America's Continuing Crisis, Part 2

[0:00] And I was reluctant to say anything because I didn't want to just speak from there or come up here prematurely, but I've got some other announcements to make. And that is, some of us have really missed our get-togethers that we used to have on a monthly basis with what we call the widow and widowers.

[0:17] And the pandemic just kind of put the kibosh on everything for a long time. So Marie and I were talking the other day, and we can't see any reason for not resuming that.

[0:27] And we plan to do so, and our first meeting will be Thursday, August 12. Not this coming, but a week from this coming Thursday, August 12.

[0:41] And for any who would like transportation, be here at the church at, what, 1115? Something like that.

[0:52] And we're going out to T-Berry's out on Leffels Lane. They've got a nice area there for luncheon. And we've been there before, and we've always enjoyed it. So we want you to feel free to come.

[1:04] And you don't need reservations. Well, yeah, we do need reservations because we need to know how many to tell them will be coming for the reservations. So you need to let either Marie or me know today whether you can make it.

[1:20] And that will be August 12. And you're welcome to ride along with us if you want, or you can drive separately. Many of you know where it is, but be here at the church at 1115.

[1:32] And this is for, I'm a little reluctant to say senior singles because senior is open to interpretation.

[1:46] And I'm not going to go there. So we're just going to say primarily singles. And it's just a great time to get together. We have a lot of laughs, a lot of fun.

[1:57] It's very informal. Everybody orders whatever they want. And it's just, and we always address a few world problems. And we're still waiting for some answers back from Washington.

[2:09] We haven't heard from them. We sent off our solutions, but maybe they got lost in the mail because they haven't done anything about it. And you will see from the message this morning the fact that they haven't done anything about it.

[2:22] Marie and I yesterday had a good visit with Suji Banks. She is a Korean War bride, delightful lady. And she and David met in Korea, and he brought her back as a bride.

[2:35] And she is struggling mightily at Soen Hospital. Now that is in Beaver Creek. And it is available for visitors without pre-scheduling.

[2:47] And you can visit there without any restrictions. She would love to see anybody from Grace as well as receive any cards, by the way. She's struggling not only with Parkinson's disease but with lymphoma.

[3:01] That has complicated the whole issue. She's already had some treatments. And it's a very serious, very life-threatening time that she is facing right now. But their spirits are up, and they are grateful for the Grace family.

[3:15] And anything that you would like to do by way of a visit or send a card would be most appreciated, I can assure you. There are numerous inserts.

[3:27] The whole top bank of the literature rack, as you exit there, is loaded with things that are very, very pertinent to what is happening in our culture right now.

[3:38] And I'm thinking primarily about these articles that are addressing the educational issues, both in our public schools and in the universities.

[3:50] Academia is very heavily involved. And so very much of it is heavily tilted leftward.

[4:01] It is remarkable. It is truly remarkable. And you will find some very pertinent information in these articles from the recent issue of Decision.

[4:13] And do yourself a favor and read them and read them carefully. It will give you more basic information as to what the nation is struggling with today. And it is also in keeping with the message that we brought last Sunday and the follow-up message that we'll be delivering today in just a few minutes.

[4:31] And it is very, very serious stuff that we need to take into consideration. Your bulletin insert, once again, is right on track. It is an offering by Mr. Stan.

[4:42] He wrote these several years ago. But the July 27, The Enemies of God and Worshippers of Satan, quite remarkable. I trust that you will read it and avail yourself of it.

[4:53] And it is my intent this morning. I know I've said this before and I'm not always able to deliver. But it is my intent that we'll have some Q&A for the conclusion of today's message.

[5:06] And I hope that that comes to pass. But the content that we have got here is... Well, I would not presume to even put myself in the class or even, for that matter, an underclass of Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

[5:26] But there were occasions when he would come to the pulpit and the text that he was going to use was very serious. Very serious.

[5:38] And Mr. Spurgeon would come to the pulpit and say, Oh, the tidings are heavy this morning. And they are.

[5:52] They are. In your bulletin, there is a brief description that is given regarding the subject matter. And it is repeated from last week because it still deals with the same issue.

[6:06] America's continuing crisis. Moral, spiritual, and political turmoil, the likes of which we have never faced before, continues apace.

[6:22] It seems like a new abnormality is introduced monthly. There yet remains only one solution to the chaos.

[6:34] It is voiced by the prophet Jeremiah and addressed the crises of his day 600 years before the birth of Christ. Clearly, the interpretation of Jeremiah's prophecy refers to Judah of the southern kingdom.

