♪ The year was 1630 and a wooden ship was preparing to set sail from England to America. On board where a group of Protestant Christians called the Puritans who had been trying to reform the English church as part of the Reformation. But they faced severe persecution and decided to seek refuge in America, where they hoped to establish a nation based on the principles found in Scripture. The ship was loaded with provisions, tools and supplies for their journey across the Atlantic.
The passengers, however, were anxious and excited about the unknown journey ahead. But their leader, John Winthrop was calm and composed. He had penned a sermon entitled A Model Of Christian Charity, which laid out the vision for America. In his sermon, Winthrop invoked Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount, urging his fellow Puritans to follow the counsel of Micah 6:8.
"He had shewed thee, O man, what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?" And if they did, they would become a Shining City on a Hill. His words have inspired generations and revealed the foundations of America, which are built on the Word of God. And that is why, for generations, preachers and politicians have evoked John Winthrop's words onboard the Arbella.
♪ Now, the only way to avoid this shipwreck and to provide for our posterity is to follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. The Lord will be our God and dwell among us as his own people. And he will command a blessing upon us in all our ways so that we shall see much more of his wisdom, power and truth, when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, "Lord, make it like that of New England."
For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we deal falsely with our God and so cause him to withdraw his help from us, then we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. (thunderstorm sounds) As Ronald Reagan prepared to deliver his farewell address to the American people, he knew that he wanted to leave them with a message of hope and inspiration.
Having spent eight years as President of the United States, he began to speak about a phrase that had always held a special place in his heart. It was a phrase that he thought had been coined by John Winthrop: City on a Hill. But it was actually Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount. Reagan explained that he had always been drawn to this phrase because it embodied the American story of another freedom man in a little wooden boat.
He spoke of the many immigrants who had come to America over the years, seeking a better life for themselves and their families. They had all been inspired by the idea of America as a Shining City on a Hill, a beacon of hope and freedom to the rest of the world. But what did it really mean to be a City on a Hill? Reagan explained that it was about more than just being a powerful nation. It was about living up to the highest ideals of freedom and democracy.
It was about being a shining example to the rest of the world, showing them what was possible when people were free to pursue their dreams and live their lives in peace. And with those words Ronald Reagan left office. But his vision of America as a city on a hill continued to inspire generations of Americans to come. ♪ "The past few days, when I have been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the shining "city upon a hill".
The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early "Freedom Man". He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat. I've spoken of a shining city on my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it.
But in my mind, it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind swept, God blessed and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace. A city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors. And the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still.
And how stands the city on this winter night, more prosperous, more secure and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that, after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow is held steady no matter what stone. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom. For all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are driven through the darkness towards me. We've done our part.
And as I walk off into the city streets, my friends, we did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer. And we left it in good hands. All in all, not bad. Not bad at all. So goodbye. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America." ♪ Let's explore that. Because the founding of America was pivotal in God's plan. A city on a hill, America, the real America was the city on a hill that stopped slavery.
And America the city on a hill made room and created a safe place for the Jews to live in freedom. And the nation welcomed generation of immigrants who could not find freedom anywhere else on earth, freedom to worship God in peace. America became a base that has sent missionaries all around the world. And all of the wars that a city on a hill has fought in, in its 250 year history have been to defend freedom and protect the defenseless from tyranny.
But if this nation is in the providence of God destined to lead the way in the moral and political emancipation of the world, it's because the church understood her high calling. In the pulpit, in the pew harness the Word and prayer for the work. It was only natural that politicians who believed in this idea of America would invoke Winthrop's speech, which were echoes of Jesus words that he spoke that day on the wind swept hills of Israel.
♪ But I have been guided by the standard John Winthrop set before his shipmates on the flagship Arbella 331 years ago, as they too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier. "We must always consider", he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us." Today, the eyes of all people are truly upon us.
And our governance in every branch, at every level, national, state and local must be as a city upon a hill constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities. ♪ Jesus original words were, as the King James version renders it, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel. But on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
So let me take a minute and recap and let's watch how these words of Jesus have been invoked by presidents and leaders for 250 years. First, of course, you have John Winthrop, "...For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us..." The phrase was also invoked by other founding fathers, including John Adams, who in 1812 wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson saying this.
