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[0:00] And a special greeting to all who may be with us today who are dads. Happy Father's Day. We are glad that you are here and that you've come to share some morning with us.

[0:11] Thank you for being here on your special day. We would ask that you turn in your Bibles, please, to Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4.

[0:28] Proverbs 4. Appropriate passage for Father's Day. And if you would, please, yes, stand. May we stand as we read the Word of God and follow along.

[0:39] I know there are multiple translations out there, but whatever translation you have, we'll begin with Proverbs chapter 4 in verse 1. And I'll be reading down through verse 9.

[0:52] Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding. For I give you sound teaching.

[1:04] Do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he taught me and said to me, let your heart hold fast my words, keep my commandments and live, acquire wisdom, acquire understanding.

[1:27] Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will guard you. Love her, and she will watch over you.

[1:40] And of course, when he uses the word her, the female pronoun, he is talking about the personification of wisdom. It is a common tool that is used by writers, and it is called personification, where you attribute something that is a concept or an idea, and you use it as if you were speaking of an individual human being.

[2:09] And that is the meaning for, in verse 6, do not forsake her. He is talking about the personification of wisdom, and he is thinking of it as being a woman.

[2:20] She will guard you, love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is acquire wisdom, and with all your understanding, your acquiring, get understanding.

[2:33] Prize her, and she will exalt you. She will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a garland of grace.

[2:46] She will present you with a crown of beauty. Would you pray with me, please? Father, there is no way that we mere humans can improve upon the wisdom that is set forth in scriptures, and we recognize that, and that is precisely why we appeal to it even now and every day, because you are in possession of a wisdom that so greatly transcends ours.

[3:14] There's no comparison. And we bless you for being willing to share your wisdom with us so that we need not remain in the ignorance that we would otherwise have.

[3:26] We can imbibe scripture and build it into our very fiber of our being, be blessed by it, be guided by it, be encouraged by it, and in it we find everything that we need, because you have left us lacking nothing, the basis of what you've provided in and through your word.

[3:48] And we bless you for it. We ask that as we engage the truths that are before us this morning, you will undertake and give special ability for us to take in the truth.

[3:59] Anything that may be uttered from the flesh, may it come to naught and pass away. Thank you for this glorious day being shared by us and many, many others throughout our country.

[4:10] We thank you for it all in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I just want to warn you at the outset now. That I have got so many things that I need to bring to your attention and so many articles that need some thought given to them that I don't know that I'm going to be able to get all of this together, but I shall give it my best try, because I consider it all very, very important.

[4:43] And I want to just start with these, because they are takeouts that you can carry with you as you leave. If you exit the back way there, most people do, but either door you're welcome to go through.

[4:55] But if you go from the front door, make sure you stop back by the back door of the literature rack there and get these handouts, because they are very timely and very important.

[5:06] This appeared in the latest issue of Decision Magazine, which is a publication by the Billy Graham Organization. And it is just a two-page article that is called, In Perilous Times, Be Faithful and Bold.

[5:23] Quite an article. You are aware, I'm sure, because you cannot help but be aware just by living in this world. We are really living in a different time right now.

[5:37] It isn't business as usual. And I don't mean simply coming off what we hope is the end of a pandemic. That plays into it.

[5:50] But there is so very much more involved. So much so that I've caught myself saying to myself and to others, we have never been here before.

[6:04] We right now are on the cusp, right on the edge of issues that can impact this nation that will change it forever from what we have understood it to be.

[6:23] So some of these articles, we'll be bringing that out, discussing it. One issue that we're dealing with, and they just say, I refer to these as our national insanities.

[6:40] And they started back in the 50s and 60s. And, well, I won't go there now, but we have been on this path for a long, long time.

[6:51] And we are now seeing some items come to fruition that most of us were not able to put together when they arrived on the scene in their singularity.

[7:03] But as time goes on, and B is added to A, and C is added to B, and D is added to C, all of a sudden, we find ourselves waking up and saying, hey, what's going on here?

[7:23] There is a pattern here, isn't there? There is, this is going somewhere, isn't it? Indeed it is. We have an adversary, and he means business, and his principal weapon is deception.

[7:43] And he's very, very good at it. So, critical race theory. Many of you have already obtained the article and have read it, I'm sure with some real profit and understanding.

[7:55] This is a publication of Hillsdale College, and they distribute these to over 5 million readers every month.

[8:06] If you don't get it, you may subscribe to it, and it is completely free of charge. Of course, if you want to make a voluntary contribution, you can, but the issue is free, and you can have it coming to your home.

[8:19] And this is quite an article about critical race theory, what it is, and how to fight it. And you will find it back there with the other literature items as well. Then, I want to remind you of the Berean Bible Fellowship that will be starting this evening.

[8:41] And for those who plan to be there, registration is at 5 o'clock. The first message actually isn't until 7. Pastor Kevin Sadler will be speaking.

[8:52] He's going to address the subject of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. And these are available. It's on the bulletin board, and there's a stack of them on the shelf. Avail yourself of it if you will, please.

[9:04] I think you will find some very insightful and very enlightening messages coming forth from the church in Tip City. And I'm going to ask, where is he?

[9:17] Roger, would you come up? Because there's a little snag in this. Route 571 that goes right into Tip that many of you would be using is in for, I don't know if it's road construction or what, but I've asked Roger to explain it.

[9:32] And he's got something else to share with you as well. Thank you, Roger. So if you're heading from here, going through New Carlisle on 571 toward Tip City, you will find at 202, right before you get to the river, you're going to find a road closed sign.

[9:51] They mean it. So my advice would be turn north, go to the first road heading west again.

[10:02] It'll be Tip Elizabeth Road. And go into Tip, through Tip Elizabeth Road, and then you can take any of those streets and head back south, and you'll hit 571 again, and then go on to Community Bible Church on the, just over the interstate.

[10:23] So, otherwise, John may have a back road. Tip Elizabeth Road. Well, Tip Elizabeth, get in to Third Street. Right. And Third Street, the picture right is the high city.

[10:35] So you can't really miss it very easily. Okay? If you're coming, obviously, if you're coming from other directions, if you're coming from, if you're coming from, from the west, heading east into Tip City, it has no bearing upon you.

[10:58] Were you going to address that? About the building? Okay. Okay. Just for a church announcement. The church was burglarized.

[11:11] The church properties, nothing can be stolen from the church. God has that under control. We are safe in him.

[11:21] But, some of the properties can be burgled. And they were. The greatest damage is, is to, building, building construction.

[11:35] But, we did lose, a couple of thousand, few thousand dollars in damages. We don't know exactly, what all that will entail yet.

[11:48] And we have not contacted the insurance. The, the elders are going, are, are, are, seeking for, for, what the pricing will be on repair.

[12:01] Before we turn it into insurance to know. But, we wanted the church body to know that. So that, you got that from us. Nothing's being concealed.

[12:12] But it, Thursday morning, about four. if you were the one that did it, please, let us know. Okay.

[12:26] Well, you know, you know what, what we need to do, and what we will do, is we'll, pray for these misguided people.

[12:43] every time I, hear something, experience something like this, I'm, reminded of a, an anecdote. I assume that's probably a true story.

[12:56] Matthew Henry, was one of the more significant contributors, to the word of God. And he had penned a multi-volume, set on, the scriptures.

[13:06] And his, uh, bailiwick, of course, was Great Britain. And this would have been, in the 1700s. And, at any rate, he came home one day, from, from the church, and arrived, in his house.

[13:21] And, his wife, obviously, could tell something, was really wrong, because of the look on his face. And she said, what, uh, what, what's wrong? And he said, well, on my way here, I was held up.

[13:38] I was accosted by, a highwayman. She said, oh, no. And he said, yes, but he said, I've, I've been thinking about it. And he said, um, that even so, I'm, I'm, I'm really thankful.

[13:54] And I thought, I'm thankful for three things. And she said, whatever do you mean? And he said, well, he, could have taken my life, but he didn't.

[14:07] So, I'm thankful for that. And although he took all my money, which wasn't much, but, I'm thankful that, it wasn't much.

[14:20] But, you know, most of all, I'm thankful that, it was I, who was robbed, instead of I, who did the robbing. And there is a tendency, and I must admit that I feel a certain tinge of disgust, and rebuke, and anger, over our property, having been broken into, significant damage done to some expensive doors, that'll have to be replaced.

[14:51] And, and, and, uh, there is a certain amount of anger and disgust that wells up within me, but then I have to remind myself of Matthew Henry and what he was thankful for. And you know something?

[15:03] Those people, whoever they were, however many of them there were, that broke in and took property and did damage that, uh, they had no right to do, they're probably pretty unhappy people.

[15:16] You know that? Probably pretty miserable people. And who knows what they may think they got away with, but, it was just material goods.

[15:27] and, and you really, you really have to have a certain amount of sympathy for people, who just have to go around doing things like that in order to sustain themselves, or they think to enrich themselves, or whatever.

[15:40] And it's, it's really sad. And more than our contempt, these people, they need our pity. They need our sympathy. They need our Lord.

[15:51] That's what they need. So pray with me if you would. Our Father, the loss of these things that cost, cost money. that people contribute money for, to buy things like that, to sustain the property, and make improvements, and so on.

[16:07] And yet, it's all just stuff. It's all just things, all just worldly goods, that all eventually will come to naught. How grateful we are for a peace that passes all understanding.

[16:21] And as we were singing this morning, it is well with our soul. And that wellness has nothing whatever to do with this world's material goods. We enjoy them, and we use them, and we're grateful for them.

[16:34] But they are things of the world that will pass away. But your love and your truth for us will never pass away. And this is the real treasure. And we're so grateful that we have found it in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[16:47] And our prayer for those people, whoever they were, they've probably done the same thing to other people, and other places as well. And maybe this is just a pattern of life with them.

[16:58] Maybe they can't do anything else, or at least they think they can't, or they don't know enough to do anything else. But whatever their deficiency, we are grateful that you are the answer for it and to it.

[17:11] So, for whoever these people were, we pray that they may eventually, through your grace and mercy, come to understand that there are true riches that so greatly surpass the meager things that they stole and made away with.

[17:31] And that it's found in the person of Jesus Christ. And we just don't know how to put into words the value of that. But we trust the Spirit of God might be pleased to convey that to them through whatever circumstance or whatever means possible.

[17:47] And most of all, we thank you that our world is not tied up in things, but it's all bound in a person, our lovely Lord. And we're so grateful. Thank you for being the God you are.

[17:59] In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Well, as I mentioned, I have got such a list here. I don't know that I'm going to be able to get through it, but I will do my best to find a way.

[18:16] You've got an insert. And by the way, Keith, this will be the last day, this will be the last Sunday that we will be operating this way with the whole service. We've been doing this now because of the COVID thing.

[18:28] We have been incorporating the music and the announcements and just about everything else for the benefit of people who could not be here, but were listening at home. And we know that many of them would like to be here.

[18:41] And those who hear the announcements, the music and everything, they can easily, in their mind's eye, place themselves right here in the congregation because they're from here and they know the place and they know everything.

[18:53] So it makes them feel a little bit more like they're here, even though they're not here. But I think we're probably past that now. I think everybody who intends to come back and join with us has probably done so or will be doing so very shortly.

[19:08] And for that reason, primarily, I think, this will be the last Sunday. We will go back to our previous method of just recording the message and that will be posted then and people can hear that.

[19:23] But I do want to share this article with you because John Roseman is such a breath of fresh air. And I don't know how well you are aware of it, but John Roseman is an anomaly for today.

[19:40] He's kind of out of step with today's culture and I'm sure that pleases him just right. But the article goes on to being the key to being a better father.

[19:52] And I can't tell you how much I am in agreement with this. Guys, guys! Your wives are having enough trouble putting their children and priorities into proper perspective without you adding to the muddle.

[20:08] Keep it straight, please. And he's talking to dads. I'm referring to the media voices telling you to be better fathers.

[20:18] Three times in the last six months or so, I've been invited on podcasts promoting fatherhood. The hosts are well-meaning, sincere, articulate fellows who apparently didn't know they were interviewing a guy who never says what other people expect him to say.

[20:41] For example, in response to my answer to a certain predictable question, one podcaster said, well, I'm sure the fathers listening will be surprised to hear that.

[20:57] And I'm sure they would. His question was, what one thing would you tell dads to help them be the fathers their sons and daughters most need?

[21:13] And my surprising answer was, be the best husband you can be. That's right.

[21:25] The best fathers are husbands first, fathers second. That's what children truly need.

[21:40] Nothing. Repeat. Nothing. Puts a more solid foundation of well-being under a child's feet than the knowledge his parents are in a committed relationship that transcends their individual relationships with him.

[22:00] Period. End of job one description. A father does an invaluable service to his kids by opening doors for their mother, listening and speaking to her with utmost respect, sharing and easing her burdens, going to her first when he comes home from work, hugging her, kissing her, and asking, how was your day?

[22:29] Uncomplicated stuff like that is what counts in the end. When their father is taking care of job one, children don't need a lot of attention.

[22:46] They go off and do their own thing, which is what they really want to do and parents should want them to do. Once upon a time, it was called being out from underfoot.

[22:58] In almost all cases, children clamor for attention not because they need it, but because they've been given entirely too much.

[23:14] Is it possible for a child to be addicted to parental attention? Hmm. Under the circumstances, the need for attention becomes a nagging compulsion.

[23:29] My general finding has been that when a husband gives more attention to his kids than he does his wife, the kids begin treating her with disrespect.

[23:40] They ignore her, demand of her, talk back to her. We used to call it sassing. I can still hear my mother saying, don't you sass me, young man.

[23:52] And my father, well, he did more than talk. Hmm. Yeah. They disrespect her because dad has his priorities out of whack.

[24:05] He's in more of a relationship with them than he is with her. As such, they have become dad's quasi-equals.

[24:17] That diminishes mom's status and the kids talk to her as if she was a servant. said podcast, said podcast, podcasters were also surprised when I said that the husband absent home, the hubson, hubson, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[24:37] That the husband absent home, that is one in which an adult male is present but has pledged allegiance to his kids, is as much if not more of a problem than the father absent home.

[24:50] It's more of a problem because no one talks about it. It's an invisible ubiquity sustained by silence. I could not agree more. I've got a sign that's attached to my study door on the inside so everybody who comes in when they leave they have to see it and it's a wooden sign that I think Scott Cutler made it for me years and years ago and most of the signs like this says have you hugged your kid today or have you hugged your child.

