1 00:00:08,570 --> 00:00:14,780 I welcome you to the 2009 Pure Life 2 00:00:14,780 --> 00:00:17,140 Ministries Annual Conference. 3 00:00:17,660 --> 00:00:19,260 I need to give a little bit of 4 00:00:19,260 --> 00:00:21,540 a disclaimer up front here this morning. 5 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:25,340 I'm going to say to you what the 6 00:00:25,340 --> 00:00:27,800 dentist says to me. 7 00:00:28,940 --> 00:00:31,659 You may experience a little bit of discomfort 8 00:00:31,659 --> 00:00:37,950 this morning, but unlike the dentist, it will 9 00:00:37,950 --> 00:00:39,770 be given in love. 10 00:00:41,110 --> 00:00:42,770 My dentist is very mean. 11 00:00:45,570 --> 00:00:49,050 As I've been praying about this conference for 12 00:00:49,050 --> 00:00:52,550 the last few months, this thought came to 13 00:00:52,550 --> 00:00:56,890 me about the Church of Sardis in Revelations 14 00:00:56,890 --> 00:00:59,210 3, and I want to read some verses. 15 00:01:00,690 --> 00:01:04,710 Revelation 3, To the angel of the church 16 00:01:04,710 --> 00:01:09,110 in Sardis write, He who has the seven 17 00:01:09,110 --> 00:01:14,030 spirits of God and the seven stars says 18 00:01:14,030 --> 00:01:20,160 this, I know your deeds, that you have 19 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,580 a name that you are alive, but you 20 00:01:25,580 --> 00:01:26,220 are dead. 21 00:01:28,420 --> 00:01:31,760 Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, 22 00:01:32,380 --> 00:01:34,720 which were about to die, for I have 23 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,040 not found your deeds completed in the sight 24 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:37,980 of my God. 25 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,640 So remember what you have received and heard 26 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,660 and keep it and repent. 27 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:48,080 Therefore, if you do not wake up, I 28 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:49,960 will come like a thief and you will 29 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,220 not know at what hour I will come 30 00:01:52,220 --> 00:01:52,780 to you. 31 00:01:53,900 --> 00:01:56,820 But you have a few people in Sardis 32 00:01:56,820 --> 00:02:00,500 who have not soiled their garments and they 33 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:03,440 will walk with me in white, for they 34 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:04,020 are worthy. 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,740 I want to talk this morning about the 36 00:02:09,740 --> 00:02:14,440 predominant group in Sardis, which I believe is 37 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,380 a picture of the end times church. 38 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,320 I write about that in my book, Standing 39 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,100 Firm Through the Great Apostasy. 40 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:24,820 If you haven't read it, you might want 41 00:02:24,820 --> 00:02:25,640 to pick it up. 42 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,160 But the predominant number of people in the 43 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,180 end times church are not going to be 44 00:02:36,180 --> 00:02:38,660 on fire for the Lord, but are going 45 00:02:38,660 --> 00:02:42,040 to be dead spiritually or near death spiritually. 46 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,180 The title of the message this morning is 47 00:02:45,180 --> 00:02:47,320 A Word to Apostate Christians. 48 00:02:47,980 --> 00:02:49,600 I'm going to tell you right up front, 49 00:02:49,660 --> 00:02:50,960 I'm taking no prisoners. 50 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,000 Because the hour is urgent. 51 00:02:56,340 --> 00:02:58,700 And there is no group of people in 52 00:02:58,700 --> 00:03:02,480 this country that mean more to me than 53 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:03,660 this group right here. 54 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,480 Your souls mean too much for me to 55 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,620 sit up here and try to win your 56 00:03:11,620 --> 00:03:15,500 approval and have everyone like me and crack 57 00:03:15,500 --> 00:03:18,780 jokes and have a nice fluffy little sermon 58 00:03:18,780 --> 00:03:20,460 that we can all walk out and feel 59 00:03:20,460 --> 00:03:21,100 good about. 60 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,020 I'm giving this word exactly as the Lord 61 00:03:25,020 --> 00:03:26,500 gave it to me to give. 62 00:03:27,420 --> 00:03:29,940 And I realize as well that there will 63 00:03:29,940 --> 00:03:32,200 be people who will be furious with me 64 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,600 within the hour and will stomp out of 65 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:34,780 here. 66 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,780 And that's okay, I'm okay with that. 67 00:03:38,780 --> 00:03:40,660 Because there's too much at stake. 68 00:03:40,660 --> 00:03:48,330 Now, I believe in this church there are 69 00:03:48,330 --> 00:03:49,170 three groups. 70 00:03:50,410 --> 00:03:52,910 There are those saints. 71 00:03:55,770 --> 00:03:58,990 As Jesus said, you have a few people 72 00:03:58,990 --> 00:04:02,190 in Sardis who have not soiled their garments. 73 00:04:03,010 --> 00:04:04,790 And there are people like that in this 74 00:04:04,790 --> 00:04:05,510 room right now. 75 00:04:05,590 --> 00:04:07,990 I know some of your lives. 76 00:04:08,210 --> 00:04:10,090 We just heard the testimony of one. 77 00:04:11,210 --> 00:04:13,450 God has gotten a hold of you and 78 00:04:13,450 --> 00:04:16,910 done such a work inside of you at 79 00:04:16,910 --> 00:04:19,329 the cross that you have never been the 80 00:04:19,329 --> 00:04:20,209 same since. 81 00:04:22,770 --> 00:04:25,970 And God is going to be doing a 82 00:04:25,970 --> 00:04:28,070 wonderful thing through your life in the days 83 00:04:28,070 --> 00:04:28,410 ahead. 84 00:04:29,550 --> 00:04:31,590 You love the appearing of Christ. 85 00:04:31,690 --> 00:04:34,250 You are waiting and longing for His return. 86 00:04:34,990 --> 00:04:37,030 You're not growing colder in the things of 87 00:04:37,030 --> 00:04:37,270 God. 88 00:04:37,350 --> 00:04:39,710 You're growing hotter in the things of God. 89 00:04:41,150 --> 00:04:44,930 The second group are apostate Christians. 90 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,960 Outwardly, you're doing all the right things. 91 00:04:54,420 --> 00:04:55,920 You're going to church. 92 00:04:56,460 --> 00:04:58,780 You're going probably to a good church. 93 00:05:01,460 --> 00:05:04,900 You're keeping all the rules and so on. 94 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,380 But inwardly, you have backslidden away from the 95 00:05:08,380 --> 00:05:08,720 Lord. 96 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,120 And you are in terrible, terrible danger of 97 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,900 being swept away in an overwhelming wave of 98 00:05:20,900 --> 00:05:24,240 deception that's coming upon this earth and is 99 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,140 already here right now. 100 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:29,180 The waters of deception are growing deeper every 101 00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:29,700 day. 102 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,500 And you are already neck deep in it. 103 00:05:35,580 --> 00:05:38,100 You have a name that you're alive, but 104 00:05:38,100 --> 00:05:40,020 you are so close to drowning. 105 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,300 And I fear for you. 106 00:05:44,300 --> 00:05:48,470 Now, I don't know who you are, and 107 00:05:48,470 --> 00:05:50,670 again, I'm not aiming anything. 108 00:05:51,150 --> 00:05:52,550 I just know that you're here. 109 00:05:53,310 --> 00:05:54,930 That's between you and God. 110 00:05:56,070 --> 00:05:57,070 I know you're here. 111 00:05:58,310 --> 00:06:01,490 And so this message is for you this 112 00:06:01,490 --> 00:06:01,850 morning. 113 00:06:02,050 --> 00:06:04,130 I am dedicating this word for you. 114 00:06:04,570 --> 00:06:06,730 It's a message that God burned into my 115 00:06:06,730 --> 00:06:09,650 heart several months ago, and I have prayed 116 00:06:09,650 --> 00:06:11,910 over it and fasted over it all these 117 00:06:11,910 --> 00:06:14,230 months, all this time, for this day. 118 00:06:14,230 --> 00:06:16,630 God is going to speak to you this 119 00:06:16,630 --> 00:06:19,130 morning, if you have ears to hear. 120 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:23,600 And then there's a third group. 121 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:28,100 You've got the two extremes, and there's the 122 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:30,720 third group we're in between, kind of undecided. 123 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,640 Now, there are those who have walked with 124 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:35,040 the Lord. 125 00:06:35,140 --> 00:06:36,640 You have done well with the Lord. 126 00:06:36,820 --> 00:06:38,660 You know what it means to love the 127 00:06:38,660 --> 00:06:40,540 Lord, and you've just gotten off track in 128 00:06:40,540 --> 00:06:41,280 some ways. 129 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:43,500 You know, that's kind of one end of 130 00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:45,000 the spectrum all the way to the other 131 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:45,820 end of the spectrum. 132 00:06:45,820 --> 00:06:48,700 You haven't crossed the line into apostasy yet, 133 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,440 but you're headed for trouble if you don't 134 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:52,500 turn things around. 135 00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:55,720 Now, you know, this message is not aimed 136 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:56,040 at you. 137 00:06:56,180 --> 00:06:58,740 This message is aimed at those apostate Christians, 138 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,680 those people who are already in deep trouble. 139 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,340 But I'm hoping that if you've kind of 140 00:07:05,340 --> 00:07:07,620 been going in the wrong direction, that something 141 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:09,920 will happen for you this morning to kind 142 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:11,820 of startle you and awaken you and get 143 00:07:11,820 --> 00:07:12,880 you back on track. 144 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:14,260 That's my prayer. 145 00:07:15,250 --> 00:07:16,020 All right. 146 00:07:16,340 --> 00:07:18,720 Now, the rest of this message I am 147 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,660 directing at apostate Christians. 148 00:07:23,260 --> 00:07:27,540 Backsliding is a concept that is found throughout 149 00:07:27,540 --> 00:07:33,040 Scripture, Old Testament, New Testament stories, direct statements. 150 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,480 I mean, all the way through Scripture, it's 151 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:36,220 talked about. 152 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,160 In fact, in the book of First Timothy 153 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,620 alone, Paul talks about those in the last 154 00:07:44,620 --> 00:07:46,740 days who would fall away from the faith. 155 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,520 He spoke of those who have suffered shipwreck 156 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:50,920 in regard to their faith. 157 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:52,740 Those who have denied the faith. 158 00:07:52,900 --> 00:07:54,700 Those who have wandered away from the faith. 159 00:07:54,780 --> 00:07:56,700 And finally, those who have gone astray from 160 00:07:56,700 --> 00:07:57,320 the faith. 161 00:07:59,580 --> 00:08:01,460 And when I did the study for this 162 00:08:01,460 --> 00:08:05,920 book, I studied for about two years this 163 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,620 whole concept of apostasy and so on. 164 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,440 And the thing that shocked me and startled 165 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,100 me was the reality that it would be 166 00:08:15,100 --> 00:08:16,220 the predominant. 167 00:08:16,260 --> 00:08:19,240 That it would be the predominant characteristic of 168 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:20,400 the end times church. 169 00:08:20,580 --> 00:08:23,420 Not a small group over here who are 170 00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:25,140 going to church but are kind of messing 171 00:08:25,140 --> 00:08:25,600 up. 172 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,420 No, the predominant. 173 00:08:27,580 --> 00:08:29,460 The overwhelming majority. 174 00:08:32,610 --> 00:08:36,330 I was appalled when I started to realize 175 00:08:36,330 --> 00:08:39,130 what Scripture says about the end times church. 176 00:08:39,450 --> 00:08:42,929 Because it meant people who I care about 177 00:08:42,929 --> 00:08:46,170 are on the verge of being forever lost. 178 00:08:48,490 --> 00:08:51,690 I want to talk about three signs of 179 00:08:51,690 --> 00:08:53,070 an apostate Christian. 180 00:08:54,450 --> 00:08:56,990 Lifelessness, lovelessness and lawlessness. 181 00:08:58,650 --> 00:09:00,130 We'll start with this one. 182 00:09:00,290 --> 00:09:01,950 First one, lifelessness. 183 00:09:02,750 --> 00:09:04,230 You have a name that you're alive. 184 00:09:07,090 --> 00:09:11,430 The outward semblance of Christianity is still very 185 00:09:11,430 --> 00:09:13,310 much intact in your life. 186 00:09:14,350 --> 00:09:16,050 All the outward stuff is there. 187 00:09:17,010 --> 00:09:19,990 You know, and if someone that doesn't really 188 00:09:19,990 --> 00:09:22,590 know you or doesn't have much discernment looked 189 00:09:22,590 --> 00:09:23,150 at your life. 190 00:09:23,210 --> 00:09:25,630 Oh yeah, brother so and so, they're a 191 00:09:25,630 --> 00:09:26,030 Christian. 192 00:09:26,150 --> 00:09:27,710 Sister so and so, they're a Christian. 193 00:09:27,710 --> 00:09:29,410 Just like what you just heard with sister 194 00:09:29,410 --> 00:09:29,790 Judy. 195 00:09:31,290 --> 00:09:33,570 You know, yeah, you look at their life. 196 00:09:33,670 --> 00:09:36,450 They're not doing all terrible things or whatever. 197 00:09:36,670 --> 00:09:37,750 They're in church. 198 00:09:37,950 --> 00:09:40,770 You know, they're identifying themselves with the evangelical 199 00:09:40,770 --> 00:09:41,430 movement. 200 00:09:42,730 --> 00:09:44,310 But you know, it's a lot like a 201 00:09:44,310 --> 00:09:48,190 cancer patient who refuses the doctor's treatment. 202 00:09:49,890 --> 00:09:52,070 You know, the doctor keeps trying to reason 203 00:09:52,070 --> 00:09:54,550 with the person and say, You don't understand. 204 00:09:55,310 --> 00:09:56,770 You are near death. 205 00:09:58,190 --> 00:10:00,650 The cancer has raced through your body. 206 00:10:00,870 --> 00:10:02,850 We can still turn it around if you'll 207 00:10:02,850 --> 00:10:05,910 start taking the chemo treatments and so on. 208 00:10:06,030 --> 00:10:07,910 We can still turn this thing around. 209 00:10:08,230 --> 00:10:10,010 We can still save your life. 210 00:10:10,170 --> 00:10:12,250 And the person sitting there with some kind 211 00:10:12,250 --> 00:10:15,070 of a Pollyanna delusion and just kind of 212 00:10:15,070 --> 00:10:18,570 smiling and just walks out unconcerned. 213 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:25,680 You know, if you study the life of 214 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:29,680 Christ in the Gospels, you will find that 215 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:31,500 Jesus was very confronting. 216 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,500 We like the nice little Jesus who gives 217 00:10:35,500 --> 00:10:37,440 us all the things we want and blesses 218 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,200 us and loves on us and makes us 219 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:42,220 feel good about ourselves. 220 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,160 We like that kind of Jesus. 221 00:10:44,700 --> 00:10:47,080 But that isn't the Jesus of the Bible. 