Four Truths About Our Nation

Amen. Tonight, I'm going to be sharing with you from a number of passages in the Bible.

But we have something very important coming up on Tuesday.

It's called an election, presidential election, as well as some other issues, of course, other places of office, senators and such. And I believe we need to spend some time in prayer about that and hope that you have been.

But I mean, collectively as a body, we're not going to do that quite yet. That will be toward the end of our service tonight. But, you know, when it comes to praying for our nation or, I guess, our acknowledging the need to do that, we have a number of events that occur throughout the year that help remind us of that.

Fourth of July and, you know, other holidays like that. Thanksgiving, which is coming up. And these help us to remember that not only are we admonished in Scripture to pray for our nation, pray for our leaders and so forth, but we are compelled to, because we have spiritual eyes and we can see the need more now than possibly, I guess I've said this a number of years, but more now than ever before.

We see a dramatic change in our nation, in our culture. Some of us have lived through those dramatic changes, haven't we?

These young people seated on the front here, not that they don't have spiritual eyes to see some of the things that are going on in our culture. They're kind of immersed in it and bombarded by it.

But one benefit we have over them is that we have seen the change over the years. And a lot of us in this room can remember the day when our culture could truly be called, our country could truly be called a Christian.

I think that's long gone. We're no longer in the truest sense of the word, a Christian nation. I think God has continued to be gracious to us.

And maybe for another reason other than the prayers of His people. And the desires of His people. But we've seen a dramatic change.

And so events like a presidential election and all that goes with that, especially this year, remind us that we need to pray for our nation.

And I want to take some scriptures, one of them in the New Testament, the others will be in the Old Testament. We're going to kind of skip around a little bit. And I really, really encourage you to turn with me to these passages.

Even though you may have a different translation and so maybe it doesn't read quite the same. But it's good to be looking at your copy of God's Word. I'm going to point out four things from Scripture that are true about our nation in relation to God.

Four things that we had better take very seriously as a nation. And I think we do. We as believers do. And I am sure that as we walk our way through these things, you're going to say, well, this is true.

I agree with these things. And so then, if nothing else, it ought to compel us to pray even more for our nation.

Four very simple things, really. And you might want to jot these down. The first one is found in Acts chapter 17. And here is what we need to learn.

What we need to know about our nation. About all nations. I'll wait until you get there. Because I want to name this principle.

This truth. Here it is. God has made all nations. Nations that have existed over the history of time.

Human history. Nations that have existed and then gone by the wayside. Nations that exist today. Regardless of where they are in relation to God's Word.

Whether they're wicked nations or righteous nations. All nations were made by God. You say, well, that's... Well, of course I know that. But this is a very profound truth.

Men did not create nations. God did. And established them. And in this passage in Acts chapter 17. And I'm not going to read the entire chapter.

You might remember that this was the occasion where Paul is... Paul is, you know, he's there in Athens. Steeped in Greek culture.

And he has already observed all of the idols that they had. They had an innumerable number of idols. And you remember the story just to make sure they didn't miss one.

Offend a God. They even had an idol to the unknown God. That's how they had it labeled. Paul had observed that. So then he had the opportunity to preach.

To teach. And it's very interesting. His approach. He was not preaching to a Jewish audience. He was preaching to a Greek Gentile audience.

Very intellectual audience. And so he begins with God. Rather than with Jesus. And that's another story. But as he goes on through this sermon and gets to...

Let's just start with verse 24. God, who made the world and everything in it. Since he is the Lord of heaven and earth.

He is Lord of heaven and earth. Does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he worshipped with men's hands. As though he needed anything.

Since he gives to all life, breath, and all things. Now, tremendous statement of the absolute sovereignty and self-sufficiency of God.

He doesn't need anything. Ever thought you were going to help God out on things? And somehow contribute to Him? He doesn't need anything.

Rather, He gives all life, breath, and all things. Gives to all. Verse 26. And He, here it is. He has made from one blood every nation of men.

