Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Let Us Draw Near Pt.5

Hallelujah! Amen. Let's turn to Matthew's gospel. We're going to try to finish up this morning the teaching that we started on how to relate to backsliders--the apostate--in this hour that we're living in. The Scripture says, "...that in the latter times [the last days] some shall depart from the faith, [Apostatize is what the Greek speaks of, it's "a departure"] giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1 Timothy 4:1). We've been talking about what those doctrines were. We've been talking about what causes people to become apostate, and we recognized the character flaws in them in our last study--We'll look at that a little bit more this morning--and then we've also been looking at how we relate to these people. It's very difficult, especially because if a church is what it's supposed to be, a family, a community, then we get very close to individuals. They become one with us, our lives are intertwined as they're supposed to be. According to the Scriptures there is the intermingling of our lives, and when somebody apostatizes it's very difficult. It's painful, lives are lost in our midst, best friends, family members, and there is nothing that is easy about it.

As we started the study we saw that Jesus did say, however, that it was for that reason that He came: To break homes up. Most people have trouble when they try to envision that, but over in Matthew's gospel we found it very clearly stated that this was Jesus' intent. We tried to look at that in the positive because everything that God does is right and just and true, and based upon His love and His mercy. We saw that His breaking up of families was not malicious, but it was kindness, it was mercy. He was saving some, and delivering them from the leaven of other members, from the venom of other individuals that are in our midst, wolves that have come and tabernacled among us.

In this tenth chapter of Matthew, He speaks very clearly concerning this, in verse 34, and it's something that has to come into our hearts. Only people who are renewed in their minds can really appreciate the love of God in this statement. Other people see it as harsh, they see it as unjust, and they're judging God because Jesus is the One that said this about Himself. Nobody else is saying this about Him. Verse 34, "Think not [this is red ink] that I am come to send peace on earth: [Now, He's called "The Prince of Peace," but He's not bringing peace like humanism tries to achieve peace. Humanism wants peace through compromise; God establishes peace through total surrender of those that are His enemies--unconditional, absolute surrender to the will of God. And if you don't have that you're not at peace, not as far as God is concerned. Man compromises, "You don't bother me; I won't bother you: We're at peace. You keep your opinions to yourself; I'll keep mine to myself and we'll be at peace." That's not peace from the biblical perspective.] I came not to send peace, [as men know peace] but a sword.

[What is the sword? What's the sword that God brought? The Word of God. Okay, so what is it that is always going to cause division, then, in households, in relationships? The Word of God. Now, we're going to try to blame it on everything else. We're going to try to blame it on people's personalities; we're going to try to blame it on people's interpretation of the Word, (and we know that there are going to be different interpretations). It's the Word. Unregenerate man, the natural mind, thinks that the wisdom of God, the Word of God, is foolishness. The natural mind will always oppose the Word of God, the Word of truth-- period. If you want to get a fight started just tell somebody what the Bible says. Don't try to interpret it, just read it literally and say, "That's what God says about this." And they--the majority, everyone who is not regenerated--will oppose it, some more vehemently than others. Some will try to embrace it and accept parts of it, but the natural mind cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God for, "They are foolishness," Paul says. So we have to understand that.]

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. [I've come to bring a standard that the world hates.] For I am come [Verse 35] to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." And then we saw that not only was Jesus and His Word the source of this, but then he sets the standard and says, "And you're going to have to make a choice because I'm going to cause this division and things can't remain the way they were, because there is no fellowship between light and darkness. "You cannot serve two masters (Jesus said). You're going to love the one and despise the other." The standard that Jesus set up: Absolutely no neutrality in the Kingdom of God.

Look over at the 12^th chapter, verse 30. Keep your finger here and just real quickly look over a page and check this out. Verse 30, "He that is not with me [say it] is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad [causes division, schism]." We begin to see the standards that the Lord is setting forth. While we're looking here, turn over real quickly to Luke's gospel, chapter 16, and get this in your notes. Luke's gospel chapter 16, look down at verse 13, "No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and [the flesh] mammon." Mammon speaking of everything that is in the world system: everything that is carnal, everything that is temporal. You cannot serve God and mammon. Now, these are all statements of the Lord Jesus. You don't have to be a biblical scholar to figure out what is being spoken here. Now, the problem is in all of this simplicity--and think for yourselves for just a moment--in all of the simplicity of these verses, can you misunderstand what is being said here? Is it possible to misunderstand this? Then it has to be a willful decision to oppose it, doesn't it? If it is as simple as it sounds, then not to do this is rebellion, is willful disobedience. Is, in fact, doing what it says: making the choice to hate God, to choose mammon, or to choose natural family over His lordship. It's that simple. You can try to justify it, you can try to make excuses; it's too simple to misunderstand.

