So, let me just start out by saying right away, if you want to keep something there
in 1 Timothy, we're going to be kind of flipping around, but we'll be perhaps coming
back, I'm not exactly sure. But let's go ahead and go over to Psalm chapter 1, chapter
122. Let me just start out by saying that my job as a preacher is not to preach what
is popular. My job is to preach what is biblical. I'm here to preach the Bible, not to preach
what people necessarily always want to hear, although if you're saved and you love the
Lord, you know that's what you want to hear. You want to hear the Bible, you want the preacher
to do his job. The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 58, when God was sending out his preacher
to cry aloud, to spare not and to lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people
their transgression in the house of Jacob, their sins. So, the preacher's job is to
not spare, not to hold back, but rather to lift up his voice like a trumpet. That means
to say it loudly, to proclaim it very boldly and to do what? To show my people their transgression,
to show people where they have gone wrong and to show the house of Jacob their sins.
This is something that we desperately need in this country today. This morning's sermon
is not going to be popular, but it's going to be biblical. I'm going to try and show
you everything from the Bible this morning that I know to turn to on the subject. We're
going to be doing a lot of turning, but it's important that we look at this. The very nature
of this is going to be a negative sermon, but it is what it is. Let me just start out
by saying that what we're going to be preaching about this morning is the subject of America's
only prayer. America's only prayer. I say it's not going to be popular, but probably
in this crowd, specifically in this room, it's probably not going to be anything that
you haven't heard before. It's not going to be anything that's going to be shocking
to you. It's not going to be anything you probably don't even agree with to some degree,
but the vast majority of Baptists today would be aghast at what I'm about to preach. They
would say that you're very unpatriotic and things of this nature. Again, my job is not
to sit here and try to get up here and tell people what they want to hear. It's to tell
them what the Bible actually says. I'm going to be talking about America's only prayer.
I really feel like there's only one prayer left for America. I don't think that we're
going to see a great America turn around and come back to God. It'd be great if we did,
but I'm not holding my breath for it. Is it possible? Sure, but I'm just saying that
this country has gone so far down the drain. It's going to take a real professional plumber
to get down there and find it and bring it back. It's just on a rocket ship, just skyrocketing
into hell. Our culture in this country is just terrible. We are to pray for nations.
You're there in 1 Timothy 2. It says in the very beginning,
I exhort therefore that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made
for all men, for kings and for all that authority. That's government. Those are leaders that
we may lead in quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. We are to pray
for nations. We are to pray for our leaders. We're praying to all men. Notice we're supposed
to pray appropriately. It doesn't say just bless them and pray that God blesses them
and blesses them and uses them and sheds His grace upon them. It says we are to pray for
all men so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. You could
look at that and it almost sounds like a selfish prayer. I'm going to pray for this ruler so
that I can live a quiet and peaceable life. That's why I'm praying for this guy. I'm going
to pray appropriately. I'm going to pray whatever I need to pray so that I can lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. That's going to affect the way
I pray for people. I might have to pray some very negative prayers for people. I might
have to pray or not, depending on where we're at. We pray for them that we might live a
godly life. This is important because our ability to live a peaceable life today as
Christians is under attack. Maybe not to the degree it has been in the past, and maybe
not to the degree that it currently is in some other parts of the world, and certainly
not to the degree that one day it will be, but make no mistake about it, our life as
Christians, the way we live, is under attack today. They want to attack us for homeschooling.
They want to attack us for not vaccinating our children. You can have a different opinion
on these subjects that come to church. We take a biblical stance on these subjects,
and these aren't deal breakers, but this is what we teach. This is what we believe about
homeschooling, about vaccination. Those are subjects I'm not going to get into this morning.
About teaching the Bible to our children, that's under attack. Preaching the Word of
God in its entirety from the pulpit in our churches, it's under attack today. It's not
a welcome in our schools. Winning souls is under attack today. Our peaceable life, living
our life in godliness and honesty and with all peaceableness is under attack today in
America. That's going to affect how I pray for leaders, how I pray for this country.
If some wicked ruler gets in the way of my godly living, I'm going to pray for that guy,
but I'm going to pray for him appropriately. To what end? That I might have peace. That's
what it says there. Pray for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Always have to keep the end of that prayer
in mind when we're praying these prayers. You know, I might pray a prayer like David
prayed in Psalms, right? You're in Psalms 122, but I'll read from Psalms 58 where he
said, Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions,
O Lord. Let them melt away as waters which run continually, which bendeth his bow to
shoot out his arrows. Let them be as cut in pieces as a snail which melteth. Let every
one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman that they may not see the sun.
That's a very strong prayer. That's some very strong language that he's using in prayer
to God. Break their teeth, O God. That's who he's talking to. This is his prayer for people.
Wicked people that are trying to do harm to him. Look, if some wicked ruler is going to
get in my way and try to stop me from living a godly life for Christ, this is the type
of prayer I'm going to pray for him. And he gets taken out. We know of wicked people in
this world, horrible wicked people. There's nothing wrong with praying that the ground
opens up underneath their feet and they fall straight into hell alive, which God has done
in the past. We actually read about that in Scripture. I'm not saying the guy who cut
you off in traffic, the neighbor who gave you a dirty look, or whatever, your personal
enemy, but I'm saying people that hate God, those that are despisers of them that do good,
that want to get in the way and stop the gospel from going forth, from Christians living godly
life, those people are wicked. I'm going to pray for them, but it's probably not going
to be what they think. It's not going to be the type of prayer that you're going to hear
in some public forum somewhere. They're never going to invite someone who prays like this
to come pray at the National Day of Prayer at the White House.
