01 - Introduction Of Compromise In The Church

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience."

Since its inception in Acts chapter 2, the church has had to confront many different compromises to true doctrine. Even before the close of the New Testament, we can see two of these destructive heresies exposed - the Judaizers and the Nicolaitans. Throughout history other compromising doctrines have come and gone. Some have denied Jesus' humanity, others have denied His deity. Some have promoted legalism and tried to bring the church under bondage to the law. Others have promoted lawlessness and try to use the grace of God as an excuse for immorality.

One particularly dangerous compromise has snuck into the church relatively recently, within the last 300 years. It is a subtle attack on the very foundation of God's Word. I'm talking about the attack on the very first book of the Bible - Genesis. Secular views and man-made theories have been slowly infiltrating the church and corrupting the minds of simple believers. (I'm speaking of those who don't study to show themselves approved concerning God's Word.)

Lyell, Darwin, and the Church
In 1830, a geologist named Charles Lyell published a book called Principles of Geology. This book promoted His theory of an extremely old earth and the idea of long ages of time before mankind ever existed. He suggested that the different rock layers that we see around the world were formed by natural forces over vast amounts of time. This idea of an ancient world without man was clearly and completely opposed to what the Bible teaches, that the world was around 6,000 years old and that the first man and woman were made during its first week. When faced with this clear contradiction to the Word of God, how did the church respond?

To understand the reaction of the church to Lyell's book, one must first understand the climate that the book was published in. The 19th century was the golden age of science. New disciplines were founded and new discoveries were being published every year. New inventions were becoming commonplace. All-in-all, it seemed as if science was giving mankind a greater understanding and mastery of the natural world around him. Labeling any idea as scientific was quickly becoming the highest form of argument.

This is the atmosphere in which the church was faced with Lyell's opposition. Not wanting to appear backwards and ignorant, the church backed away from its stand on Genesis. Instead of holding to what God's Word says, the church compromised with the old-earth ideas of Lyell. Leading this compromise was a Scottish minister named Thomas Chalmers. His compromise is still prevalent in the church today - it is known as the Gap Theory (also called the ruin/reconstruction theory). We'll discuss this theory in more detail later, but it's important to understand that this theory began as a compromise with secular man's theories.

After Lyell's book was published, another attack on Genesis began to gain ground. In 1859, a close friend of Lyell's - a man named Charles Darwin - published a book promoting an even further separation from the Biblical doctrine of creation. Darwin used Lyell's ideas as a springboard into another idea: if the earth itself could slowly evolve and exist without a Creator, why couldn't the life on it do the same?

Darwin didn't actually create the idea of evolution, but his book was probably the most responsible for summarizing and promoting it. His book was entitled On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection, Or The Preservation Of Favoured Races In The Struggle For Life. Even today, this book is considered to be the authority on biological evolution and the role of natural selection. He theorized that, given enough time, the little changes in plants and animals could amount to much larger changes - even to the point of changing one kind of animal into another.

Like Lyell's Theory, Darwin's book clearly opposed the plain reading of Genesis. Having already compromised on the age of the earth, how would the church respond to this new attack on the Bible? Sadly, they were once again more concerned about appearing ignorant than they were about holding to the authority of God's Word. The 19th century church compromised even further. Many preachers began to promote the idea of theistic evolution - the claim that Genesis was an allegory and that God simply used evolution during the process of creation.

This is the reality that is far removed from society's memory. Sadly, the majority of people believe that Darwin was embraced by the scientists while being oppressed and opposed by the church. If only this were true! In actuality, the religious and scientific reception of On The Origin Of Species was completely different from what is commonly believed today.

Far from being embraced by the scientific community, Darwin's work was rejected and criticized by scientists throughout the world.
Louis Pasteur, called the greatest scientist of the 19th century, was forcefully opposed to the theory of evolution.
Sir Richard Owen - the founder of modern paleontology and the man who coined the term "dinosaur" - also opposed Darwin and wrote him letter after letter to present scientific objections to Darwin's theory.
Even Darwin's own geology professor Adam Sedgewick wrote to him; "I have read your book with more pain than pleasure. Parts of it I admired greatly, parts I laughed at till by sides were almost sore; other parts I read with absolute sorrow, because I think them utterly false and grievously mischievous."
Sir John Herschel, a famous mathematician and astronomer, called Darwin's theory "the law of higgledy-pigglety."

So you see, the scientists of Darwin's day weren't exactly open-minded about this theory that they saw to be utterly un-scientific. If this was the response of the scientific world, how did the church respond?
An English priest named Charles Kingsley wrote a letter to Darwin to congratulate him on his book.
Josiah Strong, another famous preacher of the 19th century, wrote and distributed a pamphlet that stated that Christianity and evolution must go hand-in-hand.
During Darwin's funeral, preachers from around the world poured out compliments for him - emphasizing his "patience, calmness, ingenuity," and on and on...
Believe it or not, this promoter of a godless theory was even compared to the apostle Paul!
After all of this, his body was then buried in the floor of Westminster Abbey - the church of England.

As much as I hate to say this, Darwin would be long-forgotten by now if it weren't for the compromise of the church.

Creation Compromises
Since the publishing of Darwin's book, the church has had no fewer than four compromises concerning the very first chapter of Genesis. Although each of these compromises differ on content, they all have one thing in common - they view the secular ideas of man as being more important than the clearly revealed Word of God. Each of them demonstrate this fact when they alter the very account of the Creator to agree with the man-made idea of evolution.

Let's examine these four theories more closely. As we do, keep this question in mind: whose words are more important - fallen man's or the Creator who never lies?

The Gap Theory
As we've already learned, the gap theory was first developed by a man named Thomas Chalmers. Attempting to reconcile the long ages of time with the Genesis account of creation, Chalmers tried to cram the geologic ages between the first two verses of Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:1-2 "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void (empty), and darkness covered the face of the deep..."

Declaring that God would never make something that is formless or empty, Chalmers suggested that verse 1 and verse 2 were separated by a vast amount of time. During this time, he proposed that the earth was filled with a pre-adamite race of beings who were ruled by the angel Lucifer. When Lucifer was lifted up in pride, he led this race of beings in a rebellion against God. The results were a fallen Lucifer and a world that was flooded in judgement.

Those who hold to this theory believe that the long ages of time that are supposedly found in the rock layers can be attributed to this flood that brought judgement to the world. They also believe that the disembodied souls of this pre-adamite race of beings are what we call demons today.

Later on, we'll discuss the number of problems with the gap theory, both scientific and Biblical. But for now, we can see the two main issues. First, "gappers" have to invent an entire mythology that has absolutely no scriptural record! Second, let's not forget that the whole purpose of the Gap Theory, once again, is to reconcile a godless theory with God's Word.

The Day-Age Theory
Like the Gap Theory, the day-age theory tries to find room in Genesis chapter 1 for the secular idea of millions of years. The key, they say, is found in 2 Peter 3:8 "But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

The day-age theory states that the long ages of time that are supposedly in the rock layers, were in fact laid down gradually during the creation "week." Using 2 Peter 3:8, they claim that the days of creation weren't actually days, but were vast periods of time. By claiming that the Hebrew word for day doesn't always mean a literal day, proponents of this theory claim that they can reconcile the secular ages of the earth with the biblical account of creation.

Theistic Evolution
The theory of theistic evolution is a much more drastic compromise than any we've seen yet. Instead of trying to harmonize secular theories with the Bible's account of creation, theistic evolution simply discards the record of Genesis 1 as a good story that isn't literally true. The entire first chapter (indeed, the entire first book) of the Bible is simply considered to be an allegory. The point, they say, is that God made the world - exactly how He did that seems to be less clear.

"God created," they say, "but He used evolution to do it." Essentially, the theory of theistic evolution embraces every evolutionary idea - from the age of the earth to the evolution of life - and then tack on the claim that it was guided by God. In this way, they seem to be able to accept the secular theory of evolution while still claiming to believe the Bible. Sadly, every time that the evolutionist and the Bible disagree, the theistic evolutionist is quick to alter God's Word to fit the man-made ideas.

We will further discuss the problems that theistic evolutionists face - but their largest problem is this; is God's Word authoritative or not?

Progressive Creation
In many ways, this theory is similar to theistic evolution. They both embrace the idea of long periods of time before man when the earth was inhabited by different plants and animal species. They also believe that each of the rock layers in the earth came from different geologic ages in its history. But rather than saying that God guided the process of evolution, progressive creationists claim that the rock layers show a progressive series of creations and the destruction of those creations.

Progressive creationists believe that at various times God filled the earth with the creatures we see in the fossils, allowed them to live for thousands of years, then wiped them out and replaced them with others. After creating and destroying successively for millions of years, God finally placed the first "real" humans in the Garden of Eden.

Progressive creationists, like Hugh Ross, even believe in races of "soul-less" apemen that were created by God and then wiped out and replaced by true humans!

This theory has many problems - not the least of which is the problem of turning God into a schizophrenic who can't make up His mind! The biggest problem they have though is the fact that they believe in millions of years of death before sin - something that the Bible disagrees with.

The Consequences Of Not Being Biblically Grounded
Psalm 11:3 "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

None of these four compromises are Biblical, none of them are scientific, and none of them are necessary! We'll see later that the scientific evidence simply doesn't support the idea of millions of years. But what we need to realize now is that every believer should start from the Word Of God.

Sadly, Christians that don't know where they stand or the trustworthiness of the Bible are falling into these compromises. Most Christians don't know what God has told us about creation or how important Genesis is to our faith. Too many of us are willing to compromise on the age of the earth and the way it was created - just as long as we can hold on to Jesus. What these compromisers don't understand is that every doctrine we have is rooted in Genesis!

Think about this:
What gives God the right to set the rules?
Why is mankind different from the animals?
Why are we in charge of the earth and it's creatures?
Where did sin and death come from?
Why do we need to be redeemed?
Why is Jesus' blood sacrifice necessary?
What is the definition of marriage - and why?
The origin of every one of these doctrines is found in the first few chapters of Genesis. Any believer that doesn't know where he stands on the authority of the Bible is in danger of falling into compromise and losing their foundation.

We need to hold onto what the Word of God says and use that as the only starting point for the way we see the world. Every belief we have needs to be rooted in the Bible, not in a fallen man's ideas. Knowing this, let's take a look at what a believer should believe about the beginning of the world.

Yahweh's Benefits - Part 2

Psalm 103:1-2 “Bless YAHWEH, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits...”

We’ve already seen that we are made up of three parts; spirit, soul, and body. From John 4:23 we know that our spirit is (or should be) always in a state of worship. This is why we can worship God anytime and anywhere without any emotion needed! Our soul, however, needs to be “primed” in order to worship. This is the point of Psalm 103:1-5 - leading your soul into worship. We pull our mind, will and emotions into worship by remembering Yahweh’s benefits.

Last time, we looked at the first three benefits in this list
1. Forgiveness of all our sin - past, present, and future!
2. Healing from every disease - no matter how big or small
3. Redemption from eternal destruction

But David didn’t stop there. There are three more benefits in his list:

4. “...Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies...”

The Hebrew word for “lovingkindness” is the word chesed. This beautiful, ancient word has no true English counterpart. FIrst of all, it carries the meaning of compassion and tender care in action. In other words, it is the very act of mercy! Secondly, this word denotes the motivation behind the act - an intense love.

God loves us with an intense, burning love. Song of Solomon 8:6 describes this kind of love: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame.” The very last word in this verse, the word we translate as “vehement flame” is the word shalhebeth - it means “the very fire of Yahweh.” God’s love burns for us out of His very nature!