222 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:50,980 He is love incarnate. 223 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:51,600 Absolutely. 224 00:10:52,300 --> 00:10:55,020 But it isn't this pathetic, weak-kneed little 225 00:10:55,020 --> 00:10:55,380 thing. 226 00:10:55,460 --> 00:10:56,400 It's a passion. 227 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,340 And He wants to see people saved. 228 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:05,580 And He hasn't changed. 229 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:09,500 Do you think there's one Jesus that was 230 00:11:09,500 --> 00:11:10,980 back in those days? 231 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:12,400 Well, I guess, you know, He was going 232 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:13,700 to die, so He was in kind of 233 00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:14,920 a bad mood or something. 234 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:15,700 No. 235 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,200 He's the same Savior today. 236 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,060 We just heard a testimony of Jesus coming 237 00:11:22,060 --> 00:11:27,000 to a woman and confronting her because she 238 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,580 was playing games spiritually, playing church. 239 00:11:35,980 --> 00:11:37,480 He hasn't changed. 240 00:11:37,620 --> 00:11:42,040 He sees inside what's going on inside of 241 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:42,340 you. 242 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,020 He sees the loves of your heart, where 243 00:11:46,020 --> 00:11:50,400 your affections really are, where your treasures really 244 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:50,980 are. 245 00:11:50,980 --> 00:11:52,780 He sees it all. 246 00:11:53,340 --> 00:11:56,840 He sees the motives for your actions, why 247 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,100 you do the things you do. 248 00:11:58,400 --> 00:11:59,660 He sees the attitudes. 249 00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:02,220 He sees the idols that have been built 250 00:12:02,220 --> 00:12:04,140 up in your hearts over the years. 251 00:12:05,620 --> 00:12:07,500 Those eyes of fire. 252 00:12:11,300 --> 00:12:15,120 The reality is, if you're a Christian, God 253 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:16,880 is going to chasten you. 254 00:12:18,620 --> 00:12:20,860 If you're a Christian, God is going to 255 00:12:20,860 --> 00:12:21,660 chasten you. 256 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,600 2 Timothy 3, that passage of Scripture, it's 257 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,620 one of the pictures of the end-time 258 00:12:33,620 --> 00:12:34,260 church. 259 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,880 And Paul says, you have a form of 260 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:40,480 godliness. 261 00:12:41,860 --> 00:12:45,440 Yes, you keep the evangelical list of do's 262 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:46,140 and don'ts. 263 00:12:46,300 --> 00:12:49,520 You're very careful to make sure that you're 264 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,500 doing all the things that you're supposed to 265 00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:51,800 do. 266 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,840 And you're very careful that you're not doing 267 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:56,380 the things you're not supposed to do. 268 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,360 You know, the evangelical church has its list. 269 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:01,840 It's more or less built on Scripture. 270 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,220 The only problem with it is there's a 271 00:13:04,220 --> 00:13:05,100 lot missing. 272 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,680 It's all built to cater to the American 273 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:11,920 lifestyle of me first. 274 00:13:12,780 --> 00:13:16,700 And so, verses that talk about heart issues 275 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:19,960 and talk about where your heart really is 276 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,620 and the way you're living your life and 277 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:25,900 so on, those are conveniently ignored or kind 278 00:13:25,900 --> 00:13:27,040 of brushed aside. 279 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:30,160 But you keep that list, that list of 280 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,020 evangelical do's and don'ts, and you're fluent in 281 00:13:34,020 --> 00:13:34,980 Christianese. 282 00:13:39,460 --> 00:13:42,060 You know, the reality is, if you didn't 283 00:13:42,060 --> 00:13:45,100 have a form of godliness, you couldn't handle 284 00:13:45,100 --> 00:13:47,880 it because your conscience would rage within you. 285 00:13:50,490 --> 00:13:52,450 I have told people in the past, and 286 00:13:52,450 --> 00:13:55,090 I know it's not politically correct, people don't 287 00:13:55,090 --> 00:13:56,970 like to hear this kind of talk, but 288 00:13:56,970 --> 00:13:58,830 I have told people it would be better 289 00:13:58,830 --> 00:14:02,150 if you would just backslide completely, throw off 290 00:14:02,150 --> 00:14:05,270 all semblance of Christianity, and go give yourself 291 00:14:05,270 --> 00:14:07,090 over to where your heart really is. 292 00:14:07,290 --> 00:14:08,790 It would be better for you if you 293 00:14:08,790 --> 00:14:09,850 would just do that. 294 00:14:10,810 --> 00:14:16,230 And to continue going in the church, deceiving 295 00:14:16,230 --> 00:14:23,660 yourself, and infecting others around you with your 296 00:14:23,660 --> 00:14:27,480 faithlessness, your corruption. 297 00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:38,200 We keep our form of godliness intact because 298 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,980 it's the only thing that we can hang 299 00:14:41,980 --> 00:14:46,900 on to when our conscience starts trying to 300 00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:49,380 tell us where we're really at, when the 301 00:14:49,380 --> 00:14:51,140 Holy Spirit starts moving in. 302 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,880 We have to have the form of godliness, 303 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:55,140 something to point to. 304 00:14:59,090 --> 00:15:02,090 We do just enough to deceive ourselves. 305 00:15:05,170 --> 00:15:07,050 Paul said they would have a form of 306 00:15:07,050 --> 00:15:13,300 godliness, but deny the power of the Holy 307 00:15:13,300 --> 00:15:13,860 Spirit. 308 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:15,720 Deny it. 309 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,500 It means, really a picture of it is 310 00:15:18,500 --> 00:15:21,440 the Holy Spirit is trying to move into 311 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,260 your heart and trying to speak to you, 312 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,680 but you deny entrance to the Holy Spirit. 313 00:15:30,140 --> 00:15:32,200 No, you cannot come in here. 314 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:34,380 I am not interested in what you have 315 00:15:34,380 --> 00:15:34,900 to say. 316 00:15:39,110 --> 00:15:42,670 We heap unto ourselves teachers who will scratch 317 00:15:42,670 --> 00:15:43,770 our itching ears. 318 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,500 We love to hear preachers who will just 319 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:52,340 give us nice little sermonettes. 320 00:15:52,340 --> 00:15:56,520 Teach us nice little things about Christianity, but 321 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,780 never really confront us about the sinfulness, the 322 00:15:59,780 --> 00:16:01,500 selfishness in our lives. 