Will You Come out of This World?

The sermon today might have several titles. Among them, does preaching make a difference? One, will preaching help you to overcome this world and Satan's Matrix? More pointedly, will you escape the Matrix? And in plain language, will you come out of this world?

How many of us can honestly say that we have changed anything because of the sermons we've heard? Let's go to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17. Here's what the Apostle Paul writes about preaching in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize, of course the Corinthians were boasting over who baptized them, who was the greatest minister. Was it Cephas? Was it Paul? Just who was the greatest minister? Who baptized me? Well, I was baptized by Mr. Armstrong back in the big sandy lake back in 1951. Or whomever it was that baptized you in whatever year it was.

Paul says, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are being saved it is the power of God. Preaching. Unto us which are being saved it is the power of God.

So God must intend that preaching do quite a lot. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputor of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God. All the great philosophers that have lived through the ages in volumes and volumes have been written on ontology, which is the study of being, teleology, the study of purpose, and we could go on with the various ologies.

And they have debated and talked about God and good and evil and just about everything you want to name. And yet, they don't know the answers. Although some comments, some other essays, you might glean some truth from it. Some points, as they say, new ways of looking at things. But what the Bible says, Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputor of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? They cannot answer the great questions of life. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God.

So they did not come to know God through their wisdom. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. So once again, preaching must be important. Remember what Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 to the ministry. It says, Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But to themselves will heap unto themselves itching ears. And they will believe in fables and turn their backs on the truth. Because they want to hear smooth things. For the Jews require a sign the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block into the Greeks foolishness.

A stumbling block to the Jews because they were not looking for the Son of God in the flesh, a Redeemer, to set them free in the spiritual sense. They were looking for a great geopolitical leader to restore unto them the geopolitical fortunes that they experienced in former days with kings like David and Solomon. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

So what he's saying we preach Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews. It's foolishness to the Greeks. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Or you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And basings of the world and things which are despised, have God chosen, yes, and things which are not to bring to nothing things that are, that no flesh should glory in his sight. So it is through God and Christ, through the Holy Spirit, through revelation that we come to know God.

And one of the main ways that this is presented to people is through preaching of the word. Preaching and teaching of the word is so very important. It is most intriguing to me to try to determine why we respond the way we do to the world round about us. This world just seems to rub off on us no matter what we do.

It's as if you went out into the grease field. The grease field would... I used to work in the oil field at one time. And once you work out there for about a week, no matter how much you try to get all of the grit and grime and oil from under your fingernails, no matter how short you cut them, you just can't quite get it all off. As people grow older, the human psyche craves routine and stability within certain bounds. We want it to be fixed. It's like we know it all. We just need to stay in these ruts. When we are young, we are filled with the desire to explore and discover what lies just around the corner.

We love changing scenes, the excitement of seeing how things work. Even now, many church members approach sermons strictly from an intellectual point of view. So what do I mean by an intellectual point of view? That is, they listen to learn some new interesting things that might stimulate the intellect and stir their curiosity. It is a knowledge trip instead of a conversion trip. What we have been called to is salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What we've been called to is to become as He is. The peoples of the Western world have been conditioned to become passive pawns on Satan's great chess board. He just moves them here and there where he wants them to fulfill his ultimate mission and goal. That's to destroy you and I, and to break prophecy, and to thwart God's great plan of salvation, and to become the object of worship.

So when we've been conditioned to have our senses satiated with a new scene every few seconds, the ability to concentrate, focus, and analyze what is happening to us is destroyed. And we surrender our minds to the lust of the flesh, to the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And Satan has us where he wants us. And he is surely dedicated and devoted to keeping us right there. We have some who listen for the purpose of trying to determine if what they are hearing agrees with their view of church doctrine and their view of the world.

Yet we sing the song, God Speaks to Us, and we just read what Paul writes about preaching and its importance. Sadly, when we look through the annals of human history, we find very few people who heeded the preachers of their day. You look back at the prophets. There were very few occasions. The Jews responded to the work of Hagar and Zachariah back when God raised them up and sent them to the Jews there in Jerusalem, circa 520 BC.

And they did build that Restoration Temple the next five years, and it was dedicated. For the most part, the faithful stewards of the Word of God suffered the fate of the men and women described in Hebrews. Let's go to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11, verse 32.

