Formulating a World View

[0:00] The message this morning is entitled, Formulating a World View. And we'll be looking at two passages of scripture this morning, which deal with some of the world views that are out there.

[0:23] Please turn to Romans chapter 1. And in Romans chapter 1, we'll be looking at verses 18 through 28.

[0:44] Verse 18.

[1:14] His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.

[1:33] For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks. But they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

[1:49] Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

[2:09] Therefore, God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

[2:21] For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

[2:35] Amen. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.

[2:49] And in the same way also, the men abandoned the natural function of the woman, and burned in their desire toward one another.

[3:00] Men with men, committing indecent acts, and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper.

[3:27] Okay, please turn back to the end of Romans, to 1 Corinthians. And in 1 Corinthians, we'll be taking a look at chapter 1, verses 21 through 25.

[3:53] For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

[4:12] For indeed, Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness.

[4:30] But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

[4:42] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Thank you.

[4:54] Thank you, Gary. If you go back to the Romans passage, please, there are some comments that need to be made regarding that. And we look at the description of the activities of these people.

[5:08] And it stemmed from an abandonment, a willful refusal to acknowledge God. And it ought not to be a surprise to us that this is a consequence.

[5:25] This is a result. And we are today living in a place and in a culture where this is actually being played out, in bold relief, and is even officially recognized by the powers that be.

[5:43] And we ought not to be surprised because, as I said, it is a natural consequence of turning your back upon the true God. Because nobody lives or functions in a vacuum.

[5:56] If you reject one thing, it is certain you will replace it with something else. And that is precisely what is happening here. And what we're talking about is a worldview.

[6:07] It's a worldview. It's a word that has come into prominent use probably over the last 20 years. And it is something that needs to be really understood and appreciated for the value that it has because everybody has one.

[6:23] A worldview is nothing more, very simple, it is nothing more than the way you view the world. But every one of us has a set of personal lens, if you will.

[6:40] And no two of us are exactly alike. Everybody sees things a little bit different from somebody else. And that's okay. Because that's just humanity.

[6:52] But your worldview, your worldview is comprised from the sum total of all of the experiences and incidents that you have had.

[7:05] All of the things that you have heard and witnessed over the years. Whether you realize it or not, you tuck those things away in your memory. You store them in your human spirit.

[7:17] And they are there. And they comprise and determine what your attitude is going to be. And your attitude determines what your actions are going to be.

[7:32] Because all actions outwardly begin with an inner impulse. You feel something or think something on the inside. And then you act it out outwardly, whatever that is.

[7:45] And what we act out, what we take in and what we act out is all linked to our worldview. As I said, everybody has one.

[7:58] Most of us build a worldview unconsciously, not deliberately. We aren't saying, well, I'm going to read this book so it will add to part of the composition of my worldview.

[8:10] No, you just do it. But all the while we are automatically assimilating things. Good and bad. True and false.

[8:22] And it is out of our perspective or our worldview that we formulate attitudes and actions. We've got a situation going on right now in Washington, D.C.

[8:33] That is, in some respects, I guess you could call it politically chaotic. And it is the kind of situation that the nation has really never faced before exactly like this.

[8:51] And out of the chaos that is going on, there is even a new term that has surfaced. And it is called fake news. Fake news is nothing more than information that the one dispensing knows.

[9:15] Knows it is not true. But states it and says it and promotes it as if it were true. In other words, it is just a flat-out lie.

[9:28] And the one who is perpetrating it is fully aware of it. And he intends to do damage with that lie. And it is broadcast through the media as news.

[9:39] And the tragedy of it is, you cannot believe how many people embrace it and accept it as fact.

[9:51] Oh, I heard it. I saw it on TV. Therefore, I know that it must be true. Because they wouldn't say anything that isn't true. They verify everything. Well, there was a time when that was the case.

[10:04] But not anymore. Therefore, it's kind of like the gloves have come off and anything goes. And the name of the game is, the end justifies the means.

[10:17] If you can get or do what you're after, then it's okay. Where do they get that idea?

[10:28] That's their worldview. It comes from their inner attitude that causes them to take that action outwardly. All these people are doing is simply being what they are.

[10:43] That's all. This is their worldview. And in their worldview, they have adopted the principle of moral relativism.

[10:57] It has flooded this nation. It is everywhere. And it simply says, there is no overarching element of truth by which all entities are to be guided.

[11:11] That truth is what you make it. Truth is what you want it to be. Truth is what you decide it to be. This is moral relativism. And moral relativism means it is perfectly acceptable to lie about something in order to obtain the end that you want to obtain.

[11:32] That's okay. That's fine. So the idea of morality, old-fashioned morality, is gone. It is replaced with a fluid, flexible, habit-as-you-will kind of morality.

[11:51] And when you're operating on that basis, anything goes. I mean, anything goes. A classic example, and I'm going to use this, and I'm going to use his name because he did it right out in front of God and everybody on television.

[12:08] Maybe you saw it, and maybe you didn't. But this was Harry Reid. Harry Reid, at the time, was a senator from Nevada. And he came out and just boldly stated for the world to hear that George Romney, or not George Romney, but Mitch Romney, who was running for president at the time, running against Barack Obama.

[12:35] I'm sorry, running against Barack Obama for his second term. And he came right out and said that he has not paid any income tax for the past several years.

[12:52] And it was repeated more than once. Now, for somebody who is running for president of the United States and hasn't paid their income tax for the past several years, that is not a good thing.

[13:04] You don't want that on your platform. But the point is, it wasn't true. And, of course, Romney denied it. But later, when Harry Reid was interviewed, he was asked, when you said that about Mitch Romney, did you know that that wasn't true?

[13:31] Yes. But you said it anyway? How do you account for that? You said it anyway that he had not paid his taxes and you knew that wasn't true.

[13:44] How do you justify that? You know what his answer was? He didn't get elected, did he? And I thought, good grief, have we come to that.

[13:57] And here is a man who is absolutely justifying the telling of a blatant lie that he knew was a lie. I mean, politics aside, you know politics gets dirty and everybody makes accusations about everybody else.

[14:11] And everybody wants to find some dirt and make something, make something, somebody look bad. That's the name of the game. But this was a new low. And the American public should have stood up and rebelled against that very thing.

[14:27] That's where this nation is going. And that's what's happening. And it is absolutely tragic because when you play fast and loose with the truth like that, it's...

[14:37] And you know why I did it? You know why I did it? Because it was consistent with his worldview. Everybody has one.

[14:49] And all of these people in Washington, I don't care which side they're on, liberals, Democrats, Republicans, whatever. Everybody has a mindset and a worldview.

[15:00] And out of that they act. So they are just being what they are. Whether it is good or whether it is evil. And there is plenty of evil there. So our worldview is made up of our interpretation of the experiences that we undergo day by day and hour by hour.

[15:18] Right now, the content you are getting right now is becoming part of your worldview. Everything comes in the hopper of the mind.

[15:29] All of this stuff. Good, bad, indifferent, you name it. It's all in there. And what you have to do when you get this information is you have to process it. You process the information.

[15:42] And you ask yourself, is it true? Is it false? Is it relevant? Does it make any difference? Is it important or whatnot? And you end up just kind of mentally dismissing a lot of stuff as minutiae and it's not worth storing away.

[15:54] But then there are other things that are more important and you kind of log those things. And all of that mix, all of that combination, year after year after year. And you get it from television.

[16:04] You get it from radio. You get it from church. You get it from your neighborhood. You get it from school. You get it from your family. You get it from everywhere. And it's all flooding into your mind. And you are processing all of this stuff and reaching decisions on the basis of it.

[16:18] And that's how you develop a worldview. Because all of those ingredients come together and they produce a final product.

[16:31] And that final product is the way you view the world and life and yourself and everything. So this is absolutely critical. And you know what that does?

[16:43] That brings us back to this principle. The importance of information. What you put into your mind really, really matters.

[17:00] Big time. And you need to be selective in what you are going to contribute to your worldview. Because it is going to produce a product.

[17:13] And you are that product. Isn't there a little ditty that says something about be careful little eyes what you see. And be careful little ears what you hear. And mothers tell their children that.

[17:25] Well, there is a lot of truth in that. You need to be selective. And there is so much. Listen. The lie. The untruth.

[17:36] Truth. That is out there. Greatly outweighs the truth that is available. You are aware of that, aren't you? There is only one true answer to two plus two.

[17:50] But the number of wrong answers is almost limitless, isn't it? Truth. And that is the way it is with truth and error. There is so much more error out there than there is truth.

[18:02] Truth. Truth. So, be careful when you take in content and assimilate it and store it. You are building a case.

[18:12] Whether you realize it or not. Whether you think you are or not. Because it is just automatic. We just do it without even thinking about it. It becomes part of our being. So, you are what you have been becoming.

