What Excuse Will You Use to Keep Out of the Kingdom of God?

The title is, What Excuse Will You Use to Keep You Out of the Kingdom of God?

The subtitle, or one of the subtitles, is, Come Let Us Reason Together. So we'll be doing some reasoning, hopefully. And then the other subtitle would be, Who He Who Plays with Fire Will Be Burned. So I grew up in what you might call a religious family and community, unlike Mr. Martin, who grew up in the city and didn't go to church that much or any. As a young person, I didn't like religious-sounding things. My Uncle Bill was a Baptist preacher, and other uncles were deacons, along with my grandfather on my mother's side. He had three boys about my age. I spent a lot of time with them, and oftentimes spent the night with them. Before bedtime, every night, somewhere around 9, 30, 10 o'clock, Uncle Bill would gather the family together in a room and pray for about 35 minutes. I thought it would never end. I remember looking out the window on a moonlight night and watching the family dog, Old Bingo, playing in the moonlight. I just felt uncomfortable with religious things. And even though my family were staunch Baptists, and that includes not only my parents, but grandparents, uncles, aunts, great-uncles, aunts, cousins, and so on, we never had family prayer, and we didn't do a lot of religious things in the home. Their teaching, that is, my parents' teaching, was principally by example. But from my earliest memories, I had a relationship with God in that I prayed and read the Bible. I remember when I was five or six years old, Aunt Molly, she taught as a great-aunt, taught the primary Sunday school class. After Sunday school, you would ask one of the participants in the Sunday school to cite a memory verse. I remember citing the verse, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

At the age of 13, my mother came home from a doctor's appointment, and you could tell that something was bad wrong. She finally told my brother and I that she had thyroid cancer. There were many nights that I would pray myself to sleep, asking God to heal her. And eventually, she did, after five surgeries, radiation, which at that time, circa 1950-51, was a pretty rare thing to recover from cancer. She lived to be 87.

Shortly after that, a tornado swept through our community to kill my maternal grandparents. The Korean War was looming, and I thought about how things got bad enough, even though he had a disability and one leg, that my dad might be drafted. So I had a lot to pray about. But I didn't like to hear someone else give a long, religious-sounding prayer in public, and I still don't today. But I've had trouble myself just praying in public, just somebody would suddenly call on you and say, would you give the prayer? Whatever. When all is said and done, true Christianity is not a religion, per se. It is a way of life based on a relationship with God. So what about you? What about me? Do you? Do I have a relationship, and I mean a personal relationship, with God and Christ? You know, it says in Revelation 3 that Jesus Christ is sitting on the right hand of the Father. Hebrews 7.25 says that Jesus Christ ever lives to make intercession for us, therefore He's able to save us to the uttermost. So God and Christ are on the job, 24-7, as they say. And do you understand the first article of faith? Let's go to Hebrews 11 verse 6. Hebrews 11 verse 6. So in teaching fundamentals of theology, I would ask the class, what is the first article of faith? What is the first article of faith? And Paul gives it here in Hebrews 11.6. It says, he who would come to God must first of all believe that He is. That is, that God exists. That is the first article of faith. And if you don't believe that God exists, and we'll have a lot more to say about the existence of God, and if God exists, then what? So 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. So the first article of faith is to believe that God exists. Way back in the decades ago, we really emphasized the existence of God and proofs of God's existence. In one sense, you cannot dogmatically prove the existence of God through the man's machinations and mechanisms and science or whatever else you want to use. If I only had one proof, as I said, one of the subtitles of the sermon would be, Come Let Us Reason Together, would be, Nothing Else Makes Sense. And you can read about the astronomical phenomena that exists in the heavens of the distance of the earth from the sun and the earth tilted on its axis and so many different things in the human body and the marvels of it and how this could all happen by chance or some evolutionary process. In fact, it blows the mind, but it is now called science. It's the law of the land, as it were. It is taught as fact in the schools of the country.

