1 00:00:04,690 --> 00:00:10,269 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2 00:00:10,269 --> 00:00:15,710 with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and 3 00:00:15,710 --> 00:00:24,649 faith. And today, the United States of America, I would submit to you, requires repentance 4 00:00:24,649 --> 00:00:33,670 and reformation before God if the United States will ever experience restoration to greatness. 5 00:00:34,689 --> 00:00:43,770 Peace and prosperity. Nowadays, we are indeed experiencing a fall from greatness, 6 00:00:44,509 --> 00:00:51,909 warfare, and poverty. And that's only going to increase if we remain on the same trajectory 7 00:00:51,909 --> 00:00:59,570 that we are on now. And it's not just a matter of mere politics of getting the right guy into office 8 00:00:59,570 --> 00:01:06,810 and the wrong guy out of office. Most of us have been conditioned to think along these lines 9 00:01:06,810 --> 00:01:16,909 that if we elect the right politicians and implement the right policies, well, then we will have the 10 00:01:16,909 --> 00:01:23,150 right peace and prosperity. Oh, but that is not the way that God works, dear listener. 11 00:01:23,150 --> 00:01:34,650 And he is sovereign over all of our affairs. God demands righteousness, justice, and mercy 12 00:01:34,650 --> 00:01:41,650 from his people. God demands repentance and reform from us, that is the United States, 13 00:01:41,650 --> 00:01:51,930 as a precondition to restoration for this nation or any nation. God says in Ezekiel chapter 18, 14 00:01:51,930 --> 00:01:59,909 I will judge you every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your 15 00:01:59,909 --> 00:02:07,849 transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Now this, of course, begins. Every one, he says. That means 16 00:02:07,849 --> 00:02:16,210 every individual of every particular nation, every individual in America needs to turn and look inwardly 17 00:02:16,210 --> 00:02:24,370 towards repentance and reformation before the whole mass of our population then experiences restoration 18 00:02:24,370 --> 00:02:33,870 and peace and prosperity. When our individual hearts are right and our individual behavior begins to 19 00:02:33,870 --> 00:02:40,750 conform to righteousness and justice, then we begin to see a change in our national circumstances. 20 00:02:40,750 --> 00:02:49,439 The prophet says in 1 Chronicles, then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes 21 00:02:49,439 --> 00:02:56,580 and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not, do not be 22 00:02:56,580 --> 00:03:05,060 dismayed. Ah, that holds just as true for every nation. Righteousness exalts a nation, as the Proverbs say. 23 00:03:05,060 --> 00:03:12,139 But we in the United States have been conditioned to decouple the engine of spiritual faith from the 24 00:03:12,139 --> 00:03:17,460 rest of the train and then expect that train to chug along down the track of greatness. Oh, 25 00:03:17,780 --> 00:03:22,620 we have been bludgeoned so often with a club of separation of church and state, for example, 26 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,979 that we're senseless of what God requires of nations. Proverbs 14, 34, as I referenced a moment 27 00:03:28,979 --> 00:03:38,580 ago. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. God and the nations as well 28 00:03:38,580 --> 00:03:45,939 reproach us for our sin, fellow American. For the moment, we exalt ourselves because we think we're on 29 00:03:45,939 --> 00:03:53,319 the right path, perhaps. We were at least a little while ago. We had elected some of the right politicians, 30 00:03:53,319 --> 00:03:59,719 like there's a few Tea Party candidates. And we also then elected a go-getter president, right? 31 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:06,520 President Trump. And in the past, we implemented some of the right policies, like a tax bill, a humming 32 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:12,599 economy, a few miles of wall, an America first foreign policy, right? And we thought that we were 33 00:04:12,599 --> 00:04:20,120 on our way to making America great again, as that candidate was famous for saying, right? But we missed 34 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:25,060 the most crucial element. And I think this is why we are on a free fall yet today. That is, 35 00:04:25,500 --> 00:04:33,500 we neglected the faith of America, which is the true greatness of America. President Trump, 36 00:04:34,060 --> 00:04:41,800 listen, and all other candidates running for office, listen to what an early friend of America said 37 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:50,040 about the source of our greatness. French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 38 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:57,720 1831, he said, and I quote him extensively, he said, I sought for the greatness of the United States 39 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:05,300 in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests, and it was 40 00:05:05,300 --> 00:05:12,699 not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, 41 00:05:12,699 --> 00:05:19,540 and in her institutions of higher learning, and it was not there. I looked for it in her Democratic 42 00:05:19,540 --> 00:05:26,379 Congress and her matchless constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of 43 00:05:26,379 --> 00:05:34,720 America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power. 