1 00:00:00,650 --> 00:00:04,230 I wasn't preaching this Easter Sunday, so I 2 00:00:04,230 --> 00:00:07,350 took my teenage daughter and we visited the 3 00:00:07,350 --> 00:00:09,810 fastest growing church in a southern city. 4 00:00:10,290 --> 00:00:13,350 They had three services that morning and they 5 00:00:13,350 --> 00:00:14,710 were packed to the walls. 6 00:00:15,210 --> 00:00:17,970 As we entered the building, we passed a 7 00:00:17,970 --> 00:00:20,610 coffee bar in the lobby where people were 8 00:00:20,610 --> 00:00:23,290 getting their lattes and bringing them into the 9 00:00:23,290 --> 00:00:26,270 church sanctuary to drink during the service. 10 00:00:26,690 --> 00:00:28,850 I hesitate to call what I saw a 11 00:00:28,850 --> 00:00:29,410 sanctuary. 12 00:00:29,930 --> 00:00:32,290 It was more of a nightclub than a 13 00:00:32,290 --> 00:00:33,230 church sanctuary. 14 00:00:33,770 --> 00:00:36,730 The stage was painted black and there were 15 00:00:36,730 --> 00:00:39,990 neon blue light decorations all around the platform. 16 00:00:40,250 --> 00:00:44,310 The worship band began and I soon realized 17 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:46,270 I was at a rock concert. 18 00:00:46,750 --> 00:00:49,010 A smoke machine was next to the drummer 19 00:00:49,010 --> 00:00:52,330 and smoke filled the platform of blue jean 20 00:00:52,330 --> 00:00:54,010 dressed musicians and singers. 21 00:00:54,710 --> 00:00:56,950 A strobe light flashed behind them. 22 00:00:57,370 --> 00:00:59,550 The music was so loud my ears were 23 00:00:59,550 --> 00:01:02,010 still hurting two hours after the service. 24 00:01:02,570 --> 00:01:06,390 The worship minister yelled out between songs, you 25 00:01:06,390 --> 00:01:09,230 don't have to wait for the invitation to 26 00:01:09,230 --> 00:01:09,930 be saved. 27 00:01:10,310 --> 00:01:12,950 Just put your faith in Jesus right now 28 00:01:12,950 --> 00:01:15,170 and get it settled so you can sing 29 00:01:15,170 --> 00:01:16,370 along as a believer. 30 00:01:16,890 --> 00:01:18,190 Just do it now. 31 00:01:19,370 --> 00:01:22,050 And then the music pounded in my ears 32 00:01:22,050 --> 00:01:25,210 so loudly I could barely stand it. 33 00:01:25,610 --> 00:01:27,730 The woman in front of me had on 34 00:01:27,730 --> 00:01:30,630 a backless dress and her back was covered 35 00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:31,550 with tattoos. 36 00:01:32,170 --> 00:01:34,350 In her one hand she held a coffee 37 00:01:34,350 --> 00:01:37,630 in a styrofoam cup and her other hand 38 00:01:37,630 --> 00:01:40,570 was raised over her head as she waved 39 00:01:40,570 --> 00:01:42,730 it and she shook her rear end to 40 00:01:42,730 --> 00:01:44,310 the music's pounding beat. 41 00:01:45,350 --> 00:01:48,250 And I looked around that auditorium and every 42 00:01:48,250 --> 00:01:51,730 seat was full and everybody there was gyrating 43 00:01:51,730 --> 00:01:53,410 like that woman in front of me. 44 00:01:53,410 --> 00:01:55,970 And my daughter and I just sat there 45 00:01:55,970 --> 00:01:57,670 and suffered through it. 46 00:01:58,210 --> 00:02:00,670 Then the pastor got up on stage in 47 00:02:00,670 --> 00:02:03,410 his casual clothes and he told a story 48 00:02:03,410 --> 00:02:06,270 based on his perception of what Easter was 49 00:02:06,270 --> 00:02:06,910 to him. 50 00:02:07,430 --> 00:02:10,410 He was funny and the audience laughed and 51 00:02:10,410 --> 00:02:13,610 laughed while they drank their coffee during this 52 00:02:13,610 --> 00:02:14,670 Easter service. 53 00:02:15,290 --> 00:02:17,950 And as I sat there I was sick 54 00:02:17,950 --> 00:02:18,770 to my stomach. 55 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:22,350 I was literally nauseated as I tried to 56 00:02:22,350 --> 00:02:24,350 make sense of what was going on in 57 00:02:24,350 --> 00:02:25,970 that place called a church. 58 00:02:26,490 --> 00:02:28,210 I sensed a presence there. 59 00:02:28,610 --> 00:02:31,610 It was a prominent presence but it was 60 00:02:31,610 --> 00:02:32,870 not God's presence. 61 00:02:33,290 --> 00:02:35,070 It was a demonic presence. 