What's Next? — Chuck Smith

Psalm 91: Refuge Under the Shadow of the Almighty

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. And thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High thy habitation, for He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion, and adder the young lion, and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for that dwelling place where we as your children can find safety, refuge, peace. Lord, we want to just sort of cuddle up close to you today. To feel the warmth of your presence and to experience again the touch of your love upon our lives.

Lord, in the time of distress, we would call upon you. In the time, Lord, when terror might exist, we find you our place of strength and refuge. Lord, we ask that you would just speak to our hearts today.

From your word, let there come comfort and hope for the future. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. You may be seated. I received this morning an email from my good friend, Major Sean Mercondotti. Sean is a major in the Air Force.

He said, I just wanted to let you know we're doing well. My wing, the AWACS wing, is right in the middle of this war. We're all proud to be doing our part. We covet your prayers and the prayers of your church for the coming months, for this won't be a short-term struggle.

Lots of good people are working very long hours in some very hazardous jobs, but this is what we get paid for. And so we are ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done. And I'm proud to be an American and so proud to be an Air Force officer and so proud to be a part of our nation's answer to these vicious, cowardly, murdering terrorist thugs.

The people don't need to worry. We're ready to fight this war. Bin Laden and his ilk will rue the day they chose to execute their evil plan. I'm also very proud to be your brother in Christ. I've listened to every man and answer, and I've heard portions of the messages you delivered after these attacks.

And I praise the Lord for your faithful ministry. I thank Him that you're pointing people to the true source of help and comfort, our Lord Jesus Christ. You're such a blessing and an encouragement to me.

I just finished listening to the Servants Heart Tape Pack. It was dynamite. Your friendship means so much. Thank you for everything. God bless you and God bless America. Please pass our love on and our warmest regards to Kay.

We think of you and pray for you often. Your brother in Christ, Sean. God bless America. We've been hearing that a lot lately. And surely that is our prayer, that God will bless America. But God can't bless America until there are certain things that are done by the Americans.

Repentance as the Condition for National Blessing

And tonight I'm going to be speaking on the subject, what it will take to get God's blessings on America. I believe it'll be a very important message at this time when we are saying, God shed His grace upon America.

God bless America. But to realize that God can't bless America until America does certain things. What must we do to get the blessings of God in America? I'd like you to turn with me to Psalm 46. We're going to leave our normal through the Bible to deal with the current issues that are upon all of our hearts.

Here, the psalmist said, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, and though the mountains shall shake with the swelling thereof, for there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her and she shall not be moved. God shall help and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come and behold the works of the Lord. What desolations he has made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and he cuts the sphere and sunder.

He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. When I was a lad, I used to read mystery novels and I also loved Zane Gray and The Young Shortstop, The Young Pitcher and The Young Outfielder, his novels.

But there are a lot of times I would get so involved in the story and I would begin to get fearful. And so I'd always turn and read the last chapter to find out that everything worked out okay and then I could go back through those difficult chapters and come on through because I know it's all going to work out in the end.

The Final Chapter: Christ’s Reign Over the Nations

I'm glad that God has given us the last chapter and that we can look and though we may be going through times of difficulty and turmoil, because God has written the last chapter already, we can realize that our God is going to reign and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

And though there will be perilous times, though there will be tumultuous times, yet the end of the story, our God reigns. But our nation has been attacked. Thousands have perished in this last wave of the attacks.

The twin 110-story towers of the World Trade Center are no more. The Pentagon is partially destroyed. And had our government not immediately closed the airlines, air traffic, only God knows what other targets might have been hit.

Our troops worldwide are on the highest alert and everybody is wondering just what's next. How long before they strike again? How will they strike? When will they strike? And when will we strike back?

There are certain things that we do know about the terrorists. We now know the names of those that were in those planes that committed suicide. We do know that one of the pilots of one of the planes was wanted by the Israeli government in 1996 because of his blowing up or participating in the blowing up of buses in Israel.

When they sought to arrest him, he fled to the United States. And the Israeli government at that time asked the Clinton administration to extradite him back to Israel, but they decided not to. And he was the pilot of one of those planes that destroyed the World Trade Center.

We know that their announced goal is what they refer to as the liberation of Palestine and the destruction of the nation of Israel. And to this end, they have declared a jihad, a holy war against Israel.

And it would appear they have also declared a holy war against the United States. Now, according to the teaching of Islam, the only way one can guarantee an instant access into paradise is to be a martyr in a jihad.

