Answering the Present Crisis in America
Session 1: Identifying the Problem
I.America has a Sin Problem:
As much as we don’t want to confront it we have an epidemic in our country that is devastating us as a people. It’s called sin, and we serve a God who promises to judge sin which leaves us currently in a crisis; one that we are greatly underestimating. We live in a nation where wickedness increases at every turn and the wrath of God is being stored up against us as a result. The Church needs to recognize that America is due retribution according to God’s justice system and that it is only a matter of time before His cup is full and His response is swift.
- Alive in the Wicked Generation:
To be fair America is not alone in this crisis; we are finding ourselves alive in the last generation, which the scriptures describe as a time of evil that will be like no time in history. Global culture is maturing into the most wicked group of people that will ever have lived on the earth and America is not exempt. Sin abounds all around us and that is the source of our crisis.
- Increase of wickedness in culture:
We are starring down an inevitable trend that will consume the Earth and the majority of the population within a matter of just a couple of decades from now; this is the increase of wickedness that will cause the love of most people to decrease into cold-heartedness. We are told that men will reach the very height of evil and so live and act out of the full scope of the wickedness of their hearts.
“many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold (Mt. 24:10-12)”
“In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise (Da. 8:23).”
- Wickedness growing within the Church:
There will be great compromise within the Church and the love of evil will consume significant portions of the Body of Christ. We are looking at a time when wickedness will be as prevalent in the walls of many churches as it is in the lost world around them.
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people (2Ti. 3:1-5).”
- All the Nations are in Decline:
The scriptures make it clear that the world is going to increase in wickedness as the end draws near so there is certainly nothing unique about America increasing in evil, in deed the whole world is becoming more evil. But while there is a visible parallel in the moral decline between our nation and the nations of the Earth this in no ways gets us off the hook. Each nation and each person will be responsible for their conduct, what they tolerate and what they do in response.
- America was Once Founded on Godly Principles:
Now one thing that does make America different is that we were founded in an entirely different way from most countries throughout history. We are told that when a nation makes the Lord their God things bode well for them and God’s blessing rests on that nation; the opposite is true as well. America’s formation was turbulent and our early beginnings certainly included sin, but the nation was founded on many godly principles and more than that it was established with a simple motto “In God we Trust;” a phrase that can still be found on our currency though the reality of the statement is no longer present.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord (Ps. 33:12)”
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan (Pr. 29:2 NKJV).”
- God’s Judgments Already Discernable:
Trouble is already here, God’s blessing on this nation has been lifted significantly from our past protection and provision. More over now His judgments are visibly increasing and the turbulence is touching nearly every sphere of life; nature, political, financial, social and even in the Church. To look are a few of the most recently impacted areas all at once will perhaps give us a brief sense of the hour we are living in and the very beginning of the judgments that are to come if we don’t turn back to God as a nation. All of these things lead to instability, fear and pain, and we should not think of it as a light thing that we are now facing all of them all at once.
- Natural disasters (droughts, floods, tornados, hurricanes, etc.).
- Political upheaval (widespread distrust and rampant resignations).
- Islamic terrorist attacks on American soil (lone wolf attackers).
- Regularity of mass shootings (instilling fear, discord and anger).
- The destruction of our families (fatherlessness, gender confusion).
- Violence stemming from racial tension (riots, shooting police).
- Lasting national financial instability (unemployment, national debt).
II.American’s New Normal:
We’ve come a long way from the nation that was formed centuries ago with only some small part of that change being for the better. Mostly these changes should terrify us as our nation has been turning our back on God one area of life at a time and have we’ve declined into a humanistic and pleasure prioritizing culture. This love of pleasure, hatred of God’s ways and refusal to take responsibility for ourselves manifests in many ugly ways in our nation; when we put all these thing together in a list we can really see that this new version of America is far from innocent.
A.Greed is Rampant:
Greed has become an unfortunate norm in our culture as we are conditioned to think of ourselves first and to spend ourselves on ourselves in order that we can gain even more.
- The American dream is the pursuit of money at most any cost.
- We live in relative prosperity yet we are wholly dissatisfied.
- Less than 10% of churchgoing American’s tithe.
B.Increase of Murder:
That same selfishness that fuels the greed in our nation also manifests in the form of murder in several ways. Americans fight for the freedom to do as we wish and this now bleeds over into the murder of the innocent and helpless. A nation that selfishly imposes its will upon those who can do nothing and where there is no justice for those who do violence should not think that violence will decrease.
1.55 million Americans have been aborted since 1973.
2.Mass shootings, attacks on our police and murder are all around us.
3.Murder is most often not met with the death penalty (Ge. 9:6).
C.Race Issues:
We are living in an hour where there is significant and increasing tension in our cities. We are under judgment that Americans are turning on and hating one another.
1.There is real racial discrimination and inequality.
2.Racial tensions are fueling anger, prejudice and acts of violence.
3.Mistrust grows on both sides and is creating a culture of fear.
D.Religious Inequality and Persecution:
A nation that was founded on Christian principles and that was established to protect the religious freedom of Christians has now strayed and actually persecutes the very group the nation was founded to protect and uphold.
1.Widespread efforts to remove Jesus from our culture and way of life.
