(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

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.