Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom in America

Heb 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

During the Civil War there was a flag bearer, a standard bearer who stood at the front lines. The Flag bearer was shot and another man came and picked up the standard and someone in the back yelled “Move the standard back here!” The gentleman that picked up the standard said “No, you move up to the Standard!”

Standard- fixed, rallying point, cannot change

Many years ago, the 13 colonies felt that God had enlightened them to become a free nation.  They were getting together, casualties were coming, POWS were being captured and the American government went to a man named Francis Scott Key.

Key probably wrote one of the most famous songs in American history- National Anthem.

He wasn’t a song writer, but a lawyer. American government came to him and said we would like you to go and petition for our soldiers. Go to the British and ask them for a prisoner exchange. Soldier for soldier.

So, he went and met an admiral at Fort McHenry and said here’s what we want to do. Enough fighting, you’ve got our soldiers and we’ve got yours, lets exchange them. The man gave him his word.

Francis Scott Key said “wonderful! Can I have the privilege of telling them?” So, they drew back the boards and lowered Francis Scott Key into the bowels of that ship and there he saw men chained one to another, every third person to the floor and these men were in darkness and Francis Scott Key says these wonderful words, You’re Free! You’re Free!

These men came back to Francis Scott Key and the words he heard took him aback, they said “When can we go fight go fight again!?” He said you’ve already done a great deal for your country, you need to go home and enjoy your family, enjoy your life!?

They said Mr. Key, the battles not over, we have to fight! And he knew he needed to get these men off the ship asap so he went to the admiral and said with Godspeed, lets exchange prisoners.

The admiral had changed his mind. He said I hate to tell you that the exchange of these prisoners is the least of your worries because tomorrow America will cease to exist.

He says “You cannot go back on your word!” What do you mean?! The Admiral said that “Our orders have been given. That flag over there? You see that flag over there that is waving? That’s your symbol of freedom but if that flag, that standard does not come down, by night fall, we will blow Fort McHenry off the face of the earth!

Francis Scott Key says you can’t do that! The flag won’t come down I promise you that. But he knew in the back of his mind, he said there’s no way, this fleet has never been defeated before and yet he looked out on the horizon and the admiral pointed something out. He said “You see all those tiny black specs in the horizon, those are the British fleet and they will be here in a couple hours and if that flag does not come down by nightfall, we will fire upon Fort McHenry.

The soldiers overheard something going on, “What’s going on! Mr. Key! What’s Going on!? He said they are going to blow up Fort McHenry!? They’re going to blow the flag down, they’re going to end America, they say we’re done!

Soldiers respond with “That flag can’t come down, that’s our freedom! That standard represents our freedom! It cannot come down!

He says I’m in the same predicament you are!? I can’t go over there and tell them, it’s going to happen we got to pray! So as night settled, the flag stood tall, the standard still waved. It was eerie quiet. Then all of a sudden, POW! Rockets went off. 100 rockets in unison!

Mr. Key covered his ears the sound was so unbearable. Soldiers were crying from the bowels of the ship, “What’s going on!? Mr. Key! Tell us!” He says I can’t see anything, there was so much noise, so much smoke, I can’t see anything he said!

They asked “Mr. Key is the flag still there!? He says I can’t see. They say focus Mr. Key? When the rockets go off, you’ll see a red glare! And that will tell you if the flag is still flying!

So as the rockets went off, he could still see the flag flying off in the distance. The standard is still there brothers!

So, until 3am the British fleet fired upon Fort McHenry. Then at dawns early light, the sun rose and off in the distance, thread bare and shot through, the banner still waved! The Standard is still flying! As Mr. Key got off the boat and began to survey Fort McHenry mortar was everywhere, through all the shrapnel, all the metal, all the gunfire that flag had dropped in the night. Fort McHenry was blown to smithereens.

Every cannon was aimed at that flag! But a patriot whose name we will never know risked his life and picked up that flag from the ground and held up the Standard with his own body.

He knew he would be killed and but yet another Patriot saw what he was doing and another and another and The Standard was held up by the dead bodies of those patriots. They said the Standard cannot fall!

As Mr. Key surveyed all these casualties. He wrote “Oh say can you see, by the dawns early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming, who’s brought stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fights ore the round parts we watched, were so gallantly streaming and the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there! Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, ore the land of the free and the home of the brave!”

Men and women willingly gave their lives to make sure the standard did not fall.

Therefore, we ought to give a more earnest heed to the things that we heard, lest anytime, we should let them slip.

Men and women of God have sacrificed to hold up the standard. There are some that like to stand up in the church crowd and say Move the standard back here! My response is No! You move up to the standard!

It’s time to step up to the standard.

1Co 16:13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 

1Co 16:14  Let all your things be done with charity. 

1Co 16:15  I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) 

1Co 16:16  That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth. 

What does it mean to be a “Strong Man?”

Is being a strong man knowing how to live off the land?

Our church has chartered groups like American Heritage girls and Trail Life for Boys. These organizations can help a man and a girl learn about the outdoors, about our heritage, and most importantly about Christ. If we only learned about our rich traditions and how to live off the land while leaving out Christ we would go the way of the Boy Scouts.

I don’t believe that being a strong man means to beat our chests filled with pride, use profane language to make ourselves sound rough and tough, to know the difference between a Chevy and a Ford, smoke cigars, throwing down a 6 pack, to be covered in mud from head to toe because he just spent all weekend tramping through the woods so he could feel more manly, growing a beard down to your knees, knowing the difference between a small mouth and a big mouth bass, knowing how to load a rifle….

As much as I do love the outdoors, It is important knowing how and when to use a loaded weapon, I think we should know how to use a rod and reel. It’s important to teach our sons to know how to use and respect a rifle, to know how to fish because if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day but if you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime. Same if you give a man rifle.

But…Possessing these traits and qualities are not the standard of what a strong man should strive to be. Important yes. Required, no.

What makes a man truly strong? What makes a man strong is his faith in the Lord. If I teach my son how to fish, how to use a rifle, how to drive, how to till a garden but I don’t teach him how to love the Lord with all his heart then I will have failed as a father.

Let’s look at David for a minute. David was a man after Gods own heart. He was a humble man. Do you think David beat his chest in arrogance as he faced the giant Goliath? David didn’t fit the bill of what a man’s man looked like. He was the exact opposite of King Saul. King Saul probably looked like an action hero while David looked like an extra in the action sequence. He was the smallest among his own brothers.

But guess who God decided He could use? The man who was after God’s own heart.

Do you think it was David’s worldly strength that enabled him to defeat the giant? David was pretty good with a slingshot but it wasn’t the slingshot alone that defeated David. It was his faith and reliance upon an almighty God to defeat a warrior as strong as Goliath. This is what made him truly strong.

….Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

….Let all your things be done with charity.

The man of God is truly strong because of his humility, something we severely lacking today in our society. The man of God is strong because he stands strong in his faith. The strength of the slingshot alone is nothing without the power of God behind it.

Moses had his staff…

Nehemiah had his chisel….

David had his slingshot…

But all were powered by the hand of God.

What type of legacy do I want to leave for my son? From a father to a son, I want my son to know what makes a man a strong man is his faith in Jesus Christ.

Where are the men of God at today? Where are the men of the home? Where are the father’s leading the household?

A Brother in the Lord wrote something that really struck a cord with me regarding the role that the father figure plays in the home. He said I haven’t taught my kids how to play sports, I haven’t taught my kids how to fish, I am not an outdoorsman or an athlete but what I have tried to teach my kids is to have a reverence for the Word of God in our home. I have tried to do my best to teach them the Bible and to follow Jesus in all that they do in life. I have tried to do my best to point them towards Christ.

