Escaping the Evil

Transcript

But it is wonderful to be here, wonderful to have spent the time with all of you the last several days; it's really the sort of the more of the spirit and atmosphere of a Feast of Tabernacles.  And something that we've, I know all enjoyed very very much.  It's really been more than just a weekend of church activity having all of you here and certainly it was enjoyable hearing the special music, appreciated the special music.  

I related to what Mr. Carrey said, was actually very very nice to see such a large group of young adults, young people and all in one place.  And of course this whole week we've seen that and it's made it even more enjoyable.  The enthusiasm, the excitement and the energy that our young people bring is all very very encouraging.  

This is the first time I've been here in a couple of years.  My wife is actually down in south Florida.  You probably don't need to feel sorry for her; I think it was 86 degrees this week and more like beach weather although I think we've had some wonderful weather here as well.

She's down there attending to our youngest grandson.  So she had higher priorities than, no offense to any of you, but higher priorities than being here with with us.  But she'll be home this next week and we'll also be back home and things will again get very very busy.

Next Sunday I leave for Asia with Mr. Dave Baker.  We will be gone for 2 ½ weeks; we intend to visit all of the members in India and Sri Lanka and look forward to that.  It's been certainly, I've been once before, this'll be my second trip there but it's been a while and we've not had an opportunity to go and visit all the members.

We have 20 or so members scattered around India.  So, if you look at the size of the country, you can see how that would be if you had 20 people or so.  And of course, our goal is to visit all of them on this trip.  

We also hope to provide some videos that we'll take while we're there and to send them back while we're there so you'll have the opportunity to view those.  And we'll hope you'll look for those on our website so you'll have the opportunity maybe to travel in some, in some form with us on this particular trip.

We're also concluding. Mr. Winner mentioned of course, about the date, we our fiscal year in the Church of God A Worldwide Association goes by the calendar year.  So, here in a few days we'll be finishing up 2013 and beginning a new year.  

It's been really a wonderful year in a lot of ways for us; we've made a lot of progress.  We end the year on a very very positive note and we're going into the next year with a lot of plans.  And certainly plans to expand in all areas, one of the primary areas being the area of media.  We're planning some substantial increases there.  

But when you look at the bigger picture, we're still really very small. And, that's probably in some ways a good thing because, as a small group, we realize that we have to rely more on God.  And that God is the one that's going to have to open the doors and certainly help us as we go forward.

So, it's not necessarily a bad thing that the being a small group we have to depend more on God.  I think that's actually a positive thing and we know what God can do and we know that it's really up to Him as to what He chooses to do.  

We appreciate very much being involved, we appreciate all of you and appreciate all of those who are online and certainly want to thank you for all that you've done as well to make it such a really a wonderful year and giving us a lot of momentum going into this next year.  

We have a lot of plans, a lot of things we hope to do.  We certainly pray that God will continue to bless us and that this next year will be even greater and a lot more things that we can accomplish as we go forward.  

So, I wanted to make a few of those comments to everyone.  My opportunity to speak to all of you and again I really appreciate it very very much and certainly never want to take any of that for granted, having this wonderful opportunity.  

Prior to coming to this particular weekend, you all received the update and the information from Mr. Winner.  And in that information, he explained that the theme of this weekend, the theme of these activities.  Now in this particular case, which is a little different than some years, as he explained were ending this activity with, of course, the services today or the activities tonight.  

Some years we begin that way and of course we pick out a theme or Mr. Winner and other have worked together, I've been involved as well in selecting a theme.  Something that we believe would be helpful and encouraging for all of you.  So, this year the theme that was selected was "Escape From the World; Living a Godly Life in Satan's World."

Now one could argue that there is no more important goal than that particular theme.  That is a lofty goal.  And in fact, history tells us that it has been a struggle for Christians going all the way back to the time when the church began. So, we're looking at something for centuries that we could say has been a struggle for Christians.  And that that struggle has increased, of course, in our modern history.

You know, I've mentioned before about coming to church or coming into the church when I was very small.  And, my mother coming in in the early 50s.  But one of the earliest sermons I can remember coming into the church was on the subject of worldliness.  So, you know it's certainly been a theme that's been around for a long time.  
Revelation 18 or chapter 18, verse 4 was an early memory verse even as a child I could repeat that verse: (come out of her my people lest you be partakers of her sins)
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

So, this is not something that's new, it's not something the church hasn't dealt with over many years.  And, over the years you could say and you probably have you own memories that worldliness was defined in various ways.  Now, I'm not assessing judgment on whether any of these definitions were wrong; in fact, I think in most cases they certainly had truth to them.

But if you were in the 1960s, long hair and short skirts obviously would have been very worldly.  Again, I'm not suggesting it wouldn't be worldly today either.  Bell-bottom pants were very worldly when I was at Ambassador College.  You may not even know what those are but they were to be considered very worldly.  

I also remember very clearly when at Big Sandy at Ambassador College we were told that everyone had to shave your side burns, get rid of any mustaches, any facial hair; couldn't wear your boots and your jeans.  Because Big Sandy had developed a reputation of being the most worldly of the three colleges.  

Bricketwood was number one; they were less worldly than the other two.  Pasadena was in the middle but it was clear that Big Sandy was the most worldly of the three campuses.
So, we had to get rid of our jeans and our boots and our side burns or moustaches or whatever for a period of time.  Later on they were obviously allowed back.  But that was worldly.

Also there were times when your diet could be declared worldly.  I still remember a sermon that I heard many years ago from a minister who gave the sermon and the title, I believe, it may not have been his title but he said it enough I remembered it, he said, "The Whiter The Bread, The Sooner You're Dead."  

Now the intent of the sermon was probably correct, you know.   Help us improve our diet but the only thing I remember as a kid was, The Whiter the Bread, The Sooner You're Dead!"  So, if you go to McDonalds then obviously that's wrong or if you have white bread in your home, that's wrong as well.  Competition of any sort was, at various times, considered also to be somewhat worldly, even sports would be somewhat worldly.  

I think we would agree and again my point in defining or giving some of those historical assessments is that: has any era or anyone provided the perfect precise answer that will endure for all ages that would describe what worldliness really is?  Now some would make the conclusion and maybe it’s right as well, that while we can't define it, but we know it when we see it.  And again, maybe that's there some truth in that as well.  

Well, what is the truth?  What is the truth about this subject of worldliness?  The subject of how do we come out of the world?  What is God expecting from us?  What does God want us to do?  

We must face the fact; it is a fact, that with each passing generation, the church is in danger of drifting further away from God and closer to the world.  I believe that's a fact.
There's a danger.

I believe this is reflected by dress, by language and by life-style.  And I believe we would agree.  I think Mr. Meeker gave some excellent points last night for us to consider individually and to apply.  And I think if we sit in a room and we're all presented the same material, I believe we all agree that these are issues of great concern, issues of great concern.  

But it's not new, but it's worse.  Robert Bork wrote a book more than a decade ago in which he titled, Slouching Toward Gomorrah.  Now the title of his book was a take-off from a poem that was written by William Butler Yates in the early 1900s entitled The Second Coming.  The poem ends with the phrase "slouches toward Bethlehem to be born."  

Now Mr. Yates' view of the world was that it had become a better place and was going to continue to get better because of the Messiah and Christianity.  That Christianity and Christian-behavior would become more dominant as we entered the 1900s and the 2000s.  

Bork took a very different view.  And instead of the title of "Slouching Toward Bethlehem," he contended that Christianity hasn't improved the world.  And in fact, you could argue it's made the world worse.  Now he wasn't debating over the sacrifice of Jesus Christ nor was he debating over you knows the morals and the standards of Christianity.  

But he was saying that factually, the world is not a better place because Christ was born 2000 years ago approximately.  So he took that as it Slouches Toward Gomorrah that the world is drifting but it's not drifting toward Christianity or Christian principles.  It's drifting away from Christianity, drifting away from Christian principles.  

Which makes it all the more difficult for the church.  Cause if the world is drifting away from Christian principles, the inertia of the world impacts the church.  And whether we recognize it or not, drifting can easily occur.  Lifestyles become acceptable that are denounced by scripture.  But again, it's not a new struggle.  

Like for you to turn with me in scripture to Colossians, chapter 4.  Want you to consider as we begin this afternoon the story of a man named Demas.  You've probably heard of Demas but you've probably don't know much about him.  I don't profess that I'm going to enlighten you greatly about Demas this afternoon but there's something that Demas was and is known for.

I want establish clearly the fact that this is not a new challenge.  But a challenge can become worse over the years, but it's not new.  Colossians, chapter 4, we have Demas is introduced.  The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossi and he mentioned Demas. 

Now Demas is mentioned three times in scripture.  Colossians, chapter 4, let's begin in verse 7: Paul writes, Col 4:7-14"Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8: I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9: (with) (and) Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here. 10: Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11: and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me."   

So these were of from the Jews and verse 12:  "Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you" (always), (or) "always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13: For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14: Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you."  So Demas is listed here.  

There are eight individuals named by Paul; five of them were of Jewish extraction or at least of the circumcision we're told.  Aristarchus, who's called "my fellow prisoner," Mark, who we're told, was related to Barnabas, Justus, Onesimus and Tychicus.  But in addition, Paul names three others who were gentiles: Epaphras, Luke and Demas.  

So, we know from the introduction that Demas was a gentile.  He came from a gentile background.  Now what does that mean?  Well, it means that in order to be a Christian, Demas had to part-company with his entire culture.  It wasn't quite the same for the Jews.  Christianity for a long time was simply considered a portion or a part of the Jewish religion.  

So, you didn't change completely, you could you could continue to keep the Sabbath, the holy days; there are a lot of things that were similar.  I assume that becoming a Christian might have created problems in your family but I can only imagine what it would have created in a gentile household.  Not only did he become sort of a Jew, he became a Christian.  

So, I propose to you that Demas sacrificed a lot in order to become a Christian and then to become a minister.  In Philemon, we find that Demas was with Paul in Rome when Paul was there imprisoned under house arrest.  

Look at Philemon, verse 24, or verse 23.  We find once again: Phil 1:23-24 "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ (Jesus), greets you, 24: as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers." So we find that Demas was with Paul and had been with him for several months in Rome.  We know from Acts 28 that Paul, under house arrest, with these individuals there with him had people come over and he would teach them about the kingdom of God.  We know he was there for approximately two years.  

He refers to Demas as his fellow laborer.  The Greek word here is Sunergos; it is the idea of a co-worker. W. D. Thomas and his commentary pointed out that the word fellow-laborer implies that two people are working closely together as partners, sharing work and responsibility.  That there is even the suggestion of equality in the word co-worker;
Thomas goes on to say that Demas was a close confidant of Paul sharing the apostle's vision.

So, Demas was with Paul in Rome, he was closely aligned with Paul, he left behind his gentile past, maybe worshipping in pagan temples, probably was; all of the concepts of that family structure; he left behind and joined with Paul.  We're told that Paul trained him or we see that in instructions or we assume part of that.  That he trained Demas as he did Timothy and he referred to Timothy as his son.  So, we believe he had a similar relationship with Demas.

Let's go to 2nd Timothy, chapter 4, 2nd Timothy was mostly likely the last letter that the apostle Paul wrote.  He at least refers to his death and the end of his journey in 2nd Timothy.  In chapter 4 there are several points that that I want to draw your attention to; look at verse 6.   2nd Timothy, Chapter 4, Paul writes: 2Tim 4:6-7 "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand."  So Paul speaks of his death, he says, 7:"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." So clearly this is toward the end of Paul's ministry.  

Paul has seen a lot in the years that he's served and traveled.  He, you know, he tells his story of how he was beaten; how he was left for dead and all of these things, shipwrecked; that Paul has gone through.  It appears that Paul's greatest pleasure was in seeing young men like Timothy and Luke and others who were faithful who had left their homes, left the world, been trained by Paul as ministers of Jesus Christ and had served with him, had stood with him, had been with him.  

But then you see as Paul comes to the end of his life, there are some regrets, there's some sorrow.  In verse 9, he says: 2 Tim 4:9-10 "Be diligent to come to me quickly;" writing to Timothy, 10:"for Demas has forsaken me," well, that's that that those words had to hurt, those words had to be like a dagger in Paul's heart.  How many of us have seen family members or good friends over the years no longer sitting with us, no longer with us? 

I don't know about you but certainly this time of the year it's even seems to be worse. When so many people old friends that I knew attended Ambassador College with, knew for 20, 30 years and you see them now with the, you know; some sort of social media with a picture of themselves and their families in front of a Christmas tree and wishing everyone merry Christmas.  

I feel a little sad when I see that.  It's kind of hurts to know that people that you thought would stand with you and through thick and thin would never give up the truth of God, have made a different choice.  Now again, I am not assessing their lives in any way; I'm just simply speaking personally.  And how hard it is to look back over 25, 30, 40, 50 years in the Church of God and the names and the people that have been there.

Well, Paul as he comes to the end of his life, it must have been very hurtful to Paul to say "for Demas has forsaken me," remember he's writing to Timothy.  But notice this addition: 2Tim 4:10: "having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica" -- (and then he mentions)—"Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia."

Now some commentaries will say that all three of them left.  Others will say well, no, it simply means that they've gone to these places.  We certainly don't have any other evidence that Titus would have left Paul but maybe he did.  Paul does go on to say that,
Verse 16: "At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me."  Remember there were eight individuals Paul identified including Luke and Mark who wrote books of the New Testament who were there.  

Now maybe they were not in Rome at the time; maybe they were gone already, we don't know.  But Paul was very hurt at this particular time in his life; he's older, he's facing death.  He will die soon.  He says, but "at my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.  May it not be charged against them."  

And then Paul writes in verse 18: he says, "(And) the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever."  So Paul, at the end of his life, took solace in the fact that God was with him, the fact that he was delivered from every evil work and preserved for His heavenly kingdom.  

We're going to come back to a couple of these expressions because I believe within this expression here or this verse here, there's an answer to the questions I posed at the beginning.  That is how are going to define worldliness and how does that relate to us today? And I want to come back to those as we move along.

But notice that Demas returned to Thessalonica.  Commentators assumed that that means Demas was from Thessalonica.  It is true that archeologists have discovered two individuals during this period of time that both had the name of Demetrius which it's believed that Demas was derivative of Demetrius.  

So, there were two individuals that lived according to what they've been able to discover, during this period of time.  And these two individuals were both, at some point in time, leaders and officials in the city of Thessalonica.  If this Demas was one of those, then it appears that not only does Demas desert Paul, loves the world, returns to his same lifestyle before and becomes an official or leader or ruler in the city of Thessalonica.     

Now it may not be the same individual at all.  The point being that here we are in the first century, one of the apostles, who wrote much of the New Testament, and we have this same issue being a problem; the love of the world that attracted Demas away from his calling.  

Is it possible; is it possible today that we, you and me, are more involved in the world than we really should be?  Is that possible?  It seems that with the development of communication in the last 50 years, it's almost impossible, impossible it seems, for the world not to find its way into your home.  The TV, the internet and the lifestyle of society all make it virtually impossible to shut the world out; in our homes, in our workplace and yes, even in the church.  

I submit again to you that this is one of the greatest biggest problems that has faced the church for over 1900 years.  You pick the era, you pick the period of time and the world has always attempted to encroach upon Christianity and to encroach upon Christians.

But again, what does God expect of us? Are we slipping into the world or as Bork wrote in his book, Slouching Toward Gomorrah?  Are we mirroring a failing and degenerate society without even knowing it?  

Let me play a little game with you.  The title of the game is: Who Said This?  I'll give you a quote, this is a paraphrase so don't hold me to every word being exactly the same but it's a paraphrase but it's an accurate paraphrase of a quote from a number of years ago.  Here's the quote:  "The focus of the gospel should be the good news of the kingdom of God and not the bad news of the world today," the focus.  "We are preaching and writing the bad news way too much."  "Our message is too negative."  "Our message should be about the good news of the kingdom of God." Who do you think said that?

The correct answer is Herbert W. Armstrong circa 1979.  He contended at that time and over the next several years that the church was offering no real solutions to the evils of society, which is true to the kingdom of God.  There was a period of time from 1979 to about 1984 that the church struggled with a number of issues that seemed to take our focus off the real goal; the good news of the kingdom of God.  

"Back on track" was terminology that was used.   The metaphor was of a train trip but in order to get to your destination, you must be on the right track and you must have the right goal.  Our literature, our TV program and our messages, according to this quote dealt more with the bad news than the good news.

And that was a struggle; the struggle seems to have been and certainly to some degree continues to be.  Are we sure we're preaching the good news of the kingdom of God? And are we sure, and here comes the part that I want to emphasize, are we living by the good news of the kingdom of God?  Are we living by the good news?

As the world gets worse, we have a greater opportunity to be a light to the world and a model of a different way.  The real answer is this or you might say the real question is this:  Are we godly and are we replacing worldliness with godliness?  
The real answer to worldliness is not trying to define in every degree; I'm not suggesting it's wrong to define worldliness.  But if we define godliness, then will we not defeat worldliness?  Instead of asking is this worldly, should we not ask, is this godly?  

Instead of asking, are we dressing in a worldly pattern?  Should we not ask, are we dressing in a godly manner?  Instead of asking, is our language worldly?  Should we not ask, is our language godly?  

I suggest if our language, our dress, our conduct are all godly, then we have escaped from worldliness.  Now you may say well, it's really the same thing; they're two sides of the same coin.  And in in some ways they are.  

But let me explain it this way:  there are three ways to get someone to change his life, to get an individual to actually make substantive changes in his or her life.  There are three things that must be accomplished.  First you must help them understand what is right and wrong.  Second, you must give them a vision of what it looks like when someone is living right.  And thirdly, you as the teacher must be sure you're living by that vision.

Just telling someone something is wrong isn't enough.  If you do not follow it with a vision of what is right, and if you do not model what is right for them to see.  We can jump up and down all we want about something being worldly but unless we can be living in a godly way, how much value is there?  Conversion is replacing worldliness with godliness.  

I determined that the title of my sermon today is as the theme for this week, Escape From the Evil, Escape From the Evil.  Conversion is a change of your life. Is it, it is an escape from the world.  But it only comes with repentance and change.  

If someone were to follow you around all day, when you got up in the morning, there was someone that would follow you all day until you went to bed at night.  What would they record about you?  You could probably say, well, I'm not a thief, I'm not a rapist, and I’m not a pornographer.  I don't go out of my way to hurt people; by any standard that you could design, I'm a good person.  

But is that the only standard that God expects from us, that we achieve the status of a good person?  I can assure you there are thousands of good people in this world; I can also assure you that God expects much more from us, much more from us.  Godliness is important; godliness will bring about an escape from worldliness.  

Rather than getting all wrapped up in trying to define every nuance of what the world is and how it should be apart from us, if we begin to define godliness and what that means, and how it relates to us, then we will address the other issue.  

My point today is really quite simple: that the more godly we are, the less worldly we will be.  The more godly we become the less of this world that will be in our lives; whatever happens in this world.  It doesn’t depend upon events in the world; it depends on your conduct, what happens in your head, what happens in with your hands, what happens in your daily contact and your daily conduct.

Let's go to 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.  The apostle Paul introduces a term.  It's really an important term; it's a term that could take on any number of different meanings actually but I hope we understand the meaning that we want to take from that today.  2nd Corinthians, chapter 5 in verse 20.  Paul says, 2 Cor 5:20 "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." 

Now some will say well, Paul is referring to himself and the ministry as the ambassadors for Christ.  He does say us and we.  He says, "We implore you" but I believe we all agree, and I think, Paul would agree as well, the concept of an ambassador fits all of us.  

We are a representative of the kingdom or government of God not any government or kingdom of this world.  That's a difficult concept if we can only get that concept down, and realize that everything we do, reflects on the kingdom of God.  And that you're lifestyle, your language, your dress, your conduct all should reflect the kingdom of God.  'Cause everything you do reflects upon that; you are a walking, breathing, talking representative of God's kingdom.  

What does that say?  Is it godly?  Is it worldly?  If it's godly, we don't need to worry about the world, if it's godly.  The implication is that, as an ambassador, you're living in a foreign land; it's not your country.  You don't participate in the affairs of that land, not their internal affairs.  But you represent the kingdom or government of God.

My answer to the world or to the issue of worldliness is to live according to the rules and requirements of that kingdom which will be godliness.  You know the Bible says there are really only two choices in life, again, we can talk about the two trees, but the Bible presents it in various ways.

Look at John, chapter 8, verse 34.  Jesus Christ refers to if you commit sin, you are a slave to sin, if you're a slave to sin, then you're not a representative or an ambassador of the kingdom of God; you're not godly or you're not living godly; you are a slave, as it says to sin.  John 8 verse 34.  John8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin" (or we would say whoever lives in a sinful way) "is a slave" (to) "of sin."   

Whoever commits sin or again, we're not talking about a sin, we're talking about living in sin, you are a slave to sin.  Then look at 2nd Peter, chapter 2, 2nd Peter, chapter 2.  The apostle Peter writes in 2nd Peter 2, verse 19; says 2nd Pet 2:19 "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage."  

If you are overcome by the world, you are in bondage to the world.  If you're overcome by godliness, then you're obviously a slave of Jesus Christ.  You are godly or living godly and you are not a slave to sin.  

If you study history of America, you probably have come across the name of Cotton Mather.  I always got a kick out of the fact that Cotton Mather and his brother, Increase Mather was Protestant or Puritan ministers during the colonial period in Massachusetts.  

They had unusual names at various times Cotton Mather and Increase Mather were not necessarily all that unusual.  There is a record of two twin boys who were born in Massachusetts, one was named Wrestling with The Devil and the other was Resolved to Do Good.  So the twin brothers were Resolved and Wrestling were their names.  So, it wasn't unusual to have names.

But Cotton Mather had a formula for preaching; he records it in his books.  He says, "Always preach about sin and make sure you're against it!"  Great formula for success: "Always preach against sin and make sure you're against it."

I believe that we've been asking, to some degree the wrong question; now don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning that.  I think instead of asking if what we're doing is worldly, we should be asking if what we're doing is godly.  I believe that's the question, that's the approach because it's the good news of the kingdom of God.  

We are ambassadors for that kingdom; we are representatives of that government.  Are we living by the standards of that government?  If the government comes to an ambassador, and their questioning this ambassador for their conduct; their going to question, well, are you, not whether you're living by the standards of the country where you're assigned but are you living by the standards of our country, of our government.  Do you represent us?  

You don’t have to go into a country that is if it were Muslim and become a Muslim.  You don't have to live like that country lives, but we expect you to live according to our standards.  Is that not the same from Jesus Christ wanting us to live by God's standard?  

We're told that sin is the transgression of the law.  It means to miss the mark.  We're told that whoever not of or whatever's not of faith is of sin.  We're told in James 4 that if you know to do right, it isn't just a violation of a specific law, James said, if you know to do right and don't do it, to you sin is imputed.  (James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.)

How you live your life; everything you do in life is not necessarily a direct violation of a direct commandment.  But if it doesn't represent the kingdom of God properly, it is worldly and it is wrong.  We should always represent the kingdom of God.  

Religion today is very confused and very confusing for a lot of people.  George Barna surveyed almost 700 protestant ministers at the end of 2006 and he determined the top 12 problems in Christianity that year.  But he came to an amazing conclusion.  

He concluded that the conduct of those attending church, according to the ministers, the conduct of those attending church, those professing to be Christian was no better and in fact, often worse, than the conduct of those not attending a church or professing Christianity.  

There's no statistical difference in the life of someone who attends church regularly or someone who never attends church.  What does that say about Christianity?  Are we Slouching Toward Bethlehem?  Or are we Slouching Toward Gomorrah? 

The divorce rate, the crime rate, cases of immorality, sexual abuse were all the same and in some cases worse among the Christians.  There is a disconnect between the Bible and the conduct of human beings who profess to follow the book.  Something is terribly wrong if that's the case.  

Recently had a discussion with an individual on belief or doctrine. This individual came to me and said he was trying to understand what happened in the church in 2010.  He stated to me, that without a change, a dramatic change in doctrine, he could not understand what had happened.  I simply asked a few questions.  

I ask if conduct was unimportant in Christianity?  He said, "Well, of course not."  I said "Well, if conduct does not pursue or follow teaching, is it good?"  He said, 'Of course not."  I said, "Is dishonesty a problem?  Is abuse a problem?"  He said, "Of course!"  I said, "So you're telling me that doctrine is extremely important but conduct is also very important."  In fact, knowledge without action is nothing more than information.  Action must follow.

Human nature is a mixture of good and evil.  Therefore doing good alone does not make you a Christian; doing good alone, understanding the truth alone.  One author described the process of taking information and giving it to someone without a change in conduct is like painting a wall or a board that has not been prepared.  It may look good for a while but within a very short time, it will begin to peel and pull away from the surface.  It will soon look ugly and worse than it did before you painted it.  

First Corinthians 8, verses 1-3, we're told that knowledge can puff up.  Knowledge alone does not produce godly behavior; the truth alone is not good enough. Conduct and godliness are essential for Christianity.  (1st Corinthians 8, verse 1, knowledge puffs up; knowledge can make you feel everything is okay.  We still believe in the Sabbath, we still believe in the holy days, everything is okay.  Is that true?  I submit to you, it isn't.)  (1Cor 8: 1-3 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2: And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3: But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.)

Okay, let's ask another question:  if it is true, that as society has drifted further away from solid core values and we in the church have allowed ourselves, individually and maybe collectively to drift along with it, how do you bring about change in your life?  How do you really bring about substantive change in your life and the lives of others?  How do we change that?  How do we stop that?

Let me let me explain it through a couple of stories.  The it's it is recognized as I said in the beginning there are three steps that are required to produce substantive and long-lasting change in someone's life.  First, the person must understand right from wrong.  Second, the person must see clearly a vision of what right looks like, you know righteousness, godliness, looks like; they must see it.  They must see it in their mind.  There must be a vision there of that.  And then thirdly, they must see it lived by others.  That's when you will produce a substantive change in a group of people, individually and collectively.

In 1999 a book was written by Mary C. Neal, a medical doctor. She titled the book: To Heaven and Back.  It's the story well, of what she claims, "She claims that on January the 14th, 1999 while vacationing in South America with her husband and while boating she was pinned underwater in in her kayak and drowned."  She claims "She died and went to heaven.  And, after a brief stay she returned" and this, I'm reading from her the write up about her book, "after a brief stay", she says, "I was returned to my body.  I returned to my earthly life with two shattered legs and severe pulmonary problems.  I was hospitalized for more than a month, wheel-chaired bound for even longer and did not return to my orthopedic surgery practice for more than six months."  

So, this is a doctor.  This is not some, you know some individual who's highly educated or this is an individual who's highly educated.  Now there there's a point I want to make here.  Not necessarily this lady's story but a little further on. 

 Recently CNN did a news report on what they referred to as: near death experiences, N NDE.  And there's a scientist in Belgium who studied these hundreds of these cases.  
Of course he, and we would agree with him, believes that obviously the person never died. That as long as there, the definition of death is that there is no brain activity.  And obviously there's something going on in the brain of these individuals, they did not die.
And he goes through it even to prove scientifically that they didn't die.  

But he goes on to make a point and this fellow's name is Laureys he's from a university hospital in Belgium.  And he published this, he says, "NDEs near death experience," those who have this, "feel even more real than real, what happened to them."  He says, "It's this sparkling clarity and living color of the experience which many have when they lose consciousness that he and his team have researched and they concluded that whether these events happened, it is so real to these people, it's more real than events that actually occurred in their lives."  

What they conclude is that the brain is such a remarkable thing that it can actually think things that have never happened, imagine things that have never occurred.  And they can be more real than actual events in their lives.  The brain is capable of envisioning things, of seeing things of understanding things, of having vivid experiences and according to these doctors, in most cases, it produces a profound change in their lives.  

They change their lives, you know, what whatever that may mean for each individual because of this vision they had.  Again, obviously my opinion, these people had certainly ideas already in their mind and when they reached this point of near death, they begin to have these visions.  That is what occurs. But my point is this, they are so real, the mind is capable of envisioning things that are so real.  God gave us that capacity.  

That is a part of the whole ability to change your life and your direction.  You can be taught what is right or wrong but if you don't see what right looks like, if you can't see it in your mind, and then if you can't see how it looks when someone lives it, you're chances of changing your life are slim to none. But if you can see it, I submit to you, it's also a Biblical principle of seeing things, things that are important in godliness.  

Let me give you another example.  I've mentioned before about playing baseball growing up and playing, actually playing a lot of baseball from the time I was 10 or 11 years old until the time I was 18.  During that period of time I played in multiple leagues, different, everything from little league to pony league to American Legion to independent leagues to high school and even going into college.  

There were some years when I was 16 or 17 years old that I was playing as many as 80 games a year from one league to another; starting in February and ending in November.  So, it was really an important thing to me when I was a teenager growing up.  I was always very happy that my parents were encouraging and it was something they said I could do instead of saying well, I couldn't do it, you know.  The Sabbath will be an issue or this'll be an issue, it was never that.  

Well, if you work hard enough, if you're good enough, something good will happen.  Whatever that may be. And, I was always very pleased with that.  

But when I was in Little League, my best friend was Roger.  And Roger, if you could remember that period of time, it was 1961-1962 period of time and Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961 and so he was really proud that his name was Roger and he wanted to be exactly like Roger Maris.  

So he began to learn to bat left-handed.  And he learned to bat left-handed.  And he learned to swing so hard, when he would swing at the ball, he would almost fall down. But when he hit the ball, it would go forever.  And we played baseball at recess at school and used a rubber ball and he was always losing the ball, he would hit it so far.  Roger was my best friend and my hero.  So I had even though I was a right-hander, I had to do what he did.  

So, I began to learn to swing so hard that if I missed the ball, I would almost fall down.  And, so in in little league Roger and I were, we when we hit the ball, it went a long way, but we would swing so hard and it worked all right in little league.  We could bat 3rd and 4th, we could hit more homeruns, and we could hit more doubles and triples than anyone else on the team.  But we swung so hard.  

Then when we got to high school, in high school we had several seniors and juniors on our team.  And I remember one of the seniors coming to me, he says, "Ah, you, when you swing at the ball, you swing so hard," he said, "We have a breeze in the dugout."  And he was trying to gently tell me this was going to be a problem.  

So, I continued just as I had always done and wasn't greatly successful but when I hit the ball, I hit it a long way.  But this wasn't little league anymore.  We finally had, because in little league there were no pitchers that were really capable of throwing a good curve ball or an off-speed pitch or anything like that.  Where you saw the pitch, that's where it was going to be and you could hit it right there.  

Well, high school was different.  And I remember the first time coming up to bat against a left-hander.  Today we would probably call it a slider, because it wasn't the traditional curve ball.  But he would throw it, it looked to be straight and it would move about 3 feet to one side or the other.  

And so I'm back, it's the most embarrassing moment of my entire baseball career.  He throws what looks like a fastball, just like little league and I'm going to swing as hard as I've always swung, and I swing at the ball and it moves and it hits me in the side.  Now that was very embarrassing.  I got hit in the side by a pitch that I swung at.  And my teammates didn't know whether to laugh or they kind of looked the other way and I mean you know if you get hit by a pitch, you get to go to first base, unless you swing at it.  

So this was actually strike two; so he, of course this pitcher was a little smart as well.  And, obviously he's going to throw the same pitch to me and same thing happens.  I swing as hard as I can and the ball hits me in the side again.  And so I strike out and I walk back to the dugout; I am so embarrassed that that occurred and I sit on the end of the bench.  My teammates are hardly able to control their laughter.  Who on earth swings at a pitch that hits them in the side?  

Well, a few days later my coach takes me aside and he says, "Look," he says, "You know, you've got a good swing, you swing hard, when you hit the ball, it goes a long way, but you're hitting  250 now.  You ought to be hitting a lot more."  

Then he said, "Let me tell you the secret, let me tell you what you need to do.  When you see the ball coming, and you see the spin on the ball, and you know it's going to be a curve ball, you don't swing where the ball was, you swing where you imagine the ball is going to cross the plate. And you drive the ball based on where it's pitched, don't try to hit it out of the park, drive it up the middle, drive it to right if it comes in on the outside, then drive it to left." 

 But, he says, “You have to get a vision in your head of where that ball will be.” and he said, "Your mind will calculate it, your mind can do that.  You watch the spin, you see what happens, you imagine where it's going to be and you swing there.  Don't swing where it was." says, "That's little league.  Pitch comes straight; you hit it where it is."  He said, “You've got to learn to know where it's going to be."  But he says, "You do it by getting a picture in your mind of where it will be."  

That first year I was a 250 hitter.  The next year I hit 350.  It was all the difference in the world.  Getting a mental picture of where it will be.  The idea of what the mind is capable of.  Let's go to Deuteronomy 32, let me give you a Biblical example, a Biblical example.

Deuteronomy 32, it's the story of Moses.  Moses was 120 years of age; God declared to Moses in Deuteronomy 32 that he was not going to be allowed to go into the Promised Land.  So what does God do for Moses?  Moses was an individual who talked face-to- face with God.  Moses was indeed a righteous man; we’re told he’s the meekest man of all.  

Deuteronomy 32, verse 48; here's where God tells Moses what isn't going to happen. Says Deut: 32:48-52 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 49: 'Go up this mountain of the' (of) 'Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; 50: and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; 51: because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. 52: Yet" (verse 52) "you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.'" 

So God told Moses I'm going to let you see the future; but I won't let you go there.  Now I've had the opportunity of going to the Middle East and climbing up Mount Nebo.
Notice Chapter 34 what God said He was going to allow Moses to do.  Chapter 34.  
Deut 34:1-4 "Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, 2: all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, "

Now from Mount Nebo to the Mediterranean Sea is about 60 miles, it's about 60 miles.  He says, 3:"the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4: Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land of which I swore" (swear) "to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there." 

Now I I'm not sure what happened here.  I'm going to propose something to you.  I don't believe it is physically possible without some super natural event occurring to see from Mount Nebo all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, to see all of that land.  It is possible and but it requires an extremely clear day to see Jerusalem from Mount Nebo and that's about 20 miles or so away.  But to see 60 miles away and to see the Mediterranean Sea; we couldn't even see Jerusalem the day we were on Mount Nebo.  

I submit to you that God, in a special miracle, allowed Moses to see, to envision in his mind what all of that looked like and he saw it as though it were real.  In his mind, it was truly real where he could see all of that land.  God performed, I believe, a very special miracle.  Now maybe it was possible at that time to see further, maybe you could see all of that.  

But when I read the scripture, says God says, "I will cause you to see" as though it was something he could no do on his own.  Moses again, we find died there on Mount Nebo and was buried.  God buried Moses.  Moses was a great person and was godly and appreciated by God.  And so God gave him that vision.  

Hebrews 11, verse 13.  It's another example where we read the same point, same principle.  Hebrews 11:13 "These all died in" (the) "faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Notice they were assured, they embraced them and they confessed that they were not a part of the world.

What made the difference?  They could see what God had in store!  Remember to change a person's life really requires three things to occur: knowledge of right and wrong, a vision of right: a vision of, you might say, what that kingdom will produce, and the ability to see others model the rightness or godliness.  Then you can produce a substantive change in a person's life.

Consider Matthew 17, Jesus Christ takes some of the apostles and He is transfigured before their eyes.  We're told it is a vision and Moses and Elijah appear. 
(Mat 17:1-3, Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2: and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3: And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him)

 Now I can't point to some major change in the apostles at this point.  We know that the major change in the apostles occurred when they received God's Holy Spirit.  But I can only assure you that experiencing this event, it was a vision that seemed to be so real; they saw Jesus Christ in the kingdom, they saw Elijah and Moses in the Kingdom.  

Not really, they weren't really there, Well, Christ was really there but they weren't there, Elijah and Moses but they saw a vision.  In fact later on you know this is one of the great Bible questions that comes up, did they, were they resurrected and did they appear but verse 9 is the answer where Christ said, Mat 17:9 "Tell the vision to no one" it was a vision.  The mind is capable of seeing things inside your head that are more real than reality to you.  The kingdom of God must take that place and what that will be like.

You also know the story of Steven in Acts 7 where God, as he was dying, gave him a vision of what it looks like in heaven.  And it was as though he were really seeing it, as though it were really there.  He saw that picture.  (Acts 7: 55-56 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!")

John on the isle of Patmos sees clear visions of the throne of God; vivid examples of the ability to see the future and changing your life.  (Rev 4:1-2 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.)

Look at Titus, chapter 2; Titus, the 2nd chapter.  The apostle Paul writes to Titus.  Titus, chapter 2 verse 11.  Says, Titus 2:11-12 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men," How does salvation appear, how do you see salvation? 12: "teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should" (it's not, it's a recognition of right and wrong but we should do what?) "live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,” if you're living godly, if godliness is in your life, then you don't have to worry about the present age you live in.  

Now you can certainly feel sorry for all the horrible things that are happening.  But notice again, verse 13.  Appearing is we find in verse 11, in verse 13 Titus2:13-14 (looking) "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14: who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."  A description here is godliness replacing worldliness, godliness replacing worldliness.  

Think back to the time you were baptized.  What changed in your life when you were baptized?  Did your language change?  Did your attitude change?  Did your thoughts change?  Did you reflect on the kingdom of God?  Do you see that kingdom?  Do you understand what it's really all about?  

You know in the Bible there are two places where the church is referred to as the household of God.  The Greek word there for household is oikios and it means belonging to the same bloodline, being a blood relative or being a family member in one house.

If the church is to be that household, related by blood, kindred, then we individually have a reputation to uphold.  The reputation isn't my reputation, your reputation or any one else's; it is the family of God.  It is the kingdom of God.  

When you were baptized and you entered into that family, you became a begotten member of that household, soon to be born as a child into that kingdom. Do you know who you are? Do you know who you represent?  Do you know what that really means?  Christian isn't a title that identifies what you are and what you do; it is a vision that must be in your mind.

It's something you must see as you go about your daily activities; it's something you must feel just as surely as you if you're a part of a physical family which you are and you know that if you do certain things, it'll bring disrespect upon that name.  

Can we not get the vision in our heads that we are a part of the family of God and what we do reflects upon that family?  And the sooner you and I and all of us make those changes that we must make to be a representative of the kingdom of God, the better we all will be.

When you were baptized, you were either asked directly or you certainly did it on your own, you had to go through and tick off in your own head what you really believe.  You know, what'd you really believe?  And you may not have asked these same questions but some of these questions probably came to your mind.  

Do I believe the Bible is true and it's the inspired word of God?  You had to ask yourself that at some point.  Do I believe the Ten Commandments are to be obeyed?  Do I believe that I'm a citizen of the kingdom of God and not of this world?  

The word for citizenship is politeuma and it means politics or it's today we get the word politics.  Thayer's says it's the administration of civil affairs of a commonwealth.  The constitution of a commonwealth, a form of government and the laws by which it is governed.  If we're citizens of the kingdom of God, we live by those laws; we're governed by those laws.  Do you believe that? Do you believe that you should come out of this world as we're told in Revelation?  Do you believe that judgment is now on the household or family of God?

If you believe those things, the next question becomes obvious: why and again, this is not accusing but it's simply rhetorical, why aren't you, why am I not living accordingly?  It isn't for a lack of knowledge.  Is it because we don't see the vision?  Is it because we're not seeing others who are mirroring that behavior?  Is that the reason?  

The kingdom of God, we're told is to be our number one priority, it must come first.  You must see it as your priority every day of your life.  You must also ask yourself: do I reflect properly on Jesus Christ?  Do I show love for my brother?  Am I helping to preach the gospel in hope that others will be called?  

Historically from 31 A.D. you can prove over and over again that whenever the gospel is preached, people are called. It may be a few or it may be a lot, but people are called.  Preaching the gospel to the world isn't solely a warning message from which we preach and then run away.  It's where we preach a warning message and expect that God will call others.  Christianity is a way of life and not a compendium of knowledge.  

A number of years ago I attended a conference of Biblical scholars and one of the individuals asked me and embarrassed me greatly 'cause I didn't know what he was talking about.  He said, "What is your praxis," said, "What is your praxis?" And I thought what on earth is he talking about?  Is it what clothes do we wear?  Is it, you know what he means? Well, it's a theological term; he was quoting from the Greek.  

The Greek term, praxis means your actions or your acts.  The book of Acts is called the praxis of the apostles; the Acts of the Apostles.  And so he wanted to know what is the application, how do you apply your theology?  So what do you do?  Well, you know we keep the Sabbath, we do this, and we do that.

I've always found it interesting that the history of the New Testament church, at least in title, is defined by the actions, you know the book of Acts, although there is doctrine in the book of Acts, isn't primarily a theological doctrinal; you know there again, there doctrine there don’t' get me wrong, but it's about the acts or the actions of the apostles.

You and I are going to be defined not only by our beliefs but by what we do, not just by our beliefs but what we do.  I've seen more people come into the church because of the good example of someone.  And, I've also seen people who've told me literally that they would never darken the door of our church because of the actions of someone they knew from work who was a member of our church.  

The idea that you and I can live quietly in a little bubble is impossible, certainly not in this day and age.  Let's go to one final scripture, and then we're going to conclude; Matthew 6, back to the very title of the sermon and back to where I started.  Matthew, chapter 6, the model prayer that Jesus Christ gave his disciples he told them to do certain things, to pray about certain things.  

This is not something to be repeated over and over again, it's a model of how we should pray, and it begins in verse 9: Mat 6:9 -13"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10: Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11: Give us this day our daily bread. 12: And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13: And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." 

We want to escape from the evil but more than just the evil from the evil one and we need God's help to deliver us from the evil one.  The cause of all the wickedness in the world goes right back to this one super being who is desirous of destroying everything that is godly.  

And it will require godliness and a miracle from God to deliver us from that evil.  You part and my part is to replace worldliness with godliness.  If you ask the question whether it be about your dress or whether it be about language or your conduct: is this godly?  Then you've already begun the process of escaping from the world and if you continue that process, and put the pressure on yourself, then you will begin to see the change in your life because you're going to be thinking differently.  

The cruelty that exists in this world today is beyond understanding.  You can only understand it when you know that there is an evil one behind it: murder, rape, torture and slavery.  Looking at the continent of Africa you see all of this in spades, virtually no matter which country you look at.  The only hope of this dying world is the coming kingdom of God.  That is not a myth. That is not a nice saying; it is a reality. 

But it's only a reality if you can see it in your mind.  It's only a reality if it's real to you because it's the only way you will change your life.  We should pray every day, as Christ said, that God deliver us&