Isaiah 43:1-7 – Why God Has Blessed America – Bible study

Isaiah 43:1-7 What God Says to America (Part 1) Why God Has Blessed America There are several difference in the Old and New Testaments. 1. The emphasis of the Old is the law. The emphasis of the New is grace. 2. The worship in the Old was at the temple. The worship in the New is at a church. 3. God desired animal bodies in the Old. He desires our bodies in the New. But one difference that I have only recently considered is that God spoke to a nation in the Old (Israel,) and He speaks to individuals in the New. This chapter, like the book it is taken from and the Old Testament which it is a part of is directed to the nation of Israel. You can see that \#1\ God speaking says I "created thee, O Jacob." \#3\ God calls Himself "the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior." The message that God gives in this chapter then is directed to a nation, the nation of Israel; but I want to redirect it for our New Testament worship to the nation of America, and more specifically, to each individual sitting in this sanctuary this morning. Please understand that I know that Israel and America are two different and distinct nations. I am not attempting to replace Israel with America. God has made certain promises and stated certain prophecies which are Israels and Israels alone; however, I believe God has a personal message to our nation and to the people that make up this nation today. Now, notice what God says to America. I. \#7\ I have created you for My glory. A. Notice that the pronouns record this as having come from the mouth of God. 1. Jehovah God says that He made the nation of Israel. a. Anyone who knows the Old Testament would have to say that is so. b. God took Israel when Israel was just an individual man with his wife, Abram and Sarai, and He called them, promised to multiply them, give them land, and make of them a might nation. c. The Old Testament is largely a record of God doing just that. 2. Might I say that anyone who knows American history would have to say that Jehovah God did that for America as well! a. The facts of American history are being altered, but some of us are old enough to remember how history was taught in years gone by! b. We remember the story of the pilgrims coming to America in 1621, in search of a new land in which they could worship God as they chose. (1) Read the Jamestown Colony Charter of 1606-07. (2) the Mayflower Compact of 1620, (3) the Connecticut Fundamental Orders of 1638-39, (4) the New England Confederation of 1649, (5) the New Haven and Connecticut constitutions of 1662. http://www.essentialchristianity.com/pages.asp?pageid=21917 (6) For that matter, read the constitutions of every state in the Union. (a) Even the State of Hawaii wrote in their 1959 constitution preamble "We, the people of Hawaii, grateful for Divine Guidance, and mindful of our Hawaiian heritage and uniqueness as an island State, dedicate our efforts to fulfill the philosophy decreed by the Hawaii State." (b) And the State of Alaska began their 1959 constitution with the words "We the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land." (c) If you dont believe that both of those state legislatures intended the Jehovah God of the Bible and His Son, Jesus Christ, then you are just plain willfully ignorant because the rest of the union of states would have never let them join the union in 1959 if they had meant any other deity! c. And there can certainly be no doubt which God our founding fathers meant for they carved His name and His words into stone with every new government building and monument they built! 3. There is NO doubt that God honored the intentions and prayers of those early Americans and made America as surely as He had made Israel centuries before. a. Those early Americans fought weather, isolation, hunger, disease, and hostile Indians to settle this land. (1) Did the Americans always do right? (2) No. We know there was mistreatment of both the Indians and the African peoples. (3) I, like most every America of today, am sorry for that. (a) The human race is made of sinners. (b) It was sinful to steal people from other lands and make them slaves in this land. (c) It was sinful to kill the wild animals that roamed this land for sport and convenience. (d) It was sinful to force the Indians onto small reservations. b. However, our national sin does not diminish the fact that God took a people (1) with no skill or resources, (2) who were surrounded on every side by countries which wanted to seize the land, (3) and who were under tyrannical rule and raised up a mighty nation! B. But get the purpose. God created these nations for His GLORY! 1. God did not create Israel (nor America) that they may do as they will, but for HIS glory. 2. I believe that, in the end, God creates all nations for His glory; however, I think God has different ways to get glory from some nations. a. God explained why He raised up Pharaoh and Egypt. Exodus 9:14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. 16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. b. God raised them up to get glory, but the glory was to come by making them powerful and then destroying them. c. No doubt, there are other nations who are raised up to bring glory to God in that manner. 3. I believe God raised up both Israel and America to show what He could do with a people who would worship Him. a. There is no doubt that this is what God intended for Israel. (1) God gave them His Word, a priesthood, and prophets to help them do right, not to lead them to destruction. (2) He had been long suffering with them. (3) Even when He sent judgment, He always reclaimed themas is evidence by the fact that they again possess at least a small portion of their Promised Land today. b. I believe there is no doubt that is what God intended for America. (1) We joke about churches being on every block in the South, but it is true. (2) No where in the world has the Christian faith been so boldly proclaimed, so abundant, and so reverenced as in America. (3) For 200 plus years, the gospel has heralded across this country and from this country to the world. 