Participants: Dr. Eric Walsh
Series Code: 10GYC
Program Code: 10GYC000007
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00:11 For those of you who were not here last night
00:14 our evening speaker is Dr. Eric Walsh. 00:17 He is living proof that good things 00:20 can come from California. Not only is 00:24 he a family man and an esteemed physician 00:27 he is also a deep convicting passionate 00:31 preacher of the word of God. 00:32 And I know that we'll be blessed tonight 00:34 by his message. But before 00:36 he speaks we'll be blessed in song. 00:41 Good evening. One night I lay a sleeping 01:00 There came a dream so fair, 01:07 I stood in the old Jerusalem 01:14 Beside the temple there 01:20 I heard the children singing 01:25 And ever as they sang, 01:29 I thought the voice of angels 01:36 From heaven in answer rang 01:42 I thought the sweet voice of angels 01:48 From heaven in answering Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem! 02:05 Hark! How the angels sing, 02:12 Hosanna in the highest. 02:18 Hosanna to your lowly King! 02:36 Now suddenly my dream was changed 02:40 The streets no longer rang 02:45 Hush now the glad hosannas 02:51 The little children once sang 02:56 The Sun grew dark with mystery, 03:01 The morn was cold and chill 03:06 As the shadow of a cross arose 03:13 Upon Golgotha's heel. 03:18 As the shadow of his cross arose 03:25 Upon that lonely hill Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem! 03:39 Lift up your gates and sing. 03:44 Hosanna in the highest. 03:50 Hosanna to the risen King! 03:58 But once again my dream was changed 04:03 New earth there seemed to be, 04:08 I saw the holy city Behind a glassy sea 04:17 The light of Christ was on her streets 04:22 The gates were open wide, 04:27 That all who would might enter there 04:33 And no one was denied. 04:38 No need of moon or stars by night, 04:44 Or Sun to rule by day, 04:50 For this was the New Jerusalem 04:55 That would not pass away It was our New Jerusalem 05:06 That would never ever pass away 05:16 Oh Jerusalem! Oh Jerusalem! 05:25 Sing for your night is over 05:30 Hosanna in the highest Hosanna for evermore! 05:43 Hosanna in the highest Hosanna for evermore! 06:23 Amen. Happy Sabbath GYC. 06:34 Happy Sabbath, Happy Sabbath. 06:38 Let me just also say to you Happy New Year. 06:40 The Bible says in the evening 06:43 and the morning were the first day, 06:46 so we don't wait till midnight 06:48 for balls to drop. We know that 06:51 when the sun sets the day is ended 06:53 and the new one is begun and so we, 06:55 I want to be the first, or one of the first to 06:58 welcome you into 2011, a year that I know 07:00 God has filled with opportunity 07:03 and promise for the spreading of the Gospel, 07:06 for reaching out to others and even for 07:08 some of us to deal with some issues 07:10 in our own lives, so I praise God for 07:12 the new year. Because that's one more year 07:15 that he allowed me to live to see, 07:16 and another year he's given us on opportunity 07:19 to be his servants and, we are, I think 07:21 we're a little short on time tonight. 07:23 So I'm gonna try and be obedient to the clock. 07:27 Somebody ought to say amen, amen. 07:29 I'm gonna do my best. But at the same time 07:33 I want what God has to be preached 07:35 to be preached. And so I ask that 07:38 you pray for me, and pray with me. 07:39 Turn with me in your Bibles to 07:41 Second Timothy chapter 3. We're gonna 07:44 continue tonight in our three part series 07:46 on the book of Second Timothy. 07:49 Our message tonight is entitled 07:51 Unflinching Faith. Second Timothy 07:54 chapter 3 and I'll read verses 1 through 5, 08:00 Second Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 through 5, 08:05 the Bible says this know also 08:08 that in the last days, perilous times 08:12 shall come. For men shall be lovers of 08:16 their own selves, covetous, boasters, 08:21 proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, 08:27 unthankful, unholy without natural 08:31 affection, truce breakers, 08:34 false accusers, incontinent, fierce, 08:38 despisers of those that are good, 08:41 traitors, heady, high-minded, 08:45 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. 08:52 Having a form of godliness, but denying 08:57 the power thereof: from such turn away. 09:03 Our message again tonight, 09:06 is entitled Unflinching Faith. 09:10 Unflinching Faith. Let us pray. Father God, 09:13 we thank you Lord for this year 09:15 Holy Sabbath day. We thank you Father 09:18 for a new year. And Father God I just ask 09:24 right now that you make me an instrument 09:27 of your peace, a vessel for your truth, 09:33 and a canvas for your glory. 09:37 Let Eric Walsh not be seen or heard 09:39 tonight Lord. But Lord bring us a word 09:44 from the very throne room of grace. 09:48 This is our prayer in Jesus' name. 09:51 Amen, amen. Paul is still in the dungeon. 09:56 He is still living in very difficult 10:00 situation. He is writing Timothy trying to warn 10:06 Timothy, trying to encourage Timothy. 10:10 Paul is a disheveled, angry, not angry 10:16 but hungry man as he is trying to deal 10:19 with the difficulties of being a prisoner of 10:24 what is truly a mad man in narrow. 