Because here's the thing, when a nation becomes hostile to the gospel, it has lost all hope
of being spared. You say, is that America today? If it isn't, it's getting real close
to where it's going to become very hostile. We got an election coming up, and I don't
have a dog in that fight. People want to say Trump's our last bastion of conservative
hope. Meanwhile, I'm getting sent messages where he's having Trump pride with his rainbow
colors up in a place like Minnesota. He endorses the same filth, the same abominations, the
same disgusting everything as the other guy. Nothing's going to change morally. Nothing's
going to change in this country socially. The only thing that might be a little different
is the economics, and that's the only thing people care about. I've already preached
about that recently. I'm not going to go on about that, but I'm just saying this.
Just because whatever happens on Tuesday, that's no guarantee that if Trump gets in
like, oh, well, at least the Christians are safe. No. This country is going to continue
to be hostile, become more and more increasingly hostile towards the gospel. Anyone who goes
out and knocks doors knows that's true. In just the few years that I've been doing it,
I've seen people become more and more hostile, just more and more put out by people coming
to the door. I know this year in particular because of coronavirus and everything else
like that. But look, evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. It's not going
to get better. It's going to get worse. If our nation isn't already hostile, it is certainly
becoming hostile to the gospel. When a nation rejects God, when it becomes hostile to the
Lord and the things of God, it has lost all hope because the only hope any of us ever
have is in the Lord. There is no hope outside of God. You're there in Psalm 122. Look at
verse 1. He says there, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of
the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a city that
is compact together. Whether the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, under the testimony
of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord, for there are set thrones of judgment,
the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper
that love thee. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. For my
brethren and companion's sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee, because the house
of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. So David here, he's saying, look, you need
to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And that's a phrase. This is a portion of scripture that's
been hijacked today by, you know, these pro-Zionists and things like that. People who want us to
literally pray for the modern day city of Jerusalem. And they'll say, you need to pray
for the peace of Israel. Well, you know, you've been listening to too much John Hagee. You've
been listening to too much, you know, these Pentecostal holy rollers. And you hear Baptists
get up and talk like this. And it's ridiculous. Because that city over there, that Jerusalem,
that was not founded by God. Anyone who knows, you know, if you're still in the dark on this
matter, you know, there's a great film that everything on the back shelf is free. Pick
up a copy of Marching of Zion and go home and watch it. And, you know, lays it all out
how that modern day nation of Israel came to be today. It wasn't of God. And, you know,
I don't want to go on and on about that. Because that's like a whole sermon in and of itself.
But pro-Zionists use this portion of scripture to do what? To garner the support of Christians.
And say, well, you know, we have a pub, we have a foreign policy that we want to put
in place. You know, we want to send billions of dollars to Israel. You know, we want, we
want to, you know, help perpetuate war. And so on and so forth. So we're going to hijack
this verse and dupe the Christians into thinking that modern day Israel is this great nation
that we all need to pray for. That we need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And, you
know, and they claim that modern day Israel was established by God when nothing could
be further from the truth. You know, Psalms 122 gives us the reason to pray. You know,
and it's not because, you know, the Rothschilds and, you know, the powers that be in the world
back in, you know, 1947 decided to establish a nation state called Israel. Psalms 122 gives
us the reason. Why should we pray for Jerusalem? You know, let the Bible define whether or
not you should pray for that country or any other country for that matter. I'm using this
as an example. You know, it has the reason. Don't rely on the messianic Jew to tell you
why you should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And don't rely on the conservative party to
tell you why you should pray for the United States of America or how to pray for the United
States of America or any country that you might find yourself in. You should pray accordingly.
And Psalms 122 gives us the reasons we ought to pray for the peace of Jerusalem or any
other place. It says in verse four, he says, whether the tribes go up, the tribes of Jerusalem
under the Testament of the Lord to give thanks under the name of the Lord. He said, look,
I'm going to pray for the peace of Jerusalem because that's where they go to give thanks
unto the name of the Lord because they're a godly country. Now, are people all across
this land giving thanks under the name of the Lord today? I'm sure it's taking place.
I'm sure there's pockets, you know, of churches here and there that, you know, we still have
some semblance of Christianity in this country, far more so than others, but it's decreasing.
It's going by the wayside. And, you know, a lot of churches today, they're not, they're
just fun centers. They're just places where you can just go and feel good. They're not.
You talk to these people all the time. They go to these mega churches. You know, they
go to Victory Baptist Church up the road here. How do you go to heaven? Be a good person.
Wrong. Don't even have the right gospel, but they're packed today. So how are they giving
thanks in the name of the Lord if they're not even saved? And look, this is the reason
why you pray for a country. If a country is godly, if it's a glorifying God in what it
does to give thanks in the name of the Lord. You know, modern Israel is not worshiping
the Lord today. You know, newsflash, they're not Christians over there. A lot of them are
atheistic. You know, they reject Christ out of hand. I mean, you find Jews over here today
that live in, you know, go to South Tempe and knock doors. I've had it happen to me.
I've heard of more than one person, you know, expressed, had the same experience of knocking
on some guy's door and trying to give him the gospel. And they say, hey, do you know
for sure if you die today, you go to heaven? And literally, I had a guy start to close
the door. Of course, I'm Jewish. And just close the door. That's what he's counting
on. Didn't want to hear the gospel. Doesn't care about the things of God. And I remember
being out down here, we ran, I can't remember who I was with. We ran into a guy. He went
to, you know, you go to church anywhere. I go to the synagogue. He's, oh, you know, today,
if you died, if you died, you go to heaven. He just got this grin. He's just like, what
are you doing here? They think it's a joke. They look at Christians and they think this
is stupid. You know, I'm going to worship. I'm going to pray for a country that worships
the Lord. I'm going to pray for a country that gives thanks unto the Lord, not thanks
unto the almighty dollar. The Lord rejects nations that reject him. Go over to Jeremiah
chapter 31. This is important. Keep something in Psalms 122, if you haven't already. Look,
the Lord rejects nations. And people today in America think that God's just going to
accept us just because we've got the right colors in the flag or, you know, our founding
forefathers paid lip service to the Bible. A lot of them were just a bunch of rationalists.