And so back in the tenth chapter of Matthew, verse 37, "He that loveth father or mother more than me [Say it with me] is not worthy of me: [this stuff is not hard to understand] and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, [And this is the bottom line. You see, to be able to turn and walk away from our natural family, our blood--mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, wives--necessitates an individual cross, a personal cross. The inability to do this indicates that you haven't been crucified with Christ yet, which really says, "Jesus is not Lord." If you read what Paul was saying in Romans six, then sin still has dominion over you (if you can't do this), because the fact of the matter is] he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, [say it with me] is not worthy of me." It's pretty simple. Can you have religion? Yeah. Can you have some type of an aptitude towards spiritual things? Can you say, "Well I really believe in Jesus and I believe that the Bible is true, I just have--I want to believe, and I want to be part of the church, I just can't do this." You're not worthy to be called a Christian.

Why not own up to it? Why not just say, "You know, I love me more than Jesus. I can't do it. I hope to be free some day, but I'm just not a believer. It's obvious I'm not keeping the commandments of God, and Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments." Now, I'm willfully choosing not to do this because this is too simple to misunderstand. I am choosing to love me, mine, over the Word of God. I refuse to let Jesus' ministry affect my life. He will not split my family. You may pull it off other places, Jesus, but don't You even think about doing it in my household. And if You come into my household with that sword I want to tell You one thing: I'll oppose You to Your face, I'll reject You, I'll drive You out of my home, You will not influence my home. I will not bow my knee to You. But I'd like to be called a Christian and raise my kids in Sunday school, and think that I'm not going to a devil's hell, and live a moral life, and be out from under social pressure, and have peace in my home."

And Jesus said, "I did not come to bring peace like the world does. My peace passes all natural understanding. Peace I give you, not as the world gives but a peace to know that you have eternal life." Not a cease-fire; not, your wife won't slap you around tonight; not, your children won't run away and go out and take drugs and break your heart. You'll be able to keep them gathered in and you can keep your head in the sand and be at peace. My folks were at peace; they didn't have a clue what I was doing. They thought I was just such a good boy. They were in pretty good peace until they had to come and get me out of jail for attempted murder, and the nights that I didn't show up because I was too drunk, later on as this continued to escalate in my life, to where I couldn't even find my way home. There are two different kinds of peace: There's the peace of keeping your head in the sand, hoping, pretending; and then there's the peace of knowing you're right with God and you've put it into His hands and the judge of all the earth will do right, praise God. It's vain to stay up late, the wise man says, and worry about things you can't do anything about. Why not cast the care upon Him? He cares for you. And I'll tell you: He loves your family more than you do. Now, until we believe that we're not going to be free, as long as we keep those idols in place, Satan is lord in our life, in their life, and in our homes. You can either believe the Word or you can reject the Word, it's too simple not to understand this, and not to affect it, is outright, overt rebellion. The consequences of it are unthinkable, but they're true. This is the choice that we have.

Turn over to Corinthians for just a second and let me show you something, as we look at the Corinthian passage. Paul is speaking very clearly to the Corinthians who were involved, of course, in all types of lasciviousness, different forms of idolatry, the temple worship of the prostitutes. Those of you who went with us on our trip to Greece and to Turkey and you'll remember the temple above Corinth there where all of the temple prostitutes were. The big issue was, "Can I be a Christian, can I be in the church and still go up and visit the prostitutes and hang out with the temple feasts, and eat the sacrifices that are offered to their gods? You know, just to keep everything like it was before I got saved." And Paul, responding in 2 Corinthians six, verse 14, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: [Now you know, people try to put this off on marriage; this is not just a marriage Scripture. It pertains to marriage, but it has to do with business--this doesn't mean that you can't work for a corporation where the Board of Trustees is not born again. We're not talking about that, we're talking about a partnership in business. How can you become a partner with the unsaved in the truest sense? And so we're understanding principles here] Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: [and here's the key word, the "yoking" is not just marriage, look at the next wording] and what [say it with me] fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?"

What do we have in common? What is it that attracts us to these that are God haters? Why do we want to hang around God haters? What fulfillment is there in intercourse with these God haters? And I use that, not in the physical sense, I'm talking about in the relational, social coming together, interaction, feeding off of, bringing mutual pleasure and delight. The Holy Spirit says, "I've got a question for you: What fellowship is there, and what communion is there with light and darkness? The absoluteness of the two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness?" You see, the churches are full--visible churches this morning--of people filling the churches that are just like this. They are looking for loopholes, ways that they can compromise, ways that they can relate to the world. They want to continually imbibe and embrace and relate to all of the world and just be so content that they're believers. It is not biblical Christianity; it is 20th century American Christianity, which is not Christianity at all. And we're called to make these decisions and, of course, the people that embrace this reject us, they think that we're some kind of strange individuals; they think we're a cult if you obey the Bible. If you do exactly what the Bible says in the average American Christian mind, you're a cult, if you obey the Bible literally, absolutely. And people just don't know what to do with you and so because you're so extreme, which is just normative Christianity. What people here, people 2,000 years later in America, call extremism is nominal, normal, Biblical Christianity. There's nothing extreme about it; we're doing the absolute least that we're supposed to do. We're just unprofitable servants, aren't we? We're only doing what we're told. What kind of merit is there? Super-saints, committed, warriors for Jesus. We're just Christians, and Christians take up a cross and die, Christian subordinate their lives to the Lord and Master Jesus, Christians own nothing, everything belongs to God. That's just being a Christian; there's nothing super about that. I'm an unprofitable servant; I'm only doing what I'm told to do. And we want to make heroes. People talk about it being extreme, and those that oppose it call it, "cultist." It's just Christian. There are so few of them around today that they seem extreme, rare, but it's normative, it's just biblical Christianity.

