REVIVAL OR RUIN
I stand before you a husband by choice, a father by�desire,
but an American by birth. Like most of us, I did absolutely
nothing to deserve the freedom that we enjoy.
I want to say at the outset of this message that I am
an�old-fashioned, flag waving American who believes that America�
is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. I don't say�that
just because I am an American, or because I am prejudiced, but
because I believe that the facts bear it out.�
While other nations have, for decades, built walls and�put up
barbed-wire fences to keep their people from getting�out, the
United States of America has always had along line of people
waiting to get in.
But America did not become great because of her vast�
resources, he superior intellect, or her sheer willpower.�
America became great because God made her great. The Bible�
says that righteousness exalts a nation, and that the nation�
whose God is the Lord is a blessed nation. In 1 Samuel
2:30, God says, " they that honor me I will honor."�
God honored America because America honored Him and�
upheld His standard of righteousness. This nation was forged�
out by men who recognized their dependence upon Almighty God.�
In fact, many of those founding father had more respect as�lost
sinners for the living God and His Word, than many so-called
believers in the church today. They knew that neither�they,
nor their nation could make it without the assistance of God.
In this generation we're looking for better methods to
deal with the perplexing problems of our day, but God�is still
looking for better men, men like our founding�fathers who were
willing to risk everything for what they believed.
Many of these men had much to lose in the struggle for�
liberty. But one common thread bound�their hearts together,
and it was for this that they risked�their wealth, their sacred
honor, and their very lives to�give birth to the great experiment
of freedom that we call America.
These were men of conviction who stood for what they�believed,
no matter what they cost. They were men of�character, who refused
to give up in the face of adversity�and hardship. They were men of
creative wisdom. For example,�they didn't form a democracy based
on the changing whims of�each passing generation. Rather, they formed
a republic basedon the unchanging, eternal absolutes of God and
His Word.
They were also men of commitment. They were commited to�God,
to His authority, and to the foundational principles of�His Word.
They did not hesitate to legislate morality. For�the past 160 years
of our history, most of our laws (e.g.,�blue laws, divorce laws,
property laws, criminal laws) were based on the laws of God.
The charter of every one of our original colonies�stresses
our spiritual roots. For example, the charter of�Rhode Island (
1638) states, "We submit our persons, lives,�and estates, unto
our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings�and Lord of Lords and
to all those perfect absolute laws He has given to us in His
Holy Word."
In fact, upon investigation, you will discover that all�the
documents that formed the United States, the Declaration�of
Independence, the Bill of Rights, all the constitutions of�the
various states, the inagural addresses of it's�presidents, and the
statements indelibly etched on many of�our national monuments in
Washinton D.C., all bear�unmistakable testiment to the fact
that America is one nation�under God, founded for the furtherance
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, the secularists and humanists of our day�have
rewritten history, so that as to exclude the truth regarding our
spiritual heritage as a nation.
These men of conviction, character, creative wisdom, and�commmitment,
purchased with their blood the freedom that you�and I enjoy today.
Because they honored God, God honored them, and we are still reaping
those blessings today.
In just 200 years, God elevated America from a place of infancy
to world leadership in almost every field of endeavor�including technology,
industry, medicine, agriculture,�aerospace, business, science, electronics,
and�communications. When you stop to think of it, it is really�incredible!
And it never could have happened apart from heaven's aid.
But as we bask in the glory of past blessings, we have�cause
for great alarm, for thr same God who was true to His�Word and blessed
America, must exercise judgement if we do not repent.
America has a heritage that cries,"We cannot go without�God."
Yet for the past few decades we've tried. We have sown�to the wind
and now we are reaping the whirlwind. In the�60's we bgan to openly
tolerate that which was vile and�sinful. In the 70's, we began to
legitimize, condone, and�excuse what we had already accepted. And
in the 80's, we have�actually begun to legislate that which is
immoral and contrary to the laws of God's Word.
