“Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.” 1st Kings 14:22 Just as America has done... Rather than chronicle again the downfall of America who has rejected her God, let us look instead on the Lord and the grief HE has endured from the gross rejection that the people have flaunted against him. God is a loving Father. He birthed America and he raised her up with great care and great blessing. In a relatively short while, America became chief of all the nations on the face of the earth. Her prosperity was rivaled by none, she lacked for nothing. Righteousness reigned. There was no gathering that didn’t start with prayer, whether it be in the halls of Congress, the courts, the schools, every public celebration that took place all started with acknowledging the God who created her. Great universities sprang up, and most of them were established as seminaries, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and many others founded as seminaries to train men to preach the Gospel throughout the land, and to send ministers of the Gospel as missionaries to all the countries on the earth. America was great because her God was great. She enjoyed a peace and prosperity unrivaled by any country on the face of the earth EVER. America loved her God, and God loved his people. Some of you may be too young to remember those days. I remember them well and can testify that this was the America I grew up in. Much has been written about the final downfall of America, and the judgment that will come upon her. But rather than belabor that point, let us look not at America but rather at the God who has been rejected. America has “provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.” The best way to look at this is through the eyes of any parent grieving over a son or daughter who has gone wrong. There is no love like the love of a parent for his/her child. A parent has high hopes for his son or daughter, providing the training that will steer the child the right way and develop his character toward the things that will mold him for success in all aspects of life. When that son or daughter goes wrong, there is no grief like the grief of the parent who has given so much, provided so much, and tried so hard to grow him/her up in all that makes for wisdom, success and happiness. One may think it inappropriate to ascribe human emotion to the great God, the Creator of all. But God himself has said that man is made in his image and likeness; God is love, and when his child goes wrong he too has great disappointment and heartfelt grief. He grieves much because he loves much. If you want to see the heart of God, read the Book of Jeremiah. In this Book in the Bible, God shows the grief in his heart as Israel starts to reject him. Through the prophet Jeremiah God pleads, warns, reaches out with all his heart pleading with his people not to go that way, showing how desperately he does not want to bring judgment upon them. It’s the heart of the Father begging his son not to commit crimes that will land him in prison, that will put the child out of the Father’s reach, in a place where the Father can no longer influence that son who has hardened his heart. The Book of Jeremiah shows the depth of the Father’s love for his people, and the greatness of his pain as the child will no longer listen to him. And this is America, the country the Father raised up as his people, believers in Jesus Christ, founded upon his Word, America, whose whole attitude was to glorify the God who has so blessed them. America remained faithful to God until this generation, and then her downfall began, and once it gained momentum it came to the place where nothing could stop her degradation, and the heart of the Father is grieved beyond measure, because he loved her so. He pleaded with her, raised up men to speak warning to her, men who loved God and loved America and who expressed the depth of the Father’s grief. But America has refused to listen, and has stubbornly defied her God even as judgments fell. Her doom is sure, much to the heartache of the Father who brought her into the world. So rather than mourn America today, let’s turn rather to her God and mourn for him, for his loss has been great as the people he raised up have turned against him in the most vile ways imaginable. His Father’s heart is deeply grieved. Deeply, deeply grieved.