[25:21] My sign says have you hugged your wife today. By the way honey did you get your hug this morning? You didn't did you? Did you? Did you hug me in that room? In the bedroom.

[25:37] Yeah. Right after you put your lipstick on I was afraid I'd mess it. You did. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Anyway. Anyway the sign on my door says have you hugged your wife today because my conviction is this if your wife gets the hugs that she will need your kids hugs will come automatically.

[26:00] And I've been telling you for the last yeah well I guess I've been telling you this for the last 50 years the greatest gift that you can give to your children is to really love their mother and let them see that you love her and respect her.

[26:20] That's the greatest gift you can give to your kids. Now that's probably not the way the world thinks of it but that's the way I'm convinced that scripture thinks of it. And my hat's off to John Roseman.

[26:34] I appreciate him. This man this man has a fearlessness to swim upstream and he knows exactly what he's saying is going to go against the counterculture but he does it anyway and I admire him for that and I think that's just great.

[26:47] And dads this is something else that you'll really appreciate. It's an article by Marvin Olasky. Can't tell you how much I appreciate this man. Marvin Olasky was raised in a very liberal atheistic Jewish family.

[27:09] That was his upbringing and for the earlier years of his life he was a card carrying communist atheist and he for the last several years having come to Christ and he's become the general editor editor-in-chief of World Magazine and this article that I took out and photocopied and it's back there on the literature rack for all you men.

[27:34] I hope you dads will really get it especially and the article is called No Wound Too Deep. It's just a good article so guys it'll be a real treat for you to read this on Mother's Day or Father's Day excuse me and this is a little devotional booklet as well that you will really appreciate called Let the Word of Christ Dwell in you richly and there's a stack of them just outside the double doors there make sure that you get one we've got I'm sure enough for every dad and if you know of a dad who's not here today but would appreciate the devotional don't hesitate to take one for him they will appreciate that I can assure you now I need to care for a number of things so I'll just get through them as quickly as I can and that is next Sunday June 27 Marie's brother who passed away several weeks ago is going to have a memorial service for him for George

[28:41] Wilmer and that will be in Fort Wayne next Sunday so Marie and I will not be here we'll be in Fort Wayne Indiana Nathan Rambeck will be speaking both at the 9 o'clock hour and here at 1015 as well as Sunday July 4 and July 11 both the 9 o'clock and the 1015 hour so Nathan your work is cut out for you next three Sundays in a row we will be calling upon him to break the word of life to you and I'm sure he will do a very capable job however even though even though Marie and I will not be here for those three Sundays we will be here for this Tuesday June 22 for the men's class and also for the men's class on June 29 so we're going to slip in some vacation times there in between and we will also be here for the monthly friendship

[29:44] Bible class that meets here with the breakfast on Thursday June 24 and would like to invite you to that you don't need reservations just show up and we have a delicious breakfast served at nine o'clock and the Bible study follows and that is the last Thursday of the month of June I'll also be here for the June 29 men's Bible class and let's see Monday July 5 we're going to have a family indoor picnic boy we haven't had a get together like this this this COVID thing just shut down everything and we haven't had a good time of fellowship or get together so we're going to make up for that and it's going to be Monday July 5 it will be a family indoor picnic kids will have access to outside and the swings and all of that good stuff where it can burn off their energy and adults will be welcome to gather outside as well temperature permitting but it's very possible that it may be very hot and muggy in which case we'll be enjoying the comforts of air conditioning and we will have our potluck dinner and we'll plan to serve at one o'clock and if you're planning to come we hope everybody can come we've got a sign up what happened to that sign up sheet okay yeah right okay it's on the table where the eggs are now can

[31:17] I trust you to remember that before you leave to sign up and let us know that you're going to be here because the church provides the main entrees and that will be grilled hamburgers and hot dogs but we don't have any idea how many to get if we don't know at least ballpark figure of how many people are going to be here so if you're going to sign up and let us know put beside your name the number of people that will be in your party however many that is so we'll know what the total is that we're buying scattered all over everywhere so it'd be difficult but just remember it's back there where the eggs are in the main entry way so be sure that you sign up there and try not to forget okay the elders will be in charge of that oh by the way we also provide the beverages so if you're coming and families can bring their favorite dishes of whatever they think goes good with picnic fixings like that and we'll just have a great time and make up for lost time that we've been cheated out of by this pandemic for over the last year and we'll just get back together again really enjoy that okay any questions about that what have

[32:45] I omitted let me see I told you about the about the Bible fellowship the conference program this was in your bulletin last week and it's on the bulletin board and there are coming to before you get there but that's not the one that's not community Bible it's the next one and it's on the right and there's plenty of parking and gracious folks will be your hosts and just enjoy some what I think can be some outstanding preaching and teaching encouraging and meeting new folks and just enjoying the time of fellowship together okay let me see now what have

