America, God Shed His Grace
America: God Shed His Grace on Thee
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
Intro: America, the Beautiful
“O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.” Katharine Lee Bates wrote those words in 1893, stirred in the depths of her heart by what she saw from a high mountaintop near Colorado Springs.
Miss Bates, an instructor at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, took a trip out west with some other schoolteachers. One day, they all decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pike’s Peak. They hired a prairie wagon to take them up the winding road that leads up that great mountain. Near the summit, the path became so steep that they had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules.
Katherine Lee Bates was very tired. She was exhausted from her trip, shivering from the cold that came with the high altitude, and having difficulty breathing the thin alpine air. But when she stood on the crest of that mountain and caught sight of the view surrounding her, the fatigue was replaced by a surprising joy and awe. She wrote: “All the wonder of America seemed displayed there.”
The first stanza of the poem that day inspired ends with these words:
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Today, we’re asking God to shed His grace upon America.
Grace – that’s when God gives us what we never could deserve.
America does not need God’s justice. His justice would destroy us, for we are a wicked nation.
America needs God’s grace – not in small drops like the morning dew upon the grass but in the rushing flow of a mighty river.
Praise the Lord, His grace abounds to us! And His grace can be found as we call on His name in prayer.
That is why you and I are here today.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a law making National Day of Prayer a nation-wide observance.
But, the origins of the National Day of Prayer can be traced all the way back to October 3, 1789, when George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Prayer.
Here is what he said: “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly implore his protection and favor.”
America seems to have forgotten the benefits and favor that God has shed on our great country. If ever there was a need for God’s grace, it is now. Today, you and I can seek God’s grace for America.
Notice with me how God’s Word says we can seek God’s grace through prayer.
First . . .
1. We can pray with a sense of boldness.
“Let us come boldly . . .”
IL: Esther before Ahasuerus
The book of Esther tells us that the pagan King Ahasuerus took Esther as his queen. He was unaware that she was a Jew. Later he was convinced to annihilate the Jews for disobedience to his laws.
Mordecai, who was also a Jew, had taken in Esther to raise as a daughter. He pleaded with Esther to go to the King and tell him she was a Jew and to plead for grace for her people.
There was one big problem. No one could come into the presence of the king without his summons. If they did and he held out his golden scepter, they would receive grace. If they approached and did not see the scepter held out, that meant death. This was true even for Esther, the wife of the king.
Boldy, Esther approached the throne of Ahasuerus. She discovered that the king – who loved her so dearly – was holding out the golden scepter in his hand.
Today, God’s golden scepter is extended. He loves us dearly and He welcomes us into His presence with our petitions.
We can pray with boldness.
Also as we seek God’s grace through prayer . . .
2. We can pray with a sense of eagerness.
EX: “that we may obtain mercy and grace”
Awaiting at the throne is mercy and grace.
We don’t have to go in fear wondering if we will receive grace. We can go eagerly to God’s throne, expecting to receive mercy and grace.
IL: It was a little church like so many that dot the landscape of this great nation. White plank siding, black shutters, a small steeple with a cross at the top. In the vestibule of that church, a rope dropped through a small hole in the ceiling. All of the children of the church knew what that rope did.
The little church rang the bell every Sunday to let the community know the worship service was about to start.
Every week they asked a child to ring the bell. A little boy or girl would grab the rope and pull. As the bell rang, it would pick the child up off the ground, swinging the child up and down. The boys and girls loved to pull that rope and ring that bell.
AP: When we pray, our prayers pull the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God.
Some barely stir the bell, for they pray so lazily.
Others give only an occasional tug at the rope.
But the man or woman wins with heaven is the one who grabs the rope eagerly and pulls continuously, with all his might.
God is looking for people who are eager to come before Him in prayer.
Finally, as we seek God’s grace for our nation . . .
3. We can pray with a sense of neediness.
“that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
EX: “time of need” = “in the nick of time.”
The Greek phrase translated “in time of need” is a phrase that means “in the nick of time” is the exact equivalent. That means God’s grace is available just the moment you need it.
When you are attacked by temptation – His grace is only a prayer away.
When you are assaulted by depression – His grace is only a prayer away.
When you are overwhelmed by anger – His grace is only a prayer away.
Cry out to Jesus for help, and His grace will be there in the nick of time.
IL: Haddon Robinson at Denver Theological Seminary.
When Haddon Robinson was president of Denver Theological Seminary, his school desperately needed a new phone system. He visited a businessman and told the man that they needed to raise twenty thousand dollars for the new system. They talked for a while about it, and then the businessman asked, “How much would you like me to give?
Dr. Robinson said, “Well, could you give a thousand dollars?”
The businessman pulled out his checkbook, wrote a check for a thousand dollars, pushed it across the desk, and said, “You insulted me.”
Haddon Robinson was shocked. Oh no, he thought, I’ve offended him. I shouldn’t have asked him for anything.
The man said, “You asked me for a thousand dollars, but you needed twenty thousand. Either you felt that I wasn’t able to give much money, in which case you underestimated my resources. Or worse, you thought I had the money but wouldn’t give you more, in which case you underestimated my generosity. Either way, you’ve insulted me. You always suffer and you insult the person when you ask for less rather than more.”
Don’t insult God with low-ball prayers!
We can’t ask anything that is beyond
the grace and goodness and generosity . . .
and the mercy and the majesty and the magnificence . . .
and the riches and the resources and the reserves . . .
and the power and the provisions and the possibilities . . .
of our God!
Thou art coming to a King;
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much!
No crisis in our nation,
no need in your life,
no obstacle in your marriage,
no difficulty in your family,
no struggle in your business,
no problem in your home,
no sickness in your body,
no sorrow in your soul
is beyond the power of His hand or the love of His heart!
Conclusion: Prayer paths.
We can pray today with a sense of boldness, with sense of eagerness, and with a sense of neediness.
We can boldly enter the throne room of God.
Why? Only because of Jesus! He is the one who has made the way for us to call on God in prayer.
His blood shed on the cross which takes away our sin.
His resurrection from the grave which gives us eternal life.
His ascension to the Father’s right hand where He ever lives to make intercession for us.
He makes the way for us to come to God today.
In one region of Africa, the first converts to Christianity were very diligent about praying. In fact, the believers each had their own special place outside the village where they went to pray in solitude.
The villagers reached these “prayer rooms” by using their own private footpaths through the brush. When grass began to grow over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to whom it belonged was not praying very much.
Because these new Christians were concerned for each other’s spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang up. When ever anyone noticed an overgrown “prayer path,” he or she would go to the person and lovingly warn, “Friend, there’s grass on your path!”
Today’s the day to go down that prayer path again.
To lift up our nation,
our leaders,
our soldiers,
our homes,
our children,
our schools,
our churches,
our pastors before the Lord.
I know that for many of you, that prayer path is clear, for you have made it the habit of your heart to pray long and stay strong before the throne of grace.
But even if there has been grass growing on your path – today you can walk that old path once more and find Jesus waiting on you there.
Let’s walk it together.
[Guided prayer time.]