[18:29] Physically, with probably some slight exception, but physically, physically, you are pretty much what you put into your body by way of food.

[18:42] By way of food and drink. That is pretty much what your body is. And mentally and spiritually, you are what you put in your mind. This is what Romans is talking about in the renewing of the mind.

[18:55] So, let's look at this passage here in Romans. And by the way, this is a very, very controversial passage. And I understand that there are some pastors. There are some pastors in Canada who have been arrested and fined for preaching from Romans chapter 1.

[19:13] Because it is about as politically uncorrect as you can get. Particularly when it comes to the gay community. But I want you to look at this in verse 21 of Romans.

[19:25] For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God. Now, generally speaking, this is regarded as speaking of the early heathen. The early pagans.

[19:36] And it would go back even probably predating Abraham. And maybe even predating the flood. And that is generally the interpretation of this. But I seriously wonder if maybe it does not go back even further than that.

[19:50] And I am talking about all the way back. When you go all the way back, you are talking about Adam and Eve.

[20:03] Surely this passage isn't speaking of them. Well, let's look. They knew God. Well, I think it is safe to say that Adam and Eve knew God in a way that was really unusual.

[20:20] And we are told that, and I believe this was a Christophany. I believe that it was Christ in a pre-incarnate experience. But they walked with him in the cool of the day. And they were accustomed to entertaining him and fellowshipping with him.

[20:33] And the time came after their sin that they hid from him. Because they were naked and they were afraid. They did not honor him as God.

[20:44] And I can see, I am not saying that this is speaking directly of Adam and Eve. But I am saying there is an application here. They did not honor him as God or give thanks. They became futile in their speculations.

[20:55] And their foolish heart was darkened. And that darkening of their heart is part of the fall. Professing to be wise, they became fools. And they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

[21:15] These are objects that man actually reduced himself to worship. Strange as it sounds. But listen, when you disregard the truth and throw it over, you make yourself vulnerable to almost anything.

[21:33] And that is exactly what happened here. So, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity that their bodies might be dishonored among them. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.

[21:44] And worshiped and served the creature. Now, how would Adam and Eve have done that? How would they have worshipped and served the creature?

[21:55] Well, the word worship is related to the idea of worth. W-O-R-T-H. Worth.

[22:06] Value. Value. And the text is saying that they worshipped, they valued the creature more than the creator.

[22:21] The one that you worship is the one whose authority you respect. You acknowledge their authority.

[22:33] Jesus received worship. Never rejected it. Angels rejected worship because they were not worthy. They did not deserve worship. Men were told not to worship angels.

[22:45] To worship God only. And in effect, what Adam and Eve did was they placed themselves under the authority of the serpent while rejecting the authority of God.

[23:01] He told them not to partake of that particular tree. The serpent said, and we know he's aligned with Satan himself, Yea, hath God said.

[23:13] He knows that if you partake of that, you'll be like he is, as God is. And he doesn't want the competition. And what did they do? So, they rejected the admonition God gave them, the authority that God gave them, and they opted instead for the authority of the serpent.

[23:30] In other words, they placed greater worth and value upon the serpent than they did the creator. That's an obvious application here.

[23:41] And of course, men have done that down through the years. And the text goes on to say that, Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity.

[23:56] And what that implies is this. God had already said to them that his will was to be done.

[24:07] He endowed these beings, Adam and Eve, with a volition, enabling them to counter God's will. And that's, of course, exactly what they did.

[24:18] Because when they rejected the counsel of God, they went with something else. And as a result, with that great exchange, God gave them over.

[24:29] In other words, that means God did not interfere with the volition that he gave them by canceling their actions or not allowing them to do certain things.

[24:41] And that's a really, really important concept. This idea of volition and the fact that God respects it. He has given us the power of choice as free moral agents.

[24:54] And that volition becomes the basis for God eventually holding all of us accountable for our actions. We are responsible and accountable because we have a will. And that's exactly what's taking place here.

[25:06] And as a result of their rejecting the authority of God, God gave them over to the natural kind of consequences that flow from a rejection of the authority of God.

[25:21] That's where our nation is. That's where our nation is right now. In fact, I would even go so far as to say, officially, that's where our nation is.

[25:36] And it is tragic. Because it is devastating to the entire nation. It is taking a toll that the likes of which one questions whether we will survive.