Sex has become humiliating, filthy, and violent. Brazen�
magazines carry articles on sex with children and sex with�animals.
Male hustlers stand on street corners pouncing on passerby.
I'm talking about "Christian America!"
One out of every 10 adults is a slave to alcohol. Dope�peddlers
are destroying the minds of America's youth. This�countries illicit
drug industry is estimated at more than 75�billion dollars a year.
The suicide rate among 15-24 year�olds has risen over 300% in the
last 20 years. In "Christian�America" we now have the highest divorce
rate in the history of civilization. Child abuse is epidemic.
We have rejected the sanctity of human life. We are�murdering
over 1.4 million innocent, unborn babies each�year. In one state alone
last year, these were more babies�killed by legal abortions than all
of the servicemen who lost�their lives in the Viet Nam, Korean, Mexican,
1812, and Revolutionary Wars combined.
Our economy is on the brink of collapse. Our efforts to�stop
this runaway deficit are nothing more than band-aids on�a
hemorrhaging economy. Our families, which form the basic�unit of
society, are crumbling. Television programming is�polluting the
souls and brainwashing the minds of our young�people, and destroying
the spirit of our homes. We have�paraded the reputation of sodomy
down mainstreet as an�acceptable lifestyle. Ô�é�í�å� magazine now
reports over 20�million who claim to be homosexuals or lesbians. We
are�drinking, eating, perverting, and drugging ourselves into an early
grave.
As a nation, we have provoked the fury of Almighty God�in
heaven. America simply is not big enough to shake her fist in the
face of a Holy God and gat away with it.
Some who share this concern are saying. "We had better�clean up
our act or God is going to judge us." Dear friend,�the question
is not, "Will God judge us?" It is just a matter of how far God's
judgement will go if we don't repent.
God destroys those nations that forsake Him and reject�His
laws. Psalm 9:17 says, "The wicked shall be turned into�hell and all
the nations that forget God." "Righteousness�exalts a nation, but
sin is a reproach to any people."�Speaking through Hoses, Godsays, "
Seeing that thou hast�forgotten the laws of thy God, I will also
forget thy�hildren. I will go and return to my place until they
acknowledge their offense before me."
Amereica is on a suicidal course with destruction and�judgment
because we have forgotten the God of the Bible and�have forsaken His
commandments. Did our founding fathers die�in vain? Is this noble
experiment of freedom to end in the�graveyard, alongside of past
civilizations that likewise�rejected God? Is there no hope for
our children and their children?
Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for evil to�triumph
is that good men do nothing." That's exactly what too�many of us
have done. Absolutely nothing. We are to busy�making money, watching
television, fixing our yard, and going to the ball game to save a
nation.
You and I live in a democratic republic, a government of�the
people, by the people, and for the people. That makes us�the ultimate
decisionmaker, and, before God, ultimately�responsible for what takes
place in this nation. We must rebuild this nation before it is to late.
When a nation becomes as morally depraved, as�spiritually blinded,
and as steeped in humanism, hedoism,�materialism, as America is,
there is only one power in the�universe that can meet and overcome
such evil, and that is�the power of the living God. What we need
is an outpouring of�the Holy Spirit, a visitation of the manifest
presence of�God. And that, my freinds is revival.
Desperate times demand God's personal intervention, and�on the
stage of history that has always been called a�revival. The only hope
that God will be exalted, the only�hope that he will be lifted up again
as Lord over this�nation, the only hope as our survival as a free people.
The�only hope for our children and grandchildren, is an old-�fashioned,
Holy Spirit empowered revival that will sweep back�the tide of sin
and restore the basic principles of God and His Word that made her great.
Back in the 1700's and 1800's America experienced�several such
revivals and awakenings. But we are now 89 years�into the 20th century
and with all of our greatness and all�of our bigness, we have the
greates churches, the greatest�preachers, the greatest singers,
the greatest programs and�schools ever in Christendom. Yet this
is the first century in�the history of the United States that God
has not been�bleesed to pour out His spirit and touch down in this
nation a national revival.