323 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,400 We like mild-mannered preachers who are politically 324 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,200 correct and know how to be gracious in 325 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,140 their words and so on. 326 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,140 And we gather around ourselves friends who will 327 00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:19,040 flatter us. 328 00:16:21,270 --> 00:16:23,270 Friends that don't really care about us. 329 00:16:23,270 --> 00:16:26,150 You know, a true friend will confront you 330 00:16:26,150 --> 00:16:26,930 in your sin. 331 00:16:27,430 --> 00:16:29,210 Many of you have had people like that, 332 00:16:29,350 --> 00:16:30,990 and you don't like to be talked to 333 00:16:30,990 --> 00:16:33,670 like that, so you avoid those people who 334 00:16:33,670 --> 00:16:34,730 will tell you the truth. 335 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,520 There's a word from the Apostle Paul written 336 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,960 almost 2,000 years ago to you apostate 337 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:52,620 Christians who are in this room this morning. 338 00:16:52,780 --> 00:16:54,920 It comes out of 2 Thessalonians 2. 339 00:16:54,920 --> 00:17:00,810 He says you will perish because you did 340 00:17:00,810 --> 00:17:03,490 not receive the love of the truth so 341 00:17:03,490 --> 00:17:04,710 as to be saved. 342 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,260 For this reason, God will send upon you 343 00:17:10,260 --> 00:17:12,859 a deluding influence so that you will believe 344 00:17:12,859 --> 00:17:13,839 what is false. 345 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,420 In other words, God is going to give 346 00:17:18,420 --> 00:17:19,140 you over. 347 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:22,480 He's going to give you over. 348 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:26,720 If you keep insisting on believing lies about 349 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:31,620 yourself, if you keep insisting on avoiding the 350 00:17:31,620 --> 00:17:34,560 truth, the time is going to come when 351 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:38,500 He is going to give you over to 352 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:39,880 a deluding influence. 353 00:17:42,050 --> 00:17:45,290 The truth is you hate the truth if 354 00:17:45,290 --> 00:17:48,090 it exposes what's really going on inside because 355 00:17:48,090 --> 00:17:49,590 you're full of pride. 356 00:17:50,910 --> 00:17:52,410 Nobody can tell you anything. 357 00:17:52,410 --> 00:17:55,550 And every time God starts to put His 358 00:17:55,550 --> 00:17:59,130 finger on what's going on inside your heart, 359 00:18:00,890 --> 00:18:03,610 up go the walls and you deny Him. 360 00:18:04,270 --> 00:18:06,670 You resist His every effort. 361 00:18:08,050 --> 00:18:11,570 You grieve this Holy Spirit who loves you. 362 00:18:12,230 --> 00:18:16,730 And you finally are successful to completely quench 363 00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:20,230 the Spirit's voice in your life. 364 00:18:25,890 --> 00:18:28,910 The truth is and the reality is that 365 00:18:28,910 --> 00:18:33,230 spiritual life comes from one place only, Calvary. 366 00:18:34,190 --> 00:18:37,050 That's where all spiritual life comes from, Calvary. 367 00:18:37,130 --> 00:18:38,990 You just heard a testimony of someone who 368 00:18:38,990 --> 00:18:40,010 went to Calvary. 369 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,460 Calvary represents the death of the self-life 370 00:18:45,460 --> 00:18:48,760 and coming into Christ's life. 371 00:18:49,580 --> 00:18:52,540 Calvary represents the end of self-rule and 372 00:18:52,540 --> 00:18:54,280 coming into Christ's rule. 373 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,100 Calvary means acknowledging what you are like with 374 00:18:58,100 --> 00:18:59,460 a sincere heart. 375 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,540 Calvary means taking full responsibility for the sin 376 00:19:03,540 --> 00:19:04,280 in your life. 377 00:19:04,940 --> 00:19:07,460 Calvary means that you grieve over the ugliness 378 00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:08,360 of your sin. 379 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:10,680 Calvary means you repent of it. 380 00:19:11,020 --> 00:19:12,880 You commit yourself to changing. 381 00:19:17,530 --> 00:19:19,630 But we don't hear much about this anymore 382 00:19:19,630 --> 00:19:22,310 in the church unless it's kept on nice 383 00:19:22,310 --> 00:19:23,630 superficial terms. 384 00:19:25,210 --> 00:19:27,150 You all know that I'm not mad at 385 00:19:27,150 --> 00:19:27,550 you, right? 386 00:19:27,550 --> 00:19:29,750 I'm a little intense this morning, but I'm 387 00:19:29,750 --> 00:19:30,610 not mad at you. 388 00:19:31,730 --> 00:19:34,590 You all look kind of beaten down. 389 00:19:34,830 --> 00:19:36,610 I don't mean to beat up on you. 390 00:19:37,070 --> 00:19:38,890 It's really only for a number of people 391 00:19:38,890 --> 00:19:39,290 anyway. 392 00:19:40,790 --> 00:19:42,930 When the Lord gave the New Covenant, He 393 00:19:42,930 --> 00:19:46,710 said in Ezekiel 36, He said, Then you 394 00:19:46,710 --> 00:19:49,230 will remember your evil ways and your deeds 395 00:19:49,230 --> 00:19:52,050 that were not good, and you will loathe 396 00:19:52,050 --> 00:19:55,470 yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities 397 00:19:55,470 --> 00:19:57,410 and your abominations. 398 00:19:58,810 --> 00:20:02,950 That attitude is always present in true conversions. 399 00:20:05,900 --> 00:20:08,880 Matthew Henry said, Self-love is at the 400 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:13,160 bottom of sin, but self-loathing is ever 401 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,660 the companion of true repentance. 402 00:20:17,260 --> 00:20:23,660 William Law said, Self-hatred, self-contempt, and 403 00:20:23,660 --> 00:20:27,340 self-denial are as normal to the newborn 404 00:20:27,340 --> 00:20:32,600 believer as self-love, self-esteem, and self 405 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:34,840 -seeking are to the unbeliever. 406 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,380 I don't see books like that down at 407 00:20:40,380 --> 00:20:41,340 the Christian bookstore. 408 00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:46,940 Charles Spurgeon said, All real repentance is joined 409 00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:49,800 with holy sorrow and self-loathing. 410 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,100 But repentance has comfort in it. 411 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,100 The door of repentance opens into the halls 412 00:20:56,100 --> 00:20:56,740 of joy. 413 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:59,380 We just heard a wonderful testimony of that. 414 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:01,600 He went on to say, When God is 415 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:07,800 seen with admiration, then of necessity we are 416 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:09,240 filled with self-loathing. 417 00:21:10,140 --> 00:21:12,420 The more you appreciate God, the more you 418 00:21:12,420 --> 00:21:14,040 will depreciate yourself. 419 00:21:14,820 --> 00:21:17,740 While the thought of God rises higher and 420 00:21:17,740 --> 00:21:21,560 higher and higher, you also will sink lower 421 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:23,480 and lower in your own esteem. 422 00:21:24,620 --> 00:21:27,980 The word used by Job, I abhor myself, 423 00:21:28,060 --> 00:21:29,000 is a strong one. 424 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:33,660 It might be paraphrased thus, I nauseate myself. 425 00:21:33,900 --> 00:21:36,460 I am disgusted with myself. 426 00:21:36,460 --> 00:21:40,240 I cast forth from my soul every proud 427 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:41,400 thought of myself. 428 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:43,780 Cast it out from me as a sickening 429 00:21:43,780 --> 00:21:45,140 and intolerable thing. 430 00:21:49,670 --> 00:21:51,770 Would to God that we had preachers like 431 00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:52,530 that today. 432 00:21:56,270 --> 00:21:59,210 Alright, the second sign is lovelessness. 