“In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in his wondrous works. Therefore their days he consumed in futility, and their years in fear.” Psalm 78:32-33 Having seen the wondrous works of God again and again, whenever the children of Israel lusted yet again for something more, God in his mercy provided. It was a constant battle between God’s provision versus their lack of appreciation as they wanted yet more and more and more. Why? They just didn’t have within themselves the core of faith. So he gave them over to their lusts and their days were consumed in futility, because they chose to not walk by faith, and the result was that their time on this earth was worthless. The walk of faith is not easy. There is a constant battle between our inner desire to walk pleasing to the Lord, versus our fallen human nature that wants to satisfy its many lusts. “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another…” Galatians 5:17 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul…” 1st Peter 2:11 So it remains to each person to choose which way he will go. Most will go the way of the flesh, and their lives will be consumed in uselessness. Wasted lives. Producing nothing. “Busy” with worthless activity. But those who truly desire to live a life pleasing to God, and who really want their lives to be effective and productive in him, they ask “how is one able to overcome the lusts of the flesh?” “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 It’s not possible for a human being to achieve this because we live in a fallen human nature and the lusts of that nature are strong. But it becomes possible when our lives are SURRENDERED to God and when we truly desire to be filled with his Holy Spirit. This is what walking in the Spirit is. It means we have to pursue these ends - it doesn’t happen automatically. We have to know the Word of God intimately and be continually guided by his leading. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, the temptations were not weak, he chose temptations that would be very real and hard to overcome. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, and Satan said to him that if he truly is the Son of God, go ahead and turn these rocks into bread. This was a powerful temptation given when Jesus was already weakened from a prolonged fast. After that, Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world to come, and he told Jesus that if he would only bow before him he’d give them over to him. This was legitimate because Adam had forfeited to Satan his authority over the earth, and Satan was now suggesting to Jesus that he wouldn’t have to go to the cross, it would all be his if he would only bow to him. Talk about temptations!!! So HOW did Jesus resist? He resisted by the Word. He answered with Scripture. He refused to turn rocks into bread: “But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Luke 4:4 And he refused Satan's offer to give him the kingdoms of the world: vs 8: “Get behind me, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve.’” This is the key: "It is written..." The Word of God has to be the very foundation of our lives, otherwise we will succumb to the flesh and live lives of futility. Immerse yourself in the Word of God, the Bible. It must become your very life. It’s the only way you will succeed in living the life ordained by God for you, because your enemy the devil will continually seek to overthrow your faith. He knows you intimately, he knows your weak points, and that's where he will strike. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, SUBMIT TO GOD, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." James 4:4-7 The choice is yours. An easy life of futility, or a difficult but productive life with fruit that will last for all eternity. “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” Dwight L. Moody
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” Matthew 10:34-36
Many have a picture of Jesus in their minds which is not accurate. The gentle Jesus meek and mild is not the Jesus of the Word of God. The work that Jesus came to do involved his entering into the world which was under the dominion of Satan. When Adam fell, his authority over the world was lost to Satan, who took over. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1st John 5:19 “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds THE GOD OF THIS AGE has blinded…” 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4 The work that Jesus came to do was the greatest act of warfare the world has ever known. He entered into the domain of Satan, and through death and resurrection Jesus bore the judgment on sin for anyone who would receive him. However, many if not most, are blinded and refuse to surrender to the Savior, not wanting to come under his yoke, and they soundly spurn him. When a person is born again through faith in Jesus, that person will often be the only one in his family or among his friends to do so. Satan has a firm grip on the minds of the people in his domain, and has blinded the masses. The occasional person who will dare leave that domain and surrender his life to the Lord will often do that totally alone, and many will suffer alienation from their family and friends because of it. “I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.” Jeremiah 3:14 It can be a terrible choice to make. It can create great hostilities in the family. It can pit the born-again one against his parents, a daughter against her mother, etc, and the believer’s enemies may often be those in his own family. The call is to follow the Lord no matter what. If a person places family relationships before the Lord, that person won’t make it. This is a very serious issue and difficult to accept, but it is a fact one must accept in order to “forsake all and follow me.” “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37-38 Brothers and sisters, alienation from loved ones is a price we have to be willing to accept. We are called to leave all to follow Christ and many won't because they will find the cost too costly. It’s a very serious choice we will have to make, and if we choose Christ, it has to be an all-out surrender to the Lord who will lead us through our journey - alone if need be, but always with HIM. In the 6th chapter of John, we find Jesus saying some very hard things, things that were beyond understanding, and because of it many who followed him turned away at that point. “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.” John 6:66 What is remarkable is that he didn’t try to explain, he didn't try to persuade them. He let them go. Then he turned to his disciples and asked if they wanted to leave too, giving them that option if they so desired. Peter gave the right answer: “But Simon Peter answered him: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” John 6:68-69 The same question is put to all of us. It’s a choice each person must make in this lifetime, deciding whether or not Jesus Christ is important enough to us, to follow him no matter what. Yes, we can pray for our family members who haven’t come in yet. God is faithful, he knows how we love our loved ones. But unless and until they join us, we have to pick up our cross and follow Christ no matter what. This will be too hard for many. The Lord is looking for those who will place nothing and no one before him, and who will pick up their cross, and follow him - no matter what.