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. And that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature. The idea of America as a city on a hill has remained a powerful and enduring image in American political and cultural discourse.
While Lincoln did not use the phrase city on a hill specifically, he did express a similar sentiment in his famous Gettysburg Address. He said this... ♪ A new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, that government of the people, by the people and all the people shall not perish from the earth."
♪ These words suggest that Lincoln saw the United States as a beacon of hope and freedom in the world, and that he believed it had a special mission to spread these values. Even President Obama understood this idea when he said... ♪ And it was right here, right in these waters where the American experiment began. As the earliest settlers arrived on the shores of Boston and Salem and Plymouth, they dreamed of building a city on a hill.
And the world watched, waiting to see if this improbable idea called America would succeed. [Gene Bailey] And finally, in his inaugural address, President Trump said... ♪ We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine. As an example, we will shine for everyone to follow. (cheering) Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again.
And yes, together we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America. ♪ While he did not explicitly use the phrase "City on a Hill", the line a new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights and heal our divisions is often seen as a reference to the famous quote from John Winthrop's, 1630 sermon. "We must consider that we shall be, as a city upon a hill," Winthrop said.
The eyes of all people are upon us so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world." These words inspired Winthrop fellow Puritans, and they would inspire generations of Americans to come. They captured the spirit of the New World in the belief that America could be a beacon of hope and freedom for all people.
It was only natural that politicians who believed in this idea of America would indeed invoke Winthrop's and Jesus' words spoken 2000 years ago on that wind swept hillside in Israel. ♪ [Narrator] In the spring of 1630, John Winthrop stood on the deck of the Arbella, the ship that was taking him, and hundreds of other Puritans to the New World. As he looked out over the ocean, he felt a sense of both excitement and trepidation.
He was leaving behind everything he knew, everything that was familiar to embark on a new adventure in a new land. But Winthrop was not alone in this journey. He was accompanied by his faith and by the words of Jesus Christ. In particular, he was drawn to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which he had read and reread many times in preparation for this trip. As he stood on the deck, Winthrop thought about the words of Jesus that had inspired him so deeply.
He thought about being the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city on a hill that could not be hidden. He thought about what it meant to live a life that was pleasing to God and how he and his fellow Puritans could create a society that reflected those values. And so on that day in 1630, Winthrop stood up and delivered a speech that would become one of the most famous in American history.
He spoke of the need for the Puritans to work together, to care for one another and to create a society that was based on the principles of justice, mercy and humility. He reminded them that they were on a mission from God and that they had a responsibility to live up to that mission. ♪ [Gene Bailey] Some Puritans had applied for a charter under the name of the Massachusetts Bay Company, and with a document in hand, the time seemed ripe for a migration.
About 700 sailed with Winthrop in March 1630 on the Arbella. Another 300 followed soon after and another thousand before the year was out. The decade of the 1630's produced in what has been called the Great Migration, saw the population of Massachusetts Bay soar to nearly 9000. Thus, the colony did not lack labor, skills, productive farmers and infusions of new blood, these New Puritans made a point to not be called Separatists. Although what the King considered his worst became America's best.
They came as a very unreformed culture. The Pilgrims came from the Reformation, which means they are centered, they're focused on the Bible. The Jamestown colony came as all Anglicans. They're part of the State established church, and it was a State established church that was persecuting Christians and doing so much wrong.
So you have in Plymouth, you have a very Bible centered, very individualistic mentality and Jamestown, you have a very established church, high church centered group mentality. They didn't think the same at all. [Gene Bailey] What set Massachusetts apart from the Virginia colonies was its adherence to certain ideas that have been termed the New England Mindset or Puritanism.
By the second year, John Winthrop expressed his gratitude to God for leading him across the sea, where he and his family were safe and not scrambling away from the wrath of the king and his ungodly state church. He wrote this, "God had brought an endless parade of fat hogs, venison, poultry and geese to our homes." And he continued, "This outpouring of joy and manifestation of God's love was a great marvel."
The question was no longer would they survive, but what would they build in what they considered this land of promise? The early settlers of Massachusetts included more than 100 graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. One historian termed Massachusetts, "the best educated community the world has ever known". They were indeed educators. They took literacy with them and started schools and colleges, and unemployment was virtually non-existent in New England.
A visitor from abroad testified, "In seven years, I never saw a beggar." When the Puritan preacher, John Cotton arrived, he admonished the believers for forgetting their first love. And here's what happened, revival broke out. In Boston alone, the First Church doubled in size under Cotton. Winthrop himself wrote that he had been drowsy, and he suddenly realized Cotton's voice of peace brought him back to the true knowledge of God. This might have been the very first revival in America.
♪ Jesus was on a hillside in Israel, and you could see one of the Roman cities behind him as he spoke of a city on a hill. But this sermon wasn't about a place, but about the ideas. There are so many parallels to the New Testament letters. They were preaching Jesus ideas that he laid out that day on the Sermon on the Mount. They were taking Jesus words and preaching them... The ideas in them.
And because it was not about places but ideas, it was only natural for Winthrop to remind the Puritans, on the boat that day that they were going not to a physical place, but that they were pursuing an idea and that they would take these biblical ideas and build their house in the wilderness, not on sand, but on the Word. So what exactly is Jesus Sermon on the Mount?
It's often ignored by Bible teachers and pastors because it's viewed by some as a simple Sunday school lesson, or that most people already understand it. But listen to what I'm about to say. Within the 107 verses of the Sermon on the Mount in the King James Bible, all are key principles of the Gospel. When the Apostles went out teaching and preaching the Gospel, it was the Sermon on the Mount that they were preaching.
Remember, the New Testament wasn't written yet, and in fact they were writing it in their letters to the churches, and they scattered references to the Sermon on the Mount throughout the books of the New Testament. And to show you this by example, I want to point out some of the key parallels between the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and the teaching in the Book of James. Perhaps no one knew Jesus better than James because he was Jesus' brother. He grew up with him.
They played together as children, and James became an important figure in the early Christian church, particularly in Jerusalem. According to the New Testament, James played a leading role in the Jerusalem church and was considered one of its most important leaders. The best example of parallels, in my opinion, can be found in the book of James echoing the Sermon on the Mount.
Now, this is a little different from what we usually do on Revival Radio TV, so I'm just going to share a few verses of Scripture to make a point. But remember, reading the Word is good for you. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So let's learn some history and build our faith. Now let's explore the following parallels. Now let's go to Matthew and see what he has to say. ♪ "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in Heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." ♪ Now let's go to James, ♪ "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. ♪ Ask your good and wise God who loves to give good things. ♪ Matthew. ♪ "Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and to the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish will give him a serpent? If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him." Now let's go to James.
♪ "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him. Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." ♪ Be doers, not just hearers of the Word. ♪ Matthew.
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. But it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat great against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. ♪ James. Quite simply, "Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ♪ Recognize them by their fruits. ♪ Matthew says, "You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from the thornbushes or figs from the thistles? ♪ James. "Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives or a grapevine produce figs?
Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." ♪ Ask and receive. ♪ Matthew. "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and the one who knocks it will be opened. ♪ James. "You desire and do not have so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
♪ You cannot serve God and be friends with the world. ♪ Matthew. "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." ♪ And in James... ♪ "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." God's provision for tomorrow. ♪ Matthew.
"Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ♪ And then, James. "Come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." ♪ You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.
So what does it mean to shine as an example? Is it to continuously question whether or not we're walking in the Word or to affirm the ideals that make us great or to make sure that we're standing on the word and not on the sand, and to constantly climb that hill both as individuals and as a nation? Even the US Constitution, our founding document has kept us united as a nation and was written painstakingly in their choice of words.
The words are based on biblical principles of liberty, individual rights and private properties. All of those ideas come from right here... Scripture. I think that's what the world wants now and still holds out that hope that America, in spite of its trials, still shines like a city on a hill. We had this great treasure in the Gospel, and we have a stewardship of the only nation ever founded on the Gospel.
So let's you and I take time to answer that call to be the one in our generation to climb that hill and become God's shining light for a City on a Hill. We'll see you next time. ♪ [Kenneth Copeland] For we are as a city, sitting upon a hill, a shining light, a beacon light to the rest of the earth, ♪ to what Jesus can and will do in a nation that honors Him and lays itself at His feet. Praise God. ♪