Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Bread of Idleness

Hallelujah! Amen. I was going to share some outstanding reports from Africa. A lot of great things are going on. Here's a six-page epistle from Tony. I can't read all of that this evening, but there are some tremendous things. I talked to Rob a little bit yesterday and the Umoja church is growing continuously. The fellowship, the unity that we've been looking for, is really emerging. Things are going great there--growing numerically as well as in harmony--some outstanding things there. This will bless you. There are a number of different paragraphs I'd like to share with you here.

It says, "The flock as a whole is doing very well. There is an exceeding growing hunger among us, among the young people, actually provoking the adults to godly jealousy as their pursuit for the fire of God is so real. A large number of youth picked up on comments that I had made in the main service on the vital foundational need of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They began to inquire much, so shortly afterward, I began to teach on the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the morning chapel. We continued until now--the men helping--and last week, we began the chapel service in prayer, and, just like in Acts, it felt as though there was a rushing, mighty wind that fell upon us. The power of God hit that place as there was such a hunger for God. Almost everyone in the room was instantly filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. God filled the room with His presence. The mass of youth just erupted in other tongues in praising and magnifying God. One big girl got filled, went off in tongues, fell over backwards and smashed the chair. [I don't know why he added that, but there it is.] The power of God was so strong we couldn't stop. We actually delayed classes for a number of periods." [The report shared that around 32 were baptized in the Holy Spirit that day.]

"Tuesday I entered the sanctuary for prayer, having finished counseling, and it was like walking into a glory cloud. The kids with the adults now... [He writes this late at night and so some of it is in tongues.] They have truly entered a new dimension and fervency in prayer. Yesterday, in the worship service the youth's voices being in a higher pitch, you could hear it clearly. It sounded as a divine harmonizing with the whole adult congregation. We've never experienced anything like this before. It was like a heavenly choir. It brought me to tears, tears of gratitude for the good work that the Holy Spirit has done in igniting a fire in our youth, and it is now blazing among them. After both prayer and services, about four hours, they fellowshipped and went into the afternoon meeting, testifying of the power of God that is transforming them. Mack, our youth leader, shared the report to me, with tears, about how sincere and real their testimonies and pursuit of God are. We have about 60 in the younger youth group and about 40 in the older group. What a precious move of God in these young people! Some of their parents are not so faithful, but we're carrying these youths in DT, seeing their pursuit of God. They have convicted the young adults and the adult congregation with this hunger and zeal for righteousness."

A number of things, he shares, going on about some of the outreach that they had out in the middle of a region where, actually, he said, it was pitch dark beyond everywhere that their generator was producing light and said that there were over 700 that gathered in those particular meetings. A testimony came later when Bet was downtown and asked where he fellowshipped. He said, "Calvary Temple," and it was said, "Oh, the church that holds the meetings out at the crossroads." In other words, so many people are looking for recognition and they are impressed that someone would go out in the middle of nowhere and hold a meeting and reach people.

It says, "Scores of our members were there each night. The final night our fellowship was probably about 100 plus. They would all minister to everyone gathered in different areas. The testimony from both local pastors and people was that they'd never experienced a crusade like this in this place. The following Sunday, we had 22 visitors that had come to the meeting and 30 the week before. [It goes on to say that they've totally outgrown the facility. They had about 10 seated outside.] On Sunday, we were sitting outside and added benches all around the interior, clear around the pulpit. They had about 225 in service on Sunday. In our midweek, we're about 165, our largest ever with around 35 in children's church."