10:29 But Paul understood that when he was writing to 10:31 Timothy that by writing to Timothy he would get 10:34 word that would go far. He understood 10:38 the importance of what he was writing, 10:40 in fact when you look at the New Testament 10:42 much of the New Testament of 10:45 Paul's writings were submitted as affidavits 10:47 in Paul's defense. So the people who went 10:50 to try Paul when Paul was to go before Nero, 10:55 actually would have probably read 10:57 many of them much of the New Testament 10:59 in doing so. Also what would have been 11:03 submitted are the two books written by Luke, 11:06 the Apostle Luke's Gospel as well as the 11:09 Book of Acts. So much of the Bible was submitted, 11:13 so when Paul is writing here, he understands 11:16 that not only hopefully this Timothy 11:19 get the letter and he is hoping that Timothy 11:21 gets to him while he is still alive, 11:24 but also the Roman power itself 11:28 would get this letter. Because he was a 11:30 prisoner that it would be read before it was 11:32 distributed any further. So Paul is writing 11:36 to multiple audiences but tonight I wanna 11:39 focus on the audience of us. 11:43 The fact that Paul is writing as I said 11:45 last night a message to the last generation, 11:50 a message to those who would be alive 11:52 at the close of earth's history. 11:55 Paul is writing to try and give the same 11:59 admonition he's given to Timothy, 12:01 to those of you young people who would enter 12:04 into a work for Christ in the last days. 12:07 He's trying to prepare you for the 12:09 disappointment that will come from 12:12 being attached to the church 12:13 of the living God. That difficult 12:16 and perilous times would come. 12:19 And Paul is trying to make sure that you 12:21 understand upfront what you signed up for. 12:28 You live in a time when people will try 12:29 and trick you, dupe you. Get you to buy things 12:33 without you understanding it 12:34 or get you to sign up for programs 12:36 and when you get into this you say no 12:38 that's not what I want, but it's too late 12:39 you signed up. God doesn't deal 12:41 with us like that. He is giving us a warning 12:44 in the book of Second Timothy so that 12:46 you cannot say you didn't know 12:48 it was coming. In fact as we read 12:55 Second Timothy chapter 3 it reminds us of 12:57 something else and that is that Paul 12:59 was not just a great writer who helped to 13:02 expand on some of the most important doctrines 13:05 in scripture. Like righteousness by faith 13:07 and the importance of fellowship 13:10 and other things that Paul really focuses on, 13:12 the importance of dealing with sin, 13:15 in a serious way but Paul also was a prophet. 13:20 And here you get a glimpse of Paul writing 13:24 as a prophet, as he begins to write in 13:27 Second Timothy chapter 2, chapter 3 and verse 1 13:31 he says, this know also that in the last days 13:36 perilous times shall come. The word perilous 13:42 in the Greek can also be stated that fierce times 13:47 will come, in fact it is the same word used to 13:50 describe the Gadarenes the men who were 13:52 possessed by demons, there were fierce. 13:56 He says there were fierce with the 13:58 connotation of a demonic element at work. 14:02 The last days would be perilous but that's not 14:06 the only definition you can get, it also says 14:08 that they would, if you look at the Greek 14:10 that these would be days that 14:11 would be hard to bear. Not impossible to bear, 14:17 but these days, these last days would be 14:20 difficult days to live in, difficult to 14:24 survive in; no these are days that if you 14:26 call yourself a Christian it will not be 14:29 easy days for you to get through. 14:34 It says listen, the last days Timothy, 14:38 the last days GYC are gonna be perilous times. 14:44 And so Paul begins to outline the type of 14:48 behaviors that you'll see in the last days. 14:51 He says that men would be lovers of 14:53 their own selves, that's how he starts it off. 14:56 Men would love themselves they would be 14:58 covetous, they want other people have, 15:00 they would be boasters, proud, blasphemers, 15:04 that they would be disobedient 15:05 to their parents, unthankful, and unholy. 15:10 And there's so much, so much in this. 15:14 For the truth we live in a time when people love 15:16 themselves to a point where it literally 15:19 creates disease in individuals. 15:22 They are so much more concern about themselves 15:24 so selfish, so self-centered, 15:26 so worried about the me and I and how people 15:30 view them that in fact diseases that 15:33 historically never existed like anorexia 15:38 and bulimia, body dimorphic, 15:41 disorders have come into existence 15:43 because people are so focused on themselves. 15:47 Have you ever seen the images of the people 15:49 who spend tens of thousands of countless 15:52 dollars on plastic surgery, 15:55 only to wind-up a greater and more hideous 15:58 monster than they could have ever dreamed 16:00 of being? They paid to look ugly. 16:12 God had created them just fine, 16:16 but under the scalpel of the plastic surgeon 16:19 men like Michael Jackson. You look at 16:24 pictures of Michael Jackson when he was a 16:26 child and you look at him at the time of 16:28 his death and when you want how 16:30 he transforms during his life, 16:35 it is one of the most befuddling things 16:38 you could ever imagine. Yet he is almost 16:40 worshiped in our time. Why, because these are 16:45 perilous times so that people who 16:48 don't even really know themselves 16:51 and in are a constant war with themselves, 16:54 so focused on themselves that they mutilate 16:57 themselves, are worshiped in themselves 17:00 as if they were small GODS. 17:03 So when Michael Jackson dies, 17:07 we live in a time when churches had 17:09 whole services dedicated to the life of 17:12 Michael Jackson. Whole choir put on one glove 17:16 and sang Beat It. Perilous times, 17:29 they'd be covetous, they would want 17:30 what everybody else has. In fact when you look at 17:33 America's economics collapse recently 17:36 it speaks to the fact that we live 17:38 in a society where people were so concerned 17:40 with keeping up into Jones' that they 17:42 literally borrowed away their 17:44 very futures to do it. Boasters, proud, 17:49 blasphemers. You look at there was a great 17:52 documentary I watched once called Hollywood's 17:55 war on God and this Christian filmmaker 17:59 shows how all of the Hollywood movies 18:02 have this running theme through them, 18:04 and one of the themes that you will notice 18:06 that they can consistently 18:08 and repeatedly like 60 or 70 percent 18:11 of the movies made will directly blaspheme 18:14 the name of God. And more so they really 18:19 as you can tell if you watch the documentary, 18:20 they really want to blaspheme the name of 18:22 Jesus Christ. And so when Christians go 18:27 and spend their money to watch these movies 18:29 whether at home or in the theater literally 18:32 they are paying for an industry that in large, 18:34 part not all of it, but in large part 18:37 has signed up to literally pick away 18:41 at our God by making, blaspheming the name of 18:44 God a part of the common vernacular. 