62 00:02:35,590 --> 00:02:39,190 A spirit of deception pervaded the atmosphere of 63 00:02:39,190 --> 00:02:40,070 that room. 64 00:02:41,330 --> 00:02:44,270 From the pastor to the music minister to 65 00:02:44,270 --> 00:02:47,090 the people in the seats they all worshiped 66 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:50,290 this presence and mistook that evil demonic presence 67 00:02:50,290 --> 00:02:50,970 for good. 68 00:02:51,570 --> 00:02:54,490 And as I sat there I was baffled 69 00:02:54,490 --> 00:02:56,690 at how so many people could be so 70 00:02:56,690 --> 00:03:00,030 deceived and believe they were serving God and 71 00:03:00,030 --> 00:03:02,810 worshiping God when it was so evident to 72 00:03:02,810 --> 00:03:06,290 me that this was an oppressive evil presence 73 00:03:06,290 --> 00:03:06,670 there. 74 00:03:07,210 --> 00:03:09,870 Finally my daughter tapped me on the shoulder 75 00:03:09,870 --> 00:03:12,670 and she said, Daddy can we leave? 76 00:03:12,750 --> 00:03:14,230 I can't take this anymore. 77 00:03:14,950 --> 00:03:17,590 We got up and left in the middle 78 00:03:17,590 --> 00:03:19,730 of the pastor telling another story. 79 00:03:20,290 --> 00:03:23,470 As we walked out into the sunshine of 80 00:03:23,470 --> 00:03:26,590 the pretty Easter morning my daughter turned to 81 00:03:26,590 --> 00:03:28,830 me and said, I'm glad we left. 82 00:03:29,150 --> 00:03:30,350 That was horrible. 83 00:03:30,990 --> 00:03:33,870 I turned to her and said, baby girl 84 00:03:33,870 --> 00:03:36,450 that is not what church is supposed to 85 00:03:36,450 --> 00:03:39,430 be but I'm afraid that's what church has 86 00:03:39,430 --> 00:03:41,830 become in America today. 87 00:03:42,590 --> 00:03:45,270 And on the drive back she showed me 88 00:03:45,270 --> 00:03:47,510 pictures she took of the woman's bathroom. 89 00:03:48,150 --> 00:03:49,390 How elaborate it was. 90 00:03:49,890 --> 00:03:53,030 Flat screen TVs were all along the wall. 91 00:03:53,570 --> 00:03:56,750 Ivory sinks had stress relieving soap dispensers. 92 00:03:57,230 --> 00:03:59,910 Soft couches were all along the wall of 93 00:03:59,910 --> 00:04:02,770 this huge looking spa which was the woman's 94 00:04:02,770 --> 00:04:03,370 restroom. 95 00:04:03,890 --> 00:04:06,070 My daughter said she thought it was gaudy 96 00:04:06,070 --> 00:04:08,610 to be in a church like that. 97 00:04:09,490 --> 00:04:11,850 I agreed with her but that's the norm 98 00:04:11,850 --> 00:04:12,950 in America today. 99 00:04:13,330 --> 00:04:16,209 The church is centered around the creature comforts 100 00:04:16,209 --> 00:04:16,790 a man. 101 00:04:17,589 --> 00:04:20,029 My daughter asked me what the church was 102 00:04:20,029 --> 00:04:21,610 like when I was a boy. 103 00:04:22,150 --> 00:04:25,470 I said it was common back then to 104 00:04:25,470 --> 00:04:28,510 walk into a church sanctuary and find a 105 00:04:28,510 --> 00:04:31,690 prayer meeting going on where men and women 106 00:04:31,690 --> 00:04:34,530 and boys and girls were on their faces 107 00:04:34,530 --> 00:04:38,070 at the altar crying out to God because 108 00:04:38,070 --> 00:04:41,550 the presence of the Almighty was there and 109 00:04:41,550 --> 00:04:44,310 that the carpet in the sanctuary was wet 110 00:04:44,310 --> 00:04:48,670 from the tears of broken hearted people weeping 111 00:04:48,670 --> 00:04:51,050 over the sins of the land and praying 112 00:04:51,050 --> 00:04:53,590 for the lost in their community to come 113 00:04:53,590 --> 00:04:54,350 to Christ. 114 00:04:54,810 --> 00:04:57,350 That the church back in America in those 115 00:04:57,350 --> 00:05:00,550 days was a house of prayer not a 116 00:05:00,550 --> 00:05:03,590 house of entertainment like it is today. 117 00:05:04,290 --> 00:05:06,770 Then she asked me how the church got 118 00:05:06,770 --> 00:05:08,430 to be the way it is today. 119 00:05:08,990 --> 00:05:10,610 This is what I told her. 120 00:05:11,630 --> 00:05:15,210 I said that somewhere back a few decades 121 00:05:15,210 --> 00:05:18,830 ago the church in America started to change 122 00:05:18,830 --> 00:05:21,910 the gospel message to be a less offensive 123 00:05:21,910 --> 00:05:22,410 message. 124 00:05:23,010 --> 00:05:26,490 It became a only believe gospel and preachers 125 00:05:26,490 --> 00:05:29,650 quit preaching on sin and omitted the need 126 00:05:29,650 --> 00:05:32,290 for man to repent to come to God. 127 00:05:32,450 --> 00:05:35,410 They quit preaching the lordship of Jesus Christ 128 00:05:35,410 --> 00:05:38,370 and holiness in the life of the believer. 129 00:05:38,970 --> 00:05:42,030 The gospel became a watered down version of 130 00:05:42,030 --> 00:05:42,710 the original. 