"There's a buzzing in the flock in preparations and work with George, our young adult leader, as we're preparing for our first wedding here in Kenya. [Just like us, they're having problems with relatives. Miriam's family is opposing or wanting to be a part and lobbying for a larger dowry. Thank God for the in-laws.] Discipleship Training (DT) continues strong and is producing very good fruit in the children's lives. One teacher who lives in the DT ministry house... [We sent money over--Tony was asking how we could pull this thing off and I told him, "Well, let's just rent a house and then we can put people up in the house that are wanting to work in the ministry, some of the young adults and others, so that will underwrite a lot of their expenses. Then, they're going to be able to participate." Many of them have changed their college schedules to be able to come in and take certain DT classes, etc. It's a great community effort that's taking place.] One of the teachers that lives in the DT ministry house gave me a list of personal things that she wanted to sell and asked if I thought that would be wisdom. I sent counsel to inquire whether or not she was being impulsive or practicing asceticism. She told us that she had heard that there were needs in DT, the offerings being down because a number of the children's parents are not as faithful as they. She said she wanted to sell these things and put the money toward DT and that it would also make space in her room where three ladies who are teaching already live together and they could fit another person in." [She wanted to get rid of her stuff so that they could put another body in there.] "Others that we give $7.00 a month in support, next to nothing here, even in Kakamega, we only find out that they turn around and put most of it back in the offerings. It moved me very much when I've seen their spirit. Three ladies living in one room lived for five weeks off $18.00 for food, soap, and charcoal to cook on. One of the ladies is the one I referred to above. It's a very humbling thing to watch and they serve with such sincerity of heart. I'm believing God that as the ministry shall grow that we might be able to give them something more, as they have been very faithful. They serve with joy and gladness of heart as unto the Lord. You would honestly believe that they are trained, professional teaching staff making great wages. Full of the Spirit, living off the meat of heaven; that is the strength of their lives." We realize that a lot of great things are taking place in their lives. George is the one that is getting married here. We left George out, so George and Miriam are those that are going to be joined together and it's an exciting thing to see what God is doing in the lives of these young people.

"In closing, when I was in service yesterday, standing in awe of the Spirit in this place, people coming with ears to hear, huddling up toward the pulpit, such a hunger for the Word of God, I began to break down and weep, wondering who am I to have such a privilege. These are a precious people and God is moving greatly in their midst. I know that this could only be the Lord's doing and, Pastor, your guidance. The Lord has made this work what it is and I just partake of the fruit. Pastor, your many years of travail that birthed the very truths that burn in my heart of how a ministry is to be built, unshakable and sure upon its foundation, so that the gates of hell could not prevail. Thank you for obedience for these years. God is truly doing something here in our midst as the fruit of it goes down and, just again, thanking again for the privilege of going over and serving God and being a part of what He's doing in those areas."

What a great time that they're having! Be prayerful. We talked about the support there in DT and these different areas. As we've budgeted, there are a number of different things we try to do in budgeting. We're in a place where, in trying to use the wisdom of God, we're purchasing some vans there. We need land--a number of different things that are taking place and we're look for that fine balance of how much to give them and how much to encourage them to live by faith, not to look to America, not to look to any support, knowing that God has blessed and that we're trying to do our part. Be prayerful always about that balance and that wisdom, because the one thing that we can't do, is ever take their eyes off God. They're not doing anything that many of us have not done in years past in ministry in different areas. One of these days, these young people will be able to stand up as they get a little bit older, like myself, and remember the days of the bent cans with no labels on them and all of those days that you lived by faith, precious days, memorials, so that when those times come, you're not trusting in the broken reed of Egypt. You're just believing that God meets all of your needs according to His riches in glory, amen. Be prayerful. Hold them up. We're believing God that some tremendous things are taking place there. We're excited about it.

Let's turn for a little while to the book of Ezekiel. I want to look at something there very quickly. As I've been meditating on a couple of things, I noticed yesterday that there was a theme that was kind of repeating itself in the pastors' meeting and in the deacons' meeting in some different areas that reminds us of the hour that we're in and the danger that we live in on a daily basis here in this nation. Ezekiel, Chapter 16, is a passage that we're very familiar with, but I want to try to practically point something out for us that I think will help us resist this force that is enticing so many in our generation, this bread of idleness. I want to define what idleness is. Many of us would think that we're talking about somebody--that we need to be diligent, working, and always busy. We've heard the old adage that an idle mind is [What?] the devil's workshop. There's a lot of truth to that. I want to show you the biblical definition of idleness, as opposed to what the secular might be. I think we see it very clearly in the life of David. I want to point that out as we look at what got David in trouble in that time in his life where he saw Bathsheba and was consumed with lust. It became the great sin of his life. It wasn't by chance. It wasn't just a presumptuous type of sin. Something was growing in this man that gave place to his flesh. We need to guard our own hearts, because we're living in that same hour that David was experiencing at that particular moment.