And that is why they are willing to die in these suicide attacks. We know that they're willing to go to any end to accomplish their goals. They're not adverse to chemical or biological warfare. They manifested this already.

They are willing to take over a jet and fly the passengers into a skyscraper, killing thousands of innocent people in order to create terror in the hearts of the rest of us. They're convinced that their terrorist activities and the use of suicide squads are the means by which they can bring the nation to its knees.

Jihad, Terrorism, and Extremist Recruitment

What has been widely discussed is the possibility of an attack using limited nuclear devices that could be smuggled into our country in something as small as a suitcase. And whether or not they have yet developed such a capacity is not clearly known.

But we know that Saddam Hussein has been seeking, with the aid of Russia, to develop the nuclear capability. And it is thought that such capability has already been developed by Iran. Both of these nations have spoken of their desire and intentions to destroy, first of all, Israel and then the United States, as they refer to us as the Great Satan.

They know that we are the greatest hindrance that is standing in the way of their goal of converting the world to Islam. It is alarming to realize that the followers of this religion have entrenched themselves right here in the United States, where they now claim some 15 million followers.

Dave Hunt writes concerning a film that was made back in the 80s by Stephen Emerson and was broadcast on the public broadcasting system. The film was titled, Jihad in America. In that film, the film went right into the Muslim cell groups right here in the US, where eager young Muslims were being recruited for the jihad against the United States.

The Muslim leaders are shown giving speeches about bringing America to its knees through terrorism. One of the leaders, Fayez Azam in Brooklyn in 1989, said, Blood must flow. There must be widows, orphans.

Hands and limbs must be severed and limbs and blood must be spread everywhere in order that Allah's religion stand on its feet. The video shows another leader in Kansas City recruiting holy warriors against the United States.

He exhorts in the film, Oh brothers, after Afghanistan, nothing in the world is impossible for us anymore. There are no more super powers or mini powers. What matters is willpower that springs from our religious belief.

Another Muslim leader in the US said that Washington's Capitol Hill is Zionist occupied territory, that the Jews control Congress and that the United States deserves what it gets as long as it supports Israel.

And the vast majority of Muslims are peace loving people. And let me emphasize that I do believe that the vast majority of Muslims are peace loving people. But for the life of me, I cannot understand why a peace loving person would buy into a religion that is violent from its very roots.

From the beginning, they have sought to spread their religion with a sword. That phrase die infidel was born in this religion. And how could a person who is truly a peace loving person become a part of a religious system that can engender such hate in the minds of its followers?

I pray for those peace loving Muslims. That they might discover that the true peace, the true love is in Jesus Christ. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And rather than denying that God has begotten his son, would find the peace and the love that is only to be found in Jesus Christ.

We know that they've been training for this war for years and that they possess the wealth and the nerve to carry it out. You might say that this week we finally realized that war had been declared against us a long time ago.

Back when the Pan Am flight was blown up over Scotland, Lackerbee, Scotland. This was one of the salvos that were fired in this war. When they blew up our warship in Yemen, this again was a declaration of their war.

When in 93 they tried to blow up the World Trade Center with a car bomb, this again was a declaration of war. But we just seemed to shrug all of these things off and went on as though nothing was happening.

We just brushed them aside. It was not until this week when we watched the horrible devastation and we watched in shock as those planes were deliberately flown into the Twin Towers that finally we woke up and realized this is war.

It took Pearl Harbor to wake us out of our lethargy back in 1954. And now once again we have been awakened by a vicious sneak attack. In nations where Islam is the ruling authority, we have seen the pictures of thousands of people filling the streets and chanting their hatred of America as they burned the American flag.

There is no religious freedom in those nations that are ruled by Islam. If you dared to carry a Bible on the street in Saudi Arabia, you would be arrested. The relief workers in Afghanistan are on trial for their lives.

They're in a program of relief and support and yet they are allegedly accused of sharing Christianity with the children that they were helping to train. Let us set a possible scenario. Let us suppose that this attack on the World Towers and Pentagon was just a diversionary attack that they will soon strike again, perhaps with limited nuclear devices.

And while we are so consumed with trying to defend ourselves that they will hit their primary target, Israel, and seek to destroy the nation of Israel. Leaving the realm of speculation, what do we know for sure?