But today that type of thinking is not looked upon as honorable, respectable, or “cool.” In a culture where sports have taken over the lives of many families and the Word has taken a backseat our homes, churches, communities, and our nation has suffered.

Look at these numbers….

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (5 times the average)

90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes (32 times the average)

85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes (20 times the averages)

71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (9 times the average)

85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes

Daughter’s of fatherless homes are 164% more likely to have pre-marital sex and 92% more likely to get divorced.

Satan wants our children and that is more evident today than ever before! He wants our kids, he wants our families, he wants our marriages because whatever God has ordained, Satan wants nothing more than to defile and destroy it!

43% of U.S. children live without a father. We are living in a fatherless generation.

Almost half of our nations homes are without a father. That is not shocking considering the state that our nation is in. Our nation is a wreck because our churches are divided. Our churches are divided because our homes are without men who will raise up children that are addicted to the ministry.

We want our kids to be addicted to everything this life has to offer. We want our kids to be addicted to sports. We put them in every sport known to man where it consumes every aspect of our life. We want our kids to be addicted to work. We want our kids to be superstars in every sport the school has to offer without stopping to take the time to teach them the word of God.

I was having a conversation with my son the one day about how I do in fact love sports and what sports can teach a young man. Sports can teach a young man

How to handle himself in losing (We learn more from losing than we ever do in winning)

How to handle himself in winning

How to work with others

How to be a good teammate

How to listen

How to teach

And many more things…..

I told my son that if your sole purpose of wanting to play sports is to be famous and rich then you will be quite disappointed at the end of this life because the Bible tells us that the LOVE of money is the ROOT of ALL evil. So many athletes today only care about building their “brand” rather than build relationships. How many hits will my video get on YouTube? How many followers do I have on social media? This seems to be the focus of many of our young athletes.

I believe we should raise our kids to show them the importance of working to make a living because of what the Bible tells us:

1Ti 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 

1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 

But we have taken it a step further today where we have raised our kids to think that they have to be more like the rich man….

1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

The rich man went away bitter and sorrowful while the widow woman gave all that she had to the Lord!

Its ok to be addicted to everything in this life except to the word of God! To the work of the Lord. When you say you have 3 ball games to go to during the week the world looks at that as productive. When you say that you are attending 3 church services during the week, the world looks at you like your wasting your time. I will take it a step further, the church looks at us that way today.

What has happened to the man of God? The man of God who would make sure that his children are in church every Sunday, Sunday school, Wednesday night prayer, revival, camp meeting, you name it!

Now based on the numbers and the facts the father doesn’t consider those things important anymore because he himself has been drawn away unto his own lusts and pleasures as James put it. Even your average Church going father seems to be indifferent to the Word of God anymore.

The Father has stopped caring about the importance of the word of God being the centerpiece of the home! Now the center of the home is sports, fishing, cars, work, etc. or there is no center of the home because the home is in absolute chaos. These things have overtaken the priorities of the man of God that had once addicted himself to the ministry!

Our homes, our sons, our daughters are suffering due to the indifference many of our fathers have had to the Word of God.

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 

Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

The father doesn’t start off with the intent to lead his family into sin and bring chaos to his front door step but when you allow yourself to be drawn away from the word of God and into your own lust the only thing that can come from it is sin and death!

The indifference of our fathers, the absence of our fathers, the negligence of our fathers…..

The Man of God is missing in a lot of hour homes today. Young men are growing up turning to the things of this world, to people who do not have their best interest and couldn’t care less about who they are or where they come from.

We need a revival and it starts with the Man of God. If 2021 is going to be any better than 2020 then the man of God, we fathers must wake up, set pride aside and do our duty and our job. It’s time to step it up and do better.

“In January of 1776 at the start of the Revolutionary War Virginia Pastor John Peter Muhlenberg after preaching a sermon to his congregation from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 declared:

“There is a time to fight, and that time has now come!”

As he had taken off his clerical robes, he revealed the uniform of a military officer and began to lead close to 300 men from his church to defend their liberties. These bold, brave men would go on to become the 8^th Virginia Brigade and Rev. Muhlenberg went on to become a Major General under George Washington and was later elected to the first federal Congress where he helped frame the Bill of Rights.

A preacher was involved in framing the Bill of Rights in case you didn’t know that. There’s your fun history fact for the day.

Winston Churchill- “A nation that forgets its past has no future”.

When we look at America today, do we recognize her from what she was 100 years ago? 50 years ago? 10? 5? 2 months ago?!

Our Constitution is being shredded every single day with each passing law while it is applauded and cheered by those who do not know what it says or means which is a large portion of the people today because we refuse to wake up and refuse to choose fact and reason over emotion.

The more advanced we say we are becoming the less freedom we actually have. We live in a society where truth is relative and we do what feels right according to our own heart and mind which means that just about anything and anyone can be justified to be “right.”

When we become our own gods and become the judge, jury, and executioner on every single issue because we “feel” we are entitled to that opinion, we have absolute chaos and truth, fact, and reason become meaningless.

When we threw out God’s Word and half of the people decided on a national level to reject the Bible as the infallible, absolute truth and standard in which our society is based and has always been based we lost our footing, our soul, our way, our vision of what ultimately has made truly great.

It’s never been her economic might, her military might, her political might but what has always set America apart from the rest of the world has always been the fact she was founded upon Judeo-Christian values and principles. She was founded upon the Word of God.

In Congress, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Endowed means “provided or equipped with”

How have we strayed so far from our founding principles? I can tell you what the answer is not and you may not like my answer.

It’s not the Democrats. Its not the Republicans. Its not the media. Its not Woodrow Wilson (As much as I think he has been one of the worst if not the worst President we have ever had). Its not the millennials. It’s not Bernie Sanders and Socialism.  Its not the ‘Pro-Choice” crowd.

It’s the indifference of the Pastors and Christians over the last century that have allowed our freedoms and liberties to be slowly stripped one right at a time by standing idly by, remaining inside the comfort of the 4 walls of their church while losing that fire and passion for lost souls that the early church was built upon.

We have forgotten our role in civil government because we have secluded ourselves to the shadows and surrendered the good fight of faith on the civil scene. Since the Scopes Trials of 1922 when God went on trial in America we have allowed:

• Evolution to be implemented in school textbooks
• Prayer officially taken out of schools
• The Bible taken out as a required textbook
• Abortion made legal
• Same sex marriage made legal and widely accepted now among churches
• Megachurches have arisen with a feel-good message, a false gospel based upon emotion with no depth of theology

So, what is our role in civil government? Retreat and ignore? Or Stand fast and take action?

The Church has largely forgotten its role in the civil arena here in America and the crucial part that the church played in our founding.

Some say that Christians have never been involved nor should they be.

Some Christians believe that they should be allowed to express their faith and values inside the church, in their home, but show restraint when it comes to the public.

The teachings that are in the Word of God simply reject a compartmentalized approach to our faith and living our faith the public arena.

For many Generations before, Christians have embraced a much different stance.

What we have been conditioned to believe and what we have been taught in our textbooks for many decades now has been that the tipping point for many of the early colonists going to War with Great Britain was “taxation without representation.”

While it was one of 27 grievances that the Colonists had with King George it was not the first or the second. It wasn’t even listed in the top 10 grievances but rather it was listed all the way down at number 17. Taxation without Representation was grievance number 17 in the Declaration of Independence.

Our Founders had listed several other complaints more often than taxation without representation:

The Abuse of Representative Powers 11 times more

Abuse of Military Powers 7 times more

Abuse of Judicial Powers 4 times more

Stirring up Domestic Insurrection 2 times more

All of these were listed alongside Great Britain’s interference with foreign trade and immigration

Why aren’t most Americans familiar with the rest of the 27 grievances but seem to be taught grievance number 17 more than any other of the 27 grievances?