[33:51] I forgotten oh yes this well I'm going to save this for the last this is this is a good note to end on and that's what I'm going to do and it's just amazing I could not believe it Marie and I were reading that this morning and I thought wow this is so timely it's just so beautiful how it ties in with what we're doing right now and the essence of this message that we want to bring you now come on Marv get your ducks in a row here yes thank you

[34:53] I appreciate that Keith yeah range that's range day bring your weapon for firing whatever and the information is on the bulletin board if you need anything further ask Keith and he can fill you in or give you any information that you may need we we as a nation when I say things like we've never been here before I'm talking about we have accumulated an aggregate of social what shall I call them of social spiritual abnormalities the likes of which we could not have even imagined a mere 20 or 30 years ago and it seems to me almost like there is a new what shall I call it a new moral spiritual insanity item that rises just about every month and you wonder what's the next one going to be and by national insanities

[36:16] I'm talking about this gender dysphoria stuff a child a child five or six years of age going to a kindergarten school can announce himself to be a girl even apart from parental knowledge or information and the school is obligated to go along with it can you imagine the craziness that something like this and you know I I tried to content myself with the same thing that I did when same sex marriage came along I even comforted myself with well Marv at least that's one you don't have to worry about that's never going to take hold wrong again now this gender dysphoria thing is about as close to absolute nonsense as you can get now

[37:23] I don't have any doubt that growing up in our culture today is a whole lot different than when I grew up that way I look back on it and I think things were relatively I know these things are relative but I think of them as mainly what we would call normal at least nobody was talking about abnormality back then everything was same old same old but it seems like today there's always something new and strange that is afoot that is controversial that is just plain flaky just nonsense and I attribute this in part to the reality that in our fall in our first parents when our first parents fell and I've tried to make this case before I don't know how successful I've been but when they fell disobeyed

[38:27] God they became something that God did not make them they took on something to themselves that God did not put in them when he created them and for lack of a better term we'll just have to call it the sin nature because that's what they became they moved from a sphere of moral and spiritual innocence into a sphere of moral and spiritual guilt and it was first evidenced by the fear factor because we are told that God was accustomed to walking with them in the cool of the day but this time when he came for his walk with them they hid and you know the fiasco about the fig leaves and the covering their nakedness and all the rest of it they hid because they were afraid because when you know you are out of line you've disappointed or disobeyed an authority your fear is you're going to either be found out or you're going to be punished by it some way so the idea is to avoid that and you hide in fear which is a pretty natural thing for people to do it happens all the time so when they took this new thing upon them call it the sin principle original sin or whatever you want to call it it became part of their being and it was naturally passed on to the next generation so that they inherited it from Adam and Eve in the same way that they inherited their hair color and their skin color and the color of their eyes and the shape of their body and everything else and we pointed out that the first child born of

[40:28] Adam and Eve was a murderer guilty of fratricide you take the life of your own brother and the human race is often running and it has been a downhill slide all the time now the evolutionist takes a completely opposite picture they see man on the ascent and we today we today are supposed to be the epitome of the evolutionary process we are at the top of the heap isn't it wonderful except it isn't true and by the way if you really follow the evolutionary idea race does come into play and do you know where you are in the evolutionary scheme you are at the top do you know who is beneath you everyone of darker skin think about that the original evolutionary hypothesis was the white race represents the epitome of evolution those of dark skin are beneath us they are inferior they have not progressed up the evolutionary scale like we have we are the cat's meow people of color are inferior to us that is the evolutionary scheme and nobody picked up on that more than

[42:37] Margaret Sanger who became prolific in the idea of abortion and it was simply a way and this was part of her philosophy of breeding out the lower class people Hitler bought into that as well the whole evolutionary scheme and the superiority of the Nordic race the white race all of this is predicated upon lies but these people believed it and you know something millions and millions died because they believed that think of that this is human history now the scriptures make it oh so clear that we are all of one blood and one race there isn't a white race and a black race and a yellow race there's just one race it's called the human race and if you have never seen answers in

[43:50] Genesis video on one race one blood you owe it to yourself if all of America could see that video for just one hour one evening tonight by midnight tonight racism would not be able to exist it would be tanked overnight that's the truth of the matter and it's set forth in scripture and Paul affirms that when he is talking to the Athenians on Mars Hill how that God has made us of one race and one blood and appointed the bounds of their habitation and so on the Bible does not recognize superiority of races it simply recognizes humanity and as humanity we come in all shapes and sizes and all colors and what not but we're all humans and there is no human being who has greater inherent worth than some other human being we've got different abilities and different talents and different

[44:55] IQs and all the rest of it but no human being is worth more than another that's the true equality and that's something that this world has never been able to recognize and still doesn't so the nefarious element that is at work today is doing everything they can to pit people against people and the conflict and the chaos that is resulting creates a whole lot of confusion and a principal byproduct of confusion is people cannot make intelligent decisions when they're confused this is what we're dealing with we are now living in an age of unparalleled confusion and chaos and it doesn't have anything to do with any one political party but it does have a whole lot to do with a moral mindset and it all started way back with Joseph Fletcher in the 1950s and 1960s name probably doesn't mean anything to you when you go home google it