[25:49] Because the enemy is not just without, the enemy is within. And greater minds than mine have been fearing for a long time that we may be a nation that will succumb from inward degradation and corruption rather than from an outside enemy.

[26:08] And folks, we are headed in that direction. We do not know whether this thing can be turned around or not. But this is where we are headed.

[26:19] Sources that contribute to our worldview. The most important one. Most important one. Is mom and dad. Nobody has the opportunity, the responsibility for influencing the worldview of children than their parents.

[26:40] And this is a kind of, if you want to call it programming, call it what you will. It is child training. It is instilling and imbuing in that youngster a value system.

[26:56] A sense of right and wrong. And appreciation for the personhood and the value of others. All of these things are to be instilled at a very, very early age.

[27:08] And it comes from mom and dad. And by the way, there is no person who exercises authority or has the right to do so more than the parents of a child that they brought into the world.

[27:27] No psychiatrist. No psychologist. No teacher. No so-called expert. God has designed mom and dad to be the experts for that child.

[27:39] And nobody knows that child like they do. And nobody is supposed to like they do. They are building a worldview. Maybe even unconsciously.

[27:51] Unintentionally. But every day, the way mom and dad conduct themselves before their children, they are establishing a standard. They are establishing a guideline for them.

[28:05] And they see on a daily basis, this is the way life is supposed to be. This is what I'm supposed to do. This is where this fits. This is where that fits. And that's just part of the upbringing.

[28:16] But you know something? The parents have to be available to the child in order for that to happen. And that's another place where we are sorely lacking.

[28:26] I wonder, if a poll were to be taken, how many families actually get together for a meal each day? I cannot imagine how important that is.

[28:41] Terribly, terribly important. There is where family, community, and solidarity is built. There's where values are shared, ideas. There's where relationships are strengthened and built.

[28:52] It's just absolutely essential. And it is something that is pretty much gone by the wayside. And you know why? Because everybody's busy. Everybody's running in different directions, meeting different schedules at different times.

[29:04] And they're giving priority to all kinds of things that ought not to command their priority. Priority of a family is its togetherness. Siblings in the family contribute.

[29:16] School teachers and students. And you know, we see this acted out so many times. How is it possible? How can it be that a 15-year-old kid can take a weapon into a school and murder classmates?

[29:34] Shoot them! Kill them! Are you kidding me? Where is that coming from? I'll tell you where it's coming from. It's coming from that kid's worldview.

[29:44] It's coming from his attitude and the things that have been poured into him. And many times it may be due to what they're talking about now is one of the big problems.

[29:55] Kids are bullying. Kids are making fun of other kids and this kind of thing. And a level of hatred builds up and resentment. And I'll get even with them. I'll kill them. And that's taken place in more situations than we care to note.

[30:13] And you know where it's coming from? It's all coming from the way that kid views the world and himself and others.

[30:24] Because every day in every way he is processing and assessing situations and everything that happened, everything that's said to him, everything that's done to him.

[30:37] All of these things are compiled in his mind. And finally, he snaps. He does something like that. And this is tragic.

[30:47] And I'll tell you what. I wish I could tell you that we won't see any more of those. But I fear that we may very well.

[31:01] Workplace violence, schools, places like that. It's all coming from their worldview. For the believer. For the believer, an entirely different dynamic contributes to our worldview.

[31:17] And it begins with the regeneration of the human heart. With salvation. And we who have that, we who are privileged to have a personal relationship with Christ, we need to remind ourselves constantly, you cannot and should not expect people who do not have that to behave like you do.

[31:41] Or to have the attitude that you do. Not only do they not want to, they couldn't if they did want to. Because it is a supernatural thing.

[31:52] It is that which God has placed in you that has reoriented your thinking and caused you to reach different conclusions than what you did before regeneration occurred.

[32:06] That's why it's called being born again. It's kind of like starting life all over again. But people who have not done that cannot be expected to live like people who do. And we need to understand that those whom many of us might regard as the enemies, the other side, you know, the extreme liberals who are advocates of this and that.

[32:27] We need to understand these people don't have a clue. Not only that, but they don't even have a clue that they don't have a clue. That's how out of it they are.

[32:39] And they consider us weird. We need to remind ourselves, we are, what shall I say?

[32:53] We are the outside guy. We don't belong to this mix. Our citizenship is in heaven. This earth is not our home.

[33:05] We're just passing through. And we need to remind ourselves, we are in the minority. And we always have been. But that's okay, because God is with us, so that makes us a majority.

[33:17] But, you know, we are just like military troops that are dropped in behind enemy lines in a hostile world.

[33:28] That's the way this world is. The world at large has its own world view. And brother, it is not yours. It isn't even close.

[33:40] And we need to understand that. And rather than anger toward them or resentment or hatred toward them, we need a generous supply of pity and understanding.

[33:52] Because they know not what or who they really are. And you cannot expect them to come up to Christian standards. Yeah, I'd like to see the Ten Commandments placed back up in all the places that it's been taken down.

[34:08] I'd like to see a lot of things change like that. But you know what? These people who are fighting against these things, all they are doing is being what they are. And they are coming from their world view.

[34:20] And you cannot expect them to act any differently. The only thing that is going to change is the insertion of that spiritual dynamic that reorients human thinking and human hearts and attitudes and motives and everything else.

[34:35] And you know what that boils down to, don't you? We're right back to the preaching of the gospel. We're right back to evangelism.

[34:45] That's the only thing that will get the job done. If the job is to be done, it will be done through spiritual revival and people coming to faith in Christ.

[34:57] It will not be done through any political maneuvering. I don't care which party is in power. It will not be done through economic improvement, although we're glad for every advancement in that area.

[35:09] It will be done only with changed hearts and minds. So, that's something I want to share with you from a couple of commentaries that I consulted regarding this. This is from Dr. John Murray.

[35:22] He talks about, he says, Now, when according to the present passage, this is Romans 121, men's hearts are darkened, it follows that whatever they feel, think, say, or do is detrimentally affected.

[35:40] Their minds cannot reason straight. Their emotions cannot function properly, imparting peace and joy to their lives.

[35:54] And their wills do not even try to be in harmony with God's holy law. Note, then, the tragic result.

[36:04] And that's what follows there in Romans chapter 1. And it's just a predictable consequence of having rejected God. And this nation, this nation, in a number of ways, has officially refused to acknowledge the deity.

[36:22] And a number of ways with, you know, taking prayer out of the schools, taking the Bible out of the schools, all this and that. All of that, all of that is a refusal to acknowledge God.

[36:34] And he doesn't appreciate that. It is because of the grace and mercy of God that this nation was able to be birthed as it was in 1776.

[36:47] And God had a hand in that because there were a number of things that occurred in the last couple of years that had absolutely no human explanation behind them. We could only say it was a God thing.

[36:59] And now we've come to a place of where we're ready to abandon him. And that is tragic. But as I've said, an individual or a nation cannot function in a vacuum.

[37:14] If we dismiss the Almighty from any influence or recognition in this nation, we will replace him with something. We'll not leave it blank.

[37:25] And we are working on that now. And what we are replacing it with gradually is more and more shameful things that are reproached to any nation.

[37:39] And that's precisely where we are. One other comment I want to share with you. It says, The mind of man is never a religious vacuum.

[37:51] If there is the absence of the true, there is always the presence of the false. Men became vain. And the word vain means empty, worthless. In their imaginations and their reasonings.

[38:04] And their senseless heart was darkened. That means, and this heart thing that they're talking about, the scriptures use this term like some 50 times.

[38:16] It talks about the human heart. And it never means the blood pump in the chest. It has to do with the core of your being. The essence of your makeup.

[38:28] We talk about the heart of the matter. And it's right in the very core of your being. And that's what it is. That is, the senseless heart is darkened. The term for reasonings is often an unfavorable meaning.

[38:41] Namely, evil thoughts or imaginations. This depreciatory sense very likely appears in this instance. In their evil or wicked reasonings, they became destitute of any fruitful thought.

[38:56] Reason estranged from the source of light led them into a delirium of vanity. Boy, that is where our culture is in many aspects, many quarters.

[39:10] This is part, you see, when the fall occurred, everything about them fell. Their material being and their immaterial being fell.

[39:26] Everything fell. And man's reasoning processes. Our ability to exercise logic and reasoning is skewed.

[39:37] This is what enables people to establish things like that temple of rats that we saw in the video in India.

[39:50] Where they have a religious temple built to honor rats. And thousands of rats come into this place.

[40:01] And it is just covered with filth and rat dung. And people are in there worshiping and carrying on honoring these rats.

[40:14] What is wrong with these people? How can they subject themselves to that? What's going on? I'll tell you what's going on. Completely predictable.

[40:27] This is the vain reasonings. This is the darkened heart. This is the foolishness of human imagination. Skewed thinking. Crazy thinking. That reaches all kinds of harebrained conclusions.