The only hope for turning this nation back to God is for
those of us who claim the name of Christ to turn back to God.�
God's cure for a nation proves wha the real cause was all�along.
God said if he could find ten rightous souls in Sodom�and Gomorrah,
He would spare the cities. But He couldn't. He�said if he could find
one man in Israel's day, He would spare�it. But He couldn't. God said
in II Chronicles 7:14. "If my�people which are called by My name shall
humble themselves�and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked
ways,�then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land."
The reason our nation is facing judgment is because of�the
spiritual condition of the church. It is not because of�the corruption
in th halls of Congress or the reprobation in�San Fransisco and Hollywood.
It is because of those of us in who call ourselves Christians.
"Oh, you say, "but look at the grouth of our churches and�
mission programs, and the renewed interest of people in�religion.
"Behind the glimmer of much grouth today, the�piercing all-knowing
eye of a Holy God has been witness to�what has been taking place behind
the walls of our homes, our places of business, and in the privacy
of motel rooms.�
A recent Gallup poll pointed out that though there has�been in
the last decade or so a surge of those professing to be Christians,
there has been during that same period of time�a corresponding
escalation of crime, rape, incest, child abuse, divorce, and moral
perversions of all kinds.
There is something critically wrong with the kind of�religion
that has no effect whatsoever in its society.�Furthermore, there
is something wrong when people can confess�Christianity and continue
to live in their godless�lifestyles. There is something wrong when
church men can�watch HBO and Showtime pornography and then teach
Sunday School the next morning.
There is something wrong when people can abort babies�during
the week, and then sing in the choir on Sundays. There�is something
wrong when men can be unfaithful to their wives, abuse�their children,
and live with unresolved conflicts in their�home, and have
absolutely no conscience or conviction over the matter.
There is something wrong when men can live their lives�and
order their priorities for the almighty dollar and�temporal things
and then be recognized as a commited,�dedicated believer, just
because of all of the money they give to the church.
There is something wrong when people can life selfish,�immoral
lives, be proud and bitter, self-centered and self-�sufficient, and
still occupy possitions of leadership in the church.
America will be judged, not because of the wickedness of�the
lost, but because of the backslidden condition of the church.
Infact, our nation's sins are nothing more than a�magnified
reflection of the sins of the church. We complain�that our children
can't pray or read the Bible at school. But�I wonder how many of
us consistantly read the Bible and pray�with our own children at
home, where we are still free to do so.
We are overwhelmed by our nation's staggering deficit.�But
I wonder how many us us are financially free. We are�outraged by
the moral perversion, adultery, and sodomy being�flaunted on television,
movies, and books. But I wonder how�many of us men are morally pure
in our thoughts, our words, our habits, and our lifestyles.
We're alarmed at the spread of AIDS. But I believe that�even
this dread scourge may be a reflection of the condition�of the church.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome destroys�the immune system, and
leaves a person susceptable to disease and death. What an apt description
of the church!�
The church in our day has turned a deaf ear to the voice�of God
and to His prophets who cry against sin. We have�adopted a philosophy
of life that allows people to be�comfortable at church, while living
in adultery, materialism,�and selfishness at home. Though we should
certainly love�sinners, we need a Holy Ghost revival that will cause us
to�live such holy lives and to preach so powerfully that�unrepentant
believers will be miserable every time they leave the church.
The church is the cause of God's judgement on this�nation, and,
according to God's Word, revival in the church is the only cure.
Revival is a devine military strategy to conteract�spiritual
decline and to create spiritual momentum. Nothing�else will do. Our
combined best efforts have been to no�avail. God is simply looking for
men who are available, men�who are wholly His, through whom He can
reveal Himself mighty and strong.
The days of King Ahab were dark ones in Israel's�history. Elijah
was the man God chose to use as His�instrument in turning the heart
of the nation. God which can purify mens heart. But it cannot happen
unless first, the Christian comes clean before God.