[46:00] Joseph Fletcher F-L-E-T-C-H-E-R he was the father the American father if you will of moral relativism and his guiding light that he called it his guiding light was love now for crying out loud is there anybody that can have a problem with that love well you don't jump on the bandwagon too quick you have to find out what they mean by love and love came to be interpreted by who knows how many doctors I'm talking about MDs who by the way for the most part in our medical schools today are not even offered or required to sign the

[47:06] Hippocratic Oath the Hippocratic Oath years ago was an oath of integrity that was taken by all physicians when they were inducted into physicianhood and given their license to practice medicine and it began with first do no harm first three letters of the Hippocratic Oath do no harm and Joseph Fletcher succeeded in convincing many in the medical community who still hold this position today that to abort a living human being from a woman who wants an abortion is in actuality an act of love can you believe it you see words mean nothing you have to understand what they mean by the word what's behind it because it often doesn't mean what you think it means this is what we're dealing with today and with the whole concept of moral relativism what is morally right and morally wrong all depends on the individual if you think it's wrong then it's wrong but only for you not for anybody else only for you and if you think it's right then it's right for you and that includes taking the life of an unborn child and it can encompass a whole host of other things and you can easily sell yourself a bill of goods and tell them you're doing it for their own good this is where we are never been here today

[49:02] America has never bought into moral relativism except for the last 60 or 70 years and now we're into it up to our eyeballs nothing is wrong if you don't think it is well this is this is where we're going and by the way before Joseph Fletcher died he admitted he admitted that he was an atheist go figure should that surprise you well this is what we're dealing with and the whole evolutionary process sees man on an upward climb and we are at the top as completely unbiblical as anything you can get and yet listen this is where the vast majority of our culture has bought into and they go with it this this is the problem with error is that people act on it and the whole concept of moral relativism is just inundating this country and it's taken over and we we and the unborn as well as a number of others are suffering the consequences of it and it all comes from it all comes from you see you have to make connections you have to tie these things together this this comes from the evolutionary hypothesis that says there is no creator there is no personal God who created anything nor is there a need for one because as

[50:46] I've told you before I hope I've told you enough that you don't forget it that Stephen Hawking who spent the last 30 years of his life in a wheelchair with Lou Gehrig's disease he's written a number of books that were just hailed as wonderful by the scientific community made the statement and it's there in print there is simply no need for there to be a God God is out of a job there's no need for God because the existence of gravity enabled the universe to create itself and worldwide scientists stand in awe and they say wow that's deep well it is deep you decide deep what but it's really you know this is serious but the problem is listen listen the problem is people that believe that act on it that's why we're where we are today they believe it and they carry it through and if there is no God and there is no intentionality there is no deliberate there is no future there is no destiny because there is no God and when you die you die like an animal and that's the end there's no heaven no hell no anything anything goes you would be a fool not to buy into it anything does go live eat drink be married tomorrow you die and that's the end of it so whatever you want whatever you can grab when you go around you do it because when this is on it's all over this is the kind of thinking that's permeating our society now listen this is what is being taught in our leading universities that some moms and dads are paying twenty thousand dollars a year to educate their kids to get this stuff boy well you see what I mean when I say we've never been here before and you know what the big problem is with so many

[53:02] Americans so many Christian Americans this has been coming on for so long and so slowly that we're like that proverbial frog in the kettle that's put on the stove and doesn't realize it's under heat and it gets warmer and warmer and the poor stupid thing sits there until it's cooked to death and doesn't even know it that's where we are that's where a lot of Americans are today it has come on so gradually so slickly and in such it was such a vocabulary black lives matter black lives matter well of course black lives matter white matters white lives matter too all lives matter you have any idea what's behind this black lives matter thing is there anybody in their right mind that could stand up and say black lives don't matter well you'd be lucky to get out of the room alive everybody knows black lives matter what does that really mean and when I see a few signs around

[54:13] I ask myself I wonder I wonder if the people who put those signs up have any idea what that really means because it doesn't mean what it seems to say it seems to say that people with black skins are valuable and they matter too that's what it seems to say that's what Americans buying into well of course black lives matter but you've got to know what they mean by black lives matter most people don't know they don't know that it is a thoroughly atheistic Marxist communist backed organization to the hilt this isn't my opinion google it well how we got here oh my look at the clock oh well let me put it this way if you need to leave because you've got to be somewhere or do something feel free to get up and leave no one will think you are rude for doing so but I've got to do this

