to the book of Amos chapter number five, Amos five. And we want to continue on this same thought that we had this morning talking about Mardi Gras. We'll get into that a little bit more about what it is. But I think the thing that I wanted to bring out this morning was that the Israelites were serving the wrong kind of God And sometimes we can do the same thing. We can have other thoughts on our mind except following God. And so that's, we want to stay away from all that as much as we can. I'm referring back to the book of Amos 5 and verse number 26, where God tells Israel, Yeah, born the tabernacle of your, Moloch, and Chahan, your images, the star of your God, which ye made to yourselves. So that's our text in that. But notice that they're worshiping the wrong kind of God. And verse 30 to 27, he says, therefore, will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is the Lord, is God of hosts. And so, but we want to continue on that same thought tonight, knowing that we can get all messed up as far as real worship is concerned. We don't want to do that. We want to stay true to God and always be what God wants us to be and be right before Him. The thing about it is we're going to stand before God one day, and we're going to give an account to Him. And what men say to us or the influence of men has little bearing upon us at all. Really, it does. Because what God wants us to do is to be faithful to Him and to be true unto Him and always be right before Him. He's our judge. He's our Savior. He's our Lord. He's our Master. And we ought to follow Him and nobody else. Let's go, Lord, into a word of prayer tonight as we begin to preach His Word. And our Heavenly Father, I thank you, Lord, for the day that you've given to us, and Lord, I thank you for those folks that came and those folks that were able to hear. Lord, I pray that you might put your word in their heart and their mind, that they might be true to you. I pray, Lord, that you might help us tonight as we preach your word, that we might say it the way you want it said, and not just to please the people, but Lord, not to please us either, but Lord, that we might recognize who are before you. And you hear all things that we say, nor do you watch over things we do, nor do you provide for us a way to escape if we'll take it. Lord, I pray that you might help us today to see that we might do always what she wants to do. But I know we're just sinners were saved by your grace. I'm thankful for it. Lord, I pray Lord, you might help us as we live in this world. that we might always do what you want us to do. Have us be faithful to you. Lord, have a good attitude as you go through this sin curse world. Forgive us now for our many sins, watch over us, and bless us, Lord, tonight. For it's in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen. Now, This morning we read, and let's go back up to verse number 21 of Amos chapter 5, and we'll read here in this place, this is what God said, He says, I hate, I despise your feast days, and will not smell in all your solemn assemblies. Have you ever You ever been in a place that the odor was so bad that you couldn't breathe? Ever been in a place like that? Nobody? I didn't see your face. I didn't see you. I know I have. Because we had, in our day, we had, when I was a boy, we had 5,000 chickens in cages. And, boy, that was a big mess. And that was really smelly. And sometimes, I couldn't hardly breathe in there, especially when we got to cleaning it up. I mean, you stir all that stuff up. Have you ever cleaned up after a cow in a barn where they're going to feed? That really smelled bad. It would take your breath away. And that's what God is saying about these people and all their false worship. He said, I hate, I despise your feast days. I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Just like when we could not breathe in the place where we were because of the bad, bad smell, others could. But I know after a while, I kind of got used to it. And I could walk him down the aisles. And it never never made any difference at all to me. But I remember one time, we had a guy that come down, and he wanted some manure to put on his garden. And he brought his truck and trailer down there to put it all in. And we had a little ramp, we could put a wheelbarrow and roll in there. But I was walking right there beside him, and he says, ooh, how do you smell this? I said, smell what? I got used to it. And sometimes, we can be around stuff so long that we get used to the scent. and we didn't even notice it. And that's the way it was with me. I didn't even notice the sin, but this guy was brand new to it. First time he'd ever been down there, and he saw all that, and that was enough. But then when he began to scoop it up, and then it got to be, ooh, that is a bad smell. And so this is what God is saying. God says, I cannot even breathe. This man, he put a handkerchief on his neck, He put up over his head like this and wore it around there. I asked him one time, I said, did that do any good? He says, it helps me. It didn't do any good at all, but it helped because I feel like I'm doing what I can do. And that's the way God is. Sometimes God wants to breathe in our worship. We breathe in here, don't we? And we want to have such an atmosphere about us that we can really breathe right. And that's what God wants. God wants us to understand where he's coming from. He says, I will not smell in your solemnest image. What he's saying there is that the stench is so bad that I cannot smell. I mean, I can't even breathe in there. because what you're saying all your worship is so false it is so perverted and yet those people involved in that false worship they go on with it as if it's