Christian Education and Discipleship

Make America Great Again

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Education and Discipleship

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2025-07-27

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines the phrase 'Make America Great Again' through the lens of Isaiah 30, arguing that America's original greatness was its Christian foundation and biblical law. He contends that the nation fell by turning to humanistic counsel and trusting in the arm of the flesh rather than God. True restoration requires repentance, returning to God's counsel, and trusting in Him alone, not in political or military might.

[John Weaver] Isaiah chapter 30 we will read the first 15 verses Isaiah chapter 30 and look if you would please at verse 1 Isaiah 30 and verse 1 God says woe to the rebellious children saith the Lord that take counsel, but not of me and and the cover of the covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, that walk to go down into Egypt and have not ask it my mouth to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be to your shame and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

[John Weaver] For his princes were at Zohan and his ambassadors came to Haines. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be in help nor profit but a shame and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south into the land of trouble and anguish from whence come the young and the old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent. They will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses and their treasures upon the bunches of camels to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose, therefore have I cried concerning this, their strength is to sit still.

[John Weaver] Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be before the time to come for ever and ever. That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, Speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon, therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out into a high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. and he shall break it as the breaking of a potter's vessel that is broken in pieces.

[John Weaver] He shall not spare, so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd, or a shard, to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. For thus said the Lord, the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, in returning and rest shall you be saved, and quietness and confidence shall be your strength, and you would not."

[John Weaver] Now the title of the message today, is make America great again. Everyone has heard that phrase. In fact, all you have to do is just use the letters MAGA and everyone still understands at the same time. But when you think about that, make America great again, have you ever pondered about the word great? How it's used, what the emphasis is, and what it means. One dictionary defined great as the quality or the state of being great as in size, skill, achievement, or power. It should be obvious then that the word is going to have a different emphasis and maybe even a different meaning depending upon how it is going to be used.

[John Weaver] For instance, Greatness for a wealthy man is his riches and the ability to accumulate more riches. Again, greatness for the power hungry man is the ability to control situations and other people as well. Greatness for the military minded man would be winning battles and also conquering nations. A greatness for the scholar would be accumulation of books and knowledge. And then, of course, greatness for the sickly man would be the ability to overcome his sickness and to maintain his health.

[John Weaver] So when you think about this statement, make America great again, I said, you know, there's two basic questions. Actually, there would be three basic questions. The first one would be, what was the original greatness of America? The second question would be, when and how Did we lose that greatness if we must make America great again? And the third question would be, how would we restore America to greatness once we understood that that greatness was lost? Well, let me tell you, when America was first founded, its greatness lay in the way that it was founded and the way that it was established. Most of these individuals who came to America came with a biblical worldview.

[John Weaver] The Bible says in Psalm 32 and verse 12, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. But now listen to that. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. So when the pilgrims came here, the Puritans and the Scots-Irish, they settled America based upon their faith and also based upon their Christian worldview. Now, in times past, I've pointed out that all the original charters and constitutions of the colonies, and later on in the states, were all definitively Christian.

[John Weaver] And they stated that very plainly. Now, I'm not going to read all of those today. I do have copies of all of the original charters and the constitutions, but I'm going to point out the fact that this was indeed a Christian nation based upon the fact that it was based upon Biblical law. For instance, John Jay happened to be the very first Supreme Court Justice. He was appointed by George Washington. I want to give you two quotes by John Jay. Here's the first one. Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country one united people. A people descended from the same ancestors speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and their customs." Isn't that amazing? He said, when we came here, we were just one people. We had the same ancestors. We spoke the same language. We had the same religion. Here's a second quote.

[John Weaver] Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect and who are not always wise and virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, that was the very first Supreme Court justice. Now, Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. And Benjamin Rush was talking about using the Bible as a textbook. I'm not going to give you his entire speech, but I am going to give you his five points and then a paragraph. So listen to what he said. He said, Before I state my argument, Favor of teaching children to read by means of the Bible Think about this teaching children to read by means of the Bible.

[John Weaver] I shall assume the five following propositions number one that Christianity is the only true and perfect religion and that in proportion as mankind Adopt its principles and obey its precepts. They will be wise and happy. Number two, that a better knowledge of this religion or Christianity is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way. Number three, that the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world. Number four, that knowledge is most durable and religious instruction most useful when imparted early in life. And number five, that the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life. Hmm. Now, he says this.

[John Weaver] In contemplating the political institutions of the United States, if the Bible was removed from the classroom, I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little time and pains to prevent them. We profess to be Republicans, now this is not the Republican Party, but a Republican form of government, which is a government by law. He says, we profess to be Republicans and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our Republican forms of government, that is the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible.

[John Weaver] For this divine book above all favors that equality among men and respect for just laws and those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism. So here's Benjamin Rush, the signer of the Declaration, saying, we ought to be teaching our young people to read based upon the Bible. We ought to be instilling these principles now while they are young. And of course, he's saying, we're taking great pains to punish the criminals, and we're taking no pains to prevent the criminals from being around.

[John Weaver] Now, very quickly, let me just show you some of the early constitutions and charters. The first one is Article 1 of the Constitution of Connecticut in 1639, and here's what they say. Hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they are to perform to God and men, as well in families and in commonwealths, that's government, as in matters of the church.

[John Weaver] So they said the Bible is the answer. It doesn't matter if you're talking about ecclesiology, doesn't matter if you're talking about government, doesn't matter if you're talking about individuals or families, the Bible is the answer. The New Haven colony, Charter in April the 3rd, 1644, adopted these rules for the courts of the New Haven colony. And here's what they said, the judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses, are to be a rule to all the courts in this jurisdiction. So the Bible was the biblical law book.

[John Weaver] And then the Constitution of the state of Tennessee in 1796, Article 8, Section 2, No person who denies the being of God or a future state of rewards and punishment shall hold any office in the civil department of this state." So I could multiply these constitutions and these charters because they all basically said the same thing. Some went a little further that you had to confess faith in both the Old and the New Testaments as being the inspired Word of God as well as Jesus Christ, the Mediator and the Redeemer. Over and over they were stated very plainly, and they were saying that Christianity was the rule and the law of God was the standard.

[John Weaver] So we have to ask this question, what happened and why did we fall? So using scriptural language, I will tell you, we fell because basically we turned our backs upon God and we refused to listen to Him and His Word. Instead of being a scripture loving people we began to listen then to what was known as rationalism Transcendentalism and humanistic enlightenment or what I would just simply refer to as pure humanism now it transpired first in the north you had the northern people and embracing rationalism and humanism.

[John Weaver] That's why you had the Unitarians. That's why you had the enlightened rationalists. That's why you had the abolitionists there as well. And of course, the South at that time was holding tenaciously to the word of God. But when you came to the war in 1861 to 1865, which is sometimes referred to as the War of Northern Aggression. Many viewed that as a religious war where the North was seeking to force the thinking of rationalism upon the South. And when you read some of the Southern theologians, you find out that they did indeed view it as a religious war. I don't care which scholar you read when it comes to the true history of what happened.

[John Weaver] Every one of them is going to say this, that we went into that war as what you and I would call independent states in a constitutional republic, and we came out of that war as an American empire, and we've been going downhill ever It was Lincoln who destroyed the Constitution to save the Constitution. He was going to deny the Constitution, he said, to save the Union. So let me just make some statements. An aggressive, growing, and multiplying economy does not necessarily make a great nation. A mighty military does not necessarily make a great nation. A proud, independent, arrogant, haughty, and self-elevating people do not make a great nation. Treaties with foreign countries do not necessarily make a great nation as well. Oh, let me just try to summarize what I just said with this statement.

[John Weaver] Man's abilities to build, make, guard, produce, and protect are worthless. We have forgotten the truth of Psalm 127 in verse 1, where the Bible says, except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain to build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

[John Weaver] Now mighty nations have fallen and sunk into absolute nothingness. Israel did, the northern kingdom. So did Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom. But that does not even count what you and I would call the heathen nations that have disappeared But I want you to look if you would please in Isaiah chapter 30 in verse 1 to begin with look at this God says woe to the rebellious children saith the Lord That take counsel, but not of me and that cover with a covering but not of my spirit that they may add sin to sin now note if you would he says woe to the rebellious children and Now, if you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to Isaiah chapter 1, you will see that Isaiah began

[John Weaver] his ministry here by saying the same truth. Look, if you would, in Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 1. The visions of Isaiah, the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nursed and brought up children, and they rebelled against me.

[John Weaver] The ox north is owner, and the ass is master's crib. But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." So, I want you to look back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 1, because in this verse there are three charges that are laid against Israel, and that would be the Northern Kingdom as well as the Southern Kingdom, and particularly the Southern Kingdom. For in verse 1 he says, Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] Here's the first charge, that take counsel, but not of me. Here's the second charge, that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit. And here's the third charge, that they may add sin to sin. Now, I want you to note, if you would, the first charge. He says, Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me. So they are now being charged with seeking what you and I would call alien counsel. They sought counsel. But it was not God's counsel. Now let me just point this out that every counsel and any and all counsel that is not God's counsel for God's people is an alien counsel. So here's an important truth to remember. Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.

[John Weaver] Since the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom would not listen to God, and God knew that they would not listen, it was prophesied back in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 28. Here's what God said of them. For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. They're a nation void of counsel. I want you to hold Isaiah 30, but look back in your Bibles to Psalm 81, again, in what God said concerning them.

[John Weaver] And this, of course, is after he had led them through the wilderness and established them many, many times and many years as well. So look, if you would, in Psalm 81, beginning there with verse 10, Psalm 81, verse 10. And look at the truth that God enunciates in this particular point. Here's what he said. Psalm 81 verse 10. I'm the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. Now look at verse 11.

[John Weaver] But my people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up into their own hearts' lust, and they walked in their own counsels. So they refused God's counsel, but they walked in their own counsel, which is an alien counsel, because man's counsel cannot in any degree compare to God's counsel at all.

[John Weaver] Now, so let me give you an illustration of this. You remember in Joshua chapter 9, how the Amorites came to deceive the children of Israel and get them to enter into a covenant with them. So what did they do? They put on old rotten clothes and shoes that were falling apart and they got molded bread and old wine bottles. And they came to Joshua and to the elders there and said, we want you to make a covenant with us.

[John Weaver] Well, where are you from? Oh, we be from a far country. And we've heard the greatness in the name of God. And we want we want to worship him and we want to be in covenant with you. And you know what? Here's what the Bible says in Joshua 9 in verse 14, and the men took of their vittles and asked not counsel of the Lord. So they just looked at the rotted clothes and the shoes and look at the molded bread and the old wine bottle.

[John Weaver] They thought, man, these folks have traveled a long, long way. And they ended up making a covenant, found out they were their neighbors next door. Well, why in the world did they do that? Well, they knew they were going to be destroyed and they didn't want to be destroyed. And I can understand that. But they deceive them. And the reason they were deceived, they did not ask counsel of the Lord. So when men then refuse and reject and despise the counsel of God that is given to us in his word, it will always be to their destruction and also to their devastation.

[John Weaver] And the same thing is true when it applies to societies or families. churches or even to nations so humanistic wisdom and humanistic counsel is always against God and his word now if you'll turn in your Bibles very quickly holding Isaiah 30 and look if you would please at Psalm 33 Psalm 33 and look at verses 10 and 11 Psalm 33 10 and 11 look at what the Bible says Psalm 33 and verse 10, here it is. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught.

[John Weaver] He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Note if you would, the counsel of the Lord standeth forever. What does he do about the wicked counsel? He brings it to naught. He makes the devices of the people of none effect. So when you follow your own counsel and when you follow the counsel of the wicked, you're just asking for destruction and devastation. The Bible tells you in Proverbs 21 in verse 30, there is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord. So none of the counsel that anyone can give that's contrary to scripture and that's contrary to God is going to stand. It cannot stand because it's against God.

[John Weaver] So let me make a statement, and I want you to think about this with me. Think about our government today. Think about our government for the last four years. It's absolutely astounding to me and amazing that our political leaders will listen to anyone and everyone and anything except those who are teaching them the Word of God and the truth of God. They listen to all the people who are teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion. They listen to all the LGBTQ people. They listen to anyone and everyone. They listen to all of those who will give the wrong directions on the economy and what money really truly is. They listen to anybody and everybody except God and except his word It's just that simple when at the same time it is God Who can either raise a nation or destroy a nation? It's God who can either make a ruler or destroy a ruler Let me show you look back in your Bibles to the book of Job right before the book of Psalms Job 12 Job chapter 12 and let's begin reading there with verse 16 Job chapter 12 and verse 16 and I want you

[John Weaver] to note if you would please What the Bible says specifically? Concerning God in the nations. So look at this Job chapter 12 and we're going to begin there with verse 16 With him that is with God is strength and wisdom the deceived and the deceiver or his Healeth counselors away spoiled and maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings and girdeth their loins with a girdle. Healeth princes away spoiled and overthroweth a mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trustee and taketh away the understanding of the age. He poureth contempt upon princes and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

[John Weaver] He discovered deep things out of darkness and bring it out to light the shadow of death here. Look at this. He increases the nations and destroy them. He enlarged the nations and straightened them again. He take it away. The heart of the chief of the people of the earth and cause of them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grow up in the dark without light and he making them stagger like a drunken man now I want you to note verse 24. He take it away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth That's the rulers. That's the political leaders and Cause of them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way they grow up in the dark without lighting and making them to stagger like a drunken man No wonder the political leaders have no sense No wonder they have no common sense. No wonder they have no biblical sense. I No wonder we can't be put on a straight and narrow way because they're staggering around like an absolute drunken man.