131 00:05:43,350 --> 00:05:46,330 Then the American church got on a mad 132 00:05:46,330 --> 00:05:49,890 rush of empire building that made them expand 133 00:05:49,890 --> 00:05:53,030 their bulging campuses to try to become the 134 00:05:53,030 --> 00:05:54,590 biggest church in their city. 135 00:05:55,450 --> 00:05:58,210 Pastors could not wait to read the hottest 136 00:05:58,210 --> 00:06:01,270 new book on church growth and adopt that 137 00:06:01,270 --> 00:06:03,190 mentality to their program. 138 00:06:04,070 --> 00:06:07,410 Pastors in former days read books on being 139 00:06:07,410 --> 00:06:10,170 anointed with the Holy Spirit and living a 140 00:06:10,170 --> 00:06:13,170 holy life but the pastors of today and 141 00:06:13,170 --> 00:06:15,510 the recent past just want to grow their 142 00:06:15,510 --> 00:06:17,310 church to be as big as it can 143 00:06:17,310 --> 00:06:19,890 be and they had to make it attractive 144 00:06:19,890 --> 00:06:22,590 to the masses so they had to change 145 00:06:22,590 --> 00:06:25,310 the way they did worship so they tossed 146 00:06:25,310 --> 00:06:28,410 out the God-centered hymns and brought in 147 00:06:28,410 --> 00:06:30,410 man-centered entertainments. 148 00:06:30,790 --> 00:06:33,110 Then they did away with the weekly prayer 149 00:06:33,110 --> 00:06:36,310 meeting because they did not want to wait 150 00:06:36,310 --> 00:06:39,270 upon God any longer when they could get 151 00:06:39,270 --> 00:06:41,850 the job done with money and manpower a 152 00:06:41,850 --> 00:06:43,030 lot quicker anyhow. 153 00:06:43,710 --> 00:06:47,170 And the bottom line was they walked God 154 00:06:47,170 --> 00:06:49,430 to the back of the church and pushed 155 00:06:49,430 --> 00:06:51,730 him out the back door and opened the 156 00:06:51,730 --> 00:06:53,590 front door of the church and let the 157 00:06:53,590 --> 00:06:54,290 world in. 158 00:06:54,670 --> 00:06:57,730 They wanted to add something new and different 159 00:06:57,730 --> 00:07:01,210 to attract the modern crowd because they felt 160 00:07:01,210 --> 00:07:03,630 the old ways couldn't get the job done 161 00:07:03,630 --> 00:07:04,230 anymore. 162 00:07:05,670 --> 00:07:08,650 And anytime there is a mixture of something 163 00:07:08,650 --> 00:07:10,510 it is no longer pure. 164 00:07:10,850 --> 00:07:13,470 A little poison will pollute an entire stream. 165 00:07:13,970 --> 00:07:16,170 One fly in the ointment is all you 166 00:07:16,170 --> 00:07:17,030 need friends. 167 00:07:17,690 --> 00:07:20,210 And when the American church mixed a little 168 00:07:20,210 --> 00:07:23,090 religion with a lot of the world it 169 00:07:23,090 --> 00:07:27,370 became an impure church a worldly apostate church 170 00:07:27,370 --> 00:07:29,250 that is greatly deceived. 171 00:07:29,830 --> 00:07:32,470 And I stressed to my daughter that there 172 00:07:32,470 --> 00:07:34,270 are still a few good churches in the 173 00:07:34,270 --> 00:07:36,710 land and I knew the pastors of many 174 00:07:36,710 --> 00:07:39,050 of them and they didn't do church like 175 00:07:39,050 --> 00:07:40,810 what we saw that Easter Sunday. 176 00:07:41,670 --> 00:07:43,910 But she said most of the churches were 177 00:07:43,910 --> 00:07:46,490 like the one we visited and I said 178 00:07:46,490 --> 00:07:50,210 yes that's true the majority of the churches 179 00:07:50,210 --> 00:07:51,930 in this country are deceived. 180 00:07:53,010 --> 00:07:54,690 And that's the title of my message this 181 00:07:54,690 --> 00:07:55,110 evening. 182 00:07:55,830 --> 00:07:59,830 A deceived church in a degenerate land that 183 00:07:59,830 --> 00:08:02,750 the land is degenerate is a stark fact 184 00:08:02,750 --> 00:08:06,290 today when good is called evil and evil 185 00:08:06,290 --> 00:08:08,870 good and God is nothing more than a 186 00:08:08,870 --> 00:08:10,790 cuss word in this nation today. 187 00:08:11,210 --> 00:08:12,650 It's a degenerate land. 188 00:08:13,450 --> 00:08:15,790 And as we drove in the car my 189 00:08:15,790 --> 00:08:18,490 daughter informed me what Easter fell on this 190 00:08:18,490 --> 00:08:18,830 year. 191 00:08:19,250 --> 00:08:20,710 It was 420. 192 00:08:21,250 --> 00:08:24,250 A 420 day the 20th of April. 