We started to see a shift during the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s which brought about new historians that would begin a “revised” version of American history. The names of these men are not limited to but include:

• Charles Beard– He authored, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, argues that the structure of the Constitution of the United States was motivated primarily by the personal financial interests of the Founding Fathers. Beard was a leading liberal supporter of the New Deal and an intellectual leader in the Progressive Movement. He did in fact have Quaker roots as he attended a Quaker School growing up as a young boy.
• W.E. Woodward
• Fairfax Downey

These “revisionist historians” began only looking at American history through an economic standpoint. It would seem that they believed that the only motivating factor in life would be the almighty dollar. They had taken an economic approach to teaching American History. These so-called historians completely disregarded our American Heritage from a spiritual standpoint and began to focus solely on our history based upon economics.

Charles Beard wrote a book titled “The Economic Basis of Politics.” This book had taken a look at our Constitution and the Revolution from an economic perspective. So, to boil it down for your economics became the basis of what students for generations to come would study regarding the Constitution and the Revolution even though the “only” economic clause in the Declaration was “taxation without representation.”

This is the one clause that has been hammered and drilled into our brains over the last half-century as the sole reason for going to war with England.

So now as a result after having two generations learn that economics, money is the only thing that matters, we now see the behavior of our younger generations reflect these teachings.

Take the issues at the ballot box for example. What issue is most important to you when election time comes? When you are looking at the qualities for what a candidate stands for what issues do you hold most important?

Pro-Life/Pro-Choice?

Traditional Marriage/Same-Sex Marriage?

Moral Issues in general?

Evangelical Christians were polled and asked these questions on which issues were most important? The answer: Economic issues. Their pocketbook. Whether or not this candidate could help secure their finances trumped moral issues identified in the Bible.

Our leaders today on a national scale are judged not on the notion of their moral character, personal integrity, their empathy, their faith but rather solely on the basis of how the economy is performing, the unemployment rate which ties into the economy, or how the stock market is performing, also ties into the economy.

Money over morals. Economic health over spiritual health.

1 Timothy 6:9-10 King James Version (KJV)

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

If you were to crack open an American history textbook prior to what Charles Beard wrote, you would find a completely different version of American history taught inside the classroom. Just read the 27 grievances that our founders had with King George and these grievances alone present a different viewpoint as to what is taught today.

There were more important issues that concerned and motivated the Colonists than just economic stability.

When you go all the way back to 1762 America had its very first missionary society. The Society to Propagate the Gospel among Indians and Others in North America.

Many Americans were united in this effort but King George quickly put a stop to this movement as he was convinced that wit would compete with the work of the established Church of England. So, he vetoed it.

This is the type of action that had sounded the alarm through the American Colonies many of which had contended for religious freedom including their own right and ability to start Bible Societies, Churches, Missionary Societies, and Sunday School’s.

Both Charles Carroll and Samuel Adams, who would both become signers of the Declaration, stated that it was “religious freedom” as the reason they both became involved in the American Revolution. But you probably won’t read that in a textbook anywhere.

I will say that America is no longer a Christian nation. Am I saying that we as a people were not built on the idea that no nation should be rightly governed without God and the Bible? No, I am not saying that. When you read my writings and listen to these podcasts I will always hold fast the notion that we were a nation built on the idea that we have a Creator and that every man, woman, and child should have that God-given right to freely worship that Creator without the interference from the Government.

America was set apart from the rest of the world because she was different. People have always come from all over the world because there truly has never been a nation like her. Our forefathers battled those stormy seas on that long journey across the Atlantic and got their first glimpse of Lady Liberty holding that torch high and proud symbolizing the start of a new life, a new beginning for them and their families.

America is on the verge of death. On the verge of no longer being set apart from the rest of the world. On the verge of completely losing forever what has made her great. She’s nearly extinct and as President Ronald Reagan said:

“America is the last great beacon of hope to the rest of the world.”

I will take that even a step further and say that as long as Christ is on the throne, even if America falls, there will still be hope in Jesus Christ.

I’m afraid that one day as I stare across the vast ruins of the United States, I will have to explain to my children what it was like to live free. What it was like to watch my fellow countrymen not live in a constant state of fear. I hope and pray that this statement that I have made is not true but I do not find America anywhere regarding the end times in the book of Revelation.

Abraham Lincoln said that America would never be destroyed by outside forces but from within.

These are not easy things for me to say because I love my country so much. It breaks my heart to speak on these subjects but these are areas of discussion that need to be addressed because the spiritual health of our nation is reflected by the spiritual health of our communities and the spiritual health of our communities is reflected by the spiritual health of our churches.

It is the difficult subjects that need to be spoken of and then prayed on. The Bible says in the book of James that faith without works is dead so then we must put our prayer into action. You know what prayer is also action. The power of prayer is the greatest action and greatest weapon against Satan and the enemy. Its what holds everything together even though half of our politicians have thrown it out, its still the most effective weapon against the enemy.

Will America have a revival or a funeral? That questions depends upon its Christians. When will we wake up? Revival tarries because the Church is dead asleep.

Sources: The Role of Pastors and Christians in Civil Government by David Barton. Wallbuilders Press.

When our nation’s Founding Father’s gave us gave documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights they had to lean upon a common understanding of the law, government, social order, and morality. This understanding sprang from the common acceptance of what was has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic, which is the system of the moral and social values that originates in the Old ad New testaments of the Word of God.

The issue is not whether all of our Founders were Christian or not but these men through their writings, their statements, their votes, and their voices and came together and embraced these principles with the understanding that these core values would be the basis for an American nation.

PRINCIPLE #1- THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN LIFE

• Pro 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 
• Psa_14:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

The Scriptures teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. We have people today that cannot even define what life is or where life begins.

• Jeremiah 1:5 – Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Where are we as a nation when we cannot even agree on the sanctity of human life? In the Declaration of Independence our nation’s Founding Father’s wrote that everyone has “unalienable rights,” and that among these are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.

If people and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both the born and unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible- it’s the first principle of any human society.

PRINCIPLE #2 – THE TRADITIONAL MONOGAMOUS FAMILY

Our society had been based upon the belief that the biblical view of traditional marriage and family is the backbone of a healthy social order. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been recognized as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of that union comes children – born into a home with a father and a mother to love them, nurture them how to become healthy, productive, and responsible citizens.

• Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 

Gen 2:24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 

The plan of God, nature, and common sense is a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. When that plan is lost, “marriage” and “family” become meaningless, and a nation and its people will follow the road to ruin. World history has proven it over and over again. Preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.

PRINCIPLE #3 – A NATIONAL WORK ETHIC

Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and the desire to give an honest days work for an honest day’s pay. In the book of Thessalonians we see that the author is giving a warning against idleness:

2Th 3:10  For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 

This independent spirit has no desire to simply exist on handouts from government or to depend on the generosity of others. It is this same independent spirit that has allowed America to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.

Americans have had their challenges. We have had to overcome great trials and whether fierce storms. The Great Depression of the 1930’s beat America to her knees but it did not beat us. Together we saw Americans rise up in the midst of great poverty and turmoil, helping one another and lifting lady liberty back up on her feet. The powers of the world have always looked upon our nation and asked themselves where this spirit of honest labor came from and where this work ethic originated.

It came from the men and women who lived before us. Those generations that have gone on before us have set the standard and have lived by the principle of honest, hard, manual labor, which is found in the Word of God.

PRICNIPLE #4- THE RIGHT TO A GOD CENTERED-EDUCATION

We see in Proverbs 1:7 that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” How can one understand Creation without knowing its Creator? We cannot.

