How Long Will It Take For This Nation to Cry Out to God?

In light of all that has happened this week in this country, it makes you wonder, if there is any hope left? When things get so out of control that people take matters into their own hands and justify their actions as right, when it is clearly wrong. The Bible spoke of the days and times in which we, as American's find ourselves living in currently. You can see the signs clearly. God said in the latter days, there would be ethic wars, or racial wars against one another. God however doesn't see skin color because He created us all the same. What we see happening all around us is evil going on a rampage. There is a sense of lawlessness and godlessness all around. People are growing cold towards the value of human life, and the real issue at the center of it is a heart that has lost God and has said, "No thanks God, I'll handle things on my own. I don't need you to help me any longer."

We are the biggest bunch of whiners of an industrialized nation on earth. We file lawsuits, and in California, we file the most; we complain, we gripe, we file grievances, our feelings are hurt, and we try to justify our actions as right, by saying "that's offensive," "you're not tolerant," and the list goes on and on. How long does it take a nation to cry out to God? Sometimes for us, we can go our entire lives and not forgive someone who wronged us in our past. We, as believers, need three things to survive or thrive in this world today.

There can be no forgiveness extended until there is repentance. This applies to all of us. God doesn't forgive anyone unless they repent first. You don't forgive anyone unless they repent of their sin. Don't let them throw Scripture at you, telling you that you have to forgive them because you're a Christian. It doesn't work that way and God doesn't expect you to forgive them if they are not truly repent or sorry for wronging you.

We learned last week about having a thankful heart. We need to instill this into our children, by training them in what they are thankful for. There is nothing more powerful than a thankful heart. If you start when they are young, it helps them to grow up to be thankful as an adult. They can find things to be thankful for and to praise God in all things. That is what is vitally missing in the world today, where people feel they are entitled to things instead of being thankful for what they have. Entitled people are NEVER thankful because they will always want more.

A thankful heart, creates appreciation. Israel forgot God for 45 years when they had peace and prosperity. A thankful heart creates a call to action because it causes us to reach out and help others. When a culture no longer has regard for one another, that is a dangerous time. If you break down on the side of the road and no one stop because they don't care. A thankful heart shapes attitude. It truly changes those around you when facing any crisis or negative circumstance. We spoil things that don't count and it takes a crisis to bring our focus back to what matters (at least we still have each other).

So how do we do it? How do we have a thankful heart?

1. Choose to be appreciative right now. Find something right now you can appreciate and thank God for. We need to count our blessings. The power is in the choosing, it begins to affect everything and everyone around you when you do.

2. Decide to go active. Get engaged. Do things like vote. If you don't vote, you can't complain. Do everything you can today to make a difference. Be the salt and the light!

3. Take on a new attitude right now. Stop whining and gripping and instead be more appreciative and thankful.

Now we move on to the second thing believers need to survive in this world and that is developing a submissive spirit.

Judges 10:6-16 ~ "Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon. From that year they harassed (to bite the heels of, to pick at, to taunt) and oppressed (to chip away piece by piece) the children of Israel for eighteen years - all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, in Gilead. Moreover the people of Ammon crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah also, against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed ( to be worn out, made thin, tired, worn). And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, "We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals ( or allah today)!" So that Lord said to the children of Israel, "Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines? (Yes). Also the Sidonians and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you' and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand? (Yes). Yet you have forsaken Me and have served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress." And the children of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray." So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel."

Notice some key points in this portion of Scripture:

" again did evil in the sight of the Lord." Doesn't that just make you want to shake them, but yet we are just like them.

"they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him." God doesn't take this lightly and it applies not only to America but to any nation. God will not bless them. Do the research and see what happens when a nation turns their back on God.

"He sold them.." doesn't mean God actually put a price on their heads, but this means that they were so hot after their passions in other gods, that God simply let them have their way. He allowed them to do whatever they wanted. You can try and justify things in your own life, telling yourself that God wants you to have this or that...believing it's God's will for your life, and then wonder why you struggle when you get it. You can't afford it. Wonder why you are not content in it.

Just like the Israelites when God gave them plenty of manna each day, yet they got sick of it and complained to God, "We want meat!" God granted their request, but He made them lean in their Spirits and the meat made them sick. You can get ahead of God and then wonder why your spiritual walk is so cold. You begin to develop an attitude of entitlement and then wonder where God is in all of it. Why does God feel so far away now? Nothing in your life should ever take the place of God. He wants to be number one on a list of one, not number one on a list of ten!

This was a culture that had gone completely pagan. They had various temples and gods. But when it says that they "put away the foreign gods from among them" it means they completely burned down and destroyed these temples and gods. They even killed those who worshiped them.

If the world goes forth after false gods, and God steps in and sends a revival to this nation, would Christians be able to handle it? Could you love people like God does and share the gospel truth with them no matter where they are or what they are doing? To share the love of God with a world that no longer seems to care?

How Can You Be Thankful When Bad Things Happen?

It is so hard to look around the world today and not be affected by what you see. The injustices happening without our national government, and investigators finding evidence of conviction, but they won't act upon it. How can we simply allow this to happen? Is there anything to be thankful for in all of what is happening around us? Watch the news for one night and you begin to wonder, is anything good happening anywhere?

We need to begin to change our own perspectives first, and we need to begin to choose to be thankful, despite how we feel. Things can change when we choose how we will be in that moment. We can let things get us down if we let it, or we can find something to be thankful for. Counter the news of this world, with reading the Bible. We can see the power of God in the world. God's not in a paic by what He sees happening and neither should we.

Developing a thankful heart, provides us a call to action to respond to what God has done.

Judges 10:2 ~ "He judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died and was buried in Shamir."

Nothing else is known about Tola, but there was peace under his leadership. We can even take peace for granted as a people.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ~ "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Implied here is the call to 'exercise' which means to agonize, to labor, to work at. We must decide to be thankful. We must choose to be thankful. We are commanded to give thanks when things are going good only right? When everything is going our way? Or when life gives us all we asked for and more? No, we are to give thanks in ALL things!!! You don't need to understand it, when life is definitely NOT fair, in the negative. I thank God that He is not fair either, we don't deserve anything but death, yet Christ paid the price for all, and we simply have to accept His gift of salvation.

Developing a thankful heart shapes our attitudes.

Judges 10:3 ~ "After him, arose Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel for twenty-two years."

After these men died, Israel went back to their old ways again. Do you have a roof over your head? What about clean water from your sink? Do you know that America has 90% of the world's wealth but only 4% of the world's population? Most people living on welfare in America, have a phone, a car and a TV. 72% of the world doesn't own a TV, they don't know where they will get water from today, and many are living without a roof over their head.

Start developing an attitude for thins like a place to sleep tonight, a hot shower (that alone is a blessing!). If you're hungry today, most likely it means you skipped eating, not that you didn't have any food and you should be thankful that you will eat today. There are those that won't.

Israel was blessed, but there weren't thankful and had forgotten God. This nation, like Israel, has forgotten God.

Psalm 69:30 ~ "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving."

Therefore it should come as no surprise to you that many of our states public education systems are revising the curriculum that removes references to Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. We are already seeing our founding father's removed from history because it isn't relevant to teaching our children of today. If this country begins to take the path of an unthankful heart, ad it changes its attitude to exalt man before God, to revise God's history (His Story), when you remove God from the story, you take away opportunities to thank God and praise Him. It affects an attitude of a nation, and how they think, what they do and how they rule. We are seeing that happen here in America even more every day.

Congress alone is the most messed up institution since the founding of the nation. 81% of American's want "In God We Trust" on our money. A very small group in Congress, that is supposed to represent the will of the people, said No! We are supposed to begin seeing some money soon that has "In God We Trust" removed from it.

If you don't believe in God, don't use a dollar bill then. Go use a Peso or Canadian money. Stop saying it offends you. Tough!

When the National Endowment for the Arts lets a painting of Jesus covered in fecal matter be displayed publicly, it offends me.

But guess what? Life is bigger than that. It doesn't matter what you do, Jesus is still coming back and I don't have to be insane and burn down a building to get my point across.

When you remove God and stop being thankful, it changes your attitude. How do you as a parent feel when your own child stops being thankful? Children at that point begin to despise their parents. "I only have 1 iPod, I want 2 and I want it now!'

Psalm 100:4 ~ "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name."

This is a command! So how do I develop a thankful heart?

By beginning to appreciate what you have now! (Not "someday" or "When my ship comes in," or "When I win the lottery!").

Luke 3:14c ~ "Be content with your wages."

Philippians 4:11 ~ "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content."

1 Timothy 6:6-9 ~ "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition."

Let's start getting out children to be thankful, by having them look around and ask them what are they thankful for. Start nurturing it now. Lead by example. We can help those around us, by doing this, in spite of what is happening in our life, good or bad.

A great example of this happened yesterday. On trash day, I have been taking my neighbors trash cans in when I bring my in. Yesterday she walked over and thanked me for doing it. She said it may seem like a small thing, but each time I see that I remember that you are doing that and no matter how bad my day is, I am thankful you take the time to do that for me. Isn't that what it is all about anyway? 

What are you thankful today?