The Bible says in Jeremiah 7, 24, but they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. And as a nation, folks, we are going backward and not forward, and we are walking in the imagination of our evil heart. But God has some things to say about that. God has some thoughts on that, if you will. And today we wanna see what God has to say about America. The Bible says that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Welcome to Pulpit Power featuring Pastor Tony Skeving, Senior Pastor of Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, North Dakota. Today's message was previously preached before a church audience. And now, here's Pastor Skeving. Let's take our Bible squeeze at this time and turn to the Psalms. Psalm 33, you know, some things happen by chance, or at least people think. But there is a sovereign God, obviously, who controls all things. In fact, it was Ben Franklin who said, a nation cannot rise or fall without God. And that's true, and that's what the Bible teaches. And with that as a backdrop, I want you to look at one verse with me here. In Psalm 33, it's verse number 12. The Bible says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Let's read that again. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. inheritance. Today we're going to be taking a look at what God says about America. We're going to look at the Bible, we're going to take a look at the landscape of our nation at this time in our world's history, and we're going to see what God says about our country. But let's pray first, shall we? Our Heavenly Father, we do thank you now for the opportunity that we have to assemble in the house of God and freedom. We pray that you would bless this time in your word. We pray that it would help us now to appreciate what we have And dear Lord, I just pray that as a result, we would stand for Christ in the days in which we're living. We pray now and ask all these things in his name. Amen. You know, I mentioned the providence and the sovereignty of God a moment ago, and honestly, the U.S. did not just happen by chance. I've been out to Plymouth Rock. I've seen where the pilgrims landed in 1620, and from that humble beginning, they rose up and became this great nation which we're living in today. And we can attest that that is God's doing. We call that the providence of God. In fact, an early settlement in Rhode Island was named Providence for that very reason. And God, in his divine grace and mercy, has raised up a nation today. And we live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. And since the beginning, our saying has been, in God we trust. It's written on our money, in God we trust. And we have trusted God through some turbulent times. We've come through the Revolutionary War, and we felt that our cause was just, and in God was our trust. And in the years that followed, we experienced great growth, and we experienced great blessings, and we saw the hand of God upon us. And over these years, I don't believe that God has ever raised up a greater missions-minded nation than the United States of America. that has brought the gospel to the regions beyond over the years. But friend, we're now living at a time when we have abandoned God. We have placed God on the back burner. Most people are skipping church today. Most people in America never read the Bible. In fact, most people only pray when they're in a tight spot and their backs are to the wall. And we have become distracted by so many things, including materialism. Did you know that 90% of the world's self-storage inventory is in the United States of America? We have the most stuff, and we are renting off-site storage units to put that stuff in. And yet, we are the least happy nation on the face of the earth because we don't have time for God. We've dismissed God. God is not on our radar at all. And we can trace a lot of this back to 1963. I was three years old at the time The Supreme Court cases took place that threw the Bible out of the public school and the Pledge of Allegiance since then. And we have reinvented God over these years. And today, we have a God that is so unlike the Bible. We have the God of people's imagination. You know, the very second commandment, God says, thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image of me. Speaking of this God that we invent in our own mind, a God who's way down here when it comes to holiness and standards, the mush God I call him. And it's the darling sin of humanity to have a God of your own imagination. And if you listen to people at work, or you listen to people in the neighborhood, and you listen to people out in society, they will say something like this. God understands that nobody's perfect. And to me, God wouldn't judge us for sin. And to me, I don't believe God would send anyone to hell. And they keep saying to me, because what they've done is they've invented their own God, this mush God. And when you have a mush God, Life becomes a free-for-all. Society becomes a free-for-all. And this world has known times like that in the past. In fact, in Deuteronomy 12, 8, God says, you shall not do after all the things that we do here this day. Every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. There have been times when people have lived by what they think is right in their own eyes, based upon their own conscience. And that's exactly where America is at today. The Bible says in Jeremiah 