193 00:08:24,850 --> 00:08:27,230 A 420 day is a day a national 194 00:08:27,230 --> 00:08:29,570 celebration for marijuana use. 195 00:08:30,050 --> 00:08:32,490 It began with a group of California students 196 00:08:32,490 --> 00:08:35,610 years ago who used to sneak outside the 197 00:08:35,610 --> 00:08:38,610 school at 420 in the afternoon to smoke 198 00:08:38,610 --> 00:08:41,669 weed and now on April 20th each year 199 00:08:41,669 --> 00:08:44,790 in this country on every social page on 200 00:08:44,790 --> 00:08:48,010 the internet are posted photos of people holding 201 00:08:48,010 --> 00:08:50,670 up their weed and smoking it in celebration 202 00:08:50,670 --> 00:08:51,430 of it. 203 00:08:51,770 --> 00:08:53,950 And this happened to fall on Easter Sunday 204 00:08:53,950 --> 00:08:54,650 this year. 205 00:08:54,650 --> 00:08:58,230 So each city in America on Easter Sunday 206 00:08:58,230 --> 00:09:01,430 was having a 420 festival in some part 207 00:09:01,430 --> 00:09:04,690 of their city to celebrate a narcotic drug 208 00:09:04,690 --> 00:09:07,370 and summon their noses in the face of 209 00:09:07,370 --> 00:09:07,850 God. 210 00:09:08,990 --> 00:09:11,970 So we have a nation of people who 211 00:09:11,970 --> 00:09:13,330 are high on drugs. 212 00:09:13,650 --> 00:09:16,130 Drugs that are quickly becoming legal in many 213 00:09:16,130 --> 00:09:16,710 states. 214 00:09:17,130 --> 00:09:19,170 And we have a nation of people who 215 00:09:19,170 --> 00:09:21,830 are drunk on alcohol and a nation of 216 00:09:21,830 --> 00:09:25,750 people who are intoxicated with sensuality and sex 217 00:09:25,750 --> 00:09:28,730 and go their own way against the ways 218 00:09:28,730 --> 00:09:29,290 of God. 219 00:09:29,670 --> 00:09:32,110 We can't blame the media for they just 220 00:09:32,110 --> 00:09:33,670 give the people what they want. 221 00:09:33,950 --> 00:09:37,150 It's all supply and demand and Americans want 222 00:09:37,150 --> 00:09:40,570 sex and sexuality as their entertainment and they 223 00:09:40,570 --> 00:09:43,870 want alcohol and narcotics to numb the pain 224 00:09:43,870 --> 00:09:46,630 of the emptiness that grips their heart. 225 00:09:47,250 --> 00:09:50,490 The nation of America lies in a stupor 226 00:09:50,490 --> 00:09:54,090 of degeneration and perversion and it is in 227 00:09:54,090 --> 00:09:56,530 a downward spiral out of control. 228 00:09:57,410 --> 00:09:59,030 And where is the church in all of 229 00:09:59,030 --> 00:09:59,370 this? 230 00:09:59,750 --> 00:10:02,430 The church at large is deceived by a 231 00:10:02,430 --> 00:10:05,570 spirit of deception and it busies herself with 232 00:10:05,570 --> 00:10:09,610 growing her campus and convincing herself she's doing 233 00:10:09,610 --> 00:10:11,610 it in the name of God and religion. 234 00:10:12,470 --> 00:10:15,590 This evening I will elaborate on how the 235 00:10:15,590 --> 00:10:18,510 church in America got in this sad condition. 236 00:10:19,270 --> 00:10:22,930 Number one, there is an unconverted ministry. 237 00:10:23,490 --> 00:10:26,590 Number two, there is a perverted gospel. 238 00:10:27,210 --> 00:10:31,050 And number three, there is an unregenerate church 239 00:10:31,050 --> 00:10:31,610 body. 240 00:10:32,790 --> 00:10:35,790 Our passage this evening is taken from the 241 00:10:35,790 --> 00:10:38,710 Old Testament from the book of Hosea. 242 00:10:39,070 --> 00:10:41,430 You may turn in your Bibles there now. 243 00:10:42,270 --> 00:10:45,530 Listen friends, I have no funny stories to 244 00:10:45,530 --> 00:10:47,630 tell you this evening to make you laugh. 245 00:10:47,870 --> 00:10:50,150 I didn't come here to entertain you. 246 00:10:50,550 --> 00:10:53,110 My ministry is to the slumbering church in 247 00:10:53,110 --> 00:10:56,190 America to try and awaken her out of 248 00:10:56,190 --> 00:10:57,550 her spiritual stupor. 249 00:10:58,010 --> 00:11:00,970 I'm not a popular preacher and I've preached 250 00:11:00,970 --> 00:11:03,510 myself just about out of most churches I've 251 00:11:03,510 --> 00:11:04,030 been in. 252 00:11:04,430 --> 00:11:06,570 Nobody wants my message today. 253 00:11:06,770 --> 00:11:08,690 It's an unpopular message. 254 00:11:09,450 --> 00:11:12,570 I like to preach that when Adam fell 255 00:11:12,570 --> 00:11:15,490 in the garden, he just didn't trip and 256 00:11:15,490 --> 00:11:16,690 skin his knee a little. 257 00:11:17,070 --> 00:11:19,790 Rather, he fell on his head and died 258 00:11:19,790 --> 00:11:20,450 spiritually. 259 00:11:21,010 --> 00:11:24,510 That mankind comes into this world with an 260 00:11:24,510 --> 00:11:27,830 utterly roomed nature and all of Adam's children 261 00:11:27,830 --> 00:11:30,430 are born with a bent toward sin. 262 00:11:30,810 --> 00:11:33,830 Man drinks iniquity like it's water and man 263 00:11:33,830 --> 00:11:36,550 lacks the moral ability to turn to God 264 00:11:36,550 --> 00:11:37,550 and serve him. 265 00:11:38,010 --> 00:11:40,810 If you get saved, it's because God gave 266 00:11:40,810 --> 00:11:42,350 you the grace to be saved. 