Be A Blessings To Your Earthly Home

While completing the way one gospel ministry.

Work continues around the world. God has put a special burden on my heart for West for America Canada not Australia.

We are facing critical time in our and as we approach America's birthday. I have prepared a special message for you on how to be a blessing to your earthly home went about to celebrate the birthday of this greatest nation on the face of the earth and so many people are saying this is not the America that on you.

This is not the America that was envisioned by the founding fathers. This is not the America so many people have fought and died for. Today immorality is glorify and morality is scorned today speaking the truth is considered to be hate speech Christians are openly and publicly persecuted in America, something we could never have imagined only a few years ago there dragged into courts for the biblical convictions.

Some of them have lost the entire life savings mean an executive and employees both in the government and in the private sector have lost their jobs whenever they speak the truth, biblical truth, and the take a stand on tolerance has come to mean celebrating every perversion known to man while despising biblical truth.

We have moved from being the greatest creditor nation to being the greatest debtor nation we have come a long way since that day.

156 good and decent men signed the declaration of dependence on the Almighty God when they said with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. These were not idle words.

These were not a form of rhetoric or high sounding phrases. These 56 men new that if that succeeded at that that it would mean many years of hardship and struggle years of diligently nurturing of this greatest experiment known in history if they fail, they would've had to face the Heisman news as traitors beloved history testifies clearly testifies that very few of them have survived very long after the signed the declaration of dependence on the God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Five of them were captured during the Revolutionary war.

12 of them have their homes looted and ransacked and burned one so his son killed in the war. One sought his two sons captured nine of the 56 died during that war. These were brave men and women who gave us the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and they depended on God.

They depended on God to give us all of the blessings that we're enjoying now and the blessings that sadly, so many people take for granted. Sadly, to others, have failed to even appreciate.

And yet in reality we are in danger of losing that liberty of losing that freedom and all the blessings that they lived and died in order to hand to us. Why did they do this well.

These men knew that to be born free and live free is a privilege, but even more, they also knew that the die three is an awesome responsibility.

So how do we live in such times and difficulties of receiving night after night in the news. Why don't have the answer, but the Bible the word of God has the answer.

How would a faithful citizen. How is a godly man, a woman, boy or girl live in this earthly country when the book of Jeremiah chapter 29 verse four the Bible gives a sense but before I read the passage of that short passage from Scripture. I need to place it in a historical context always put the Scripture in its context.

After years, decades of God pleading with his people Israel, a nation that he loved that he protected even when they went into slavery in Egypt for 400 years and he brought them miraculously, supernaturally out into the promised land. After years of pleading with them to worship only the living God to cease from worshiping bail disease from worshiping aster after years of God warning his people of the consequences of living a compromise life they go to the temple on Saturday, but then there therefore bail in between Saturdays. Finally, the Lord, not the king of Babylon, but the Lord brought judgment on Israel. This is the apple of his eye. This is a people whom he loved, and redeemed from the slavery of Egypt, he allowed the most terroristic and the most vicious, savage nation on the face of the earth at that time to terrorize his own people, and he allowed them to go into captivity's into exile. His people, yes, because of the rebellion and the stubbornness refusing to return to the one living God. Please when God finally brought about the judgment upon Israel and they ended up in Babylon.

Now their Inc. activities, God began to speak to them through the prophet Jeremiah and that is where I want you to turn now to Jeremiah 29 beginning at verse four.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says to all those listen to this I can say I all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. See, I'm not trying to get God into Madison Avenue and market him for what he is not about trying to give God a facelift because the God of grace and mercy is also a God of judgment and if you miss one of those two you are worshiping a different God, our God is a God, both of mercy and grace but also a God of judgment.

Verse five he said to them, build houses, settle down, plant gardens and eat what you produce. Verse seven also seek the peace and the prosperity of the city which again I have gutted you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it. That is Babylon.

Think about this God is asking the Israelite captives to pray for Babylon because every prosper. You will prosper. So much for those Christians just say well I'm only passing through. I don't need to get involved.

I'm just passing through this life. I cannot get involved in the political process doesn't say I can be involved in these earthly matters. I'm heading to heaven. As CS Lewis said when people used to accuse Christians of being so heavenly minded that if no earthly good. He said only those so heavenly minded out of any earthly good and now it is a mentor that God told to be good citizens, though they were in a foreign land. There were in exile.

Building captivity's think about this. There will not privilege to live in the land like this, they would not privilege to live in the land that was founded by good and decent people there were mother and in the land that was founded on biblical foundations of the Israelites living in Babylon the most vicious and savage people in the face of the earth at Babylon, which we are slowly but surely seem to becoming one, God forbid, God forbid you have a question for you.

What is God saying to them what can we learn from them as we go along an opera is telling these faithful people to be involved in the good citizens he calls them to be good stewards even though there therefore led even though there in Families even they are in exile. God told him to pray for the peace of God along. I know here in the Scripture about praying for the peace of Jerusalem. But did you ever see God saying this people pray for the peace of Babylon.

In fact, this is the first time in the Old Testament that you are God asking his people. The apple of his eye to Prairie for their captors. Verse seven seek the peace and the prosperity of the city in which I carried you into exile him not, please. In reality all genuinely if your Bible believing Christian. If your personal believe that there is no other way to heaven. Other through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Savior of your soul on the Lord of your life. All of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. In many ways we are exiles in the source, regardless of where we live in the world. We are sergeants we are tremors to heaven.

It is what you do during your program journey is what determines your heavenly reward. Today we have some misguided people on both sides of the spectrum. This from an equal opportunity offender just in case you did not know this.

