1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,880 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:41,080 to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:51,840 Good morning and welcome back to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. My name is David 9 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:59,200 Bigford and I am the pastor here at the church here in Salmon Arm. As I get things set up 10 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:04,600 this morning, I just wanted to thank you for those who are supporting the podcast, who 11 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:09,640 are sharing it, subscribing. It does help us to get the message out. What is the message? 12 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:15,400 The message is simple. It is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He came to earth and He 13 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:21,520 died for our sins so that we can have a relationship with our Father again because we are separated 14 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:29,140 from our relationship by sin. It was His sacrifice on the cross that has enabled us to bridge 15 00:01:29,140 --> 00:01:34,940 that gap and come back to a relationship with our God. That is simply by the repentance 16 00:01:34,940 --> 00:01:39,440 of sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is an important thing 17 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:48,680 to continue to remember as we are in the week of Easter. Easter Sunday is coming up. That 18 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,700 is the whole purpose of what we are doing. Spread the gospel message to get the word 19 00:01:52,700 --> 00:01:58,120 out there that Jesus did die for our sins. He died for your sins. He died for my sins 20 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:05,760 and we can all find grace in a relationship with Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven. 21 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:12,200 The message I put together today is the immorality of humanity. The subtitle for this would be 22 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:19,800 �But I'm a good person.� We all believe that most of us before we were saved definitely 23 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:25,080 believed, �I'm a good person. I'm better than so and so or I'm better than such.� 24 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:32,080 We tend to hold on to that. What I want to lean into is the reality that as Christians 25 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:39,160 we come to the understanding that we are not moral beings aside from our relationship with 26 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:45,360 God. It is only in Christ, it is only in relationship with Christ and with our Lord that we can 27 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:51,880 be moral because sin that is ever present in the earth is what separates us from God 28 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:57,480 and that is immorality. The illustration I've got today is the persecuted church. It's the 29 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:04,080 voice of the persecuted church. There's a story of part of the underground church from 30 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:11,200 China. Before I jump into that I just want to give you the text which is Jeremiah 17 31 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:17,840 9-10 so you can turn there in your Bible and we'll be jumping into that as our launch pad 32 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:23,360 here shortly. This comes from an article written by Andrew Hall and it starts out with, �Have 33 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:29,760 you ever wondered what it would be like living in a society that blamed you for their problems? 34 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:35,120 What if being a Christian costs something like your popularity, your job, your rights, 35 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:41,180 your family or your life? This is the stark reality of many Christians overseas, particularly 36 00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:51,440 in China and this type of persecution is foreign to us here in Canada or the US.� 37 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:57,520 In America, Christians attend worship service without any thought of facing judgment, slander 38 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,800 or persecution. While there is evidence that American society and legislation is becoming 39 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:08,160 more hostile to Christianity, believers by large do not face anywhere near the same level of 40 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:14,160 threats or persecution that their Christian brothers and sisters see every day in many 41 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:20,480 eastern countries. Ironically, or perhaps consequently, a nation with arguably the 42 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:26,480 most freedom and prosperity in the world is seeing a steady decline in Christianity. 43 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:32,560 Pew Research reported that 65% of American adults identified as Christians in 2019, 44 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:41,280 a decrease of 12% of percentage points since 2009, and 76% of baby boomers identified as 45 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:47,600 Christians while only 49% of millennials identified as Christians. Secularization has 46 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:52,320 overtaken much of Europe as well. In Western Europe, where many identify as Christians because 47 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:58,720 of historical religious traditions, most Western Europeans are non-practicing and reject the God 48 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:05,440 described by the Bible. In 1910, 66% of the world's Christians lived in Europe, but in 2010, 49 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:13,680 Europe made up only 26% of all Christians. So I believe that part of the reason for these 50 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:20,000 trends is the constant push in society today to blame the solution for the world's ills, 51 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,600 blaming Christian faith for all the wrongs that sin has brought to the world. It's like blaming 52 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:30,960 water for your thirst. The world is thirsty for the living waters of life that flow from heaven 53 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:36,480 through salvation in Christ Jesus, but the world blames this thirst on Christ and not on the 54 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:43,360 sinful heart of man. And so now we jump into our text in Jeremiah 17, 9 through 10, and it reads, 55 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:50,240 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it 56 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:57,440 is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine seeker motives. I give all people their due reward 57 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:05,120 according to what their actions deserve. I was reading Jeremiah earlier in the week, and it's 58 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:12,080 an interesting idea because here in Jeremiah, he's a witness to his people. He's a prophet of the Lord, 59 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:19,760 but if you read through, he only in his lifetime had basically two converts, his scribe and then 60 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:29,120 another Ethiopian eunuch. And so there's this immense ministry that Jeremiah had, but he 61 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:35,600 had this painful ministry that Jeremiah had, but it wasn't received by the people of his time because 62 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:42,480 the time that he lived was a time of judgment that was coming on to the land of Judah. 