God's Prophet Speaks to Nations Such as This

Brother, when it comes to warning signs, they come in various forms and fashions, don't they?

Sometimes it's as simple as an alarm clock, you know, assuming we don't hit the snooze button, you know, and then we miss some important events, in a sense. But it's warning us to wake up so that we don't miss something that's important. Sometimes it can be the piercing shriek of a fire alarm, or maybe if you're watching television, the emergency alert system or radio that that comes on every once in a while. And then at the end they say, well, if this had been an actual emergency, you know, you or I would have been instructed to do something. Sometimes it's the the wail of a loudspeaker about an oncoming tornado warning us to take shelter, to be able to remain safe, or something that we need to do. You know, sometimes the warning signs aren't so obvious. Rather than screaming in our ears or shouting our faces to get our attention, the signs could be more subtle. And if we're distracted by other things and not paying attention, we may miss some of those maybe not so subtle signs, could be distracted. Could you? Could I? Could we as individuals, could we even as a great nation remain blind to dangers that otherwise should be obvious?

Could we be ignoring warning signs that are shouting for our attention? You know, there's a disturbing theme that runs through the Old Testament prophets and it speaks of a complete loss of leadership in a nation, in a country. And perhaps, like me, you groan about the moral slide that you see in our nation, about the moral decline that is affecting our nation. I don't believe we've fallen as far as old ancient Israel eventually did. God's people that have been called and chosen, they went into the Promised Land, and then suddenly over time they began to fall away from God. I don't think that we've fallen quite as far as they did, sacrificing their sons to a false god in the fire, to Moloch. But, brethren, if we're patting ourselves on the back, that's a big mistake because we're heading in the same direction as God's people of old.

Yes, actually it's been a few weeks ago now, a little over four weeks ago, we observed the 238th anniversary of the beginning of our nation. And each year, the United States President, you may have seen this, they give a State of the Union address. You know, it's an annual thing that's done and it's by extension not only given to the nation but actually to the world as a whole.

And it's typically filled with lofty ideals that the President has when it comes to his agenda.

But despite what it's called, really, the speech seldom addresses the State of the Nation.

Brethren, if we were to examine the State of the Nation or the condition of the Nation of the United States from the perspective of God's Word, what would we find? What would we find?

You know, on the rostrum above the head of the President where he gives that State of the Union address are the words in God we trust. But it seems like the television cameras don't seem to catch that. I don't know if you've ever seen it. I haven't when I've watched the State of the Union address. But it's there. But it's not caught on film. The President himself is sworn into office.

He puts his hand on the Bible. And at the end, you know, he says the following. He says, in order to carry out my duties, so, quote, so help me God, unquote.

So what would God think about the current State of the United States?

Jeremiah chapter 5. Let's take a look. Scripture. Jeremiah chapter 5 addresses this issue of this nation. Or any nation, for that matter, as we'll see, Jeremiah just doesn't address the nation of Israel in his prophecies. He goes beyond that. We'll cover that as we go along today. But we're going to start out with Jeremiah chapter 5 in verse 1. Jeremiah speaks to the issue of a nation, any nation, that has the characteristics that we're going to read about here in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 1. So God is speaking through one of his prophets here, speaking to Jeremiah, perhaps through Jeremiah. And he says this in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 1. He says, run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem. See now and know and seek in her open places.

God says to Jeremiah, I want you to make a search. I want you to search high. I want you to search low. He says all the way through this city. And he goes on to say, if you can see, if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I'll pardon the whole city. He says, you just find me one man. God says, and I'll pardon the whole city. One man who wants to do the right thing, the godly thing, according to Scripture. You know, the New Living Translation, and I'll quote from that here on this particular verse. I think sometimes it helps us to understand the more modern English translation. It says, run up and down every street in Jerusalem, says the Lord. Look high and low. Search throughout the city. If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city. You can find me just one person. I'll pardon the land.

God goes on to say this in verse number two, though they say, as the Lord lives, surely they swear falsely. They come into court. You know, they raise their right hand. They swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And then they don't tell the truth.

They lie. They commit perjury. You know, several years ago, some of you may remember this.

We maybe never expected to see someone who held the highest office in the land, the highest law enforcement office in the land do this very thing. And maybe we didn't expect a whole lot of the TV commentators to justify what he did, that it was no big deal for the President of the United States to commit perjury. The commentators said, if you heard some of them, well, people swear to tell the truth all the time. But then they lie in court. And it's no big deal for an adult or to lie. He almost has to, doesn't he? Otherwise, his wife will find out. These are some of the things that were told, or actually were told to us or said by television commentators at that time.

So for the sake of power, commentators came before us day and night, day after day, night after night, on television to justify a liar. Jeremiah goes on in verse number three.

O Lord, are not your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, but they have not grieved.

You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock. They have refused to return. I think he's talking about they refused to return to their Maker, to their God. You know, the nation of Israel, of old, they suffered calamity, after calamity, after calamity, and it seemed like no one stopped to ask. Maybe God's trying to tell us something. You know, nobody seemed to ask, hey, do you think God is sending us a message?

Maybe we should think this over. Maybe something this is God trying to tell us something. Nobody was asking those questions. Their reaction was, well, no, I don't think so. It couldn't be.

This is just a string of bad luck, and based on the odds, we've had the string of bad luck. Our luck is bound to turn. You know, Jeremiah was convinced that everybody was this way.

You know, he really couldn't come to the part, he really couldn't come deep down in his heart to think that everyone was this way, that no one was thinking that God was dealing with them, that no one was paying attention. He thought there had to be somebody out there that was listening, that he couldn't understand, he couldn't believe that no one would consider this chastisement, maybe he wasn't from God, and that God was trying to tell us something, that we need to turn our lives around. So in verse number four, he says, surely these are poor, they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God, but I will go to the great men in this city, in this nation, I'll go to the great men and speak to them, for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. But no, these two altogether have broken the yoke and burst the bonds. Every restraint that was put upon them, they had decided to ignore.

You know, there's a funny thing sometimes that you know the law, you know how it works, there may be schools in it, and somehow you think you're above the law.

And it's not necessarily speaking to you, but it's speaking to everybody else.

Now Jeremiah had begun to realize that even the great people, even the leaders, had also broken the yoke and they had cast off the restraints that God had placed on people.

So when you cast off the restraints that God places on people, where does this go?

Where does it lead? Well, those, I think, are pretty important questions. I think they're good questions. I heard a story about a psychiatrist, and they're always asking the question, how do you feel? You know, this kind of shrink talk, how do you feel?

Well, this psychiatrist was on vacation and he had gone to Hawaii, and he was walking along the beautiful coastal areas there, and he noticed just the little tip, the top of a bottle.