5. “...Who satisfies your mouth with good things...”

God is the giver of good things. Jesus compared and contrasted the Father with earthly parents to make this very point. If you, as sinful and wicked people, know how to love and care for your children with good things - don’t you think your Father in Heaven will provide for His kids?

To many people don’t understand this. If they did, they would pray much differently! Instead of begging and pleading for things that they don’t even believe God wants to give them, they would come boldly and ask in confident faith. That is the only type of prayer that gets answers! There is one continuing theme whenever the Bible teaches on prayer; prayers of faith get answered, prayers of doubt and unbelief are ineffective.

So it is vitally important to believe that God wants to satisfy His kids with good things!

6. “...so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”

Face it, life is tough. It takes a toll on all of us! Have you ever had a day that was just harsh? How about a harsh week? A month? What is the best way to repair ourselves when we’re beaten down by the pressure of life?

For most people, it’s time off. We get away from it all and rest. Whether it’s just rest on the weekend or a nice, long vacation - rest has a rejuvenating effect on all of us.

But what happens when the pressure seems to never stop? What do you do you’re just as overwhelmed after a vacation as you were before it? The answer is the last benefit on this list - a renewed youth. This doesn’t mean turning the clock back physically. But it does carry the meaning of reversing the damage that life does to all of us.

When we let Him, God has this wonderful way of healing the damage of a lifetime and lifting every burden from our shoulders. Without the weights and pressures of natural life, we’re then free to soar into the spiritual life that God has prepared for us.

These are benefits that we must remember. David emphasizes this in verse 2 - “forget not all His benefits.” Why is it so important to remember these six things?

First of all, these are six areas that so often drag us into depression. How often have you seen a believer depressed about what they did wrong? Would it be better for them to remember the benefit of forgiveness? How often does the fear and worry of sickness blind us to the way God cares for us? Have you ever lost sight of your eternal destiny in heaven and found yourself completely focused on this temporary life? Have you ever felt alone and unloved? Overwhelmed with lack? Beaten down by life in this world?

If any of this sounds familiar, then you need to sit down and remember the benefits of Yahweh! The only way to rise out of this kind of oppression is to get your focus back on spiritual things. Life in this sin-filled world can be harsh and overwhelming. But we have everything we need to stay above it all! God’s promises give us victory over the normal life!

Just look at what Peter tells us about the promise of God: “...by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these [promises] you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” God’s promises to us give us access to His own divine nature!

Yahweh's Benefits

Psalm 103:1-2 “Bless Yahweh, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless Yahweh, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits”

Did you know that serving God has benefits? Did you know that it pays to be on God’s side? Too many people have a negative view of the Christian’s life. They believe that serving God means cutting all the good things out of life. Their motto can be found in Malachi 3:14 - “It is useless to serve God. What did we gain by obeying his laws?”

Sadly, there are even a lot of Christians out there who have forgotten the joy that comes with salvation. They’ve forgotten the benefits that their God provides! They have adopted the mindset that God doesn’t give them anything...how sad! I believe Psalm 103 was written for joyless believers - people who have forgotten how good it is to be on God’s side! Why else would David say, “Don’t forget these things!”

What are His benefits? Without looking up Psalm 103, can you name any? Are the things in this list at the front of your mind - or have you forgotten them? If you’re like most Christians, you’ve lost sight of these things, and you’re probably struggling with the lack of joy and  peace in your life. It’s time to get back to the benefits of Yahweh!

1. "...Who forgives all your sins..."

Do you understand that every lawless, rebellious, sinful, death-deserving thing that you've ever done has been washed away? Do you understand that you're not guilty anymore? You're not an "old sinner, saved by grace"! You were and old sinner, now you are saved by grace!