[John Weaver] So if we really and truly wish America to be great again, then we must return to God and his law. And like Israel of old, we have to become a separate nation. Let me explain that. And when I say Israel was a separate nation, God forbade them to follow the heathen. He forbade them to follow the laws of the heathen, the rules of the heathen, the ordinances of the heathen. He forbade them to follow the culture of the heathen. They were to be a peculiar people separated unto God, and they were to be peculiar in the sense that they belonged to God, and He belonged to them, and they were to obey Him.

[John Weaver] Now, strangers and foreigners could most certainly come into the land and they can only come into the land. They can live in the land. But when they came into the land, they had to abide by the law of God. They did not bring their idolatry with them. They did not bring their separate laws with them. They had to abide under the law of God because the law of God was the covenant that he had with his people. So Israel, in the Old Testament, was not a multicultural, multi-religious, multi-ethnic people. They were one people. And so, if we want to make America great, we are not going to have a multi-religious nation. We're going to have a Christian nation. If we're going to make America great again, we're not going to have multiculturalism. We're going to have one culture, and that's the Christian culture. We're not going to have multi-ethics. We're going to have one ethic, and that is the biblical ethic. We'll have one religion, and that is the Christian religion.

[John Weaver] So inclusion is not our strength. It is our destruction. So the truth of the matter is this. Inclusion brings the judgment of God. You can't include people into a nation that's going to destroy it. Look, if you would, at the criminals that have been included in this nation. Look at the gang members that have been included in the nation. Look at the young women that have been raped and murdered. Look at the businesses that have been destroyed.

[John Weaver] I'm just simply pointing out it is not our greatness. It is our destruction, because everyone who turns from God and His law It's not an asset. They're a liability. And they try to destroy anything and everything. And they want to make America like the country that they left. So God charges these people in Isaiah chapter 30. And I want you to watch it. Here's what he said.

[John Weaver] Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me. They won't listen to God. Listen to anybody else. But not God. Here's the second charge. Look at it in verse one. He says, Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit. Now, when he says they cover with a covering.

[John Weaver] He is saying that they are basically seeking protection. They're seeking to preserve themselves. They're seeking to use the arm of the flesh. So let me explain it. What Judah and Jerusalem were doing particularly in this passage was they were appealing to Egypt and making a treaty with Egypt so that Egypt would protect them from the Assyrians. Okay? Look in verses 2 & 3. Let's read verse 1 again. Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not ask it my mouth, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame and the trust of the shed of Egypt your confusion God said you've gone down there to try to get Egypt to help you and Egypt to protect you and What you're doing is you're trusting in the arm of the flesh You're looking to man

[John Weaver] for protections of God for protection. I Want you to turn hold Isaiah 30 but turn right on over if you would please to the book of Jeremiah chapter 17 and Jeremiah 17 and I want you to pay attention to the fact that God has placed a definitive curse upon anyone and everyone Who relies upon the flesh? Look at it Jeremiah chapter 17 and let's begin reading there with verse 5 Thus saith the Lord Cursed is the man that trusted in man and maketh flesh his arm whose heart departed from the Lord now Let me just stop there. You've got to see this Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm. Here's my question. What is the result of trusting in man and trusting in the flesh? Well, there it is in verse five, whose heart departed from the Lord. In other words, if you're not going to trust in the Lord, you're going to trust in man. If you're going to trust in man, you're not trusting in the Lord.

[John Weaver] Your heart departs from the Lord. Here's the curse. Verse six, for he shall be like the heath in the desert and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land and not inhabited. Now watch the blessing. Verse seven, blessed is the man that trusted in the Lord, whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." So on the one hand, the man that trusts in the flesh is cursed, and the man that trusts in the Lord is blessed, that is for sure.

[John Weaver] Man is nothing and can do nothing and the nations that hate God are nothing and can do nothing and God is saying it is Absolutely foolish. It is absolutely vain to trust in man and in the arm of the flesh now So here is what Judah and Jerusalem were doing they were trusting in Egypt and in so doing they were covering and wrapping themselves and their nation in the arm of the flesh and by relying upon Pharaoh and his army and his military might to protect them from the Assyrians. At the same time, they were also trying to hide their betrayal of God, as if they could fool God, as if God was not omniscient.

[John Weaver] So they sought for a cover then they sought for a shelter. They sought for protection from the enemy, but they did not seek it from God. They did not seek the spirit of the Lord to cover them or to help them. They did not seek God's word. They did not seek God's prophets. You know, I've often thought about Hezekiah. When those ambassadors from Babylon came to see him, he showed them everything in his kingdom.

[John Weaver] To me, that would be absolutely foolish. He showed them all his great treasures and everything. Then Isaiah came and said, what have they seen? What he said, they've seen everything. Really? They didn't. He didn't show them Isaiah. He didn't show them the man of God. And what Hezekiah was doing was trusting in everything that he had. And Isaiah said, you're going to lose it all. It's all going to Babylon. It's going to all be gone. Why? Because he was glorying in what he had in the flesh instead of glorying in the God of Scripture.

[John Weaver] So they were seeking for the covering from Egypt. Let me give you two verses. The first one is from Jeremiah. I'm sorry. Isaiah 28 in verse 20. Isaiah 28 in verse 20. God says, for the bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it and the covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it. We have a certain bed in a certain bedroom. It's an antique bed. And Alice is very careful about who sleeps on the bed because it has a footrest that comes up about that high at the end. And if you were a long, tall, lean individual, you're not going to fit on that bed. The bed's too short. And he also said in this passage that the covering too narrow that a man can wrap himself in it.

[John Weaver] Years ago, I saw a cartoon that I really liked. It showed a man and a woman archaeologist and they had just uncovered the skeletons in this tomb and one was lying flat on his back looking up and the other was on one side with the knees kind of bowed up with a rotting blanket over that skeleton. And the man said, as he looked, undoubtedly, they were married. And that was a man and a wife. And the woman had stolen all the blanket. I understand that. I understand that.

[John Weaver] Well, that's what God said. When you trust in the flesh, it's just insufficient. It's not going to work. And then in Isaiah 29, in verse 15, God says woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord. Listen to that. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord. And their works are in the dark. And they say, who seeth us? Who knoweth us? Just like God's not omniscient. Just like God can't see. John Trapp, the old Puritan, said it like this. He said, God will make the strongest sinew in the arm of the flesh to crack and the fierce blossoms of human policies to wither. And He will. Now, in all probability, when you look in Isaiah 30, and I do want you to look there, in all probability, Isaiah 30, in its context, is dealing with the, I'm going to say not just possible, but immediate, if not in the short future, of the invasion of Assyria.

[John Weaver] Sennacherib had already conquered a lot of the cities, the defense cities of Judah. And now he's up around Jerusalem. And so what Judah and Jerusalem are doing are turning now to Egypt. So look, if you would, in Isaiah 30. And let's begin reading there with verse three. And we'll read through verse seven so you can see the context. In verse 3, therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

[John Weaver] For as princes were at Zoan, and as ambassadors came to Hanes, they were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be unhelped, nor profit, but ashamed and also reproached. So Egypt didn't do a thing. The burden of the beasts of the south into the land of trouble and anguish, for whence come the young and old lion, the viper, and the fiery flying serpent? They will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them."

[John Weaver] Pay them all you want, it will do no good. He says, for the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore have I cried concerning this, watch this, Their strength is to sit still.

[John Weaver] Now, of course, Sennacherib did come. May I remind you that some of the people still fled into Egypt. If I had the time, I'd like to read Isaiah, not Isaiah, but Jeremiah 40, 41 and 42, but I don't have the time. But if you will turn to Jeremiah chapter 42, I will tell you exactly what is going to happen to those people who did escape into Egypt and they were fleeing from the Assyrians. And I want you to see what God said in Jeremiah chapter 42, beginning there with verse 15. Now therefore hear the word of the Lord you remnant of Judah thus said the Lord of hosts the God of Israel If you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt and to go to sojourn there Then it shall come to pass that the sword which you feared Shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt and the famine which you were afraid Shall follow close after you there in Egypt and there you shall die. I So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there They shall die by the sword by the famine and by the pestilence None of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I'll bring upon them and only interesting thing is They were

[John Weaver] running from the Assyrians and they ran down into Egypt And then God sent the Assyrians to conquer Egypt So they ran into the very thing that they were trying to run from. Now, let me mention something. There was nothing wrong with being militarily prepared as long as you don't trust in your preparation and your military. We might have more bombers than China. China may have more bombers than we have. Who knows? Just because you build a great and strong military will not necessarily make you a great nation. It might make you think that you are a great nation. But military preparation in and of itself is insufficient.

[John Weaver] I would say that Pharaoh and his chariots and his horsemen who were chasing a disarmed people, Israel, had a distinct advantage. But they all drowned and all the Israelites escaped. They had a mighty military. So all I'm trying to say, there's nothing wrong with being trained. There's nothing wrong with knowing the art of self-defense and knowing why and when and where and how to defend yourself.

[John Weaver] But if I had 40 AR-15s and 20 Gatling guns and 100 bazookas around me, The truth is if God did not protect me, none of that would help me at all. I'm just simply pointing out the fact our trust is in the Lord. And even though he gives us means and we learn how to use those means, we cannot trust in those means.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you a good illustration. Second Chronicles, Chapter 13. In fact, I'd like you to turn there if you would. Hold Isaiah 30, but go back to Second Chronicles, Chapter 13. We're just going to read a few verses, but I'm going to tell you about it When you get to 2nd Chronicles chapter 13 There is a war between Samaria the northern kingdom and Judah and Jerusalem the southern kingdom so notice if you would there's a war going on and Jeroboam happens to be the king of the northern kingdom and Abijah happens to be the king of the southern kingdom. And so Jeroboam then is Coming to fight against Abijah with 800,000 men And Abijah is coming toward him with 400,000 men so Abijah is outnumbered two to one and of course Jeroboam has already set up the golden calves They've kicked out the priests and the Levites and so a bija is Telling Jeroboam not to fight against Judah Because he told him very plainly our God is with us Our God is with us We have his trumpets.

[John Weaver] We have been sacrificing to him and do not fight against us. And while Abijah is giving this lesson to Jeroboam and his people, Jeroboam has caused now an ambush to be set behind Abijah. Remember, he's already outnumbered due to one. So if you look in your Bibles to second Chronicles, chapter 13, and look, if you would, at verse 13, here's what happens. But Jeroboam caused an embushment to come about behind them. So they were before Judah, and an embushment was behind them. And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind.

[John Weaver] And they cried to the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout. And as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. the children of Israel fled before Judah and God delivered them into their hand and Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter So there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men and the children of Israel were brought under at that time and the children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers and Note if you would, so 400,000 defeated 800,000 by killing 500,000 in battle. And the reason the Bible said they gained the victory was because they relied upon the Lord their God. So all the military might of Jeroboam and all the military might of Samaria was absolutely useless.

[John Weaver] Now, if you go back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 30, You're going to see the third charge that God brings against them. Not only does he say in verse one, woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me and the cover with the covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.

[John Weaver] Now, look, if you would, we've covered the first two. Here's the last charge that they add sin to sin. So I mentioned this earlier. I'm going to say it again. Sin never stands alone. One sin always leads to another sin. Just think about this. Every lie has to be backed up with more lies. And so what God is saying in Isaiah chapter 30 in verse one here, that they had already had enough sin that merited and deserved his judgment and his punishment. However, they're now adding sin to sin because they're refusing to listen. They're refusing to repent, they're refusing to turn, and now they're adding newer and fresher sins that's going to deserve far more judgment. So they add to the sin of rebelling against God and that of forming a wicked and an unbiblical alliance with Egypt. Of course, God had forbidden that as well. So sins do not usually stand alone. So when one individual commits a sin, it's necessary usually to carry out other sins as well, or to carry out the plan which you've already contemplated in your mind.

[John Weaver] Now, here's what John Gill said. Listen carefully. The sins of consulting others and of putting confidence in a creature to their other sins of rebellion and apostasy So wicked men who are enemies in their minds by wicked works to God, and commit acts of hostility against him, or endanger thereby of eternal ruin, do not consult the word and the ministers of the gospel, but flesh and blood, carnal sense and reason, and seek to cover themselves with the rags of their own righteousness, and not with the robe of Christ's righteousness and his garments of salvation. which the Spirit of God reveals and brings near. And so there are other sins, they add, that of trusting to their own righteousness and not submitting to the righteousness of Christ.