18:49 Perilous times, kids will be disobedient 18:55 to parents. Live in a time when kids tell 18:59 parents what to do. You couldn't tell my mother 19:02 what to do. You would be waken-up, 19:07 trying to figure out what hit you. 19:12 My mother wasn't afraid to, and then I heard 19:15 kids say, I'll call child protective 19:17 services, my mother said, go ahead I'll have 19:19 your bag packed when they get here. 19:25 We live in a time when the kids are, 19:26 I remember working there again, little kids 19:28 would come in and like little ninjas 19:30 they would just be doing flips over the gurneys 19:33 and tables and the parents can't control, 19:36 I mean they. If you can't control a child 19:41 when they're two or three years old, 19:44 what else do you have in controlling 19:45 or having any influence on the child 19:47 when they're 17 or 18 years of age. 19:51 We live in a time when we have confused love 19:54 for a child with spoiling a child. 19:59 And so children have no respect 20:00 for their parents and the problem 20:02 with that history tells us is that if you can't 20:04 respect your mother and your father, 20:06 why in the world would you ever respect 20:08 the police or the teacher in the 20:10 classroom? Perilous times are gonna 20:14 come up on us. The scripture says 20:20 that they would be unthankful, unholy, 20:24 without natural affectionate, 20:26 the very affection, the way that people are 20:28 drawn to each other wouldn't be 20:29 natural anymore. Unnatural things 20:32 would begin to, to become common 20:35 and be raised up, and I told you last night 20:38 I talked to you a little bit more about 20:40 some of the national meetings that 20:42 I've been to. And I've been amazed 20:47 when I go to these meetings. 20:48 Where really the agenda is a discussion 20:53 about sexual health, so from a public health 20:55 stand point theoretically 20:56 we're looking and how do you make it so that 20:59 America has a better profile as it were of 21:03 sexual health. So there would be 21:05 less diseases more, less diseases more deaths 21:08 from some of those diseases. 21:09 Less unwanted pregnancies they would 21:12 say, they would say things like more 21:15 fulfilling relationships maybe. 21:18 What I found was amazing unnatural affection. 21:25 There were people there one of whom had a 21:28 doctorate in divinity. From another 21:33 denomination I was amazed when this man 21:36 would say things like there's nothing wrong 21:38 with a man and a boy having relations. 21:45 I would be amazed to hear leaders in 21:48 our country, people who are over whole 21:51 university systems, or over 21:53 schools of theology. As they would say 21:57 that their Bible does not say anything 21:59 that would prohibit homosexuality. 22:04 And I would be amazed as I'll be sitting there 22:06 and there would just be a few of us 22:08 who would be trying to speak up 22:10 and say wait a minute maybe there's something 22:13 protective about God's plan for men and women 22:17 and relationships. Maybe there's something 22:20 protective and you would be ridiculed. 22:23 What was amazing in these meetings? 22:27 Is that yes you would be ridiculed by 22:29 the liberals who don't believe in God. 22:31 The people that are far political left. 22:35 What began to shock me after while is 22:37 their ability to produce people, 22:39 who are members of churches, 22:41 who are leaders in religious organizations. 22:46 Who would literally back the argument of people 22:49 who don't know God. And after while 22:53 I started to realize there is truly a work of 22:58 foot in this country. And in this world 23:01 that is working to do away, 23:03 to erase as it were. To erase as it were 23:07 all semblance of moral purity. 23:13 There was a work of foot in these last days 23:16 that is going to try to make it so that 23:18 the most debase things are normal and common. 23:24 Listen, the church can't be silent anymore. 23:30 You can't do Bible studies 23:31 and skip the sections on purity, sexual purity. 23:36 You got to, if you're gonna, you have to 23:38 instruct people of what God requires 23:40 for them in that room, because it has become 23:43 so common place that they had an exchange 23:45 sexual partners is like going out 23:48 and just buying a meal of or just, 23:50 it's a simple or as common as, as jumping on 23:52 a roller coaster, and you just jump from 23:55 one roller coaster to the next one. 23:58 Serial monogamy has been come the way 24:00 for many but even now, even that is being 24:03 eroded and we're seeing that multiple 24:05 sexual partners has again become the order 24:08 of the day in America. Let me submit 24:15 to you as Paul saw that in the last days 24:18 there would be great moral decline. 24:21 What's, it's not so shocking that the world 24:25 has great moral decline. What's shocking 24:28 and what Paul is really speaking to, 24:31 is that great moral decline has 24:33 entered the church. That in fact 24:38 the divorce rate is the same inside of 24:41 Christendom in the United States 24:42 as outside. Pastors don't stand up in 24:47 pulpits anymore and say things like 24:49 if you divorce your wife for anything 24:51 except adultery, and you go and marry someone 24:55 else the new marriage is not accepted by God, 24:58 they don't preach that anymore. 