Through the 25th chapter of the book of Ezekiel, that's where our message this morning will be found. There's a study sheet that you might like to use. It's in your bulletin this morning. Just a simple outline that you might like to make some notes and jot some things down on as we go through our message today. We're glad for all of you that are with us here today in our second service. It's a joy and a delight to have you here. If you're here for the very first time, we certainly want to give to you a warm welcome to the services of the Santa Rosa Bible Church. We'd like to just say this today, that you haven't met the whole family when you come to the second service. We had around 175 out to their first service this morning. My, that service is growing in leaps and bounds. It's encouraging. It won't be long until we'll be having almost more in the first service than the second service. Not because this will be decreasing, but because it's growing. Many people seem to enjoy that during the summer months. Shall we bow our heads in a word of prayer? Our gracious God and loving Father, what a joy it is to have your word. We pray that you would bless it in our hearts and lives this morning. We pray in Christ's precious name. Amen. Today in Ezekiel chapter 25, Ezekiel has come to the end of his ministry of pronouncing judgment against the nation of Israel, and he turns now and looks at the nations around them. You know, in the last verse of chapter 24, we read there that in the day that In that day thy mouth shall be opened." And what day is he talking about? He's talking about the day when Jerusalem falls. In the day that Jerusalem falls, God is going to open the mouth of Ezekiel so that he will be able to preach to all who come by. Remember way back there in the beginning of the book, we found that as soon as God called him to the prophetic ministry, he touched his mouth so that he could not speak. And the only time that he was able to speak was when God gave him a specific message for a specific time. But you know, God has a heart to encourage the hearts and lives of all people. And God knew that as the city fell, there would be fugitives and refugees that would be dispersed throughout all the countryside. And some of them would come Ezekiel's way. He wanted Ezekiel to be ready to talk to anyone who came along and to tell them that God had a future for Israel, that it was not gone forever. that one day the city of Jerusalem would be built again with a brand new temple, a temple that would be even greater than the temple of the days of Solomon. And he wanted them to know this. And so he loosed Ezekiel's tongue after the fall of Jerusalem so that Ezekiel could give a message of hope to the world. And you know, that reminds me of the fact that God has loosed our tongues today as believers. God has given to each one of us the joy of bringing to a world which is in despair, a world which is lost, a world which has tremendous need. God has given to us the opportunity to tell men that there is a Savior, that there is a heaven, that there is a salvation, and that you can have your sins forgiven, and that you can have fellowship with God, that you can be a found one instead of a lost one in Jesus Christ. And I hope that every one of you this morning are using the opportunities as the fugitives come by, the refugees of this world system cross by you and cross your path from day to day. I hope that you have a mouth that is open to share with them this glorious and wonderful news. You know in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 we read that God has given to every one of us as believers His word to share with the world. It says God has given to us the word of reconciliation. But God has not just given that word to a few believers such as the pastors or the missionaries. No, He's given this word to every believer. And then He says He has given to us a ministry with that word. He said, I've given you the word of reconciliation and I've given to every Christian the ministry of reconciliation. So that you have a ministry. And then he says, I've given to every one of you a title. You are all ambassadors. Oh, isn't it nice to be an ambassador this morning who has a voice and a mouth that's able to speak? You have a message. You have a word. You have a title. You have everything you need to share this message of comfort with a lost and dying and despairing world. Are there souls today in despair? Are there souls in your neighborhood where you work that are lost? You have the message they need, and your tongue has been loosed. I hope that like Ezekiel of old, when they come your way, that you will sit down with them and you will give them the message of hope and encouragement that they are looking for. Now as we look into this chapter today, we find that God is changing Ezekiel's ministry. Before this time, he has been telling the children of Israel that God is going to judge them because of their wickedness. And God has judged them and is going to continue to judge them out there in the future. But notice what he says, beginning in this 25th chapter. He turns away from a message to the children of Israel, and God gives to him a message to the rest of the nations that are gathered around the nation of Israel. God calls Ezekiel here to become a real estate agent, but not a very popular real estate agent. He's called him to be a real estate agent to serve eviction notices. I don't know whether he's a real estate agent or a sheriff's deputy. I haven't made up my mind, which it is. But God has given to Ezekiel seven eviction notices. And he says, Ezekiel, I want you to serve these notices to the seven nations around Israel. Now, what are their names? The nation of Ammon, the nation of Moab, the nation of Edom, the nation of Philistia, the nation of Tyre, the nation of Sidon, and the nation of Egypt. And in these chapters that are before us, we're going to see Ezekiel reading off these eviction notices. There's a verse in 1 Peter 4 that presents to us a biblical principle upon which these chapters are based. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. Let me read it to you. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, then where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Now what is he saying here? He's saying there's a biblical principle that we better be aware of, and it is this, that God is not afraid to send judgment to his own when they disobey. He said judgment begins at the house of God. God spanks his own before he spanks the others. I hope you do that. It's a good policy to spank your own children before you spank the neighbors, if you spank the neighbors at all. But if you're going to spank the neighbors, be sure you spank your own first. It's a good principle. Now this is what God is saying here. He's saying judgment begins at the house of God. And this is what God had been doing. God had given to the nation of Israel tremendous light, tremendous opportunities. They had had revelation after revelation of God and His greatness and His goodness. And in the face of all of that revelation, they turned their back on God. I'd like to say to you this morning, that when we as Christians deliberately turn our back and disobey the word of God, we can be sure that eventually God will spank us and God will deal with us. You cannot rebel against God deliberately and willfully and knowingly over and over again and not expect God to reach down and deal with you as he did with the nation of Israel. But Peter says, if God spanks his own, how much worse is it going to be when God deals with those who do not believe? Now the nations around Israel had been used to bring judgment upon Israel. When Israel turned its back on God and went into idolatry, God let the Philistines capture them, or the Ammonites capture them, or enslave them. And these nations had been all too willing tools. They had just been so happy to be used as God's instruments of judgment. They had paid no attention to a promise that God had made to the nation of Israel way back there in the very beginning. In Genesis chapter 12, it tells us that when God called Abraham out, he said, Abraham, I'm going to make a great nation of you. And he said, the nations that bless you, I will bless. But the nations that curse your nation and your people, God says, I will do what to those nations? I will curse them. And history bears out for us the testimony that the nations that have been hard upon the nation of Israel, the nations that have persecuted Israel, the nations that have attacked Israel, those nations have been touched and destroyed by God. And the nations that have been kind to Israel and the nations that have blessed Israel and have given sanctuary to the people of God, those nations have been blessed of God. And that has been true in ancient history and it is also true in modern history. And it's interesting to look back through the pages of history and to see there the wreckage of the nations that lifted their hand against Israel. It's a fulfillment of God's prophecy and God's promise to Abraham when that nation began. One of the things that I have always been grateful of and thankful of is that we as Americans have been kind to Israel. That we have openly offered sanctuary to the members of the nation of Israel here in our country. Oh, there's persecution. There is anti-Semitism in America, but the government has not supported it and condoned it. And we as a nation have been kind and friendly toward the recently re-established state of Israel, and I thank God for it. They say, Pastor, not all of the Israelites deserve our blessing. There are some pretty mean, ornery Jews and crooked Israelites. There certainly are, just as there are crooked Gentiles, too. Yes, there are. But God isn't speaking about the individual. Listen, if a Jew gets out of line and disobeys the law, he ought to be thrown into the jail just like anyone else that disobeys and breaks the law. Isn't that right? The Word of God doesn't say the special dispensation is to be given to them, but God says it on a national basis, that when we bless the nation of Israel, that God will bless us. And when we curse the nation of Israel, then God will curse that nation. And history bears out that this is exactly what takes place. Now listen. We better be very careful. that we do not harbor anti-Semitic feelings toward this nation that God has chosen as his own, simply because of their background. You know, I get alarmed when I hear people talk this way, and I get concerned when I hear some of God's children and God's people at times who come out with strong anti-Semitic statements. It is amazing to me that at times I have heard some people who were born-again believers who will openly speak out disparagingly of the people of God. The Bible is just as true today and that promise is just as clear today as it was in the day that it was written. I will bless the nations that bless you and I will curse the nations that curse you. And I believe that one of the reasons that God has seen fit to withhold some of the judgment that we as a nation justly deserve today is because of the fact that we at least as a nation have been giving sanctuary to the people of Israel and to God's chosen race. Chosen people, not race. Excuse me, I didn't want to use that word. Now, you know it's a wonderful thing