They were a bunch of, you know, just, they were all just modernists in their day who
just took the moral things from the Bible that they liked. They understood that, hey,
at least, at least the Bible keeps the masses in check, morally speaking. At least even
the heathen back then understood that there are certain morals and concepts from the Bible
that are good for society as a whole, which is what basically what our founding fathers
were. I mean, if you look into it, a lot of them weren't saved. A lot of them, they
weren't fundamental Baptists. I mean, Thomas Jefferson was a pant, you know, he was a pantheist,
but people want to lift him up as some, you know, great figurehead of the faith or something
like that. They think, well, God's going to bless our country because of our founding
forefathers. Really? Because a lot of them weren't even Christians, just because they
paid lip service to the Bible. And look, I'm not going to get up here and I'm not interested
in talking about what America was or America, you know, who founded it or what it stood
for, what it came out of. All I'm interested about today is where America is today and
where it's headed. Because what happened back then has very, I mean, I understand we're
benefiting from a lot of things that took place in the founding of our country and going
forward, but I'm more concerned with today because what's happening today has a far more
profound impact on my life than what happened back then and my children's lives. And we
need preaching, you know, we need people to get up and say it like it is, that this country
is doomed. That if it's not doomed already, it's so close to being doomed, it's not even
funny. And my opinion is it's doomed because God rejects nations that reject him all throughout
scripture. The Bible says in Isaiah 40, all nations, all nations. So what don't we understand
about all is what I want to ask some people. All nations before him are as nothing. That's
pretty low, isn't it? To be nothing. And he goes on and says, and they are counted as
him as less than nothing in vanity. All nations. God looks at America and says, less than nothing
vanity. Bible says in Psalm nine, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations
that forget God. It doesn't matter what their past was like. It doesn't matter what morals
they might've had in the past. It doesn't matter how much God's word had an influence
on them in the past. It doesn't matter. They shall be turned into hell, all nations that
forget God. It's not, you know, nations that never knew God, not nations that, you know,
they just never knew who God was. They get turned into hell. No, all nations that even
if they knew God at one point and forget him turned into hell.
Jeremiah chapter 31, look at verse 35. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a
light by day and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, which
divide at the sea when the waves thereof roar. The Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances
depart before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being
a nation before me forever. Thus saith the Lord, if heaven above can be measured and
the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed
of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.
So people will turn to this and say, see, look, Israel's always going to be a nation.
They're never going to cease from existing. Modern day Israel is God's chosen people.
That's not right. You have to look at this in the entirety of scripture, understanding
the entire context of the Bible. Let me just ask you this. Here's one way
to quickly disprove this interpretation that, oh, Jeremiah 31 is saying that in verse 36,
if those ordinances, you know, the suns, the stars, the seas, if those ordinances depart
from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation
before me forever. Look, we know that God hasn't done away with the sun and the stars
and the moon and the seas. Those ordinances still exist. So obviously the nation of Israel
still exists. And that's why we have the modern day state of Israel today. But let
me ask you something. Did the modern nation of Israel, did the nation of Israel period
ever cease from existing? Yes, it did for a very long time. Just like Jesus said, there
shall not one stone be left upon another. That God was, they were going to come and
burn it to the ground. And that's exactly what they did. That's exactly what the Romans
did. And the Jews were dispersed. They weren't even allowed to set foot in that land for
millennia. The nation of Israel completely ceased from existing. That's why they had
to create a new nation. That was what 1947 was all about. So how did the nation of Israel,
what is this saying here? Because did everyone, I mean, the stars are still there, right?
I mean, all these ordinances still exist. So how does this work? How did that physical
nation of Israel cease from existing? And yet we still have the promise from God here
that that would never happen, even if the stars were to fall. Because it's referring
to spiritual Israel. It's referring to a spiritual nation, which we are. Keep something in Jeremiah
chapter 31, go over to 2 Peter chapter 2. Jeremiah 31 is referring to the spiritual
Israel. And then this is the rebuttal. Oh, you guys spiritualize everything. Well, it's
a spiritual book. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, for they are
spiritually discerned. Look at 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1. Wherefore, laying aside all malice
and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes desire
this instill milk of the word they may grill thereby, if so be have tasted that the Lord
is gracious to whom a coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen
of God and precious, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house. Sorry for
spiritualizing everything. And holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Oh, there
you go again, Peter just spiritualizing it. Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore
also does contain the scripture, behold, I lay and sigh on a chief cornerstone, elect
precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded unto you, therefore, which
believe he is precious, but of them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders
disallowed the same as the head of the corner. Now, who is that? Who are the builders that
that disallowed the stone? It's the Jews. He came onto his own and his own received
him not. He was he was a rock. He was he was a rock of offense. He was a stone of stumbling
out of them. Verse eight and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which
stumble at the word being disobedient, where unto also they were appointed. Now look at
verse nine. Look down your Bibles in verse nine, but ye are a chosen generation. What
is a generation? A people, a group, and dare I say a nation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a peculiar people that should show forth the praises of him who hath called you
out of the darkness into his marvelous light, which in times which in time past were not
a people, but now are the people of God. Who are the people of God today? Gentiles.
That's who Second Peter is written to. We are the people of God. You are the people
of God this morning. If you're saved, you're born again, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling
in you, you are spiritual Israel. And that's how it is that the promises of Jeremiah chapter
31 remain true, though the physical nation of Israel ceased from being a nation for a
very, very long time. So you know, we should only pray for nation. I'm not going to pray
for that physical land over there. I'm not going to pray for Israel. I'm not going to
pray for the peace of modern day Jerusalem. And I'm not going to pray for anybody that
doesn't honor God, who isn't giving thanks unto the Lord. You know, it gives us some
very good reasons back there in Psalms chapter 122 as to why we should pray for a nation.