25:02 We don't say that stuff anymore. 25:04 Why, because our congregations are 25:06 full of divorcees and we don't wanna offend 25:08 anyone but the problem is then we set a 25:11 new norm for the next generation. 25:15 And we're living in a time when we don't 25:18 understand that the media and now even 25:20 the governments are working to move America 25:23 and the rest of the world into a dark 25:26 moral decline. Paul could see it not just in 25:32 the future prophetically but he was watching 25:35 as it was unfolding in ancient Rome. 25:39 Paul could see that Rome herself would 25:41 eventually collapse because one of the 25:45 major ways that it would happen is that 25:47 moral decay would set up so deep into the fabric 25:50 of the civilization that was ancient Rome 25:53 that eventually Rome would not be able to 25:56 sustain herself. And eventually Rome fell. 26:03 And if you draw a parallel between 26:05 ancient Rome, her over expansion into 26:09 territories, her inflation, the fact that 26:12 Rome began to stop using solid silver coins 26:16 as their currency and started to use base 26:18 metals and barely covered them in silver, 26:20 it remind you of United States of America now, 26:24 where we are living a country where they just 26:26 print money. So you know the federal government 26:30 always is solvent because, 26:31 yeah the federal government if they need 26:33 more money they just print it. 26:38 So what is not backed by anything, 26:42 we're America, the same kind of arrogance, 26:46 just like Rome. They also predict that by 26:50 2050 China will be a much more stable strong 26:53 and powerful economy to ours, 26:54 if the American economy doesn't change, 26:56 the same things are happening 26:58 in the last days to this world power as happened 27:02 to that one. But I want to submit to you 27:08 that just as Paul is saying here 27:10 when you look at this without 27:12 natural affection, he goes on he says 27:17 truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, 27:19 fierce and look at the last part of verse 3, 27:21 he says despisers of those that are good. 27:28 There was a man that came out 27:29 in the early part of the last century, 27:33 a man named Aleister Crowley. 27:35 Aleister Crowley's mother called him 27:37 the beast. He wanted to be known as the 27:40 most wicked man whoever lived. 27:43 And something happened by him he was able to, 27:46 the British man; he was able to infect the world 27:50 by infecting key people in popular culture. 27:54 The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts 27:57 Club album has a picture of him on the cover. 28:03 Michael Jackson's Dangerous album 28:05 has a picture of him on the cover looking at 28:07 Michael Jackson's great hand holding a 28:10 naked boy in it. And the naked boy is holding 28:20 the skull of a dragon. Aleister Crowley's 28:23 influence goes through to many, 28:25 he's the one who introduced this new 28:27 occult movement that is a foot in Hollywood 28:30 called Qabalah. Aleister Crowley infiltrated 28:35 so much that even when you look at 28:37 someone like Jay-Z, Aleister Crowley's Book 28:40 of the Law which eventually leads to 28:43 the satanic church and their one commandment, 28:46 which is, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole 28:50 of the law. The whole law in the church of 28:54 Satan is that you can do whatever you want. 28:59 And I've pictures in some of my seminars 29:00 where I saw Jay-Z, the most popular wrapper 29:03 of all time wearing a racowear T-shirt 29:06 that says on it, do as thou wilt. 29:10 The literal one commandment of the 29:12 Church of Satan straight from Aleister Crowley. 29:16 But you see that's the state in the world, 29:20 it wouldn't be such perilous times. 29:25 It was easy to see that the world has accepted 29:28 these crazy doctrines and if gone into this 29:32 de-moral decline, it wouldn't be bad, 29:33 but the problem is if you come into church 29:36 and the church no longer has any standards. 29:40 That in fact the doctrines of many of 29:43 the denominations now really are a doctrine 29:46 of what they call complete liberation. 29:49 If I am in Christ Jesus I cannot be lost. 29:54 So I can do whatever I want. 29:57 And hence they use and they take 30:01 the grace of God and turn it into disgrace. 30:05 Taking the very grace and mercy of God 30:08 and they take it in what they've done 30:09 with it is they've actually used it to take 30:12 the one commandment of the church of Satan 30:14 and move that one commandment 30:18 into a command of the Christian churches. 30:23 When Paul says we'll be living in 30:24 perilous times. We get to see it. 30:29 We are living in times when you have got to be 30:32 totally and completely committed 30:34 to Jesus Christ. Because on all sides you are 30:39 being moved to believe that you are fanatic, 30:42 if you stand for anything. 30:51 Paul goes on to say there would be traitors 30:55 in verse 4, heady, high minded, 30:58 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. 