I believe that whether or not you will be in the kingdom of God will depend upon your relationship with God and Christ and each member of the body of Christ. So this sermon is for the youngest and the oldest among us. You're never too old or young to develop a relationship with God or develop a closer relationship with God. I remember, of course, as a child of parents asking me, you know, well, who made the moon, who made the sun? And I would say, well, God made it. Of course, that's the right answer. And I was walking across the campus of Pasadena way back somewhere in the early 80s with a granddaughter in my arms. I guess she was maybe two years old. And I looked up rare night there and I said, oh, Lindsay, look at that beautiful full moon. And I said, no, look at that beautiful half moon. And she said, who broke it? And of course, the answer of who created things is God. It is tragic that Christianity has been made to churchianity oftentimes, even in the Church of God. And sadly, at times, it's taken precedence over Christianity. Churchianity versus Christianity. Oftentimes, one of the first questions that we ask when inquiring about a person is, oh, is he or she in the Church? And I guess there's nothing wrong with that question. But church attendance does not mean that you have a relationship with God. Church attendance, as you read the parable of the 10 virgins, does not mean that your lamps are full of oil. And you might defensively say right away, well, you have to be in the true Church to have a relationship with God. But are we guilty of putting the cart before the horse, as they say? The Greek word for church is ekklesia. It means called out once, a gathering of citizens called out from their homes. This is strong or something like that. A gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place. An assembly of the people convened at the public place for the purpose of deliberating. So you look at most concordance and then just say they called out once the assembly. And some people confuse the term church with the organization. Going way back decades ago, you could ask people if they were leaving the church and some would respond to me. I had this. There were various ups and downs that would come at the college in which some faculty member, some minister somewhere would go off astray and start his own teaching, as it were, and would lead some astray and some would follow. And I would ask students, I said, are you going to leave the church? And they would say, do you mean the church or the organization? Well, the churches are called out once, but the church is also organized. And you can read about that structure in 1 Corinthians 12, also in Ephesians 4.

That question presents the question, of course, is the church organized? And yes, God, through Christ, structured order in the church. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul addresses that as well. But the called out ones are those who have God's Spirit dwelling in them, those who have God's Spirit dwelling in them. They are the body of Christ. They are members, one of another. You know, if we would really come to understand that the called out ones who have God's Spirit are members, one of another, and Paul uses the analogy in 1 Corinthians 12, if you would, turn to 1 Corinthians 12 in verse 12, uses the analogy of the human body that if something happens to the toe or something happens to the head, that it affects the whole body. And really, the analogy of the human body is there speaking of the church. That we are, and we can read the scripture from Romans 12.5, that we are members of one another. But here we are in 1 Corinthians 12. Perhaps these two verses here, perhaps the greatest unity verses in the whole Bible. 1 Corinthians 12.12, I was in Romans. For as a body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. The same Spirit is in God, is in Christ, is in each one of us. We have the very essence of the living God living in us. You may be a young person in which the very essence of God calls us. He makes us, He convicts us through His Word and through His Spirit. Christ says in John 6.63, the words I speak, they are Spirit and they are life. So the two great convicting agents are the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Turn back there a few pages to Romans 12.5 and let's read that verse that I quoted there earlier, paraphrased in Romans 12.5.

For I say, oh, that's the wrong verse, so we being many are one body, Romans 12.5, so we being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another. How are we members one of another? We are members one of another by the fact that we have this common essence, the Spirit of God, dwelling within us. We quote quite often John 6.44, no man can come to me unless the Father draws him. God calls us. He invites us. He sets the table.

We'll have a table set before us here today of physical food. Now you could fast, you could refuse that table, and so it is with spiritual food. You can refuse, of course, with physical things. Usually the hunger pangs overpower the desire to fast or do without, and we go ahead and eat. Do you have hunger and thirst for the Word of God? You can always, obviously, resist the Word of God. God calls us. He invites us. He drafts us to have a relationship with Him, and, as I've already said two or three times, you can resist that call. Now the second hymn that we sang here today was, God is Calling Children.

One of the first projects that the council builders directed with regard to doctrine was a paper titled, Are Our Children Being Called? And the answer is yes. Were Adam and Eve being called in the Garden of Eden?

The tree of life was set before them. The tree of life is being set before you, Sabbath after Sabbath after Sabbath. You can access this article, Is God Calling Children?, on the members' website, I'm pretty sure. The paper makes it clear that God is calling children if they allow themselves to be called.

I believe one of the reasons that the Church of God retains quite a low percentage of their youngsters hinges on, of course, several factors. But one, parents and the Church do not emphasize accountability as they should. The world doesn't want to teach accountability today. We gloss over gross sins and don't teach accountability as we should. Of course, one of the great, to me, accountability scriptures. Let's go to Ecclesiastes 11 and verse 12, which addresses this question about accountability very directly.

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Ecclesiastes 11 and verse, where to which verse I want to start here, verse 8. Ecclesiastes 8 and no, Ecclesiastes 11 verse 8. But if a man lived many years and rejoiced, yet let him remember the days of darkness where they shall be many, all that comes is vanity. And to a large degree, the word vanity in the Old Testament and to a large degree in the New Testament as well is referring to not vanity necessarily as we think of it today of your so vain and you think you're above everybody else, but it's more having to do with temporary.

