Elijah Ministries
"To make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17)
Has A Nation Changed Its God?
Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:11-13)."
Whether we like it or not, the presidential election fiasco is in full swing. A day does not pass without being inundated with talking heads, political pundits, commentaries, and debates swirling around us like a plague of locusts. Typically, in these extended seasons, which seem to increase with every election cycle, each political party seeks to pass themselves off as the party of "change." Historically, the party not in power fares a little better in this rhetoric than the incumbent party, for the obvious reasons.
Regardless, as the cameras roll and radio shows buzz, we have several Americans swooning as the charismatic Barack Obama with his golden tongue proclaims "CHANGE!" Americans appear to be enamored with the mere mention of the word. To the point, Obama preaches CHANGE and people faint. They act as if saying the word will set in motion Obama's famous "audacity of hope."
In the midst of this hype, however, does anyone bother to question the nature of change Obama or any other politician is proposing? On one level, change is an inescapable reality in life. It remains one of the consistent certainties all of us will face to one degree or another. The question that must be addressed is whether or not the change will be a modification for the better or for the worse. Keep in mind that change for the sake of change is risky business.
Our Founding Fathers understood this important premise and articulated it in our Declaration of Independence. Our treasured document states, "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
There is no doubt that changes have been made since our modest commencement. Some for the better, but in recent decades many social engineering experiments have proven detrimental to our culture. To the average American, our current plight should be painfully obvious and yet politicians continue to strain at gnats and swallow camels. Their solutions treat symptoms, but ignore roots. When confronted with our many challenges, they simply make more appeals for change.
Obviously, these appeals would be welcomed if it brought about the much needed adjustment that will lead America back from the abyss. We are desperate for a different direction that will restore the family, moral sanity, fiscal responsibility, and the Biblical principles that have served as the righteous foundation of our nation. Unfortunately, this is not the clarion call today. No, the incessant chant for "change" is more of the same that is responsible for the moral cesspool that is drowning our nation in a sea of blood and perversion. The cure presented by these agents of change is far worse than the disease created by the previous conveyors of change.
President Abraham Lincoln made an astute statement that concerns a nation in transition. He declared, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." We have certainly seen this come to pass in our generation. Based upon the modern day, humanistic education agenda and the subsequent governmental conversion it has produced, America has shifted from a God-centered Republic to a man-centered Democracy. In fact, I would dare say that if the heralds of change continue to have their way we will soon morph into a socialist state. A nation where "Big Brother" will determine American lives from the womb to the tomb, and freedom will become a distant memory.
Up till now, we've looked at education and politics as instruments of change. We will now look a little deeper. How has America been transformed from a God-fearing nation to a pagan nation that kills their babies and allows for the sodomizing of their sons and daughters? How did this godless revolution take place? It was accomplished in the name of pluralism, diversity, multi-culturalism, and tolerance. The implementation of these "new virtues," however, was never the end game. They were simply the mechanisms that paved the way for America to exchange gods and moral codes. Clearly, the damage has been done and now what was once considered unspeakable in previous generations is mainstream in ours.
This is the exact same predicament Jeremiah addressed in Old Testament Israel. This is what inspired his profound question. He asked, "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?" Israel never did answer the question correctly and suffered the penalty of their willful ignorance, rebellion, and idolatry. In fact, they came to a place in pursuing this foolish course where God warned, "Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation (Judges 10:13, 14)."
Has America become so corrupt and defiled that we have crossed a similar line? Have we reached the place in our idolatry that this will be the same dreadful response from heaven? Biblically, a nation can sin to the point that God will laugh at calamity and refuse to hearken to pleas for help. Proverbs 1:23-32 states, "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them."
When a nation sins against the Lord, Biblically and historically there are three major areas of judgment that will eventually manifest. God will touch the economy and hit nations in the bread basket. America is literally burning our food supply to produce alternative sources of energy. He will touch the ecology. Natural disasters are a daily occurrence and are vomiting us out of the land (Leviticus 18:27, 28). Ultimately, He will send foreign enemies to make war against us (death to the infidel anyone?).
Clearly, our national sins have produced these national calamities. This is tragic enough, but are we prepared as a nation to deal with a brassy heaven and an iron ground as Islam continues in its determination to destroy us the "Great Satan?" Will we receive the same terrifying answer from heaven that declares "look to your idols of tolerance, diversity, pluralism, and multi-culturalism to rescue you?" This is a very real, clear and present danger.
Joel 2:12-18 states, "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people."
Did you notice the true change that must take place? What would happen if we meet these righteous conditions? Could it be that God would relent and bless America again? There is at least a chance, and one that I would strongly recommend needs to be employed. Otherwise, the change that we are currently pursuing will lead us further away from the necessary change that will preserve us as a people.
We must remember that true change cannot come from the manipulations of an outward political process. God works from the inside out and from the bottom up. Thus, true change begins from within to transform that which is without. We can change our names, our schools, our parents, and never truly change. We can even change our spouses, jobs, and locations. Yet, this in and of itself will not produce lasting change for our lives or fortunes. Why, because the problem does not originate outside of mankind. Thus, wherever we go and whatever we do, our problems accompany us. The correct change must come by the truth of God's Word, His grace and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is by these divine means we can change our hardened hearts, our tortured minds, and our wicked behavior.
The Bible calls this necessary change, repentance. It is this gift that leads us to experience the saving grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is the only hope we have in America and the only hope we need. We must therefore be made willing to fulfill 2 Chronicles 7:14, which states, "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."
Perhaps, as we pursue genuine repentance, God's Word found in Deuteronomy 30:1-3 will come to fruition in America, which states, "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee." May God have mercy upon us!
Elijah Ministries is dedicated to impart a Biblical Worldview to the Church of Jesus Christ that will provide the theological impetus to fulfill the Great Commission.
Elijah Ministries is devoted to challenging Christians everywhere to pray, believe, and work for repentance, reformation and revival to sweep America.
Reform the Church to restore America is our battle cry! No king, but King Jesus and may God be pleased to save America!
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