WEBVTT 00:00:01.429 --> 00:00:04.150 He remains, however, paralyzed from his chest 00:00:04.150 --> 00:00:08.390 down. He has been moved to a quieter room. Hopefully 00:00:08.390 --> 00:00:10.929 he'll be able to get better rest there, and we 00:00:10.929 --> 00:00:13.089 might see some improvement. The doctor's not 00:00:13.089 --> 00:00:15.529 hopeful, but with God there is hope, isn't there? 00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:18.649 I wonder if you would just take about 30 seconds, 00:00:18.750 --> 00:00:21.769 those of you who know him, to write him a note 00:00:21.769 --> 00:00:24.489 on the back of your visitor's registration form 00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:28.070 and tear that off, and then if you would pass 00:00:28.070 --> 00:00:29.690 that in to the end of the aisles, and if we could 00:00:29.690 --> 00:00:33.100 have an usher. if there's one listening, who 00:00:33.100 --> 00:00:36.640 would pick those up from you in just about 30 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.600 seconds, 45 seconds. I know that many of you 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:41.539 do not know Kurt. In fact, even if you don't 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:43.859 know him, you may just want to drop him a note 00:00:43.859 --> 00:00:46.799 and just tell him that you're praying for him. 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:49.140 That would be an encouragement to him, I know. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.460 We'll give you a few seconds to do that. This 00:00:53.460 --> 00:00:57.979 last week we appreciated KTIS having a cup of 00:00:57.979 --> 00:01:02.240 cold water feature. for mark which resulted in 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.000 probably two dozen or three dozen cards being 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:09.700 sent from folks all over the upper midwest and 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:12.079 that was a real encouragement to both mark and 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:14.819 debbie this would be an opportunity for us as 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:21.159 a church family to do something too we'll just 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:46.840 wait a few seconds while you finish those All 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:48.939 right, now perhaps the ushers could begin picking 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:50.739 them up, and if you didn't get a chance to say 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:52.500 everything you wanted to, feel free to leave 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:55.379 it out there at the information desk after the 00:01:55.379 --> 00:01:59.540 service. I know that both of them will appreciate 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:05.599 so much your thoughts shared this morning. Now 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:08.159 let's open our Bibles together to Ephesians chapter 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.479 4. We're going to begin with our text in verse 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:18.150 17 in just a moment. It's popular to be positive, 00:02:18.289 --> 00:02:25.430 and it's a no -no to be negative. We live in 00:02:25.430 --> 00:02:28.169 a day when that which is positive is promoted, 00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:31.569 and that which is negative is condemned or ignored. 00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:35.990 This is true in the religious world, as in many 00:02:35.990 --> 00:02:39.469 other parts of our society. Never has so much 00:02:39.469 --> 00:02:42.750 media attention been focused on evangelicals 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:46.400 as in the past three months. since the PTL scandal 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:54.000 broke. I suppose that nearly every televangelist 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.419 who's anybody has been interviewed on some talk 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:03.139 program in the media. I heard one interview in 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:06.240 which a television preacher who is famous for 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:11.199 always speaking in the positive mode was asked 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:14.520 whether or not he believed in the devil. Now 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:16.560 he was in a real spot at this point, and you 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:20.039 could tell by the smile he got on his face, because 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:22.139 he didn't want to answer that negatively. Did 00:03:22.139 --> 00:03:26.000 he believe in the devil? And so he tripped all 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.180 over himself trying to get an answer out that 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:30.659 was positive. Frankly, I'm not sure yet whether 00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:33.520 he believes in the devil from his answer, but 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:35.599 it was interesting to see him try to feel the 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:41.599 question. Why is it that the positive is promoted 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:45.520 and the negative is ignored? Well, that's the 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:47.659 way of thinking in our day. There is positive 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:50.199 living, positive preaching, positive psychology, 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.860 positive counseling, positive theology, positive 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:57.280 thinking. You know there really needs to be a 00:03:57.280 --> 00:03:59.379 balance between the positive and the negative 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:03.879 if there's going to be health. That is certainly 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:06.840 true when it comes to the teaching of the Bible, 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:10.729 what God has revealed to us. For God has built 00:04:10.729 --> 00:04:14.129 into his word both the positive and the negative. 00:04:14.750 --> 00:04:17.930 If we take out only the positive and talk about 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:22.850 those things, then we are in danger of an unhealthy 00:04:22.850 --> 00:04:29.949 theology at best and heresy at worst. For example, 00:04:29.949 --> 00:04:32.529 in Genesis chapter 2, the Lord says to Adam and 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:35.470 Eve, you may eat freely of all the trees of the 00:04:35.470 --> 00:04:38.980 garden. That's positive. But it was followed 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.420 up by a negative. He said, don't eat of that 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:45.680 tree. When God made his covenant with Israel, 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:49.019 he told them what the blessings would be by keeping 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:53.240 this covenant. But then he also warned them what 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.759 the curses would be if they did not keep the 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:59.519 covenant. We see the same thing in the New Testament. 