R1644A A Christian Response to a Nations Crisis

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about a Christian response to a national crisis. The fact that we are in a crisis situation should take us to prayer, take us to God's word more than ever, but does it?

Today Dr. Don Wilton begins a two-part series in the book of 2 Chronicles beginning in chapter 20 to help us understand what we can do, how we can respond even though our nation is in crisis. Perhaps you're dealing with a personal crisis right now and you need to know we're here for you. We'd love to pray with you and for you anytime. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD.

Jot the number down, store it in your cell. We'd love to speak with you, pray with you, connect with resources at 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. And now Dr. Don Wilton. Holy Spirit, you are welcome in this place. You are God and without you we're nothing. We come into your presence on this most beautiful day in our nation, on this magnificent day of celebration. But we come to worship you as God, sovereign in all your ways, for without you, O God, we are nothing. And we see you everywhere and we worship you today. In Jesus' name we pray together. Amen. Happy 4th, everyone.

It is just wonderful to be together like this on a beautiful day of celebration together. I went on my Twitter handle this morning, which I don't use too often. And I thought, what can I say to the thousands of people who follow me? And this is what I said from my memory.

I don't have it in front of me. I said, celebrate America by worshiping the God who gave it all to us. Celebrate America by worshiping God who gave it all to us. I want to speak to you on a very critical subject today, a Christian response to a nation in crisis. And I'm going to pray that the Lord will speak to your heart as God has put this word in my heart from his word. So I'm going to invite you to open your Bibles to Second Chronicles, chapter 20.

So you need to get your Bibles. It's very important for you. Very critically important.

It is vitally important. That if you are a believer and you trust Jesus as your savior. That you understand where our authority comes from. The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, the Lord. There is no other. When you and I have questions.

We have only one place to go. And that is to the word of God, that by the Spirit of God, God would help us to know how to respond to a nation in crisis. God will help us to respond to the difficulties that we have in life. He will help us respond to the family issues that we face.

To our financial crises. God, through his word and by his Spirit, will help us to know what to do when we lose our job. Yesterday, a very good friend of mine, Eddie Payne, suffered a stroke. And we are praying for Eddie.

He's such a wonderful man, coached for so many years, precious man. What do we do in a crisis as believers? God, through his word, by his Spirit, he hears our prayer and he answers our prayer. I want to read to you about a nation in crisis in Second Chronicles. And the 20th chapter. This is an amazing story.

And it parallels America. Second Chronicles Chapter 20, and I'm going to begin in verse five. Then Jehoshaphat stood up. In the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem. At the temple of the Lord.

In front of the new courtyard, and this is what he said. Oh, Lord God of our fathers. Are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand.

And no one can withstand you. Oh, our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people, Israel? And give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend.

They have lived in it. And they have built in it a sanctuary for your name, saying. If calamity comes upon us. Whether the sword of judgment.

Or plague or famine. We will stand in your presence. Before this temple that bears your name. And we will cry out to you in our distress and you will hear us and save us. But now, here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt.

So they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us. By coming to drive us out of the possession. You gave us. As an inheritance.

Oh, our God. Will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. So all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeel, the son of Mattaniah, Levite and descendant of Asaph as he stood in the assembly. And he said, listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem. This is what God says to you.

Do not be afraid or discouraged. Because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow, march down against them.

They will be climbing up the pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the desert of Jurel. You will not have to fight this battle. But take up your positions. Stand firm. And see the deliverance the Lord your God will give you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.

Go out and face them tomorrow. And the Lord will be with you. So Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. And the Lord wrote that word upon our hearts.

Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment as Dr. Don dives into those specific scriptures and helps us understand how we can apply them to the crisis we face together as a nation. Know that we're connecting you with resources 24 hours a day on our website. TEWonline.org is the place. As a matter of fact, while you're there, sign up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don.

That's TEWonline.org. It's also the place you'll discover wonderful resources like this resource, Pressing Forward. What's going on in your life today? Are you thinking about giving up? Don't give up. We cannot afford to be deterred on the Christian journey.

Too much is at stake. This month, Dr. Wilton has two special resources to send you for your gift of support to the encouraging word. You will receive Dr. Wilton's inspiring message, Pressing Forward, along with Courageous Faith by Dr. Charles Stanley. Both of these ministry resources will help fortify your faith to stay the course on the Christian journey. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 and request Pressing Forward and the bonus book, Courageous Faith, today. Thank you for supporting the encouraging word. We cannot fulfill our mission without you. Again, please know that we're here for you, not only to connect with those resources, but to pray for you. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD.

That's available 24 hours a day, 866-899-9673, or connect with us keyboard to keyboard at TEWonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Two things I'd like you to know about me, if I can be personal for just a minute. Number one, I'm an American citizen. I know some of you look at me and say, surely not, because you all talk so funny. I've been in America for 44 years. I'm an adopted son. I don't say this to impress you. They tell me I'm too old.

That's what they say. And I don't say this lightly, but if our nation did face a crisis, there was a call to arms. You'd have a tough time stopping me from going. I would put on that uniform, wear those stars and stripes. I'd go anywhere and fight any enemy. When I think of the men and women who have shed their blood for the freedom that I enjoy today, probably the greatest human privilege I've ever had in my life. I know I speak for my wife.

My oldest son is older than 40. He was born in America. But I'm so grateful to the Lord for my country.

This nation from sea to shining sea. Second thing I want to tell you about, I'm not only an American citizen, but far more importantly, I'm a Christian man. I'm a Christian man who is an American citizen. You might say to me today, well, what do you mean you're a Christian man? I'm not a Christian man because I'm an American citizen.

I'm a Christian man because I gave my heart and life to the Lord Jesus. I was born in sin. My sin condemned me.

The Bible says there's none that doeth good. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And I was born in Adam. I was destined to die and I spent far too long searching for peace. I gave my life to Jesus and I repented of my sin. He came into my heart and forgive, forgave me.

I certainly never was and never will be perfect. But I will tell you that I'm a Christian man. What does that mean? It means that God is my king. He's my Lord.

I had to accept that and believe that when I trusted him. The Bible says if you confess that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Not the prime minister. Not the White House. Some of you are going to be rattled by this, not the American flag. Not the British flag.

Not the South African flag. You confess that Jesus is Lord. Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you'll be saved. Christ is my king. He's sovereign. I'm governed by my Christian faith. And that causes me to be the best citizen I can possibly be.

I hope, I hope, I really do. I hope that I have contributed. That I've given back far more than this country's ever given me.

I hope I've poured my life into young people, taught them to be good citizens. To work hard. To enjoy life. To behave well.

To be productive. In this great land. But I'm governed in every way by the fact that I'm a Christian man. I see my beloved nation through the eyes of God. I don't see my nation through the eyes of man.

We cannot do it. The Bible tells us how I, as a Christian man, you as a Christian person, woman, young person, how you and I who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ should respond to the crises of life. And this July 4th, I'm being very specific to a nation in crisis. So I'm going to pose three questions related to America. To contextualize this as we ask God what he would say to us as God. This nation founded under God.

Three questions. Question number one, who are we? Who are we America? Well, that question is answered when we go back to the Declaration of Independence. We don't have time to do a history lesson and we would hope that most of us who love the Lord Jesus, who are American citizens, we understand it. You have to go back to the Declaration of Independence, 4th of July 1776.

Historians tell us, because none of us were there, that there were 56 delegates at that second Congress, Continental Congress. And it's very interesting when you study the Declaration of Independence, it was designed for three groups of people. The declaration of our Declaration of Independence was designed for three groups of people to get it, to listen to what our founding fathers were saying.

First of all, to the King of England. And I use that he was a monarch, but he controlled the control of America or the American people at that stage. The second were the colonists themselves, this incredible brave group of pilgrims. These people who first landed, that forged, that paved the way, that came here in order to establish what you and I enjoy today.

And the third group was the world. It was designed that the world would know that we are Americans. And I do not want to put words in anybody, in the Declaration of Independence, it was. We are a very unique people. We comprise of everyone, black people, white people, immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. We comprise of men and women.

And get this, get this, world, are you listening? All people, all people are created equal. Where did they get that from? Our founding fathers, that all people are created. They got that from God Creator, the Word of God. All people are created equal.

And so it is. The goal of the Declaration of Independence was essentially threefold. Number one, to rally everyone around the manifesto, the fundamental foundation upon which we stand as a nation. Number two, to create the space, the living area whereby we the people might carry out what we declare in our independence. This right to freedom, the freedom to worship together.

The freedom to work together. But it thirdly was established as a goal to establish the fundamental foundations upon which we do what we do. So there was a threefold goal in the Declaration of Independence. To rally everyone, to create something and then to establish something. And essentially, essentially, the Declaration of Independence was an announcement.

It was an announcement that carried an explanation to Great Britain. That we were declaring ourselves to be exactly what the Declaration of Independence stated that we would be. Question number one, who are we? That's who we are. So here's question number two, where are we? Well, there are many different perspectives on that. I'm speaking to you as a Christian man. Where are we?

Well, I'm going to tell you just two places where I believe we are today on this July 4th. Number one, we are extremely blessed. We are amazingly blessed. You might say to me, pastor, you're being terribly militant, but I can say these things because I'm an adopted son. I always get deeply disturbed when people come and are adopted and then criticize and demean, demolish, break down the very fabric of what we declared to be true. These inalienable truths to the point at which I say, well, why did you bother to come here to begin with?

Go back from whence you came. That's who we are as Americans. So we are a blessed people. Yesterday, I went to a beautiful place, Highlands, North Carolina, got in my motor car and went and met my brother up there, played golf with him.

And it is just beautiful. My brother Murray and I, we've been so close. My older brother was visiting his family up in Maryland, couldn't join us. And I hadn't seen my brother in a year and a half because of COVID and all the things. And we just love each other. And we not only played golf, but we walked up on those mountains and took pictures. You know, the two of us stood there arm in arm. We talked a lot about from whence we came because we were children together, you know. We ran around in Africa together. We understand from whence we came. And he and I were standing arm in arm. I actually took a picture of it and posted it on Instagram. It meant so much to me.

Just me and my brother. And the two of us looking out across the Highlands, that area is magnificent. Just beautiful. And we looked at each other and said, wow, how blessed could we be to live here, be in a land like this? So we're going to answer the question, where are we? You have to begin with we are blessed.

I hope you know that today. Look at us. Look at our church. Look at the food we eat.

Just think about today. All the lakes and the boats and the grills and the barbecue, the flags and the fireworks. Folks, you don't get this in some parts of the world.

You understand that, America? It's why everybody wants to come here. We're blessed. But I will say to you, if we're going to answer that question honestly, we're not only blessed, but we're also under attack. It's what happened here to Jehoshaphat.

The very people they gave license to took license. And there were people out to destroy Judah, Jerusalem, Israel. There are people out to destroy this country.

They are on a mission. They will use any means at their disposal. So how do we as a Christian community respond?

So I'm going to be very specific with you today. There are many sided anti-Christian attacks being launched on the fabric of this nation under God. Indeed, that is the question. How do we as a Christian community respond? One of the most powerful ways is to be on our knees, interceding with and for one another. Know that we'd love to pray with you right now. We stand ready to connect with you, perhaps even today in the ministry of Dr. Don Wilton's teaching. There are questions, questions that you'd like to pursue answers for. We'd love to discover them together in God's encouraging word.

If you'll call us at 866-899-WORD, that's 866-899-9673. And as we've been studying the word together, perhaps more than just what you want to hear from our teacher and pastor, you would open yourselves to the question he wants to ask you next. Thank you for listening today. It's been such a joy sharing God's word like this. Isn't it amazing how you can hear God speak through His word and by His Spirit? Right now, I'm going to ask you, would you give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ?

Yes, you would. Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I need Jesus. I need to be forgiven of my sin. I confess my sin to you and I receive you into my heart and into my life. In Jesus' name I pray. My friend, if you've prayed that prayer, God not only heard you, but He's answered your prayer.

The Bible says, they that call upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved. I want to connect with you. You can visit us at tewonline.org, tewonline.org, or you can call us at 866-899-9673. Okay, you want me to give that again? You might want to write it down, make note of it.

That number, 866-899-9673. Because we got a lot of growing together to do. I believe that some of you gave your life to Jesus Christ, praying along with Dr. Wilton moments ago. Perhaps some of you rededicated your life. Either way, welcome to the family of God.

Welcome home to a relationship that can grow no matter what our national crisis is. This is an individual decision and if you would like us to pray with you and for you, call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. If you gave your life to Jesus Christ or rededicated your life to Christ, Dr. Wilton has free resources he wants you to have right now. You can also meet us on our website at tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. Thank you so much for your prayerful and financial support of the Encouraging Word. The Encouraging Word