Are You a Conditioned Laodicean?

The title today is, Are You a Conditioned Laodicean? You know what conditioning is? Conditioning is what we're all involved in every day. Satan's laboratory, Satan's spiritual and moral laboratory, in which he uses the various devices that are available through the special media to condition the population to envy, to lust, to hate, and all of the negative emotions that you can think of. The most classic example of classical conditioning is at a Pavlov's dog, which most of you are familiar with, at Pavlov, as he fed his dog, ring a bell, and after several pairings of ringing the bell, feeding the dog, he withdrew the food, and the dog salivated just as if he were being fed. Perhaps you have conditioned goldfish in your aquarium. Every time you feed the goldfish, you turn on the light, and the goldfish behave as if they're being fed. They swim and they go all over the aquarium. Perhaps if you were a rancher, every time that you feed the cows, you do your cattle call. And so it's very helpful, after a while you condition them, and if they get out, you can give your cattle call and they come running. Or if you, every time you feed the cows, you do it off of your tractor pickup truck. So, of course, that's a problem in that you drive your truck out there and here come the cows. So conditioning, way back in the early 70s, B.F. Skinner, a famous psychologist at Harvard, wrote a book titled, Beyond Human Freedom and Dignity. What Skinner was saying in the book was, give me control of the populace, and let me create the kind of environment that I want to create, and I'll produce whatever kind of citizen you desire. And this, through a process of operant conditioning, small rewards for certain behaviors. They have even taught pigeons to play ping pong through operant conditions, and perhaps you've seen the shows at the various water parks and that kind of thing, where the dolphins or the seals do all kinds of tricks. Why is it that the news of the day becomes more and more scary, crazy, and weird? Classical conditioning and conditioning in general play a role. We're not going to focus much on that. You should be able to see in the narrative that we are going to present how classical conditioning and other forms of conditioning are taking place, in which, in today's world, the emphasis is on being young, beautiful, sexy, adventurous, romantic, but especially on youth and beauty and sexuality. So, the news becomes more and more scary, crazy, weird. As a result, we see more and more people becoming turned off. Similar to the old saying, stop the world, I want to get off. I can't believe the madness that is going on. Dr. Baker sent me a link yesterday that showed how in Tyler they had a group, and this group is trying, I guess, a worldwide movement, a U.S. movement, to stop circumcision.

As a result, we see people doing all kinds of behaviors, various forms of escape. What about you? How are you processing the news of the day? Most people are walking around in a zombified state of mind and really don't pay much attention to the walls that are collapsing in on them, the moral and spiritual walls. That's the walls that I'm talking about, the moral and spiritual walls of the culture of the nation. More and more studies show that less and less people claim to be Christian. Dramatic drops over the past few decades. More and more people, organizations, and so-called intelligentsia and scholars are attacking the veracity of the Bible, including so-called religious leaders and theologians. So what about you? Are you lackadaisical? Am I lackadaisical? Lackadaisical is a word that means without interest, without vigor, without determination, listlessness, lethargic. The Bible would call this state of being Laodiceanism. God wants us to be either hot or cold. So are you a conditioned Laodicean?

To be in a state of being means that's what you are. That's the way that you approach life. Jesus states in Luke 21 and verse 36, a scripture that we used to carry around with us all the time, one of the main scriptures when I came to ambassador in the 60s, Watch you therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. Watch you and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are coming upon the sons of man to try them. So each one of us should take stock of our lives at this critical, crucial juncture in human history. Are you Laodicean? That is, having lost interest in life in a general sense, without vigor, without interest, without determination. What about church attendance? How important is it? Some people view church attendance as, well, I don't get anything out of it. I guess we could quote the John F. Kennedy quote here of, Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. Ask not what you can get out of it. Ask what you can contribute, what you can do to help the brethren, what you can do. Just your presence means a lot. Your presence.

We have the fact that some have withdrawn from using their gifts and talents to edify, exhort, and comfort others. That's the purpose of spiritual gifts. That's 1 Corinthians 14. 3, the purpose of spiritual gifts is to edify, exhort, and comfort.

And what about you? More about that, perhaps, later. The events of the past year, in whatever arena you want to talk about, whether it be the social mores, whether it be politics, the religious world, the behaviors that we see extend in the nation and the world, are mind-boggling, to say the least. We've been shocked so many times in so many different ways by so many different world-altering events that we seem to be inured.

Inured means hardened to the realities of the day. The peoples of the world are indeed running to and fro, being tossed about by every wind of doctrine. You know the prophecy in Daniel 12, which says that many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be greatly increased. I mean, the increase in knowledge now and the ability to destroy to preserve knowledge is unbelievable with the cloud and all the many inventions in the world of what I call computer technology. I guess there's probably a better term for it, but there are, it's so, whole libraries can be stored in a very small compartment of a computer. So indeed, the peoples are running to and fro, knowledge is being increased, being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.

Notice Ephesians 4.14. Of course, God wants us to come to the point that we're grounded, we're founded, we know and we know that we know what the truth is. In Ephesians 4.14, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. How many people are there out there? Of course, a lot of them are sincere people.

Sincerity is not the test of truth in the ultimate sense. You want to be sincere, but at the same time, you can be sincerely wrong, and many people are sincerely wrong. In the midst of this, people are trying just about every form of escapism that they can imagine ranging from the occult to atheism to so-called other avenues of spirituality. And then some are just continuing to bury their head in the sand, denying the reality of the day or claiming to be atheists.

Yet, on the other hand, they say they're concerned about the direction that the country is going and the whole spectrum of human events that are taking place. But for the most part, they remain in a state of denial, continuing on a hedonistic path. Hedonism, basically the philosophy was, eat, drink, be merry, because tomorrow we may die. Let's make the most of it. We can today. They are guided by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, as John talks about in 1 John 2, I think it's 16 or 17.

One reason for our habitual and hardened apathy is that we have been conditioned and desensitized by Satan's agents to the point that evil is called good, and good is called evil by educators, by politicians, by scientists, by religionists, by psychologists. We would turn to Isaiah 5 and verse 5. One of the statements I heard at the feast, and sometimes people have said this, that science agrees with the Bible. No, science does not agree with the Bible. Science denies the Creator. Science believes that there have been many theories with regard to how the universe was created or came to be, and many theories with regard to how life came to be.

And none of these that the scientists propose involve God. Now, some scientists say that they believe in the Creator God, but science, as it is taught, has a discipline from higher education to other forms, levels of education, all the way down to elementary school, officially teaches evolution and denies the great Creator God. I mean, that is the starting point of everything in faith. You are familiar with Hebrews 11 and 6. We have quoted many, many times, He who would come to God must, first of all, believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

In Isaiah 5 verse 1, He looked at the stones thereof and planted it with the choices, binds, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress thereof. And He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. How many of you use this in a metaphoric sense for people? Of course, we're bringing forth a lot of wild grapes.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard, what could I have done more to my vineyard than that I have not done to it? What else could I have done? And sometimes you may say that in child rearing. Sometimes you might say it about other things. What else could I have done? Well, there's always something else you could have done. But with God, here's what God says. You could go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, in which He placed Adam and Eve in a perfect environment, had a perfect teacher, but yet, they succumbed to the great conditioner, Satan the Devil.

Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth wild grapes, I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up, and break down the walls thereof, and it shall be trodden down, and I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned nor digged, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also commend the clouds that they rain, no rain, upon it. And of course, the chapter continues in this vein of God's displeasure with those who call good evil an evil good.

Of course, Kanye West, in his association with Joel Osteen, is being severely criticized, and anyone who in the entertainment world who takes up with those who espouse conservatism or a religious belief in God, Christ, and the Bible, are severely criticized. You see some of this operant condition. I mentioned this at the feast in New Braunfels about three or four weeks ago at a Dallas football game.

