Sermon Tone Analysis

Title: A Vigilant Nation

Theme: The Foundation of a Nation that Truly Says, “In God We Trust.”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance.

From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth-- He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.”

(Psalm 33:12-22)

United States of America has always had enemies

Vigilance has never come easy.

Throughout the past 200 plus years the United States of America has always had enemies.

Many today still remember the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and everyday in some way we are reminded of 9/11/2001.

A day that reminded us that even the powerful U.S.A. is not beyond the violent attack of a hateful enemy.

I would propose to you that America needs to be vigilant and she must have her full trust in God.

There are three Biblical ways for America to protect her national borders.

Our war on terrorism has upped the ante and the Lord is calling the church to the lay a foundation that points those who have ears to hear to once again set their hearts on truly saying, “In God we trust!”

Just what three things is the Lord calling Christians to do in these last days?

Our keys text lays the foundation for the United States as she endeavors to avoid the dangers that are coming at her through acts of terrorism.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance.

From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth-- He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.”

(Psalm 33:12-22)

Healthy fear of the Lord

There are three foundational truths that the Holy Spirit wants to place within our hearts this Independence Day Weekend.

Our great military strength alone is not enough as we face an enemy that is hard to locate and never knowing when, where, and how he may attack.

The first foundational truth found in a vigilant nation is a healthy fear of the Lord.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD… the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him.” (Psalm 33:12,18)

Contemporary America has a long list of transgressions against the Lord.

Some of those transgressions are the embracing of the homosexual agenda, abortion, abandoning Christ by bowing to the pressures of the ACLU and other worldly organizations.

However the remnant, Christians who know Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord are a powerful force in a wicked culture that flaunts her disbeliefs.

There is a powerful hope in the words that the Lord spoke to Abraham in his plea for Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Lord told Abraham, “For the sake of ten [righteous men], I will not destroy it.”

A God fearing people can make a powerful difference in God’s dealings with a nation.

The Bible gives us this powerful truth worth clinging to, “the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.

(Psalm 147:11) Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear [God] and He delivers them.”

The obvious question is “What is fear of the Lord?”

The fear of the Lord ranges from terror, which may be evidenced by shaking or trembling (Daniel 5:6), to awe or reverence (Malachi 2:5) which induces love or worship rather than terror.

This is the very awe that every God fearing man should have before the Lord if he is going to be among that remnant that is going to be used of the Lord to maintain a lasting foundation for America.

In the close of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes a truth that must be grasped by all Christians and especially for those who may be involved in the governmental affairs of this country.

He writes, “…Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) In the Old Testament fear of the Lord is used as designation of true religion.

(Proverbs 1:7) This fear conjoined with love and hope in Christ is the heartbeat of true reverence thus becoming the preventive tool against backsliding and is the incentive to living a life of true repentance before God.

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

True Christianity produces a fear that induces a love for keeping God’s commands and laws.

In Deuteronomy 5:29 we read about what is on the heart of God for those who are called by His name, “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear Me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children.”

In Deuteronomy 31:12 we read of Moses telling the priest to “Assemble the people – men, women, and children, and the aliens living in the towns, so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord…”

Fear of the Lord involves receiving instructions from God’s Word.

In 2 Chronicles 26 we read of King Uzziah accepting instructions from a man of God named Zechariah.

Uzziah took instructions from Zechariah on how to live in “fear of the Lord.”

(2 Chronicles 26:5) The Bible says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord… He sought God… [and] as long as he sought God the Lord, God gave him success.”

(2 Chronicles 26:4-5)

Uzziah prospered in civilian and battle pursuits.

This includes building and farming projects.

(2 Chronicles 26:6-9) Uzziah became a great military leader and inventor and God gave him well-trained armies powerful enough to regain land taken over by hostel nations and hold off enemy attacks.

(2 Chronicles 26:11-15) Uzziah had fame that was in accordance of God’s Word thus bringing honor to God and His people.

The Ammonites paid him tribute.

Uzziah’s reign as king underscored the connection between a king’s and nation’s success with their obedience to God’s Word reflecting true fear of the Lord.

(2 Chronicles 26:5; 2 Kings 14:21-22; 15:1-14)

A nation with a firm foundation has Christians who have the heart of the psalmist who wrote, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

(Psalm 86:11) God is very pleased and will look out for a nation that has people who serve Jesus, cleave to Him, live under the authority of Christ and keep His words.

Obedient Christians who fear the Lord see all acts of obedience to the Lord as a delight, not a burden.

Psalm 112:1 says, “Praise the LORD.

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in His commands.

The foundation of this country is clearly spelled out in the words of William Bradford who became governor of the Plymouth Colony as he describes the mission of the Pilgrims.

Mr. Bradford said, “They cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying a good foundation… for the advancement of the gospel of Christ in the remote parts of the world…”

It is very evident that the men who God used to lay the foundation of this nation were men who had a fear of the Lord.

Listen to these quotations from our founding fathers and other national leaders.

Men like George Washington who said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

In his farewell speech of 1796 he said, “Of all habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.

…Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

George Washington was a man of prayer who could grasp the heart of God in praying, “Direct my thoughts, words and work.

Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit… Daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ.”

The third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson said, “God …gave us liberty.

And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis… …I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

Thomas Jefferson knew the need of a nation to walk in reverence before God and to live with a Biblical understanding of what it means to live in the fear of the Lord.

One of America’s Revolutionary leaders, Patrick Henry said, “It cannot be emphasized to strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

We know this to be true because of the heart that was reflected in men who signed the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence said, “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the Cross of Christ.”

Alexander Hamilton, signer of the Constitution said, “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am a sinner.

I look to Him for mercy.”

There have always been attacks on the faith of the men God had used to lay the foundation for this nation and even on Christians the Lord is using now to govern this nation.

One such man was Benjamin Franklin who has often and still is accused of being a deist.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787 he clearly said, “I have lived long.

Sir, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men.

And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it [possible] that an empire can rise without His aid?

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.’

I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of [the Tower of] Babel… My views… are the results of life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions.

To the corruptions of Christianity, I am, in deed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus Himself.

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be; sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.”

We all must understand that back in the time of laying a foundation for this nation there were men who claimed to be God fearing and were not, just like it was in the time God was building and establishing the nation Israel.

However, there was that remnant who truly feared the Lord.

The Holy Spirit dwelt with this through the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:6, “…For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”