National Day of Prayer Sermon

NATIONAL Day of Prayer
May 3, 2012

AMERICA IS BANKRUPT

INTRODUCTION: I appreciate the opportunity to speak today and want to thank Brian Drucker, the Chairman of this year’s National Day of Prayer for the invitation.



I want to begin today by saying that I love America, I love being an American citizen. I love living in the greatest nation in the world. But America is in trouble.



George Carlin wrote:

- The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

- We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy less.

- We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

- We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

- We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

- We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

- We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years!

- We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.

- We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

- We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

- We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

- We write more, but learn less.

- We plan more, but accomplish less.

- We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait.

- We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.



- We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.



AMERICA IS IN TROUBLE, BIG TROUBLE!



John MacArthur in his book “Can God Bless America”states that “America wants God’s blessing but not God. Our nation has systematically pushed Him out of the national consciousness—rejecting biblical morality, ignoring His Word, and relying on the political and entertainment arenas for moral guidance.”



America is in big trouble because she is forgetting God. And the result is a nation on the brink of bankruptcy – bankruptcy financially, physically, morally and spiritually.




I. America is Financially Bankrupt –she has trusted her money but has forgotten the slogan on her money which says,“in God we trust.”

A. Proverbs 11:28 “He that trusts in his riches shall fall...”

B. The United States national debt has passed $15 trillion. For each dollar spent by the federal government 40 cents is borrowed. The US has a debt that is almost four times the size of its economy. The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.95 billion per day since September 28, 2007.

C. We have encumbered our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren with a debt they can never pay.

D. According to Reuters, Unemployment stands at 8.1%. Today, 23.7 million Americans are out of work and cannot feed their families.

1. Some 14 million Americans who looked for a job in April did not find one. This figure does not include people working part- time for economic reasons nor those who did not look for work because of personal reasons or the "discouraged workers" who have given up hope. If we include those persons in the unemployment calculation it would push the U.S. jobless rate up to 16.1 percent

2. According to bread.org, 36.3 million American people--including 13 million children--live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States

3. Multiplied thousands have lost their homes. According to WordPress, on any given night, an estimated 672,000 American people experience homelessness. This means 22 out of every 10,000 people are homeless in America.

· 42% of those 672,000 are unsheltered (meaning they live on the streets or in other forms of shelter not meant for human habitation), while 58% are living in shelters or transitional housing.

· The most common makeup of a homeless family is a mother with one or two children. This certainly goes against the image of homelessness most people perceive.

America is Financially Bankrupt




II. America is Physically Bankrupt



A. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute and Center for Disease Control…

· Over 12 million people in the US have cancer.

· 25.8 million adults and children have diabetes

· 5.4 million adults has Alzheimer’s

· 1 out of every four or our citizens has or has had a sexually transmitted disease. That calculates to over 78 million infected with 19 million new infections each year.

· 1.7 million in the U.S. has AIDS with over 600,000 deaths already attributed to the disease according to the Kaiser Family Report. That is more than the population of Las Vegas.

· This year, according to Health Guide USA, Americans will shell out over 300 billion dollars for healthcare.

And I could go on and on…..



America is Physically Bankrupt



III. America is Morally Bankrupt


A. Proverbs 14:34: “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach (a disgrace) to any people.”





B. Alcoholism, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, homosexuality, school violence, child abuse, pornography, rape, robbery and murder pervade our nation. America is drowning in wickedness and immorality



1. Due to drug addiction in adults, according to the Christian Post, one drug addicted baby is born every hour.



2. In an article entitled The Diseasing of America, the writer states, “Nearly one in thirteen, or approximately 14 million people that live in America are alcoholics. Several million more don't realize they are alcoholics, or on their way to becoming one.



3. According to the Disaster Center in a stastical report of violent crimes in America, which included violence, forcible rape, murder, burglary, property theft, etc., in 1960 to total of all those crimes was 3,384,200 but by the end of 2010 they had escalated to over 10 million

4. Approximately 1 million young women and men between the ages of 15 and 19 will become teen parents this year.

C. 1.37 million unborn babies were aborted last year. Today, 3,700 unborn children in America will be legally murdered. 18% of those will be done for born again evangelical Christians.



D. California law AB1785, requires pro-homosexual tolerance education at all public schools and all grade levels, including Kindergarten. AB1931 provides taxpayer funded grants to take children on field trips to teach them diversity and tolerance of homosexuality.



E. In a Christian Research Institute letter U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a disturbing essay entitled "Defining Deviancy Down." In that article he tried to make 'normal' what a more civilized, ordered and healthy society long ago would have labeled--and long ago did label—deviant behavior.



