Stephen McDowell: We need to repent to turn America around
>> Stephen McDowell: Welcome to America's Providential History podcast, where we talk about the real story of America and explore the hand of God in our history. Now, here's your host, Stephen McDowell. Hello. Glad you're joining us for this edition of America's Providential History. Today we are going, we're continuing the story of turning America around. A few podcasts ago, we began to look at, Jonah and how Jonah was given a mission that God wanted him to go to Nineveh and call Nineveh to repentance. But instead of going to Nineveh, he fled away from Nineveh and fled away from God because he was, afraid. He didn't want to fulfill that mission that God has given him. And, we today have been given a mission. Our mission is to proclaim truth, to turn America around, to uphold the righteous rule of Christ Jesus, to turn America around. We, like Jonah, need to repent. And in the previous three podcasts we looked at three areas where repentance is necessary. One, we must begin to fulfill our biblical duties. In these three areas we need in particular, the church must teach all that Christ commanded. Parents must prepare their children to be instruments to advance the kingdom of God. And civil government must protect our property and productivity. Now we read in the book of Jonah how Jonah repented. Although you remember the story, it took many extraordinary and providential events to get his attention. God sent winds and waves and storms, and then Jonah was thrown overboard and he sent a big fish that swallowed up Jonah where he spent three days in the belly of the fish. And during that time God got his attention and he eventually repented and set about to go do the original mission God had given him to proclaim God, God's truth to Nineveh and proclaimed to Nineveh they needed to repent. So we see God's providence in those storms. In the book of Jonah, we might ask the question to us today, what wind and waves and storms and fish do we face? Why is opposition coming on the church in America, especially in recent decades with the rise of homosexual movement and trans movements, with the persecution of business owners for conscience sake, with restrictions of worship, especially seen during COVID in many states where the church was forbidden to meet. We see the rise of many leftist groups that protest and bring about destruction of private property, with local officials doing nothing about it in some of the cities to keep that from happening. We, we see attacks on people who are exposing evil or bringing truth to light that they're the ones that are being attacked. We see the rise of statism and big government socialism within our nation as well. Perhaps God is getting our attention with some of these things. Some of these may be the winds, the waves, the storms, the big fishes that are coming upon us that God is using to get our attention so that we might see that we've been running away from our calling. And I know many churches, things have gotten so bad and so obvious that they have risen up and say, wait a minute, we cannot just sit in the four corners of our building and sing and pray and, and study the Bible while the world is dying around us. We need to rise up, we need to repent and begin to fulfill our duty and responsibilities. We must learn from the storms that God sends us. King David said, it is good for me that I was afflicted. The affliction of Jonah, like King David, helped set him on his path of obedience. So God in his mercy is advancing his kingdom purposes and he wants to use us to do that, wants to use us individually and corporately as the church, to do that. And so he did it with Nineveh. He woke Nineveh up and Nineveh saw, Nineveh repented. Nineveh went and proclaimed the truth to Jonah, repented and proclaimed the truth to Nineveh. And when Nineveh heard the truth, Nineveh, repented. We can read that in Jonah, chapter three, verse five through eight, they cried out to God in sackcloth, but they not only just verbally cried out and asked for forgiveness, but they also did the works of repentance. And in Jonah 3:10. And because they cried out and began to act differently, that's what repentance is. Have a turn away. Then society began to be changed. The city of Nineveh, that pagan city, was transformed when Jonah fulfilled his mission and proclaimed truth. And we can expect the same if we obey the mission. If we turn and begin to do those three things we covered in the previous three podcasts, we can expect that this mighty God that we serve will, grant repentance to more and more of the people in this nation or any nation who will carry on the mission God has given us. And so there are positive signs that we can see occurring in our nation today. Some of the church is awakening to the mission to teach, to act in these ways. Many Christians are training their children and entering the battle for the culture they are assuming, governing the education of their children. There is a growing pro life belief, especially among, young people. So there are indications of things occurring, you know, in the late 70s 10 or 15,000 people were homeschooled in America today. Over 3 million people are being homeschooled. Majority of these from Christian families because they want to produce a different seed. They want to produce children who will carry on, the mission. And many Christian schools are starting as well. And so there is some hopeful positive signs. But much, much, much more needs to be done in order to completely perform our duty and to see a wide scale repentance in the nation, at large as we begin to talk about performing our duty. And that is what is required. If we repent and turn from what's been going on, then we need to perform our duty. In particular, there's three areas that I've covered in the past three podcasts. Those things are our duty and that it's essential that we perform our duty in order to turn