Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Guest Speaker
Pastor Rick Bettez.
America being a client nation unto God, should look back in Biblical history and see what happens to those Bels who God gave authority & commandments too and they refused to follow Him.
Remember a client nation unto God has to have some resemblance to Israel …meaning God hand picks them and set them aside in a definitive fashion.
The King of Judah (Manasseh) recorded in 2KI 21 & 2CH 33 (687-643 B.C.) is a good study on what happens to a client nation unto God, when the Bels follow wicked leadership. America h
5 Characteristics of a Client nation unto God=
1.God’s laws of divine establishments are in place.
(4 institutions)
2. Free enterprise is abundant.
- Churches are free from government intrusion.
- A safe haven for the Jews.
- Christian missionary activity is alive and stretches outside the nation.The 4 Divine Institutions are the fertile ground for Christianity to grow;
- Volition (free will)
- Marriage (Christian)
- Family
4. NationalismWhen the church of Jesus Christ gets away from interest in Biblical teaching & commitment to the body of Christ…the nation begins to peel away from Christianity.
AS GOES THE CHURCH, SO GOES THE NATION.
2Kin 21:1 At this point in history Israel was already a divided nation. The Southern Kingdom (Judah) was under the authority of King Manasseh, son of a great king; Hezekiah.
as some similarities with this study.
King Solomon’s push for a great nation was a strain of labor, land & cost that 10 of the tribes rejected after he passed away (926-922 B.C.). Rebellion ensued and a split occurred under Solomon’s son King Rehoboam.
Hezekiah was one of the last great leaders/kings of Israel only second to King David. His son Manasseh…not so much.
Divine sarcasm, he was evil!!
2KI 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
Psa 145:8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Psa 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Hezekiah & Hephzibah were good, godly parents. Hezekiah is often compared to King David & Hephzibah’s name means ‘a delight for God’ also a term for Zion.
Ahaz was an evil leader and the father of Hezekiah, Manasseh was an evil leader yet the son of a good set of parents and a positive Bel, King Hezekiah.
Cain & Abel had the same parents they were both raised in the ways of the Lord. Yet Cain became bitter and violent, he had a nature that bucked against the authority of God.
Both Gideon & Abram had father’s that worshipped false gods, yet they became winner Bels!
Gen11:28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
Jos 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.
We become responsible for our own decisions and our own relationship with God. Your parents, environment and childhood issues eventually need to be laid aside so you can grow into who God designed you to be!
Daniel is a wonderful study about a serious Bel who stands for God under great pressure and an environment that was against everything he believed, anti-God, evil & oppressive leadership.
Daniel was willing to stand up against the King but did so with a level of respect and attention to protocol that needs to be noted for Bels to apply during times of oppressive, authoritarian leadership.
ACT 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
All Bels should strive for becoming a beacon of light to a lost and dying world, willing to be the one to initiate change that leads to God’s Word becoming a popular notion among those they have regular contact with.
MAT 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
Bels should have a Godly pride in their faith.
MAT 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
2KI 21:3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
2CO 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;
These two words are describing an army or a formation within the skies.
TSABA’- military formation/army.
SHAMAYIM- skies and or astrology.
King Manasseh was influenced as a teenager by those involved in astrology, science & the occult. Also showing an interest in his grandfather’s gods.
Young King Manasseh got deeply involved in his journey away from the one true God, and put great time & effort into false idols. This happens when a leader has a hard heart toward truth and a weak governing body underneath him.
2KI 21:4 He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
Manasseh would not have been born if God did not extend King Hezekiah’s life. Hezekiah brought trouble upon his own people in those last few years.
Godly parents, family & friends assist us to stay the course, but ultimately our own volition is what matters. Unbel’s have children who become Bels, and Bel’s have children who become apostate. VOLITION!
As a whole the Christian church has weakened and rejected solid Bible teaching over the past 50 years and now we see that reflection in our leadership & the majority of our youth.
1CO 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
ROM 14:12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
You can’t point backward at childhood issues, parents & environment at the final judgment!
PHI 2:15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,