R1644 A Christian Response to a Nation in Crisis, PT.1

Today on The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton, we begin a two-part series about a Christian response to a nation in crisis. As we study God's Word together, we're available for you online as well. To hear this message and others, that's www.tewonline.org. While you're there, sign up for the daily devotion from Dr. Don.

That's www.tewonline.org. And now Dr. Don Wilton. Let's pray together. Lord, right now we welcome the Holy Spirit to this place. We need to hear from you because you are all that matters in our world. And we're listening to a lot of people. We're watching, listening to social media. We're watching television. We're listening to people's opinions.

We're getting caught up, persuaded, pulled from one side to the other. What would you have to say to us in our nation as believers, as Christians today? So Father, speak now and we're waiting and we're going to respond to you. Only to you, in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right. So I want you to open your Bibles because you've got to follow this yourself. We're going to be in 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament. 2 Chronicles chapter 20.

And I'm going to push a point here today. Go on your Bible app, whatever it is, and they may put up the words up there. I'm not sure, but you have got to, I'm going to tell you again, you have got to see this for yourself, not from me, not from me. You've got to see this.

You've got to read it. You're the one that's got to accept it because it's God's word. The Bible says the Word of God is a lamp under my feet and a light under my pathway. So I'm going to be speaking to a very important subject. You ready for this? I'm going to speak on a Christian response to a nation in crisis, a Christian response to a nation in crisis.

I'm going to put my Bible down because I want to just say a couple of things to you personally, if you'll beg my pardon for a few minutes. Most of you know me, but just in case you don't, I want to tell you. Number one, I want to tell you two things about me, about Don Wilton, okay, which is a little cheeky, but I'm going to tell you that anyway. Number one, I'm an American citizen. Now some of you that don't know me are going to look no way because you know all of you speak funny. So, you know, obviously I was born, I've been in America for 43 years.

It's quite a long time. I'm an American citizen and I'm 100% an American citizen. So I'm going to tell you something. People tell me that I'm too old to serve in the military, put on the uniform. I understand that.

I don't feel that way, but that's what they tell me. So I'm going to tell you something that some of you might find a little silly, but that's fine too. If America, sadly, was to go into a major war and there was a big call up, you would have to really fight with me, even at my age, not to put on the uniform, wear the stars and stripes. I'm telling you, I will go anywhere in any field to any country wearing the uniform of the United States.

I will defend this country. That's what I would do, okay? I would do that. Now why would I do that? To try and be cute?

Just to say something to impress someone? No. Because I believe in America. I believe this country has given me so much. You know, my oldest son's over 40. He was born in New Orleans, all my kids. So all my kids and my grandkids are now, you know, second generation, third generation Americans.

I'm an American citizen and I could follow that line of argument all day with you. I love this country. Wow.

Greatest gift, human gift that's ever been given to me and to my wife. Second thing I want you to know is that I'm a Christian man. So many of you know my testimony. So I was born in Africa. Actually, interestingly enough, you know, I was in special forces under a different flag. I know what it's like, all right?

So I've fought under a different flag in Africa. Many of you know that. I don't like talking about that too much. But that's part of my life, long time ago. Do you know, I spent many years trying to find meaning in life, purpose. And I could spend the rest of our hour telling you where I looked.

I mean, I looked everywhere. I was on the move. I was full of fun.

You know, I could charge hell with a water pistol too. I was out there and I'm just telling you. And I'd gone through a lot of stuff and I ran headlong into the Lord Jesus. And that day came when I knew that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. And I knew that I would never have peace without Jesus. I knew I'd never be forgiven without Jesus. And I knew that I would never be able to understand or speak into my world without Jesus. Because if you left to yourself, you and I got a problem, America.

We got a problem. And I gave my life to Christ. And from that moment, man, have I had a lot of fun.

Traveled the world. I'm loved by people like you. I've got best friends in my entire life sitting here looking at me right now. But my life is a Jesus life. I'm a Christian man. My allegiance is to God, people.

And what God says doesn't sort of matter to me. It's everything. God is my guide. He's my counselor. He shows me.

This is the God in whom I trust. So here's the question today. We're going to just dive into this. How do I as a Christian respond to my nation in crisis?

With all the questions that I have, all the attacks going on. I'm going to just tell you something. What I've just said doesn't mean anything to a person who doesn't know Jesus.