We saw last session how people respond to those who are going to obey the Word. Jesus said, "If I hadn't come and lived these things then you wouldn't be exposed and you wouldn't be in your sin. But because I came and lived in obedience you now hate me." And they hate those of us that are trying to live in obedience because their deeds are evil; they prefer darkness. If they could wipe us out and cause people like us to not exist it would excuse their carnality and say, "See! Everybody's the same. We're all doing the same thing. But there's always this group of people that make me look bad and keep telling me I'm not right with God, and keep telling me that I should do the Bible, not just read it." And they hate us, and they're going to kill us and think they do God's service, if you read that tenth chapter of Matthew.

We're looking at what God has called us to do, just to be normal. Somebody asked me the other day, they said, "Why are these people (some of the people that have left) so obsessed with us?" You know, there are people in our midst--I've shared with you--that are in contact with all of these people. You're probably here this morning. Just tell them, "Anything you want to know, just ask. We don't keep anything in the dark." Those of you that are still in relationship with these people and taking them this information, come and ask us. We'll tell you anything you want to know. That's why you and they don't like us anyway, because we're so much in the light. We're not hiding anything. Tell them, "Don't park across the street, come and ask." What kind of... Darkness! There's only one spirit that hangs out in the darkness. If your doctrine is better than ours, throw it up here on the table and convince us. If you're right and we're wrong, prove it and we'll change, praise God! And if not, guess what? We're at war; we're at war. And you want to know who is going to win? The ones that do this Word, because if God is for you. And you know what? If they're right and we're wrong, then I hope they win because I want God to be glorified. If I'm wrong I want to be judged.

I shared with the guys--It's a tough thing to have your headstone made before you die, and my headstone is out there. I was out there the other day looking at that and I looked at--I don't know if any of you have seen it, but I looked at what was written about me, ("Star Scott, greatest man that ever lived. Perfect in all ways, good looking...") All it basically says about me, and I shared this with the men, "If somehow, if in some way I don't make it, I'm not faithful, I don't finish the course, then I want my children or one of these men to go out there and chisel off that headstone, that last phrase that I hope sums up my life, 'He walked with God.'" That's all it's about, that's all I want to do, that's all I want to be known for, a guy that walked with God, did the best he could do to obey the Word of God, did the best he could do to influence people into the Kingdom of God, nothing special, just a guy that hung out with God. And I would to God that if somehow it fails that that thing would be taken off of there because my heart's desire is to be faithful and to hear, "Well done." Let God be true and every man a liar. Let the truth reign, that's all we want and I'm not flippant at all when I say, "Bless God if you can show me in the scriptures I will change." I've done it before; I've changed a lot over thirty-five years, as the Word of God became more real.

And so there's a sword that has been brought into our lives. It's affected all of us. That sword initially affected me as it divided me from my family. And many of you have tasted that same thing, and we come into the epistles and he says, "[Listen, you cannot have fellowship with light and darkness.] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he [Verse 15] that believeth with an infidel? [Now, that has to do with people that are--we're not talking here even about apostate. What do you want to do hanging around with infidels? Our time and energy should be spent embracing the household of faith. Now you're going to have to work with these people, we're going to have to relate to these people we're in the world, but we're not of it. He said, "I didn't come to take you out of it," you're going to have to have interaction with these folks, but there is no communion, there is no pursuit, there's no delight, there's no desiring to be around these folks if the Spirit of God is in you."] ...And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [Verse 17. This is what we want to talk about primarily this morning. Look at it] Wherefore [say it with me] come out from among them, [See, there is the admonition] and be ye separate..." Now that word separate in the Greek - you'll probably want to get this in your notes, it just means, "Determine the limits; mark off boundaries," and make them real clear to everybody that's around you. "You can't come over this line and I'm not coming over it. You are not going to get that close to me. You are not coming into my life past that line right there. We're going to do business, hand me the money over the line, I'll push the title over to you. Hand me the money, here is the title, but we're not embracing. We are not one and we have nothing in common. We are relating on a business basis, we're interacting economically--whatever the social activity is--but there's a boundary around me."