nothing at all that's that's what he's saying there now I think that I think it's really good I think it's really true that God is that way but listen What is it that God really wants from us? What is it that is on God's mind for us? Is it that we would have a physical celebration that was so pure? Is that what He's really wanting? How many are here that can give God their full attention for one minute? Anybody here? How about five minutes then? No. Our minds drift. I know we don't like that. And I know when I'm looking at you, and you're looking at me, you're saying, no preacher, I am holy. I don't think so. You're not any more holy than I am. And I'm not holy. I want to be, but I'm not the way that I should be at all. I want to be what God wants me to be. What God has on his mind here is not looking at the physical things that a person's doing. Understand. Now what God is really looking at is the attitude of their heart. That's really what he's warning. And their issue is that these Israelites have stopped worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and they've begun to worship false gods with a lot of stuff that satisfies them. The putrefying scent of their worship doesn't bother them at all. But it bothers God. That's one they ought to be more in tune with than themselves, is God. Now, I want you to turn, if you would, in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs, chapter number 15. In Proverbs 15. And read what the Bible says here. In the book of Proverbs, chapter number 15. Proverbs 15 and verse number 8. I want you to notice the difference here, what God is saying. Proverbs 15 and verse number 8. The Bible said here, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The sacrifice, the killing of an animal is to the heathen a great thing, but to God it is an abomination. An abomination is something that is worse than a sin. I mean it is a terrible, terrible thing. But the Bible goes on and it says, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. Notice the difference in these two things. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. So all the sacrifices that the heathen could give to the Lord, it is an abomination to Him. It is a terrible, terrible thing and He will not smell in their solemn assemblies. They think it is a real good thing, but God is saying that is a terrible thing, that is a terrible cinch. But notice what the Bible said here, but the prayer The prayer of the upright is his delight. What kind of prayer? Is it a speaking kind of prayer? Or is it the kind of prayer that we might pray from our heart? I think we can have a speaking kind of prayer that's not a prayer at all. I think sometimes we can have an outside appearance of prayer when there's nothing there. That, as I've heard, that the sound of the prayer doesn't go any higher than the ceiling. It doesn't get to God. But there is a kind of prayer. Have you ever prayed the kind of prayer that's a silent prayer? I mean, it's a silent prayer. When you're heartbroken. When you're just out of it. When you cannot do anything else. And you pray to Almighty God and God hears your prayer and God answers you. Have you ever prayed like that? I tell you what I have. I can think of two or three times right there in my mind. I can think of two or three times that I simply, I absolutely had given up on everything. And one of those times was when I was lost and I wanted to be saved. And I just give up. I just totally give up on the Lord. I could not do anything else, and I had to let the Lord wash away my sins. That's it. And the Lord heard my prayer, and God answered my prayer in that day. See, there's a difference here between something that is touchable and something that is not. The prayer of the upright is his delight. I think that God is more anxious for us to pray fervently than it is for us to give a bunch of sacrifices. Look again in the book of Psalms 51. Psalms 51. Here in this place David is praying to the Lord. And I want you to notice what he says. In Psalms 51 and verse 16 and verse number 17, David here is praying a prayer and he's acknowledging his sin before the Lord. This is his sin with Bathsheba. He knows that he's sinned. It's been a while, but he knows that he's sinned and he's done this terrible thing to bring all this rebuke upon the nation of Israel. He says in verse 16, Psalms 51 and verse number 16, look what David says, this is what David says, for thou desires not sacrifice. Else I would give it. David is saying to the Lord, Lord, you don't want a sacrifice. If you want a sacrifice, I would gladly give that sacrifice. I would give that. But the Bible says, Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. God's not pleased with that. You see, what does God want? In verse number 17, He says this, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. I mean, that's the truth. And that's what it really comes down to. God doesn't want our sacrifices. He doesn't need those. But what God really wants from us is a broken and a contrite heart. That's really the essence of worshiping. God is to know that there's nothing good about us whatsoever. NOTHING! God doesn't recognize that. And He says, that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. You say, wait a minute, I don't understand that. Because it seems to me like that God requires sacrifices in the Old Testament. But remember this, that a lot of people that gave sacrifices were not acceptable to God, even though they gave a sacrifice. Why? Because their sacrifices were given in place of a broken and a contrite heart. The thing that God really wants from us is that we might realize that He is Almighty God. And that He owns everything anyway. I mean, everything