“The perils now threatening the world begin with individual corruption and selfishness that ultimately lead to international breakdown. But there is an answer, and you are part of that answer.”

No man is an island. “None of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone” (Romans 14:7). From the moment we are born to the moment we die, our life affects others.

Men in every nation are desperately seeking peace, freedom and security. But in the view of history one must ask, “Is it possible to have all three together?” The perils now threatening the world begin with individual corruption and selfishness that ultimately lead to international breakdown. Evil, violence, blasphemy, pride, sorcery, anarchy and heresy are all rooted in self-centeredness (2 Timothy 3:1-13). But there is an answer, and you are part of that answer. Peace must begin in the heart of individuals. Ultimate personal peace can only come when one is first reconciled to God. Jesus has “made peace” for us through the blood of Calvary (Is. 53:5; Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20). That peace gives man access to fellowship, mutual participation and unifying sympathy which results in communion. The mystery of the cross, which gives everyone who receives its cleansing free and full access to God, is this: The Trinity dwelt in fullness in Christ and thereby man was reconciled to Father and Spirit as to the Son in Him (Col. 1:19). We were restored to a complete communion wherein we each find the true fullness of who we are. Freedom of expression is only really human as long as it follows in the image of the God who made man.

Fellowship and freedom are the human components for knowledge of the truth and truth is the “soul of a free community” (Jurgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom xiii). Such peace and the freedom it produces leads to security.

The answer to the global crisis of this generation lies in Christian patriots arising in every nation. Patriots are those who understand the importance of divine destiny upon them: They are born to a particular nation in these particular days and so conduct themselves in the power of the Spirit to do the Father’s will within that nation.

The holy tension between the promises Christians possess by the Spirit in the face of the conflicts and suffering of man in this life, and the full and final inheritance we shall receive when we see Him, places Christians as the intercessory bridge between this world and the world to come. That tension and the inheritance that belongs to the believer through Christ is the hope for salvation and peace in this world. Therefore it is the responsibility of Christians everywhere to seek and know what is the will of God that a banner of righteousness be lifted up in and through them within the borders of their own nations in each successive generation. The ancient prophets from Abraham to Moses to Samuel and Jeremiah understood themselves to be intercessors holding onto God with one hand and onto their people and homeland with the other until the two be reconciled (Gen. 18; Num. 14; 1 Sam. 7; Jer. 15).

Ultimately God shows forth Himself as He who “ever lives to make intercession.” Only those who have entered the atoning power of the blood covenant in Christ as Supreme Mediator have this authority in prayers for kings, for those in authority, and for “all men” on the earth (1 Tim. 2:1-5). They make up the great victorious company of men and women from all nations as seen by John the revelator, eternally singing the glories of the Lamb and His blood.

The Mediation that Christ established in the cosmic authority of His cross, burial and resurrection has power to unite all things together in one (Eph. 1:10,14). The gospel shows forth Christ as before all things and in whom all things consist. The apostle Paul explains that the whole Gentile world were non-citizens of the commonwealth of Israel and as such separated from the covenant promises of God until Christ intervened to make of many one family in community for and with Himself (Eph. 2:12). In Colossians 1:19 he again declares that it is the pleasure of the Father to “reconcile all things” on earth and in heaven “to Himself” making peace through the blood of the cross by bringing them to salvation in Jesus. The greatest impact by revivals throughout history were those which caused such a conversion of souls within a community that the social culture was changed from chaos to peace as Jesus was made governor of men’s hearts, and they ceased to live to themselves alone. Christians are ambassadorial representatives and embassies within their nations of that universal power and, to the measure they may influence the society around them, the hope for peace between men is made possible. This best explains the essential nature of a Christian patriot's destiny. We should be careful to realize, however, this is opposite from globalism or universalism which has its first expression in the building of the tower of Babel. The highest patriot act is for a person to be willing to lay down his or her life as Christ has done that the gospel be proclaimed to save the fellow citizens of his or her nation.

