Why Should God Bless America? Psalm 33:12-15

Transcription

1 PATRIOTIC MESSAGE, JUNE 29, 2008 CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NC by Reggie A. Braziel Read Scripture PRAYER Why Should God Bless America? Psalm 33:12-15 Introduction I doubt there is anyone here this morning who doesn t believe we live in one of if not the most blessed nation on earth. As citizens of the United States of America we have been the recipients of blessings from God that would never have been ours had we been citizens of any one of the numerous heathen nations in the world..if you and I were citizens of ETHIOPIA we would in all likelihood be among the millions of people who are starving to death in that country..if you and I were citizens of INDIA, we would not only be starving, but we would also be persecuted for our faith by the Indian government..if you and I were citizens of CHINA or CUBA or NORTH KOREA we would be living under the communistic rule of a dictator..if you and I were citizens of SUDAN we would in all likelihood be hunted down and tortured then executed by any one of the many terrorist groups that are training in that country. This is the kind of life billions of people are living in nations who worship false, heathen gods instead of the God of heaven. Now contrast that with THE BLESSED LIFE we live here in AMERICA.

2 (A) GOD HAS BLESSED AMERICA WITH A GODLY HERITAGE History tells us that many of the men who signed our Constitution were Christians. This country was founded upon Biblical principles and a Christ-centered interpretation of justice, fairness and equal opportunity. (B) GOD HAS BLESSED AMERICA WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCES This country has an abundance of fertile farmland that has allowed our farmers to produce crops to feed the American people as well as people in many foreign lands. Our land is rich in coal, iron ore, and minerals. And our land has an abundance of lakes, rivers and streams. (C) GOD HAS BLESSED AMERICA WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF NATURAL BEAUTY Some of the most beautiful, breath-taking scenes in the world can be found right here in the United States. Even if you never left the State of North Carolina your whole life, you would realize how much God has blessed us with natural beauty. -We have the beauty of the majestic ATLANTIC OCEAN brushing the shores of our OUTER BANKS. -We have the beauty of the PAMLICO and ALBEMARLE SOUNDS here in the Coastal Plains region. -We have the BEAUTIFUL SAND HILLS over in the Piedmont area of our state. -And in western North Carolina we have the beautiful BLUE RIDGE and GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS. And just think, that is all right here in our State alone. And there are 49 other states, all with a unique God-given beauty of their own.

3 (D) GOD HAS ALSO BLESSED AMERICA WITH HIS DIVINE PROTECTION I think many of us just take it for granted that our CITY STREETS and COUNTRY ROADS are traveled each day by cars, pickups, semi-trucks, busses and farm equipment.instead of TANKS ARMORED UTILITY VEHICLES MOBILE ROCKET LAUNCHERS.and.LAND ROVERS. And I think we often take for granted that every time we hear a fighter jet or military helicopter fly overhead that it s the GOOD GUYS and not A FOREIGN ENEMY launching an attack. GOD HAS TRULY BLESSED AMERICA WITH HIS DIVINE PROTECTION! (E) GOD HAS ALSO BLESSED AMERICA WITH FREEDOM FREEDOM.it sounds so simple, doesn t it? We don t know how blessed we are to be living in a country that gives us the freedom to vote for our elected officials. And the freedom to worship each and every Lord s day. And the freedom to speak about the things we believe in. And the freedom to bear arms to protect ourselves. And the freedom of enterprise to own our own businesses and pursue the American dream. Truly God has blessed America as much, if not more than any other nation in history! Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord? ******************************

4 But what happens when a nation that has been so richly blessed by GOD as AMERICA, turns her back on GOD? I believe every God-fearing Christian in America realizes this country has been headed down a slippery slope ever since the mid-1960 s when the United States Supreme Court banned PRAYER and BIBLE READING in our public schools. Since that time *There has been a 560% increase in violent crime in this country. Currently in the U.S. there is ONE MURDER every 22 seconds.one RAPE every 5 minutes and ONE ROBBERY every 49 seconds. * Just in the last 10 years, 105 students and teachers have died in school shootings and another 116 were shot in those same incidents, but survived. * According to the FBI, there are over 25,000 violent gangs in America, and of the 750,000 people who are members of these gangs, 46% (or 345,000) are illegal Hispanic immigrants. *The United States ranks as one of the top fifteen most dangerous places to live in the world. *The United States ranks second in the world in the number of illegitimate births per 1,000 females. * Since 1977, we have aborted an average of 1.5 million babies per year in this country. This means in the last 30 years approximately 45 million babies have been murdered by abortion. In other words, we have killed off an entire generation of potential doctors, nurses, surgeons, scientist, teachers and professors.