Thomas Jefferson said these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Our forefathers certainly understood this principle. Most of America’s oldest Universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth were founded by Christian preachers or churches? Harvard University for example, founded in 1636, adopted “Rules and Precepts” which stated:

“Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.” Harvards original seal has these words on it: “Truth for Christ and the Church.”

The early children’s textbook “The New England Primer” taught the ABCs by having children memorize scripture with the alphabet. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s America.

There is truth in the statement attributed to George Washington: “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle….

• “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.

You take away the Bible as the standard and you have chaos, which is exactly what we are witnessing in our nation today. Truth no longer lies in the power of the Gospel message to many in our country. Truth has become relevant, which means truth has become whatever we want it to be. It is a very dangerous place to be.

PRICNIPLE #5- THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

Our founders and much of America for over the last 200 years have always held fast the covenant that God has made with the people of Israel. Israel started with Abraham.

• Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

A covenant is a decision involving two individuals or groups stating that they will keep a promise or fulfill an agreement between them. The Book of Genesis records God making a covenant with Abraham. The basis of that covenant was that Abraham would follow God, obeying His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens.

• Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 

Gen 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

Abraham believed God, obeyed His Word, and God rewarded him with many descendants, a nation of people now known as Israel.

For most of our nations history we as Americans have accepted this covenant between God and Israel to be true. The belief in this covenant was part of the foundation in which our nation was built upon. The principle of this covenant between God and Abraham states that if the people obey God, observes His Word, the truths found in the scriptures, then these people or nation will be blessed.

Our Founders were God-fearing, praying people who in their language, their deeds, their lifestyles, their writings, they blessed God and in turn God blessed us. We have indeed been a blessed nation. The writer of Proverbs tells us this:

• Pro 14:34  Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. 

PRICNIPLE #6- COMMON DECENCY

Simply put, this is the belief that a decent nation is made up of decent people. That nation, when faced with any trying or difficult situation, will do the decent, right, and honest thing. And for the most part, that has been the record of our national history.

For example, Americans have given their lives in wars on foreign soil so that others around the world may experience freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world’s poor, clothe the naked, and aid in the hurting. Americans have opened their arms to many of the worlds oppressed and given them  safe haven.

• Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 
• Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 
• Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

At the base of the Statue of Liberty there is an engraving on a bronze plaque with these words written on it from the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. “Give me your tired, give me your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The people that came to our shores all these many years ago wanted to be Americans. They wanted a better life for their families so therefore they wanted to make America better. They honored this nation with their works. We have always been a nation of immigrants, people of all different races and backgrounds.

Now it seems like people are coming here trying to erase America- and many who live in America are the ones who are enabling these people trying to get into our country illegally, enabling them to help destroy and erase our nations culture and history.  

The Statue of Liberty is a world renowned symbol of freedom, this statue stands to remind us all that America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.

PRINCIPLE #7- OUR PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD

• Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

This is perhaps the greatest restraint against acts of evil toward others is the knowledge that every person and nation will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God.

As a nation today we are nearly split right down the middle as a majority of Americans (56%) say they believe in God “as described in the Bible.”

The farther we drift away from the truth that is in the Word of God, the farther we drift away from the principles that are in Scriptures, the teachings of Christ, the more we will start to see common decency between our fellow man erode away. Even if we disagree, we can still show respect and love one another.

The Bible teaches us that we are all responsible for our own actions. It seems today that we are all trying to blame each other for our problems. We are accountable for what we do and don’t do.

The Scriptures also teach us that there is a penalty for doing wrong and blessing when we do that which is right, noble, and just. There are consequences for sin and for the choices we make as well as rewards and blessings. God has given us the freedom to make these choices. Our founders believed in an Almighty Creator in which our rights were given to us.

The great American statesman was once asked this question:

“What is the most sobering thought has ever entered your mind?

His response: “My personal accountability towards God.”

Webster knew that one day he would stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.

Sources used : Writings from the American Patriots Bible, King James Version

Mar 15:15  And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

Mar 15:16  And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

Mar 15:17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

Mar 15:18  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

Mar 15:19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

Mar 15:20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

The date is April 20^th, 1999:

• She was 17 years old. He stood glaring at her, his weapon before her face.
• “Do you believe in God?”
• She paused. It was a life or death question. “Yes, I believe in God.”
• “Why?” asked her executioner. But he never gave her the chance to respond.
• The teenage girl lay dead at his feet.
  • This sounds like something that could have happened in:
  • The Roman Coliseum….
  • Communist Soviet Union….
  • Middle Ages….
  • Iran…North Korea…
• The place where this girl was murdered: Littleton, Colorado at Columbine High School- United States of America
• People are tortured, killed, beaten, mocked every day around the world because they refuse to deny the name of Jesus-even in America.

Julius Palmer– “We shall not end our lives in the fire but make a change for a better life.”

• Burned at the stake in England – 1556

Dietrich Bonhoeffer – “This is the end. For me the beginning of life.”

• Hung in Germany – 1945

Paul the Apostle – “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

• Beheaded in Rome – 65 AD

These men faced death with their foot on the rock and their mind was made up!

These men settled it in their hearts and said…..

I STARTED OUT TO WIN THIS RACE,

TO SERVE THE LORD AND TO LOOK UPON HIS FACE.

BUT THE WAY’S BEEN LONG AND THE WAY’S BEEN ROUGH,

BUT THERE’S ONE THING FOR SURE I’VE GOT MY MIND MADE UP.

THE DEVIL HE WILL TEMPT YOU AND FILL YOUR WAY WITH STRIFE.

HE’LL MAKE YOU SICK IN BODY EVEN TRY TO TAKE YOUR LIFE.

BUT PUT YOUR TRUST IN JESUS AND SAY LORD I’VE HAD ENOUGH

THE LORD WILL SAY MOVE ON SATAN HE’S GOT HIS MIND MADE UP.

• When death starts knocking on your door, how do you face it?
• Nobody welcomes death, but these men were prepared to die because they were prepared to live for Jesus…they didn’t live in fear of death
• When death was at their doorstep they said, devil, my foot’s on the rock and my minds made up!

How did Jesus face death…..

• We see in the account of Matthew where Jesus comes face to face with Satan himself and is tempted 3 times….

1. IST TEMPTATION: AN APPEAL TO THE LUST OF THE FLESH – (Wilderness)

Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, IT IS WRITTEN, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 

1. 2^ND TEMPTATION: AN APPEAL TO THE PRIDE OF LIFE – (Pinnacle of the Temple)

Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 

Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 

Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, IT IS WRITTEN AGAIN, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 

1. 3RD TEMPTATION: AN APPEAL TO THE LUST OF THE EYES- (Kingdoms of the World)

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for IT IS WRITTEN, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Mat 4:11  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 

What does it take to defeat Death, hell and the grave…….

1Jn 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 

1. It takes the Cross! It takes the Word of God! Jesus has given us a way out of temptation by enduring temptation himself! Jesus has given us a way to overcome Satan by enduring the Cross!
2. What did the devil do after Jesus gave Him scripture….the devil left him…the devil had no choice but to flee!

When that stone was rolled away from the tomb what did we find? What did we find in that empty tomb?

• Sin Atoned – Blood of Jesus
• Death Defeated – Satan Destroyed
• Dead Risen – Resurrection Fulfilled

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Cassie Bernall – was the name of the 17 year old girl who was murdered on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School simply for refusing to deny her belief in God. I believe she had these words in her heart:

I’VE GOT MY FOOT ON THE ROCK AND MY MIND’S MADE UP.

THO I WALK THROUGH THE LONELY VALLEY TH0 I DRINK FROM THE BITTER CUP

WHEN THE DEVIL COMES A KNOCKING SHOWING ME A EASIER WAY.