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.560 For example, in John 3 .36, it says, he who believes 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.600 in the Son has eternal life. That's positive. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.680 But the verse goes on to say, He who does not 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.040 obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.680 of God abides on him. That's negative, but it's 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:20.579 part of the truth. God tells us about righteousness, 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:24.779 but he tells us about sin as well. God declares 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:27.220 the truth of heaven, but he also warns of the 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:32.459 fact of hell. Our text today in Ephesians chapter 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:36.850 4 continues the theme of a worthy walk. which 00:05:36.850 --> 00:05:39.550 was begun in the first three verses of the chapter. 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:43.509 Those verses are positive. He says, Walk in a 00:05:43.509 --> 00:05:45.589 manner worthy of the calling with which you've 00:05:45.589 --> 00:05:49.370 been called, with all humility, gentleness, patience, 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:53.889 forbearance, and love, being diligent to preserve 00:05:53.889 --> 00:05:56.149 the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 00:05:56.589 --> 00:05:59.810 Those are very positive words. But now, in verse 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:02.930 17, he continues the theme. He goes to the other 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:06.139 side. He goes to the negative. He says, This 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:08.660 I say, therefore, and affirm together with the 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:13.360 Lord, that you walk no longer, just as the Gentiles 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.600 also walk in the futility of their mind, being 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:21.220 darkened in their understanding, excluded from 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:24.439 the life of God because of the ignorance that 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.699 is in them, because of the hardness of their 00:06:27.699 --> 00:06:33.350 heart, and they having become callous. have given 00:06:33.350 --> 00:06:36.050 themselves over to sensuality for the practice 00:06:36.050 --> 00:06:40.430 of every kind of impurity with greediness. But 00:06:40.430 --> 00:06:45.850 you did not learn Christ in this way. Our instruction 00:06:45.850 --> 00:06:52.269 here, in verse 17 in particular, is given to 00:06:52.269 --> 00:06:55.850 us from a negative viewpoint. It is the negative 00:06:55.850 --> 00:06:59.350 side of the positive which he said earlier. And 00:06:59.350 --> 00:07:05.160 what he says to us is this. no longer live like 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:09.819 the pagan society out from which you have been 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:15.839 called. Now, if we were to say that in the positive, 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.639 we would say something like this, do live in 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.480 a new way which represents the new you. And we 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:26.180 get to that in a few more verses. But for today, 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.339 we want to focus on those verses we have read, 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:32.579 verses 17 through 20. We find the Apostle here 00:07:32.579 --> 00:07:37.240 focusing on two thoughts as he explains to us 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:41.259 the command from the Lord, live no longer like 00:07:41.259 --> 00:07:44.920 the pagan society around you. His first focus 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:49.839 of thought is the pagan society itself. His second 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:55.199 focus of thought is the plea for purity. First, 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:57.779 let's look at the pagan society which is exposed 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:03.680 to us in these verses. It is a graphic and ugly 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:09.860 picture of any society that is without God. It 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:14.100 is not dressed up in its cultured fineries, but 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:17.079 here that society is stripped of its masquerade 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:22.180 in order to expose the shameful wickedness of 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:28.139 mankind minus his creator. Notice that he talks 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:31.230 first about the character. of pagan society. 00:08:31.649 --> 00:08:35.870 That is the nature of it. He goes to the inward 00:08:35.870 --> 00:08:39.850 problem first. And there are a series of related 00:08:39.850 --> 00:08:44.529 phrases in verses 17 and 18 and overlapping into 00:08:44.529 --> 00:08:49.149 verse 19. First he speaks about the futility 00:08:49.149 --> 00:08:53.990 of their mind. The mind here is that reasoning 00:08:53.990 --> 00:08:58.830 capacity that all of us have to some extent. 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:04.600 It is our faculty to be rational, to consider 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:08.720 things. And he speaks here of the pagan mind 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:15.320 as being futile. The word means aimless or dead 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:20.879 end. The idea is that the pagan mindset goes 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:26.360 around in circles. That pagan thinking can make 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:31.169 no progress. It cannot come. to any firm conclusions. 00:09:32.269 --> 00:09:36.370 The New English Bible puts it this way. It speaks 00:09:36.370 --> 00:09:41.029 about their good -for -nothing notions. Futility 00:09:41.029 --> 00:09:46.470 is that which is good for nothing. Their empty 00:09:46.470 --> 00:09:51.610 illusion is that sin brings satisfaction. And 00:09:51.610 --> 00:09:54.309 because that is in their mind, what they think 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:59.639 is futile. Sin does not bring satisfaction. One 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:03.700 cannot convince a person who is a pagan of that 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:08.080 truth. William Hendrickson, a fine Bible commentator 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.379 now with the Lord, says, The Apostle emphasizes 00:10:11.379 --> 00:10:14.960 a very important point, namely that all those 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:18.720 endeavors which the Gentiles put forth in order 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:23.799 to attain happiness end in disappointment. Their 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.639 life is one long series of mocked expectations. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.559 It is a pursuing and not achieving, a blossoming 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.960 and not bearing fruit. All the rivers run into 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.440 the sea, but the sea is never filled. The eye 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:44.159 is never satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:48.179 hearing. All this chasing after riches, honor, 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:52.139 mirth, etc., is nothing but a striving after 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:57.370 wind. Their mind or intellect is fruitless. It 00:10:57.370 --> 00:11:02.169 produces not that can satisfy. And that, my friend, 00:11:02.289 --> 00:11:07.509 is the nature of the mind of the pagan. Now why 00:11:07.509 --> 00:11:11.629 is the pagan mind one of futility? He answers 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:15.850 it in the very next phrase. He says, being darkened 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:21.490 in their understanding. The understanding has 00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:27.039 to do with their moral perception. their ability 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:31.919 to make value judgments. And what he says here 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:38.080 is that the pagan is futile in his thinking because 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:43.759 he is darkened in his moral perceptions. The 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:47.360 cause of his mental confusion and aimlessness 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:52.700 is his moral, I should say, his immoral judgments. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.379 He describes here a continuing condition of moral 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:04.139 depravity in which the pagan lives. His futility 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:09.220 of thinking arises from the moral darkness and 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:12.720 blindness that is within him. But then we ask 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:16.940 the question, why is the pagan such as this? 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:20.700 And again, the answer is found in the next phrase. 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:25.720 He is morally darkened. Because he is excluded 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:30.500 from the life of God, the God who gives life. 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:34.720 That is, he is cut off, he is alienated, he is 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:39.440 estranged from God. This, like the previous phrase, 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:44.000 is an abiding condition of life. He is continuously 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.919 cut off from God. He abides that way. He abides 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:52.590 in death. and that is true of all mankind without 00:12:52.590 --> 00:12:57.429 Christ. It is due to the sin and death inherited 00:12:57.429 --> 00:13:02.509 from our father, Adam. Romans 5 .12 makes it 00:13:02.509 --> 00:13:08.389 clear that as that one man sinned, so sin and 00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:14.470 death passed upon all men, because all have sinned. 00:13:15.889 --> 00:13:19.740 Adam was our representative. And when he sinned, 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:22.720 he died, and he passed on to us his descendants, 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:27.759 his sin and death. There are some who do not 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.740 like to think of that. They do not like to go 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:32.980 back to Adam and say that we sinned in Adam, 00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:36.340 but the fact is that we did, and it was God's 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:39.379 plan that we should, because, you see, that made 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:43.019 it possible for God to send one man, the last 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:47.529 Adam, who would also represent us. and go to 00:13:47.529 --> 00:13:50.070 the cross and die for our sins and be raised 00:13:50.070 --> 00:13:52.690 from the dead. Of course, that's the Lord Jesus 00:13:52.690 --> 00:13:57.110 Christ. Just as Adam represented us in the beginning, 00:13:57.269 --> 00:14:00.409 and through him we sinned and we became sinners 00:14:00.409 --> 00:14:04.149 so that we deserve our death, so in the Lord 00:14:04.149 --> 00:14:07.409 Jesus Christ we have forgiveness and eternal 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:12.210 life. The pagans are excluded from that life 00:14:12.210 --> 00:14:15.970 of God, cut off without it. That's one reason 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:18.809 I was so fascinated by the Taliabu people in 00:14:18.809 --> 00:14:22.870 Indonesia last fall. Because here is a tribe 00:14:22.870 --> 00:14:26.809 that has been cut off in isolation in darkness 00:14:26.809 --> 00:14:31.389 for who knows how many generations. And yet passed 00:14:31.389 --> 00:14:35.250 down from their ancient ancestors comes this 00:14:35.250 --> 00:14:40.149 story, now twisted and perverted, of the fact 00:14:40.149 --> 00:14:44.059 that one time... Their fathers disobeyed their 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:48.600 God, whom they called Yo, which is very similar 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:54.220 to the Hebrew name Yah or Yahweh for God. And 00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:57.820 because their ancestors disobeyed Yo, their traditions 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:03.940 say, he cut off the way of life to them. And 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:06.120 their traditions say that from that time until 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:11.220 this very day in the 1980s. Their main purpose 00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:15.039 in living is to discover again the way of life. 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:19.279 They have tried everything they know to do to 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:22.799 get through the barrier that Yo put in the way, 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:27.179 and they have been unable. Until now, we have 00:15:27.179 --> 00:15:29.200 some missionaries who are there, the Linettis 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:34.019 and our friends the Palmers, and they are preparing 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:37.600 within the next month. to present the gospel 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:40.379 of the Lord Jesus Christ to them. Since February, 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:43.299 they've been laying a foundation, going all the 00:15:43.299 --> 00:15:46.240 way back to the early chapters of Genesis, showing 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:50.419 who the true God is. You need to be in much prayer 00:15:50.419 --> 00:15:53.580 for them as they prepare to present the gospel, 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:55.659 because this is the time when Satan is going 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:59.379 to attack in fury against them. You see, the 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:01.519 devil wants to keep these people in darkness. 