63 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:50,240 So the world wants to paint a picture. They want to paint a picture that there is an innate virtue 64 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:57,440 and purity in the heart of man, that religion is the cause of every harm in society. So throughout 65 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:02,800 the world, we hear this siren song that humanity is kind at heart. What does that even mean? People 66 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:08,560 say I'm a good person or most people are good. There are just a few bad apples. Why do people 67 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:15,600 claim this, and what evidence is there to support this hypothesis? It certainly isn't the biblical 68 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:20,800 view, but that doesn't stop others from criticizing Christianity and claiming that more people have 69 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:27,200 died for God than anything else. This is another siren song that we hear being amplified by political 70 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:32,240 leaders everywhere. What are we to make of these ideas? What are we supposed to do or supposed to 71 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:37,440 turn to in order to get the right answer and wisdom? It brings me to my first point, which is the 72 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:43,760 claims of atheism, communism, and humanism. And so now we turn to Proverbs 26. We're going to read 73 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:51,280 verses four through five and then verses 21 through 23. In verse four, it says, answer not a fool 74 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:57,120 according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, 75 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:04,720 lest he be wise in his own eyes. And then in 21 it says, as charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, 76 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:11,840 so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels 77 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:17,520 that go down into the inner parts of the body like the glaze covering an earthen vessel and 78 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:23,520 feverant lips with an evil heart. All the claims of atheism, humanism, communism, socialism, all the 79 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:30,160 theisms are based on the principle that man is good and that religion is evil. And I'm not going 80 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,840 to stand here and proclaim that all religion is good because we know that the only way to heaven 81 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:40,160 is through our Lord Jesus Christ. But there is a reason that these groups lump Christian faith into 82 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:45,920 a larger umbrella of religions. By doing this, they can transpose all the evils of paganism, deism, 83 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:53,440 naturalism, or even other monotheistic beliefs onto Christianity. It allows them to cover 84 00:08:53,440 --> 00:09:01,280 up their sins as only being the judging of the unenlightened. This trend in society has been 85 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:06,560 going on for millennia but it is but has in my opinion increased exponentially in the last few 86 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:14,000 hundred years. During the Renaissance, Christianity was still a major part of the scientific community 87 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:20,240 as well as the artistic community. Slowly though there was a trend towards Gnosticism and atheism 88 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,880 that started to garner support in the arts and the academic world, not because of any new truths 89 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:29,440 that were being found but rather for the same reason the Israelites left behind their covenant 90 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:35,920 with the Lord. They wanted to live in their sin more than they wanted to live for God and in doing 91 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:44,000 so they struck out to build new altars, new idols that they could worship. They wanted freedom from 92 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:50,560 the judgment of God and man and this was the beginnings of humanism. In 1 Kings 11, 1 through 93 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:56,240 8 it says, Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughters of the Pharaoh, 94 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:01,680 the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Sidonian, and Hittite women. From the nations 95 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:06,560 concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, you shall not enter into marriage with 96 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:12,400 them, neither shall they with you. For surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. 