I STAND RIGHT SQUARE ON MY FEET

I THROW MY HEAD IN THE AIR

I LOOK HIM STRAIGHT IN THE EYE

I SAY MY FOOT’S ON THE ROCK AND MY MINDS MADE UP.

1. It is a life or death question.
2. Who Jesus is to you and how you answer that question will determine where you spend eternity.
3. Is your mind made up today on who Jesus is?
4. The devil will try and fill your head and heart with empty promises, lies, deceit, he will promise you the world and everything in it but in the end he knows he has been defeated and is trying to drag as many to hell with him as he can…
5. The devil will be the first one to tempt you into sin and then be the first one to accuse of that very same sin he just tempted you with…
6. Jesus has given you a way out today of sin, drugs, alcohol, addiction, depression, anxiety, fear, greed, jealousy, hatred, unforgiveness…
7. Jesus gave His life on the cross, when he faced death, he looked that old devil right in the eye and said my minds made up, I love these people and they are in need of a savior…

Joh 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

John Adams

Many in our government have gotten so out of control, power hungry with every crisis arises and the saddest part of the reality is, is the people just willingly allow it to happen by giving up their freedoms and liberties all in the name of gaining a little temporary security.

This was a government set up for the people, by the people and of the people and when the people no longer seem to care about what is morally or religiously right, and understand when I say “religiously”, I am speaking on a personal level, a people without a reverence for God, our Constitution will slowly fade away.

The problem is, as a people in the United States of America, we can’t even define what life is anymore. The inability to define life starts with a people drifting away from God Himself. How far gone is that? The ship is still floating but just barely.

I feel our Constitution is being shredded more and more every day, especially when a crisis comes about, all for the greater good rather than what our founders had intended for it to do, stand up for individual liberty. This surely is not popular thinking today as I know I stand in the minority.

Those who stand up for the individual, unalienable rights of man given to us by an almighty God are criticized, demeaned, and destroyed by those who claim to know better.

Who am I to say what somebody else should or shouldn’t do when it comes to making decisions regarding their own lives? I would never want to find myself criticizing a Pastor for having church, a man going to work to provide for his family, and under the same breath say that Pastor or that Husband/Father doesnt care about people in the midst of all of this chaos.

If my Pastor has church then I support him because he’s my Pastor. If a father or husband has to go out and go to work then that is what he has settled in his heart to do. I dont think I have ever seen a time where people are so divided on an issue as we have been on this and the majority of the decisions being made are out of fear.

When David was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin, he did everything he could to try and cover up the affair that he was having. He tried to cover up the baby that he had with Bathsheba. In those days if a child was born out of an affair that child was to be put to death.

David even went to the lengths of having an innocent man, Bathsheba’s husband, put to death to cover it up. But Davids sin found him out and you know what, that baby died anyway. David was motivated purely out of fear. His decisions were made out of fear of being found out. He let fear dominate his life because he wasnt where he needed to be with God.

Are you where you need to be with God today? Are you allowing fear to control you? Are you allowing the fear of others to influence the decisions that you are making? I am not making light of anything that is going on in our country but we must not be dominated by fear.

When did we get to this point where we have decided to play God and take away people’s right to choose?

All for the greater and collective good, right?

We are going to stand before God at the end this life for the choices we make, not each other. There will be consequences and rewards for those decisions that we choose to make, I just pray that you know Christ before you take your final breath on this side of Heaven so that you can experience those rewards for eternity with me!

God has given us free will to choose. When I came to Christ I made that decision. The type of thinking that the government has is “we are trying to save you from yourselves.”

The progressive way of thinking is not compatible with the biblical foundations upon which our government was set up, the type of government John Adams was speaking of. Scripture says that God sets up Kings and Kingdoms, and He also tears them down.

God is still on throne and in control not us and we will all answer to Him as an individual. On a personal level not as a collective group of people.

Proverbs 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding

A man’s true character is tested and always shows during times of uncertainty. It’s easier to treat others right when times are good.

What makes a man….a man?

• Being a man doesn’t mean that we have all the answers….

• Being a man doesn’t mean that we are beating our chests in arrogance….

• Being a man doesn’t mean we spend all of our time criticizing others….

• Being a man doesn’t always mean trading an eye for an eye…

• Being a man doesn’t give us the right to talk down to our wives or our children…

There are times that I feel like I fall short in being a man. I don’t know much about cars, I can tell you where the gas goes, I cant build much, I am better at deconstruction than construction, I cant tell the difference between a v-8 or a v-6, I never seem to have the right tools or know the name to the tool that I need for the job. But are these the things that makes a man, a man?

Sometimes it’s easy to look at every situation and act like you’ve got all the answers when you aren’t the one that is actually making the decisions….

Sometimes being the manliest of men means showing some humility, some grace, some empathy, (something our country sorely needs right now) and compassion not just to your friends but to those that are your enemy without compromising your biblical principles. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:38-39 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

• David was a man after God’s own heart. Yes he had his own downfalls and struggles but he was a man who wanted more of God.

• Job was a man who lost everything but still looked up and praise God.

• Peter was a man who was ashamed to be associated with Christ but later humbled himself and stood up in the midst of 120 men and women in that upper room and led the church on a soul winning crusade.

• Joseph was a man who had every reason to have hatred, bitterness, and anger toward his brothers who betrayed him but ultimately showed empathy and compassion toward them during a famine.

• Jesus was a man who had every reason to come down off that cross but as he hung there dying alone, beaten to a bloody pulp, praying for his enemies, as the love that Christ had for humanity past, present, and future is what kept him on that cross.

It wasn’t the nails that kept him on that cross it was his love for you and me.

You want to see the true character of a man, look at how he treats his enemy….

Proverbs 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

….look at how he acts when the plan starts to come apart and doesn’t go exactly how he thinks it should go.

I say this because Jesus was the manliest man that ever walked on the face of the Earth. He never beat his chest, even though he is the One who does have all the answers, when he was being beaten, mocked, and spat on he never retaliated, when he was standing before Pilate, he didn’t utter a word but rather let his actions speak for his words.

James 2:24-26 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The manliest man will humble himself, lay down his pride, get out of his own way and point others toward Christ.

The book of Proverbs does say that pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall…..

There are some out there today if we don’t humble ourselves, and men, I’m talking directly to us, we are heading for a fall as a nation. It starts in the home. It starts in the heart. Im not going to sit here and claim to have all the answers or have it all figured out but I do know that what we as Godly men do need to do is show the world a little humility and grace. Look at what the Bible says:

Proverbs 25:21-22 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

We desperately need men of God who will take care of their families, their wives and their children. We need men of God who will go out and work to provide for their families. We need men of God who aren’t afraid to admit that they don’t have all the answers, are doubtful and fearful at times but still go out on the front lines everyday in spite of all of their downfalls.

• Jeremiah 2 – 1st message to Judah who has backslidden and committed wickedness against God
• Jeremiah 3- 2nd message Encourages backsliders to return and to repent
• Jeremiah 4 – 2nd message continued warning Israel of the consequences of sin and exhorts them to return to God
• Jeremiah 5 – 2nd message continued, judgments threatened, Jerusalem refuses to repent
• Jeremiah 6 – 2nd message continued, terrors that should come because of Sin
• Jeremiah 7 – Message in the gate of the Lords House, coming desolations because of Sin

Many time’s as men of God, people (including us Christians) base our success upon:

• our converts….
• our bank account….
• our popularity….
• our abilities…. (Sing, preach, etc.)

God does not measure a man’s success based upon the tangible things that we can see and touch but rather the intangible things that we cannot measure on a scoreboard. The Bible says that God looks upon the heart of man, He looks on the inward parts of man just as He did with David.

