Yet, at every corner we see people trying to stamp out the word of God. Politically incorrect, and unconstitutional are some of the words used to describe the ancient word of God Almighty. "In God we trust" has been forged from our currency. "One nation under God" has been erased from our Pledge of Alliegence. The Ten Commandments have been torn away from our courthouses. This is why I believe it is important to examine the fate of the nations in the past whom defiled and persecuted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Laws of God the Father. To begin our lesson, let us turn to the book of Genesis: Chapters 18 - 19.

Sodom and Gomorrah were two great cities in the kingdom of Babylon. They were cities filled with violence, prostitution, and blasphemy of all sorts against the Lord God. Abraham was visited by three men along with the Lord. God told him that his wife, "Sarah" (who was old and past the age of having children) would give birth to a son within the year. Sarah didn't believe it and laughed at the thought of her having a child. Within the year she gave birth to her first son. Now, one day Abraham was walking with the Lord andthree of his angels. The Lord told him about the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah, and that he had come to destroy the two civilizations. But Abraham pleaded with the Lord and asked God to spare the City if he could find ten men who were righteous in the sight of God. Two angels arrived in Sodom one night and stayed at a relative's house of Abraham, who's name was Lot. During their slumber, the men and women both yound and old surrounded the house and called to Lot to let their guests come out so they could have sex with them. Lot pleaded with the people, but everyone insisted to have their way with the guests. They crowded around the door and was going to break it down. The men inside the house pulled Lot to safety and struck the people young and old with blindnessso they could not find the door. The men told Lot to flee with his family because they were going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. We all know the rest of the story. The cities were overthrown with Sulpher and fire. Lot was instructed not to look back, but His wife disobeyed and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and the rest of his family were spared because of their kindness and righteousness toward God. the rest were layed to waste in God's wrath. What can we learn from these passeges? From Babylon, Egypt and Rome we can see the fate of nations who undermine the authority of God. Even the nations of Israel itself cannot survive without abiding by the will of God. So now I offer a warning to the people who wish to take God out of our schools, government, and culture. Those who provoke the wrath of God shall be overtaken by his power. Yet no one stands up in support of God's will. There are two ways to live. There is right and there is wrong. You do one and you are living, you do the other and you might be walking around, but you are just as dead as the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Babylon. This country was founded by men who spoke up when something was wrong. They spoke what they believed was right and it didn't matter to them if they were beaten for saying that word. These men are accredited for saying phrases like "Give me liberty, or give me death." The same men who came up with "In god we trust", and "One nation, under God." But now the generation who gave us "Drop out, and drop acid" is telling us that we can't have prayer in school. How did we come to this? How did we become a nation afraid to speak of God, for it might offend the next person? The world hates us all. We will never be excepted in this world, so why should we change for it? We belong to the one true God, so if we are to change, we should change for him alone. Jesus said: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out ofthe world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15: 18 -19)

Be glad the world rejects you, because if you are rejected by the world, then you are accepted in heaven in which we all belong. Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams were men who were not afraid of living or dying for what they believed was right. It is more important to be hated for who you are, then to be loved for who you are not. Having said that, I ask this question: Who are you? Are you the countless men and women who lined up outside of Lot's door, or are you the ones who stood up to the wicked and was spared by the grace of God? Will you say nothing and let our nation snuff God out a piece at a time? Our society is brought up to think that if we stick our heads in the sand, the weight of the world will pass harmlessly by. Is it really better to live that way; to be afraid to stand up for what is right because it might mean our death to do so? I got news for those who believe that. Their death is coming and it doesn't matter how long you hide from it. And when they are lying on their death beds 80 years from now, surrounded by their loved ones; will they feel absolved of the lives they lead, or will they feel the burdon and a lingering sting in the back of their heads, which is a constant reminder to them, that they had something to say at one time, but chose to forego their chance because of fear of being persecuted? Jesus Christ, John F. Kennedy, Joan of Arc, William Wallace and countless other men and women gave their lives so that the righteous could stand and livethe lives that they themselves could not. It is true that Jesus rose from the grave to take his place on God's right hand. But he went through torture to get there. He did not go through chastisment for personal gain. He did it because of the love he felt for the righteous, and compassion he felt for each and every one of us. Each denomination is too busey trying to prove which one is right or wrong, that we have allowed it to obstruct our vision as to what is important. We have been too busy fighting amongst ourselves that we have let bogus laws suppress our constitutional, and God given rights to a life where we can worship God in the ways handed down to Moses and Jesus Christ. "Every Kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city and household divided against itself cannot stand." (Matthew 12:25)

If we do not stand together in defience of anyone who wants to stop us from believing in God, then we are doomed to fall, just like every other nation before us. Like Babylon, Egypt, rome and Israel; if we do not pay heed to the word of God, then we will fall. Onward Christian Soldiers, marching on into war. Our war is not with guns, knives, bombs, or swords, but with the gospel of Jesus Christ as our weapon. Remember that whereever we are speaking about Jesus He is right there with us. Whenever we shout from Rooftops, He is shouting from heaven. He embraced his cross. Don't you think it is time to embrace yours? May God bless you and keep you forever and ever. Amen.