to recognize that there isn't a nation on the world today that has a permanent lease on any portion of ground save one. The only nation in the Bible that has a permanent lease on a piece of ground is Israel. Did you know that? And I'm kind of concerned for the Arabs because they're always wanting to take it away from them. You know, I wouldn't be in their shoes for anything. Say why? Would you be afraid of the United Nations or the United States? Oh, no. No, no. No, no. The United States, the United Nations wouldn't bother me at all. But it's God. You see, way back there in the Old Testament, God said to Abraham that this land, as far as he could see, would belong to him and to his people. And then God reaffirmed that to David and to others in the Old Testament scriptures. And God said, this land is yours. And as I have searched through the Bible, there's not one other nation that has a permanent lease. All of the rest of us are on temporary permits. Did you know that? And you know, there's a comment here that I think we ought to take note of in reference to the world today. You know, the Bible tells us that you don't have right to a land because your forefathers possessed it. You know, we have a lot of conflict and trouble in America today because some people are telling us, well, we are the ones that ought to own this land because our forefathers owned it. I'd like you to remember that the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 17 was writing, was preaching to the Grecian people on Mars Hill. And you might like to turn there. Acts chapter 17 is where we'd like to go for just a moment or two. And in Acts chapter 17, we read some interesting things that Paul mentions to these Greek people. Now, the Greeks were in charge there, but they hadn't always possessed this land. There were others that had belonged, the Hittites and some of the others that had been there before. But now the Greeks were there. They owned this land. Alexander the Great had brought this great empire into being, and the Grecian empire had swept over all of the world, and Athens was a totally Greek city now. Years before, it had been some other culture. But now it was Greek. And the Apostle Paul, writing here, says, In verse 24, God who made the world and all things in it, seeing that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. He said, you know, I want you Greeks to know that God made the world and God is king in the world. He's sovereign. And he said, I want you to know that everything that's in the world God made and you by the way he said you don't need any all these statues you have around here because you see Athens was the most statue filled city that you could imagine there were altars to every God imaginable and they wanted to make sure that they had every God included so they had erected a special altar to the unknown God and Paul had stood by that altar and he said I have come here today to tell you who the unknown God is Now, I want you to be careful to note something here, that they had erected an altar to the unknown God, not to any unknown God or a supposed ungod if there be one there. No, the Grecians, philosophers, had come to the conclusion that there was a God, but they didn't know who he was. Socrates had said, if there be a God, I don't see how he could forgive sin. And they had said, there's a God out there somewhere that we don't know about. So they had not erected this altar to any unknown God, or in case they left one out, but they had erected this altar to the unknown God. And Paul says, it's well that you recognize his presence, because he is there, and I know him, and he made heaven and earth. But he said he isn't worshipped with men's hands. You don't need these statues and all of these things. And he gives all life and breath to all things. He said this God is the one who gives life and he takes it. You know, many times we wouldn't give it and take it from our human viewpoint, advantage point, as God does. But isn't it good to know that life is in God's hands? And God knows the end from the beginning. And God loves us. And so God gives to us the days that we have here on this earth. Your life is not in the hands of the doctor. It's not in the hands of the president. It's not in the hands of the army. It's not in the hands of the communist world. Your life is in the hands of God. The Bible says God gives it and God takes it away according to His sovereign will. You cannot live one moment longer than Almighty God wants you to live. And it's comforting to me to know that I'm going to live here as long as God wants me here. And when He takes me home, it'll be because it's the best time. The best time. And I believe that with all my heart. Yes, I do. And the Apostle Paul reminded him of that here. He said, listen. He said, God is the one who gives life, and God who gives breath, and God gives all things. And then he goes on, and he says, and God is made of one blood, all nations. You know, people often ask me, how many races does the Bible say there are? The Bible doesn't even mention the term race. That's a human manufacture. When I was in school, we were taught that there were three races. Now the anthropology classes say there are 35 and more. But the Bible says there's only one, the human race. And here's the Bible statement on race, God made of one blood all nations. And you know that's true. You can take a black man and a Chinese man and a Caucasian man. That's what my Chinese friends call me, Caucasian. So that's why I use it. Whenever I go down to speak at the Chinese church, they always say, we're glad to have our Caucasian friend, Pastor Graves here. I got up and said, why do you call me that? How would you like to be called? Caucasian. And you know, you can take the blood of any of those, and it fits perfectly in the blood of all the others. My type happens to be A negative, and you can take an A negative black man, and his blood fits me, and my blood fits him. And it fits the Chinese man, and his fits mine. The Bible's right. He made of one blood all nations. There's a human race. The Bible doesn't divide it all up. and get us into all of the problems that are supported by these divisions. Notice what he said. And it says, God has determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their nations. And he has set all the nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth. He says, God tells a nation how long they can live there and how long they can't. And just because your father lived here and roamed the hills a hundred years ago or three hundred years ago, if God says that, if God has given it to another nation, it's because their time is up. And no nation possesses a particle of ground except by God's order, and God's allowance. And through the history of the world, we see that one nation after another has possessed the land, and another nation has come along and supplanted them. And the Bible says that God is the one who does it. So, fella, when you come around to me and tell me that this land belongs to you because your great-great-grandfather hunted possum on it, I say, if God has us here, then it's ours. Your lease is expired, and our lease is in effect. My, I wish we could get the people of the world to see this. This is what he was saying to these Greeks here. He said, you see, God gives out the leases, and one nation has it, and God puts them out, and God brings another one in, and he makes a definite statement here. He said, God determines the boundaries of nations. Now, do you believe that? Do you believe it? I do. It's in the book. Let me read it to you again. God has made all the nations of men to dwell on the earth, and God has determined beforehand the times of the nations, and the appointments, and the bounds of their habitations. In other words, God has written out a lease. I don't know how long the lease the United States has, is. But I know this, that it's all written out in God's terms. And God has appointed that the United States of America can possess this land and God has a termination date on it for us. Did you know that? And when the lease is up, you know where we're going? You know where we're going when the lease is up? Out. Out. Now with that in mind, let's see what Ezekiel's busy doing back here in the 25th chapter. Did you think I was never going to get back here? Ezekiel chapter 25. He said, Ezekiel, I want you to read some eviction notices. Here they are, seven. Now, as we study these eviction notices, we're going to notice that they don't all have permanent eviction notices. The first four are going to be put out for good. They're never going to get back. But one of them is going to come back. The one he has for Egypt is interesting. He says, I want you to tell the Egyptians that they're going to be kicked out for a while, and I'm going to let them come back in. There are still Egyptians in the world today, aren't there? Has the nation of Egypt survived? Yes, it has. Have you ever met an Egyptian? Certainly. How about an Edomite? How many Edomites have you run across? We've certainly run across a lot of Edolots, but not very many Edomites. That's just a little pun. All right. How many Moabites have you met? How many Philistines live in your neighborhood? We have some Lebanese. You see, Lebanon was a nation that was in existence in Bible times, and it's still there today. I have some Syrian friends. Syria was there, and it's still here today. And I have Egyptian friends. Egypt was there, and it's still there today. But the Philistines are gone, and the Moabites are gone, and the Edomites are gone, and the Ammonites are gone. And you know why? Because Ezekiel read them their eviction notices. And God says they were out, and they would never come back. And God makes no mistakes. Well, we have four nations here that got kicked out. Now, God had a good reason for it. You know, if you evict somebody, you better have a good reason. Isn't that right? And here's the reason. Reason number one. Look at it there. Verse two. I want you to talk to the children of Ammon, and I want you to say, Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them, and say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God, thus saith the Lord, because thou hast said, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate. Behold, I will deliver you to the men of the east. In other words, he said, you're a nation of scoffers. You're a nation of unbelievers. The nation of Ammon was a nation that lived on the east side of the river Jordan. It is known today as the country of Jordan. They possessed the land on the east side from the river Arnon to the river Jabbok. And the chief city was the city of Rabbah, which is mentioned here. Today that same city is in existence, and it is known as the city of Ammon, the capital of Jordan. And God said to these Ammonites, I'm going to put you out because you're a nation of scoffers. You rejoiced when you saw my temple laid to the ground. You said, aha, you see, we told you all the time, there is no God. Those Israelites have been talking about their God. They've been worshiping in their temple. They've been saying that there's a God. But look, now the temple's gone. Their God has been evicted. There is no God in Israel. It's just like we already said, aha, aha, aha. And you know there are scoffers in the world today. You know there are people in the world today who say, there is no God. I don't believe in God. My son came back last weekend from Santa Barbara where he's been going to college. And he said, you know dad, he said the thing that appalls me and really, really surprises me is the large amount of kids that I meet who say they are atheists. Now why do they believe this? Because they have many professors who say the same thing. And they believe. Somebody wants to come in, tell them they're invited. They believe that there is no God, and they laugh, and they make fun of the fact of God. The Bible says these kind of people are fools. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. What's going to happen to the scoffers? The word of God reveals to us that one day every scoffer will come to the realization that there is a God, because the Bible says that one of these days every knee shall bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. My friend, one of these days In disbelief, you will stand before him in judgment, and as the judgment of God comes upon your soul, you will admit and you will confess, I was wrong. And the God whom I scoffed at, the God whom I said did not exist, He is here, and He has sent me to this place. And now I believe, but it'll be too late." Yes, that's what the Bible says, that many will come to the knowledge of God through judgment, and that's exactly what happened here. Notice what it says. For thus saith the Lord God, in verse 6, Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with thy feet, and rejoiced with thine heart, despite all against the land of Israel, behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and I will deliver thee for a spoil to the nations, and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the nations, and I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. God says, I'm going to wipe you out. There will not be a nation called Ammon, in the world, and the Ammonites will be completely cut off from the earth. They will not exist. And dear friends, I challenge you this morning, how many Ammonites do you know? And the answer is none, because the Ammonites were cut off totally and completely because God said their lease was up. Isn't that amazing how God knows the future and God brings prophecy into fulfillment exactly as he says? Now the next nation was the nation of Moab. By the way, Moab and Ammon were started by two brothers. or half-brothers, and their beginning was very grievous indeed. You see, Lot and his two daughters were the only survivors of God's judgment on the city of Sodom. And Lot, in total despair, went into a cave with these two daughters, and he got drunk with wine that they gave him. And in the midst of that drunken stupor, Lot conceived two incestuous children with these daughters. And the name of the first was Ammon, and he was the father of the Ammonites. And the name of the second was Moab, and he was the father of the Moabites. And that's where these Ammonites and Moabites came from. Now, where are the Moabites? Where did they live? They lived just south of the Ammonites. And they lived south there of the Ammonites, clear down to Mount Seir. And they were a very prosperous, industrious, wealthy country. They were militarily strong, and they had existed for hundreds of years. But they were skeptical. Verse 8, it says, Thus saith the Lord, Because Moab and Sirdu say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all nations. Therefore, behold, I will open the sight of Moab from the cities which are its frontiers, and the glory of the country of Beth, Jesh, Math, and the rest of these cities that are named there. We won't take time to go over them now. Why did God say He was going to evict them? Because they said, The nation of Israel is like all other nations. They didn't say there wasn't a God. They didn't scoff at God. But they just said, I'm just not sure. I just really can't believe. You know, that's where the vast majority of young people and Americans are today. America is filled today with skeptics. Skepticism is one of the popular themes of our day. I'm just not sure. I just don't believe. I'm not fully persuaded. I just have reservations. Second Peter says, the Bible says, scoffers will come in the last day saying, where is the promise of his coming? Why from the very beginning all things have continued like they are? I just can't believe that Jesus Christ is coming back. I just can't believe that God came down and died. I just can't be sure that these things are really true. And so because I can't be sure, I just won't believe. That's a skeptic. And God says, because you are skeptics, and because you haven't believed, then God says, notice what he says, I will, in verse 11, I will execute judgments on Moab, and they shall know that I am the God, that I am Jehovah. Notice what it says in verse 10, and they may not be remembered among the nation. He said, I will cast them out. He said, Ezekiel, tell them, your lease is up. You're going to be kicked out, and the world will never remember and know that you existed because you will not remain in existence as a nation. And so it is that Moab was conquered. They were taken over, and they passed totally out of existence as a nation. So search the world as much as you can today, and you will not be able to find a Moabite. Are there any Moabites in the United Nations? Why, if you asked the average person today if he had a Moabite, he'd think you're talking about some kind of an insect. You see, you can make a pun out of all of these nations, can't you? Well, the next one is the Edomites. Who are the Edomites? Where did they come from? Why, they are the blood brothers of the nation