4/29/2014. Forgetting God. Medes & Persians. Empires have risen. Greek Empire. Roman Empire. Babylonian Empire

Transcription

1 Forgetting God Medes & Persians Empires have risen. Greek Empire Roman Empire Babylonian Empire 1

2 Empires have risen & fallen. One person can make a difference! How long will the USA be the world s leading superpower? Genesis 45:4-7 4 Then Josephsaid to his brothers, "Please come closer to me." And they came closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Many small people who in many small places do many small things, can alter the face of the world. Joshua 1:6-7 6"Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 2

3 Daniel 6: Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: "May your peace abound! 26 I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. 27 He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered Danielfrom the power of the lions." Israel became great in number. Genesis 46: All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons, were sixty-six persons in all, 27 and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. Israel needed more people like Joseph, Joshua & Daniel. Exodus 1:8-9 8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, "Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Exodus 12:37 Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Ramesesto Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. THE RISE AND FALL OF ISRAEL Genesis 12:1-2 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, Great in number, lacking in character. Exodus 15: When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, "What shall we drink? This grumbling is continually repeated! 3

4 Israel had great quantities of land. Genesis 12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land. Daniel 2: This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. 39 After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another Great in land possession, lacking in obedience. Joshua 7:1 But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel. third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. 41 In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so Israel is taken away into Assyrian captivity because of their disobedience against God. Judah is taken away into Babylonian captivity because of their disobedience against God. some of the kingdom will bestrong and part of it will bebrittle. 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. No nation can survive a moral or spiritual collapse. 4

5 WHY DID ROME FALL? Rapid increase of divorce resulting in the destruction of the home which is the basis of society. Higher and higher taxes; the spending of public money for bread and celebrations. The mad craze for pleasure; demand for more exciting & brutal sports. Romans 1: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within; the decadence of the people. The decay of religion; faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming unable to guide it. Are we repeating the mistakes of Rome? an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. 5

6 Welcome to America Morals How would you like to live in a country where there are 1,408,337 violent crimes every year. 16,929 murders each year. 90,427 rapes during a year. 2,176,140 burglaries. 1,095,769 vehicle thefts. (Recent Crime Statistics for the US) Military The US has more than 800 foreign military installations over 140 countries including Asia, Europe and Africa. We are viewed as the most powerful nation on the planet. Having a great military doesn t make us a great nation! WHAT MAKES A NATION STRONG? If commerce would do it, Tyrewould not have fallen. If political organization would do it, Rome would have never fallen. If military power were enough, Germany would not have fallen. Wealth The gross domestic produce of the US is larger than the next two biggest economies combined. The per capita income of the US is 360% higher than the worlds; $34,100 vs. $7, % of the world s population lives in extreme poverty. WHAT MAKES A NATION STRONG? If religious ceremony and rituals had been sufficient, Israel of old would have never fallen. If treachery would have done it, many countries would never have bowed in defeat. Having great wealth doesn t make us a great nation. 6

7 Psalm 9:17 The wicked will return to Sheol, even all the nations who forget God. America has been great because America has been good. One of the big downfalls of Israel is they forgot God. Joshua 1:5-7 5 "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. How could we forget God? 2 Chronicles 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Humility, Prayer, Repentance, Remembrance Deuteronomy 6: "Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 7

8 Jeremiah 2:32 "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number. How could they forget God? We re Americans that s what we do. We are Christians! (Don t forget who you are!) How could we? 2 Peter 1: Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, selfcontrol, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. Romans 12:1-2 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 8

9 Daniel 2:44 "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. We respect & obey our parents because it is the right thing to do. We tell others about Jesus because it is the right thing to do. We help others because it is the right thing to do. Ephesians 3: so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. We stay faithful to God because it is the right thing to do. We stay faithful to our spouses because it is the right thing to do. We give to the Lord because it is the right thing to do. 9

10 Are we giving our Judge anything to judge? Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. We must always choose between right and wrong; righteousness and sin. Remember God 10