A Nation Restored

Jeremiah 4:1–2 ESV

“If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”

A Christian Nation?

People like to say that America is a Christian nation, or that we used to be a Christian nation.

What does that mean?

There are other nations that call themselves Christian.

They say so because the majority of their population identifies as Christian.

Or because they have laws that were based on biblical laws and values.

But can a nation be Christian?

It all depends on what you mean by “nation.”

When we think of our nation, we automatically think of certain things.

Geography.

The United States is made up of 50 states and 5 territories.

The majority of our land is in North America.

You have to go through Canada to get to Alaska.

Hawaii is out in the Pacific

Then you have the territories

Guam

Northern Mariana Islands

American Samoa

Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

Politics

Three branches of government

Executive

Legislative

Judicial

Political parties

Democrats

Republicans

Libertarians

Green Party

Constitution Party

Our international dealings and policies

History

Discovery of America

The early settlements

The American revolution

Declaration of Independence

US Constitution

Westward Expansion

Rise of the South

Civil War

Civil Rights movement

Ideologies

Equal opportunity

Democracy

Personal Freedom

All these things are part of what it means to be an American.

But a nation is not its government, its policies, politics, history, or its ideologies.

A nation is a group of people.

These people have all these other things in common, but still it comes down to each person and the choices he or she makes.

So when we talk about having a Christian nation, we cannot rely on our government, our politics, or our ideologies.

The only way America can be considered a Christian nation is when it becomes a nation whose people follow Jesus.

Our Hope for Our Nation

Our hope for our nation is NOT our government.

We can do our best to get people into political office who support our values.

The problem is, there are people out there with values different from ours who are also trying to get their representatives into office.

Opposing groups spend so much time fighting that nothing gets done!

Laws and policies we like get put in place, only to be overthrown in the next election.

Even when laws stick, they still can’t really accomplish what we want them to.

Laws govern behavior.

But laws cannot turn wicked people into good people.

Wicked people simply ignore the laws.

They do what they want in secret.

You know the saying, “It’s only illegal if you get caught.”

There are people out there who find ways to be unethical and hurt others while still remaining within the confines of the law.

It’s wrong, but it’s legal.

We don’t need another welfare or social reform package.

They just deal with the symptoms.

They don’t go to the core of the problem.

Our hope is not in our national heritage.

People are always trying to play to our sense of national identity.

We talk about us being the greatest nation on the earth.

Others say they are ashamed of our country.

The fact is, we have accomplished much in this country.

We also have made terrible mistakes in our history.

We can neither idealize our past nor demonize it.

God isn’t going to bless us because we’re Americans.

If God is going to bless us, it’s because we are living in obedience to Him.

If God is going to curse us, it’s because of our willful disobedience.

And that brings us to our one REAL hope for our nation.

We have to be a nation whose people belong to God.

We have to see ourselves FIRST as citizens of God’s kingdom.

That means putting God’s desires first.

We do what HE wants, not what WE want.

When we have surrendered our lives to God, when we have repented our sins and let the Holy Spirit indwell us, God comes alive in us, and we begin to take on his nature.

Jeremiah 31:33 ESV

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

God’s desires become our desires. When God’s laws become written on our hearts, we will naturally live in a way that obeys those laws.

And just what is God’s law?

Mark 12:29–31 ESV

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Who is your neighbor?

Every person that you are near.

If you love God with all your heart, you will do everything to please Him.

And if you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, you will do nothing to harm them.

Rather, you will do everything to help them.

Can you imagine a nation of people fully devoted to God?

Can you imagine a nation committed to serving their neighbors instead of being served?

When we see the problems of this country, we want to blame someone.

We blame our politicians.

It’s those liberal Democrats.

It’s those repressive Republicans.

Each side is pointing fingers, claiming the other side is the evil source of rot that is destroying our civilization.

We blame the education system.

The schools are teaching evolution and corrupting our kids.

We blame the media.

But the problem with this nation is simply that our people have turned from God.

We as individuals have sought our own way instead of following God.

We have deceived ourselves into thinking sin doesn’t exist; it’s merely a question of personal belief and choice.

And because of our sin, we created injustice.

Slavery still exists.

A child’s innocence is stolen.

People are judged by the color of their skin.

Individuals find countless ways to exploit others.

The ones who are sworn to protect us violate us.

When these things happen, rather than turning to God, we seek retribution.

We get angry and lash out, seeking make others hurt as much as we do.

Then the ones we hurt decide to hurt us back.

We try to create new laws to fix things.

We become obsessed with trying to appease each other.

And it’s all messed up, because God’s not in any of it.

It’s all us trying to handle things on our own.

A nation is not a country. It’s not a government or an economic system.

A nation is people.

The only hope for our nation is to truly be One Nation Under God.

We don’t need social reform—we need transformed hearts.

Hearts that love God and hate sin.

Hearts that value our neighbors and seek their welfare.

How do we restore our nation?

We pray for the souls of our nation.

We witness to our neighbors and introduce them to Jesus.

We pray for the Holy Spirit to convict us all of our sins and lead us to repentance.

We pray that every person in this country produce the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

If every person had these qualities alive in them, there would be no need for any other laws.

But folks, in the midst of all this, I want to remind you of this: the most important thing is not making America great. The most important thing is remembering that there is an eternal kingdom, and you need to make sure that you are a citizen there.

You have to acknowledge that there is only one God, and He is the ruler of that kingdom.

You have to acknowledge that you have violated God’s laws, and that you need to be forgiven.

You have to acknowledge that Jesus took your death sentence on the Cross.

You must commit to allowing the Holy Spirit to live inside you and change you into one who honors God’s laws in their heart.

The restoration of our nation starts with each of us making certain that OUR hearts are right with God.

Then we can be vessels of restoration and blessing for those around us, drawing them into the heart of God.

And then THEY can be ministers of restoration, and so on and so on, until not just this nation, but this entire WORLD is on fire for Jesus!