What are you talking about? But you're a believer right now, you know exactly what I just said. Because you're seeing everything through God.

God's ways, God's standard, God authority, what God says. So in the Bible, we have an incredible account of the land of Judah and the people of Israel facing massive crisis. And the Bible tells us what they did. So what we're going to do is I want to read to you this account.

Excuse me. In Second Chronicles and Chapter 20. And then we're going to try to understand what it is that God is saying.

Some of the hard truths that God teaches us. So I'm going to be in Second Chronicles and Chapter 20. Beginning at 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. O Lord, God of our fathers, are not you the God who is in the heavens? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.

Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you. O 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 have built in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, if calamity comes upon us, whether by sword or whether by play of judgment or whether by plague or by 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 you will save us. But now, look at these people. They're coming from Ammon, from Moab, from Mount Seir, whose territory would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt. So they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See, look how they are repaying us by coming in to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.

O 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. And so all the men of Judah with their wives and with their little children and their little ones, they stood there before the Lord.

And the Spirit of the Lord came down upon Jehizel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jael, the son of Mattaniah, Levite, and the descendant of Asaph as he stood in the assembly. And he said, listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Jerusalem, this is what the Lord your God says to you. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army that is coming against you. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow, march down against them.

They will be climbing up by 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. Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Oh, Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.

Go out to face them tomorrow. And the Lord will be with you. Watch verse 18.

So Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. You know, before we got started early this morning, I said to myself, Lord, what can I put on my Twitter account? I don't use Twitter a lot, but I said, what can I say to the thousands of people who follow me? What can I say on July 4th? Well, the obvious one is happy July 4th. That's the definite.

Take that to the bank. One of the best holidays of the year. But you know, I'd just been reading this and I was just in the presence of the Lord and God said, no, but that should not be everything you say. So when I went on my Twitter handle this morning, I said something like, this is what I said. I said, celebrate America by worshiping the God who gave it all to us.

Celebrate America by worshiping God who gave it to us. What did he say here in verse 18? Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people did the same thing. And they worshiped the Lord together.

They pointed everything to him. All right, watch this now. You ready to go for a journey with me? How do I as a Christian man, you young people here today, you moms and dads, Christian people, if you don't know Christ, this is not going to make any sense to you. Promise you. If you don't know Jesus, for the next 20 minutes, you're going to say, get out of here. How can you say that? Come on.

You don't understand. How do I, as a Christian man, as a citizen of America who loves this country, how do I respond to the issues that are going on in this country that are directed at my faith, my belief, my Christian walk, my God, how do I respond to that? Well, we're going to answer three questions about America. Number one, who are we? If we were to have, if I could just get one of you down here right now, give us a little history lesson. Who are we, America? Where did we come from?

Who are we? I don't have to remind you, and this is not a history lesson, Declaration of Independence was when? Fourth of July, which year? 1776. What was it?

What happened? There were 56 delegates, a little smaller than Congress is today, right? Fifty-six delegates that gathered to the Second Continental Congress.

Now watch this. What was the Declaration of Independence? Who was it designed for?

Who? Why was that document written? Who was it for? Essentially for three groups of people. Number one, for the King of England.

You say, is he a group? Well, they had a monarchy, you know, what he said went. Well, it was to the English people who owned the Americans who were trying to get independence. So the first design was for the king. The second was for the colonists themselves, for the we, the people. For all those pilgrims that we write about and we talk about and we appreciate. It was for the colonists, for the people themselves to explain what was going on. And thirdly, it was for the whole world. It was designed, the Declaration of Independence was designed, and I'm putting this in a little bit of a Don Wilton terminology.

It was saying to the world, excuse me, we're not you, we're Americans. I understand that. See, I grew up as the citizen of another country and then I renounced that citizenship. I literally did. You looking at a man, I did.

I mean, it's been a long time ago and I remember. In the state of Mississippi, I stood there, raised my hand. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I took the pledge of allegiance. I renounced that citizenship.

Do you know, by the way, when I go back to the land of my birth, I have to go through the foreigner's entrance. I'm not a citizen there. And can I tell you, I don't want to be. I made that choice. I have no desire. Did I say I'm not grateful for the land of my birth?

I didn't say that. I grew up in a beautiful place, grateful for my upbringing, but I'm an American. It was designed so that the world will know who we are. So what is the goal, some of the goals of the Declaration of Independence?