He pulled it out, and as he was, you know, handling it, all of a sudden out came a genie.

And the genie was so excited to be removed from this very confining space, so he said, I will give you one wish, anything that you'd like. So the psychiatrist thought for a while, and he thought, you know, it's pretty nice here in Hawaii. I would like you to build a super highway from the coast of California to Hawaii. And the genie said, well, I can't do that. I mean, do you realize how long those pilings would have to be?

You know, to go down through the ocean floor and go down to bedrock. Do you realize how much concrete that it would take, you know, to pave that entire, you know, distance from the coast of California to Hawaii? The psychiatrist thought, well, that's reasonable. He said, I'll tell you what, if you could just help me to understand my patience, what makes them tick? What it is that's deep inside them to help me to understand exactly how they feel about something? Genie said, hmm, would you like that two-lane or four-lane?

You know, we can't always understand how people feel, but you know, we can know and understand how God feels about something. You know, if we take a look at our nation today, and we look at how things are operating, how things are functioning, ask yourself this question. How does God feel about that? You know, we don't have to wonder. We don't have to guess, because God tells us in the Scripture how He feels. You know, people have done these things before.

There's nothing new under the sun. We do the same things. Humanity does the same things, generation after generation. God has already told us in Scripture how He feels about it.

And really, that's what the prophecies are all about. So how does God feel about the situation that Jeremiah described? Well, let's pick it up here in Jeremiah 5 and verse 6.

He says, Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them. A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them. A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces because their transgressions are many, and their backsliding have increased.

Chances are this is a metaphor. We're talking about wolves and lions and leopards, all things that sneak up on you to try to destroy you. They're probably representing Israel's enemies. You know, the people have been backed up in the cities. The people have been getting behind barred gates to keep their enemies out. You know, whether it be in the forest, there's a lion. Whether it be in the deserts, we've got a wolf. And even in the cities, there's a leopard that watches over their cities. So if they walked outside from their barred gates, they're slain. As it says in verse number 6, they're slain. They're destroyed. They're torn in pieces.

Verse number 7, How shall I pardon you for this? That's a question that God asks.

How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken me, and you've sworn by those that are not gods. When I have fed them to the full, God took care of them.

Then they committed adultery. And notice it says, and they assembled by troops in the harlot's houses. They were like well-fed, lusty stallions everyone knayed after his neighbor's wife.

Oh, there's a lot in these two verses here, aren't there? You know, your children have forsaken me, and then they have sworn not by God, but by false gods for those that are not gods.

You know, there was a time in this country when people would go to court and testify to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But then they would actually kiss the Bible. I don't know if any of you old-timers remember that. And then later on, you would put your hand on the Bible. Well, I don't think they do those things today. You know, I think that part of the oath is that you'll swear to tell the truth, so help me God. That's still there at the end of the oath. But when God says, I fed them to the full in verse 7, it wasn't as though God left us without anything. You know, he didn't leave us hungry. He didn't leave us starving to death. He didn't leave us blind. He didn't leave us poor or naked. He gave us everything that we could want. And what do we do? It says in verse number 7, we committed adultery and assembled ourselves by troops in the harlot's houses. You know, when you watch television or you see the movies or you're reading a novel or a book or you're reading a magazine and you look at the culture of our time, you know, it seems like the signature sin in our nation is the seventh commandment. You shall not commit adultery or any of the connected commandments, whether it be pornography or fornication or sexual immorality or homosexuality. All these seem to be signature sins in our nation today and how they affect family and how they affect people like well-fed lusty stallions everyone knayed after his neighbor's wife. And we're going to talk about that trend here a little bit more in just a moment. But then God says something in verse 9, which is very, very disturbing. Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 9, shall I not punish them for these things, says the Lord. Do you think I'm not going to do something about this? God says, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?

So, brethren, that's the title, I guess, of the message of the sermon message today.

The title is God's Prophets Speak to a Nation Such as This. And what he's saying here is just not limiting this to this one nation of Israel, as we're going to see as we go on. He says, if I find a nation like this, do you think I'm not going to do something about it? Do you think I'm not going to visit? I think we know what the word visit means when someone comes to visit you. I think that's how the old King James reads it, if you've got that in your lap. He says, do you think I'm not going to punish them for these things? Shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?

Further and specifically, what I hope to accomplish today with all of us here today is to review the reality of what this nation is becoming and what God thinks about it.

And to watch ourselves, that's the secondary purpose of the message today, to watch ourselves to assure that we are not being affected by the culture that we find ourselves living in, by the influences that we are not dragged down by the influences that are all around us.

So let's ask the question, how does God feel about the current state of the nation, or any nation, for that matter, that has some of the same trends that we're going to review here as we go forward? Let's talk about some trends. The last major election was November of 2012, when we had a presidential election. The next one will be November of 2016.

In November of 2012, I think those elections were very revealing about the state of the nation at that time. Now, this is less than two years ago. For the first time, voters in three states approved same-sex marriage. That's the first time that had ever been done. Now, up to that point, there were six states that had approved same-sex marriages, but that was through the courts, was through a legislative. It had never been done with voters. So in these three states, over 50 percent of the voters said, yes, we believe in same-sex marriage. We believe it should be allowed. And so that happened. And you know, prior to that time, from 1998 and up to that election, there were 32 different times when that went to voters of states. And every time it was turned back, they said, no, marriage should be between a man and a woman, not same-sex marriages. But that trend has now changed. Now we added three states. So we went from six states to nine states after the election. But it was still illegal in the other states, and it was still illegal at the federal government, but it didn't take much time because in June of 2013, about seven months from the November 2012 elections, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage. So now, at the federal level, the federal government was required by law to recognize same-sex marriage. What's happened since then? Again, since June of 2013, we've gone from nine states to 19. Another 10 have, in a sense, been added to the nine, and the federal government and the District of Columbia. Further with the point today that that is an incredible change in less than two years. Do you see the trend? This is a massive change in the culture of our time, not only in our lifetime, but in less than two years. We're still not to November of 2014.

So we're seeing rapid changes, aren't we? Right before our eyes, unprecedented changes before our eyes. So how does God feel about these changes? Let's notice Leviticus chapter 18 and verse 22. Leviticus chapter 18 and verse 22. God tells us how He feels. You know, the Seventh Commandment is pretty clear that sex outside between a man and a woman that are married is defilement. He's very clear on that. The Seventh Commandment is very, very clear. And the Leviticus, we won't have time to go through, but most of the verses here in chapter 18 talk about sexual sins, adultery, and those connected sins to that type of situation. But we're going to focus here on verse number 22. Leviticus chapter 18 and verse number 22. It says, you shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. Rather than I don't know how God could speak any more plainly or many many more clearly than to say it is simply an abomination. You know, we don't use that word a lot in English, but other synonyms would be detestable, shameful, abhorring, you know, abominable. The Good News Bible puts it this way. No man is to have sexual relations with another man. God hates that. So we know how God feels about it. The New Living Translation says this, do not practice homosexuality. Having sex with another man as with a woman is a detestable sin.

