God's Best For Our Nation

"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep............" Acts 13:36

How often do you hear people bemoan the passing of our nations "former glory" and express a desire to return back to our nations glory days?

Tell me that doesn't run you a little nuts. I never gave it a lot of thought until God nudged me toward Acts 13:36.

David served God's purpose in his generation but that generation is past. God's best for our generation is different than His best for past generations. That can be intimidating because God's best for our generation has yet to be seen, which means we have to go after it by faith.

Taking a leap of faith requires you to trust that God is going to be there to catch you.

My point is this, I don't want our nation to return to its "former glory". I believe God has a future for our nation that far exceeds anything past generations has seen.

So how do we take this leap of faith that will move our nation toward God and His best?

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" 2 Chronicles 7:14

#1. God's best starts with God's people.

Yup, that is you and me. Notice God does not put the hope of the nation in the hands of politicians? Notice that God does not put the hope of the nation in the hands of the wealthy? Notice that God does not put the hope of the nation in the hands of entertainers? Nope, God puts the hope of the nation in the hands of honest, humble Christian people. The future of the United States of America rests in the hands of God's Saints. I keep trying to say that different ways in an effort to get you to warm up to the idea.

#2. God's people must be humble

"He gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble" James 4:6

Some people define humility as the absence of pride.  That is backwards, because humility is the positive and pride is the negative.  Pride is the absence of humility.

Humility is the simplicity of seeing things as they are: that you are absolutely dependent on Jesus Christ. Understanding that every thing in your life is a gift from God.

Humility is a heart attitude, not merely an outward attitude. You may put on an outward show of humility but still have a heart full of pride and arrogance.

#3. God's people must pray

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" 1 Timothy 2:1-4

"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.." Matthew 5:44

#4. God's people must "seek God's face"

"without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" Hebrews 11:6

#5. God's people must not tolerate evil

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good" Romans 12:9

THEN and only then will America be visited by the healing hand of God.

The question is, "Are YOU willing to pay to pay the price?"

"Are You willing to be one of God's people that is willing to make a commitment to obey what God demands?

"What are you going to do?"

The Hardest Place To Pray

I write this from an ICU waiting room.
My friend is having a triple bypass and the family asked me here for prayer support.
After all, isn't that what Pastor's do? Offer prayer cover and faith in difficult times?
How often have you said, "I'll lift you up on prayer" then failed to pray?
Ever wonder why that is?
The answer is uncomfortable.
If we honestly believed that prayer made a difference, we would pray about everything.
If we believed in the power of prayer, then it would be a priority and nothing would stop us from falling on our knees, lifting our hands to heaven, and pouring out our hearts cry to Almighty God.
So for a "real world experience", let me share my today with you.
I fired up our church prayer chain. And solicited all the prayers from as many areas as I could think of. My friend has a very large family and each of them fired up all the prayers they could muster.
The result?
The doctors found that my friends heart was in terrible shape and required 8 hours of surgery.
I told my friends wife that this was a good thing. And that as long as the doctors were under the hood, they should change out the belts, conduct a lube oil filter service, rotate the tires and change the air fresher all at the same time.
She bravely smiled as tears leaked down her cheeks.
The doctors later informed us that his lungs were filling with fluid and that it was only by the grace of God that he got to the hospital on time. And yes, that was almost a quote of what the doctor said. Then the surgeon informed us that the next 48 hours were critical in my friends recovery but that he would be praying for him. That was twice that I heard surgeon make reference to God's healing powers.
So at the end of today, did prayer make any difference?
Without a doubt!
The surgeon found a defective heart valve that needed to be replaced.
The surgeon found a totally plugged heart artery.
The surgeon found a number of partially plugged arteries in the heart.
And last but not least, the surgeon explained to us that when my friend's body realized that there was a totally plugged artery in his heart, that his heart muscle grew a new artery to carry blood. He admitted that the new artery was not very effective but when you are clinging to life, miracles come in all sizes.

James 5:13, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray"

Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need"

Matthew 13:58, "And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief"