Jeremiah chapter 48, one verse, verse number 11, the Bible says, Moab has been at ease from his youth. He has settled on his lease and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel. He hath not gone into captivity. Therefore, his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not change. A few years ago, in one single year, the Jehovah Witnesses built more new church buildings than any other major denomination. Long ago, in one year, the Mormon church grew by a fantastic 15% in one single year. Tonight, across America, the cults are spreading, growing, and multiplying, but I believe with all my heart tonight, the greatest cult is not Jehovah Witnesses, it's not the Mormons, it's what I would simply call the cult of the comfortable. Say people, yes. On the way to heaven, certainly. Here's the problem. We'd rather set the ghosts over them. We'd rather go to their lounge than go out and evangelize. See, I have a question for you. What's the difference if somebody dies and goes to hell because they're caught in the clutches of a false cult? They don't go to hell because any penitent Baptist is too lazy to go out and knock on their door. Friend, the plain truth is that unsaved people, there's not one bit of difference. The result is an eternity in a place called hell. Jeremiah chapter 48, God describes the cult of the comfortable. Number one, first of all, they are people that are unconcerned. Again, look in your Bible at verse number 11. Moab, has been at ease from his youth. Keep in mind, your Bible says, woe unto them that are at ease in Zion. Your Bible says, as believers, you ought to be fervent in your spirit, serving the Lord. But Moab was not that way in the Bible. You read that word Moab, every time it refers to a backslidden condition. Now, why was there a country named Moab? A believer backslid, committed incest with his two daughters. Because of that, the country of Moab was born. Keep that in mind. In the Bible when you read, it refers to a backslidden condition. Now, why can't God move us? Why can't God serve us? That's why the Bible says, the backslider in heart. Now notice, there's no outward manifestation yet, but it started inside. The backslider in heart, hear it, shall be filled with his Always, you got it? I can't be concerned about somebody else, why? I'm full of my ways, you see. I realize there are things in life we need to be concerned about. But my friend, hey, when we're full, we're full. No room for God, no room for sodomy. We're full of our own ways, and hell expands, and the cults become dynamic, and we're victims of the cults, why? Because we're filled with our own ways. I read this recently. The Hebrew word for backslider, the root word there is sugg, S-U-G, and sugg means this, watch it, sugg means You know, you just shrug. Your neighbor's going to hell, ho-hum. Boy, your family's not safe. We've heard it before. And the problem is, they have not heard it one single time. But you see, my friend, you get away from God, the first thing you lose is not Bible reading, it's not prayer. The first thing you lose every time is what? The desire to witness. Your Bible teaches that. Proverbs, the righteous. A Christian whose heart is right is as bold as a lion. I'm sure some of you people are in the zoos. I'm sure some of you people should be in zoos, but we won't go there, okay? Now, when I go to the zoo, I go down where they have the lions, the tigers, and the big cats. Now, sometimes I've been there at feeding time, okay? Here comes a trainer, got a 48-ounce T-bone, takes it up, throws it between the bars, lion, he goes, one bite, it's gone. Like watching your pastor eat lunch today, okay? Now, listen to me. By nature, a lion attacks. By nature, a lion is bold. By nature, a lion is what? The king of the beast. Where do you find a sissy lion? One place, in a fairy tale. Where do you find a sissy Christian? One place, in a backslidden condition. Ephraim says, a righteous Christian whose heart is right is as bold as a lion. Hear the rest of it. But the wicked flee when no man pursueth. A backslidden Christian becomes a coward and runs when there's no reason to run. Why? Because sin makes a coward of us. Paul said, Await for righteousness and sin not. Why stop sinning, Paul? Here it is. Because some have not the knowledge of God, I speak it to your Paul said, shame on you, Christian. Shame on you. People you should have witnessed to have not heard. Why? Not because of some psychological problem you have, because of sin in your life. Many years ago, when the communists took over mainland China, people fled mainland China with their thousands. They were trying to get out of Taiwan. They got there. They started cutting limbs off trees and building thatch huts. Pretty soon, they had little thatch huts built almost everywhere. A missionary was there. The missionary's name was Uz, U-Z. The missionary, Uz, said this. His main concern was, driving down the road, before he could stop, a little child might run out of one of those thatch huts, run into a jeep, and be injured, Perhaps even killed, but she said he was driving down the road trying to be careful and Up ahead you saw a crowd on the road. Coasted up, stopped, got out of his jeep, went up, and sure enough, a young boy went in front of a car and been hit and injured quite bad. Missionary Uzz is trying to administer to that young boy. All of a sudden, he heard a weeping, a sobbing, a wailing. He looked, a lady come through the crowd, pushed people aside, grabbed the boy up off the pavement, held it to her bosom, went back through the crowd, saying, my son, my son, my son. Missionary Uzz said, it gripped, and it ripped her heart. However, he said, about 30 seconds later, that same woman very abruptly, elbowed her way back to the crowd, got the payment, literally dropped the boy on the payment from the crowd and said, he's not mine. And she turned around and walked off. Is that your attitude? I'm saved. My family's saved. That's all that matters. You better hear me. Christ died for you. But you have no majority on Calvary, buddy. He died for that man. You work beside tomorrow for eight hours. He died for that person. You live beside for 25 years. But the cult of the comfortable, they're unconcerned about anybody except themselves. Number one, they're unconcerned. Number two, They're unmoved. I'll just touch on this. I mentioned it this morning. Verse 11. He is settled on his leaves. Now, what does that mean? He is settled on his leaves. Some Bible commentators say it comes from a man that has a vineyard and is growing grapes. Pretty soon, the grapes are ripe. They go out, they pick the grapes, bring them in. They're in the grapes through the wine press. Now, as the grapes are crushed, they fall in wooden buckets called a vat. The grape juice falls in there. But now wait, some dirt falls in there, some seeds, some leaves. Now, here's what is supposed to have been done. take that wooden vat, set it aside for a while, the purpose being this, set that little wooden bucket aside, give all the leaves, all the foreign objects a chance to slowly go down to the bottom of that vat. Now, when it's all down there, very carefully, after a period of time, they pick up the vat, drain the juice off, trying to keep the leaves or the residue in the bottom of that vat. But, here's what happens. If that vat is too long, due to foreign objects. Fermentation takes place. And sometimes a scum, two and three inches thick, forms on top of that bucket. Well, then you get the juice out. You have to take a knife and cut the skim off. And then, believer, how about it? Your heart's been hard. Has that formed over you? What used to thrill you is now mundane. What used to excite you Now put you to sleep. Why? Because I mentioned this morning, as a believer, you've hardened your heart against God. Hear me. The greatest prayer you can pray this week, believer, the greatest prayer is this. Lord, soften my heart. Pray it. Give God a chance to work in your life. Give God a chance to make something out of you that's powerful and dynamic and all hell can't stand before. It can only happen as we're honest. and soften our hearts before a holy God in heaven. Many years ago, a man taught religion in a secular college, and the students loved his class. Here's why. For 25 years, the man taught the class. 25 years, no term papers, no quizzes, no tests. The whole grade was based on the final exam. Now, for 25 years, the final exam had been the exact same question, trace, The Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Paul. Now, the students loved that class. Here's why. The night before, they could stay up and memorize the Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Paul. Normally, 97% in that class got an A every single year. Year 26, the students walked in quite confidently. The first professor stood up and said, now, gang, I want you to remember, your whole grade this semester depends on this test. Everything. Professor went to the blackboard. On the board he said, here's a question. Here's what he wrote. Critique the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. There was an audible groan. Some students had no idea what the Sermon on the Mount was. Some students wrote their name on a paper, walked out the door. Some students made a futile effort. This class period, they come together. Professor said, boy, This is unbelievable. He said, normally, 90% of the class got A's. He said, hate to tell you this, but only one person passed. He got an A. That person, by the way, is Mr. Tiny. Now, Tiny was a football player, had a neck about that thick and a skull even thicker. After class in the hallway, the students gather around Tiny. They said, Tiny, we didn't know you were religious. We didn't realize that you knew your Bible. Well, Tiny said, to be honest, I don't. They said, what do you mean you got an A? He said, here's what I did. On my paper I wrote, in regard to the question, critique the teachings of Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, here's what I wrote. Who am I to critique the teachings of the Master? Therefore, I'll write of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul. I like that little story. I like that story. I do. But will you hear me, friend? All the critics are not illiberal seminaries. I have to tell you this, many of them certainly covered pews, independent Baptist churches. So, what was not invented by Joe Mark, what you see was not made up by Pastor Sloots, it was commanded by Jesus Christ himself. But the cult of the comfortable have hardened their heart. They're unmoved. They've gotten used to their screams and cries of the damned. And they'll never awake to the white throne judgment one day which people cast into hell. And it's eternally too late. Number one, the comfortable are unconcerned. Number two, they're unmoved. Number three, they're uninvolved. Look at that verse again. Moab's been at ease from his youth. He has settled on his knees and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel. What does that mean, preacher? The Bible explains it. Thessalonians chapter one, Paul makes three statements. Statement number one, Paul said, our gospel came. What does that mean? They heard the gospel. Statement number two, watch it. Then he says, and you became, what a blessing that is. They heard the gospel. Then they became Christians. They got saved. Paul said, our gospel came, said, and you became late. There's one more statement. Then Paul said, and from you sounded out. What does that mean? They heard the gospel. Yes, they got saved. Thank God. But the gospel flowed through their life, through their lives, through their testimony. And the gospel touched somebody else. And somebody else got saved. Can I ask you a question? When you got saved, when the gospel came in your life, did the gospel hit a dead end and stop? Did it flow through you and touch somebody else? Are you a dead-end Christian? What should have been, my friend, going on and flowing on? You blocked it. You stopped it. And the work of God has been hindered because the gospel didn't flow through you because you were uninvolved. It used to be, when my friend Ron Allen was in San Francisco, every other year I'd go there, most of the time for 10 days or two weeks. I want to tell you something. The greatest place in America to get folks saved is San Francisco, California. I mean that. Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound. I mean that. Some nights, 18, 20 people walk down the aisle, find Christ as their Savior. I was there some years ago. On Sunday night, I preached on Saul with him. Give the invitation. A gentleman came down the aisle. His name is Armando Gonzalez, a massive man, 6'4", probably 450 pounds. He came down the aisle. He didn't yield to the altar. He just fell on his face. I saw that body shaking and quivering. I could hear him sobbing and crying. When the service ended, Pastor Allen and I went down and sat on the front row. We stood. Armando got all pulled together and sat down. I said, my brother, can I help you? He said, preacher, For my business, I have a guard service. I have 14 people work for me. At night, he said, they go out, they guard used car lots, strip malls, places like that. He said, yesterday, Preacher, I called a meeting of all my employees. Here's what I told them. Hey, the church I'm going to is having a revival. Will you please come? He said, Preacher, every one of them told me the same thing. Armando, we're not going to your stinking revival. He said, Preacher, probably I'm the only Christian they know. If I don't reach him, there's no backup, there's no second chance. I saw him burn, he started weeping, he said, how can I reach these people? How can I reach these people? I said, Armando, I don't have any idea, neither does Pastor Allen, but the Bible says, and get this. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not." I said, Armando, God knows how you can get him here. Let's pray. We prayed. Armando left. Monday night he walked in church. He said, hey Rev, Rev. I said, yes sir. He said, God told me what to do. I said, would you mind telling me what God told you? He said, this morning I called a meeting of all my employees. Here's what I told them. I told you on Saturday the church I'm going to is having a revival. I want you to come. He said, here's the deal. You come to Revival one night, one night, I'll pay your settlement from the time you leave home to the time you get back in the driveway. He said, now, if you come right from work, on the way home, you stop and eat supper, you're on your honor. I'll pay you for your time eating supper and going back home. Now, this offer is good only one night. You come two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight nights, you're on your own. First night you come, you said, I'll pay your salary from the time you leave to the time you pull back in your driveway. No questions asked. Tuesday night, I preached, give the invitation. A lady came down the aisle wearing a guard uniform. Her face was scarred. Her arms were full of tattoos. She came down the aisle, and Pastor Allen met her. He said, ma'am, what did you come forward for in a weeping, tearful voice? She said, oh, sir, if Jesus Christ don't have me, I'll take Him. Thank God there was no doubt about Christ. That night she got saved. Next night, great big guy wearing a guard uniform. His