267 00:11:42,650 --> 00:11:44,750 It is he who gives saving faith so 268 00:11:44,750 --> 00:11:47,350 we can turn to him in repentance and 269 00:11:47,350 --> 00:11:47,830 faith. 270 00:11:48,310 --> 00:11:50,690 I preach that man has a duty to 271 00:11:50,690 --> 00:11:51,890 repent toward God. 272 00:11:52,390 --> 00:11:55,090 If you do not repent, you will surely 273 00:11:55,090 --> 00:11:57,570 die in your sins and drop into a 274 00:11:57,570 --> 00:12:00,030 place of eternal misery called hell. 275 00:12:00,570 --> 00:12:01,990 That hell is hot. 276 00:12:02,330 --> 00:12:04,950 Hell is a place of intense torment and 277 00:12:04,950 --> 00:12:08,670 suffering and it is endless for all eternity. 278 00:12:09,670 --> 00:12:13,230 I preach the necessity of regeneration. 279 00:12:14,070 --> 00:12:17,010 That man must be born again by the 280 00:12:17,010 --> 00:12:17,910 Spirit of God. 281 00:12:18,410 --> 00:12:21,010 God's Word declares that it is he who 282 00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:23,490 takes away the heart of stone and makes 283 00:12:23,490 --> 00:12:24,610 it a heart of flesh. 284 00:12:25,070 --> 00:12:27,730 I preach up the lordship of Jesus Christ 285 00:12:27,730 --> 00:12:30,750 that if you want him savingly, you must 286 00:12:30,750 --> 00:12:32,030 bow to him as lord. 287 00:12:32,510 --> 00:12:34,870 You must throw down your shotgun of rebellion 288 00:12:34,870 --> 00:12:37,550 and submit to the claims and rights that 289 00:12:37,550 --> 00:12:40,390 the gospel has on a follower of Christ 290 00:12:40,390 --> 00:12:43,110 Jesus and you must take up your cross 291 00:12:43,110 --> 00:12:46,970 and deny yourself and follow a crucified savior. 292 00:12:47,610 --> 00:12:50,510 I preach Christ and him crucified and a 293 00:12:50,510 --> 00:12:52,190 bloody cross because of sin. 294 00:12:52,470 --> 00:12:55,090 I preach on the sinfulness of sin and 295 00:12:55,090 --> 00:12:57,390 if you claim to be a Christian, then 296 00:12:57,390 --> 00:13:00,350 you must pursue a life of holiness for 297 00:13:00,350 --> 00:13:03,030 without, no one will see the Lord. 298 00:13:03,670 --> 00:13:06,930 Now most folks don't like that message, but 299 00:13:06,930 --> 00:13:08,450 it's the only message I know. 300 00:13:08,810 --> 00:13:10,970 I will preach it until I die and 301 00:13:10,970 --> 00:13:11,750 go to glory. 302 00:13:12,230 --> 00:13:15,170 I preach a God-centered gospel and I 303 00:13:15,170 --> 00:13:17,690 preach about a risen Lord who sits on 304 00:13:17,690 --> 00:13:19,850 the right hand of the Father and he 305 00:13:19,850 --> 00:13:22,350 earned that right by way of a bloody 306 00:13:22,350 --> 00:13:25,890 cross and I will not stand idly by 307 00:13:25,890 --> 00:13:29,210 while the church in my country falls into 308 00:13:29,210 --> 00:13:32,770 gross error and deception and becomes a church 309 00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:35,030 that Jesus wants to spew out of his 310 00:13:35,030 --> 00:13:37,610 mouth because it makes him sick. 311 00:13:38,750 --> 00:13:41,810 Now we will be in chapter 7 in 312 00:13:41,810 --> 00:13:43,030 the book of Hosea. 313 00:13:43,450 --> 00:13:47,210 Chapter 7 is a reproof of the manifold 314 00:13:47,210 --> 00:13:49,170 sins of the people of God. 315 00:13:49,730 --> 00:13:53,550 The Jews were completely unaware of their spiritual 316 00:13:53,550 --> 00:13:57,730 condition and the spiritual decay which was upon 317 00:13:57,730 --> 00:13:58,130 them. 318 00:13:58,710 --> 00:14:02,790 Listen friends to how this passage so accurately 319 00:14:02,790 --> 00:14:05,390 describes the church in America today. 320 00:14:05,990 --> 00:14:09,690 I repeat there are some still faithful churches 321 00:14:09,690 --> 00:14:12,050 in the land with godly shepherds in the 322 00:14:12,050 --> 00:14:12,610 pulpits. 323 00:14:13,010 --> 00:14:15,550 I know of them, but they are few. 324 00:14:16,190 --> 00:14:18,590 Listen to the word of God and I 325 00:14:18,590 --> 00:14:21,090 pray it stirs our hearts this evening and 326 00:14:21,090 --> 00:14:23,350 awakens us to our great danger. 