2.Political correctness protects and fuels the rise of Islam in America.
3.Laws have been put in place to protect the rights of Muslims.
4.Christian’s rights are challenged regularly and are diminishing.
E.Sexual Immorality:
We should not think of it as a lite matter that America celebrates every form of sexual sin. Where sin abounds judgment is not far off because God takes these things very seriously and He is calling our nation to account for all that we have permitted and embraced.
1.Heterosexual immorality is rampant in the Church.
2.Sex trafficking has it’s foothold in most major US cities.
3.Legislation of gay marriage and the increasing LGBT agenda.
4.Homosexually is now a leading voice in our culture.
5.Pornography is the most lucrative business on the planet.
F.Marriage and Family:
Not surprisingly, with the cultural emphasis on sexual freedom the family unit has suffered the most. We are destroying America and the values we were founded on by dismantling the most foundational part of any culture; the family.
1.The growing divorce rate.
2.Marriage being robbed of it’s sanctity.
3.There is a great decrease of marriage overall because it’s not valued.
4.Deteriorating family values.
5.Children growing up in homosexual households.
III.The Judge Seated in Heaven:
As we can see above, sin is rampant and only worsening. The problem that we need to come to terms with is that in as much as God is love, He is also a righteous judge who operates with perfect justice. This righteousness means that He has to judge evil and make amends for the sins of a nation; even ours. America will not receive a free pass, though for a season the Lord has in kindness delayed His judgment in order to give us time to turn to Him.
- God Judges Sin:
We need to understand that by nature God is a judge who judges sin no matter what people might think. This means that it is only a matter of time before the gavel of His justice falls on nations that are walking in opposition to His ways.
“God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day (Ps. 7:11).”
“Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth (Ps. 58:11).”
“It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another (Ps. 75:7).”
“Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance (Ps. 82:8).”
- The Rod of Instruction:
God’s judgments are the rod of His instruction. He brings out this rod to punish and to correct, His intention is to teach evil men that their evil deeds are unacceptable to Him and that He requires a change in heart and behavior. Even His judgments are an expression of His love and concern for a nation; they are intended to cause people to sense that things are not okay and so to turn to Him in desperation. He does this as a loving Father to us as individuals who love Him but the principle is the same in His dealings with the nations.
“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them (Pr. 13:24).”
“My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness(Is. 26:9).”
- Living as Though God were Irrelevant:
We think about the devil as being our biggest problem, we have it all wrong, the Righteous One on the throne is the one who should be feared and revered. In our nation however He is mostly not given the respect of either fear or reverence, this is unfortunately the case even in much of the Church. Think about how many so called Christians live their lives and make their decisions with little to no thought at all about what God wants or how He feels about a situation.
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price (1Co. 6:19-20)"
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Ga. 2:20).”
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money...you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that (Jm. 4:13-15).”
- Thinking God will do Nothing:
Our nation no longer considers the perspective of the eternal God nor fears His responses; this is a dangerous place to be as individuals, but far more dangerous as a nation that once revered Him. He is able to change His irrelevance to us at a moments notice, but on terms that we will not enjoy and He will do so unless there is a significant shift in the way His people relate to Him.
“The people…have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine (Je. 5:11-12)”
“Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near…“On that day…a cry will go up…Wail, you who live in the market district…At that time I will…punish those who are complacent…who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’ Their wealth will be plundered”...The great day of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly.The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter (Zph. 1:7-14)”
IV.America is Ripe for Judgment:
America sits ripe for judgment as sin steadily grows in our land and our nation turns her back on our Christian heritage. The Lord is not going to let this stand unanswered because He is far from done with our country; but there is an ominous question that should weigh heavily on the heart of every believer in this hour; will our nation turn to God or be turned over to destruction?
A.He Doesn’t Turn a Blind Eye:
We should not think that we can turn away from God as a nation without consequence, He is watching and He is not impressed with the form of religion that rests in the land but that does not honor Him and follow His ways. God sees the rampant greed, immorality, compromise and long list of vices within the Church; He sees and He mandates that we change our ways and actions.
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people…who come…to worship the Lord…the Lord Almighty…says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live…If you really change your ways and your actions…then I will let you live…But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me…and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things…But I have been watching! declares the Lord (Je. 7:1-11).”
B.Decades of Slow Decline:
As a nation we have been in a slow decline for decades. Certainly there have been disturbing mile markers along the way but America’s turning did not happen overnight. Our nation has long been ignoring God’s truth and putting our hope in the wrong places. Even with all the trouble the Church massing around us the Church still isn’t crying out to God in any troubling way. So business as usual continues on in the Church while the wrath of God mounts up and sin increases all around us.
C.Our Nation Hangs in the Balance:
God is going to move and show Himself strong in America, but through what means will we see God move? Will it be by devastating judgments or through life giving revival? This is the present moment that we find ourselves living in and the while the crisis can be averted and we could even see God bring about historic blessing in it’s place thus far there is still a woefully inadequate response to Him for the scale of justice to tip from judgment to favor. The purpose of this series is to examine the problem, the solution and the course that we are currently headed on.
“I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him…then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you…But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient…I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed (Dt. 30:15-18).”
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