name was Joe. He's from the island of Samoa. On the job, they called him Joe the Smough. Now, this big guy come down the aisle. Dr. Allen met him and said, what did you come forward for? He said, I don't deny that I'm a horrible sinner. Because of my sin, I'm heading for hell. He said, I'm glad I heard tonight that Jesus died for me. I want to get saved. That night, he got saved. This night, he come back, brought his wife, two teenage girls. They come down the aisle. They got saved. Night after night, people worked for Armando. They'd come, get saved, come back, bring family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. What an exciting week it was. And finally, it's the closing Wednesday night. Places jammed. In fact, they don't go out to the auditorium. People sitting on the stairs going down to the basement. People sitting on the level there. And when you get down those stairs, people everywhere. I preached that night. Give me an invitation. On the first stanza, 15 people walked down the aisle to accept Christ. Say it again. Here comes some more. Say it again. Here comes some more. I said, OK. Well, let's take one more stanza and we're out of here. Do you want to get saved? Come on right now. I saw a Hispanic fella. slender, guard uniform, slowly, thoughtfully, deliberately, he walked down the aisle. Dr. Allen met him. He said, sir, tell me what you came forward for tonight. He said, I'll tell you, sir. He said, I've had religion, but I haven't had Christ. He said, tonight, I realize I desperately need to accept Jesus Christ. I looked up. I saw Armando. He's crying. He's just not crying. He's going like this. The service ended. He come down, just wrapped his arms around me and wept and sobbed. He stepped back. He said, Preacher, the guy that got saved tonight, that's number 14. He said, in this revival, every one of my employees have come and found Christ as their Savior. Don't miss it. Out of the 14, 8 of them came in at least 5 nights, some 6, some 7, some got saved later. They could only come a night or two. What am I saying? I'm saying, here was a man that said, I want to do more than come and sit. I want to make the church of Jesus Christ more than a parking lot. I want to get involved. What will you do outside the walls of this church? Who will you pray for? Who will you invite? Who will you witness? But the colder the comfortable, They don't want to get uncomfortable about folks going to hell. They just want to be politically correct. And God help us. Number four, I'm through. The cold or the comfortable are people that are unchanged. Look in your Bible again. Verse number 11. He has settled on his leaves, has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity. Therefore, his taste remaineth in him." What's that mean? The guy got saved, but he still loves the filthy story, the foul language, the beer, the cigarettes. My friend, when you live like the world, act like the world, sin like the world, you've got no testimony with the world. A little further there. His taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed. How sad. Years ago, somebody got this idea, hey, the way to get folks saved is live like them, act like them, talk like them, do everything they do, except don't commit the three major sins. Boy, they'll see, being a Christian is not so radical, and they'll come and get saved. That is a lie out of hell. You don't get sinners saved living like them. What's your argument to you? Jesus Christ was what? A friend of sinners. Every time in the Bible you find Christ, He's surrounded by sinners. He never told one filthy story, never used one foul word, but sinners flocked to Him. Why? They saw something real. That's what it takes, people. We get rid of our filthy habits, our filthy language, we start living with the right attitude, and we start living like we should live, sinners will come and be saved. But my friend, it's not going to happen, because there's a cleansing in our lives. Many years ago, the Indianapolis 500 out here, they set up some temporary bleachers. The race was about two-thirds the way over. Temporary bleachers gave way, folded up about halfway, and hit the ground. A man, wife, and child were there. When the bleachers gave way, they were sitting toward the back. The man and his wife were thrown off backward. The young lady was caught in the bleachers, and they folded up like an accordion. When the gentleman hit the ground, the husband, father, he was temporarily stunned. Pretty soon, in kind of a daze, he got up and wandered around. As he wandered around, his mind cleared. He looked frantically. Pretty soon, he found his dear wife, looked everywhere, couldn't find his daughter. He went to the bleachers and stared. He could see his daughter. Her leg had become caught between the walkway and the seat. Her leg was broken in three places. As the father looked in, he could see the bone protruding through the thigh. Frantically, he ran to Samantha and said, hey, guys, come on, hurry, help me. My daughter's trapped. Hurry, help me. The reporter said he was amazed. Big, burly men pulled away. sit there, sip their beer, watch the races. Not