Transcript

Stephen McDowell: America needs to repent if it wants to turn around

>> Stephen McDowell: Welcome to America's Providential History Podcast, where we talk about the real story of America and explore the hand of God in our history. Now, here's your host, Stephen McDowell. Hello. I'm glad you're joining us for this edition of America's Providential History Podcast. Today we will continue the story that we started last week on turning America around. How do we fulfill our duties? And so we looked last week that we'd been given a mission, just like Jonah was given a mission to go and, preach against the wickedness in Nineveh so that God might turn their nation around, turn their hearts around. But instead of fulfilling that mission, initially, he ran away from the mission of God. We, like Jonah, have been neglecting the mission that God has given us. He calls us to cry out against the wickedness in America. And instead of running to do that, in many ways, we have ran away from it and not addressed much of that wickedness. So we talked about the need for repentance. America needs to repent, but that repentance begins with God's people in the church. And there's three areas of repentance that I want to cover. And repentance is having a change of mind, a change of heart, turning from how we used to act and act a different way. The first area that we looked at last week in the podcast was that the church must teach that the gospel of the kingdom includes transforming the culture as well as transforming individuals. Because Christ came to restore all things. Yes, he came to restore our relationship to God, which was separated when man fell, but also to restore the original mission. He created the church in the first place, his creation, so that we might work with him to bring flourishing, to make this play, to make this good creation a better place. That was our, initial mission. And you can go back and listen to last week for more details on that. But then the second area of repentance that we need to take up if we're going to turn America around is this. Families must assume the responsibility for the welfare of their children. That is, for the education provision and protection of the children. Families must assume the responsibility to provide education, provide to protect the family, to have provision, whether that be material provision, intellectual, educational, provision of the children, or another way to put it, we must end state welfarism, especially the state monopoly of education. Now, the Bible teaches that the family is the basic building block of society. God, in the very beginning, Genesis 1, he created man in his image, male and female. He created Him. In other words, he created the family unit which is a reflection of the Godhead itself. Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a family in a sense. And so he created the earthly physical family as a reflection of the nature of the Godhead. And it's the biblical family that is to serve as the instrument of godly transformation. That original mission that we talked about last week of taking dominion over the earth, filling the earth, being fruitful, multiplying, cultivating the earth that was given to the family. So the family is a divine institution. It was the original creation institution and God intended it and still intends it to be the basic building block of society. Now there are many scriptures that talk about the family. I don't have time to explore all that in this podcast at this time and future ones. We may look in more, much more detail on on the family. But you can. The scripture tells us about the origin of the family in the very beginning. The purpose of the family take dominion over the earth and how God uses the family bring forth his purposes and that the church is a, is a spiritual family. That is what he intends, wants physical families to be like, as well. And so the family is a divine institution and the basic building block of society. So the scripture tells us and history affirms that if the family is faulty, the nation will decline. This is why Satan always seeks to destroy the family. Because he knows if he can destroy the family, then he can destroy the capability of God's people to effectively fulfill the mission. This is what's really behind the whole movement for same sex marriage and transgenderism and, and what's going on in recent decades in America. It's Satanic because it's an attack against the family, the basic building block of society and its attack against the instrument that God uses to advance his purposes in the earth. If the family is faulty, then its ability to fulfill its mission will diminish. And so the family is becoming less of an instrument of God's kingdom and more instrument of man's kingdom. And that the secularization of the family, the destruction of the family, the trying to make the family unimportant with so many things going on today in our nation that again it's Satan trying to get at God and get it and keep man from fulfilling the mission that he's given him. And so Genesis chapter 1 26, 28 again we see the mission of the family given to man after God created him. Then God said, let us make man m in our image and let them rule male and female. He created them. God said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over every living thing that moves on the earth. So here we see the family was created male and female. There's just two sexes by the way, there's not six or four or 21 or whatever else your deluded secularist may try to put forth, but there's two. That's how God created male and female and that forms the nucleus of the family and all of the fruitfulness that comes forth from male and female, the children. So God created the family and he gave them a mission. So here we see from Genesis 1, chapter 26, 28, here's part of the purpose of the family. One, it's to bear the image of God. So the Godhead is a picture of the families, as I mentioned, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit gives, you know, is reflected in some sense, some way with the family that God created. That's one thing that the family is to do. Two, the family is to be fruitful and multiply, that is have children, multiply, fill the earth. So they're to have physical fruitfulness by having physical children. but more than that, beyond that, further than that, the family is to use its God given talents, male and female and children as well, to fulfill the mission of ruling over the earth, filling the earth, subduing the earth. That we're to use our God given talents, our abilities and character to bring flourishing in the earth, to create new things and make life better for man. That's also what it means to be fruitful and multiply. And we've examined in past podcasts of ah, many individuals who did that in different areas of life. Inventors and discoverers and explorers and people involved in giving, bringing forth good godly government and economic ideas and many things. These were people who were being fruitful and multiplied, individuals.