You know, if our brethren are there, and look, Israel is no exception, and neither is any
other nation. You know, God even tells some of his prophets not to pray for people at
all. Go to Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah chapter 7. There was a time when God said don't pray
for Israel at all. Don't even pray for him. You know, David said he's going to pray for
the peace of Jerusalem. Why? Because the house of the Lord our God, I will seek that good.
Because it's a nation that's embracing the house of the Lord, their God. It's because
it's a nation that's lifting up the Lord. For my brethren and my companions thanks because
they're saved Christians. That's the nation we should pray for. I'm not going to pray
for a nation just because I'm worried about who's going to give me, you know, a better
tax cut. You know, how am I going to benefit financially more and just forget about all
the wickedness that's taking place. Look at Jeremiah chapter 7. He says, verse 13,
And now because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising
up early and speaking, but ye heard not, and I called you, but ye answered not, therefore
will I do unto this house which is called by my name wherein ye trust, and unto the
place which I shall give to you and to your fathers as I have done to Shiloh.
If you remember, Shiloh was the first place that they set up the tabernacle when they
came over the River Jordan and that ceased to exist. God did away with it. He said, look,
I'm going to do the same thing to you as I did to them. So God's done this more than
once. And I will cast you out of my sight as I have cast out all your brethren, even
the whole seed of Ephraim. Is God talking to heathen people here? Is God talking to
some foreign nation that doesn't know the Lord? He's talking to a nation that he set
up, Israel. And he's saying, look, I'm going to cast out all your brethren, even the whole
seed of Ephraim. Look what he tells Jeremiah in verse 16. Therefore, pray not thou for
this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me,
for I will not hear thee. God is saying, look, there comes a point with the nation, I don't
even want to hear you pray for them. Don't even lift it up. Don't pray for them at all.
I will not hear thee. Look at verse 17. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah
and the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire
and the women need their dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven. Roman Catholicism,
the queen of heaven. And to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke
me to anger, saying, look what they're doing. They're worshiping false gods. Look at verse
19. Do they provoke me to anger, saith the Lord? Do they not provoke themselves to the
confusion of their own faces? Therefore, thus saith the Lord, God, behold, mine anger
and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, upon beast, upon the trees
of the field, and the fruit of the ground, and it shall burn and shall not be quenched.
God's mad. He's saying, don't pray for them. I'm going to burn it to the ground. I'm done
with them. Go over to Jeremiah chapter 11. Jeremiah chapter 11. I'll begin reading in
verse 11. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon them, which
they shall not be able to escape. And though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken
unto them. Now, is that how God started out this chapter? No, he started out in verse
7, excuse me, in this book, in chapter 7, saying, look, I rose up early. I was speaking.
He heard not. I called, but you answered not. They ignored God. They rejected him. And now
it's gotten a place where God is saying, look, I'm going to bring evil upon them. They shall
not escape. And though they shall cry unto me, I will not heark unto them. God's going
to treat them just like the way they treated him. That's what he does to this nation, his
own nation that he set up. And that's what he'll do to any nation that ignores him. And
that's the nation that we're living in, folks. A nation that's ignoring God, ignoring God,
ignoring warning after warning after warning after warning from God. I mean, look at all
the things that have been going on in this country. And they want to explain it every
other way that they can. Oh, it's global warming. Oh, coronavirus. You know, it's just, you
know, it's Bill Gates or whatever. No one's going to get and say, you know, it might be
the judgment of God. Maybe God's shooting one across the bow. Maybe God's calling. Maybe
America should hearken unto God today. But they're going to run to a ballot booth on
Tuesday and think that's where their salvation lies. And it doesn't. It lies in the Lord.
And in my opinion, it's too late anyway. And we'll see why here in a minute. Verse 12,
he says, Then shall all the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry
unto the gods and to whom they offer incense. I'm not going to hear them, so they're just
going to run to their false gods. But they shall not save them at all in the time of
their trouble. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah, and
according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have they set up altars to that
shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. That's Satan. Therefore, pray not
thou for this people. Neither lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not hear them
in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. Go to Jeremiah Chapter 14. That's
twice now I've showed you in one book alone. The goddess said, You know what? I'm done
with this nation. Don't cry. Don't pray for them. Don't lift up a cry. You know, and people
want to get up today and even just lament. They'll agree with us and say, Oh, poor America.
You know, and it is sad. But is God not just in judging Jerusalem for what they've done?
Do they not deserve everything they got coming to them? That's the same way with this country.
It deserves everything it's got coming to it. We don't like to hear that because you
know what? Because we live here. Because we're Americans. We're like, Oh, man, you know,
we might get caught in the crossfire. Maybe. That doesn't change the fact that they still
had everything. I mean, Jeremiah, he got thrown in a pit. I mean, he wouldn't preach this.
They arrested him. They wanted to kill him. Jeremiah Chapter 14, verse 10. Thus saith
the Lord unto his people, this people, thus they have loved to wander. They have not refrained
their feet. Therefore, the Lord does not accept them. He will now remember their iniquity
and visit their sins. He's saying, look, they will have to wander. He said, I'm not going
to, I'm going to remember their iniquity. I'm going to visit their sins. Then said the
Lord, I mean, pray not for this people for their good. For their good. Again, we are
to pray for people, for nations, for rulers, for kings, for all men and them that are in
authority appropriately. Meaning I'm not going to pray that God blesses wicked people.
And if I'm not going to pray for them, I'm sure not going to go vote for them either.
