Can God Bless Our Country Once Again?

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."— Ps. 33:12.

When schoolchildren were prohibited from singing a secular song that has the theme of “God Bless the USA” (June 9, 2012, New York Post online), a national brouhaha ensued, which pitted commonsense Americans against a crowd of God-rejecting, Christian-bashing zealots.

The issue first came to attention in 2008 when a sermon by Jeremiah Wright, a liberal clergyman, hit the national stage with his graphic, profane denouncement of damnation upon America.

In 2010, a man approached me, declaring that the current administration was “the judgment of God.”

In the deep South, I preached at a church where, after the service, a very sincere man got right in my face with his fever-pitch concerns. “It’s too late; it’s too late. America’s gone. You can’t get her back,” he opined.

Since there is an epic difference between having God’s blessing and not having it, and since much of His blessing does seem to be withheld, I think the question should be asked: “Can God bless our country once more?”

Rejecting God and Flaunting His Moral Law Have Built-in Consequences!

When day is done, night comes! When summer wanes, you can count on autumn, which will be followed by winter.

English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

Some things are totally predictable because the eternal laws of God are fully operational. If you violate one of those laws, you can expect whatever consequences are inherent in that law.

Remember the law of sowing and reaping!

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

"For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."—Gal. 6:7, 8.

This great eternal truth operates every hour of the day, no matter who you are and without regard for whether or not you like it.

You plant (sow) cucumbers, and you will gather (reap) cucumbers. If you plant (sow) your entire garden plot in cucumbers, you will have no tomatoes, no squash and no potatoes! The reason is that you reap exactly what you sow.

"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."—Jas. 1:15.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."—Rom. 6:23.

So plod on; do your thing; ignore God; violate His laws; rant and rave about the narrow-minded, puritanical, “legalistic” Christians; do whatever you please to do. Don’t be surprised, though, when harvest time comes—and it will come. You will reap exactly as you have sown. The consequences are built in, and you can’t maneuver your way around them.

The Anger of God and His Ultimate Judgment Must Not Be Forgotten!

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day."— Ps. 7:11.

"But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

"And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness."— Ps. 9:7–8.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."— Heb. 9:27.

Let there be no mistake! The God of love is very capable of anger. His all-seeing eyes and His all-knowing being see all and know all. Nothing escapes His attention. He sees the little dead babies—64 million of them (and the number grows larger every day) aborted from their mothers’ wombs and stilled in death.

He knows about every bottle of booze, the deadly beverages called whiskey, beer, wine, etc. Every profane word and every act of violence are logged in the records of Heaven.

If you imagine that somehow God is inattentive to all of this, you are deceived, and you are a fool.

The judgment of God is reality-based, with no fudging, no spinning the facts, no pretense—just the facts. We must know that the judgment of God is no fairy tale.

Ultimately, all truly born-again Christians will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ (II Cor. 5:10) where we will be judged according to our works.

Ultimately, unsaved folks will appear at the Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20:11) where they too will be judged “according to their works” (vs. 12).

Salvation settles the issue of your destination, but Christians will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ for rewards. The unsaved will be at the Great White Throne judgment to determine the degree of their punishment.

However, it is also possible that God may, in the framework of history, let the hammer of judgment fall. When He does, it will be obvious.

Why Hasn’t God Harshly Judged America Already?

I believe only one reason explains why the Lord God of Heaven has not judged the whole world, including the USA.

It is because of the “salt in Sodom” principle. Read Genesis 18, where Abraham pleaded with God to spare the city of Sodom. When He could not find even ten righteous people in Sodom, God unleashed his fiery judgment and destroyed the city. God was angry over the wickedness of Sodom, but judgment actually fell upon the city because of the lack of a righteous presence.

Here in America, the presence of a salty remnant has stayed the hand of judgment for now. Remember what Jesus said,

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."— Matt. 5:13.

In light of this, let’s not forget who we are (the blood-bought sons and daughters of God), and let’s not forget what we are (salt and light)! The only reason we still have a nation is because of that precious salt and light!

Others in past generations did that which we admire and laud loudly. They are gone now! Who will carry the burden today? Let’s you and I step up and do it in our generation. Amen!

Can God Bless the USA Once Again?

Of course, He can! Absolutely, positively, He can!

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."— Ps. 33:12.

Some measure of God’s blessing comes to all of us on a regular basis.

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."— Matt. 5:45.

"For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God."— Heb. 6:7.

Remember, however, the full flood of Heaven’s blessing can come only when God’s conditions are met.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."— Ps. 1:1–3.

Truly the blessing of God is contingent upon the following:

1. Recognition of God! Give Him place! Listen to what He says and follow it!

2. Realization of our sinful state! We are sinners, and we are weak. We cannot be who we should be, and we cannot do what we should do without coming to grips with our own flawed, frail, human selves. If we stop posing as pompous, self-absorbed know-it-alls, we thereby place ourselves in line for God’s blessing.

3. Repentance! It is a mindset we must obtain. Change your mind and agree with God. Get your mindset right about God, about sin and about yourself.

4. Regeneration! That’s salvation, the new birth! It’s neither religion nor reform! It is not a zealous resolve to shape up and do good. It is being born into the family of God.

5. Righteousness!

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."— I Pet. 2:9.

6. Reconciliation! You cannot stay at odds with God and expect His blessing to be flooded upon you.

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”

"…we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."— II Cor 5:18, 20.

7. Revival!

"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."— II Chron. 7:14.

Oh, my brothers and sisters in the Lord! This is the twenty-first century! We await the rapture! We are listening for the shout and for the blast of the trumpet! When it will happen, we do not know; but until that day, we do know our duty. We understand the stewardship that has been entrusted to us. In this day, at this hour, by God’s grace, we must occupy till He comes (Luke 19:13).

We Must Not…

We must not surrender to the enemy!

We must not become monastic and hide ourselves from view!

We must not be intimidated and fearful!

We must not be discouraged and disillusioned!

We must not be sidetracked by myriads of clamoring voices.

We must not give up, back off or cave in!

We must not quit until the trumpet sounds!

But We Must…

In pursuit of God’s anointing and His blessing upon us,

We must be at our posts of duty early and late.

We must herald the truth of God’s Word fully and fervently!