A Brief Assessment of Where We Are

[0:00] Well, let us pray, shall we? Loving Father, as we have just put to music, you and your father, of our exaltation, we are gathered here this morning simply because we recognize that reality and our being here to be of encouragement one to another and to pray for us.

[0:30] We do humbly bow and make ourselves available and accessible to you now for the outworking of your will in our individual lives and in the life of this congregation, whatever that may be.

[0:42] What an enormous pleasure, what a privilege to be able to minister, to be ministered unto, and to serve you at your pleasure, to simply have a part, a small ability in being able to do that, simply because you and you alone are worthy and we do exalt you.

[1:07] This morning, our hearts continue mindful of the needs of our nation. And we recognize that there is great division that surrounds us on every hand, that there are so many different value systems out there, so many different agendas, and so many of them, are far removed from anything that would be honoring to you.

[1:34] And we recognize that that's because of the individual fallenness that we all have to deal with. And our prayer is that this nation could come to a new realization of that moral and spiritual fallenness before you and corporately be willing and able to cry out, Oh God, we have gone terribly astray.

[2:03] We need a renewal. We cannot envision the unregenerate ever coming to a conclusion like that. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us who have that perspective to lift up those unregenerate fellow citizens and do what we can to inform them of their negligence and of the blessing and bounty that they are missing in being estranged from you.

[2:36] We pray for those who are in positions of authority, even those with whom we disagree because we know that you have allowed them to enjoy that position of authority.

[2:48] And it may be because of discipline that is intended for this nation, and this is the avenue through which you're going to bring it. If that be the case, we want to be fast learners.

[3:02] We want to see and be able to understand the problem and the solution and to return to the God who was responsible for the founding of this nation under enormous opposition, yet you brought it into existence.

[3:18] And we believe that we as a nation have been privileged to serve you as no other nation has, and yet there is so much which we've obviously taken for granted, denied, and walked away from as a nation.

[3:34] The cry of our hearts as those who love this country and who love you is that there might be a glorious kind of union or reunion of this nation with the spiritual values that our forefathers enjoyed.

[3:52] Only then can it be said of a nation that returns to their Lord that we would be under the blessing and benefit the likes of which we can't even imagine.

[4:05] We don't see it on this horizon, but we know with you all things are possible, and to whatever degree we can be available as a church or as individuals, we just want to bow before you in your presence, submit ourselves to your wisdom and your power, and ask you to be pleased to do with us whatever you wish.

[4:25] Thank you for the miracle of regeneration that we experienced through Jesus Christ our Lord, and we could only wish it for everyone. We pray in his name. Amen.

[4:41] Yes? Pardon me? This isn't working? Well, okay, we'll just dispense with that, and we'll just limit ourselves to the pulpit mic.

[5:11] Technology is wonderful when it works, or when you have someone operating it like me when it doesn't work. But at any rate, I do have some handouts shared with you last week, at least some of them, and folks, I do want to emphasize how really important these two are because they deal with the whole approach to the scriptures in general that leads to the kind of interpretations that are necessary in order for you to know what you are to be and what you are to do in Christ.

[5:51] And we are stumping for a straightforward, literal interpretation of the scriptures, which of course makes us a minority in Christendom because the majority has not gone that way.

[6:06] They spiritualize the scriptures, and they do so, I think, to the detriment of the whole body of Christ. It's one of the major things that divides us is the interpretation of the Bible.

[6:17] Everybody knows what the Bible says. The question is, what does it mean? And that's where interpretation comes in. I know many of you are subscribers to Israel My Glory.

[6:30] It's a Christian Hebrew magazine that began its publication back in the late 1930s by Dr. Victor Buxbazan, who was a Jewish believer, and he founded the Friends of Israel and the magazine, and it has been in continual publication ever since.

[6:50] And in the last issue, I photocopied a couple of the pages that are in it to make them available to you because not all of you subscribe to the magazine. I wish all of you did.

[7:01] You should have it coming into your home. It would be a wonderful thing for you. But this is available in the bulletin back there in the rack where all of the handouts are kept.

