[Gary Antion] Man: This week will be a week of festivities, fireworks, whatever, barbecues, song, singing, celebrations, various activities, and various food items. We'll be having probably hot dogs and hamburgers and apple pie and whatever the… all those things American. And it's often that we hear in sporting events as they take a break in the seventh inning or whatever they sing, "God Bless America." And I'm here to say that God has blessed America. And with July 4th coming up, I'd like to also debunk the thought and the idea that July 4th is when the Declaration of Independence was declared. It wasn't. It was actually voted on and declared on July 2nd. It was approved July 4th with edits because Thomas Jefferson had written a lot of it and they wanted it to be edited, so they had a five-man editing team. And they didn't really finish editing it even by July 4th. So, it was finally signed on August 2nd. August 2nd was when it was signed.

Britain never even found out about it until August 30th. Now, John Adams fully thought that the, July 2nd would be the day they would celebrate and he even said so. He said always they're going to be celebrating July 2nd. It was not the date. Because while it was voted on for them to declare independence, the document for the Declaration of Independence was not yet finished. So, then it was sent to the Congress that, the whole Congress as much as could be assembled and they approved it, but they didn't sign it yet because they said they approved it with edits. So, then the five-man team worked on it and edited it, brought a clean copy, and it was signed on August 2nd. So, just some trivia that you might want to look up, and you can get it… I got that on washingtonpost.com, "What You Know About July 4th is Wrong." You can look it up yourself. That was written by, an article by Valerie Strauss, July 2nd, 2014.

So, I thought it'd be an interesting way to start off. Here we're celebrating July 4th coming up and it isn't even the right date, but that's okay. It was approved on that date, so I guess that's all right. We do live in a blessed country. We live in a country with abundant crops, wonderful resources, great varieties of food and items, we have a veritable smorgasbord when we go shopping. All you have to do is go to some of the third world countries, some of the developing countries and you'll know we truly have a veritable smorgasbord when you go shopping. Some of them may only have one kind of apples. And I know when I was in Israel for five weeks and my wife and I would have to go shopping, we were in the stores and limited amount of food. But it was disgusting to see what happens on the shelves because every Sabbath they have Sabbath bread, which is reduced in price before the Sabbath, of course, not on the Sabbath. But for Sabbath, they have Sabbath bread, which covered with plastic with openings on it. And when I went to grab one of the items, cockroaches were running all over the place. And so we don't realize what we have. And I can tell you, we were gone for eight weeks with the students when they went on a dig in 1983. And when my wife and I and our group landed in Boston after we flew out of Israel to Paris, Paris to Boston, we had to change planes, I practically kissed the ground, the floor of the airport.

I was so happy to be back. It is such a blessing that we have we take for granted, we take for granted the washrooms we go to where there's free toilet paper. You should have seen the women freaking out on the Israeli dig when they were… Restrooms they got a hole on the ground. Oh, and by the way, you have to pay to get some toilet paper. So, they had to have their shekels ready to buy some toilet paper and it wasn't very much so they could go in and go to the bathroom. I never realized I didn't realize till I went with that trip and then we went to the Philippines. Beautiful country, awesome country, wonderful place to live as far as all the beautiful settings, but very much developing. We'll be driving along on the highway with… We didn't drive… the person driving with us. And we would look and all of a sudden you'd come to a screeching halt because there was a traffic on the other side, not much, but then you had to go around something, a blockage on the highway. What it was were a couple of limbs guarding grain that was being dried on the pavement. You didn't want to run over the limbs. Of course, you didn't want to run over their grain either. But when I was… And I'd see out there and you'd have the water buffalo or the oxen, which is their pet, their transportation, their plow. And I felt so bad for these beautiful people who live in those circumstances, but then I said, "Can't they get them a tractor?" “Oh, yes, you could get them a tractor, but who's going to repair it when it breaks down? And how much is it going to cost to run it? And where are they going to get the money for all the gasoline?” So, right now, I thought… And it's a beautiful country, beautiful country, mountains and hills and lush greenery and all the rest. They can't develop it.

We came back from that trip, my daughter Susie said, "Dad, I'll be changed forever as a result of this." Just by seeing how beautiful those people were for what they had to go through and how many blessings we have in America. We go to the store and we say, "Do I want a Winesap? Do I want a Jonathan? Do I want a… What? Alice or do I want the Lidl Pink Lady? Do I want a Honey Crisp? Do I want a Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith? We have all those varieties in abundance.

We are so blessed as a country because God has blessed America. Cars all over the place. Highways. Do you ever travel and just look at the highways that are laid and say, "Look how many arteries there are, how many coast to coast freeways there are, interstate highways crisscrossing the United States of America." What blessing…  What blessings we have in this country. Homes. The most modest home here would probably be looked upon in many countries as almost palatial. We are so blessed. Some states in the United States of America because God has blessed America. In 1803, with a Louisiana Purchase, the size of the United States was doubled. And the reason the French were willing to sell that whole amount was because the British were fighting them and winning and they needed money for the war effort, so they sold it at three cents an acre. It virtually doubled the size of the United States and gave us a heartland that was abundant in blessings. Alaska was sold to us by the Russians. They called it Seward's folly. They thought this guy who's contracted this under… I think it was Teddy Roosevelt, right? But anyway, when he did it, they were so upset at him for wanting to buy Alaska. Two cents an acre. Two cents an acre. And it's worth billions of dollars now every year in oil and resources and ores and timber. How much that added to the United States? Why did all these things come our way? Why do we live in an abundant country?

And I want to include in this, not only did God Bless America, God also blessed Israel, modern-day Israel. But my emphasis is going to be on America because July 4th is coming up. July 1st was Canada Day. I lived in Canada too, my second home. I lived there for 14 years and worked there 18 years. It's kind of like a second home to us. And that country just celebrated its 150th birthday on February… Or, sorryn July 1st. Is today July 1st? Right? Yeah, today. So, what a blessing, these two countries, but God blessed Israel. And I could share with you a lot of things I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on it. Just give you an idea, top 10 in the world in commodities. That's natural resources. The United States is number two, Russia is number one, by the way. USA is number two. Canada is number four. Australia is number eight. The size of the country. It's what they have in their countries and what they lead in. And so many of them lead. Now I can tell you there's a slight difference here now in what there used to be because years ago I gave a talk about how God blessed Israel and when I lived in Canada, and I looked up in the almanac, please. And at that time, Israelitish countries lead the world in many categories. They don't anymore because other countries have gotten into mining and finding things in their countries and resources. I think China even has more sheep than Australia now. So, China's learning how to do a lot of things and learning how to produce. They didn't before.

So, we have the blessings of the country and, of course, out of the 25 top, the richest countries in the world, 13 out of 25 are either modern-day Israelites or Arabs, 13 out of 25 are dominated by nations that would be Israelites descendants. So, we see God has blessed America. But why? And how? Is it because we're such a good people? There's a quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, by the way, that many say is a fraud. They can't find it. He wrote books on democracy in America. And they thought this came from him, but apparently, it didn't. They've looked it up and searched and they can't find it. But he said, "America is great because America is good." He said, "If America ever ceases to be good, it will no longer be great." That's what this French man is supposed to have said." Now, they said they scoured his writings, they cannot find it, his speeches that they have record of, can't find that he ever said this. But in his writings, that's what he infers. And I've seen several quotes that are legitimately his where he comments on democracy and how this country has been so fair and so decent and so good and how there's righteousness that is present in this country at that time. And that was in the 1800s. So, Alexis de Tocqueville made these comments about, at least, that's been attributed to him that this particular statement, "America is great, because America is good."