Suddenly, they flash on President Bush up in his box seat, Mrs. Bush, and sitting beside him is Ellen DeGeneres. And then the next day on Ellen's show, she talks about how she and the president are good friends, and that we can be kind to each other. Yes, we can be kind to each other. We can love everybody. God loves everybody.

As you heard in the sermon, in one sense, unconditionally, if they will call upon Him, He is there. For God so loved the world, that means everybody, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. But to be reconciled to God, it required the death of Jesus Christ, as it says in Romans 5, having been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, we shall be saved by His life. So a great price was paid. Of course, many refuse God's love, and they go their own way. Yes, we can be kind, but at the same time, we hate the sin.

Many laboratory experiments have been performed on dogs and monkeys, in which they were given electric shocks in no certain order, with no certain reward of punishment. We, the populace, have been shocked so many times, in no certain order, that we're responding like laboratory animals. The animals eventually reacted in one of two ways. They either became apathetic and gave up, or they became overly aggressive and lashed out at everything and everybody. And so we see this kind of behavior manifested in society every day. On television and radio, death, weather, and commercials are announced in the same breath. In downtown Baghdad today, a bomb exploded at a religious shrine, killing six people.

Today, on a crowded street, a lone gunman opened fire on innocent bystanders. Three people were killed, four others were critically wounded. The temperature in downtown Los Angeles is now 81 degrees. We will be right back after these messages. Terrorist attacks, murder, and the weather are all delivered with the same voice inflection. You dare not have passion about that which is right. Youth are sitting in front of a video game or video games for hours in a semi-trance state of mind, or they have their cell phones out. As soon as they can find a place to plop down, there it comes.

I witnessed it so many times in the past several days. Playing a game that is filled with unbelievable violence, oftentimes hundreds may die, but so what? Life is cheap. They'll produce more there on the screen. And so the conditioning goes on. We have been overstimulated in no certain order to the point that we're behaving exactly as the dogs and monkeys described in experiments in which they were shocked in no certain order and for no certain reason with no certain reward or punishment.

As a result, they either became apathetic, they withdrew, or lashed out in anger. So we are living in Satan's psychological-spiritual laboratory. We have the symptoms, the alarm reactions physically with humans, heart attacks, ulcers, hypertension. We're anxious, abnormally frightened, emotional and psychological breakdowns or epidemic, increasingly vacillating, pacing back and forth, wringing our hands, but not doing much. Expending energy in a state of indecision, and as James writes, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Some have become apathetic and have given up, and suicide is epidemic.

Perverted sexual behavior is exploding. Infidelity. Perverted forms of sexual behavior. Bestiality. Homosexuality. Impedency among American males. Epidemic. Unnatural. When humans are bombarded with stimuli that come in no certain order with no certain reward, the result is weird, apparent behavior. In addition to what Satan or society or self is doing to cause these behaviors, there are other reasons that may be even more important for Christians. So if you would, turn to James 4, verse 13. We have just given a brief description of some of the things that are going on in the world, and we cite these things to make you aware to realize what is happening to you. Back several years ago, when I was teaching general psychology, there was a book that came out, Sex Exploitation. Showing how sex and the good life are paired together continually in virtually every advertisement, from used cars to toothpaste. It's all having to do with youth, beauty, adventure, romance, sex, sexuality.

But what about us knowing the truth? In James 4, verse 13.

None of us are assured of another hour in this life. This is our time to live under the government of God, to picture the Feast of Tabernacles if we want to use that imagery, symbolism. None of us know what's going to happen. It is even that is our life, it is even a vapor, and appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For that we ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that. But now you rejoice, and your boasting and such rejoicing is evil. Rejoicing and evil is sin.

Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin. And that is perhaps the greatest sin. I believe it is my greatest sin. That is the sin of not doing what you ought to do in every situation that is presented to yourself. I started a long time ago in sermons and in classes with the mantra, mantra, however you pronounce it, of closing the gap between what we know and what we do. Another reason is because sentence is not executed speedily against an evil work. You can turn to Ecclesiastes 811. Ecclesiastes 811 says, because sentence is not executed speedily against an evil work, therefore the hearts of men is continually set on evil. Oh yeah, you can get away with it. You may get away with it whatever it is, or I may get away with it whatever it is all of my life. But there is coming. Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess. That day is coming, whether in this life or in the life to come. That day is coming.

Another one is human reasoning. And this, so many people, and especially I find this in some of the older second generation Christians, maybe in their 50s or 60s, that they create, they make God over in their own image, and they say, oh God would not do certain things. Look at Psalm 50 and verse 17. Psalm 50 verse 17.

Seeing you hate instruction and cast my words behind you. See, God never takes away free will, choice. You can always choose, you can always accept, or you can always reject. When you saw a thief, then you consented with him, and have been partaker with adulterers. You gave your mouth to evil, and your tongue framed deceit. You saw and spoke against your brother. You sat and spoke against your brother. You slandered your own mother's son. These things have you done, and I kept silent. You thought that I was altogether such a one as yourself. How could you ever come to think that? How would anyone ever come to think, well God's just like me. I've got a good reason for this, that, or the other.

But I will reprove you and set them in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you that forget, lest I tear you to pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whosoever offers praise glorifies me, and to him that orders his conduct a rite, will I show the salvation of God. Human reasoning can come up with a justification for any behavior that you want to name. And to then, to come up with it, it sounds and seems logical. But the Word of God is sure. You know, the Bible, even the latest part of the Bible, we believe that Revelation was written sometime in the 90s AD, so that's approaching. Even the latest part of the Bible was written 2,000 years ago. Moses lived in circa 1400 BC, so that would be like 3400 years ago, the first three books of the Bible were written, circa 3400 years ago. Just as true today as it was today, he penned it. Just as true today is the day he was inspired by the Spirit of God to record it. Safety in groups, and here's what so many youth fall into. They reason all their safety in doing it. Everybody else is doing it. Everybody else is letting their child go do this, that, or the other. Everybody else is doing it. Why can't I? So, you look at Matthew 24 and verse 12, and it tells you, and of course this doesn't just apply to youth by any means, it applies to virtually everyone. We have created now, with this social media, such a tyrannical kind of social structure in which every person yearns to be accepted, to be praised, to be liked. How many likes do you have? How many times have you been unfriended?

Bullying on the Internet is the cause of a lot of young people killing themselves, committing suicide. There is a tyranny of the peer group, and of course it is not just with the youth either. Matthew 24, 12, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. In other words, everybody else is doing it. They seem to be doing fine. I've had people, back in the 70s, I remember people leaving the church, and I visited them, and they said, well, since I stopped attending up there, life has been a lot better for me. Okay. In what way?

And sometimes, maybe that will be, in the physical sense, that maybe you may do better for a while, but in the long term, you won't. Another reason, and a lot of people follow this, all things continue as from the beginning. In 2 Peter 3 and verse 3, in 2 Peter 3 and verse 3, we see this attitude. Knowing this verse, that there shall come in the last days, and that's now scoffers, walking after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. God destroyed the world that was then by a flood because of wickedness, because the heart and the intent of man was continually upon evil. Therefore, God intervened. And then some say, well, because we are who we are, I assume I'm doing the work because I associate with those who are doing the work.

One of the main things that is happening in today's society is the twisting and misapplication of Scripture. The Scriptures teach us that God loves everybody. That statement is pitted against those who know the Bible states that a certain behavior is sinful. If you look at Leviticus 20 and verse 13, of course, lots of people would like to tear this out of the Bible, and eventually it will probably be dubbed as hate speech, and you will not be able to read the Scripture in public.

In Leviticus 20 and verse 13, if a man also lie with mankind as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death.

Their blood shall be upon them. It is as clear as it can be in the Scripture. Several weeks ago, as I was thumbing through the religious channels on Direct TV, I stopped at this one place where they were answering questions, and one was about homosexuality. The person who answered it, he went down the line. He went to Leviticus. He went to 1 Corinthians 6. He went to Romans chapter 1. He laid it on the line. You almost never, never hear this today. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6 even adds an element to this that is not in Leviticus 20 and verse 14. 1 Corinthians 6. Corinth was like the Las Vegas of the day back then. Even the term coined to Corinthianize meant to go and let your senses and your lust be satiated, filled up to the brim. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9. Know, ye not, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revelers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. We have people who say, well, I hope they don't offend so-and-so, or such-and-such, by preaching the Word of God. If we come to that point where we're afraid that we're going to offend somebody by preaching the Word of God, see, there are two convicting elements that I say over and over. The Spirit of God, the Word of God, convicts us. If the Spirit of God and the Word of God convict us and lay a weight on our mind, a knowing within, this is the truth.

Now, a lot of people will be offended. I'm not going to turn there. I'll just quickly show you the difference. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was sent, the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter preached the great inspired sermon. And after they heard these things, this is Acts 2.37, says, and they were pricked in their heart. They were convicted in their heart. And they said, they asked, men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said, repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and you shall receive, in the name of Jesus, for remission of sin, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then in Acts 7, Stephen is brought before the council. He preaches his inspired sermon. And when they heard it, they rushed upon him, gnashing with their teeth, and they stoned him to death. See, essentially the same message, but the difference in the way that they received it.

See, humankind, they're left with... there are two alternatives. See, you either make God over in your own image, and you reason about what you think God is and spirituality is, or you accept the inspired word of God and the revelation of God. A higher, much higher being. My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your thoughts, your ways says the eternal one.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6, 23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Listen to this, in due time, God's sin has only begotten Son, the John 3 16, to redeem us and buy us back from sin and death.

Now we go to Romans 5 and verse 6. Now what we're going to see, and hopefully you'll see, go to Romans 5 and verse 6. What we're going to see here, God gave his Son to save sinners. His Son gave his life to save sinners. In view of that, do you think God would turn around and change his mind with regard to what is sin?

Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world before anything was created. That's Revelation 13 verse 8, slain from the foundation. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. Romans 5 and 6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, for scarcely for a righteous man, will one die yet for adventure for a good man. Some would even dare to die, but God commended his love toward us. This is this unconditional love. In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. The reconciliation means to make peace, to become at one. We're reconciled to God by the death of his Son. Much more being reconciled, being made at one, we shall be saved by his life.

So, once again, in view of what we've just read, do you think God would turn around and change his mind with regard to what is sin?

We have read Genesis, where Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. We know why they were destroyed. The very term Sodomy came from the Bible. Sodomy was against the law in virtually every state in the Union until the past several years. I think Georgia was the last one, and because of, of course, protest and the LGBTQ and all of that, they keep adding letters to it.

I think they were the last ones to change the law. If God had changed his mind, he would betray his Son and the whole plan of salvation. Of course, it doesn't make sense. Ecclesiastes talks about a time for every purpose under heaven. There is never a time mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3.

There is never a time to be apathetic and lukewarm. Once again, we are living in Satan's psychological-spiritual laboratory. Hence the words, and I'm going to quote these, Proverbs 4.23. What does Proverbs 4.23 say? Proverbs 4.23 says, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life out of your heart to enter most being the various center of emotional thought. And then Proverbs 23.37, As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Your thoughts sow a thought, reap an action. So an action reap a habit. So a habit reap character. That's what you become. You become what you think on. Most doomsday clocks are set at a few minutes before midnight. The parable of the ten virgins draws toward the midnight hour.

So once again, it is time for each one of us to ask ourselves, in every facet of our being spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially, Are we hot or cold? Or are we lukewarm? Let's go to Revelation 3 now. We've referred to this a few times. Laodiceanism, are you a conditioned Laodicean? In Revelation chapter 3. To not be a conditioned Laodicean, you have to come out of this world. What does Proverbs 8.13 say? Proverbs 8.13 says that the fear of God is to hate evil. It lists some of the evil things there, but I know it says, The fear of God, the beginning of the fear of God, is to hate evil.

In Revelation chapter 3, verse 14. And under the angel of the church, the Laodiceans write. Laodicea was a very rich city. It was known for its wealth. They had a lot of rich Jews living there. But Laodicea had one thing going against it, and that was they had no natural springs, no natural water supply there. The water had to be piped in for quite a distance. And so through the aqueducts, if you've ever been to Peachtru, you've seen the aqueducts there, whereby water came into Peachtru because there's really no water there. And by the time it got to Laodicea, it was lukewarm. Heropolis, on the other hand, a neighboring city, had springs within it, but Laodicea didn't. So some of the imagery reflects that, it seems. These things says, the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, I know your works that you are neither cold or hot. I would that you were cold or hot.

God doesn't like a tweener. He doesn't like people who try to stand on the middle ground. And some people say, you know, the old analogy of one foot on the dock, one foot in the boat, and the boat begins to move away from the dock. And finally, if you don't make a decision, you flop into the water and fall and drown.

So because you are lukewarm and neither cold or hot, I will spew you out of my mouth because you say I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Naked in the Bible is symbolic for sin. You remember Adam and Eve sinned, sewed fig leaves together, tried to hide their physical nakedness.

I mean, God sees it all, but in the symbolic sense, nakedness used for sin.

I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire that you may be rich, and that you buy of white raiment, or put on white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness, that is your sins, do not appear and anoint your eye with eye salve that you may see. Laodicea was also known for a medical school there, and one of the Greek gods, I think it was Asculapopas, or something like that, lived there. And they were also known for a fine wool. Anoint your eyes and with eye salve that you may see, that you may see spiritually. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, open the door. If any man hear my voice, and, there's an and there, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I am also overcome, and am sat down with my father in his throne. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Obviously, we see here that God says that he wants us hot or cold. If we remain lukewarm, he says he's going to spew us out of his mouth. Are we responding as we should be? Do we discern the signs of the times? In today's world, the response does not suit the situation, the stimulus. The preacher man preaches about the end of times, and the atheist curse God. So we live in a time of paradox and ironic times in which you have the opposing ends. Never the twain shall meet, it seems. But in the face of all of this, most people, the preacher man preaches about the end of times, the atheist curse God. But the general direction is a downward spiral into oblivion.

We can go back in politics in this country with regard to the way it has gone, especially since World War II and the 50s. And with the onslaught of the hippie movement in the 60s, regardless as to which political party was in the White House, the morals of the country have continued to slip away, whether it be Democrat or Republican. The morals continue to slip away.

As I've said before, of course, in the South, in the 30s, 40s, somewhat into the 50s, solidly Democratic. Mr. Roosevelt is going to save us all. He brought us out of the Depression. He was a Democrat. Republican, that party is for the rich men.

And now it has shifted the other way, because Republicans endorse the moral agenda more than we do. That is pro-life, anti-LGBTQT, but you can't say that publicly if you do. You're through. And right now, one of the things that came out of it, I watched the Democratic debate last week, and one of the things that came out of it was that Mayor Pete is openly married and talks about his husband. He's writing for president, and he's getting a lot of support in Iowa now, midwestern state. How is it possible?

So that's how far the nation is going in accepting what the Bible says is sin. But see, to say this would be hate speech, because God loves Mayor Pete, so he does. But he doesn't love the lifestyle.

Some have the idea that the trial will be announced, and they will have plenty of time to prepare. When it becomes evident that the great trial is near, oh, I can get ready then. However, it will be too late to get the oil. You remember when the bridegroom knocks on the door at midnight hour, all ten virgins get up, five have oil, five do not. Apparently they were all attending church, and even the foolish thought they were doing well, waiting for the magic moment of, if things get bad enough, in other words, some are saying, if things get bad enough, I'll become hot, filled with zeal. God says that a Christian must declare himself hot or cold. There's no middle ground with God. Or some think if they are in church attendance with their friends, they will automatically make it. Brethren, we know and we have been warned so many times over the years that you have to be active and engaged.

The three parables are given there in Matthew 25. You have to have your oil filled with, you have to have your lamp filled with oil, symbolic of God's Spirit. Then the parable of the talents, the gifts.

God expects us to use our talents and gifts to edify, to comfort, and exhort. You may not get much out of Sabbath services. Maybe the sermons are dull and boring to you, but why can you contribute to those who are looking to you and just your presence? You might not think you get much out of a monthly Bible study, but just the fellowship of being together is worth a lot. And we could go on and on with that. Maybe your talent is music. Maybe it is visiting the sick and encouraging them, whatever it may be. Let him minister, Romans 12 talks about it, let him minister according to the gifts that have been given.

Then it talks about the parable of when you did it to the least one of these, that is to feed, clothe, visit those in prison, or the down and outers, as we might say, that when you did it to the least one of these, you did it also unto me.

One of the things that is interesting about all three of these parables is that the punishment for not having your lamp filled with oil, the punishment for not using your talents, the punishment for not feeding, clothing, visiting, as it says in Matthew 25 and James 1, it's all the same. You're not in the kingdom. You're not in the kingdom. Let's summarize it. Let's read the last few verses there of Matthew 25.

In Matthew 25, let's read maybe the last three or four verses. Remember the three parables, the lamps and the oil, the talents and the use thereof, and then how you treat one another. Start in Matthew 25.

In Matthew 26, let's read the last three verses.

The punishment is the same. It's worded differently for not using the talents, not having the lamp filled with oil. The parables identify the faithful and wise servants, and they tell you how to be zealous and on fire, avoid being lukewarm, also how to maintain an attitude of readiness and the correct response to the stimuli so you will not grow cold because of iniquity. Turn back now to the last part of chapter 24, and we'll read into this. We'll start in Matthew 24. The doing is summarized by 25. Your relationship with God and neighbor, filling your lamp full of oil, using your talents, and what you do with those that are less fortunate than you.

Matthew 24, verse 48. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him to the What does he do? Shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with a drunken. Everybody else is doing it, I'll do it too. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like and unto.

See these three parables tie right in. See, the Olivet prophecy is Matthew 24 and 25. When that is going on, smiting his fellow servants and saying, My Lord delays his coming, then the kingdom is likened unto these three parables, filling your lamp with oil, using your talents and abilities, and taking care of those that you should be taken care of. Brethren, I don't know. We're going to keep on trying to wake us all up, including myself and everyone that has an ear to hear. Let him hear. Now is the time to be zealous so we can grow in grace and knowledge. We're living in a time that truly does try one's soul. But keep in mind the fantastic opportunity you have through all of this. See, you were called to the kingdom for such a time as this, like Esther. She saved her people at that time. See, Satan is bombarding society. Man is being overstimulated, and man is not being rewarded according to his works. Thus, he becomes apathetic and lukewarm. Don't let it happen to you. Wake up. Realize what is happening. Become zealous. Red hot. The response should suit the stimulus. Must call evil evil good good. God is angry with the wicked every day. The beginning of fear is to hate evil. Lift up your voice. Cry aloud. Spare not. Call evil evil good good. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance in the evil way in the froward mouth. Do I hate?

Realize that man's nature as man does not change from the Garden of Eden to the present day. The Word of God does not change from before the foundation of the world to the present day. God says, Hold fast that which is good. Endure to the end, and when Jesus Christ the righteous judge shall come, He will say, If you are faithful. This is in Matthew 25. Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.