The sons of lions quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness, were made strong, waxed valiant, and fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial of cruel mockings, encouraging, yes, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sauna sundered, were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered around in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. These, all having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. And one day you'll come to understand what verse 40 means. But I shall not be sidetracked at the moment by that. Why is it that people do not respond to the people that God sends to them through the ages? And we have now more and more an attack on God and Christ and the Word of God. It is reaching critical mass, as it were. And though a lot of the people who profess the name of Christ around the world from the Coptic Christians in, as they call themselves in Egypt, to those in Iraq, to other far-fallen places on the globe, even some in China, and other places are being persecuted and killed because they affirm the name of Christ. We could always say, of course, they're not true Christians. They come for them first, but the day is coming when they will come for you. If you're alive, they will be coming for you. In Matthew 23 and verse 34. And I think at times it's almost like we try to avoid the persecution of the world by not crying aloud, sparing not as we should, and really standing up for what we believe, as some others do. In Matthew 23 and verse 34, of course, this whole chapter to a large degree is devoted to Christ and his encounter with the scribes and Pharisees of his day. In Matthew 23 and verse 34.

11 apostles, minus Judas is carried, who killed himself, 11 apostles were crucified, Peter upside down. And some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city. And you read the book of Acts and you see this persecution of the Apostle Paul from city to city and so many others through the course of history. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel, under the blood of Zacharias, son of Barchias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. And then Jesus Christ makes one of the most eloquent pleas that you'll find in all of the literature that is recorded. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone them which are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and you would not? Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, minus the Spirit of God. For I say unto you, you shall not see me henceforth, you shall say, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. That is what has happened to the men and women that God has raised up and sent to the peoples of this world through the ages. Why is it? Why is Satan so successful when his gospel is the gospel of death and the gospel of God is the gospel of life? Let's go to Ecclesiastes 12. As we grow older, we become more like the attitude described here in Ecclesiastes 12. Ecclesiastes 12. As you grow older, you come more to internalize and realize the significance of the verse that says, And he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. I understand Mr. Stewart spoke on endurance last Sabbath. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1, Remember now, your Creator, in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not. And the more accurate translation of that is days of the misfortune, affliction, and death. It's not evil in the sense that you think of in lawlessness or iniquity. It's those last days in which your body is beginning to wind down and come to naught.

And the door shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird. And all the daughters of music shall be brought low. Also, when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way. And the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden. And desire shall fail, because man goes his long home, and mourners go about the street. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit shall return unto God the breath of life who gave it.

But even before we reach this state described here in Ecclesiastes 12, we begin to settle into a rather rigid and fixed approach to the way we live our lives.

Yet the Bible says that we are to become as little children. Little children are flexible. They are malleable. They have a teachable heart. We talk about this world being in this age being Satan's world. But do we live our lives as if we understand that this is Satan's world? It seems that many are content to live in Satan's matrix. They did three movies about the matrix, which almost no one on earth understands what they're about. I saw one of them because I heard so much about it, and it had these overtones of apocalypse and the end times and all that. It's so laden with symbolic language that you need whomever wrote the stuff to tell you what the symbols are. But there is a matrix out there. That matrix is just really the total surround in which you live. The dictionary definition, the arrangement of connected things, an arrangement of parts that show how they are inter-connected, substance containing something, a substance in which something is embedded or enclosed, a situation in which something develops, a situation or set of circumstances that allows or encourages the origin, development, or growth of something. So in the matrix, the system and interconnectedness that Satan has developed of his world, until you come into God's marvelous light, you are in essence held captive by that world. One of the quote themes of the Matrix movies was this guy being freed from the Matrix. And first of all, to be freed from the Matrix, you have to realize that you are in a Matrix. And most people, sadly, do not want to be freed from this world because this world appeals to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, and they love it!

And they like to be pawns on Satan's chessboard. Whether they wouldn't admit it, of course we are free! Yeah, but those who free themselves, in that sense, become the servants of whom they obey. Most people live within a social, economic, political, and religious Matrix and don't question it. When I was growing up, and by the age of 20 I was teaching Adult Sunday School in the Baptist Church, I thought that the Baptists had the truth and no one else did.

