The Calling and Destiny of America

(Preaching Notes)

1) The Calling and Destiny of America

a) Why I talk about this so much and how dear it is to my heart.

i) Discovering the History of Western Civilization and the unique history of America.

ii) Discovering the destiny of the Gospel in Romans 9 – 11: Provoking to Jealousy

iii) The dream God gave me.

b) We have to decide whether we will be Jacob or Esau

2) The time we are facing as a nation reminds of Israel under Ahab and Jezebel: In the midst of hopelessness, light came out of the wilderness.

a) 1 Kings 18:20–22 (NKJV) — 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

b) 1 Kings 18:30–31 (NKJV) — 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

c) 1 Kings 18:36–37 (NKJV) — 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

3) Make America Great Again

a) Os Guinness – To ‘make America great again,’ Mr. Trump, and to ‘restore the soul of America,’ Mr. Biden, you must address what made America America in the first place.” In his Second Inaugural Address in 1985, President Reagan spoke of America’s calling to work for the “triumph of human freedom under God.”[1]

b) The importance of a dream or a vision

c) Matthew 5:13–16 (NKJV) — 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

d) John Winthrop Sermon before reaching New England: “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.”

e) (Political Dictionary – “Light on a Hill”) Reagan made John Winthrop and the “shining city” the centerpiece of his farewell speech to the nation, at the end of his second term: I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind, it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind swept, God blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace – a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors, and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here…And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the Pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

4) Like Israel in the time of Elijah, we have turned to Baal

a) (James Jordan – Judges: God’s War on Humanism) Baalism was the secular humanism of the ancient world.. Since the battle in the days of the Judges was against this ancient form of humanism… Ancient pagans worshiped Nature, while modern pagans philosophize about Nature. The belief is the same, however: the belief that Nature is self-creating…. So, what was Baalism? In ‘essence it was the ascription of power to Nature: The universe has within itself the force of life…. The true religion of Israel said that fertility was obtained by submitting to the Creator, while Baalism said that fertility was obtained by stimulating Nature. Thus, in true religion, man is the servant/slave of God, in submission to Him;… Nature religion is a religion of stimulation. Man has to stimulate Nature in order to get results. It is also seen as a way of salvation, so that modern medical scientists believe they will solve the problem of disease by learning how to control nature, and modern philosophers believe that controlling nature will permit man to control evolution and advance humanity, while modern revolutionaries from Marx to Marcuse believe that simply stimulating society through the imposition of social chaos will automatically lead to a better world. For the Christian, however, the problems of disease and social inequities are solved by submission to God and His law.