[John Weaver] So, in Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 19, the scripture says, and it shall come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he shall bless himself in his heart saying, I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of my own heart to add drunkenness to thirst." So he's adding sin to sin. And you remember they accused Job in the book of Job chapter 34 of adding rebellion to his sin.

[John Weaver] So the situation then is where Judah and Jerusalem are actually Not only sinning against God, but they're now trusting in the arm of the flesh. They're trusting in Egypt So let me give you a summation of what I just said the summation of trusting in the flesh in any and every area of life economically militarily governmentally politically religiously and familially is Given to us in Isaiah 30 verses 8 through 11. I want you to look at this Look at what God says it's going to happen This happened to Judah and Jerusalem, so it happened to Israel, it'll happen to every nation like this. He says, now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book that it may be for the time to come forever and ever. Here's what you write. This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not in those right things speak in those smooth things prophesy deceit Look at this Get you out of the way turn aside out of the

[John Weaver] path cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us wherefore thus said the Holy One of Israel because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay there on and Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall Swilling out in a high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant And he shall break as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces. He shall not spare So there shall not be found in the burst of it assured or shard to take fire from the hearth and to take water with allowed the pit so God says here's what's happening they're saying To the seers don't see anything biblical don't see anything right to the prophets prophesied not just right things Don't tell us what God demands. Don't tell us what we are supposed to be doing What we want you to do is you prophesied us smooth things You prophesied deceits. Let us know how good we are Let us know how blessed we are but don't tell us about our sins.

[John Weaver] Don't tell us about our wickedness. I I've often laughed at this and thought about this. I enjoy studying and I enjoy history and I certainly enjoy preparing messages, but I've often thought how difficult it must be, how hard it must be on a preacher Who tries to present himself as preaching the Bible and yet at the same time He has to make absolutely sure he doesn't upset anyone

[John Weaver] hurt anybody's feelings and say anything that's going to run somebody off It's got to be a strain on your nerves like that instead of just coming out and saying here's what God says But you know, that's what these people are saying This is why you have the mega churches that are full and running over and you have the smaller churches where truth is being preached because people just do not want to hear what God says and the attitude is cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from us. And so God says here's what's going to happen. He said because you trust in oppression in perverseness because you despise his word He said this is going to be like a huge wall that's ready to burst and ready to fall I don't know if some of you saw the little video. It's still on YouTube There was a huge stone wall trees all over it had been raining raining cars were parked all along that wall and The wall started to crack And one woman heard it.

[John Weaver] And she ran to her car, jumped in her car, drove off. And just as she drove off, the whole wall came down, crushed all the cars. Then the trees and the mud came down. Now that was a wall ready to burst. This is exactly what God is saying. It's going to happen suddenly. It's going to happen quickly. And you're not going to be able to recover from it because he said it's going to be like bursting a potter's vessel. When you break that little clay pot into zillions of pieces," he said, you're not even going to find a piece to get a little bit of water with or to get ashes out of the fireplace with. He said, it's going to be totally, absolutely destroyed.

[John Weaver] And that certainly is true. It's true not only of an individual, it's true of a family, it's true of a church, it's true of a society, and it's true of a nation. And although we may not say these exact words, we may not say, don't preach the Word of God to us, don't tell us what God says, don't tell us what God demands. We may not say those words, but by our attitudes and our actions, that's exactly what we are expressing. It's the attitude of the heart. So the truth is that man by nature does not desire God. Man by nature does not desire the law of God. Man by nature does not wish to obey God.

[John Weaver] He wishes to fulfill the lust of his flesh. Now, so let me make a statement. I want you to think about this. We will never make America great again until we repent. and come back to God and come back to biblical truth and biblical law and biblical justice.

[John Weaver] Now, if you have not come to that position yet, all I can say is continue dreaming your own humanistic dream, because the truth of the matter is your humanistic utopia will never come to pass, because God is the one that determines reality and not man. So, God says, here is how a nation is blessed.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I've showed you where we came from, from where we fell. I showed you why. Now, I want to show you how to return. This is my first application. Look in verse 15. For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, in returning and rest shall you be saved. In quietness and in confidence shall your strength be your strength and you would not." God said, look, all you have to do is return and rest in me and you'll be saved. It's just that simple. He said, in quietness and in confidence will be your strength. I will take care of you if you will just trust in me.

[John Weaver] And then he said, and you would not. So here's the statement that I want to make, and I want you to think about this. If America is destroyed, maybe I should say it another way, when America is destroyed, don't blame God. God has told us how to save our nation, by returning to Him in submission and obedience. But notice if you would, the fault is not in God, the fault is us. God said, I've told you how, but you would not. You wouldn't listen. You would not return. You would not listen to me. So I would say this. If God likens the destruction of a nation to a bowing wall and a tottering fence, to a dam that's ready to burst, and to a clay pot that has burst into a zillion pieces. Don't be surprised when destruction breaks out. Don't be surprised when it happens instantaneously, because God has said, I've told you, I've told you, I've told you. I want you to look back at Isaiah 30 in verse 7. I'm going to repeat this verse.

[John Weaver] Look at this. Judah and Jerusalem were trusting in Egypt, for the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore, if I cry concerning this, their strength is to sit still. Nothing of the arm of the flesh is going to save us. No party is going to save us. No one man is going to save us. No piece of paper is going to save us. No treaty is going to save us. Only God can save us.

[John Weaver] Remember that passage I quoted in Psalm 33 in verse 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. So God then is our protector. He's our preserver. He's our victory. We need him alone. And the way we come back to him is by now listening to his counsel. instead of the counsel of men, covering ourselves with his protection, asking his protection, and submitting to him, and obeying him, and not adding sin to sin. And God said, here's how you do it.

[John Weaver] In returning in rest shall you be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be your strength, and you would not. The fault is ours if we're destroyed. It's certainly not God's. All right, before we pray, are there any questions or are there any comments on the lesson? Well, I either preach the well and explain to us the well. Yes, sir. Go ahead. So I had a question about the other thing about here lately with what you brought up when Israel was tricked and It made that covenant When they have been justified in playing them with the sword since they brought it in their false pretenses No, because, you know, they they thought about that.

[John Weaver] So but they had given their word. And God says, once you give your word, you cannot go back on it. And so what Joshua did was instead of slaying them with the sword, he made them servants. He said, you will draw water and you'll cut firewood for the house of our God. In other words, they were the ones who were going to be doing all of that.

[John Weaver] Now, it's interesting, though, when the other Amorites found out that these these Amorites, which were actually Gibeonites, they were from Gibeah, when they had made peace with Israel, the other Amorites attacked them. And so they sent word to Joshua and say, We are incompetent. You make haste to get up here and help us because these other kings are attacking us." And of course Joshua came and then defeated the other kings and saved the Gibeonites. So they had given their word and God made them keep their word. Their sin was not seeking counsel from God to begin with. Had they sought God's counsel, He would have showed them the deviousness and the fraud and the trickery, but they did not seek His counsel.

[John Weaver] And so look There's an application of that for us. Look how many times we get hoodwinked by our political leaders by every Hook and crook of every man because we don't ever ask the Lord. We don't ever seek a biblical answer to it We just trust in the flesh and we get hooked So, you know, no, they could not I understand it was by deceit, but they'd given their word and God made them hold their word Okay All right, anyone else? Did somebody say something? I was listening to one of these confirmation hearings, you know, how Trump has got certain people that he's trying to get in, you know, like Kennedy Jr. And they said, we want to know your world views, you know, the left is really... And this one woman says, obviously my world views are completely different than yours. They were trying to, you know, trick her up. And I mean, there are some people trying to, like Kennedy said, we need to stop trying to cure diseases and spend time how to prevent them.

[John Weaver] Yeah, that's a fact. You know, there's some good people in there trying to buck of this, but without repentance and spiritual revival. Trump was even talking about an external tax.

[John Weaver] Now the forefathers, they wanted to support the government on duties, imports, and excise. So he's on the right track there, but without repentance and revival. So this thing's going to pan out. But, you know, they're sort of got the cart before the horse. They're trying to implement some of the forefathers back to some of their, you know, like an external... We were in the black when we had the running the country on duties and post-exercises. But it's a little of a cart before the horse, in my opinion.

[John Weaver] Well, the truth of the matter is our worldview is entirely different from their worldview. That is a fact. That is for sure. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. All right, well, let's have prayer then. Father, thank you again today for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his grace and mercy to us. Lord, we pray that you would help us, grant us repentance, grant us, Lord, that we may always listen to thy counsel, trust in thee and cover with thy divine covering. And Lord, may we be submissive and obedient and not add sin to sin. May we bow before Thee and work and walk before Thee in truth and holiness and righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

Make America Great Again

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	U8R2M0RZO-8
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2025-07-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 13
Source Timed Segments	84

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Isaiah chapter 30, we will read the first 15 verses. Isaiah chapter 30, and look, if you would please, at verse 1. Isaiah 30 and verse 1, God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 30:1-15

"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, that walk to go down into Egypt and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." "For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still." "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces." "He shall not spare, so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not."

Introduction: Defining Greatness

Weaver introduces the phrase 'Make America Great Again' and explores the varying definitions of 'greatness' depending on context, such as wealth, power, or health.

Now the title of the message today is "Make America Great Again." Everyone has heard that phrase. In fact, all you have to do is just use the letters MAGA and everyone still understands at the same time. But when you think about that, "Make America Great Again," have you ever pondered about the word "great"? How it's used, what the emphasis is, and what it means. One dictionary defined "great" as the quality or the state of being great, as in size, skill, achievement, or power. It should be obvious then that the word is going to have a different emphasis and maybe even a different meaning depending upon how it is going to be used. For instance, greatness for a wealthy man is his riches and the ability to accumulate more riches. Again, greatness for the power-hungry man is the ability to control situations and other people as well. Greatness for the military-minded man would be winning battles and also conquering nations. And greatness for the scholar would be accumulation of books and knowledge. And then, of course, greatness for the sickly man would be the ability to overcome his sickness and to maintain his health.

So when you think about this statement, "Make America Great Again," I said, you know, there's two basic questions. Actually, there would be three basic questions. The first one would be, what was the original greatness of America? The second question would be, when and how did we lose that greatness if we must make America great again? And the third question would be, how would we restore America to greatness once we understood that that greatness was lost? Well, let me tell you, when America was first founded, its greatness lay in the way that it was founded and the way that it was established. Most of these individuals who came to America came with a biblical worldview.

America's Original Greatness: A Christian Foundation

America's founding greatness lay in its biblical worldview, with early charters and constitutions explicitly Christian, as evidenced by quotes from John Jay and Benjamin Rush.

The Bible says in Psalm 33 and verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:12

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."

But now listen to that.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:12

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

So when the pilgrims came here, the Puritans and the Scots-Irish, they settled America based upon their faith and also based upon their Christian worldview. Now, in times past, I've pointed out that all the original charters and constitutions of the colonies, and later on in the states, were all definitively Christian. And they stated that very plainly. Now, I'm not going to read all of those today. I do have copies of all of the original charters and the constitutions, but I'm going to point out the fact that this was indeed a Christian nation based upon the fact that it was based upon biblical law. For instance, John Jay happened to be the very first Supreme Court Justice. He was appointed by George Washington. I want to give you two quotes by John Jay. Here's the first one. "Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and their customs." Isn't that amazing? He said, when we came here, we were just one people. We had the same ancestors. We spoke the same language. We had the same religion. Here's a second quote.

"Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise and virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." Wow. Now, that was the very first Supreme Court justice. Now, Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. And Benjamin Rush was talking about using the Bible as a textbook. I'm not going to give you his entire speech, but I am going to give you his five points and then a paragraph. So listen to what he said. He said, "Before I state my argument in favor of teaching children to read by means of the Bible—think about this, teaching children to read by means of the Bible—

I shall assume the five following propositions: number one, that Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopt its principles and obey its precepts, they will be wise and happy. Number two, that a better knowledge of this religion, or Christianity, is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way. Number three, that the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world. Number four, that knowledge is most durable, and religious instruction most useful, when imparted early in life. And number five, that the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life. Hmm. Now, he says this.

"In contemplating the political institutions of the United States, if the Bible was removed from the classroom, I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little time and pains to prevent them. We profess to be Republicans"—now this is not the Republican Party, but a republican form of government, which is a government by law. He says, "We profess to be Republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible." "For this divine book, above all, favors that equality among men, and respect for just laws, and those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism." So here's Benjamin Rush, the signer of the Declaration, saying, we ought to be teaching our young people to read based upon the Bible. We ought to be instilling these principles now while they are young. And of course, he's saying, we're taking great pains to punish the criminals, and we're taking no pains to prevent the criminals from being around.

