1. a. The popular German weekly Der Spiegel,
has a cover picture of a sick Uncle Sam titled, "The American Patient: The
decline of a Great Nation." Would you agree with that view of America? If
so, what is the main reason for that decline?
"...when you have eaten and are
full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them... when your
heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God. ... you say in your
heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this
wealth.’... Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God,
and follow other gods... you shall surely perish. As the nations which the
Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because
you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God."
(Deuteronomy
8:12-14, 17, 19-20)
b. What additional reasons do
you see?
2. How would you compare America's current decline
with Israel's repeated slide into moral and spiritual depravity? Does
this Old Testament warning apply to us today? Why?
"...it shall come to
pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your
God.... that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
...Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your
ground and the increase of your herds.... The Lord will cause your
enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face....
"The
Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of
your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not
borrow....
“But...
if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God...
all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.... The Lord
will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set
your hand to do... because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have
forsaken Me.... The Lord will change the rain of your land to
powder and dust...
"The Lord
will cause you to be defeated before your enemies.... The Lord will
strike you... with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch....
A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your
land and the produce of your
labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed....
"The alien
who is among you
shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down
lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend
to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail....
"Because you did not serve the
Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of
everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the
Lord will send against you....
"If you do not carefully observe all
the words of this law that are written in this book [remember, the Levitical laws were fulfilled in Christ, but the
moral law is as
relevant now as then], that you may fear this
glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the Lord will
bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues.... And it
shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and
multiply you, so the Lord will ... bring you to nothing..."
(Deuteronomy 28:1-63)
3. Most Christians would agree that America has
been blessed by God. In return, what does He ask of us? How can we meet His
requirements?
"...everyone to whom
much is given, from him much will be required."
(Luke 12:48)
"For though we walk in
the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when
your obedience is fulfilled."
(2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
4. In Hebrews 12:6, we read: "For
the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and
chastises
every son whom he receives.” Why should we be
grateful for His chosen disciplines for each of us? How do
they prepare us for the challenges ahead?
"But Hezekiah did not
repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up;
therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. Then
Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come
upon them in the days of Hezekiah."
(2 Chronicles 32:25-26)
5. In contrast, how does God deal with those who
deny Him and refuse to accept His loving corrections?
"'Be very desolate,' says the Lord.
'For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no
water." (Jeremiah
2:12-13).
"Because I have
called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded...
When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer...
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the
Lord,
They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way..."
(Proverbs 1:24-31)
6. Who is the ultimate ruler of America? How
does that fact encourage you?
"Be still, and
know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"
(Palm 46:10)
"...where sin abounded,
grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace
might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." (Romans
5:20-21)
My
"Rock" and
my Refuge
7. Take turns reading these Scriptures and sharing the
encouragement each one brings.
"I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my Rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my
salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies."
(Psalm 18:1-3)
"Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily;
Be my Rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me."
(Psalm 31:2-3)
"My
soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation....
The Rock of my strength and my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us." (Psalm
62:5-8)
8. Our Lord has prepared for us a place in His
eternal and glorious Kingdom. (We might think of this world as our training
ground.) How does that encourage you?
"I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us..."
(Romans 8:16-18)
"If then you were raised
with Christ [believers share in His redemptive death and resurrection],
seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right
hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ
who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."
(Colossians 3:1-4)
9. Today, we who belong to Him face challenges similar
to those faced by the early disciples who stood with Jesus in the pagan
atmosphere of Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus is with us, and He prepares us (as He did His disciples) for the
spiritual war ahead. We may not stand face to face with the man-made
idols of the occult, but that timeless evil which has been hidden in our
times is rapidly rising to surface.
a. How does today's fascination with evil and contemporary
idols effect those who love and cling to them?
b. How can we share the living Word of our King with those who are blinded
to His saving Truth?
c. Why is it essential that we depend on God -- our Rock and our Refuge, our Hope and our
Strength -- as we stand against the evils
of our culture?
"For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when
your obedience is fulfilled."
(2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
10. Why are so few churches willing and ready to take a
stand and confront today's
increasingly corrupt culture?
“I know your works, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So
then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew
you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy,
and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold
refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you
may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I
love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent."
(Revelation 3:15-20)
11. How has this lukewarmness damaged the church and its influence,
its reputation, its outreach?
12. What can you doing personally to challenge this
spiritual apathy and outright evil in name of
Jesus?
"Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Put on the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
"Therefore
take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,
having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of
righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the
gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
"And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and
supplication for all the saints...."
(Ephesians
6:10-18)
