A Nation Gone to the Devil — E.A. Johnston

Ahab's Evil Reign and National Judgment

We read, over in 1 Kings, in chapter 16, And Ahab the son of Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, That he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zonians, And went and served Baal in the house of Baal which he had built in Samaria.

And Ahab made a grove, and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger Than all the kings of Israel that went before him. I will stop there, friends. We see, in the striking passage of scripture, That it was a time when godless leaders were ruling the nation, One more evil than the one preceding him.

National Apostasy and the Drought of Judgment

We see it is a time when the people of God have turned their backs on God, And consequently the nation was spinning out of control into moral chaos. And it was also a time, if you read the next chapter in 1 Kings, That a terrible drought befalls the land.

The land itself was under the judgment of God. And also notice that our text says that sinning had become a light thing. It was commonplace throughout the land, Kind of like America where we've been so desensitized to sin That we can sin lightly because there is no longer a fear of God in the land, Neither in the general populace nor in the religious denominations.

The Loss of Holiness and Moral Restraint

Holiness has been thrown out the window in our churches today, And we've shrunken God down to our size, And our behavior demonstrates that we believe God has become more tolerant to sin. All you have to do is look at the entertainment of a nation To see the moral temperature of a nation.

Hollywood produces shocking movies, More perverted and X-rated than the one preceding it. Why is that? It's because the majority of the people in this country can't get enough of sin. It's all supply and demand.

England and America Under Judgment

You want to see two nations gone to the devil? Just take a look at England and America. These once Christian nations that have given us the printed Bible, Missions, thundering preaching, That brought about powerful revivals and spiritual awakenings that God had smiled upon, Are now spiritually bankrupt.

Their churches in England are empty physically. America's churches are empty spiritually. Both nations are under the remedial judgments of God. In this country, why, I've never seen so many natural disasters and calamities, One on the heels of another in my entire lifetime.

Disasters, Repentance, and the Sleeping Church

From fires and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes, It looks like a page taken from the Old Testament. But have these judgments brought the church to her knees In humility, prayer, repentance and reformation?

No, we're too busy wanting to be entertained by a Christ-rejecting world Instead of reaching that world for Christ and the gospel. We are a nation gone to the devil and hell fills by the hour. And where is the church in all of this?

She's asleep on the pillows of conformity and compromise. But we also see in our text that amidst all the moral darkness and depravity And wicked devilry of the Jewish nation that had turned their back on God, God Almighty raises up a prophet, the prophet Elijah, To awaken the nation and to defend his holy name.

Elijah and the Need for a Prophetic Voice

Listen, friends, the greatest need in our land today is a prophet. A man sent from God, God's man, who will stand in the gap Between heaven and earth, between mortal man and almighty God. A holy man who is so wholly sold out to God, So intoxicated with Christ and so consumed with eternity That his very footprints leave a smoky trail of the lingering fire of God.

A man whose desperate life of prayer Has left fingerprints on the horns of the altar in glory. A man whose emboldened faith and Enoch-like walk with God Moves mountains of resistance and proves that the God of the Bible Is alive and interested in the most minute requests of man.

Prayerful Witnesses Who Awaken Nations

God will always raise up an Elijah whose prayers impact a sleeping nation. The church in each generation has had individuals who live upon their knees, Whose prayers reach heaven with a holy violence.

India had her praying hide, China her John Song, England her Puritans, Scotland her Covenanters, America her fiery ye and bounds of voices Which gained the attention of the throne room, startled angels, And shook the very gates of hell, making even the demons Quake and tremble with their desperate prayers.

The Urgency of Hope, Repentance, and Revival

Is there any hope for England and America Or are they just too far gone to the devil? Time will tell.