Now, very quickly, let me just show you some of the early constitutions and charters. The first one is Article 1 of the Constitution of Connecticut in 1639, and here's what they say: "Hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they are to perform to God and men, as well in families and in commonwealths"—that's government—"as in matters of the church." So they said the Bible is the answer. It doesn't matter if you're talking about ecclesiology, doesn't matter if you're talking about government, doesn't matter if you're talking about individuals or families, the Bible is the answer. The New Haven colony charter, in April the 3rd, 1644, adopted these rules for the courts of the New Haven colony. And here's what they said: "The judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses, are to be a rule to all the courts in this jurisdiction." So the Bible was the biblical law book.

And then the Constitution of the state of Tennessee in 1796, Article 8, Section 2: "No person who denies the being of God or a future state of rewards and punishment shall hold any office in the civil department of this state." So I could multiply these constitutions and these charters because they all basically said the same thing. Some went a little further, that you had to confess faith in both the Old and the New Testaments as being the inspired Word of God, as well as Jesus Christ, the Mediator and the Redeemer. Over and over they were stated very plainly, and they were saying that Christianity was the rule and the law of God was the standard.

The Fall: Turning from God to Humanism

America fell by rejecting God's counsel and embracing rationalism, transcendentalism, and humanism, particularly after the War of Northern Aggression, which transformed the republic into an empire.

So we have to ask this question: what happened and why did we fall? So using scriptural language, I will tell you, we fell because basically we turned our backs upon God and we refused to listen to Him and His Word. Instead of being a Scripture-loving people, we began to listen then to what was known as rationalism, transcendentalism, and humanistic enlightenment, or what I would just simply refer to as pure humanism. Now it transpired first in the North. You had the northern people embracing rationalism and humanism. That's why you had the Unitarians. That's why you had the enlightened rationalists. That's why you had the abolitionists there as well. And of course, the South at that time was holding tenaciously to the Word of God. But when you came to the war in 1861 to 1865, which is sometimes referred to as the War of Northern Aggression, many viewed that as a religious war where the North was seeking to force the thinking of rationalism upon the South. And when you read some of the Southern theologians, you find out that they did indeed view it as a religious war. I don't care which scholar you read when it comes to the true history of what happened.

Every one of them is going to say this: that we went into that war as what you and I would call independent states in a constitutional republic, and we came out of that war as an American empire, and we've been going downhill ever since. It was Lincoln who destroyed the Constitution to save the Constitution. He was going to deny the Constitution, he said, to save the Union. So let me just make some statements. An aggressive, growing, and multiplying economy does not necessarily make a great nation. A mighty military does not necessarily make a great nation. A proud, independent, arrogant, haughty, and self-elevating people do not make a great nation. Treaties with foreign countries do not necessarily make a great nation as well. Oh, let me just try to summarize what I just said with this statement.

Man's abilities to build, make, guard, produce, and protect are worthless. We have forgotten the truth of Psalm 127 in verse 1, where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 127:1

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Charge 1: Taking Counsel but Not of God

God charges Israel with seeking alien counsel, which is any counsel not from God. This leads to destruction, as seen in Joshua 9 and Psalm 33.

Here's the first charge: "that take counsel, but not of me." Here's the second charge: "that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit." And here's the third charge: "that they may add sin to sin." Now, I want you to note, if you would, the first charge. He says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me." So they are now being charged with seeking what you and I would call alien counsel. They sought counsel, but it was not God's counsel. Now let me just point this out: that every counsel, and any and all counsel that is not God's counsel for God's people, is an alien counsel. So here's an important truth to remember. Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.

Since the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom would not listen to God, and God knew that they would not listen, it was prophesied back in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 28. Here's what God said of them:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:28

"For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them."

They're a nation void of counsel. I want you to hold Isaiah 30, but look back in your Bibles to Psalm 81, again, in what God said concerning them. And this, of course, is after he had led them through the wilderness and established them many, many times and many years as well. So look, if you would, in Psalm 81, beginning there with verse 10. Psalm 81, verse 10. And look at the truth that God enunciates in this particular point. Here's what he said. Psalm 81 verse 10: "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." Now look at verse 11.

"But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels." So they refused God's counsel, but they walked in their own counsel, which is an alien counsel, because man's counsel cannot in any degree compare to God's counsel at all. Now, so let me give you an illustration of this. You remember in Joshua chapter 9, how the Amorites came to deceive the children of Israel and get them to enter into a covenant with them. So what did they do? They put on old rotten clothes and shoes that were falling apart, and they got molded bread and old wine bottles. And they came to Joshua and to the elders there and said, "We want you to make a covenant with us."

"Well, where are you from?" "Oh, we be from a far country. And we've heard the greatness in the name of God. And we want to worship him and we want to be in covenant with you." And you know what? Here's what the Bible says in Joshua 9 in verse 14:

Scripture Reading — Joshua 9:14

"And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord."

So they just looked at the rotted clothes and the shoes and looked at the molded bread and the old wine bottle. They thought, "Man, these folks have traveled a long, long way." And they ended up making a covenant, found out they were their neighbors next door. Well, why in the world did they do that? Well, they knew they were going to be destroyed and they didn't want to be destroyed. And I can understand that. But they deceived them. And the reason they were deceived: they did not ask counsel of the Lord. So when men then refuse and reject and despise the counsel of God that is given to us in his Word, it will always be to their destruction and also to their devastation.

And the same thing is true when it applies to societies or families, churches, or even to nations. So humanistic wisdom and humanistic counsel is always against God and his Word. Now if you'll turn in your Bibles very quickly, holding Isaiah 30, and look if you would please at Psalm 33. Psalm 33 and look at verses 10 and 11. Psalm 33:10 and 11, look at what the Bible says. Psalm 33 and verse 10, here it is:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:10-11

"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought." "He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:10-11

"The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever."

What does he do about the wicked counsel? He brings it to nought. He makes the devices of the people of none effect. So when you follow your own counsel and when you follow the counsel of the wicked, you're just asking for destruction and devastation. The Bible tells you in Proverbs 21 in verse 30, "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord." So none of the counsel that anyone can give that's contrary to Scripture and that's contrary to God is going to stand. It cannot stand because it's against God.

Charge 2: Covering with a Covering but Not of God's Spirit

Israel sought protection from Egypt instead of God, trusting in the arm of the flesh. Jeremiah 17 curses those who trust in man, while blessing those who trust in the Lord.

"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me." They won't listen to God. Listen to anybody else, but not God. Here's the second charge. Look at it in verse 1. He says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit." Now, when he says they cover with a covering, he is saying that they are basically seeking protection. They're seeking to preserve themselves. They're seeking to use the arm of the flesh. So let me explain it. What Judah and Jerusalem were doing particularly in this passage was they were appealing to Egypt and making a treaty with Egypt so that Egypt would protect them from the Assyrians. Okay? Look in verses 2 and 3. Let's read verse 1 again. "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." God said, you've gone down there to try to get Egypt to help you and Egypt to protect you, and what you're doing is you're trusting in the arm of the flesh. You're looking to man

for protection instead of God for protection. I want you to turn—hold Isaiah 30 but turn right on over, if you would please, to the book of Jeremiah chapter 17. And Jeremiah 17, and I want you to pay attention to the fact that God has placed a definitive curse upon anyone and everyone who relies upon the flesh. Look at it: Jeremiah chapter 17, and let's begin reading there with verse 5. "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Now let me just stop there. You've got to see this. "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." Here's my question: What is the result of trusting in man and trusting in the flesh? Well, there it is in verse 5: "whose heart departeth from the Lord." In other words, if you're not going to trust in the Lord, you're going to trust in man. If you're going to trust in man, you're not trusting in the Lord.

Your heart departs from the Lord. Here's the curse. Verse 6: "For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited." Now watch the blessing. Verse 7: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." So on the one hand, the man that trusts in the flesh is cursed, and the man that trusts in the Lord is blessed, that is for sure.

Man is nothing and can do nothing, and the nations that hate God are nothing and can do nothing, and God is saying it is absolutely foolish. It is absolutely vain to trust in man and in the arm of the flesh. Now, so here is what Judah and Jerusalem were doing: they were trusting in Egypt, and in so doing they were covering and wrapping themselves and their nation in the arm of the flesh, and by relying upon Pharaoh and his army and his military might to protect them from the Assyrians. At the same time, they were also trying to hide their betrayal of God, as if they could fool God, as if God was not omniscient.

Charge 3: Adding Sin to Sin

Israel compounded their rebellion by adding new sins, such as forming an unbiblical alliance with Egypt. Sin never stands alone; one sin leads to another.

Now, look, if you would, we've covered the first two. Here's the last charge: that they add sin to sin. So I mentioned this earlier. I'm going to say it again. Sin never stands alone. One sin always leads to another sin. Just think about this. Every lie has to be backed up with more lies. And so what God is saying in Isaiah chapter 30 in verse 1 here, that they had already had enough sin that merited and deserved his judgment and his punishment. However, they're now adding sin to sin because they're refusing to listen. They're refusing to repent, they're refusing to turn, and now they're adding newer and fresher sins that's going to deserve far more judgment. So they add to the sin of rebelling against God and that of forming a wicked and an unbiblical alliance with Egypt. Of course, God had forbidden that as well. So sins do not usually stand alone. So when one individual commits a sin, it's necessary usually to carry out other sins as well, or to carry out the plan which you've already contemplated in your mind.

Now, here's what John Gill said. Listen carefully. "The sins of consulting others, and of putting confidence in a creature, to their other sins of rebellion and apostasy. So wicked men, who are enemies in their minds by wicked works to God, and commit acts of hostility against him, or endanger thereby of eternal ruin, do not consult the word and the ministers of the gospel, but flesh and blood, carnal sense and reason, and seek to cover themselves with the rags of their own righteousness, and not with the robe of Christ's righteousness and his garments of salvation, which the Spirit of God reveals and brings near. And so there are other sins, they add, that of trusting to their own righteousness and not submitting to the righteousness of Christ."

So, in Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 19, the Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 29:19

"And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst."

So he's adding sin to sin. And you remember they accused Job in the book of Job chapter 34 of adding rebellion to his sin.

The Consequences of Rebellion

God warns that despising His word and trusting in oppression leads to sudden, total destruction, like a bursting wall or shattered potter's vessel.

So the situation then is where Judah and Jerusalem are actually not only sinning against God, but they're now trusting in the arm of the flesh. They're trusting in Egypt. So let me give you a summation of what I just said. The summation of trusting in the flesh in any and every area of life—economically, militarily, governmentally, politically, religiously, and familially—is given to us in Isaiah 30 verses 8 through 11. I want you to look at this. Look at what God says it's going to happen. This happened to Judah and Jerusalem, so it happened to Israel, it'll happen to every nation like this. He says, "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever." Here's what you write: "That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the

path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit." So God says here's what's happening: they're saying to the seers, "Don't see anything biblical, don't see anything right." To the prophets, "Prophesy not unto us right things. Don't tell us what God demands. Don't tell us what we are supposed to be doing. What we want you to do is you prophesy unto us smooth things. You prophesy deceits. Let us know how good we are. Let us know how blessed we are, but don't tell us about our sins.

Don't tell us about our wickedness." I've often laughed at this and thought about this. I enjoy studying and I enjoy history and I certainly enjoy preparing messages, but I've often thought how difficult it must be, how hard it must be on a preacher who tries to present himself as preaching the Bible and yet at the same time he has to make absolutely sure he doesn't upset anyone, hurt anybody's feelings, and say anything that's going to run somebody off. It's got to be a strain on your nerves like that instead of just coming out and saying, "Here's what God says." But you know, that's what these people are saying. This is why you have the mega churches that are full and running over and you have the smaller churches where truth is being preached because people just do not want to hear what God says. And the attitude is, "Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from us." And so God says here's what's going to happen. He said because you trust in oppression and perverseness, because you despise his word, he said this is going to be like a huge wall that's ready to burst and ready to fall. I don't know if some of you saw the little video. It's still on YouTube. There was a huge stone wall, trees all over it, had been raining, raining, cars were parked all along that wall. And the wall started to crack. And one woman heard it.

And she ran to her car, jumped in her car, drove off. And just as she drove off, the whole wall came down, crushed all the cars. Then the trees and the mud came down. Now that was a wall ready to burst. This is exactly what God is saying. It's going to happen suddenly. It's going to happen quickly. And you're not going to be able to recover from it because he said it's going to be like bursting a potter's vessel. When you break that little clay pot into zillions of pieces, he said, you're not even going to find a piece to get a little bit of water with or to get ashes out of the fireplace with. He said, it's going to be totally, absolutely destroyed.

And that certainly is true. It's true not only of an individual, it's true of a family, it's true of a church, it's true of a society, and it's true of a nation. And although we may not say these exact words, we may not say, "Don't preach the Word of God to us, don't tell us what God says, don't tell us what God demands." We may not say those words, but by our attitudes and our actions, that's exactly what we are expressing. It's the attitude of the heart. So the truth is that man by nature does not desire God. Man by nature does not desire the law of God. Man by nature does not wish to obey God.

The Path to Restoration: Returning and Resting in God

True restoration comes only through repentance, returning to God, and trusting in Him. Isaiah 30:15 offers the solution: 'In returning and rest shall ye be saved.'