The mission of the family is to have dominion over God's creation

And then we see also the mission of the family, besides bearing the image of God being fruitful and multiplied, to have dominion over God's creation. We are vice regents ruling with him and we're doing battle with the usurper Satan to seize control of God's earth. And it's primarily the family that's going to be the most effective tool in defeating Satan. Remember, Jesus bound Satan and now our task is to go and plunder the property that he obtained when man disobeyed God, in the beginning. And so it's primarily through the family that we're going to reclaim all of those things and seize control of God's earth. So we see the mission of the family is to extend the righteous rule of Jesus Christ over the whole earth. It's got a big mission. And the family is the chief instrument that Christ will use to reclaim every square inch of his earth. That again is why Satan seeks to destroy the family and break up the family and attack the family. Because if he can render the family, impotent, then he can keep, slow down the mission of God. Of course he'll never stop it. And he's, he's ignorant in so many different ways, but he definitely knows, you know, where the power lies and, and plundering his falsely held property today. And so we learn from scripture this is the mission of the family. Ephesians 1:15, 23, Luke 1:33, First Corinthians 15, 24, 28. It talks about the extension of the righteous rule of Christ over the whole earth. And we see in scripture as well that parents are primarily responsible for all aspects of the life of children. Parents have the God given right and responsibility to govern the education of their children, to take care of their children and to provide in every way. You know, some areas of parental care includes education, includes providing their needs, care and shelter, that which is necessary to train the child to fulfill God's will in his life. God gives this responsibility primarily to parents, also to the family in general, grandparents and others who, who are to take part in this. Now this is important to understand because secular man has usurped or sought to usurp the right and responsibility of the family in many ways. Where God says the families to educate and take care of the children. The state's trying to do it today. And the state is educating not in a biblical way at all with biblical ideas or character, but which is contrary to that. And the state tries to be the family and provide, taking care of kids and providing them shelter, care, food and so many other different things. So we see from scripture the family's purpose and responsibility kind of could divide that into three areas. One, the families to take dominion and procreation. As we said, it's to be fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth. The family will certainly recognize the sanctity of human life, pro life, the value of life, create in the image of God, do everything we can to preserve and protect valuable innocent life. From a Christian perspective, when we look at children, we see them as a blessing. The scripture says children are a blessing of the Lord. many seculars don't see children that way at all. Some of the population panicked, individuals in the world. And some of those nations, like China and others say we got too many people and we're being overrun. So let's limit how many kids we're going to have. And they're, they're seeing the problem with that now. And that's why in China they used to punish parents who had more than one child. Now they're recognizing our society is going to die if we don't have more kids. And now they're allowing and even paying, paying families to have more children. But they didn't see children as a blessing. They saw them as a curse or something else. But the Bible teaches they're a blessing. So purpose and responsibility, Family one is take dominion, procreate, be fruitful and multiply. A second, responsibility deals with education. Scripture teaches in Deuteronomy six, six, seven, that we are to teach our sons every opportunity we get. When we rise up, when we walk on the road, when we sit down, we lay, when we lay down to go to bed. We need to take every opportunity possible to teach our children biblical truth because that's what's going to give them what they need to fulfill their mission. It's going to give them the character and the worldview they need to fulfill the calling God has upon their life and to continue to extend the mission of advancing the gospel of the kingdom generation after generation. So we, the family is to fit children to fulfill their individual purposes and responsibilities. If you Proverbs 22:6, train up a child in the way she go when he's old, he'll not depart from it. It's the family's responsibility to build godly character which is essential, in order to fulfill, for each individual to fulfill their purpose. It's to train or to train children in a biblical worldview to see the world rightly. And scripture also teaches that, biblical families, biblical parents, will provide discipline as well as instruction. Biblical education involves building character, providing internal and external discipline when necessary, as well as imparting a correct worldview and truth. And in future podcasts we'll take more time at looking at a biblical view of education. We explore that more in writings. The new film that we've just released, Educated for Liberty, you can see that for free. By the way. EducatedforLiberty.com go to that site and explores education in much more, detail. and then so it's. But it's the