And we would talk about them Methodists. Why, some of them even drink. And some of them even participate in Bridge Club. And I've heard that they dance. And then Presbyterians who believe in predestination. And of course the Catholics who are Satan the Devil. And it just went on and on and on. I thought that was right. Then I really began to have my eyes open, and God really began to work with me. And I began to understand and began to question the minister about certain things. Of course, he couldn't answer it. And then finally, I heard the World Tomorrow radio program and wrote for the literature. See the foolishness of preaching. And somehow, through the grace of God, God opened my mind to the truth. Here's what one author wrote in describing the matrix that we live in. The matrix is everywhere. It is all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is a world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch a prison of your mind. Now, at this point, let's turn to 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4.

Let's start in verse 1. 2 Corinthians 4.1. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. But have renounced, have renounced, we've given up, we have gone away from it. The hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world had blinded the minds of them which believed not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Christ's sake.

Another author wrote this about the Matrix. The Matrix is one of the most profound social commentaries on the condition of humanity today. The average person lives in the Matrix with no idea that unplugging is an option. You don't have to be enslaved by it. But the fact is, most people like it because they don't want to give up what they do on God's Sabbath day.

They generally buy into everything the marketers, the advertisers, the media tells them. Beauty magazines play off the insecurities of women by subliminally communicating that there is something wrong with them. Otherwise, why would the headline lose weight to make him happy? Why would that even be in the magazine? It's a perfect way to make you question your own beliefs and force you into adopting the insecurity of the masses. The majority of people essentially are victims of social programming, completely unaware of the fact that they have been and continue to be brainwashed into bondage. To a large degree, it's done in the name of freedom and liberty.

Note what the Apostle Peter writes concerning how people become merchandised and are conditioned to covet. This goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, to the present time, in 2 Peter 2, 2 Peter 2, and verse 1. 2 Peter, especially chapter 2 and Jude's epistle, which has one chapter, are very much alike. In 2 Peter 2, verse 1, There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. Of course, the Redeemer that bought you back from sin and death and bring upon themselves swift destruction, many shall follow their pernicious ways, greedy ways, lasciviousness, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of, and the way that our peoples, through the past especially few decades, have behaved themselves internally. It is very difficult for people to take us seriously. And now, with the advent of the Internet, in which you have this tremendous ocean of information out there, with hundreds of thousands of articles on almost any topic you want to name, secular or biblical, it is so difficult then to know what is the truth. But you have certain things, of course, in the Bible if they speak not according to the law and testimony, because there is no truth in them, Isaiah 8.20. In other verses, one that we seldom use, where Paul says, circumcision is nothing, neither uncirconsision, but keeping of the commandments of God.

And through covetousness, through covetousness, wanting, greediness, wanting to get ahead, wanting to be number one, whatever other adverbs and adjectives you can throw in there, and through covetousness they shall with feign words, feigned words, that means formed, fabricated. The Greek word is plastos, from which plastic, you know, what a plastic person is. And through covetousness shall they with feign words make merchandise of you. We want you because we can exploit you and you can help us in our cause. Do we really love you and have your best interests at heart altogether? Are we willing to lay down our lives and wash your feet? As we heard about in the sermon at Nambal ourselves, feign words make merchandise of you, whose judgment now of the long time lingers not and their judgment slumbers not. In other words, that judgment is coming. Then Peter gives the example of God not sparing the angels, God not sparing Sodom and Gomorrah, and we come down now to verse 9. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. The Bible says, flee temptation, change the environment, change the matrix, come out of the matrix, be aware of the matrix, know what the matrix is doing, trying to destroy you. And to reserve the unjust and the day of judgment to be punished. Now, who are these people mainly? Them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government, presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. And you know the situation in Jude where when Michael disputes the disputing for the body of Moses with the devil, they're not bring railing accusation against the devil, but merely said the Lord rebuke you.

Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusations against them before the Lord, which I've just quoted from Jude. But these are natural, brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption, and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. It was not written to the church of God. It was not written to the world.

Now this next verse, this is the conditioning verse. Having eyes of an adulteress. That is more the correct translation.

The eyes, of course, powerful instrument. If you look at the covers of the magazines, especially those that are advertising the beauty, youth, and being sexy and all of that, the eyes, and the skin, and the eyes have been so touched up and airbrushed and all of that, to the point that there is that message of seduction coming through.

Having eyes of an adulteress that cannot cease from sin beguiling unstable souls, and heart they have exercised or trained with covetous practices, they have been so conditioned and so trained to covet, to want, to get more.

Having children of curse.

And that is a description of much of the world today. They love being in the matrix. Now on the other hand, what does God expect of us? God expects us to sigh and cry against the abominations that we see and to come out of this world. This world would be another asinonym for the matrix, Satan's world, what he has connected together. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 9. Ezekiel, of course, was taken early in the waves that Nebuchadnezzar brought against Jerusalem and Babylon. From there, God revealed to him many prophecies concerning what was taking place back at Jerusalem and in Judah. But the prophecies of Ezekiel are not limited to just Jerusalem and Judah, but includes all of Israel, because probably the word Israel—I haven't done a word count lately—probably the word Israel appears more than the word Judah. Ezekiel 9.1. He cried also in many years with a loud voice, saying, "'Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near.'" That's the leadership. Today we would be the mayor of the alderman, the board members, all of that. "'Even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand, and behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lies toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. And one man among them was clothed with a linen.'" Linen is, of course, symbolic of righteousness in the Bible. "'One man clothed with linen, with a rider's inkhorn by his side, and they went in and stood beside the brazen altar. And the glory of God, the God of Israel.'" Glory is equated with God's presence. His glory was above the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat and the Holy of Holies. "'The glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the carob, whereupon he was to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with the linen, which had the rider's inkhorn by his side.

And the eternal setting him go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry, for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.' So do we, sigh and cry. Our tears brought to our eyes when we see and hear about some of the atrocities that are occurring in this world and the evil.

And to the others, he said in my hearing, Go, you after them, through the city, and smite, let not your eyes spare, neither have you pity. Slay utterly, old and young, both maids and little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary, at my dwelling place. And Brother and I believe this prophecy is obviously for us as well today. Begin at my sanctuary, my dwelling place. God today dwells in his church, and we are the church. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house, and he said of them, Defile the house, fill the courts with the slain, go you forth, and they went forth and slew in the city. And it came to pass while they were slaying them, and I was left, and I fell upon my face and cried, and said, Lord God, Adonai, Il, the Almighty One, will you destroy all the residue of Israel, and you are pouring out of your fury upon Jerusalem. Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah, lawlessness is exceeding great. The land is full of blood, the city full of perverseness, for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord sees not. Most people do not believe that God is actively involved in their lives. They do not seek God to be involved in their lives. Brethren, if we don't believe that God is involved in their lives, how can he be involved in our lives? He who would come to God must, first of all, believe that he is, and that he is a reward of those who diligently seek him. You have to believe that he is there, and he is involved.

Verse 10, And as for me, also my eye shall not spare neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. And behold, the man clothed with the linen which had the echorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as you have commanded me.

Revelation 18 presents us with a view of this world and the matrix. It's a good view of the world and the way it's currently operating. All of this trade beyond between the nations, globalization, so-called free trade, there's really no such thing as free trade. That's one of the things that has brought us to where we are, led by Ronald Reagan and other Republicans along the way. You can shoot me after services. In Revelation 18, verse 1, And after these things I saw heaven, after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lighted with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon, the great, has fallen, has fallen, has become the habitation of devils, and of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, for all nations, all nations, have drunk the wine of the wrath of her fornication. This fornication, of course, is spiritual. And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are wax rich. Now the corporate conglomerates, Forbes magazine, this past week, announced their, I don't know exactly how they came up with it, what process they used, and they listed the 70 most powerful people on earth. And number one is Barack Obama. Number two, Vladimir Putin, prime minister of Russia, who will be back and he will take Dmitry Medvedev's place shortly and become virtual dictator. Number three, Jin Tao of China, president of China. Number four, Angela Merkel of Germany. Number five, Bill Gates. Number six, King Saud of Saudi Arabia. How did he get in there? Number seven, the pope. Number eight, Zuckerman, who founded Facebook. I forget number nine, and number ten, Cameron, who is prime minister of England. Hillary Clinton's like 16, and the Dalai Lama is somewhere like 50 or 51. Now these people, who are these people? These people are the political and the business leaders of this world. The political and business leaders of this world. And by business leaders, it's the corporate CEOs, the banking CEOs. There are some banking CEOs and banks you've never heard of. At least I haven't. Maybe you have. In this. And so these are the kind of people that's running this Revelation 18. The most powerful people on the face of the earth. And power, in a sense, you could say, well, they have no power. What they have is influence. See, of all those 70 people, there are only two. Now I didn't do an absolutely critical analysis. I didn't spend a lot of time with this, but the best I could tell with a cursory examination that there are only two, quote, religiously oriented people in this whole group of 70. The Pope and the Dalai Lama.

In verse 4, I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of their sins, and that ye receive not her plagues. For her sins have reached into heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities, her lawlessness. Reward her even as she rewarded you, double unto her double according to her works, and the cup which she has filled to the double. How much she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she says in her heart, I am a queen, I am a no-witter, and shall see no sorrow. And so you see, even in the United States of America today, 15% of the people are on food stamps, and the gap between the rich and the poor grows whiter. And the power and the influence of those people that are listed in forts continues to increase, and they live deliciously on the face of the earth while others barely scrape to get by. Or they barely get by by scraping, whatever way it is. Verse 6, reward her even as she rewarded you, double unto her double according to her works, and the cup which she has filled to her double. How much she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, I am no-witter, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her place come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off, for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is your judgment come, and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buys their merchandise any more. Yes, a new matrix, a new world order that God designs is coming. We need to learn what Solomon writes. We'll go back to Ecclesiastes chapter 1. Remember, the essential theme of Ecclesiastes is, all is vanity, ellipse apart from God. The word vanity there in Ecclesiastes essentially means temporary, lasting only a short time. It also carries the connotation of the in vain kind of thing. In Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 1, the words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, vanity of vanity, says the preacher of vanity of vanity, is all is vanity. See, everything this world has to offer is going to pass away. John says a world is passing away.

That is the spiritual part, the societal, economic, religious order. One generation passes away, another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The sun also arises as the sun goes down, a haste to its place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south and turns about into the north. The world is about continuing. The wind returns again according to the circuits, the jet stream.

The rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full, under the place for whence the rivers come. There they return again, so the cycle of evaporation, condensation, rain, and all of that.

All things are full of labor. Man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that has been is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done. And there is no new thing under the sun. It goes back to Satan's rebellion, to the Garden of Eden, to the present day. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new.

It had already been of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are common, those that shall come after. The preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. He says, I set my heart to understanding. Then we go to chapter 2. In verse 16 of Ecclesiastes, I'm sorry, in the first 16 verses of Ecclesiastes, Solomon catalogs all of his great achievements. And there are many things here, which actually, I want to give a sermon on this sometime in the future, where the instruction about what the kings of Israel are to do in contained in Deuteronomy.

Solomon, the kings were told to copy out the book of the law, not to gather to themselves great riches, and all of that. Solomon did just the opposite with regard to gathering all of that catalog these first 16 verses, what he did. Then verse 16, For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool, forever, seeing that which is now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten, and how die is the wise man as a fool. Therefore, when I discovered this, I mean it's like vanity. What's the use? And apart from God, there is no use. Therefore, I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me, for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

In the next several verses, he bemoans the fact that no matter what you build and achieve in this life, it perishes when they lay you in the grave. Then we come to verse 24. Ecclesiastes 2.24. Here's sort of the sum of that, as we shall see the sum at the end. There is nothing better for a man than he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw that it was from the hand of God. Be content with whatever you have, enjoy life, and don't be so filled with anxious care and concern. In chapter 3, Solomon talks about the seasons that come and go in our lives that we labor therein. But he comes back to the central thesis of the book, that a man should fear God and enjoy life. Let's look at Ecclesiastes 3, verse 9. What profiteth he that works in that wherein he labors? What good is our work? What does it get us? Verse 10. I've seen the travail which God has given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful in his time, and he has set the world in their hearts so that no man can find out the work that God makes from beginning to the end. No matter what the scientists do, they're not going to exactly figure it out.