Pay attention to what Hebrews 8:12 says: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." God chose to forget every sin you've ever committed. If He sees you as sinless, why are you still behaving like a sinner? Why are you still letting guilt and shame keep you from your prayer time? Why are you  wondering if God will forgive you?

Why aren't Christians the happiest people on earth? We should be - look at what David said in Psalm 32:1. "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!"

But forgiveness isn't the only benefit!

2. "...Who heals all your diseases..." 

Healing is a benefit of serving God! Did you know this? Do you understand that it isn't God's plan for you to be sick? God believes in healing so much that He named Himself Yahweh Rapha - The LORD your Healer. Shouldn't that convince you that He's interested in the well-being of our physical body? If that doesn't convince you, maybe this will...

Jesus paid a tremendous price for our healing. Isaiah 53:5 says: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." If Jesus only wanted us forgiven, He would have gone straight for the cross. After all, it was His death that forgave our sin. So why did He endure the Roman whip? It was for our healing! If you want to understand how much God wants us healed, look at the price He paid for it!


Healing is a benefit  of serving God!

3.  "...Who redeems your life from destruction..."

Do you remember the promise of John 3:16? That's not just a salvation verse - it's a promise for believers too! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." 

Death has no power over us anymore! We should have no fear of leaving this world. We pay homage to this promise at funerals - but do we really believe it? Do we really understand what Paul said, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord"?

Our body may lay down and decay like the rest of the world - but we will never die! When we lay down this earthly body, we simply pick up a Heavenly one! Our life has been redeemed from destruction. We will never face the death we once had to face. Jesus paid for our eternal life!

These are just half of the benefits that we are supposed to remember. When was the last time you focused on these? I'm convinced this will eliminate sorrow and sadness and will infuse every believer with new joy!  Remembering these benefits is how you get your soul to "Bless the Lord!"

 

The Judgement Of America - Part 2

Fear.
Disease.
Labor without benefits.
Enemy activity on our own soil.
Hatred from our own rulers.
Cowardly behavior

After seeing God's first six warnings, 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.”

Leviticus 26

18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

If we don't learn, if we continue to disregard the warnings that God has given us, it only gets worse. When we look at the next six consequences for disobedience, the correlation to modern events only gets more clear.

19 I will break the pride of your power;

While we were once the most competitive economy in the world, our present financial crisis has pulled us down to fifth in the list – and still falling. It is interesting that another Christian nation that is in a backslidden state, Great Britain, is also free-falling in this economic crumble. Topping the list of competitive economies are nations like Singapore, Finland, and Sweden!
While it's true that we haven't always been liked by other nations, we were respected. Our military was powerful, our resolve was firm and we were the envy of the world. Now we're being overtaken by nations that were never in our league!
Remember when we had an illegal immigration problem? Latin Americans were pouring into this country for a better life. Now the trend is slowing down rapidly. Fewer and fewer people are seeing a better life in this country than they have in theirs. If this trend continues in that direction, we'll soon have an emigration problem!
Once, an educated public was our pride and joy. We were the home of inventions, the source of scientific breakthroughs, and the leader in technology. Now, out of 34 nations studied, American schools rank 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math!
Our pride and influence in the world is waning – teetering dangerously close to the edge.

I will make your heavens like iron...

A serious lack of rain.
Thirteen of America's states have been in an official drought since 2010. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina were already in a severely dry condition when 2012 rolled in. In 2012 this drought has spread to 80% of the continental United States.

...and your earth like bronze.

A severely hardened and unforgiving soil that refuses to provide what is planted in it.
In 1936, the United States senate declared: “The alarming fact is that food – fruits and vegetables and grains – now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain needed nutrients, are starving us no matter how much we eat of them.”
That was then. Now things are even worse. Since 1962, the amounts of nutrients and minerals in our fruits and vegetables has dropped 50%! We are literally being provided with only half the vitamins and minerals that we had in our food fifty years ago. Call it over-farming and under-rotation if you want – the simple fact is that the earth isn't yielding the nutrition that we need anymore.
To combat this, we've voraciously consumed vitamin pills and nutritional supplements. Food industries have begun to fortify their products to make up for the general lack of nutritional value in our raw resources. Examples of this include:
Iodizing salt to avoid iodine deficiency
Adding folic acid to flour
Adding niacin to our bread
Adding vitamin D to milk, butter and margarine – even to vegetable oil!
And many, many others...
I believe that this is an effect of a “earth of bronze.”

