ILLUS>Woodrow Wilson once said, "A nation that does not remember what it was yesterday, does know what it is today, nor which direction it is going tomorrow."

We are trying to do a futile thing if we forget where we came from.God has showered upon our nation, 225 years of blessings. As she acknowledged and obeyed her Creator, God has elevated her from infancy to a place of world leadership. He has allowed her to enjoy unprecedented wealth, freedom and influence. America has led the world in medical and technological advancement – the nation has pioneered in space and pushed back the frontiers of science, and given its citizens

the world’s highest standard of living. America has opened its arms to millions of immigrants and refugees. While other nations build barbwire fences to keep people from getting out, America has a long line of people waiting to get in.

33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

33:7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.

33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

33:9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

33:10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

33:11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.

33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. Psalm 33:6-12(NKJ)

1. Does your prayer life reveal that you trust in God?

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

ILLUS>Many of our founding fathers were men of God. While many considered Benjamin Franklin an agnostic, there was still a part of him – down deep inside- that knew the importance of seeking the Lord in prayer. He was quoted as saying about prayer, "Have we now forgotten this powerful trend (prayer) or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance? I therefore beg that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance from heaven and it’s blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed."

Are we still a nation who lives by the standard of, "In God We Trust?" Unfortunately, for many Americans, their motto is . . In the Stock Market We Trust. Or . . . In the paycheck I trust. Or . . . In my own abilities I trust.

The more you pray and seek God, the more you trust Him.

2. Does your heart reveal that you trust in God?

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, Hebrews 10:16

Listen to the words of Darrell Scott – Father of two victims of Columbine High School Shooting in April (Littleton, Colorado) – as he addressed a subcommittee on crime.

May 27, 1999 – House Judiciary Committee – United States House of Representatives.

Since the dawn of creation there has been both good and evil in the heart of men and of women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher and the other children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cried out for answers. The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club be used.

Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain and real reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart. In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA – because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore, I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder, I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy – it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lied. Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written before I knew I would be speaking here today.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs, your words are empty air.

You’ve stripped away our heritage, you’ve outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms, and precious children die

You seek for answers everywhere, and ask the questions, "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws, through legislative creed

And yet you fail to understand, that God is what we need.

Men and women are three part beings. We all consist of body, soul and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our makeup, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc.

Spiritual influences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God and in doing so, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine tragedy occurs – politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that continue to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place will not be squelched!

We do not need more religion. We do not need more television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart, and a humble acknowledgement that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God. As my son, Craig, lay under the table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes. He did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right!

I challenge every young person in America and around the world to realize that April 20, 1999, at Columbine High school – prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your conscience and denies your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA – I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before you cast the first

stone! My daughter’s death will not be in vain. The young people of this country will not allow that to happen.

Ina recent television news program that dealt with the issue of, "What type of school do you want to send your children to?" The overwhelming response from the people was the belief that the key in education is small schools with individualized attention. Many schools have gotten so large that they cannot even keep track of their students

A 12 year old girl from Boston wrote the following:

Now, I sit me down in school, where praying is against the rule.

For this great nation under God, finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites, it violates the Bill of Rights.

Anytime my head I bow, becomes a federal matter now.

The law is specific, the law is precise. Praying out loud is no longer nice.

Praying aloud in a pubic hall, upsets those who believe in

nothing at all.

In silence alone we can meditate, and if God should get the credit – great!

They are bringing their guns, I don’t dare bring my Bible, to do so might make me liable.

So, now, Oh Lord, this plea I make,

Should I be shot in school, my soul please take.

3) Do your convictions reveal that you trust in God?

Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.

Proverbs 14:34

There is a difference between religion and Christianity. Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. Christianity (or relationship) is God reaching down to man.

ILLUS>Another one of our founding fathers, Patrick Henry, knew the difference between religion and Christianity. He was quoted as saying, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not as religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

With grateful hearts and humble hearts, America once honored God who granted her blessings and freedoms. But slowly, her convictions began to fold. She began to attribute her blessings, not so much to God, but to man. And slowly, the great American dream began turning into a nightmare. Forgetting to acknowledge that it was God who made and preserved this nation, her citizens began to congratulate themselves on their own achievements.

Elevating man and pushing God to the back seat. The God of secular humanism began to infiltrate all her institutions.

Wallowing in materialism, self-centeredness and pride, many American realized that they really did not need God after all. Many have tampered with God’s absolute standards and began tolerating what they had never allowed before. Courts that once legislated against immorality, began to grant freedom to every man, to do that what was right in his own eyes.

Lines of right and wrong began to be blurred, and in time, all sorts of ungodly behavior became acceptable and even admired. Americans are no longer shocked. Our eyes have grown accustomed to the dark. Few citizens have taken a stand for righteousness. When God fades from a nation’s conscience, one can justify almost anything. God’s word says, :Thou shall not kill, and yet Americans give murder a new name, as over one million, three hundred thousand babies lives are taken every year.

*God calls it drunkenness, Americans call it alcoholism, a social disease.

*God calls homosexuality sodomy, while Americans call it an alternative lifestyle, and gay rights.

*God says pornography, perversion. Americans say it is adult entertainment.

*God calls cheating a sin, while Americans call it abnormal social development."

What God says is immorality, Americans say it is the new morality.

With a dissolving of absolutes, Americans crime rate has spiralled, and drug addiction and alcoholism are at an all time high. Also at all time highs are pornography, teenaged pregnancies, incest, child abuse, internet pornography.

American once legislated against those things that the Word of God calls sin. But gradually we began to tolerate, then accept, then condone, and even promote openly those things which were once unthinkable.

The perversion and degradation that once made us blush are now flaunted before the eyes of nation that was conceived in the fear of God. It has happened little by little, right before our eyes.

And that what has happened to our nation, can happen to a church or an individual.

4) Does your freedom reveal that you trust in God?

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17

Praise the Lord for the spiritual freedom we have in Christ Jesus

Indeed, this nation is the symbolism of freedom. But freedom is never free. It is always purchased at great costs.

ILLUS>Little did John Adams know how significant his words would be when he spoke to his wife, Abigail, on the passing of the Declaration of Independence. "I am well aware of the toil, blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and to defend these States. Yet through all the gloom, I can see the ray of light and glory. I can see that end is worth more than all the means."

And to those who sacrificed for our freedom, we can say today, the end was worth more than the painful means. Where would we – as citizens of the United States of America, if there had not been those who counted the cost of freedom.

The problem is that many Americans have taken the "freedom" of Christianity too far. Using it as a license to sin and do whatever they please, because, after all, God forgives.

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13

Just as those great Americans paved the way for the freedom you and I enjoy today, you can be the one to pave the way for spiritual freedom.

Yes, it is true that the Godly principles we once adhered to as a nation have slipped away throughout the years. But, if we desire our future generations to experience spiritual renewal, then someone has to pay the price today. Will you be that someone?

It is my prayer that God would raise up today, a new generation of men, women and young people who walk with God Those who are committed to the Lord, no matter what the cost – to see His righteousness restored in our hearts, homes and institutions in our land.