The
Bible teaches that it is the Lord who builds up nations and it is the
Lord God who tears down nations. I guess the real problem is that the
world does not know this to be truth.
I
Corinthians 2:10-16 (KJV)
10
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God.
12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which
is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God.
13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with
spiritual.
14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned.
15
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of
no man.
16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But
we have the mind of Christ.
The
world cannot know what we know, because being born of the Spirit we can
spiritually discern the matter. The people of the world think all of
what we believe is nothing more than foolishness.
Jeremiah 6:9-21 (KJV)
9
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of
Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the
baskets.
10
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold,
their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of
the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11
Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in:
I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of
young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken,
the aged with him that is full of days.
12
And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and
wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of
the land, saith the Lord.
13
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is
given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every
one dealeth falsely.
14
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,
saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were
not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall
among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast
down, saith the Lord.
16
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest
for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17
Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the
trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
18
Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among
them.
19
Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the
fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words,
nor to my law, but rejected it.
20
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet
cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor
your sacrifices sweet unto me.
21
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before
this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them;
the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
In
verse 13 we see that not only the people have given themselves over to
covetousness, but the prophets and priests had also fallen into this
abomination. In the next verse we see exactly what is even now going on
in this country. While the prophets who had not fallen were sounding an
alarm, the people were being told “peace, peace.” In verse 15, it says
that the people were not ashamed of their abomination. Again, this is so
mindful of America. There was a time in the history of this great nation
that the sins that we now commit without shame, were not tolerated. In
my grandfather's generation there would have been no way for a known
homosexual to have been voted into office. What happened to this
standard that our forefathers set for this nation?
It may
do us good to look back and try to remember when God started blowing a
trumpet for America to harken to. I realize that there are many
instances, but I would like to speak about one that I personally
remember. I can remember when Pentecostal preachers spoke out against
movie shows and dancing. I was just a kid about to enter into the
teenage years. I thought that all those preachers were doing was trying
to keep us from having fun. Well, I was right, it was fun, only from the
standpoint of the world. The movie shows really were not all that bad in
the beginning. Today I wonder if, perhaps, those preachers really knew
enough through the spirit realm to see what was down the road. Today,
even the government is seeing the adverse results of the sex, drugs, and
violence that is now such a way of life for our children. I can remember
preachers saying that all Christians should throw their televisions out
the doors of their homes. I thought that was ludicrous at the time and
voiced my opinion as such. Years down the road, we now see that
television shows are teaching our children and adults alike. Most of
which are things that were not acceptable a generation ago are now
commonplace. Mothers found that television was a good way to keep their
children entertained. Little did they know that this built-in
baby-sitter was going to become a monster to both them and their
children. Children began to think dying was a game and that there was
nothing wrong with being the bad guy. Well, it all started out innocent
enough, but it sure has not ended up that way.
I
mentioned dancing before and I want to comment about that. Dances also
seemed to be all right from a social standpoint. It was a great way to
meet the girl of your dreams. Oh, there were always those who had a
little beer in the car that some readily found and consumed. Today, the
suggestive dances cultivate lust, the beer gave way to drugs, and now we
believe it is just a way of life that is to be accepted. It is
interesting that we never seem to want to listen to warnings when they
are posted. We always wait until the disaster strikes and then cry out
for help.
At
that time in my life I thought that Pentecostal people were far too
restricted to suit me. I may have been right in my assumption, for many
Pentecostal teenagers got caught up in the world with us. I am saying
this to get you to understand that hearing something and believing it,
to the extent that you do something about it, are two very different
things. In other words, just belonging to a church that spoke out
against these things did not protect you from them.
Should
we have listened to these preachers of righteousness? Well, hindsight is
always better than foresight, as they say. Yes, we should have listened
to those who were blowing the trumpets in the land. As this writer sees
it, this is the same problem that we as a nation face today. There are
those who are blowing the trumpets of warning across this land. However,
there are few who harken to the sounding of those trumpets.
Isaiah 28:1-17 (KJV)
1
WOE to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious
beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of
them that are overcome with wine
2
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of
hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under
feet:
4
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall
be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when
he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it
up.
5
In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a
diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6
And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for
strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out
of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink,
they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong
drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8
For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no
place clean.
9
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the
breasts.
10
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line,
line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this
people.
12
To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to
rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13
But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept
upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a
little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and
snared, and taken.
14
Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this
people which is in Jerusalem.
15
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell
are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it
shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under
falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet:
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall
overflow the hiding place.
Once
again, the Lord is pronouncing judgment. In verse 9 we find a key to the
problem of not only that day, but also for today. We must grow past the
milk of the word of God to go on into the deeper things of God. Paul
addressed this in Hebrews 6.
Hebrews 6:1-3 (KJV)
1
THEREFORE leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on
unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead
works, and of faith toward God,
2
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3
And this will we do, if God permit.
America has made a covenant with death, and with hell she is in
agreement. Just as it happened in the scriptures that we have given you,
so also will it happen here in America. People say that it is impossible
to even think that our way of life could ever be anything but better
than it is now.
Jeremiah 23:16-32 (KJV)
16
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets
that prophesy unto you; they make you vain: they speak a vision of their
own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
17
They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall
have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the
imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18
For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and
heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
19
Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous
whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20
The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till
he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall
consider it perfectly.
21
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them,
yet they prophesied.
22
But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my
words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from
the evil of their doings.
23
Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?
24
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith
the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
25
I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name,
saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?
yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
27
Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which
they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my
name for Baal.
28
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my
word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?
saith the Lord.
29
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that
breaketh the rock in pieces?
30
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal
my words every one from his neighbour.
31
Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their
tongues, and say, He saith.
32
Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord,
and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their
lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall
not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
The
Lord was speaking out of the prophet Jeremiah's mouth. In verse 17 the
same situation that I had just talked about was present in this day. The
prophets were telling the people that peace was going to prevail and
that no evil was going to come upon them.
Isaiah 30:1 (KJV)
1
WOE to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but
not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that
they may add sin to sin:
Isaiah 30:9-10 (KJV)
9
That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not
hear the law of the Lord:
10
Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto
us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
These
scriptures give us a very vivid picture of how things are today. If one
did not know that he was reading about a situation that happened
thousands of years ago, he would think that this was talking about us.
The people, both in church and out of church, do not want the truth
spoken to them. They want to only hear good things brought forth.
We, as
ministers, have a great responsibility to hear from God and then tell
the people what the Lord wants us to do. There seems to be many
volunteering for the position of prophet to inform the people of God's
desires for our lives. Many of the national voices that have been used
in the past -- if they do not heed what is going on -- will take many
down a road that leads to nowhere. The Lord has raised up those that He
will greatly use in this last day display of His glory and power. These
are for the most part, unknown people, who are waiting until the Lord
beckons them. These will come on the national scene and many will hear
and understand what they are saying.
Just
as we read in the scriptures above from Jeremiah: the prophets were
prophesying by their own minds and God had nothing to do with what they
said. Verse 20 says that those of us living in the latter days will
understand the judgments that shall come. Indeed, there are those who
have understood, even in this generation. They have been spoken of as
evil, for saying that the judgments of the Lord have come because of the
sin that is in this nation and in the church, as well.
Many
ministers have built themselves their own kingdoms. They have led the
people into thinking that if the Lord is going to say anything of
importance, He would say it through them. Many of these same ministers
claim to be prophets and feel the need to speak, "thus saith the Lord,"
every time they stand in the holy place. This is the exact, same
scenario that happened in the time of Jeremiah. They were prophesying
with their own words. The Lord through Jeremiah told them, in verse 22,
that if these ministers had stood in His counsel, they would have spoken
words that would have turned the people from their evil ways.
Ministry today is very careful not to offend people in any way. Most
ministers no longer preach against sin, because it might offend someone.
They are far more interested in keeping numbers in their churches than
reproving the saints of their sins. Jeremiah was trying in verse 29 to
get the ministers to understand that God's word is not “peace, peace,”
but like fire and a hammer that breaks rocks in pieces.
Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord,
and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their
lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall
not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
In
verse 32, the Lord is saying that He is against those who prophesy false
dreams. He also says that these ministers will not profit the people at
all. This simply means that no matter what good things the people are
taught, they will not profit from it. This could very well be the case
for many of the churches today. They claim to be speaking for God, but
the people do not profit. This is something we really need to consider,
if we are in a church that is always saying, “God said ...” If nothing
ever happens to prove the prophecy true, and you seem to be always
fighting the battle and never enjoying the fruit of your victory, then I
would seriously consider finding another church. For many years I have
felt that we as ministers have little knowledge of the responsibility we
have as leaders of God's children.
It is
one thing to think that the church would be interested enough to search
the scriptures to find the answers to our problems of today. Then, on
the other hand, one would presume that past history would help us
realize that every great nation has fallen. If we would look at why
these nations have fallen, it would ultimately lead us back to the Lord.
Rome is a very good example of just this.
The
mighty Roman empire ruled for more than 1,000 years. They thought that
they could never be defeated. There were four outstanding elements that
obsessed Rome before she fell. Sports had become of great importance to
all the people. The more blood that they saw spelled, the better they
liked it. Everyone was sports-minded and encouraged to be physically
active.
This
should sound very familiar to you, because we here in America spend
billions of dollars a year on sports. More people attend sporting events
than church services. Men, women, and children, exercise and belong to
health spas spending millions of dollars each year. Our children know
more about sports figures than they know about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John.
Rome
had all the fancy foods that the world had to offer. They had great
amounts of food, they had banquets and ate until their hearts were
content. They became over weight and lazy. After all, the world was
Rome, was it not?
Rome
did not have anything over us in America. We have, no doubt, surpassed
their love for food many times over. Our diets are so far out of whack
that no one has the foggiest idea how to get us back on the right diet.
We have so much food to choose from and most all of it is wrong for a
right diet. Many are dying from heart attacks because of obesity. Our
bodies are failing in almost all areas and the doctors know that most of
it comes from our bodies not getting the correct amounts of nutrients.
This is, again, from the foods we acquire that do not have the nutrients
we need. We are only interested in what we like to eat, rather than what
is good for our bodies.
Rome
also had a great love for their amusements and pleasures. They became so
possessed with these pleasures that they forgot they had an empire to
watch over and protect. They had dominated for a thousand years what, at
that time, was known as the world. They had no idea that everyone, from
the higher positions throughout their government to those in lower
positions, were all doing as they were -- having fun and living it up.
By the time that they began to take stock in the notion that they were
not taking care of business as they once did, it was too late. Success
can and often does cause total failure. Once a person or a nation tastes
what they deem to be success, they often sit back and believe that they
need do no more than enjoy their success. This has proven throughout the
history of mankind to be the decline of both people and nations.
America has followed along these exact lines. We only work to acquire
the money to play. Many Americans belong to expensive resorts and
vacationing is at the top of their priorities. The average income
American tries to live in the upper bracket with high society. Most of
us live way above our means. Our charge cards are full and the interest
is so high that most of us will never get the interest paid off, or the
principal. People believe that this is the American way and, after all,
we are the greatest nation on earth. Our eating habits are atrocious, we
have miles of restaurants and every kind of food that one could imagine.
Fast-food restaurants are the thing. You do not have to wait for the
food to be cooked, because they have it already cooked and waiting for
you. We have a steady diet of these foods and it is a proven medical
fact that most of it is not what is needed for our bodies to sustain a
healthy life.
Rome
had become so loose with their morals that homosexuality and divorce had
grown to astronomical proportions. Men making love to men and women
making love to women was a common, accepted practice of that day. There
were known homosexuals in the government influencing people to believe
that because they held a high place this abomination was acceptable.
It is
scary to think about how closely all of this parallels us today. Divorce
has steadily risen higher and higher with each passing year.
Homosexuality is completely out of hand in this country. We have
homosexuals in high government offices proclaiming openly that they
engage in such an abomination. Pornography, both adult and children, has
reached out now to more than three million readers. Divorce and
homosexuality are an accepted lifestyle in America. Our statistics now
are saying that within the next five to six years America will no longer
be known as a family unit nation. We will be a nation of single parent
families. Any nation that has let their moral structure decay as this
nation has can expect no more than what we have acquired.
I
believe that God even tried to warn the Romans. Jesus was born at the
height of the Roman empire’s power. The gospel was being preached
throughout the empire, even into the palaces of the Caesars. The Romans
rejected the message and even blamed the calamities they were having on
Christians. God, then, destroyed the very nation that believed they
could never be defeated. Of a truth, our God is a merciful God. He even
gave Rome an opportunity to turn around.
America
Forsaken Chapter 11
America
Forsaken Chapter 13