of Israel. These are the descendants of Esau. Genesis chapter 36 tells us that the Edomites were fathered by Esau. Esau was the brother of Jacob. Jacob fathered the Israelites through Isaac and Abraham, and Esau fathered the Edomites. Esau, the Bible tells us in Hebrews, was a profane man, a rebellious man, a wicked man. He followed not after God, and he brought up a nation of people who were against God and who were against the people of God. And what was their sin? The Bible says, Thus saith the Lord God, in verse 12, Because Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance. and have greatly offended and revenged himself upon them." God says, I'm going to deal with Edom. And he said, Ezekiel, tell them their lease is up because they have been guilty of having vengeance and taking revenge. You know, the New Testament says a lot to us today about vengeance. Do you know that vengeance will always destroy the one who participates in it? Did you know that you cannot get even and not pay the consequences in your own life? In Romans chapter 12, the Bible says, Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay. When I talked to the young people in Bible school, I said, learn quickly in life never to get even with anybody. There's two reasons for it. First of all, because God says not to do it. And secondly, because if you attempt to get even, you always bring more trouble on yourself. Why? Because when a boy hits you on the arm and you hit him back, you never get even because you always hit him a little harder than he hit you. And so you got even and a little more. And so then he has to get even. And so he gets even back and he usually gets even and a little more and you never get even. Isn't that right? It works that same way in houses. A husband does something that makes his wife mad, she says, I'll fix him for that, and she does. She burns the potatoes, or she does something that she knows is going to get him. And he comes home, and he knows that she's done it, and he is aware that it's happened, and he realizes she's gotten even with me, and that vengeance begins to rise in him, and he says, well, I'll fix her. And so he fixes her, and then she fixes him, and they get even, and they never get even, and they go back and forth, and pretty soon their lives are destroyed because of vengeance. The Word of God is clear that vengeance will always destroy the life of the person who participates in it. And every time you allow vengeance and bitterness to be harbored in your soul and in your life, it will eventually destroy you. Did you know that? Well, you say, what are you going to do, Pastor Graves? When somebody does something, when they get me, they ought to pay for it. They certainly should. And the Bible says, turn them over to God. There's nobody that pays better than he does. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay. And I've found it a very delightful thing to be able to turn matters of this kind over to the Lord and know that he's going to take care of it far better than I could. Believe that? I know that's the way it is. I know it. And dear Christians, we can learn some lessons here for ourselves this morning. That God said to this nation, because of your vengeance, God says, I will lay my vengeance upon you. And God says, by the way, Edom, do you know who's going to do it to you? Israel. Notice that in verse 14. And I will send my people Israel, and they will do you in. He said, Edom, you're going to be evicted. And he said, you know who's going to evict you? The same folks that you've been trying to evict. He said, they have a permanent lease and you have a temporary one. Yours is up and they're going to fix you. Now, it didn't take place until about another 500 years went by. But in 136 B.C., you know what happened? The Maccabees led the Israelites in a resurgence and a man by the name of Hierarchus in 136 B.C. went into the land of Edom and he totally captured the whole land of Edom. And he took all the men that were left, and he forced them to go through the rite of circumcision and become assimilated into the Jewish nation as synthetic Jews. And from that time forth, the nation of Edom passed out of existence. You see, why did that happen? Because God said that that would be their end. God said, your lease is up. And God says, when your lease is up, I'm going to send Israel to be my sheriff. And history tells us that this is exactly what happened. Our time is up, so we won't talk about the last one today, except to say the last one. In verse 15 we read, Thus saith the Lord God, Because the Philistines have dealt revenge and have taken vengeance, with a despiteful heart to destroy it, for the old hatred. He said, I'm going to deal with the Philistines because they have been ruled by hatred. There's one other thing that I believe this brings to our attention, and that is this, that each person is individually responsible for the attitude of the nation in which he lives. It's easy for us to say, well, I just don't like our government, and I'm against our leaders, and I'm in this country, but I'm certainly not a part of what it's doing. But the Bible says that God sees fit to bring judgment on the entire nation for the character or personality of that nation. For you see, a nation and its leaders are what the people of that nation allow to be in existence. Did you know that? So when you criticize your president, and when you criticize your elected leaders, and when you criticize what our country is doing, we need to be aware of the fact that our country is us. And God put whole nations out. Not because of what their rulers were doing, and not just the rulers, but God made the whole