Jan 25, 2023
Before they entered the land, Joshua admonished the children of Israel that they needed to decide, right then and there, if they would serve the Lord. He recognized that what happened in the nation of Israel would be determined by the decision of the people, not just the decision of their rulers. When the Day of the Lord comes and the nations are brought to the Valley of Decision, we the people of those nations must recognize that our decisions about serving the Lord will ultimately determine the direction of our nation and the resulting consequences.
Show Notes: As the Day of the Lord comes into the earth, we see God dealing with the rulers of the nations, calling them individually to account for their relationship with Him and the decisions they have made. But there is a deep connection between the rulers whose decisions result in consequences for a country and the people of the country who elected those leaders. In the world today, the direction that most nations eventually take, and the resulting consequences, is more guided by the people of a nation than by its leadership.
Look at the United States. We are like the children of Israel who God established by giving them a land that was already a blessing. All they had to do was live in that land with a heart and a drive to serve the Lord. God has given us a land in this country that already had blessings upon it. All we had to do was decide how we lived in this land. What would we do? How would we treat those who were already inhabiting the land? What would our lifestyle be and what choices would we make in our relationship with the Lord?
Do you feel like we are losing the blessings that we had? Why? Well, for one thing, we have let government push God out of our schools. For the last fifty years, we have not imparted our faith and the Word of God to the generations that have grown up in America. If we could not do it in our schools, we should have done it more in our homes and in our churches. Now we are seeing the consequences of our decision unfold in society. Now, more than ever, is the time to decide that we will wholly follow the Lord, that we will bind His Word to our minds and our hearts and our homes and teach it to our children.
Key Verses:
- Joel 3:12-14. “The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
- Joshua 24:14–15. “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.”
- Deuteronomy 11:1–16. “Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.”
- Deuteronomy 11:17–25. “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul.”
- Deuteronomy 6:5. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
- Matthew 22:37. “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”
- Deuteronomy 11:26–28. “I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.”
- Revelation 7:3. “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:13–14. “If … My people … humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways ….”
- Ezekiel 11:17–21. “Remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.”
Quotes:
- “Maybe you feel your vote doesn't count, but your voice does. And to speak up and speak into what is transpiring is very important.”
- “We the people need to decide if we want the blessing or the curse, and we need to make that decision recognizing the consequences.”
- “We need to choose a different way to walk as believers in this nation. We've had the blessing of the Lord, and we're in the process of seeing it removed.”
Takeaways:
- God deals with the leaders of nations and there are consequences on those nations by virtue of their leadership. However, we must recognize that the direction most nations are moving today is more influenced and guided by the heart of the people of those nations than by its leadership.
- The covering that has been over us is removed if we, as the people, do not make the decision with all our hearts to seek God and walk with Him. If we can come together and remove the detestable things, the abomination from our midst, He will give us a new spirit and a new heart. He will enable us to walk by His statutes and keep His ordinances and see returned to us the blessings of God in our generation.
- We need the sealing of God’s Word on our foreheads. We need it written on our hearts and on our souls. We need to write the Word of God on our doorposts. When we come into our homes, we need them to be the house of God. We need to see a change in the way that we, as believers, have walked. We need to make a decision that has the power to speak to our nation and direct it in the will of God.