1 Peter 5:5-7
Introduction: 228 years ago, America was born. Through these many years, God has truly blessed, in an unusual way, this great nation. No one can deny the sweet blessings of God upon this place we call the "land of the free and the home of the brave." There are those today who unsuccessfully attempt to discredit God's hand upon our nation. All one has to do is look at what has happened in this country during these short 228 years, and he will see that, truly, God has blessed America.
Don Raye penned the words to a great patriotic song, "This is My Country."
This is my country! Land of my birth!
This is my country! Grandest on earth!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country to have and to hold.What difference if I hail from North or South
Or from the East or West?
My heart is filled with love for all of these.
I only know I swell with pride and deep within my breast
I thrill to see Old Glory paint the breeze.With hand upon heart I thank the Lord for this my native land,
For all I love is here within her gates.
My soul is rooted deeply in the soil on which I stand,
For these are mine own United States.This is my country! Land of my choice!
This is my country! Hear my proud voice!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country to have and to hold.
America is as beautiful as it is big! 3,000 miles from sea to shining sea, America is one of the oldest and strongest republics in the world! Yes, it is a republic, and that is important, for it is a nation as Abraham Lincoln stated in his Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863, "...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, 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."
Perhaps it all started more than 350 years ago when a small band of English settlers firmly planted a seven foot oak cross into the sand and dedicated this vast new land to the glory of Almighty God. There, the seeds of freedom were planted.
July 4, 1776, means a lot to any red-blooded American. It was then that the Declaration of Independence was signed.
America has been blessed like no nation on Earth. God's blessings are all around:
- Power, productivity, prosperity
- Ingenuity, initiative, energy
This great nation did not just happen and come into being. The principles of God's Word guided the decisions on which this country was built. This is evident as even the walls of our great memorials and buildings proclaim God's blessing this nation:
- On the walls of the House and Senate are the words, "In God We Trust."
- Over the head of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court hang the Ten Commandments.
- On the Great Seal of the United States, written in Latin, are the words, "God has smiled on our undertaking."
- On the walls of the Jefferson Memorial are the words, "God, Who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are gifts of God?"
These are not just signs and symbols but a part of America itself! God has showered America with His sweet blessings, taking America from infancy to world leadership in under 200 years.
- When John Glenn went into space, Mission Control said, "God speed, John Glenn."
- In times past, God has been credited with the greatness and success of America.
- Up until a few short years ago, America never lost a war. How fortunate we have been!
Men and women have had to fight for those things thought worthwhile. The land of the free and home of the brave will not stay that way without somebody doing something to keep it free. In the past,
- 120,000 died to keep it free during WWI.
- 400,000 died to keep it free in WWII.
- 54,000 died to keep it free in Korea.
- 56,000 died to keep it free in Viet Nam.
Did these brave men and women die in vain?
Each and every session of Congress opens in prayer, yet students are not allowed to pray in the public schools of our nation.
* People asked, "Where was God?" when innocent people died at Columbine. God was not allowed in Columbine!
SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENED TO THIS GREAT NATION WHEN SHE BECAME STRONG AND NO LONGER NEEDED GOD. She tossed out God's principles and replaced them with her own. For example:
- We call it alcoholism; God calls it drunkenness.
- We call it pornography; God calls it perversion.
- We call it the new morality; God calls it immorality.
Changing the name of sin doesn't fool God! The great American dream has become the great American nightmare. America removed herself from under God's mighty hand. America needs to humble herself once again just as she did in the beginning.
In history, ancient nations, that turned their backs on God, were let go. No nation, not even America, is big enough to shake its fist in the face of Almighty God and get away with it.
America plowed up her foundations when she turned away from the Lord. A house cannot stand without its foundation, and neither can America. Thomas Jefferson said, in 1781, in his notes on the state of Virginia, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Abraham Lincoln, who came to faith in Christ only after he saw the thousands of graves at Gettysburg, said, "Those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."
Not only that, but the Psalmist said, "Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD." (Psalm 144:15) Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) came from France to observe our new country from 1831-1832 and later wrote the following in his book, "Democracy in America":
"I searched for America's greatness in her matchless constitution, and it was not there.
"I searched for America's greatness in her halls of Congress, and it was not there.
"I searched for America's greatness in her rich and fertile fields and teeming industrial potential, and it was not there.
"It was not until I went into the heartlands of America and into her churches and met the American people that I discovered what it is that makes America great.
"America is great, because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
However, according to the Word of God, America cannot remain great if America remains proud. Our text tells us plainly, "...God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5b) Throughout the Bible, proud nation after proud nation was knocked off their pedestals because of unrepentant pride.
America must humble herself or be humbled. The command is given in 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God..." There was a time in American history when even her leadership humbled itself under God's hand.
- Have we not read of the great Presidents in the past who spent many hours on their knees before a holy God begging for wisdom and power? Was it not George Washington who interceded for our country during war times, as well as, peace?
- Was it not Abraham Lincoln who regularly went to God on his knees begging for His great wisdom in how to be the President of the United States?
Many wonderful things have been said in times past concerning America and God's place within her borders. There was a time in American history when men bowed to the wisdom found in the only Book God ever wrote for mankind on this earth.
- "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the BIBLE." (George Washington)
- "I believe the BIBLE is the best gift God has given to man." (Abraham Lincoln)
- "The BIBLE is worth all other books which have ever been printed." (Patrick Henry)
- "The secret of my success? It is simple. It is found in the BIBLE, 'In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.'" (George Washington Carver, quoting Proverbs 3:6)
- "I have for many years made it a practice to read through the BIBLE once a year." (John Quincy Adams)
- "That Book sir, (the BIBLE) is the rock on which our republic rests." (Andrew Jackson)
- "The New Testament is the very best that ever was or ever will be known in the world." (Charles Dickens)
- "If a man is not familiar with the BIBLE, he has suffered a loss which he had better make all possible haste to correct. A thorough knowledge of the BIBLE is worth more than a college education." (Theodore Roosevelt)
- "There are more marks of authenticity in the BIBLE than in any profane history." (Sir Isaac Newton)
- "The BIBLE is no mere book, but a living creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it." (Napoleon)
- "When you have read the BIBLE, you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty." (Woodrow Wilson)
- "Believe me sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed." (Douglas MacArthur)
If America is to remain a nation to be proud of, America must humble herself under the mighty hand of God. America can only humble herself one person at a time. It has to start here.
Conclusion: In all her greatness, America has forgotten her roots. No matter what nonbelievers, liberals, and libertarians say, America was not founded a godless nation, rather America was founded a God-fearing nation. Where did America miss it? When individuals began to leave God out and become proud of their own accomplishments. May God give us grace to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God instead of falling prey to the godless ideas of a permissive and tolerant society.
