We live in a time when there are many political pundits who are declaring with
certainty that America's best days are in the past. If you type into Google,
the search engine, if you type in the words, 'the decline of the USA', you
will immediately receive eight million, eight million articles, books, posts, video
lectures on this subject; various works with titles like, The Decline of the USA
from the Huffington Post, The Future: China's Rise, America's Decline,
Forbes magazine, The Decline of the West, the Atlantic Monthly. Add to this general
pessimistic viewpoint a confrontational relationship between the White House and
the news and entertainment media, as well as internal strife dividing both parties,
and it's easy to see why the average American, regardless of political
affiliation, is feeling insecure about the future at this time. We cannot deny
that America is in a downturn in many ways, but there are some truths not being
said about our country that need to be proclaimed. Before getting into these
fundamental truths, I would like to examine the argument being made by so
many concerning the decline of our nation. Much of the discussion on this
subject is based on the writings of Sir John Bagot Glubb, an honored British
general and historian whose 1978 book, The Fate of Empires and the Search For
Survival. In his book he traced the common features possessed by all great
empires throughout history up to and including modern times. He described a
common pattern fitting the history of fallen empires. In other words,
empires that declined and fell all had a similar pattern throughout history.
He wrote that they went through a cycle of changes as they started and expanded
and matured and then declined and eventually collapsed. Each empire, he
wrote, lasted on average 250 years, about ten generations. You will find any number
of books and articles on this topic, but most are based on the seven stages that
he described in his book. And I'd like to share these with you very briefly. The
first stage is the age of outburst and pioneer. Second stage, the age of conquest,
where the nation seeks to gain independence and power and expand or
consolidate its own land and add other land it conquers from weaker nations.
Then comes the age of commerce and the age of affluence.
According to Glubb, at these stages businessmen and merchants take over at
the highest levels of power, as the nation shifts its attention from acquisition
of power and territory to the less dangerous and more enjoyable search for
wealth and ease. Then comes the age of intellect. Investment builds the wealth
that leads to this particular age of intellect. Eric Snow, commenting on this
period in an online article, writes, "During the age of intellect, schools may
produce skeptical intellectuals who oppose the
values and religious beliefs of early leaders, the corrosive effects of
material success encourage the upper class and the common people to discard
the self-confident, self-discipline values that helped to create the empire
in the first place." And then he writes, There comes the age of decadence
followed by the age of collapse, these final stages have features that
appear at this final stage of every empire throughout history.
I repeat, every empire throughout history, when it arrives at the stage of decline
and collapse has the following symptoms: first, an undisciplined and overextended
military, fighting too many wars in too many places at the same time; conspicuous
displays of wealth, massive disparity between rich and poor; a desire to live
off of the government through cronyism or welfare. In other words, the very
powerful and the least powerful live off of the government, which is financed by
the middle class. And then there is the debasement of the currency. The nation's
money is no longer backed by actual precious metals, but by IOUs and the
printing of currency notes. Also, one generation squanders the wealth and the
inheritance of the next generation. And then, a failing society's obsession with
sex and sexual perversion. We think that the gay rights movement, for example, and
society's interest and defense of homosexuals, and in the last few years
transgendered people, we think that's something new, but this is not so.
Feminist author and cultural critic Dr. Camellia Puglia said in a recent
interview on CNS news, that the rise of transgenderism in the West is a symptom
of its decline. Now you need to understand that Paglia herself is openly
gay and generally supportive of this lifestyle, but in her study of the late
phases of various cultures throughout history, she notes the following, and I
quote, "And I formed in my study that history is cyclic, and everywhere in the
world you find this pattern in ancient times: that as a culture
begins to decline, you have an efflorescence, meaning a flowering, of
transgender phenomena. This is a symptom of cultural collapse." This is from her
book, Sexual Personae. In addition to sexual immorality, the decline of a
society is also seen in the type of people considered as heroes from one
generation to another. In his book, John Glubb explains that the
heroes of an empire change over time, as their values change. Soldiers, explorers,
and builders are admired in the very early stages of an empire's lifecycle. For
example, in the late 19th century here, middle-class Americans wanted their
children to learn the values contained in the stories of Horatio Alger, who
wrote about people who succeeded despite adversity. Characters who were wise,
prudent, and successful. On the other hand, during the last stages of decadence and
decline an empire's people often think most highly of and imitate athletes,
musicians, and actors, despite how corrupt many of these celebrities' privates lives
might be. And this is in every empire's decline. Every one of them
throughout history to today. A society is known by its heroes. Is it any wonder
that America is no longer admired today, as it was after World War Two. And that's
just 70 years ago. Back then we were helping to rebuild the nations that had
been our enemies in that war: Japan and Germany. This was a confirmation of the
fact that ours was a Christian nation, and the helping and the forgiveness of
our enemies was our witness of this to the world. Today our government supports
and defends the rights of gay men and women to serve openly. And also, up until
not very long ago, would pay for the surgery and counseling of male soldiers
who wanted to become women. Something, by the way, that even gay author and
lecturer Camille Puglia finds ridiculous, because as she points out in her
television interview, "Sex reassignment surgery, even with all its advances,
cannot in fact change anyone's sex. You can define yourself as a trans man, or as a
trans woman, or as one of these new gradations along the scale (heterosexual/
bisexual/ past heterosexual - present homosexual / homosexual/ asexual/
transsexual/ etc, etc. - There are many different categories, however, ultimately
every single cell in the human body, the DNA in that cell remains coded for
biological birth." In other words, our DNA remains male or female no matter what
you do. Don't wonder why we are neither respected or admired by other
nations, when last year the ESPN sports television network presented the Arthur
Ashe award for courage to former Olympic track and field star Bruce Jenner for
his courageous decision to become a transgendered woman. When a man wearing a
dress in public commands more respect than the duly elected leader of our
nation, it is a definite sign that that nation is no longer what it once was.
I believe that the United States, like other empires and nations before her, has
experienced a similar cycle in its history: a burst of pioneering and
expansion, as the original colonies were settled and the nation developed, until
it was settled between the east and the west coast,
than Canada and Mexico to its north and south. It gained its independence from
British rule. It fought a war to maintain its unity and then participated in two
world wars during which it reached its military and economic maturity. Its
wealth and prestige enabled it to establish world-class political,
educational, and economic institutions that were the equal of any such places
in Europe or elsewhere. And it was during these days of confidence and wealth that
America slowly began to trade away its Christian heritage and ideals, clearly
reflected in its constitution and laws, for humanistic ideas that basically
placed man at the center of life and reality, instead of God at the center of
life and reality. These ideas were introduced in books and lectures by
atheists and agnostics using the universities as their platform. They were
aided and abetted, as they always are, by artists and novelists and filmmakers, who
leavened their books and pictures and movies with these ideas for consumption
by the masses. That partnership succeeded in producing a nation that has removed
God from the classroom, from the Congress, from the media, and at the present time
is trying to remove God from the home and family as well.
For this and the reasons mentioned before, I truly believe that the United
States is a nation in decline. And when compared to empires of the past, it is
quite obvious that we are at the stage of decadence as evidenced by our moral,
economic, and social decline. This point, however, is where the similarities with
past empires end. You see, the cycle of decline that these writers describe is
attributed to nations and empires that all had one thing in common:
they were not created, established, or governed by Christian principles or
founders. For example, the Roman Empire evolved from a city-state, to a unified
nation, to a world empire, how? Through political and military means. The Russian
Empire, or the USSR in modern times, was forged through the invasion and control
of foreign territory through military might and so it has been for all empires
seeking to expand their influence and control over other nations for the
purpose of military strategy. In other words, using other nations as buffer
zones to protect themselves or to exploit the natural resources of other
nations to enrich and maintain its empire, as the British Empire did with
India and other countries, including the USA up to the Second World War. These
empires, they all declined in the very same way because they were established
in the same way - through war and through conquest. The United States, however, is
not guided or motivated by the need to expand its territory or to subdue other
nations in order to extract their wealth, as other empires have done. The United
States was founded by men who believed in God, who confessed Christ
and considered the Bible as God's inspired Word. With the help and blessing
of God they created a constitution that would guide this nation with laws and a
government that reflected the Spirit of God in its function and in its purpose,
to guarantee the freedom of each citizen, to protect the nation from being taken
over by dictators, to provide a government that would be made up of
citizens who would serve the people of the land. I'm not saying that our country
has not made mistakes or acted unjustly at times in our history. We have. And
we've suffered the consequences. I mean, just a quick look at race relations in
the United States will reveal how much we are being punished for the sins of
slavery and bigotry committed long ago, but whose social
impact we are still feeling today. What I am saying is that despite the
decline the US has suffered, unlike other empires and nations that
have collapsed once the excesses of their decadence became too great, we can
avoid this end. Yes, we are in decline, but that decline does not have to inevitably
lead us to final collapse. That's the message. When other nations before us
reached this stage of decadence, there was nowhere for them to go but down,
because there was nothing in their political or religious systems that had
the power to redeem and to restore them. We, on the other hand, we have the mind of
the living God literally sewn into our Constitution, and the laws that stem from
it. A Gallup poll on religion in America found that 73% of Americans said that
they identified themselves as Christians. This of course was down from 2008 when
the percentage was 80%. This confirms the idea that America, as a Christian nation,
is in decline, but it continues to have a majority of people who still believe and
can be appealed to based on faith in God. This is the difference between the
United States and all the great nations and empires that rose and fell in the
past. We have hope. Our decline is real, but our collapse is not inevitable. Our
salvation as a nation is in God's hands, not our own. And it rests in God's hands
because we put it there through prayers. The prayers of faithful Christians
concerning this nation are more powerful in effecting its course than any number
of meetings and accords at the United Nations signed without any regard or
dependence on God. Despite the dark reports and lack
of enthusiasm for this great nation's future by much of the media, I believe we
can reverse the decline, and to borrow a phrase, make America Christian again.