So God speaks very, very plainly. Verse number 24. We'll jump there. Don't defile yourselves with any of these things. For by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.

God says one of the reasons I am casting them out is because they were doing these very things.

And so I have visited them, and I have cast them out, and I'm bringing you into a very, very wonderful, fruitful land. Verse 25. For the land is defiled. Therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it. Sounds very much like what you read in Jeremiah. Do you think I'm not going to visit? Do you think I'm not going to do something about this? And notice that it says, the land vomits out its inhabitants. How much more graphic can it be? You know, when you've got something in you that's making you sick, your body gets it out. It vomits it out, and God is vomiting out, you know, those nations that were there before the children of Israel came in.

Verse 26. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and you shall not commit any of these abominations, any of these detestable things, either any of your own nation or any foreigner or stranger that dwells among you. He emphasizes again in verse 27, for all these abominations the men of the land have done, they were doing them before you came, and I vomited them out. And notice the land is defiled. Verse 28. Now there's the warning. Lest the land vomit you out when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. God warns them ahead of time, doesn't He?

Doesn't He? In a sense, He's warning us through them. Let's jump to verse number 30. Therefore, you shall keep my ordinance so that you don't commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am your God.

That word defiles, it says, don't be defiled. It talks about being unclean. It's something that corrupts. It's something that changes you and not in a pure or a right way. It violates the sanctity of pureness. You look up that word defile. It's not a very good word. It's not a pleasant word.

Let's notice that God hasn't changed His mind as we go from the Old Testament to the New Testament to Romans chapter 1 and verse 24. Let's turn over there. Romans chapter 1 and verse 24. It says, Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. The New Living Translation puts verse 24 this way.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired, and as a result they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies.

Let's go back to verse 25 back to the New King James.

Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie. They worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen.

Amen to that. God's will will ultimately be done. His kingdom will ultimately come. His ways will be taught worldwide. Verse 26.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions, for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Verse 27. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, they burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful. God calls a spade a spade. He says, What is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due?

God says it's shameful. It's a shameful thing. But you know what? There's a trend out there, isn't it? And far from being a shameful thing, many pride themselves on it.

We have to speak from Scripture. With the countries and the nations, many gay pride marches, parades. I think Isaiah chapter 3 verse 9. Let's turn over there. Isaiah chapter 3 and verse 9. Could that be a prophecy for our nation today?

Isaiah chapter 3 and verse 9. Let's take a look there. Another one of God's prophets.

Isaiah chapter 3 and verse 9.

Again, God speaking to his people who had turned away, they turned their backs on him. They began to do some of these things. Isaiah chapter 3 verse 9, it says, The look on their countenance witnesses against them. God says, you can just look at their faces and they witness against them. And they declare their sin as Sodom. You know, they're not afraid.

They're not being private about it. They declare it. They don't hide it, it says.

Woe to their soul. God says, it's not going to be good for them.

Woe to their soul, for they have brought evil upon themselves. You know, the New International version says it this way in verse number 9 of Isaiah 3. The look on their faces testifies against them. They parade their sin like Sodom, and they don't hide it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves. God doesn't want anyone to be brought into disaster, but he knows where these ways lead. You know, as the world changes, we have to ask ourselves, are we becoming more tolerant of some of these changes? Are we becoming more accepting of some of these sinful things that God talks about? The trend in this nation wasn't long ago. I think it was the same election, November 2012, that there were two states, Colorado and Washington, who voted possession and recreational use of marijuana. This is something that was done just recently, and of course that's a hallucinogenic drug. It's potentially dangerous. Other states allow it for medicinal purposes, though it's clearly abused by some in those states. But although marijuana isn't directly mentioned in Scripture, God's Word clearly condemns intoxication in any form. Let's turn over to 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9.

God speaks of a few things here that says that they have no place in the Kingdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9. But we've come to the point now where voters, over 50%, in two nations, or two nations, two states that say this is okay for recreational use, an hallucinogenic drug that remains, by the way, still illegal under federal law.

The reason is because it intoxifies people. It's dangerous. Let's take a look. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 9. Some of the things we've already touched on. Don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, we've touched on that already, nor thieves, nor covetous, and nor drunkards. In this case, intoxication by alcohol, not by drugs, but I think it's related, brethren. Nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. So, God had called people that had some of these characteristics. I think He's talking about all of them that we just read about. And such were some of you. But you were washed, and you were sanctified. Not corrupted, but sanctified, set apart for holy use.

And you were justified in the name of your elder brother, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. So, God can do a lot of things in us through His Holy Spirit.

We kind of rehearsed a little bit of that in the last Holy Day. Let's go back now to Jeremiah chapter five. There's a lot here. We spent a lot of time in Jeremiah today. Jeremiah chapter five and verse nine. We see some of the trends in the nation. Jeremiah chapter five and verse nine. I probably should have told you to keep your finger there, so you might want to if we leave again. We read this scripture, but I'll just repeat it here. Shall I not punish them for these things, says the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? And we've already touched on the fact that we're not just talking about the nation of Israel or the nation of Judah. We're going to cover that as we go a little further along in the book of Jeremiah. It's any nation that has these characteristics. Verse 10. Go up on her walls and destroy, but don't make a complete end.

Take away her branches, for they are not the Lord's. Whatever it is that they're beginning to get themselves into, all these different areas they're going into, these branches, they're not God's ways. Verse 11. Notice now we've expanded from the house of Israel and the house of Judah to the house of Judah now. They have dealt very treacherously with me, says the Lord. They have lied about the Lord and said, it's not He that's doing these things to us. You know, why are we struggling? It's not He that's bringing this calamity. It's not He that's trying to speak to us. This adversity isn't God's judgment. It's not He. Neither will evil come upon us, nor will we see the sword. Basically talking about armies of other nations. Neither shall we see the sword, neither shall we see famine. In other words, this isn't God's adversity.

It's just bad luck. We're going to be all right.

And you know, any nation that has been blessed by God, and you look around and you see the blessings, don't you still? On every side, they're still there. See the wealth, you see the food, you see the living conditions, you see the peace that we've had on our borders. You know, all of these things, all the goodness that God has given to a people who in their initial steps, you know, said they were faithful to Him, acknowledged Him, and said we hold these truths to be self-evident.