I wrote down three. Number one, to rally people around what we believe, all the people. Number two, to create the stage for the growth of the people who rally around it.

You've got to provide the space, create the stage. And number three, to establish the fundamental principles upon which we are founded. One nation under God. And so this nation was founded with people violating the very foundation. Slavery, for example, was a fundamental, massive violation of everything that we believe.

The foundation was laid, and I use that as a very important issue. Now, if that happens, essentially what the Declaration of Independence was doing was telling Great Britain why we were separating from them. No, we don't want to be under you anymore. And if that means we're going to drive on the other side the road, so be it. And if it means we're going to call tomato sauce ketchup, then so be it. And if it means we're going to eat french fries instead of chips, so be it. And if biscuits are not cookies, then so be it.

And I'm just using the stuff that we all laugh about. We were never told to lose our individuality because we celebrate individuality. We celebrate people. We celebrate the right of every person to exist in freedom.

We celebrate freedom of worship. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word, and we'll be back in just a moment with more on this powerful message. But Dr. Don wants you to know we're here for you, ready to talk and pray with you, whether it's keyboard to keyboard on our website at TEWONLINE.ORG or this phone number, 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. We celebrate that in America. So who are we? But more importantly, we've got to ask the question secondly of America, where are we? Where are we? So where are we today? Where is America today? Well, I've just got two points.

There are a lot of others. Number one, we are, where are we? We're extremely blessed. What bothers me a lot in America is there's a lot of people who don't seem to realize how blessed we are.

You know, you can have something so good that you don't any longer see or recognize or thank God for the goodness that you have. Yesterday, I went up to Highlands, North Carolina. It is so beautiful up there. Met my brother, Murray. I love him to bits. Haven't seen him in a year and a half, mostly because of COVID. We played golf together. We climbed all over the mountains.

I'm just telling you something. The two of us as brothers, my older brother had to be with his family up in Maryland. He couldn't come, but we just love each other. We grew up together, and we were standing there.

I even went to Instagram, put a picture of me and my brother Murray on Instagram, and I said we just loved each other all our lives. And you know, we were looking at each other. We identify with where we began because we were there together. And we looked at each other arm in arm repeatedly and said, wow, just look at this place. Look at the people who love us. Look at our churches.

Look at the fellowship. Look at this land from sea to shining sea. We looked at each other, having grown up in a beautiful place. I mean, I grew up in a surf's paradise. I grew up in mountains. I grew up among animals of every kind, man.

Beauty of Africa is unsurpassed. Man, look at what God's given me. Look where he's placed me. Look where I brought up my children. So we're blessed.

That's the first thing I'd say and answer the question, where are we? But there's a second truth. Not only are we blessed, but I'm going to say to you as a Christian, we are under attack. America's under attack.

I'm speaking to Christians like me. There's an agenda. There's an undermining. And all across this beautiful land, people are running into each other. There's a growing hostility. And we're living in a land, who cares what you say anymore?

People say just the filthiest, horriblest things you've ever heard. Criticize, break down, but more importantly, what is it about America as a Christian? As God has stirred your heart and my heart, perhaps there's something that needs to be adjusted, a change necessary. Before we get away, you've heard from Dr. Wilton preaching and teaching from the pulpit, but as he steps into the studio, open your heart to what he wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin, and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. If you've given your life to Jesus or rededicated your life, we have free resources we want you to have if you'll call 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673, or meet us online at TEWOnline.org. We are excited to announce that a friend of the ministry has donated $200,000 as a challenge gift and has extended a challenge to our donors to give an additional $300,000 by December 31st. This challenge is to fund our television broadcasting. Would you prayerfully consider a donation to this challenge? Please call 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 to give a donation and be sure to tell them that this is for the match challenge. Thank you for your support of the encouraging word. Again, it's our prayer that you would just consider if God's leading you to help support this teaching and preaching of Dr. Don Wilton that you'd get involved financially, the ECFA, the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability, or other partnerships that would help you understand who we are. Perhaps you prayed with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Christ, to rededicate your life, know that we'd love to connect with you. You can call us right now for free information Dr. Don wants you to have at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online at www.tewonline.org. Again, discover more online at www.tewonline.org and know that we're ready to pray with you anytime 24 hours a day at 866-899-WORD. . . . . .