The prophet speaks to it here. David's life speaks to it, and we want to point out the danger of true idleness. I define idleness as a lack of pursuing spiritual things. Idleness is not just being a couch potato, lying on the sofa. You can be very diligent in your secular realm. You can be busy around the house. You can be dusting and vacuuming. You can be washing the car and cutting the lawn, but that is not going to keep those fiery darts from impregnating your spirit and enticing you and seducing you into self-destruction, into that aspect of selfishness, indulgence, pride, idolatry, thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think in this generation that we're living in. The prophet says it this way. Watch these words, "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom..." We've talked about this before. We seem to think that the great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was the sodomy that was taking place, and it wasn't. The sodomy was the consequence of the sin. Now, isn't it interesting that we're living in a generation when sodomites have a special grace given to them, a protection in our society, a privilege that many other citizens in this nation don't have. How has it come to that in our generation? How has it come to the place where preachers this very day are incarcerated? Preachers are in jail for quoting the Word of God as to what the judgment of sodomites will ultimately be--that it is sin, that it is an abomination, and that there should be a destruction of this spirit among those that are walking in the household of faith. It's being promoted in television programs and by politicians. It's being seen as normative. It's being seen as genetic. It's being seen as an alternative lifestyle, and it is sin. It's not a sin that has to do with genetics, and I don't believe that it is a sin that has to do with preference. I don't believe that it is even a sin that has to do with perverted relationships with absentee fathers, with doting mothers, but I believe it is a consequence of idleness. When the mind is no longer satisfied with the normative, it imagines and creates and invents, as the apostle says, evil thoughts. What am I saying? If your mind isn't on Jesus, if it's not being renewed, if you are not pursuing God, you will be pursued and overtaken by the thoughts of this world, by these fiery darts, by all of this that we look at today and say it's perverted. This agenda that we say is bizarre is the very spirit that you will embrace if you don't begin to pursue hard after God. It is irresistible. It has destroyed nations and it will be the destruction of mankind prior to the coming of Jesus, and you and I are not exempt.

I'm not just talking about the sin of sodomy. I'm talking about the sin of idleness. Idleness is a lack of pursuing God. Get the definition--a lack of pursuing God. Because you're either following hard after God, you're either pursuing God, or you're being overcome by the world. If you are not pursuing God and leaving the world, then you are being overcome by the world. We realize what the prophet says, "Behold, this is the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, [Now, look at it.] pride, [Tell me if this doesn't speak of our nation today and of individuals that you know and the propensity of the person seated in your chair tonight.] fulness of bread, [prosperity, abundance]." As we sit here today and hear a testimony like I just read, how many of you were moved by those ladies living in that condition? How many of your hearts were touched? What are you going to do about it? "Well, if they're living on seven bucks a month, I can give 50 cents a day toward that." That would be good and we may need to do that, but, in reality, we've probably sent enough money over there at this particular time. They don't need your money. They need you to begin to pursue God as diligently as they are, so that when God does speak to you, you'll have ears to hear, so that someone can go before them and they can begin to be followers of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises of God. Each one of us is called to be an example of the believer. They want to be what we are.