That all men are created, created equal and endowed by their Creator. They look to God, and when the nation is chastised by God, and they turn their backs on Him, and they refuse to hear Him, they refuse to listen to Him, and they say, oh, you know, just these bad things that are happening are just bad luck, and these are not God's chastisements, and we're going to be just fine.

God's going to respond to that. We turn our back on Him as a nation. He's eventually going to turn His back on us. You want me out? I'll leave, and then we'll see how that goes.

Now, God's going to respond to that, and looking around us in the world today, it might be time to brace ourselves. Now, I'm not sending any dates, I'm just talking about trends, and just keeping our eyes open, and just being alert.

You know, you would think that with all that's going on, that there would be voices raised. You would think that there would be preachers in the pulpits of a lot of different churches. You'd think that there would be people on the corners of the streets, and that you would be warning people of what's going wrong.

You'd think there would be a lot more of that out there, of what God has to say about it, what God thinks about what's going on. And you'd think there would be more messages about the need to turn back to God. But you know what seems to be happening? It's just the opposite.

Just the opposite. It seems like it works that way. The opposite happens.

Notice Jeremiah here, chapter 5, in verse number 13. It says, And the prophets became wind. You know, I don't know what that means. Of course, maybe the modern vernacular is like hot air. It doesn't mean anything. They're not really speaking for God. It says, The prophets become wind, for the word is not in them, and thus it shall be done to them.

Therefore says the Lord God of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I'm going to make my words in your mouth fire, and this people would, and it's going to devour them.

Now, I'm not sure I know exactly what this means, but one thing that seems abundantly clear is that God is pointing his finger at the preachers, at the teachers of his word.

And he's saying, you ought to be telling people what I think about it.

But that doesn't seem to be happening. The further it goes down this road, it seems the less and less people talk about it.

They are ignoring the basic moral precepts that should be preached to the people. Verse number 15, Behold, I'm going to bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel, says the Lord. It's a mighty nation. It's a nation that's been around a long time. It's an ancient nation, a nation whose language that you don't know, you can't understand their speech or what they say. And their quiver is like an open tomb or sepulchre. In other words, they've got an unlimited ammunition. They're strong. They're mighty. They're mighty men. Verse number 17, And they shall eat up the various things. They're going to eat up your harvest and your bread, which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds. They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees. They shall destroy your fortified cities in which you trust. And they're going to do it with a sword.

You know, you really thought you could trust your military is the thought, that you could protect yourself from what might happen. God says, I'm going to see that your enemies eat you up, eat up your harvest, eating up the things you should be eating, eating up your flocks, your herds, eating up your vines and your fig trees. You're going to slowly but surely be eaten up. You know, we often think we've got the power to defend our country, the most powerful military navies in the world, that nothing could stop that military might. But you know, we're really vulnerable, aren't we? We're vulnerable. It's surprising we haven't had more terrorist attacks in our country as open a society as we are. Maybe the hedge hasn't been taken away just yet. Why have we gotten ourselves into this situation? Well, we read through Jeremiah and the other prophets. You want to know how does God feel about a nation that's living like this?

Or a nation as a whole that's living like this? You have the answer. We know how God feels about it. We know what he's going to do. You're going to lose protection. The hedge of protection that has protected you from your enemies day in, day out, year in, and year out, is eventually going to be moved. We haven't made God as our strength and our refuge, as a people, as a nation.

And you know, I'll tell you something. The more we look around, I think being on our own is not our best option.

Let's turn to Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 20. Isaiah chapter 5 and verse number 20. Further, I'm going to warn you a little bit here. I might go overtime today. Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 20. I just took my watch off and put it in front of me. So hopefully that'll be my guide here.

Any nation, any nation, brings curses on itself when it turns its back on biblical values and accepts sin as normal and commonplace. Thinking themselves to be enlightened, really, they're just going further into darkness. And the reality is that they're very, very short-sighted, or we as individuals could be short-sighted, when we don't realize the consequences, the long-term consequences of our choices. We need to make sure we don't fail to take into account God's view, the Creator's view. Here's what he states here in Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 20.

Pretty familiar Scripture here. Woe to those who call evil good. You know what they're doing? Something that's really wrong, something that is actually despicable, something that is abominable, something that is detestable, that's good.

Woe to those that call evil good and then call what is really good evil.

God hates that. He delights in the truth. And he says, woe to those that do those things. It says, woe put darkness for light. Things that really are wrong, things that take you down a dark path, well, that's really the right path. That's the light. That's the way we should all be going.

Woe put darkness for light, and the things that are light, they call darkness.

Woe put strange with joy, in my body.

Now, this is long before November 2012. They were negotiating for health insurance and medical benefits for same-sex partners. Now, these benefits were already there for people that were married. If you were an employee of the school district, you received these medical benefits, and your spouse would also enjoy these medical benefits as well. But now they were negotiating for these same benefits for same-sex partners. Now, it was interesting to me that they were not asking it for unmarried couples that were, you know, man and woman, that were living together. They weren't asking for medical benefits for them. Unmarried people that were living together that were not of the same sex. They were asking for the benefits for same-sex partners that were unmarried and living together. Isn't that interesting? Now, I guess I can't go into too much detail because this may go on the public forum. But, anyhow, one school member told my wife, I'm not for it, but on the other hand, I don't want to be thought of as a bigot. I'm not for it, but on the other hand, I don't want to be thought of as a bigot. You know, if you stand up today against same-sex marriage or, you know, this type of thing, you are considered intolerant.

You are considered a bigot. You are considered a dictator because you are dictating your personal feelings over somebody else. It's a very clever argument, isn't it? It's very clever. It's very satanic. It's very twisted. And there's a twisted logic to it. Here's the thought that's out there today. It's a clever argument. How can you decide for everybody else who they should love? How do you have the right to decide for everybody else who they should love? Isn't that clever? It's very twisted logic. You have to think, how would I answer that question if somebody asked me? You know, maybe that's something we could discuss, you know, in the men's club sometime. It's a clever argument. Woe to those who call evil good and who call good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Verse 21, woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and are prudent in their own sight. Verse 24, let's jump there. Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and you have had fires, you know how quickly that burns.

As the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be like rottenness. It's going to burn. Quickly, apparently. And their blossom, it's going to descend like dust. It's not going to last very long. It's going to fall to the ground like dust. Because they rejected the law of their God, the law of God. They want an only true God, the Lord of hosts.