[6:52] But the application fits America like a hand in a glove. And by the way, I want to insert here, it not only fits America, it fits most of the nations throughout the world.

[7:05] Not just America. But specifically, I think there is a parallel to the U.S. of A. This nation, called the United States of America, has an utterly unique history.

[7:23] We have a beginning, the likes of which no nation on the face of the earth has ever had. Nor has any other nation on the face of the earth ever come together for the purposes that we did like the United States.

[7:40] No other nation. So there is a uniqueness here. And I'm not talking about just bragging rights. And I am confident that God has been at the forefront of very much of what we have enjoyed for the last 200 plus years.

[7:56] And it is not because we are all committed to Christ. We are all sold out to biblical values and all the rest of it. That is far from the truth. We know that's not true.

[8:07] Never has been true. Our founding fathers consisted of men who were solid, committed believers to Jesus Christ. And it also consisted of those who had no spiritual bearings or interest at all.

[8:21] But were capable in the field of politics, government, etc. So there was a real mixed bag there. But out of that mix came a document called the Constitution of the United States.

[8:34] And it is largely responsible for the freedoms and the liberties that we have enjoyed for over 200 years.

[8:45] They are now threatened. I don't know if you are aware of it or not. But there is a considerable element in our nation that very much favors the scrapping of the Constitution.

[9:01] On the basis that we've outlived it. It no longer serves a purpose. And before you are ready to dismiss that as, oh, that could never happen.

[9:13] Yeah. We've already said that about a lot of things that have since happened. So there are powers and they are evil powers that are at work.

[9:25] And most of these evil powers, perhaps even all of them, have no idea at all that they are following the master plan of another leader.

[9:38] They are completely clueless. They are so clueless they don't even have a clue that they don't have a clue. They are what Karl Marx referred to as useful idiots.

[9:51] They are those who do the bidding of Satan and they don't even know it. And if you suggested it to them, they would laugh you to scorn. They would say that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

[10:03] But I'm satisfied that it is completely true. And what's more, history will bear that out. So, the interpretation of the passage that we read from Jeremiah last week, and we'll be looking at Amos this morning.

[10:18] So if you want to turn to that in your Bibles, please. The book of Amos, prophecy of Amos. We will see some more content that is not to be interpreted of the United States. It's to be interpreted of those that Amos directed it to.

[10:31] And that is the children of Israel. But as we said, there are spiritual principles, there are applications to be made, and we will see how they apply to the United States.

[10:42] The word, the word was return to the Jews of that day. It is the same word that applies to America today. Now the question is, to what do we return?

[10:57] What is it that we have abandoned? What have we walked away from? In order to return to something, you had to have at one time had it so that you can return to it.

[11:08] So what was it that we had that we no longer have, that we need to return to? The word return to the Jews that day is the same word that applies to America today in principle.

[11:27] And here, if you will look at Amos chapter 4, little prophecy of Amos chapter 4. And for time's sake, I'm going to begin with, well, we'll begin with verse 4.

[11:42] Enter Bethel and transgress. Now this is sarcasm. Amos is delivering sarcasm here. He doesn't mean it, but he's in touch with the culture of his day and what's going on.

[11:57] And he says, enter Bethel and transgress. In Gilgal, multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.

[12:07] This is all just ritualism. This is religion. This is just being in the flow of things, tradition. Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened and proclaim freewill offerings.

[12:21] Make them known. For so you love to do, you sons of Israel, declares the Lord God. Now on the surface, all of those things are good. But the way he's using them, he's mocking them.

[12:31] As I said, it's sarcasm. And in verse 6, he says, that I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities.

[12:43] That's another way of saying you were made to go hungry. That's what cleanness of teeth refers to. And lack of bread in all your places.

[12:55] Yet, you have not returned to me, declares the Lord. That wasn't sufficient. That was a lack. That was a deprivation.

[13:06] It was designed to bring you into reality. But did it work? Nope. Didn't work. Didn't turn your head at all. And furthermore, I withheld the rain from you.

[13:20] While there were still three months until harvest. Then I would send rain on one city. And on another city, I would not send rain. One part would be rained on.

[13:31] While the part not rained on would dry up. So, two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water.

[13:41] But you would not be satisfied. Yet, you have not returned to me, declares the Lord.

[13:54] So, the screws are going to tighten. What else is he going to do? I smote you with scorching wind and mildew. And the caterpillar was devouring your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees.