44 00:05:35,379 --> 00:05:43,879 America is great because America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease 45 00:05:43,879 --> 00:05:51,279 to be great. Unquote. Let me quote those last sentences again for you. America is great because 46 00:05:51,279 --> 00:06:00,480 America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. Oh, what say 47 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:08,759 you, America? Can we any longer say America is good? Perhaps this is why America is also no longer 48 00:06:08,759 --> 00:06:18,139 great. For example, while we can't rejoice and give thanks to God for the reversal of the blood-soaked 49 00:06:18,139 --> 00:06:27,420 Roe v. Wade decision recently by the Supreme Court, we must not rest on our laurels. It is only a 50 00:06:27,420 --> 00:06:35,319 beginning. Inertia is the momentum developed by an object in motion, and the energy required to stop 51 00:06:35,319 --> 00:06:42,819 that object must equal or exceed the energy required to put it into motion. America, the abortion industry 52 00:06:42,819 --> 00:06:50,879 has developed incredible inertia over the last 50 years. Babies are still being sacrificed on the 53 00:06:50,879 --> 00:06:58,240 figurative altar to Molech every day. And the change on the legal front has not necessarily resulted 54 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:03,639 in a consequent change in a consequent change in the moral front, that is, the sense of right and wrong 55 00:07:03,639 --> 00:07:10,839 on this issue in the hearts and minds of our people. We must continue to pray for and persuade fathers 56 00:07:10,839 --> 00:07:17,639 and mothers to have their children, no matter how difficult the circumstances for raising them might be. 57 00:07:18,100 --> 00:07:25,500 And then we, the community, must come along to help them with those difficult circumstances 58 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:33,480 and provide a community of support for them. As a country, we have become still callous and 59 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:40,680 desensitized to the slaughter among us. As a baby is aborted every 30 seconds in America, still 60 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:47,879 slice and dice, scalded in saline solution, or live killed by the doctor in so-called late-term abortions. 61 00:07:47,879 --> 00:07:55,560 America cannot be great when she continues to shed such a river of innocent blood. 62 00:07:56,399 --> 00:08:01,540 And as I've detailed in the past, the United States is the chief consumer of child trafficking, 63 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,540 for example, where thousands of girls and boys are bought and sold like commodities, 64 00:08:07,060 --> 00:08:15,300 primarily for the sexual lusts of American men. America cannot be great when she buys and sells 65 00:08:15,300 --> 00:08:21,699 her children as a commodity instead of buying and selling commodities in order to raise her children 66 00:08:21,699 --> 00:08:29,939 in the fear and nurture of the Lord. Also, the United States has become a virtual crack whore 67 00:08:29,939 --> 00:08:37,860 of a country over the last few decades, selling herself for the marijuana and cocaine and heroin 68 00:08:37,860 --> 00:08:45,720 and fentanyl and methamphetamine, which flows wider than the Rio Grande across our southern border, 69 00:08:46,399 --> 00:08:51,399 enriching politicians and street gangs and the clandestine agencies of the deep state. 70 00:08:51,919 --> 00:08:59,059 And that doesn't even include the so-called legal drugs like opioids that are doled out by prescription. 71 00:08:59,059 --> 00:09:09,460 Oh, and Uncle Sam cannot be great, dear listener, when Uncle Sam has a hypodermic needle, excuse me. 72 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:15,259 Uncle Sam cannot be great when he has a hypodermic needle sticking out of his arms, 73 00:09:15,460 --> 00:09:22,519 stoned out of his constitutional gourd. America, do you not know? Can you not see? 74 00:09:23,159 --> 00:09:28,419 Know what God hates in a people. He says this in Proverbs chapter six. 75 00:09:28,419 --> 00:09:33,519 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. 76 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:40,840 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. Are you listening, abortionists? 77 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:47,659 And then a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 78 00:09:48,159 --> 00:09:54,919 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers, unquote. 79 00:09:54,919 --> 00:10:03,399 So, until America awakens and comes to a realistic understanding of her spiritual state, 80 00:10:03,860 --> 00:10:15,340 she will never right. The ship of state, the spiritual state of a people, is upstream from her cultural state, 81 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:21,340 and the cultural state is upstream from the political state of a people. 82 00:10:21,340 --> 00:10:26,559 So, yes, spirit dictates culture, and culture dictates politics. 