And they are despising My word, says God, the Holy One of Israel. Verse 25, therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them and stricken them. Brother, we can know how God feels about what's going on. Let's review just for a moment some of the other trends that are happening in the family. We've already talked about the Seventh Commandment, and that the only sanctified situation for sexual relations is between a man and a woman only in marriage. And anything outside of that brings corruption, changes people, changes a nation.

Broken marriages have equaled, and broken families, equal a broken society. I think I've mentioned this before, but maybe not all of you have heard it. In the past, how the great empires, the great world-ruling nations or empires of the past, whether it be Babylon, whether it be Media Persia, whether it be Greece, whether it be the Roman Empire, that they all started with strong families. That was a part of their culture at the beginning, as they rose to greatness. They started with strong families. When we went overseas for the feast one year, it was a wonderful opportunity to go to Turkey and to visit all of the different churches that are mentioned in the book of Revelation that are on the mail route.

And one of the ministers from the church that was there talked to us about this, that they all had strong families. But then that trend began to change and it began to turn, just like we're seeing in our nation today. And he said ultimately, a couple of things, ultimately no nation was able to turn the trend around. Once it started, it seemed like it continued ahead in that direction and ultimately it resulted in the fall of a world-ruling empire, that very trend of family.

God designed family. You know, we just had our son get married to our daughter-in-law now, and we, of course, reviewed and rehearsed those scriptures that God talks about. About that is the marriage state. The marriage bed is undefiled, as we read about in the book of Hebrews, and there's a blessing. God gave his personal blessing. I think it says that in Genesis 1, verse 28. And so the family started with God's personal blessing in a family environment in a marriage.

They're building blocks of society. Just like we build little building blocks when we were kids, you have to have a good foundation. They're building blocks of society, and when there's a breakdown in families, then that foundation crumbles and everything else falls with it. So what's the state of marriage in the nation today? What's the state of family in the nation today? Let me give you a few statistics. I'll try not to bore you, but I think it's important to know some facts and figures. According to the U.S.

Census figures, between 1960 and the year 2000, that's 40 years, we're talking about a generation. What happened between 1960 and 2000? In that 40-year period, the number of unmarried couples living together in this nation increased tenfold. In one generation, from 1960 to 2000, it increased tenfold, and in the next decade, it doubled again. So I guess that would be, what, eightfold from what it was in 1960? Eightfold. Today, there are about seven and a half million couples that, although the actual number may be considered higher since unmarried partners may describe themselves as friends or roommates, that there's about seven and a half million approximately couples, unmarried couples in the nation today. Let's look at percentages.

In 1960, less than one percent of households had unmarried couples living in them. That was about 375,000 unmarried couples living together. As a percentage, it was less than one percent, 0.006, six-tenths of one percent. Today, 12 percent, 12 percent of U.S. households are now unmarried couples living together. In some cities, a third of couples living together are not married to each other.

Other recent studies have shown that almost 60 percent of women ages 19 to 44 have chosen to live with a partner of the opposite sex at some time in their lives. So how has this affected the nation? Has this bred good fruit? Has this brought stability, living together before marriage? Apparently, it is only increases the odds that a couple will not remain together. There is a logic out there, well, if we just try it, we'll know.

Well, no, we don't have to get married. This will help us to know whether we should stay together or not. Well, statistics show that it increases the odds that a couple will break up.

About 40 percent of couples who are moving together separate before marriage. And of those that do marry, studies show that the divorce rate is higher for them than those who never lived together before marriage. Isn't that fascinating? How the dynamics work? Sexual promiscuity and immorality begins early. Studies are now showing, and I could not believe when I read this, that nearly 50 percent of United States teenagers are sexually active.

Not in marriage, of course. With one in five having sexual intercourse by age 15. 20 percent by age 15. Brethren, these are terrible fruits that we're reaping. The breakdown of the family is that the children that are born from these relationships. You know, when we were still doing tax returns a few years ago, we had one lady that came in that had five children, and none of them were from the same man. And she wasn't married to any of them, nor had been married to any of them. And, brother, when you do a tax return, you see the cultural change.

I can tell you that. Based on personal information that people have to provide you in order to complete a tax return, we have personally seen how the dynamics in households have changed just by doing tax returns over the years. One in four females ages 15 to 19 are infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease. One in four. 15 to 19 year olds. What's the fruit of all this? Because it says, by the fruits you shall know.

You know, with so many showing disregard for God's instruction regarding sex and marriage, it's no surprise the nation is suffering. And, of course, it's suffering for many things. Some curses, curses of abortion and illegitimacy. And, you know, illegitimacy, some people don't even know what it means. What does illegitimate mean? They don't even know what that means. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, almost one in five pregnancies in America and in abortion.

With the unborn baby, the nation's estimated annual death toll from abortion is now close to one million per year. You know, to put this in perspective, Americans, I think, were rightfully horrified on September 11th when we saw the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and also the Pentagon and the flights that went into the towers and the crash of the Pentagon and also in the field in Pennsylvania. And there were 3,000 people that lost their lives that day.

And, brethren, I'm not underestimating the tragedy of what that was because it was. And yet, almost the same number of innocent, unborn children are murdered by abortion in this nation every single day. So where are the tears for them? Another sad fruit of our nation's promiscuity is the percentage of births that are illegitimate. People that are children that are born to two people that are unmarried. You know, that's what illegitimate means. A lot of people today do not even know what that word means. It means, just as I said, children born to people that are unmarried.

And that number of illegitimate births is increasing rapidly. It's dramatically rising. A first birth to mothers ages 15 to 44 today, 15 to 44 pretty much the childbearing years. A first birth to mothers ages 15 to 44 today, guess how many are illegitimate? Almost half. 46%. And again, that number is rising. And for the younger women ages 20 to 24, guess how many births are illegitimate today in this nation? 61%, 6 out of 10. So the younger generation.

Two unmarried mothers. So where's the outrage? What does this tell us about the present moral state of the nation? We don't have to wonder. God tells us how He feels and what He will do. Hebrews 13 and 4. Let's go over there. Hebrews 13 and 4. We're going to go back to Jeremiah 5 in just a moment. So if you haven't left your finger there, you may want to keep it there. Hebrews 13 and 4.

He talks about marriage. It's a very simple Scripture, but a very profound one, a very simple one, with a very powerful message here. He says, God says, marriage is honorable. God says, that's the way I designed it. That's the way that I made it. That's the way that it works best. That's where the sanctity is. That's where the blessing is. That's the way it works.

And that bed is undefiled. And in contrast to the defilement that we talked about, all of those other sexual relations in Leviticus chapter 18 and in Romans chapter 1. Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed is undefiled. But fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. God says, do you think I'm not going to do something about it? I am.