Rom_8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

David didn’t look like a king by worldly standards but he was a man after God’s own heart the Bible says. He had the intangibles that the world could not see. His own family could not see what kind of a man he was because they simply looked upon his outward appearance. He had the anointing of God upon his life.

God will hold us accountable not for how many congregants we have nor how often we attended our church, although church attendance is vital,

…..but for our obedience and faithfulness to His Word. The anointing of God on our lives is what matters most.

Eph_2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Grace and Faith are two things that we cannot measure on a piece of paper. Faith is what we have when we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith is what we have when we trust God each and every single day, even through the storms. Grace is what we get to sustain our faith through those storms. Grace is something that we get but do not deserve. Salvation is a gift from God that was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood that He shed at the Cross of Calvary. That gift is something that we receive once we have received and accepted what Christ did on that Cross.

Jeremiah was a man who by todays standards that have been set by the church would probably be considered a failure. He preached for 40 years, never had any formal training, never recorded one convert, and despite his love for his people, they despised and hated him. He was chosen by God to deliver a message and a warning to His people that God knew they would reject. Jeremiah’s message was not for the world, was not for the gentiles, but it was to Israel, God’s people.

Although God knew that His people would reject the preacher’s message that still did not mean that it was ok for Jeremiah to get out of delivering the message. His job was to deliver a message that the people would fully reject.

Much like us today, we are not called to convert the world, but we are called to proclaim the gospel to all the world whether they accept it or not. We are to get the world to Jesus and let Him clean them up.

The sad reality of the message that Jeremiah was called to deliver was not a message to the world but rather a message the backslidden people of Israel. His message was for the people of God.

The people of God had gotten so far away from God that they refused to hear or head anything that this prophet had to say. Jeremiah even went into the gates of the temple and preached the word with warnings to repent and turn from their ways and he was despised and rejected for it.

I’m sure Jeremiah thought that maybe once he made his way to the Temple, their place of worship, surely someone there would heed his warnings?!……..Nope. As a nation they were so far gone, they were so filled with arrogance and pride that they figured just because they were God’s chosen people they could live how ever they wanted with absolutely no consequences for their actions.

At this point there was no turning back….God’s message was delivered, God’s message was rejected therefore God’s judgements were coming and there was no stopping the destruction coming Israel’s way. Jeremiah delivered the word with conviction, boldness, power, compassion, and love for his people. He loved his people even though they hated him for what he stood for. The sad part is, these same people once stood for the very God that Jeremiah was proclaiming to them.

The Book of Jude speaks of “ungodly men” in the last days creeping into the church, denying the Lord Jesus Christ. They turned that same free grace that God gives us today into lasciviousness, meaning they gave into their own lust and pleasures.

Jud_1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

I ask this question: Is America following the same path as Israel? When you look at how the two nations they almost mirror each other. We know that God does not have a special covenant with America as He does with Israel but are the churches here in America in danger of becoming indifferent, lukewarm, and downright accepting of the sin and wickedness that has corrupted our great nation all in the name of tolerance? There are ungodly men walking right in through the front doors of our churches here in America turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. These men who once stood firm upon the word of God have compromised the word with world. These men have accepted what was once condemned by God Himself. The longer the church age goes on here in America we see the church starting to accept sin in the pulpit. What was once evil is now considered good.

A lukewarm, come as you are, sin tolerating, standardless “gospel” is being preached and proclaimed throughout our land and thousands are being drawn to it. The claim is that this gospel is preached and proclaimed all in the name of “love.”

Im sure that the people of Jeremiah’s day would have said the same thing that some of our Christians are saying today. These Christian’s would say that Jeremiah wasn’t loving enough, or he was too hard on the people, or his message was too pessimistic and that he would need to be more compassionate.

I can tell you as a preacher there is nothing more compassionate and loving than telling the very people that you love and care about that their own wickedness and sin is going to be their demise if they do not repent!

Is it love if I tell my own children that they can do and say whatever they want? Is it love if I let my kids go play in the middle of the street because they want to? Like us as parents, God has rules and guidelines to follow and He lets us know when we break the rules. My wife and I have rules in place for our children for a reason and if they break those rules there are consequences.

Today, Christians included, want to live a life with no consequences for their actions. I will take that a step further and say that many today do not want to live by any rules at all!? No rules. No consequences. No authority.

The devil hates authority. It wasn’t good enough that Satan was initially an angel called Lucifer and was cast out of Heaven along with a group of other fallen angels who went along with him. They were in Heaven with the King of Kings and it was not good enough because Lucifer, the devil, Satan, wanted the throne.

When you see a lack of respect for authority you can trace this hatred for authority back to the beginning. You can go back to the garden when the serpent said….

Gen_3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Did God really say that Adam? Did God really say that Eve? Did God really say that people of Israel? America, did God really say that? Satan has been deceiving people from the beginning into questioning God and His grace. The devil hates us as much as he hates God.

It’s a hatred for the preacher because of what the preacher represents. Jeremiah represented authority. He represented the Word of God and because of where they were at in life Israel hated the man of God for telling them the truth. The pulpit represents authority. The Word of God represents authority.

Much like backslidden Israel, there are many today who once stood firm upon the Word of God who now live in the bondage and bitterness of their wickedness and sin. What is worse they have once experienced the love of Christ and have tossed Him aside for the pleasures of this world.

Israel had experienced personally God work in their own lives. Jeremiahs message was personal. The message today from the preacher is personal. When Christ left all the glories of Heaven He made it personal with us. What we have today is more than just religion. What we have today is more than just tradition. What we have today is more than just an old book with what the world calls outdated philosophies. We have something greater than anything the world has to offer. We have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is possible because of the blood, sweat, humiliation, suffering, and agony that He bore on the Cross for the sins of humanity past, present, and future.

The message of the Cross is the message of Hope that the preacher delivers today that is constantly rejected by not only the world but now we are seeing the Churches cast Christ right out of the pulpits all in the name of “love” and “tolerance.”

Jeremiah was trying to bring his people Hope and they rejected him, despised him, and ultimately rebuked him.

Christ came to this world to bring the people Hope and his own people rejected Him, despised Him, and ultimately rebuked Him.

Where will you stand when times of testing come? Will you compromise with world? Will compromise your faith out of fear of what might come against you? When the time comes, and I do believe that we will see a time come where they will have to send missionaries to America because the politicians and lawmakers and churches will give into that same fear that dominates the lives of so many and the Word of God will become outlawed. It is already hated and politically incorrect. It always has been and it always will but thank God that over 200 years ago we had a few brave souls who stood up in the face of persecution and tyranny wanting a free nation to worship Christ.

Our founding fathers risked their lives to worship Christ freely? Are you willing to obedient unto death as Christ was? As our founders were? As Jeremiah was?

What does the message of the Cross mean to you?

Matthew 5:43-47

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

On April 4^th at 6:01 pm, a shot was heard while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had been standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He laid sprawled out on the balcony’s floor. A vast wound covered a large portion of his jaw and neck. Dr. King, Evangelist and Civil Rights leader, was dead.

On this same day in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy, with a heavy burden and unsure of really what to say, spoke from his heart these words in an emotionally improvised speech, soon after learning of the tragic shooting and death of Martin Luther King Jr.:

“In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black — considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible — you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization — black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.”

As we reflect on the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., I believe that we can ask ourselves the very same question today that Robert Kennedy asked a crowd gathered together in Indianapolis of which were scared, screaming, and crying out of grief and pain upon first hearing the tragic news that night:

“What kind of a nation are we and what direction do we want to move in?”