You know, that's, that's, that one was for free. You know, what's interesting though,
go to Jeremiah Chapter 29. God here, we looked at all these places where God's saying, don't
pray for Jerusalem. Don't pray for Jerusalem. Don't pray for Israel. They're wicked. They've
wandered. They've loved sin. They've loved iniquity. I'm going to visit upon them and
burn it to the ground. They're doomed. Judgment's coming. It can't be stopped. Don't even bother.
I won't even hear it. Don't pray for him. It's interesting. He says, don't pray for
Jerusalem, but you know, he does tell them to pray for Babylon. He does. In Jeremiah
Chapter 29, look at verse one. Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah, the
prophet sent from the Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders, which were carried away captives
and to the priest and the prophets, to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried
away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. So this letter is written from Jeremiah to the
priest and so on and so forth that are in Babylon. The people that, the Chaldeans, the
Babylonians that have come and seized Jerusalem and taken people away captive and is going
to come back and finish the job. He writes this letter unto the people that are already
captive in Babylon. What's the message? Look at verse four. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel unto all that are carried away captives whom I have caused. It was God
that did it. Have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon, build ye houses
and dwell in them and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. Take ye wives and beget
sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and gives your daughters to husbands
that you may bear sons and daughters and that you may be increased there and not diminished.
What he's saying here is like, look, get comfortable. I did this. I'm the one who did it and you're
going to be there for 70 years. So you might as well just get settled. You might as well
just go about living your life and captive in Babylon. Okay. And look at verse seven
and seek the peace of the city where that caused you to be carried away captives and
pray unto the Lord for it. For in the peace thereof, ye shall have peace. So the same
group of people, he's telling Jeremiah, look, don't pray for them. Don't pray for Jerusalem.
Don't pray for Israel. It's going to be destroyed. They get carried away captive. He says, pray
for them. Pray for the people that just came and destroyed your city. To what end? For
in the peace thereof, ye shall have peace. Just like we read this morning in first Timothy
chapter two, that we should pray for all men. To what end? That we might have peace. You
know, I pray that we have, we can live a quiet and peaceful life in this country, but if
it's too late for this country, if this country has rejected God, I'm not going to pray for
it because God's not even going to hear it. Look at verse, well, let me just say this.
When God has determined to judge a nation, there's no sparing it. When a nation has finally
just crossed the line and God has said, I'm going to judge that nation. There is no sparing
it. It cannot be brought back from the brink and nations get to this point. And anyone
who says otherwise is a liar or just doesn't know the Bible. Cause look at verse eight.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, let not your prophets and your
diviners that be in the midst of you deceive you. Neither heart can do your dreams, which
ye have caused it to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you my name. I have
not sent them sayeth the Lord. So all these guys that are back in Jerusalem, no, this
isn't God. God's not the one doing this. This is our policies. This is because the Democrats
got in there. It's because they control the house and the Senate. We got to get the Congress
back and everything will be fine. You'll see. No, it's because God's judging this country.
Wake up and smell the coffee this morning. And then when God judges, when God says, look,
I'm done with this nation, there's no coming back from that. That's what he did to Israel.
So my question to you then this morning, cause the title again is America's only prayer.
How then should we pray for America today? How should we pray for this country that we're
living in? Well, we've read some scripture this morning. Let me ask you this. Who does
America most resemble between these two nations? Israel or Babylon? Now you could say Babylon
a lot of ways because we're going over and destroying other nations too, but that's another
sermon. But in the context of what I'm preaching, who do they resemble the most? Do they, do
we resemble a heathen nation like Babylon that has never known the Lord? Look, the Lord
wasn't, I mean, the Lord wasn't in Babylon. They were heathens. They were the Chaldeans.
They worshiped a multitude of gods. Is that who America was? Is that, I mean, that might
be more like who America is today, but is that who America was? Or is America more like
a nation with, I don't know, a Christian heritage? Or that to some degree knew the Lord like
Israel? You know, I would say America today resembles more Old Testament Israel than it
does Old Testament Babylon. I mean, wouldn't you agree with me on that? I mean, Israel
at one time knew the Lord. They had the word of God. They had prophets. They had priests.
You know, America at one time knew the Lord. They had a multitude of preachers. They had
the word of God. It was in public schools. I mean, it's in our literature. The Ten Commandments
are on, you know, they're in our state capital, or our nation's capital rather, I should say.
It's all over this country. You can't tell me this nation didn't at one time at least
know who the Lord was or know of the Lord. So I'm just going to say this. We should not
pray for the good of this nation. That's my opinion. You can disagree with me. Go over
to Psalm chapter 9. People say, no, God bless America. God bless America. I would pray rather
God judge America. God judge it. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Judge this nation. Because that's
the only thing that's going to bring it back from what it's becoming is judgment.
And like I said, I started out this morning. This isn't going to be popular. This isn't
going to be a nice message. No one wants to hear that. What do you mean, God judge America?
That's what I said. Because that's what this nation deserves. Look at Psalm 9 verse 17.
The wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. Why? For the needy
shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Because
of the poor and needy. God's going to arise and judge people. Look at verse 19. Arise
oh Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear oh
Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Sometimes nations get so proud,
lifted up and haughty and so full of themselves. They tread upon the poor. They don't care
about the needy. I mean, we can't see it in this country because, you know, our hardest
decisions often are, when am I going to upgrade my new device? Am I an Apple man or Android?
What natural Whole Foods grocer am I going to go to today? Do I want to eat lean turkey
breast or do I want to go for ham today? These are the tough decisions we make as Americans.
Do I buy a domestic vehicle or an import? How big should my television be? What warehouse
am I going to, you know, they are the size of a warehouse. What place should I go buy
my clothes? Which location do I want to go to to get my meal? It's like, I want Chick-fil-A.
Which one? Which one is closest to me? These are the real tough decisions we make in this
country. Meanwhile, the poor and needy on the other side of the earth and some other
place that we don't even know about and even places in this country, people are suffering.