Isaiah 5:20 “0 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”





You have probably heard the old quote that says, “A rose by any other name is still a rose.” Well, call me old fashioned, call me out of touch with current trends, but Sin is still sin regardless what label you put on it.





America is Morally Bankrupt



What could possibly be the cause of the bankrupting of America? Is the President of the United States to blame, the Congress, the Supreme Court.



I believe the reason is deeper than that. Ronald Reagan, our 4oth President, said,



“Our forebears came to America, not in search of gold, but mainly in search of God and freedom to worship in their own way. We have been a free people living under the law with faith in our maker and in our future. I’ve said it before that the most sublime picture in American history is of George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. That scene personifies our people who knows that it is not enough to depend on our own courage or goodness, we must also seek help from God our Father and preserver. We as a nation embrace these principles by decision and we abandon them at our peril.”





We are in our current national condition because…

IV. America is Spiritually Bankrupt

We have abandoned our spiritual principles and we have done so at our peril. We are witnessing the decline of Christianity in America. Christian churches in America are losing members rapidly, and this trend is especially dramatic among young Americans.

According to a stunning new survey by America's Research Group, 95 percent of current 20 to 29 year old evangelicals attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years. However, only 55 percent of them attended church regularly during high school, and only 11 percent of them were still regularly attending church when in college.

The reality is that young Americans are deserting the Church in America in droves.

According to a Survey given by the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture at Trinity College, 46%of Americans between the ages of 18 to 34 indicated that they had no religion. 46%

Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor recently published an article about the "coming evangelical collapse" that they believe is coming. They openly predict that "within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants."

But even more bad news for evangelical Christianity in America is that those who still call themselves Christians do not necessarily hold to traditional Christian beliefs any longer.

Two other recent surveys reveal that the majority of American Christians believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior is NOT the only way to eternal life.

USAToday in December 2008 reported on an almost unbelievable new survey that found that 52 percent of American Christians believe that eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior.

A different survey that was taken by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion& Public Life found that 57 percent of evangelical Christians in America believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life".

How could that be we might ask? Here is the answer. The Pew survey referenced above also revealed that 45% of Americans say that they seldom or never read the scriptures.

Perhaps if more American Christians were actually reading the Bible they would know what is truth and what is error.

The current situation in the churches of America reminds us of 2 Timothy 4:3.....

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

Dave Olson, the director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, has done some really interesting research into the church attendance patterns of Americans. Olson's research found that the percentage of Americans that regularly attend church is only 18.7%.

Couple that with the statistic that says a person considers themselves a regular church goer if they attend church once every 4 to 6 weeks and we have a real dilemma on our hands.

All of these polls and surveys tell us the same thing: Christianity in America is in a serious state of decline - especially among young people.

This year 3,500 – 4,000 churches will close their doors in America. This calculates out to be about 11 churches every day.

No wonder America is in trouble, she is forgetting God and history will tell you that when a nation forgets God she is destined for ruin.

America is Spiritually Bankrupt

CONCLUSION: How do we win back America? If we are going to get America back, it is going to have to be done on our knees.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”



While this passage is directed at the nation of Israel, the application can be made to the believer as we are called by the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.



Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked Christians to turn to God for answers to the nation's troubles.



That is what this National Day of Prayer is all about. We are calling our nation back to prayer. We are calling each individual Christian back to prayer and back to God.

1. Prayer for personal cleansing and revival and

2. Prayer for national cleansing and revival.

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;”





We are calling all of you to stand with us this year in prayer, prayer for our nation; prayer for our President; prayer for our national, state, and local and community leaders. Prayer for revival for this nation.



Let me conclude with a couple more quotes from President Ronald Reagan:



“No matter where we live we have a promise that can make all the difference. A promise from Jesus to soothe our sorrows, heal our hearts and drive away our fears. He promised there would never be a dark night that does not end. “Our sorrow may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” He promised if our hearts are true, His love will be a source of sunlight and by dying for us, Jesus showed how our love should be ready to go all the way, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosever believeth in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.”



“Now I realize that it is fashionable in some circles to believe that no one in government should encourage others to read the Bible that we are told that we will violate the constitution of church and state established by the founding fathers in the 1^st Amendment. The 1^st Amendment was not written to protect people and their laws from religious values, it was written to protect those values from government tyranny.”



“I said that we must be cautious claiming that God is on our side, I think the real question that we must answer is, are we on God’s side.”