the nation around. And so when we think about duty, I want to give you just a couple of examples historically of individuals who performed their duty and the difference that it made. One, I'll give you an example of, non Christians. Back in 480 BC, the Persians under King Xerxes were invading the west with the greatest army the world had ever seen. 80,000 men on horseback or in chariots with hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers from many, many nations marched out from Susa after four years of preparation to avenge the death of Xerxes father Darius back. The army was so large it took one week to pass by the king in review. King Xerxes meant to subdue Greece, stop them from the, stop the then growing budding Athens and Sparta and expand his already large empire. Now at that time, Athens was not the great democracy it would become democracy in the sense that here's the best man can do without God. And there was a degree of embracing truthful ideas that enabled some flourishing in Athens, though very limited to what the Christian faith would bring, after Christ came into the world. but at this time it wasn't democracy in any sense, with grand buildings, rich learning, but it was one of many Greek city states that were arguing with one another. even if united, these city states would have been no match for this grand army of the East. And so when the Greeks heard of the massive army that was marching their way, they hastily assembled a force of perhaps 7,000 men to oppose them. And at the core of these 7,000 men were 300 Spartans. And these Spartans were led by a 55 year old Spartan prince by the name of Leonidas. These Spartans have been trained to stand or die. One Spartan mother told her son who was marching off to fight here. She said, come back with your shield or on it. So to enter the land the Persians had to march through a narrow 20 yard wide pass bounded by the sea on one side and then the 500 foot cliffs amount Calidromus on the other. Hot springs which the Greeks called Thermophilae bubbled out of the cliffs. And hence the name of the place where the 300 took their stand was Thermophilae. And that name, Thermophila, we identify with the leonidas and the 300 Spartans. Now on the surface, such eyes. It was like 150 to 1. The Greeks were outnumbered 150 to 1. It would seem to allow the Persians no problem. They just glide through the pass on their way to certain victory in Greece. But for two days Leonidas troops stood and stopped all assaults. Now late on the second day, Xerxes sent in his crack division. He called them the Immortals. And they too were repulsed by these 300 Spartans who were standing in the gap. The Spartans who were fulfilling their duty, to, to their family and to their, their city state, their nation if you will. Well after this Herculean effort at standing for two days the Greeks were betrayed. During the night a traitor led the Persians over the cliffs so that at daybreak Leonidas and his army were nearly surrounded and defeat was now inevitable. Leonidas sent most of his army home but he took his 300 and a few others to make a last desperate stand. These 300 fought until the last man died. Before they died, they sent home this stranger.
Today we face a great enemy, a global secular culture
Tell the Spartans that we behaved as they would wish us to and are buried here. Now these men who died would never know that their stand in death inspired their countrymen to arise and unite and defeat the Persians and push them back to the east where they would never again menace the west. Within 30 years the city of Athens would become the most influential city the world had known. Leonidas and the 300 stood and did their duty. They were defeated. But in the long run this defeat became a victory. Two thousand years later a French philosopher, Montaigne, said of Thermophila, there are triumphant defeats that rival victories. Well today we face a great enemy. just like the Spartans, the Greeks faced that great enemy. Outnumbered 150 to 1, we face a great enemy. We may at times seem like we're outnumbered that much as well. And in some nations you know, God's people are outnumbered that much. Thankfully not here in America we're not outnumbered that much but we face a great enemy, a global secular culture. secularists, progressives, statists, Muslim extremists, socialists, big government, liberals, and many others make up the enemy that is fighting against us. And like the 300, we must stand in the gap and fight the enemy. Now, some of us may die, certainly many may suffer, but this may be so that others may live and liberty may grow. You know, God intends good for his people, is at work advancing his kingdom, in the midst of the rise of the enemy today, now we may see lost battles. We have seen some battles lost, but the war will be won by God's people, whether small or large. As each of us does our duty, we are participating in changing history and extending his kingdom in the earth. And so it's important we stand in the gap, that we do our duty. You know, the founders of America understood this concept of duty, and it is what motivated, them to stand up against the enemies they had to face. And since they faithfully fulfilled their duty, they gave birth to a free nation that we benefit from today. Well, we can take George Washington. he understood that duty is an important biblical precept. It is linked to our calling in God. Now, we all have a similar general calling to advance the kingdom of God, bring his will on earth as it is in heaven. But each one of us has a unique individual calling as well. So each of us performing our calling and our duty is vital for God's purpose to be fulfilled. As I said, early Americans understood this and readily embrace their duty, none more so than George Washington. Back in 1754, George Washington was sent by the governor of Virginia, of course, this is 20 years before our independence, sent by, by the governor