4. Yet, having such a well-defined and evident purpose means that once these nations cease to perform their purpose, they are no longer an asset to God but a liability. a. Israel ceased to bring God glory and is paying a high price for their sinfulness. (1) Their land and right to exist was taken away from them. (2) As a disinherited people, a nation that no longer existed, they were still despised and persecuted. (a) The worse attacks upon Israel came while they did not exist as a nation. (b) They have been persecuted by some of the greatest nations-the Turks, Spain, Italy, and of course, Germany. (c) The Catholics and Muslims religions have sought to destroy them. (d) They exist as a nation today primarily because Great Britain and the United States have stood beside them out of gratitude for their aid in World War I & II; but as that generation fades so does that support. (e) While you and I know how the last chapter for Israel will come out, we do not know how many more chapters of suffering they will have to endure until that last chapter is written. b. So, I fear, will America become a disinherited people as they loss sight of their purpose before God? (a) God made America and made this country for the purpose of bringing Him glory. (b) Overall, it has. (c) It is up to our generations to be certain that it continues to do so. II. \#4\ You are precious in Gods sight and loved! A. God is again the Speaker. 1. Obviously, He is again speaking to Israel. a. God mentions countries that He had brought down for Israels sake. (1) \#3\ Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba-All countries south of Israel. (2) Although God does not detail how these countries were brought down, it is implied that God allow these nations to suffer so that Israel might be spared. b. Why would God do that? (1) Because Israel was precious to Him. (2) God loves Israel. 2. Has God not put down other nations that America might prosper? a. Ask England, the former Soviet Union, the Germans, and the Japanese. b. Up until America became double minded about winning wars, there was no country that could match her military power and might and few even dared to try. c. Few countries would even attempt an attack on a single America for fear of Americas reprisal. B. Why has God given America such might? 1. It is because America was precious in His sight. God loved America. 2. And why God not love a country who chose Him above all gods. a. Israel and God had a unique relationship, but it was a relationship begun when God chose Israel. b. The United States of America is a country that chose God. (1) Israel worshipped God because God told them to. America worshipped God because they chose to. (2) Israel feared God because they had seen His rebuke. America feared God because they wanted His power. (3) Israel reverenced the Word of God because of miracles and plagues. America reverenced the Word of God because they believed it. (4) Israel had preachers and prophets because God sent them. America had preachers because they asked God for them. (5) Israel gave tithes and offerings because it was commanded. America gave tithes and offerings because of love. (6) Israel honored the Levites because of the Law. America honored Gods servants because of respect. (7) Israel honored the Lords day under threat of death. America honored the Lords day with gladness and praise. (8) Israel, which was supposed to be a nation of priests, hoarded God for themselves. America freely sent the gospel all around the globe. c. Why wouldnt God love America? (1) Not that this country was ever perfect. (2) Not that this country was ever completely saved. (3) Not that any country could earn Gods respect. (4) But why wouldnt God love a people who loved Him? 3. The only thing that breaks my heart is that as America was free to chose God so America is free to reject Him! a. Many of us have wondered why God has not already moved against America. b. Yet, if we consider that there is still a large percentage of people in this country who chose God, it should not surprise us that God is still showing us mercy. c. Perhaps He is not our Strong Tower and Defender as He once was, but He still blesses us. d. I do not know how much longer these blessings will be ours, but I do believe this nation has been precious to God and that God has loved it. III. \#10\ You have a calling. A. Still God speaks in the first person to Israel. B. God lists three things that He had called Israel to do for Him. 1. \#10 They were to be His witnesses. a. God desires a people to bear record of who He is and what He has done. b. God wants people to declare that He is (1) God \#12\. (2) the powerful One \#13\. (3) the Holy One and Redeemer \#14\. (4) the Creator \#15\. 2. \#10\ They were to be His believers. a. Israel was to be the people that believed God when no one else would. b. This faith would allow God to demonstrate His power. c. It would give God a place to work through, if you please. 3. You are my understanders. a. I know that is poor grammar, but God wanted a people to understand who He is and what He does. b. Dont think that God must have understanding or be hurt or lonely, because that is not the case. c. However, since a lost person cannot accurately comprehend God or His actions, God wants someone who can point the lost in the correct direction. C. When Israel refused to do these things for God, God removed them and established the church to do them. 1. Even so, America, as it was a nation which had chosen God has been privileged to help carry out these tasks. 2. And by the way, America did a fairly job of representing God to a lost and dying world. 3. Sure, Christians were the force behind what America did, but I have heard how the entire country a. put that statement "under God" into our Pledge of Allegiance. b. gladly taught their children in churches, from the Bible, and prayed before each day of school. c. called national days of prayer and fasting when problems came up. d. relied on the wisdom of Gods Word in dealing with matters of international commerce, national law, divorce, and selling of obscene materials. e. As a nation, stores were closed on Sunday. f. These and other examples were not just works of the church, they were choices of a nation. D. The nation believed in the things of God, witnessed on His behalf, and understood who God was and what they needed to do to be pleasing unto Him. Now, this is where I am stopping this message. It is our Fourth of July, our day to celebrate our nations birth and independence; and, in this morning worship, I want to emphasize how blessed we are and why. We are blessed because God created this nation, because He loves this nation, because we are precious in His sight, and because we have fulfilled an important calling. If you and I want this nation to continue to be blessed, we must turn it back to its roots. What made America great is what will keep America great. Let us pray for our America and ourselves.