14But
if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,
15 and
if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so
that you do not perform all My commandments,
but
break
My covenant…
Doesn’t this describe America?
We
haven’t obeyed Him. Our society barely observes any of God’s
commandments, let alone all of them. Our culture reeks of
drunkenness, pornography, perverted speech, dishonor toward parents
and violence toward everyone. We’ve supported laziness and punished
honest work. We’ve abandoned marriage – only insisting on it in
the case of homosexuality. In its place, our young people are trying
to live the married life while still outside of the covenant of
marriage.
Our
culture despises God’s statutes and ridicules the precious Book
that contains them. Open your ears and listen to the way the Bible is
being talked about in this nation. It’s the butt of every joke, the
laughing stock of our “higher education”, and even the
embarrassment of many churches!
That’s
right, even in churches we’ve broken our covenant and haven’t
performed all of God’s commands. Our preachers have used God’s
love and grace to excuse perverse and immoral lifestyles. American
Christians have grown shallow in their commitment and cold in their
love.
This
is not a good place for any nation to be!
16 I
also will do this to you:
God
isn’t playing games anymore. We should’ve done our research
before we told Him that we didn’t want Him in our country!
What
follows is more than just a prophetic message to the nation of Israel
– it's a wake up call for this country. As you read this warning,
notice how current it is! Christians, repent and pray for your
country!
I will even appoint terror over you…
The
very first part of God's judgment on a backslidden nation is fear.
And
right now, it seems like fear is everywhere.
“Don’t fly in a plane because it might be blown up.”
“Don’t go see a movie because you might be shot”
“Don’t walk alone at night time.”
“Don’t walk alone during the day.”
“Don’t leave your house door unlocked – whether you’re away or at home.”
“Don’t fly in a plane because it might be blown up.”
“Don’t go see a movie because you might be shot”
“Don’t walk alone at night time.”
“Don’t walk alone during the day.”
“Don’t leave your house door unlocked – whether you’re away or at home.”
We’re
facing fear like never before!
“What if a meteorite smashes into earth?”
“What if a super-volcano erupts in Yellowstone Park?”
“What if California sinks into the ocean?”
“What if tornadoes and hurricanes demolish our cities?”
“What if I lose my job tomorrow?”
“What if we lose our house this month?”
“What if the wrong person gets elected this year?”
“What if a meteorite smashes into earth?”
“What if a super-volcano erupts in Yellowstone Park?”
“What if California sinks into the ocean?”
“What if tornadoes and hurricanes demolish our cities?”
“What if I lose my job tomorrow?”
“What if we lose our house this month?”
“What if the wrong person gets elected this year?”
Why
are gun sales are at a record high? Why is freeze-dried food flying
off the shelves? Why does our government have websites to prepare
people for disasters and enemy attacks? It’s because of fear!
Fear
is the first stage of punishment for a disobedient nation – and
we’ve been steeped in it for a long time now. Worry and stress
(really, fear in disguise) are two of the leading causes for medical
conditions and mental disorders.
Luke
21:26 describes this gripping fear that strangles the disobedient:
“men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those
things which are coming…”
…wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart.
God
warns His backslidden nation of diseases being poured out if they
refuse to repent.
AIDs,
swine flu, bird flu, bat flu are just a few of the many disease
scares we've had in this country.
Other
diseases that we thought were under control, such as measles,
malaria, and tuberculosis have recently been making a comeback.
What's going on?
Why
do kids have to immunized to twenty-one diseases before they turn
six years old? Why is America spending 75 billion dollars a year to
care for cancer patients? Why are flu shots being given out like
candy every year?
I
propose that we're seeing the beginning of what God has been warning
us about all along. As Romans 1:27 says it this way, they are
“receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
I'm
not saying that people catch a disease because of their sin...I'm
saying that we as a nation have opened the door for disease to run
wild in this nation. God is Yahweh Rapha – the LORD our Healer –
so what would you expect to see in a nation that turns their back on
Him?
And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Let
me ask you, how much of your salary or wages are actually paid to
you? Now, how much of what you worked for is being taken from you and
given to others? This is the modern-day equivalent of what God is
saying here. In other words, you're going to work but not see the
benefit from it.
The
average working American pays about 12% of their pay in income taxes.
This means that for 30 work days out of every year, you're donating
your paycheck to the federal government.
But
the income tax isn't the only tax we pay! You also pay your property
taxes, state income tax, state sales tax, social security tax and
even a service tax in restaurants! This isn't including the “hidden
taxes” that we pay when businesses and corporations wrap their own
tax burdens in their prices.
