 Hey there, it's Robert Baltadano. Welcome to another show of talks from the heart with Pastor David Rosales, and I'm hosting this program And it's always exciting to have you tuned in or if you're watching on our YouTube channel Welcome, and we have a great topic for you today that we're gonna be discussing this time We're gonna be talking about God in America and Pastor David again welcome. It's good to be here Yes, it is it's always exciting to have these talks with you It's it's a good thing because we tend we get to to really talk about things that do matter I think so I enjoy these kinds of conversations very much. So so today we're gonna talk about God in America I know that's such a huge topic, but but before we really get into that specific topic I want to talk a little bit about human history the history of mankind and and what God intended for for people that he created on this earth so if we go back to the creation of time obviously passing through You know the creation of Adam and Eve We realized that something happened there in the garden that that caused the downfall of mankind sin came into the world and from that Point forward man became rebellious against God now Here's the thing that I wanted to talk to you a little bit about God's intention was for a theocracy Correct. Yes, and what does that mean? That means that God's ruling that God was to be the center of all things that man was commanded to Simply obey him because he's the king of the universe and so God's intent Was for man to live in fellowship with him being blessed and provided for by him and all of that but Man was not to be the ruler. He had dominion. He had been given authority in certain kinds of duties that he was to perform but that was all to be under God's supervision in That God is the sovereign creator of the entire universe and so God's intent as it seems to be expressed in scripture was for man to be having a relationship with him and a relationship with the creation as The one who was the premier creation of God Vested with authority to enact upon the earth that that man was to inhabit it but because sin entered in through the deceptive purposes of Satan and Eve took of that forbidden fruit gave to her husband and he ate also Sin was introduced at that point and so man's Relationship with God which had at that time been unsullied by anything called sin at that time Man because he sinned broke fellowship with God and that's where the whole redemption history begins and so Besides Cain and Abel and that whole situation there. We see that When God created this world and the people on this world like us obviously We start to see the the decay of of mankind and there's a verse that comes to my mind And it's in Genesis chapter 6 verse 5 when we really begin to see The downfall of just society and it says this then the Lord saw the wickedness of man He said he was great in the earth that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually now that's interesting because I don't know about you But but but it shows me from this verse that the issues that we have in our society today are not really political They're more heart issues. Don't you think the issues of the heart? Absolutely There's no doubt about it because from the abundance of the heart words spring and actions spring You know Jesus was speaking concerning that in the gospel of Mark 7 And he said it's it's not the outside that is polluted It's the inside because out of the heart proceed the wicked thoughts and the adulteries and the murders, etc So it's always been a matter of nature human nature And so indeed what it is is we simply see the visual expression of the internal condition and so Man being sinful in in in the fact that we have inherited the ademic nature the one that is prone to rebellion against God Then even the best that we can do as human beings is always going to be tainted by the self-interest and the things that proceed from a sin nature and So it all begins from within the heart of man And so after that we also see other things that are beginning to take place that took place in the beginning of time And one is the Genesis 11 the Tower of Babel. Yes, I mean now now we're getting into something more serious You know God sees the heart of man is continually evil, but now The people that got created who were you know one language and all of that now they're building this tower Why is it that that man has this this this desire to want to be above God to want to rule themselves And in the Tower of Babel if you want to talk a bit about that what went on there? Well human nature being what it is is in constant rebellion against God and thus because we've been created to worship We have a few options that we can exercise we can we can truly worship that the God of the universe We have that provided through redemption. We have that We are given opportunity to do that through the conviction of the Holy Spirit And today with the revelation of the word of God that instructs us how that can take place And so we are prone to worship even atheists those who profess. There's no God Find something to worship whether it's themselves or whether it's nature or whether it be some art form Some literature of some sort whatever they're going to find something To invest their attention and their adoration on we simply are created in that way We have been created with a sense of needing purpose and even as the writer Ecclesi of Ecclesiasties Points out God has placed eternity in our heart. There's an awareness that that we have a Time-space Continuum that we exist in and we need to fill that up with something that Satisfies or gives to us purpose. I mean that's just a fact and so we have the opportunity to have relationship with God because it reveals to us these things in Scripture but man is going to find something to worship something to do and often when it's Through man's invention. It's going to be the opposite of what God would intend So when you see that the the thoughts of man are only evil continually They ultimately express themselves those thoughts in in a form of worship and so at that tower there in Babel They Intended to chart their own destiny or their set their own course not not alone in the sense of they Them doing it from some intrinsic or something that came from simply within but they look at the heavens and as they looked at the heavens They began to try to chart their course or their their destiny through the natural revelation J. Vernon McGee says that the Tower of Babylon was Possibly an altar of some form to worship the Sun, you