Pastor Joe Fuiten, February 12, 2003

 

 

What kind of a nation is America?  How do you tell?  Some people will always answer that question by pointing out our sins.  This is easy to do because our sins are many and sometimes quite flagrant.  However, in what nation has that not been true?  I would suggest to you that the Bible has always been true, and that in every nation, in every time, its words “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” were true.

Someone has said, “Culture is the collective behavior of leaders.”[1]  What we are is summarized by the behavior of our leaders.  If our leaders are sinners beyond the average then we are sinners beyond the average.  On the other hand, if they are godly, then our culture is godly.  In every organization, a great burden is upon the leaders to create the culture of that organization by our conduct and values.  It is important at the top and important all through the leadership of an organization and a country.

I was greatly touched this past week as I spent Monday through Friday in Washington DC.  Being there gave me opportunity to think about our country and what God is doing.  At another time, when the message is not being recorded, I would like to tell you all about it.  There are a couple of messages that I think will come out of the trip.  One is about America in God’s plan of history and why Washington DC, our capitol, reflects it so clearly.  Being able to spend some time in the Capitol allowed me to see America through God’s eyes.  As a result, I am more convinced than ever that we are living in the last days.  History is coming to its peak and we are part of that peak.

This morning I want to reflect on the culture of America as demonstrated by its key leaders, many of whom I have had the chance to be with this last week. (Don Argue and Philippe Vallerand as well as Jerry and Germaine Korum were together a good part of the week in these meetings).

In private meetings we met with Senators Murray, Clinton, Santorum, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.  We also met with Representatives Insley, Dicks, and Dunn.  We had breakfast at the home of Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations, and were thirty minutes from meeting with John Ashcroft when he had to cancel and announce the Orange warning alert.

Our meeting with Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senator Santorum was my most providential meeting.  Bill Frist called together a group of African government leaders and American Evangelical leaders to discuss the problem of AIDS in Africa.  There were about 25 present.  Before I left for Washington, I had no idea there would be such a meeting but the Lord had been putting something on my heart.    I had asked AG Missionary and African AIDS nurse Suzanne Hurst to write a letter appreciating President Bush’s $15 billion dollar AIDS proposal that he announced in his State of the Union address.  I particularly wanted her to describe why that money should flow through church organizations in Africa.  She sent me the draft Sunday night and I entered the names of each Washington State legislator that I hoped to see with the intention of giving them each a copy the letter.  I printed up one extra letter that was simply addressed “Dear Senator” without any name on it.  Through the influence of Don Argue, I was invited to the meeting.  By God’s grace, I had prepared in advance for a meeting that I didn’t know existed.  I was able to verbally deliver the message personally to Bill Frist and then to give him the letter along with my card.  The message was exactly the topic of the meeting and I was able to deliver it to the man most able to do something about it.  I’ll say more about this miracle at another time.

 

The National Prayer Breakfast was an incredible experience.  Any meeting that begins with a prayer by General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in full military dress, has the prospect for being a good meeting.  He prayed, “Help us to be at peace with ourselves and with those around us.”

The CIA director, George Tenet, read the Scripture.  I want to read for you the Scriptures that he read.  Even if he wasn’t head of the CIA, George Tenet looks powerful.  When I think of the CIA in its current context, my mind is drawn to that hellfire missile fired from the Predator drone in Yemen that took out that senior Al-Queda leader.  In a very strong voice, he gets up and reads the following:  Ephesians 6:10-17 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

            Having read that Scripture, Tenet then turned to Luke 6:35-38 “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

            In those two Scriptures you have the two hands of the Gospel.  One speaks of power, the other of forgiveness and loving our enemies.  The Scripture is always powerful, no matter who reads it.  But when a man who commands a virtual secret army reads it, it makes an impression.

            National Security Advisor Condalezza Rice gave the main address.  It was a stirring and relevant message of her faith in the public context, especially related to the global war on terror.

            President Bush also spoke.  He said the Almighty God is a God to every person.  He spoke of America as a nation of prayer.  “The greatest gift you can give someone is to pray for them.”  He let us know that he prays.  He prays for strength, guidance, and forgiveness.  He gives thanks for a kind and generous Mighty God.  It words were strong and full of sincere faith.  Last Sunday he went to pray in the same church where his father prayed before launching the first Gulf War.

            Every Cabinet meeting begins with prayer.  Last week all the top military brass was at the White House for a special dinner.  The president himself led in prayer.  It was not some namby-pamby prayer out of a book.  He prayed from his heart and set the spiritual tone for the nation.

            In his remarks to the Prayer Breakfast, the president spoke highly of Michael W. Smith and his wife.  He mentioned that they were invited to the White House for dinner that night.  The honor did not go to the Rolling Stones or to Barbara Streisand, it went to a Christian artist who loves the Lord.  For me, the high point of the week, and the most revealing moment came when Michael W. Smith sang.  He first sang a tribute song to the Columbia crewmembers that were lost.  Then he shifted into a praise song to Jesus.  It is one that we sing here.  “Above all powers, above all thrones….”  In the room were 56 Senators, 241 House members, three heads of State, the speaker of the House and Leader of the Senate, the CIA director, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with the President of the world’s one superpower and most of the Cabinet.  My mind went back to the centuries when every Emperor for more than a thousand years bowed at the altar of Hagia Sophia to pray to the Lord Jesus Christ.  What they presented was not some generic civil god as easily adapted to a Buddhist as to a Moslem.  They recognized the sovereignty of Jesus, crucified and laid behind the stone.  They spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ who is above every military and political power.

            If culture is the collective behavior of leaders, we have a recovering culture.

            I have always dreamed that America would one day use her political, military, and economic power for the good of the Kingdom of God rather than against it.  I came home convinced that our military and top political leaders get the big picture.  They truly understand what is at stake.

            As I preached last Sunday, I do not believe they are arrogant but trusting God.  They feel they are doing the will of God and are praying for his strength.

            A great battle is underway.  A vortex is achieved. It is a spiritual conflict that sometimes manifests in physical ways, even in wars.  We are seeing that manifestation before us.  The world is changed and the victory is won when all of God’s institutions function together under his leadership.  The family, the church, and the government each have a role to play.  Things don’t go well when the church tries to be the family or to run the government.  They also don’t go well when government tries to run the church or the family.  But when each unit seeks God, great things happen.