433 00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:04,750 In 2 Timothy 3, again, Paul said that 434 00:22:04,750 --> 00:22:09,460 these people are unloving and that they're lovers 435 00:22:09,460 --> 00:22:13,140 of pleasure more than lovers of God or 436 00:22:13,140 --> 00:22:14,520 rather than lovers of God. 437 00:22:15,740 --> 00:22:18,360 And in Matthew 24, there's a little section 438 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:22,240 in there where Jesus, again, is addressing the 439 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:29,120 end times church, and He said, Most people, 440 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,490 most, their love would grow cold. 441 00:22:36,810 --> 00:22:38,330 Now, love is an interesting thing. 442 00:22:38,430 --> 00:22:40,590 You know, I talk about in sexual idolatry 443 00:22:40,590 --> 00:22:43,270 in the opening chapter there, about idolatry and 444 00:22:43,270 --> 00:22:45,950 just how we have been created in such 445 00:22:45,950 --> 00:22:48,130 a way that we are going to worship 446 00:22:48,130 --> 00:22:49,210 something or another. 447 00:22:49,890 --> 00:22:51,730 I mean, it's just that's the way we've 448 00:22:51,730 --> 00:22:56,210 been created, is to give our devotion to 449 00:22:56,210 --> 00:22:56,690 something. 450 00:22:57,950 --> 00:22:59,750 And, you know, I make the point there 451 00:22:59,750 --> 00:23:03,210 that most people have given their devotion to 452 00:23:03,210 --> 00:23:04,830 all kinds of things, you know, and have 453 00:23:04,830 --> 00:23:08,530 idols that have just formed up inside their 454 00:23:08,530 --> 00:23:10,610 hearts over the years and so on. 455 00:23:10,610 --> 00:23:18,500 But the thing is, with loving God, it's 456 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:20,920 a different sort of dynamic. 457 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,580 You know, you can have several idols all 458 00:23:23,580 --> 00:23:25,220 at once, and they don't conflict with each 459 00:23:25,220 --> 00:23:25,780 other, really. 460 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:30,220 You can love your career, your family, your 461 00:23:30,220 --> 00:23:33,580 sports team, your wardrobe. 462 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:35,840 You can love all kinds of different things 463 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:37,100 all at the same time. 464 00:23:37,140 --> 00:23:39,100 But it isn't that way with the Lord. 465 00:23:39,380 --> 00:23:41,220 The reason you can do that is because 466 00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:44,220 when self is on the throne, there's plenty 467 00:23:44,220 --> 00:23:48,020 of room for idols because it's all built 468 00:23:48,020 --> 00:23:49,160 in self-love. 469 00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:52,560 But when God is on the throne, it's 470 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,140 a completely different dynamic. 471 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:56,860 There's only room for one love, and it 472 00:23:56,860 --> 00:23:59,580 is the love that's due to God alone. 473 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,380 That's what Deuteronomy meant. 474 00:24:03,940 --> 00:24:07,160 I mean, with Moses in Deuteronomy, when he 475 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,740 said, The greatest commandment is to love the 476 00:24:11,740 --> 00:24:14,160 Lord your God with all your heart and 477 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,440 all your soul and all your mind and 478 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:17,360 all your strength. 479 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,040 That's what happens when you've been converted and 480 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:23,940 Jesus Christ is on your throne. 481 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:25,800 The conflict is gone. 482 00:24:27,380 --> 00:24:29,640 That conflict is no longer there. 483 00:24:30,260 --> 00:24:32,500 It doesn't mean that you don't have struggles 484 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:34,000 with things and so on. 485 00:24:34,060 --> 00:24:35,940 I know Judy's had her struggles with different 486 00:24:35,940 --> 00:24:37,780 issues over the years, but there is a 487 00:24:37,780 --> 00:24:41,220 constant movement in a direction towards the Lord 488 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,900 that grows as you mature as a believer. 489 00:24:46,660 --> 00:24:48,940 When God is on the throne, when Jesus 490 00:24:48,940 --> 00:24:55,760 Christ is on the throne, Jesus said it's 491 00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:00,100 impossible to serve God in mammon. 492 00:25:00,260 --> 00:25:01,040 It's impossible. 493 00:25:02,180 --> 00:25:05,580 But people insist on doing it, thinking they're 494 00:25:05,580 --> 00:25:06,520 doing it, and they're not. 495 00:25:06,620 --> 00:25:08,080 They're just deceiving themselves. 496 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,060 Apostate Christians don't love God. 497 00:25:15,620 --> 00:25:16,720 They kind of like him. 498 00:25:17,900 --> 00:25:19,740 The truth is they love other things. 499 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,420 You know, the only difference between an apostate 500 00:25:23,420 --> 00:25:26,940 Christian and a total heathen is form of 501 00:25:26,940 --> 00:25:31,480 godliness, because inside there really is no difference. 502 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:35,760 An apostate Christian has the same values. 503 00:25:36,740 --> 00:25:38,900 They love the same things as the heathen 504 00:25:38,900 --> 00:25:39,340 loves. 505 00:25:39,340 --> 00:25:42,360 Their heart, their treasure of their heart is 506 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:44,280 in the same sorts of things. 507 00:25:44,860 --> 00:25:46,120 They're lovers of pleasure. 508 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:48,380 They love entertainment and all of it. 509 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:49,940 That's really where their hearts are at. 510 00:25:50,180 --> 00:25:52,260 The only difference really is the outward. 511 00:25:54,220 --> 00:25:57,100 An apostate Christian, you know, holds on to 512 00:25:57,100 --> 00:25:58,200 the form of godliness. 513 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:00,020 That's the only difference. 514 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,420 For many, maybe you've moved close to the 515 00:26:06,420 --> 00:26:08,920 Lord at one time or whatever, but you've 516 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:10,960 allowed the things of this world to crowd 517 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,020 in on your life. 518 00:26:12,940 --> 00:26:15,140 And so your spiritual life, if there was 519 00:26:15,140 --> 00:26:17,060 one, I don't know how that works exactly 520 00:26:17,060 --> 00:26:17,680 spiritually. 521 00:26:17,860 --> 00:26:19,300 I'll leave that to the theologians. 522 00:26:19,500 --> 00:26:22,020 But if you had some kind of a 523 00:26:22,020 --> 00:26:25,640 spiritual life, it begins to dry up and 524 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:26,440 wither away. 525 00:26:27,780 --> 00:26:30,520 And before you know it, you have become 526 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:31,780 a mechanical Christian. 527 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:33,680 Everything is done mechanically. 528 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,700 There's no affection for the Lord in what 529 00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:37,240 you're doing. 530 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,260 You're just kind of going through the motions. 531 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:42,340 You're dying. 532 00:26:43,700 --> 00:26:44,620 That's what it is. 533 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:46,080 You're dying inside. 534 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:52,540 Now, you know, again, I need to say 535 00:26:52,540 --> 00:26:55,800 this, that even people who have really come 536 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:57,440 to the Lord have their dry times. 537 00:26:57,540 --> 00:27:00,080 I have my dry times, you know, and 538 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:01,460 that's to be expected. 