We can be filled with bitterness, hatred, and revenge toward one another or…..

“Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.”

Bitterness. Hatred. Revenge. or Understanding. Compassion. Love.

Over 2,000 years ago Christ preached His last sermon while hanging on a Cross. Bleeding. Beaten. Humiliated. Dying. With His final breaths taken on this side of Heaven, Christ prayed for His enemies. He didn’t respond with anger. Bitterness. Hatred. It was Christ’s love not only for those who loved Him but for those who hated Him that kept Him on the Cross. He uttered these words in defense of the very soldiers who were nailing Him to the Cross:

….Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do….

Its easy to love those that are lovable. Love those whom are our friends. But how do you treat those who have wronged you? How do you treat someone who may hate you? How do you respond to bitterness and hatred in this world?

Christ responded to the bitterness, hatred and sin of this world by giving His life and demonstrating His love for humanity past, present, and future as the ONLY hope for humanities redemption. Martin Luther King stood upon this very same hope.

White and Black. Jesus came not to sow discord but to seek and to save those who might call upon His name. ALL RACES.

Before Kennedy made his speech his campaign officials feared for his safety and the possibility of a riot. Kennedy’s aids were worried about a riot following his speech being warned by police that they would not be able to provide the proper protection for the Senator if a riot erupted.

Standing upon a podium mounted in the back of a truck bed, Kennedy would speak. His heartfelt and compassionate words of love and understanding were reminiscent of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words himself in a speech that would last 4 minutes and 57 seconds.

Words are impactful. Words are powerful. Words can be used to edify and unite or tear down and divide. A person’s words can either stir up division or bring about unity. Kennedy chose to echo the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and speak unity rather than throw more fuel to the fire:

“For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.”

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.

“So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, that’s true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love — a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

Indianapolis broke out in applause, as tears of sadness and grief flowed from the faces of the ones in the crowd. The people would disperse with a sense of calmness, and even though they were angry and  obviously having trouble processing such a violent and evil act, they never rioted in large part due to the comforting and compassionate words of Robert F. Kennedy.

In cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Oakland, Pittsburg, and Baltimore riots broke out killing 35 people while another 2,500 were sent to the hospital. All across the nation around 70,000 Army and National Guard troops were called to restore order.

Words do matter. Words are impactful. It is so important that in the age that we live in with social media that we think before we act upon the words in which we speak. The words that we speak can ignite chaos, rioting, and a sense of lawlessness as RFK put it, or bring each other together no matter what your skin color, background, political affiliation may be and so on.

It feels like people today aren’t listening to each other. We are still fighting the same battles that our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers fought because we have refused to sit down and listen to each other. We choose to look at the appearance of a man rather than the content of his character. We have regressed in some ways. We are fighting and bickering with each other while the world watches.

1 Sam 16:7….for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Everybody just wants to get their way and win at any cost. Even in our churches it seems to be hard for Christians to agree on the color of the carpets these days. Churches are splitting over small disagreements when we should be showing the world and leading by example by sitting down with one another even there are disagreements. As long as we can come together on the fundamentals why should there be divisions?

What kind of example are we setting for our children? Would it kill us to show a little humility? We don’t have to beat our chests all the time in order to show that we are tough. Sometimes humbling yourself in the face of someone who is trying to speak ill of you and speaking life to that person is being tough because showing restraint is challenging at times. Humility shows maturity.

My kids are watching me and my actions so are my actions backing up what my words are saying? Are my words backing up what my actions are saying? We can still be civil and constructive and loving without compromising our beliefs.

We are divided as a nation because we refuse to listen to each other and we have strayed from the pillars upon which our nation was founded. Those pillars can be found written in the Bill of Rights etched in the Constitution paid for by the blood of those whom have given their lives in the cause of the idea that “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Our Nation is divided because our communities are divided. Our Communities are divided because our churches are divided. Our churches are divided because our homes are divided. Our homes are divided because marriages are divided. Our families, our churches, our homes, our communities, our nation are all being torn apart at the seems and all we seem to care about is winning. Besting the next guy at any cost. Social media, the politicians along with a corrupt and bias media on both sides is being used like a cancer injecting a lethal dose of poison into our hearts and minds more so now than ever before. When are we going to shut it all off and just listen to each other and stop trying to win?

Let us go back before 1968, let us go back to August 28^th, 1963 and listen to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Let us listen with open hearts and open minds to his words as he was speaking to ALL Americans. Words that we desperately need in our hostile and unstable world:

“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!”

Robert F. Kennedy asked the question, “What kind of a nation are we and what direction do we want to move in?”

2 months later on June 6^th, 1968, Robert Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel just after he had secured the Presidential nomination for his party.

Let us hold fast the words of Robert Kennedy the night Martin Luther King Jr. was killed:

“We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we’ve had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.”

……..

“But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.

“Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.”

“Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

What kind of a nation are we and what direction do we want to move in?

In order to answer that question we have to first ask ourselves:

1- What kind of people are we going to be?

12 ordinary men over 2,000 years ago turned the world upside down with the Gospel message.

That question is up to all of us to answer. Martin Luther King Jr. was just an ordinary man. Robert F. Kennedy was just an ordinary man. With their words they took a stand and stirred a nation. I think if we want to do something new, if we want to see hearts and minds changed, we must do something old. Get back to the basics and the fundamentals that these men spoke of which are rooted deep in our founding that was built upon the principles that lie within the pages of the Word of God.

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

At 34 years old, after working a job for nearly 20 years, with a wife and 3 kids, I feel like at times I might be the most inadequate for this job but the question that many keep asking me is…..”Why on earth do you want to leave a job that pays more with better insurance and with that many years to teach a bunch of kids?” Why would I want to start over at this point in my life?

Often times I will say “Nick what are doing? This is crazy? This completely out of your comfort zone! Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ve been doing that for 20 years, you know that work inside and out, why change? ” Sometimes I feel like Clark Griswold on National Lampoon’s Vacation right before he’s about to jump in the pool saying to himself…”This is crazy, this crazy, this is crazy.” But he has his reasons and we won’t get into those.

But if you want to remain complacent in life, if you never want to see yourself grow in faith, if you never want to be criticized, if you never want to see God work in your life, if you want to keep going through the motions, go ahead and remain where you are, keep doing what you have always done…..

Remain where you are and keep doing what you’ve always done and you will surely remain as you are.

This is a question that I have been asked repeatedly over the last few months. “Why teach?”

First and foremost I will say that this is something personal for me. The work that I feel that God has called me to no matter how hard, difficult, or crazy the call may seem. Usually the things that God calls us to will make no sense to us at times but that is why he sees the bigger picture. So again, the question is asked, “Why do I want to be a teacher?”

1. Is it the pay?……no…Money can never be the main purpose for doing anything because if you start something for money then you will end up quitting because of money no matter much or how little…If God calls you somewhere He will see you through it no matter the pay….
2. Is it the Summers, weekends, holidays, snow days off?……no….added perk though, It’s a blessing to be on the same schedule with my kids…
3. Is it getting to be at school at with kids?…..no, although that is a large part of it and a huge blessing…

I can only put the answer into just a few names:

Mrs. Beck-3^rd

Mrs. Webb-4^th

Ms. Young-7^th

Mr. Nutter-8^th

Mr. Spinner-10^th

Mr. Callaghan-9^th-11^th  

Mr. Gibson- 9^th-12^th

Mr. Snyder-12^th

Mr. Watkins-11^th

Mr. Witchey-12^th

Mr. Johnson-10^th-12^th

Mr. Ansley

You might say these aren’t reasons to become a teacher, its just a list of names. Yes it is a list of names. But it is a list of names that have impacted my life from Elementary through Middle School all the way up to my completion of High School and beyond. The names that you see here are people who’s words still echo in my mind. People who have helped me, believed in me when I certainly did not believe in myself or think that I was ever going to make it through school, inspired me to persevere when I felt like quitting, these are the names of the men and women who were there for me at some of my worst times and moments especially during my teens years.