327 00:14:25,150 --> 00:14:28,890 When I would have healed Israel, then the 328 00:14:28,890 --> 00:14:32,770 iniquity of Ephraim was discovered and the wickedness 329 00:14:32,770 --> 00:14:36,910 of Samaria, for they commit falsehood and the 330 00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:39,990 thief cometh in and the troop of robbers 331 00:14:39,990 --> 00:14:44,110 spoileth without, and they consider not in their 332 00:14:44,110 --> 00:14:47,770 hearts that I remember all their wickedness. 333 00:14:48,230 --> 00:14:51,210 Now their own doings have beset them about. 334 00:14:51,630 --> 00:14:53,790 They are before my face. 335 00:14:54,430 --> 00:14:57,490 They make the king glad with their wickedness 336 00:14:57,490 --> 00:14:59,730 and the princes with their lies. 337 00:15:00,110 --> 00:15:03,890 They are all adulterers as an oven heated 338 00:15:03,890 --> 00:15:07,650 by the baker who ceaseth from raising after 339 00:15:07,650 --> 00:15:10,390 he hath kneaded the dough until it be 340 00:15:10,390 --> 00:15:11,030 leavened. 341 00:15:11,530 --> 00:15:14,090 In the day of our king the princes 342 00:15:14,090 --> 00:15:16,910 have made him sick with bottles of wine. 343 00:15:17,350 --> 00:15:20,690 He stretched out his hand with scorners for 344 00:15:20,690 --> 00:15:23,250 they have made ready their heart like an 345 00:15:23,250 --> 00:15:25,870 oven whilst they lie and wait. 346 00:15:26,270 --> 00:15:28,290 Their baker sleepeth all the night. 347 00:15:28,770 --> 00:15:31,090 In the morning it burneth as a flaming 348 00:15:31,090 --> 00:15:31,770 fire. 349 00:15:32,650 --> 00:15:34,910 They are all hot as an oven and 350 00:15:34,910 --> 00:15:36,410 have devoured their judges. 351 00:15:36,990 --> 00:15:38,510 All their kings are fallen. 352 00:15:39,050 --> 00:15:42,090 There is none among them that calleth unto 353 00:15:42,090 --> 00:15:42,650 me. 354 00:15:43,270 --> 00:15:46,990 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people. 355 00:15:47,510 --> 00:15:50,290 Ephraim is a cake not turned. 356 00:15:50,810 --> 00:15:54,610 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth 357 00:15:54,610 --> 00:15:55,250 it not. 358 00:15:55,730 --> 00:15:59,790 Yea, grey hairs are here and there upon 359 00:15:59,790 --> 00:16:02,530 him, yet he knoweth it not. 360 00:16:03,450 --> 00:16:04,830 I will stop there. 361 00:16:05,490 --> 00:16:08,630 In this striking passage of the word of 362 00:16:08,630 --> 00:16:12,230 God we see a people decayed spiritually. 363 00:16:12,470 --> 00:16:15,250 They have replaced the God of their fathers 364 00:16:15,250 --> 00:16:16,930 with false gods. 365 00:16:17,290 --> 00:16:20,470 They have mixed their worship with idols and 366 00:16:20,470 --> 00:16:22,110 they bow down to them. 367 00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:26,230 They have no spiritual power, no influence upon 368 00:16:26,230 --> 00:16:28,610 the pagan nations that surround them. 369 00:16:28,990 --> 00:16:32,730 They are so deluded and deceived that they 370 00:16:32,730 --> 00:16:36,750 are completely unaware of their great spiritual declension 371 00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:38,450 and rotten condition. 372 00:16:39,110 --> 00:16:42,570 They are like a cake, half-baked, done 373 00:16:42,570 --> 00:16:45,970 on one side but raw on the other, 374 00:16:46,530 --> 00:16:48,830 a mixture no good to anybody. 375 00:16:49,250 --> 00:16:52,170 They have grey hairs on them and know 376 00:16:52,170 --> 00:16:52,790 it not. 377 00:16:53,110 --> 00:16:56,750 So sad is their spiritual decay that they 378 00:16:56,750 --> 00:16:59,270 believe themselves to be right in the sight 379 00:16:59,270 --> 00:17:01,910 of God and they make excuses for their 380 00:17:01,910 --> 00:17:03,230 sinful behavior. 381 00:17:03,810 --> 00:17:06,410 Such is the church in America today. 382 00:17:07,050 --> 00:17:08,770 But how did we get here? 383 00:17:09,170 --> 00:17:11,930 I can explain it the best way I 384 00:17:11,930 --> 00:17:14,770 know how because I have observed it for 385 00:17:14,770 --> 00:17:16,349 the last 40 years. 386 00:17:17,230 --> 00:17:21,530 First, there is an unconverted ministry today. 387 00:17:22,089 --> 00:17:25,630 Many stand in pulpits across this country and 388 00:17:25,630 --> 00:17:29,750 they are blind leaders who are unregenerate individuals 389 00:17:29,750 --> 00:17:31,410 with seminary degrees. 390 00:17:32,010 --> 00:17:35,150 They know their Bibles, they know their theology, 391 00:17:35,630 --> 00:17:38,150 but they do not know the God of 392 00:17:38,150 --> 00:17:38,690 the Bible. 