upon this earth, God already owns. He owns it all. So what good is it to sacrifice anything like that to Him? But He wants us. of a broken and a contrite heart to come before Him and just realize, recognize that God is God. That's what He's really wanting us to do. That is pure worship of Him. The Israelites missed all that. They thought that if they could just offer so many animals, that's enough. But that's not enough. That's not enough at all. Look in the book of 2 Chronicles. It's never enough to have a bunch of sacrifices, it's never enough. The book of 2 Chronicles chapter 30, 2 Chronicles chapter number 30. In this place, during the reign of Hezekiah, they had not taken care of the Passover like they should for many years. They had let that slide, they let that go. But the Bible says that when they wanted to get that right, that they set up a day that they would celebrate this Passover day. Let's read in verse 16. 2 Chronicles 30 And verse number 17, For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified. Therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passovers, for everyone that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the Passover otherwise than it was written." Ah, now they are in trouble because the penalty for this is death. What has God to do about it? In verse number 18, But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purifying of the sanctuary. See what I'm saying here? Is that we ought to make ourselves as clean as we can. The fact is we can only do so much. And we need the grace of Almighty God, we need Him. And here these Jews, some of these Jews had not cleansed themselves properly. And so God was saying to them, that's okay, it's okay. The Bible said in verse number 20, and the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people. Look at that. even though they were not sanctified, even though they had not done all the things that they should have done, they still, in the enthusiasm of their heart, they worshiped God. And that was more important than all this other stuff. Understand that that is so. Sometimes we're the same way. Sometimes We want to do things what God wants us to do, but we have difficulties in doing those things. I'm glad that God sees us exactly the way that we are, that He wants to worship and He wants to accept us. I'm glad for it. Now, I have not preached about Easter are not preached about Mardi Gras and all that. I do have this written down in this track and I want you to take one of those tracks if you if you want one you don't have to take it from my stand but and this is a real this is a real abbreviated view of Easter and all that. And it's tied all together. Mardi Gras and Easter is tied all together. Some people want to just take Easter and say we don't celebrate Mardi Gras. They know what they want to do. But it's tied together. I'm actually, I'm looking forward to spring. I said it a lot of time, I'm looking forward to spring. I like spring. I don't mind summer too bad. A lot of people don't like the hot weather, but I don't mind at all. I don't like wintertime. That's just me. Some people like wintertime. That's them, they don't like summer time, well I do, so there we are. Anyway, what is Mardi Gras? I won't read this to you, I took this from a website that mistakenly supports Mardi Gras and all the pagan celebrations of Easter. It is copied from everything you need to know about 2022 Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It's from msn.com. So what is Mardi Gras? I'll tell you what they said. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Carnival. That's three names it goes by. It's either Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Carnival, same one. It is a debaucherous prelude to Lent, a six weeks long religious fast observed before Easter. The legacy of Mardi Gras can be traced to European carnival celebrations during the 17th and 18th centuries. The holiday's connection to New Orleans dates back to 1699, when a French explorer came to Louisiana and declared a plot of land, Pont des Mardi Gras, upon realizing it was the eve of the holiday. In 1718, the city of New Orleans was established near the area known as Pointe des Mardi Gras. And by the 1730s, Mardi Gras parades and masquerade balls became an annual tradition in the southern city. While Mardi Gras officially takes place on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent in New Orleans, Mardi Gras actually starts weeks beforehand. When is Mardi Gras in 2022 and how long does it last? Mardi Gras Day falls on March the 1st, 2022. However, carnival celebrations always began on January the 6th, a date referred to in the Christian calendar as the 12th night, because it marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas, and hence the holiday season. Every year, carnival season kicks off on this date at sundown and is followed by a weeks-long schedule of lively parades and street parties. Celebrations wrap up especially in the two weeks before Fat Tuesday. If you're well, I won't read that. That's so much you plan on going trip down there. Anyway, you notice this. I'd never seen this before. Maybe you had. You ever heard that song? The 12 days of Christmas. I did not know that that was all part of that. I didn't know it. But Mardi Gras Day falls on March the 1st. Carnival celebrations always begin on... Let me back up. Mardi Gras Day falls this year on March the 1st. However, carnival celebrations always begin on January the 6th. a day referred to in the Christian calendar as the twelfth night because it marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas. I didn't know that there's twelve days. But I heard the song. I didn't know what it was