know in in his perspective There's some some credence to that in that the the Sun separates the darkness by providing light And so he moved in that direction and said that you know There are others that would say that this Tower of Babel that was built was in order not to to reach into heaven in the sense of finding some way of Going into the throne room of God but in reality to To chart the astrological signs so that they could use the stars the heavens as their their directives if you will and it all goes back to Romans 1 where Paul says that they began to worship the creation Rather than the Creator and so when man determines that they don't want to Subscribe to and yield to the directives of God because we are intrinsically religious We will find another form and the Tower of Babel is that form where they said let us So they united in rebellious effort with one language and one purpose To reject the revelation of God and to chart their own course through it appears at least and I think this is correct through the Realization of nature as their their form of directive if you will and so the Tower of Babel represents the rebellion of man Rejecting the sovereignty of God the orders of God Remember also that God had said you are to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth yet. They said We need to remain together here lest we be scattered and So that was a complete rebellion and rejection of the ways of God Based on the human nature that resists yielding to any authority They united together in a single effort and as a result of that They began to look to the heavens to chart their own destinies looking to creation rather than the Creator and Ultimately God confuses their language and this is something that they didn't do on their own This was from that the leadership of Nimrod this that you know evil very often will find a captain Yeah, you know and so there is one who unifies Purposes and very often you know well the scripture speaks concerning the unity I mean one of the one of the the powerful things that we find in there that that we may want to address for just a Moment is that language is the great unifier when you speak the same language it unifies you and secondly When you have an evil purpose there are those who can communicate the evil purpose in that language Which unites them in rebellion and that's what took place with Nimrod That's what took place with the unification of humanity and that's one of the reasons why God scattered them by dividing them according to Languages and forced them to unite with those who they could communicate with and actually broke that problem down into smaller subsets So going back to the whole theocracy when we talked about this at the beginning God wanted one nation under God and as you look at the history of the children of Israel You know it started as a theocracy then it went to a monarchy then an anarchy In you look in the book of Judges, so you see a progression, but but it's more of a decline Obviously God wanted that theocracy They kind of did not go with that and then God gave them kings and they even rejected their kings And then it eventually became to every man did what was right in their own eyes, which is a scary thought So that the children of Israel were led by God in a very very unique way And when you read the scriptures in the Old Testament, I I'm always just I guess blown away with the way God did Among them, you know manna from heaven and you know I let him in the in the daytime with the pillar of cloud of fire and night and and all these wonderful things God Showing that I want to lead you. I want to I want you to be fruitful and yet the children of Israel became so rebellious Why do you think they were so set against God's leadership? Man's nature is rebellion authority We are we have within us a rebellious spirit that is is is very often and most often Revealed by a rejection of simple authority. Yeah, I drive to to our offices and In my neighborhood, there there are very few Police officers that patrol. I mean they just don't they do show up and it's you know, they're just not there all the time So I have a series of stop signs that I have to take before I get to a signal and I tell you 9 out of 10 easily 9 out of 10 people just drive right through it I mean, it's not that they some of them just keep going 45 miles an hour and just shoot right through it There's no police officer around. There's nobody gonna say anything or they'll just roll right through the stop sign constantly You see that now. I'm thinking that there's gonna be a day coming and it's really not that far From now where people are gonna run red lights in the same way they're running stop signs because it's more a matter of like I don't see anybody there. There were no cars there. So we are a rule into ourselves. We're making laws into ourselves You know, we're saying this is okay for me because I looked at the situation There was no car there that was pulling up. There are no vehicles around Why should I stop and that's that is so simple, but that is so real I mean, it's just the scripture says that rebellion is tied up in the heart of a child We rebel by nature. So if I say this is black, they say it's white if I say this is sweet They say it's sour and Isaiah points that out. He says you have a tendency of Rejecting because your sin nature is so polluted and you're so naturally rebellious Even God himself is rejected even his word itself is called into question And sometimes even his word is called into question by those who profess to know him I mean, you know this and I know this that the higher critics from the 1800s the Germans Especially who represented higher criticism, you know, one of the first things they did and they polluted the church with was calling into question The manuscripts of scripture the authenticity of the word of God They began to create multiple authors for books like Like the book of Daniel divided as they did or the book of Isaiah and the way that they did by by saying that These really are not authentic manuscripts. These really are not God's word itself. This is really just Containing the word of God and all of that philosophy that has infiltrated and saturated the mentality of many scholars and Many Bible colleges came with a simple rejection that came all the way from the garden When Satan said has God said and even recently I was sharing with our church And I said listen if you can believe the first few words of the Bible in the beginning God You can believe the rest of scripture But if you want to reject just