31:01 One of the mistakes that are churches are making, 31:04 and I'm sorry if I'm gonna be a little 31:06 real tonight. One of the mistakes that our 31:10 churches are making is that we believe 31:11 that the way that will keep young people is 31:14 if we find a way to entertain them. 31:20 And I'm not against kids playing softball 31:22 and having a good time and fellowship, 31:24 that's not my, I don't have a problem 31:26 with that. I think it should go on hikes, 31:29 and they should do things together, 31:31 they should have fellowship, 31:34 but there's a fundamental problem 31:36 when we're willing to not teach 31:38 young people anything. And instead we replace 31:44 no truth, no doctrine, we replace it simply 31:48 with stay around the church at all cost, 31:51 because all we really care about is that 31:53 you're here. In fact it was Time Magazine 31:59 I believe it was that actually ran an article 32:03 on all of the young adults in the 32:05 United States who are leaving the evangelical 32:08 church in droves. And they went 32:11 and they didn't interview of these 32:12 young people and ask the hard question 32:14 why is that after you were raised a Baptist 32:17 or a Methodist or whatever denomination 32:19 it was, why is it that you left and are now not 32:22 attending church at all in your mid to late 20s 32:25 what is that shifted that you no longer are 32:27 connected with church in that way. 32:30 You know what young people said, 32:33 because we had an MTV Church experience. 32:38 And one of the things they say in this article 32:40 is they say the reason is that when we got to 32:43 college and they challenged us on 32:46 evolution and creation and they challenged us 32:48 on homosexuality and they challenged us 32:51 on pre-marital sex we could not give a 32:53 defense for what we believe. 32:58 And because we couldn't defend what we believe 33:00 we seized to believe anything. 33:09 The scripture says in verse 5, 33:13 having a form of Godliness but denying 33:19 the power thereof. From such turn away, 33:28 having a form of godliness but denying 33:34 the power there of, from such turn away. 33:43 I'm gonna submit to you, that we live in a time 33:47 when for many people being religious 33:51 is very popular. It's a part of their culture 33:56 more than it is a part of their spiritual life. 34:00 And so people are religious but they don't 34:04 necessarily have an abiding relationship 34:06 with Jesus Christ. And one of the 34:09 manifestations of that is that by having a form 34:12 of Godliness but denying the power thereof 34:16 is that people will outwardly appeared 34:18 to be very religious inside the church. 34:21 But the power of God which is the power of, 34:23 to convert you, to convict you, 34:26 and to change the way you live. 34:28 Is absent in their lives. So instead of 34:32 being a Christian who is bold for Christ 34:36 and the evidence that they have Christ 34:39 in their lives is seen in how they live 34:41 their lives instead, they actually live 34:43 just like the world and hold on to a title 34:46 of being Christian. That's a dangerous place 34:50 to be. In fact in Revelation 34:52 the Bible says, that God would rather you 34:54 were hot or you're cold. And not lukewarm 34:56 and that he would spew the people out there 34:58 were in this condition, this is one of the 35:00 reasons that Paul says you should turn away 35:02 from these people. It's a dangerous thing 35:05 to be around those who think they have 35:07 and they know God. Think they're in a 35:08 relationship with God and really don't want 35:10 anything to do with him. It's a dangerous 35:13 place to be. And it's amazing because 35:17 you know you watch televangelists. 35:19 Guys like Creflo Dollar. Creflo Dollar has 35:23 this incredible Gospel of prosperity 35:25 that he preaches. And I was wondering 35:28 how he got the name Dollar and he kind of 35:32 preaches about money all the time, 35:33 maybe he changed his name I don't know. 35:37 And there are many people who are moved 35:40 to believe that the evidence, 35:41 don't miss this, the evidence that 35:43 you are in a relationship with 35:44 Jesus Christ is not that you begin to grow 35:48 in Chris and that you begin to lay aside 35:51 the sins that so used to easily beset you, 35:53 that you begin to be a different person, 35:55 a new creation, a new creature in Christ Jesus 35:58 but that the evidence that you're in a 36:00 relationship with Jesus Christ in these last 36:02 and terrible perilous days. For so many people 36:05 now is how prosperous you are. 36:08 How much you have in the bank, 36:10 how nice your car is. It's a terrible thing 36:15 when people are being duped to believe 36:17 that if they are in a relationship with 36:18 Jesus Christ what happens is you get rich. 36:25 And being wealthy is the litmus test. 36:28 Among so many Christians that they have a 36:33 relationship with Jesus Christ, 36:35 Paul says that this is having a form of 36:38 Godliness but denying the power thereof, 36:41 from such he says turn away and the reason for 36:44 this is people do not want a relationship 36:47 that will cause them to have to move to change 36:50 their lives. In fact in those meeting in Atlanta 36:55 one of the interesting stories that happened, 36:57 was when we had a host they brought me 36:59 out for one of the meetings 37:00 and it was on religion and sexuality. 37:03 And again I was amazed that they produced 37:05 church leaders, deans of the schools of theology, 37:11 all kinds of Muslim women and all of them 37:14 believed in his radical, non-Biblical ideas of 37:18 sexuality impurity. And I remember 37:21 when I came around to meet, 37:23 to talk about my religion and what I 37:24 believe and I said let me start by saying 37:26 I believe in a separation of church 37:29 and state. I said in fact the Bible says 37:34 and I quoted the scripture on purpose 37:36 to them, the Bible says that Jesus speaking 37:38 that you should render on to Caesar that things 37:40 that are Caesar's, and unto God the things 37:43 that are God's. I said so guess what? 37:46 I don't care what do you guys say, 37:48 I don't care what laws they pass in the 37:51 United States as for me and my house 37:54 we're gonna serve the Lord. 37:58 And I could see that someone have began 37:59 to get upset and they began to try 38:02 and rebuttal, now you remember these are 38:03 mostly people who teaches in the schools 38:06 of theology of America, divinity schools. 