So, let's see from Scripture. This awe-inspiring story of what God can do for His people and what God eventually can do for all people. So, let's take a look. If the stories fascinating, I'm going to be referring often to and if you haven't read it recently, the book on The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy is awesome. It might even be a good read during this coming week for you just to refresh some of the blessings that God has given to this country and some of the blessings that have been taken away from it as well. So, let's take a look at the scriptures. Genesis 12. And I'll just be skimming some of these. Genesis 12:1-3. I'll be telling you about some of the story by paraphrasing what's happened and giving you a summarization of the Scriptures. But Genesis 12:1-3 we find that Abraham was called and was told he was going to be a blessing. Genesis 12:1, "Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your kindred, from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation; and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." This wasn't just a blessing for them to have alone, it was a blessing for them to be able to share, and part of that, obviously, is Jesus Christ Himself came through that lineage. But also as a country, that you will be blessed and you are supposed to share those blessings. That's verses 1-3. So, a call to be a blessing to the world. Genesis 15, they’re called… It's spoken up in verses 5 and 6. I'm not going to turn there. He said, "You would be numerous, so numerous, you will be hard to count." Genesis 17:4 he's called the “father of many nations,” Abraham. In Genesis 18:18 they’re promised greatness. "Your people will be great." Genesis 22. And we have a current president who wants to make America great again because he knows there was greatness before. But Genesis 22:16-18 is an interesting scripture because God promises them, Genesis 22:16. Genesis 22:16, he said, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing,” He was willing to offer his son “and have not withheld your only son— in blessing I will bless you, in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven.” Greatness among them. You would not want to count them individually. “And as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies."

The gate of their… What does a gate do? It lets people in and keeps people out. And if you look at all the areas, the land areas, and the sea areas that were once controlled by the United States, Britain and Australia, and Canada and South Africa, all British Commonwealth countries other than America, you'll find an enormous number of sea gates. The Suez Canal at one end of the Mediterranean Sea, the Rock of Gibraltar at the other end. Britain got both for a while. But like Joseph who was forgiving, who did not return evil for evil, but returned good for evil, the United States gave things back. Britain gave things back. It was said of Britain that the sun never sets on the British Empire, and their naval force was the best in the world. People feared the British Navy. Not anymore. But what did Britain do? They gave people their freedom. They taught them structure and then they gave them their freedom. They taught them how to have a good infrastructure. They taught them how to set up the government and then they left. And no, the United States and Britain have not always been lily-white in how they've treated other countries. And yes, they have extracted things when they should not, and they've acted poorly at times. But overall, they have sought to bring peace and justice and they have given back and they've built up their enemies so that historians will say, "Never in the history of mankind has a country beaten its enemies, and not only gave them their country back, but helped them repair it and never got any money back for it." The Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe. The Japanese. And it says those that we helped rebuild are, again, now competing with us economically because we built them up so well. Why? Well, we will see these blessings. So, they were able to control the sea gates of the world.

We'll be able to see in Genesis 26:4-5 that God passes this blessing on to Isaac and then later on to Jacob. Genesis 26:4-5, He said, "And I will make you descendants," He was speaking to Abraham. "I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,” because of your children, your grandchildren, your great, great, great, great, great, great grandchildren, and also because of Jesus Christ coming through that lineage. They would be blessed. But verse 5. Why? "Because Abraham obeyed My voice, kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." God blessed America. And in many ways, He still is allowing blessings to come. We'll see what happened to America, though, as far as obedience is concerned.

So, He repeats this to Isaac. He repeated it to Isaac in Genesis 32. I'm not going to go there. And in Genesis 35 to Jacob. Genesis 35:10-12. And now we come to Israel. Genesis 35:10-12. He said this, "The land…" Sorry. Let's go to verse 10. "And God said, “'Your name is Jacob; you shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.’ So, He called his name Israel.” And it means a prince with God. A prince with God. “And also God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, rather, and kings shall come out of your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.’” But also the promises of blessings and of nations. And in verse 14… In verse 13, "And God went up from him in the place where He talked to him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering and Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.” House of God. House of God, Bethel.

So, verse 37… chapter 37, sorry. Chapter 37 verses 3 and 4. Chapter 37 verses 3. So, we see the blessings that God said He would give to Abraham or passed on to Isaac, they're now passed on to Jacob, and we see they're going to be passed on to someone else.