[14:07] Yet, did that do it? Nope. Nope. We're talking about a stubborn and a stiff-necked people whose heads will not be turned. Each time there is a calamity, they just dig their feet in deeper.

[14:20] I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt. I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses. And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils.

[14:36] Yet, you have not returned to me, declares the Lord. All of these calamities were nothing more than a gracious wake-up call.

[15:04] But there are some that refuse to be awakened. And these are they that Amos is addressing.

[15:15] We have a contingent of people like that here in the U.S. of A. today. Matter of fact, this is just a picture of humanity. Pick any century. Pick any nation.

[15:25] Pick any country throughout the world. Because human nature is essentially the same. Has not changed from Genesis 3. I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

[15:37] And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze. Yet, you have not returned to me, declares the Lord. Therefore, thus I will do to you, O Israel.

[15:48] Because I shall do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. You cannot find any more solemn, serious words than that.

[16:05] Prepare to meet your God. And when you meet Him, He is not going to be in a good mood. For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the Lord of hosts is His name.

[16:34] And these to whom Amos had written those things, ignored it all, discredited it, denied it, and so on. Israel enjoyed a special covenant relationship to God, and they have dishonored it.

[16:55] Their setting aside is the consequence, and if you want to look at the big picture, it is found in Romans 9, 10, and 11, all of which depict the true status of the nation of Israel today, despite the fact that they are in the land, and that they have their own government and capital and administration and so on.

[17:16] They are now under divine discipline. They have been set aside in their unbelief for the future time, and we are told in Romans that that will be their sentence until the fullness of the Gentiles is come in.

[17:34] And when that happens, then God will move to take what remains of Israel after the tribulation period, which will be but a mere remnant, and He is going to take them and put them front and center on the plan and program of God once more.

[17:53] And that will be in the tribulation period. And during that time, there will be an amazing revival among that remnant of Jewish people who will come to a clear-cut faith in Yeshua HaMashiach as their Messiah.

[18:12] They will realize the sin and the crime of their forefathers in rejecting the Messiah, and they will weep bitter tears for what was done to their Messiah 2,000 years ago.

[18:27] And they will cry out to God, and He will come. When Jesus left the temple the last time, He said, Your house is left unto you desolate, and you will not see me again until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[18:57] And that will be the second coming of Christ. We aren't there now, but we are dealing with a situation that is just, in many ways, applicable and counter to, in so many ways, what's taken place in biblical Israel.

[19:21] Now I want you to turn to a passage of Scripture that is the most despised and the most hated passage in all of the Bible by the radical left.

[19:35] And it is in all of its several expressions of immorality. And this is a passage that they would just love to rip right out of the Scriptures and pretend that it never existed, and they've got all kinds of answers and dodges for it, but none of them will avail because the truth of God's Word stands no matter who hates it or who loves it.

[19:59] It is the Word of God that will abide, and if you will turn to that most hated passage, you'll find it in the first chapter of the Book of Romans.

[20:10] It is my intent to expound on the chapter, but to simply use it as a point of reference because it succinctly expresses what we are dealing with, at least in part.

[20:31] And this passage not only declares God as the Creator, but the same God that establishes normal and abnormal for His creation.

[20:47] The earliest expressions of abnormality and perversion surfaced in Genesis chapter 18 in connection with Sodom and Gomorrah.

[20:59] And this is not too terribly long after the new world was created, having been destroyed in the old world with the flood of Noah, but they did not get far.

[21:12] It surfaces again in chapter 18 with some of the most basic, heinous immoralities that man is capable of. And for time's sake, again, we're going to read these, and I will be moving along rather quickly.

[21:26] But you will see, beginning in Romans chapter 1 and verse 15, Paul says, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

[21:40] And the gospel, of course, is the good news that Christ died for our sins. That's what makes it good news. You do not have to be accountable for your own sins because Christ has taken your sins upon Himself and all you have to do is admit them.

[21:58] You acknowledge your sin. You don't try to justify it. You don't try to explain it. You don't try to excuse it. You just admit it. And actually, all you're doing is saying, I admit I'm a member of the human race.

[22:11] Is that so hard to do? That's what sin is. Billy Graham was asked one time to define sin, and he said, Sin, a sinner, is anyone who is less perfect than God.

[22:24] So that kind of covers the waterfront, doesn't it? And once we acknowledge that, yeah, I'm a member of the human race. I'm a sinner just like everybody else.

