The God of Nations - By Jim Tharp

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)

I am praying that many more Americans will join me in prayer for a greater appreciation of God’s blessings on our nation over the past two and a half centuries. In the history of nations, there has never been another country that has been more blessed. Little wonder that we once sang “God Bless America!” And, now it is high time for us to plead “God, forgive us for our sins,” so that we can then sing with conviction, “God Bless America!”

Our Bible reminds us that God is the God of all nations. For almost two centuries most Americans were free to acknowledge openly the goodness of God in helping us remain unified, secure, progressive, and safe with law and order. It appeared back in those times that we were more careful to remember that our Creator warned against the dangers when nations forget their Creator and Redeemer. Those nations that forget are rapidly ripening for judgment.

How appropriate that we once sang “God Bless America” with conviction and praise! I was privileged to express my appreciation to my friend Dr. Billy Graham for his courageous decision to bring our nation out to express more openly our gratitude to God for His blessings. Billy Graham and Pastor George MacPherson, the president’s pastor at that time, went to call on President Dwight Eisenhower. After praying with the president and for the nation, the two spiritual leaders suggested that a phrase should be added to our “Pledge of Allegiance”: “one nation under God!” President Eisenhower heartily agreed, and most people rejoiced when it was approved by Congress in 1954.

I began this message with the Apostle Paul’s message to the brilliant philosophers in Athens back in the first century. In his passion and effort to open a Christian influence in that prominent city, the apostle received a cold reception. Athens response at that time was like most of our prominent cities in America today—strong resistance to Christian faith. Paul was ridiculed. This great man of God with a giant intellect, a superb education, a mighty grasp of the truth, and a loving heart, was jeered right there in Athens as a “babbler,” a “braggart,” and “a fool!”

But that apostle, unashamed of his message, was not weakened by their hateful opposition. Paul’s record in Athens showed him boldly preaching Jesus Christ as God’s plan for people in all nations to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to repent of sin and prepare for eternal life in Heaven with Him, rather than spend eternity in the fires of Hell with Satan. Despite Paul’s cold reception, the evangelist did not hesitate to confront both the Stoics and the Epicureans on their own level. Nor was he afraid to confront those so-called wise men about worshiping their “unknown god!” Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, he presented the merciful God who loved the lost human race so much that He sacrificed His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to die and pay their sin debt, shed His blood so they could be justly forgiven, and adopt them into His redeemed family.

I want to remind my readers that I truly believe that the “God of Nations” miraculously helped George Washington and his soldiers win that Revolutionary War for the purpose of establishing a nation that He could empower spiritually, morally, and economically to influence the entire planet with His will for all mankind. He is a God of love, not willing that anyone perish, but that we would all come to accept His one and only plan for our salvation—believing in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in a personal experience of salvation.

Many American believers are humbling themselves, praying, and searching their hearts to see where they need to repent and change their ways of living the Christian life. Many are seeing the need to meet God’s conditions for sending the greatest revival that has ever swept our nation. This kind of spiritual awakening would cleanse and restore His church to a state of grace that will bring back the same power that the first Pentecostal outpouring gave believers for spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth! Our Creator’s plan as the God of nations may be to use a mighty spiritual awakening that will revive His church and heal our land.

I want to close this message with God’s promise for the kind of spiritual awakening that I’ve tried to describe. It is found in II Chronicles 7:14: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Closing Prayer: “Our Heavenly Father, help true believers in our American churches to humble themselves, seek your face, and hear the calls of the Holy Spirit to change their minds, their hearts, and their ways. Through our obedience, faith, and prevailing prayer, allow us to see the glory of God in the kind of revival that will cause You, the God of Nations, to restore our nation to the level of spiritual power that will impact the world with the Gospel before it is too late! I pray this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen!”

Note: All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.