Many in the church today have some understanding or spiritual awareness that things are not going well in the United States of America these days. In fact, things are getting worse at a rather high rate of change. I am speaking of increased opposition to all things Christian. This increasing strong hatred of Christianity is approaching critical mass and now permeates our society and government. Sadly, it is becoming difficult to speak the name of Jesus openly in public, whether at a high school commencement ceremony by a valedictorian student or by a chaplain in the U.S. armed forces. Bibles are becoming forbidden.
We know who is behind these activities. He is the same being who tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden so long ago. His tactics do not change. His message does not change. His hatred for all things associated with our God is greater than anyone can imagine. Jesus informed us years ago, as recorded in John 10: 10, that "the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." That is his plan, and it has never changed and will never change. Satan has been defeated, but he is not yet destroyed. He will only flee from those who resist him.
We see the ungodly behavior in this nation on the rise. A nation founded by God, under God, and blessed by God. We now hear from our leaders in Washington DC that we were NOT founded on Christian principles. We hear our leaders say that Islam has, and has had, as much influence in this nation as Christianity or any other religion. That is a lie and an attempt to restate actual historic fact.
We see gay pride parades on the increase. We see hostility against anyone who speaks the name of Jesus in public or attempts to openly do anything in His name. We see same sex marriage being approved by more and more states. We see abortions being condoned, encouraged, and discounted on Sundays!
In many states, voters who call themselves Christian are voting in favor of these laws in the interest of being "fair to all people" and thereby being "politically correct." God still considers same sex marriage an abomination. God never changes. To Him, this type of behavior will ALWAYS be an abomination. These people will never enter the Kingdom of God. Paul says the same thing in 1 Cor 6: 9.
Some years ago, I was taught by a great teacher of the bible that "God is not judging America." His statement was based on his belief that God is not judging individuals these days, since all judgment and punishment for all sin had been placed upon Jesus (which it was). This teacher also tells us (correctly) that God's grace is upon each of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord (master), Savior and Redeemer.
BUT, God is indeed judging NATIONS. He has been doing this since nations have existed. Israel was constantly being judged for straying from God, and indeed, the partial blindness over their nation (the Jewish nation worldwide) spoken of by Paul in Rom 11: 25 resulted from their turning from God and still remains today. This is the reason most Jews cannot accept Jesus as the Messiah. This blindness will be removed when Jesus returns, as the bible says.
King David wrote over 3,000 years ago that, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Emphasis added) (See, Ps 9: 17-18) This was a message of warning to all nations for all times. God does not change.
In Jer 18: 7-10, God speaks about any nation which sins against Him and the nation which does, or does not, repent of that sin. Beginning in verse 7 God speaks, "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it." (Emphasis added)
If anyone reading this was unsure of God's heart toward a nation who turns from Him, your uncertainty should now be gone. What God said regarding His judging the nations, as recorded by Old Testament prophets, is also for us today. God punishes, yesterday and today, all such nations. (See, also Ez 14: 12-20, regarding God's judgment on a land having persistent unfaithfulness toward Him.) How much more do you think it breaks God's heart to see a nation such as ours turn from Him, a nation that was ONCE UPON A TIME faithful to Him? A nation, similar to the nation of Israel, which He founded and blessed and has set apart to be a light to the rest of the world? We indeed have brought light to the world through our sharing of the Gospel, but now we are bringing darkness and death to the world through our sharing of liberal, ungodly moral conduct and values.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, unless we the church humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and TURN from out wicked ways God has NO CHOICE but to judge our nation and to destroy it. However, 2 Chron 7: 14 also gives us a way out. It says that if God's people (the church, not the unbelieving ungodly secular individuals some of whom are leaders of this nation) humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, God will hear us from heaven, forgive our sins and HEAL OUR LAND!
Without the leadership of our nation participating in such repentance by acknowledging these wrong immoral activities, putting an end to them and requesting God's forgiveness, the church must "go it alone" and be strong in its repentance and request that our nation's leaders also acknowledge the need for a national repentance -- to save our nation. But, those of God's true church, the Philadelphia church of Rev 3, are the only ones promised an escape from coming judgment. It is the Philadelphia church of God, true believers who have chosen the narrow and difficult way to live a holy life free from sin and who repent who will be saved. An unrepentant nation is doomed. A repentant church (a group of called-out ones of God) will be saved.
Our once-great nation blessed by God Almighty is being scrutinized by the Almighty and is ripe for destruction. The stench of the immoral ungodly activities of those in our nation, and condoned by our nation's leadership, is clearly in His sight and is reaching, and one may argue has already reached, the breaking point.
Now, I can hear some of you thinking that I have gone too far -- that God will never judge our nation and that what I am saying is not only unpatriotic but blasphemous! Dear reader, I do not apologize for this message. But, I do want to edify and instruct you and not just pound my proverbial fist and lament over what I see happening in our nation today.