[22:34] Nobody's saying that you are a wicked, vile, terrible person. We're just saying, you're one of us. You're fallen. And the proof that you are a sinner is the fact that you're going to die physically.

[22:45] That's the sentence of death. And that's where it all comes from. So this isn't something to be in denial about and say, oh, I'm not one of those. I'm this. I'm that. I'm better than that. You're just like all the rest of us.

[22:58] You're just like all the rest of us. And despite the fact that it is not a pretty picture, Jesus Christ loved us when we were yet in our sin.

[23:12] And he was willing to do for us what he did. Don't ever expect to get over that. In fact, if you ever do get over that, you've got a bigger problem.

[23:30] I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It, this gospel, this message, is the power of God for salvation. It's the power to change lives.

[23:41] It's the power to completely reverse someone. It's the power to bring forgiveness. It's the power to bring closeness and fellowship with God and acceptance with God and forgiveness of sins.

[23:52] We're talking power. I mean, this is power. And the word that is used here in the Greek, there's two different words for power that's translated into English.

[24:03] And one is exousia. It's the word from which we get the word executive. And it means someone who is in a position of influence and power as an executive.

[24:17] We say the president of the United States is the executive of the country. And that's power. That's exousia. And then the other word that is used is dunamis.

[24:30] D-U-N-A-M-I-S. Dunamis. It's the word from which the word dynamite comes. From dunamis. And the power of God is the dynamite of God.

[24:43] It can do something that nothing else can do. All the things that I've mentioned before. So what's to be ashamed? The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

[24:57] And actually the Greek here doesn't, it's not limiting people of Greek experience. It's a synonym for Gentiles. Everyone in the entire world who has ever lived, well at least from the time of Abraham, is either a Jew or a Gentile.

[25:14] The likelihood is we are all Gentiles. Because if you are a Jew, that means you are a direct blood descendant from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[25:26] You are a Jew. But you don't have much company. You don't even occupy 1% of the world's population. You occupy two-tenths of 1% of the world's population.

[25:44] And everybody else, no matter your skin color, your language, or your ethnicity, you're a Gentile. And that's who Paul is talking about here. When he uses the word Greeks, it probably ought to be translated Gentile.

[25:57] So he is saying, to the Jew first, because they were the initial recipients of it through Christ, but also to the Greek, for in it, in that gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the righteous man shall live on the basis of faith.

[26:18] Or the righteous man will obtain his righteousness solely on the basis of believing. Because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

[26:34] You know there is a lot of suppression of truth that is going on today. There is a lot of exposure of information that is not truth, which has come to be branded as fake news.

[26:56] But there is a lot of suppression of truth because people suppressing it don't want the masses to hear it because it will affect and influence their opinion, their thinking, and their voting.

[27:15] That's why they don't want them to hear it. Anything that is contrary, by way of bad news, to a party or a person that you are in favor of, if you can scrap it, ignore it, do it.

[27:34] Because you don't want to do anything that makes your person look bad. And don't we all wish that this could be true only of one party? But it's true of Republicans, and it's true of Democrats, and it's true of any other party.

[27:51] Because the problem is not a political problem. The problem is a human problem. It transcends politics.

[28:06] That which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

[28:24] For even though they knew God, and here is the crux of the matter, even though they knew God, or even though they knew there was a God, even though they acknowledged that there was a God, they did not honor him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

[28:55] Listen, nobody lives in a vacuum. Everybody is going to march to the beat of some drummer.

[29:07] You are not an exception. Everybody marches to the beat of some drummer. The only question is, who is your drummer?

[29:18] Their foolish heart was darkened. You see, when you throw over truth, you open yourself to every imaginable falsity that there is.

[29:36] professing to be wise, they became the opposite fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

[29:57] How could anybody do that? How could anybody do that? Well, I'll tell you how we can do it. How many times have we insisted, and the scriptures attest to it, all the way through from Genesis 3 onward, that when Adam and Eve fell, when they came crashing down, everything that was under their dominion came crashing down with them, and that was everything that was under their dominion, which was everything.

[30:26] The land, the trees, the shrubs, the animals, everything, everything is fallen. The whole world is distorted.

[30:37] It is not the very good world that God created. It is fallen. It is marred. It is ruined. We live in a ruined planet.

[30:48] The song that we were singing earlier, Our God Reigns. Really? Are you sure?

[31:04] Do you realize how many people there are in the world, right here in the U.S. of A., whose opinion of that would be, Our God Reigns.