Ezekiel’s Prophecy of Israel’s Future Invasion

We know that in the last days the Muslim nations with the aid of Russia are going to attack Israel with the intent of destroying Israel. We know that the numbers that invade Israel will be so vast that they are described like being a cloud covering the land.

It is very possible that what we are seeing today is leading up to this war that is described by the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 38. We know that in chapter 36 Ezekiel prophesied of the redevelopment of the agriculture in the nation of Israel.

He prophesied that the hills would be covered with trees, that the valleys would be covered with grain, that an area that had been a wilderness for so many years would become like a Garden of Eden. And that prophecy of Ezekiel in chapter 38 has been fulfilled.

Going into chapter 37, Ezekiel then prophesied the rebirth of the nation of Israel. That they would come as it were out of the grave. They would be revived and that they would come and dwell in the land and they would be a nation once again.

We saw that improbable prophecy fulfilled in 1948. Chapter 37 has been fulfilled. Going on into chapter 38 because it is a continuous story. He tells us that once the nation of Israel has again been established and the people are dwelling there in the land, that there will be a massive invasion of the land by the Muslim nations supported by Russia.

And at this time we read that God Himself will rise up to defend Israel. In Ezekiel chapter 38 he describes the destruction that God will bring against these invading forces. God said, I will plead against him with pestilence, with blood, and with rain upon him and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, and overflowing rain and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.

And thus will I magnify myself and sanctify myself and I will be known in the eyes of many nations and they shall know that I am Jehovah. Going in into chapter 39 he describes the results of that war and God's intervention.

Five-sixths of the invading army will be destroyed. It will take seven months to bury the dead. And when God steps in, divinely intervenes, at that point He will once again put His Spirit upon the nation of Israel.

Ezekiel saw the Spirit of God leaving the temple over the east gate and departing from Israel. But the promise of God's Spirit being poured out once again. The prophet Daniel was told that there were to be 77 year cycles accomplished in the nation of Israel to make an end of sin, reconciliation for iniquity, and to establish the most holy, to set up the most holy, and to complete all of the prophecies.

And from the time the commandment would go forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah, the Prince, would be 69 sevenths or 483 years. But Daniel prophesied that the Prince would be cut off and the people of Israel would be dispersed.

483 years after the commandment was given by Artaxerxes to Nehemiah to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince, came and presented Himself to the nation of Israel. But as was prophesied by Isaiah, He was despised and rejected by them.

As was prophesied by Daniel, He was cut off, but not for Himself. And the Jews were dispersed. At the trial of Jesus, they cried to Pilate, His blood be upon us and our children. And I'm going to get this fly in just a second.

Hold on. Don't bug me. 69 of the 70 cycles were fulfilled. But when the Messiah was cut off, when they despised and rejected Him, then God's Spirit was taken from Israel. And God's Spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles and upon the church.

And we see the birth of the church there in Acts chapter 2 with the Spirit of God being poured out upon His church. But the Bible says that blindness would happen to Israel in part until the fullness of the Gentiles had come in.

But then all of Israel would be saved because God would send the deliverer from Zion to turn the hearts of the children unto their fathers. And so we see God's work will once again begin with the nation of Israel when He divinely intervenes in this battle that is coming.

And this could be a prelude to that battle. What we saw this last week could be just a diversionary action on their part to get us so concerned with our own survival that we will not really be alerted to come to Israel's aid when they come against Israel in their jihad.

Joel speaks about the last days on into the tribulation period when God will once again be working with the nation of Israel. He tells us, That's in Ezekiel 39. And then going to Joel, Boy, we surely saw that.

National Repentance and the Return to Biblical Worship

What should we as a nation do at this juncture? First of all, repent of our sins and seek God's forgiveness. A week ago, the major TV networks had just advertised their plans to blaspheme God in the fall programming in order that they might increase their ratings.

ABC's Philly plans on using a profanity that has never been allowed before. CBS executives told the Los Angeles Times that they are considering using scripts that include every crude word imaginable, including words never used before on major television.

CBS will air Wolf Lake, a place where people become wolves. The program will begin with a warning of the nudity that will be shown in that program. And the first episode, they said, contains a particularly revealing sex scene.

Aaron Sorkin of NBC's West Wing says that he wants to break the longstanding network taboos this year by blaspheming God. He wants the character to curse in a way that uses the Lord's name in vain. Yes, we pray God bless America.

But first of all, America must repent and ask God's forgiveness. We are not a nation that was established for multiple gods. We are a nation that was established to worship and serve the true and the living God.

