Pray for our nation

Jeff Miller

7/3/22

Pray for our nation

Intro: Good morning. It’s the day before Independence Day, a time when we reflect on the birth of our nation. But regarding our nation’s current events, it’s also been a very interesting time. A little more than a week ago, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, and in doing so, gave the option of abortion back to the states where it had originally been.

The response was mixed, as you could imagine, and I tried not to get too involved in it on social media, although I hit the ‘like’ button a lot. I also posted my personal opinion regarding the decision more from a legal perspective and what I understood this means for the near future.

I believe it was the next day that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a high school football coach who was fired for praying on the field. It took him seven years to fight that court battle. 

Now the interesting thing is that we see where we have felt like our freedoms––such as praying on a high school football field––have been eroding; and now, the ‘other’ side is feeling as if their freedoms are being eroded. It’s a strange balancing act that our country is on right now. 

Back in October of 2020, at the end of a tumultuous year and just before the presidential election, I gave a sermon about how there is a social/political divide in this country. And that divide is only going to get bigger, and we have to make a very deliberate decision as to which side we’re on––God’s side or the world’s side, and not waver no matter how many friends and family members unfriend us on social media or uninvite us to holiday happenings such as The 4th of July. It’s beginning to happen to a lot of people already.

Today, as we reflect on The 4th of July, I want to again help set our hearts and minds right toward this friction and division in our nation. Do we fall into and contribute to the divisiveness of what’s going on? Well, in some ways, if we’re going to truly believe in Biblical principles, we’re going to unintentionally have to contribute to that divide because we’re going to have to stand our ground where others want to rebel against it. But how do we intentionally stand our ground without intentionally contributing to making the division and hostility worse?

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Timothy, chapter 2. We’re going to read the first four verses; and as you’re turning there, I’d like to read to you a short verse out of Proverbs. Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”

I’m going to go back to that as we go through our sermon today, but the verses in 1 Timothy sort of segues nicely out of that. Even though they were written centuries apart.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Central Truth: So, you see, it isn’t just that we are forced to stand for righteousness now. But we are to pray for all people, including our elected officials and those in authority that we vehemently disagree with and uphold and create ungodly legislation, so that we all can––continue to argue on social media? No, so that we all can live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 

And then Paul says to Timothy, this is good, and it pleases God, who wants all people to be saved––even the ones rebelling against God and causing this division and causing us to look like the bad guys. Even the ones who are doing evil and in league with Satan. Remember, for God so loved who? The righteous? No, the world. Jew and Gentile. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Point 1: I want to go back to that verse I read in Proverbs. Chapter 14, verse 34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” I’ve read that verse many times, and when I was putting my sermon together, I noticed something about that. I’ve read it wrong all this time. I thought it said, “sin condemns many people.” But that’s not what it says. It says, sin condemns any people. Again––Jew, Gentile, slave, free, man, woman––any people. Even the Godliest nation on earth. 

When you read through the Old Testament, you’ll read how God chose Israel as the nation in which we would read about. We would read about their history of how they became slaves, set free through Moses, disobeyed God, had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, entered into their promised land, disobeyed God…and it was a rollercoaster ride of obeying God and disobeying God. 

Up and down. 

And eventually, Israel split into two kingdoms and fell into the hands of other nations. When they were righteous and following God, they were blessed. When they were not following God, they were not blessed. 

Even when the promised Messiah came, they were in the midst of The Roman Empire, that eventually came and destroyed Israel in 70 A.D., and they did not become a nation again until 1948. 

Over the past two centuries, I’m sure many people have wondered where America lies in the prophecy of the End Times. I would like to know what our founding fathers thought. When I was growing up, it was hard to believe that America could one day be in line with the Antichrist and somehow we would be deceived into his scheme. It’s not so hard to believe now, is it?

This is a warning from Scottish historian and professor Alexander Tytler circa 1787:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse [generous gifts] from the public treasury.  From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

He went on to say that The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been two hundred years.  These nations have progressed through this sequence:

Bondage to Spiritual Faith —-> Spiritual Faith to Great Courage —-> Courage to Liberty —-> Liberty to Abundance —->  Abundance to Complacency —-> Complacency to Apathy —->  Apathy to Dependence —->  and Dependence back into Bondage.”

  I could be wrong, but if memory serves me correctly, this is one of the reasons why we are a constitutional republic, not a democracy. So what does that mean? I hope it means, there’s hope.

