MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Much of this sermon came from books by David Barton, and excerpts from other sermons. Unfortunately, when I prepared this in July, 2000, I was much more concerned about the message I was trying to impart than in taking the time to footnote the sources.)
TEXT: Psalm 33:12; 144:15
Last week my message was entitled, “Blessed is the Nation…”, based on Psalm 33:12 which says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.” And in my introduction I said,
“We’ve gone a long ways away from our roots as Americans. So, one of my goals this morning is to do a little bit of education. In fact, this message is more of a history lesson than a Bible lesson, & that bothers me because I’d rather preach Bible-based sermons where I take a passage of Scripture & explain what it says, & do my best to apply its message to the needs of our lives today.”
In fact, it bothers me so much that a few years ago I talked it over with some of our men who met on Friday mornings for Bible Study & prayer. We came to the conclusion that there is so much about our nation’s early history that most Americans just don’t know. And what finally convinced me to go ahead with this type of sermon was this statement: “People need to know this, & if they don’t hear it at church, where will they hear it?”
Our school systems & colleges & universities have become so secularized - so distanced from religion - that huge chunks of information about the spiritual roots of our nation are neglected, & unless you hear it from Christians, where will you hear it?
So, in my sermon last week I mentioned some things that are worth knowing about the roots of our nation, about what’s right with America. And I pointed out:
“The first thing right with America is that our earliest settlers were people who came here primarily looking for religious freedom. Other nations, for the most part, came into existence by conquest for selfish & ambitious motives. But it was primarily in the atmosphere of God, not gold, that America was born.”
After giving some illustrations to back that up, I said: "But before I go any further, please remember that around 150 years passed by from the time of the earliest settlers to the beginning of our nation. And we’re not very proud of some of the things that happened during those years.” And I told you about some of those things.
But then something amazing happened! Beginning in 1734, a series of great crusades & revivals began to spread throughout the 13 Colonies. So many people came to Christ that that era is known by historians as “The Great Awakening.” Tens of thousands dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ & were baptized.
ILL. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”
Then I asked the question: “Why am I telling you all this?” It was because this “Great Awakening” was a precursor to the American Revolution.
Our Founding Fathers, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, those who wrote our Constitution & the Bill of Rights, those who put their lives on the line, who fought & died that we might be free – all these grew up & came into leadership while this “Great Awakening” was engulfing the land. The generation that experienced the “Great Awakening,” those who had a strong desire to be pleasing to God & to do His will, became the leaders of the American Revolution!
Finally, I suggested that “America was founded by men & women who acknowledged God’s supreme rule over men & nations.” They weren’t perfect. They weren’t all devout Christians, but they all acknowledged that God was the supreme ruler over men & nations.
PROP. With that, I ran out of time, & brought my sermon to a close, mentioning that there was more that could be said. Well, so many of you urged me to follow up on what I was saying, that I agreed to do so this morning.
I. AMERICA WAS PROTECTED & DIRECTED BY GOD IN ITS FOUNDING
Continuing with that message, then, I also believe that America was protected & directed by God in its founding. The British Empire at the time of the Revolutionary War possessed the most powerful fighting forces on the face of the earth. The rag-tag assembly of volunteers, farmers & tradesmen who composed the ranks of the Continental Army were out-manned, out-gunned, & out-financed.
The colonies had virtually no chance of winning a war against England, short of God’s miraculous intervention. And that intervention seems to have happened. In fact, both American & British observers of that time recorded their conviction that God had actually sided with the colonies against the British Empire.
ILL. For example, on Aug. 27, 1776, just 25 days after the Declaration of Independence was signed by the final delegate, Washington’s army of 8,000 found itself trapped at the water’s edge of the East River, near Brooklyn, NY. 20,000 experienced British soldiers were poised to attack. But for some reason, they delayed their attack, possibly waiting for the British fleet to sail up the river & close the trap. But suddenly, rains came & a strong northeast wind arose, preventing the fleet from sailing.
When night fell, Washington began to evacuate his army across the mile-wide river in small boats, a few men at a time, trying to save as many as he could. As morning approached, he knew that the boats would become easy targets for the British artillery.
But just as the sun arose, an unusually dense fog formed & visibility dropped to just 6 yards. The fog remained in place until the very last boat, carrying Washington himself, set off across the river. Then it suddenly lifted, & the British were stunned to see the shore empty of men. Guns were fired at Washington’s boat, but it was out of range. And not a man of the Continental Army was lost!
Of course, we could just consider that a “lucky break.” After all, there’s no proof that God had anything to do with the sudden rains & wind & unusually dense fog. But many of the American soldiers kept diaries of that event, & almost all of them attributed the "coincidental happenings" to the intervention & protection of God.
ILL. Another amazing "coincidence" took place at the end of the war. By that time, the French had become our allies & an opportunity arose to trap British General Cornwallis in Virginia.
But to do so meant that Washington had to march an army of 7,000 men all the way from New York to Virginia; a French army had to land somewhere along the coast & find its way to meet Washington; & the French fleet had to keep the English from sending any reinforcements. And all of this had to be done in complete secrecy, without the English suspecting a thing.
According to one historian, "The junction in Virginia had to be coordinated by two different national commands separated across an ocean without benefit of telephone, telegraph or wireless. That this was carried out without a fault seems accountable only by a series of miracles." In fact, the ending of the war at the Battle of Yorktown, in 1781 is actually referred to by some historians as the "Miraculous Convergence."