97 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:18,000 Solomon clung to these in love. He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred 98 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:23,680 concubines and his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away 99 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:29,760 his heart after other gods and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart 100 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:36,160 of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, 101 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:41,360 and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the 102 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:46,480 Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord as David his father had done. And then Solomon built a high 103 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:52,480 place for Chamash, the abomination of Moab, and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, 104 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:58,480 on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives who made offerings and 105 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:05,120 sacrifice to their gods. So here we have Solomon, one of the wisest of all men in history. And we're 106 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:11,520 told this in the Bible that he's the wisest of men. And he allowed himself to be lured away 107 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:17,040 by his flesh. And then eventually at the very end of this section that I was reading, 108 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:22,240 he even built an altar for Molech. And if you're not familiar, but Molech was one of the pagan gods 109 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:30,720 where they would sacrifice babies onto the altar. They would sacrifice their own children 110 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:38,880 on the altar of Molech. So this is a pretty wicked thing to comprehend the fact that he 111 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:47,440 would make such a strident shift in his own beliefs. And he would turn to the worship of these 112 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:56,880 pagan gods. But this is not unheard of in the history of Israel. Because in 1 Kings 12, 25, 113 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:03,200 30, we have another example of this. This is when Jeroboam, he decides to build his own golden calves, 114 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,600 which is the second time the people of Israel would do this. But in verse 25, it says, 115 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:12,400 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from 116 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:17,520 there and built Panuul. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will turn back to the house 117 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:23,040 of David, if this people go up to offer sacrifice in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. Then the 118 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:28,320 heart of this people, then the heart of his people will turn again to the Lord to Rehoboam king of 119 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:33,680 Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. So the king took counsel and made 120 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:38,400 two calves of gold. And he said to the people, You've gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold 121 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:43,360 your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And he set one in Bethel and the 122 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:50,400 other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 123 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:56,960 So here we have an example. So Jeroboam is the king of the northern kingdom. He became king of 124 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:02,640 the northern kingdom after Solomon's son Rehoboam had the kingdom stripped from himself. It was a 125 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:07,440 judgment from God. Two tribes stayed with Rehoboam king of Judah and 10 tribes went with 126 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:13,200 Jeroboam. And one of Jeroboam's first acts as king of the northern kingdom was this type of 127 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:20,320 idol worship, was this turning away from their God. So in that article, he says, He was the king 128 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,480 of the northern kingdom. And in that article, written years ago by Dinesh D'Souza, we see 129 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:30,320 highlights, the highlight of the goal of these new age views to cast religion and more importantly, 130 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:35,840 Christianity into a horrific light, to blame society's ills on Christianity rather than on 131 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:42,000 their own iniquity. Atheism, not religion is the real force behind the mass murders of history. So 132 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:48,240 this was written way back in 2006, again, by Dinesh D'Souza. And it follows, in recent months, 133 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:54,400 that the Christian Church argued that religion represents the as end of faith, author Sam Harris 134 00:13:54,400 --> 00:14:02,080 puts it, the most potent source of human conflict past and present. Columnist Robert Cutner gives 135 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,880 the familiar litany, the crusade slaughtered millions in the name of Jesus, the inquisition 136 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:13,200 brought the torture and murder of millions more. After Martin Luther, Christians did bloody battle 137 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:19,360 for another three centuries. And his best seller, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins contends that 138 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:24,320 most of the world's recent conflicts in the Middle East, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, and Kashmir 139 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:30,240 and Sri Lanka show the vitality of religion's murderous impulses. The problem with this critique 140 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,800 is that it exaggerates the crimes attributed to religion while ignoring the greater crimes of 141 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:40,800 secular fanaticism. The best example of religious persecution in America is the Salem witch trials. 142 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:47,200 Many people were killed in those trials, thousands, hundreds, actually fewer than 25. Yet the event 143 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:53,440 still haunts the liberal imaginations. It is strange to witness the passion with which some 144 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,560 secular figures rail against the misdeeds of the crusaders and the inquisitors more than 500 years 145 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:04,320 ago. The number sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition appears to be about 10,000. Some 146 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:10,000 historians contend that an additional 100,000 died in jail due to malnutrition or illness. 147 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:15,600 These figures are tragic, and of course population levels were much lower at the time, but even so 148 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:22,400 they are minuscule compared with the death tolls produced by the atheist despotisms of the 20th 149 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:29,920 century. In the name of creating their version of a religion-free utopia, Adolf Hitler, Joseph 150 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:35,280 Stalin, Mao Zedong produced the kind of mass slaughter that no inquisitor could possibly match. 151 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:40,800 Collectively, these atheist tyrants murdered more than 100 million people. So my goal here is not 152 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:46,000 to argue with people who hold to this ideology. I do not recommend that you go out from this place 153 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:51,680 and argue with atheists or any other religion. We should only be concerned with preaching the 154 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:57,520 gospel to the lost. The reason I bring this to you today is to hopefully to boost your confidence 155 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:02,400 in the Lord. The truth of the Bible is the word of God and to be able to stand confidently when 156 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:08,080 challenged by the world. To see these falsehoods and stand for Christ. So let's take another look 157 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:14,640 at what Christianity looks like in China. I use China because they are a preeminent communist 158 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:19,760 country on the planet and by far the most successful country in applying Marxist Maoist 159 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:26,320 principles. So as a brief history of Christianity in China, let's read this. Christianity has faced 160 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:32,720 many challenges in China since Mao Zedong came to power in 1949. Most Christians in China meet 161 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:38,720 illegally in Chinese house churches, a vast network of underground churches. Before the rise of the 162 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:43,600 Chinese house church movement, the Chinese Communist Party formed a state recognized church, 163 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:50,160 the Three Self-Patriotic Movement. Like many tyrannical regimes, the CCP portrayed the TSBM 164 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,880 as an opportunity to foster patriotism, fight imperialism, and promote freedom of religion. 165 00:16:55,520 --> 00:17:00,400 Many Christians optimistically bought into the message and then some of the key tenants of 166 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:05,840 communism appeared to align with Christian values. Fostering community, helping the poor, fighting 167 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:11,440 greed. How after cutting through the propaganda, examining some of the TSBM's requirements, 168 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:18,160 the true colors of communism bled through the mirage of rhetoric. And Hebrews said, 169 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:24,480 take care, brothers, lest there be any in you or be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, 170 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:29,680 leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is 171 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:35,520 called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share 172 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:41,520 in Christ if indeed we hold to our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said today, 173 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:46,720 if you hear his voice, you will be able to hear the voice of God. And if you hear his voice, 174 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:51,120 you will be able to hear the voice of God. And as it is said today, if you hear his voice, 175 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:57,920 do not harden your heart as in rebellion. For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not 176 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:04,000 all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for 40 years? Was it not those 177 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:10,080 who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not 178 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:16,080 enter his rest? But to those who were disobedient. So we see that they were unable to enter because 179 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,320 the truth of history. When we dig into history through the lens of the Bible, we see a more 180 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:26,400 clear picture. When filtered through the Word of God, we can begin to see the failing of humanity 181 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:32,400 coming from the root of original sin. The claims of the isms become more clearly diversionary 182 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:38,720 tactics to hide their own fallen nature. In Jeremiah 17, 1-4, it says, the sin of Judah 183 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:44,480 is inscribed with an iron chisel engraved with a diamond point to their stony hearts 184 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:49,440 and on the corners of their altars. Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars 185 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:55,360 and a share of poles beneath every green tree and on every high hill. So I will hand over my holy 186 00:18:55,360 --> 00:19:01,520 mountain along with all your wealth and treasure and your pagan shrines as plunder to your enemies. 187 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:06,800 For sin runs rampant in your land. The wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from 188 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,160 your hands. I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to foreign lands. For my anger blazes 189 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:17,760 like a fire that will burn forever. The reality of human condition becomes evident when we look at 190 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,960 the results of humanistic belief systems, especially those in the last hundred years. 191 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:28,160 Take for example, the death in communist countries. These numbers are not even from external wars, 192 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:34,320 but rather internal cleansings. And some of these are fairly conservative numbers. 193 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:40,320 So the true numbers could be much higher than this, but these are looked at to be conservative 194 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:47,920 by most. So these numbers killed by communist regimes. China 65 million, Russia 25 million, 195 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:56,080 Cambodia 2 million, North Korea 2 million, Ethiopia 1.7 million, Afghanistan 1.5 million, 196 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:04,080 Eastern Bloc 1 million, Vietnam 1 million. A hero of the left, communist socialist and atheist is 197 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:10,400 Saul Alinsky. Obama, Hillary Clinton all openly admired this man and his view of the worlds. So 198 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:17,360 as we look at his life, this community organizer, Saul David Alinsky was born in the Chicago slum 199 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:23,040 to Russian Jewish immigrants. Alinsky said in an interview that they were strict 200 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:28,000 Orthodox. Their whole life revolved around work and synagogue. When he was asked if he was 201 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:34,080 a devout as devout as a boy, he responded, I suppose I was until I was about 12. 202 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,640 Alinsky remembers that he was and says I was brainwashed really hooked, but then I got 203 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:46,480 afraid. My folks were going to try to turn me into a rabbi. So I went through some pretty 204 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:53,520 rapid withdrawal symptoms and kicked the habit. So the reason why we're looking at Alinsky is he 205 00:20:53,520 --> 00:21:00,400 is a hero to the left and we want to look at his his rootings in his life because a lot of the 206 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:05,360 isms that we fight today, a lot of the stuff that the humanistic tendencies we fight today, 207 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:10,560 these people will like hearken back to people like Alinsky. So we really want to like take a 208 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:17,280 quick look at his life and philosophy. His political philosophy was very non-conformist 209 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,080 and this carried over into his personal life. When asked if he had ever considered joining 210 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,800 the Communist Party, he said not at any time. I've never joined any organization, not even 211 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:32,320 ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much and philosophically, 212 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:38,240 I could never accept any rigid dogma or ideology, whether it's Christianity or Marxism. 213 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:44,320 The goal of the radical, Alinsky explained in his last book Rules for Radicals, must be to 214 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:50,160 bring about the destruction of the roots of all fear, frustrations, and insecurity of man, 215 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:55,040 whether they be material or spiritual. Enemies of the poor can no more live up to their own rules 216 00:21:55,040 --> 00:22:00,080 than the Christian church can live up to Christianity. In a move that horrified the religious right, 217 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,920 Alinsky dedicated the book to the devil, the first radical known to man who rebelled against the 218 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:13,520 establishment and did so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom, Lucifer. His first 219 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:19,280 book published in 1946 was Reveille for Radicals. Three years later he published John L. Lewis, 220 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:25,680 an unauthorized biography. So here's a man who really does strive after the same goals as 221 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:36,720 Satan by his own words. He is a radical to the utmost. He doesn't want any hindrances to his 222 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:42,720 own belief and that sin of pride is the sin of Lucifer. So I feel pity for many that live their 223 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:48,400 life running from God. Even this devout atheist and self-proclaimed radical underpins his belief on 224 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:54,560 the disinclination to God and therefore Christ. His only focus is on tearing down the belief 225 00:22:55,600 --> 00:23:01,440 for his own gratification. It is a very succinct for him to devote his work to Lucifer. Granted 226 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,400 it was likely tongue-in-cheek from his perspective, but regardless it's the same 227 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:32,240 root that drives both Alinsky and the devil. In Mark 7, 20-23 it says, 228 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:38,240 So let's look again at the blight of Christians in China. In the TSBM, Christian believers must 229 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:43,840 strictly abide by the laws, regulations, policies of the Communist Party and the state, and strive 230 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:49,120 to be patriotic law-abiding citizens. To be patriotic and law-abiding, Christians must comply 231 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:53,200 with the government's labor codes and strive to contribute to the development of the four 232 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:58,160 modernizations established by the Communist Party. When scheduled religious activities are in 233 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:02,720 conflict with production and work schedules, the economic activities must take priority. 234 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:09,040 Additionally, no unauthorized meeting points are allowed, and Christians cannot persuade and force 235 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:14,480 others to believe in Christianity. Brainwash teenagers under 18 with religious beliefs or 236 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:20,960 bring children under 18 to religious activities. The prohibition on evangelism continues. Christians 237 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:25,440 cannot preach their religion outside the church building and specific places which have been 238 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:30,800 designated for religious activities, nor can they receive self-proclaimed evangelists into their 239 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:37,280 homes, churches, or meeting points. There are also additional codes which are typically not written 240 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:42,800 but still enforced by the government that prohibit baptism, formal and formal Bible studies, 241 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:48,560 praying for healing and teachings about the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ, and the second 242 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:54,640 coming of Christ. The CCP hunts down Christians who fail to comply with these regulations and gives 243 00:24:54,640 --> 00:25:02,320 them two choices, deny Christ by swearing allegiance to the CCP or refuse to recant and face torture, 244 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:08,640 imprisonment, or execution. For those who chose the form of the CCP rewards them with leadership 245 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:15,120 positions in the TSP and goads them to spy on Christians in the underground churches to reveal 246 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:20,800 key details about their leaders, meetings, and members. This has created a deep animosity 247 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:27,360 and distrust between the Chinese house church and the TSPM. Likely so, right? I mean who would 248 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:33,040 who would want to partner with the TSPM when they're really not, you know, Christian at all? 249 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:38,800 This is the road that every humanistic society will eventually head down. Without God's morality, 250 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:43,120 there is no measuring stick for what's right and wrong. Right and wrong are solely up to the 251 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:48,160 interpretations of the individual and the state. The corruption of the human spirit devotes 252 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:53,280 in this state and becomes more and more animalistic and willing to do worse and worse things to each 253 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:59,520 other. Even right now in South Africa, Julius Malemi, the leader of the economic freedom fighters, 254 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:06,320 is willing to sing a song that says kill the boar, the farmer. And this just recently happened 255 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:11,840 where they were in a large group of 90,000 cheering supporters singing this song. The boars are the 256 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:18,160 descendants of the first Dutch settlers. So here we have, you know, people, large numbers singing, 257 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:27,360 basically kill the kill one group, kill the boars, kill the farmers, because they this is what 258 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:35,280 humanity leads to. Without Christ, mankind seems to always revert to a very based state. Instead of 259 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:41,280 being filled with the gifts of the spirit, mankind seems to draw seems drawn to hate, anger, greed, 260 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:47,920 lust, and all sorts of other wickedness. There's a certain atheistic hubris. The crimes of atheism 261 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:53,840 have generally been perpetrated through a hubristic ideology that sees man, not God, as the creator 262 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:59,760 of values. And using the latest techniques of science and technology, man seeks to displace God 263 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:05,280 and create a secular utopia here on earth. Of course, if some people, the Jews, the landowners, 264 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:11,200 the unfit, or the handicapped have to be eliminated in order to achieve this utopia, this is the price 265 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,680 that the atheist tyrants and their apologists have shown themselves quite willing to pay. 266 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:23,040 Thus, they confirm the truth of Fyodor Dostoevsky, his dictum, which says, if God is not, 267 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:29,200 everything is permitted. We do have a better way, though. Much of our institutions that we 268 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:34,560 take for granted are because of this foundation. Canada and the United States were created on the 269 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,760 foundation of Jesus Christ. This does not make everyone in history perfect, but what it does is 270 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:45,280 proclaim that no one is perfect outside of Christ. And this is the difference, and this is also the 271 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:50,800 point. This brings me to my final point, which is the hope of Christ. There is a wisdom in knowing 272 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:56,160 and acknowledging that we are fallen and that we need salvation in Christ. This allows us to recognize 273 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:01,680 that we are in error and adjust our course by repenting and submitting to Christ. The atheists, 274 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:07,680 communists, and humanists cannot do this because that would nullify their standing. The trust that 275 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:16,640 is required to be placed on men and women of charisma is falling. In Jeremiah 17, 5-8, it says, 276 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:21,440 This is what the Lord says, Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human 277 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:27,040 strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, 278 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:31,920 with no hope for the future. They will live in barren wilderness and in uninhabited salty land. 279 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:36,800 But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 280 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:42,640 They are like trees planted along a river bank, with roots that reach deep into the water. 281 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,880 Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by the long months of the drought. 282 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:52,080 Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit. We are called to place our 283 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:58,000 faith in the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Here I am, send me. This is a message from Pastor 284 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:04,240 Isaac Liu. Brother Yun's son, Pastor Isaac Liu, author of Son of the Underground, shared his story 285 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:11,040 at a conference recently. When Yun was in prison, he and his wife prayed for a God-fearing son, 286 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:15,440 and when Liu's mother became pregnant, the Chinese government ordered her to have an abortion. 287 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,800 Because of her husband's status as enemy of the state just days before her scheduled abortion, 288 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:26,480 she gave birth to a premature baby weighing less than three pounds. Pastor Liu would grow in the 289 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:31,520 spirit. At age eight, he began memorizing the Bible, and by 18, he had left China and became 290 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:37,200 a pastor in Germany. As the son of a missionary, Isaac had a direct calling on his life. He grew 291 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,000 up with the expectation of serving God and didn't always welcome that calling. After turning 13, 292 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:47,360 he prayed not to become a preacher because of the many hardships he faced due to his family's 293 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:52,880 commitment to Christ. His father and mother were imprisoned many times. He went to 11 different 294 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:58,880 schools in 10 years to flee persecution. He grew up in poverty and isolation, all because his 295 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:04,320 parents calling to serve God. He grew bitter towards God and began to doubt God's goodness and 296 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:10,480 power. However, he held to the word of God as a teenager, and eventually God won the battle in 297 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:17,120 Liu's heart. He compared himself to Jonah on how God used an unwilling prophet in a terrible sermon 298 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:22,160 to turn the hearts of many to repentance and faith. Liu shared that like Jeremiah, 299 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:28,000 we may have many excuses for why we are inadequate to serve the Lord, but the Lord is simply looking 300 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:35,760 for faithful servants who will simply trust in his power and obey his command. We have millions of 301 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:43,680 excuses, said Liu, but we must just obey and trust the Lord. If I could have every head bowed, every 302 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:53,440 eye closed, wherever you are, obviously be safe if you're on the road. This message is twofold. 303 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:58,240 It's about the recognition that without Christ we are immoral beings, 304 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,840 and it's that understanding that sets Christianity apart. 305 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:13,920 Only Christians have the recognition that we are fallen creatures that need salvation, 306 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:21,600 and we find that salvation and that hope in Christ Jesus. That's what sets us apart. Oftentimes 307 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:25,760 in life, if you're a Christian and you're following God, you'll come across people who say, 308 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:31,120 oh, you think you're better than me. Oh, you think because you go to church or you don't drink or 309 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:36,240 you don't smoke or you don't do these things, you're better than me. But what they're misinterpreting 310 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:43,760 isn't that Christians we think we're better than anybody. We don't. True Christians recognize 311 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:48,960 that we're better than nobody and that we're all fallen and we're all sinful and that we need Christ. 312 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:54,560 And that's the message this morning is if you're lost, if you're hurting, if you're broken, 313 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,520 there's an opportunity for you to be grafted into the family, to the kingdom of God. 314 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:06,960 And all you have to do for that is recognize that you are broken, that you are lacking, 315 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:18,240 that you do need Jesus. So all you have to do is if you want to come to Christ is say a simple prayer. 316 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,440 And if you want to say that prayer, if you want to signify that with an uplifted hand, 317 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:28,800 I can't see if a God can see you wherever you're at. This is a quick invitation that I do after 318 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:36,960 every message. So if you rose your hand and you meant that, then just repeat after me, dear Lord God, 319 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:44,320 I know that I'm a sinner. I know that I'm fallen. But I know that you sent your son Jesus Christ and 320 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:52,240 that he died for me. He died so that I could be set free from the bondage of sin. So I repent of 321 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:59,680 my sin and I accept Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. And I thank you for your grace and salvation. In 322 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:07,760 Jesus name I pray. Amen. It's a simple prayer. And it's sometimes I get wordy and I apologize, 323 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:12,080 but it's a simple prayer where you're repenting, you're accepting that you're a sinner, but you're 324 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:18,080 turning away from that sin and you're accepting Jesus to be your Lord, to be your guide going 325 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:24,480 forward and you're inviting him into your heart. So if you prayed that prayer and you meant it, 326 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:30,960 then you are now written into the Lamb's book of life. And I pray that you take the next steps, 327 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:35,680 which is get a Bible, start reading the gospel, start in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 328 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:41,840 You can download it on a phone, it's easy. Or you can reach out and I'll get you a Bible. 329 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:49,200 But then you just you start praying, you cry out to God and then find a church to belong to. If 330 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:54,560 you live in Salmon Arm, reach out. We have church every Sunday at 10 30. You can contact me, 331 00:33:55,600 --> 00:34:01,840 all the contact information is in the show notes. If you're not in the area here in Salmon Arm, 332 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:06,800 British Columbia, then that's okay. We've got 3,500 churches globally. I can help you find a 333 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:12,720 Bible believing church, but find a church to lock into and to serve. Because part of being a 334 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:19,040 Christian is service. It's preaching the gospel, it's sharing your testimony, 335 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,840 it's all of these kinds of things. But it's what locks you in and gives you community, 336 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:30,320 gives you family. And so with that, I just want to thank you for listening to this message again. 337 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:37,600 And I have an ask, is that if this message did impact you in any way, I pray that you'd like, 338 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:43,440 share and subscribe to the podcast. It helps us get this message out to further and further, 339 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:50,640 to more and more people. And so I want to thank you for everything that God is doing with these 340 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:54,720 messages. But I want to thank you for listening and I can't wait for you to come back next time. 341 00:34:54,720 --> 00:35:00,720 God bless.