83 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:32,799 So, we must reform our spiritual state before we ever hope to reform our cultural state, 84 00:10:32,879 --> 00:10:35,200 and then, consequently, our political state. 85 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,399 John puts it this way. He says, 86 00:10:39,820 --> 00:10:43,059 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, 87 00:10:43,500 --> 00:10:49,179 not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 88 00:10:49,179 --> 00:10:52,700 The Apostle John says this in Revelation chapter 3. 89 00:10:53,899 --> 00:10:57,299 Oh, back then, the king had no clothes. 90 00:10:57,879 --> 00:10:59,960 The church has no clothes. 91 00:11:00,220 --> 00:11:02,179 The people have no clothes. 92 00:11:02,740 --> 00:11:04,360 We think we are rich. 93 00:11:04,620 --> 00:11:06,820 We think we've prospered, that we need nothing, 94 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,460 not realizing that we, the United States of America, and her church, 95 00:11:12,940 --> 00:11:15,879 are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 96 00:11:15,879 --> 00:11:21,679 And it is time for Americans to look at themselves the way God does, 97 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,000 and then do something about it. 98 00:11:24,340 --> 00:11:30,100 That is, repent and reform before we are restored. 99 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:32,179 Well, what does that look like, dear listener? 100 00:11:32,580 --> 00:11:33,980 What does that look like? 101 00:11:34,379 --> 00:11:36,500 Well, first of all, repentance. 102 00:11:37,299 --> 00:11:43,100 Repentance means that there is a sight, sorrow, and sea change over our sin. 103 00:11:43,100 --> 00:11:48,980 Ha ha, repentance is, in brief, a knowledge and experience 104 00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:52,080 that there is a sight, sorrow, and sea change over sin. 105 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,120 The hardest thing for an addict to do is admit his addiction. 106 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,960 His entire ego is vested in lying to himself that he's okay, 107 00:12:00,059 --> 00:12:03,279 that he has it under control, that his abuse is not his master. 108 00:12:03,399 --> 00:12:07,559 But once he admits that he is powerless over his drug of choice, 109 00:12:07,740 --> 00:12:09,299 he's on the road to recovery. 110 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,320 He has a sight of his sin, in other words. 111 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,860 That's the first step in any nation's road to repentance as well. 112 00:12:18,179 --> 00:12:24,620 As King Solomon put it in his high prayer at the opening of the temple, 113 00:12:24,740 --> 00:12:25,059 he said, 114 00:12:25,580 --> 00:12:30,259 Yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive 115 00:12:30,259 --> 00:12:34,340 and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, 116 00:12:34,460 --> 00:12:34,759 saying, 117 00:12:35,299 --> 00:12:38,559 We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly. 118 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:44,700 Oh, America must first acknowledge that she has sinned and acted perversely and wickedly. 119 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:51,899 Right now, we strut around the world as if we are God's gift to glory and glamour, 120 00:12:52,039 --> 00:12:56,799 not realizing, as John says, that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 121 00:12:57,860 --> 00:13:02,080 Dear listener, there is no repentance until there is recall of transgression, 122 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,879 the full realization that we have offended the Almighty. 123 00:13:06,539 --> 00:13:09,399 And when that happens, then another thing happens. 124 00:13:10,139 --> 00:13:12,019 As 2 Corinthians 7 says, 125 00:13:12,379 --> 00:13:15,639 The heart of a nation truly grieves over its offense to God. 126 00:13:16,039 --> 00:13:18,139 There is godly sorrow over sin. 127 00:13:18,779 --> 00:13:20,019 Paul puts it this way, 128 00:13:20,019 --> 00:13:37,659 So, only when America sees her heart truly rent apart in sorrow from coast to coast 129 00:13:37,659 --> 00:13:40,940 will we know that we are moving towards true repentance. 130 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,899 It has happened in the past in America, 131 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,379 during the Great Awakening, for example, 132 00:13:46,379 --> 00:13:48,720 before the Revolution in 1776, 133 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,659 and also, again, in the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. 134 00:13:54,659 --> 00:13:59,299 Our doctrinal standards define repentance like this. 135 00:13:59,980 --> 00:14:00,740 It says, 136 00:14:01,179 --> 00:14:04,320 Repentance unto life is a saving grace, 137 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:05,840 whereby a sinner, 138 00:14:06,460 --> 00:14:09,779 and that's what we're constituted of here in this nation, 139 00:14:10,279 --> 00:14:11,139 whereby a sinner, 140 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:13,399 out of a true sense of his sin, 141 00:14:13,399 --> 00:14:16,840 in apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, 142 00:14:17,259 --> 00:14:19,639 does with grief and hatred of his sin, 143 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,320 turn from and unto God, 144 00:14:21,980 --> 00:14:23,799 with full purpose of, 145 00:14:24,179 --> 00:14:26,899 and endeavor after new obedience. 