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:03.740 He wants to keep them excluded from the life 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:06.889 of God. But the truth of the gospel is about 00:16:06.889 --> 00:16:09.529 to be shared, and they're going to learn how 00:16:09.529 --> 00:16:13.850 God has provided the way across death through 00:16:13.850 --> 00:16:18.250 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so that we can 00:16:18.250 --> 00:16:21.370 have eternal life here and now. You pray for 00:16:21.370 --> 00:16:25.289 that missionary group on the island of Taliabu. 00:16:26.850 --> 00:16:29.409 Pagans are excluded from the life of God, whether 00:16:29.409 --> 00:16:32.529 they be on Taliabu or they be in St. Paul, Minnesota. 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:38.080 That is the natural condition of all men. Now 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.639 he doesn't leave us at that point, but he tells 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:48.480 us further why they are cut off. And it is because 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.980 they are ignorant. He talks about the ignorance 00:16:51.980 --> 00:16:58.399 that is in them. Ignorance that leaves them unable 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:03.500 to comprehend or to see the light. ignorance 00:17:03.500 --> 00:17:05.819 that is described in other places in the New 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:09.259 Testament. For example, 1 Peter 1 .14, Peter 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:13.519 speaks about our former ignorance. That is, when 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:17.680 we did not have knowledge of God. This is the 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:20.900 root word for our word agnostic here, this word 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:25.420 ignorance. He says that the reason that the pagans 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:27.579 are excluded from the life of God is because 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:31.740 of the ignorance that is in them. The fact is 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:34.700 that the pagans, and I am including here the 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:39.920 pagans in Taliabu, the pagan ancestors at one 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.700 time had knowledge of the truth, but they left 00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:46.980 that truth. They forsook it and went into darkness 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:52.119 and idolatry and polytheism, from which by God's 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:54.579 grace they may now be delivered through the preaching 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:59.279 of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But they are ignorant 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:02.930 at this point. of the truth. And why are they 00:18:02.930 --> 00:18:05.690 ignorant? Because of what is said next. Because 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:11.210 of their hardness of their heart. The heart is 00:18:11.210 --> 00:18:14.130 the innermost center of a person, the essential 00:18:14.130 --> 00:18:18.569 being of an individual, from which the moral 00:18:18.569 --> 00:18:21.349 and the spiritual and the intellectual issues 00:18:21.349 --> 00:18:25.029 of life come. Now what the Apostle says here 00:18:25.029 --> 00:18:28.910 is that that part of man is hard. It is hard. 00:18:30.569 --> 00:18:33.869 That term here is a medical term from the New 00:18:33.869 --> 00:18:39.170 Testament day which speaks of a callus that is 00:18:39.170 --> 00:18:42.910 built up where a bone has been fractured and 00:18:42.910 --> 00:18:47.269 then has nipped together. That bit of callus 00:18:47.269 --> 00:18:50.170 right there at the point of the fracture was 00:18:50.170 --> 00:18:52.950 a hardness that was harder than the bone itself. 00:18:54.170 --> 00:18:58.150 It is that word for callus that is used here 00:18:58.150 --> 00:19:02.819 of the hardness. of the heart of the pagan. It 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.200 might be paraphrased this way, because of the 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:09.240 petrification of their hearts. Their hearts are 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.000 petrified. You see, here we get to the very root 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:17.480 of the problem. Why is it that the mind of the 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.500 pagan is futile? Why is his moral understanding 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:23.920 darkened? Why is he excluded from the life of 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:26.980 God? Why is he ignorant? The answer is because 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:31.549 of the callousness. of his heart toward the things 00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:36.069 of God. Turn back to Romans chapter 1 where we 00:19:36.069 --> 00:19:42.470 see a similar idea. And here we go all the way 00:19:42.470 --> 00:19:46.369 back to the beginning of paganism in our world. 00:19:47.690 --> 00:19:51.049 God says in verse 20 that he has revealed in 00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:54.670 nature certain attributes of himself, and it 00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:58.410 says in verse 21, for even though they knew God, 00:19:59.309 --> 00:20:02.430 These are the ancient pagans, the forefathers 00:20:02.430 --> 00:20:06.450 of the Taliabu people, of the pagans in St. Paul 00:20:06.450 --> 00:20:09.789 and in other places in the world. They knew God, 00:20:09.910 --> 00:20:12.849 but they did not honor him as God or give thanks. 00:20:13.769 --> 00:20:18.269 These are our ancestors. But they became futile 00:20:18.269 --> 00:20:23.069 in their speculations, and their foolish heart 00:20:23.069 --> 00:20:26.349 was darkened. Notice some of the same terms? 00:20:27.730 --> 00:20:30.269 professing to be wise, they became fools and 00:20:30.269 --> 00:20:33.470 exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God 00:20:33.470 --> 00:20:37.170 for an image in the form of corruptible man of 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.970 birds and four -footed animals and crawling creatures. 00:20:40.869 --> 00:20:44.190 Have you ever seen any of those images? They're 00:20:44.190 --> 00:20:47.690 not common in our society. A few weeks ago when 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:49.890 I was in Chicago, I went down to the Oriental 00:20:49.890 --> 00:20:52.230 Museum at the University of Chicago, a fascinating 00:20:52.230 --> 00:20:55.109 place. If you ever get the opportunity to go 00:20:55.109 --> 00:20:58.720 there and you're interested, in some artifacts 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:03.140 from ancient Assyria and Babylon, the Medes and 00:21:03.140 --> 00:21:04.980 the Persians, and all the way back to the time 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:07.779 of Moses, you might want to try the Oriental 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:10.960 Museum in Chicago. One of the things that they 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:15.279 have plenty of is the idol. Idols pictured like 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:19.619 people with the heads of birds, as in Egypt. 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:23.039 Idols pictured after various other kinds of animals 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.960 and reptiles. That's exactly what... Romans chapter 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:29.359 1 is talking about. Our forefathers left the 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:31.400 knowledge of the true God and went after that 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:34.940 sort of thing. Their heart was darkened. Their 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:40.720 speculations were futile, dead end. Now what 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:43.039 caused that? The hardness of heart toward the 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:46.400 things that God revealed to them. They would 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:49.119 not accept what they saw in nature as revealing 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:51.980 the true God. They turned from that, exchanged 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:55.839 it for the worship of images. leading to their 00:21:55.839 --> 00:22:01.819 darkness, their paganism, their lostness. Now 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:04.200 in verse 19 of our text we have another little 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.660 phrase that kind of ties this all together. He 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:12.380 says, "...and they having become callous." In 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:15.579 other words, the conscience of the pagan has 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:20.000 become insensitive to sin. It has gotten to the 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.059 point of being past feeling. It ceases to care 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:29.339 regarding its own iniquity. If you ask me, I 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:33.099 think that these phrases that we read describe 00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:37.460 almost perfectly the character of the society 00:22:37.460 --> 00:22:41.740 in which you and I live today, which is a pagan, 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:47.779 for the most part, a pagan society. Now, after 00:22:47.779 --> 00:22:51.500 discussing the character, he goes to the conduct. 00:22:52.170 --> 00:22:56.269 of the pagan society, the outward results. And 00:22:56.269 --> 00:22:58.730 if you think we've had society pinned up to this 00:22:58.730 --> 00:23:04.009 point, listen to it now. They have given themselves 00:23:04.009 --> 00:23:11.970 over to sensuality. This word sensuality is licentiousness. 00:23:12.769 --> 00:23:19.170 It is unrestrained living or lewdness. It says 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:23.710 the pagan society inevitably will give itself 00:23:23.710 --> 00:23:27.109 over to this sort of thing because it leaves 00:23:27.109 --> 00:23:31.789 any moral root. It has no truth of God to give 00:23:31.789 --> 00:23:35.430 it morality. And so inevitably pagan society 00:23:35.430 --> 00:23:39.349 slides and slips until it comes to the point 00:23:39.349 --> 00:23:43.029 of giving itself over or handing itself over, 00:23:43.109 --> 00:23:48.410 delivering itself over to sensuality. Now once 00:23:48.410 --> 00:23:50.390 more I'd like you to go back to Romans chapter 00:23:50.390 --> 00:23:59.029 1, where we have this amazing chapter regarding 00:23:59.029 --> 00:24:04.289 the degeneration of pagan society or human society 00:24:04.289 --> 00:24:08.410 without God. Now having already talked about 00:24:08.410 --> 00:24:10.710 its character in these earlier verses, now he 00:24:10.710 --> 00:24:18.599 says in verse 24, God gave them over. Notice 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.299 in Ephesians it says they delivered themselves 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:27.839 over. In response to that, God judges the pagan 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:32.660 society, and he himself gives them over, as it 00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:36.759 says here, in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:40.799 that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:44.960 Notice that the inevitable result of paganism 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:51.079 is sexual immorality. He says they exchanged 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:55.420 the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:57.460 served the creature rather than the creator, 00:24:57.700 --> 00:25:01.779 who is blessed forever. Amen. The creature here 00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:04.660 referring to these ones mentioned in verse 23, 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:09.400 but just as well to the philosophical ideas of 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.829 our day which put man at the center. worshiping 00:25:12.829 --> 00:25:19.190 and serving man in secularism and humanism. He 00:25:19.190 --> 00:25:22.650 says in verse 26, For this reason God gave them 00:25:22.650 --> 00:25:26.390 over, notice again that phrase, to degrading 00:25:26.390 --> 00:25:29.950 passions. For their women exchanged the natural 00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:35.210 function for that which is unnatural. And in 00:25:35.210 --> 00:25:37.730 the same way also the man abandoned the natural 00:25:37.730 --> 00:25:41.390 function of the woman. and burned in their desire 00:25:41.390 --> 00:25:46.970 toward one another. Men with men committing indecent 00:25:46.970 --> 00:25:54.170 acts. Does this read like the newspaper? Is this 00:25:54.170 --> 00:25:55.970 what you've been reading about this last week 00:25:55.970 --> 00:25:58.049 and hearing about on television, the radio, and 00:25:58.049 --> 00:26:01.430 the news? Our airwaves are full of this very 00:26:01.430 --> 00:26:05.769 thing. And notice it says in verse 27, and receiving 00:26:05.769 --> 00:26:10.220 in their own persons. the due penalty of their 00:26:10.220 --> 00:26:14.180 error. Do you know what that phrase suggests? 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:19.700 It is that God has built into this kind of perversion 00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:26.279 and sin its own penalty in the body. It bears 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:30.240 its own fruit causing the destruction of that 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:39.859 person. Today we are faced in the world with 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:46.660 an epidemic of AIDS. People say, well, is AIDS 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:52.619 the judgment of God? I believe that AIDS, like 00:26:52.619 --> 00:26:56.880 other sexually generated diseases, is the fulfillment 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.660 of what God simply set into motion when he created 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:05.200 us. You say, but yes, there are innocent people 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:07.380 who are suffering from AIDS. That is correct. 00:27:09.549 --> 00:27:13.069 And it's tragic that that is the case. But that 00:27:13.069 --> 00:27:15.950 is the penalty to a society that allows this 00:27:15.950 --> 00:27:22.930 kind of sin to go on, my friend. Our society 00:27:22.930 --> 00:27:27.490 is about to pay the price for the last several 00:27:27.490 --> 00:27:34.170 decades of sexual promiscuity. There is a high 00:27:34.170 --> 00:27:37.930 price for giving oneself over to sensuality. 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:45.000 as is described in our text. I want to go on 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.240 here and read verse 28. And it says, And just 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:52.279 as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:56.579 longer. Is that not the attitude of people today 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:00.579 in our world, in our pagan society? He says, 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:07.500 God gave them over to a depraved mind. to do 00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:11.400 those things which are not proper, being filled 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:14.099 with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:18.579 and evil. And he goes on to name those sins that 00:28:18.579 --> 00:28:22.480 flow from a pagan society in addition to the 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:28.960 sexual sins. What we see in Romans chapter 1 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:34.059 is the judicial action of God in which he gives 00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:39.339 over. a society, a pagan society, to be consumed 00:28:39.339 --> 00:28:44.779 of its own lusts. And that, my friend, is where 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:51.720 we are today. You and I have been called out 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:58.940 of a society that is self -destructing. That's 00:28:58.940 --> 00:29:06.809 why he says to us, no longer live that way. It 00:29:06.809 --> 00:29:10.369 is a society that is very similar to the one 00:29:10.369 --> 00:29:13.230 that was in the Roman Empire in the day when 00:29:13.230 --> 00:29:16.369 the Apostle Paul penned these words to the Ephesians. 00:29:17.849 --> 00:29:21.890 Now I've got to get back to my text. He says, 00:29:21.970 --> 00:29:24.089 And having become callous, they have given themselves 00:29:24.089 --> 00:29:28.369 over to sensuality. And now he explains the reason. 00:29:28.950 --> 00:29:34.089 He says, For the practice of every kind of impurity 00:29:34.089 --> 00:29:40.799 with greediness. The result of a society giving 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:45.880 itself over to sensuality is that its whole mindset 00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:52.960 begins to go in that direction. The practice 00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:58.099 of every kind, every conceivable imagination 00:29:58.099 --> 00:30:03.519 of filthy and perverted acts become the goal 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:05.700 of that kind of society. And notice that it's 00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:09.769 with greediness. The NIV puts it this way, with 00:30:09.769 --> 00:30:16.789 a continual lust for more. There is no satisfaction 00:30:16.789 --> 00:30:28.210 for sensuality. There is a temporal, a temporary 00:30:28.210 --> 00:30:33.670 satisfaction. But once one has burned himself 00:30:33.670 --> 00:30:36.690 out at that level, there is no satisfaction without 00:30:36.690 --> 00:30:40.250 going to a more perverted level. And on it goes, 00:30:40.390 --> 00:30:45.329 downward and downward and downward. I was in 00:30:45.329 --> 00:30:49.750 a conversation not too long ago with some gentlemen 00:30:49.750 --> 00:30:53.690 in a Christian organization, and one of them 00:30:53.690 --> 00:30:59.589 shared some of the things happening in the world 00:30:59.589 --> 00:31:03.890 of sodomy today. In order for some of those who 00:31:03.890 --> 00:31:06.109 have been involved in that sin for a length of 00:31:06.109 --> 00:31:09.630 time to gain satisfaction, I would not begin 00:31:09.630 --> 00:31:20.130 to repeat that publicly. The conduct is every 00:31:20.130 --> 00:31:26.069 imagination being fulfilled. The practice of 00:31:26.069 --> 00:31:33.220 every sort of filthy, perverted act. an immoderate 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:38.400 desire and lust. It is a determination to gratify 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:43.000 oneself at all costs, regardless of the rights 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:48.299 or the life of others. When I think of child 00:31:48.299 --> 00:31:51.319 pornography, I get so angry I can hardly stand 00:31:51.319 --> 00:32:00.220 it. These greedy, immoral people who abuse young 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:04.589 children, and leave them scarred, if not dead, 00:32:04.789 --> 00:32:09.529 there is no punishment on this earth that is 00:32:09.529 --> 00:32:12.130 good enough for them, as far as I'm concerned. 00:32:13.930 --> 00:32:19.809 It is absolute sin in its most debased and wicked 00:32:19.809 --> 00:32:26.049 form. No consideration of the victim. And we 00:32:26.049 --> 00:32:28.509 hear that pornography is a victimless crime. 00:32:28.849 --> 00:32:33.799 What a laugh. What a joke. And we hear that it's 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:36.680 guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution. 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:40.480 There has been no decision given by the Supreme 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:43.799 Court at any time that gave pornographers the 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:47.039 right to do what they do. Not one decision. That 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:51.000 is a lie which they tell to go on practicing 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:58.440 their trade. Our society has given itself over 00:32:58.440 --> 00:33:02.210 to this sort of thing. And I tell you there is 00:33:02.210 --> 00:33:08.029 no hope for a society that is without God. A 00:33:08.029 --> 00:33:11.910 society that leaves God will inevitably degenerate 00:33:11.910 --> 00:33:15.250 to its base lusts and will collapse under the 00:33:15.250 --> 00:33:19.849 weight of its own sin and judgment. And my friend, 00:33:19.890 --> 00:33:27.769 that is exactly where we are today. Unless there 00:33:27.769 --> 00:33:32.630 is an awakening in this nation, which I do not 00:33:32.630 --> 00:33:36.009 believe at this point is on the horizon. But 00:33:36.009 --> 00:33:40.190 God knows, unless there is an awakening, I see 00:33:40.190 --> 00:33:44.190 no future for your children and mine in a free 00:33:44.190 --> 00:33:51.329 America. We are becoming a nation which cannot 00:33:51.329 --> 00:33:59.589 govern itself in democracy. And the horrible 00:33:59.589 --> 00:34:02.009 result of that is going to be some kind of a 00:34:02.009 --> 00:34:05.230 change of government which God will allow to 00:34:05.230 --> 00:34:09.989 come upon this society in order that its wickedness 00:34:09.989 --> 00:34:17.289 may be corrected and restrained. I am not a prophet 00:34:17.289 --> 00:34:21.829 or the son of a prophet, but I do not see light 00:34:21.829 --> 00:34:28.280 and sunshine. and bright days ahead for the United 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:33.820 States of America, just as there weren't those 00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:36.820 kinds of visions for the future of the Roman 00:34:36.820 --> 00:34:43.960 Empire in Paul's day. It is a terrible exposure 00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:47.619 to pagan society that we're given here. But in 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:51.079 the midst of it, Paul delivers a plea for purity, 00:34:51.219 --> 00:34:55.119 and he explains it. Notice that That plea is 00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:59.280 intended to change their present action. He says 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:04.280 in verse 17, Walk no longer like the Gentiles. 00:35:04.300 --> 00:35:07.840 The implication seems to be that some of them 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:14.179 at least were living like pagans. And he says, 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:20.699 No longer, no longer. Just as he commanded his 00:35:20.699 --> 00:35:24.809 Jewish converts, to forsake the legalism of their 00:35:24.809 --> 00:35:29.210 Judaism. So here he commands Gentile converts 00:35:29.210 --> 00:35:33.170 to forsake the licentiousness of their paganism. 00:35:35.889 --> 00:35:38.849 I believe that there is a need for this kind 00:35:38.849 --> 00:35:44.050 of a plea among Christian people today. That 00:35:44.050 --> 00:35:48.929 we no longer live like the sensual society around 00:35:48.929 --> 00:35:53.909 us. Our contemporary society is beginning to 00:35:53.909 --> 00:36:00.329 choke on its own lusts and drown in its own corruption, 00:36:00.530 --> 00:36:04.949 its own cesspool of filth and sexual promiscuity. 00:36:07.349 --> 00:36:11.650 It may well be too late for our society. We hear 00:36:11.650 --> 00:36:15.369 a lot today about preventative measures for AIDS. 00:36:16.369 --> 00:36:19.329 We hear about education that's needed in the 00:36:19.329 --> 00:36:22.800 school. for this. I say to you, it's too late 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:26.500 for that. There was a Christian leader who had 00:36:26.500 --> 00:36:30.219 breakfast a few months ago with one of our national 00:36:30.219 --> 00:36:34.000 health leaders. And this Christian leader was 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:37.039 told very bluntly by this man, whom if I named 00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:40.219 you would all know him. He said, we have a public 00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:44.159 line when we talk about AIDS, and then there's 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:49.849 the private line. What is he saying? He is saying 00:36:49.849 --> 00:36:53.289 just what Gene Antonio has been saying more publicly, 00:36:53.489 --> 00:36:57.269 and that is there are facts about AIDS that have 00:36:57.269 --> 00:36:59.469 not been told the general public in our nation. 00:37:01.909 --> 00:37:04.789 I at least suggest to you that the situation 00:37:04.789 --> 00:37:08.690 is far worse than we have been led to believe 00:37:08.690 --> 00:37:14.909 to this point. There will inevitably be many 00:37:14.909 --> 00:37:21.230 people innocent. of sodomy or of drug addiction 00:37:21.230 --> 00:37:26.429 that will die with aids there are those who are 00:37:26.429 --> 00:37:29.869 predicting it will be the black plague of the 00:37:29.869 --> 00:37:37.170 1990s the fact is that this is the seeds for 00:37:37.170 --> 00:37:41.869 societal destruction have already been sown it's 00:37:41.869 --> 00:37:44.110 too late to prevent it's too late to educate 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:48.219 What we need to do is to change behavior now. 00:37:51.460 --> 00:37:53.760 And a pagan society is not going to want to do 00:37:53.760 --> 00:38:00.719 that. Already hundreds of thousands have been 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:04.420 contaminated by the AIDS virus, and many of them 00:38:04.420 --> 00:38:07.440 will end up dying, even if there was a vaccine 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:09.679 discovered today and we're years off from some 00:38:09.679 --> 00:38:14.599 kind of a vaccine. You say, what in the world 00:38:14.599 --> 00:38:18.300 am I to do? Just what the Apostle Paul says to 00:38:18.300 --> 00:38:21.780 do right here. What has been true in every pagan 00:38:21.780 --> 00:38:25.360 society since these words were written, you no 00:38:25.360 --> 00:38:30.059 longer walk like the pagan society around you. 00:38:31.460 --> 00:38:34.699 Let there be a clear -cut difference between 00:38:34.699 --> 00:38:40.780 God's society and pagan society. Separate yourself 00:38:40.780 --> 00:38:46.369 from the sensualism. No longer allow that in 00:38:46.369 --> 00:38:50.789 your life. I am not talking about a self -righteous 00:38:50.789 --> 00:38:59.750 separation. I'm talking about a loving, compassionate, 00:38:59.929 --> 00:39:05.610 gentle, but definite separation from the sinful 00:39:05.610 --> 00:39:09.769 lifestyle of the society in which you and I have 00:39:09.769 --> 00:39:14.039 been chosen by God to live. Now the plea that 00:39:14.039 --> 00:39:16.880 the apostle makes in verse 17 is based upon what 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:20.340 he says in verse 20. He says, you did not learn 00:39:20.340 --> 00:39:28.119 Christ in this way. He says, you did not learn 00:39:28.119 --> 00:39:32.559 to be disciples of Jesus Christ and to live like 00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:35.539 the pagan society. Therefore, no longer live 00:39:35.539 --> 00:39:39.159 that way. Indeed, he says, you are no longer 00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:42.949 Gentiles. You are a new classification. You are 00:39:42.949 --> 00:39:48.750 a new society of people. He says live like that. 00:39:49.710 --> 00:39:56.969 Now why does God insist on this? Is it because 00:39:56.969 --> 00:40:01.349 God is being mean to us? Is God telling us to 00:40:01.349 --> 00:40:04.369 stay away from these things because he's trying 00:40:04.369 --> 00:40:08.329 to keep us from enjoying the pleasures that are 00:40:08.329 --> 00:40:13.519 available? Well, let me say first of all that 00:40:13.519 --> 00:40:17.179 God created you and me to enjoy sensual pleasure. 