[31:15] Oh, yeah? Well, I think He's doing a pretty lousy job. Now, why would anyone conclude that?

[31:31] Well, let me ask that question with another question. Why wouldn't they think that? Do you think that this planet is such a hospitable place?

[31:47] Right now, we're still dealing with the effects of the pandemic, and we don't know what to believe or who to believe or how serious this is or where this thing is going to go.

[31:58] You do understand that the world is in a mess, don't you? Haven't you figured that out? I'm quite sure you have.

[32:09] And do you know what ought to be the absolute optimum manifestation of that is death. Death is an enemy, and it's a victor. If God is reigning, I can understand how people conclude, well, frankly, I could do a better job.

[32:31] He's doing a pretty lousy job. Look at the mess the world is in. Look at all of the violence. Look at all the killing and all the murders and all the rapes, all the famines and all the disease and the Holocaust and tsunamis and tornadoes and what a crummy way to run a world.

[32:47] You're telling me that God's in charge of that? You realize that this, the coexistence of a supposed all-powerful, all-loving God, His existence coexisting with evil does not compute don't you get that?

[33:12] Don't you see something wrong with that picture? And as I've mentioned before, it's impossible to deny, it's impossible to deny the existence of evil and deprivation and crime and disease and you can't deny that.

[33:29] So how do you square that with this benevolent, loving, kind, powerful God? If I were God, you better believe I'd stamp that stuff out.

[33:41] I'd put an end to that. If I were God, I'd just, the first thing I would do is I would head for the nearest hospital and I'd find the children's ward and I'd just heal every one of them.

[33:57] It'd be up and out of that hospital and nothing flat if I were God. But I'm not God. Doesn't God care even more than I do? Isn't He more powerful than I am?

[34:08] If that's what I would do as a human being, pray tell me, why doesn't He do that? And if you understand this, you'll understand something that the vast majority of the world does not.

[34:20] And that's that really big, humongous, powerful thing that God has given you that rests within you that is called your volition.

[34:40] For God to bring about all those changes that we're talking about and solve all of those ills and problems that we're talking about and do away with all the pain and heartache that we're talking about, the only way He can do that is to keep you from being you.

[34:59] Take away your volition. Take away your will so that you no longer have the ability to do hurtful, stupid things.

[35:10] A capacity that we all have. This is so key, so critical. It is vital that every Christian understand this principle.

[35:22] And as someone has said when it was briefly explained to them, that God is not the problem. So, are you saying then the problem is us?

[35:37] Yes! Yes! That's the problem! We are all the problem. We're all part of the problem. And for God to just move in and remove all of those things and run interference for us in a way that just makes all this ugly world nice and pretty and beautiful like we would like it to have, for Him to do that, He has to rob you of that precious resource that He's given you the ability to exercise your will.

[36:06] And God has chosen not to do that. His only other option is to not give you a will. To program you in such a way that you couldn't do anything wrong, couldn't say anything wrong, what kind of a world would that be?

[36:23] Nobody wants to live like that. So this is where we are. This is what's wrong with this world. Verse 26, For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.

[36:46] Now right there, there is a big problem. Who is going to define natural? And what gives you the right to say what's natural and what is unnatural?

[37:08] Now the first thing you need to look for in people who have a problem with this is their world view. because if you are coming from a world view that has engulfed the vast majority of this nation, you are coming from a position of morals being relative.

[37:37] Morals are what you say they are and they're what you say they are and they're what you say they are and although all three of those are different, they're all right.

[37:51] that's where political correctness comes in. Listen, it wasn't until the 1950s or 60s that a man by the name of Joseph Fletcher came on the scene and published a book that took the nation by storm and succeeded in establishing moral relativity.

[38:16] Morality is guided by just one thing. Love. You know, to the Christian on the surface that doesn't sound too bad.

[38:30] Love. But how is that played out? Well, it's played out this way. If a young woman comes to you and says she is with child and without the benefit of marriage and she wants an abortion, the only loving thing to do is grant her an abortion.

[38:54] You see, words mean things and definitions of those words mean things too and people can be poles apart using the same language but with an entirely different meaning and you could Google Joseph Fletcher.

[39:09] I would suggest that you do that. It would be an interesting experiment. Just Google who was Joseph Fletcher. F-L-E-T-C-H-E-R. Look it up and see what his contribution was.

[39:23] Of course, he died an unhappy suicide and I can certainly understand that. But through that one man's effort.

