1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 And we have seen that humanism is another incarnation of what we call biblically the 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:17,400 lie. Throughout the history of mankind, the truth and the lie have been locked in combat. 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:24,400 The truth being the revelation that God has given to man, the lie being essentially what 4 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:32,160 Satan sold to man in the Garden of Eden, and that is that he could be as God. Today the 5 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:40,200 lie is incarnated in humanism, which teaches essentially that man, the creature, is to be 6 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:47,200 worshiped. That lie has been expressed, has been written down for us to study in documents 7 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:58,480 called the Humanist Manifesto I, published in 1933, and the Humanist Manifesto II, published 8 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:05,480 in 1973. We have been looking at a contrast between what God's truth says and what the 9 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:14,320 lie of humanism teaches. We've talked about two biblical principles where that contrast 10 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:21,760 is evident. One is the biblical principle of the lie, and the other is the biblical 11 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:28,760 principle of design. The Bible tells us that the world was designed by God himself and 12 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:36,280 spoken into existence. It is His creation. It is of Him, it is for Him, and it will all 13 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:45,560 be to Him one day. The lie of humanism tells us that man is the 14 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:52,560 eternal, and that mankind is the result of evolution. Then we talked about the principle 15 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:03,280 of authority. As biblical Christians, we believe that the final authority is God Himself, and 16 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:10,280 His Word, which has been inerrantly given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 17 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:19,880 There is no authority in all of creation higher than God and His inspired Word. But human 18 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:26,880 ism teaches that the highest authority is man Himself. We do not need, they say, to 19 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:31,880 listen to what God says is right and wrong, because God doesn't exist anyway. He is the 20 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:37,360 product of the humanistic world. We are not the only ones who are in the 21 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:44,360 same situation. We are the only ones who are in the same situation. We are the only ones 22 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:51,360 who are in the same situation. We are the only ones who are in the same situation. 23 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:58,800 Man has created his own God, they say. Rather, we need to listen to what man says is right 24 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:07,320 and wrong. Therefore, morality is situational and changes with culture. 25 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:14,320 Tonight, we are going to pick it up at a third principle, and that is the principle of responsibility. 26 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:31,920 The Bible says that we are accountable to a holy God for every word, thought, and deed 27 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:37,680 which violates his moral standards. The verse from Romans chapter 1 is quoted here. 28 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:43,680 I would like to turn you to another verse in Romans chapter 2 that I think better speaks 29 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:50,680 to the subject. Romans chapter 2, verses 5 and 6. We are cutting 30 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:57,680 into the middle here of a paragraph, but we must do that for time's sake. He says in verse 31 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:14,360 5, But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself 32 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:21,360 in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render 33 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:28,720 to every man according to his deeds. The biblical principle is that life is a stewardship from 34 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:37,720 God and that we are therefore responsible to God for the way that we live. 35 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:44,720 Now, what is it that humanism teaches us? Well, let's take a look at the Humanist Manifesto 36 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:53,160 and a couple of their tenets. It doesn't work very well having the projector about 37 00:04:54,520 --> 00:05:01,400 five feet behind me, but we are doing the best we can here. 38 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:08,400 The seventh tenet of the Humanist Manifesto states, Religion consists of those actions, 39 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:14,680 purposes and experiences which are humanly significant. That is, religion as they would 40 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:21,680 define it. Nothing human is alien to the religious. In other words, anything that comes naturally 41 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:30,480 to me as a human being should be a part of my religion and should not be judged or reckoned 42 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:37,480 evil by my religion. Even sexual perversion, because it is a human experience, is not alien 43 00:05:39,740 --> 00:05:41,780 to the religious. 44 00:05:41,780 --> 00:05:47,900 Furthermore, they say, religious humanism considers the complete realization of human 45 00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:54,900 personality to be the end of man's life and seeks its development and fulfillment in the 46 00:05:54,900 --> 00:06:01,900 here and now. In other words, the purpose in life for the humanist is to realize all 47 00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:10,700 of his own dreams and aspirations and desires. The end of man's life, they would say, is 48 00:06:11,060 --> 00:06:17,900 not to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, but rather it is simply to fulfill his own 49 00:06:17,900 --> 00:06:24,380 human desires, or in the terms of the Bible, his own human lusts. And the emphasis is on 50 00:06:24,380 --> 00:06:30,260 the here and now. They reject any thought of a hereafter. 51 00:06:30,260 --> 00:06:36,580 They further state, in place of the old attitudes involved in worship and prayer, the humanist 52 00:06:36,580 --> 00:06:43,380 finds his religious emotions expressed in a heightened sense of personal life and in 53 00:06:43,380 --> 00:06:50,380 a cooperative effort to bring social well-being. We'll talk a little bit more about that in 54 00:06:50,380 --> 00:06:56,340 a moment. It follows that there will be no uniquely religious emotions and attitudes 55 00:06:56,340 --> 00:07:01,780 of the kind hitherto associated with belief in the supernatural. In other words, there 56 00:07:01,780 --> 00:07:08,700 is a denial of supernatural, and there is nothing unique about those emotions and attitudes 57 00:07:08,700 --> 00:07:15,700 of those in the past, those who are outdated, who believe in the supernatural. 58 00:07:15,700 --> 00:07:22,700 And so, with God's moral standards and the thought of responsibility to God removed, 59 00:07:24,380 --> 00:07:31,380 humanists can justify adultery, homosexuality, incest, and other forms of perversion. Which 60 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:39,500 Romans chapter 1 clearly tells us is at the end of a civilization, when it begins to fall 61 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:46,500 apart because it rejected the truth and turned itself to the very lie that humanism represents. 62 00:07:50,700 --> 00:07:56,780 I'm sure that you're aware that there are movements these days to try to get the laws 63 00:07:56,780 --> 00:08:03,780 against adultery, fornication, and sodomy off the law books. And some of the amazing 64 00:08:03,780 --> 00:08:10,780 things we face is that that is even true of religious movements. A church council in Minnesota, 65 00:08:10,780 --> 00:08:17,780 and let's be more specific, the Minnesota Council of Churches, published a booklet urging 66 00:08:17,820 --> 00:08:24,820 churches to accept homosexuals and lesbians and to help them celebrate their lifestyle. 67 00:08:24,820 --> 00:08:31,820 And that is a perverse statement. It came out last fall and was really the thing that 68 00:08:35,180 --> 00:08:42,180 spurred a lot of us to action, including the formation of the Berean League, which we as 69 00:08:42,180 --> 00:08:49,180 a church are a part of officially and some of us individually. Recently, and I don't 70 00:08:49,180 --> 00:08:56,180 have any documentation on this because I was out of town when it took place, but within 71 00:08:56,220 --> 00:09:01,060 the last three weeks there was some Lutheran group here in Minnesota that essentially said 72 00:09:01,060 --> 00:09:08,060 the same thing as this and is urging the legislature to pass the gay rights bill next spring. 73 00:09:12,100 --> 00:09:17,900 New York's highest court recently ruled that a 32-year-old homosexual man could adopt a 74 00:09:17,900 --> 00:09:24,900 43-year-old homosexual as his son. Isn't that perverse? And so because the humanists 75 00:09:32,820 --> 00:09:39,820 do not believe that they are responsible to God, they discount the supernatural and the 76 00:09:40,020 --> 00:09:47,020 fact that God will hold every man accountable for his deeds. Having said all of that aside, 77 00:09:47,020 --> 00:09:52,820 they turn to their own lust to fulfill them. And they say that whatever comes naturally 78 00:09:52,820 --> 00:09:59,300 to me as a human being is perfectly okay and should not be alien to the religious. And 79 00:09:59,300 --> 00:10:05,780 there are apostate religious groups today which are agreeing with that. 80 00:10:05,780 --> 00:10:12,780 We should go ahead quickly to another scriptural principle, and that is the principle of ownership. 81 00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:19,300 All that I am and have belongs to God and must be used according to His purposes. And 82 00:10:19,300 --> 00:10:24,820 this verse from 1 Corinthians chapter 6 helps undergird that truth. Essentially what we 83 00:10:24,820 --> 00:10:31,820 are saying here is that we are stewards of everything that we have. For all that we have 84 00:10:32,580 --> 00:10:39,580 has been given to us of God directly or indirectly. And we are held accountable by God as stewards 85 00:10:39,580 --> 00:10:46,580 for ownership of what is His. What does the humanist manifesto say? 86 00:10:54,540 --> 00:11:00,380 Their eleventh tenet is, Man will learn to face the crises of life in terms of his knowledge 87 00:11:00,380 --> 00:11:07,380 of their naturalness and probability. Reasonable and manly attitudes will be fostered by education 88 00:11:07,380 --> 00:11:14,380 and supported by custom. In other words, this is an effort to minimize accountability, stewardship. 89 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:25,100 It is an effort to minimize death. They say things like this should be accepted in terms 90 00:11:26,620 --> 00:11:32,220 of their naturalness and their probability. Well, it is probable, I guess, that everybody 91 00:11:32,220 --> 00:11:38,020 is going to die. And because that is probable, we should simply accept that and not worry 92 00:11:38,020 --> 00:11:44,020 about it. And eventually education will foster and support this with custom so that we will 93 00:11:44,020 --> 00:11:48,500 have reasonable and manly attitudes about death and not worry about the fact that we 94 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:54,820 are held accountable to God for what He has given to us. 95 00:11:54,820 --> 00:12:00,060 Believing that religion must work increasingly for joy in living, religious humanists aim 96 00:12:00,060 --> 00:12:06,180 to foster the creative in man and to encourage achievements that add to the satisfactions 97 00:12:06,180 --> 00:12:13,180 of life. It goes back to what we were saying before. They are pushing pleasure here without 98 00:12:15,980 --> 00:12:22,980 any morality, whatever gives satisfaction to life. They further say religious humanism 99 00:12:22,980 --> 00:12:29,980 maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. The 100 00:12:31,020 --> 00:12:38,020 intelligent evaluation, transformation, control, and direction of such associations and institutions 101 00:12:40,740 --> 00:12:47,740 with a view to the enhancement of human life is the purpose and program of humanism. Now 102 00:12:47,740 --> 00:12:54,740 this control is a very bothersome thing. We will talk more about their ideas and control 103 00:12:55,940 --> 00:13:02,940 in a moment. They go on to say, certainly, religious institutions and communal activities 104 00:13:03,020 --> 00:13:09,700 must be reconstituted as rapidly as experience allows in order to function effectively in 105 00:13:09,700 --> 00:13:16,300 the modern world. In other words, we who are Bible believers who are fundamentalists or 106 00:13:16,300 --> 00:13:23,300 evangelicals, whichever word you may choose to use, we are outdated. We are not a part 107 00:13:24,220 --> 00:13:31,220 of the modern world. Religious institutions like ours or communal activities such as ours 108 00:13:32,740 --> 00:13:39,740 must be reconstituted, must be changed in some way, in makeup, as rapidly as can be 109 00:13:39,740 --> 00:13:46,740 done, in order that we might function as we should as religious institutions in the modern 110 00:13:49,060 --> 00:13:56,060 world. What are some of the implications of this? Rejecting God's ownership leads man 111 00:14:00,780 --> 00:14:07,780 to the pursuit of death. Galatians chapter 6 talks about sowing to the flesh and reaping 112 00:14:07,780 --> 00:14:14,780 corruption, but I think probably this is illustrated by the experience in the Garden of Eden when 113 00:14:16,740 --> 00:14:23,740 man rejected the lordship of God, his ownership of all things, and instead of being a king 114 00:14:25,260 --> 00:14:32,260 under God, wanted to be a king as God, did not want to be accountable as a steward any 115 00:14:32,260 --> 00:14:39,260 longer, and of course the result of that is death. This whole concept of ownership and 116 00:14:41,860 --> 00:14:48,860 accountability for stewardship leads to permissiveness. Humanistic permissiveness has made suicide 117 00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:58,300 the number one cause of teenage death that reported by the Chicago Tribune a year ago. 118 00:14:58,300 --> 00:15:05,300 There was a letter, a sad letter, in fact in the St. Paul Dispatch yesterday, perhaps 119 00:15:06,900 --> 00:15:13,900 Friday, from a mother whose son has committed suicide in the last months, and she cries 120 00:15:14,300 --> 00:15:21,300 out from her heart as to why this should happen, and I felt for her emotional grief at this 121 00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:28,300 time, but within the letter there were grains of thought that gave this very insight into 122 00:15:32,660 --> 00:15:38,740 their home, that it was a permissive home where there were not standards, where responsibility 123 00:15:38,740 --> 00:15:45,740 was not taught, and we believe that the result of that leads to dissolution with life and 124 00:15:45,740 --> 00:15:52,740 often to suicide. Immorality has produced an epidemic of venereal diseases, including 125 00:15:56,380 --> 00:16:03,380 herpes I and II, and AIDS, which is largely found among homosexual men in the United States, 126 00:16:05,340 --> 00:16:12,340 other groups as well, but largely among the homosexual male population, and we are not 127 00:16:12,340 --> 00:16:19,340 certain at this point how AIDS is even passed on to other people, and because of that particularly 128 00:16:25,420 --> 00:16:30,140 homosexuals are encouraged not to give their blood to blood banks, and I saw an article 129 00:16:30,140 --> 00:16:34,820 yesterday in the paper that blood donations are way down across the country because of 130 00:16:34,820 --> 00:16:41,820 the fear of AIDS. Folks, there is a very strong likelihood that AIDS is going to jump over 131 00:16:43,380 --> 00:16:49,860 into the general population and will be a plague that will sweep across this nation 132 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:56,480 for which there is no known cure because we have allowed the sin of homosexuality to run 133 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:03,480 rampant in this land and not be judged. The humanist failure, excuse me, the humanist 134 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:10,480 ultimate, defiant act against God is to commit suicide, and there are organizations today 135 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:18,840 which are promoting suicide as an alternative to end one's life. Their idea is, well, why 136 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:26,320 shouldn't I choose when to die? After all, I am the captain of my fate. There are associations 137 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:33,320 whose sole aim is to teach people how they can commit suicide painlessly to end their 138 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:41,120 life when they well choose. That is a humanistic idea. 139 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:48,640 Another scriptural principle is that of freedom. The purpose of personal freedom is to meet 140 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:55,280 the needs of others. Galatians 5, the Apostle tells the Galatians, you have been set free 141 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:02,280 by God, but do not use your freedom as an occasion for your flesh to fulfill its own 142 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:09,640 desires, but rather by love serve one another. Folks, that is why God gives freedom, whether 143 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:16,280 we talk about spiritual liberation of freedom or even personal political freedom. It is 144 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:23,280 so that that freedom can be used, employed in the right way to serve others. What is 145 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:33,400 the humanist's idea about freedom? 146 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:40,400 Tenet number 14 says in the humanistic manifesto, the humanists are firmly convinced that existing 147 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:47,400 acquisitive and profit motivated society, in other words capitalism, has shown itself 148 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:57,600 to be inadequate and that a radical change in methods, controls, and motives must be 149 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:04,600 instituted. A social and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that 150 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:10,600 the equitable distribution of the means of life be possible. In other words, we have 151 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:17,600 to spread out the wealth. The goal of humanism is a free and universal society in which people 152 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:25,120 voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good. Humanists demand a shared 153 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:30,600 life and a shared world. There is another name for what is said in this rather wordy 154 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:37,600 paragraph as called socialistic communism. That is the aim of humanists in the United 155 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:44,600 States of America. They want to do away with our present economic order, which is not perfect, 156 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:55,600 which has its injustices, but which is far better than any other system in the world. 157 00:19:55,600 --> 00:20:02,600 They want to do away with capitalism and instead establish a socialistic state. You see this 158 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:11,440 kind of thing pushed on television talk shows, radio talk shows, in editorials in the newspaper, 159 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:18,440 in some religious publications, particularly of apostate denominations, as they talk about 160 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:30,920 the need to go into Central America and other places and to redistribute the wealth that 161 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:36,920 is there. It's simply another word for socialism and communism. They're not the same thing. 162 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:43,920 I recognize that, but they often work together, don't they? We assert that humanism will 163 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:51,840 a. affirm life rather than deny it, b. seek to elicit the possibilities of life, not flee 164 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:58,840 from it, and c. endeavor to establish the conditions of a satisfactory life for all, 165 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:05,840 not merely for a few. What are they saying? The political goal of religious humanism is 166 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:16,000 a one-world government controlled by man, not God. If you're a student of Bible prophecy, 167 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:24,840 you recognize what this is talking about, don't you? It is that world order that will 168 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:31,840 come to pass in the days of Antichrist. World government requires control of all money, 169 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:40,880 thus humanists attack free enterprise, private ownership, and family or business assets, 170 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:47,280 and they do strongly. So when you see those kinds of things attacked, as you do if you 171 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:54,280 read, recognize where it's coming from. It's coming from the religion of humanism. I have 172 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:01,560 before me a statement of goals and beliefs of a group called the World Feralist Association. 173 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:08,560 I talked about this a few months ago. This World Feralist Association is a part of the 174 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:15,560 New Age movement, which is like an octopus in our society, has many tentacles going into 175 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:22,560 all avenues of life. The WFA is committed to world government. Here's what they say 176 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:30,560 in just a couple of sentences. We believe that achievement of this goal, that is of 177 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:37,560 a structured and just world community, requires enforceable world law attainable through a 178 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:44,560 federation of nations. In such a federation, international conflicts would be resolved 179 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:49,560 by political and judicial means rather than by violence, while national governments would 180 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:54,560 continue to be free to manage their own internal affairs. They go on to say world federation 181 00:22:54,560 --> 00:23:01,560 is not a new or radical idea, simply an extension to the global level of the federal principle 182 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:08,560 now in effect in many nations, which was adopted by those who framed the U.S. Constitution. 183 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:13,560 In other words, what they're advocating is simply an extension of what we are as the 184 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:20,560 United States. That sounds innocent, doesn't it? They're saying just as these colonies 185 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:27,560 federated themselves under a united government, so now we have progressed in our evolution 186 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:33,560 of things to the point that nations need to do the same thing. And so they're advocating 187 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:40,560 that the United Nations be transformed into or replaced by a truly effective global institution 188 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:47,560 which would have authority to maintain world peace. We're living in those days when some 189 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:55,560 of the things prophesied in the word of God I believe with all of my heart. They are the 190 00:23:55,560 --> 00:24:00,560 things I believe with all of my heart are about to come to pass. How are we to live 191 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:07,560 in an age like this? How are we to respond to a movement like humanism? Well, we can 192 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:17,560 say things like this. We need to be informed. We need to be alert to what's going on around 193 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:24,560 us. We need to be reading even some of their own publications so that we know what they 194 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:31,560 are doing. And then we need to be vocal. We need to express our convictions as biblical 195 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:41,240 Christians to our legislators. I talked yesterday with one of our state senators and she told 196 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:49,280 me that there is great pressure in the state senate from this movement that we're talking 197 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:56,280 about and how glad she was for movements of evangelicals which are beginning now to be 198 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:04,240 vocal to express the other side to give some semblance of balance in the lobbying that's 199 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:11,720 being done before our state. She also said that her opponent in her district is on a 200 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:18,720 one-woman crusade, speaking everywhere she can before churches, clubs, etc., warning 201 00:25:19,700 --> 00:25:26,700 people about the new evangelical movement in Minnesota, warning that we are out to take 202 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:35,700 over, and all kinds of alarmist statements such as that. Alarmist statements such as 203 00:25:35,700 --> 00:25:42,700 is found in a letter that was sent out within the last year, I don't have a date on this, 204 00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:49,700 by Richard Manns who is president of the Minnesota Federation of Teachers and Edward Bolstead 205 00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:56,700 who is executive secretary of that same organization. In this particular letter sent to all teachers, 206 00:25:56,700 --> 00:26:03,700 they malign and slander evangelicals and the moral majority, they lie about us, claiming 207 00:26:05,900 --> 00:26:11,900 what we are attempting to do, absolute perversions of the truth, and their whole punch is that 208 00:26:11,900 --> 00:26:17,900 all of the teachers of Minnesota need to join the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union to fight 209 00:26:17,900 --> 00:26:24,900 the new evangelical, the new right movement in Minnesota. And of course the MCLU and the 210 00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:33,300 ACLU is the political arm of the humanist movement in our land and has probably done 211 00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:40,300 more to destroy the true freedom and the true liberty found in our Constitution than any 212 00:26:40,300 --> 00:26:47,300 other movement in our whole society. That was a little editorial. I'd like for you to turn 213 00:26:48,300 --> 00:26:55,300 with me to the book of 2 Timothy as we close. Next week we are going to do something a little 214 00:26:56,300 --> 00:27:02,300 unusual, at least that's my plan at this point. We're going to show a film based upon John 215 00:27:02,300 --> 00:27:09,300 Whitehead's book, The Second American Revolution. It's an appropriate film for the July 4th 216 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:14,300 weekend. It will deal with some of the issues that we've been talking about and I want 217 00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:18,300 you to see it. I think it will be a provocative, stimulating film. I'm going to preview it 218 00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:22,300 this weekend. If it's not what I'm looking for, I'm going to do something else. But my 219 00:27:22,300 --> 00:27:27,300 intention at this point is to show you that film in our service next Sunday night. 220 00:27:27,300 --> 00:27:34,300 But in 2 Timothy chapter 3, we see some words of instruction to us in this age. As important 221 00:27:40,300 --> 00:27:47,300 as being informed and being vocal are these words, but realize this, that in the last 222 00:27:47,300 --> 00:28:00,300 days difficult times will come. And now he begins to express to us the essence of humanistic 223 00:28:03,300 --> 00:28:12,300 society. For men will be lovers of self, doing what comes naturally to humans, seeking as 224 00:28:12,300 --> 00:28:20,300 the highest goal of life the satisfaction of one's own lusts. Lovers of money, boastful, 225 00:28:20,300 --> 00:28:31,300 arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents' children's rights, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, 226 00:28:31,300 --> 00:28:43,300 ungrateful, irreconcilable, malicious, gossips, lying about those who are of the truth, without 227 00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:50,300 self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather 228 00:28:50,300 --> 00:28:58,300 than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. Does 229 00:28:58,300 --> 00:29:06,300 that not express exactly what humanism is all about? Isn't that the lie as it is found 230 00:29:06,300 --> 00:29:13,300 in society? I think it's fantastic the parallel between this passage in the Word of God and 231 00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:18,300 what we see in our increasingly humanistic society in the United States. He goes on to 232 00:29:18,300 --> 00:29:24,300 talk about them. For time's sake, let me take you to that portion which deals with our 233 00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:32,300 response. He says in verse 14 to Timothy and to us, You, however, continue in the things 234 00:29:32,300 --> 00:29:38,300 you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them. In 235 00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:46,300 other words, don't allow these modern movements to sway you from the truth. Don't be deceived 236 00:29:46,300 --> 00:29:54,300 by them. Don't be taken in by them. But know of whom you've heard the truth. Recognize 237 00:29:54,300 --> 00:30:00,300 that this revelation has come from God and continue in those things that you have learned. 238 00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:11,300 Be careful when some new thing comes down the road, some new reformation. 239 00:30:11,300 --> 00:30:18,300 Before I get chasing rabbits, let's move ahead to the next charge that he gives and that's 240 00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:26,300 in chapter 4 verse 2 where he says, Preach the Word. So what are we to do in this society? 241 00:30:26,300 --> 00:30:31,300 Well, we're to be informed, be vocal, but the greatest thing that you and I can do is 242 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:39,300 to preach the Word of God. Whether it's convenient or not, we're to use it to reprove, to rebuke, 243 00:30:39,300 --> 00:30:46,300 to exhort with great patience and instruction. And so we're to focus on the Word of God. 244 00:30:46,300 --> 00:30:51,300 We're to communicate that. I believe that we ought to communicate it to our legislators, 245 00:30:51,300 --> 00:30:56,300 to our elected officials, to tell them what the Word of God says. And I don't care whether 246 00:30:56,300 --> 00:31:01,300 they accept it as the Word of God, whether they consider it to be of any authority to 247 00:31:01,300 --> 00:31:07,300 them or not. We are responsible to tell them what the Word of God says. We're to preach 248 00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:16,300 the Word to all of our society. Then in verse 5 he says, Be sober in all things. Literally 249 00:31:16,300 --> 00:31:26,300 he says, Don't be drunk. But by way of application, it means that we are to be alert, to be diligent, 250 00:31:26,300 --> 00:31:33,300 to have our minds working, not to be taken in, to be aware of what's going on in our 251 00:31:33,300 --> 00:31:42,300 society around us. He says, Endure hardship. It will come. We can count on hard times. 252 00:31:42,300 --> 00:31:48,300 He says, These last days are going to be times hard to deal with. And we must endure that 253 00:31:48,300 --> 00:31:56,300 hardship faithfully. Do the work of an evangelist. Proclaim the good news, telling people how 254 00:31:56,300 --> 00:32:05,300 to be saved. We are to emulate Noah, who lived in an age similar to ours, in those days before 255 00:32:05,300 --> 00:32:13,300 the flood, in those days before God intervened in a dramatic way as he will soon in our own 256 00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:21,300 world. When he faithfully proclaimed the Word and told men about the judgment that was to 257 00:32:21,300 --> 00:32:27,300 come, and the Spirit of God preached through him to the society in that day. And so in 258 00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:33,300 our day, we are to do the work of an evangelist. To tell people the good news of Christ's 259 00:32:33,300 --> 00:32:39,300 death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. And we talk harshly about sin, but 260 00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:44,300 let's remember that God loves sinners. We're all sinners. And we need to have compassion 261 00:32:44,300 --> 00:32:53,300 for sinners. And to do everything that we can to speak to them, to urge them to trust 262 00:32:53,300 --> 00:33:00,300 the Savior. And then finally, we are to fulfill our ministry. I don't know what God's called 263 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:08,300 you to do, but God has called each of us to some ministry. It may not be a full-time pastor 264 00:33:08,300 --> 00:33:15,300 teaching or in some other aspect of what we call Christian work, but God is a ministry 265 00:33:15,300 --> 00:33:24,300 for every one of us, folks. And we are charged by the Lord to fulfill that ministry. To accomplish 266 00:33:24,300 --> 00:33:29,300 his will in our lives. And so that's how we're to respond in this day of religious 267 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:36,300 humanism. To be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and preaching the Word of God. Telling 268 00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:43,300 others how to be saved. Being alert to what's going on around us. Enduring hardship. Fulfilling 269 00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:50,300 the ministry that God has called us to. And may God help us to be faithful to that. God 270 00:33:50,300 --> 00:34:01,300 help us to be his faithful people in these strategic, exciting, difficult end-of-time 271 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:16,300 days. Would you stand with me please? Let's pray. Father, we want to be your faithful 272 00:34:16,300 --> 00:34:25,300 people. We do not want to be asleep like those who are of the night, but rather we want to 273 00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:36,300 be fully awake as children of the day. Children of light. Who've been called into moral light 274 00:34:36,300 --> 00:34:45,300 and salvation by the effectual working of your spirit. We want to be your faithful chosen 275 00:34:45,300 --> 00:34:56,300 people. Showing forth the excellencies of your glory to a darkened, blinded world. Father, 276 00:34:56,300 --> 00:35:05,300 we pray for a spiritual awakening in this land. For a great moving, a mighty moving 277 00:35:05,300 --> 00:35:13,300 of the Spirit of God in the hearts of your people. And then spilling over into society 278 00:35:13,300 --> 00:35:20,300 in general, under the saving of multitudes. How we long for that and pray for it in Jesus' 279 00:35:20,300 --> 00:35:29,300 name. And yet we recognize the possibility that that won't occur. That we'll proceed 280 00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:37,300 on into those very dark end-times. We pray that we will be faithful whichever way you 281 00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:45,300 sovereignly choose to work in our world. And may we be eagerly with perseverance await 282 00:35:45,300 --> 00:36:07,300 the glory that is coming. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.