Understanding The Times

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

(Updated & Revised: 2022)

TEXT: 1 Chronicles 12:30-32 Acts 17:22-34

A. Tomorrow is officially designated as a holiday celebrated in many communities by a variety of solemn observances. All across the U.S. people will gather in parks & cemeteries to commemorate what this day symbolizes.

Bands will play, speeches given, prayers will be offered up to God, “Taps” will be played, & guns fired as a salute to those whom our nation seeks to remember.

From Valley Forge to Berlin, from San Juan Hill to Heartbreak Ridge, from Iwo Jima to Saigon & Afghanistan, the blood of Americans is permanently mingled with the soil of four continents & dozens of islands.

Memorial Day is our attempt to remember & say “Thank you” to those who gave their best & their all that our nation might continue to enjoy the liberties that are ours.

Will you bow your heads with me as I pray? Lord, protect the men & women of our armed forces both at home & throughout the world. Give them courage, faith, & clarity of mind to perform their duties effectively.

For those who are suffering from past injuries, & those who may sustain injuries in the future, I pray Your hand of healing & grace will be upon them.

I pray for their families & the loved ones of those who have made the supreme sacrifice. Give them Your peace, comfort, & blessing.

And please bring about in this nation a return to the attitude of respect & honor for all who have served, & are serving, that we may enjoy the blessings you have bestowed upon us. In Christ’s name I pray. AMEN

B. Do you know what the word "chronicle" means? It means an "account," a "record," a "history," a "story of" whatever is being written about. And that is what the O.T. books of 1 & 2 Chronicles are an account of some of the events that took place in the history of the kings of Israel.

The first king of Israel was Saul, who disobeyed God & whose reign ended tragically. The second king was David, the one who killed Goliath, author of many of the Psalms, the one who ushered in the golden years of Israel.

Well, in the 12th chapter of 1 Chronicles, there is a list of the 12 tribes of Israel who came to ally themselves with David, to make him their King. Listen to what it says about some of them:

1 Chronicles 12:30, "...men of Ephraim, brave warriors, famous in their own clans..." Vs. 33, "...men of Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon..."

Notice in particular vs. 32, "...men of Issachar, who understood the times & knew what Israel should do."

Those are important words because they tell us that these men from Issachar realized that changes were taking place, & they needed to respond to those changes. Not only that, but they were men who could make the right decisions.

ILL. About 30 years ago, Judge Robert Bork, who had been nominated for the Supreme Court by Pres. Reagan, was being interviewed on "Face the Nation." The interviewer, after mentioning a number of depressing current events, threw up his hands in mock despair & said, "I don't understand what is going on, do you?"

Judge Bork responded, "Yes, we are on the edge of the decline of Western civilization."

Well, he may have been right. At the very least, this is a time of great changes & social upheaval, & we, as Christians, need to understand what is happening.

C. We're living in a time of spiritual warfare. The line has been drawn. On one side is the Judeo Christian view of life & family & society. On the other is Humanism. And the two views are in direct conflict with each other.

Basically, Humanism opposes the values & teachings of Christianity, & proclaims that once man throws off Christian beliefs of right & wrong, we would be a society where the will of man, not God, would be supreme.

No matter how it is presented, the conflict between good & evil is real. And it is obvious that still "the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

The apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:11, "...our struggle is not against flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world & against the spiritual forces of evil..."

ILL. A few years ago newspapers reported that a civil-liberties group, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, was demanding: "Court-Martial Air Force General for talking about God! Bring him to justice for his unforgivable crimes!” Who were they talking about, & why?

They wanted Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig Olsen to be court-martialed for mentioning God at a National Day of Prayer event . They demanded that he be “aggressively & very visibly brought to justice” for his “unforgivable crimes & transgressions,” & that any other service members who helped him should be investigated & punished also.