[39:33] Now, this is stunning. How could any one person have that kind of influence and impact on a whole nation? Are you kidding me?

[39:44] Joseph Fletcher? Most people today don't even know who he is. But they're marching to his drumbeat and they don't even know it. Morality and immorality is defined by the individual.

[39:59] It doesn't make any difference what you do or with whom you do it if you do not regard it immoral. It isn't. The sky's the limit.

[40:11] In the same way also men abandoned the natural function of the woman, burned in their desire towards one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

[40:35] And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind. You know what that means? It means God said okay, have it your way.

[40:51] That's what he did. Again, that is respecting the volition that he gave them. God could have just stepped in and intervened and said nope, I'm not going to let you do that.

[41:03] I'm going to take that option off the table. You cannot do that. I refuse for you to engage in those activities. I will not allow it. He could have done that. And if he had, he would simply override your will and take away your ability to make your decisions morally.

[41:24] So what I'm saying is when God created our first parents and gave them the option of obeying or not obeying, they had the ability to do either.

[41:39] I don't approve this term, but I don't know how else to use it or what other word to put in place because it's a word that you will readily identify. It would seem as though God was taking an enormous risk, a gamble.

[41:59] But then the question is asked, didn't God know well in advance what people would do, what their decision would be? Didn't God know in advance what would result from creating people who have the ability to kick over the traces and do their own thing?

[42:17] And all of the heartache and death and misery that would result from that? Didn't God know that in advance? He's supposed to know everything. Isn't that part of his job description? Didn't he know that?

[42:28] Yes, he knew that. Then why did he do it? Because the only other option was to not give you a will. Can you think of anything else?

[42:40] It's got to be one or the other as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of any third option. But do you know God knowing that? God knowing that well in advance also, also well in advance provided a remedy for that rebellion.

[43:09] And that's what the cross is all about. That's what the empty tomb is all about. That's what the resurrection is all about.

[43:20] because Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world.

[43:34] God knowing full well the decisions that would be made leading to the flood of Noah, the decisions that we may be regarding the sodomites and people of Gomorrah and God knowing full well the decisions that would be made in the 21st century by Americans and English and French and all the rest to throw over all the standard time-tested morality for immorality if you want it and nobody has the right to say that anybody else is wrong about anything.

[44:09] And even for these, the likes of us, the love of God was not exhausted but determined to provide that corrective.

[44:25] That's amazing. John Newton called it amazing grace. Oh my, how sweet the sound. Oh, well. Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, they are goth.

[44:43] Hey, this sounds like today's newspaper, doesn't it? Slanders, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents without understanding, unworth, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, and though they know the ordinance of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

[45:12] I remember hearing a well-polished, well-spoken, gay man, actually he wasn't a gay man at all, that's another word that they've hijacked, gives a new meaning to the gay 90s.

[45:25] The gay 90s in the 1890s meant one thing, the gay 90s in the 1990s meant something entirely different, but this idea of the immorality that is connected with it and the senior moment, I lost my train of thought, oh yes, not only give hearty approval, but also give hearty approval to them that practice them and I remember this man, I can't even remember his name, it's immaterial because there's so many of them now who've come out of the closet and are boastful about their being honest and open as homosexuals and so on and he made a statement that I thought was very, very interesting.

[46:10] he said, I know that in time past homosexuality was generally disapproved of, considered wrong, immoral, etc.

[46:24] But we've gotten past that and we've gotten now even past the position of our being accepted.

[46:35] accepted. But that's not enough. Oh, what is left?

[46:48] There was a time when practicing homosexuals could be prosecuted and fined and even put in jail.

[47:04] That came to a screeching halt in Texas not too many years ago as the Supreme Court ruled on it. And it completely changed the law of the land regarding homosexuality.

[47:17] And he said, it is not sufficient that we be permitted to carry out our lifestyle. What we require is affirmation.

[47:37] Big difference. You see, there is permission and then there is tolerance and then there is affirmation.

[47:50] And he was asked to, would you explain further what you mean exactly by that? And he said, well, he said, we of the gay community and lifestyle insist on being considered and treated as completely legitimate and normal as is the other side.

[48:13] And we won't settle for anything less. Now, where does this all stand with the mix of scripture? And I don't want to get into the areas of homosexuality and what causes it and whether they're born with it, et cetera.

[48:32] I've got some personal theories regarding that and this is no place for them, but maybe sometime I'll share them. But I can, I'll just go this far to say, not all homosexuality is, what shall I say, not all homosexuality is deliberate or chosen by the individual.

