Proverbs
14:34 (KJV)
34
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Righteous is to be right; arising from an outraged sense of justice or
morality. There is that which is right and that which is not right. The
problem is: who is saying what is to be deemed right and wrong? There
has to be a standard set to follow, whether righteousness or evil.
Throughout the history of mankind we can see that the policy that each
nation adopted was ultimately either to their health or destruction.
Isaiah 1:1-7(KJV)
1
THE vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of
Judah.
2
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib: but Israel doth
not know, my people doth not consider.
4
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers,
children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have
provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in
it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been
closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7
Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land,
strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown
by strangers.
This
which the prophet Isaiah spoke by the unction of the Holy Ghost seems
very pertinent to the situation that we now have in America. We are a
nation that is weighed down by our sins. There no longer seems to be any
soundness to our leaders. Through this, I am quite sure, we have
provoked the “Lord unto anger.”
Sin is
not something that overtakes a person or a nation overnight. It is one
sin that begets another sin and the Lord sends His ministers to prophesy
time and time again to warn the people to come out of their sins. The
people usually do not listen to these “sent ones of God,” because these
ministers always seem to be out of step with what the world wants to do.
Sometimes even the church does not understand these messengers. Thus,
these ministers are written off by the world and most of the church as
being cynical, with their demands for repentance and threats of judgment
from God. This pattern has seemingly been the road that not only Israel,
but all the nations have chosen to walk.
II
Samuel 22:1-28(KJV)
1
AND David spake unto the Lord the words of this song, in the day that
the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out
of the hand of Saul:
2
And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
3
The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn
of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest
me from violence.
4 I
will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved
from mine enemies.
5
When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me
afraid;
6
The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented
me;
7
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did
hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and
shook, because he was wroth.
9
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth
devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10
He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his
feet.
11
And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings
of the wind.
12
And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick
clouds of the skies.
13
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14
The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15
And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited
them.
16
And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were
discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of
his nostrils.
17
He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters:
18
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for
they were too strong for me.
19
They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
20
He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he
delighted in me.
21
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the
cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22
For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed
from my God.
23
For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not
depart from them.
24
I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.
25
Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness;
according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
26
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright
man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
27
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou
wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
28
And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the
haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
David
knew very well from where his help came, and he knew exactly why he
could call upon the Lord and receive help in his time of need. In verses
20 through 25 David tells us that it is because he was being rewarded
according to his righteousness. Because he had lived his life according
to the Word of God, he was delivered in his time of calamity.
Most
people who are Christians today believe that all of the protection
talked about in Psalms 91 is automatically theirs. Most fail to
understand that they must live in accordance with God's Word before they
can and will receive the type of supernatural protection spoken about in
this psalm. Israel is God's chosen people, but they had to do more than
just say they were children of God. They had to live according to God's
Words in order to receive the Lord's blessings. Being children of God
just was not enough.
II
Chronicles 6:22-23(KJV)
22
If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make
him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
23
Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting
the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying
the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
These
scriptures are further proof that, whether it is a country or an
individual, we are going to be justified according to our righteousness.
I often wonder why we, as a nation, cannot understand by the past
history of other nations that God's way is the only way.
If we,
in fact -- as a nation or as an individual -- will walk upright before
the Lord God, we will be able to have, not only have the promises of
Psalms 91, but also those of Psalms 23. These, plus many other
scriptures, are ours to claim, and will work for us, if we comply with
God's Word.
Psalms 23:1-6(KJV)
THE
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters.
3
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his names sake.
4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me.
5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
If we
will let the Lord be our shepherd and lead us as sheep, He will give us
goodness and mercy all the days of our lives. I am totally convinced
that many in America believe this to be the truth, but at the same time,
few really give their whole heart to the Lord to find that this is
absolute truth.
We, in
this nation, have become fools, taking credit for all that we have and
the influence we have over other nations. We believe that we no longer
need to comply to the rules of a God that is the Ancient of Time. In our
great wisdom and strength we now have, for the most part, forgotten that
in Him we do have even the air that we breathe.
Psalms 52: 1-9(KJV)
WHY
boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God
endureth continually.
2
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3
Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak
righteousness. Selah.
4
Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
5
God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and
pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of
the living. Selah.
6
The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
7
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the
abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the
mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I
will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on
thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
These
scriptures indicate that everyone who does not understand that, unless
we live righteously before the Lord, we will be destroyed forever. It is
also interesting to note, that the righteous will be able to understand
what is going on. They will fear God and also be able to laugh at the
ones who have traded righteousness for evil, for they shall know what
the end of the matter will be. This is exactly what is going on today in
this nation. There are those who believe that abortion, homosexuality
and all manner of evil are now to be accepted as a way of life in
America. However, there are still those who will continue to speak out
against these abominations, even if it means to their own hurt. Let
those who have ears hear -- hear what the Spirit of God is saying in
this hour.
Isaiah 54:14-17(KJV)
14
In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from
oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not
come near thee.