393 00:17:39,150 --> 00:17:41,290 They have not the Spirit of God in 394 00:17:41,290 --> 00:17:44,110 them nor the sanctified work of the Holy 395 00:17:44,110 --> 00:17:45,330 Spirit upon them. 396 00:17:45,710 --> 00:17:50,510 They are unconverted, ordained ministers, and they have 397 00:17:50,510 --> 00:17:52,190 no spiritual power. 398 00:17:52,910 --> 00:17:56,970 Thus, they are easily deceived by their father 399 00:17:56,970 --> 00:17:57,630 the devil. 400 00:17:58,110 --> 00:18:01,090 They worship a false spirit and preach a 401 00:18:01,090 --> 00:18:01,930 false gospel. 402 00:18:02,870 --> 00:18:04,950 And that is my second point, friends. 403 00:18:05,390 --> 00:18:08,670 The gospel of our modern day is a 404 00:18:08,670 --> 00:18:09,750 perverted gospel. 405 00:18:10,210 --> 00:18:12,570 It is a perversion of the New Testament 406 00:18:12,570 --> 00:18:13,230 original. 407 00:18:13,730 --> 00:18:16,810 The gospel of our hour is so watered 408 00:18:16,810 --> 00:18:19,310 down to make it more palatable to sinful 409 00:18:19,310 --> 00:18:23,030 man that it has no saving power whatsoever. 410 00:18:23,430 --> 00:18:26,050 It is a feel good message preached with 411 00:18:26,050 --> 00:18:28,510 the intent to not offend anybody. 412 00:18:28,950 --> 00:18:30,090 Sin is omitted. 413 00:18:30,450 --> 00:18:31,570 The blood is omitted. 414 00:18:32,010 --> 00:18:33,270 Repentance is omitted. 415 00:18:33,670 --> 00:18:35,690 The cross and the life of the believer 416 00:18:35,690 --> 00:18:36,410 is omitted. 417 00:18:37,030 --> 00:18:39,930 When my daughter and I left that church, 418 00:18:40,030 --> 00:18:42,690 she turned to me and said, Daddy, how 419 00:18:42,690 --> 00:18:45,210 can anybody in that church get saved by 420 00:18:45,210 --> 00:18:46,170 that message? 421 00:18:46,670 --> 00:18:49,750 I answered and said, They cannot, honey. 422 00:18:50,130 --> 00:18:52,470 But that is the mainstream gospel of your 423 00:18:52,470 --> 00:18:53,390 day and mine. 424 00:18:53,990 --> 00:18:56,710 And that, friends, leads me to my third 425 00:18:56,710 --> 00:18:59,930 point of an unregenerate church body. 426 00:19:00,630 --> 00:19:03,390 At this church, I listened to a church 427 00:19:03,390 --> 00:19:06,410 member give her testimony while she was being 428 00:19:06,410 --> 00:19:06,970 baptized. 429 00:19:07,750 --> 00:19:10,350 She said that she was driven away from 430 00:19:10,350 --> 00:19:13,490 church as a youth because of its strictness. 431 00:19:13,650 --> 00:19:16,430 But when she found out about this church 432 00:19:16,430 --> 00:19:19,970 and how accepting they were of everybody, she 433 00:19:19,970 --> 00:19:21,510 knew it was the place for her. 434 00:19:21,910 --> 00:19:23,750 So that is why she joined it. 435 00:19:24,170 --> 00:19:26,090 And now she wanted to make it public 436 00:19:26,090 --> 00:19:28,890 and tell people she was a Christian and 437 00:19:28,890 --> 00:19:29,670 a member there. 438 00:19:29,870 --> 00:19:31,470 And she was proud of it. 439 00:19:31,730 --> 00:19:33,050 That was her testimony. 440 00:19:34,010 --> 00:19:37,330 We have in our churches today a vast 441 00:19:37,330 --> 00:19:39,990 majority of its members who lie in an 442 00:19:39,990 --> 00:19:41,170 unconverted state. 443 00:19:41,590 --> 00:19:43,990 They made a decision to become a Christian 444 00:19:43,990 --> 00:19:47,150 based on some reason or they based it 445 00:19:47,150 --> 00:19:47,950 on a text. 446 00:19:48,350 --> 00:19:51,190 They believe John 3 16 to be true. 447 00:19:51,570 --> 00:19:54,610 So they became a Christian and the church 448 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:57,030 let them in and baptize them. 449 00:19:57,390 --> 00:20:01,510 But listen, friends, there was a time in 450 00:20:01,510 --> 00:20:05,410 our country years ago when you cannot become 451 00:20:05,410 --> 00:20:08,530 a member of a church unless you demonstrated 452 00:20:08,530 --> 00:20:10,850 credible evidence of regeneration. 453 00:20:11,570 --> 00:20:15,150 But the majority of church members today have 454 00:20:15,150 --> 00:20:18,350 never been awakened to their lost condition, never 455 00:20:18,350 --> 00:20:21,270 been convicted of sin, and have never been 456 00:20:21,270 --> 00:20:23,950 regenerated by the spirit of God through the 457 00:20:23,950 --> 00:20:24,770 new birth. 458 00:20:25,170 --> 00:20:28,430 But that is okay with the American church 459 00:20:28,430 --> 00:20:32,190 today because of her empire building mentality. 