And I'm not saying that to guilt people. I mean, there's nothing wrong with having nice
things. If you can afford it, you work hard to get it and stuff like that. But at what
cost? And you can't tell me this isn't become a very materialistic society, a very envious
and covetous society, very greedy, that's willing to just walk all over people to get
what they want. And sometimes when a nation gets like that, they need to be put in fear
that they may know that they are but men. God's just got to cut them down. Just like
Nebuchadnezzar who walked out and said, look at my king, look what I've built, look what
I've done. God had to cut him down, made him go eat grass like an ox and humble him for
seven years. You know, you could apply that to an entire nation because this is a nation
of just like any other nation, a nation of sinners, just like anybody else. They're just
men. I'm an American, you're a sinner. I'm from Sweden, you're a sinner. I'm German,
you're a sinner. I'm Korean, you're a sinner. I'm Australian, you're a sinner. Nations are
just men. No nation is greater than another nation. I don't know why people think America
is some great exception, American exceptionalism. What does that even mean today? What exactly
does that mean to be an exceptional American? Look, this nation needs to be put in fear.
America deserves to be judged. Go over to Leviticus chapter 18. Stay with me, I know
I'm going long this morning. I mean, let's see how our nation, no, no, you say, God bless
America. What do you mean God judge America? God bless America. Well, let's see how our
nation stacks up to God's standards. Let's see if our nation has done anything that warrants
God's judgment according to his word. Let's look at the Bible. Okay, let's be honest with
ourselves this morning and let's just look at the Bible and see if our nation is guilty
of anything that God has completely wiped out other nations for. Look at Leviticus chapter
18 verse one, and the Lord spake unto Moses saying, speak unto the children of Israel
and say unto them, I am Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye
dwell ye shall ye not do. And after their doings of the land of Canaan, whether I bring
you, shall you not do. Neither shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall do my
judgments and keep mine ordinances to walk therein. I am the Lord your God. You shall
therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them.
I am the Lord. None of you shall approach unto any that is near of kin to him to uncover
their nakedness. I am the Lord. Then he goes on to this law and all the different situations
of which you could basically commit, you know, incest or sleeping with your in-laws.
Basically don't do that. When you say, well, wait, we haven't done that. That's not, that's
not popular in America. Good job, America. Look at verse 20 though. Okay, well there's
more, there's more here in this chapter. Hang on. Don't get all excited. No, God bless America.
Amen. Look at verse 20, moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife
to devile theirself therewith. That would be called adultery, which is something that
is absolutely glorified in this country. It's commonplace. It's a place where they
don't even call it adultery anymore. They just call it, they've given nice cute little
names now. It's an affair. There's whole websites dedicated to it. You can go on there and find
somebody to commit adultery with. Life's short. Have an affair. That's their motto. Billboards
on the side of the freeway advertising it. People make innuendos to this stuff about
this kind of thing all the time. And I'm saying not just in private, I'm saying publicly,
personally. I'll never forget the time I drove by that on the 10 and I saw an advertisement
on the 10, right on the side of the, you know, the I-10, which is a national freeway, which
goes from one end of the country to the other. You know, eight lanes of traffic in the fifth
largest city in America. Big billboard for a place called The Dump, which is an appropriately
named store with a billboard like this. You know, one of these reconcignment shops. They
sell, you know, reconcignment furniture. The Dump. And it made just this lewd innuendo
about committing adultery with your wife. I can't even say it. I can't even say it in
church. It'd be inappropriate. But apparently it's appropriate for just to just drive down
the road and for everybody to see it. For just, you know, hundreds of thousands, you
know, thousands of thousands. I don't know how many people would see that on a daily
basis. How much do you think they'd pay to put that up there? A lot of money to get that
many eyeballs on that. And that's just one example. I'm sure if we went out in the rooms
we could talk about, hey, let's think of some examples where America's promoting adultery
today in some way, shape, or form. What was that show that was so popular? Desperate Housewives?
Never watched a single episode, by the way. But correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't know
if anyone else in here has seen it, but wasn't that show all about basically adultery? No
one knows. Okay. Everyone here is so holy. I'm glad to hear that. I mean, the name alone
is pretty telling, isn't it? Desperate Housewives. Thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's
wife to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through
the fire to Molech. Neither shalt thou profane in the name of thy God, I am the Lord. So
he's saying there, look, don't commit adultery and you're not going to burn any of your children
alive. Well, we haven't done that. No, we haven't burned any kids alive. Today we just
melt them in the womb. Now it's just abortion and mass. Thou shalt not profane in the name
of thy God. Well, I mean, there's another one. So how's America stacking up so far?
How are we doing this morning? Not too hot. Thou shalt, look at verse 22. Here's one for
you. Here you go, Trump with your pride, Minnesota. Well, I'm going to go vote for
the lesser two evils. I don't know that voting for Trump's the lesser two evils, to be honest
with you. And how's voting for evil working out for you anyway? Thou shalt not lie with
mankind as with womankind. It is an abomination. That's your faggotry, which is just all over
this country. Just out everywhere. And if anyone says anything different, they're just,
you know, they get canceled or whatever. They're a bigot. Well, being a homo isn't
a race, first of all. So how's America doing with that one? With their pride parades and
their pride stickers and their rainbow flags all over the place. Not too good. America's
promoting that filth all over this country, all over the world. America's promoting something
that God is saying is abomination. But God bless America. Oh, let's pray for this country
that God spares it. God judge this country. It's the only thing it deserves. It doesn't
deserve to be spared. But I've got a prayer for America. We'll get to it. America's only
prayer. Look at it. It goes on and says, and you say, well, you know, we've done some of
those things. Well, you know, we haven't, we haven't done verse 23. I don't see a lot
of this taking place. Thy neither shall it lie down with any beast to defile thyself
therewith. Well, at least we're not committing that. At least we're not sleeping with animals.