the first four words of the scriptures, then you're gonna reject the rest You're gonna find places there to reject Look at the doctrine of resurrection For example the doctrine of resurrection that we find alluded to in scripture You see it in the oldest book of the Bible you see it in the book of Job, you know, Job was written Something like during the time of Abraham probably 600 years or so before Moses even penned the book of Genesis So the events that are related there you see there in chapter 19 verse 25 26 in that area of the book of Job That he says I know my Redeemer lives I will see him in this flesh He's already alluding to resurrection to see David the psalmist in about a thousand before Christ in in Psalm 17 Right around verse 15 alluding to the fact that he's going to experience resurrection to see it in Daniel 605 years before Christ chapter 12 verse 2, you know those who sleep in the earth will be raised up You see it alluded and yet by the time of Christ you have the Sadducees Who are saying there is no resurrection and so we have seen those who profess to be believers Professor believe the word of God we have seen them fight against the word of God What about the world the world that says there is no God and so rebellion within us is wrapped up from the earliest age We sin because by nature we are sinners Now I know that there are those who teach otherwise Mormons for example Say that we become sinners when we sin, but the Bible doesn't say that the Bible says that I am Intrinsically because of my Adamic nature in constant rebellion against God And so if God says this is the right way travel in it my flesh in my spirit My rejection plus the prompting of Satan which creates an anti God society called the world This age that we live in which is oppressively against Christ and doing everything it can to keep believers from following him Well naturally my my rebellious spirit is going to respond to that which is his most like and rather than dying to myself And saying no wait a minute God's word says this and it's not an easy path But it's the right path and said to do in that I simply flow along with the rest and then so my My rebellion and my rebellious spirit my sinful nature Begins to present itself in what it's natural for it to do That's why I'm supposed to follow scripture walk in the power of the spirit Die to my my inclinations and all and so That's one of the reasons why our society that we see that's that's a core reason of the society that we see is in Constant rejection of the things of God. So when it comes to the rebellious heart Specialized a nation. I mean, obviously, that's nothing new to God. He's he's obviously I wouldn't say used to it But but it's nothing new it doesn't shock him when a people rebel against him And there's a verse in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 15 that I want to quote It says this behold the nations are as a drop in a bucket in our and he says and are counted or I'm sorry And are counted as the small dust on the scales look he lifts up the aisles as a very little thing When you read that verse, I mean it just shows you how God sees nations. They're not he's not intimidated by this It's pretty interesting and God sees the universe that way. He holds it in his hand I mean, yeah the immensity of God and the littleness of man in creation It's quite a juxtaposition and then Psalm 2 chapter 2, you know, why do the nations rage and You know, they want to you know, obviously attack his holy one and whatnot and then it says that he laughs up in heaven You know, because we think as Christians that, you know, oh God is so worried. He's pacing around his throne He doesn't know what to do and he's just up there saying I can just do this, you know Smash him. It's like an ant shaking. It's one of its little legs at you threatening you right, right There's another Psalm that I want to quote it Psalm 47 8. It says God reigns over the nations God is seated on his throne I think as a Christian and as we're coming into this topic God in America, I Hear a lot from Christians. They're very worried about what's going on in our nation They're worried about what's taking place, you know on the local levels to the higher levels and But when you read verses like this God is not worried. God is not nervous. I mean, he's in control, right? Well, he'd have to be if he's God, right, you know, he's sovereign and he is in control I believe that God would say that man has certain responsibilities and And and God obviously is sovereign overall, but we do have responsibilities and we ought to exercise those responsibilities as Citizens in the nation that we reside of course, but when it's all said and done I mean we read the Bible which is his revelation to us and he shows us the Consumption of history, you know, we already know how it's going to conclude so nothing is going to be changed It's written in stone. This is what is going to happen But until that moment comes we do have personal responsibility for certain things and when we look in the Bible We see a lot of different powerful nations Empires, you know, Egypt, you know, you have Babylon, Syria, you have, you know, even Rome and Where are they today? You know what I mean? I mean and they were huge Absolutely big big bullies. I guess if you will yeah, and yet we don't have Babylon, you know We don't have any no we don't have Babylon as it as it was in its existence We we still of course from Babel to Babylon to today. We have the spirit of Babel Absolutely the spirit of Babylon of course, but no those nations come and they go You know it at at my point in life Robert where I'm at now, you know, I've I've lived through the lifetime of some men who actually were very frightening and imposing people that At one time Caused other nations to have fear, you know all the way from people like a cruise chop, you know or a or a Mao or You name it, you know the Recently demised Hussain and others that that were Caused many people to fear many people to to actually tremble at the loss of their own lives and the tortures that they experience Etc these men are all dead Because that's what happens that they go the way of all flesh, you know, and so yeah There's there have been from ancient times to today Societies that in their day were absolutely the masters of everything around them, you know the the Alexander's and the rest who were awesome in their authority and power But as human beings they come and they go and only God remains, you know, now you're probably familiar with this This is something new to you But