I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice and to do good in his life, also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of his labor, it is the gift of God. I know that whatsoever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God does it that men should fear before him. That which has been is now, and that which to be already has been, and God requires that which is past. So why is it, I wonder, that we cannot learn our lessons? Solomon views life from just about every aspect that one can imagine and comes to the same conclusion over and over again. That is, apart from God, all is vanity, meaning it only lasts a short time.

In plain language, he states, no matter what you build, the fame you achieve, the riches you acquire, you cannot take it with you. So as we sit here today, we could ask ourselves, what one thing am I going to change in my life as a result of my total experience on this wonderful, beautiful fall Sabbath day? Such beautiful weather, such wonderful weather, as you heard in the opening prayer. Such a wonderful day, the Sabbath day. The preacher, in this case me, talks about the end of the age and the ominous clouds that loom on the horizon. And there is no doubt that ominous clouds are looming on the horizon. The clouds are black and heavy in every dimension of human endeavor. The old saying goes, the chickens are indeed coming home to roost. The preacher speaks as if I can do something about them. What power have I to change anything? The so-called right-wing fundamentalists have determined that the warfare that is being waged on the sons of men is political, and so they are determined to wave the flag, restore constitutional government and the Constitution and remove and revive the motto, as they've done here locally in some of the state houses, in God we trust.

But in fact, their heart is far from taking heed according to the Word of God. Let's go again to Ezekiel 33. We'll see where the religious right of the U.S. is. Could this also apply to us? Well, I'm sure for some it does in the Church. Some may be there even today. In Ezekiel 33, verse 30.

Remember, Ezekiel was set to be a watchman for the house of Judah in Israel. Also, you son of man, the children of your people are still talking against you. Now, that against you in the Old King James is not a good translation. It's more intended about you. They're talking about, they're discussing what you're saying by the walls and in the doors of the houses. Well, did you hear what they said today? Well, they said this, they said that. Well, what do you think about this? What do you think about that? We report, you decide. Make up your mind. Both sides.

In the doors of the houses, speak one to another, everyone to his neighbor, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that comes forth from the Lord. They come unto you as the people comes, and they sit before you as my people. They hear your words, but they will not do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but with their heart they go after their covetousness. And lo, you are unto them as a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument, for they hear your words, but they do them not. And when this comes to pass, and lo, it will come, then shall they know that a prophet has been among them. Now, Tim Tebow, many of you have heard of Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow was a young man who played quarterback at the University of Florida, won the highest winning sophomore year, I believe it was. Right now he is quarterback with the Denver Broncos in the National Football League. He is an example of how the public responds to a person who has the courage to live up to his convictions and come out of the matrix, as it were, not be controlled or enslaved by political correctness and the damnable doctrine of toleration of everything.

So here's a little essay about this. Two weeks in the NFL season, ESPN ran a Sunday morning special exploring why the third string quarterback of the Denver Broncos, he's now become the starting quarterback. The first game that he was the starting quarterback was a week before last, and they won. And after the game, he kneeled in the end zone and did the pointing up.

And you can say, well, a lot of them do that, but they don't live it like Tim Tebow. He had become the most polarizing figure in American sports, more polarizing than the trash-talking NBA behemoths, more polarizing than foul-mouthed Serena Williams, more polarizing than NFL stars who father numerous children by numerous women all out of wedlock.

Why does Tebow and Tebow alone arouse such passions? Why is Tebow the one whom comedians say they would like to shoot? A hint, it has nothing to do with Tim Tebow's prospects as pro quarterback. For readers who don't follow the NFL, let me explain why. Tim Tebow is a Heisman Trophy winner, led the University of Florida to two national collegiate championships. Many consider Tebow the greatest football player ever, although there is a lot of skepticism about what his skills will translate to in the pro game. He is, by all accounts, a terrific teammate, a hard worker. Beyond these bare facts of his sporting life, however, lie the beginnings of an answer to the question of why so many people hate Tim Tebow with an irrational hatred.

Tebow is a son of a evangelical pastor who spends some of his vacation time working with his father's mission in the Philippines. He famously wore eye black with Biblical verses inked on it, where you put this under the eyeshadow to keep the glare of the sun off, playing those daytime games on the field.

He put such verses as John 3 16 there. So he famously wore eye black with Bible verses inked on it in white during his Florida career. He is not reluctant to share his Christian faith in other public ways.

