By Pastor Mitch Horton | September 2004 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength” (Psalm 33:12-17).

  “Righteous exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14: 34)

No nation is secure because of its wealth or its military. Behind every natural struggle there is a spiritual battle being fought (Ephesians 6:12). We as Americans are not blessed just because of our excessive financial ability nor because we have a strong military. We’re blessed only because our forefathers chose to honor God and root the foundations of our republic on godliness and spiritual values.

When a nation honors God and His Word, the enemy is held at bay, and his schemes to hinder and to destroy are stopped. When a nation fails to honor God, that nation is left without protection, and becomes vulnerable to the attacks of Satan and of nations held in his grip.

In America today we are at a crossroads. Will we allow the Lord to bless us as a nation as He has so richly in the past, or will we choose our own path apart from Him? Deuteronomy 30:19 reads: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”

Because of our Judeo-Christian heritage, America has grown to be the most prosperous nation in history. The blessings that we have inherited from our forefathers will only continue as we choose to obey God as a nation, and choose to honor Him and His Word. God has a controversy with America today much like He had with Israel. Notice what God says to Israel in Hosea 4:1-6:

“Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge [Hebrew - a legal complaint] against the inhabitants of the land: there is no truth or knowledge of God in the land. (2) By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed. (3) Therefore the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea will be taken away. (4) Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; for your people are like those who contend with the priest. (5) Therefore you shall stumble in the day; the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. (6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.”

I believe that this passage has a direct application for America today. And if we as a nation do not repent and obey, we stand to lose the blessings that God has so richly given. Disobedience costs dearly!

In verse 1, God said, “Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel.” We are encouraged not only to hear, but to be doers of the Word (James 1:22). The Word alone without obedience to it will not bring a person or a nation out of bondage! Jesus said that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free (John 8:32). We hear much, but often do little. We have multitudes of churches in every city in America, often on every street! Yet there is more disobedience than ever, and more flagrant violations of God’s moral law than ever. What’s the problem? We hear, but do not obey. And when we disobey, we cease to be the SALT and LIGHT in our society. Unbelievers only see and understand God when they see Him in us! And only in obedience is there blessing!

In verse 1, God also brought a charge, a controversy (KJV), or a legal complaint against Israel. He charged them for there being no knowledge of God in the land, for the lying, the stealing, the killing, the adultery, and the total lack of restraint in the land.

I believe that today God is also bringing a legal complaint against America. We began as a nation with God and the Ten Commandments as the foundation for our laws and conduct. Our founding legal documents are filled with references to God and to scripture. Many of our presidents were godly men who prayed before making decisions. The Bible was used as a school textbook.

But now we have left our foundations of faith in God and His Word. Moral decay has corrupted our culture from the leaders to the children! Abortion, murder, sexual sins, and every form of deception are practiced without conscience in our society.

When we ignore the knowledge of God (the Word), we exalt man and his beliefs in place of God, and the downward spiral to destruction begins. And that is what has happened in our postmodern culture. Everyone does what he or she thinks is right. People compare themselves with each other. “I’m not as bad as my neighbor. I’m not doing what they are doing.” And moral absolutes like the Ten Commandments are no longer a force in restraining behavior.

When the people within a nation compare themselves with each other instead of God, decline always follows. And God is calling the church in our day to radical change for the sake of our nation.

We’ll continue this teaching next month. God holds believers responsible for the ills of their nation, and now calls for us as Christians to repent of our sins so that He once again can bless us as He longs to do. I’ll leave you with this often quoted passage. Let’s obey it!

“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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”(2 Chronicles 7:14)