The Spiritual State of America

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together.

It's reasoned relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio. And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland.

Very famously in the book of Judges, chapter 21, verse 25, it says in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes. Hi, Alex McFarland here. Welcome to the Truth for a New Generation Radio broadcast. And I want to read a little bit from Judges, and then I want to talk about where we are as a culture here in the United States of America. Thank you for listening to Truth for a New Generation.

And a lot of exciting news to talk about this week, the book that's just come out and some other things. But in Judges, chapter 2, verses 18 and 19, it says, whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. Now in the book of Judges, judges were like military reformers or military leaders, but they also had spiritual presence of mind. And there was Deborah and Barak and there was Samson, and there were a lot of leaders and reformers that God, I would say, mercifully raised up. But remember, a couple of verses that helped give us the context of Israel at this time. One would be the Judges 21, 25 that I read, there was no king in Israel. They were not following the Lord as king. And the kings that they wanted, they told God that they wanted to be like other nations and have a king. But it says everyone did that which was right in their own eyes. A time of relativism and autonomy.

Relativism says I make the rules for myself, and autonomy says I don't really listen to anybody but myself. The Lord would raise up judges, and the Lord was with the judge, and the Lord saved them from the hand of their enemies. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, the people would turn back and were more corrupt than their fathers. Going after other gods, serving them, bowing down to them, they did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. Now, God's people would fall into sin, and then they would come under judgment or bondage, and then the people would call out to the Lord, and God would raise up new leaders that were called judges.

Israel would then experience deliverance and serve God, but would later return to a period of sin repeating the cycle. In a way I think America is a lot like that. And I'm anxious to see if the crisis that has been 2020 will ultimately coalesce into a revival. You know, in the time of the American Revolution there was a great revival, and many would document how the spiritual awakening of the 1700s really paved the way for our freedom from Britain. And in the 19th century there was the Great Awakening that took place during the time of the Civil War. And I think about in the 20th century, after World War II, but during the Vietnam era and a time of protest and civil unrest here in America. But out of that came the Jesus movement.

Many, many other examples could be cited. But right now we're in a time of crisis. Folks, even as I record this, the news is all ablaze with all of the vandalism and the graffiti on the walls of Graceland.

My goodness. So Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, just vandalized with sayings of socialism, Marxism, Black Lives Matter messages, and things that are just not even repeatable. When are we as a people going to realize that we are in very, very tenuous times?

All of the vandalism, all of the smashed windows. Now, the city of Washington DC, folks, and tell me we don't need a great move of God. The city of Washington DC, this week, giving a report that the Lincoln Memorial needs to be taken down, the Jefferson Memorial monuments to Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key, Alexander Hamilton, and the Washington Monument needs to be moved.

And many have said, you know, how would you even begin to think about moving the Washington Monument? And listen, folks, listen, those that want to deconstruct our history and reconstruct it, not according to facts and truth, but according to a carefully crafted, unrelentingly marketed narrative, all of these, Franklin, Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, have to be contextualized. Now what does that mean? Contextualized means that we ignore the facts of history, and the courage, and the valor, and the birthing of our nation, the preservation of our nation through two world wars, and Korea, and Vietnam, and the Gulf War, and the law enforcement heroes and first responders now, and the soldiers and servants of liberty now and then. The people that bled and died to birth America, to preserve America, to sustain America, and to give a free, safe, and prosperous America to minions and masses that don't understand how it got here nor appreciate it. And they want all that taken away and washed away.

Contextualization means all of the founders were evil, all of the people were inherently racist, law enforcement today is oppressive, let's burn down the house and start over. But suppose we don't do anything, and suppose we passively watch as the house gets quote burned down, and the America we've enjoyed for 242 years gets fully dismantled, where will we be? What will be built in its place?

The second greatest nation in world history, but only to Israel under King Solomon. Folks, the world, unless God sends a great revival, the world is about to descend into centuries of darkness should Christ tarry and the return of the Lord not come about soon. And so you and I need to pray. We need to pray. The other verse that reminds me of America of the 21st century is Judges 5 verse 8 that says when they chose new gods, there was chaos within the gates. We have chosen new gods, and we have chaos within our gates.

I would say we have more than chaos. We are watching acts of war. Now when and if the riots, the vandalism, the lawlessness, the Marxism, that is Black Lives Matter.

Racism is wrong, of course, but the Black Lives Matter movement, it says on their website that they are Marxist. Well, when will all of this be recognized as an act of war against America? I don't know, but I do know this. We are in the midst of a spiritual war, a spiritual battle, and the future of the country, your freedoms and mine hang in the balance.

Stay tuned. I'm going to talk more about this when Truth for a New Generation returns. America today is like a patient struggling to live, yet is being forcibly euthanized by her, quote, doctors. The life force within the patient fighting for survival is the honest citizens like yourself.

The team of, quote, caregivers are the local and national leaders actually contributing to the demise of the patient. The economy is crashing. Crime is exploding. The Constitution is being abolished. The assault on America, how to defend our nation before it's too late by Alex McFarland has one single purpose, to get you prepared.

Learn the real source of America's current problems that no one else is talking about and what you can do now to face tomorrow, regardless of what tomorrow brings. The assault on America, how to defend our nation before it's too late, available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and local Christian bookstores. Alex has written many books to help you defend your faith. One of them answers questions from skeptics.

It's cleverly titled Ten Answers for Skeptics. Today's skeptics are looking for authenticity, integrity and straightforward truth. And in the book, Alex McFarland identifies the 10 most common types of skepticism that plague doubters minds and offers believers proven strategies for connecting intellectually and spiritually with those who are skeptical about the claims of Christianity. Learn how to answer intimidating questions, identify the root issue behind those questions and dismantle the spiritual bombshells dropped by atheists.

Plus find encouragement to face hostility by persevering in love. The ultimate apologetic Christians can offer as a witness to our loving God. Check out Ten Answers for Skeptics when you visit alexmcfarland.com. For apologetics resources, books by Alex McFarland and to find out where Alex is speaking, visit alexmcfarland.com. Welcome back to the program.

Alex McFarland here and we're going to continue in Judges. And I want to talk about the state of the nation and the spiritual opportunities of our moment, of our moment. And this is, folks, if you love God and country, this is the single most important moment of your lifetime as a citizen, second only to really the threats of World War II, whether or not our country is going to survive.

And only God can really steer the ship where our nation is right now. But I want to mention my book, The Assault on America, How to Defend Our Country Before It's Too Late. Hey, listen, if you don't think we're in a spiritual battle, this book, and it's available on amazon.com, it's available at every Barnes & Noble, and I would encourage you to please, if you have a local Christian bookstore, wonderful. Patronize your local Christian bookstore.

But most cities don't anymore. And so Barnes & Noble has this book all across America. It's published by Harrison House, The Assault on America, How to Defend Our Nation Before It's Too Late. We at Truth for a New Generation, we are long since acquainted with the social, political, and spiritual battles of the moment. People ask about the social justice warriors getting triggered. What makes a woke person triggered?

Meaning, you know, viscerally angry. Well, look, it's not really personal. It's not you and me. It's truth. Because the truth is, there is a God. There's one God, and he's revealed himself to the human race. God is not something anybody can dream up, or, I can't make my truth and you make your truth. Look, there is one God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, he's revealed himself to the human race.

There's one scripture, it's called the Bible. There's one Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's heaven, there's hell, there's righteousness, and there is sin. And sin is that which is against God, and sin is that which is unrighteous, and everything that mitigates against God. There is a real devil. He is the enemy of your souls. There is a creator.

We did not evolve. Because God made us in his image, there is a moral code written on the heart of all people. Everybody deep down knows right from wrong. People know it's wrong to commit adultery. People know it's wrong to murder an unborn baby. People know right from wrong. But people get very angry when you lay truth out before them, like the truth that there are two genders.

There is male and female. There is not transgenderism. At the cellular level, nobody can change from XX chromosome to XY or vice versa.

There's no such thing as gender fluidity. And yes, deep down, people know homosexuality is wrong. So, folks, it's not that Christians or conservatives or patriots are the problem.

We're not. The problem is sin. Now what we need, yes we need truth, we need proclamation, we need good argumentation, but what this country needs, and I would beg of you to pray to this end, we need the Holy Spirit of God to sweep over this country like a wave at the ocean. We need the Spirit of God to restrain evil. The Spirit of God to subdue darkness, blindness.

We need God to open eyes that at the moment cannot see. Let me reference something by H.G. Wells. In writing the book The Assault on America, I was studying a lot of historians and H.G. Wells wrote a two volume history of civilization.

It's really good. And there's a lot in there. And I want to encourage you, especially as the internet becomes more and more controlled and given spin, you need good, good books. It's amazing how I've got two different sets of World Book.

I've got one set from the early 1920s, World Book Encyclopedia, and I've got another set from shortly before World Book ceased, the printed publication. It's amazing if you look up Jesus Christ. In the 1920s, it would talk about the fact that he was the Son of God, the Savior of the world, fulfilled all the criteria for Messiahship, and Jesus Christ was crucified at Passover, rose from the dead. And you can tell there's just this assumed position of Christ being real and being authentic. If you read the more modern encyclopedia entry of Jesus, it would say Jesus was alleged to have lived. Jesus was alleged to have been the Son of God. His followers said he was the Son of God.

And you can tell the entry is written from a much more skeptical posture. Now H.G. Wells, who wrote history, and I would encourage you to read Wells and read Will Durant and read Mortimer Adler and the great books of the Western world.

H.G. Wells' history of the world is very good, but he also famously in 1896 wrote a work called The Island of Dr. Moreau. And on this island, it's the story of a mad scientist who created beast-like creatures. They were kind of half-human, half-swine. And it's very interesting because Dr. Moreau, who had been banished from England for his inhumane experiments, on this island he would take humans and operate on them.

And he thought in his twisted way that he was doing some good, but he was really turning them into animals. Now endless interpretations of H.G. Wells have been set forth and what is this about? Is this some commentary on politics? But in a way, the welfare state of modern America really sensed the great society program of LBJ, the deconstruction of the family, sexual promiscuity, and the illegitimacy rate that has just exploded with that. Look, we've not set people free. Our abandonment of God, our abandonment of morality, abortion on demand, saying that you can transition to a different gender from which you were born, saying that we don't have to be accountable if we're angry and poor and indigent. We just blame people and we don't accept moral right and wrong for ourselves.

We contextualize. That hasn't set us free. It's turned us into something sub-human, like the beasts of the island of Dr. Moreau. Liberal politics and relativism is turning us into something, not exactly animals but something far less than the human beings God designed us to be.

There is a pathway back though. Stay tuned and we'll talk about that when Truth for a New Generation returns. Christians don't necessarily agree with one another when it comes to questions of religious pluralism, homosexuality, the role of government, abortion, and war. Too often we manage these disagreements by ignoring them. Yet we're called to engage the world for the sake of Christ. How can we be effective if we avoid society's most pressing questions? In 10 Issues That Divide Christians, Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of 10 current issues, such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography, and environmentalism as he echoes the biblical invitation, Come, Let Us Reason Together. Only by engaging the Scriptures deeply, thinking clearly, and speaking truthfully can we and God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose. 10 Issues That Divide Christians.

Find this book and many others at AlexMcFarland.com. America today is like a patient struggling to live, yet is being forcibly euthanized by her quote doctors. The life force within the patient fighting for survival is the honest citizens like yourself.

The team of quote caregivers are the local and national leaders actually contributing to the demise of the patient. The economy is crashing, crime is exploding, the Constitution is being abolished. The Assault on America, How to Defend Our Nation Before It's Too Late by Alex McFarland has one single purpose, to get you prepared. Learn the real source of America's current problems that no one else is talking about and what you can do now to face tomorrow, regardless of what tomorrow brings.

The Assault on America, How to Defend Our Nation Before It's Too Late, available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local Christian bookstores. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation Radio. Welcome back to the program.

Alex McFarland here. We're talking about the spiritual state of the country and really opportunity for revival. We talked about earlier in the program how at many points in our own nation's history, and certainly at many points in Israel's history, in very dark, dangerous times, times of sin and backsliddenness, God would send an awakening. And I hope as we near the Fall 2020 elections that you are praying. Folks, I beg of you to pray. And pray that the Spirit of God would rule and overrule, and that God would give us an honest election.

Now, it's no secret I am for the President. It's been my privilege to meet the President, and as one of the faith leaders I've been on phone calls, I've heard the President talk and share his firm belief in God and Jesus Christ and his commitment to this country. On Good Friday of this year we were on a phone call and Franklin Graham prayed and Bishop Harry Jackson was on the call, an incredible man of God. And from Isaiah 53, Donald Trump read scripture on this phone call and talked about the Easter weekend and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of God tells us we are to pray for those in authority.

And even David, when he was being hunted and fighting for his own life, hunted by Saul, David would not speak a word against God's anointed. And you know, I can honestly say, and I know hundreds of clergy that would concur with what I'm about to say, all through the eight years of Obama, yes, I prayed for President Obama. I didn't vote for him, but I prayed for him, prayed for his family. I wish them God's blessing and God's favor. And we can disagree over policy while at the same time extending Christian love and charity and intercession for the person. And listen, I could name a whole roster of political figures that I vehemently disagree with many of their positions, but I pray for them as a person, because as a fellow human being, I wish them God's best.

I wish them salvation and a relationship with Christ. But as Vice President Pence said in June of 2019, that this election in 2020 is not so much about two different candidates. It's about two vastly different futures.

And this is a matter of record. And I write about this in my book, The Assault on America, What We Must Do to Save Our Nation. Folks, I would beg of you to read this book before the election. I'm making no money on this book.

Don't want it. I wrote this book because we care about the soul of the country. Buy this book. Please read it. It's available at Amazon.

It's available at Barnes and Noble. The Assault on America. Because look, we're talking about freedom of religious expression. We're talking about civil rights. We're talking about Second Amendment rights to gun ownership and self-defense. We're talking about responsible immigration and our borders. We're talking about crime.

My goodness gracious. We're talking about having a police department and law enforcement or not. Do we honestly believe that it's even sane to have communities with no police precincts? And we're talking about things like our relationship with the nation of Israel. We're talking about putting down terrorism and Islamic terrorism. And our president has been so courageous. And we need to pray, just like Israel of old. Now, they would cry out to God and God would raise up judges.

I am not overstating the case. Folks, as a student of Scripture, as a student of history, definitely as a student and instructor on American history and the founding of our country and the Christian moral Judeo-Christian foundations of our government and our Constitution, friends, I am telling you, I believe the fact that we have President Trump and Vice President Pence and they have defunded hundreds and hundreds of abortion clinics and he has, as he promised, appointed moral law constitutionalists to the Supreme Court and lower courts. I believe that we're witnessing in President Trump the closest thing we'll ever see in our lifetime to a Winston Churchill.

I think we're seeing a judge like the judges of old. William Ewart Gladstone was one of the prime ministers of England in the 19th century. Regarding elections, he said all throughout history, I trust the masses against the classes. That's a good quote because, oh certainly, the academic ivory tower types and the polls and the pundits would say, oh, you know, Trump is over with and let's get rid of this guy that they don't like. They don't like him because he's got the courage and the conviction and he's standing for America. And look, let's be honest, who would be more in line with the founders and the great iconic Americans that we think of and revere from General Washington to Jefferson to Patrick Henry to the leaders of all, you know, Harry Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, and yes, Reagan. I think the common people have liked and appreciated President Trump because he's got that moxie that has characterized so many of the leaders that we are the beneficiaries of.

So I'm like Gladstone of old. I'm going to say I'm going to trust the masses rather than the classes. But we do need to pray. And so, like Israel, it says the Lord would raise up judges.

The Lord was moved by pity, by the groaning of the people who were afflicted and oppressed because of their sin. And so look, in the spirit of Judges 2, 18 and 19, we have an opportunity to cry out to God for revival, to turn to God, repent of sin and to intercede. So I want to challenge you as we close from now till the election, pray, be registered to vote and do vote. I would beg of you, do not opt out and say, well, I will not sully myself by participating.

Don't do that. Our vote and the ability to be a citizen and to play a role in the selection of the leaders that will shape the trajectory of our country, that's a sacred thing God's entrusted to us. Hey, our home is in heaven for sure. But while we're down here, we want to be an agent for good and godliness and truth in our country. Hope you're courageous enough to do that.

My book, Assault on America, I believe will help you. Until next time, God bless you. Please watch us three times a week on Facebook at Rev Alex McFarland. Follow us on Twitter, social media, the YouTube channel Truth for a New Generation and on television as well. God bless you.

Thanks for listening. And don't forget, pray for America. God bless you. God bless America.