15
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever
shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
16
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and
that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the
waster to destroy.
17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue
that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the
heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me,
saith the Lord.
We
find, once again, that in righteousness we shall be established. There
is no other way and the benefits that go with serving the Lord in this
fashion has so much more to offer than that of living a life of sin.
I am
often asked how one can find out how to live a righteous life? The
answer to this question can be found in scripture.
Matthew 5:6 (KJV)
6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for
they shall be filled.
If we
seek after righteousness, the Word of God tells us that we will be
filled with righteousness. The problem here, as I see it, is to hunger
after righteousness. If a person was hungry he would not stop thinking
about food and striving for food until he found it. This is what we are
being told in this verse. We must go after righteousness with all that
is within us, if we are going to obtain it. This definitely causes many
problems for most saints. Most Christians today believe that things such
as righteousness come to them because they are Christians. We are sadly
missing the mark if this is our attitude.
Acts 17: 22-34(KJV)
22
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with
this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, him declare I unto you.
24
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord
of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25
Neither is worshipped with mens hands, as though he needed any thing,
seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the
face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation;
27
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and
find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of
your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think
that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art
and mans device.
30
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all
men every where to repent:
31
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and
others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
33
So Paul departed from among them.
34
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was
Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with
them.
Paul
was telling the people in Athens in verse 31 that there was a day when
the world would be judged in righteousness. The problem of people
understanding this revelation has been almost from the beginning of
time.
Romans 10:1-10(KJV)
1
BRETHREN, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they
might be saved.
2
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge.
3
For they, being ignorant of Gods righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God.
4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth.
5
For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man
which doeth those things shall live by them.
6
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not
in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ
down from above:)
7
Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again
from the dead.)
8
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
Paul
is telling the Romans that, no doubt, there were some who had a zeal for
God, but not according to knowledge. This seems to be the same problem
that most of the church have today. Most of our knowledge today lies in
the areas that make little difference in our gaining a closer
relationship with the Lord.
Hebrews 1:8-9(KJV)
8
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a
sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Christ
Himself loved righteousness and hated iniquity. There is no way around
it, we are going to have to serve the Lord in righteousness.
II
Peter 2:5(KJV)
5
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eigth person, a
preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the
ungodly;
Noah
was a preacher of righteousness. Righteousness was in the lives of all
the people whom God used throughout the Bible. I hope you are seeing
that walking in righteousness is supposed to go hand in hand with being
a Christian.
II
Peter 2:21-22(KJV)
21
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them.
22
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is
turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her
wallowing in the mire.
I
believe that to turn from righteousness after knowing it, is a very
dangerous thing. This nation and our founding forefathers knew the
righteousness that we have been studying. Now, this nation has decided
to turn from the holy commandment that was delivered to us. God will not
smile upon nor continue to bless any person or nation that turns from
Him as this nation has done.
I
John 2:29(KJV)
29
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth
righteousness is born of him.
This
could very well mean that if, in fact, we as Christians do not walk in
righteousness that we are not born of Him. I realize that this could
open a door of great debate, but I do not intend for that to be the
case. I only want each of you, as you read this book, to take a long
hard look at your Christian walk. If your walk with God is not where it
should be then it is not too late to repent and do it right.
Matthew 6:24-34(KJV)
24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon.
25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put
on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they?
27
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
30
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and
to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye
of little faith?
31
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we
drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.
34
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof.
The
entire key to this set of scriptures is verse 33. We are told to seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; then and only then,
would and/or could these things that Jesus talked about come to pass.
Not only could our lives be much better off through walking in
righteousness, but an entire nation could be better for it.
Zephaniah 2:1-3(KJV)
1
GATHER yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
2
Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before
the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lords
anger come upon you.
3
Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his
judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid
in the day of the Lords anger.
This
is endtime scripture, meaning that what is being said pertains to the
time just prior to the great tribulation. We are being admonished to
seek after righteousness and meekness to be able to escape the time when
the Lord's anger is poured out. This out-cry of God could only mean that
there will not be many who are walking in righteousness during this
time.
Ezekiel 14:12-23 (KJV)
12
The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,
13
Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously,
then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of
the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man
and beast from it:
14
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should
deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.
15
If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it,
so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the
beasts:
16
Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they
shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered,
but the land shall be desolate.
17
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the
land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
18
Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they
shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be
delivered themselves.
19
Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it
in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20
Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God,
they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver
their own souls by their righteousness.
21
For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore
judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome
beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
22
Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought
forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you,
and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted
concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning
all that I have brought upon it.
23
And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and
ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in
it, saith the Lord God.
These
scriptures show us beyond a shadow of doubt that the righteousness of
Noah, Daniel, and Job, could save only them. There families could not be
saved through the righteousness of their earthly fathers. The sword,
famine, and pestilence, always is the reward for not walking in
righteousness.
America
Forsaken Chapter 9
America
Forsaken Chapter 11