Oh, good job. Oh, at least we haven't done that. That's the moral high ground we're taking
now. And you know what? That probably is going on. And just people that do that aren't, they're
not exactly advocating for their rights yet. Animal lovers. Although I would, I would argue
that, well, I'm going to just be ranting at that point. Let's just move on. Verse 25.
You say, well, we've, we haven't done it. We, yeah, we've done a few of these things.
You know, we, you know, I guess we're guilty of committing some abominations, but we haven't
done all of it. Well, look at, let's just read the rest of this, these next few verses.
Defile not yourselves in any of these things. It's not like God's saying, if you check all
these boxes, I'm going to judge you. He says, any of them. Watch how many times that shows
up. For in all these nations, the nations are defiled, which I cast out before you.
That's why God's casting them out, because of these things. And the land is defiled.
He's saying, look, you do these things, it's defiled. Therefore, I do visit the iniquity
thereof upon it. And the land itself vomited out her inhabitants. You shall therefore keep
my statutes and my agenda, which you shall not commit, there that word is again, any
of these abominations, neither of your, of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth
among you. For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before
you, and the land is defiled, that the land spew you not out also. So he's not respecter
of any person. It's like he's saying, if you get involved in this stuff, I'll spew you
out just as quickly as I spewed them out. And look, I don't know why people think America's
some great big exception. God will judge this country just as fast as any other country.
He'll do it just as quickly. It'll make your head spin. You shall therefore not keep my
statutes and my judgment. You shall not commit any of these abominations. Jump down to verse
28. That the land spew you not out also, that you defile it, that as it spewed out the nations
which were before you, for whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the
souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore, shall you keep
mine ordinance, that you commit not any one, any, any, any, not even any one of these
abominable customs which were committed before you, that you defile not yourselves therein.
I am the Lord your God. So how's America doing? Not too hot. Go over to Numbers chapter 35.
If you need any further evidence, how about the fact that we harbor pedophiles,
rapists, murderers. We harbor the worst trash in this country for money. For money. Do you
know why they lock up people that the Bible says should be put to death? You know why they lock
them up for life? For money. Not justice. Like, oh, that's a just punishment. No,
it's not. That's not justice at all. Some guy goes out and kills somebody. And now you're
telling me it's justice that he lives the rest of his life? Oh, but it's in a jail cell. Yeah,
he's fed. He's clothed. Which is something some people would love to have in this world.
Some people, that alone right there is quite the luxury. Gets to watch cable television,
read, get cell phones, right? I mean, I remember reading about that, that pervert Jared Fogle. I
mean, he's, he got to put in, you know, the protected cut, you know, protected population
or whatever, because he was a pervert, child molester, deserved to be put to death. And he
ends up, he's like taking knitting classes and cooking classes. He's getting a degree. He's
gonna get out. These pedophiles get out of prison. They don't even, they don't even stand
there for life. They get a slap on the wrist and they just don't do it again. Meanwhile,
the person that they harmed is scarred for life. The person that they killed is gone forever. How
is that justice in America? It's not justice. It's, it's a profit. It's for profit. It's not
for justice. It's for profit. Now, keep that in mind as we read Numbers chapter 35, verse 30.
Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses,
but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. So God is,
you know, justice is blind, we understand, but God takes these precautions to circumvent,
you know, wrongful death. But, you know, there's got to be more than one witness. Moreover,
you shall not take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. You shall take no satisfaction for
the life of a murderer. Well, he murdered somebody. Yeah, but if we can make, but if he pays,
we'll let him off the hook. Or how about this? We're not going to put him to death if we can
make money off of him. Isn't that a form of payment? If I'm putting, if instead of putting
this guy to death, I'm just going to put him in jail and we're going to profit off of him
and a bunch of other people like him or her and just profit off these people. Isn't that,
isn't that kind of like taking satisfaction for the life of a murderer? I think you could apply
it that way. It says, you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer,
which is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. Look, that's the only justice
that God meets out. That's the only, that's the only solution for them. Death is what God says.
And you know what? I know I'm going long. I don't have time to go through it all. He says the same
thing for the rapist. Death. And you shall take no satisfaction for him that has fled in the city
of his refuge, that he should come to dwell on the land until the death of the priest. Now that's
another subject. But look at verse 33. So you shall not pollute the land wherein ye are, for
the blood it defileth the land. And I want you to pay attention to this. And the land cannot be
cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Remember when
Cain slew Abel? What did God say to Cain? Your brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
You know, we, the murderer kills him and thinks, oh no, it got away with it. No one knows it. God
sees it. And God sees all the blood that's being shed at the hands of America today,
in this country and beyond our borders, in the forms of just straight up murder, harboring the
murders for profit, just putting them in a jail cell for life and just making money off of them,
making a private, privatizing the prison system, that industrial complex. They can make money off
of it. The foreign wars of aggression, where all the innocent blood that's being shed there,
the abortions, all the innocent, all this blood that's just crying out to God, day in and day
out, day in and out. But I'm supposed to say, God bless America. But I'm supposed to pray for
the good of this nation. I refuse to do it. And I'm not even going to say so much as that it's
wrong. I'm just saying it's a waste of your breath. It'd be like you told Jeremiah, I won't
even hear you. I don't care how loud you cry. I don't care how long you pray. I'm not even going
to hear it because it's guilty and they deserve to be judged. It's the only thing that they have
coming. And look, we resemble that Old Testament nation of Israel today. We knew who the Lord was.
We knew his statutes. We knew his commandments and we rejected them. And we continue to reject
them. You can see it in our society. You can see in our culture. You can see in our public policies.