539 00:27:01,580 --> 00:27:03,660 And there's times that you just need to, 540 00:27:03,700 --> 00:27:05,900 you know, be encouraged and you need the 541 00:27:05,900 --> 00:27:07,700 refreshing from the Lord and so on. 542 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,040 It doesn't mean you're apostate or near apostasy. 543 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:11,900 I'm not saying that. 544 00:27:12,740 --> 00:27:14,820 You know, there are those times when we 545 00:27:14,820 --> 00:27:17,000 have struggles, we get off track a little 546 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:17,320 bit. 547 00:27:17,740 --> 00:27:21,320 But there's a difference between someone who's the 548 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,520 basic flow of their life is living for 549 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,800 self and someone who's the basic flow of 550 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,060 their life is to live for God, to 551 00:27:31,060 --> 00:27:32,020 please God. 552 00:27:32,180 --> 00:27:34,420 There's a difference between the two. 553 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,600 In my book, Intoxicated with Babylon, I said 554 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,060 this, Nothing will deaden a person's spiritual appetite 555 00:27:42,060 --> 00:27:43,740 like the spirit of this world. 556 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,800 It agitates the flesh and shuts out the 557 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:49,540 Holy Spirit. 558 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,960 The hunger deep within a believer's spirit for 559 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,400 the satisfying presence of God is eclipsed by 560 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,680 the soul's lust for entertainment. 561 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,000 The things of this world dull a person's 562 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,340 spiritual sensitivity. 563 00:28:06,380 --> 00:28:09,060 Even believers with the best of intentions find 564 00:28:09,060 --> 00:28:12,140 that their passion for God wanes in the 565 00:28:12,140 --> 00:28:13,820 polluted atmosphere of Babylon. 566 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,240 It is interesting how wide awake we are 567 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,120 when it comes to our life in Babylon. 568 00:28:20,740 --> 00:28:23,180 When it comes to Mammon, we rise early 569 00:28:23,180 --> 00:28:24,520 and stay up late. 570 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:30,080 As one writer put it, the final epitaph 571 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,460 of this person's life could be summed up 572 00:28:32,460 --> 00:28:35,340 thus, He might have been a saint of 573 00:28:35,340 --> 00:28:38,420 God, but alas, he has gained the world, 574 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:40,420 he has lost his soul. 575 00:28:42,180 --> 00:28:46,260 The third sign of apostasy is lawlessness. 576 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:48,700 Are you okay? 577 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:49,820 You're all so quiet. 578 00:28:54,030 --> 00:28:55,550 Okay, I got one guy that told me 579 00:28:55,550 --> 00:28:56,970 to preach and that's all I need. 580 00:29:03,190 --> 00:29:08,470 2 Thessalonians 2, where Paul talks about the 581 00:29:08,470 --> 00:29:12,850 apostasy and he talks about the man of 582 00:29:12,850 --> 00:29:14,950 lawlessness who's the Antichrist. 583 00:29:15,550 --> 00:29:17,990 He talks about the mystery of lawlessness. 584 00:29:18,730 --> 00:29:22,590 There's something involved with the apostasy that is 585 00:29:22,590 --> 00:29:28,090 very tied in with this whole spiritual dynamic 586 00:29:28,090 --> 00:29:29,070 of lawlessness. 587 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:36,200 Jesus, again, in Matthew 24, it's the same 588 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:42,800 verse, warned about that lawless attitude that brings 589 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,560 about coldness of heart towards God and the 590 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:46,460 things of God. 591 00:29:50,130 --> 00:29:55,390 The secular Greek word for apostasy, apostasia, really 592 00:29:55,390 --> 00:29:57,470 in the secular Greek it just is another 593 00:29:57,470 --> 00:29:58,550 word for insurrection. 594 00:29:58,750 --> 00:30:00,210 That's really what it means. 595 00:30:01,210 --> 00:30:07,250 And in fact, some of the translations don't 596 00:30:07,250 --> 00:30:09,350 call it the great apostasy, they call it 597 00:30:09,350 --> 00:30:10,770 the great rebellion. 598 00:30:11,970 --> 00:30:15,350 Because that's really what's going on. 599 00:30:16,050 --> 00:30:19,210 And you know, that is the spirit of 600 00:30:19,210 --> 00:30:25,230 Antichrist is pushing forth that spirit in the 601 00:30:25,230 --> 00:30:26,430 church now. 602 00:30:26,430 --> 00:30:31,450 This spirit of lawlessness that, you know, and 603 00:30:31,450 --> 00:30:33,230 you see it in a lot of teachings. 604 00:30:33,530 --> 00:30:36,150 It's subtle, you have to have discernment. 605 00:30:36,550 --> 00:30:38,150 But it's there in a lot of teachings 606 00:30:38,150 --> 00:30:40,610 and the basic message of the teaching and 607 00:30:40,610 --> 00:30:42,630 it can be packaged in different ways for 608 00:30:42,630 --> 00:30:44,930 different denominational groups and so on. 609 00:30:45,110 --> 00:30:49,230 But the basic underlying principle is this. 610 00:30:49,370 --> 00:30:51,130 You don't have to obey God. 611 00:30:52,110 --> 00:30:53,910 You don't have to obey God. 612 00:30:53,990 --> 00:30:55,630 He doesn't expect you to obey Him. 613 00:30:57,130 --> 00:30:59,070 And that's packaged in a lot of different 614 00:30:59,070 --> 00:30:59,470 ways. 615 00:30:59,810 --> 00:31:01,910 Let me tell you, that is the spirit 616 00:31:01,910 --> 00:31:03,130 of Antichrist. 617 00:31:04,270 --> 00:31:06,810 Because the spirit of the living God would 618 00:31:06,810 --> 00:31:09,130 never tell you that you don't have to 619 00:31:09,130 --> 00:31:09,950 obey Him. 620 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,640 The psalmist said, you know, got a sight 621 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:23,900 of the spirit in Psalm 2. 622 00:31:23,900 --> 00:31:26,700 I mean, it was fulfilled in Jesus' time 623 00:31:26,700 --> 00:31:27,760 and His first time here. 624 00:31:27,860 --> 00:31:29,840 But it was also a foreshadowing of the 625 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,660 end times when there's an attitude and a 626 00:31:32,660 --> 00:31:36,120 spirit and atmosphere that's growing stronger and stronger 627 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:36,880 in the earth. 628 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:41,180 He said, the kings of the earth take 629 00:31:41,180 --> 00:31:41,880 their stand. 630 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,660 And you see that in the book of 631 00:31:44,660 --> 00:31:45,220 Revelation. 632 00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:49,040 The kings of the earth take their stand 633 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,760 and the rulers take counsel together against the 634 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,900 Lord and against His anointing saying, let us 635 00:31:54,900 --> 00:31:57,600 tear their fetters apart and cast away their 636 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:58,580 cords from us. 637 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:01,760 We don't want to be ruled by anyone. 638 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:03,800 I don't want anybody telling me what to 639 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:04,100 do. 640 00:32:09,890 --> 00:32:13,990 And that is in the hearts of a 641 00:32:13,990 --> 00:32:16,150 lot of people who confess themselves to be 642 00:32:16,150 --> 00:32:16,670 Christians. 643 00:32:17,670 --> 00:32:20,030 You know, apostate Christians are willing to obey 644 00:32:20,030 --> 00:32:21,590 God up to a certain point. 