[7:15] And it seems so simple and so basic in many ways it is. And this was entitled When is a Wolf? Not a Wolf. Would you please get a copy of this?

[7:29] You can read it the whole thing in five or seven minutes, something like that. It's extremely insightful. And it deals with the nuts and bolts issues of interpreting the scripture.

[7:41] And it is not intended for pastors or Bible scholars. It's intended for the average person in the pew. And I can assure you, you will be readily able to understand and grasp every bit of this.

[7:54] And it's tremendously important. When is a wolf? Not a wolf. And it deals with literal language and figurative language. And it's something that you need to take in. And this is a companion article.

[8:08] Came in the same issue. It's called Kingdom Now. Is this the kingdom now? No, it is not.

[8:20] But you would be surprised. Most of Christendom believes it is. They equate the church and the kingdom.

[8:32] And they say the church is the spiritual fulfillment of the kingdom. This is the kingdom age. But when you read description of what the kingdom age will be like, we're not living in it.

[8:46] This is not it. It isn't even close. This is not the kingdom now. And yet, that is the position that is taken by Roman Catholicism.

[8:58] It is the position that was taken by Lutheranism, that came out of Catholicism with Martin Luther. It is the position that is taken by the Church of England that came out of that.

[9:10] It is the position that is taken by the Methodist that came out of the Church of England. It's the position that is taken by the churches of God and most of the denominations. And it has taken a tremendous toll on the unity of the body of Christ throughout the world.

[9:27] So this article entitled Kingdom Now will help to explain that this is not the kingdom. You know, in that passage, and this is one that they quote here in the Psalms, it's called a Messianic Psalm, and the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

[9:49] What is that all about? That's the kingdom. Do you think, and of course, it was the Father saying to the Son, do you think that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of Christ?

[10:02] Please. How far afield would that be? When Jesus Christ rules and reigns in the kingdom, everybody's going to know that.

[10:16] And we are told, oh, he is ruling and reigning now. He is ruling and reigning now at the right hand of the Father. Well, that is not the kingdom.

[10:28] That has to do with the ascension of Christ back to heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father in fulfillment of that psalm which says sit thou at my right hand until I make the world, the kingdoms at your feet.

[10:43] Are they there now? Are the kingdoms of this world at the feet of Christ? Well, I'll tell you this much, if they are, they sure don't know it. They don't believe it.

[10:53] Nobody suspects it. It's just completely nonsensical. So, please get the articles, read them, and assess them for yourself. They are very, very enlightening.

[11:05] And the last one I want to mention is from my old friend David Jeremiah. We worked together at WEEC years ago when we hired David Jeremiah to be our weekend announcer because all of the married men wanted the weekends off, and David was still single at the time.

[11:29] He was dating Donna, and he came in and worked, I think, 12-hour shifts on Saturday and on Sunday to give the married guys a break for the weekends.

[11:42] And then he went to Dallas Seminary and got a degree there, and then he went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and became the founding pastor of Black Hawk Baptist Church and built up a large congregation there.

[11:55] and he was called to the church in El Cajon, California, which was called, I'm sure it was, it was a Baptist church, I can't think of the name of it, it was a Baptist church in El Cajon, California, and David Jeremiah was called there to be the pastor and Scott Memorial, Scott Memorial Baptist Church was the name of it in El Cajon, California, and after he was there for just a few years, they changed the name of the church to Shadow Mountain Community Church, and from that he has launched not merely a national ministry, but an international ministry, and David Jeremiah and his program Turning Point is probably the stellar

[12:56] Bible teaching program on the air today, and I realize I'm a little prejudiced in saying that, but I think that he's got a real handle on everything, I just wish that he had a better appreciation for the grace message that I think the scriptures make so clear, but nonetheless, David is reaching multitudes of people here and abroad through his ministry, I wish him well.

[13:23] And I would ask you, if you would please, for an entirely different kind of message this morning to turn first of all to Genesis chapter 15. The message this morning has to do with not only where we are as a nation, but how we got here.