even singing about. I know it went on for a long time. But when I was a boy, we only had one day. That's all we ever had. I didn't know there was more than one of those. There's another thing here. Mardi Gras is connected to Easter. It is celebrated as a debaucherous Lent, a prelude to Lent, a six weeks long religious festival celebrated before Easter. That's what this article states. So, it's just a wrong thing for anybody to do. One thing I think it'd be good for us to remember, take us back to the book of Jeremiah chapter number 29. Jeremiah chapter number 29. I don't think that God wants us to fight a holiday. I don't think that God wants us to do that. But I think God wants us to know what it is, and God wants us to stay away from it. All right? I don't think God wants us to partake of that at all. Remember this, I'm going to read in Jeremiah chapter 29. But remember this, that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Jews that were taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. These are godly men that were forced into bondage because God had a better plan for them. Understand that that's so. Jeremiah 29 tells us a part of this plan. Jeremiah 29 and verse number 4. Here's what Jeremiah said, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon. Now, there's a reason for that. He said, I have caused them to be carried away captives. You might say, it's the end of it all for them. No, it's not the end of it all for them. They're still gonna be alive. They're still Jews, but they're now gonna be captive in the land of Babylon. But God is saying, it's not the end for you. This is just the beginning for you. I'm gonna take you away from all of the mess that you're in. He did that to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He did that. In verse number five, he said this. build ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased there, and not diminished." God wants His people to flourish. even if they're in Babylon. God don't want to be destroyed. They're taken out of the land of Israel for a reason. God wants him to go and God wants him to be prosperous in the land. He says in verse number seven, he said, verse number six, five and six, he said, build the houses. That means they had to buy some land to put the house on. He said, I want you to dwell in them, plant gardens, have a garden spot and eat the fruit of them. He said, let your daughters and sons marry. Now, of course, they were to marry Jews, not the Babylonian people at all. The Bible says in verse 7, And seek the peace of the city, whether it have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it. Look at that. Can you really do that? Could these Jews that were taken captive, could they really do that? They ought to be able to do that. If they're doing what God wants them to do, that's what they ought to do. And pray for them. Pray for it. And pray unto the Lord for it. For in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. So that's what God said. I want you to do that. And we need to pray that God will give us peace. Help us to be what He wants us to be and be true to Him. regardless of what anybody else does. It's our place to always be what God wants us to be. To be a good witness for Him, regardless of what happens. In verse number 8, He said, For thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, Let not your prophets and your diviners that be in the midst of you deceive you. Neither hearken to your dreams that ye cause to be dreamed. For they will prophesy falsely unto you in my name. I have not sent them, saith the Lord. He says in verse number 10, this is the verse I really wanted to get to. Verse 10, for thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you and causing you to return to this place. And that's what he did. They were, the Jews were required to go into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Why? Because they had forgotten to worship God on the Sabbath day. They forgot to do that. They did not do that. And God said, I will take my Sabbath all at once. When you're out of the land, I'll do that. And he did just exactly that. You know the Israelites, we might think sometimes that the Israelites that stayed in the land of Israel were the best. They were not. You know what those Israelites did? That God did not take the Babylon? You know what they did? They stayed in Israel. After a while, they had to go to Egypt for protection. They said, they had to go to Egypt for protection. And they went down there, and there they died. Jeremiah writes about all that. God has a way. And sometimes God's ways don't make a lot of sense to us. A lot of reasoning sense that don't. But what God wants us to do is to serve Him and to be willing to do whatever He wants us to do, even if we don't understand it. Do what God wants us to do and be true unto Him. And God will always work it all out. He will always do that. God blessed, because after 70 years, then the Bible says, that Daniel understood. Look at the book of Daniel chapter number one, Daniel chapter nine. Daniel was one of those that was carried away captive. Daniel was never one to rebel against God. He was always submissive to God. And God blessed Daniel in his life. He blessed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You know, you read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and how they wouldn't bow the knee to the false god that Nebuchadnezzar set up. It's astounding in it, when you read that, that they were cast bound into the fire. That was heated seven times stronger than it should have been heated. Even the men that cast him into the fire were killed because of the great heat. When they got in there though, they walked with God. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing? Could that really ever happen to us? What God wants us to do is to be true to Him. God knows our weaknesses. God knew the weaknesses of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He knew they were people. But they wouldn't bow the knee. They wouldn't bow the knee at all. And they were cast into the burning fire furnace. But in that burning, fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar said, how many people we've cast in there anyway? I think we've thrown in three, right? How come there's four? I see four. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. How'd he know that? I think God told him. I think God began to work on him and bring him to himself. But that happened way back then, in the very beginning of the time, when the Babylonian captivity began. But Daniel was another one. He was faithful to God all of his life. As far as I can find, he was a faithful, true disciple of Christ. The Bible said in the book of Daniel 9, in verse number 1, And the first year of Darius, the son of Hazarish, of the seed of the Medes, which made king of the realm of the Chaldeans." Notice this. Who is this guy? This is Darius. It's the first year of his reign. And he's talking about the first year of the reign of Darius over the nation of Israel. The first year, the very first year. The Bible said in verse number two, in the first year of his reign, I understood by books the number of the years where the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Look at that. You know what that verse is referring to? Right back over here to Jeremiah 29 and verse number 10. That's exactly the verse he's talking about. When did Jeremiah have this prophecy? When did he have it? He had it at the very beginning of the reign of the 70-year captivity. That's when he had it. But it was some 70 years later that Daniel read about it. By this time, Daniel is how old? I don't know. He's at least 70. And I think 80. He's probably 85. But you know what he's doing? He's still reading the Bible. And you know what he finds out? When he's 85 years old, he reads some things that he's never seen before. I don't know if he's ever read that before. He might have. Has God ever done that to you? Has God ever put his word out there real plain, and then you just read over it and didn't get it at all? Ever happen to you that way? You must be a people. I think Daniel is a people too. Because God hid it from him. But when he understood that, I can't imagine that he would just say, wow, well, look at that. The Lord has, he said to them, he said, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to Jerusalem. I want you to go to Babylon. I want you to build houses. I want you to plant gardens. I want you to have lands up there. I want you to let your children marry. I want you to bear children that you may be increased, not decreased. in the pagan land. I tell you what, God is not through with his people altogether because they're 70 years. You'll be there for 70 years and don't, don't, and pray, pray that God will give peace to the land for your children's sake. God wants us to be right before him in everything. What did Daniel do then? when he understood this is what God's will was. In verse number 3 of Daniel 9, the Bible said, He set his face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and by supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord God, my God, and made my confession and said, Oh Lord, the great and dreadful God, keep me in the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned and therefore all these things have come upon us. Lord, I pray that you, Lord, and you alone would help us. We have confusion of our face now. Lord, I pray, Lord, that you might give us all true blessings. In verse number 20. of Daniel 9, and while I was speaking in prayer and confessing my sin, the sin of my people, Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God. Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly," I tell you what, isn't that great? Whenever you're in anguish, God answers quickly. I'm glad that He does. "...touching me about the time of the evening observation." And he informed me, and talked to me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding at the beginning of thy supplications. The commandment came forth, and I came, and I am come to show thee, for thou art worthy, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. And then he gives him these 70 weeks of Daniel. He tells him all about the end of time, and we heard about that during our recent Bible Institute. God has a plan. I don't know what it is. But I know God wants us to worship him. I know God wants us to put him first above everything, absolutely everything. So don't get sucked in to the Mardi Gras celebrations or the Easter celebrations. understand, there's gonna be a lot of them coming up springtime, there is every spring, I don't, I don't worry about them. But this year, because I received so many inquiries as to why That's what led to all this. It wasn't inquiries from you. It was inquiries from outside. And we're here now, prominent. We stand out like a sore thumb, I guess. To those people, we're a sore thumb. But to us, we're not sore at all. All we're doing is what God wants us to do, and be right and true to Him. I pray that the Lord would help you today, that you might understand. If you haven't got one of these tracts, we invite you to get those. I do intend to redo this, it may be a while. It's a pagan holiday. understand that it is be right before Almighty God's our prayer for you. Okay, we're gonna quit right there. It's on a piano player, please come and we'll worship the Lord in song.