nation suffer. Why? Because the whole nation bears the responsibility for what the nation does. You say, we have a bunch of crooks in the White House, in Washington. Now, let's leave the White House out of it. People have said, we have a bunch of crooked politicians filling the legislature and the Senate and the Congress in Washington. Well, let me ask you a question. Who put them there? Where did these crooks come from? They emerged from our society, from our homes, from our civilization. You say, Pastor, I don't go along with everything that they're doing. I have individual things, and I know that many of us today do deplore some of the things that are taking place. But, dear friends, we need to recognize, too, that part of the responsibility has to lie with us. And we need to be doing everything we can. And the greatest thing that you can do for your country is to do what God says to do, and that is to get on your knees every day and spend about a half an hour praying for it. And you know what's tragic to me today is this, that most of God's people in America today that are born again hardly ever pray for the president. And yet God says that's one of the major responsibilities of Christians, to pray for your rulers and for kings and for those that are in authority so that we can have a peaceful life. Did you know that? I wonder if we took a poll here this morning and asked how many of you people, how much time do you spend every week praying for President Ford, I just wonder how many hours of prayer we would find had been offered up for the President. Think about it. God judges nations because of the personalities which nations assume. And our nation has a personality today, and that personality is our responsibility. This nation had a personality. One of them was hateful. These nations had personalities. One of them was scoffing. One of them was a skeptical nation. One of them was a jealous nation, a vengeful nation. The next one is a selfish nation that we're going to see. All of them were evicted because of these sins in their national personality. May God help us as Americans to pray for our country and to witness for Jesus Christ, so that the personality of our nation will be one which God would be pleased to have as a tenant. Let me ask you a question. If you were God looking down today, would you be happy to have us as your tenants? God looked down at the Philistines and said, I can't have them as tenants anymore. I have to evict them. I can't have the Edomites anymore. I have to evict them. I can't have these anymore. I have to evict them. I wonder, Almighty God, what you think of America today. Oh, may God help us to be the kind of tenants that God would say, I'm pleased to have you. I'm extending the lease. I should have saved that for Fourth of July Sunday, right? Oh, well, we'll be in this for a while. Next Sunday morning, The Selfish Nation. Shall we bow in prayer? My dear friends, wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if someone here this morning would say, I've been skeptical I've been an unbeliever. I've never trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if there'd be some here today who'd say, Pastor, you know, God has spoken to my heart today. I'm going to believe the gospel. I'm going to believe the record of salvation. Dear friend, everything necessary for your salvation is a completed thing, a completed fact. All of your sins have been paid for. Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid for each one of them. This morning you can have salvation, forgiveness of sins, fellowship with God, and all that goes with it as a free gift just for the taking. If I were here today and I didn't know Christ, I'd accept him right now as my Savior. How do you become a Christian? The Bible says if you'll confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be a Christian. While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I wonder if you'd be willing to just right now accept Him in your heart. Just join with me, if you will, in this simple, quiet prayer. Say, Lord Jesus Christ. Just say it in your heart. Lord Jesus Christ, I know that I'm a sinner. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. I believe you rose again from the dead. And right now I accept you and trust you as my Savior. I confess you as the only one who can save me." Thank you for saving me. Dear friend, we have a book that we give to every new Christian. I'd love to see that you get one today. I wonder if you'd be willing to slip your hand up just where you are and say, Pastor, I wasn't sure, but I trusted Christ. I prayed with you today. I joined in that prayer. Would you slip your hand up and say, Pastor, I'd like you to know that I'm a new Christian. I'd love to see that you get a book as you leave this morning. We'd be happy to know that you're a new Christian, too. Anyone at all, just slip your hand up just where you are. We'll see it and we'll rejoice with you in your newfound faith. Anyone? Father, we're grateful today for the Word of God, what blessing and assurance it gives to us. We thank you, Lord, that life belongs to you, that it's in your hands, that the courses of nation are ordered by you. Oh God, help us as a nation to walk worthy of thee, to recognize you in all of our ways, to be the kind of tenants that bring glory to your name. This message has been brought to you by the Santa Rosa Bible Church. Our mission is to see the lost reached and believers transformed by Jesus. You can find out more information about us at our website at srbible.org. Or you can visit us in person at 4575 Badger Road in Santa Rosa, California. You can also reach us by phone at 707-538-2385.