146 00:14:27,899 --> 00:14:30,100 Oh, dear listener, but it doesn't stop there. 147 00:14:30,580 --> 00:14:33,159 Not only is there a sight and sorrow over sin, 148 00:14:33,220 --> 00:14:35,259 but there's also a sea change over sin. 149 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,419 That is, one begins to change his behavior to stop sinning. 150 00:14:39,419 --> 00:14:42,379 We will know when America has truly repented, 151 00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:45,379 when the abortion clinics are shutting down, 152 00:14:45,659 --> 00:14:49,580 and children are placed in families with men and fathers, 153 00:14:49,740 --> 00:14:51,860 instead of trafficked for sex, 154 00:14:52,379 --> 00:14:54,200 to men and fathers. 155 00:14:55,039 --> 00:14:57,379 We will know America has truly repented, 156 00:14:57,639 --> 00:15:01,200 when the evil traitors of the deep state are unmasked, 157 00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:03,820 and justice, only justice, 158 00:15:04,019 --> 00:15:06,899 marches them down into Guantanamo Bay, 159 00:15:06,899 --> 00:15:09,840 instead of closing Guantanamo Bay. 160 00:15:10,580 --> 00:15:13,519 We will know that America has truly repented, 161 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:17,860 when the hypodermic needle falls away from the arm of Uncle Sam, 162 00:15:18,460 --> 00:15:22,539 and becomes strong again to defend the nation, that arm. 163 00:15:23,419 --> 00:15:24,840 But once again, it doesn't stop there. 164 00:15:25,279 --> 00:15:29,580 Secondly, the United States must bring about a reformation of her morals, 165 00:15:29,700 --> 00:15:31,120 and religious character, too. 166 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,360 There must be repentance and reformation before there is restoration. 167 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,500 It's not enough to repent, 168 00:15:37,639 --> 00:15:39,720 that is, have a sight, sorrow, and sea change, 169 00:15:39,779 --> 00:15:41,139 regarding sin per se. 170 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,259 But we must also move on from there, 171 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:50,019 and reform what has become so terribly blighted and decayed in our country, 172 00:15:50,139 --> 00:15:52,200 not just our neighborhoods and inner cities. 173 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,500 John tells the church in Ephesus, for example, 174 00:15:56,179 --> 00:15:59,120 remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, 175 00:15:59,659 --> 00:16:02,639 repent and do the works you did at first, unquote. 176 00:16:02,639 --> 00:16:04,960 This is the essence of reformation. 177 00:16:06,059 --> 00:16:09,279 America used to be a nation of goodness and righteousness. 178 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,379 Once again, as de Tocqueville puts it, 179 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:14,740 not until I went to the churches of America 180 00:16:14,740 --> 00:16:17,740 and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness, 181 00:16:18,340 --> 00:16:21,620 did I understand the secret of her genius and power. 182 00:16:22,299 --> 00:16:24,940 America is great because America is good. 183 00:16:25,460 --> 00:16:27,240 Let me repeat that again for you. 184 00:16:27,559 --> 00:16:30,200 America is great because America is good. 185 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,820 And if America ever ceases to be good, 186 00:16:33,279 --> 00:16:34,840 America will cease to be great. 187 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,899 Can you see that formula in action today? 188 00:16:39,039 --> 00:16:40,200 Oh, dear listener, 189 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:45,480 we need somebody to come along prior to Donald Trump 190 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,480 and say, make America good again, 191 00:16:47,700 --> 00:16:49,799 not make America great again, 192 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:51,879 make America good again. 193 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,899 We all need to be saying this and preaching it, 194 00:16:56,039 --> 00:16:57,399 shouting it from the rooftops. 195 00:16:57,399 --> 00:16:59,299 Make America good again. 196 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:01,919 To Tocqueville was so insightful. 197 00:17:02,139 --> 00:17:05,059 Our genius and power is directly proportional to our goodness. 198 00:17:05,180 --> 00:17:07,940 That is, it's bound to how righteous we are as a nation, 199 00:17:08,259 --> 00:17:11,559 the degree to which we practice godly biblical righteousness. 