You see, that's what holiness means; holiness is talking about being separate. It's setting up these boundaries and saying, "You can't touch me, and I'm not coming out." We are a holy priesthood, we're a special people, marked and set off by God. And to allow people to come onto our turf and not take off their shoes--this is holy ground--is to bring a reproach on God. "You can't get that close to me. I'll talk to you, I'll do business with you, but I'm not your friend. I am committing nothing to you; my commitment is to the household of faith." And once we understand that we see the uniqueness of the church of Jesus Christ, the temple of God--How dare we take this temple and join it to a harlot? We're not just talking about physically going down and relating to some prostitute. We're talking about embracing, unifying, taking our lives, our very physical being, and committing that to the harlots of this world, those who have rejected the love of God and embraced the kingdom of darkness. And we're going to go embrace them? A royal priesthood, a holy nation, we the peculiar people that have been called forth and separated unto God, called to show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. That's the call of God on our lives: To go out and show the praises to Him that has called us out of the bondage that they're in, into a light, praise God! A people who were no people, who are now the people of God. How precious that is, and how we minimize it when we embrace those that defile Him and trod His blood beneath their feet and count it an unholy thing. "...come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; [And then, say it with me, verse 17, the last phrase, and what will happen?] and I will receive you, ["And if you don't, I won't. I'll receive you."] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

I had to give up my earthly dad for this Father. It was a good trade. After all that I was able to sow into my natural father he ended up going to a devil's hell. I witnessed to him close to his last breath; I saw--as I've shared my testimony with you--I saw miracles of God, I saw God change nature to get me to his bedside to lay hands on him and pray for him and see his life sustained, to watch him turn and refuse the love of God in his last breaths. God is merciful. As I laid hands on him and experienced the anointing of God, that I had so many times, leave my hands and go into his body and watch the greatest surgeons of that day from Houston, Texas, (those who were pioneers of open heart surgery) that came in and showed me the x-rays and said, "We don't understand it. Here's his heart before; here's his heart afterwards. Heart tissue does not rejuvenate; it does not come back to life. 70% of it is dead here, we could do no surgery; there is nothing to attach to. His heart is back alive, we have no explanation." I said, "I do, praise God! One thing happened between that x-ray and this one, somebody laid hands on him and prayed in the name of Jesus." And then to not bow his knee and accept Him as Lord? Men are wicked, and those that hate God are not my friends. And when we understand, when we understand, we'll be free.

I remember standing before my dad's body, reaching out and touching him, just as cold... Ready to be cremated in just moments. I reached out, and as I reached out and just touched that body, knowing he was lost, knowing he was going to a devil's hell, only one thing came to my mind. I didn't think about how good a dad he was in the natural. A man who worked hard, worked hours--was good to us--worked two jobs that we could have material things that other kids had. Drove us to ball games, sacrificed, went without eating so we could eat; made sure that we had the very best that he was able to provide--in the natural sense, a good dad. But only one thing came to my mind when I touched that cold, lifeless body, and it wasn't thinking back to all the good things he had done. I thought one thing that went through my mind: "God is so good and so merciful to have given him so many chances. He could have had such a good Father and rejected Him. "And [I] will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters." What family do you want to belong to today? Who do you relate to? Who is your mother and brothers? That's the bottom line, folks. And you can play religion, but these are the real issues. And when you start making decisions that are going to cost you fathers and mothers, and wives and children, then you'll know who you love, and frankly, many of us here have not been put to that test yet and some of us have and have failed. God is merciful, if I was you I'd repent and I'd do it right, from today on. Because when you're lying there cold and the verdict is already in, it's too late.

And he goes on in the seventh chapter and he says, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, [check it out] let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, [say it with me] perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Holiness just means, "being separate; perfecting your separation." Get this in your notes, get it in your minds: You will only be as separate as you are fearful of God. Your holiness is in direct correlation to your fear of God. Your obedience is in direct correlation to your fear of God: Your reverence, and your awareness of His majesty, His holiness. And without that, we've got religion. Without that, we're no different than any of the other religions that are in the world. It's your responsibility to cleanse yourself from all filthiness. Now to fail to do that, we shared, is to become a conspirator or a partaker of the sins of those that you are embracing. We're talking primarily now, with that statement, about, not the infidel, not the pagan, but the apostate. To continue to commune with--embrace, imbibe, fellowship, concord with--is to bring a reproach on the holiness of God. And, as we shared out of 2 John, to be a partaker--to bid them, "God speed," to send them on their way, to assist them, to relate to them--is to partake of the sin, the opposition of God, the judgment of God. And we need to guard ourselves from that.