These teachers had taken the time, time that they certainly did not need to take, but yet they took the time to work with me, lead me, many times help light a fire under me when it was needed, they encouraged me to fight and to continue on. Many of these teachers, maybe all of them, probably will never know how much of an impact they each had on me at different stages of my life. Looking back now, I firmly believe that God had placed each one of these individuals in my life for specific purposes at specific times. These men and women, to me, are true heroes.

As a teacher, you may never know the impact that you will have on a student. That impact, good and bad, will be felt throughout the course of that students life. You never truly know what a student is dealing with at home. It so important as a leader, as a parent, as a teacher that we speak life into our young people because the only place that they might hear a word of encouragement, a word to help persevere, a word to keep fighting on, might be inside the walls of a classroom.

I cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for these teachers enough and the influence that they have had on my life and the weight of that impact that I have carried well into my 30’s. The things that they taught me, you cannot learn in a textbook, although they helped me tremendously with my academics, what they showed me, you cant teach it in a lecture or by lesson planning. Its not something you learn in in college but it comes by simply having a desire to reach people. To have a heart for people. This is something cannot be learned inside the pages of a textbook but rather a burden in which God instills in a person. A desire and a burden to reach people on a level who otherwise would be unreachable.

So what is a Teacher?

Someone who reaches the unreachable, teaches the unteachable, believes in those who do not believe in themselves, can help instill hope in those who may have no hope.

These teachers never gave up on me, even when I so badly at times wanted to. These are just a few reasons why I have a strong desire to try and maybe help those that are in the same situations that I was in as a young man.

I understand that teaching is not a very desirable position by some today, people look at me like I am crazy when I say I am entering into this field. There have been many changes in the world of education over the last 2 decades with Common Core and more government overreach but that still doesn’t change the fact that we need people with a passion and desire to walk into a classroom everyday, somedays tired, beat down and worn out, to set the example and be a teacher. With that desire comes a burden and with that burden comes many sleepless nights.

Very few people in my life actually know what drives me to do this job. The pay is average, hours are long, kids are tough to deal with, parents can be even tougher, expectations and pressures are always high but if it were easy then what kind of reward would I have? If it were an easy path to follow then everybody would be on this same path. To me this is not a job but rather a calling. Its not supposed to be easy. The work that God calls us to gives us the opportunity to grow, to learn, to fail, to get back up, to press on and continue and then to do it all over again. We are always constantly learning, growing and failing. We learn from our mistakes and failures. It is what helps us grow. I only hope that I can pass on to my future students and my own children what has been taught to me in the past by these men and women who went above and beyond the call of duty.

I do want to touch on the last name on the list of teachers that I had mentioned above. I did not give a specific grade for a reason. Mr. Ansley, I knew him as Andy. He was a good friend. When we moved from Circleville to Dublin it was a much bigger school district with a lot more people. Me, being quiet, shy, and introverted was terrified. I didn’t know anybody but Andy along with his brother Billy were the first two people to befriend a kid with a broken leg on crutches in a new school with no friends in Mr. Nutter’s math class. Over the course of the next 5 years we would grow up together and in a graduating class with over 400 I walked away with 3 really good people that I could call friends, Billy being one of them.

A good friend is something that is hard to find in this life and I am glad that I have found a few good friends over the course of my life. Andy had a passion for teaching. We lost touch for several years contacting each other every so often to say hey. Andy ended up in Arizona teaching special education and these kids absolutely loved him and he loved them. Andy passed away in March of 2018 due to a car accident. Andy had a tremendous impact on his classroom and the community around him. He was a good teacher, a good brother, a good father, and good friend with a heart for reaching kids.

It wasn’t until after I learned of his death that I really started to pray about the path that I was on and what God would have me to do. That list of names came flooding back into my memory as to why I started to pursue teaching in the first place all those years ago. We had just moved back to Ohio from Arkansas where I had recently stepped down as Pastor at the Church the year prior and I was really unsure of a lot of things and it was one of those instances where, shamefully, I had thought quitting would be the easiest way to go. But….That still small voice of God kept whispering into my ear, “Didn’t I call you to this work years ago? Did I say it was going to be easy? Did I or did I not call you to the ministry? Did I or did I not call you to do the work of a teacher?”

I kept hearing the words that I had preached so many times to my own congregation, words that I have heard my own Pastor preach several times, “If God called you to it, He’ll bring you through it.”

How would I be able to look at my wife? My children? If I threw in the towel how would I be able to look at myself in the mirror?

Things had not worked out how I thought they would or should and I really did not know where to go from where I was at at the time a few years back but you know what things dont usually go according to plan or work out how we plan but they do work out, in Gods way and in Gods time. I was in a spiritual rut and didn’t think I would ever get out of it. A rut is basically a grave with both sides kicked out. There is a way of escape but you just cant figure out how to get out or much less want to get out. I didn’t feel like praying. I didn’t feel like preaching. I didn’t feel like studying. I just felt like I was going through the motions for a good while. I went to work the graveyard shift at the store because I thought that I could hide. Go back to what was familiar and hide out hoping no one would really ask anything of me. It was basically my cave. Much like Elijah was, I went to that cave with intentions of never coming out. I was burnt out, I was tired, I was spiritually drained. Elijah didn’t see the results that he wanted to so he ran and hid. Its funny how we get let down when things don’t go our way but God always has a purpose and a plan even when we cant see a way. God had to get Elijah’s attention

I laid my pursuit of teaching down about 5/6 years ago because I started Pastoring and didn’t quite feel I could take on the weight of the load. But then I heard about Andy’s death and it coincided with the rut that I was in and I really started to pray seriously about the call of God upon my life and after much prayer, encouragement from those whom God placed around me, especially my wife, and God telling me to get up and stop feeling sorry for myself and get to work! Later that fall I would pick back up my pursuit of teaching and during that process God had lead my family and I to Alum Creek Evangelical Friends Church where I am currently Associate Pastor. A place I never intended to go but am so extremely grateful and beyond blessed to have crossed paths with the people here at Alum. As I stated above, God saw the bigger picture as He always does. His timing is always perfect if we are willing to answer the call and continue on the path that He has set before us.

Through tragedy, many unwanted but needed growing pains, humility, a season of spiritual dryness, isolation and much prayer, God helped me regain my focus, my call, my passion, and my vision.

So when people ask me why I want to be a teacher? All I have to give is a list of names who believed in a young man and never let him quit. I want to show my own children that no matter how hard the obstacles are to overcome in life that with God ALL things are possible and that we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. Quitting is not an option for me. I want to raise my kids that way. My daughter has stated she wants to be a teacher and it is my duty as a parent to set the standard not only for her but for my son and youngest daughter as well.

To me it is more than teaching a bunch a kids for 7 hours a day. It is wanting to see the best in these kids and try and bring it out in them and help realize their full potential because these teachers did the same for me a long time ago. I know that we can never reach every single child and with that burden comes heartache, headache, and many times frustration but I have found out in life that with every battle at the end comes blessings. The harder the battle, the tougher the fight, the sweeter the victory.

Some might say I’m naive, probably, some days feel like the most unqualified person to teach kids, but you have to realize that there will always be detractors everywhere you go but if you never want to be criticized “Say nothing, Do nothing, and Be nothing.” -Pastor Cal Ray Evans

I don’t know what God has in store for 2020 and beyond that but I do know that my motto for this year is “If He has called me to this work, He will see me through it.”