200 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,160 As the prophet Micah puts it, 201 00:17:15,339 --> 00:17:17,140 and this is intended for the nation, 202 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:19,420 he has told you, oh man, what is good 203 00:17:19,420 --> 00:17:21,660 and what does the Lord require of you 204 00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:24,240 but to do justice and to love mercy 205 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,960 and to walk humbly with your God. 206 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:31,579 Oh, how does the USA stand in need of these things? 207 00:17:31,740 --> 00:17:35,380 Oh, how do they measure up along the lines of Micah? 208 00:17:36,140 --> 00:17:40,680 First of all, when the United States is serious about biblical reform, 209 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:43,819 she will practice justice again. 210 00:17:43,819 --> 00:17:49,880 Presently, there is a two-tiered system of justice in America. 211 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,720 One for the Democrat and Republican elite 212 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,980 and one for the rest of us. 213 00:17:56,019 --> 00:17:58,740 Oh, for example, Dinesh D'Souza, 214 00:17:58,900 --> 00:18:01,940 who has just put out 2,000 mules, 215 00:18:02,059 --> 00:18:07,160 that great film on the corruption of the election of 2020. 216 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,500 But previously, Dinesh D'Souza went to prison 217 00:18:10,500 --> 00:18:14,700 for mistakenly handling $10,000 in campaign donations. 218 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:17,920 He was an obvious political prisoner, 219 00:18:18,059 --> 00:18:19,960 having produced a film as well, 220 00:18:20,079 --> 00:18:21,779 critical of then-President Obama. 221 00:18:22,619 --> 00:18:26,160 He is subject to this while Hillary Clinton goes scot-free, 222 00:18:26,900 --> 00:18:29,700 betraying the United States as Secretary of State, 223 00:18:30,279 --> 00:18:32,940 grafting millions of dollars in the Clinton Foundation. 224 00:18:33,619 --> 00:18:36,819 Oh, fat cats like Hillary Clinton are too fat to fail. 225 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:42,240 While the rest of us are too small to warrant being free. 226 00:18:43,319 --> 00:18:46,640 And then, along with the prophet Micah, 227 00:18:47,019 --> 00:18:50,140 when the United States is serious about biblical reform, 228 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:52,819 she will love mercy again as well. 229 00:18:53,539 --> 00:18:56,500 Mercy in the Bible is that attribute of God 230 00:18:56,500 --> 00:18:58,079 which shows compassion, right? 231 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,000 That attribute which shows compassion, 232 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,180 genuine compassion towards the helpless and the forsaken, 233 00:19:04,599 --> 00:19:06,579 those who perhaps cannot help themselves, 234 00:19:06,579 --> 00:19:09,259 who may not otherwise even deserve our help and compassion. 235 00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:12,740 God has mercy on the sinner who cannot save himself. 236 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,859 We, in turn, show mercy to one another 237 00:19:15,859 --> 00:19:19,519 and to others who otherwise may not be able to help us. 238 00:19:20,079 --> 00:19:22,660 We will show compassion towards the unborn, 239 00:19:23,279 --> 00:19:26,059 the sojourner, the orphan, the sick, 240 00:19:26,579 --> 00:19:28,619 the hungry, and the poor among us. 241 00:19:28,619 --> 00:19:32,000 But this will be done by the church and not the state. 242 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,920 Also, then, from Micah, once again, 243 00:19:36,099 --> 00:19:38,720 when the United States is serious about biblical reform, 244 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,140 she will walk humbly with her God. 245 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:42,920 Now, in the past, 246 00:19:43,779 --> 00:19:46,700 in the past, 247 00:19:47,380 --> 00:19:50,440 America has owned the God of the Bible as her own. 248 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:54,119 The Supreme Court in 1892 stated flatly, 249 00:19:54,460 --> 00:19:58,319 our civilization and institutions are emphatically Christian, unquote. 250 00:19:58,980 --> 00:20:00,380 And George Washington, as well, 251 00:20:00,460 --> 00:20:02,940 was insistent that the divine hand of providence 252 00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:05,660 was upon him and the entire course 253 00:20:05,660 --> 00:20:08,079 of the American Revolution, for example. 254 00:20:08,819 --> 00:20:10,799 So the task of reforming America 255 00:20:10,799 --> 00:20:12,980 along the lines of justice, mercy, 256 00:20:13,059 --> 00:20:14,700 and humble walking with our God, 257 00:20:15,039 --> 00:20:15,980 they are immense. 258 00:20:15,980 --> 00:20:17,900 But it must not be ignored. 259 00:20:18,740 --> 00:20:20,359 It must not be shirked. 260 00:20:21,059 --> 00:20:23,180 The longer we delay repentance and reform, 261 00:20:23,299 --> 00:20:25,400 the deeper we sink into the morass 262 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:26,740 and decay of our sin, 263 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:29,059 and the more difficult it will be 264 00:20:29,059 --> 00:20:30,700 to bring reform. 