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

Our current lack of rain is on track to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. More disastrous than hurricane Katrina, more costly than any earthquake, and more serious than any tornado that has ever hit our country.
Crops across the nation have failed or been drastically stunted. Farmers everywhere have thrown up their hands, having worked all year for a nonexistent return. By the middle of August, 1,700 counties across 36 states were declared federal disaster zones because of the lack of rain and failed crops.
Sadly, unless things change and the rain comes, our winter seeds for next year's crops won't even germinate.

21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.

Can you see how God pleads with us? Can you see how many chances He gives to repent and turn from sin? At what point will a nation wise up and realize that these things that are happening aren't normal or coincidence?

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number;

In other words, internal violence spreading through the nation. Animals would be robbing children, destroying property, and taking lives like never before. 

I believe this is happening more now than ever before! Two major beasts robbing our children are pedophilia and human trafficking.

Listen to these startling statistics from America's children:
1 out of every 7 sexual assault has a victim less than 6 years old
58% of violent sex offenders in prison had victims less than 12 years old
There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the united states – and between 80-100 thousand of them are missing
The typical sex offender begins his deviant lifestyle at 15 and molests an average of 117 children – most of which never report the incident
These next two statistics are mind-boggling:
Only 10% of sex offenders receive a lifetime sentence – the average sentence for a child molester is 11 years.
Once they get out of prison, 50% of sex offenders are arrested again for similar crimes.

Pedophiles are devouring our children!

In the U.S. between 100,000 and 300,000 children are recruited for some sort of sex trafficking. The average age of entry for a prostitute is 12 years old! Besides asking what kind of person would sell a 12-year-old child for sex – we need to ask what kind of people are buying them! Why is child prostitution such a massive money maker?

We're being robbed...

But this animal behavior is also destroying the things that belong to us. Violent robberies and thefts seem to be everywhere. Just like literal animals were consuming their livestock, animalistic people are devouring what doesn't belong to them.


Violence is everywhere. There are over 10,000 murders every year. In 2012 alone there have been 11 mass shootings, with 137 victims - 43 of them fatal. People are terrified to leave their homes for fear of another mass shooting.

and your highways shall be desolate.

Did you know that 33% of major roads in America are in disrepair? Did you know that one-quarter of our 600,000 bridges need major repairs? Did you know that states across the country are turning their ashphalt roads into gravel so they can maintain them cheaper? In Michigan alone, 38 counties have replaced many of their paved roads with gravel. South Dakota is another example – having replaced over 100 miles of paved highway with gravel.
Bankrupt cities and states simply don't have the money for road repairs and maintenance.

23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

If America refuses to listen to these domestic issues – the next step for us is collapse. From verse 25-39, we see military overthrow, social chaos, and the complete loss of national identity. I pray that the consequences we're facing now wakes us up before that!

What's the answer? It's the same as it's always been – repentance!
Staying in Leviticus 26, let's move back to verses 3-12
“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing;
you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.
You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;
your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”

The answer for drought isn't a cap on “greenhouse gases”
The answer for pedophilia isn't more 11-year prison sentences
The answer for our failing schools isn’t more money
The answer to our enormous tax burden isn’t a different political party
The only permanent solution for our nation's society is to turn back to the God of our fathers!

The Judgement Of America - Part 1

Leviticus 26:14-39

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.”

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?”

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 1^st – you would have to work until April 17^th 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 14^th!)

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?

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!

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.”