Turn to Proverbs 24 for just a second and let me show you this principle so that it can be real clear in all of our thinking. Now, tonight--we're getting ready to leave town, I'm going to be gone for a few weeks--and so tonight what we're going to do is we're going to have a time of questions and answers on all of these subjects. I'm sure there are some. Give some thought to it so that you can come tonight. If you're too embarrassed, many times, to ask, this will give you opportunity to have the questions already written down when you come, and we'll be able to address these. It's an important issue; we want to make sure that everybody understands what is being said here so that it can be applied properly, because the motive is two-fold. This teaching on these principles is two-fold: Number one is, that God would be glorified. Number two is, that if there is any possible chance of reconciliation of these loved ones, it would effect it and they would be able to be reconciled to God. The whole purpose of you and I staying separate, of bringing justice and judgment, is that there could be reconciliation. That's the heart of God. But tragically we saw that too many of us get in the way of God and we think that humanistic ways are better than God's eternal, infinite wisdom. We think God is not loving, we think God is too hard; we think we know better how to love than He does. And that's what the bottom line is. But don't for a moment miss God's motives in why these principles are applied. We turn them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh, we saw, that their souls, their spirits, could be saved.

Oh how I would love, if my children apostatized, for them to go to the pigpen and be destroyed physically to the point where they would come to their senses and return back to their Father's house. I know the limitation of my love in the natural and I know the limitless love of God, shared with me. Do you know how much God loves you? The thing that causes us so often to want to jump in is that we've not really tasted the love of God personally in our own lives. We don't believe that God loves us, so we don't believe that He loves our kids, or our wife, or our parents. "He surely doesn't as much as I do, He surely isn't as involved in their lives as I am." I want you to know something: He knows their names, He knows the hair upon their heads, He has a name written for them and prepared, a stone to put in their hands that nobody know but Him. Don't think you're more intimate with them than He is. It's just that we don't believe God; let's just admit it. But if you've tasted the love of God then you can freely put any person you love in His hands and know that they're going to be treated justly, and know that righteousness will manifest, and know that His love will never cease to be available to them, and to know that everything in the supernatural realm possible to redeem them is being affected, because God is not willing that any should perish.

We just don't believe that. And so because of that, we go to wipe their nose in the pigpen; we send them daily pigpen packages. The UPS guy shows up at the pigpen every day with one of your little pats. "You're okay, sweetie. Mama loves you." Mama loves Mama, or maybe Mama does love you more than Jesus. You're an idol and she's not worthy of Him. It's the only choices. And, you see, people get mad at you--People get mad at me for teaching these things. I'm not making this up; this isn't me! Isn't it interesting how people like to kill the messenger? I'm just the messenger boy. I have to live by these same rules. But the moment you involve yourself, to try to intervene, look at what the Scripture says: Proverbs 24, look at verse 24. "He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous..." Now what does that mean? That doesn't mean that you say, "Oh yes Sweetie. I want you to know that I think the fact that you murdered those twelve people, molested those children, sold those drugs, that's so righteous." You see, some of us are so thick that we think that is what this is saying, that somehow you're not condoning their behavior unless you are embracing and re-enforcing every act of iniquity. That's not what this is saying.

"He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous..." is speaking generically of those that are in or out of covenant with God, because there is only really one sin that counts, beloved. It's not the murder, the adultery, the covetousness, the fear, and the pride. That's the fruit of the unregenerate life. None of those things are going to send you to hell. The only thing that sends you to hell is that you have not been reconciled back to God, you have not experienced the benefits of redemption and regeneration. Your heart of stone is not heart of flesh, the Word is not written in your heart and in your minds. You have not been renewed so that these things are wisdom unto you. The sin that sends people to hell is the rejection of the lordship of Jesus. Period. That's it. That's the only thing that sends you to hell. All the other things are just the fruit of that rejection. So to say to the wicked, listen, "now you know, what you're doing is not right, and you know that you shouldn't be doing this. You were raised in church and at one time you embraced the love of God and you took the name of Jesus on your lips, and you prayed the prayer of faith, and all of these things, and so you know that this isn't right. But I know that you've got a good heart, and I know that you know what is right, and I know that ." And if you don't see them, as we were sharing in our last session, in the total depravity that the apostate is, it's because you never understood depravity to start with. There is nothing good in us. To be separate from Jesus, to be out from under His lordship, makes you 100% depraved.

Now, remember when we taught on depravity? What did we say depravity meant and what did we say one of the biggest misunderstandings of total depravity was? People think total depravity means that every person is absolutely as wicked as you can be. That's not what total depravity is. Because we know that the expression of our wickedness, our lasciviousness, all of these things, varies. We know that you have your mass murderers and your pedophiles, and your drug addicts. And then you have some fairly moral people. To be totally depraved means, "To be absolutely separate from righteousness," because, you see, everything relating to God is absolute. If you are not absolutely righteous you are absolutely depraved. If you're not right with God you're the enemy of God. And to be guilty of one is to be guilty of all. To be guilty of the rejection of Jesus' lordship makes you as guilty as all of those other people that are doing all of those other things. And to be absolutely as righteous as a man can be in the natural is as--say it--filthy rags. And so therefore He must be made with our sin that we could be made righteous with His righteousness.