Adding
all of these taxes up, Americans will have to work an astounding 107
days to pay! If you started on January 1st
– you would have to work until April 17th
and hand over every single paycheck! (although we have it good right
now – once Obamacare's taxes are enforced, that date moves back
even further, to May 14th!)
Where
are all these tax dollars going?
1 – Washington. This was the only city in the country that wasn't hit by the current recession. Why? Because this is where the wealth of the nation is going! It is an incredible fact that nearly one in ten D.C. residents are lawyers (in the rest of the country it's closer to 1 out of 300)! Per capita, Washington D.C. is the wealthiest city in the United States. Do you really think that the high tax rates and wealth of Washington are coincedence?
1 – Washington. This was the only city in the country that wasn't hit by the current recession. Why? Because this is where the wealth of the nation is going! It is an incredible fact that nearly one in ten D.C. residents are lawyers (in the rest of the country it's closer to 1 out of 300)! Per capita, Washington D.C. is the wealthiest city in the United States. Do you really think that the high tax rates and wealth of Washington are coincedence?
2
– Handouts and freebies. In 2011, almost 46 million Americans
received food stamps – AKA SNAP benefits. This is a staggering
number – one out of five adults! Modern statistics show that
between 30 and 50 million Americans are receiving welfare benefits.
Can
you see this judgement in effect? You work, you spend your time and
energy, but someone else is eating the benefits. This is the result
of a nation that turns away from God.
17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies.
Thankfully,
we haven't been defeated by our enemies yet...but we've lost a lot of
ground! We've become the scorn and ridicule of many third-world
dictators and oppressive governments. Nations that should be shaking
in fear have been shaking their fists at us instead.
Terrorists
are free to come and go through our borders as they please. Drug
cartels have actually seized control of many towns and counties on
the southern border – terrorizing US citizens on U.S.
soil!
Islamic
fundamentalists have been steadily progressing in influence and
authority. Entire towns are subjecting their own laws to Islamic
Sharia law.
I
pray we wake up before the total realization of this judgement – I
do not want to see this great nation defeated by its enemies. I pray
that repentance and revival will sweep through this land before
things get even worse!
Those who hate you shall reign over you...
In
the past, we would have to go overseas to listen to leaders who hate
our nation and oppose what we stand for. Today, we only have to tune
into some of our Godless politicians to hear this type of rhetoric.
Here
are just a few examples from the highest office in the nation – the
office held by President Obama:
"Whatever
we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation."
"As
a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam."
"The
United States is still working through some of our own darker periods
in our history."
"My
job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not
your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect."
"While
the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in
the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we
sought to dictate our terms."
"It's
not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion
or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant
sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their
frustrations."
"Too
often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement
with our neighbors. We have been too easily distracted by other
priorities, and have failed to see that our own progress is tied
directly to progress throughout the Americas."
In
the delicate language of politics, these are very strong words. We
now have a man ruling over us who doesn't particularly care for us!
But President Obama isn't alone!
Rev.
Jeremiah Wright proclaimed from his pulpit “God d—n America!”
Professor Ward Churchill proclaimed from his podium “Get the United
States out of the Americas...and out of mind!” Both men could
barely finish their sentences due to the overwhelming noise of
standing ovations. Something has gone drastically wrong.
Our
leaders, from the government to the pulpit, hate this country, and
its people. We do indeed have our haters ruling over us.
and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
Cowardice.
Frivolous
lawsuits and pushy activists have brought us to the place where we
bend over backwards to avoid offending people. We're so afraid that
someone will get offended by us that we opposes ourselves and
restrict our own freedoms of religion and speech.
We're
afraid that a prayer in a graduation will offend someone, so we cut
it from the program.
We're afraid that a Christian t-shirt will upset someone, so we make kids turn them inside-out.
We're afraid that the name of Jesus will make someone uncomfortable, so we cut it out of the speech.
And we do all of this based on assumptions! We're so afraid of offending anyone, that we're fleeing when no one is chasing us!
We're afraid that a Christian t-shirt will upset someone, so we make kids turn them inside-out.
We're afraid that the name of Jesus will make someone uncomfortable, so we cut it out of the speech.
And we do all of this based on assumptions! We're so afraid of offending anyone, that we're fleeing when no one is chasing us!
After
seeing God's first six warning, it's clear that this country has
begun to see the consequences of our disobedience. From here, it only
gets worse!
Christians,
we need to repent of our sin and turn back to our first love! This
nation will rise or fall based on the spiritual lives of believers.
Many Christians claim to love this country, but they fail to realize
that their half-hearted commitment to God is largely to blame for the
spiritual climate throughout America. God holds us responsible for
the fate of our nation – it's time to wake up!
2
Chronicles 7:14 “...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.”
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