It just lasts for a short time. So what if you lived to be a hundred? Just Sabbath. So ago, we had a man in our congregation. I don't know if he's here today. On February the 3rd of this year, he turned 100 years old.

Verse 9, Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and in your heart, let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes. But know you that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. I don't care who you are. I don't care what age you have lived in.

That is, by that I mean from the Garden of Eden to the present time. You will be brought to judgment. Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It's from Philippians 2, verse 9. There is no way around it. You either make that decision now. Of course, if you wait too late, then that's another matter. He who plays with fire will be burned. Therefore, remove sorrow from your heart and put away evil from your flesh for childhood and youth or vanity.

It lasts so short. Here I am a little bit older than you. I look at my life back and I said, I can't be this old as the way that man counts age, but I am. In the same, your life is even as a vapor. It is here, and then it's gone. So we really do need to be redeeming the times, making the most of it. So this thing of accountability. The next thing is, so many young people make up their minds that they are not going to allow themselves to be called. And then there are those who fake it.

Some fake it for decades. I know them. And then they depart. The spirit of the times and the evil that abounds causes them to harden their hearts. Let's look now at Proverbs 30. Back a few pages. We're in Ecclesiastes. Proverbs 30. And begin with verse 11. Proverbs 30 and verse 11. The Germans have a term called zeitgeist, which means the spirit of the times. The spirit of the times is enveloping like the whole world. We can have a 28, 29 year old person who was, before she entered politics, bartending somewhere in New York.

And before you know it, she runs for the House of Representatives. She's elected. And she is leading many of those who are running for president. Their platform, to a large degree, is based on her philosophy.

It's pretty incredible. In Proverbs 30 verse 11, there is a generation that curses their father and does not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet not washed from their filthiness. Of course, so many of those who are in the progressive political movement think that they are so enlightened and that they are above everybody else in morality. But yes, they embrace many of the evils and sins that the Bible condemns. And then we had one of the candidates for the nomination, the Democratic ticket, blaming a pastor who would dare preach the Bible with regard to sexual orientation and other things that go with it.

There is a generation, oh how locked, near their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are his swords and their jaw teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. Don't you dare disagree with me. If you do, I'll punch your eyes out. So what we have had now is, or what we're having, is the perfect storm. It's a hard and attitude of all those generations are prevalent and being manifested today, virtually while all of these are present and extant at the present time today. People seem to think that they can come to God just any old time when they get getting ready. And perhaps even some of you might think that. But if you look at Proverbs 29 and verse 1, which is just right across the page, let's notice what it says.

He that being often reprove hardens his heart shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. Of course, you can come to the point in which your conscience is seared. Conscience is the knowing within. And of course, we learn a sense of right and wrong from our parents and we're taught it. But then we have other socializing forces today. The mother and the father used to be the principal socializing force. Today, the peer group is the main socializing force once they venture forth, especially in the school. The peer group, those that they are friends with and have a relationship with, and then the school itself and the educational system plays a heavy role along with the media with regard to developing a sense of what is right and what is wrong. And it's so important to know the difference. So let's look at 1 Timothy and see what can be the results of often or the result of often hardening one's heart. We'll say more about this a little bit later from the book of Hebrews. So we look at 1 Timothy 3 and verse 1.

It's chapter 4 and not 3. 1 Timothy 4 and verse 1. Now the Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith. Notice it says, in the latter times. And most people would say, well, we're living in the latter times. The doomsday clock has now been set to just a minute or two or three before midnight, talking about the secular people are setting the doomsday clock at that time. The Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons or devils. Speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. And once a person begins to resist the conviction that it resides within them and they resist it time after time, eventually the conscience is seared and there is no way back.

