TEXT:Proverbs 14:34
INTRODUCTION: “I was born on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence is my birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in my veins, because I offered freedom to the oppressed. I am the 180 million living souls, and the ghosts of millions who have lived and died for me. I am Nathan Hale, and Paul Revere. I stood at Lexington and fired the shot heard around the world. . I am Washington, Jefferson and Patrick Henry. I am John Paul Jones, the Green Mountain Boys, and Davy Crockett. I am Lee, Grant, and Abe Lincoln. I am the Brooklyn Bridge, the wheat feilds of Kansas and granite hills of Vermont. I am the coalfields of Virginia and Pennsylvania; the fertile lands of the West; I’m the Golden Gate bridge and the Grand Canyon. I am Independence Hall, the Monitor and the Merrimac. I am big. I sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific, three million square miles throbbing with industry. I am more than five million farms. I am forest, field, mountain and desert. I am quiet villages and cities that never sleep. You can look at me and see Ben Franklin walking down the streets of Philadelphia with his bread loaf under his arm. You can see Betsy Ross with her needle. You can see the lights of Christmas, and hear the strains of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ as the calendar turns. I am Babe Ruth and the World Series. I am 169,000 schools and colleges and 250,000 churches where people worship God as they think best. I am a ballot dropped in a box; the roar of a crowd in a stadium, and the voice of a choir in a cathedral. I am an editorial in a newspaper and a letter to a Congressman. I am Eli Whitney and Stephen Foster, Tom Edison, Albert Einstein and Billy sunday. I am Horace Greely, Will Rogers, and the Wright brothers. I am George Washington Carver, Daniel Webster, Longfellow, Walt Whitman, and Thomas Paine. YES, I AM THE NATION, and these are the things that I am. I was conceived in freedom, and God willing, in freedom will I spend the rest of my days. May I possess always the integrity, the courage and the strength to keep my self unshackled, to remain a citadel of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world. I AM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” America, the flag, freedom, faithfulness of our fathers. I have seen the Statue of Liberty - proud. I have seen the hunger in Syria, poverty in Mexico, sickness in Panarna, war in Israel and Jordan, starvation in Egypt. But here in America look what we have, we are a blest people. America, a nation born out of faith in God. 0ur forefathers came to this country searching for a place where they could worship God according to the dictates of the Word of God. Her worship of God is very evident as we look at her history. Her witness of Christ to the world has been remarkable and her wealth has exceeded any nation of the world. Her lands have been a haven for the weary and her love has been demonstrated by her mission work. Her flag is still flying.
I.AMERICA’S GREATEST ASSET - Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalted a nation” PAST HISTORY -
A. Her foundation was of God
B. Her faith was in God
C. Her feeling was toward God
D. Her families around God
E. Her freedom enjoyed because of God It is not our great farms, forest, oil, coalmines, military, factories or Wall Street. The Word of God: II Timothy 3:16-17
A.Reveals God’s Person, Power, Plan, Purpose and Promise
B.Respects God’s Will, Way and Worship
C.Rebukes Sin, the Sinner, and Satan
D.Records the story of the Savior, Salvation and Service
II.AMERICA’S GREATEST LIABILITY - PRESENT CONDITION - Proverbs 14:34 “Sin is a reproach to any people”
A. Her sinful condition
B. Her sorrowful condition
C. Her saddened condition
D. Her satisfied condition
E. Her spiritual condition Romans 6:23 Wages of sin power of sin - cost of sin
A. Sin wounded our Savior
B. Sin hinders our service - dampens our spirit
C. Sin will damn the soul
D. Sin will defile our hearts
E. Sin will divert our service
F. Sin will destroy and devour our lives
G. Sin will darken our paths
H. Sin will divide our churches Sin will take you furthcr than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay
III.AMERICA’S GREATEST PRIVILEGE - PREVAILING FUTURE - Mark 12:17″Render unto God”
A. Her people
B Her praying
C. Her preaching
D.Her possessions
E.Her prosperity
F.Her peaceful future John 6:37; Matthew 11:28-30; John 3:16
A. Privilege to be convicted and converted
B. Privilege to be committed and concerned
C. Privilege to be called and committed
F. Privilege to walk with Christ and serve in the Church
On a park bench, an old man was sitting there, I said, “Your old court house is kinda run down,” He said, “no it’ll do for our little old town.” I said, “Your flagpole had leaned a little bit, and that’s a ragged old flag you’ve got hanging on it.” He said, “Have a seat..” and I sat down “Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town?” I said, “I think so..” He said, “Well, I don’t like to brag, but we’re kinda proud of that ragged old flag.” “You see, we got a hole in that flag there, When Washington took it across the Delaware. And it got powder burns the night that Francis Scott Key, sat watching it and wrote, “Oh say can you see.” And it got a bad rip down in New Orleans, With Packingham and Jackson a’ tugging at it’s seams. It almost fell at the Alamo. .but wouldn’t you know, she waved on though. She got cut with a sword at Chancellorville, And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill. There was Robert E. Lee, Bouregard, and Brag, And the south wind blew hard on that ragged old flag. On Flanders Field in World War One, She got a big hole from a Bertha gun. She turned blood red in World War Two And hung limp and low at a time or two. Oh, she was in Korea and Vietnam, She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam. She waved from our ship on the oceans foam, But they just about quit wavin’ her back here at home. Yes, in her own good land here, she’s been abused, She’s been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused. And the government for which she stands, Is scandalized throughout the entire land. Oh, she’s getting threadbare, and she’s wearin’ thin, But she’s in good shape for the shape she’s in. ‘Cause she’s been through the fire before, And I think she can take a whole lot more. So we raise her up every morning..take her down every night, We won’t let her touch the ground, and we fold her up right. But, on second thought, I don’t like to brag, ‘Cause I’m mighty proud OF THAT RAGGED OLD FLAG!!!” I don’t know about you, but I love our flag. When I hold it, I feel the cheer it gives, the hope it brings, the security it imparts, and the freedom it represents. –When I look at it, I see the needle of Betsy Ross, and I see the millions who gave their lives for it. –When I smell it, I smell the salt air of our coasts, the aroma of the evergreens of the north, the cool air of the Rockies, the dry wind of the desert, and the summer nights of the South. –When I listen to it, I hear the prayers at Jamestown, a shot a Concord, the ringing of a bell in Philadelphia, pulpits fearlessly proclaiming “Thus Saith the Lord,” and Amazing Grace being sung in churches throughout the land. That is why I love America.
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