[55:31] I've got to do this if you don't have the time I'm not offended by you leaving feel free to do so how we got here this is Lutzer's book says we will not be silenced David Jeremiah wrote the forward to it and says if I could I would put this book into the hands of every Christian in America the secular left does not believe that America can be fixed they say it must be destroyed do you realize that this is exactly what some are about today do you understand that there is an element that is actually trying to destroy the America that has always been do you understand that or do you think that this is just an exaggeration on the rubble of America's

[56:33] Judeo-Christian past a new America will emerge which they say will be free of poverty racism and white supremacy the secular left's goal is a future in which everyone will be equal on their terms and the disparities of the past will read about only in history books those who resist this utopian vision are to be vilified bullied and shamed until they admit to their mistakes of the past and embrace the secular left's great hope for the future take a moment to reflect on what has happened in America in the past 20 years consider the increasingly sexually explicit curriculum in our public schools listen listen to the racial rhetoric of the self-appointed social justice warriors who are committed to inflaming racial division and look at the new laws forcing Christian colleges to compromise their biblical stance about marriage and surrender to the

[57:35] LGBTQ agenda who would have ever believed the day would come when men would say that they too can bear children and ministrate and thus must fight for period equity or that drag queens would be allowed to read fairy tales to very young children in public libraries this kind of sexualized thinking and behavior is spreading rapidly in a nation obsessed with its overblown emphasis on individual rights for a select few at the expense of others there is so much more that I would like to share with you but I do want to close with this and I'll shorten this this is the nuclear family do you realize what a dinosaur the nuclear family is becoming what is a nuclear family essentially historically a nuclear family consists of a mother a father and children either a child or multiple children that's the nuclear family the idea with the little the thing and the nucleus surrounding it you know that kind of thing

[58:55] Dr. Lutzer says standing in the way of these changes is the nuclear family with a father a mother and a child Karl Marx taught that families based on natural law and Judeo-Christian values breed inequality and feed on greed and systemic oppression such families had to be dismantled if the Marxist vision of equality was to be realized in legal history natural law means divine principles imposed on the creation that govern its functioning including that of humans so that obedience brings benefits while disobedience brings consequences one reason the nuclear family is an obstacle to Marxism is because of the tendency for the children of the rich to inherit wealth and the children of the poor to pass along their poverty

[59:57] Marx was determined to change this the solution is this if the state owned all the wealth yeah if the state the government owned all the wealth it could be distributed more evenly among all the citizens you call that wealth redistribution it is underway as we speak gone also with the disproportionate salaries and unequal economic opportunities I got to inject a saying here that is so poignant I hope you pick up on this I don't remember who said it or where I got it but it really clicked with me when I heard it very simple very simple don't ever forget this think about this equal people are not free free people are not equal do you get that did you get that equal people are not free free people are not equal that is so profound if you haven't picked up on it don't let it out of your mind until you get it and when you do it will be oh yeah and it makes a lot of sense because it is totally true

[61:42] Frederick Engels who along with Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto said that the monogamous nuclear family emerged only with capitalism prior to capitalism tribal societies were classless children and property were community owned and people enjoyed sexual freedom Marxist claimed that the restrictions limiting sexual intimacy to a man woman relationship within the marriage covenant were invented by religion to maintain the dominance of men do you understand that what Marxism is saying the whole idea of men being married to women is just tradition it's not logical shouldn't be that way needs to be changed so that men can marry men and women can marry women and whatever belief in

[62:51] God and the Bible with its teaching about social institutions such as marriage was the source of multiple forms of oppression do you have any idea how many people believe this let me tell you hundreds of millions believe it and there is more I'm going to defer reading it but it needs to be read and I've got several copies of these designed for circulation let me know if you want one well the idea is children need to be removed from the nuclear family and placed in institutions that are designed specifically to educate and train those children in the way that they should be and this will free the mother in a nuclear family to go to work and provide an income which of course will be equal to everybody else's income and the father's and the children will be the responsibility of the state to rear in different institutions it won't even be a parental responsibility any longer it'll be the state's responsibility that's nothing but a full fledged

[64:31] Marxism that's where a multitude of people want to take this nation and those who most greatly oppose that concept are those of my generation and the one previous to me and we're losing ground we're dying off the newer generations coming on with their minds filled with Marxism that has been inseminated in them by full blown admitted acknowledged and proud to be Marxist professors in our leading institutions and they have PhD degrees and they have tenure they are entrenched and they are teaching this and our kids are being subjected to it and a lot of parents are clueless and when

[65:35] Johnny comes home for his spring break and gives mom and dad the word that he no longer believes in that church stuff and the religion and all the rest of it he has been enlightened his professors who have educational degrees that long have given him the real scoop and he bought into it you'd be surprised how this has inundated our nation this is where we are right now what's the solution I'll tell you this there isn't any human solution no human solution it's too far gone there is a solution and that's what I want to close with and I tell you I was I was just I was ever so grateful and truly surprised when Marie and I read this at the breakfast table this morning and I thought that's the end of my message because up till now frankly it's a downer you think I enjoy teaching this stuff

[66:41] I sure don't and I'm not teaching it because I want to I'm teaching it because we all need to know it because this is what's going on listen to this this is this is wonderful this is from this from mr.