460 00:20:32,650 --> 00:20:35,290 She will let you join quickly and make 461 00:20:35,290 --> 00:20:37,750 it easy for you to join because she 462 00:20:37,750 --> 00:20:41,030 needs your money to expand her already bulging 463 00:20:41,030 --> 00:20:41,630 campus. 464 00:20:42,330 --> 00:20:45,410 The pastor won't warn you of your danger 465 00:20:45,410 --> 00:20:47,990 of dying in your sins and the necessity 466 00:20:47,990 --> 00:20:51,670 of regeneration to be truly saved because he 467 00:20:51,670 --> 00:20:54,410 more than likely has never been the subject 468 00:20:54,410 --> 00:20:56,510 of regeneration himself. 469 00:20:57,170 --> 00:21:01,130 So this is how we arrived here with 470 00:21:01,130 --> 00:21:04,190 a deceived church in a degenerate land. 471 00:21:04,190 --> 00:21:07,650 The blind lead the blind because of an 472 00:21:07,650 --> 00:21:11,230 unconverted ministry of false prophets abound. 473 00:21:11,650 --> 00:21:14,670 The perverted gospel is the main one you 474 00:21:14,670 --> 00:21:17,070 will hear on Sunday morning and the churches 475 00:21:17,070 --> 00:21:17,890 in the land. 476 00:21:18,170 --> 00:21:20,770 It can't save a flea, much less a 477 00:21:20,770 --> 00:21:23,210 hell bound sinner who loves his sins. 478 00:21:23,650 --> 00:21:25,450 And we make it easy to be a 479 00:21:25,450 --> 00:21:26,110 church member. 480 00:21:26,370 --> 00:21:28,870 So we have a large percentage of our 481 00:21:28,870 --> 00:21:33,390 church membership who are on regenerate, baptized, heathen, 482 00:21:34,110 --> 00:21:37,490 and society who looks at the church in 483 00:21:37,490 --> 00:21:41,250 America today and laughs along with her, for 484 00:21:41,250 --> 00:21:43,050 she is indeed laughable. 485 00:21:43,650 --> 00:21:47,410 When the ministers of a nation cease to 486 00:21:47,410 --> 00:21:50,530 be like salt and act as a preservative 487 00:21:50,530 --> 00:21:53,930 against sin, then evil will abound in the 488 00:21:53,930 --> 00:21:57,670 land and corruption will spread and set in 489 00:21:57,670 --> 00:21:59,190 like a great plague. 490 00:21:59,770 --> 00:22:02,790 We got here when the church quit calling 491 00:22:02,790 --> 00:22:06,450 sin sin, when the church quit calling men 492 00:22:06,450 --> 00:22:09,690 to their duty of repentance, when the church 493 00:22:09,690 --> 00:22:13,630 quit preaching on holiness and discipleship, when the 494 00:22:13,630 --> 00:22:16,710 church let the world in, the world went 495 00:22:16,710 --> 00:22:17,370 to hell. 496 00:22:18,210 --> 00:22:22,710 Few are saved today and many are deceived. 497 00:22:23,430 --> 00:22:27,010 This is the sad condition of this once 498 00:22:27,010 --> 00:22:29,550 great nation called America. 499 00:22:30,050 --> 00:22:33,130 Only a God sent revival will save this 500 00:22:33,130 --> 00:22:34,790 nation from certain destruction. 501 00:22:35,430 --> 00:22:36,810 Heaven help us. 502 00:22:37,290 --> 00:22:38,590 Let me pray. 503 00:22:40,970 --> 00:22:46,590 Great God, almighty, oh, ancient of days, your 504 00:22:46,590 --> 00:22:48,010 very name is holy. 505 00:22:48,550 --> 00:22:52,610 You dwell in a high and lofty place, 506 00:22:53,110 --> 00:22:57,330 but we, oh Lord, are poor, blind and 507 00:22:57,330 --> 00:22:57,870 naked. 508 00:22:58,430 --> 00:23:00,350 We are poor spiritually. 509 00:23:00,930 --> 00:23:02,530 We have no power. 510 00:23:03,070 --> 00:23:06,890 We are blind to our wretched condition and 511 00:23:06,890 --> 00:23:10,510 we are naked and exposed to your divine 512 00:23:10,510 --> 00:23:12,110 judgments upon us. 513 00:23:12,590 --> 00:23:16,030 We have forsaken thee, the God of the 514 00:23:16,030 --> 00:23:19,810 Bible, and replaced thee with idols of our 515 00:23:19,810 --> 00:23:20,830 own making. 516 00:23:21,630 --> 00:23:24,850 A false spirit lies heavy upon us as 517 00:23:24,850 --> 00:23:26,630 we sleep the sleep of death. 518 00:23:27,010 --> 00:23:30,290 Awaken us, great king, to our grave danger. 519 00:23:30,750 --> 00:23:32,610 Forgive us, great God. 520 00:23:32,930 --> 00:23:36,230 Have mercy upon us, I pray, in your 521 00:23:36,230 --> 00:23:36,810 wrath. 522 00:23:37,330 --> 00:23:38,510 Remember mercy. 523 00:23:39,330 --> 00:23:42,010 Send us, oh Lord, the grace of repentance 524 00:23:42,010 --> 00:23:45,950 to forsake our wicked ways and to turn 525 00:23:45,950 --> 00:23:48,650 back to thee with all our hearts. 526 00:23:49,090 --> 00:23:53,370 Shower us with revival blessings and not your 527 00:23:53,370 --> 00:23:54,750 outpoured wrath. 528 00:23:55,250 --> 00:23:57,990 Have mercy, I pray, great God.