Has God Given Up On America?

[Darris McNeely] This gospel goes to all nations and people of all races and ethnicities as a warning to repent of sin, to turn to God, before the coming of the day of the Lord. There is a time coming, a time of judgment upon the nations, the hand of God.

Has God given up on the United States of America? It's a serious question that people of faith who do care about America are asking. Here on "Beyond Today" we believe the God of the Bible brought America and the English speaking peoples into existence as nations according to His purpose for the nations of the earth. And He did so based on the promises that He made to Abraham. America is no accident. The hand of God was on its founding. And this brings accountability. And so I ask, is a punishment coming for failure to follow God's commandments? You know like you I grieve for what I have seen happen to my country in recent times. The America that I grew up in was a patriotic place. Each morning in my grade school I pledged allegiance with my hand over my heart to the flag as it went up the pole with the notes of the Star - Spangled Banner in the background. I was taught to respect the flag, the nation, and all my fellow citizens. So when I see scenes of violence in the streets, the burning of the American flag, I grieve for my country. I love my country. But I don't like everything that has happened. It's been a tumultuous period for the world. America has been wounded and is reeling from a period of near revolutionary actions.

The nation has taken quite a beating economically from the shutdown that was created by the COVID pandemic. And now violence has erupted in the streets resulting in death, looting, and a breakdown of order that has not been seen in this generation of Americans. The pace of cultural change has accelerated. What was once thought to be solid values rooted in the Bible or commonly held tradition, they’ve all been changed. What was once thought to be sacred principles of morality, ethics, and social behavior have been altered to fit progressive social ideologies or destructive views of liberty and personal freedom. Now make no mistake, the changes that we see are meant to turn the world that we have known upside down. What we're really seeing are the opening stages of nothing short of a social revolution. The goal is to destroy the America of history, replacing it with a different nation. Now let me say something about "Beyond Today." This program does not back any modern political position. We're not conservative. We're not neoconservative. We're not liberal or progressive. We do not teach that America will bring some type of a messianic democracy to all of the nations of the world. We don't teach that at all. And we don't teach that America is the chosen people. Neither are we backed by or supported by or associated with any mainstream religious organization, either large or small. "Beyond Today" is about taking the Bible as the lens by which we view our world.

We announce the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God with a biblical worldview as the Word of God that brings understanding of today's world events, the very events that you and I are asking and questioning about as we watch our news every day. Our purpose is to help you build a life based on the hope of the gospel, the good news that Christ will return to Earth with a kingdom that will replace all of the kingdoms of this world. So when I ask the question, has God given up on America? I really ask it from a view of what the gospel, the Bible, what it tells us about the nations, the kingdoms, and the people, the rise of America and the English speaking nations. It came at a moment in history by the divine purpose of God. History doesn't happen apart from a gospel of salvation brought by Jesus Christ. Only the gospel of God can give us an understanding of history and Bible prophecy. Let's look for a biblical answer to my question. What I'd like for you to do is look at a dollar bill. I have one here. Look at your dollar bill. It says in there, "In God we trust.” In God we trust. That is a long-held motto on American currency. That's quite a strong statement and declaration to make. Maybe you haven't thought about that for a while. From its founding America was shaped by a belief that the hand of God was somehow involved in its destiny. The slogan on the dollar bill, it actually means something. Words have meaning. People used to believe that God was involved in America.

Let me give you a few quotes from a noted social commentator Michael Medved, who wrote in his book, "The American Miracle: Divine Providence in the Rise of the Republic." Let me give you a few quotes. He wrote, "Since the days of the pilgrims, leaders of the new society that arose in the New World, have embraced the core concept of a divinely determined destiny. For nearly 400 years, Americans nourished the notion that God maintained an intimate protective connection to their singular nation." It goes on "The founders and builders of this remarkable republic believe deeply in heavenly favor for their efforts. Foreign observers recognize that the United States as a vehicle chosen by fate for promoting goodness and human advancement, far beyond its borders. So too," as Medved goes on "10s of millions of intrepid souls from every corner of the earth, have staked their lives on the unshakable belief that God Himself prepared America as a land of refuge and a new life. Immigrants from every era have sensed something magical, preordained, and powerful in their risky journeys to the new world. For those who choose to begin, again, in this nation of fresh starts, America can never be an accident." "The American Miracle," quite a title for an interesting book. This reflects a very powerful idea that God had a purpose for America and for all of the English speaking nations. Now that may not be a popular idea to consider today but it is an important one. And nonetheless, we say it.

Understand this. We on "Beyond Today," we don't hold any fantasy that American history is without flaws, sins, and broken promises even. The teaching that America has been blessed with unique divine blessing, the God of Abraham, it doesn't say that America is exclusively blessed. Nor does it say that every citizen has been treated as equal before God. We do not say that the American story has been perfect for all of its people and with all other nations at any given moment of the American story. But here's what we do say. We say that the God of the Bible brought America into existence, according to a part of His purpose for all the nations of the earth. The Bible tells us God called a man named Abraham out of the nations of his own day, saying, "Go to a new land. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed." We say on "Beyond Today" that God has been faithful in every part and dimension of this promise to Abraham. God's enduring faithfulness is at the heart of the story of Scripture. Abraham is promised to be the father of many nations and peoples through Jesus Christ. Every believer in Christ, every believer in Christ, from all races of man, is of the seed of Abraham and heir of the promise made to him by God. That's at the heart of the gospel preached to Abraham. Understand that.

But understand something else. You've not heard the fullness of that gospel message. This gospel goes to all nations and people of all races and ethnicities as a warning to repent of sin, to turn to God before the coming of the day of the Lord. There is a time coming, a time of judgment upon the nations, the hand of God. And America, America, a nation whose origins hold a belief in God's providential hand and who says on its currency, "In God, we trust," America is among the nations who need to heed the Word of God and repent. Repent, which means to change. Change a lot of things. Repent of transgressing, the basic commandments of God. Why is that? Because America's blessings and America's greatness are due to God's blessing and God's faithfulness. God made America the envy of the world and God will hold America accountable. Has God given up on America? Has He taken his hand off the land? Not yet. But we may be close to that time when He will. How will you respond to God's warning? This is our time to listen to God's warning and to understand what it means. We see big events that are shaking the foundations of America and other nations of the world. Why is it happening? What does it mean? We want to know. We're going to look at a few foundational matters from today's headlines. But first, what I want to do is give you an offer of a study guide today because I said that the promise God made to Abraham was the gospel of God.

To help you understand the fullness of that promise is the gospel and what it means in today's world, we have a study guide that will take you through this vital dimension of understanding. "The United States and Britain in Prophecy" is our free study guide. This guide is going to show you why I asked the question for today's program, has God given up on America? This study guide will also show you the answer to that question. It's a question that many are asking now. The study guide will take you through Scripture to help you understand. So please call the number on your screen or go to beyondtoday.tv to get your free copy or to download and begin reading your free copy of the study guide today. Now I have raised a grave question, has God turned his back on America? Let's turn it around. Let's turn a mirror on the nation. Has America turned its back on God? I showed you from America's founding that there was a sense God was involved. And it's a comforting understanding to know how the founding fathers of America thought about what was happening. Yet today we have to ask, if we're not at some time that is described by the Apostle Paul when he wrote his letter to the church at Rome in the book of Romans. In the first chapter Paul describes his time and I ask, does it apply to us today? Paul writes, "Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie. Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things, which were not fitting."

Pretty strong words. And so I turn those words and I ask, has America, has Canada, has Australia, have other nations removed God from its life? You know in America, a land with so many Christian churches and a deep religious heritage, it's really a shocking question. And some would even wonder why we would even ask that question here on "Beyond Today." But if you look at some of the key events of recent years in America, you might get a different perspective and understanding.

Let's look at an event in June of the year 2020. When the Supreme Court of the United States issued another one of its landmark rulings where at this time it redefined the meaning of the word sex. The decision that they made was based on the interpretation of a 1964 civil rights law, major piece of American social legislation, which was aimed at ending racial discrimination in the United States. But the court in its decree in 2020, made a decree that the word sex now means more than biology, and genes, and DNA. Sex is now interpreted to mean preference and identity. And so that sweeping ruling will have an impact on every part of the U.S. culture for schools and businesses, to churches and restrooms, and affect the prevailing avalanche of progressive culture that has been building for years now in recent years. It's actually won in the nation's highest court what has not been decided by law in Congress. The Supreme Court crossed the line into the realm of God. It has interfered with a biologically established divine order of life.

God made humans in His image, declaring them male and female with distinctive biological and spiritual roles. Without a hint of God's will or purpose mentioned in their ruling the court has rendered a debasing and unrighteous decision on sexual morality that will further erode America's moral and spiritual culture. The decision invites divine judgment upon the nation of people not wishing, as Paul wrote, to keep God in their knowledge. Now it is a fact America still has a very strong traditional religious stream flowing through its culture. The decision that the Supreme Court made in the social fallout though is only going to widen the divide that we see in America. And those hold to a form of biblical morality based on this book, they're going to feel further alienated by this decision. What we're watching, as a nation distance itself from a God-ordained morality, based not only on the revelation of Scripture but the biological truth that is defined in the Bible and the very facts of biology. Here's another headline. In 1973 the Supreme Court made another decision. Roe vs. Wade, the case that legalized abortion in all 50 states. And since then more than 60 million abortions have been legally performed in the United States alone. Sixty million. Think about that. When a government does not protect its unborn life it deserves the judgment of the God of life. One more headline. 2015 the Supreme Court made a sweeping right that same-sex marriage is guaranteed by the Constitution. The court decreed the divine institution of marriage as something defined in the Bible, as a sacred union between man and woman is now superseded by the courts, human reasoning, and judgment.

Human law now sanctions marriage between two people of the same sex as a relationship that God never intended. In fact, one that He specifically forbids. Within 60 years these decisions have taken us down a path of open public defiance of God in our most elemental parts of life, sexual identity, family, and the womb of a mother. Paul wrote again to the Romans, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them." America and all nations are without excuse. Has America then turned its back on God? I have to admit I really struggle in thinking about this question. How does God look on any nation for that matter that will openly defy His guiding hand and His law? It’s sobering, it's a shocking matter for any of us who are moral, patriotic, and who profess a love of country. For those who hold the Bible as a standard of truth for human morality and who believe that America is a nation under God it raises some serious questions for the future and for now, as we consider that. Now's the time for each of us to understand the serious times in which we live and to see with God's eyes where America and the world is headed. We will reap what we sow. God will not be mocked. The righteous Judge of all the earth will act. We're going to examine some further words of God that tell us exactly what you can do in a moment here. I want to once again just make the offer to you of this very important study guide that we're offering today, "The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy."

Many students of the Bible have asked, is America mentioned in the Bible? Well the study guide will show you how to understand God's message to America and to all the nations in today's world. It's a very strong message of repentance. It is the gospel. So please call the number on your screen or go to beyondtoday.tv to get your free copy or to download and begin reading your free copy of the study guide today. So back to my question. Why would I ask that, has God turned his back on America? Well as we've shown the answer is because God has received the unmerited physical dimension of the promises to Abraham. America has been the recipients of those. And the story of America should be understood with the added biblical dimension of God fulfilling the full physical dimension of His promise to Abraham. This adds deeper meaning to all history for all people. It gives not only understanding but hope. It draws you deeper to the Word of Truth that God gave, "That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life." God has not only fulfilled the spiritual promise through Christ but also the physical part of the promises as well. The two are part of the true gospel of God. My question today goes to the character of a nation torn loose from deep spiritual and moral values that are found in the Bible. We may say that we are a nation trusting in God but the reality is we are far from a nation truly under God living by God's teachings.

To understand where we are today, I think we should look at an interesting story from the founding days of America. It occurred at the convention that was called in 1787 to write the American Constitution. After many months of discussion in Philadelphia they came to the momentous day when they were to sign the document. All the delegates were gathered in the room where the deliberations had taken place. President was Benjamin Franklin. After Franklin signed the document, he returned to his seat and he looked toward the President's chair at the front of the room. The back of that chair had a half sun decoration on it. James Madison who had been the convention Secretary faithfully recorded what Franklin's words were to the delegates who were seated closest to him. Franklin criticized the painters who had found it difficulty thought to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. "I've often in the course of the session," he said, "looked at that sun behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a rising sun and not a setting sun." Indeed, the sun did rise on the United States of America. And on balance through the generations it's been a good day, a good day in which the nations and the peoples of the world have benefited from the presence of America and other English speaking nations. But today we may well ask, is the sun setting on America? If it is what should you do? Well here's what you should do.

You should do what Scripture says to do. You should save yourselves from this crooked generation. It may be too late for America but it is not too late for you. You can do something. You can take this message to heart. You can turn to God. There's a passage from the book of Ezekiel the 18th chapter where the Prophet records the words of God to the nation of Israel that has bearing upon our time and our people today but most importantly for you and I. In verse 26 it says, "When the righteous man turns from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds. And if the wicked people turn from their wickedness," God says, "Obey the law and do what is just and right, they will save their lives." The focus here is on the individual accountability and what a person can do, the individual. God goes on to say in verse 28, "They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sin. Such people will not die." Again, God zeroes in on the individual at a time when it may be too late as it was for Israel of old and we'll see what happens today. You know, people say, "Well, God isn't right in all of this," and sometimes it's easy to point the finger at God. And God says, "Oh people of Israel, repent. Turn from your sins. Don't let them destroy you. Put all your rebellion behind you," God says, "and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, oh, people that Israel? I don't want you to die," says the Sovereign Lord, "turn back and to live." That's what God wants. And that is a decision that you and I can make.

The complete story of how God is working with us has worked with America and other nations. And God's purpose for you can be found in our free study guide that we're offering on our program today, "The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy." I will guarantee you a read of this booklet will change your perspective about the Bible, about history, and certainly about prophecy. So please call the number on your screen or go to beyondtoday.tv to get your free copy or to download and begin reading your free copy of the study guide today. Has God given up on America? Not yet. But America will reap what it has sown. There is time for you to turn to God and to get a new heart, and a new spirit, as the Prophet said. There is a time for you to see the fullness of the gospel of God and to develop a deeper relationship with Him. This is your moment to understand, and to repent, and to change your life before it happens.

[Narrator] Call now to receive the free booklet offered on today's program, "The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy." Are America and Britain described in Bible prophecy? If so, where? The truth about the identity of the United States of America and Britain is one of the most fascinating and inspiring stories in the Bible. Order now. Call toll free 1-888-886-8632 or write to the address shown on your screen. This crucial study aid shows straight from the Bible how God foretold the rise of these two nations. When you order this free study aid, we'll also send you a complimentary one-year subscription to "Beyond Today Magazine.” Beyond Today brings you an understanding of today's world and hope for the future. Six times a year, you'll read about current world events in the light of Bible prophecy, as well as practical knowledge to improve your marriage and family. Call today to receive your free booklet, "The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy" and your free one-year subscription to Beyond Today Magazine, call 1-888-886-8632 or go online to beyondtoday.tv.