family, not civil government. It's primarily the family that's to provide education for their children. And then a third area of Responsibility that families have is to provide health and welfare for their own. Romans 12:13 tells us to practice hospitality, especially for those of your own household. And this involves preventative health care with proper exercise, nutrition, sanitation. These are areas that Scripture speaks to because remember, Scripture speaks to all of life, tells us everything we need to know to fulfill our mission. And that includes godly rules of sanitation. And, and we will, I think in a future, future podcast I'm going to, I will explore, explore that more of, biblical sanitation and that type of thing through the life of, Joseph Lister in particular. But Scriptures, again, speaks to all of life. You know, it's. The Bible tells us the laws God gave to the children of Israel, those moral laws still apply to us today. Not the specific, not those ceremonial laws regarding sacrifices and things, but the moral law that he told the children of Israel where and how to go to the bathroom, said, when you got to go outside the camp, carry a shovel and cover up your excrement. Why did he do that? Because he knew all about germs thousands of years before man discovered them in the mid-1800s. And so he said, if we obey him, hm, things are going to go well. So, sanitation, or part of the laws of God that he's given us, that if we apply the principles in those laws, it's going to go well with us. That's part of the family providing health and welfare for its own. It includes preventative health care. It includes taking care of the sick, the elderly, the orphan and the widow. And there's many scriptures that speak to the responsibility that families have to take care of their own. First, we take care of, of our own members of our society when they get sick, when they get old. We don't turn them over to civil government and say, it's too much trouble. I don't want to do that. you take care of them. After all, I pay taxes, so I don't want to mess with it. That's not God's way. God's, way is for the family to take care of its own. And if you don't, he said, you're worse than an infidel if you don't do that. So. And Jesus had some strong words to say to the Pharisees who neglected taking care of their own family under the pretense of being spiritual, doing spiritual work. So it's the responsibility of the family to provide health, education and welfare. And part of that provision for health and welfare is saving and investing for your retirement and your posterity we're to lay up an inheritance for our children, our children's children. I'm just. We could explore this and in future podcasts, we're going to look at some of these things in much more detail.

Biblic family is primarily to provide health, education and welfare

This is just a brief bullet point summary of what is the family's purpose and responsibility. Biblically, it's for dominion and procreation, for education, and for health and welfare. So biblic the family is primarily to provide health, education and welfare for its own. Unfortunately, as we become more secular as a society, we've turned over that responsibility to civil government. And civil governments do not make a good mom and dad. Civil governments do not make a good family. Civil governments are not very effective or efficient in providing health, education and welfare. Witness what's happened in the last few generations in the United States of America that we. The civil government's trying to do it, but it can't do it well. It's wasting money and spending huge amounts of money to run programs that if only the family would do it, we would have a lot more money, we'd have a lot smaller governments. And there are consequences for turning aside from fulfilling our duties and responsibilities. This is where we need to repent and we need to work so that families assume the responsibility for the welfare of their children. And welfare that includes education provision and, protection. See, the home is the first church, the first school, the first business, and the first government. Families are the nurseries of good and bad citizens, as Noah Webster wrote. And so if we want to prepare individuals, citizens who know how to live in liberty, it begins in biblical families. Because in the family you learn who God is, you learn how to worship God. It's where you get your education and instruction. You learn how to be fruitful, you learn how to be productive. You learn how to create wealth, get ideas, to create goods and services. You learn how to be self governed. You know, the foundation of, flourishing rests within homes. And so the more biblical the homes are, the more biblical the society will be. Biblical education is the means to prepare our children to fulfill their purpose and continue the story of the advancement of liberty in America and in the world. The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2, 8, see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. See, Paul said, see to it no one takes you captive. See, a worldly philosophy brings captivity. How are you taken captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the principles of the world. So a man centered worldly philosophy of life brings captivity. And that's what has been transmitted for the last number of generations to American citizens because the ideology and the philosophy and the government schools have been taken over by a worldly philosophy. And that worldly philosophy, sown for thousands and thousands of hours over years and years of our