We have misguided people on both sides of the spectrum.

On the one side we have those who hate America and it breaks my heart if you tell me about 40 years ago, I wouldn't believe it. Anybody be in America hate America but we seeing it now with our own eyes. There are some who wish America home in the summa personality on television comes at night after night calling for the demise of America popular media guy some say that which is the other side of the spectrum, America has seen too deeply for God to intervene in America deserves judgment but God said, not what they said what God said, seek the peace and prosperity of the city Babylon. We are to pray that God would have mercy on America, not its downfall.

We ought to intercede for God to intervene. Not to wait for its downfall. We are to contend in prayer that America will return to its roots not go along to get along.

We ought to lovingly call men and women, boys and girls not to wring their hands, but to pry for America. We ought to pray, and pay any price that is required to speak the truth lovingly carefully sought fully and leading men and women into the truth. We ought to pray for a genuine Holy Spirit awakening so that the churches that have departed from the truth of the gospel may return to the truth, seek the peace of America defend the godly ideals of the founding fathers don't give in to those who seek its demise. Don't take the blessings of freedom for granted. Don't think would just something that is owed to us no somebody paid a price for the freedom we have been informed of the candidates and vote and don't stay home vote for God sake vote.

I am absolutely amazed at times when I read history.

As many of you know I'm an amateur historian and I'm just amazed at the prophetic statements that have been spoken about our day. Many years ago I this is not by profits and not by pastors and the bar preachers but by political leaders.

Abraham Lincoln had warned us that America will never be defeated by invading armies but by the apathy of its citizens. Many have warned and pleaded for the future generation to nurture and protect this fragile stewardship even 100 years after the Americas birth. It was 1876, Pres. James Garfield was speaking to Congress and he issued a sober warning and I want you to put this in the light of today.

Listen to what he said to these lawmakers now more than ever before. The people the people are responsible for the character of the Congress.

Did you get that we are responsible not remember this when you vote when responsible for the character of the Congress. If this body continues on this body referring to the elected politicians be ignorant, reckless or corrupt.

It is because the people tolerated ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because people demanded these high qualities to represent them. Then he added the next hundred years does not find us a great nation it will be because those who represented the enterprise, the culture, the morality of the nation did not aid in controlling the political forces." Amen. I wish the prophecies not been coming true. We seeing it up before our own eyes we were truly know the Lord listen to me. Both of us are truly know the Lord have the responsibility now. I want to cite double responsibility to be good model citizens of this great mesh. Why, because we know that our God is a great God because we know that our God is a God can do great things in response to the prayers of his people, historians have described the declining of great civilizations and nations in the following manner. Listen carefully. They go from bondage to faith, from faith to courage, from courage to liberty from liberty to abundance from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence and from dependence all the way back to bondage. Lord forbid question what can give us hope.

What can give us hope in the midst of our condition in which wherein our God is a God who loves and hears and answers prayer of his faith filled people you believe that I want to give you an example 20 years prior to Pres. Garfield making that speech in Congress, which are recorded America was experiencing a terrible economic downturn. There was a run on the banks was known as the panic of 1857. It was far worse depression than the 1920s, unemployment was skyhigh.

Banks were closing the economy was in shambles. People were angry and frustrated life become unbearable, but there was a man swarming. It was not a preacher who is not a pastor who is not an evangelist was a layman can you say layman with me that you see this is a problem, but so many people sitting in the pews thinking while the people in the pulpit should do it now. We preach a truth you know that, but it is your responsibility. It is your God-given responsibility to make a difference.

This man recognize that is only one answer to the tragic condition of his country at the time this man believed that the power of God and the transformation of man's heart is the only answer that could save the nation, and so on September 23, 1857. This layman from the Dutch Reformed Church in northern Manhattan placed a small act in the newspaper. Very small announcing a lunchtime meeting for prayer for America for Americans in the small room in his church. The first meeting drew six people was our weekly lunchtime. Our six people out of 1 million residents of New York the following week they got 14 the following week. About 23 so they decided to start praying daily instead of weekly and that prayer meeting continued until 1858 in March, which six months. By that time, go 5000 prayer groups of meeting and neighboring churches and in public holes in the adjacent buildings. Horace Greeley was a famous editor and that time he wanted to know and get reports on what really is happening in these churches. So I sent one reporter on the horse and buggy to cover as many churches as possible during that one hour of prayer in this report out covered 12 of the many meetings he counted 6100 people were meeting in prayer and then the landslide of prayer ensued. People began to commit their lives to Christ without a preacher.

Maybe that sense often to get in the way. 10,000 a week were coming to Christ in New York City alone, church bells would ring 8 AM and 12 noon and 6 PM and people will show up and pray that revival went up the Hudson River down the Mohawk River in one year more than 1 million people come to Christ.

That revival, then crossed the Atlantic and went to Northern Ireland and Scotland and Wales in small parts of England, and even went all the way to South India. Here's a reason why while I prayed in on. Continue to pray for Holy Spirit awakening. I have a nagging feeling that this is only personal is not thus says the Lord is not from the word of God that unless unless God intervenes.

Once it is long as we have a social program for every ill in society as long as we place our hopes on political parties as long as we look to guidance from godless celebrities as long as we look to the government for help as long as we seek other things are not God alone. As long as we come to God. Only when we need something and we want to pry fervently if we need or want something from God and then we take off when our needs are met will not experience this incredible awakening for which operate for more than 40 years. Beloved.

That is why seeking the peace of this, we must pray must pray urgently. We must pray diligently, intentionally, and we must pray in faith by placing a whole face trust squarely on the one our days of old.

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