I just don’t get it, why are atheist becoming so consumed with stopping Christianity in America?  Why should they care less if we serve the almighty God, have churches and crosses?  For people who don’t believe that God even exists, why should they give a flying leap if we want to believe?

Could it be?  They are so consumed with guilt of rejecting the living God who created them that the conviction of the Holy Spirit is so condemning to their lost souls that they are screaming for their guilt to go away? And so, the only way they know how to try to make it stop is by removing anything that resembles Christianity?

They can get crosses removed, bibles removed, preaching on street corners stopped, but the one thing that they cannot stop, is the Holy Spirit telling them to repent of their sins and accept Christ as their Savior.

But maybe this is the beginning of suffering for American Christians, but take heart, Jesus said if they hate you, remember they hated him first.

He also said that we will suffer for righteousness and the only thing that makes us righteous, is the blood of Christ that covers us when we received Christ.

We need to pray for lost souls, Atheist are angry, and I don’t blame them, their future is grim, and no matter how much they try to destroy Christianity, it doesn’t change the fact that someday they will stand before God and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

 

 

Last wk. I asked the question, are fundamental, conservative Christians too narrow minded ?

 & I spoke about how Jesus himself said that he is the only way to enter heaven and the entrance into it is very narrow and few will find it

in todays society we have all kinds of people preaching their beliefs of how one goes to heaven

there are some whose concept of heaven is a place that does not include Jesus

some believe its a place where a man gets 70 virgins for his eternal pleasure

 some believe its a place of perfect peace and where meditation and self realization

 for some it only includes 144,000 and the rest will stay on earth and transform it into a new Eden where everyone is of the same religion and anyone not of their religion are annihilated

 for others its just a place where you go and then sent back but in a different type of life and eventually you’ll experience what its like to be a different life form

but for those who believe in the biblical account of heaven, its a place where God and his Son live

 and we have to make a decision before we die if we want to spend it in heaven with God and his Son or reject them 

& this morning we’re going to take a closer look at the narrow way

 We are living in an age of relativism = Relativism is sometimes identified that all points of view are equally valid. In ethics, this amounts to saying that all moralities are equally good; in epistemology it implies that all beliefs, or belief systems, are equally true.

 We of course reject this, because not all points of view are equal, not all beliefs are valid,

 not all morality is good and not all belief systems are equal

 some are not based on truth, some reject God which causes inequality

We looked at some definitions like Social Justice and Social Gospel, these terms are all out of Liberalism, its obvious that Liberalism is anti-God and is destroying our nation.

 

We live in a time of tolerance = The heart of tolerance is self-control. When we tolerate an activity, we resist our urge to forcefully prohibit the expression of activities that we find unpleasant.  More abstractly, toleration can be understood as a political practice aiming at neutrality, objectivity, or fairness on the part of political agents. These ideas are related in that the goal of political neutrality is deliberate restraint of the power that political authorities have to negate the life activities of its citizens and subjects. Related to toleration is the virtue of tolerance, which can be defined as a tendency toward toleration. Toleration is usually grounded upon an assumption about the importance of the autonomy of individuals. This assumption and the idea of toleration are central ideas in modern liberal theory and practice.

 When you look at the definition of tolerance, we agree

 But how our government is forcing its view of tolerance upon its citizens, we disagree

 Our government & its agencies like schools & colleges views are, we are free to do anything we want & no one has the right to say its wrong or sinful thats why they refuse to condemn Islam or homosexuality

 and – American people must be tolerant of those things

 but then they take it farther, not only do we have to be tolerant, but we must agree and accept how others choose to live, no matter how outrages and sinful it may be

 this is what has been called political correctness

 Political correctness or politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,

 According to our Government any ideas, gender race, culture, sexual orientation, other religions beliefs one has to be tolerant of except those who disagree with them, LIKE CHRISTIANS!

 this is where Christianity & our world comes to a disagreement

 there are many things with-in these areas that the bible describes as sin

 Biblical Christianity begins with an understanding of sin which has been rejected by todays world

 today we no longer have sin, we have disorders, addictions, mental health issues, personality quirks, a failure to conform to societies rules or behavior, but no one has sin

Sin is real, it began when Lucifer decided he wanted to take Gods throne & rule Gods creation, God wouldn’t allow this rebellion by Lucifer and cast him from his position and God cursed him & he became Satan

 

Because of Satan, Sin came into the world and as a result, we are all born under the penalty of sin

We must be truthful about our sinfulness, when we deny that we sin, we remove the possibility of receiving forgiveness from God

 but when we acknowledge our sin, this allows us the freedom of walking in the light of our salvation

 

I Jn. 1: 5-8

 

In every courtroom a question is asked of the accused, How do you plead?

 But the words “I’m Guilty” is seldom heard

 no one today feels responsible for their own actions, its always someone elses fault, their parents, society, school or – dog

 Dr. Karl Menniger wrote a book called “Whatever Happened to Sin?”

 He said” sin was a word that once was on everybodys mind, but now, rarely if ever is it heard, no one has committed sin, where did it go? What became of it?

 What happened to it is, its been explained away

today the criminal has become the victim

In NY , Bernard McCummings mugged & brutally beat an elderly man in a subway, as he ran away, a cop shot him & he was permanently paralyzed

 he sued & won 4.8 million the man he mugged a cancer patient is still paying doctor bills 

• court said – mugger became – bigger victim

In San Francisco a man murdered a fellow worker because he ate too much junk food especially twinkies, it caused him a hyperactivity that he could not control

• jury agreed & reduced his charge

we live in a society plagued by victimization in which no one is willing to plead guilty for his actions or take responsibility for the things he does

 no one has sinned, we’re all helpless victims of – forces around us

Can science simply explain away our failures so that we no longer have to deal with them?

 

One by one the evils of this world and the sins of mankind have fallen prey to the most powerful of all scientific weapons,

• explanation

 

anthropology, psychology, and sociology have cast aside sin and guilt for more tasteful alternatives such as:

 political repression, poor living conditions, dysfunctional families and bad inherited genes

 one by one human failings have been removed from the classification of sin & have been replaced under the classification of disease or disability

 I’m sick or I have a disorder is much more preferred than saying I’m a sinner who is committing sin

 

But heres – problem when we say we don’t sin, we become self deceived

 I Jn. 1:8

if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us

 

you see when I can no longer admit that I have sin then I no longer have to take responsibility for the things I do & if I can convince myself that I’m not responsible, then I no longer have to feel guilty over how I act

 

When an entire generation can no longer say they are a sinner, the way into heaven becomes impossible

 for only those who can say, dear Lord, I’m a sinner can receive forgiveness and find their way through – narrow gate that leads to eternal life

 

in Johns time there was a similar mindset, there were false teachers in – church who were saying they were without sin

so John responds to these false teachers by first telling them that they were in darkness in vs:6 and that – truth was not in them

 John is telling them if they deny their sin then their deliberately refusing to face facts

 

We have people do the same thing today, I watch people in our leadership of this country who say they are so smart, actually brilliant, they know whats best for America

just look to them & they’ll guide us, their our role models & I look at these people & how they live, and what they believe

 

& I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t want them for a role model for my cat let alone for me & if I believed the way they do, I might as well pack my bag for hell today

 

John is telling these men that they might as well pack their bags for hell because their liars and the the truth is not in them

folks to even suggest that we have not sinned, is to refute what God has said to mankind since Adam

I Jn. 1:9

 this is the proper attitude that we must have toward sin, never deny that we have sin but rather be truthful & confess it

 & he will forgive us, cleanse us from all unrighteousness

 

If your as old as I am, you’ll remember the hippies movement in the 60′s. Sex, drugs and rock and roll, fight the establishment, and create a new world where everyone is equal and theres social justice.

Oh Wait, thats today, isn’t it?  NOOOOO, I’m confused.

If you watch whats going on Wallstreet, its just a rehash of lost people who don’t have a clue about life or how a country that is free works. 

It is a total shame to see these poor pathetic people who would rather be socialist rather than free Americans.

Its a real catastrophe to see these poor people who owe so much money on school loans, that they chose to take out for a big paying job, if they would get out of their tents and stop peeing on the streets they would have time to get a job and pay for their schooling that they chose to do.

To be honest, I’m sick of all their whining, but when you spoil the child they turn out rotten.

Our country is definitely sick with sin, we rejected Christ, put our fist in the face of God and demanded that we have the right to do what we want and now we’re reaping the consequences of our rebellion.

It says in Gods Word in I Corinthians that the people wanted to do as they wanted and so God gave them up to a reprobate (corrupt) mind, and what we see going on in our country is definitely from corrupted minds.

We deserve what we get when all this settles, but my question is, what will America be?

Will we be socialist (we’re on our way) for years the Democrats have had the poor and Blacks in slavery to them, they gave them welfare and all sorts of goodies to keep them poor and dependent on them so the Dems could stay in power.

And now the Dems and Unions are getting these Wallstreet idiots to destroy the middle class which will bring them down and become dependent on our governments handouts, and out of the rich class a dictator can emerge and horde the money for their socialist party and the people can get in soup lines.

OR perhaps, because everyone wants their rights, Muslims want their religion and laws (sharia) to rule America,  Mexicans over-running our land, and the American people so drugged out of their minds all their concerned about is sex and drugs.

OR a total collapse of our country where total chaos takes place.

Or we should start praying for a spiritual revival where once again America seeks to occupy heaven, which I doubt will happen, but I can pray that it does.

Its our only hope if we desire to survive in the future, if this country doesn’t repent of its sin and comes to Jesus Christ, perhaps the next few years will be our last.

   

Recently, there has been allot more noise from atheists who would love nothing more than to rid the entire world from even mentioning the name God.

They not only hate God, but want to rid the world of anything associated with God, like the steel beams that are a resemblance of the cross of Jesus Christ that was at the sight of 911.

A group of God haters are trying to create lawsuits to stop the display of this symbol because they say it causes them to be physically sick!!!

Praise God, that a symbol that represents Christianity causes those who hate him become physically sick, but I got news for them.

Its not the symbol that is causing their stomachs to turn, its the conviction of God the Holy Spirit that they need a Savior that is causing their discomfort.

What they are feeling is an emptiness in their heart that only God himself can fill when they turn away from their sin and turn to Jesus.

The Bible (thats the book that God gave us that more and more people who call themselves Christians are turning away from) says, that the Holy Spirits work is to convict the unsaved (those who deny Christ) to turn to Jesus.

These poor God hating atheists are so empty and their conscience are bothered so vehemently by Gods Spirit, because they know theres a God but fight against him and try to rid the world of God to ease their conscience.

Its got to be extremely difficult knowing that Hells the place where you will spend your eternity  and continue to fight against the one who can save you from it.

Fight, fight, fight, but hell still awaits your arrival.

Turn to Christ who can bring you to heaven.

Lst wk. I spoke about the kindness of King David to the Son of Jonathan whose name was Mephebosheth

God our Father is also a kind hearted king, who out of his kindness he gave us his Son, so that you & I can live in heaven for eternity

The O.T contains all of the history of what God started from creation and calling a nation & a people to bring Gods Son to this earth

The O.T. Starts with Genesis & ends with the book of Malachi that gives warnings of coming tribulation and then ends

for the next 400 yrs, God did not speak to anyone on earth, these have been called the silent yrs

God did not raise up or speak through a prophet or priest although God didn’t move visibly or audibly for those 400 yrs, there was still allot going on

Israel had come under Persian rule, but were actually doing very well under them, they had freedom to go to Jerusalem & build a temple

it was during this time that they established the law & Scribes & Pharisees became powerful Jewish leaders

Alexander the Great brought an end to – Persian rule which brought the Jews under the Greeks, many Jews were immersed into the Greek culture & became Hellenist

there were many battles after the death of Alexander from the Ptolemies, Seleucids, to the Maccabean , Hasmoneaons, & finally the Jews came under Roman rule & still God had not spoken one word through any human being

400 yrs later, God finally speaks, but its not through any human, but instead he sends an Angel with a message

Lk. 1: 1-4

Luke gives us the background as well as the births of both John – Baptist & Jesus & theres 2 words that are important in these verses

1^st Eyewitness – Greek word for this is autoptai = to see for yourself, in english we get the word autopsy

Luke is saying that he was a eyewitness or that he saw for himself, he made an autopsy of what we believe to be true

2^nd is ministers, Greek is: huperatai = under rower on a boat in English = intern

So what we have here in the Greek to English translation is: Dr. Luke who is a physician and a scholar has made an autopsy of the records of those who have been eyewitness’s

Eyewitness’s of what? The birth, life, death & resurrection of Jesus Christ

these 1^st 4 verses are giving us a tremendous testimony that we can be certain & assured about the Lord Jesus Christ

vs:4 that we can know with certainty

how much assurance do you have? Do you know for certain that you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ?

Do you know for certain that if you died today that you would go to heaven?

Do you know for certain that the bible is the Word of God?

We should feel sorry for those who aren’t certain, what a terrible place to be to say your a Christian & not be certain of what your faith is built on

we need to understand that faith cometh by hearing & hearing by the Word of God

so if you really know the Word of God, then you would believe it

those who are ignorant of Gods Word are the ones who aren’t sure if their saved or not

the problem isn’t with the bible or with Jesus, the problem is with us because of our ignorance of Gods Word

vs:5

• name Zacharias = God remembers
• name Elisabeth = his oath

God had made an oath & a covenant with king David that his seed & his throne would endure forever

and 400 yrs after the close of the O.T. God remembers his oath & Elisabeth is a daughter from Aaron who was a the lineage of David & the Lord Jesus

Vs: 6-12

Zach & Elisabeth are righteous people and serving God in the temple when suddenly a Angel appears with a message

I think Zach must have been one cool dude, it says he was serving when he saw someone standing next to – alter

it says he was troubled & then he got afraid

let me tell you, if I’m by myself & all of a sudden someone is standing there, I’m having a heart attack!

I would be screaming like a little girl!!

Angels have been greatly used from creation to today in serving God

they’ve been used as protectors, as warriors, as ministers, some refer to these ministering Angels as Guardian Angels,

if I had my own personal Guardian Angel, then mines been out to lunch allot

But God does send Angels at times to minister to us in times of crisis

Larry spoke about this a bit last week in Sunday School, but the bible says that you will never know it

That we entertain them unaware

vs;13

both Zach & Elisabeth was praying for a son, now how do I know it was for a son?

Because the Angel said your prayer has been heard & you will have a son!

& you’ll name him John

A daughter named John doesn’t sound right, so we know it was a boy!

Vs;18

this is really kind of funny here, this couple is praying for a son, an Angel shows up & says your going to have one & Zach says, how can this be true, I’m married to an old woman!

Well why then was he praying for a son?? dah??

have you ever prayed like that? You pray for something but really don’t believe it will happen?

But this is the reason why we don’t receive answers to our prayers, we don’t have faith

Bible says we are to pray with faith & believe that God answers

but lets be honest, we all pray like Zach at times, he’s human & so are we

and I like the Angels response to Zach

Vs; 19

Gabe says: hey dude, I’m here telling you something straight from God, don’t question me

I think he sounds just a bit indignant here

and then look at what he does

Vs;20

Gabe says since you didn’t want to believe me oh ye of little faith, you ain’t gonna speak to anyone until your son is born take that!

I know one thing, I never want to tick off an Angel

400 yrs of silence from heaven & now God is on the move, he sends Gabe with a first message & now he’s going to send a second message

Vs; 26-34

Mary also questions the Angel Gabriel, apparently she didn’t know who she was dealing with, an Angel with an attitude

of course Zach couldn’t call her & warn her either!

But the facts are: Zachariah was struck speechless because he didn’t believe a direct message from God & he was a priest who should have had faith

but Mary had faith, she didn’t say this is impossible: she asked how is this going to happen

Vs:35

Gabe explains to her how this was going to happen

Gabriel gives Mary a message that through her the Son of God was going to be born

Last week I spoke about the kind heartedness of king David

but now God the Father was sending the kind hearted King of Kings Jesus Christ

No man had anything to do with the birth of Jesus Christ

Mary is not bringing a sinner into the world, she is bearing someone who is holy, who is without sin

when a human man & woman have a child, they bring in a child with a sin nature

king David said that he was shapen in iniquity and in sin did his mother concieve him

but the virgin birth was the only way God could bring his holy child into the human family

people deny the virgin birth and its during this month that unbelievers attack Christmas

but why would we expect anything different, if they are unbelieving sinners, they certainly wouldn’t believe in what we do

let them attack, let them remove nativity scenes, let them remove the word Christmas, let them remove God

it doesn’t change the truth, it doesn’t change the virgin birth, it doesn’t change Christmas, it doesn’t remove our God they can attack, they can remove, they can deny

but one day, every knee will bow before a virgin born King, and they will confess that Jesus Christ was born on earth that he died and was raised from the dead

and throughout eternity as they will look into heaven according to Luke 16

from the pit of hell and they’ll wish they hadn’t denied the King of Kings

Vs; 39-41

what we are dealing with here is miraculous, and there is no use in trying to offer up some natural explanation

you either believe it, or you don’t

so many try to explain away the miracles in the bible, but to be a true child of God

one has to believe in miracles that the bible tells us about we serve the King of Kings, a miracle maker, & out of his kindness, he sent us our Savior