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Reconnecting God And America
Contributed by Perry Greene on Nov 30, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: I have a firm conviction that many times in America's history God was at the center. We need God in America again, especially in these chaotic times.
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Reconnecting God-N-America
The mission of GNA is to: Reconnect God and America by telling His story in our History. That involves three parts:
1. God in the Bible
2. God in American History
3. God in Current Events
Our Founders established our country in the light of the tyranny of England. That includes the Pilgrims as well as the time of the Revolution.
Satan is the ultimate tyrant, desiring to lead us away from God and come under his control.
• Garden of Eden
• Days of Noah
• Tower of Babel
• Assyria-Babylon-Greeks-Romans, et al
When we ignore God and the Liberties He provides, Satan will fill the void.
• Politics – abuse of separation of church and state (opposite of what was intended)
• Schools – No Prayer; No Bible (opposite of the Founders)
• Founders and Framers intended to protect us from government – they knew the nature of man in regard to power and they experienced tyranny. Our Constitution and, especially the Bill of Rights were to keep the power in the hands of the people, not the government (Today it is the opposite).
King George III asked his American painter, Benjamin West, what Washington would do after winning independence. West replied, “They say he will return to his farm.” “If he does that,” the skeptical monarch said, “he will be the greatest man in the world.”
The Bible tells us that we are in a “spiritual war.” – Ephesians 6:10-13 (ESV):
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Tyranny and Liberty are spiritual issues.
The Founders knew it, too. Benjamin Rush’s conversation with John Adams:
Upon my return from the army to Baltimore in the winter of 1777, I sat next to John Adams in Congress, and upon my whispering to him and asking him if he thought we could succeed in our struggle with Great Britain, he answered me, “Yes, if we fear God and repent of our sins.”
Will God rescue America? I don’t know.
• He didn’t recue the Hebrews from Assyria or Babylon; nor did he rescue those nations from Greece and Rome
• We certainly do not deserve it.
o Most Americans don’t want God, they want to be their own gods (< 50% “Christian”)
o Look at our sins – murder of the innocents
Calls to Prayer, Fasting, and Humiliation by Governors of Colonies; States and by POTUS
One example:
By 1742 France, Spain, and Prussia had become the enemies of Great Britain. Then, in 1743 the British captured the French city of Louisborg, Nova Scotia. The French wanted the busy seaport back so in 1746 King Louis XV sent Admiral Anville with the most powerful fleet of the day to retake the city. They intended to expel the British, put Boston to flames, ravage New England, and waste the West Indies.
Massachusetts Governor William Shirley declared a day of fasting and prayer on October 16, 1746 to pray for deliverance. Boston gathered in the Old South Meeting House. The Reverend Thomas Prince prayed, “Send thy tempest, Lord, upon the waters . . . scatter the ships of our tormentors!”
Witnesses said that as he finished praying, the skies darkened, winds shrieked, and the church bells rang a “wild, uneven sound . . .” A hurricane scattered the entire French fleet all the way to the Caribbean. Lightning struck some of the ships causing fire onboard which ignited gunpowder.
2000 French died in the hurricane, including the Admiral. 4000 died as a result of typhoid. The French Vice-Admiral threw himself on his sword, ending the threat.
Stories like this emboldened the Pastors of a generation or two before the American Revolution to stand against the tyrannical King of England. God was with them then and would be through the Revolution.
Prayers of confession are needed today as in Colonial times and throughout our history. Just like in the Bible:
Nehemiah 9:2 (ESV):
And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
We may not be hurting enough yet, but we have a lot of sin to confess, especially when we go back into our ancestry.
Murder of innocents; Apathy to the blessings of God; Injustice – racial and currently our two-tiered justice system, one set of laws for the elite and another for the Americans; Poor stewardship of what we have inherited; Greed and Sloth; etc.