265 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,160 In order to make America great again, 266 00:20:33,220 --> 00:20:35,420 we must make America good again, 267 00:20:35,559 --> 00:20:36,920 as de Tocqueville would put it. 268 00:20:37,559 --> 00:20:39,460 There is an urgency to this. 269 00:20:39,599 --> 00:20:41,420 Not only does the task of reform 270 00:20:41,420 --> 00:20:43,420 become more difficult with every moment 271 00:20:43,420 --> 00:20:44,599 we neglect it, 272 00:20:44,599 --> 00:20:47,259 but we also tempt the patience of God 273 00:20:47,259 --> 00:20:47,940 in judgment, 274 00:20:48,460 --> 00:20:51,339 the longer we postpone repentance and reform. 275 00:20:52,420 --> 00:20:53,680 As Ezekiel puts it, he says, 276 00:20:53,740 --> 00:20:55,799 therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, 277 00:20:56,180 --> 00:20:57,619 everyone according to his ways, 278 00:20:57,740 --> 00:20:59,220 declares the Lord God. 279 00:20:59,339 --> 00:21:01,680 Repent and turn from all your transgressions, 280 00:21:02,140 --> 00:21:04,099 lest iniquity be your ruin. 281 00:21:06,319 --> 00:21:08,980 Restoration, the kind so dearly sought 282 00:21:08,980 --> 00:21:10,440 by red-blooded Americans, 283 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,920 is not gotten by circumventing repentance 284 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:13,880 and reformation, 285 00:21:14,319 --> 00:21:18,440 by short-cutting directly to peace and prosperity 286 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:20,099 through our own cleverness, 287 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,559 and by selecting the right politicians and policies. 288 00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:27,359 Now, that will only lead to the futile hamster wheel 289 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:28,819 that we are in right now, 290 00:21:29,019 --> 00:21:31,299 of a system we have, 291 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:32,819 where we run and run and run 292 00:21:32,819 --> 00:21:36,079 and spin and spin and get exactly nowhere. 293 00:21:36,079 --> 00:21:40,900 America, follow the counsel given the church at Ephesus. 294 00:21:41,900 --> 00:21:44,099 Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, 295 00:21:44,420 --> 00:21:46,859 repent and do the works you did at first. 296 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,519 Repentance and reform begins in the heart, 297 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,519 the mind, and the soul of the individual. 298 00:21:53,380 --> 00:21:54,319 That means you. 299 00:21:54,319 --> 00:21:57,440 And, if I'm honest, 300 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,140 as I saw in the mirror this morning, 301 00:21:59,220 --> 00:22:01,000 it begins with me, too. 302 00:22:01,140 --> 00:22:03,180 I must repent as well. 303 00:22:04,140 --> 00:22:05,579 And I make my appeal to you, 304 00:22:06,099 --> 00:22:08,240 who may fall under the hearing of this message. 305 00:22:08,559 --> 00:22:10,220 Whatever the destiny of America, 306 00:22:10,579 --> 00:22:12,200 and God is sovereign over it, 307 00:22:12,279 --> 00:22:14,359 your destiny can be one of salvation, 308 00:22:14,559 --> 00:22:15,039 dear listener. 309 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:16,880 In the book of Acts, 310 00:22:17,460 --> 00:22:19,599 a jailer asks the disciples, 311 00:22:19,599 --> 00:22:21,740 well, sirs, what must I do to be saved? 312 00:22:22,420 --> 00:22:23,000 And they said, 313 00:22:23,319 --> 00:22:24,519 believe in the Lord Jesus, 314 00:22:24,940 --> 00:22:26,019 and you will be saved, 315 00:22:26,380 --> 00:22:27,599 you and your household. 316 00:22:27,980 --> 00:22:30,160 Oh, and this has been the same. 317 00:22:30,539 --> 00:22:32,539 This has been true for all of us 318 00:22:32,539 --> 00:22:33,819 ever since that day. 319 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:35,460 Believe in the Lord Jesus, 320 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,660 and you will be saved, 321 00:22:36,819 --> 00:22:37,740 you and your household. 322 00:22:38,079 --> 00:22:39,480 Whatever happens to America, 323 00:22:39,940 --> 00:22:42,420 you can know the personal salvation 324 00:22:42,420 --> 00:22:45,359 of eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ 325 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:47,519 and blessing no matter what else happens. 326 00:22:47,519 --> 00:22:50,440 And, indeed, 327 00:22:50,599 --> 00:22:53,519 if enough of us do turn like this 328 00:22:53,519 --> 00:22:55,579 in genuine faith and repentance 329 00:22:55,579 --> 00:22:56,960 to the Lord Jesus Christ, 330 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:58,799 we will see the blessings, 331 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:00,019 the untold blessings 332 00:23:00,019 --> 00:23:02,140 that America has experienced in the past 333 00:23:02,140 --> 00:23:05,000 begin to wash over her again 334 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,740 in tremendous blessing and restoration. 