And whether, don't get me wrong, so were some of us. So were some of us. So there's a place for repentance. But God wants people to know how He feels about it.

Let's go back to Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 18. Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 18.

Nevertheless, God says, in those days, I'm angry, I'm going to visit, I'm going to punish. But nevertheless, He says, I'm not going to make a complete end of you. And it will be when you say, why does the Lord do all these things to us? Apparently, they must get to the point where they begin to understand, okay, I guess maybe it's not a run of bad luck after all.

Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us? Why me, Lord? Why us, Lord? In other words, begin to ask that type of question. God says, then you shall answer them just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land. So you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours. God says, because you have forsaken me and you've served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.

I can tell you what that meant for the children of Israel, for the nation of Israel and of Judah, what that meant. It means their enemies came in. A third of the Israelites died of famine and pestilence. Scores of them died by the sword, military might coming in from outside their borders.

And the remainder of them were carried away into captivity. Because you forsaken me, God says, and serve foreigners or serve foreign gods in your land, you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours. Now, when we look at our country today, it's true that there are still people that believe in the one and only true God.

Their numbers are declining, but there still are people in this nation that have high moral standards. There are people in this nation that still believe that God, the God of the Bible, is that one and true God. But I think you'll recognize, as we've been reviewing today, and many of you have already told me, that there is an overwhelming trend in our nation today of an increasing secularization of everything.

You know, those people that are opposed to the idea of having God, of having anything to do with God, are actually using our own Constitution to drive Him out of every part of life right now. Out of schools, out of the public square, any place where God can be seen, they are trying to drive Him out.

That trend is there powerfully. They're willing so far to allow us to have God in our churches, in our homes, but they don't seem to want Him anywhere else. I don't know that it has to be every last man and woman that turned their back on God. It may be only that the nation has gone so far down the road where most of us don't even believe in God as a nation, that God will eventually turn His back on this nation and remove that hedge of protection and will be open to our enemies.

Why is God going to do this? Why is He going to do this? He says, because you forsaken Me, as it says in verse number 7. This nation, the United States of America, is under a curse. As warned of centuries ago in the pages of Scripture, Leviticus chapter 26, Deuteronomy chapter 28, they recorded the blessings that God promised to a nation that would listen to Him, that would obey Him, that would follow Him.

But when that nation came to a point where they turned their back on Him, He said that there would be curses that would follow. Let's turn to Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 15. For most of the first two centuries, this nation has enjoyed abundant blessings that were foretold.

And yet God also warns, in Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 15, He says this, It shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all of His commandments and His statutes, which I command you today. But then curses will come. Curses will come. We know how God feels about it. They'll come upon you and overtake you. What curses did He foretell? Verse number 16, cursed shall you be in the city, He begins.

What's the state of this nation's cities? Well, I can tell you they may be impressive on the outside, but they're very much rotten at the core. We see problems with the school system. We see growing numbers of cities are bankrupt, that they're ridden with crime, that they're ridden with unemployment, that they're ridden with a lot of these types of things. Corruption. Schools that aren't working, that are failing. These are some of the things that are happening in the cities. And a lot of people are fleeing the cities, and some people that can't flee, that wish they could, can't get out. Verse number 17, cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl, God continues. So He's talking about food sources here. And study after study are beginning to show that our food sources maybe actually aren't so good for us after all, as some of the information begins to come to light. And for many, our diet and lifestyle may actually be, in fact, dangerous to our health.

Verse number 18, cursed shall be the fruit of your body. While birth rates are declining with the legalization of abortion, we've even viewed our own children as curses and not blessings, as we've taken their lives in the womb. They've been slaughtered almost a million per year. And for those American children who are born, one in six has some kind of developmental disability. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body. You've probably noticed that trend, too, haven't you? A lot of disabilities out there.

Verse number 18, cursed shall be the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle, the offspring of your flocks. Only a few years ago, the United States was the biggest exporter in the world of food, primarily wheat, corn, and meat. And now that has also changed.

Now it's reversed. America actually imports more food than it exports. Let's jump to verse number 21. The Lord will make the plague cling to you. He will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning. Fever, they shall pursue you until you perish.

I think he's talking about pestilences and diseases. You know, it wasn't that long ago that we were in the doctor's office, and our daughter had a very serious infection, that the strongest antibiotic is what they had to use for her. And he basically was frank with us. I may have mentioned this before, I can't remember. He was frank with us. He says, we know. We know that eventually there's going to be a virus out there that we don't have an antibiotic for. And we're actually very close right now. We're very close to that. Pretty recent article. I can't remember who shared this with me.

It may have been Mr. Howl. It's from USA Today, Thursday, May 2014. World Health Organization sounds an alarm on a superbug. It says, disease-causing bacteria that resist antibiotic treatment are now widespread in every part of the world, and they've reached alarming levels in many areas, says the first global report on the issue from the World Health Organization.

The problem is so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine, says the report. A post-antibiotic era in which common infections and minor injuries can kill is a very reasonable possibility for the 21st century. What's going on? Well, thanks to part, to antibiotic overuse and the dearth of new drugs, some bugs that were once easily curable now resist even the most powerful antibiotics.

That's because the bugs are always evolving, even when the medicines are not. But this is the age, in a sense. Again, God's in charge. The hedge of protection may still be there for now. But if He decides, everything can change. But it's interesting that people who are not religious, that are in the medical profession, are saying they have reached alarming levels. Isn't that interesting? I didn't choose... I started this message before I got this article. Alarming levels ties in with an alarm, doesn't it? To wake up. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 25. Jeremiah chapter 25. Things are changing.

Trends are developing. Things are happening rather quickly. Jeremiah chapter 25 and verse 15. God says He will avenge Himself on a nation such as this. It's just not the nation of Israel. It's not just the nation of America, but in any nation such as this. Jeremiah chapter 25 verse 15. For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me, Take this wine cup of fury from my hand.

God says I'm angry. Take this wine cup of fury from my hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. So it's just more than the nation of Israel. He says send it to all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. And you can read some of the nations that are listed here. Egypt's listed in verse 19. Edom and Moab and Ammon are listed in verse 21. Other nations are listed in verses 22 and verse 25. And then God covers all the kingdoms of the earth. And we come to verse number 26. Notice verse number 26. And what it says there, it says, All the kings of the north, far and near, one with another and naughtest in all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth.

I think that pretty much covers it. Verse 29. The oil I'm going to begin, though, to bring calamity on the city, which is called by my name. So it sounds like he starts there. And he says, which is called by my name, and should you be utterly unpunished?