And we've defiled ourselves as a nation. We've defiled the land that we're in and we deserve
to be judged. So what is the only prayer for America today? It's to pray for the salvation
of souls. God's judgment of America is sure. No one can convince me otherwise. God's going to
judge his country. If he isn't already. I mean, if 2020 isn't evidence of that, I don't know what
it is. I'm going to read to you from Habakkuk. He says here, the prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet
upon Shiganoth. Lord, I have heard thy speech and was afraid. Oh Lord, revive thy work in the midst
of thy years. Make known. He prays this in wrath, remember mercy in wrath, remember mercy. That's
my prayer for America today. That's the, I believe that's the only prayer that should be prayed for
America today. And let me say, let me point out those words in wrath, in wrath, remember mercy.
Habakkuk didn't pray, stop the wrath, prevent the judgment. Don't let it come upon our nation. He
said, look, I know it's coming. I know we deserve it. I know it's just and right, and it's unavoidable,
but in that wrath, Lord, remember mercy. Remember mercy. That's the best you could hope for when God
judges a nation, is mercy. Yet so many Christians today are afraid of God judging a nation that
deserves it. People who claim the name of Christ, claim to believe the Bible. You actually get up
and preach this and it scares them to death. That's what, you know, and that's a perfect,
that's understandable. I get it. You know, in our flesh, in our spirit, or in our flesh, you know,
that's a natural human reaction. I understand that. That's why, you mean Habakkuk, he says there,
when I heard, my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice, rottenness entered into my bones,
and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he cometh up unto the people,
he will evade them with his troops. I mean, Habakkuk, he's saying, look, when I understood
what was going to happen, the judgment that was going to come upon Israel, it made me afraid. My
belly trembled, my lips quivered, rottenness was in my bone. It made me angry. But here's,
here's the thing, and I should have had you turn there, but just pay attention. People that are
going through that, having that natural reaction to God's judgment, you hear this preaching this
morning saying, oh, I don't, I don't know that I like this sermon, brother Corbin. Can you preach
on something else besides God judging America? After all, we live here. You know, we, and then
we, hopefully I've convinced you this morning by looking, just going through some scripture
and showing you, look, how are we stacking up? God's judging nations for the exact same things
we're doing. And you say, well, it makes me afraid. Well, here, you need to do like Habakkuk did and
just get a biblical perspective and exercise some faith. I mean, what a profound concept that a
Christian should actually exercise faith in their life, that they should actually just trust God,
that he knows best, that he'll see them through. Look, Jeremiah came out on the other side okay. I
mean, he got released. He didn't get taken captive. You know, the, the, the, the, the captain of the
guard gave him some money and said, go wherever you want. He was set at liberty. He was blessed.
And he went through that. He went through the judgment with that nation. We can look at prophets
like, you know, Elijah. When God was judging that nation, God said, hey, go hide yourself
by near the brook Cherith. I'll feed you. I'll water you. He took care of his people. God will
take care of his people. He will not suffer the righteous to hunger, nor his seed to bake bread.
But people need to adjust their spiritual, you know, disposition today. Christians need to. He
said, Habakkuk did. He said, although the fig tree shall not blossom, you know, famine, neither shall
fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall bring yield no
meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I
will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. So I don't want God to judge
America because, you know, I, I got a, just got a $25 gift certificate to the, to the, to the
steakhouse. I got, I got, I want to enjoy this, the flock. You know, if God judges America, in
America, you know, the stores might go empty. I might have to eat white bread instead of whole
wheat. Whatever. Or even if we came to just out and out famine. What, what was, what was Habakkuk's
take on it? I will joy in the God of my salvation. Oh, God's judging my country. This is the worst
thing could ever happen. But are you saved? But are you saved? So no matter what else happens,
you're going to heaven when you die? Well, why don't you just shut up and be happy about that?
That's what he's doing. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Look, if you're caught in the midst of a nation that's getting judged by God, at least you're
going to heaven. The same God that's judging that nation is going to take you to his nation.
The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like Heinz feet, and he will make me to walk
upon mine high places. That was his take. You need to adjust your spiritual disposition. You know,
I don't see how you can reject the preaching this morning and say, well, that that's not right. This
nation deserves to be judged. It's going to be judged. It's already being judged. If that
frightens you, you need to just stop and just dwell upon the fact that you're saved and that
God will see you through. And let me just say this, you know, obviously it's a bit political,
but the election is Tuesday, isn't it? Is it Tuesday? Okay, all right. You can tell one guy
won't be wearing a sticker at the end of the day. And let me just say this, it makes no difference
who wins. And I'm saying that because I have to keep reminding myself that Trump's trailing in
Minnesota. It makes no difference who wins. The battleground states are neck and neck. It makes
no difference who wins. I mean, I'm sure it's going to be a different outcome. I mean, think
about this. I mean, it might be better that Trump doesn't win. Maybe they won't riot and loot and
burn things to the ground. I mean, like I said earlier, the social policies aren't going to
change this country. Oh, if Trump wins Tuesday, all the fags are going back in the closet, right?
Nope. The abortion mills are going to close their doors. Nope. The perpetual war overseas is going
to end. Nope. All these things that are just guilt upon America are going to continue, whether it's,
you know, creepy Joe Biden or Donald Trump. I can't think of any chump. That's a good one.
Neither one of these people is going to do anything about the abominations that have
defiled this land. And if God in the past, you know, judged a nation that he founded,
that he founded, God is the one that judged Israel. He's also the one that founded it.
If he judged that nation for doing the same things that this nation is doing,
why would you expect any different result? If God judged Old Testament Israel, a nation that
he founded, for doing things that we're doing, why would you expect a different result? And say,
well, God's not going to judge America. Yes, he is. Don't expect a different result. You know,
it's ludicrous. What you rather should do is just learn to trust the Lord. Thank God that you're
saved. Walk by faith and pray that God will spare souls in this doomed nation. That in wrath,
he will remember mercy. Let's go ahead and pray.