[48:55] I think there are some significant areas wherein one may be born with a proclivity toward that and for that person all I can say is my heart goes out to them because they are dealing with a very, very difficult problem and the reason that I am convinced that this is true at least in some cases is because homosexuality and lesbianism is just one more consequence of the fall.

[49:35] Right up there with robbery and mayhem and murder and everything else, it's just one more aspect of the flawed nature of a human being.

[49:51] It isn't being born that way that is the sin anyway. It is acting upon it.

[50:02] That's where the problem comes in. Some people are born with a proclivity to alcoholism. I mean, it's in their genes and it's demonstrated.

[50:14] They spend one weekend drinking and they are an alcoholic for the rest of their life and there are people in our congregation who can identify with that and there are others who can drink the same kind of alcohol over a period of years and they never become an alcoholic.

[50:29] They never become dependent on it. What's the difference? difference is the chemistry and the makeup and the psyche of the individual with which they were born. And that too is all part of the fall.

[50:40] You see, the fall really got us into everything. All this mess that we're in. This is all the tragedy of humanity is the fall. And that's why Jesus came to do what he did to compensate for that.

[50:56] And even in the interim, even though everything isn't as it ought to be, do you know what? He still provides for the individual who puts their faith and trust in him. He still provides them with a dynamic and the capability of being able to rise above that so that they need not submit to it.

[51:17] That's the power of the gospel also. That's the regenerative power. So even for those who live in a fallen world, we do not have to live as fallen people.

[51:28] This is the meaning that is given to we are in the world but not of the world. There is a new different dynamic that comes from God that is placed within the individual through the process of regeneration that none of us understand but all of us benefit from if we've come to faith in Christ that gives you the power to walk in the spirit and if you do you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh and if you don't you will simple as that so there is an overcoming power that is available to the believer to live a life that is pleasing to God even though you are a fallen individual that too is an act of God's mercy and grace grace well Marv it wouldn't hurt a thing if you would stick with your notes the biggest contributor in many ways in addition to in addition to the fall that just blankets all of humanity for all times and

[52:44] I know this is a tired bugaboo and I don't want to wear you out with it and I know you probably feel like you've already heard more about it no no don't tell me he's going there again but listen this is so critical so involved and I'm talking about the evolutionary hypothesis very few of us have any idea at all how impactful this has been on the entire world I don't know that there is any two-legged human being walking anywhere who understands this better than Ken Ham and he's got a handle on it if the evolutionary hypothesis is correct and all of Romans that we have read becomes immediately invalid the contest and controversy focuses entirely upon origins because origins establish meaning or no meaning origins establish purpose or no purpose origins establish destiny or no destiny origins establish accountability or no accountability authority is the issue always has been always will be where is and here's a sobering question everyone needs to ask where is the radical left coming from as regards the issues of special creation versus chance evolution you already know the answer and what is the predictable outcome of each because each of those the evolutionary hypothesis or the creation hypothesis both of those produce a fallout both of those are drum beaters and people are marching to that drum whichever one it is the left the left has made phenomenal gains in its position of evolution under the guise of science and I've heard this time and again and it is partly it is their mantra and if you haven't heard it I don't know what planet you've been living on it is this evolution is science creationism is religion is faith that's all that has been drummed in to our young people from the first grade up and they have bought it hook line and sinker they bought the whole thing you know why because it comes from well educated well spoken convincing persuasive authorities and they buy it and I'm back to that authority is everything always has been always will be whatever you accept as your ultimate authority will determine the lifestyle the position the agenda everything that you think about is going to be impacted by that everything this is why this is why information is so important this is why I put these articles out there for people to read as to

[56:45] what's happening in our world because it explains where we are where we're going where we'll be when we get there is there any way of heading it off all of this is vital information that people need to understand and know the evolutionary position has successfully commandeered the vast majority of academia that is considered to be the intellectual powerhouse of a society special creationists that are found in academia must remain in their closet or forfeit their reputation and likely their position and there has been more than one well-respected PhD who has spent hours in academia who has been dismissed from their position because they have adopted the ridiculous religious view of special creation the medical community researchers are all in lockstep with academia by pursuing only the evolutionary model in all their medical research the foregone supposition is evolution is the only true and scientific model while special creation is only to be tolerated as an unsubstantiated issue of faith unsupported by scientific facts this is the accepted model and it is worldwide and we are paying a price because once you accept this and by the way for most of these atheism goes along with it and when