kids are not equipping them to live in liberty, but it's equipping them to live in bondage and ideas of statism and socialism and other ideologies contrary to biblical truth. So a worldly philosophy brings captivity, but a Christian philosophy brings liberty. That's what he said, rather than according to Christ. Those principles, the character, the ideology, the worldview, according to Christ liberates mankind because his word, which reflects the state of reality, reflects how to live in liberty, gives us principles of life. Do this and you will live. Jesus says, quoting from what God says his moral law does for mankind. It brings life, it brings liberty. See, our children cannot be instruments of liberty without being educated for liberty. And we looked at that in previous podcasts. How education in America was, biblical in its model and its content. It was centered in the home. The Bible was the central text. It developed godly character as well as a biblical worldview. And over time, as education shifted from the home to the state, it has not been an instrument for advancing God's kingdom, but it's become an instrument for advancing man's kingdom. And that's what we're battling against. Again, I would point you to go look at our film Educated for Liberty. And, on our website, we've divided that into six different segments that you can actually could show in your Sunday school class, or show in discussion groups, or show with friends of yours to work through some very important principles and ideas regarding what does education for liberty look like and what can we do today to reclaim our responsibility as parents and families to educate our children and not give over to the secular state our children who will prepare them not as instruments of liberty, but instruments of bondage. Secular education is the major factor in the decline of our nation. See, the schoolrooms have become the pulpits of the secular humanists. It's where secular humanists, those who reject the absolutes of God, the truth of God, look to man instead of God as who's the ultimate one that they've used our, public schools like churches, where they propagate their philosophy of life. Someone once said that the philosophy of the schools in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the Next. So I'm not surprised what's taking place in our, and it's not just government, but philosophy of economics and the media and every other sphere of life. So I'm not surprised what we see taking place in some of these, external spheres of life because I know the ideas that began to captivate our schools in generations past and that those ideas have been sown for generations and they are producing their bad fruit. That is inevitable because you plant a seed, the seed will produce fruit. That's God's sowing and reaping principle that does work. Don't be mocked. God is not mocked. That which you sow, you shall also reap. Scripture tells us. And so there's a great assault today against God and truth. Redefining the family as we've mentioned, is one assault against truth. We can see assault against truth in schools where we've, we've, these schools that were started to teach people how to read the Bible. Now about the only book you can't find in some schools is the Bible. There's no Bible. There's no standard of truth. There's no prayer, there's no crying out to God because our schools by and large have been taken over. Now we have good teachers in schools, Christians in schools. I know, ah, many Christian leaders. But it's getting harder and harder to transmit truth for because the people in charge, whether it be school boards or the National Education association, other things, they've been taken over by and large by anti Christian or secularist, those with a secular worldview and transmitting all kinds of ideas contrary to truth and moral character, immorality instead of morality. So in schools there's a great assault in the civil arena. There's an attack on religious liberty, religious expression and many other things. And government. God's being separated from the divine institution of government and saying people declaring God can't have anything to do with government. And courtrooms. God's law word is being replaced by evolutionary law. And we've touched on some of this in previous podcasts. Redefining truth where only a third of Christians believe there's such a thing as absolute, truth. So there's a great assault against God and truth within our nation today. And one primary reason for that is because the state schools, government schools, have been sowing falsehood for generations and generations. A theologian, R.L. dabney, wrote this in the 19th century. He said the education of children for God is the most important business done on earth. It is the one business for which the earth exists. To it, all politics, all war, all literature, all money making ought to be subordinated. And every parent especially ought to feel every hour of the day that next to making his own calling and election, sure, this is the end. End for which he is kept alive by God. This is his task on earth. So you see, the education of children for God is the most important business done on earth. It is the one business for which the earth exists. And unfortunately, in recent times, Christians have turned this responsibility over to civil government. We've neglected our, responsibility. This is an area we need to repent. We, we need to turn and act a different way. Because whoever controls the children controls the future. God has given that responsibility not to civil government, but to the family primarily.