38:09 These are leaders of large churches 38:12 and bishops even. And I remember it was 38:16 spiritual warfare because one of the 38:18 persons at the table began to stare at me. 38:22 I mean stare at me and you know like he was 38:24 trying to give me an evil eye or something. 38:26 As they make it I called it Ovea. 38:30 And they would just stare at me 38:32 and I remember as I went around to this person 38:34 and this person was an interesting person, 38:36 she had gone through general surgery 38:40 and learned plastic surgery and she said 38:42 that her glow was to go into low income 38:44 and poor neighborhood and that's what she 38:46 wanted to do in these low income 38:48 and poor neighborhood is provide inexpensive 38:52 and chief transgender surgeries 38:54 for individuals. Making it easy and cheap 38:59 for poor people in America to go from 39:01 being male to female, or female to male 39:03 that was her calling. Now what you didn't know 39:09 upfront is that she used to be a he. 39:14 And she stared at me now. 39:22 She's staring at me now. I say, Lord, 39:28 I just started to pray and as it begins to move 39:33 around the table and she gets her turn 39:38 and I used at first I would mess up 39:40 and call her he all the time 39:42 and I always get corrected, 39:43 I even slipped once and said shim, 39:46 she and him and I shouldn't have 39:48 done that. I shouldn't have done that. 39:55 But she looked at me and she looked at me, 39:58 and when came to her then she said 39:59 I was a man once. She said an I was engaged 40:03 to be married and I was a Catholic 40:04 and I went to the Canaan classes 40:07 and I guess that's what the Catholic church 40:08 does, they prepare you for marriage 40:10 and I was married and she was a man 40:12 then she was married to a woman 40:13 and I was married and it didn't work 40:15 because I was a woman trapped in a man's body. 40:18 And she said and she started to try 40:20 and quote scripture and just messed it all up. 40:22 That couldn't put two scriptures together. 40:25 'cause she was trying to make the point 40:26 that she'd been religious. She was a 40:28 Catholic and she gave up church she said 40:30 because it was too restrictive. 40:34 She gave up on God because He was too 40:36 restricted and right now I'm sitting here 40:39 and next to me is the assistant to the 40:41 former surgeon general of the United States 40:43 and the former surgeon general is two seats 40:45 over from me and David Satcher, 40:47 and he's sitting there and when he gets to her 40:49 she says and that's why now I no longer go to 40:52 church. She said I'm a Wiccan. David Satcher 40:57 leans over his assistant to me 40:59 and says what does it mean that she's a 41:01 Wiccan. And I said, she's a witch. 41:10 He said what Blunt, she's a what? 41:15 Why, because if you're in Christ Jesus 41:18 and if you're studying God's word 41:20 and you have a relationship with 41:22 Jesus Christ the word itself begins to 41:25 bother you, but people want a 41:28 form of Godliness. So now into the church sees 41:32 witchcraft and voodoo and all of these things 41:35 start to come in and I was talking to one of 41:38 my friends today and they were talking about 41:39 their church where they brought in a congo drums 41:42 and the guy was walking around the church, 41:44 doing the African, some kind of rights of 41:47 passage ritual and I was like you, you got to be 41:50 careful that could be voodoo. 41:56 Why? Because the devil will let you do whatever 42:00 you want and he delights, he knows 42:04 that man like in Loma Linda says, 42:06 to make man whole he knows that man is whole 42:08 when there's a spiritual aspect, 42:10 so if he's gonna remove Christianity out, 42:12 a form of Godliness must replace it. 42:21 Matter of fact Paul goes further in verse 6 42:23 and says for this sort they which creep into 42:26 houses and lead captive silly women 42:29 laid in which sins, led away with diverse lusts. 42:33 Ever learning and never able to come to a 42:36 knowledge of the truth. He says that look in the 42:40 last days,s it's gonna get so terrible 42:42 that evil forces will worm their way 42:45 into houses. You would almost think 42:48 Paul understood that there would be 42:50 high speed Internet running into the houses 42:52 of the last days. That he would understand 42:55 that satellites would be linked up, 42:56 that cable would be linked up 42:57 and that all of a sudden the evil influences 43:00 of the world would no longer need to knock 43:02 on the front door of your house to get in. 43:04 But in fact you would download the devil. 43:12 Paul seems to understand that in the last times 43:15 the availability of evil to quickly get around 43:19 the globe would not, would be like nothing 43:21 that the world has ever seen. 43:25 And short enough I call this the 43:26 Oprah Winfrey effect. They creep into houses 43:33 and Oprah Winfrey now is gonna start 43:35 her own network called OWN. 43:40 But isn't that amazing that Oprah Winfrey 43:41 who runs this huge, she was gonna run this huge 43:44 network also through her, Eckhart Tolle has 43:47 started the world's largest on-line church 43:49 and when you go online I challenge you to Google 43:51 or YouTube some of the stuff on Oprah Winfrey 43:54 where she literally has people who walk away 43:56 from Christianity and despise it. 44:01 To say they have been so enlightened now. 44:04 They're no longer Christians, 44:06 no longer Baptists, no longer Methodists. 44:11 They've been liberated by this doctrine, 44:13 this theology that Oprah Winfrey 44:15 and Eckhart Tolle preaching. 44:19 Says if Paul understood that, 44:21 he says for of this sort of they which creep into 44:24 houses and lead captive silly women laden 44:27 with sins, led away with diverse lusts. 