In his excellent book, The Cross of Christ, John Stott writes: “from the Day of Pentecost onwards it is clear that conversion to Christ means also conversion to the community of Christ, as people turn from themselves to him, and from ‘this corrupt generation’ to the alternate society which he is gathering around himself. These two transfers--of personal allegiance and social membership--cannot be separated" (255). This dynamic truth is neither millenarianism or chiliasm, but the core of the gospel which is to create an ultimate eternal kingdom where there is One Beneficent King and where all citizens are His loving loyal subjects living in grace and harmony together. It is plain that the first duty of Christians within their nation is to proclaim the gospel of salvation at every opportunity. This radical mission was what energized the early church and within a short time turned the world on its ear. Stott says, “the very purpose of [Christ’s] self-giving on the cross was not just to save isolated individuals, and so perpetuate their loneliness, but to create a new community whose members would belong to him, love one another and eagerly serve the world.’ ‘The cross is not just a badge to identify us, and the banner under which we march; it is also the compass which gives us our bearings in a disoriented world. In particular, the cross revolutionizes our attitudes to God, to ourselves, to other people both inside and outside the Christian fellowship, and to the grave problems of violence and suffering” (255). The eternal family of God will be made of people from “every tribe, nation, language and tongue.” This means that there will be a beauty of diversity reflected in the ethnic uniqueness and cultural richness created by God in those who have been saved from every nation in the world.

The glory of your nation as an eternal expression of family, culture and national heritage, is appointed to the New Jerusalem. That glory will be present because of your faith and faithfulness in your generation. Your willingness to be a sacrificial part of contributing to God’s glory in your homeland and community is an essential element of bringing your fellow citizens to the light of Christ. Positive contribution to one’s family and church community is a foremost expression of personal faith, but it does not stop there. How do we relate to the nation in which we have been placed? We must ask ourselves, “What does God desire for my nation?” No one who knows the Lord or the Scriptures can say, “God is not interested in the destiny of my nation.” Nor can a believer say, “God desires my nation to come to evil.” We must each look beyond ourselves. Your national identity, like your family identity, is no accident. Nor is it your own individual choice. The hand of God is intimately involved. Christians must see themselves as responsible for contribution to righteousness in the nation where God has placed them. We can only fulfill our destiny as we fulfill God’s role for us in the nation where we have been planted. As such we become an effective part of the eternal glory that will parade in triumph into the City of God, fellowshipping and reigning with Christ forever. John described the Lamb’s wife, New Jerusalem, as filled with that great victory parade: “The nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev. 21:24-27).

There are four things every Christian can do as a patriot in their nation:

1. Pray and work for righteous persons to be placed in leadership at all levels of government. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, for there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

2. Share Christ at every opportunity the Holy Spirit gives. God desires “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). You have a contribution to make.

3. Pray and work that your nation and your community will be a friend to Israel and to the Jewish people. The Abrahamic covenant is the basis for salvation which has come to us in Jesus Christ. God has sworn to uphold His promise to Abraham as an eternal pact which shall be fulfilled to the utmost. Part of that spoken promise is this: “I shall bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” Individuals, groups, communities and nations who plot destruction of Israel or the Jews bring themselves under a curse. As you seek peace for Israel, peace will come home to you (Psalm 122).

4. Be thankful! In times of difficulty and oppression sometimes it is difficult to open your mouth in praise. Thanksgiving is the gateway to God’s Presence. When a Christian praises God, his heart is flooded with relief and grace. When a Christian offers praise, God is enthroned, the atmosphere begins to change, and God’s salvation will appear. “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23).

The words of JFK apply to Christians in every nation: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” A patriot is the light of Christ in the face of the darkness of sin and national chaos. A patriot is an intercessor standing in the gap as Jesus, interceding for salvation to come to his or her people. A patriot is salt in his or her culture to bind, preserve and disinfect according to biblical righteousness. A patriot is a strongpoint for breakthrough of spiritual blessing and a lasting heritage to be found for God in his or her culture. The heart of patriotism lies in service and vigilance. The opportunity to serve presents itself to us every day in many ways. At the same time we must be alert and vigilant as watchmen who cry unto God day and night that He might establish justice and righteousness in our land. Like the remnant who returned to build Jerusalem with Ezra and Nehemiah, we must be able to work and defend at the same time. We hold a building implement in one hand and work to complete God’s design while grasping a weapon in the other hand. With the sword of the Spirit we ward off powers of darkness opposing Christ and seeking to eliminate His Presence from our homeland. As Christian patriots take their place for the purpose of God in their nations and communities, we guarantee the presentation of our nation’s glory in the great triumph of eternal pageantry that shall process into the Holy City to dwell forever with the Lamb who was slain that all men might have life. In the words of the rest of Cecil Spring-Arthur’s wonderful hymn:

And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago—
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

As you pray for the glory of God to fill your homeland, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and may the peace that surpasses human thinking fill your land.