So God is going to punish Jerusalem and Israel and other Gentile nations. They won't go unpunished, as it says in the latter part of verse 29. And notice, you shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord, every single person, all the inhabitants of the earth. Verse number 30. Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy against them. All these words and say to them, the Lord will roar from on high. This could be referring to Jesus Christ's return. And utter his voice from his holy habitation, he will roar witherly against his hold.

He will give a shout as those who tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise will come to the ends of the earth, though Lord has a controversy with the nations, and he will plead his case with all flesh. Brethren, so what about you and me, though? What about you and me? Because we can be influenced by the surroundings. We can be influenced by the culture in which we live.

You know, when the alarms are going off, we don't want to hit the snooze button spiritually. I'm going to refer for time to Revelation chapter 18 and verse 4. You can turn there if you're like. Revelation chapter 18 and verse 4. John writes what Jesus inspired. He says, And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people. So he's basically directing his thoughts to his people. He says, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. So I guess God's going to do something about it.

First Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 5. Let's notice that. First Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 5. Paul writes to our brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. First Thessalonians 5 verse 5.

You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do. So some sleep would let us not do what they do, but let us watch and be sober.

Spiritually speaking, God wants to make sure that we don't hit the spiritual snooze button, in a sense, and go back to sleep.

Further, I guess I'm concerned. I'm concerned about myself. I'm concerned about you. I'm concerned that things are happening and changing so rapidly that it can affect you and I in a bad way. That we could become kind of just complacent. That we can become individually or collectively. I hate to use the term Leah to see them, but I think most of us know what that means because of what God wrote to them in the book of Revelation. The message that was there, that was actually there. Those letters were exchanged among all of those churches, by the way. So God wanted all of those messages to be heard by all of His people.

Let's consider for a moment the enormous importance of the calling that God has given to you and to me.

How enormous it is and how important it is. God the Father has personally invited you. He's called you and me personally to participate in the most important work in human history among His creation. Besides having been called to proclaim His message, the message that our elder brother brought, the kingdom of God that's coming.

And besides calling to proclaim His greatness and to participate also in the teaching of others about His ways and about His coming kingdom.

In addition to this, we have an incredible, astounding, personal opportunity to inherit eternal life.

And to serve with God, the Father and our elder brother, in the kingdom as priests, as kings, with Jesus Christ as He begins to restore the government in the first thousand years and then beyond.

For those that God has called now, there are very few, but for those that God has called, this is a unique moment.

You know, you've probably heard messages over the years of how few we are, how few we are as a percentage of the population.

It's a unique moment, a unique responsibility, a unique opportunity to special time.

So what are we doing? What are we doing about it?

Winston Churchill had this to say. I kind of like some of his speeches. Some of you remember he was Prime Minister of England during World War II, and the Nazis and others were trying to expand their territory.

Winston Churchill wrote this. Or actually, yeah, he wrote this. I guess it wasn't a speech. He wrote this.

He says, to each that comes in their lifetime is special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and they are offered the chance to do a very special thing unique to them and fitted to their talents.

What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which would have been their finest hour.

That's something to think about for me and for you. Is this your finest hour? Is this my finest hour? Are we completely awake to the divine vocation that we've been called to?

Or are we beginning to fall asleep? Are we prepared to accomplish the mission that God or the commission that God has given to us? Or are we unprepared? Are we equipped? Are we ready to face whatever comes our way?

To follow Jesus Christ's example of loyal service to our Heavenly Father, are we ready?

Haven't been given this extraordinary responsibility. God would not have us to take a spiritual siesta.

I don't believe, especially as a time such as this, in a nation such as this. Let's go to Luke 21, verse 34. Luke 21, verse 34.

I apologize for going over time. I've been thinking about this message for a very long time. Actually for months and months and months, maybe even over a year.

I think it's an important one. I hope you think so too. Christ, again, warns His people because that's what a prophet does.

You know, prophecies aren't to pat us on the back. See how good we're doing. Prophecies usually, if there's something wrong, and this is what is going to happen if we don't change.

Christ's title was a prophet. Let's see what He has to share with us here in Luke 21, verse 34. He's warning His people to keep watching and not to let the pleasures or problems of this life lull us into not paying attention to the warning signs that are there.

He says, take heed to yourself. So Christ is warning His people, He's speaking to His people, take heed to yourselves lest your hearts, so our hearts are involved here, they can be weighed down.

Our hearts can be weighed down with various things, carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. And then some of these things can come on you unexpectedly.

As a surprise, Christ says, don't be surprised.

Brother, we have to be careful not to adhere to the world's standards. We're getting to the second specific purpose statement. Now I'm transitioning here from the nation to you and me as people, sons, and daughters of God.

We have to be careful not to adhere to the world's standards. What kind of movies do you watch?

What kind of shows? Television shows. Are you allowing into your home? Into your mind? Into your memory banks?

You know, our son, Janie, whose career is in video production and editing, he had a love for filmmaking in school. And then they, in one of the classes, they sent out a permission slip to the parents because they were going to show a movie that was R-rated.

Does he have to get parental permission or be accompanied by an adult or what have you? They wanted a show. It was actually several movies they wanted to show, and each of them were R-rated movies.

He had to have parental approval to watch them in class, and Jillian and I said, no. No. I don't know if any other parents said no, but we said no.

Well, Janie wanted to watch them, okay? So we've got this dynamic going on here. He wanted to watch the movies. He said, no, you're not going to watch them. And I remember Janie protesting and saying, well, you know, those movies were made back in the 60s and 70s. They wouldn't be rated R today.

Interesting. From the mouth of a 16-year-old, he even realized that the standards had changed in the movie industry. It was wrong back then, but it's okay today. He saw the change.

Janie knew his movie standards had changed. What was deemed inappropriate then is now okay. Well, if it was wrong then, why is it okay today? Jelinda was working with one of the mothers in parent-teacher group, PTO, PTAs, what have you, and she had a child that was younger. I think her children, she had two of them, 11 and 12, and they wanted to watch a PG-13 movie.

So she's got her two children on the age of 13 wanting permission to watch a PG-13 movie with their friends. And this is what she told her children. She said, the movie standards say, parental guidance is suggested for children on the age of 13.

And my standards are a lot higher than the movie standards. She didn't think movie standards were high enough. Her standards were higher. And so she certainly, if the movie standards say it's not appropriate, she's definitely not going to let them watch it because her standards are higher than theirs.

Brother, we're all influenced. Whether we like it or not, we are all influenced by the world around us. We're all influenced by the world in the things that we see, the words that we hear, the words that we speak, the way we show respect to senior citizens, to teachers, to parents, to grandparents.

Some of you, old timers, have said this comment many times, well, I wouldn't have gotten away with talking to my dad or mother like that, or my grandparent like that. It's changed. It is changing. The trends are changing.