He visits sick kids in hospitals. He has said that he is a virgin who believes in saving himself from marriage. He and his mother taped a pro-life commercial that ran during the Super Bowl. There was a great uprising against it among the abortionists, fearing that it would somehow influence public opinion against them. There is not the slightest evidence that Tebow was ever forced himself and his convictions on his teammates or an unsuspecting public.

No, Tebow is a target of irrational hatred, not because he is an iffy quarterback at the NFL level, or a creepy personality, or an obnoxious, in-your-face, self-righteous proselytizer. He draws hatred because he is an unabashed person who professes to be a Christian whose calmness and decency in the face of his Christophobic detractors drives them crazy. Tim Tebow, in other words, is a prime example of why Christophobia, a neo-logism, first coined by a world-class comparative constitutional law scholar, J.

H. H. Wheeler, himself an orthodox Jew. It is simply unimaginable that any prominent Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Sikh would be subject to the vileness that is publicly dumped on Tebow. Tolerance, that supreme virtue of the culture of radical relativism, does not extend to evangelical Christians, it seems, and if it does not extend to evangelicals who unapologetically proclaim their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and who live their commitment to the dignity of human life from conception and natural death, whatever we think of Tim Tebow's theology of salvation, Tim Tebow is fated to be targets of the Christophobias.

Wherever the gospel is proclaimed with fervor, it draws opposition. The ultimate source of that opposition is the evil one, but we know what his fate will be. What we don't know is how democracy can survive widespread radical Christophobia. Let's go to Isaiah back a few pages if you're in Ezekiel 59.

Isaiah speaks of this very theme. Those who would stand in the gap, those who would stand up, those who would come out of this world, those who would sigh and cry for the abominations thereof. Tebow doesn't necessarily sigh and cry, he just basically tries to live an example. Imagine those who do sigh and cry, and almost no one sighs and cries today.

In Isaiah 59, verse 1, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot adhere. But your lawlessness have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness. None calls for justice, nor any pleads for truth. They trust in vanity, speak lies, they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Verse 11, We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves. We look for judgment, but there is none for salvation, but it is far off from us. Verse 14, Judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off, for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yes, truth fails, and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey. He becomes the object of Christophobia, or whatever you want to call it. You know, the Bible prophesies that the day will come in which all of the world, are going to hate you for my name's sake. Yes, truth fails, and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey, and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore, God says, well, if you're not going to do it, I will. His arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Noah preached to the people of his day for 120 years, and apparently no one but Noah really believed.

Noah's wife and three sons and their wives were probably spared because of their association with Noah. But in the days to come, there will be no one to be spared because of another person. Once again, we go to Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 14.

I don't have this in my notes.

Ezekiel 14.

Verse 14, Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord God.

Verse 20, Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter. They shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

So, brethren, we're at that period of time in which that which is good is called evil, and evil is called good, and it's all done in the name of tolerance and love. But it is the love of this world, not the love of God. Everyone is playing blind man's bluff. They're huffing and puffing like a big, bad wolf. And they know if they blow up anyone's house, the world will go up in flames. It's analogous to children on the playground who dares, and the devil dog dares you to hit me. So far, the child has not taken the dare, but the matter, it's a matter of when, not if, the child will lash out and the world will be on. So, here we are. We're involved in this spiritual warfare. And as you have heard so often, the battle is spiritual. It will not be won at the voting booths, polls, as they say. It will not be won by the think tanks. It will not be won by the efforts of the UN or any other political entity. It will not be won on the battlefields of man. But it is a spiritual battle. It will be only won through the power of Almighty God. He has a new world order, a new matrix that is going to be established. Christ is coming to dwell with the saints, and He's going to destroy Satan's world and usher in a new world where He indwells righteousness. In one final scripture in Ecclesiastes 12, the last verse, which we should have all have memorized, in Ecclesiastes 12 and the last verse.

Well, it's next to the last. I had it wrong. In Ecclesiastes 12, verse 13, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. The whole thing. What is it about? Fear God and keep His commandments. It's like Christ said, The second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two, hang the law and the prophets.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, keep His commandments. For this is the whole of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment and every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. So let's be about our Father's business of doing good.