645 00:32:22,430 --> 00:32:24,690 They're willing to go along with the program 646 00:32:24,690 --> 00:32:27,710 as long as He doesn't put His finger 647 00:32:27,710 --> 00:32:30,130 on that thing that they don't want to 648 00:32:30,130 --> 00:32:33,890 give up or whatever it might be, whatever 649 00:32:33,890 --> 00:32:34,650 the case is. 650 00:32:34,690 --> 00:32:37,930 They're willing to obey, you know, outwardly as 651 00:32:37,930 --> 00:32:39,690 long as it doesn't reach down into the 652 00:32:39,690 --> 00:32:41,370 inner recesses of their heart. 653 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,360 Their submission is superficial and insincere. 654 00:32:51,780 --> 00:32:55,680 Inside their heart, they're just as rebellious and 655 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:57,880 unsubmitted as any heathen. 656 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,480 Apostates are rebels, just like their master. 657 00:33:12,620 --> 00:33:13,760 You know what the issue is? 658 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:14,480 It's control. 659 00:33:16,100 --> 00:33:17,440 That's what the issue is. 660 00:33:17,460 --> 00:33:18,000 It's control. 661 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:19,900 We just heard it in this testimony. 662 00:33:20,140 --> 00:33:21,820 It was such a perfect picture of what 663 00:33:21,820 --> 00:33:22,580 I'm talking about. 664 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:24,400 That's what the issue is. 665 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,420 Who is going to control my life? 666 00:33:27,220 --> 00:33:29,180 Who's going to control my life? 667 00:33:29,620 --> 00:33:31,780 When self is on the throne, you do 668 00:33:31,780 --> 00:33:33,740 not easily give up that throne. 669 00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:40,240 We like to watch these movies about Antichrist, 670 00:33:40,380 --> 00:33:44,180 you know, these ridiculous, nonsensical, end-time movies 671 00:33:44,180 --> 00:33:50,360 that are based in fiction and mostly loosely 672 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:51,440 based around Scripture. 673 00:33:51,620 --> 00:33:53,060 And there is going to be an Antichrist, 674 00:33:53,140 --> 00:33:54,700 and I believe he's alive now, and I 675 00:33:54,700 --> 00:33:56,600 believe he's going to be emerging soon. 676 00:33:57,300 --> 00:33:59,100 But, you know, we like to point the 677 00:33:59,100 --> 00:34:01,000 finger at someone like that, and he's this 678 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:02,740 monster and all of this stuff. 679 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,560 But the reality is, we're in the same 680 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:06,220 spirit. 681 00:34:07,380 --> 00:34:08,719 That's the reality. 682 00:34:09,460 --> 00:34:10,980 Self is on the throne. 683 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:13,100 It might as well be the devil on 684 00:34:13,100 --> 00:34:13,600 the throne. 685 00:34:23,860 --> 00:34:27,639 Apostates have never surrendered control of their lives. 686 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:31,199 They've never submitted to God's authority. 687 00:34:32,580 --> 00:34:34,100 They've never been to Calvary. 688 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,060 A word that's hardly found in Scripture, but 689 00:34:38,060 --> 00:34:45,489 yet the concept is throughout the Bible, and 690 00:34:45,489 --> 00:34:48,409 it's an enormously important word. 691 00:34:49,270 --> 00:34:52,050 In fact, I would say everything hinges on 692 00:34:52,050 --> 00:34:52,850 it, really. 693 00:34:54,130 --> 00:34:55,489 The word is sincerity. 694 00:34:56,650 --> 00:34:58,510 That's the word, sincerity. 695 00:34:59,010 --> 00:35:02,230 Because when you are sincere before God, you 696 00:35:02,230 --> 00:35:04,070 let the Holy Spirit speak to you. 697 00:35:04,670 --> 00:35:06,390 You are going to be honest with yourself. 698 00:35:06,550 --> 00:35:08,330 You're going to do an inventory of yourself, 699 00:35:08,470 --> 00:35:10,790 and you're going to be truthful about yourself. 700 00:35:10,910 --> 00:35:13,690 But if you're insincere, you'll find one way 701 00:35:13,690 --> 00:35:17,390 or another to slide out from anything that 702 00:35:17,390 --> 00:35:19,750 is convicting or whatever. 703 00:35:21,410 --> 00:35:24,170 But let's just look at these 19 signs 704 00:35:24,710 --> 00:35:27,970 that you're heading into the great apostasy. 705 00:35:27,970 --> 00:35:28,610 1. 706 00:35:29,470 --> 00:35:32,290 Prayer is either nonexistent or mechanical. 707 00:35:34,410 --> 00:35:35,110 2. 708 00:35:35,110 --> 00:35:37,470 You know the word, but you don't really 709 00:35:37,470 --> 00:35:38,070 live it. 710 00:35:39,550 --> 00:35:40,250 3. 711 00:35:41,210 --> 00:35:44,570 Earnest thoughts about eternal things are no longer 712 00:35:44,570 --> 00:35:46,030 regular and gripping. 713 00:35:48,630 --> 00:35:49,330 4. 714 00:35:49,330 --> 00:35:51,670 Sins of the body and of the mind 715 00:35:51,670 --> 00:35:54,230 can be indulged in without an uproar in 716 00:35:54,230 --> 00:35:54,870 your conscience. 717 00:35:57,790 --> 00:35:58,670 5. 718 00:35:58,670 --> 00:36:02,910 Aspirations for Christlike holiness have ceased to be 719 00:36:02,910 --> 00:36:04,290 dominant in your mind. 720 00:36:05,850 --> 00:36:06,730 6. 721 00:36:07,310 --> 00:36:10,550 The acquisition of money and goods takes up 722 00:36:10,550 --> 00:36:12,190 a major part of your thinking. 723 00:36:13,970 --> 00:36:14,850 7. 724 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,000 You can sing worship psalms without really meaning 725 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:21,100 what they express. 726 00:36:23,740 --> 00:36:24,180 8. 727 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:29,440 You can hear eternal issues treated flippantly and 728 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:31,420 not be moved to indignation. 729 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:33,960 9. 730 00:36:34,740 --> 00:36:37,480 Your main concerns are of your temporal and 731 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:38,500 earthly life. 732 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:40,800 10. 733 00:36:41,940 --> 00:36:44,980 Conflicts with others are not a major concern 734 00:36:44,980 --> 00:36:45,540 to you. 735 00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:48,000 11. 736 00:36:49,220 --> 00:36:52,020 You no longer hunger for a deeper life 737 00:36:52,020 --> 00:36:52,740 in God. 738 00:36:54,770 --> 00:36:55,330 12. 739 00:36:55,770 --> 00:36:58,670 You don't live with a full and grateful 740 00:36:58,670 --> 00:36:59,290 heart. 741 00:37:00,490 --> 00:37:01,250 13. 742 00:37:01,870 --> 00:37:05,010 You have little concern over and make little 743 00:37:05,010 --> 00:37:07,070 effort to meet the needs of others. 744 00:37:08,870 --> 00:37:09,630 14. 745 00:37:10,330 --> 00:37:13,510 You always see your level of spirituality in 746 00:37:13,510 --> 00:37:14,630 positive terms. 747 00:37:16,450 --> 00:37:17,170 15. 748 00:37:18,250 --> 00:37:20,910 You are more concerned about your pet doctrines 749 00:37:20,910 --> 00:37:23,050 than you are people's lives. 750 00:37:25,350 --> 00:37:25,990 16. 751 00:37:27,610 --> 00:37:31,570 Sports, recreation and entertainment are a large and 752 00:37:31,570 --> 00:37:33,290 necessary part of your life. 753 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:36,040 17. 754 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,280 You are more concerned with your image than 755 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,640 with the reality of your life with God. 756 00:37:42,700 --> 00:37:43,460 18. 757 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:49,100 You are full of bitterness or criticism or 758 00:37:49,100 --> 00:37:53,260 pride or covetousness or lust. 759 00:37:55,340 --> 00:37:55,860 19. 760 00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:58,980 You have a head full of knowledge and 761 00:37:58,980 --> 00:38:00,680 a heart of stone. 