What we don't want them to pursue is our abundance and think that's where satisfaction is going to be and that's the end of pursuing God, because it isn't. It is, in fact, many times the enemy of faith. It becomes to many of us an occasion to sin. It is, as Jesus explained it, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches that chokes the Word of God out of our lives. It's what keeps us on a daily basis from being able to pray in faith, "Give us this day our daily bread." With all of our science and all of our medications and the miracles of science, we've lost the miraculous power of God. We are a people being "blessed" out of our blessings. We need to somehow stir up again a jealousy for the presence of God and a life in the supernatural, a life that desires nothing outside of what God provides for us. I'm not just arbitrarily speaking words. When I spoke the word "desire," it's exactly what I meant. We have no desire for things outside of what God has provided for us. When the desire is God's presence and God's glory, and when God is the source and we look to only what He provides and there isn't a desire, a strong pursuit, an appetite, for what the world says we have to have, what our flesh says we have to have, then there's a peace, there's a great awareness of the providence of God, a seeking of the kingdom first so that all of these other things can miraculously and supernaturally be added to us.

"Pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness..." Isn't that a very interesting term they use? "And abundance of idleness." I don't think it's official yet, but the four day work week is here, and it looks like it's moving toward three. We're living in a day when many of us have the blessing of being able to work out of our homes. I know of a number of people here in our fellowship. They don't have to go in anywhere. You can do what you want as long as the work gets done. That can be a blessing and that can be a curse. I don't want to talk about the logistics of these things. I want to talk about the spirit behind society that so appeals to the flesh that, with this, we're losing sight of the pursuit of God, the trust in His presence solely and not in what our own strength can provide for us, the strength of our economy. Now look at what he goes on to say, "...neither did [these people] strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, [verse 50] and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." The ultimate judgment of God. The abundance of idleness. How busy are you with idleness? Idleness is the lack of a pursuit of God. Idleness is putting more value on the temporal than the eternal. The abundance of idleness.

What are we doing for God? I don't want to embarrass anybody, but we were talking about the Kusars in our pastors' meeting yesterday and, believe it or not, it was good. Jim and I were talking about the spirit of the age. We were talking about this very aspect. Jim said, "One of the things that impacted my life greatly..." (I'll show you how long ago this was.) He said, "When I first came down from New York, there was this young man that was working out of his Ford van and he had this little boy, a little baby. I was a fairly new believer and I'm watching this young man starting a business, and one day a week, he committed to working on this education building." (You know, some of you who sometimes think, "Man, what a bummer! We have to go up there and clean that building." Some of you who spill things on the carpet and don't think twice about it. Some who may walk through there and take it for granted. Some of us put our lives into that thing that you enjoy on a daily basis.) Here's this young man--I'll tell you how long ago we're talking--I'm talking about Jerry Kusar. This young man, all those years ago (I can give him a hard time, he's younger than me, unfortunately.) coming up here and he's starting a business. Some of you young people listen to me. This man has a young child, is starting a business, and chooses to give one day a week to the body of Christ to honor God. That made a great impact on a man who's pastoring a church today. Do you want to know what else you bear from that kind of a choice? When you choose not to partake of the abundance of idleness... Do you want to know what idleness is? Idleness is working too much for yourself. The abundance of idleness--energy being spent for things that are going to rust and decay and thieves can steal. Do you want to know what that will produce for you? Do you know that little baby that I was just talking about? He's not a baby anymore. As he goes on to get his degree and all of the hours spent in pursuit of that and the work now that's involved with it and the endeavor now as he's going on to get a Master's degree, do you know what's being done with all of that schedule and all of those hours of work? All of that schooling and all of that work is juggled around one day a week of commitment to the ministry in the body of Christ, just like Dad. How many would like to have that in a second generation?

What are you teaching your kids? What are their ambitions? What is their goal? What is their energy being spent on in an era of idleness, idleness toward the kingdom, the lack of productivity for the eternal, because we're so taken up with temporal pleasures and recreation and abundance of things that are going to pass away, things that thieves are going to steal, whether it's natural thievery or whether it's the thievery of a depression that is going to hit this nation, a stock market crash. We're not wealthy people here, but some of you would get your nose out of joint if the market totally busted tomorrow. Some of you would be a little concerned if the big corporations went under tomorrow and you didn't have a job. The government is already under and it doesn't know it yet. The one thing the government has going for it is that it owns the presses and so it keeps printing. We're living by faith, billions and billions and trillions and trillions of dollars in debt. It's getting worse every day. We're broke, but nobody will say anything about it. Why? Not even the French, because, guess what. If we go under, we take everybody with us. What are you trusting in? What are you living for? What are you spending your time and your energy on? If you sow to the flesh, you're going to reap of the flesh corruption, destruction, but if you sow to the Spirit, you're going to reap eternal life.

What is our time and our energy being spent on? You can be working, like I said, around the house. Don't misunderstand. I want to reiterate this. I'm not talking about you trying to teach your children. "Do you know what we need to do? We need to stay busy so the devil can't... Come on, we're going to mow this lawn. We're going to paint this house." That's all for you. What are you doing for the kingdom? What are you doing to become more Christlike? What are you doing to invest in the eternal? That is labor that is going to produce fruit that remains. Everything else is idleness. Everything else is vanity. We all understand that there are natural responsibilities that we have, things that we need to do.

Turn over to 2 Samuel. Let's look at David for just a second. I want you to see in his life this aspect of idleness that I'm talking about. We all know the end of this thing. 2 Samuel, Chapter 11, verse 1, "And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. [Don't pass by her corner, Proverbs says.] And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him; and he lay with her...And the woman conceived..."

Let's contrast something here. "At the time when kings go forth to battle..." All of the victories that were won, from the victories that he won to catch the praises of men that sang, "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7). The battle and the victory over Goliath, a warrior, a man who was invincible because of the anointing of God and the power of God, because he was about Father's business and God was for him and nobody could be against him. Everything he put his hand to prospered. Who is this guy? Turn back a couple of chapters and look at Chapter 6. The zeal of David to bring the ark back to the city of God and in the process, we know the judgment that came upon them because they were transporting it in an unworthy manner. Uzzah was killed and David became afraid of the Lord and said, "What's going on here?" God spoke to him and said, "You can't expect My presence to manifest in the midst of your methods." Remember, we did a whole teaching on "Worldly Wagons or Sanctified Shoulders." We have the little booklet back there. Thinking that somehow we're going to do something for God. "We're going to get God's presence back in Jerusalem. We're going to build a new cart and we're going to transport it. The ark begins to shake, so we're going to stabilize it." God judged Uzzah. He killed him because of the natural methodology that was being used. God is not going to share His glory with anybody. Nobody is going to have the testimony that they gave stability to God.

David began to see this again and he was being humbled through this process. He realized that he wasn't going to help God; God was going to help him. You'll see that in the chapter prior to that which we just read. If you'll actually look back a couple of chapters and read through here, you'll see that when David is speaking of wanting to build the house of God, God says, "You're going to build Me a house? You're not building Me a house. I'm going to build you a house. I'm going to bless your seed after you and your son will build Me a place where My name will be placed upon. But you get one thing really clear. You're not building Me a house. I'm building you one. I'm building a nation. I'm going to bless you as I promised Abraham."

We experience the presence and the abundance of God and we forget who the source is. We forget what we're living for and we actually forget how jealous our God is. He won't share His glory with us. He won't let us get away with soothing our conscience because we heard a story of some young women who are committed, by giving a few extra bucks. He wants our lives. He wants us to live by faith. He wants you to trust God on your $700 a week the same way they do on their $7.00 a month, because it's in our trust for Him that He's glorified. It's in our dependence upon Him that He's glorified. If we're trusting in our own strength, our own ability, our employers, then we are eating the bread of idleness, because it is not of faith and it is sin. If it's not of faith, it's not of God.

Just a few chapters earlier, David was on fire for God, hungry for the presence of God. Chapter 6, verse 14, "And David danced before the Lord with all his might...and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord [verse 15] with shouting..." There was a lot of shouting down in Tennessee during the ball game. A lot of energy was being spent on and off the court. How much shouting do you do here in worship and in praise? How excited are you about the presence of God? Do you put as much effort into your worship as you do into your cheering? It's a good question. How important are the temporal things, the things that are going to pass away? I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony. Our kids have done great. I believe in honor to whom honor is due. Where are our treasures, really, and are we lying to ourselves? What is it that is eating you up? "The zeal [Jesus said] of thine house hath eaten me up" (John 2:17). Are we a people that can't help but speak the things that we've seen and heard? Are we a people that won't bow our knee, whether or not we are threatened with losing our jobs or with physical punishment? You tell me. Is it better to obey God or man? Do you hate this world that we're living in? In our flesh, there's no good thing. In our flesh, there are these appetites for all of these things that we think will satisfy. What makes that sin? What makes it sin in all of these appetites we are pursuing? It's just that they're something outside of God that will gratify us. That's what makes it sin--that we're looking for gratification outside of God. We're missing the mark. The mark is "God is all sufficient." Amen? His presence strengthens us, satisfies us.

David is dancing before the Lord and showing before God, leaping and dancing, verse 16 says. Michal despised him for it, the Scripture says, in her heart. Nothing was necessarily said publicly, but, as it happens so many times, when he got home, he heard about it. "How glorious, [verse 20 says] was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids...as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!" David wasn't in his birthday suit. So many people think that David danced naked before the Lord. He wasn't naked as we understand nakedness. He was not in his birthday suit. What happened here is that he put aside his royal garments, his regal garments of the crown, and as she was saying, became as one of the vain fellows, one of the commoners. His wife had her nose out of joint because she saw herself as a little bit above everybody else and too good for this. Who is this girl, a girl who has known nothing but palaces, grew up in Saul's house and now in David's? She didn't know what it meant to be a commoner.

I remember what it means to be a commoner. Good Friday is coming. I remember what it is to be without the knowledge of that cross and Jesus dying for me. I know what it is to live out there in fear and torment and lust and bondage. Many of you young people don't know anything but the king's house. I would in no way desire for you to experience the things that we've experienced, but I am concerned for a loss of sobriety and thanksgiving for the good gifts that Father has given us. We're being distracted by tattoos and earrings. The other day some of our young ladies were seen sitting at a bar. I want to ask you a question. What are you doing? "What? It's no sin to have a drink." It is for you. Do you want to know why? Because you've been bought with a price. You're not your own. An abundance of idleness. A generation that knows nothing but having our noses wiped, doing anything we want, always thinking that we're getting the short end of things, and beloved, we need to begin to be thankful for what God has given us in this community, in His very presence. Here we are, a people thinking that somehow--I'm talking to some of the young people and some of us older people--some of the young people saying, "I want to try a drink." Let me tell you something. "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1). Do you want me to tell you what that does? It makes you idiots. It makes you sick. It'll steal your virginity from you. It'll take you into its bondage. You'll be able to enjoy it just like so many of the families of the world that you think are so blessed because they can do these things, and it'll cause your husband to come home and beat you. It'll cause your parents to kill themselves. The abundance of idleness. The appetite for the world instead of God. What do you want? What do you think is going to satisfy you if God doesn't? So you go from alcohol to drugs to homosexuality to suicide. That's the world that we live in.

What are we doing to fortify our minds and what are we doing to set a standard of one day a week so that our kids can grow up honoring God and not living for themselves? What are we doing in this generation to purposefully take off our royal robes--thinking that we have a right to more--set them aside and humble ourselves, and in the eyes of others, be willing to be called vile and vain and say, "You think this is bad. Wait till you see me next week, praise God, because whatever I can do to dance before my God, whatever I can do to shout and sing praises to Him, whatever I can do to be more like Jesus, whatever I can do to trust Him instead of my own strength, that's what I'm after, praise God. I will yet be more vile." Listen to what it says. I love this in verse 22, "And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight." It's not what others are seeing; it's what we are seeing. Then, not too long after this, when he should have been at war, he's home enjoying the spoils. Is there a time for enjoying the spoils? Sure, if you're enjoying them with God for God. Why should we mow our lawns and have them just right? So that we can have the kids over for the resurrection celebration. It's all about ministry. It's all about God. Why should I spend that time getting my car all detailed and sharp? So that I can be better than everybody else is, as a young person, so all the babes will be looking at me. How about getting it all nice and clean so that you can take it down to Chik Fil-A® and people will be drawn to it and you can hand out tracts and witness and draw attention to Jesus and not yourself. Pride. Abundance of idleness.

Here's the sweet psalmist of Israel, the young man who humbly watched sheep, who was anointed a king, who knew the anointing of God and brought down nations, who humbled himself and danced before God, and now, he becomes an adulterer, a murderer because of one thing: idleness, just slacking off a little bit in serving God. What is this generation that we're living in? I believe it goes past the time that David is involved in, in this particular time of his life. I know that I'm not a better man than David. I know that I am not a better man than Paul. I know that I am not a better man than Peter, who denied Him. I'm not a better man than Thomas, who doubted Him. What are we doing to fortify ourselves in this generation against this supernatural spirit of antichrist that totally endorses everything that would distract from Jesus--fashion, recreation, vocation? It's all antichrist, it's all idolatry. It can be sanctified by the hands of priests, by the anointing of God.

We've got choices that need to be made, distracted by attraction, cares, deceitfulness of abundance, lust for more, and it chokes the Word of God out of our lives. Do you have more of a hunger for the Word, more of a desire to serve, more desire to be less, less desire to be more, consumed with the ark and the presence of God and not your royal robe of selfness? Let's guard our hearts and our minds. Let's begin to fortify ourselves in our pursuit. Let's not ever allow this thing to slip into neutral but be constantly pressing toward the mark, moving forward, raising the bar, making the standard of perfection our pursuit, our goal. Nothing else will satisfy, and then, I think we can be a generation that can bring Him honor. How do you do it practically? Trust Him a little more. Give more of yourself--a little more prayer, a little more study, a little more self-denial. Not for merit, but because it's the expression of worship. He's worth all of my effort, my energy. He became sin with my sin that I might be righteous with His righteousness.

Father, we do thank You tonight for the Word of God. Just in our reports yesterday, in our meetings, we hear of young people on the Internet with pornography, young women out sitting at bars. They are our youth, and we think we're safe. We boast in our spirituality. We're a people in danger if we are not in pursuit of perfection, if we ever become satisfied. Where is the spirit of the apostle who says, "Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27)? Let that, Father, motivate us, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. As Gary plays for us for just a moment, we made comment on a couple of incidents that are current events. These are not young people that don't love God. They love God. I believe that these are young people who love God and God's grace and mercy are there, evident for them to take and to walk in. It's a dangerous world that we're living in, folks. You give him [the devil] one moment and a fiery dart--if your shield is not up, you're going to get hit with some fiery darts that can bring some scars. Those young people... I asked yesterday in the deacon's meeting, "How many of you remember the first piece of pornography you ever saw?" Every man in that room remembered exactly the first time he saw it. It never goes away. On every street corner, we're being solicited by fashion, by the abundance of materialism. A generation, a society, that is so discontent that everything says, "This will make you happy." Every thing that's being sold to us... "This will do it. This will do it. This is what you need."

Have you tasted the goodness of God and been satisfied? You're not exempt. "Just a little bit more. This will do it. If you can dress like this, if you can look like this, if you can look like this and have something that looks like that, that'll do it. More, bigger, better, this will finally do it. This will make you somebody. This will make you happy." If any of that is in the equation, you're out of order. You're in sin, but the blessings of the Lord make rich and add no sorrow with them. "I'll take that because God has provided it and I'll use it for His glory. I don't have to have it. I can take it or leave it. Only His presence can satisfy me. I've found some meat that you know not of--to do the will of my Father." Make it real, we ask, Father, in Jesus' name. Let's sing it together and worship Him. Hallelujah! Help us, Father, to worship You, to serve You, to be that light. Help us to be thankful. Give us an appetite for the holiness of God, in Jesus' name. Amen. Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "Seek...first the kingdom." Amen. Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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