It would be easy to show that at our present rate of progress the kingdoms of this world never could become the kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ. Indeed, many in the church are giving up the idea of it except on the occasion of the advent of Christ, which, as it chimes in with our own idleness, is likely to be a popular doctrine. I myself believe that King Jesus will reign, and the idols be utterly abolished; but I expect that same power which turned the world upside down once will still continue to do it. The Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon His Holy name that He was not able to convert the world. ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Do you enjoy studying history with your children? This is the time of year for Americans to go back and take a look at the Providential Hand of God in our country’s birth.
Isn’t it amazing to see Him at work through all of the rise and fall of nations? As I took my kids through history over the past several years, I began to see patterns and cycles that popped out at me…and I realized that the great men and women of faith in history believed many things that are not widely held beliefs anymore. I wondered if those beliefs which they lived…and died for…were worth learning about.
So many godly men and women have gone before us, braving insurmountable obstacles in stalwart faith in the Reigning King Jesus, and many of them ultimately dying for the cause, not of America, but of His Kingdom.
They had the vision that John Winthrop articulated in his “Model of Christian Charity”, written in 1630 while still on board the Arabella as it sailed to New England.
The Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us as His own people. He will command a blessing on us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness, and truth than we have formerly known. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, and ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies. The Lord will make our name a praise and glory, so that men shall say of succeeding plantations: “The Lord make it like that of New England.” For we must consider that we shall be like a City upon a Hill; the eyes of all the people are on us.
When God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth…His resurrection was the decisive victory over Satan. God won that day. Jesus Christ was victorious. The God of the Universe declared His Son ruler over that Universe. Jesus Christ has crown rights. He is Lord and Christ, and God promised from the beginning that His Son would sit at His right hand until God made His enemies a footstool.
When He ascended into heaven, His ascension was not just a “going up”. It was His coronation as King. He took His place on the throne that day. There is no “waiting” for Christ to reign over this world. He reigns!
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Acts 2:32-36
This is the point of contention for the world. There are those who “kiss the Son”….and those who do not. This is the battle of the ages. The Creator of the world Who has every right to rule that world…and His enemy, Satan, who will do everything in his power to deceive human creatures into refusing to bow to their Creator.
The martyrs, right from the beginning, died for one reason only. They claimed Jesus as Lord. Not Caesar. The Romans were all about lots of gods. Why would they care that the Christians had their own god? They didn’t…except the Christians didn’t just call their god “one of many”. They claimed He was the ONLY GOD. That was an affront to the Romans who actually bowed to Caesar as god over all the other gods. That could not be tolerated. And so it has gone throughout history.
And so it is today. Who is Jesus Christ to you? Just your “personal savior” that you worship in church and in the privacy of your own room…you know…in your heart. Or is He is the universal Lord? From the martyrs of the early church to the founders of our very own country, He was the Sovereign over all areas of life. Nothing was neutral. They were making an inflexible claim of Christ’s authority over the world. Yes. Over the world.
World domination belongs to Jesus Christ. He created it. He sacrificed His life for it. It’s His right. And this means that if we truly claim Him as Lord, we must serve Him EVERYWHERE we are and in EVERYTHING we do.
This does not mean that we are supposed to “take over” the world in a political sense. There may be those fringy folks who believe that, but that has never been the belief of the Christian church.
It means the church is to take the Great Commission seriously.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and 1. make disciples of all nations, 2. baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and 3. teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Matt 28:17-20
If you study the source texts (actual journals and writings of the actual historical men and women who lived) rather than the biased, agenda driven, humanist, altered history books of the 21st century, you will discover that these were the ardent beliefs of our founding fathers.
As we approach this upcoming Thanksgiving celebration, let’s remember the faith that drove our forefathers to sacrifice so much. Their faith was grounded in God’s Word, and their subsequent vision was far-reaching. They did not sit around waiting for Christ to “rescue them” from a sin-drenched world, cursing the humans that hated them.
No. They got to work fulfilling the grand purpose that God had created them for…taking their place in a glorious history, and bringing honor and glory to the King of the universe.
And I, for one, am thankful for that.
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About Wemmick Girl Saved by Grace
I’m so glad you posted this! I am a huge fan of studying primary source documents for a variety of reasons, but this is one of the most important. This country has a heritage of faith going back centuries and it is being lost in the politically correct, “inoffensive” textbooks most children have to read. I’m currently re-reading Of Plymouth Plantation in honor of Thanksgiving, and there is a richness to this writing that is lost when one removes the author’s deep faith from the analysis.
Beautifully written!!! Such truth here!