Now, let me show you. I've showed you where we came from, from where we fell. I showed you why. Now, I want to show you how to return. This is my first application. Look in verse 15. "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." God said, look, all you have to do is return and rest in me and you'll be saved. It's just that simple. He said, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." I will take care of you if you will just trust in me.

And then he said, "And ye would not." So here's the statement that I want to make, and I want you to think about this. If America is destroyed—maybe I should say it another way, when America is destroyed—don't blame God. God has told us how to save our nation, by returning to Him in submission and obedience. But notice if you would, the fault is not in God, the fault is us. God said, "I've told you how, but you would not." You wouldn't listen. You would not return. You would not listen to me. So I would say this. If God likens the destruction of a nation to a bowing wall and a tottering fence, to a dam that's ready to burst, and to a clay pot that has burst into a zillion pieces, don't be surprised when destruction breaks out. Don't be surprised when it happens instantaneously, because God has said, "I've told you, I've told you, I've told you." I want you to look back at Isaiah 30 in verse 7. I'm going to repeat this verse.

Look at this. Judah and Jerusalem were trusting in Egypt, "For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still." Nothing of the arm of the flesh is going to save us. No party is going to save us. No one man is going to save us. No piece of paper is going to save us. No treaty is going to save us. Only God can save us.

Remember that passage I quoted in Psalm 33 in verse 12: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." So God then is our protector. He's our preserver. He's our victory. We need him alone. And the way we come back to him is by now listening to his counsel instead of the counsel of men, covering ourselves with his protection, asking his protection, and submitting to him, and obeying him, and not adding sin to sin. And God said, here's how you do it.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Biblical Foundation of America

Summary: America's original greatness was rooted in its Christian foundation and adherence to biblical law.

Evidence: Weaver cites early charters, John Jay's statement about a 'Christian nation,' and Benjamin Rush's advocacy for Bible-based education.

Rebellion Against God

Summary: The nation fell by turning from God's counsel to humanistic and rationalistic thinking.

Evidence: Weaver describes the shift to rationalism, transcendentalism, and humanism, and quotes Isaiah 30:1 on rebellious children.

Trusting in the Arm of the Flesh

Summary: Relying on human strength, military might, or political alliances instead of God is futile and cursed.

Evidence: Weaver references Jeremiah 17:5-8 and the example of Judah seeking Egypt's protection against Assyria.

The Compounding Nature of Sin

Summary: Sin leads to more sin; rebellion against God results in adding further transgressions.

Evidence: Weaver explains Isaiah 30:1's charge of 'adding sin to sin' and cites Deuteronomy 29:19.

Divine Judgment on Nations

Summary: God brings sudden and complete destruction upon nations that despise His word and trust in perverseness.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Isaiah 30:8-14, likening judgment to a bursting wall and shattered pottery.

Repentance and Return to God

Summary: The only way to restore greatness is through repentance, returning to God, and trusting in His counsel.

Evidence: Weaver points to Isaiah 30:15: 'In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.'

Key Arguments

America's greatness was its Christian identity

Summary: The nation was founded on biblical principles, with early leaders explicitly affirming Christianity as the basis for law and education.

Evidence: Quotes from John Jay: 'Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty... of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.'

The fall came through rejecting God's counsel

Summary: America turned to humanism and rationalism, especially after the Civil War, leading to a departure from its biblical roots.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'We went into that war as... independent states in a constitutional republic, and we came out of that war as an American empire, and we've been going downhill ever since.'

Human counsel is alien and destructive

Summary: Any counsel not from God is against God and leads to devastation, as seen in Israel's history.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.'

Trusting in man brings a curse

Summary: Jeremiah 17:5 declares a curse on those who trust in man, resulting in a heart that departs from the Lord.

Evidence: Weaver reads Jeremiah 17:5-6 and explains: 'If you're not going to trust in the Lord, you're going to trust in man. If you're going to trust in man, you're not trusting in the Lord.'

Military might is insufficient without God

Summary: Even overwhelming military advantage is useless if God is not on your side, as shown in 2 Chronicles 13.

Evidence: Weaver recounts the battle where 400,000 defeated 800,000 because 'they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.'

Sin compounds and leads to greater judgment

Summary: Rebellion against God leads to adding more sins, increasing divine judgment.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'They're now adding sin to sin because they're refusing to listen. They're refusing to repent... and now they're adding newer and fresher sins.'

Rejecting God's word invites sudden destruction

Summary: Nations that despise God's word and demand smooth preaching will face swift and total ruin.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Isaiah 30:13-14 about a breach ready to fall and a potter's vessel broken in pieces.

Restoration requires returning and resting in God

Summary: The solution is not political or military but spiritual: repentance and trust in God alone.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes Isaiah 30:15: 'In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.'

Scripture References

Isaiah 30:1-15

Context: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning, detailing God's charges against rebellious Israel.

Psalm 33:12

Context: Cited to show that a nation is blessed when its God is the Lord.

Psalm 127:1

Context: Quoted to emphasize that human efforts are vain unless the Lord builds and guards.

Isaiah 1:1-3

Context: Referenced to show that Isaiah began his ministry with the same charge of rebellion.

Deuteronomy 32:28

Context: Cited to describe Israel as a nation void of counsel.

Psalm 81:10-12

Context: Quoted to show that God gave Israel up to their own counsels when they refused to listen.

Joshua 9:14

Context: Used as an illustration of failing to ask counsel of the Lord, leading to deception.

Psalm 33:10-11

Context: Quoted to show that the Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nothing.

Proverbs 21:30

Context: Cited to assert that no wisdom or counsel can stand against the Lord.

Job 12:16-25

Context: Read to demonstrate God's sovereignty over nations and rulers, making them stagger like drunkards.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Context: Quoted to contrast the curse of trusting in man with the blessing of trusting in the Lord.

Isaiah 28:20

Context: Cited to illustrate the insufficiency of human coverings.

Isaiah 29:15

Context: Quoted to rebuke those who think they can hide their counsel from God.

Jeremiah 42:15-17

Context: Read to show that those who fled to Egypt for safety would die there by sword, famine, and pestilence.

2 Chronicles 13:13-18

Context: Recounted to illustrate that victory comes from relying on the Lord, not military might.

Deuteronomy 29:19

Context: Cited to show the concept of adding sin to sin, specifically adding drunkenness to thirst.

Job 34:37

Context: Mentioned as an example of adding rebellion to sin.

Historical References

John Jay, first Supreme Court Justice

Context: Quoted to show that early American leaders viewed the nation as Christian and preferred Christian rulers.

Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Context: Cited for his advocacy of using the Bible as a textbook and teaching Christianity in schools.

Constitution of Connecticut (1639)

Context: Mentioned as an example of early colonial charters holding forth the Bible as a perfect rule for government.

New Haven Colony Charter (1644)

Context: Cited as adopting the judicial laws of Moses as a rule for courts.

Constitution of Tennessee (1796)

Context: Quoted to show that officeholders were required to believe in God and future rewards and punishments.

War of Northern Aggression (Civil War, 1861-1865)

Context: Described as a religious war where the North forced rationalism on the South, leading to the transformation from a republic to an empire.

Abraham Lincoln

Context: Criticized for destroying the Constitution to save the Union.

Sennacherib's invasion of Judah

Context: Historical context for Isaiah 30, where Judah sought Egypt's help against Assyria.

John Gill (Puritan commentator)

Context: Quoted on the meaning of adding sin to sin, including trusting in one's own righteousness.

John Trapp (Puritan commentator)

Context: Quoted: 'God will make the strongest sinew in the arm of the flesh to crack and the fierce blossoms of human policies to wither.'

Important Quotes

Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.

Significance: John Jay's quote establishes the early American view that the nation was Christian and should be led by Christians.

We profess to be Republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible.

Significance: Benjamin Rush's statement underscores the founding belief that Christian education was essential for the republic's survival.

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Significance: Psalm 127:1 is used to argue that human efforts are futile without God's blessing.

Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.

Significance: Weaver's key theological point that all non-biblical counsel is inherently opposed to God.

Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

Significance: Jeremiah 17:5 is quoted to emphasize the divine curse on human reliance.

In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Significance: Isaiah 30:15 is the central verse offering the solution of repentance and trust, highlighting human refusal.

Their strength is to sit still.

Significance: Isaiah 30:7 is repeated to stress that human help is vain; true strength lies in quiet trust in God.

Discussion Questions

What does the sermon identify as the original source of America's greatness, and do you agree with this assessment?

Context: Weaver argues that America's greatness was its Christian foundation and biblical law.

How does the concept of 'alien counsel' apply to modern political and cultural advice?

Context: Weaver defines any counsel not from God as alien and destructive.

In what ways do individuals and nations today 'cover with a covering but not of God's Spirit'?

Context: The sermon discusses seeking protection from human sources rather than God.

Why does Weaver say that 'inclusion is not our strength; it is our destruction'?

Context: He argues that including those who reject God's law leads to national judgment.

How does the example of 2 Chronicles 13 challenge our trust in military or political power?

Context: The battle shows that reliance on God, not numbers, brings victory.

What does it mean to 'add sin to sin' in a national context, and what are modern examples?

Context: Weaver explains that sin compounds, leading to greater judgment.

How can the church today avoid the demand for 'smooth things' and faithfully proclaim God's word?

Context: Isaiah 30:10-11 describes people who want pleasant messages rather than truth.

What practical steps does 'returning and rest' involve for a nation or individual?

Context: Isaiah 30:15 is presented as the path to salvation and strength.

Applications

Seek God's counsel above all

Summary: Believers must prioritize biblical counsel over human wisdom in all areas of life, including politics and culture.

Evidence: Weaver warns against taking counsel 'but not of me' and cites Joshua 9 as a negative example.

Trust in God, not human strength

Summary: Rely on God for protection and provision rather than military, economic, or political power.

Evidence: The sermon contrasts the curse of trusting in man (Jeremiah 17) with the blessing of trusting God.

Repent of national and personal sin

Summary: True restoration requires turning from sin and returning to God in submission and obedience.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes Isaiah 30:15 as the call to return and rest in God.

Reject smooth preaching and demand truth

Summary: Churches and individuals must not seek messages that tickle ears but faithfully proclaim God's word.

Evidence: Isaiah 30:10-11 is applied to modern mega-churches that avoid hard truths.

Maintain a distinct Christian culture

Summary: A godly nation must not embrace multiculturalism or multi-religion but uphold biblical law as the standard.

Evidence: Weaver argues that Israel was to be a separate people, and America should likewise have one Christian culture.

Do not add sin to sin

Summary: Avoid compounding rebellion by continuing in unrepentant sin; instead, break the cycle through repentance.

Evidence: The third charge in Isaiah 30:1 is explained as adding new sins to existing rebellion.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:03:28Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:07:50Z

