We are a nation under judgement - Proverbs 29:2

Kootenai Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

And I wanted to just make a couple of comments about what's going on around us right now before we pray and read

00:05

Scripture. We are watching the slow but steady dissolution of Western culture in the news, and it should remind us that this is a nation that is under judgment because we have turned our back on all forms of objective morality and all claims to authority.

00:22

And so though this nation is not a Christian nation and has not been a Christian nation, nations can't be

00:27

Christian, only people can be Christians, we have rejected all claims to authority and all sources of authority in terms of being our own

00:36

God. And so what we're watching unfolding is exactly what we ought to expect to happen. So I just want to remind you and comfort you with the reminder that what is happening in our culture, what is happening in our world is always and always has been under the sovereign control of a

00:49

God who has written history before a single moment of it came to pass. And all of our days are written in His book before there was yet one of them.

00:57

He knows the end from the beginning, He is working out His purposes, our God rules in the heavens, and He does what

01:03

He pleases, and He has promised in the book of Isaiah that He will accomplish all His good pleasure.

01:09

So He is doing that even now. It may be uncomfortable for us, we may not like it, but God is accomplishing all of His good pleasure.

01:16

And so if this will bring in and hasten the coming of the day of the Lord, then I say let it come, let it rain, whatever has to happen to hasten that.

01:23

I just hope that there is the day of the Lord sooner rather than later. So as I've said to a couple people this morning, it's revival or bust for this nation.

01:33

And by bust I mean we have to have a divorce and we all have to go our separate ways, either that or revival.

01:39

And so we can only pray that God will accomplish His purposes and do what pleases Him. And if it means the complete subjugation of our nation to the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ and His kingdom,

01:49

I will take that in an instant. And one other thing I want to point out before we read, I meant to say this as well,

01:56

I was reflecting upon Proverbs 29, I think it's verse 2 this morning, that says, when the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

02:04

And we tend to think that that applies to the person who is in the highest office of the land. A wicked man rules, the people groan.

02:10

But you can think of it as the people who are in positions of authority. One of the things that plagues us as a nation is that we have wickedness at every level of government.

02:18

It's not just that the president is not a believer, it is that Congress and the judges and the mayors and the governors and the police chiefs and the sheriffs across our land, we have wickedness at every level of authority and every societal institution is ruled by wickedness.

02:35

And when that happens, the people groan. And Scripture warned us, promised us this was going to happen, so it should not surprise us.

02:40

This fits our anthropology, does it not? The man is wicked, is sinful, and he will use any excuse he can to destroy others and to act wickedly and violently.

02:49

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. And we're groaning, but we made this bed as a nation.

02:58

Will you stand with me as we pray? Let's bow our heads.

03:07

Our Father, you are a righteous and good and holy God, sovereign. You sit enthroned in the heavens, and we need that reminder that you are in control of all the events that unfold before us.

03:17

Nothing that has taken place and is taking place or will take place can or will catch you by surprise.

03:23

For you know it all, the end from the beginning. You have appointed all that comes to pass, and it is all under your sovereign hand and the control of your providence.

03:31

And so we can only pray that as your people, we would rest in your sovereignty and in your grace and in your mercy, that we would find you to be our strong tower, our deliverer, our redeemer, and our comfort and encouragement in times of trouble and times of affliction.

03:46

May you be glorified through the events that are unfolding as your church does what the church does, and that is to proclaim the gospel to a nation that is desperately in need of truth but has rejected it at every level.

03:58

And so we pray that you would make your word effective, that you would increase the bounds of your kingdom and continue to make your word to advance still more and more in the hearts of people, in the hearts of your people, and may this be a time when the true church shines and flourishes and the righteous do rejoice in what fruit you will bring out of all of these events.

04:15

We pray that in the midst of all of this, you would comfort us and encourage our hearts to trust in you and in your word, for in your word you have revealed yourself and your will for us in the history of all of humanity and the future of what is to come and what our hope is in Jesus Christ.

04:29

Make that our comfort and solace and make our hearts to trust in that. May we be grounded and strengthened and encouraged in your word and may your word be to us a rock and an anchor in difficult times.

04:40

Be glorified through it, we pray, and be magnified here in this church amongst us, your people, as we simply rest and trust in you and may that itself be a light to a watching world.

04:50

But give us opportunity also to share the grace of Christ in your word and we pray that it may be accompanied with the power of the

04:56

Spirit and with the boldness that is necessary to do it with faithfulness and effectiveness. Be honored, we pray, here amongst your people as we meditate upon your word and worship you in spirit and in truth.