5 How Can We Ask God To Bless America When America Has Turned Her Back On God? Why Should God Bless America? ***************************** We Must Understand God Hates Sin Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us, There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him; haughty eyes..a lying tongue..hands that shed innocent blood..a heart that devises wicked schemes feet that are quick to rush into evil a false witness who pours out lies.and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Brothers and sisters, are these not the very types of behavior we hear about every night on the evening news? We Must Also Understand God Will Not Be Mocked The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 6:7, 8, Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

6 We Must Also Understand God s Blessings Upon A Nation Are Conditional In the BIBLE, God has clearly and repeatedly laid down HIS conditions for HIS continued blessings upon a nation. God does not just indiscriminately pour out His blessings regardless of our behavior and how we treat Him. God has made it perfectly clear that HIS BLESSINGS are contingent upon OUR FAITHFULNESS TO HIM and OUR OBEDIENCE TO HIS COMMANDS. Perhaps we see this best illustrated in God s relationship with ISRAEL in the Old Testament. There are a number of passages in the Old Testament that clearly illustrate God s blessings are conditional. Let s just look at ONE. Read: DEUTERONOMY 11:13-17; The truth we see in this passages we just read is this: GOD CANNOT AND WILL NOT BLESS A NATION WHO TURNS HER BACK ON HIM IN REBELLION. But there is one more thing we need to understand and that is..

7 We Need To Understand God s Judgment Will Always Come Upon A Rebellious People God s judgment fell upon SODOM and GOMORRAH. God s judgment fell upon CHORAZIN and BETHSAIDA and TYRE and SIDON. And God s judgment fell upon ISRAEL many, many times for her unfaithfulness and disobedience and idolatry. There is a passage in the New Testament that clearly illustrates for us what happens when a GENTILE NATION such as AMERICA turns her back on GOD. Turn with me to ROMANS 1:21-32 You notice THREE TIMES in these verses, Paul uses the term, GOD GAVE THEM OVER. VS. 24 God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts. VS. 26 God gave them over to shameful lusts. VS. 28 God gave them over to a depraved mind. Now what does it mean when it says, GOD GAVE THEM OVER? In the BIBLE there are FIVE WAYS in which GOD manifests HIS WRATH upon sinful people. (1) First there is GOD S ETERNAL WRATH. This refers to everlasting punishment in HELL.

8 (2) Secondly, there is GOD S ESCHATALOGICAL WRATH Now that is just a big long word to describe the wrath God is going to send upon the world at the END OF TIME. (3) Thirdly, there is GOD S CATACLYSMIC WRATH This is where God brings disaster or destruction upon a nation or a group of people through divine means. When God rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah in GENESIS 19 that was an act of God s Cataclysmic Wrath. (4) Fourthly, there is GOD S NATURAL WRATH Remember while ago we read in GALATIANS 6 that A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. This is one of God s unchanging laws. This law has been in effect since the days of Adam and Eve. When God created man, he built into our human fabric consequences to our sinfulness. This is why you and I cannot engage in sinful behavior or addictive behavior without our mind and body experiencing God s Natural Wrath. (5) And finally, there is GOD S WRATH OF ABANDONMENT This is where GOD, in His wrath, with holds His blessings, removes His protective hedge, and no longer exercises His restraining grace and mercy upon a nation. When God exercises His wrath of abandonment, in essence what God is saying is, Ok, if this is the path you choose if this is the way you want it if you think you can survive without Me..I will let go and let you have it your way.

9 It is God s wrath of abandonment we see here in Romans chapter 1 when Paul says, God gave them over. It is my personal belief that God is currently exercising His wrath of abandonment upon the United States of America. WILDFIRES IN CALIFORNIA BURNING OUT OF CONTROL THE TERRIBLE DROUGHT IN THE SOUTH THE DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES AND FLOODING IN THE GRAT PLAINS AND MIDWEST THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11 TH HURRICANE KATRINA GAS PRICES TOPPING $4.00 A GALLON AN UNSTABLE ECONOMY THE COLLAPSE OF THE HOUSING MARKET THE FALTERING AIR-LINE INDUSTRY CONTINUOUSLY RISING COST OF GROCERIES. ESCALATING COST OF NATURAL GAS AND FUEL OIL TO HEAT OUR HOMES. BEING MIRED DOWN IN A VERY UNPOPULAR WAR ASTRONOMICAL HEALTH CARE COST GANG VIOLENCE THE INFLUX OF MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THE EPIDEMIC OF SEXUAL PREDATORS PREYING UPON OUR CHILDREN

10 What does all this mean? Does it mean anything? Or are all these things just a coincidence? ********** History has shown that the average lifespan of the great societies of the past was only about 200 years. America will be 232 years old this Thursday. (7-4-08) Is America on borrowed time? But wait! There is some good news in this message! And that good news is that GOD.who is a loving, merciful.forgiving GOD, always leaves the door open for a repentant people to come back to Him. If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14) Certainly all of us wants GOD to bless AMERICA. We want God to bless America with His safety and divine protection. We want God to bless us with peace and prosperity. And we want God to bless our families and our farmers and our Churches.

11 But since America is in such a state of sinful rebellion, perhaps instead of asking God to Bless America, we should be praying God Save America!