Point 2: Even if we were a traditional democracy, we don’t have to be dragged into that cycle. Psalm 33:12 says,  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” I read yesterday a quote from our sixth president, whose father was instrumental in the founding of this country. John Quincy Adams said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

And it’s heartwarming to read this in George Washington’s diary:

“Let my heart gracious God, be so affected with Your glory and majesty, that I may fulfill these weighty duties which You have required of me. I have called upon You to pardon me of my sins. Thank You for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, offered on the cross for me. You gave Your Son to die for me and have given me assurance of salvation.”

Our nation was founded by Godly people on Godly principles. I also read recently where George Washington was the first to recognize slavery as evil, and began setting his slaves free.

In 1620, the pilgrims came here to escape tyranny and be free. Free to do what? Worship as they pleased. And I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that our founders made the very first sentence of the first amendment the freedom of religion, which protects us against government interference.

But over the course of time, as you all know––we’ve all seen it within our lifetime––the Godliness that used to permeate our society has slowly flipped into a nation of secular humanism. And as Paul also told his protege Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 4, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul said there will come a time when people will be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.” 

The New Living Translation puts it this way: “will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly” (2 Timothy 3:5, NLT). 

In other words, there will be a lot of false Christians out there. Have you seen anyone like that? Have you seen people say, “I’m a Christian,” and then say something or do something unholy and attribute it to being holy?

This is what Jesus meant by the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the only unforgivable sin is the sin of ‘rejecting the power that could make them godly.’

Point 3: So what do we do about it? Shrug our shoulders and say, “Well this is it. This is the time Paul warned Timothy about.” Well, it’s a warning, but there’s no command to give up. The command that Paul gives Timothy is our scripture verse: 

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Notice Paul says, “First of all.” This means, ‘first things first.’ It means, this is a priority. And Paul precedes it by saying, “I urge you.” So in other words, Paul is saying, “I beg you, will all urgency, the first priority should be to pray for everyone, including those in governmental authority.”

Why did Paul include those in governmental authority? Because it’s easy for us to be more like David, isn’t it? It’s easy for us to want to see those in government to ‘get their due,’ or their ‘just deserts’ or the punishment that they deserve.

Do you remember who was in charge of the government at that time? It wasn’t just The Roman Empire, but Nero, one of the most notorious men in history.

Steven Cole pointed out that Nero, “later executed both Peter and Paul, who lit his gardens in the evenings with Christians covered with pitch, burned as human torches. And yet Paul does not call Christians to political revolution, but to prayer. Prayer is God’s means for removing tyrants and establishing peace. Thus the plan of God involves all kinds of prayer for all kinds of people.”

Donald Guthrie said, “The Christian attitude towards the State is of utmost importance. Whether the civil authorities are perverted or not they must be made the subjects for prayer, for Christian citizens may in this way influence the course of national affairs, a fact often forgotten except in times of special crisis.”

God has not given up on this nation, and neither should we.

Conclusion: 

Here’s a story before we close:

 In May 1989 at Leipzig, in the historic St. Nicholas Church where the Reformation had been introduced exactly 450 years earlier, a small group began to meet in one of the church’s rooms to read the Sermon on the Mount and pray for peace. The group expanded and moved to a larger room and finally began to meet in the church’s sanctuary, which began to fill up. 

Alarmed, the Communist authorities sent officials to attend. They threatened the gatherers and temporarily jailed some. On prayer nights they blocked the city’s nearest expressway off-ramp. Then on October 9, 1989, some 2,000 individuals crowded in to pray for peace, and another 10,000 gathered outside. And soon the Berlin Wall came down. Coincidence? No. 

This was the kind response of a caring, all-powerful God to the prayers of his people. Think what would happen to the witness and power of the church if a great mass of Christians began to pray for everyone with unified passion and focus! Mighty walls of unbelief would fall, and personal witnesses would penetrate strongholds with incredible power. Lifesaving stations would rescue the perishing.

On this 4th of July weekend, let’s pray for this nation.

Communion:

The Bread: When we think of praying for those who persecute us, or praying for the ungodly, we have to be reminded that we, too, were ungodly at one time. We still fall short of the glory of God. But it is because of the cross that we are made right with God. May we remember that we were made right with God, and that salvation is for all. May we remember as we take the bread, that Jesus’ body was broken for all.

The Cup: And as we take the cup, may we remember that Christ’s blood was spilled for all. It wasn’t spilled just for those who kept the commandments, it wasn’t spilled just for the religious, it wasn’t spilled just for the Jews. It was spilled for everyone. It was spilled for those politicians that we don’t like. It was spilled so that we could pray for everyone, that anyone could come to the Lord. Let us take and drink and remember.