Red, White, and Blue - Psa 33:12
July 2, 2023
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief. It was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of Light. It was the season of Darkness. It was the spring of hope. It was the winter of despair. We had nothing before us. We were all going direct to Heaven. We were all going direct the other way. —Charles Dickens – Tale of Two Cities – 1859
sounds like 2023… our present is a time of confusion and misinformation… not sure if and where God fits in our future… answer is found in our past…
1Chron 16:12… “remember the wonders He has performed… His miracles…”
Psa 42:5-6… “discouraged, sad, deeply depressed… therefore, I remember You…”
Isa 46:9… “remember the things I have done in the past… I alone am God…”
Lam 3:21-26… “I still dare to hope when I remember this… the faithful love of the Lord never ends… His mercies never cease… the Lord is my inheritance…”
those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it… there is no hope for America outside of Jesus… so what is the true past of this great country… pray…
Our Heritage
many people associate America with freedom… that is true… but founding fathers got that concept from the bible… freedoms already established by God…
Lev 26:13… “I broke bars of your yoke… I enabled you to live in freedom…”
Luke 4:18… “He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the captives…”
Rom 8:21… “creation itself will also be set free into glorious freedom…”
2Cor 3:17… “where the Spirit of the Lord is… there is freedom…”
Gal 5:1… “Christ has liberated us into freedom… don’t go back into slavery…”
eleutheria… fancied liberty is to do as one pleases; true liberty is living not as we please; Christianity which furnishes the rule of right living by which liberty is attained; freedom from Jewish errors blinding us so we can’t see the glory of Christ…
only when veil is removed can we see goodness of Jesus… only experience true freedom in Christ… founders established God in our heritage… freedoms found nowhere else but bible… knew God had to be center for America to survive…
Deut 4:6-9… “carefully follow My decrees… and you will display great wisdom among nations… they’ll exclaim… this great nation is indeed a wise people…”
Psa 33:12… “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…”
Psa 127:1… “unless the Lord builds the house… it’s builders labor in vain…”
Mayflower Compact – for the glory of God and the advancement of our Christian faith…
NE Confederation – to advance the Kingdom of Christ; enjoy freedom of the Gospel…
Patrick Henry – this great nation, not founded on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus…
Alexis DeTocqueville – religion should be considered the first of political institutions…
Woodrow Wilson – America was born a Christian nation, derived from Holy Scripture…
Our Government
if you want to start an argument… tell people our nation was founded under the complete assumption of God in our government… territories could not become states unless religion and morality were taught, leaders must profess faith in the Trinity and belief in the bible… our government founded on the power of God…
U of Houston – 10 yr study… 15,000 writings of Founders… 3154 direct quotes… 34% came directly from bible… 60% from those who quoted bible such as Locke and Blackstone…
Geo Washington – kissed bible as 1st official act… 2hr worship in Congress… paid chaplain…
James Madison – staked whole future of America according to commandments of God…
John Adams – our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people…
Dwight Eisenhower – without God, there could be no form of American government or way of life… recognition of Him is the first and most basic expression of being an American…
founding fathers based our system of government on what they saw in the bible… church tax exemptions… three branches… fair witness trial… checks and balances…
Ezra 7:24… “no authority to impose tax on servants of the house of God…”
Isa 33:22… “the Lord is our Judge… our Lawgiver… our King… He will save us…”
Matt 18:16… “everything must be established by testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses…”
Rom 3:23… “all have sinned and fallen short… justified freely by His grace…”
societal flaws are not from biblical Christianity, but failure to live by it… truth is necessary for a culture to thrive… only place to find real truth is in the bible…
Psa 119:160… “the entirety of Your word is truth…”
Prov 29… “when the godly are in authority, people rejoice… but when the wicked are in power, they groan and sin flourishes… blessed is he who keeps divine law…”
Isa 59:15… “truth is gone… whoever departs from evil is attacked… there’s no justice…”
Isa 65:16… “whoever asks for a blessing in the land will ask the God of truth…”
John 8:32… “then you will know the truth… and the truth will set you free…”
Rom 13:1-7… “submit to authorities… they’re God’s servants for your good…”
Supreme Court 1811 – what strikes at Christianity leads to dissolve government…
Supreme Court 1892 – our laws must be based on the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind… impossible to be otherwise… our civilization is emphatically Christian…
Our Educational System
does God belong in school… is it working without Him… founding fathers believed it was an absolute necessity for God to be in our educational system… 123 of first 126 colleges in America were formed on Christian principles… constitutions of all the first 13 states required Christian teachings for every child’s education…
Psa 32:8… “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go…”
Prov 1:7… “respect for the Lord is the beginning of knowledge… fools despise it…”
Dan 1:17… “God gave these young men… knowledge and understanding…”
Yale – God is the giver of wisdom… all should be in prayer morning and night…
Princeton – cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ…
Harvard – main end is to know Jesus… only foundation for sound knowledge and learning…
NEA 1892 – if bible is excluded, it would be better if all schools were under church control…
how do we improve our present and ensure our future… look to our past… realize America is great because God was the foundation… cross and flag inseparable… only way we return her to that greatness is by turning back to Jesus… pray…
Rom 1:16-17… “not ashamed of the joyful news of God’s kindness and Jesus’ blessings… Gospel is THE power for performing miracles to all who believe…”
2Cor 5:17-21… “God restored favor to the world thru Christ… not counting their sins against them… exchanged us for equivalent value… gave that message to us…”
2Pet 1:1-3 all GSV… “may joy, favor, benefit, national tranquility, exemption from rage be multiplied to you thru the precise and correct knowledge of Jesus…”