Should America Go To War?

2/23/03

 

 

Read 1 Sam. 17:1-51.  David stood alone in declaring that there is a God in Israel and He is the only true Living God!

 

Ps. 33:12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

           the people he chose for his inheritance.

13  From heaven the LORD looks down

           and sees all mankind;

14  from his dwelling place he watches

           all who live on earth—

15  he who forms the hearts of all,

           who considers everything they do.

16  No king is saved by the size of his army;

           no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17  A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

           despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18  But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,

           on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19  to deliver them from death

                  and keep them alive in famine.

 

David Barton, a tremendous historian and man of God, who founded the ministry "Wall Builders" has done so much research on the principles our founding fathers laid down.  This nation is so different from any other!

 

Look on the face of our money-"In God We Trust!"

 

The Rev. Mark R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pa., who identified himself as simply a "minister of the Gospel," proposed a national motto in a Nov. 13, 1861, letter to Salmon P. Chase, Abraham Lincoln's Treasury secretary.

 

If you don’t think it’s a big deal, why does the devil think so!

 

Is America better than any other people?  Of course not!

 

Is Israel better than any other people?  Of course not!

 

You say Israel is God's chosen people.  Who is Israel?

 

 

Rom. 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—²I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, ⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

⁶ It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ⁸In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.

 

Rom. 2:28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

 

Gal. 4:24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷For it is written:

      

“Be glad, O barren woman,

           who bears no children;

       break forth and cry aloud,

           you who have no labor pains;

       because more are the children of the desolate woman

           than of her who has a husband.”

²⁸ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. ³⁰But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” ³¹Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

 

 

Unfortunately war is a must.

 

Mat. 24:4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen,

 

God has used war in the following ways:

 

Ÿ  to bring a stop to evil control

Ÿ  to bring a nation to its knees

Ÿ  to chastise His own people

Ÿ  to open the door for the spread of the gospel

 

To the shame of America God accomplished two major things through the Civil War:

 

Ÿ  America was brought to its knees

Ÿ  the evils of slavery was brought to an end

 

What if Adolf Hitler had never been stopped?

 

Rom. 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

 

Saddam Hussein is an evil man.  He sees himself as a latter-day Arab hero in the image of Nebuchadnezzar, renowned for conquering Jerusalem.

 

When Iraq's war against Iran was faltering in the early 1980s, Saddam Hussein startled his Cabinet with a seemingly uncharacteristic request. He sought advice, encouraging the assembled ministers to speak freely.

 

Health Minister Riyadh Ahmed took Saddam at his word and suggested that he temporarily step down to appease the Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. A peace agreement would be secured and Saddam could later return to power. Saddam thanked Ahmed and then ordered his arrest. The minister was sent home to his wife in pieces, the remains stuffed into a black canvas bag.

 

From the beginning of his rule, Saddam has displayed a stunning mix of guilt-free ruthlessness and messianic ambition. Soon after he took control of Iraq, he galvanized power with a cunning bit of orchestration at a now infamous Baath party leadership meeting in Baghdad. Saddam trotted out a tortured political opponent who named dozens of alleged conspirators then sitting in the hall. Each was whisked away to trial and execution. Those left behind, and alive, wept with relief.

 

A cornered Saddam is capable of unleashing biological or chemical weapons against allied troops. Or he could deploy terrorists to use those weapons against civilian targets in the USA, Israel or other countries he views as enemies. When his troops were routed from Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War, he issued orders to set the Kuwaiti oil fields ablaze, creating an ecological disaster out of spite.

 

There is a 100% chance he will try to use chemical and biological agents.  And the sad thing is, he will try to blame it on us and there is a substantial portion of the Arab and Muslim world who will buy into that.

 

Here are some realistic scenarios:

 

·       Saddam might try striking Israel with chemical or biological weapons in Scud missiles or by spraying from unmanned aircraft. Or, he might order terrorists with smallpox or anthrax to attack Israel or Arab neighbors.

·       He might use "human shields" in Baghdad to create civilian casualties, in a bid to turn world opinion against the United States. Many analysts believe the Pentagon's decision to grant more than 500 reporters access to front-line U.S. troops is designed in part to counter an expected barrage of Iraqi war propaganda alleging atrocities.

·       Saddam might choose a scorched-earth policy, blowing up dams, igniting oil fields and dispensing anthrax and other deadly agents in Iraq and elsewhere. U.S. intelligence is convinced Saddam has a chemical and biological arsenal, but isn't sure where he is hiding it.

 

 

This war will not be like the war of the Persian Gulf in 1991.  That campaign routed Iraqi forces in Kuwait, but the goal this time is different. Now, U.S. strategists want to kill or capture Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and knock his party from power.  In contrast to 1991, U.S. strategists want to strike quickly and decisively enough to block Iraq from unleashing chemical or biological weapons.  It would not be beyond Saddam to use chemical and biological weapons even in his own country because he has nothing to lose.

 

The church needs to rise to the occasion!

 

It’s not a time for fear, but for faith, trust, and prayer.

 

Pr. 3:25      Have no fear of sudden disaster

                     or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

26                 for the LORD will be your confidence

                     and will keep your foot from being snared.

 

Pr. 24:10    If you falter in times of trouble,

                     how small is your strength!

(Message Bible) If you fall to pieces in a crisis,

there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

Jer. 12:5     “If you have raced with men on foot

                     and they have worn you out,

                     how can you compete with horses?

                     If you stumble in safe country,

                     how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

 

Ps. 20:7      Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

                     but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

 

Pr. 21:31 (King James) The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.

 

Pray diligently for our leadership.

 

1 Ch. 12:22 Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.  ²³These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, as the LORD had said:  (verse 32) men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

 

We need to support our president and daily pray for him.

Max Lucado was invited (along with several other Christian leaders) to have lunch at the White House with President Bush.  Max said that he was expecting the president to walk in the room looking tired, serious, and depressed. When the President came in, Max said he looked totally the opposite. He was energetic, joyful, and very focused on his talk with the ministers. Max asked President Bush how he could seem so calm and peaceful in the midst of all the tragedy. The president's reply was, "I'm feeling stronger now than I've ever been in my life. And the reason is because of every person in America who is praying for me. When I stay on my knees, that's when I have power." The ministers then asked the President how he would like them to pray for him, and how their congregations back home should be praying. Mr. Bush asked, first, for clarity of mind so that he could make wise decisions, and then he asked that we pray specifically for his wife and two daughters, as he is very concerned about their safety.

 

Study the scripture and look what God did when there was godly leadership!

 

Pray that once again America would come to her knees in genuine repentance.

 

Pr. 14:34    Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a disgrace to any people.

 

Ps. 47:7      For God is the King of all the earth;

                     sing to him a psalm of praise.

8                   God reigns over the nations;

                     God is seated on his holy throne.

9                   The nobles of the nations assemble

                     as the people of the God of Abraham,

                     for the kings of the earth belong to God;

                  he is greatly exalted.

 

Pray that God will protect innocent people in Iraq and that a door to the Gospel will be opened like never before.

 

Mat. 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.