44:31 Ever learning, never able to come 44:34 to the knowledge of the truth, 44:37 if you drop down Paul is still writing 44:39 in his dungeon cell, still writing the 44:42 Timothy in verse 10 he says, 44:43 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, 44:45 manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, 44:49 charity, patience, Persecutions, 44:51 afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, 44:54 at Iconium, at Lystra, and Lystra is where 44:56 Timothy met Paul in the first place. 44:58 Timothy watched Paul bestowed, 45:00 almost beaten to death. You can read that 45:03 story in the Book of Acts, the 14th chapter 45:05 where Paul is, after he, he was a cripple man 45:09 and the Greeks want to worship him 45:12 as one of the Gods, come down from heaven 45:14 and he refuses and the Jews railed him up 45:16 and they tried to kill him, they beat him, 45:18 dragged him out of time, but Timothy is probably 45:21 standing there to see when Paul gets back 45:23 on his feet and dust himself off 45:25 and praises God for the opportunity to be 45:28 abused for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 45:33 By the time Paul comes back to Lystra, 45:35 Timothy by now is a disciple, 45:37 he's called the disciple in this scripture 45:39 and he is on his way to serving God. 45:41 He says, Timothy you know what I've been 45:43 through. But he says but out of them all 45:48 the Lord delivered me. In verse 12 he says, 45:54 Yea, and all that will live godly 45:55 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 46:04 It says in verse 13, but evil men 46:06 and seducers shall wax worse and worse, 46:09 deceiving, and being deceived. 46:11 But continue thou in the things which thou hast 46:13 learned and hast been assured of, 46:15 knowing of whom thou hast learned them, 46:17 And that from a child thou hast known 46:20 the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make 46:22 thee wise unto salvation through faith 46:24 which is in Christ Jesus. Look at verse 16, 46:27 it's an important text. Paul says to Timothy 46:30 speaking to us he says, all scripture is 46:32 given by inspiration of God, 46:36 and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 46:39 for correction, for instruction in 46:42 righteousness. In fact when churches say 46:44 they are non-denominational 46:46 the challenge I have with them is 46:47 denominations are defined by doctrine. 46:52 So if you're non-denominational, 46:54 are you saying that you are non-doctrinal? 46:59 And what you find that there are churches 47:00 that literally and I spoke at Saddleback 47:02 Church in Orange County, Rick Warren's 47:04 big church and the purpose driven life 47:05 church and I remember having this discussion 47:08 at the church and then they able to say 47:09 you know what we, we can't just believe 47:11 different things. What you mean about 47:14 some of us are pre-millennial 47:16 some of us are intermillennial, 47:17 and some of us are post-millennial. 47:19 I said so your church is kind of like go 47:21 into a buffet at the Indian Restaurant. 47:26 You got to pick which you believe. 47:30 But the Bible says no, all scripture is given 47:33 by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 47:35 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 47:37 for instruction in righteousness. 47:40 That the man of God may be what, perfect. 47:47 The word perfect here means from the Greek, 47:50 perfectly suited to do or work for God. 47:55 Perfectly put together to do something for God. 47:59 That the man of God maybe perfect 48:01 thoroughly furnished unto all good work. 48:07 Let me tell you something brothers 48:08 and sisters we live in some hard times. 48:11 It is being based in the scripture. 48:14 They used to say it's Sola scriptura, 48:18 the Bible and the Bible alone 48:23 because of all of the philosophies 48:25 of the world when it begin to come down 48:26 on you if you begin to believe them 48:28 you'll get led off into some crazy stuff. 48:31 And the devil would take you on a rat race, 48:34 in fact as you look at the world, 48:37 the devil will bless you, he will even multiply 48:40 and prosper you in order to keep you 48:44 from really getting back into God's word 48:46 in scripture and following what God 48:48 want you to do. Our faith must be unflinching. 48:55 You've got to be so serious about 48:58 your relationship with Jesus Christ because 49:00 you live in perilous and hard 49:02 and difficult times. Some of you that you 49:11 can't be used, you wonder if you gone 49:15 too far from God to be used. 49:18 Let me to challenge you tonight that 49:19 you too can be perfect. You can become a perfect 49:24 vessel in the hand of the living God. 49:27 I'm here to challenge you tonight 49:29 that your righteousness is by faith 49:32 and that your problems is not doing problem, 49:35 it's a believing problem. That we've got to put 49:38 our trust in God and when we begin to lean 49:41 on the everlasting arms Jesus himself 49:44 will show up and the love of Christ will 49:46 constrain us and the things you used to do. 49:49 As you get information from the scripture 49:51 as to what should be put aside, 49:52 easily those things will fall off of you, 49:55 if you're in Christ. He's looking 50:02 to redeem you. Stories told to the young man, 50:10 went out drinking one night and playing 50:11 pokers a true story. Happened in the 50:17 South Western part of the United States 50:20 but not in California, that I would like to say 50:24 some good things can come out of California. 50:28 And as this young man went out to play poker, 50:32 he got into an argument with the man 50:34 sitting across the table from him. 50:37 And when he got into this argument he reached 50:40 down into his bag and grabbed a gun 50:42 and pointed it across the table. 