Another thing that a lot of people do, they tend to look at the church, second, third generation youngsters and even older. I know 50, 60 year old people who have put off baptism to this very day grew up in the church. Oftentimes parents were leaders in the church, from evangelist children to others. It's my parents' religion. They have chosen this way, but I am not going to follow in their footsteps. Some may say, I didn't choose it. I don't want to have anything to do with it. You see, in the course of your life and human events, there are two great alternatives and there's no way around it. You either choose to be ruled by God or by man. Humankind has chosen from the Garden of Eden to the present time to be ruled by man and Satan is the great seducer and influencer of humankind from the Garden of Eden to the present day. So what excuse will you use to keep you out of the kingdom of God, the family of God? Would it be any of the things that we've already mentioned and we'll mention some more? What would it be? What is the number one excuse that will keep the masses out of the family and kingdom of God? What would you say? The number one excuse, it is the same excuse or reason that kept the Israelites who left Egypt with a high hand after seeing the great miracles and finally changed Pharaoh's mind to let them go defeating them with manna in the wilderness, water out of a rock, and so many other miracles. But yet, those who left Egypt 20 years and older except Joshua and Caleb did not enter into the Promised Land. In this case, the old folks didn't go. Joshua and Caleb did, and those 20 and under. So what was the excuse? Let's go to Hebrews 3 and verse 12. It is very direct. Remember what the first article of faith is? What's the first article of faith? He who would come to God must first believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So if you really believe in God, do you really believe what he says? And are you willing to act on what he says? In Hebrews 3 and verse 12, Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. See, the number one sin, if you want to reduce it down, is unbelief. You just deny that God exists. And then there's another facet to that, and that is this, that you can say, I believe that God exists. Probably 90% of the people out across the land today would say, I believe God exists. But if God exists, then what? You know, James says in James 2, 19, the devils believe and tremble. Why do they tremble? Well, they know what their fate is.

That's made clear in the ministry of Jesus. They know what their fate is. They believe God exists and tremble. But will you know, vain man, that faith works without obedience is dead. You can say you believe in God, and they'll say, you blew in the face. But then, what? Now look at verse 19. So we see that they could not enter in, that is into the promised land, because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being made of us entering into the rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them the good news, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that hurt it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world, the great plan of salvation was planned out by God and the Word, the one who became Christ, before anything was created. It's the way it is. There is no other way. And as I've already read, well, I didn't read it, but I quoted Philippians 2.9, that every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, because it is through Christ that we can have our sins remitted and be eligible then to receive the very essence of God to be begotten and then upon resurrection born into the family of God as glorious radiant spirit beings. So we read another verse here in verse 6, Hebrews 4-6. Seeing therefore it remains that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. And I've said there are two dimensions to unbelief. You have to believe that God exists and you have to do what he says. So faith in the simplest terms is to believe God and do what he says. That's what Abraham did, the father of the faithful as he says in Romans 4, all the way down to the faithful through the ages, believe God and do what he says. See faith is inextricably, inextricably means a word that you cannot separate it, one from the other. Faith is inextricably linked to obedience. So once again, the Hebrews 12-6 or 11-6, he who would come to God must first of all believe that he is.

So once again, if you believe in God, then what? If God exists, then he must have a way of communicating with us. God had revealed himself or has revealed to us himself in three very direct ways through Jesus Christ who came to the earth and is recognized even by secular history. He has revealed himself through the revealed Word of God. We have a more sure Word of prophecy where until we do well, take heed, and through answered prayer, you know, all those prayers that I prayed as a child, were they answered? Well, they seem to have been.

You know, there's a verse that says that God hereth not sinners, but when God begins to work with you and we are admonished, seek the Lord while he is near from the days of your youth all the way through. So if God exists, he must have some way of communicating with us. And he communicates to us through the Word of God, and we communicate with him through prayer. There's a great acid test. You turn forward there to 1 John 2, verse 4. There are other scriptures, obviously, that you could turn to. You know, back the first few years after Ambassador College closed, I would get letters from students talking about how wonderful their life is after they've left the church and they're doing this and that and the other in other religious organizations. And I would write back and say, I would use these verses here, and it's like the test. You could also go to Isaiah 8, verse 20. If they speak not according to the law of testimony, it is because there's no truth in them. But here we are in 1 John chapter 2. We'll just read into it from verse 1. My little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not. And if any men sin, we have an advocate, a butter cleat, though, a comforter, one who goes before with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. For he is Jesus Christ, the perpetuation for our sins. He went in our stead so we wouldn't have to die because there is a law that says the wages of sin is death, Romans 6.23. And not for hours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we know that we know him if we keep his commandments. You can talk about God all the day long. If you believe this and you believe that, and some have made God over in their own image and saying, well, the God that I know, he wouldn't do such and such. God loves everybody. Yes, he does. He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But at the same time, there are conditions linked to receiving the gift of eternal life. Verse 4, He that says I know him and keeps not his commandments is a liar. I mean, he only had one verse.

And the truth is not in him.

But whoso keeps his word in him barely is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him.

As I said, there are those who make God over in their image and say, oh, God would not require such and such of me. They choose to speak where God has not spoken. And they choose to set themselves in the place of God. Whereas the Bible declares that the Word of God is truth.