To dwell on all the face of the earth. He made all the nations. Every one of them. Out of one blood. By the way, we hear a lot and speak a lot about all the races.

There's only one race. It's the race of man. Different colors, but all one race.

All one race. And God, out of one race, one blood, made all the nations on the face of the earth. Every one of them. He made Iran a nation.

That bothers you. You'll have to take that up with God. He made China.

He made the great USA. He made all nations. But He goes a step further. All nations that dwell on the face of the earth.

And has determined their pre-appointed times. Nations have come and gone. They've existed during a space of time.

Some longer than others. Some very short. Our nation has existed for quite a few years now. God has appointed that time. The boundaries for the nations.

This is a pretty incredible statement. So He's appointed pre-appointed times and boundaries of their dwellings.

Wars have been fought to expand borders. And wars have been lost. And territory has been lost to invaders and conquerors.

But God is the one. At the end of the day, it's God who determined the boundaries for all the nations. This is a foundation for our prayers.

We need to understand. We're proud of our country. And rightfully so. And we love America. I do. And you do. And we can become very proud of what we have accomplished.

And what we have done. But God has made this nation. Now this is going to become even more important when we add a few other things here. But let's begin here.

God has made all nations. He made this nation. And. He ends this by saying for. So that.

Excuse me. He made the boundaries for the dwelling. So that. They should seek the Lord. What was God's purpose? What's his purpose for making nations?

That they would seek the Lord. First. To acknowledge his sovereignty. That. Our nation exists because God made us.

God established us. It was God's providence. God's providence. And we should seek him. All nations should seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope for him and find him.

Though he's not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As also some of your own poets have said.

He's speaking to the Athenians. For we are also his offspring. So in him we live and move and have our being. Our nation was made by God. That's number one.

Now if that's true and it is. Then number two. God is. The sovereign ruler. Over all nations.

They say that again. God is the sovereign ruler over all nations. Whether they know it or not. He is.

Whether those nations including our own. Acknowledge God as the sovereign ruler of our nation. Whether we do or not. It doesn't change it.

He's the sovereign ruler over all nations. Psalm 47. Psalm 47.

And starting with verse 1. I'm not going to delve into the entire psalm. But just kind of highlight some things along the way. Oh, clap your hands.

All you peoples. By the way, that is the word for nations. Clap your hands. All you nations. The psalm is not written just specifically and just for the Jews.

This is for all nations. Oh, clap your hands. All you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph. For the most high God is awesome.

He is a great king over what? All the earth. All nations.

King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us and the nations under our feet.

Now here he is speaking of Israel. But we can apply this to how he has blessed us as a sovereign nation.

And has put peoples under us. We have a tremendous responsibility, don't we? In our world.

That God has raised us to the level where we have the opportunity to bless other nations. He will choose our inheritance for us.

The excellence of Jacob whom he loves. God has gone up with a shout. The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God. Sing praises. Sing praises to our king.

Sing praises. For God is the king of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations.

That's what the Bible says. God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. The princes. The kings, if you will.

Of the people have gathered together. The people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth. Again, I think it's a reference to governments.

That God has established. The shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted. Our government is owned by God.

He is sovereign over all the nations. He is sovereign over our nation. Do you have a problem with that? Of course you don't.

Do the majority of the citizens of this nation have a problem with that? Yeah, they do.

Does our government, many of our leaders in our government, do many of them have a problem with that? Yes, they do. God is sovereign. He is sovereign. He is the sovereign ruler over all the nations.

All of them. Over this one. Third, God has set a standard.

He has set a standard by which the nations will be blessed or judged.

Lifted up or brought down. It's a standard. What is it? Well, Proverbs 14. It's a famous passage in the Proverbs.

Proverbs 14.34. One that I wish every citizen of this nation would read and believe and submit to.

There is a truth.

It's an axiom. It is a standard. I guess I'll just stick with that word.

That works every time. And what is it? Righteousness exalts a nation. Righteousness.

What's righteousness? It's a very broad term. It's not in this sense here speaking of righteousness in the salvation sense.

But living, operating, embracing those things that are right with God. Morality.

Moral things. Justice. He's speaking about nations. And if a nation will be just, will rule justly and righteously, then they will be lifted up.

Sin. However, sin is a reproach to any people.

A disgrace. A shame. Very strong word. So righteousness exalts. It raises a nation.

But sin brings it down. We're living in that today. Okay. And yet, most Americans are like the proverbial lobster in the boiling pot.

Not lobster. Frog. In the boiling pot. Okay. Maybe it's true with lobsters too. I don't know. Just sitting there and boiling to death.

I mean, this is true. We're witnessing this right before our very eyes. Other nations on this planet, simultaneously with us, are witnessing this.

Being brought down by sin. It's true of the individual. Sin will bring you down. It's true of a nation. If it will rule righteously and justly and morally, then they will be lifted up.

But if sin, if they rule in sin and its citizens, the pattern of their lives is sin and immorality, then God will bring this nation down.

It's a standard. God has set a standard by which the nations will be blessed or judged. Now, folks, if we are witnessing that right now, then what should that compel us to do?

Well, pray. But even more than that, in maybe a dozen or more different ways, God can use us to be an influence for justice and righteousness in our nation.

Finally, God holds all nations accountable to Him. Therefore, He has the right to judge any nation.

See, here's my biggest concern for America. And for most of us in this room, all of us in this room, we have enjoyed blessing for so long that we think that God is letting us off the hook.

We have enjoyed such a prosperity as a nation and what we would call blessing as a nation for so long, we think it's just going to continue to be that way.

But God holds all nations accountable. And you can bring into play here another passage of Scripture and we're going to look at a few Scriptures here in a minute where the Bible says, to whom much is given, much is required.

God has blessed us above, probably above, any nation that has existed on this planet. And what are we doing with it?

Psalm 9 and verse 15. Starting with verse 15.

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

The Lord is known by the judgment He executes. The wicked is snared in the work of His own hands. Meditation.

Think about that. Think seriously about that. Meditate on these words.

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made. In the net which they hid. They're caught in their own net. The Lord is known by the judgment He executes.

The wicked is snared in the work of His own hands. Meditation. The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.

That is... All the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten.

The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord. Do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear.

That is, strike them with terror. O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Amen. Jeremiah 18.

Jeremiah 18 and verse 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house and there I will cause you to hear my words.

Then I went down to the potter's house and there he was making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred, was damaged, had a defect in the hand of the potter.

So, he made it again into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?

Says the Lord. Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 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.

God holds all nations accountable to Him and therefore He has the right to judge all nations.

Do I believe that America is under the judgment of God? Yes, I do. If nothing else but simply God removing His hand from this nation, He has relented to do the good that He would want to do.

Now folks, what does this compel us to do? To be down in the doldrums and think I just don't like to think this way about my nation?

To get all depressed and discouraged? I hope you don't. It is to seek God's face on this and to pray and ask God to turn our nation back toward Him.

To obey His Word. To have a nation that believes in justice for all.

even the unborn. To be a nation of righteousness from the White House all the way down through all of our leaders that they would rule and lead righteously.

So does that mean they all have to be Christians? Christians? Well, they don't have to be Christians to rule righteously and to stand for morality and to legislate in a way that is in keeping with God's design and desire.

prayer. But unless we pray, I just don't think it's going to happen. Does it have anything to do with this election Tuesday?

I think it does. Now, I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. But we need to be much in prayer about not only who we're voting for, but who all of America is voting for.

Voting for in Oklahoma, in every state of this union, all the way to the top to the President of the United States. What is it that we desire?

We desire leadership that will rule righteously and justly. we need to pray for our nation.

We need to pray for our