I just found this this statistic as we get into our topic God in America a third of Americans say the United States is a Christian nation, but more than half say the country has a special relationship with God is the United States a Christian nation I don't know that there's ever such ever been such a thing I know what that means, of course We do the underpinnings of this nation Judeo Christianity the history of this nation Dating to earlier dates even from prior to the Puritans when the Spanish came into st. Augustine Florida and and all and and many of them came Carrying the symbol of the cross and so there has been a formation here in the United States from our earliest history of Missionaries who've entered in missionaries bringing a gospel, you know I of course have a tendency to lean Towards the gospel that would have been brought by the Puritans, of course, but with that said the United States is underpinnings all of our laws and our our cultural essence is really something that was built on Christian theology and so at one point we were we were considered to be a Nation that was truly under the influence of Christian theology churches practice Early leadership many were professing Christians devout Christians of their era practicing the Christianity of their time and through their understanding of how it was to be lived out in their culture There's no doubt about that and so you look into even Supreme Court decisions where? One in particular said the United States is a Christian nation or you look at the motto I mean recently the American president Obama said something related to our American model being a pluribus unum the American motto is not a pluribus unum The American motto is in God we trust that is the official motto of the United States and sometimes we forget that we cause We say oh, no, it's out of the many one. No, it's in God. We trust it's even in our dollar bills It's in our paper money, you know, that is the motto of the United States and so it's very deeply intrinsic within the culture of Americans and even those who are not professing Christians have been affected by the Christian mentality You're standing in line You're not a believer you don't go to church You don't even think about Christ other than at Christmas and that's Christmas, right? You're standing in line Somebody from another nation comes, you know a visitor or perhaps somebody who's who's here for whatever reason and they step in front of you They just step right in front of you because in their country. There are no lines There are no lines I've been in countries where there are no lines and you you get as close as you can to the person in front of you or somebody is Going to wedge themselves in there So you're standing in line this person steps in front and cuts it. What do you feel? Well, you feel upset But why do you feel upset? People don't analyze why it's because I'm supposed to do unto others as I would have them do to me Where'd that come from, you know politeness that that is very intrinsically Christian You know the way we think here We just don't see that and you don't see that until you step out of the United States And you to go you go to countries that have not been influenced to the depth that America has So there are little things here things that we will say are right and things that we say are wrong That are based on biblical doctrine You look at all the laws the laws that pertain to our society are found in biblical principles That's why when some foreign Theology Enteres in that's why Americans will say we're not bringing that in no we will never yield to Sharia law Because it is a different basis. It's a cultural different Revelation than what we have in American law That's where the cultural and religious battle really takes place, but Americans being Unaware I'd say of some of those things They they have a knee jerk. They say no, that's not right But they really don't know why and it's because we have had a blend of Christian Jewish Christian Judeo Christian Theology that has been the underpinning since the foundation of this nation So with with the whole thought of being a Christian nation and all of that I mean got in America as a topic I think it's going to draw a lot of people to tune into this podcast because it's a big topic nowadays among Christians and non-Christians too and so We may have somebody listening right now and they think they're Christians to find what is a Christian? That's been a real difficult thing hasn't it Robert. I mean because we're cultural Christians, you know You take your surveys and George Barna and others will do their their surveys and they discover that 83% will profess to be Christian you watch TV and you see commentators quite often I see it all the time or commentator will say well I'm a Christian or you see somebody there were in a cross and and that's a symbol of Christianity and all and Every house in the United States almost every house has a Bible in it because it's still the best-selling book in in our nation and all of that so One of the problems that we are finding ourselves in today is the The church I believe in general has abandoned the The gospel message in our church buildings I and I say this as somebody who's been around for a while now and an observer and and one who loves the church so The comments that some may find offensive and all you know They're not they're not I'm not being clear perhaps are not listening The way that they they perhaps should The problem is is we have become very similar. I believe to even the day of christ And even before that in the history of the nation of israel Where we are doing What amos in the book of amos and i'm studying through it so it comes to mind The book of amos says where god says you are offering sacrifices to idols And you're attempting to offer sacrifices to me simultaneously And you're mixing your idolatrous worship With that which I have required and in the mixing of the two you have polluted it So I don't recognize your your songs and I don't recognize your offerings Because they have been tainted with idolatry And I believe that what the united states is doing right now is being tainted With methodologies and messages that are not of christ Now all of my walk with the lord I got saved in 1970 so I've been walking with the lord for a while now All of my walk with the lord I have seen The insidious effort of the enemy to infiltrate In those 40 some years that i've been following christ by bringing messages that seem similar But upon close scrutiny you discovered these messages Are not