saw the ages of their death. One was three months old, two were teenagers, one was in their twenties, four in their thirties, and three in their fifties. I was quickly reminded that life is but a vapor and that none of us our even promised our next breath.
Near Washington D.C. in the last few weeks, a sniper’s bullet snuffed out the lives of several young men and women, and critically wounded a thirteen yearold boy. We must be sure of our salvation and we should live every day as if it is our last. We may never get another chance to see the another sunrise or sunset.
My best male friend, a preacher from my church back home in Tennessee, is Earl Graves. Earl preached a stirring message of salvation one Sunday morning not too long ago. In the back of the church sat a young man and woman that were engaged to be married. The young man told his fiancé after the service that he had felt the calling to walk to the altar, to accept Christ as his personal Lord and Savior that day. He told her he just wasn’t ready but that he was close and perhaps he would do it the next week. The next week never came for that young man, for that afternoon, a mere 3 hours later; he was killed while riding his motorcycle.
Contrary to what another religion believed and practiced, there is no pergatory; there is no place in-between Heaven and hell where we can work off our sins after our earthly death.
Our country and our world are in crisis. Stories of murders, robberies, rapes, suicides, divorces, misappropriations of money, and all sorts of other horrible things are in our newspapers and on our television sets daily. America is a country that has printed on every coin and every dollar bill, the words “In God We Trust.” Our country was founded on this principle. Therefore, the question we must ask ourselves today is “do we really trust God?”
If we do as a nation then why have we sat back complacently and allowed the few to manage to take prayer out of our public schools? Is it that most Christians do not care enough to unite and rally together and take a stand for God and Christian principles? Have we have become a nation of lazy people that depends on others to
be the ones to stand up and be counted. In some denominations of what is known as the Protestant Church, the hierarchies of the associations have made the decision to allow homosexual ministers in the pulpit. Personally, I find this repulsive and disgusting. In our unchanging Bible, God has stated that homosexuality is an “abomination” to Him. The gay lifestyle is wrong and cannot be justified. It is not a genetic disorder that one is born with. It is a disease of the soul and a learned behavior. Yes, open the doors of the church and allow them in, that they might repent and know God, but do not allow them in your pulpits.
The Bible tells us that the “harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” We need more people who are willing to be leaders to step forward and say, “Lord send me, I will go.” This church and every other Christian church in America needs soldiers
for Jesus, members that are willing to become leaders for the cause of Jesus Christ. Only then can any church even begin to do the great works that God would like to see happen in our midst.
Honesty, trustworthiness, morality and family values have declined. America needs a spiritual revival and the return of the very principles upon which we were founded. It is sad but true, that the vast majority of people in our country no longer love the Lord God with all their hearts. Too many live as if God does not matter, as if He is unimportant, or an optional choice. Too many of us today live as if there is no God, no authority, no moral absolutes and no judgment.
We must become concerned about our attitudes. We must not be indifferent to the things that are going on around us. Pontius Pilate lived life on that level. Remember when Jesus was brought before Pilate and Pilate said “I find no fault with this man?” Then in an act of neutrality, an act of “I don’t care one way or the other,” he called for a basin of water and washed his hands in full view of the people, saying “I am innocent of the blood of this just person, see ye to it.” Then what did he do? He allowed Jesus to be flogged and delivered to the soldiers to be crucified. He didn’t care one way or the other. He was unconcerned about what was happening. Church, every time that we refuse to do something that is difficult but right, we are doing as Pontius Pilate did. We are washing our hands of that matter and the spirit of Pontius Pilate is coming out in us.
So in conclusion, we all ask the question, what’s wrong with America? But we all should know that we are the root of the problem. The Bible tells us “as ye sow, so shall ye reap.” Our country, America, was founded on Christian principles and
faith in God, and we have departed from those principles. We are reaping what we have sown. Some of the seeds we have sown on rocky ground have withered away because those seeds have lost contact with God and His Word.
As our song leader comes to lead us in “God Bless America,” I ask each of us to examine our hearts and become more concerned about what is taking place all around us. We must show more concern by works, and less concern by talk. We must not continue to sit back and watch things happen and do nothing about it. We must unite together in a common cause and fight for what is right in the eyes of God. We must be concerned about immorality and violence and we must take a
stand against it. We must provide daily counseling and guidance to our children and the youth of America. As parents we must regain control of our homes and be the leaders our children so desperately need. For one day we all will answer to God for the way we have chosen to raise our children and to live our lives. Our children are the leaders of tomorrow’s world. If we teach them right, according to God’s Word, we can effectively change the direction in which our country has gone. Today is your day of decision.