[40:40] And some of them are in some of our finest universities. And they write books. And they're recognized. And published. It's amazing. And like, what's his name? Dawkins.

[40:55] World famous atheist. Debating. A creationist. And he ridiculed and derided and everything. And your creation. And God created Adam and Eve.

[41:06] It was all just a bunch of baloney. And he says, well, how do you believe that man came about that? What is your answer? Well, I have a very logical, reasonable answer.

[41:20] Beings from outer space visited earth. And they sowed human spores all over the earth. And then they left. And that's how humanity got here.

[41:32] Now that, oh, well, that's perfectly reasonable. I mean, you can't buy a fairy tale like Genesis 1.1. And God created the heavens and the earth. That can't be.

[41:43] But spores from outer space. And spacemen coming in. And salting the earth was human spores. Now that's very reasonable. And you know something? Listen.

[41:55] This man is a highly published author. International reputation. He is a member of the esteemed faculty at Oxford University. And he holds a position like this.

[42:07] And the scientific world looks at Richard Dawkins' explanation and says, Hey, meek! Yeah, that's probably the way it was. That's pretty reasonable. Where are they coming from?

[42:19] They're coming from their worldview. What else do you expect? Don't anticipate any other kind of attitude or action. They're just being what they are. This is it. And you know something? This is infiltrating our educational institutions.

[42:35] And our kids are being programmed with this stuff. And there is a tremendous upsurge in socialism. I'm talking about communistic socialism that is taking place right now.

[42:47] It is being taught, it is being openly taught in our universities by professors who are not closet communists. They are in your face communists.

[43:00] I mean communists. And they advocate the system. And these kids are buying into it. Because the whole idea behind communism and socialism, you know, it's got a great agenda.

[43:15] The only problem with it is, it's not workable. But it is set forth. Let me explain something. And I want to do this for the benefit especially of the young people who are here.

[43:30] Socialism. Socialism is related, of course, to the word society. Socialism has to do with society.

[43:43] And society is talking about the aggregate of people. The combination of people that live in a given geographical place. They constitute that society.

[43:57] And socialism places an emphasis on the society, not on the individual.

[44:07] And you know what? That doesn't sound bad. That sounds pretty good on the surface. I mean, after all, oughtn't we to be concerned about everybody?

[44:19] Not just the individual? Sure we should. So, when this kind of thing is put into practice, it becomes a communal type thing, a societal type thing, where all of the emphasis is on the group, not on the individual.

[44:38] And there's an old saying, and somebody put it on the bullet board a few weeks ago, and it just reminded me of it. And it's really telling. It's very simple. I would hope that you would memorize it if you haven't already.

[44:51] And it's simply this. Free people are not equal. Did you get that? Free people are not equal.

[45:05] Equal people are not free. Think of that. Think of the implications. Free people are not equal.

[45:19] Equal people are not free. Because if you are equal, you are held to a certain limitation.

[45:31] You cannot exceed that of the group. And it does away with individualism. It does away with entrepreneurship.

[45:43] It does away with everything that has made this country what it is. And it is adopted. And you know that's still the official thing in Russia. And it's still the official thing in China.

[45:56] But you know something? China. China began dabbling, of all things, began dabbling in capitalism. And lo and behold, they started making some real progress.

[46:11] And they are making progress. And a lot of the progress that they've made has been at our expense. But they're still making a lot of progress because they have seen the damage that socialism has done and how it has ruined individual initiative.

[46:26] And listen, it is individual initiative and investment and risk-taking that has made this nation what it is. And most of it has come from the small guy, not the big corporations.

[46:38] And it's just tied to human nature. It's the way people are. You remember the experiment that didn't start out as an experiment.

[46:50] It started out as a wonderful thing. And when the pilgrims came over in the 1600s and William Bradford set up this colony and they had a situation. And this is in the book Mayflower.

[47:01] And you talk about an eye-opener. It's really an eye-opener. And they had everybody involved in the planting of corn and vegetables and everything to be able to survive the winter.

[47:12] And by the way, I don't know if you know it or not, but I think it was 103 or 105, something like that. Pilgrims originally came over on the Mayflower. After the first winter, half of them had died.

[47:25] Half of the whole group had died, passed on. So they devised a system whereby everybody was going to work. And it was a communal type thing. And they were going to plant and all the rest of it.