[66:59] stamm's book two minutes with the bible I know many of you already have it you might have read it this morning like Marie and I did in your copy of the two minutes with the bible he asked the question is revival possible is it possible to turn this thing around and I want you to keep in mind mr.

[67:24] stamm wrote this about 40 years ago the dear man was concerned about things in his day I don't know what he would think if he were here today is revival possible we have received responses from several friends who conclude from such passages as 2nd timothy 3 that there cannot possibly be a revival before the lord comes for his own we have never concurred in this view verses 2-7 of this passage describe the condition of the ungodly about us it says these have a form of godliness but not the reality and it is these who will wax worse and worse and from such the spirit exhorts us to turn away but why in the midst of these perilous times bless his heart he's talking about perilous times 40 years ago in the midst of these perilous times why should the church not be strong and united the word of god often shines brightest when the days are darkest well they're pretty dark now it is true that our lord said about the coming tribulation that because iniquity shall abound the love of many will wax gold

[69:07] Matthew 24 12 but this was a prediction concerning a particular situation and while similar causes often produce similar effects this is not always so not infrequently the wickedness of the world has driven saints to their knees and to the word with blessed results true spiritual revival takes place in the blood-bought church of god not in the wicked world about it if there's any hope at all for revival it's going to start with a household of faith possibility doesn't even exist outside of it that which is dead cannot be revived but that which has life can and should be we know of no scripture that should deter us from praying for a true spiritual awakening among god's people indeed we must be careful lest we cease praying and toiling for a revival on the grounds that times are getting worse and worse and there's not going to be a revival it seems to us that one of the surest ways to grow spiritually indifferent to ourselves is to conclude that god will not grant us a spiritual awakening no matter what we do and

[70:36] I'm not ready to buy into that philosophy but I tell you I must be honest with you a spiritual revival is possible I cannot believe that god doesn't want to bring it the question is are there enough of god's people that are willing to besiege heaven for it or are we just going to content ourselves with saying well you know the bible talks about this and this is going to come so why fight it just look for the rapture and we'll just go home to be with the lord and let the world go the way it's going I admit sometimes there's a tendency to do that but responsibility and love will not allow for it and this is why we've had just a meager group that's been meeting here on wednesday evenings how long have we been meeting how long have we been meeting john about five years okay and there's just maybe maybe a dozen of us sometimes not even that many but in addition to the prayer time remembering one another and people in the congregation and out of the congregation with all kinds of needs and situations and everything there isn't a wednesday evening gone by what we have not held the needs of this nation up before the lord and i can't help but believe that there are groups just like ours all over the country have the same concerns and what we shared with you this morning i am confident or shared by multitudes of christians but so many so many of us have been intimidated into silence and the pushback is not forthcoming and all that does is it gives the adversary more smooth ways to run and anytime opposition is raised up against it it is vilified criticized smeared name calling everything that goes with it with the idea of we'll teach you we'll teach you not to stand against us the time is coming maybe it's here now when this kind of thinking that will took over america needs more than a pushback it needs a smackdown and i don't think we can do it but god can and if he should so deem it we would be most grateful so be reminded every time we pray we are admitting our weakness and we are admitting god's strength that's what we're doing right now father on this father's day we see so very much at stake our nation has come to a place now in the thinking and the design and the intent of great numbers that didn't exist before and they've just multiplied and they are they're they're on the edge of outnumbering us people with traditional biblical patriotic values principles we see our numbers eroding more and more and it's a cause of real concern we believe that this nation came into being in a way that no other nation ever has we have enjoyed the fruits and the benefits of your beneficence and your protection in so many ways and you have allowed

[74:37]  the wealth and the wisdom of this nation to be exported throughout the world to so many downtrodden people and we've been able to help and hold up so many over the years and now we see ourselves in great peril we do not have sufficient wisdom to combat this we do not have the wherewithal we do not have the mechanics we do not have the know-how and we know all of these things reside in you and we don't know what your plan and purpose is for this immediate future but we know what you're capable of and we are beseeching you on behalf of a really needy nation can you bring a real genuine heaven sent revival among the people of God let it start with us let it be our repentance and our pouring out our hearts and minds to you and our willingness to be used by you in any way you see fit to effect a good end we just want to be at your disposal we want to be sensitive we see a world going in the wrong direction we see people in their lostness having no clue that they're lost we want so much to get the gospel to these people to know for them to know that there is hope and there is help and there is a future and there is a heaven to be gained there's a hell to be shunned and we just feel powerless to make it happen whatever you would be pleased to do to energize and enlighten would be so grateful thank you for these dear people thank you for seeds that you may be planting in hearts and minds here that will sprout and really become something significant we leave it all to you in your wisdom thanksgiving in christ's name amen amen to you in your to oh it's what what talk oh it's like oh oh