Clean Transcript

Make America Great Again

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Isaiah chapter 30, we will read the first 15 verses. Isaiah chapter 30, and look, if you would please, at verse 1. Isaiah 30 and verse 1, God says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, that walk to go down into Egypt and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion."
#1 | 0:11 to 0:54 | cleaned
"For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still."
#2 | 0:55 to 1:35 | cleaned
"Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces."
#3 | 1:36 to 2:29 | cleaned
"He shall not spare, so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not."
#4 | 2:30 to 2:51 | cleaned
Now the title of the message today is "Make America Great Again." Everyone has heard that phrase. In fact, all you have to do is just use the letters MAGA and everyone still understands at the same time. But when you think about that, "Make America Great Again," have you ever pondered about the word "great"? How it's used, what the emphasis is, and what it means. One dictionary defined "great" as the quality or the state of being great, as in size, skill, achievement, or power. It should be obvious then that the word is going to have a different emphasis and maybe even a different meaning depending upon how it is going to be used.
#5 | 2:52 to 3:51 | cleaned
For instance, greatness for a wealthy man is his riches and the ability to accumulate more riches. Again, greatness for the power-hungry man is the ability to control situations and other people as well. Greatness for the military-minded man would be winning battles and also conquering nations. And greatness for the scholar would be accumulation of books and knowledge. And then, of course, greatness for the sickly man would be the ability to overcome his sickness and to maintain his health.
#6 | 3:51 to 4:31 | cleaned
So when you think about this statement, "Make America Great Again," I said, you know, there's two basic questions. Actually, there would be three basic questions. The first one would be, what was the original greatness of America? The second question would be, when and how did we lose that greatness if we must make America great again? And the third question would be, how would we restore America to greatness once we understood that that greatness was lost? Well, let me tell you, when America was first founded, its greatness lay in the way that it was founded and the way that it was established. Most of these individuals who came to America came with a biblical worldview.
#7 | 4:32 to 5:23 | cleaned
The Bible says in Psalm 33 and verse 12, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." But now listen to that. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." So when the pilgrims came here, the Puritans and the Scots-Irish, they settled America based upon their faith and also based upon their Christian worldview. Now, in times past, I've pointed out that all the original charters and constitutions of the colonies, and later on in the states, were all definitively Christian.
#8 | 5:24 to 6:02 | cleaned
And they stated that very plainly. Now, I'm not going to read all of those today. I do have copies of all of the original charters and the constitutions, but I'm going to point out the fact that this was indeed a Christian nation based upon the fact that it was based upon biblical law. For instance, John Jay happened to be the very first Supreme Court Justice. He was appointed by George Washington. I want to give you two quotes by John Jay. Here's the first one. "Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and their customs." Isn't that amazing? He said, when we came here, we were just one people. We had the same ancestors. We spoke the same language. We had the same religion. Here's a second quote.
#9 | 6:02 to 7:09 | cleaned
"Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise and virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." Wow.
#10 | 7:11 to 7:38 | cleaned
Now, that was the very first Supreme Court justice. Now, Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. And Benjamin Rush was talking about using the Bible as a textbook. I'm not going to give you his entire speech, but I am going to give you his five points and then a paragraph. So listen to what he said. He said, "Before I state my argument in favor of teaching children to read by means of the Bible—think about this, teaching children to read by means of the Bible—
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I shall assume the five following propositions: number one, that Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopt its principles and obey its precepts, they will be wise and happy. Number two, that a better knowledge of this religion, or Christianity, is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way. Number three, that the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world. Number four, that knowledge is most durable, and religious instruction most useful, when imparted early in life. And number five, that the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life. Hmm. Now, he says this.
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"In contemplating the political institutions of the United States, if the Bible was removed from the classroom, I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little time and pains to prevent them. We profess to be Republicans"—now this is not the Republican Party, but a republican form of government, which is a government by law. He says, "We profess to be Republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible."
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"For this divine book, above all, favors that equality among men, and respect for just laws, and those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism." So here's Benjamin Rush, the signer of the Declaration, saying, we ought to be teaching our young people to read based upon the Bible. We ought to be instilling these principles now while they are young. And of course, he's saying, we're taking great pains to punish the criminals, and we're taking no pains to prevent the criminals from being around.
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Now, very quickly, let me just show you some of the early constitutions and charters. The first one is Article 1 of the Constitution of Connecticut in 1639, and here's what they say: "Hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they are to perform to God and men, as well in families and in commonwealths"—that's government—"as in matters of the church."
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So they said the Bible is the answer. It doesn't matter if you're talking about ecclesiology, doesn't matter if you're talking about government, doesn't matter if you're talking about individuals or families, the Bible is the answer. The New Haven colony charter, in April the 3rd, 1644, adopted these rules for the courts of the New Haven colony. And here's what they said: "The judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses, are to be a rule to all the courts in this jurisdiction." So the Bible was the biblical law book.
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And then the Constitution of the state of Tennessee in 1796, Article 8, Section 2: "No person who denies the being of God or a future state of rewards and punishment shall hold any office in the civil department of this state." So I could multiply these constitutions and these charters because they all basically said the same thing. Some went a little further, that you had to confess faith in both the Old and the New Testaments as being the inspired Word of God, as well as Jesus Christ, the Mediator and the Redeemer. Over and over they were stated very plainly, and they were saying that Christianity was the rule and the law of God was the standard.
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So we have to ask this question: what happened and why did we fall? So using scriptural language, I will tell you, we fell because basically we turned our backs upon God and we refused to listen to Him and His Word. Instead of being a Scripture-loving people, we began to listen then to what was known as rationalism, transcendentalism, and humanistic enlightenment, or what I would just simply refer to as pure humanism. Now it transpired first in the North. You had the northern people embracing rationalism and humanism.
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That's why you had the Unitarians. That's why you had the enlightened rationalists. That's why you had the abolitionists there as well. And of course, the South at that time was holding tenaciously to the Word of God. But when you came to the war in 1861 to 1865, which is sometimes referred to as the War of Northern Aggression, many viewed that as a religious war where the North was seeking to force the thinking of rationalism upon the South. And when you read some of the Southern theologians, you find out that they did indeed view it as a religious war. I don't care which scholar you read when it comes to the true history of what happened.
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Every one of them is going to say this: that we went into that war as what you and I would call independent states in a constitutional republic, and we came out of that war as an American empire, and we've been going downhill ever since. It was Lincoln who destroyed the Constitution to save the Constitution. He was going to deny the Constitution, he said, to save the Union. So let me just make some statements. An aggressive, growing, and multiplying economy does not necessarily make a great nation. A mighty military does not necessarily make a great nation. A proud, independent, arrogant, haughty, and self-elevating people do not make a great nation. Treaties with foreign countries do not necessarily make a great nation as well. Oh, let me just try to summarize what I just said with this statement.
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Man's abilities to build, make, guard, produce, and protect are worthless. We have forgotten the truth of Psalm 127 in verse 1, where the Bible says, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
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Now mighty nations have fallen and sunk into absolute nothingness. Israel did, the northern kingdom. So did Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom. But that does not even count what you and I would call the heathen nations that have disappeared. But I want you to look, if you would please, in Isaiah chapter 30 in verse 1 to begin with. Look at this: God says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin." Now note, if you would, He says, "Woe to the rebellious children." And now, if you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to Isaiah chapter 1, you will see that Isaiah began
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his ministry here by saying the same truth. Look, if you would, in Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 1: "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me."
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"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." So, I want you to look back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 1, because in this verse there are three charges that are laid against Israel, and that would be the Northern Kingdom as well as the Southern Kingdom, and particularly the Southern Kingdom. For in verse 1 he says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord."
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Here's the first charge: "that take counsel, but not of me." Here's the second charge: "that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit." And here's the third charge: "that they may add sin to sin." Now, I want you to note, if you would, the first charge. He says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me." So they are now being charged with seeking what you and I would call alien counsel. They sought counsel, but it was not God's counsel. Now let me just point this out: that every counsel, and any and all counsel that is not God's counsel for God's people, is an alien counsel. So here's an important truth to remember. Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.
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Since the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom would not listen to God, and God knew that they would not listen, it was prophesied back in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 28. Here's what God said of them: "For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them." They're a nation void of counsel. I want you to hold Isaiah 30, but look back in your Bibles to Psalm 81, again, in what God said concerning them.
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And this, of course, is after he had led them through the wilderness and established them many, many times and many years as well. So look, if you would, in Psalm 81, beginning there with verse 10. Psalm 81, verse 10. And look at the truth that God enunciates in this particular point. Here's what he said. Psalm 81 verse 10: "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." Now look at verse 11.
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"But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels." So they refused God's counsel, but they walked in their own counsel, which is an alien counsel, because man's counsel cannot in any degree compare to God's counsel at all.
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Now, so let me give you an illustration of this. You remember in Joshua chapter 9, how the Amorites came to deceive the children of Israel and get them to enter into a covenant with them. So what did they do? They put on old rotten clothes and shoes that were falling apart, and they got molded bread and old wine bottles. And they came to Joshua and to the elders there and said, "We want you to make a covenant with us."
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"Well, where are you from?" "Oh, we be from a far country. And we've heard the greatness in the name of God. And we want to worship him and we want to be in covenant with you." And you know what? Here's what the Bible says in Joshua 9 in verse 14: "And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord." So they just looked at the rotted clothes and the shoes and looked at the molded bread and the old wine bottle.
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They thought, "Man, these folks have traveled a long, long way." And they ended up making a covenant, found out they were their neighbors next door. Well, why in the world did they do that? Well, they knew they were going to be destroyed and they didn't want to be destroyed. And I can understand that. But they deceived them. And the reason they were deceived: they did not ask counsel of the Lord. So when men then refuse and reject and despise the counsel of God that is given to us in his Word, it will always be to their destruction and also to their devastation.
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And the same thing is true when it applies to societies or families, churches, or even to nations. So humanistic wisdom and humanistic counsel is always against God and his Word. Now if you'll turn in your Bibles very quickly, holding Isaiah 30, and look if you would please at Psalm 33. Psalm 33 and look at verses 10 and 11. Psalm 33:10 and 11, look at what the Bible says. Psalm 33 and verse 10, here it is: "The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought."
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"He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations." Note if you would, "The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever." What does he do about the wicked counsel? He brings it to nought. He makes the devices of the people of none effect. So when you follow your own counsel and when you follow the counsel of the wicked, you're just asking for destruction and devastation. The Bible tells you in Proverbs 21 in verse 30, "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord." So none of the counsel that anyone can give that's contrary to Scripture and that's contrary to God is going to stand. It cannot stand because it's against God.
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So let me make a statement, and I want you to think about this with me. Think about our government today. Think about our government for the last four years. It's absolutely astounding to me and amazing that our political leaders will listen to anyone and everyone and anything except those who are teaching them the Word of God and the truth of God. They listen to all the people who are teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion. They listen to all the LGBTQ people. They listen to anyone and everyone. They listen to all of those who will give the wrong directions on the economy and what money really truly is. They listen to anybody and everybody except God and except his Word. It's just that simple, when at the same time it is God who can either raise a nation or destroy a nation. It's God who can either make a ruler or destroy a ruler. Let me show you. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Job, right before the book of Psalms. Job 12. Job chapter 12, and let's begin reading there with verse 16. Job chapter 12 and verse 16, and I want you
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to note, if you would please, what the Bible says specifically concerning God in the nations. So look at this: Job chapter 12, and we're going to begin there with verse 16. "With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty."
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"He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man." Now I want you to note verse 24. "He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth"—that's the rulers, that's the political leaders—"and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man." No wonder the political leaders have no sense. No wonder they have no common sense. No wonder they have no biblical sense. No wonder we can't be put on a straight and narrow way because they're staggering around like an absolute drunken man.
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So if we really and truly wish America to be great again, then we must return to God and his law. And like Israel of old, we have to become a separate nation. Let me explain that. And when I say Israel was a separate nation, God forbade them to follow the heathen. He forbade them to follow the laws of the heathen, the rules of the heathen, the ordinances of the heathen. He forbade them to follow the culture of the heathen. They were to be a peculiar people separated unto God, and they were to be peculiar in the sense that they belonged to God, and He belonged to them, and they were to obey Him.
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Now, strangers and foreigners could most certainly come into the land, and they can only come into the land. They can live in the land. But when they came into the land, they had to abide by the law of God. They did not bring their idolatry with them. They did not bring their separate laws with them. They had to abide under the law of God because the law of God was the covenant that he had with his people. So Israel, in the Old Testament, was not a multicultural, multi-religious, multi-ethnic people. They were one people. And so, if we want to make America great, we are not going to have a multi-religious nation. We're going to have a Christian nation. If we're going to make America great again, we're not going to have multiculturalism. We're going to have one culture, and that's the Christian culture. We're not going to have multi-ethics. We're going to have one ethic, and that is the biblical ethic. We'll have one religion, and that is the Christian religion.
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So inclusion is not our strength. It is our destruction. So the truth of the matter is this: inclusion brings the judgment of God. You can't include people into a nation that's going to destroy it. Look, if you would, at the criminals that have been included in this nation. Look at the gang members that have been included in the nation. Look at the young women that have been raped and murdered. Look at the businesses that have been destroyed.
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I'm just simply pointing out it is not our greatness. It is our destruction, because everyone who turns from God and His law—it's not an asset. They're a liability. And they try to destroy anything and everything. And they want to make America like the country that they left. So God charges these people in Isaiah chapter 30. And I want you to watch it. Here's what he said.
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"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me." They won't listen to God. Listen to anybody else, but not God. Here's the second charge. Look at it in verse 1. He says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit." Now, when he says they cover with a covering,
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he is saying that they are basically seeking protection. They're seeking to preserve themselves. They're seeking to use the arm of the flesh. So let me explain it. What Judah and Jerusalem were doing particularly in this passage was they were appealing to Egypt and making a treaty with Egypt so that Egypt would protect them from the Assyrians. Okay? Look in verses 2 and 3. Let's read verse 1 again. "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." God said, you've gone down there to try to get Egypt to help you and Egypt to protect you, and what you're doing is you're trusting in the arm of the flesh. You're looking to man
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for protection instead of God for protection. I want you to turn—hold Isaiah 30 but turn right on over, if you would please, to the book of Jeremiah chapter 17. And Jeremiah 17, and I want you to pay attention to the fact that God has placed a definitive curse upon anyone and everyone who relies upon the flesh. Look at it: Jeremiah chapter 17, and let's begin reading there with verse 5. "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Now let me just stop there. You've got to see this. "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." Here's my question: What is the result of trusting in man and trusting in the flesh? Well, there it is in verse 5: "whose heart departeth from the Lord." In other words, if you're not going to trust in the Lord, you're going to trust in man. If you're going to trust in man, you're not trusting in the Lord.