335 00:23:09,380 --> 00:23:11,900 For those of you that do know him, 336 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:13,920 return to him. 337 00:23:14,980 --> 00:23:17,099 Do the works that you did at first, 338 00:23:17,099 --> 00:23:17,859 as John says, 339 00:23:17,940 --> 00:23:19,019 to the church in Ephesus. 340 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:20,420 Return to him. 341 00:23:20,619 --> 00:23:22,920 Repent and return to the Lord Jesus Christ. 342 00:23:23,619 --> 00:23:25,740 And we will begin to see, 343 00:23:26,039 --> 00:23:26,819 slowly but surely, 344 00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:27,559 step by step, 345 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:28,839 perhaps quickly, 346 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:30,920 perhaps majestically, 347 00:23:31,099 --> 00:23:31,619 and swiftly, 348 00:23:31,779 --> 00:23:33,299 we will see a return to greatness. 349 00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:35,519 Who knows how the Lord will bless? 350 00:23:36,259 --> 00:23:37,539 But we must, indeed, 351 00:23:37,660 --> 00:23:38,279 return to him. 352 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:39,579 Those of you that know him, 353 00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:40,220 return to him. 354 00:23:40,299 --> 00:23:42,000 Those of you that do not know him, 355 00:23:42,299 --> 00:23:43,480 come to a living faith 356 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:44,640 in the Lord Jesus Christ, 357 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:46,779 and you will secure your place 358 00:23:46,779 --> 00:23:48,500 in his presence for eternity 359 00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:49,940 with tremendous blessing. 360 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:51,640 And in the meantime, 361 00:23:51,940 --> 00:23:55,200 no matter what else happens here on the earth, 362 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:55,819 excuse me, 363 00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:58,940 no matter what else happens here on the earth 364 00:23:58,940 --> 00:23:59,740 in the interim, 365 00:24:00,039 --> 00:24:01,299 you will still know him 366 00:24:01,299 --> 00:24:02,319 and have the assurance, 367 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:03,339 the peace and assurance 368 00:24:03,339 --> 00:24:05,079 that the early church experienced 369 00:24:05,079 --> 00:24:06,920 under tremendous persecution. 370 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,019 You will still have the peace and assurance 371 00:24:10,019 --> 00:24:12,140 that won the early world, 372 00:24:12,299 --> 00:24:13,599 that won the early church 373 00:24:13,599 --> 00:24:15,480 under the persecution of Rome. 374 00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:16,839 Because, indeed, 375 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:18,400 this nation will experience 376 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:19,779 and is, to some extent, 377 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:21,519 already experiencing 378 00:24:21,519 --> 00:24:23,279 persecution for righteousness 379 00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:25,339 and will continue to do so 380 00:24:25,339 --> 00:24:29,279 until the entire land begins to change 381 00:24:29,279 --> 00:24:30,460 and to come to Christ 382 00:24:30,460 --> 00:24:32,500 and repent and own 383 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:33,680 the Lord Jesus Christ 384 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:34,920 as our Lord and Savior. 385 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,480 Dear listener, 386 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:39,480 please pray for the repentance 387 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:41,119 and reformation of America 388 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,259 because we will only see America 389 00:24:43,259 --> 00:24:44,400 restored to greatness 390 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,160 when she becomes good again. 391 00:24:46,980 --> 00:24:50,819 As de Tocqueville puts it so trenchantly, 392 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,519 if America ceases to be good, 393 00:24:53,940 --> 00:24:55,480 she will cease to be great. 394 00:24:56,259 --> 00:24:57,839 But, indeed, 395 00:24:58,079 --> 00:24:59,099 if we, indeed, 396 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,079 repent and return 397 00:25:02,079 --> 00:25:03,599 to the Lord Jesus Christ 398 00:25:03,599 --> 00:25:06,119 and labor for the righteousness 399 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:07,500 of the Lord Jesus Christ 400 00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:10,099 and seek to become good again, 401 00:25:10,539 --> 00:25:12,640 then we will become great again. 402 00:25:13,039 --> 00:25:14,420 So, instead of first 403 00:25:14,420 --> 00:25:15,900 making America great again 404 00:25:15,900 --> 00:25:17,180 and skipping that step, 405 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,539 let us first tend to the business 406 00:25:19,539 --> 00:25:22,440 of making America great. 407 00:25:23,220 --> 00:25:23,819 No, 408 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,079 making America good again. 