[47:36] And it sounded great on paper. And listen, socialism and communism always sounds great on paper. It just won't work. And the reason it won't work is because people are people.

[47:46] They're humans. They don't take that into consideration because they believe that the human is perfectible. That means you can be educated into being what you ought to be in order to be fruitful for the communist cause.

[48:01] And when you rule God out, because the first basis, the first edict of communism is there is no God. So everything is for man.

[48:13] And when you take that into consideration and you employ all of these people working and everybody is going to share from the benefits. And lo and behold, some discovered that they were getting the benefits of it without working.

[48:29] So, hey, this is a good deal. And, of course, the experiment failed. And it failed for the very reason that people are human. And you've got to take that into consideration.

[48:41] Communism and socialism does not. They make man perfectible. And they believe that the only reason that the 70-year experiment in communist Russia failed was because the right people were not in charge.

[48:58] That's their excuse. That's their answer. So, well, this worldview thing is really, really, really important. And I trust that you understand what is involved, the building of it, and how you can actually build and strengthen your worldview by what you put into your mind.

[49:19] And we need to be selective as to what that is. So, we've got a couple of minutes. Yeah, we do. We've got a couple of minutes. Any comments or questions you may wish to make, feel free. Anyone? Anyone? The main reason that I brought this message is because of what's going on in our nation.

[49:38] And it deeply concerns me, and I'm sure it concerns many of you as well. I think I saw it. Okay. I think the fellow who wrote the Romans epistle had a big worldview change on the road to Damascus.

[49:55] Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And that's what happened to him. Yeah. He saw the Lord and changed completely. Yeah. Amen. Well, I never saw the Lord, but I'll tell you, he impacted my life.

[50:08] There's a comment or question up here. The mic's coming. Yeah, I have a comment. I just want to say, this week, I saw on One Liberty website, I'm in California, introduced a law.

[50:29] That will prohibit any information or document that condemns the gay lifestyle or promotes a certain way of living, which it's not intended to.

[50:48] But if enforced in past, it could prohibit the sale of the Bible. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's consistent.

[51:00] That's consistent with their worldview. That's where they're coming from. And the law that he's talking about, talking about passing in California is it would make it against the law.

[51:10] It would make it illegal for someone, for anyone who is gay or lesbian, for instance, to go to a therapist, a counselor, psychiatrist or whomever, and say something like, I'm gay and I've lived the gay lifestyle for blah, blah, blah, blah, and I don't like it and I don't want to be gay and I want to be straight because of the pain and the difficulty and everything that's involved in this.

[51:44] It is against the law or would be against the law for that therapist or that counselor to even attempt to encourage that person to leave that lifestyle and adopt a heterosexual lifestyle.

[52:02] That's the law that they're talking about right now. So they would be subject to fine for doing that. And we look at that and we say, but nobody is forcing this person to revert to a straight lifestyle.

[52:22] They say they want to. Are you saying that you can't help them? No. No, that's what the law would require. And it ties in with the idea that people are born gay or they are born lesbian.

[52:41] And therefore, you do not have the right to interfere. Again, it is skewed thinking. But listen, skewed, unreasonable, warped thinking is the only kind of thinking that the world can engage in.

[53:01] That's all they got. That's all they got. The believer has the counter of the word of God that is designed to give us the truth as it really is.

[53:15] The Bible just spells it out. And it is designed by God to provide a source of truth that is available nowhere else.

[53:28] That's why this book is so valuable. Wow. It's the only thing that will counter it. Because you know something? Listen.

[53:38] Listen. In your flesh. That's the old Adam that we all carry with us. Because even though you have been regenerated by the grace of God and enjoy the full forgiveness of God, we still have this thing called the old nature.

[53:56] And this is what Paul is talking about in Galatians when he says, if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Well, what happens if you don't walk in the Spirit? Well, you will fulfill the desires of the flesh.

[54:08] This means Christians, Christians, people who really know and love the Lord are going to be in heaven. They are as capable, as sinning, as anybody else. They have no excuse for it because they've got something to enable them to overcome that.

[54:23] But they can engage in that. And the world doesn't have the option. They're just locked in to the lifestyle and everything that they have.

[54:33] And like I said, these people, these people are not the enemy. They are the captive of the enemy. And so were you and so was I before we came to faith in Christ.

[54:49] And he set us free. And boy, what a difference. Amen. Amen. Okay. In the back there. Any more like Billy Graham had and Billy Sunday.