Once again, it may have been just another “lucky break.” But could it be that God did guide & protect our young nation, not just in New York & Yorktown, but all throughout our quest for independence? Could it be that the fruit of the Great Awakening - a love for righteousness, a sense of destiny, moral courage & unreserved dependence on God - moved the heart & hand of God? I believe so. And so did many of our founders.
II. AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT IS PATTERNED AFTER BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
Secondly, “America’s government is patterned after biblical principles.” Do you know where the framers of our government got the pattern for 3 branches of government? As you know, we have an Executive Branch, a Legislative Branch that makes laws, & a Judicial Branch. Where did they get the idea or pattern for 3 branches of government?
Not from any country in Europe; not from the writings of Plato or any of the other philosophers. No, when the framers of our government got together to determine, "How can we best organize our government?" they looked to the word of God. They were influenced by Isaiah 33:22 which refers to God in those same 3 aspects. "For the Lord is our Judge [that’s judicial], our Lawgiver [that’s legislative], & our King [that’s executive]. It is He who will save us."
III. AMERICAN LAW GUARANTEES OUR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
TO PRACTICE & PROCLAIM OUR FAITH.
And finally, another thing right with America is that: “American law, as written by our founding fathers, guarantees our religious freedom to practice & proclaim our faith.”
ILL. Let me read to you the First Amendment of the American Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Now, much has been made in the last few years about the so-called "wall of separation" between church & state. I challenge any true student of history to study the background of where that comes from.
The so-called "wall of separation" was never intended to insulate our government or our culture from Christian influence. It was originally & always intended to protect the church from governmental influence & interference.
ILL. By the way, did you know that in 1892 the Supreme Court declared this about Christianity in America? "Our laws & our institutions must necessarily be based on & must include the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible for it to be otherwise. To this extent, our civilization & our institutions are emphatically Christian."
That’s what the Supreme Court said a little over a hundred years ago. Yet in recent years the Supreme Court has totally repudiated that stand. But there is hope. Remember, members of the Supreme Court do come & go. And they do change.
And there are also many people who are determined to find some way to exercise their right to practice & proclaim their faith, regardless of how vocal & strident the opposition may be today.
ILL. For example, in May, 1991, the Supreme Court of the State of California ruled that no longer could high school graduations have a prayer or a blessing. The Riverside County High School graduation service had always included a prayer of blessing upon the graduating class, but the Supreme Court of California said, "You can’t do that this year."
At the graduation, student after student came to the microphone & gave a little speech, but the final speech was the one that got a standing ovation. As the last student walked to the microphone, on a pre-arranged signal, he sneezed. And as one voice, the entire graduating class stood up & said together, "GOD BLESS YOU!" There was their benediction, there was their blessing.
ILL. Another incident happened in Calvert County, Maryland. One student, 17-year-old Nick Becker, lodged a complaint through the ACLU about an invocation being prayed at his high school graduation service. The ACLU threatened the school board that if they permitted a prayer at that graduation, they would be sued. To avoid that, they came up with the decision to observe a moment of silence instead of prayer.
So when the time came, 17-year-old Julie Schenk, one of the Senior class leaders, stood at the microphone & requested the crowd of 4,000 people to stand & observe the moment of silence. The crowd stood. And then in the crowd, a single student began to recite the Lord’s Prayer, "Our Father, who art in heaven…"
By the time he got to the second phrase, nearly everyone in that crowd picked it up & began to pray it with him. And as one mighty voice, like rolling thunder across that auditorium, they prayed the Lord’s Prayer together. And then, they sat down.
ILL. Cal Thomas, the journalist, had this to say about that event:
“Those Maryland parents & friends discovered an authority they had forgotten they had. Frustrated by the aimlessness of Washington & its inability to do anything except focus on self-preservation & survival of the politically unfit, this audience at the Calvert County graduation, decided to practice what ‘We the People’ actually means.
“When those Marylanders were told that they had no right to speak of God publicly, they chose to speak to God publicly. Ladies & Gentlemen, whatever the Supreme Court says, they cannot stop us from practicing & proclaiming our faith wherever & whenever we choose.”
When somebody says you can’t do it, you just smile at him or her & you practice your faith. You proclaim your faith. I believe with all my heart that America has been blessed above many nations because of the character & faith of its founders. And the Bible still says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."
CONCL. Now let me close by telling you a story of something that happened, not in the United States, but in the former Soviet Union.
ILL. An American choir was on tour in Europe. And one of the leaders of the choir writes: “It was 1993, & 36 of us were over in the former Soviet Union presenting what I guess could be called an Americana concert. We dressed up in red, white & blue. And the first night of the concert, the Yalta concert hall was filled with about 3,000 people. We had gone through the greater part of our concert when we came to the song ‘America the Beautiful.’
“We were not prepared at all for what happened. As we began to sing ‘America the Beautiful,’ this crowd of people, who for 70 years had been under the fist of godless Communism, stood to their feet in honor of America. And we began to lose it. I mean, it got so hard for us, we were so effected, that we couldn’t even sing.
“Then another amazing thing happened. This crowd of people began to sing ‘America the Beautiful.’ And we finished the song together!”
Folks, I know that America is not perfect, but I do believe that it is the greatest nation on earth. And the reason it is the greatest nation on earth is because our forefathers acknowledged God & their dependence upon Him. And we must not lose sight of the heritage that they have entrusted to us.
LET US PRAY:
