"A Godly Heritage" By Brother Parrish Lee July 3rd,
2016
Isaiah 60:12 For the nation
and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be
utterly wasted. In honor of our great nation's
celebration of Independence, we would like to say a few words about our great
nation. Part 1: Our Great Nation "That this nation, under God,
shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Great words
taken from a turbulent time in our nation- the last line of Pres. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. I don't think it's too far of a
leap to say that we have had a great nation a great country. But that statement would beg a question: who
and or what made America great? Was it happenstance? Was it the luck of the
draw? Or was it something else? I'd like to mention a few great
nations that went before us: Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria, Egypt. These nations that had a great time in
history, why are they simply historic? Why have they not continued to today? Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and
all the nations that forget God. Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. If we as a nation think it is all
about how we got to here today – our Constitution, our bill of rights, our
articles of Confederation, our Congress, our judicial system, our presidential
or executive branch – and don't remember that it is of the Lord that we are
here then we are doomed to fail. Our nation has not had a perfect
past: slavery, persecution of the aborigine people, women’s suffrage, civil war. Yet we can't deny that God has blessed us
also. What do we say to that? We are a
work in progress- and the future is up to us. The nation that forgets God shall
be turned to hell. Some trust in horses
and chariots but we will trust in the Lord.
We have to be careful that our nation doesn't trust more in education,
and military might, or in us as a nation.
We have to be careful that we trust in God. In the time that our nation has
become a nation there are several governments who came in to being since then. Many of those have perished already. There have even been nations that have risen
that have based their system on the words of our system. And have not had the same success. Why? Part 2: We Are Built On Christian
Principles And for this we need to give a
little background on our nation. The
people who gathered together in the founding of our nation, the things they
sought after, the things that they based their decisions on, the things that they
did before every meeting whether they knew each other or not. Personal statements by many of our founding
fathers. In 1774, 40 of the colonies
leading statesmen gathered at Carpenters Hall and preparation for what they saw
as the coming conflict with Great Britain.
Most of those 40 had never met before at that gathering. So what did they do? They opened with prayer. Not a token prayer – Dr. Benjamin Rush – signer of declaration of
independence and father of public schools under the Constitution. The very first Congress was opened and prayer
by the Reverend Duché from Christ Church, Where some of the founding fathers
attended. Of that prayer these are some of
the comments: John Adams – "Reverend Duché
unexpectedly to everybody struck out into an extemporaneous prayer that filled
the bosom of everyman present.” He said, “I must confess I have never heard a
better prayer with such fervor, such ardor, such earnest – it has had an
excellent effect on everybody here." Silas Deane- said it was "a
prayer worth writing 100 mile to hear".
He also said "even Quakers shed tears". They also read from 4 chapters in
the Bible. John Adams had said of one of
them – psalms 35, “I never saw a greater effect on an audience.” July 8, 1776 – they went to the
steps of independence hall and read the declaration of independence to the
crowd. They then rang the Liberty Bell. Most people assume it is called the Liberty
Bell because the US was proclaiming liberty.
That is not the case. It is
called the Liberty Bell because of the Bible verse inscribed on it: Leviticus 25:10. At one point when the revolution
wasn't going well for the colonies, Benjamin Rush who was the first surgeon
general, tending to wounded in the field, had gone to Congress and leaned over
to John Adams and asked if he thought we could win the revolution. Adams replied, “Yes if we fear God and repent
of our sins.” So we see some of our Godly
heritage is we are built on praying to a God we know. We are built on Scriptures and Christian
principles. If my people which are called by
my name would humble themselves, I remember a while ago when we were having a
drought and they had called a prayer meeting to pray for rain. And they called every religious group they
could think of, the major ones and the minor ones if by chance one of them
could reach God. So we have come from a
nation that knew God to a nation that doesn't and will call on anybody. Isaiah 33:22 – sets forth three
distinct branches of government Isaiah 33:22 For the LORD is
our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Ezra 7:24- the basis for tax
exemptions for churches; in 1892 the US Supreme Court said – this is a religious
people, this is a Christian nation. Ezra 7:24 Also we certify you, that touching any of
the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this
house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon
them. I heard a really good statement
recently, “We don't just need to put Christ back in Christmas; we need to put
Christ back in Christians.” Deuteronomy 8:19 And it shall
be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and
serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall
surely perish. Part 3: They Saw The Need To
Pray. Did we know that our first
Continental Congress had 15 prayer proclamations? – Called for days of prayer and
fasting? – called for days of Thanksgiving? Could you imagine if there was
prayer in our congress today and these would be the comments? Our nation was
built on prayer and fasting, and giving of thanks. Godly principles that that God could bless. Part 4: They Saw The Need To
Teach Our Children. Signers of the declaration of
independence -started the Sunday school
movement -started Bible Societies - started missionary societies -responsible for publishing
Americas first family Bible. Several tracts, you know the
little cartoon booklets, well, several early ones were penned by some of our
founding fathers. One of the things we see is when
we say we have heard it said let not this nation perish from off of the face of
the earth, is that it wasn't just about the people. It wasn't just about a generation. It was about the nation. And so when they said that they wanted to
have it passed down so that their children would learn about God, learn to
pray, learn to follow his ways, that they wanted to turn the nation over to the
people who knew God. Amazing then that
we have come to a time when they would say take the prayer out of schools; the
one place where they, those founding fathers, provided for all children should
go to learn of their relationship with God.
The New England Primer was a
little book 1st introduced and 1690. It
was used as a textbook for Americans until 1930. Not only were the founding fathers raised on
it, but they saw it reprinted to be used in coming generations. One of the things it contained was
the alphabet and then a Scripture verse to coincide with each letter. A wise son make up a glad father (from
Proverbs 10:1) Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of
Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad
father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. Better is a little with the fear
of the Lord from Proverbs 15:16) Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with
the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Come on to me all you who labor
and are heavy laden (from Matthew 11:28) Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Do not the abominable thing which
I hate (from Jeremiah 44:4) Jeremiah 44:4 Howbeit I sent unto
you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do
not this abominable thing that I hate. Except a man be born again he
cannot… (from John 3:5) John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. Foolishness is bound up in the
heart of a child (from Proverbs 22:15) Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound
in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. In the back of the book were some questions
and answers. What is the fifth
commandment? The sixth? Could you imagine what would our
nation be like if, instead of being taught sex ed and evolution, our young were
taught these? Part 5: What Are Our
Responsibilities To Our Nation As Christians? 1.
We are taught that we should be the example to all. The Lord told us in Matt 5:14 that we are: Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of
the world. A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid. 2.
We are told to honor those in power.
He didn't say we had to like them, the Bible says He wouldn't put
anything on us too big for us to handle.
Hallelujah! 1Peter 2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
Honour the king. 3.
We are told to pray. 2Chronicles 7:13-14 If I shut up
heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land,
or if I send pestilence among my people; 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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land. The Lord said if He shut Heaven
that there be no rain, or if He allow pestilence, So if we have drought, tornado, hurricane,
disease, measles, flu, aids, cancer, Zika, any pestilence at all, if the people
called by His name humbled themselves, pray, turn from our wicked ways, and
seek His face- He says He will hear us, forgive us, and heal us. So yes it takes God's people to turn it
around. Will God group everyone in the
same boat? No. Jeremiah 3:14-15 Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of
a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I
will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with
knowledge and understanding. He says here if we were the only
one in a whole city God will take just us.
Our nation may have heat seeking missiles and smart bombs, but God has
faith seeking blessings and smart victories.
He's the originator of making it personal. Is this possible to bring God
back? Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. Is it possible? Yes it is.
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