[55:14] Would that help, do you think? Well, it certainly would. And they are going on, certainly on a limited basis. Franklin Graham and his son Will are engaged in that kind of evangelism.

[55:30] They're not, of course, drawing the kind of crowds that Billy did because, you know, that was different. And it was a different time, too. It was a different culture. And a lot of things have changed. And, you know, I've talked to you about this before and I've talked to the elders about this, that there is, I think, a legitimate concern for the lack of evangelism.

[55:53] And I just don't see people coming to Christ like they did years ago. I don't see it in other churches. It might be happening in other churches. It's not happening here. And yet, at the same time, we've taken the position here for many, many years that Grace Bible Church is not primarily an evangelistic center, although we will certainly evangelize and try to bring to Christ anyone we can.

[56:19] But our main objective, our main objective is that passage in Ephesians 4 where God gave pastors and teachers for the training and the educating of those in the congregation.

[56:36] And guess who is to be doing the ministry? You are. You are. My job is to equip and train and edify and build you up and strengthen you so that you can go out and purvey that message wherever.

[56:53] And we're exploring some things that will enable us to do that. And that's what this Christianity Clarified thing is all about and why we're distributing those and the connecting with God. We've made those available down at Collier's Restaurant in a little corner back there where people can take them if they want them.

[57:11] And Christianity Clarified and connecting with God. And so far, I think there have been, well, I don't know, how many, Marl? Do you have any idea how many? I would, yeah, I would think so.

[57:27] Probably over 300 of their customers have taken these. And that's tremendously gratifying. And some of them probably Christians, some of them maybe not.

[57:38] Some of them are just curious, but whatever reason, they're taking them. And we are grateful for that. We'll take one more comment or question if you ask. Yeah. So, you know, it's trying to reach people through their minds.

[57:52] Sometimes, like the scripture says, people's foolish hearts are darkened. But trying to reason with people, like you were talking about Dr. Dawkins and kind of the foolish things that he said.

[58:04] I think the primary reason people's worldview is so skewed is because of sin in their heart. Right. And so it affects their mind. Yeah. And so trying to reach people sometimes through their reason and through their mind is unsuccessful.

[58:21] But if we can kind of look at their conscience and try to get in there, sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's impossible. But trying to speak to their conscience and right and wrong and starting at that point will awaken people's conscience and then maybe their minds as well.

[58:40] Thank you, Nathan. That's really important. Before anyone, before anyone can come to Christ or even want to come to Christ, they have got to be confronted with the reality of their sin.

[58:55] Otherwise, if they're not, Jesus isn't necessary. Who needs him? You know, people have to, people have to be able to embrace and understand the bad news.

[59:09] Before the good news becomes good. And the bad news is, of course, we are lost and undone and there's nothing we can do to save ourselves. And once someone comes to that, it's called conviction.

[59:22] And it causes unrest and disturbance and anxiety in the heart. And it is intended to. It is intended to. And then when they understand their plight, their true condition, then they are ready for a savior.

[59:39] But not until. And with moral relativism, with moral relativism pervading our country, where are the sinners? You can't find them.

[59:51] Vance Habner used to say, biggest reason that we can't get people saved is because we can't get them lost. Yeah. Yeah. And that's where we are. So we're going to address that in different ways this summer.

[60:05] And we're going to enact some efforts for evangelism that we'll be telling you about. And I'm concerned about this. And I know other pastors are as well. So we need to get off the dime.

[60:17] And, you know, with political correctness out there and religious pluralism, a lot of believers in Christ have been intimidated into silence.

[60:28] And we need to overcome that with a loving, compassionate, but bold and uncompromising statement of the gospel.

[60:41] And nothing else will get the job done. Would you pray with me, please? Thank you, Father, for the truth of the passage that we've looked at and for what we see being acted out right here in our nation as a predictable result.

[60:58] The same thing that happened so long ago. We are aware that even our first parents created a worldview. A worldview of such a kind that Cain embraced that enabled him to rise up and slay his own brother.

[61:19] That early in the human race, we see the effects of this. And we are so grateful for an incredibly powerful gospel. The gospel which is the power of God through faith unto salvation.

[61:33] And we still don't understand how it works. But we are so glad that it does. That when someone embraces the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, they are forgiven freely forever and made a new creature in Christ with a new destiny.

[61:48] And we want people to know that. And we want to share that with them. The best news this world has ever heard. Thank you for the privilege of knowing it and sharing it in Christ's name.

[61:59] Amen.