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I want to share some thoughts with you today regarding
faith. I believe all the problems that plague us and all the increasingly
vicious enemies which beset us can be conquered with nothing but faith.
We live in a time of almost unspeakable perversion, and we have only seen
a foreshadow of what is to come. This is a society drenched in
pornography, lewd entertainment, and open sexual perversion.
Recently in Michigan, several thousand lesbians gathered for a weekend
orgy in which all manner of perverted sexual acts were performed in front
of young children. As the Word says, they show their sin as Sodom.
We live in an age of unbelievable brutality. Over four thousand preborn
babies are murdered by various means every day; and of course, then there
are the born babies that are murdered by having a scissors jammed into the
backs of their little heads and the babies aborted alive who are
intentionally left to die. These are unspeakable crimes by unfeeling
brutes which should inspire a holy anger in every Christian.
We live in an era of rising tyranny in which we are increasingly coming
under the domination of God-hating statists, men and women who serve their
father the devil and will not rest until every last shred of Christian
civilization and liberty has been crushed.
Unfortunately, many Christians are living the lives of hypocrites unable
to ascertain the signs of the times, much less are they willing to take a
stand for righteousness. I fear many have adopted the philosophy that God
will simply rapture them out of danger in the nick of time, even though
that has not happened with the millions of Christian brethren who have
gone on before us and suffered greatly for the cause of Christ. Nor has it
yet happened for our brethren in such nations as Sudan who suffer every
day for the sake of the Name.
There are many Christians who I think know the signs of the times; they
know the uncompromising vicious enemies we face and the murderous spirit
behind those enemies; they know the danger which is poised over the heads
of them and their families, but they are perhaps looking for deliverance
in all the wrong places, expecting political action groups and national
pro-family organizations to hurl back hell's legions and reclaim this
nation for righteousness' sake.
Now, there are a few such groups which are uncompromising, doing
critically needed work and deserving of our support; but in the end, they
will only hold back the tide of destruction for a while. They can only
delay the horror which will engulf this land, but they cannot stop it. The
only thing which can turn the tide is faith.
Let me tell you about what sort of faith I am talking about here. Of
course, the Christian is saved by grace through faith, "and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should
boast." The Bible thoroughly condemns the notion that a man can be
justified before God by good works and thus be made acceptable for
adoption into His eternal family. Those who teach that a man can work for
his salvation are accusing God of being a debtor to man as Romans 4:4
explains, "Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt."
No, salvation comes by faith in Christ alone; to claim otherwise is to
preach a false gospel which the Scriptures tells us brings a curse upon
the preacher. Certainly justification by faith alone has been grossly
misused by many modernist, anti-nomian preachers to justify dangerous
disobedience and worldly lifestyles, but that does not change the truth.
In fact, one of the false doctrines which many neo-evangelical preachers
have concocted is that because one is justified by faith alone not works,
it is impossible for the Christians to please God; and many come close to
preaching that it is wrong to try to do so, as if to do so is to try to
work for salvation.
Of course, these preachers are confused. Once we have been justified and
adopted into the family of God, the one overriding goal of our life should
be to please God in all things, to know the will of our Father in heaven
and to do it. To do otherwise is to live in dangerous disobedience and
tempt God's wrath.
And that brings me to the point of this commentary. We, the people of God,
are surrounded by enemies on every side. These enemies are too many, too
strong, too well-funded and too well-entrenched for us to defeat. Behind
them stand the enemy of our souls, that old dragon, the devil himself.
What can defeat the rapidly growing cruel horde which increasingly presses
against the door to our homes and churches? I will tell you the only thing
which can defeat the hordes of hell. Faith. The same thing that saved us
will preserve us. Faith in the Lord. A faith that pleases God and causes
Him to come down and fight for His people.
Hebrews 11:6 - "But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Search the Scriptures; search the history books. God has delivered
His people before; He will deliver us now, if we have faith. I mean real
faith. I am not talking about conceptual faith that dreams and schemes of
fanciful, foolish ways to woe America back to Christ. I am not talking
about a self-centered faith which says that God will spare American
Christians from trials and tribulations.
I am talking about a real faith - the faith that has subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. I am talking
about a faith that makes the weak strong and the fearful valiant. I am
talking about the faith spoken of in Hebrews, chapter 11.
That is the kind of faith for which God is looking today; and that is the
kind of faith which will bring His favor on our families, our churches,
and our cause.
I am talking about the kind of faith which clings to Biblical precepts and
shuns frail excuses and worldly strategies. The kind of faith which says,
"Amen" to what God's Word makes clear.
This is the faith of the homeschool mother who at times trembles at the
responsibility of educating her children but who trembles still more at
the thought of turning them over to an unbiblical, pagan education system
which God hates.
This is the sort of God-pleasing faith which leads Christian parents to
shelter their children from the unbiblical, dangerous dating system of the
world and instead insist that their young people wait on the Lord for the
right person to court and marry.
