Jesus once said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Matthew 12:25).
We find in our nation, that we are more divided ideologically than ever before. The division exists between progressive ideology and traditional ideology. Who are we as a nation? Are we evolved animals moving toward a utopian future through technology, science, and progress, free to make and remake reality around as we see fit, because all truth is relative? This is the ideology of a great many in our nation. Or are we really made in the image of God? Are we fallen beings, living in a fallen world, attempting to bring the light of Christ to all peoples?
What do you believe about reality? What is actually true?
I am one of those who believe that God is really real, that he really does care about the future of this nation, and I also believe that those who believe differently than me, are not my enemies, but people that I can live in peace with, even if we disagree, and yes, I do hope that I can help win some of these people to Christ, through the love of Jesus.
And I also believe, God is not done with this nation, despite our many sins. He is still at work in the affairs of America. Despite all the debates and infighting and even violence that has grown in our nation, I still see a hope for our national future.
This moment in history makes me think back to a time after the American revolution, when a conflict took place between Great Britain and the United States called the war of 1812.
A conflict arose that led to British troops attacking Washington D.C. and burning the nation’s capital to the ground. American troops had attempted to strike British controlled Canada but had failed. And as the capital burned to the ground, I’m sure for many Americans it seemed like a great dark moment in the history of our nation.
But do you know what’s quite astonishing, is what happened next. A great storm, possibly including a tornado, struck the city, and this storm was so fierce it caused the British troops to flee the city, and retreat to their ships. I’m not making this up, Google it. The hand of God was at work in those moments.
But the British weren’t done yet, they moved in force to attack the key American city of Baltimore, on the coast, with numerous ground troops, and a massive fleet of ships, bombarding Fort McHenry, the fort that protected the city.
Thousands of cannon balls were flying for 25 straight hours, bullets, fires burning, smoke, mortar shells, rockets, and it looked like such a dark moment for the nation. First the capital, now Baltimore.
At this moment, there was an American lawyer, young guy, onboard one of the British ships, trying to negotiate for the release of one of the prisoners, and they held him captive until the battle was over. So he stood and watched all this happen, his name was Francis Scott Key.
He was trapped all night on the British ship, hour by hour he watched, and as dawn broke, and the smoke began to clear over the fort, he saw something that changed his life and gave him hope. He saw a giant American flag, still waving over the fort. It was 30 feet by 42 feet. The fort held. And this young lawyer penned these words on a scrap of paper…
“And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.”
We’ve been in a fierce battle as the body of Christ in the last few years. The enemy, the demonic forces, principalities and powers have had their way in our nation in certain ways, though we’ve pushed back diligently in prayer and action.
I believe God would say to us: You are doing better than you realize.
God has been training us for a new battle I believe. All these struggles we’ve been through have been getting us ready. And we may feel today a bit like America did in the midst of the war of 1812, capital burned, cities under attack, but if we persevere through this great contest, which is the battle God has chosen for our generation to fight, we may yet see through the sin, and darkness, and spiritual warfare, and prayers and fasting, and weeping, that our flag is still there. There is yet hope.
And what our nation needs, as things get darker, is not for us to yell at one another, but, for us to go out with healing ointment, to pour oil into the wounds of the people of the nation.
After the civil war, a conflict much worse than our current divide, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the greatest speeches ever shared.
Think about the malice and hatred, after nearly 750,000 Americans died. We get mad at each other about politics. How would we feel after nearly a million had been killed? Yet Lincoln sought to heal the wounds and bring the nation back together, so he said…
The famous quote from Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, delivered on March 4, 1865: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds..."
As we pray today, let us remember, our prayers and our actions, ought to bind up wounds.
Ezekiel 34:4 "You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost."
Let it be said of us, by the power of Christ in us, we strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back those who went astray, and searched diligently for the lost.
When we felt such an urge within to want to fight back, instead we fought in prayer, we spoke in truth, and we loved the people who called us enemies. And many of those enemies became our friends in Christ. We know who the real enemy is, and it's not people, it's the Satan and his evil forces.
“And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.”
We’ve been in a fierce battle as the body of Christ in the last few years. The enemy, the demonic forces, principalities and powers have had their way in our nation in certain ways, though we’ve pushed back diligently in prayer and action.
I believe God would say to us: You are doing better than you realize.
God has been training us for a new battle I believe. All these struggles we’ve been through have been getting us ready. And we may feel today a bit like America did in the midst of the war of 1812, capital burned, cities under attack, but if we persevere through this great contest, which is the battle God has chosen for our generation to fight, we may yet see through the sin, and darkness, and spiritual warfare, and prayers and fasting, and weeping, that our flag is still there. There is yet hope.
And what our nation needs, as things get darker, is not for us to yell at one another, but, for us to go out with healing ointment, to pour oil into the wounds of the people of the nation.
After the civil war, a conflict much worse than our current divide, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the greatest speeches ever shared.
Think about the malice and hatred, after nearly 750,000 Americans died. We get mad at each other about politics. How would we feel after nearly a million had been killed? Yet Lincoln sought to heal the wounds and bring the nation back together, so he said…
The famous quote from Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, delivered on March 4, 1865: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds..."
As we pray today, let us remember, our prayers and our actions, ought to bind up wounds.
Ezekiel 34:4 "You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost."
Let it be said of us, by the power of Christ in us, we strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back those who went astray, and searched diligently for the lost.
When we felt such an urge within to want to fight back, instead we fought in prayer, we spoke in truth, and we loved the people who called us enemies. And many of those enemies became our friends in Christ. We know who the real enemy is, and it's not people, it's the Satan and his evil forces.
So in closing, I want to share a scripture with you from Romans for this moment:
Romans 16:19-20 "Everyone knows you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to see clearly what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."
Romans 16:19-20 "Everyone knows you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to see clearly what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."