00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:21.519 He gave us that capacity. Indeed, He gave us 00:40:21.519 --> 00:40:26.860 that need. But He gave that ability to enjoy 00:40:26.860 --> 00:40:29.860 sensual pleasure to us that we might enjoy it 00:40:29.860 --> 00:40:34.920 righteously and not in a perverted and sinful 00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:40.409 way as in our world. God wants us to experience 00:40:40.409 --> 00:40:44.750 pleasure, but pure pleasure, not perverted pleasure. 00:40:46.050 --> 00:40:49.030 Why has God told us to stay away from that which 00:40:49.030 --> 00:40:52.090 is characteristic of the pagan society around 00:40:52.090 --> 00:40:55.570 us? For several reasons. First of all, he wants 00:40:55.570 --> 00:41:00.670 to protect us from the dissipation, yes, and 00:41:00.670 --> 00:41:04.289 even the diseases that go with that sort of thing. 00:41:06.030 --> 00:41:08.670 And then he wants to protect us likewise from 00:41:08.670 --> 00:41:12.590 the emotional and mental anguish and guilt that 00:41:12.590 --> 00:41:16.449 come with that sort of lifestyle. Further, he 00:41:16.449 --> 00:41:21.090 wants us to testify of his holiness in this calloused 00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:25.110 and sin -hardened society. And finally, he's 00:41:25.110 --> 00:41:27.809 told us to live this way because he wants to 00:41:27.809 --> 00:41:31.550 preserve his rights as our Redeemer. For we are 00:41:31.550 --> 00:41:34.130 no longer our own. We have been bought with a 00:41:34.130 --> 00:41:38.449 price. Therefore, he says, glorify God in your 00:41:38.449 --> 00:41:44.989 body. There is no doubt that all of us have to 00:41:44.989 --> 00:41:48.050 some extent been affected by the pagan society 00:41:48.050 --> 00:41:53.650 around us. We have been. We have been conditioned 00:41:53.650 --> 00:42:01.070 by its constant presentation to us. We have learned. 00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:05.960 in sad and subtle ways, to accommodate the spirit 00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:11.579 of our age. Beloved, what we need today is to 00:42:11.579 --> 00:42:19.820 say in our hearts, no longer. Wherever this kind 00:42:19.820 --> 00:42:25.360 of sin, this sensual sin, this impurity, wherever 00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:31.219 it has crept into our thought lives, our actions, 00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:37.780 our entertainment, our lifestyle, wherever there 00:42:37.780 --> 00:42:42.619 has been a beachhead made by Satan, we need to 00:42:42.619 --> 00:42:56.219 say, no longer will I give myself to that. J. 00:42:56.360 --> 00:43:01.400 Edwin Orr was a man who studied revival across 00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:07.619 the world and just a few weeks ago dr orr went 00:43:07.619 --> 00:43:12.820 home to be with the lord he left behind a number 00:43:12.820 --> 00:43:17.039 of writings which bless us but one of them is 00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:20.500 found in our hymnal and we're going to sing that 00:43:20.500 --> 00:43:22.739 in closing i'd like for you to open your hymnal 00:43:22.739 --> 00:43:33.780 and turn with me to 317. It says, Search me, 00:43:33.900 --> 00:43:40.400 O God, and know my heart today. Try me, O Savior, 00:43:40.440 --> 00:43:44.559 and know my thoughts, I pray. See if there be 00:43:44.559 --> 00:43:50.400 some wicked way in me. Cleanse me from every 00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:54.579 sin and set me free. Please remain seated as 00:43:54.579 --> 00:43:59.489 we sing through this without accompaniment. Search 00:43:59.489 --> 00:44:16.250 me, O God, and know my heart today. Try me, O 00:44:16.250 --> 00:44:33.280 Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. See if there 00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:50.260 be some wicked way in me. Cleanse me from every 00:44:50.260 --> 00:45:02.489 sin and set me free. Would you bow your head 00:45:02.489 --> 00:45:07.389 with me? I wonder as the Spirit of God does indeed 00:45:07.389 --> 00:45:10.369 answer that prayer and search us and try us, 00:45:10.510 --> 00:45:16.530 what is that area of life that needs to be brought 00:45:16.530 --> 00:45:19.010 freshly under the control of the Holy Spirit? 00:45:21.929 --> 00:45:27.289 Is it your reading material? Is it the movies 00:45:27.289 --> 00:45:31.239 you watch? The kind of entertainment you allow 00:45:31.239 --> 00:45:37.780 in your home? Is it thought patterns or habits 00:45:37.780 --> 00:45:52.360 of life? My friend, all of us must respond to 00:45:52.360 --> 00:45:57.420 what God has said to us today. We have orders 00:45:57.420 --> 00:46:01.380 from him, live no longer like the Gentiles around 00:46:01.380 --> 00:46:06.300 you. If you are a child of God, I plead with 00:46:06.300 --> 00:46:12.920 you today to take that step that the Spirit of 00:46:12.920 --> 00:46:15.199 God is speaking to you about right now. Make 00:46:15.199 --> 00:46:20.679 that new commitment. It may be that a number 00:46:20.679 --> 00:46:25.239 of us will need someone to help us. Would you 00:46:25.239 --> 00:46:31.019 seek out someone to be your partner in the spiritual 00:46:31.019 --> 00:46:34.099 battle you will enter into? Because I will guarantee 00:46:34.099 --> 00:46:36.219 you that if you take back that ground you've 00:46:36.219 --> 00:46:38.840 given to Satan, he will not give it up easily. 00:46:43.380 --> 00:46:47.460 But will you now take it back and renounce the 00:46:47.460 --> 00:46:51.940 enemy and yield yourself afresh to God's Spirit? 00:47:00.490 --> 00:47:05.190 Father in heaven, these are difficult days in 00:47:05.190 --> 00:47:08.949 which to live as your people in the world. But 00:47:08.949 --> 00:47:14.389 now are we the children of God. And you have 00:47:14.389 --> 00:47:18.550 told us to walk or to conduct ourselves in a 00:47:18.550 --> 00:47:23.909 manner worthy of the calling we have. I pray 00:47:23.909 --> 00:47:27.320 that you will... enlighten and enable each of 00:47:27.320 --> 00:47:29.820 us to know what areas of life we need to reclaim 00:47:29.820 --> 00:47:34.659 to the Lordship of Jesus Christ today. And may 00:47:34.659 --> 00:47:38.260 the result of our having heard this message and 00:47:38.260 --> 00:47:41.300 been together for these minutes in worship, that 00:47:41.300 --> 00:47:45.300 we will walk a more holy walk, a walk worthy. 00:47:47.440 --> 00:47:49.719 Would you all stand with me, please, as we close 00:47:49.719 --> 00:47:58.820 in prayer? Father, as we go out from here, as 00:47:58.820 --> 00:48:04.679 we must do, as we return to our homes and then 00:48:04.679 --> 00:48:09.000 this week to our routine of life, I pray that 00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:12.780 this verse will be burned upon our hearts. Walk 00:48:12.780 --> 00:48:17.239 no longer as the Gentiles walk. You did not learn 00:48:17.239 --> 00:48:23.530 Christ in this way. remind us wherewithal shall 00:48:23.530 --> 00:48:26.369 a young man, a young woman cleanse his or her 00:48:26.369 --> 00:48:30.829 way by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 00:48:32.190 --> 00:48:35.929 And so may your word purify us and your spirit 00:48:35.929 --> 00:48:39.590 enable us to live as you've called us to be, 00:48:39.650 --> 00:48:42.530 the children of God in the midst of a crooked 00:48:42.530 --> 00:48:46.650 and perverse generation. We pray this in Jesus' 00:48:46.750 --> 00:48:49.849 name. Amen. Thank you.