Many Christians have turned over education of their children to the bureaucrats

theologian John Gresham Machen said, if liberty is not maintained with regard to education, there's no use trying to maintain it in any other sphere. If you give the bureaucrats the children, you might just as well give them everything else. Unfortunately, way too many of God's people. I'm talking about Christians, not the secularists, but God's people have turned over the education of their children to the bureaucrats. And if you do that, then you might as well give them your wallet, your bank account, your liberty, your freedom. And that's why it's been taken from us. Because we have a whole generation, we have generations of people miseducated, and that when they begin to be introduced to truth, it takes a long time for them to renew their mind and get rid of all that secularism that's been taught. Jesus taught in Luke 6:40, that we become like our teachers. So it's no wonder we have people thinking and acting like they do today regarding the family truth, work, equality, etc. Because look at the teachers in our government, government schools, in our colleges, what they teach, primarily secular ideas in our government, secondary schools, high schools, elementary schools, and, Earth. What we teach are things contrary to biblical truth. And 85 to 90%, well, about 90% of children 85 to 90 in the US go to government schools. And about 85% of Christians send their children to government school schools. And so with this kind of, activity, when we see that these secularists are controlling the character and worldview imparted to kids, it's no wonder when they plant bad seeds, you get bad fruit. No wonder we see weeds and thorns and thistles growing. Because education is like a seed. That which you plant determines the fruit that's produced. When you go to government schools, you're learning the religion of statism. Humanism and secularism. Psalm 127:4 tells us, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. The greatest weapon that God has given us to combat the enemy and to extend God's kingdom and in the earth is our children, that we have the ability to have great impact through the children God gives us, train them up in the way they should go, equip them with truth and character and knowledge and courage, understanding their duties and missions, and we shoot them, we send them forth, shoot them into the culture, shoot them into the future. what a powerful weapon we have to, bring transformation and to fulfill our mission. But unfortunately, these arrows that God has wanted given to the family, they've turned them over to Caesar, they've turned them over to the state, to civil government. And he then it, or really Satan, is behind this because he wants to kill, steal and destroy and keep moving man from fulfilling his mission, that he's the one that's kind of preparing and honing them and turning them around and then using them to shoot against us, to shoot against Christ and his kingdom and God's people, as a weapon. So one major problem we have, we've rendered to Caesar the things that are of God's. Well, the Bible tells us that parents have the right and responsibility to govern the education of their children. We're the ones that are to provide health, education and welfare. We've turned that over and we've allowed Caesar, civil government, the state, Babel, if you will, to educating and control. And it's not just control of children, but it's control of property, control of health and welfare, looking to the government to provide all things. So what then is the solution to, turning over to the civil government, taking care of our children, providing health, education and welfare to our children? Well, the solution is to restore or, to establish biblical education in the nation. Now, in future podcasts, we've touched on this in past podcasts. In future podcasts we'll look in more detail. Again, go to our film, Educated for Liberty to introduce you to what a biblical education would look like and the resources that we have, listed there. And so the solution, if we repent in turn from fulfilling our duties to train up our children and provide health, education and welfare, if we truly repent, then we're going to act a different way. We're going to begin to restore biblical education to America. And as we do, then we're going to begin to prepare and plant good seeds which will have good Fruit. Now there's some good news by the way, because in recent years a lot of Christians and families and actually other families who haven't liked what they've seen in government schools, they begin to assume that responsibility. Starting Christian schools, homeschooling and seeking to find out, okay, how can I fulfill my duty and responsibility? And millions are beginning to do that. This is one thing that gives me hope because there are many who are awakening to the responsibilities and are earnestly seeking, lord, I want to provide for my children everything they need to fulfill the mission you have for them so that they can be instruments of the kingdom of God, for you. So, there is good news, there is hope. And as we look around and see this happening, not just in America, but many other nations as well, this should, can give us hope for the future because a different seed is being prepared and, and, and has been prepared. And good fruit is coming forth from biblical education that has been applied in, in recent times, in our nation. And I believe much, much more good fruit is going to come forth from seeds that are being planted at this very part. And so we're talking about turning America around, talking about the need for the church, God's people, to repent, to turn and have a change of mind, a change of way, to act a different way. The first area the church must teach that the gospel of the kingdom includes transforming the culture as well as individuals. And by the way, when the church begins to teach this and teach an understanding of, of the four chapter gospel and our mission to restore all things, that will include teaching the families that they must assume the responsibility for the welfare of their children. And as families began to understand their mission and began to implement it and find out how to do that in a biblical manner, then this is going to produce good fruit in the time to come. And so this is a very important idea and concept if we're going to turn America around. There's one more point that I want to make in the future. Next week in our next podcast, a third air of repentance that we must embrace if we hope to turn America around. So I hope you'll join us today then for more information visit our website, providencefoundation. Com. Glad you joined us today and hope you'll join us again next week. God bless.