God says we have to let His commandments, His statutes, His judgments, His standards, His laws guide our actions.

When our children were on their teens, they'd argue with Jillian and I about dating. You know, who they could date, who they could marry. They'd say, well, we've seen people that were in the church. They would go and date somebody outside of the church.

And then they'd get married. It seemed to work out for them. You know? But we taught them God's principles and His standards for seeking a life partner, someone of like mind, someone you're equally yoked together.

We taught the principles of Solomon and how it says His wives, His foreign wives, turn Him away from God.

It was actually easy for us. We just said, you can't argue with us. It's God who said not to be unequally yoked. Take it to Him.

So we kind of got out of that one. God says that. Don't argue with us. Take it to Him.

Same thing with the Sabbath, rather. We can't compromise with God's law. It's a holy convocation. It's a commanded assembly to come together to appear before Him.

There are several different scriptures in the New Testament that say we come together to edify one another, that iron sharpens iron, that we encourage each other.

We obey the command to come before God. He's here. It's place His name here. He's here. It's a holy convocation, a commanded assembly.

We have to examine the scriptures, see what God has to say. Does God tell us which commandments we should teach our children and which He doesn't? I know there's parents that say, well, you decide whether you want to come to Sabbath services or not.

Well, do they get to decide if they can kill? Do they get to decide if they can steal? Why is the Sabbath different?

You know, as long as they're under our roof, I guess that's what we taught our children.

You know, when you are on your own, you can make those choices. But when you're under our roof, this is what we do, because this is what God tells us to do.

Whether we choose to do various things in the Sabbath, whether we decide on ourselves that we're just going to stay home and watch a DVD, or do we assemble and come together as God's word commands? What's His standard? What does He think about it?

How does God feel about that when we stay at home and watch a DVD when we're okay? How does God feel about it?

So what are your standards? What are my standards?

I counsel people over time now, last three years or so, about different things, and sometimes people ask me, well, Dave, what's your thoughts? What's your opinion on this?

I say, you know what? My opinion doesn't really mean a whole lot. It's what God's opinion is, what He says that matters.

Let's look into the Scriptures to see what He has to say.

Brethren, this world, and Satan, who is the God of this world, who deceives the whole world, is going to try to influence you and me.

He's going to try to influence you to live by a different standard.

Let's go back to Luke 21, verse 34. Luke 21, verse 34. You may already be there.

You know, in looking at the church's history, it's interesting to be reminded of when a part of the church, the part of the true church, would cease to be part of the true church, a common thread through history is when the church became entangled with the cares of this world.

There's a commonality then. Compromises began to be made, which eventually led to the rejection of the core elements of God, His law, His truth, and what He teaches.

Verse number 35.

For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Sounds like what we just read in Jeremiah chapter 25, doesn't it?

Verse number 26. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all of these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.

Let's turn over to Revelation chapter 3, verse 14. Revelation chapter 3, verse 14.

I mentioned Jesus Christ was a prophet. Do the messages of the prophets also apply to you and to me?

Could we be sleeping through the alarms? Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14.

God tells us, over and over, that you and I as members of the body of Christ, His church, are to be focused and foremost on His coming kingdom and to seek it first, and His righteousness and everything else will fall into place.

But let's see what He says here in Revelation chapter 3, verse 14.

It says, the angel of the church of the Laodiceans writes. So we know we're addressing the Laodiceans here.

He says, these things says the Amen, the faithful, the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

Of course, God created all things through Jesus Christ. He says, I know your works, that you're neither cold nor hot, and I wish that you were cold or hot. So then, because you were lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.

Wow, that sounds very much like how He was going to vomit the nations that had defiled the land.

And then His promised people came in to the promised land.

God says very much the same thing here. Because you are lukewarm, God doesn't like that.

You've probably had what you thought was a hot cup of coffee, and then it cooled.

And it's neither hot nor cold. It's terrible. It's terrible.

You know, when we went to Turkey and we went to Laodicea, it's amazing how Jesus Christ could use the things that were on the ground at the time to help people to understand certain concepts.

And there's a spring there. The water's terrible. It's a main spring.

And we were lining up to take a sip of the water in Laodicea. And everyone was spitting it out of their mouth.

And Jelinda said... I don't know if she's in here... Jelinda said, I'm going to try to swallow it.

So she got up to take her turn. She put it in her mouth. And the taste was just because I tried it. I didn't swallow it.

She spit it out, too.

It's amazing how Christ could take those common things.

I don't know if that spring was there at that time, but I'm guessing that there's a possibility that it was.

And so the people understood what Jesus Christ was trying to tell them.

You're just like this spring. You're not cold. You're not hot. And I'm going to spit you out, vomit you out of my mouth.

It probably got their attention.

Verse 17, because you say I'm rich, I think we're talking about in the spiritual context. I'm rich. I've become wealthy. Maybe not.

I'm in need of nothing. I suppose the physical things, probably a combination of both. They thought they were rich spiritually, too.

And you don't know, you don't see yourself the way I see you, that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

Brother, that's a lesson to them and to us. We don't always see the reality of what we are, the way God sees us.

If we've personally been ignoring some of the alarms, what are we to do?

Jesus tells us right here in verse 18, God tells us through Him, I counsel you, this is my counsel, to buy from me gold, refine in the fire so that you may be rich.

I think He's talking about the true riches now. And white garments, I think He's talking about the spiritual garments of righteousness, that you may be clothed. You don't realize that you've been unclothed spiritually, is what He's saying.

That the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and that you anoint your eyes with eyesab that you may see.

Because as many as I love, I spank. I rebuke. I chasten.

Therefore, He tells us what to do. If we're in this situation, personally, He says to be zealous.

I think we know what that means. Get going. Get up. Be zealous. And repent.

Repent of what we are becoming. He already says, I'm standing with the door knocking, so He's not far away.

And if anyone hears my voice, and He opens the door, I'll come into Him, and I'll dine with Him, and He with me.

Then let's read here, verses 19 and 20, from a translation called The Message. 19 and 20.

This is how it reads here in The Message. The people I love, I call into account. I prod, and I correct, and I guide, so that they'll live at their best.

Up on your feet, then. About face. Run after God. Look at me. I'm standing at the door, and I'm knocking.

If you hear me, call, and you open the door. I'll come right in, and I'll sit down to supper with you.

Brethren, I believe that the alarms are going off. Do you hear the sound?

Let's not press the spiritual snooze button, each of us is individuals and collectively. Let's not press the spiritual snooze button.

Brethren, let's make this our finest hour to carry out the commission and the work that God would have His sons and daughters to do in a nation such as this.