50:44 And he shot and killed the man sitting 50:48 across the table from him. The man in the chair 50:51 fell over dead, the police came 50:54 and arrested this young man who shot 50:56 this other young man. He has taken down 51:02 to the and then he was booked 51:03 and had his first round of trials 51:05 and he was sent to jail and later he went 51:09 before the judge and jury and he was 51:11 convicted of first degree murder. 51:18 Jury sentenced him to death 51:22 in the electric chair. The process of course 51:28 took a few years and true story his family 51:30 in the mean time working, trying to help 51:35 him arguing that he was drunk, 51:36 he's really wasn't him, he is not really 51:38 a murderer. They were trying to get 51:42 when the conviction came down 51:45 and he was sentenced to the death penalty, 51:47 they tried not to get him released 51:51 from the conviction but just to get a stay of 51:54 execution. So everybody in the family 51:59 began to write petitions and all of them in 52:04 his signed and sin the next house, 52:06 and in the next house and the whole 52:07 street signed in. Then the next street 52:11 and the next street and the next block, 52:13 till the whole town and the next town 52:16 until finally one day after it seemed as 52:18 though the whole state had signed the petition 52:20 to stay this young man's execution and leave him 52:25 with just life in prison. Eventually what 52:29 happens is a knock is made on the governor 52:32 of the state's door and a basket of petitions 52:35 is brought and dropped in front of the governor 52:37 of the state. The governor of the state 52:43 was a Christian and when he realized that 52:45 he was mercy and grace that the citizens 52:48 of his state wanted to apply to this young man 52:51 he was so happy that he sat down immediately 52:54 because so many years had passed now 52:57 and he wrote out a full pardon 52:59 for the young man. A full pardon was 53:03 written for the young man. The governor was 53:08 gonna go down to death roll to deliver 53:09 the letter in person. So before he left 53:15 he went into his closet and he slipped 53:16 on of preaches road. He said in his mind 53:20 you know how what better way to deliver 53:22 this message and dressed up like a preacher. 53:26 He gets down via limousine to the state 53:31 penitentiary and he, is met by the warden 53:33 and he runs upstairs to death row. 53:38 The warden points to cell where the young man 53:40 is being kept. And the governor, 53:43 as he begins to walk into the cell 53:45 the young man jumps off of his bunk 53:47 and yells at the governor, get out. 53:52 The governor says well hold on I've got news, 53:55 I've got the best news, the young man says 53:59 I was raised a Christian and look where 54:02 its landed me get out. The governor says 54:06 hold man I've got news, I've got good news. 54:10 It says you are the third preacher has been 54:13 ahead as week, get out. If the governor tries 54:18 one last time he says you don't understand 54:20 I've got good news. The young man says 54:26 if you don't get out I'm calling the governor, 54:28 I'm calling the warden and the guards 54:32 and I'm gonna have you put out. 54:35 Governor drops his head and folds up the paper 54:39 and sticks in his pocket and walks out 54:40 and the warden gets him and wished him off 54:43 to the limousine and he's taken back to the 54:44 governor's mansion and the warden is happy now, 54:47 he comes running into the cell 54:48 and sits to at young man he says 54:50 how did your visit with the governor go? 54:53 The young man says you mean that man 54:55 dressed up like a preacher was the 54:57 governor? He says yes, and he had a 55:00 full pardon for you. You were gonna be let out. 55:07 The young man says you gotta be kidding give me 55:10 some paper let me write dear governor 55:12 I'm so sorry I didn't know that was you. 55:20 The warden takes the letter and he delivered 55:22 to the governor and the governor gets it 55:23 and with tears streaming down the 55:26 governor's face, he reads the letter 55:27 and he turns it over and writes on say back 55:30 no longer interested in this case. 55:37 The day comes for that young man to be put 55:39 to death by electrocution and as he sitting 55:43 in the chair they asked him do you have 55:45 any of last words do you wanna say 55:47 before you die. The young man says yes, 55:52 tell the young men of America that I'm not 55:55 dieing because of a murderer tell them 55:59 that I'm dieing because of what I did but tell 56:03 that I'm die today because I refused to 56:08 accept the pardon. People let me tell you, 56:15 you've got a remember when you go after 56:16 your Bible studies and even in your own 56:20 personal life when you look at yourself nobody 56:23 is gonna be lost because the, of what they did 56:26 per say, because anyone of us who decides to 56:31 accept the full pardon that is in Jesus Christ 56:34 will be saved. Jesus, the great governor 56:39 of the universe, when the petitions 56:43 of our sins came up before him, 56:46 he didn't put on a robe of a governor, 56:48 he slipped on the flesh of a baby and was born 56:51 in a manger. And with his own blood 56:56 he wrote out a full pardon for 56:59 everyone of us, have unflinching faith, 57:04 because you too can be perfect if you can 57:07 accept the blood of Jesus in your life. 57:11 As the appeal song is sung, you want to 57:15 come down front and accept that 57:16 pardon, join me down front. 57:29 My sin is great, my strength is weak, 57:34 my path he set with snares, but thou 57:40 O Christ has died for me, and thou will hear 57:48 my prayer. To thee are the crucified. 57:58 The savior's only plea, relying on thy promised 58:08 grace. My faith still clings to thee. |
Revised 2014-12-17