[58:36] Richard Richard Dawkins he was the atheist I was thinking of the philosopher but at any rate he's the one that posed the idea that that because of the existence of gravity the universe was capable of creating itself Hawking Hawking thank you yes Richard Hawkins and he he was proclaimed he was proclaimed by leading university scientists PhD intellectuals worldwide he was proclaimed as the greatest living scientist in the world do you mean to tell me do you mean to tell me that you are counter in your opinion and your ideas and your conviction that is the opposite of the world's leading scientists are you telling me that that is exactly what I'm telling you do you get the point now here's the point here's the big point either it is or it isn't there's no middle ground no middle ground you've got to choose which drummer you're going to march to it's impossible to march to both of them and you cannot avoid marching to one or the other it's absolutely impossible can't be done you're on one side or the other amazing this is the accepted model and it is worldwide it was not always so ah here is the punch line and here is where unfortunately

[60:28] I have to conclude it was not always so it has become so it is this that must be discarded and the former to which we must return and what is the former the former is all the way up into well into the 20th century America as a whole was committed to the idea there is a God there is an eternity there is truth there is morality these things are real they actually exist that was the general consensus that was what just about everybody believed and if you ever ran across somebody who didn't endorse that they were really odd really really different because virtually everybody

[61:35] I say virtually everybody generally agreed even though they would not profess to be Christians yes there is a God yes there is a heaven yes there is a hell and they would argue a little bit about whether the flames are real or not or so on but generally across the spectrum there was the concept that God is real and that God is the creator these things were accepted and they are taught without opposition in our schools and we were merrily coasting along enjoying that and enjoying the prosperity and the technology and the improvements and the standard of living uplifting that came to all of America we were just enjoying and then something happened and all that changed didn't happen overnight took five or six decades but we're there we're there we're not on the way anymore we're there we're there this is the world now that we're dealing with this fallen world that has fallen even further than it was can it be turned around well

[62:57] I don't want to tell you this but I must it's possible it is possible that it can be turned around because after all in order to return to something you had to have been there before we were there before as a nation we left it the possibility of return is there but honesty compels me to tell you it is not probable possible but not probable and what would I say would be the biggest factor or a contributing factor to rendering it improbable it's lackadaisical uninvolved uninformed uncaring asleep people who call themselves

[64:21] Christians in this nation will we rise to that occasion are there enough of us who even care don't want to I don't know I do know I pray about this pray about this more than I prayed about anything because we are a nation that remains at risk but the text in the prophets in the old testament make it so clear where the Lord says return return return you know the beauty of it is God always provides a way back will we take it I don't know some days

[65:26] I think we will another day I think America is so sound asleep they don't have a clue as to what's even happening and then something else happens that gives me another glimmer of hope that maybe things are starting to and then only to get dampened again and I've been going through this cycle and so so have you for the last few years and I don't know what the outcome is going to be but I do know this God is already there and I just want us as individuals to be available and accountable to him I have no idea what God may be calling us to do maybe it's just more of the same but I do know this I want an ear that is bent and listening for any direction or any specifics that we can be eager to follow up on and apart from that no

[66:29] I don't have anything in mind I'm just trying to be a voice in the wilderness I know the message has been somewhat of a downer but I'll tell you what if I have to refrain from telling you the truth in order to provide an upper you're going to get a downer because nothing matters more than the truth and as God is my witness I feel with every fiber of my being that that's what I've delivered what you're going to do with it is entirely up to you you know why it's because you have a volition would you stand we'll be dismissed our father we recognize that we've been talking about issues that are terribly terribly important we see a nation that is just running amok in debauchery in lawlessness in just moral rampaging the likes of which previous generations would not have been able to even imagine and yet it's become everyday fair here and we do not know to what extent or in what way you may be pleased to use this congregation or any individual in it to make a positive impact because it really doesn't take an army it just takes someone committed to what they believe their principles negatively it just took

[68:07] Charles Darwin negatively just took Joseph Fletcher negatively we could list a whole host of other individuals whose singular life had an enormous impact on the entire culture and we believe that that's possible for a positive impact as well any way that you might be pleased to use any of us individually or collectively as a congregation we want to be at your beck and call thank you again for the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God and for the power that is resident in that gospel to make us people who are in the world and still not of it we are so lacking in our knowledge and in our will and we want to repair it to you for whatever you want for us in Christ's wonderful name amen you are dismissed next to we in to we have the