This is the faith which leads Christian men to take their place as
spiritual leaders, providers, and protectors of their families and abandon the
time-consuming trivial amusements which have so emasculated those caught
up in this culture's Greco-Roman spectator sports fetish.
This is the faith which sees children as a reward and a heritage of the
Lord and which recognizes that marriage, though it is a wonderful comfort
and joy, has as its first and foremost responsibility to raise up a godly
seed which will glorify God and advance his kingdom on this earth.
This is a faith which honors whatever honors God, including that one day
in seven which He has sanctified from the beginning of the world.
This is a faith which calls Christians in the political arena to embrace
no craftiness and cut no corners in defense of God's eternal law, no
matter how foreign that law may seem to the lawyers, electorate, and
magistrates of this lawless world. This is a faith which causes the
Christian to step into the polling place on election day and cast a vote
which honors God; sends a message to the culture; and blesses a righteous
stand, regardless of the chances the candidate has of winning.
This is a faith which puts the gospel of Jesus Christ first, knowing that
apart from Him we can do nothing lasting to defeat the evils around us.
This is a faith which rejects any alliance and refuses to support any
organization or cause which openly advances a false gospel.
This is a faith which refuses to be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers, which rejects fellowship with unrighteousness, which refuses
friendship with darkness or concord with Belial. This is a faith which
understands what it means to come out from among them and be separate and
touch not the unclean thing. This is a faith which pleases God and which
causes the Christian to dwell in the secret place of the most High and to
abide under the shadow of the Almighty, a faith which brings God the
Father's favor upon his sons and daughters. This is a faith which
understands sanctification. This is a faith which builds a city set on a
hill.
This is a faith which compels the Body of Christ out into the culture,
into the public arena to share the gospel, to defend the uncompromising
standard of God's Word and the weak and helpless as well.
This is a faith which rejects Madison Avenue techniques geared to make the
gospel more palatable to those who are perishing. This is a faith which is
willing to endure the misunderstanding, hatred, and scorn of a culture
which hates God and loves darkness. This is a faith which is willing to
sow seeds of truth, no matter how stony the ground may seem, and leave the
results in the hands of God. This a faith which trusts in the power of the
unadulterated gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit to soften hearts, win
souls, and move the mind of America back toward the mind of God.
This is a faith which truly believes that God hates wickedness, that God
loves righteousness, that God desires sanctity, and that God blesses
fidelity. This is a faith which believes that no matter how great the host
massed against God's people, He can easily and very shortly destroy that
enemy by conversion or judgment, by cross or sword.
This is a faith which pleases God and brings His favor upon us. I am not
trying to tell you today that if we do certain things, we will avoid
hardship or suffering for the cause of Christ. Not at all.
In fact, I am talking about a faith which will separate us from our own
families and marks us as enemies of this perverse culture; a faith which
calls us to die to ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus. This is
a faith which keeps our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith, and which causes us to live and act and talk like a people
filled with the joy of our salvation, citizens of a heavenly city.
The point I am trying to make this morning is that every Christian wants
to see an end to the innocent bloodshed in our land. Every true Christian
yearns to see the forces of perversion turned back. Every follower of
Christ certainly must know in his heart that horror and tyranny are this
nation's future unless the satanic forces loose in the land are defeated
and once more confined for a season. Every true Christian knows that; but
the truth most are turning away from is that the outcome of this current
battle between light and darkness, as long, hard, and bitter as it may be,
will be determined by faith.
If we insist on living with one foot in the world and one in the kingdom;
if we refuse to place our total reliance on God and do things the right
way, regardless of worldly advice and short-term outcomes; if we continue
to walk by sight rather than by faith; if we run from the battle rather
than to it, then our enemies will triumph over us. Unless we have the
faith to order our lives according to God's Word and to live like a royal
priesthood, there is no hope of victory over our enemies; we will be given
over to them and our posterity will someday curse our names.
But if God's people are willing to have the faith to do things His way, to
live in a way that pleases Him, to do what is right rather than what is
expedient or easy...If we are willing to build that city set on a hill and
be a light to the world rather than be world lite, if we like Abraham are
a friend to God rather than a friend to the world, then I believe that we
will see the Lord do great things among us and through us. I believe that
He will turn back the satanic tide about to wash over this nation.
Oh, I am not saying things will be fast or easy for us. I am not saying
there will not be sacrifice and even suffering. What I am saying is that
God will bless a people whose first aim and overriding goal is to please
Him.
And so a great challenge of faith lies before us; it is a challenge from
which we dare not shrink.
Hebrews 10:38 - "Now the
just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no
pleasure in him."
As the old hymn says, "Faith is the victory that overcomes the
world." We have a city to build; but "except the LORD build the
house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain."
May God strengthen our faith and animate our hearts with a burning desire
to build a shining city set on a hill. And regardless of what happens in
the coming years, may He help us to have a faith which pleases Him.
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