I believe that Christians have power, but not the kind of power that boycotts
certain movies or stores if they do something that offends us. That's
political power, that's economic power, that's power that
comes from below, not power that comes from above. Our power is spiritual and it
comes from above, not from this world. We exercise it in the following ways: we
exercise it through prayer. James chapter five, verse 16 writes, "Therefore, confess your
sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Can you imagine what
the effective prayer of a righteous nation can accomplish? I've already
mentioned this, but I want to emphasize the fact that changes, courage to stand
firm in the face of attack, perseverance in difficult circumstances, all of these
things are made possible through prayer. Prayer is our chief defense against what
seems like an overwhelming tide of disbelief and pessimism and moral decay
engulfing our nation. As Christians we don't have the ear of the President and
we don't get to sit with important leaders to plead our case for returning
to a more faithful version of our country, but we do have the ear of the
Almighty God through our faith in Jesus Christ. That, we do have. If you want a
government and its leaders to govern America according to Christian ideals
and biblical teaching, pray for this. Be specific and consistent in your appeal
to God for this very thing. The prayers of a righteous man, woman, or group of
people can and will avail much, but they must first pray.
Make America Christian again by proclaiming. Jesus said to them, "Go into
all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." I believe that one of the
reasons for the decline of Christianity in the United States is, much like the
governments of the last two decades that have spent much of our resources on
saving and rebuilding foreign nations to the neglect of American workers and
business and cities. In the same way, we have focused much of our
evangelistic efforts at establishing and maintaining churches in other lands,
while neglecting the work of evangelism in our own country. Listen, I'm a
missionary. I spent 15 years in the mission field. I'm not proposing that we
stop supporting missionaries. I'm suggesting that we invest as much money
in local evangelism as we do in foreign evangelism. That's not too much to ask, is it?
I mean, it costs roughly six thousand dollars per month to fully support a
missionary in the field. And that's a conservative estimate. I mean, this
includes his personal salary, a work fund, travel expenses for furloughs, if he and
his family are from the United States. Many churches support missionaries, but
would never think of allotting the same amount of money every month to invest in
local evangelism. I mean, the main task of the church is the proclamation of
the gospel to all creation, and that includes our hometown and our state and
the USA as well. The most effective use of our resources and energy as
Christians in stopping the moral and spiritual decline of America is to seed
every part of this nation with God's Word and train the next generation to do
exactly the same thing. God's promise to us is that if we plant the seed, He will
give us a harvest. The lack of growth experienced by Christianity in general
is largely due to the simple fact that we have done less planting, and as a
result have received less of a harvest from the Lord.
Our own nation, a statistic that bears this out, is that it is predicted that by
2050 there will be more Christians in China and in Africa, places where the US
churches have sent missionaries to plant seed for decades. These will have a
greater number of Christians than we have here in the United States, where we
have neglected to plant the seed. The more you seed, the greater the harvest.
And then finally, in order to make America Christian again, you must
prepare. Jesus said, "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in
heaven, nor the Son, but the father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do
not know when the appointed time will come." We pray, we proclaim to others so
they will know God and be saved through faith in Christ, expressed in repentance
and baptism. This is the believer's way of turning the tide of decline one life and
one citizen at a time. As Christians we also provide a witness to those who
oppose us, because our faith that this nation, whether it's ascending or in
decline, will, like all other nations great and small, eventually be destroyed
when Jesus returns at the end of the world, Second Peter chapter three, verse 10.
And so I pray and I proclaim because while I am here I want our nation to be at peace
and prosperous, so that the work of the church can go forward without being
hindered, and we, as Christians, can be free to worship, First Timothy two, verse two.
However, no matter how high or low the state of our nation, I am always in the
process of preparation for the next world, where all Christians will dwell
forever with God. My proclamation is confirmed by my
preparation. For example, how serious do you think a non-believer will consider
my proclamation of the gospel to him if what he sees in me is that I love this
world more than I love the next world, or that despite
my proclamation, the church is not a priority for me, or that my moral purity
or devotion to God and service to others in Christ are not visible in my life? As
a Christian I don't march in the streets carrying a sign. I don't get into angry
debates with those I disagree with. But every day, in ways great and small, I
demonstrate that despite the blessing of living in this wonderful country of the
United States, I am only passing through on my way to
the place prepared for me by my Lord in my Father's house. As far as America is
concerned, I try to be a good steward of the privilege that God has given me by
allowing me both to live here, to serve here, and hopefully to die here as well.
My response to this blessing is to do my best to make America Christian again by
praying for its spiritual revival, by proclaiming the good news to Americans
who have not yet heard or responded to it, and by preparing my family and myself
for the time when all nations will be judged and those found faithful, whether
they're on the rise or on the decline, will live on continually ascending into
the everlasting presence and knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ. If you
are hearing this lesson and find yourself among those who need to answer
the call to repent or to be baptized or to require the prayers of the church for
forgiveness or renewal or the call to do your best to make America Christian
again, then I encourage you to come forward now as we stand and as we sing our song of encouragement.