Genesis 37:9-10. Joseph became Israel's favorite. Joseph became Israel's favorite. He was the son of the wife he wanted to originally marry whom he loved. Instead, there were other firstborns that we read about. Reuben was Leah's firstborn. Dan was Rachel's firstborn. Gad was Leah's Handmaid's firstborn. And Joseph was Rachel's firstborn. So, Joseph is the one of the wife that he really loved. The others he had them but those weren't the ones he wanted. But in Genesis 37 Joseph had some dreams. Genesis 37:3. "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age,” but not only that, because he was the son of Rachel. “And also he made him a tunic or a coat of many colors." So, his coat I would take was striped. I've never seen Joseph in this coat that they had under Broadway for many years. But striped coat, beautiful, where the others most of the time were plain, but his was striped beautifully stand out from it. Of course, then he would tell his brothers… I see Joseph being very open. So, he tells his brother, "I had a dream the other night. I was dreaming about wheat and there were these sheaves. There we were, binding sheaves and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed to my sheaf. I had a dream. Your sheaves all bowed to mine." "What? What are you trying to say?" They thought, "You're implying we're going to bow down to you, you young whippersnapper? Who do you think you are anyhow?"

And then he had another dream, verses 9 and 10. “Then he dreamed still another dream, but he told it to his brothers.” And I see Joseph as being very open, very plain, unabashed, maybe not wise at times, maybe not appropriate, maybe not good timing, but he had another dream and he told it to his brothers and he said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me." And you could look at Revelation 12 and you can see that identified as Israel. “So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him.” He got the message and said, “'What is this dream that you've dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?’ And his brothers envied him, but his father kept this matter in mind.” His brothers didn't like it. And of course, they plotted to try to kill him and they finally decided to send him into Egypt, which they did. And he was sold into slavery. And while he was in slavery in Egypt, he did many things good. He resisted Potiphar's wife's advances. Thrown in prison. In prison, he predicted the chief butler would be restored and the baker would be hanged. But the chief butler forgot all about him afterward until later on when there was a dream that nobody could understand. And because he could, Pharaoh made him Vice Pharaoh over all the land of Egypt. And then his brothers did come down to search for food when it was scarce in Palestine area. They came down to Egypt looking for food because Joseph said, "Hey, they're going to be seven good years and there are going to be seven lean years. During the seven good years, we need to store up, store up the grain and distribute it sparingly and we can also sell it to other peoples who have not been that wise." And that's what he did. So, coming down to Egypt, his brothers came down looking for some help, but he recognized them. Of course, they didn't recognize him. He was probably dressed in Egyptian manner, in Egyptian garb and everything else. And of course, they already thought he's been sold off into slavery long ago, they would not recognize him, but he recognized them, the number of brothers, what their names were, and all the rest. And he played a little game, a few games with them to see how sincere they were about protecting their youngest brother, Benjamin. And finally, when they came back, he revealed to them who he was. “I'm your brother.” Of course, they would have been totally afraid. He's the Vice Pharaoh of all of Egypt could have had their heads taken off and put on a platter for him or stuffed and stuck, put on his wall if he wanted to. But he didn't. And he said, "How's dad?" And of course, then Jacob came down to Egypt too thinking his long lost son was dead and now he gets a chance to see him and hug him and know him.

But chapter 48, chapter 4… And let me read a quote to you, though. This is a quote that I want to share. My quote number two about what happened to America. Pages… This is pages 84, 85, and 86, just excerpts. "The year 1776 was a landmark date. By that year the steam engine was in practical use, within another decade— just a few years before the French Revolution, 1789 significantly slowed industrial development in France— this invention became a commercial success. The same year American colonists declared their independence. This separation of the United States from Britain accomplished the prophecy that Manasseh and Ephraim would be separate peoples— one a great nation and the other ‘a multitude of nations.’" We're going to read about that in a moment. "The capitalist system soon began to propel the Western world in general, and the British economy in particular, into unprecedented heights. Though British diplomats and statesmen have lacked a grand design for construction of their empire, it became the largest and most beneficent empire in the history of mankind. It is little wonder historians described the 1800s as the British century.”

“The wars between France and Britain culminated with a British victory… Napoleon's need for cash, ready cash to pay for the costs of impending war with Britain led him to sell France's vast American territories to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.” So, even Britain helped the United States to be able to become a greater country, as brother. "The acquisition of Louisiana Territory in 1803 gave the American republic instant world-power status. The young country bought 828,000 square miles of the most fertile farmland in the world.”