409 00:25:27,079 --> 00:25:29,259 And then and only then 410 00:25:29,259 --> 00:25:31,279 will America be great again. 411 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,740 So, pray for the repentance 412 00:25:33,740 --> 00:25:36,099 and reformation of America, 413 00:25:36,259 --> 00:25:36,740 dear listener, 414 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,400 and your own personal life. 415 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,180 It begins with your own personal life 416 00:25:40,180 --> 00:25:42,440 and I am going to go home 417 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,720 and look at my own life 418 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,500 and see what I need to repent of, 419 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:48,980 what I need to do 420 00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:51,160 to return to my Lord and Savior, 421 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:52,319 the Lord Jesus Christ. 422 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:53,319 He beckons to you. 423 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:54,140 Dear listener, 424 00:25:54,140 --> 00:25:55,259 he loves you 425 00:25:55,259 --> 00:25:56,579 and bid you to himself 426 00:25:56,579 --> 00:25:59,279 and I bid you to him as well 427 00:25:59,279 --> 00:26:00,759 and you will find the peace 428 00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:01,740 and salvation 429 00:26:01,740 --> 00:26:02,779 and restoration 430 00:26:02,779 --> 00:26:05,000 that all men seek 431 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:06,180 in the long run. 432 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:07,980 It's the Lord Jesus Christ. 433 00:26:08,319 --> 00:26:09,059 This has been 434 00:26:09,059 --> 00:26:10,099 Pastor David Bass 435 00:26:10,099 --> 00:26:11,140 at New Geneva 436 00:26:11,140 --> 00:26:12,660 and New Geneva 437 00:26:12,660 --> 00:26:13,579 meets for Holy Worship 438 00:26:13,579 --> 00:26:14,319 on Sunday 439 00:26:14,319 --> 00:26:15,180 at 10 a.m. 440 00:26:15,279 --> 00:26:17,119 at 101 4th Street 441 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:17,940 on the corner 442 00:26:17,940 --> 00:26:19,180 of 4th and Boulevard. 443 00:26:19,519 --> 00:26:20,779 We invite you to join us, 444 00:26:20,859 --> 00:26:21,880 cross our threshold, 445 00:26:22,339 --> 00:26:22,720 meet us, 446 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:24,559 you will find a friendly reception 447 00:26:24,559 --> 00:26:26,099 and an opportunity 448 00:26:26,099 --> 00:26:27,400 to worship in spirit 449 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:28,000 and in truth. 450 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:28,980 So please, 451 00:26:29,079 --> 00:26:29,799 come and join us 452 00:26:29,799 --> 00:26:30,700 on Sunday morning 453 00:26:30,700 --> 00:26:31,700 at 10 a.m. 454 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:33,680 at 101 4th Street 455 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:34,400 on the corner 456 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:35,319 of 4th and Boulevard 457 00:26:35,319 --> 00:26:36,440 and you can call us 458 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:37,039 for feedback 459 00:26:37,039 --> 00:26:39,660 or for more information 460 00:26:39,660 --> 00:26:40,880 at area code 461 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,420 208-523-0196. 462 00:26:44,420 --> 00:26:45,660 That's area code 463 00:26:45,660 --> 00:26:49,700 208-523-0196. 464 00:26:49,700 --> 00:26:50,420 com 465 00:26:50,559 --> 00:26:50,819 1 4th Street 466 00:26:50,819 --> 00:26:51,799 Chapter 1 467 00:26:51,799 --> 00:26:54,220 2 1 468 00:26:54,220 --> 00:26:54,440 Square 469 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:54,859 3 470 00:26:54,859 --> 00:26:55,299 M곳 471 00:26:55,299 --> 00:26:55,440 2 cape 472 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:56,160 2 473 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,259 3 474 00:26:58,619 --> 00:26:58,640 4 475 00:26:59,079 --> 00:27:00,579 4 476 00:27:00,579 --> 00:27:00,859 3 477 00:27:00,859 --> 00:27:01,440 4 478 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:01,940 5 479 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:02,640 6 480 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:02,680 6 481 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:02,839 6 482 00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:03,579 7 483 00:27:03,579 --> 00:27:03,720 6 484 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,180 7 485 00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:07,079 8 486 00:27:07,079 --> 00:27:08,119 6 487 00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:09,539 7 488 00:27:09,539 --> 00:27:10,119 9 489 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:10,140 7 490 00:27:10,140 --> 00:27:10,220 8 491 00:27:10,220 --> 00:27:10,720 11 492 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:11,019 8 493 00:27:11,220 --> 00:27:12,960 9 494 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:13,519 9 495 00:27:13,519 --> 00:27:14,940 10 496 00:27:14,940 --> 00:27:15,480 9