762 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,180 I'm hoping that that will give you a 763 00:38:05,180 --> 00:38:06,300 sense of where you're at. 764 00:38:06,300 --> 00:38:12,800 Well, I suppose the main heart we had 765 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:17,700 of deciding to start this conference years ago 766 00:38:17,700 --> 00:38:23,600 was to give people an opportunity to come 767 00:38:24,980 --> 00:38:28,200 back to the place where they met God 768 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:32,160 and had an encounter with God and to 769 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:35,120 get refreshed and to be challenged and so 770 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:35,420 on. 771 00:38:35,420 --> 00:38:37,760 And I know, like I said before, there 772 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,120 are many godly saints in this place. 773 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:44,020 The thing is about sincerity, altar calls are 774 00:38:44,020 --> 00:38:46,980 funny because the way it often happens is 775 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:50,120 the people who need to be at the 776 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:52,720 altar the most are sitting there smugly in 777 00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:55,900 their chairs thinking they're doing great and the 778 00:38:55,900 --> 00:38:57,740 people who least need to be at the 779 00:38:57,740 --> 00:39:00,600 altar are usually the ones up here throwing 780 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:02,900 themselves before God, pleading for mercy. 781 00:39:04,140 --> 00:39:06,480 But the reality is in this group is 782 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:08,940 that most of you here are somewhere in 783 00:39:08,940 --> 00:39:10,960 that in-between group and I know that. 784 00:39:12,260 --> 00:39:16,080 And you know some that maybe you've been 785 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:19,320 challenged this morning to shake it up a 786 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:21,460 little bit and to get back on track. 787 00:39:21,620 --> 00:39:24,240 You see you've gotten sloppy spiritually and you've 788 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:27,460 gotten off track and maybe your life with 789 00:39:27,460 --> 00:39:30,240 God has become kind of mechanical and you've 790 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:32,780 lost the fire, you've lost the passion, you've 791 00:39:32,780 --> 00:39:33,740 lost the love. 792 00:39:35,340 --> 00:39:37,280 And you've allowed the things of the world 793 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:38,580 to crowd into your life. 794 00:39:38,700 --> 00:39:41,560 You've been making little alliances with the world 795 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,200 and just kind of giving over in little 796 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:46,060 ways here and there and before you know 797 00:39:46,060 --> 00:39:48,760 it, your spiritual life, your hunger for God 798 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:51,760 has waned and is drying up and withering 799 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:52,300 away. 800 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,060 This would be a good time to get 801 00:39:56,060 --> 00:39:57,540 on your face before God. 802 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:00,480 This would be a good time to get 803 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,160 on your face before God. 804 00:40:04,110 --> 00:40:06,550 To make a commitment to Him. 805 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:10,740 You know all we've got to do is 806 00:40:10,740 --> 00:40:11,600 look at the news. 807 00:40:13,860 --> 00:40:15,120 What's it going to take? 808 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:17,560 All we've got to do is look at 809 00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:19,000 what's happening in the news. 810 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:21,580 I know most of it's lies and it's 811 00:40:21,580 --> 00:40:23,480 all part of the deception, the way it's 812 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:25,200 packaged and presented to us. 813 00:40:25,420 --> 00:40:27,740 But can't you see in the news what's 814 00:40:27,740 --> 00:40:28,220 happening? 815 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:31,540 The time is growing short. 816 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:32,820 How long? 817 00:40:33,420 --> 00:40:36,140 How long will we continue to play games? 818 00:40:36,420 --> 00:40:38,000 How long will we continue? 819 00:40:48,580 --> 00:40:51,300 Some of you need to just get before 820 00:40:51,300 --> 00:40:58,140 God and make a commitment about some concrete 821 00:40:58,140 --> 00:40:59,620 things in your life. 822 00:41:01,900 --> 00:41:04,220 Coming up and having some kind of a 823 00:41:04,220 --> 00:41:06,520 vague, Oh Lord, I'm sorry, I know I 824 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:07,160 need to do better. 825 00:41:07,260 --> 00:41:08,560 That's not going to do it for you, 826 00:41:08,620 --> 00:41:09,140 loved ones. 827 00:41:09,140 --> 00:41:11,180 That's not going to do it for you. 828 00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:13,060 What you need to do is, that needs 829 00:41:13,060 --> 00:41:15,020 to be there, but you also need to 830 00:41:15,020 --> 00:41:17,400 say, Oh God, I know this needs to 831 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:17,700 go. 832 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:19,760 Oh God, I know I need to change 833 00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:20,240 this. 834 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:22,880 Oh God, I promise you from this day 835 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,200 forward something is going to be different in 836 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:26,700 the way that I handle this. 837 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:30,500 Here is your opportunity now. 838 00:41:37,500 --> 00:41:41,060 You need to change your lifestyle as you 839 00:41:41,060 --> 00:41:41,980 now live it. 840 00:41:41,980 --> 00:41:45,020 Something needs to change. 841 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:50,500 And so I'm going to just open this 842 00:41:50,500 --> 00:41:52,380 altar up and I'm going to ask you, 843 00:41:53,500 --> 00:41:55,560 if you feel like you need to do 844 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:57,840 business with God, now is your time to 845 00:41:57,840 --> 00:41:59,100 run to Calvary. 846 00:42:00,060 --> 00:42:02,500 Some of you need to run to Calvary. 847 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:05,340 You have not really come to Calvary. 848 00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:08,720 Some of you have been playing games and 849 00:42:08,720 --> 00:42:12,540 been around the princes of Christianity your whole 850 00:42:12,540 --> 00:42:15,520 life, but you have never really submitted and 851 00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:16,080 surrendered. 852 00:42:16,940 --> 00:42:19,620 Some of you need to make that consecration 853 00:42:19,620 --> 00:42:21,600 this morning as an act of your will, 854 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,700 once and for all, to nail self to 855 00:42:24,700 --> 00:42:25,460 the cross. 856 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:31,640 No longer, no longer can I allow self 857 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,300 to rule my life. 858 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:34,980 It's going to take me into hell. 859 00:42:37,500 --> 00:42:39,880 Some of you need to get serious with 860 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:41,460 God for the first time. 861 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:45,860 I know many of you, again, I know 862 00:42:45,860 --> 00:42:47,400 many of you, you just need to get 863 00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:48,760 back on track. 864 00:42:48,860 --> 00:42:49,420 I understand. 865 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,020 But there are others in here I fear 866 00:42:52,020 --> 00:42:53,140 for you, loved ones. 867 00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:03,500 If you can be at a Pure Life 868 00:43:03,500 --> 00:43:07,000 Ministries conference and sit in that seat, stony 869 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,260 -hearted, unmoved, what hope is there for you?