of Virginia to deliver a message, to the French, who were building forts on Virginia soil. And George Washington wrote to the governor, and this is as much as I can promise. But my best endeavors shall not be wanting to deserve more. I doubt not if you hear, I am beaten, but you will at the same time hear that we have done our duty in fighting as long as there was a possibility of hope. Washington was sent to deliver a message for the French to get off the soil. Washington had an encounter with the French, outnumbered, by the French, but they stood, they fought, they did their duty. We have done our duty in fighting as long as there is possibility of hope. So no matter what the cost, Washington was prepared to fulfill the duty that had been given him, at that time. Later on, when he was chosen as commanding general of the continental army in 1775, Washington wrote, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious cause. And so again, just like he was performing his duty 20 years before and on the battlefield, once again he said, I will enter upon this momentous duty and do whatever it takes to accomplish that purpose. Then later, after Washington led us into victory and we won the war, and then during the war, we got together a Constitutional Convention, 1787, to discuss how to come up with a better form of government, that Washington was unanimously selected as the president of the Constitutional Convention. M But when that convention was first called, all the people sent a message to him. You've got to come. You've got to be here. We need you, because this convention won't succeed without your presence. Now, Washington had been sick for months and months. He had already served his, nation for years and years. But as he said, an honest conviction of duty superseded my former resolution. So he didn't want to go. He was ill, but he recognized, okay, if I'm needed, I will go and perform my duty. And he went on. And of course, under his leadership and the finger of that almighty, as Madison and Washington and others wrote and Benjamin Franklin wrote, we did, have and ratified a constitution, a constitutional form of government unlike the world had ever seen. Washington was unanimously elected the first president of the United states under the U.S. constitution in 1789. And it was Washington's sense of duty and reliance upon God overcame the feelings he had of incompetence. He said, look, the people unanimously elected. I don't want to be the president, just like I didn't want to come to the convention. But if I can fulfill my duty, if they demand it, I don't. In many ways, I don't lack qualities necessary. It wasn't just that he was president. He was the first president that was setting a precedence of how all other presidents since then would govern. Because he recognized that throughout history, one revolution, when, nations had a revolution, they replaced one king with another. In fact, they tried to make him king earlier. And he rejected that offer, as well. He recognized now as president, he was, concerned of setting the right example. But he said his sense of duty and reliance upon God overcame his feelings of incompetence. He wrote, I know the delicate nature of the duties incident to the part which I am called to perform, and I feel my incompetence without the singular assistance of Providence to discharge them in a satisfactory manner. But having undertaken the Task from a sense of duty. No fear of encountering difficulties and no dread of losing popularity shall ever deter me from pursuing. Pursuing what I conceive to be the true interests of my country. So throughout his life, George Washington, reflecting really the heart of all the founding fathers of America, understood this biblical concept of duty. We will perform our duty, no matter how difficult it may be, no matter what it might cost me personally. If I can perform a duty to God in my country and in my family, I, will give of myself to do that, laying down my life if necessary. So Washington performed his duty. It was God who directed the outcome. when we perform our duty, we're never assured of the outcome of what we do. But if we stand and do what we believe God has called us to do, if we stand on our purpose and responsibilities, if we repent and turn around and begin to act differently, we can have great hopes that God will perform. God will bring forth good fruit as he has promised. John Quincy Adams affirmed this truth of we doing our duty and God bringing the outcome by stating, duty is ours, the results are God's. In fact, this idea had been written about by many people before John Quincy Adams. Matthew Henry, who wrote a, Bible commentary in the early 1700s read by so many of our founding fathers, made a similar statement. That duty is ours. The results are the Lord's. I'm not sure if John Quincy Adams was first introduced to that idea through his commentaries, but that concept certainly would have permeated the church and Christian families and the people of the United States that they understood. Duty is ours. We will fulfill our purpose, our responsibilities in this life, those that God have laid out in the scripture. General things that we're all to do, but specific calling as well. We will do that. And we will trust and rest that God will bring about the purposes that he so requires. But if we don't do our duty, if we don't plant the seed, if we don't proclaim truth, then God can't bring forth that fruit from no seed. See, like Washington, God will assist us to discharge our duty. He'll give us the strength to do what we need to do. Nothing. Whether fear, dread of losing popularity, persecution, loss of property or anything else shall deter us from pursuing our duty. We must be willing to sacrifice all that is necessary to accomplish our mission. We must embrace and understand this concept of duty and rely upon God to fulfill our duties. Study the Scripture deeply so we clearly understand our duty.