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Your heart departs from the Lord. Here's the curse. Verse 6: "For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited." Now watch the blessing. Verse 7: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." So on the one hand, the man that trusts in the flesh is cursed, and the man that trusts in the Lord is blessed, that is for sure.
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Man is nothing and can do nothing, and the nations that hate God are nothing and can do nothing, and God is saying it is absolutely foolish. It is absolutely vain to trust in man and in the arm of the flesh. Now, so here is what Judah and Jerusalem were doing: they were trusting in Egypt, and in so doing they were covering and wrapping themselves and their nation in the arm of the flesh, and by relying upon Pharaoh and his army and his military might to protect them from the Assyrians. At the same time, they were also trying to hide their betrayal of God, as if they could fool God, as if God was not omniscient.
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So they sought for a cover, then they sought for a shelter. They sought for protection from the enemy, but they did not seek it from God. They did not seek the Spirit of the Lord to cover them or to help them. They did not seek God's Word. They did not seek God's prophets. You know, I've often thought about Hezekiah. When those ambassadors from Babylon came to see him, he showed them everything in his kingdom.
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To me, that would be absolutely foolish. He showed them all his great treasures and everything. Then Isaiah came and said, "What have they seen?" And he said, "They've seen everything." Really? He didn't show them Isaiah. He didn't show them the man of God. And what Hezekiah was doing was trusting in everything that he had. And Isaiah said, "You're going to lose it all. It's all going to Babylon. It's going to all be gone." Why? Because he was glorying in what he had in the flesh instead of glorying in the God of Scripture.
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So they were seeking for the covering from Egypt. Let me give you two verses. The first one is from Isaiah 28 in verse 20. Isaiah 28 in verse 20, God says, "For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it." We have a certain bed in a certain bedroom. It's an antique bed. And Alice is very careful about who sleeps on the bed because it has a footrest that comes up about that high at the end. And if you were a long, tall, lean individual, you're not going to fit on that bed. The bed's too short. And he also said in this passage that the covering too narrow that a man can wrap himself in it.
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Years ago, I saw a cartoon that I really liked. It showed a man and a woman archaeologist and they had just uncovered the skeletons in this tomb and one was lying flat on his back looking up and the other was on one side with the knees kind of bowed up with a rotting blanket over that skeleton. And the man said, as he looked, "Undoubtedly, they were married. And that was a man and a wife. And the woman had stolen all the blanket." I understand that. I understand that.
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Well, that's what God said. When you trust in the flesh, it's just insufficient. It's not going to work. And then in Isaiah 29, in verse 15, God says, "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord." Listen to that. "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?" Just like God's not omniscient. Just like God can't see. John Trapp, the old Puritan, said it like this. He said, "God will make the strongest sinew in the arm of the flesh to crack and the fierce blossoms of human policies to wither." And He will. Now, in all probability, when you look in Isaiah 30, and I do want you to look there, in all probability, Isaiah 30, in its context, is dealing with the—I'm going to say not just possible, but immediate, if not in the short future—of the invasion of Assyria.
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Sennacherib had already conquered a lot of the cities, the defense cities of Judah. And now he's up around Jerusalem. And so what Judah and Jerusalem are doing are turning now to Egypt. So look, if you would, in Isaiah 30. And let's begin reading there with verse 3. And we'll read through verse 7 so you can see the context. In verse 3, "Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion."
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"For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach." So Egypt didn't do a thing. "The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them."
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Pay them all you want, it will do no good. He says, "For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still."
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Now, of course, Sennacherib did come. May I remind you that some of the people still fled into Egypt. If I had the time, I'd like to read Jeremiah 40, 41, and 42, but I don't have the time. But if you will turn to Jeremiah chapter 42, I will tell you exactly what is going to happen to those people who did escape into Egypt and they were fleeing from the Assyrians. And I want you to see what God said in Jeremiah chapter 42, beginning there with verse 15. "Now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them." And the only interesting thing is, they were
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running from the Assyrians and they ran down into Egypt. And then God sent the Assyrians to conquer Egypt. So they ran into the very thing that they were trying to run from. Now, let me mention something. There was nothing wrong with being militarily prepared as long as you don't trust in your preparation and your military. We might have more bombers than China. China may have more bombers than we have. Who knows? Just because you build a great and strong military will not necessarily make you a great nation. It might make you think that you are a great nation. But military preparation in and of itself is insufficient.
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I would say that Pharaoh and his chariots and his horsemen who were chasing a disarmed people, Israel, had a distinct advantage. But they all drowned and all the Israelites escaped. They had a mighty military. So all I'm trying to say, there's nothing wrong with being trained. There's nothing wrong with knowing the art of self-defense and knowing why and when and where and how to defend yourself.
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But if I had 40 AR-15s and 20 Gatling guns and 100 bazookas around me, the truth is if God did not protect me, none of that would help me at all. I'm just simply pointing out the fact our trust is in the Lord. And even though he gives us means and we learn how to use those means, we cannot trust in those means.
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Now, let me give you a good illustration. Second Chronicles, chapter 13. In fact, I'd like you to turn there if you would. Hold Isaiah 30, but go back to Second Chronicles, chapter 13. We're just going to read a few verses, but I'm going to tell you about it. When you get to 2nd Chronicles chapter 13, there is a war between Samaria, the northern kingdom, and Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom. So notice, if you would, there's a war going on, and Jeroboam happens to be the king of the northern kingdom, and Abijah happens to be the king of the southern kingdom. And so Jeroboam then is coming to fight against Abijah with 800,000 men. And Abijah is coming toward him with 400,000 men. So Abijah is outnumbered two to one. And of course Jeroboam has already set up the golden calves. They've kicked out the priests and the Levites. And so Abijah is telling Jeroboam not to fight against Judah because he told him very plainly, "Our God is with us. Our God is with us. We have his trumpets."
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"We have been sacrificing to him, and do not fight against us." And while Abijah is giving this lesson to Jeroboam and his people, Jeroboam has caused now an ambush to be set behind Abijah. Remember, he's already outnumbered two to one. So if you look in your Bibles to 2nd Chronicles, chapter 13, and look, if you would, at verse 13, here's what happens. "But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind."
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"And they cried unto the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers." And note if you would, so 400,000 defeated 800,000 by killing 500,000 in battle. And the reason the Bible said they gained the victory was because they relied upon the Lord their God. So all the military might of Jeroboam and all the military might of Samaria was absolutely useless.
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Now, if you go back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 30, you're going to see the third charge that God brings against them. Not only does he say in verse 1, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin."
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Now, look, if you would, we've covered the first two. Here's the last charge: that they add sin to sin. So I mentioned this earlier. I'm going to say it again. Sin never stands alone. One sin always leads to another sin. Just think about this. Every lie has to be backed up with more lies. And so what God is saying in Isaiah chapter 30 in verse 1 here, that they had already had enough sin that merited and deserved his judgment and his punishment. However, they're now adding sin to sin because they're refusing to listen. They're refusing to repent, they're refusing to turn, and now they're adding newer and fresher sins that's going to deserve far more judgment. So they add to the sin of rebelling against God and that of forming a wicked and an unbiblical alliance with Egypt. Of course, God had forbidden that as well. So sins do not usually stand alone. So when one individual commits a sin, it's necessary usually to carry out other sins as well, or to carry out the plan which you've already contemplated in your mind.
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Now, here's what John Gill said. Listen carefully. "The sins of consulting others, and of putting confidence in a creature, to their other sins of rebellion and apostasy. So wicked men, who are enemies in their minds by wicked works to God, and commit acts of hostility against him, or endanger thereby of eternal ruin, do not consult the word and the ministers of the gospel, but flesh and blood, carnal sense and reason, and seek to cover themselves with the rags of their own righteousness, and not with the robe of Christ's righteousness and his garments of salvation, which the Spirit of God reveals and brings near. And so there are other sins, they add, that of trusting to their own righteousness and not submitting to the righteousness of Christ."
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So, in Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 19, the Scripture says, "And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst." So he's adding sin to sin. And you remember they accused Job in the book of Job chapter 34 of adding rebellion to his sin.
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So the situation then is where Judah and Jerusalem are actually not only sinning against God, but they're now trusting in the arm of the flesh. They're trusting in Egypt. So let me give you a summation of what I just said. The summation of trusting in the flesh in any and every area of life—economically, militarily, governmentally, politically, religiously, and familially—is given to us in Isaiah 30 verses 8 through 11. I want you to look at this. Look at what God says it's going to happen. This happened to Judah and Jerusalem, so it happened to Israel, it'll happen to every nation like this. He says, "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever." Here's what you write: "That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the
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path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit." So God says here's what's happening: they're saying to the seers, "Don't see anything biblical, don't see anything right." To the prophets, "Prophesy not unto us right things. Don't tell us what God demands. Don't tell us what we are supposed to be doing. What we want you to do is you prophesy unto us smooth things. You prophesy deceits. Let us know how good we are. Let us know how blessed we are, but don't tell us about our sins.
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Don't tell us about our wickedness." I've often laughed at this and thought about this. I enjoy studying and I enjoy history and I certainly enjoy preparing messages, but I've often thought how difficult it must be, how hard it must be on a preacher who tries to present himself as preaching the Bible and yet at the same time he has to make absolutely sure he doesn't upset anyone,
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hurt anybody's feelings, and say anything that's going to run somebody off. It's got to be a strain on your nerves like that instead of just coming out and saying, "Here's what God says." But you know, that's what these people are saying. This is why you have the mega churches that are full and running over and you have the smaller churches where truth is being preached because people just do not want to hear what God says. And the attitude is, "Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from us." And so God says here's what's going to happen. He said because you trust in oppression and perverseness, because you despise his word, he said this is going to be like a huge wall that's ready to burst and ready to fall. I don't know if some of you saw the little video. It's still on YouTube. There was a huge stone wall, trees all over it, had been raining, raining, cars were parked all along that wall. And the wall started to crack. And one woman heard it.
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And she ran to her car, jumped in her car, drove off. And just as she drove off, the whole wall came down, crushed all the cars. Then the trees and the mud came down. Now that was a wall ready to burst. This is exactly what God is saying. It's going to happen suddenly. It's going to happen quickly. And you're not going to be able to recover from it because he said it's going to be like bursting a potter's vessel. When you break that little clay pot into zillions of pieces, he said, you're not even going to find a piece to get a little bit of water with or to get ashes out of the fireplace with. He said, it's going to be totally, absolutely destroyed.
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And that certainly is true. It's true not only of an individual, it's true of a family, it's true of a church, it's true of a society, and it's true of a nation. And although we may not say these exact words, we may not say, "Don't preach the Word of God to us, don't tell us what God says, don't tell us what God demands." We may not say those words, but by our attitudes and our actions, that's exactly what we are expressing. It's the attitude of the heart. So the truth is that man by nature does not desire God. Man by nature does not desire the law of God. Man by nature does not wish to obey God.
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He wishes to fulfill the lust of his flesh. Now, so let me make a statement. I want you to think about this. We will never make America great again until we repent and come back to God and come back to biblical truth and biblical law and biblical justice.
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Now, if you have not come to that position yet, all I can say is continue dreaming your own humanistic dream, because the truth of the matter is your humanistic utopia will never come to pass, because God is the one that determines reality and not man. So, God says, here is how a nation is blessed.
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Now, let me show you. I've showed you where we came from, from where we fell. I showed you why. Now, I want to show you how to return. This is my first application. Look in verse 15. "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." God said, look, all you have to do is return and rest in me and you'll be saved. It's just that simple. He said, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." I will take care of you if you will just trust in me.
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And then he said, "And ye would not." So here's the statement that I want to make, and I want you to think about this. If America is destroyed—maybe I should say it another way, when America is destroyed—don't blame God. God has told us how to save our nation, by returning to Him in submission and obedience. But notice if you would, the fault is not in God, the fault is us. God said, "I've told you how, but you would not." You wouldn't listen. You would not return. You would not listen to me. So I would say this. If God likens the destruction of a nation to a bowing wall and a tottering fence, to a dam that's ready to burst, and to a clay pot that has burst into a zillion pieces, don't be surprised when destruction breaks out. Don't be surprised when it happens instantaneously, because God has said, "I've told you, I've told you, I've told you." I want you to look back at Isaiah 30 in verse 7. I'm going to repeat this verse.
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Look at this. Judah and Jerusalem were trusting in Egypt, "For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still." Nothing of the arm of the flesh is going to save us. No party is going to save us. No one man is going to save us. No piece of paper is going to save us. No treaty is going to save us. Only God can save us.
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Remember that passage I quoted in Psalm 33 in verse 12: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." So God then is our protector. He's our preserver. He's our victory. We need him alone. And the way we come back to him is by now listening to his counsel instead of the counsel of men, covering ourselves with his protection, asking his protection, and submitting to him, and obeying him, and not adding sin to sin. And God said, here's how you do it.
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"In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." The fault is ours if we're destroyed. It's certainly not God's. All right, before we pray, are there any questions or are there any comments on the lesson? Well, I either preached it well and explained it well. Yes, sir. Go ahead. So I had a question about the other thing about here lately with what you brought up when Israel was tricked and they made that covenant. Would they have been justified in slaying them with the sword since they brought it in their false pretenses? No, because, you know, they thought about that.
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So but they had given their word. And God says, once you give your word, you cannot go back on it. And so what Joshua did was instead of slaying them with the sword, he made them servants. He said, "You will draw water and you'll cut firewood for the house of our God." In other words, they were the ones who were going to be doing all of that.
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Now, it's interesting, though, when the other Amorites found out that these Amorites, which were actually Gibeonites, they were from Gibeah, when they had made peace with Israel, the other Amorites attacked them. And so they sent word to Joshua and said, "We are incompetent. You make haste to get up here and help us because these other kings are attacking us." And of course Joshua came and then defeated the other kings and saved the Gibeonites. So they had given their word and God made them keep their word. Their sin was not seeking counsel from God to begin with. Had they sought God's counsel, He would have showed them the deviousness and the fraud and the trickery, but they did not seek His counsel.
#79 | 1:01:01 to 1:01:46 | cleaned
And so look, there's an application of that for us. Look how many times we get hoodwinked by our political leaders, by every hook and crook of every man, because we don't ever ask the Lord. We don't ever seek a biblical answer to it. We just trust in the flesh and we get hooked. So, you know, no, they could not. I understand it was by deceit, but they'd given their word and God made them hold their word. Okay. All right, anyone else? Did somebody say something? I was listening to one of these confirmation hearings, you know, how Trump has got certain people that he's trying to get in, you know, like Kennedy Jr. And they said, "We want to know your world views," you know, the left is really... And this one woman says, "Obviously my world views are completely different than yours." They were trying to, you know, trick her up. And I mean, there are some people trying to, like Kennedy said, "We need to stop trying to cure diseases and spend time how to prevent them."
#80 | 1:01:47 to 1:03:11 | cleaned
Yeah, that's a fact. You know, there's some good people in there trying to buck all of this, but without repentance and spiritual revival. Trump was even talking about an external tax.
#81 | 1:03:11 to 1:03:26 | cleaned
Now the forefathers, they wanted to support the government on duties, imports, and excise. So he's on the right track there, but without repentance and revival, so this thing's going to pan out. But, you know, they've sort of got the cart before the horse. They're trying to implement some of the forefathers back to some of their, you know, like an external... We were in the black when we had the running the country on duties and post-excise. But it's a little of a cart before the horse, in my opinion.
#82 | 1:03:27 to 1:04:06 | cleaned
Well, the truth of the matter is our worldview is entirely different from their worldview. That is a fact. That is for sure. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. All right, well, let's have prayer then. Father, thank you again today for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his grace and mercy to us. Lord, we pray that you would help us, grant us repentance, grant us, Lord, that we may always listen to thy counsel, trust in thee and cover with thy divine covering. And Lord, may we be submissive and obedient and not add sin to sin. May we bow before Thee and work and walk before Thee in truth and holiness and righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#83 | 1:04:07 to 1:04:55 | cleaned
so so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:03:28Z