It is true that God hates the kind of abominable ungodly behavior being allowed and even encouraged in our nation. I believe that we have three paths for the future of this nation:
Path 1 -- The church remains dead and asleep, or at best lukewarm. Either condition is considered an abomination to God. (See Rev 3, regarding the churches at Sardis and Laodicea.) On this path, God will judge this nation and bring the sword upon believer and unbeliever alike. (See, Ez 21: 4)
Path 2 -- The church wakes up and becomes emboldened to proclaim the truth. This will not happen unless church leaders wake up and become bold shepherds under the influence of the Holy Spirit. New leaders of the church will arise from nowhere to lead God's people into repentance. Former church leaders will become emboldened by this and join in repentance, or will be swept aside. On this path, without true change by our nation, God may still bring judgment on this nation and destroy it, but keep from destruction by the sword in the time of trouble those whose hearts have repented. (See, Ps 27: 5; Luke 21: 36)
Path 3 -- The awakened and emboldened church causes a true national revival and call to true repentance. Many ungodly leaders and ungodly individuals will fight this movement, but will be swept aside as the power of God flows through those leading and following the repentance movement. New political leaders will arise who will follow Godly morals. Ungodly behavior will be outlawed. Signs and wonders will follow those who believe, causing unbelievers to become believers and thereby increasing the momentum and power of the cleansing repentance sweeping our nation. On this path, God can and will bring new leaders to run this nation once He sees this kind of true, heartfelt repentance. God rules in the kingdom of men and gives to whom He wills. (See, Dan 4: 14) He will hold off on His judgment and heal this nation. (See, 2 Chron 7: 14)
My desire is that we as a nation proceed down Path 3. Already, church leaders such as Billy Graham have felt this need of a national repentance as well. He, at over 90 years of age, has called a national week of repentance, with a special day of prayer set for November 7, 2013 (Billy's birthday). Other leaders have called for a day of prayer and repentance on September 11, 2013. I hear of more and more of these types of "calls to repentance" declared almost weekly. But, repentance must begin NOW by members of the church of Christ. There must be follow-through of actual repentance, a turning away from participation or support of these immoral activities and not just a feel-good CALL to repentance.
These calls to repentance may have good intentions and may raise awareness among the church and the secular of our nation of the moral decay our nation is contaminated with, but THESE ACTIVITES ARE NOT ENOUGH! We as individual Christians and members of the Body of Christ are not powerless. We need to pray, to organize, to speak to our pastors, to our priests, and to our lay leaders. Church leadership must shepherd their sheep to repentance. Failure to do this will cause God to bring the sword against this nation. Against believer and unbeliever alike.
Without true repentance, our nation is progressing down Path 1 by becoming step-by-step the Great Harlot of Rev 17 and 18 to be destroyed by a nation, or group of nations, that God chooses to be His sword. Again, this will destroy both believer and unbeliever.
I pray that you seriously consider this message and act accordingly. Your liberty and freedom to operate peaceably as a Christian in this nation is at risk. Your life on this earth and the lives of your family members and friends are at risk. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
I felt the Holy Spirit convict me to do something after I asked myself in early 2012, "what could I, just one person, do?" The Holy Spirit put to my mind the fact that Daniel, as recorded in Dan 9, spoke a prayer to God on behalf of his people of Judah who were then being held captive in Babylon. I felt inspired at that point to write a prayer based on the prayer Daniel spoke to God, while making some additions and changes which align with our New Covenant under the Lord Jesus Christ. I felt inspired to take this very prayer to Washington, D.C. on October 8, 2012, where I read it aloud on the White House Elipse. I don't know why God wanted me to do that, but I was obedient and did it.
If we as a nation are to truly repent to keep God's hand from delivering His wrath upon this nation, I believe we must all pray this prayer, or a similar prayer, from our hearts. If we do, and we repent and turn from our wicked deeds, God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. I do not believe the nation will repent. But, God does not expect the nation to repent. Rather, He commands and expects His church to repent - those called by His name.
Here is the prayer:
Prayer for the United States (January 28, 2012)
-Read on the grounds of the White House Ellipse,
Wash. D. C., October 8, 2012
O Lord, great
and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him and
who abide in Him, we as a nation, the people of the United States of America,
have sinned and have committed iniquity against You. We have turned from You and have done
wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts, and by not heeding
Your commands – that we love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength,
and that we love each other as we love ourselves.
O Lord, all righteousness
belongs to You, but to us as a nation, shame of face for turning from Your
precepts and Your commands. We have
failed to obey Your voice.
You have endowed
to this nation since its inception a multitude of blessings, which
include: prosperity, freedom to speak
our mind, and freedom to practice our faith.
But, we have strayed from You and forgotten that You are the source of all
these blessings. We have ignored Your
protective hand upon us and have become, in our own hearts, self-reliant and
self-important. We have elected leaders
who, in their hearts, do not consider Your counsel or command, and have no recognition
of Your divine provision of these blessings upon us.
Yes, the United States
as a nation has transgressed against You and has departed so as to not obey
Your voice. Therefore, the hedge of
protection You have provided for us is in danger of being removed. You have sent us harbingers to warn us to
turn back to You and to heed Your commands, in recognition of our iniquities as
a nation. We have departed from You and have
forgotten Your truth – that You are God, and that You rule in the kingdom of
men and give it to whom You will.
And now, O Lord
God, who created our nation and has blessed us, we come to You this day and
acknowledge that we as a nation have sinned against You by not obeying You, or
considering You in our hearts. We ask that
You forgive our nation for its iniquities and help us to turn again toward
You. We ask that You raise up Godly men
and women to rule our nation, who will not forget You and who will seek Your
counsel in leading our nation to greatness once again. We do not ask these things because of our own
self-righteousness, but because of Your great love and mercy.
O Lord, hear
us. O Lord, forgive us. O Lord, act and do not delay for Your own
sake on behalf of this nation which You created to obey your voice, and to be
blessed and be great, and to be a friend of Israel. We, your people whom You have called, ask
these things of You, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
2013 - True Believer
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