Why does all this happen? How does that all happen to this country, this fledgling country at that time? “3 cents an acre! Overnight the size of the United States doubled, immeasurably strengthening the nation materially and strategically. After 1803, the country expanded across the country and across that time, adding huge swaths of territory of the vast natural resources. 1867 the United States added almost 600,000 more square miles when it purchased Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million— about 2 cents per acre. Although no one realized that at the time, these great untapped blessings would allow American citizens to lead the world in per-capita wealth in the next century. Though detractors openly ridiculed the purchase, the resources, income from its resources— timber, minerals, oil, and the like— today amounts to tens of billions of dollars each year.”

So, again, what's happened? The blessings that have come. “The British economy, stimulated by this conflict, [that they had with Napoleon] emerged with an unparalleled economic supremacy.” Talks about “Britain's found herself free and in possession of the necessary political, economic and military power to build an empire that soon extended around the world. As modern Manasseh (the United States) began to build a nation that would extend from sea to shining sea, Ephraim fell heir to lands around the world. The British built an empire on which the sun never set.” Then it had other blessings that came where they picked up India, Egypt, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. So, what they didn't have in resources themselves, Britain found other countries that they did, that fell into their hands by war, by protectionism or whatever else they needed.

Now, let's go to chapter 48. Chapter 48 verses 13 to 19 and we see blessings that are given to Ephraim and Manasseh, so we finish up this part of the story. Genesis 48:13. "Joseph took them both." Again, he was so happy to see his son and his son wanted to introduce his grandkids that were half Egyptian and half Israelitish, bring them to him. And so he brought them to him. Verse 13, "Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand,” because he wanted the right-hand blessing which was apparently seemed to be the better one, needed to be the better one. And he brought them to that hand and towards Israel's right hand he brought them near. “Then Israel stretched out his right hand and he put it on Ephraim's head.” He switched. He did a switcheroo on the kids.

“And Israel is stretching out his right hand, put it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.” He should have had the right hand. “And he blessed Joseph and said: ‘God, before who my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life to this day, the Angel who's redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them.’" And that's really important. "Let my name be named upon them. I want them to be the Israelites." Joseph wanted his kids to carry on the blessings that were transmitted by Abraham, by God to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. Now he's giving them. That, "My name be named upon them, the name of my father, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

And then verse 17, "And now when Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. ‘Dad, you've got the wrong kid. This is the firstborn.’ And so he took his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head, the right hand, to put it on Manasseh and Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father, but this one's the firstborn; put your right hand here.’ But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” So, here's where you have the multitude of nations and the single nation. They are brothers. Have you ever watched when the United States and Britain fight together in a war against somebody? They win. When they support each other, they win. When Britain was having problems with the Falkland Islands down there, the United States gave them support. They won. In World War II, they won. And World War I, they won. Why? They're brothers and God blessed them. And there's so many stories I could tell you, the blessings during the war that God intervened, the one where the British troops were trying to be evacuated and the Germans wanted to bomb them to smithereens, so to speak. That's a word that you'll look up but, anyway, in my old days. They wanted to bomb them out of existence. But a fog came over so the German fighters couldn't find them, and they could escape back to Britain.

How did that happen? And so many things have happened where God has protected them. The Israelis today believe that God is with them. That's why they're so fearless. And the Israelis over, the Jews over in Israel, but they call it Israel. You also have to understand, Israel had the blessings given to them. Judah had the rulership. The scepter was Judah's, but the blessings were Israel's. Judah would love to have both, so it called itself Israel. That doesn't mean the blessings are going to come, though, they still are the people of God too in their own way. So, God had this nation, this company of nation, this great blessings. Manasseh would be great. Ephraim would be greater in size and number and scope.

So, let's go on chapter 49, see a prophecy of the last days. Genesis 49 verse 1, and then 22 to 26. Genesis 49:1. "Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days.’" So, Jacob says, "I want to talk to you about what I see my prophecy for you in the last days." Verse 22. Here's this prophecy for Joseph, specifically. "Joseph is a fruitful bough,” Joseph is going to be bearing fruit by a well. “His branches will run over the wall.” He'll be so abundant. He won't be able to stay where he is. He'll have to expand. “His branches will run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him.” People will be after him all the time.” Don't they hate America? They hated Americans all over the world. We give people money all over the world, billions of dollars, they hate us because we didn't give them enough.

It's like the Damn Yankees as they call them, D-A-M-N. They called them Damn Yankees. Why do they call them that? Because Yankees were always winning the baseball games, always winning the World Series. So, people didn't like them. They hated the Yankees. They were a good team. They were a great team. They won. But people didn't like them. When you're on top, people don't like you. And when you don't give enough to them, they don't like you. “Why do you have so much? Who gave you that money? Why do you have that? God gave them the money.” So, they “shot at him and they hated him, but the bow remained in its strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of… by the Mighty God of Jacob (from there as the Shepherd of the Stone of Israel).” He's coming out of that. “By the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts of the womb, blessings of your father…” So, again, "All these blessings are put upon you," is what Jacob said. "You're going to have all these blessings, Joseph. Ephraim and Manasseh, you will be blessed."

So, what's happened in the process? Page 74 of the book. Page 74. United States and Britain in Bible prophecy if you're on the air watching in and you don't have this booklet you might write for it and get it right to the home office or calling up the home office. Notice the prophecy about Joseph. He talks about how healthy he would be. "Your father will bless you. He blesses you with rain from above, fruit from springs from below." There's a translation of the new century version, it puts it that way. But “Joseph's descendants, he said, would be especially blessed— like a fruitful vine with a never-ending supply of water,” they will continue to grow and continue to do abound as a country, as a people.

In page 86 and 87 in the same book, pages 86 and 87 talked about the British economy, how it emerged, unparalleled. And then on page 87, we read the British and American peoples inherited a treasure trove of natural resources. Why did they get these countries? Why did they get these resources? Why did they get the gold in their country? The stories that came about because of what was happening in America. In the Middle East, my granddad thought he could come to America and find gold on the streets. He thought he could find money growing on trees. That's how they looked upon America. And that was in the early 1900s, 1910. That was the story already back then about this country. And how could a little immigrant like my granddad who couldn't even speak English, who couldn't read or write English or Arabic start a store, have, employ several people in a general store, give people lots of things during the Great Depression, keep their family alive and keep them closed, and never ever be paid back? But you know what? He saved $10,000. He had 10 kids. He wouldn't let anybody touch that money because he said, "I want to give $1,000 to each of the children after I die," because he believed the principle of a granddad or dad should store up for his children. But he lived a good life. He had his own home, he had his kids around him, he was able to bless other people because he came to America. And when he went and visited his home country in Syria in the Middle East, he was surprised that the little progress that had been made since he left 60 years later he came back to visit it when he was in his 80s. And he was absolutely frustrated with what those people were doing and how lazy they were and how little they had changed any of the property that used to be his, that he bequeathed to them when he left for America.

So, the blessings we have, this “treasure trove… Americans find everything necessary for natural economic greatness— vast expanses of fertile soil; seemingly endless forests; gold, silver and other precious metals waiting to be mined; and massive iron ore, coal, petroleum and other mineral deposits— within the confines of the United States and even more in Alaska. Both peoples possessed ‘the best things of the ancient mountains’— the ‘precious things of the everlasting hills’ ‘the precious things of the earth, and its territories.’” God promised that. America was great because God made it so.

Now take a look at Exodus 19. He brought them out of Egypt after they went into Egypt. Remember, they were down there to buy the food and then they got cornered and kept as slaves. In Exodus 19:4-8. Exodus 19:4-8. We find God wanted to bless them, wanted to make a covenant with them and He wanted them to stay on a track where they could be blessed. He said, "I blessed Abraham because he kept My commandments, My statutes, My judgments, and My laws."

But in Exodus 19:4, Exodus 19:4, he said, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you out to Myself.” "You saw how I opened the Red Sea. You saw how I tenderly looked after you and cared for you and brought you out of the land and brought you to this Promised Land that I said I would so you could worship Me and follow My ways." Verse 5, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My commandments, keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” “I can give people… I can put people anywhere. I could give them any part of this earth because I own it. And you'll be a blessing to Me, wherever."

And verse 6, “‘"And you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. You're going to be a good people.” These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.’ So, Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do. All the Lord has spoken we will do.’ So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.” How long did it take for them to turn away? Moses went to get the Ten Commandments shortly thereafter and while he was up there they said, "He's not coming back. He probably got lost up in the mountains. We haven't heard from him in days. Let's go back to Egypt. Egypt has cucumbers and onions." They forgot they also had slavery. They had brick making. They forgot that. "Make us a God that we can see. Let's go back." So, they made the god of gold. And God was displeased. God said to Moses, "Get down and see what your people have done." Moses said, "No. You mean Your people, God." And they were arguing over who they belonged to. And they didn't want to claim them. And God said, "Move out of the way and I'll make a great nation of you, Moses. I'll destroy them all." And, you know, Moses said, "God, if you do that, what are the other nations going to think? These are your people. You brought them out. You performed all these miracles. You did these great things. What will they think? They'll think you can't do it." So, he reasoned with God. "Don't make Mosesites. We went Israelites." And God relented and let his word be taken and followed.

Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26 all have blessings and curses that are given, where blessings he offers them, "You'll be the head and not the tail. You'll be a leading country. I'll bless your family. I'll bless your children. I'll bless your cities. I'll bless your country. I'll bless your store. I'll bless your storehouses if you obey Me. And if you don't, sorry days are coming." Leviticus 26:6-9, He said they would be powerful. He said, "Few of you will chase a lot." And it is true. When they hear the Marines are coming they know they're in for trouble, other nations. It is true that a few can chase a lot right now. Will it stay that way is the question. Deuteronomy 4:6-9. God had a plan and purpose for them. God had a plan and a purpose. He wanted them to be an example for the rest of the world. He wanted them to be an exemplary nation. He wanted other nations to say, "Why do they have so many blessings? Maybe we can have those same blessings."

Deuteronomy 4. Deuteronomy 4:6-9. “Therefore” he said, "be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of all the native peoples who hear these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’" When they see your blessings they'll be drawn to it and they'll say, "Why do they have these?" Because they have good laws, they have good system, they have a good infrastructure, and they have good spirituality and a good morale, “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” And verse 8, "And what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments, righteous judgments as are in all this law which I've set before you this day?" Where do you get all these blessings? Because your God is with you and you're following Him. Now, as time went on, they rejected God. And even though Rahab had already heard about them in Jericho, "Let me help you because we already heard about you guys what you do to people. God's on your side. No people has God so close to them." And of course, then God had to punish them, send them into captivity. But what's interesting is how Israel has always tried to help others, always tried to help others. The booklet brings out how they try to have other countries and help other countries and pour millions of dollars into building up their enemies.

Hosea 8:12-14, Israel did not live up to their end of the bargain. And so right now, we're in a period of time, hopeful, that our great country will continue to be blessed, but hopeful that our country will change. But our country is not known for being righteous. It's known for putting out pornography. It's known for putting out horrible movies. It's known for its lack of family values. It's known for supporting all kinds of things that are not biblically sound. Take Britain, for instance, which is turning very much secular. Canada is heading down that way. Australia is going that way. These countries no longer want God in their system. Here's an article from 15,000 Quotes. This is number 650. “The Bible is the U.S. founding document, perhaps even more than the constitution, the Bible is our founding document: the source of a powerful myth of the United States is a special, sacred nation, a people called by God to establish a model society, a beacon to the world. Bible study was the core of public education and nearly every illiterate family not only owned a Bible but read it regularly and reverently. Today, the Bible has virtually disappeared from American education. It's rarely studied even as literature in public classrooms.” As Robert Vischeus from the number 650 was from Newsweek 1983 that he wrote that, "The Bible has disappeared. The country has gone amok. It has gone astray."

God says in Hosea 8:12, "I have written for him the great things of My law, but they were considered a strange thing. I gave him great things that would help them to be a great people, but what have they done? They were considered a strange thing." And verse 14, "For Israel has forgotten his Maker, has built temples; Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his palaces. They've turned away from Me despite all these blessings." What's happened to our country? Does it still have to go through a lot more trouble? The Bible prophecy indicates it does.

Hosea 11:1-4. Hosea 11:1-4. Notice the tenderness that God feels toward these people. "When Israel was a child, I loved him, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. As they call them, so they went from them; they sacrificed the Baals, and burned incense to carved images. I taught Ephraim to walk." So, He's recounting how He felt as He loved this nation, as He taught her in her infancy stages how to walk. "I taught her how to walk, taking them by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. I didn't feed them with the oxen's yoke on them. I took it off and I stooped down and I gently fed them.” Like a farmer or a cattle owner would be feeding his cattle.

Verses 7-8. "My people are bent on backsliding from Me. And though they call the Most High, none at all exalt Him. ‘How can I give you up, oh, Ephraim? How can I give you up? How can I let you be punished? How can I watch what's going to happen to you? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah?’" The city was ruined. "How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. I'm so sad to have to see this happen to you." And of course, they don't know God now. They don't know Him because they don't glorify Him as God. They've lost their way as a country. We've lost our way.

Abraham Lincoln said this. This comes from page… I got it here red clip. Page 106. Here's what Abraham Lincoln said in his day. "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we've been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown, but we have forgotten God." That's what he said back in his days. 1860s. "But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, multiplied, and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom in virtue of our own… We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of His redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us." Abraham Lincoln, 1861 to 1865 was when he was in office.

So, they all recognize it. What's happened? What's for the future? Jeremiah 30:7 I'm not going to read it. It says, there will be a “time of Jacob's trouble, a time of Jacob's trouble,” but God is going to rescue them. And ultimately, they will turn and be a blessing to the world. But right now, God says, "You're headed for a spanking unless you repent morally, not just economically, not just educationally, morally." If our country does not repent, it's going to be spanked. And God will say, "How can I give you up?" Finally, they will recognize what's happened to them. Ezekiel 20:43 talks about coming back with repentance and saying, "Forgive us. Forgive me. Help us turn to you and God will bless them." Ezekiel 34. Let's read that one as I bring this to a close fairly quickly. Ezekiel 34:23. God says they're going to be a blessing to the world.

Ezekiel 34:23, "I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them— My servant David." How do you have David being their Shepherd in the future? He's dead. Well, you have a resurrection, right? He'll be resurrected. “He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken and this is my decree. I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause the wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness." Notice, "And I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there will be showers of blessing." God will bless them again.

In verse 30, "Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord God. “'You are My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,’ says the Lord God.” They're going to come. People are going to come rushing to Israel, come up to the mountain and say, "Teach us of Your ways." Micah 4:1-5. "Come teach us Your ways. We want to learn of Your paths, want to walk in Your paths. We want Your blessings. We're not going to serve other gods anymore. We're going to serve You, the living God." That's Micah 4:1-5. They're to come to Jerusalem and say to the Jews, "Grab a skirt of Him," and say, "Teach us about God because we've heard that God is with you.” Many nations are going to do that when Israel comes back to God. They will finally be able to be a model nation. They'll finally be able to be a blessing to others because they can show them the way to the Kingdom of God. That's going to be awesome.

Psalms 144:15 says, "Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord. Happy are those people. Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord." So, finally, as God's people, they will be a blessing to the whole world. They will serve with the Assyrians and the Egyptians together serving in the Kingdom of God. Traditional enemies will serve together. Isaiah 19:21-25. Tell us that.

So, let's be clear. Why do we live in such a blessed country? When you eat that food in abundance and when you sit around and freedom and be able to express yourself and your thoughts and your feelings… And by the way, don't try to go to North Korea and even have a wrong thought because if they read your mind, you're headed to a concentration camp and probably never coming back. You can have wrong thoughts. You can have wrong… even make statements about…  You can make horrible statements about the President of the United States and get away with it because we live in a free country. And God doesn't intend free speech to be rotten speech. He does intend it to be decent. But the point being, we live in a free country. One day, the whole world will be able to be free, and that's going to be such a blessing for the whole world. But let's be clear. How is Israel blessed by God? By God. Why is it blessed? Because God is fulfilling his promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. And He wants us to finally be a nation that shows the world how to live the way of God.

So, I hope on this July 4th, you'll be grateful and thankful to God for everything we have, for a beautiful country, for the freedom we have to practice our beliefs. And I'm going to conclude the sermon now, but this is an addition to the sermon. I've asked Libby Walker to sing for us "God Bless America" to cement the thought of this sermon in your mind. Libby.

[Libby] God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
With the light, with the light from above

From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home

From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America
God bless America, my home sweet home