So those that apostatize then, don't still have good in them. There is no residual good hanging over from when they were regenerated. They're as absolutely depraved, even worse, now seven times demonized more than they were before, than they were initially. And to go and somehow perceive them, or cause them to think that there is some worth in them that causes us to want to commune with them, is to call the wicked, "righteous." "...him shall the people curse, [the 24th verse says, and] nations shall abhor him: But to them that rebuke him [the wicked. Look at it.] shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them." The principles are clear throughout all of the Scriptures. We don't have enough time, but you can do the study for yourself.

Look quickly back to Proverbs 17 for just a second, verse 15. There's just too much on this subject. "He that justifieth the wicked, [makes excuses for, tries to say they're really okay] and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord." We shared that with you in the last session. If you justify the wicked you're an abomination to the Lord. But not only that, listen: if you say, "I don't see why you don't still love my son the way you used to, I don't see why you just can't respond to him like you always did. Why is it, that now all of you people think you're so much better than my son, than my daughter, than my whatever?" And you begin to condemn the just; you're an abomination to the Lord. How dare you condemn the people that are loving with God's love! And so we see, then, the principles and how messed up the natural mind is.

Proverbs 29. Let's just take a couple more here quickly this morning. Verses 22 to 25, just to let you see the principles again. Proverbs 29, we can start at verse 21, just because that's a cool passage. "He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length. [In many cases you're going to have to trade natural sons for spiritual sons. Commit to the faithful. And if you'll delicately bring up the servants, those that are around you, those that are under you, those that you can shepherd, you're going to raise up sons when your natural ones may betray you.] An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Whoso [verse 24] is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not. [You want to be in partnership with a thief? Now again, we're talking about how thick some are here. "My family member didn't steal anything." They didn't steal the glory of God? They didn't despise--they didn't steal God's grace, and mercy and kindness? They didn't steal and use everything that was afforded them by a community, and loved them, and the sacrifices made? And steal that, and consume it upon their own lusts as they fly off to do their own thing? If you want to partner with these people you hate your own soul.] he heareth cursing, and [won't oppose it] bewrayeth it not. ["Yeah, they didn't treat me right, and they tried, and they, and they " "Oh yes, honey, I understand but."] The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe."

So we see then, it's where your treasure is, that's where your heart is. Isaiah says it this way, Isaiah chapter five, verse 20. Get it in your notes. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil." And very frankly, that's exactly what's happening when you're continuing to try to wipe the nose, cater, relate to, those that God has placed under His judgment. We've shared this before, but you want to know what is so tragic today? Christians have no concept of what the Church of Jesus Christ is, and have no respect for the Word of God. We sit out here as twentieth century American Christians and we think--every one of you thinks that your opinion counts just like mine as it pertains to these matters. It does not. When God gifts, when God calls, when God places myself and these men who are shepherding this flock with me, in the eyes of God (according to Matthew 18) and every other principle, we represent the institution of God, the authority of God. Our judgment is God's judgment. And in America: "I don't agree with that, I don't agree with that."

And when we understand, then, the mocking of authority and how it relates, what do we do? We pull up and run down to the church down there that agrees with us. Well, now we have a problem, don't we? Because in the New Testament times, guess what? You couldn't just pull up and run down to the church down the street, it wasn't there. There was a spiritual authority over the city; you couldn't run and hide in other churches. "Well, which church is right then?" Good question. "What makes us right and the folks down the road wrong?" I'll answer your question. It's those that are doing the Word. You don't have to be a genius. We just read some of the simplest principles in all of the Bible. You don't have to be a genius; you don't have to be a biblical scholar; you can read it and determine for yourself who is doing it and who is not. And the people that are doing this thing (the Word, the Bible) represent God; and those who aren't, don't. It doesn't matter what name they have. It doesn't matter what they call themselves; they're false prophets, they're teachers that have been heaped up by the multitudes who have itching ears, but they are not the representatives of God. But those that are the representatives of God--I want to tell you something--your opinion doesn't equate. And when a judgment is passed, for you to contradict it, to oppose it, to speak against it, is to speak against the wisdom and the power of God. And I would say, "Woe to you who call evil good and good evil." We've made a game out of Christianity in this nation. We've made a game out of the fear of God, and there is no fear in the majority of professed churches today. It's about time that a remnant would be willing to stand and do it God's way.

So you say, "Pastor Scott, are you saying that you're the only person in the whole world that knows the truth?" You're stupider than you look. I answered your question. The man of God, the shepherd of God--and when I say, "the shepherd of God," we all know according to Peter that every man is an under shepherd--Jesus is the shepherd of the Church--are just the stewards. You just go and say what God has to say. And Peter makes it very clear. You do it willingly, not by constraint. And you don't do it for filthy lucre. Do you want to know who the real shepherd is? It's the man who is willing to stand up, take a cross and tell the people the truth, no matter how much it hurts them or himself. I want to tell you something: There's a cost for living this life; there's a price if you're going to do this thing right. They're going to hate you. You will be hated for His namesake. Are you willing to take that and delight in it? Is your joy the cross? I don't mean you go around saying, "Man, I sure like everybody hating me." Nobody likes that! I'm talking about being able to joy in the cross and identify with the love of Jesus Christ. I'm talking about being able to look into the heart of God and say, "You know what? I've told them the truth. I didn't tell them what they wanted to hear. I told them what would set their souls free if they'd do it." Are you that kind of a parent? Are you that kind of a friend? Are you that kind of a spouse? Or do you just love yourself too much?

