The Road to Travel
Daniel Webster, one of the Founding Fathers said this: “If we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us that shall bury our glory in profound obscurity.”
It would appear that the road America is heading on is the road which Daniel Webster described as, “a catastrophe may overwhelm us that shall bury our glory in profound obscurity.” The funny thing about sudden destruction or as Daniel Webster said, “sudden catastrophe” is that they are not truly “sudden.” What appears to be sudden was actually building up for a long period of time. For example, if a person is addicted to alcohol, drugs, pornography, or whatever-the addiction did not happen the first time he or she experimented with what ever they became addicted to. Most of the time, it's a little here, a little there, they keep doing it because they enjoy whatever feeling they get from it thinking they can stop anytime they wish. Eventually though, they go from occassional, to somewhat frequent, to frequent to addiction. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but in general this is what plays out. The addicts set do not set out to get addicted, but overtime they do.
This is what has been going on in America as a whole. For the past decade or more we have been seeing increasingly scandal after scandal, corruption in our government, academia, the American Christian Church across all denominations, education, the media. The past few years there have been explosions of corruption getting exposed. However, like with the addict, things were going on in all these arena's behind the scenes for years. The corruption did not “just happen.” It was brewing over lengthy periods of time.
What led to all of what we see happening in America? It goes back to what Daniel Webster said. We and our posterity have been rejecting, or neglecting religious instruction and authority. We have been violating rules of eternal justice, trifling (to put it mildly) with morality and allowing the destruction of the political constitution that for 250 years held us together.
What did Daniel Webster mean when he spoke of rejecting religious instruction and authority? He was speaking of rejecting the instruction and authority of Christianity. How do we know this? By what Daniel Webster also said:
“To the free and universal reading of the Bible in that age, men were much indebted for right views of civil liberty. The Bible is a book that teaches man his own individual responsibility, his own dignity, and his equality with his fellow man.” And:
“The Christian religion-it's general principles-must ever be regarded among us as the foundation of civil society.”
We have to give quite a bit of weight to these things that Daniel Webster said about the Bible and Christianity. After all, all the chaos of what is going on in our nation is due to exactly what he said would happen when we reject religious (Christian) instruction and authority, violate the laws of eternal justice and trifle with morality. Not to mention the destruction of our political Constitution. When someone says something, and what they say comes to pass precisely the way he said it would, we need to pay attention because he obvioiusly knows what he is talking about.
Jesus once said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 NASB.
Wouldn't you say that there is an awful amount of destruction going on in our country? Could it be that Jesus knows what He is talking about when He said broad and wide is the way that leads to destruction?
And herein lies the problem: although there are many in the body of Christ, the Church, who are sincere, there is a significant percentage that have either rejected or neglected the authority and instruction of the Word of God. Some of it is because of bad preaching and teaching. Some of it is due disillusionment, and some to apathy. Many people who consider themselved Christians no longer believe in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible. There are people who consider themselves Christians that believe Jesus sinned. How could He be our Savior if He Himself sinned?
Some may argue, “Well, the Bible was written by fallible men.” That's true. However, those men that wrote the Bible revealed their own fallibilty which gives quite a bit of credibility to the Bible. They admitted their flaws, their sins. However, that does not keep the Holy Spirit from being able to guide and direct those men what to write. Speaking of infallible men, the men who wrote the Bible are written off because of their fallibility, yet scientists, professors, and “experts” are more readily believed even though they themselves are fallible. The past several decades and in recent years especially have shown the track record of the “experts” being abysmal at best.
With the American Christian church in the state that it is in, should it be a mystery as to why all hell is breaking out in our nation? Please, don't give me the pat Christian answer, “Well, we're in the End Times, Jesus is coming soon, Bible prophesy is unfolding right before our eyes.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard those statements, I'd be wealthier than Warren Buffet and Elon Musk combined. The truth is, The Jewish people of the Bible had all those prophesies in their own language, the prophetic imagery was consistent with their culture, when the Messiah stood in front of them, the majority of them, especially among the so-called theological experts (those educated men of the Sanhedrin-scibes, Pharisees, Saducess) missed Him. They actually accused Him of being a false prophet and said he cast out demons in the name of the chief demon. None of us has known, or will know with pin point accuracy as to how things will turn out. The things we can count on is what Jesus said which was, “the gates of hell will NOT PREVAIL against His church,” Matthew 16:18.
Jesus also said, “Behold, I have given you power (authority-the liberty and the right to put forth and execute authority) to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power (dunamis-strength, might and ability) of the enemy...” Luke 10:19 KJV
The reason why we are seeing all this chaos is because, as Christians, and I include myself, we do not truly believe these words, and other Scriptures that point to the body of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit being victorious over the enemy. I have a Christian history book that shows throughout history, Christianity nearly became absolutely extinct serveral times. Each time, the Church came back and took more territory than it previously had. You want to talk about the Great Commission. The Christian Church is commissioned to not only save souls, but to disciple all nations, and gain territory for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ that rightully belongs to Him.
The American Christian Church needs to get back to believing God's Word as infallible and inerrant. We also have to choose to walk the narrow way. We have to choose the narrow gate. We have to choose to live our lives and have a heart posture that for His Kingdom it is all or nothing.
In Genesis, God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. After waiting for what likely felt an eternity to Abraham and Sarah, the finally had the promised son, Isaac. After several years, God tests Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to Him. I'm sure as a father, Abraham had emotional feelings about having to sacrifice Isaac. Their travel took three days. Imagine that. Abraham and Isaac are traveling together for three days. Yet, despite Abraham's feelings, Abraham trusted God.
When Isaac asked Abraham, “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice,” Abraham responded, “God will provide for Himself a lamb.” I'm sure Abraham had feeling in his emotions to the contrary. However, despite his emotional feelings, he trusted God. If he didn't he would have given into his emotions as a father, and would not have offered up Isaac.
Hebrews chapter eleven also states that Abraham believed that if he actually went through with sacrificing Isaac, that God would raise Isaac from the dead.
“By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac your descendants shall be called.' He (Abraham) considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type.”
Abraham did not have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in him. Yet, he still did not allow his emotional feelings to get in the way and not obey God. Christians today have the Holy Spirit in us, how much more, if we yield to His power, should we be able to not allow our emotions to keep us from following after what God desires for us to do.
The other thing is this, many believers over time become disillusioned or apathetic due to disappointments in life. That is understandable. I went through that a number of years ago. When I finally yielded my dreams and visions to God and decided to love Him no matter what, I received a powerful deliverance and healing. That does not make me better than anyone else. I'm glad I can share that with people so they can have hope. Notice, though, that God required Abraham to put even the very promise God gave to him, on the altar.
Because of the power Jesus Himself gave to us, His Church, we by His power have the capicity to turn things around no matter how bleak it looks. We need to return to the things that made the book of Acts Church so victorious, that the mighty Roman Empire could not stop it.
Consider these closing thoughts...The Roman Empire persecuted the Church relentlessy. Rome fell, but despite the imperfections of the Church, the Church remains. Communist Russia (Then the Soviet Union) persecuted the Christian Church in Russia and Eastern Europe for 70 years. The Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the Soviet Union came down, Communism in Russia no longer exists (Putin is wicked, but he has not systematically gone after the Christian Church) and the Christian Church is still standing. Communist China has persecuted the Christian Church, but the underground Church keeps growing. Mark my words, Communist China will fall. The Church will flourish. The Theocratic Iranian government is about to collapse. Many Iranians have been miraculously coming to Christ. Nothing and no one, and stop King Jesus Christ and His Church. Amen, love & God bless, Pastor Paul.