Standing On Guard For Canada

O Canada, We Stand On Guard In Prayer For Thee

Daniel 9:1-19; Psalm 72:8; Amos 6:1

By Ralph Juthman

INTRODUCTION

Video: O Canada

Tomorrow, July 1st we celebrate our nation of Canada’s 146th birthday!

The Canadian charter explicitly states that ‘Canada is founded upon the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.’

Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley ( of the hat company), Premier of New Brunswick, one of Canada’s founding fathers, was a God fearing man. He woke up on the day they were to decide the name of this new confederation and read from Psalms 72:8,

‘He shall have Dominion also from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth.’

So Tilley suggested that the new confederation be called the Dominion of Canada, and it was so named on July 1, 1867.

The word Dominion has been removed from our national identity for a while now. But the inspired association with Psalm 72:8 remains the foundation of our spiritual heritage. In fact if you were to go to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, this verse is still forever ensconced on the concrete entrance into the Parliament buildings.

It does not take long for a visitor to Canada to see how far we have drifted as a nation from those biblical moorings.

I wonder what Sir John A MacDonald, Sir Samuel Tilley and the other fathers of confederation would think of their federation today?

• Sexual perversion such as legalization of homosexual unions!

• Rebellion is idolized by virtually every section of society. We live in one of the most rebellious generations of all time!

• Witchcraft ( As drug addiction continues to be the scourge of the nation, our government moves periously closer to legalizing marijuana)

• Violence (Abortion on demand and now Quebec is set to legalize euthanasia, an act that will spill over the rest of the nation)

However the greatest enemy for our nation is not another country, terrorism, or gay marriage. No, the greatest enemy that our country faces is COMPLACENCY and INDIFFERENCE from within the church.

Amos 6:1 laments, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria…’

We are a blessed nation. But the danger we have is to take the blessing for granted, and like the Isrealites forget God and what He has commanded us. We have become comfortable and complacent.

If we are to see any change in the direction Canada is taking it will come when the church wakes up from its lethargy and with passion turns to the Lord in prayer and mission.

Is there hope for our nation? YES! With God there is always hope!

If we expect to see Canada return to God, then revival will begin with God’s people, the church.

I can see a lot of similarities between Canada and where the people of Israel were spiritually. Daniel receives a wakeup call from Gods word, and proceeds to intercede for his people.

We stand on guard for Canada when…lessons Daniel teaches us would be good for the church in Canada to emulate.

1. We UNDERSTAND THE WORD OF THE LORD

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the

Babylonian kingdom-- in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures,

according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of

Jerusalem would last seventy years.

I picture Daniel reading and studying his copy of the Scriptures. He was an old man,

approaching 90 years of age. He had been sent to Babylon almost 70 years earlier and had

proven himself as the prime minister under 3 successive kings. Here’s what he was reading

from Jeremiah 29:10-12:

“When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious

promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will

call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

We know that Daniel and others had been taken captive in 605 B.C. and that it was now

538 B.C. and so Daniel has been in captivity for 67 years. He recognizes that his people are

only 3 years away from returning to Jerusalem. He also realizes that they are not spiritually

prepared, so he is driven to his knees in prayer, simply from reading and understanding the

Word of God.

Although things looked humanly hopeless and it appeared impossible that the exile would

end soon, Jeremiah now had a firm word from the Lord. Are you facing anything that looks