Welcome to the Lord's Challenge, our weekly quarter
-hour broadcast, bringing the reality of God's Word
to all people everywhere.
Stay tuned as Joshua Daniel challenges us to
a walk with God and the corresponding impact
that will have on our lives, families, and
society today.
Let us turn to Mark 4, chapter please.
We see here when persecution arises.
Of course, there isn't that outward persecution.
Perhaps you're cold-shouldered and people look askance
at you, or they poke fun about you.
He's soft in the head, you know, or
some such thing.
Apart from that, you don't face severe persecution.
But what about the people?
As soon as their parents know, here's my
boy, here's my girl, going to a place
of Christian worship, we cut off your supplies,
we'll not pay your fees anymore, we have
nothing to do with you, you're dead and
gone.
And in the face of that, I see
so many people standing for Jesus.
You don't have that kind of persecution.
But Jesus said, when persecution arises, for the
Word's sake, immediately they are offended.
They back off.
They sulk away.
They don't stand.
Now, let us turn to Mark 7, chapter.
Now, stony soil we were seeing, what are
these stones in the heart?
The Lord Jesus Christ names them from verse
20.
That which cometh out of the man, that
defiled the man.
For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders.
For from within the heart, proceed evil thoughts.
You know, my dear friends, why are we
not more creative?
It's because we are so negative.
We are commenting about this person.
We are commenting about that person.
Oh, we are so busy looking at the
moat in our brother's eye.
And we don't care about the beam in
our own eye.
With the result that we are simply not
creative.
To him that knoweth to do good and
doeth it not, it shall be counted sin.
Let me tell you something.
Folks, I was a very foolish boy.
Never was I brilliant.
Never.
Some of my friends were.
But God has chosen the foolish things of
this world.
So there's room with Jesus, even for Joshua
Daniel.
Some of you may be highly intelligent, thoughtful
people.
I don't know, but I expect that you
are.
But what is the leakage?
Why is it that you're hemorrhaging usefulness and
fruitfulness?
What is all this?
No creativity, no power coming out of you.
Now that's serious.
That is serious.
And the Lord Jesus Christ puts his finger
on the first sin of the heart.
Evil thoughts.
You know, today we tend to be very
selfish.
I still see some very gracious people on
the roads.
But generally, that's not the rule anywhere in
the world.
Get out of my way is the more
general rule that prevents.
But friends, evil thoughts.
What does the television viewing?
My goodness, all the rubbish that comes through
the television.
You want your head to be full of
that stuff?
My dear friends, sometimes I've had people say
to me, brother, take away my television.
A pastor in New York State told me
that.
And in some families, actually, they removed the
television.
And the children began to study so well.
There was such general improvement in the family.
All right, television is just one of the
media.
And you can't really.
What is it?
Dispense with it altogether.
Okay.
At least you want to find the weather.
You go to the radio or the television
to know the weather and so on and
so forth.
Whatever it is, evil thoughts.
Now I find the most wicked, unimaginable and
immoral practices have come into vogue.
What is that?
Such immorality is sweeping over the nation.
It's inundating the place.
Sex slaves.
That's what our society is producing today.
And let me tell you, that's the worst
kind of slavery.
Sex slaves.
That's all they can think of.
That's all.
Oh, what a tragedy.
Everything to do with sex, all the advertisements,
everything almost.
And when you go to the church, you
see such immodestly dressed women exposing the cleavage
has become the fashion today.
What's that?
Back to the jungle.
When one goes to church, there should be
a certain decorum, respect for God, respect for
holiness.
Nothing.
Folks, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murder.
You know, I have also found in certain
quarters, spirits of adultery and take one young
man ruining unnumbered women, ruining them.
What have we trained in our schools and
universities?
Such marauding sex animals, predators.
Take the newspaper.
You will find the highest class of people
transgressing.
We used to say, oh, that is being
slummy, slummy.
This slumminess has hit the highest circles of
the country.
Now that's the heart of man.
Jesus says that's the heart of man.
How many abandoned women there are?
Take one city.
Today, some of the biggest cities and some
other cities are not able to balance their
budget.
They are going into heavy debts, heavy borrowing.
Why?
Too many teenage mothers, unwed mother, too many.
And the country is not able to support
them.
Oh, my dear people, out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries.
As a matter of fact, if you turn
to 23rd chapter of Jeremiah and the 10th
verse, you will see this.
For the land is full of adulterers.
For because of swearing, the land mourneth.
The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried
up.
Their course is evil.
Their force is not right.
Both prophet and priest are profane.
My dear friends, have we come to such
a state when God says both prophet and
priest are profane?
How sad.
You know, when I finished preaching in one
place, a young pastor came to me and
said, this message is for me.
I've been ruining the women in my congregation.
How sad.
Oh, my dear people.
Both the preacher, the priest and the prophet
are profane.
Yea, in my house have I found their
wickedness, said the Lord.
The land is full of adulterers.
That's what the word of God says.
Are we going to cleanse the land?
The Lord says, if my people humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and turn
from their wicked ways, I will hear and
forgive their sins and heal their land.
What is happening?
Some farmers are selling away their cattle.
Why?
No feed.
Horrible drought.
Those curses that used to accompany idolatry, some
of those very plagues or droughts or famines
are hitting these countries, which had the open
Bible for centuries.
Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications.
Let's pray.
Loving Father, let not any hidden sin keep
the blessing from us or from our families.
Thy word says, and you went on to
say in the same chapter, for there is
nothing hid which will not be revealed.
Forgive us, good Father.
Hear our humble prayer in Jesus' holy name.
Amen.
The speaker on this program was Joshua Daniel.
He would like to know what your response
has been to the Lord's challenge and would
be delighted to hear from you.
Please write and if you have burdens you
want to share and want prayer, do let
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