[13:51] And there is a principle that is set forth in scripture, scripture, and the Israelites were a glaring example of that principle, and so were the Egyptians, and we will see that in just a moment, but I want you to look for starters to Genesis chapter 15, and let's begin, just jump in here with verse 12.

[14:17] We read that now when the sun was going down, Abraham, of course, is out of it, he's into a deep sleep, and Abraham, and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him, and God said to Abraham, know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs.

[14:44] How many descendants did David have when God told him that? None. He didn't have any at all. but this is a promise that God is making, telling him about the descendants he's going to have, and he says, know for a certain, verse 13, that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.

[15:21] But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

[15:32] as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace, that is, you're going to die, and you shall be buried at a good old age.

[15:44] And then, in the fourth generation, they, and the they refers to his descendants, that he doesn't even have as of yet, but these will be descendants of Abraham's that will be multiplying, for four hundred years, will come about, the fourth generation, they shall return here, that is, there to the place where God is speaking to Abraham about this.

[16:15] And then he says, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete. And it came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between these pieces.

[16:37] And on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, to your descendants I have given this land, and he's talking of course about the land of Israel, from the river of Egypt, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

[16:55] Then he goes on and names these other individuals who will be involved. keep in mind, if you will, that Abraham at the time God gave this promise, this is called the Abrahamic covenant, and it is being sealed with the blood of these animals in accordance with the ritual that existed at the time for the way that they entered into a pact or an agreement, which of course is totally different from the way we do things now, but it was in keeping with the custom at the time.

[17:24] Now if you will come to Exodus chapter 1, we'll see the fulfillment of what was just talked about, or at least the beginning of the fulfillment. Exodus chapter 1, these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob.

[17:46] Got to remember now, Abraham is gone. He's far off the scene when this Exodus thing takes place here. He's been dead and gone for hundreds of years.

[17:58] These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob. They came each one with his household, or his family, and here are the tribes, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, and all the persons who came from the loins of Jacob.

[18:22] And you've got to remember, Jacob came from the loins of Isaac, and Isaac came from the loins of Abraham. Now we are talking about their descendants, and we are told that they were 70 in number.

[18:38] You see, Jacob had two wives and two concubines, Rachel and Leah and Zilpah, and what's her face?

[18:52] two wives. Yeah. And between them they had 12 sons, and each of those sons became the progenitors of the 12 tribes of Israel. And we read in verse 5 that they were 70 in number.

[19:10] But Joseph was already in Egypt. Remember, he'd gotten there by being sold into the Egyptians by his brothers, who by this time assumed that he was either completely out of the picture, were probably dead.

[19:23] And we read that Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation. But the sons of Israel were fruitful, and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

[19:46] Now, if I may, let's just inject here, if we may, between verse 6 and verse 7, a lapse of 400 years.

[20:01] 400 years. Just like God said, your descendants will be in a strange land for 400 years, and at the end of that time, I will bring them back here where you are now, Abram, at this spot, your descendants.

[20:22] That, of course, will be the children of Israel brought out of Egypt by Moses, and then by Joshua, and into the promised land, and they will be right back where Abraham received that initial promise from God over 400 years ago.

[20:40] people. So, when you keep in mind that between verse 6 and 7, we've got these 12 sons and their wives and their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren, and they have been multiplying for 400 years.

[21:02] How many people do you get after 400 years when you start out with 70 multiplying? You get between a million and a half and two million people.

[21:13] That's a bunch of people. And that's how many Moses is going to lead out of the land of Egypt. They will have been reduced to slavery there, and we read in verse 7, they became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

[21:33] And the key text that I want to focus on this morning is in verse 8. Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.

[21:48] Well, of course he didn't know Joseph. Joseph had lived 400 years earlier. There's no way that this new king or new pharaoh could know him. There's been a lot of time.

[21:59] Centuries had passed since then, and all and any memory of Joseph and the enormous contribution he made for the salvation of the nation of Egypt was all but forgotten.

[22:13] Such was the situation with ancient Israel. A pharaoh rose up that did not know Joseph. Joseph, the very person God used to save the nation of Egypt.