America has a great need to turn back toward biblical principles of our nation
We understand our battle is for the kingdom of God. To the extent that we understand our duties and responsibilities. We rely upon God and get the character and strength we need to fulfill our duty. Then God can move mightily. Then God will be able to bring about a change in our nation. Just like Nineveh went, proclaimed truth, eventually doing his duty as God kind of nudged him along that line and proclaimed truth, Nineveh repented and the whole pagan nation was changed. Just like the leonidas and the 300 Spartans and the went and fought and stood in the gap and performed their duty. They laid down their life and that was used to push back their enemies and to assert a new nation state arise that reflected some level of liberty. And just like that, God will give us strength just like that. Those can be examples to us to rise up, recognize we have a mission. We need to repent of failure to fulfill that mission in recent generations and we need to act a different way. In particular, the church must teach the truth that transforms the culture. Families must assume the responsibility to educate their children and, and government must protect people's property. Jonah 3:5 says, Then the people of Nineveh believed in God. They believed in God after Noah went, excuse me, after Jonah went and fulfilled his duty and preached truth. And then Jonah 3:10 says, When God saw their deeds that they turn from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which he declared he would bring upon them. And he did not do it. So if we as God's people will repent, turn, perform our duties, then we can have assurance that God will move on our behalf. He'll turn from any calamity that may come upon this nation. He'll pour out his blessings upon this nation. He'll take those seeds of our action and bring forth good fruit. And we can have the great hope that America will turn and will change as we perform our duty. Well, to review this message you can of course go back and listen to the past previous podcast. But I also point you to our website, providencefoundation.com and I wrote a booklet. It's called Turning America Around. Fulfilling our Biblical Duties to Transform the Culture, Educate Our Children and Protect Property that you can read and share this with others as well. how are we going to turn the nation around? America has a great need today to turn back toward the founding principles of our nation. All last year we took a look at how, godly people fulfilling their godly calling and mission, sacrificing and paying the price to do their duty, gave birth to a unique nation. The most free and prosperous nation the world has ever known. Not perfect, we had our problems, but here was an exceptional nation built upon Christian liberty and Christian self government. A nation that became the most free and prosperous the world has ever seen because it was built upon biblical truth. That's what we need to restore those ideas, those principles, that we need to restore and infuse in the foundation of our life, our families, our churches, our civilization, government, our economic systems, our educational systems. And to the extent that we stand up, perform our duty, God will move, turn this nation back to him so that we, she, this nation, may fulfill that original mission to be a city set upon a hill, a light, an example to the nations of the world. Of here is a free nation, here is a fruitful nation, here is a flourishing nation. And it will point them to the principles of the living God that they can then embrace, infuse that in the foundation of their nation and can see the same good fruit come forth. So we have an important part to play. What we do here impacts the world. God is at work and moving in many nations of the world, doing marvelous and great things. Christians in those nations are seeking to discover their duties and their responsibilities and fulfill them. And good fruit is coming forth from them. And so we have a great battle in essence that we're entering into. But we have God's weapons, weapons of his warfare are full of truth and light and are mighty, mighty to save and mighty to accomplish, God's purposes. So I, encourage you to seek the Lord, ask him what is my duty, what can I do to help turn America around and then ask him for the strength to carry out, your mission. To help you in that we have lots of resources, Visit our website providencefoundation.com We've got many books and videos. America's Providential History is just a key book that will help reveal our purpose and mission and what God has been doing from the beginning until today. We have books on biblical view of civil government, ruling over the earth, biblical view of economics, Steward, in the earth we have a great biblical view of education. I'll point you to our film Educated for Liberty. You can access it from our website providencefoundation.com or go directly to the film film educatedforliberty.com and view it as well. In future podcasts we'll want to look much more at some of the things that we cover in this film and let you know how you can use this great resource to educate others which will be part of fulfilling your duty. And responsibility to turn America around. So thanks for joining us. Us, this week, we've got many, more exciting new things to cover and in the weeks to come. So I hope you'll join us on this podcast. God bless you.