really presenting christ for who he is These messages are not Are not built on scripture so much as personal experience or supposed revelation And the church has become weak because the church doesn't see that we're under attack We are under attack We are that proverbial Frog in the kettle where the water is beginning to slowly boil about us, but we're so busy Trying to find pleasure in an unpleasurable world That we're failing to know that joy goes beyond pleasure and happiness And that comes through an knowledge of the true god. So here's your problem I think one of the problems Um and that is that the pulpits of america are not thundering the word of god with righteousness That we're not really expecting the members of our church to really do what this says But we are simply feeling that well we gave that message. Hopefully they will so there's no sense From many pulpits that this this is god's word and we really need to do this because we're afraid That people won't come back that people will not give their offerings And here we are left With buildings we have to pay for and staffs that we have to support and projects that we've Committed ourselves to and thus we At one time maybe we're teaching a better more full counsel kind of message We started softening it because we're afraid of losing the sensitive hearers And and I believe what is happening right now in the united states Is the gospel that actually was presented through its fullness by just studying through a matthew mark lucara john or whatever It's not really being fully disclosed. And so The demands of discipleship, you know, pick up your cross follow me Well, I'm not quite sure whether I could preach something that harsh because today needs to be the best day you've ever experienced Or god wants you to be completely healthy every moment God wants to provide every diamond nickel that you need for everything and make you abundantly rich And what we've done is we have taken The message of job and this is what I mean by that which When job was undergoing his severe trial His friends were saying there are two things wrong with you one Is uh, you've sinned against god because in sinning against god you have lost your your health And secondly in sinning against god and and and speaking foolishly You have also lost your wealth And so even in job His comforters were saying that it's sin that is causing you to not have health and not have wealth And they were mis misinterpreting and miscommunicating god because god had a purpose and he'd already made his declaration And he said this is a righteous man the most righteous on the face of the earth So you have that little story that's being lived out right now All you need to do is is turn on a television program and you're here some guy tell you Give me 65 million dollars so I can buy a jet airplane because i'm the only voice that god is using today I've got to travel everywhere And and you have these gullible sheep right who think they're investing in the kingdom because they're not getting taught the word of god The individual who is saying that is profiting off of the people I will not call into question his sincerity But I do call into question the effect and the effect is I'm important You're not you can be important if you support this important person even though i'm not telling you the truth I'm telling you what I think is true, but i'm mishandling scripture And so getting back to your original question There are numbers of people who think themselves christian Because they haven't heard the gospel and really in faith actually said god be merciful to me I'm a sinner. I am rancid in every way shape and form. The only thing I deserve is eternal damnation But your grace has been provided to me And you've given me the opportunity to receive your message And I am a miserable Miserable person without you. I need you. Forgive me a sinner You don't hear that kind of message in every pulpit in america. You just don't You know remember there was a time when the During the revolutionary war that was stated concerning the united states that the united states is a great nation because it's a good nation And if it ever ceases being good, it will also cease being great Well, we're at that point where we're ceasing being good And those are the things that I want to talk to you here as we come to the to wrap up this this uh topic tonight But but I want to go back to what you said So basically the lack of gospel teaching Is making the lines very fuzzy when it comes to the definition of christianity or what it means to be a christian Because the word itself means christ like A christ follower and what you said is interesting because the christianity you see in our nation today Is a christianity without discipleship christianity without the cross christianity without the incarnation So when you remove those elements out of the christian faith Then you do have this carnal christianity Absolutely or this christianity where people are not really taking jesus serious and you know going back to what this nation was I mean the bible was read. I mean the bible was used in the schools And it was from 19 or 1607 to 1962 over 300 years where the bible was used that that's Unheard of today that if you walk in with the bible at a school But but one thing that I also found is according to lifeway. They conducted a survey of a thousand adults A couple years ago and their report found that belief in america as a christian is kind of fading is what they said And I was thinking about how that's happening even just recently Which it was overturned or it was obviously it didn't go through is that sp 1146 Which it was sought to take away the exemption of religious schools to anti-discrimination laws So that means that you know if a college or even a church, you know It's teaching against these things to transgender whatever You can get sued by that person. Well that bill didn't go anywhere. So that was a victory I guess for us at the moment but I think the problem that we're seeing here when it comes to the christian faith is that Christianity is almost like fading little by little as we Move forward with with the different leaders that are coming on board with this nation. Don't you think? I think that Christians by and large are Are being brainwashed by the spirit of this age to think that there's no hope. Yeah When I got saved back in 1970 and when you begin to look at the The atmosphere of the United States I mean I I I got saved in in the generation of the 60s. I got saved in 1970 but if you look at 1950 from when I was born to 1960 it was very a very idyllic time in the United States we came off of winning world war two, you know and We saw housing booms and you know many things introduced into the United States That made us very prosperous. I grew up in that time I grew up in a time when we didn't really need to take our car keys out of our cars We could leave the keys in the car at night. Nobody's going to steal it You could leave your bikes out in the front in our neighborhood that we lived in and Somebody would actually take the bike and put it in the backyard for you You know just as a neighborly thing I I grew up in a very idyllic time where you could go to the Store down the street and get the Sunday paper for a quarter And you would lift up the top paper and you drop a quarter And there'd be a pile of quarters there that others had left And you take your paper. You didn't think of stealing those quarters You just didn't do it. We lived in a different time But then we started having some very bad times we had The assassination of John F Kennedy the assassination of Martin Luther King the junior the assassination of Robert F Kennedy We saw riots in the street. We saw The imposition of the drug culture through music. We saw a turmoil Vietnam war And so when I was growing up Growing up from the 50s where it was idyllic to the 60s that were tumultuous You know, I mean I was in norwalk when the riots in watts were taking place And that was only a few miles from us and people were thinking. Oh, no, we're gonna have riots in norwalk You had new york new jersey. Detroit chicago You had killings on college campuses like kent state takeovers of Of president's offices like at berkeley. I mean it was a tumultuous time And then who wants to go to vietnam who wants to die who wants to go to war? And then time magazine is saying god is dead God is dead, you know, the christian faith in the united states no longer exists That's my time. That's when I grew up and before you know it, you've got on the cover of time, you know, the jesus revolution the jesus movement So I really believe robert that the times that we're living in are similar to the times that I grew up in And uh when people were saying there's no need for god I believe god breaks out in those times, you know, aw tozer one of my favorite thinkers pointed out that and he died in 63 aw tozer pointed out that when times have gotten dark in our history Is when god is broken out in revival He died in 63 within just a few years the jesus movement sprang into existence So even at my age at this moment where i'm at the twilight of my ministry and moving on to something else Perhaps not that long in the future robert I still believe that jesus christ has the ability to reach into somebody's heart because he's the only one Through his powerful message and through his truth Who couldn't rescue the uh the downcast the he can heal the brokenhearted He can provide comfort for the lonely He can do all of that and he can give us hope in a hopeless situation. So right now the enemy is doing all he can to to present his doctrine of hopelessness and confusion But that's when we need to stand up and be most bright and the thing that concerns me Is the church is getting lulled into this thinking. Oh, what's the point may as well grab while I can I mean that's why Some people will go out robert, you know this i'm not speaking Out of turn when I say someone will go out on a saturday night Drink party and then teach sunday school on sunday morning that happens and sometimes After church worship teams will be in local restaurants drinking their beer They just performed worship about the most high god and they're down in their suds We used to call it down in their suds they're drinking beers I'm telling you it's that it's that that is making the gospel look powerless to save That's what it is So people like you and myself and others Who are sincere? We look like we look like fanatics. We look like We're out of touch. We don't understand No, we're simply genuine christians and in the darkness the light will always be most bright It's interesting because I found this guy who said this and i'm going to quote in what we're talking here The christian faith in america is on life support because far too many of us have simply stopped living like jesus Well, I don't know that it's on life support. I don't think that the man ever supports the life right right right But I you know wanting to use his flowery language to represent the fact that the church seems to be operating on three cylinders from a ministerial perspective, I have to say That there are many tears That have been sown among the wheat and jesus made it very clear he said that that That the the church would have so many tears that people That people will see them and the tear the question i've asked is adam matthew 13 i've asked is how How do tears ever find It comfortable to be amongst the wheat. How's that work? How how can an enemy jesus said sewed these seeds? How did the enemy infiltrate the church? How does a tear feel comfortable in a place that Exalts christ and the answer is that place is not exalting christ That place became a place to accommodate sin That place became a church in name only And that's what's taking place Because in a church that actually divides properly the word of god and expects People to obey live by it be blessed by it They will shrink They will shrink because the challenge Is such that people like that rich young ruler Who find pleasure in the world and have great riches and want to have the expression of Faith you know what good thing must i do to inherit eternal life? You know the law you know the commandments jesus gives some social commands well these things i've done since my youth up What do i yet still lack in other words i'm doing all of these things But there's an emptiness in my soul give me the real prescription Sell all that you possess give to the poor come follow me And what is the response that he went away? Very grieved because his riches were very great. And so that's america right now. It's uh, Yeah, i want to be religious. That's why we're calling ourselves as american spiritual But not christian. That's what they're saying. They're saying well. I'm spiritual I believe in a god or a higher power some other out there But i'm not willing to commit myself to to the christ. Why aren't you willing to? Well Maybe the demands of being a christian are beyond what i'm willing to yield to or Maybe the christians that i've met haven't yielded to those demands either So it's it's powerless to save You know the hypocrisy of the church today And this is no judgment on those whom i love god knows that But the hypocrisy Of the those who profess to know christ today The greedy materialism the the propping up of Of religious figures as if they're jesus himself the fawning and the the um The desire for notoriety and fame the The young man having to dress so cool and so suave and so hip and have so much glitter going on There's no true message of the gospel Coming out there's uh, there's this it seems in some of the places i could name There seems to be places that that are saying look at it's not really going to be that demanding to pick up your cross As a matter of fact, let's not even talk about picking up a cross. Let's talk about how this can be your best day today Let's talk about how sad and broken and hurt you really are without any thought of how broken grieved and And all the man of sorrows was himself to rescue us from that condition Listen, I I really believe I really do robert that that jesus christ Can take even the most horribly Broken life And heal it. I really believe that i've seen it Mine wasn't as bad as others But it was bad And I have friends That were so messed up and I thank god That pastor chuck smith and others like chuck Never watered down the message and always pointed us to the one who could heal And that's what the church needs today I want to conclude with a few questions and these questions are asked by a lot of christians when it comes to The times that we're living in today One is how should christians live? In the midst of all this chaos in the midst of this confusion and stressful times you live for christ I mean the times that we're living in again robert a moment ago I was mentioning this we think sometimes that these are the worst times that i've ever been The world has always been horrible But when you look at the time of the christians in early days of rome You know the imprisonments the beatings the the martyrdoms you know the the blood of martyrs was the seat of the church you know laws that were passed against The the message of the gospel even from religious leaders forbidding The early apostles to speak anymore in the name of this christ and stop blaming us for his death and these things We're not living in different bad times. We're living You know bad times in the sense of being the worst times ever you know I can still walk out with my bible right now and I can walk on the street and I can tell somebody about jesus christ I can't do that in saudi arabia I can't do that in bangladesh right There are a lot of places that that that if I come out even with the cross that that i'm pretty much saying kill me right now So americans are so unaware You know those oceans that surround our beautiful nation have still separated us from the actual You know british isles or the actual india whatever We only see it on tv and thus we think we know because we watched it You know we're google experts all they need to do is google whatever and I know everything without ever experiencing it But i'm telling you i've been i've traveled to many countries on the face of this planet And I can tell you that I I have there have been times when I literally Literally have wanted to kiss the ground that I was walking on when I got home Because the freedom of christ is still here the church has got to wake up to that We have to because the days are dark and the time is short But we have to wake up to those opportunities and we still have them Here's another question that I I've received in the past is has god given up on america? God doesn't give up We give up on him, but I I don't I don't know that god You know I I I don't know and forgive me this may sound Unpatriotic, but I don't know that god has a greater Burden for america than he does for france or that he has for russia or china for that matter I I don't know that god's an american I think that god is the god of the whole earth and so You know that almost begs the question was there a divine purpose? Is there a divine destiny was the united states to be really that city on the hill? Is that what god intended to do? I think those are discussions worthy of consideration But when it's all said and done I'm an american. I'm an american veteran. I love my nation, you know, I served my nation And if if I were called I would I would probably still do whatever I have to do for this nation because I love it I'm an american through and through But I also know that god loves the whole world my concerning ministry is to reach whom god has given to me And if that takes us through the united states and into the world so be it that's what it's supposed to be anyway But do I think god has given up on america? I don't think god has given up on anybody god so loved the world That he desires them to come to faith in christ. He's not willing that any should perish and so it's difficult for me to to say that america Has a special place in the heart of god But I do know we have special privileges that we ought to take advantage of amen Here's another question that I've been asked myself and I I don't I don't know I've never done any extensive research, but is america in bible prophecy I have never seen that we are which is which is Interesting because you do see nations by name mentioned, you know And there they are in scripture and they're still in existence. Maybe in a different form from when they were originally Referred to but I do not see the united states In biblical prophecy. I I personally don't there are those who are much more versed in the subject than I Who can speak about You know the british isles and their and the end their Their daughters if you will and there are those that speak concerning The fact that we are actually a colony of great britain and then you know, and you've done it And I've done it. We've seen that But what I stand up and with certainty say yes, we are that No, and and so the question obviously follows then How is it that the greatest nation on the face of the earth isn't in scripture? How is it that in consequential nations in terms of geopolitics today in consequential nations are mentioned? jordan You know egypt how are they mentioned? And here we are the most powerful nation on the face of the earth and we aren't mentioned And there are usually a couple of Answers that are given and you've given these answers. I know you have Because they're the general answers is one Is that the united states one could become so perverse twisted and lose our faith in christ that we become A nation that is no longer great in the very end and that we just become one of many nations and not the great nation That we we perceive ourselves to be Today that's a potential or two That a revival springs out that is so amazing That millions become christians the rapture occurs And and takes out the infrastructure the moral infrastructure of this nation and we're reduced To an inconsequential people and so those are a couple of the Suggested answers for that kind of question and it's interesting because I think when it comes to bible prophecy I mean the epicenter is israel and it's that that area. I mean if we're going to look at Anything we should keep our eyes in the middle east So I look at it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes So we're we're coming to the end here and In our nation we're we're actually up against some serious decisions new presidents And so we know the candidates without getting into all of this stuff with that But a lot of christians are kind of stuck And here's the final question that I have for you and for those listening that i'm sure we're probably asking How do christians vote? You know, we we use the term vote with your conscience And I think that that term sometimes is hijacked. It could be a code way of saying don't vote for this guy Or that woman for that matter but um I believe that we have a responsibility as i've shared in this church and you've heard me say it before That the right to vote was was fought for and died for This nation deserves citizens that value Those officials that are representing us and We need to go to the ballot box and we need to vote What most closely aligns? to Our biblical understanding So when I look at candidates I I'm not voting for a pastor. I'm not voting for a religious leader I'm voting for a political leader That represents the core values that I think are the most important to me And so I compare the candidates and I think integrity and honesty Truthfulness and things of that nature Are extremely important when it comes to um To ruling because righteousness is supposed to exalt a nation I know that in the old testament the kings were to have the conduct of the king They were supposed to live in a certain fashion and the way the king The israeli king was to lead Was through the word of god and the Theocracy that we mentioned earlier that he would use the laws of god As the foundations for all systems of justice In his kingdom I believe that there is still a moral imperative That when I vote I should vote somebody in at least cast my vote in the direction of somebody entering in To that office of presidency, which is still to this day the most powerful office on the face of the earth I should be voting for somebody who values the things that I see god values Is that person a person who is just is that a person who is honest? Is that a person who has a um a morality about them? Is that a person who? has a Faith in god, I'd prefer Somebody with a faith in god over somebody who has none But is that faith in god does it line up with what I understand scripture to teach related to what faith in god is Can I trust that person? Uh, I'm I I personally speaking of the election that is coming up here in the united states and all I have a difficult time um with with Two two candidates, you know at this moment and then if an independent should come in Um, I'm certain that uh, that'll just be a third person I have a little bit of a difficulty with But as I look at it right now um, I will be voting I will be voting for the one that represents overall uh, what I believe is Most closely aligned to The things that I value plus I will be looking at track records Uh, when I look at how somebody's life has been lived out in public It gives me a good idea of what's going to take place in the future And so as I look at the candidates right now, I'm not thrilled with either one of them But I I've already seen what happens when we try to make history By bringing in a candidate as we did with obama, you know, we're making history But that doesn't mean we made a good choice And this other candidate, you know, hillary clinton is Candidating on making history I think that That's not sufficient What I'm looking for is somebody that will answer that three o'clock phone call in the morning and actually respond to it I'm looking for somebody who is honest And forthright my problem right now and I think I'm probably speaking for others as I say this Is I have a known quality in one person and an unknown quantity in the other And that's what makes me You know more nervous is that I don't know what candidate trump will do He's just making promises. But on the other hand, I've seen what candidate clinton did And that didn't sell me at all. And so that's what's making it difficult I think for a lot of people and I'm not somebody who is going to vote for Just this candidate because I'm registered in this party but at the same time When I see the platform of a party that does not represent What I believe I can't vote for that candidate and that's kind of I think many americans are We're not voting for a pastor and we're not voting for messiah What we're voting for is somebody who lines up most closely to what I think is very valuable And that's how I vote well, it's been a very informative topic god in america pastor david It's always You know a good thing to discuss these things that are relevant and a lot of christians are always looking for answers Any final thoughts on our topic today? I think that we need to always remember that we have responsibility to do that which we have Been given the privilege to do here in the united states. We can take advantage Of the opportunities by presenting the gospel living for jesus having church service evangelizing The the lost going on the radio being in the print And all of that to get this message out I think that the church needs to wake up in these last days And we need to be aware of the fact that there's a huge battle for the soul of mankind And it hasn't ceased and none of us have been called to To go on any kind of retreat and just to give up on it. No, we're going to fight this battle And fight that good fight till we can say what paul said, you know, I have fought the good fight I'm ready. And so I really think that what we need to do as the church is to suit up and stay in the battle Amen If you'd like to learn more about david rozales, you can visit his website at calvaryccv.org If you have any questions about today's podcast, feel free to send an email to talk at calvaryccv.org Thanks for listening and have a great day