one person would help. When I read that, I thought, oh God, that's a lot like the average Baptist church. Try to get the average church member to go out and knock on the door, witness, try and get somebody saved. The average church member would rather sit home, Pop his feet up, sip Pepsi, watch television, say, yes sir, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. Stop lying to yourself. You're part of the cult of the comfortable. You say, preacher, I would not be comfortable knocking on the door. I would not be comfortable out there witnessing, since when is our Christianity based on comfort? When? The cross wasn't comfortable, mister. But Christ said, I'm going there not because of comfort, but because I care. God help us, friend. God help us to get out of our little comfort zone, our little comfort zone. Are you realizing we have our little comfort zone? People going to hell will be eternally in discomfort. Oh, may God move our hearts to forsake the cold and the comfortable and become part of the company of the committed tonight. Get out there and pray and work. And see God do great things right here, this week, down these aisles, in this church. Will you bow your head for prayer? Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. Two questions. Number one, the most important question you'll ever hear. If you were to die tonight, you say, I'm not going to die. The Bible says, boast not thyself of, not next year, not next month, The Bible says, boast not thyself of tomorrow. What does that mean? God said, don't boast, you're going to live till 1201 tonight. The Bible says, they say, peace and safety. I'm young, I'm in good health. Things are going wrong when they say peace and safety. Sudden destruction. A car wreck, an accident, a heart attack. Sudden destruction. and they're in hell with no chance to ever get saved. I'm going to repeat that question because of its importance. You're here tonight and you say, Preacher, I've got doubts if I've ever been saved. I made a decision once, I'm not sure it's real. Preacher, I'm not certain I'm on the way to heaven. I want you to pray for me. Oh, I'd love to pray for you. If you're not sure and you'll say, Preacher, pray for me. I will not point you out. I will not embarrass you. But if you'll let me pray for you right now, will you just quickly and quietly lift that hand up toward heaven? Let me pray for you, friend. I'm not sure I'm a believer. Pray for me. I'm going to give you 10 seconds. Five seconds. Thank you. Now I'm talking to Christians. As I preach tonight, there are a couple of ways that God could have worked in your heart. God could have brought somebody to your mind. someone that's unsaved, a family member, a hunting buddy, a fishing pal, a clerk at a store, a co-worker, a neighbor? Or are you so full of self you're the only one you care about? Well, maybe as I preach tonight, God said it's time to get out of the comfort zone and get in the battle zone and fight and witness and pray for the souls of men. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed tonight, you will say, Preacher, God spoke to my heart. You know that individual I care about, I love. God spoke to my heart about getting out of the rest home and getting on the battlefield. With a mark, I'm a Christian. God spoke to my heart. Pray for me. Let me see your hand right now. High! Get up high! Get up there high! Let God see it. Let Him see it. Come on. Get real tonight for a change. There's probably two dozen hands. Anybody else? Thank you. Anybody else? Thank you. Anybody else? Thank you. Anybody else? Thank you. Anybody else? Preacher? Oh, God bless you. I see you, man. Anybody else? Preacher? I'm a Christian. God spoke to my heart. Thank you, man. Ten seconds, I'm going to pray. You say, Preacher, what God asks isn't easy. Listen, listen, hear me, hear me. I'm not asking about ease. I'm talking obedience tonight. Forget the ease. How about it? Anybody else? Preacher, God, dial my number. What God asked me to do is going to be hard and difficult. I want you to pray for me. It's not going to be easy, but I need to do it. I want to do it for the mark as you pray for all these others. Include me in that prayer. Ten seconds. Up and right back down. Anybody else? Thank you. And thank you. And thank you. And thank you. And thank you. And thank you. God bless you. Five seconds. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Father, thank you. for visiting us tonight. And God, I plead in the name of Jesus, long after these lights are turned out and the doors are locked, may the Holy Ghost move in our heart as believers till we get to the point where we cannot mistake the things we've seen and heard. Oh God, in Jesus' name, tonight, get us to the place. We just can't keep our mouths shut. We have to tell our friends and our co-workers and our neighbors. God, make it hard for us to stuff this off and forget it. Give boldness and power and victory. And this week, if people here tonight in your house have the joy of seeing someone they love come down these aisles, and finding Christ as our Savior. Bless the invitation. In Jesus' name, Amen.