Our forefathers, when they came, established one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. And that God was the God of the Bible, as they all acknowledged. And they said the Constitution can never work except a people be devoted to the Bible truths.

We did not establish, and they did not establish a nation for Islam. They did not establish a nation for Allah. They did not establish a nation for Krishna or the Hindu deities. They established a nation where God, the living God, the creator of the universe, might be acknowledged as the God of that nation.

And it is a tragedy that we have brought in so many other gods and tried to incorporate them into the national life. We must return to the true and the living God. The reason why Israel was judged is that they were worshiping other gods.

And now, our nation, rightfully, because we believe in the true and the living God, have allowed other people the liberty to worship the gods that they please. And thus, if they want to worship Allah, they can.

If they want to worship Buddha, they can. But yet, the nation itself was established for the worship of God. We'll be talking more about this tonight. You may sing God Bless America, but God can't until there's true repentance by America.

Because we've turned our backs on God, and we've asked Him to bug out of our public life. And we have acknowledged, but until we acknowledge Him as the only true and the living God, He's not going to bless us.

Security in Christ Rather Than Fear

We're shocked when they tried to bring down the World Trade Center back in 1993 with a car bomb. And they were sure grinned when they failed. But they came back again with greater and deadlier force. And they were successful in bringing the towers down this time, and doing $1 billion worth of damage to the Pentagon.

They were thwarted in an attempt to spread their terror across the United States by the speedy action of our government in shutting down the airports. However, they will be back again unless they are stopped.

And perhaps with greater force, and quite possibly the West Coast, will not escape the next wave of terrorism. I think that we have discovered that in these days, the only true security that a person can have is in Jesus Christ.

On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. What is the purpose of their waging this war of terrorism against us? It's to create a debilitating fear. So that because of fear, we will cave in.

Shall we live in fear? Let's go back to Psalm 46. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, for there is a river, the streams thereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged. The kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come and behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he has made in the earth. He has made the wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow. He cuts the spear and sunders.

Christ’s Final Victory and the Call to Stand Firm

This is the final chapter. Jesus is going to reign. He's going to cause the wars to cease to the end of the earth. He's going to destroy. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

They'll study war no more. He burns the chariots in the fire. Be still and know that I am God. And I will be exalted among the heathen. And I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge. You might want to read that Psalm over and over as we face these dark days of uncertainty ahead because there are certainties that will sustain us in an uncertain world.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for the hope and the confidence that we have through Your Word, through Your promises. Lord, we ask this day that You will give to us that sense of the need of repentance and turning our hearts completely toward You.

And Lord, may our commitment to You be as deep as the commitment of these terrorists to their cause. Lord, may we set aside the worldly desires to follow after You. May this be a time of dedication and commitment, Lord, by Your church as we are entering in to what is very possible, the final moments before You come for Your church.

This could be, Lord, Your final call, Your wake-up call, the trumpet call to the church to awake out of their sleep for now is their salvation nearer than when they believed. Lord, may Your kingdom come.

May Your will be done here in earth, even as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Shall we stand? Time to awake out of sleep, Paul said. Time for a full, true commitment of our lives to Him.

It's going to take that kind of commitment to be able to stand in these last days. It is a spiritual warfare. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God. And we can pull down the strongholds of the enemy.

Yes, we will seek to engage them in a physical conflict, but the real battle is in the realm of the Spirit. And you who have been gathering with us and praying, you have entered into the real battle and the true battleground, the realm of the Spirit.

And it's going to take the power of the Spirit to be able to stand in these days that are coming. The pastors are down here at the front today to pray for you who want to make a commitment of your life to Jesus Christ, or perhaps a recommitment of your life.

It seems like our nation has just sort of slowly slid into this state of carelessness, sort of allowing the evil to continue to proliferate throughout the fabric of the nation, allowing laws to be passed that are diabolically opposed to the Scriptures.

Repentance, Commitment, and Readiness for Christ’s Return

Time to repent. Time to stand up and be counted. Time to make that commitment unto our Lord. For I do believe that this could very well be the prelude to the coming again of Jesus for His church, the time when Israel will be invaded, God will intervene, and the church will be taken to be with the Lord.

I would encourage you, as soon as we're dismissed, make your way forward. Make your commitment to God today. This may be your last opportunity to do so. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee, and be gracious unto thee.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give.