Isaiah chapter 30, we'll end with this for this morning. "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me" (Verse1). It was so sad, I shared with you in the last session how someone left here in rebellion, went to another church, and a pastor on the staff of that church that they went to told them, "You're not in rebellion; you just have a difference of opinion." I wonder what his counsel is when his children stand up and he says, "It's time to go to bed," and they say, "I ain't going to bed." "What do you mean you're not going to bed? It's your bedtime." "That's your opinion." "You've got to get up for school in the morning." "I'm not going to school anymore." "You've got to go to school." "That's your opinion." There's no authority here. "Husbands don't have authority over wives; we all have opinions. Parents don't have authority over children; we all have opinions. When a husband and wife don't agree, there's no one that is in authority; we just all have opinions:" Doctrines of devils; the despising of God's order. My God! Why can't a guy who calls himself a pastor look somebody in the eye and say, "You need to do what your husband is telling you to do. If what he is saying is not contrary to the Word of God you must submit!" or "Join our club, fill up one of our empty chairs and drop a few bucks in. The will of the Lord be done."? That's the world that we're living in today. It's not rebellion? Now in this particular case it was as overt as you can get, but the whole issue is, beloved, it doesn't even have to be hostile. That's not what makes something rebellion. Rebellion is the broken order. It can be done very sweetly. It can be done with good words and fair speeches, Paul says in Romans. But the issue is broken order. Rebellion is not against the individual, it's against the principle of God's Word. It's the order that God has established. "Yeah, but my husband is a jerk." That doesn't change things. "He's an idiot, he's so stupid." You married him, what's that make you?

The child looks at the parent, "I didn't ask to be born into this family." And the parent says, "I know what you mean. You weren't exactly what we were looking for either." "Surely there is no God. Surely where I find myself is fate and circumstances." If there is a God that you say you believe in, if He orders our steps, if He puts us as it pleases Him, then what is it that you are rebelling against but the will of God? It doesn't make sense to the natural mind; everything we are saying is foolishness to the natural mind. But those that have ears hear what the Spirit says to the church.

"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me [Not of My Word. You haven't gotten counsel because you go to some guy that calls himself a pastor, a teacher, a priest, a rabbi, a guru. It's the Word of God, beloved. Don't give me your opinion, give me some Scripture. You take counsel, you look for somebody to embrace your course, somebody that will justify it, somebody that calls himself a preacher that will agree with you, and, "Now I've got some validity behind my rebellion."] [You] take counsel, [false prophets] but not of me; and that cover with a covering, [human empathy, natural philosophy, psychology. You cover up: "Let's just forget about it; we're just not going to deal with it." You cover with a covering, you either justify it, you don't want to deal with it, any way you want to look at it it's a cover-up.] [You] cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin." To cover sin is to add sin to sin, he says. Sin has got to be destroyed, sin has got to be eradicated by the blood of Jesus. There's only one thing that you can cover it with, and that's the blood of Jesus. If you're not covered with the blood of Jesus, sin is being added to sin. The Spirit, he says--that we're not being covered with--the Spirit leads us to all truth; Thy Word is truth. The Spirit says, "There is only one way to cover this thing and that's in the sea of God's forgetfulness. There must be biblical repentance. It must be cast behind God's back. That will cover it. It must be cast into the sea of His forgetfulness. That will cover it. It must be repented of." And if it's not done that way, man has covered it and you've added sin to sin. You've become a partaker; you're sharing in their judgment.

You're going to stand in that last day and the people you say you loved, their blood is going to be dripping from your hands. People can say anything they want about me, but I'll tell you what: Not one drop of their blood is going to come to my hands. I'm free, and I'm at peace, and there's a joy that passes understanding. It's unspeakable to know that you've done the Word of God. Natural hurts? Yes. Friends, family? Yes. As I vividly shared the story with you, as I spoke of one of the most personal times of my life this morning, with my natural father, does that hurt? Yeah. But never one moment, not even a thought that would question the goodness of my Father and His justice and His mercy toward a rebellious enemy called Frank Scott, who hated the blood of Jesus and despised the one that loved him and died for him, and exalted his will above the will of God. God is good, and His mercy endures forever.

Father, we thank You for Your Word this morning. We thank You for Your love and we thank You for the free gift of our salvation. We're a peculiar people, those who have tasted the goodness of God, those who have been cleansed with the blood of Jesus. We're a peculiar people, a set-apart people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We have our own nation, we have our own kingdom, we're not of this world. We have our own rules, our own laws, our own authority. We've had people come in the last months and they've said, "You know, I see what the Word says, but the law says..., and the State of Virginia says." I don't care what any of them say; I don't care what the United States of America says, or the State of Virginia, or the Homeowners Association, (they've got the most power in the country, I think). If they're going to oppose my obeying the Word of God then I don't recognize them. I don't make my decisions based upon civil authority.

Civil authority was put in place by God to protect my rights to do the Word of God. So that I could live peaceably in my obedience to God, so that there is not anarchy to where it is open season on Christians. Now that is changing. They've usurped the authority of God, they've taken our children from us (in their minds); they've taken the authority of the man in the home and they've given it to the woman. When homes bust up today the civil government says, "The children belong to the woman," God says, "They belong to the man." The children are sanctified by the believing party, Corinthians says. Only the church can give divorce, the government can't. The Bill of Divorcement didn't go to the government; it went to the spiritual authority. We are so far removed from God's original intents, and that is why the justice and the judgment is going to come on this nation soon, on this world soon. So what do we do until that? "Well, we can't do anything about it. Yes you can, you can obey. "Yeah, but if I do then I'm going to go to jail." Well go to jail. God can still send earthquakes and open the doors, and if not, you get a vacation. "That seems awful extreme." Read the Book! Read the Book of Acts. Where does the Bible say, "The Book of Acts ends in the year 2003, in Sterling, Virginia"? The Book of Acts is still being written, beloved. The Acts of the Apostles are being lived out every day by people who will do the Word of God. Now, which kingdom are you part of? How do we respond to the government? You don't drive 80 mph through the residential area and say, "Hey! I'm a Christian." They're not asking you to go against the Word of God by driving 25 mph. We don't just despise governments, we don't despise authority, we recognize civil authority, it's a gift of God, but it does not usurp the kingdom of God's authority. What do you believe?

Let's stand before the Lord this morning. Any questions that you have; write them down. Those of you that are here for those other folks, you can go ask them and bring that tonight and we'll answer those. But bring your questions. Be sure you understand what we're saying; be sure you understand the course that we're on so that you can make some intelligent decisions. You study to show yourself approved unto God. You know what the Bible teaches. You don't take what we say carte blanche. Go and study and find out whether it's true or not. Be as noble as the Bereans. His sheep will know His voice. You've never heard anything but that from this pulpit. You've never heard it said from this pulpit, "What we say is truth, don't question it." What we've said is, "What we're telling you is the truth. Go study it and find out if it is. And if it is, do it." And if it is and you don't do it, then at least have enough guts to admit it. "I just don't have the guts. I don't have what it takes. I don't have enough of a relationship to obey. I'm not willing to take up the cross." At least admit it, don't try to make up excuses and pervert the Word of God and dilute the blood of Jesus. That's where we're living. But you're going to have to determine that in your own relationship, in your own study.

In trying to find the truth, let me share with you--This will help you out; you don't have to go to school to get this one. In biblical hermeneutics (the law of interpretation of the Scriptures) there's many different laws that are applied as to how you study this Bible and come up with the true message, but one of the most simple laws to apply is this: We all know that you're to study and read the passage in it's context. You ask the question: Whom is it being written to? What were the customs of that day? What was the problem in that church that was being addressed? And you look at historically who is being written to, you look at the customs, you look at all of these different things and that is part of biblical study, but the thing that is most important is this: when you open this Bible and you read a passage the most obvious, the most obvious truth, the most obvious principle is the one that you should embrace. Don't look for little obscure truths within an obvious truth. What's obviously being stated is what was meant. And what is most profusely being stated is the emphasis of a given principle. You cannot take one obscure statement and it equal the balance, with an abundance of obvious statements that are made to the contrary of an obscure statement, and have them both equate in their application and their effectualness. And so when you study, put those principles to truth. You study and you find out whether this is what God has to say or not. And you'll know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

As Gary plays for us, let's take just a moment this morning. We'll prepare our hearts this afternoon for what the Spirit of God is saying to us, the hour that we're in. Why this study? Very simply, it can't go on much longer in this nation. Some day soon it is going to become open season on those that will not compromise this Word with the nations. And as the apostate religious system gets into bed with the nations, the whore, as the whore becomes rich and powerful from the nations, there is only going to be one dissenting voice. There's going to be a pocket that won't bow their knee, and they're going to have to do away with it. Are you going to be able to tell the difference of who the apostates are? Who the false teachers are? How we're going to relate? You might go back on the teaching that we did a number of years back on false prophets and study that. How to recognize a false prophet, because that is the hour we're living in, and it's your only protection, it's the only way you can save yourself and your family. The admonition of the apostle to Timothy, "Take heed to yourself and to your doctrine, that you might save both yourself and those that hear you." It's that important. You're shepherds of little flocks, men. I shepherd a larger flock, but you're shepherds of smaller flocks. Take heed to yourself and to your doctrine that you might save yourself and those that hear you. You're going to give an account for your flock, whether they're getting true doctrine. Let's sing it together; just thank Him for His presence this morning. Thank you, Jesus.

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