Oftentimes, another excuse that some people use is, well, look what the leaders in the church are doing. Look what the minister did. Look what the elder did. Look what the deacon did. Look what the deaconess did. Look what my daddy did. Look what my mother did. Or whomever it might be.

The weakness of any church member has zero to do with the truth of God. The truth of God is immutable, eternal. It stands forever. Yes, I could do all kind of bad things. You could do all kind of bad things. That would maybe cause some people to say, look at them hypocrites. I don't want anything to do with an organization that has people like that in it. Well, you're not going to find any perfect organization. We just read here, even from 1 John, it says, I'm writing to you that you sin not, but if you do sin, you have an advocate with a Father, Jesus Christ of Righteous, and you can go before the mercy seat of God. And upon repentance, you can ask forgiveness, and he is just to forgive all unrighteousness. As it says in chapter 1 here of 1 John, None of what I do or you do or anyone else does changes one line in this book. Not one line. Not one iota, not one tit or jotl of the truth is changed by it. The truth is which means it exists and will always be which means it is eternal.

The truth doesn't change with the actions of people. The truth doesn't change with the norms of the day or the cultural wars that are going on. The truth remains the same. In the back of your mind, you might be saying, I can't wait to leave home and get away from them and this God stuff. I would like to go out and experience the ways of the world enough of this God stuff. See, God is not stuff. God is a great omnipotent omnipresent, ever-present being. He is our loving Father and Creator. He is our Father. We are the clay. He is the one that molds us and shapes us. It is so much easier for them to desire the ways of the world when they are not taught in word and deed that a relationship with God is the most important thing you can develop in your life.

A lot of people come to church each Sabbath with a ho-hum attitude, sort of like the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song of 16 tons. Well, it picked up my shovel and I walked through the mine. What did I get another day deeper and deeper in debt? I load 16 tons. What did I get? Well, what we get, what we are here for is eternal life. And if we settle for anything less than immortality, eternal life, we have lost the battle. And we don't want to lose the battle. Some parents will say that all I can do is to make sure that they come to church and teach them the best they can. It is up to God to call them. That's true to a certain extent, but remember our paper. We believe to be true. God is calling children. We sing it, and you did sing it, the second M. But the fact is that if a person hears the Word of God and turns a deaf ear and hardens his or her heart, you won't be called.

It would be more accurate to say, as God gives me strength, I will earnestly strive to teach them to have a relationship with God and His Word. I will strive to bring them to church, teach them God's truth. But it's up to them. It was up to Adam and Eve. They had the best teacher in the universe.

He had clearly told them. Eve repeated part of that when confronted by the serpent, and yet she gave sway to intellectual vanity and unbelief. She didn't really believe. God meant what He says. And it's amazing that we would dare to blame God for not calling a person when set before them is the tree of life.

If you're hearing the Word of God and you want a relationship with Him, you can have a relationship with Him. So don't let the messenger or any other thing stand in the way of your response to God and His Word. Don't let any teacher, preacher, or anybody you want a name. The truth is the truth, and it always will be. When you try to make excuses as to why you don't respond, you are resisting not only man, but God, if He is speaking the Word of God. All human messengers are imperfect. They are as imperfect as you are. But God has called some into the ministry to communicate the truth. There are no perfect human messengers, but God has commissioned humans to take the Word of life to the world. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. As I stated earlier, you can always harden your heart and refuse to respond. When a person doesn't have a relationship with God, the Word of God is much easier to dismiss what a parent says, what a minister says, what a teacher says, or what even the Bible says. Spirituality, in the truest sense, is a personal matter.

It's between you and God. It's not between you and your parents, or between you and church leadership, or anybody else, it's between you and God. The Word of God is the Word of God. I don't care who speaks it or in what language it is written in. Christ says, once again, I'm quoting John 663, I quote John 663 in nearly every sermon I give, it says, The flesh profits nothing, it is the spirit that quickens, makes life. The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. God is still God no matter what anyone says or does.

And each one of us must stand before the judgment seat of God and not man. That day is coming. No one can stand before God for you. So what excuse will you use when your loving creator father called you into account? That judgment is sure.

You must develop a relationship with God and you never let that relation slip. No one can develop a relationship with God for you. The most loving, gentle, kindness, best example parents you want to name. Can't do it for you. Even God didn't do it for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. So let's close with this final scripture, Revelation 3, verses 20 to the end of the chapter. Revelation chapter 3, this is what God is saying. So I leave you with what excuse will you use to keep you out of the kingdom of God? Let us reason together and remember he who plays with fire is bound to get burned. He who hardens his heart shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. In Revelation 3, verse 20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my father in his throne. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches.