As a part of your orientation to what we are envisioning for the Philippine Islands, we felt this masterpiece article by our Director of Philippine Missions Kathy Bohlin would be just the ticket.  God has so blessed the work of her hands in working particularly with the children of the city dumpsites and streets.  God has also anointed her work with the pastors of these children.

Please enjoy the article and then  join with us in intercession for children, youth and pastors who minister to them.

 

God bless you,

Ras Robinson

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Dear "Connecting the Net" Friends,

Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you labor to bring the Gospel of Jesus to your world. I know you are committed to bringing God's light and life to the Philippine Islands and beyond. I also know that many of you have made tremendous sacrifices as you have laid down your life for that calling. I hope the article below will be an encouragement to you as you remember the mighty power of God to bring about the change we so desperately want to see. Perhaps you will have some insights on the subject or something to add that would be helpful to others. I invite you to write me and send your comments about this subject.

May you be blessed in all God calls you to do,
Kathy Bohlin
Director of Philippine Missions
Fullness in Christ Ministries

 

Can God Transform A Nation?
By Kathy Bohlin

Scripture tells us, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."  There is an observable blessing on nations that have a strong Christian heritage.  Such nations have victory in war, financial prosperity, industrial advancement and a higher standard of living than those who serve other gods.  In Christian nations, even the poorest are better off than the majority of people in nations where God is not worshiped.

No nation on earth can say that God is truly the one and only God of the nation. There is no perfect nation in this world.   It does not matter where you live.  Wherever you live, your nation needs a transformation.  The question before us is "Do we really believe God can transform a nation? 

Sometimes when we look around at the problems we face and the godlessness, we may wonder if even God can transform us.   Look around in your world.  Listen to the daily news.  Read the newspaper.  Hear the cries of the people.  Does it sometimes cross your mind that society is too far gone?  The problems are so big and godlessness is so rampant.   Is it too big even for God?

I want to declare to you today that nothing is impossible with God.  It is never too far gone for God to bring transformation.  There are many instances in history when God transformed a nation when that nation turned to Him.  Let's look at a couple of the instances.
 

Hezekiah

There was a young prince in Judah named Hezekiah.  He became king of Judah at one of the darkest moments in their history.  His father, Ahaz, was a wicked man and a poor leader.  He worshipped many pagan gods and led the people under his rulership to do so.  He sacrificed his own sons, princes of Judah, descendents of King David, to the pagan god Molech (2 Chron. 28:2-4).

He even built idols in the Temple courtyard and boarded up the Temple so people would not go there to worship the one true God (2 Chron. 28:24).  Obviously the people quit bringing their tithes and offerings to give to the Lord at the Temple, so the priests and Levites had to find other jobs.  Some moved back home to family farms and were not available to minister to the needs of the people. 

Ahaz formed an ungodly and ill-advised alliance with the evil king of Assyria.  It almost bankrupted the nation.  The people were impoverished because so much tribute money was demanded by the king of Assyria.  The king of Assyria raised the demand year after year, just as Satan increases his demands on those who follow him.

It was a very bad time in Judah because of the bad leadership of Ahaz.  A leader should lead others to do right things.  Ahaz and led people to do wrong.  His leadership almost destroyed the nation of Judah.  Corruption filled every part of society and government and the people were living in intense poverty that got worse as the government demanded more and more.  No one mourned when Ahaz died.  Because he was so corrupt, his people were glad to be rid of him.  They did not even allow him to be buried in the royal cemetery.

After the death of Ahaz, his son Hezekiah became king and inherited the mess his father had created.  Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he became king, but he was a good leader.  How he became a good leader is not told in Scripture.  Perhaps he had a godly mother.  His grandfather, King Jotham, was a good man who led the people to do right as was his great-grandfather, Uzziah.

He personally knew the prophet Isaiah who was part of the royal family.  Isaiah was much older than Hezekiah, but was a close counselor and friend.  Perhaps Isaiah was a mentor who taught Hezekiah the ways of God.

We don't know for sure how he became a man of God, but when he became king, He immediately began to change things.  He led the people to turn back to God.  He tore down idols all over the nation, beginning first in the Temple, the house of God.  He told the priests to take the boards off the Temple doors, to repair it and cleanse it.  He called the people back to the house of God.  He read Scripture to find out God's way of doing things.  The people followed this good leader.  Under his leadership, many turned away from their idols and turned to God.  They began to come back to the Temple and brought their tithes and offerings so the Temple could be maintained and the priests provided for. The priests and Levites were able to fulfill their purpose in caring for the spiritual needs of the people because people brought their tithes and offerings according to God's plan. (Read 2 Chron. 29)

The whole nation was transformed.  Scripture says it came suddenly.  2 Chron. 29:36 says: Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

When things are set in place, change can happen suddenly.  One day a nation can be in bondage and darkness and suddenly, when they turn to the Lord, they are in freedom and light.
 

What Can We Learn from King Hezekiah?

1. He took a stand against evil even when it was not popular.  The people in Judah had been worshiping false gods for many years.  Children had grown up not knowing anything else.  God had all but been forgotten except by a few faithful people.  When Hezekiah took his stand and began to destroy the idols, it was not a popular move.  There was much resistance, but he stood his ground.

2. He trusted God and knew God's way would be victorious.

3. He believed with all his heart that God's way was the right way.

4. He believed God could change his nation and the hearts of the people.

5. He surrounded himself with advisors whose faith in God was strong.

6. When faced with crisis, he called a friend, a mentor (Isaiah), who was strong in the Lord and they prayed together.

7. He loved the people he served and wanted the best for them.

8. It is never too late, never too evil and corrupt for God to change a nation.

9. He led others to do the right thing.  A good leader will lead others to do the right thing.

10.  Transformation can happen suddenly.

We can be encouraged by the story of King Hezekiah. Scripture says there was none like him.   2 Kings 18:5 says, "He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. " 

His experiences let us know it is never too late or too bad for change to come.  Perhaps some would think things are too corrupt, too bad, that people are too far from God for things to ever be the different.  But that is not true.  Nothing is impossible with God.  Nothing is too hard for Him.
 

Savonarola

I want to tell you about another man God used to transform a nation.  His name is Savonarola.  He was a monk in Italy during the late 1400's.  He was full of God's Spirit.  He was a prayer warrior, an intercessor.  As a teenager, he would pace the riverbank singing to God and weeping for the sins, the injustices and the poverty of the people around him.  He was grieved over the cruelty and corruption of the leadership in the government and in the church.  He prayed for God to change the church and government leaders.  He was only one man but his impact was felt in the entire nation and beyond.

Does your heart break because of the injustice, the poverty, the corruption, the cruelty you see around you?  Do you think it is so bad that not even God can change it? 

Savonarola was an activist and zealot for God and called for people to turn to God and change their corrupt way of doing things. Before he died the wicked government of his nation was changed and he taught the people how to set up a democratic form of government.  The revival brought tremendous moral change and his nation was transformed. People stopped reading vile and wicked books.  Merchants repaid the people for overcharges.  Hymns and Christian songs were sung in the streets.  Huge bonfires were made of worldly books and obscene pictures.

The corrupt church officials were outraged and incited a mob against him.  They captured him and he was tortured and killed by the corrupt church leaders.  But the transformation was already begun.  The government was different.  The people were different.  In later years, even the Catholic church which had excommunicated and executed him admitted it had been in error in doing so.

Savonarola was martyred by the church leaders because of his call for them to change and become godly leaders.  Are you willing to give your life to see revival come to your nation?  You may not be called upon to do that.  I hope not.  But if so, would you be willing?

Savonarola, one prayer warrior, laying down his life, brought the change God wanted in the government and in the hearts of the people.  There was still much corruption in the church leadership of the day.  They still needed to change.

The transformation had only begun.  More transformation was needed.  The transformation that was begun did not stop with the death of Savonarola.  There was a young boy in Germany who was greatly influenced by the revival that had begun.  His name was Martin Luther.  He was used by God to bring a great transformation to the church that spread to the entire world.

Can God transform a nation?  Yes, but He uses people.  People who:
> are willing to lay down their lives for what God wants
> are prayer warriors
> are willing to stand for what is right even when it is not popular
> are filled with integrity and trust in God
 

What would a transformed nation look like?

1. Christian songs would be heard everywhere as people sing of their love for God.

2. Poverty would be broken as Christians help the poor and corruption in government would cease.

3. Ministers of the gospel would be cared for because the people would bring their tithes and offerings to give.

4.  There would be prosperity as God's blessing is poured out on the people.  God promises blessing to a nation whose God is the Lord.  Psalm 33:12. 

5. There would be no corruption in politics.

6. People would become morally strong to resist the temptations of drugs, sex outside of marriage, and other addictions. 

7. The devastation, the poverty, sickness and domestic abuse that comes as a result of those addictions would be no more.

8. The churches would be full – more than Sundays.  Christians would have a desire to be with other Christians more often.

9. The darkness of sin would be pushed out of the nation by the light of Jesus..

Transformation can come to a nation.  God is looking for those who will take a stand for what is right regardless of the personal consequences. 

Do you want your nation to be transformed?
Do you believe God can do it?
What are you willing to do to see it happen?

Men and women have died, been beaten and imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel.  This is not only in past history.  It happens all over the world today.  Why?  Because we have an enemy who is also God's enemy.  Satan does not want reform to come to this nation.  He does not want us to be free.  He does not want us to fall in love with Jesus and tell others of His great love.  Satan will fight us on this.  We can be sure of that. 

God does not always allow us to avoid our enemies, but He always is there to enable us to defeat them.  All of us, especially those of us who are Christian leaders, have been and will be called upon to take a stand for God.  When that happens, we can know that God will give us grace and make us strong so we can stand strong for Him.

God may use one of us the way He used Hezekiah or Savonarola or Martin Luther.  When God calls for you to take a stand will you obey the call?  Will you support those who have taken that stand?  

The transformation of this nation must begin here – with us.  If we come to God and allow him to transform us, if we allow Him to break our hearts for the corruption we see and if we call on him in prayer, he will bring the change.

2 Chron. 7: 14 says: "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, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

That is a promise from God.  He is calling us (His people) to humble ourselves before Him and to pray.  We are to seek Him and turn away from our wicked ways.  When we do that, He promises to heal our land.  What does that mean?  It means our nation will be transformed.  Things will be different.   Poverty will be broken.  Government will be free of corruption and will truly be for the good of the people.  Churches will be full.  People will walk in freedom and full of joy.  Are you willing to be used by God to bring transformation to your nation?  God tells us what we need to do.  We need to be completely sold out to Him.

The choice is ours.  How badly do you want change?  What choice will you make today?