[22:30] Today, in some ways, the United States of America is a parallel to that. What do I mean?

[22:42] Who is our Joseph that this generation does not know? we have not one, but we have several Josephs.

[23:00] In fact, I couldn't name them all, but for starters, we would say Washington and Adams and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe.

[23:12] they were our first five Josephs, if you will. And there were whole many others that were involved as well that we call our founding fathers of this nation and patriots and Americans, many of whom shed their life's blood to provide for the birthing of this nation.

[23:36] who is it that does not know them? It's this present generation.

[23:50] We do not know them. Well, many of us who are closer to my age have much better recollection of them, even though they lived hundreds of years ago, simply because if you were of my generation, you grew up in a school with a classroom that actually told you about these individuals and how much we were indebted to them and the sacrifices that they made, and we were able to establish an emotional connection with them as our founding fathers.

[24:31] We find ourselves in deep gratitude to them, especially when we see the flag, and especially when the Fourth of July comes along.

[24:42] We are reminded of those things, but you need to understand that the more generations come and go, the more distance is put between them and the founding fathers, and the less the attachment, the less the respect, the less the memories, the less the idolization, and all that goes with it, until you finally end up essentially radically distanced from them.

[25:13] I wonder how many of our young people today in high school, if they were asked on the spur of the moment, could you name the first three presidents of the United States?

[25:27] I think we would be embarrassed by the answers. Why is that? Well, I'll tell you, in the first place, it's natural.

[25:40] It's human. It's just the way humans work. It's just the way we think. It's the way we operate, out of sight, out of mind. You tend to become distant and removed from them, and the more removed you are from them, the less admiration you have for them, the less respect you have for them, the less credit that you give them.

[26:03] It's just human nature. It's just the way people are. It's the way it works. Can't change that. Can you? Is there something, is there anything that can be done to reinforce it, to try to stabilize it, to try to maintain it?

[26:21] I think we have an obligation to do that. But I also think, we've dropped the ball. We haven't been very good at it. I've often asked myself the question, particularly, particularly when I see something that maybe on television that is honoring our heroes, is paying homage to some military veteran who left life and limb in Iran or wherever.

[26:59] And there's burials, there's a commemoration, there's an awarding of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star and the Medal of Honor and all of these things. And I cannot help but ask.

[27:12] work and really got to me when we visited Washington, D.C. and went to Arlington and the cemetery there.

[27:26] And you see row after row after row of those tombstones and flags and the names and the insignias and the branches of the military in which they were, had fought and served.

[27:44] And the question that kept going through my mind is, all of these people, men and women, who sacrificed and gave everything for this nation, how would they feel?

[28:02] in knowing what this nation has become since they paid that ultimate price, would they still regard this nation as worth it?

[28:20] Pretty sobering question. The further removed historically of each generation of Americans, the less we Americans know or even care about are Joseph's.

[28:38] It's a human problem, just the way we're made, particularly when no effort is taken to really reinforce it. And we give it minimal reinforcement. We have our parades, we have the Fourth of July celebration, but most of us, let's face it, most of us use it just to rest and recreate and to play and to do everything with very little thought.

[29:00] Maybe there's a 30-minute thing on TV about something from the military and something from a past war, but by and large, it's just a holiday to enjoy.

[29:14] And we just have lost sight of the enormous debt that we owe these people. Less gratitude, less respect, less admiration.

[29:32] It's normal for us humans. And I'm not suggesting anything silly like ancestor worship. Nobody's talking about anything like that. We're just talking about remembering our roots and the price that was paid to maintain them.

[29:49] Out of sight, out of mind, many years ago, later, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, that distancing is automatic and unfortunate, but it's real.

[30:06] And you add to that the efforts of many today who seek to exacerbate that distancing. And how could you do that? how could you exacerbate the distancing?

[30:22] How could you make it any greater? How could you make them any more out of mind than they already are? Well, you can start by tearing down their statues. You can deface their images.

[30:36] You can remove those, get them completely out of sight, so that you don't even have them as a reminder. if you want to rechart the future direction of a nation, you begin by destroying its past.

[31:00] You make them forget or you keep them from ever knowing what they were as a nation and who paid what to make them what they were.

[31:17] There are radical elements of our society that intends to thoroughly erase the contribution of our forefathers and not only that but even overturn what they stood for and the legacy that they left for us.

[31:33] So how did we get here in this present day? Passing of time fades, the past and the contributions and sacrifices of the past.

[31:48] And for whom did they make them? They made them for themselves, but most of them had in mind they were making them for their children and for their grandchildren and succeeding generations.

[32:06] each of those in posterity deeply appreciated the sacrifices made but time that passes sees the inevitable fading of those sacrifices.

[32:24] That is us. That's where we are. Nobody has more appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices of those who made them in the past than the older generation.

[32:42] That's my generation. Why is that? Well, it's not because we're better people. No. It's simply because we're a little bit closer to them time-wise than what the younger generation is coming up now.

[32:59] You cannot expect young kids to have the values, the appreciation, the adoration, the gratitude for previous generations that we have. They weren't here.

[33:10] They can't identify with that. That's not built into their psyche. It's built into ours. So you've got to attribute a certain amount of this to it's just the way humans are.

[33:23] It is out of sight, out of mind and you do tend to forget. Those who were closest to it, of course, are the ones who have the most vivid memories.

[33:35] That's the way memory works. That's the way people work. Recent history, we get.

[33:46] Previous history, not so much. so how did we get here besides the lapse of time, which I describe as really quite legitimate.

[33:59] You just can't expect people to live in the past as if it were the present. And nobody is suggesting that we forget the present and try to live in the past.

[34:11] That's nonsense. You've got to live where you are. But woe be unto the generations that do not remember the roots. And that's what I'm talking about. And they will not be remembered unless there is deliberate effort to do so.

[34:28] We just don't do it automatically. It's not the way we're made. You have to make an effort to do it. Here, we can even demonstrate ingratitude and contempt for our forebearers.

[34:42] And many in this nation do. The passing of time and predictable forgetfulness that leads to ingratitude. Each generation tends to automatically primarily focus on the present and recall less and less about the past.

[35:02] Well, of course we do, because that's where we're living. Every generation has done that, and we don't fault them for it. It's only normal and it's predictable. And as such, it must be resisted and met with deliberate efforts to remember and educate this present generation about the great sacrifices made by those in the past.

[35:26] History is important. It's the only thing that tells you where you've been. And we need to understand that it is where we have been that determines where we are today.

[35:43] You see, you can't disconnect these things. They're all related. And the happiest and the most blessed people are those who remember the connections and honor the connections.

[36:00] It is our knowledge and appreciation of the past that will determine our handling and approach of the present. As I've said, we're not advocating that we try to live in the past, only that we stop forgetting it.

[36:16] We have been too successful in forgetting it. And this is largely how we got to where we are. What enabled those people?

[36:27] Think of this now. I'm talking about the Washingtons and the Adams and the Jeffersons and the Madisons and the Monroes and the John Quincy Adams and the Martin Van Buren's and all of these people.

[36:41] What enabled them to be what they were and to do what they did? Why did they do it? Why did they put everything on the line?

[36:53] Do you realize that most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence died in ignominy and in poverty and many of them were still paying the price for having defied the crown of England?

[37:16] What was it that drove them? What is this thing that we Americans cherish and make so much of and we call it freedom?

[37:27] Freedom. I dare say if there is any single thing that we Americans tend to take for granted.

[37:40] It's the freedom and the privileges we have. You talk about taking them for granted. They are a given. We deserve them.

[37:52] Well, in a sense, you know what? In a sense, we do deserve them because they were provided for us as our just desserts by those who paid the ultimate price to give them to us.

[38:06] But what enabled them to be what they were and to do what they did? And it's just one thing as far as I'm concerned. It was their worldview more than anything else.

[38:24] Their worldview. worldview. It was the way they looked at life and their assessment of it. More than anything else, that's what drove them.

[38:38] I'm satisfied that probably very few of them even talked about it, even recognized it, even thought about it. They just acted kind of automatically out of what was in their psyche, in their makeup, the way they thought, the values they had, prompted them to do what they did.

[39:01] So where is the differences then between them and us? It's in the same thing. It's your worldview. How people view the world.

[39:14] world. And at the expense of sounding like a, what shall I say, just overly repetitive, I'm going to say it again because it is so critical and so misunderstood and so overlooked even by so many Christians.

[39:36] It's all wrapped up in origins, origins, origins, origins determine worldview.

[39:49] You get the connection. If you don't get the connection, I hope you will before this session is over because there is a very powerful connection to be made.

[40:04] How you view the world is so critical. Massive shifting of worldviews has been underway for the past hundred years.

[40:22] Their worldview pretty much prevailed, the one they fought and lived and died for, pretty much prevailed so that the nation got about a hundred years of mileage out of that.

[40:36] And then things started to change. there were certain dynamics that were introduced into our culture that began affecting people's worldview.

[40:55] And at the top of the list, the top of the list, is the issue of origins. origins. Because your origin determines everything.

[41:12] It will determine values, priorities, agenda, everything depends on origins, where we came from, how we got here, what it's all about.

[41:27] The way you read that is the way you read the world. And the way you read the world is what causes you to act as you do. So everybody gets a different read on the world depending on their worldview and where they're coming from.

[41:43] This massive shifting of worldview has been underway for about the past hundred years. Yeah, I'm talking about just about since 1920.

[41:55] And actually, I know it's hard to put a particular decade on it because probably in other ways it started in the late 1800s, it maybe even goes back further than that.

[42:06] But it began with things like the Graf-Wellhausen theory. You say, what in the world is he talking about?

[42:19] Graf-Wellhausen theory. What is that? And who even cares? Well, the Graf-Wellhausen theory was a position that was arrived at by two men, Mr. Graf and Mr. Wellhausen, as regards the authority of the Bible.

[42:46] Hey, authority. Have you ever heard anybody say authority is the issue? always has been, always will be.

[43:02] Yeah. If there's anything that I would like to leave behind for grace people to have indelibly impressed upon your mind from your pastor, it is that phrase.

[43:14] Authority is everything. Always has been, always will be. The Graf- Wellhausen theory started out with what was called a higher criticism, sophisticated criticism of the scriptures, wherein they took to task of all things interesting.

[43:37] The Pentateuch. The Pentateuch? Moses? You mean what Moses wrote? Moses didn't write that. Moses didn't write that.

[43:52] And the reason we know Moses didn't write that was because when Moses lived, nobody knew how to write. So Moses didn't write that. So authorship becomes suspect. Well, if he didn't write it, then who did?

[44:07] And if it can't be established who did, then what authority does? Authority? Yeah, that's where it's all at. Authority. Graf- Wellhausen. And they came up with the J-E-D-P-H theory.

[44:21] What is that? You have to be super sophisticated to know that. And the J stands for Jehovah, and the E stands for Elohim, and the D stands for the Deuteronomic, and the P stands for the priestly, and all of these were different contributors to what you think Moses wrote.

[44:42] So when you cast that kind of aspersion upon the authorship, then you're also saying, well, maybe then what they wrote wasn't all that great, wasn't all that accurate, wasn't all that, ah, it's exactly the point.

[45:02] So, where does this take us? This is origins. This is origins. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

[45:15] Well, no, not really, actually. You know, it's just, that's mythological. That's what they believed back in those days, so they, you know, they just wrote this stuff.

[45:25] And eventually this started taking hold, and guess who came to the rescue to buttress it? A man by the name of Charles Darwin.

[45:38] Because if you don't have the Genesis account to which you give authority for origins, but then, how did everything begin?

[45:53] And you can buy into different positions like the one that was taken, John Lennox was debating, debating Richard, what's his name?

[46:10] pardon? Yeah, Dawkins, yeah, Richard Dawkins. And Dr. Lennox gave his Genesis account of creation, and Richard Dawkins rejected that as completely unbelievable.

[46:29] That is just the Genesis thing. That's just, that's just like a fairy tale. It's fantasy. And he said, well, then, what is your account for how everything began? And he responded with, to him, it was quite obvious that it was aliens from outer space that visited the earth and sowed human spores all over the earth from which different races developed, and that's how we have our beginning.

[47:00] That is sophisticated. Isn't that something? But, you know, how many times have I been telling you, and I want to emphasize this, you know, in my latter times with you, I want to emphasize a number of things, and one of them that I want to emphasize is I already told you about the origins and authority being the issue, and what I want to emphasize now is this.

[47:25] In our fallenness, our intellect, our thinking powers, our brain matter, our ability to exercise logic fell with us.

[47:39] How do you think Richard Dawkins came up with that nonsense about the aliens and sowing the spores, human spores? That's just one more result of warped thinking and skewed logic, and we're getting more and more of this, and I tell you what you can expect.

[47:57] We're seeing an increase of it now. the longer this generation goes on, the more things you are going to hear presented that are so off the charts, you're going to say, where in the world did they get that?

[48:19] And we could begin with things like affirmation of homosexuality, affirmation of same-sex marriage?

[48:32] What? You can't do worse than that. Oh, yes, we can. We can change our sex at will. If you don't like being a boy, you're entitled to be a girl.

[48:46] Now, this is beyond crazy. It is beyond crazy. How can they possibly come to a conclusion like that?

[48:57] One word. Origins. You get it? Origins. Origins. Origins. If we are a biological fluke, if the Genesis account is all wrong, why not?

[49:12] Why not same-sex marriage? Why not abortion on demand? It is just a blob of tissue. That's all. Why not? You don't like being a girl?

[49:24] You've got a right to be a boy. We'll even provide surgical operations to try and give you the kind of equipment that you would be comfortable with. Now, we look at that and we say, that is the most asinine, idiotic thing I have ever heard of in my life.

[49:40] Let me tell you something. More is coming. We are getting to the place now where you can almost look for a new insanity of the month.

[49:53] It's getting crazier and crazier. And this, all of these things, all of these aberrations strike at Genesis and authority like nothing else.

[50:08] And most people don't have a clue. They don't even make a connection. They don't see that there is a connection. There is a powerful connection. person. It is exactly the issue.

[50:20] Origins determine everything. If we are a biological mistake, just a fluke of nature, and that's all, if that's all we are, you cannot fault the weird positions that these people take.

[50:36] You ought to be able to change your sex if you don't like it. It might be difficult, it might be painful, but you ought to have a right to do that, and blah, blah, blah, everything else that goes along. Because you see, out of origins comes norms and standards.

[50:49] Out of origins determines whether there is, whether there is intentionality, whether there is purposefulness, and don't forget, origins determine destiny, destiny, the two ends of the pole.

[51:17] They are inseparably connected. Don't ever forget that. So anytime anybody says, yeah, Genesis, who cares whether we were created, whether we evolved, doesn't make any difference.

[51:30] All that matters is that we got here. Oh, it makes a world of difference. Makes a world of difference. Unfortunately, there are too many Christians who don't even understand that.

[51:43] They don't see it. All that's important is that we love each other and that we believe John 3, 16. That's all that matters. How we got here doesn't matter. Evolution doesn't matter. It doesn't make any difference. It makes all the difference in the world.

[51:55] If you cannot take the Genesis account of creation seriously, how in the world in the name of anything consistent can you take John 3, 16 seriously?

[52:12] You see, it all hangs together. Everything in the Bible is connected to everything in the Bible. And it all goes back to the first verse, the first chapter in the beginning.

[52:30] Worldview. Out of worldview came Marxism. And out of worldview came Darwinism, the evolutionary hypothesis, and the dismissal of moral absolutes.

[52:45] If there is no overarching moral law giver to set the rules who does, you do, you do, the individual.

[53:02] We all decide for ourself. It's to each his own. Everyone does what is right in his own eyes, which is pretty much what we've got today, isn't it?

[53:13] these are massive contributors to where we are. Origin sets the stage for everything.

[53:25] Among the destructive things that these have produced are dismissal of official recognition of the creator. Get God out of the public scene.

[53:38] If you have to have him in your churches, in your worship, okay, we'll do that, but you take him out of the public marketplace. We don't want any name of God on anything that's got taxpayer money behind it.

[53:55] Dismissal of official recognition of the creator, removal of God and prayer from the public forum and the public schools. us. We prefer to have our children grow up to be heathen, thank you, than to ascribe to anything called Christianity or anything of that kind.

[54:18] Abortion on demand? Well, of course. What else would you expect? Good grief. Can't you see it coming, Charlie Brown? Why not abortion on demand?

[54:29] Why not legitimizing an affirmation of homosexuality? Why should you, the government, or anybody else care who I sleep with? None of your business. Doesn't make any difference.

[54:43] Legitimizing affirmation of homosexuality, introduction of same-sex marriage, affirmation and introduction of gender reversal and identity, and it just goes on and on.

[54:56] So, this is what you can expect when you do what we have done, which is essentially forget and lay aside our founding fathers and their worldviews.

[55:16] And we've adopted a new, improved worldview, and it has gotten us to where we are. Violence in the streets, do away with the police, there's some who advocate, you know, just crazy, crazy things.

[55:35] Defund the police? Our real problem is law enforcement? Are you kidding me? Where do people get harebrained ideas like that?

[55:48] Worldview. Worldview. When I say it allows for the most irrational, incomprehensible, nonsensical positions to be taken, we've only seen the beginning.

[56:03] There is more to come, unless this somehow gets turned around, and if it does, it's going to be the grace and the hand of God that does it. I don't know how many big things have had little starts.

[56:17] We've got little starts here. We're an obscure congregation in an obscure town, living in obscurity, but sometimes big things come out of that.

[56:31] So what we need to do is give serious thought to what we've been talking about, and any time you have opportunity to talk it up, don't pass it up. And what I would like you to do is this.

[56:42] I'm going to close in just a moment. But next week, we're going to continue this, or you are going to continue it.

[56:54] And I want you to be formulating in your own minds some questions, and some answers, and some solutions, and some ideas. And if you would be so kind as to just bring them with you or drop them in the offering box, we'll just see where this thing goes.

[57:12] It is serious as it can be. I don't think anybody sees this nation anywhere other than being at the threshold of a brink.

[57:25] And maybe we've already gone over and don't have sense enough to know it. I don't know. It could be. It could be that there's no pulling it back. work. But I want to spend my last fleeting moments doing what I can to try and do that.

[57:39] And I hope you will do it as well. So would you remember the handouts that I told you about? They are important. And give some serious thoughts of this.

[57:54] Well, one other thing. Those of you who made contributions by way of envelopes, our secretary has compiled your contribution for the year to satisfy the demands of Caesar and your IRS things are out there.

[58:08] So if you would take them, pick them up, they're right out in the hall where the coats are hanging. If you would get yours before you leave, it would save the secretaries the expense and the inconvenience of having to mail them to you.

[58:19] So if you would do that that would be helpful. May we see our beloved nation having come from a position of a pretty much agreed upon worldview to a radical departure from that that we are living with today and for which the nation is paying a terrible, terrible price.

[59:00] We have no illusions of a tiny congregation like ours of being able to turn this behemoth around in any way, shape, or form but we just want you to know that we would be pleased to be a part however a small part of anything that you might be pleased to do to affect the direction of this nation we think of the unheard of price that has been paid in blood and treasure to make this nation what it was for so many years and now we see it eroding right before us with those eager to replace it with something far far removed from what you intended with our founding fathers we just don't know what you plan to do with this nation we pour our heart out to you we know there are others like us all across this nation and our prayer is oh

[60:17] God hear our plea and be pleased if you would to give us give us a reprieve and awaken people to the reality and the importance and the connection of origins and authority and all that it involves we submit ourselves to your wisdom and your justice thanking you for whatever course you choose for us because we know it would be best even if it were bitter if it's from you it would be best thank you for being the God you are and for your loving patience in Christ's wonderful name amen