Make America Great Again

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines the phrase 'Make America Great Again' through the lens of Isaiah 30, arguing that America's original greatness was its Christian foundation and biblical law. He contends that the nation fell by turning to humanistic counsel and trusting in the arm of the flesh rather than God. True restoration requires repentance, returning to God's counsel, and trusting in Him alone, not in political or military might.

Opening

Isaiah chapter 30, we will read the first 15 verses. Isaiah chapter 30, and look, if you would please, at verse 1. Isaiah 30 and verse 1, God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 30:1-15

"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, that walk to go down into Egypt and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." "For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still." "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces." "He shall not spare, so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not."

Introduction: Defining Greatness

Weaver introduces the phrase 'Make America Great Again' and explores the varying definitions of 'greatness' depending on context, such as wealth, power, or health.

America's Original Greatness: A Christian Foundation

America's founding greatness lay in its biblical worldview, with early charters and constitutions explicitly Christian, as evidenced by quotes from John Jay and Benjamin Rush.

The Bible says in Psalm 33 and verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:12

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."

But now listen to that.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:12

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

The Fall: Turning from God to Humanism

America fell by rejecting God's counsel and embracing rationalism, transcendentalism, and humanism, particularly after the War of Northern Aggression, which transformed the republic into an empire.

Man's abilities to build, make, guard, produce, and protect are worthless. We have forgotten the truth of Psalm 127 in verse 1, where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 127:1

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Charge 1: Taking Counsel but Not of God

God charges Israel with seeking alien counsel, which is any counsel not from God. This leads to destruction, as seen in Joshua 9 and Psalm 33.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:28

"For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them."

Scripture Reading — Joshua 9:14

"And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:10-11

"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought." "He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 33:10-11

"The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever."

Charge 2: Covering with a Covering but Not of God's Spirit

Israel sought protection from Egypt instead of God, trusting in the arm of the flesh. Jeremiah 17 curses those who trust in man, while blessing those who trust in the Lord.

Charge 3: Adding Sin to Sin

Israel compounded their rebellion by adding new sins, such as forming an unbiblical alliance with Egypt. Sin never stands alone; one sin leads to another.

So, in Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 19, the Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 29:19

"And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst."

So he's adding sin to sin. And you remember they accused Job in the book of Job chapter 34 of adding rebellion to his sin.

The Consequences of Rebellion

God warns that despising His word and trusting in oppression leads to sudden, total destruction, like a bursting wall or shattered potter's vessel.

The Path to Restoration: Returning and Resting in God

True restoration comes only through repentance, returning to God, and trusting in Him. Isaiah 30:15 offers the solution: 'In returning and rest shall ye be saved.'

Make America Great Again

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	U8R2M0RZO-8
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2025-07-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 13
Source Timed Segments	84

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Defining Greatness: Weaver introduces the phrase 'Make America Great Again' and explores the varying definitions of 'greatness' depending on context, such as wealth, power, or health.
America's Original Greatness: A Christian Foundation: America's founding greatness lay in its biblical worldview, with early charters and constitutions explicitly Christian, as evidenced by quotes from John Jay and Benjamin Rush.
The Fall: Turning from God to Humanism: America fell by rejecting God's counsel and embracing rationalism, transcendentalism, and humanism, particularly after the War of Northern Aggression, which transformed the republic into an empire.
Charge 1: Taking Counsel but Not of God: God charges Israel with seeking alien counsel, which is any counsel not from God. This leads to destruction, as seen in Joshua 9 and Psalm 33.
Charge 2: Covering with a Covering but Not of God's Spirit: Israel sought protection from Egypt instead of God, trusting in the arm of the flesh. Jeremiah 17 curses those who trust in man, while blessing those who trust in the Lord.
Charge 3: Adding Sin to Sin: Israel compounded their rebellion by adding new sins, such as forming an unbiblical alliance with Egypt. Sin never stands alone; one sin leads to another.
The Consequences of Rebellion: God warns that despising His word and trusting in oppression leads to sudden, total destruction, like a bursting wall or shattered potter's vessel.
The Path to Restoration: Returning and Resting in God: True restoration comes only through repentance, returning to God, and trusting in Him. Isaiah 30:15 offers the solution: 'In returning and rest shall ye be saved.'

Major Themes

Key Arguments

America's greatness was its Christian identity

The nation was founded on biblical principles, with early leaders explicitly affirming Christianity as the basis for law and education.

Quotes from John Jay: 'Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty... of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.'

The fall came through rejecting God's counsel

America turned to humanism and rationalism, especially after the Civil War, leading to a departure from its biblical roots.

Weaver states: 'We went into that war as... independent states in a constitutional republic, and we came out of that war as an American empire, and we've been going downhill ever since.'

Human counsel is alien and destructive

Any counsel not from God is against God and leads to devastation, as seen in Israel's history.

Weaver says: 'Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.'

Trusting in man brings a curse

Jeremiah 17:5 declares a curse on those who trust in man, resulting in a heart that departs from the Lord.

Weaver reads Jeremiah 17:5-6 and explains: 'If you're not going to trust in the Lord, you're going to trust in man. If you're going to trust in man, you're not trusting in the Lord.'

Military might is insufficient without God

Even overwhelming military advantage is useless if God is not on your side, as shown in 2 Chronicles 13.

Weaver recounts the battle where 400,000 defeated 800,000 because 'they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.'

Sin compounds and leads to greater judgment

Rebellion against God leads to adding more sins, increasing divine judgment.

Weaver explains: 'They're now adding sin to sin because they're refusing to listen. They're refusing to repent... and now they're adding newer and fresher sins.'

Rejecting God's word invites sudden destruction

Nations that despise God's word and demand smooth preaching will face swift and total ruin.

Weaver quotes Isaiah 30:13-14 about a breach ready to fall and a potter's vessel broken in pieces.

Restoration requires returning and resting in God

The solution is not political or military but spiritual: repentance and trust in God alone.

Weaver emphasizes Isaiah 30:15: 'In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.'

Scripture References

Isaiah 30:1-15: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning, detailing God's charges against rebellious Israel.
Psalm 33:12: Cited to show that a nation is blessed when its God is the Lord.
Psalm 127:1: Quoted to emphasize that human efforts are vain unless the Lord builds and guards.
Isaiah 1:1-3: Referenced to show that Isaiah began his ministry with the same charge of rebellion.
Deuteronomy 32:28: Cited to describe Israel as a nation void of counsel.
Psalm 81:10-12: Quoted to show that God gave Israel up to their own counsels when they refused to listen.
Joshua 9:14: Used as an illustration of failing to ask counsel of the Lord, leading to deception.
Psalm 33:10-11: Quoted to show that the Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nothing.
Proverbs 21:30: Cited to assert that no wisdom or counsel can stand against the Lord.
Job 12:16-25: Read to demonstrate God's sovereignty over nations and rulers, making them stagger like drunkards.
Jeremiah 17:5-8: Quoted to contrast the curse of trusting in man with the blessing of trusting in the Lord.
Isaiah 28:20: Cited to illustrate the insufficiency of human coverings.
Isaiah 29:15: Quoted to rebuke those who think they can hide their counsel from God.
Jeremiah 42:15-17: Read to show that those who fled to Egypt for safety would die there by sword, famine, and pestilence.
2 Chronicles 13:13-18: Recounted to illustrate that victory comes from relying on the Lord, not military might.
Deuteronomy 29:19: Cited to show the concept of adding sin to sin, specifically adding drunkenness to thirst.
Job 34:37: Mentioned as an example of adding rebellion to sin.

Historical References

John Jay, first Supreme Court Justice: Quoted to show that early American leaders viewed the nation as Christian and preferred Christian rulers.
Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence: Cited for his advocacy of using the Bible as a textbook and teaching Christianity in schools.
Constitution of Connecticut (1639): Mentioned as an example of early colonial charters holding forth the Bible as a perfect rule for government.
New Haven Colony Charter (1644): Cited as adopting the judicial laws of Moses as a rule for courts.
Constitution of Tennessee (1796): Quoted to show that officeholders were required to believe in God and future rewards and punishments.
War of Northern Aggression (Civil War, 1861-1865): Described as a religious war where the North forced rationalism on the South, leading to the transformation from a republic to an empire.
Abraham Lincoln: Criticized for destroying the Constitution to save the Union.
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah: Historical context for Isaiah 30, where Judah sought Egypt's help against Assyria.
John Gill (Puritan commentator): Quoted on the meaning of adding sin to sin, including trusting in one's own righteousness.
John Trapp (Puritan commentator): Quoted: 'God will make the strongest sinew in the arm of the flesh to crack and the fierce blossoms of human policies to wither.'

Important Quotes

Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.

John Jay's quote establishes the early American view that the nation was Christian and should be led by Christians.

We profess to be Republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible.

Benjamin Rush's statement underscores the founding belief that Christian education was essential for the republic's survival.

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 127:1 is used to argue that human efforts are futile without God's blessing.

Any counsel that is not of God, from God, or through the application of God's law is against God. It is an alien counsel.

Weaver's key theological point that all non-biblical counsel is inherently opposed to God.

Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:5 is quoted to emphasize the divine curse on human reliance.

In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Isaiah 30:15 is the central verse offering the solution of repentance and trust, highlighting human refusal.

Their strength is to sit still.

Isaiah 30:7 is repeated to stress that human help is vain; true strength lies in quiet trust in God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does the sermon identify as the original source of America's greatness, and do you agree with this assessment?

[Context]

Weaver argues that America's greatness was its Christian foundation and biblical law.

[Question]

How does the concept of 'alien counsel' apply to modern political and cultural advice?

[Context]

Weaver defines any counsel not from God as alien and destructive.

[Question]

In what ways do individuals and nations today 'cover with a covering but not of God's Spirit'?

[Context]

The sermon discusses seeking protection from human sources rather than God.

[Question]

Why does Weaver say that 'inclusion is not our strength; it is our destruction'?

[Context]

He argues that including those who reject God's law leads to national judgment.

[Question]

How does the example of 2 Chronicles 13 challenge our trust in military or political power?

[Context]

The battle shows that reliance on God, not numbers, brings victory.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'add sin to sin' in a national context, and what are modern examples?

[Context]

Weaver explains that sin compounds, leading to greater judgment.

[Question]

How can the church today avoid the demand for 'smooth things' and faithfully proclaim God's word?

[Context]

Isaiah 30:10-11 describes people who want pleasant messages rather than truth.

[Question]

What practical steps does 'returning and rest' involve for a nation or individual?

[Context]

Isaiah 30:15 is presented as the path to salvation and strength.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:07:50Z