7.24, but they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. And as a nation, folks, we are going backward and not forward, and we are walking in the imagination of our evil heart. But God has some things to say about that. God has some thoughts on that, if you will. And today we wanna see what God has to say about America. And first of all, we see here what I call the divine creator. Now let's establish an effect right up front, okay? Listen carefully now. There is a creator. We did not evolve. There's no such thing as evolution as it's been taught. It was a given for years that we had a divine creator, that we were one nation under God, and he was our creator. But in recent years, we've seen that go by the wayside. In fact, that's been explained away, and all these concoctions have been brought up like we've lived for millions and millions and billions of years, all which is a lie. It doesn't even line up with true science. And in recent years, you've got people now acting like animals because we've been told we evolved from animals. We are a little amoeba that made good into a tadpole, into a frog, and somehow into this ape, and then from there into man. And we've been told that we evolved, and folks, that changes everything. If we believe we have a divine creator, it changes everything. Otherwise, it's a free-for-all. We don't have anyone that we answer to. In fact, There's no absolute. So what's the point? And really, it takes away the purpose in life. If we just evolve by chance, then what's the point in life? Did you know that suicide is now the number one killer amongst teenagers because they have been taught that they came from nothing and they're going to nowhere? And so really, their existence is a pointless one. And they say, well, what's the use? Why bother living? You know, many years ago, Ernest Hemingway, the famous playwright and the author, committed suicide. And before he did, he said this, quote, is like a colony of ants living on the end of a burning log." And with that, he took his life. He was just saying, what's the point in it all? H.G. Wells, who was a brilliant man, said this, unless there is a more abundant life before mankind, this scheme of space and time is a bad joke and an empty laugh braying across the mystery, the philosopher. And then Schopenhauer had this to say, life is, quote, a curse of endless craving and endless unhappiness. Now, listen, if it all started with God, that changes everything. If we really believe we have a divine creator, it changes everything. We must believe that. We read this in Psalm 100. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. Did you catch that? It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. Wait a minute, that changes everything. If God made us, that means we're special to God. Did you know that Jesus Christ implies in the gospels that you are worth more than the whole world? One soul is worth more than the whole world to God. God made everything. In Psalm 33, 6, it says, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. By the word of the Lord, God made everything. The Bible says this in Psalm 19, The heavens declare the glory of God. and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Just take a look at creation. Just take a look at the starry sky. The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. Now, God is invisible, folks. God is silent. That's by design. God wants us to live by faith, and faith cometh by hearing the Word of God. We go back to the Bible. But even without the Bible, God's fingerprints are on everything. It's so obvious we have a Creator. And the psalmist put it this way, when I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, Have you ever taken enough time to just step back and consider the universe? You know, the summer of 1980, I started seeking God. I really wanted to know God. And so I remember that summer sitting out on the dock at the lake, looking up at the sky and imagining this universe that had no walls on it. Space that went on and on and on forever and ever. And as far as I could imagine out there, there was space. And if in my mind, I built a wall thinking that's, that'll stop the space. You know what? You can make that wall as thick as you want. And there's still endless space on the other side of it. We live in this vast universe and it about blew my mind. Did you know that you can take 50 of our moons and fit them into the earth? In fact, the earth is 50 times bigger than the moon. But did you know that you would have to have over a million, 1.3 million of our earths to fill the sun? The sun is a 1.3 million times bigger than our earth. Our sun is just a star. We're living in this solar system. We have planets revolving around this one star here. And our sun is just one star in a vast universe with endless stars. And there are stars so much bigger than our sun in this universe. In fact, the biggest one they found so far is the Canis Majoris. Did you know that you could fit over nine billion of our sons into the Canis Majoris? Nine billion of our sons. People just aren't thinking about how great our God is. We have this divine creator, a divine creator. Romans 1 says, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, that is humans, for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. The invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being known by us. We have no excuse. If we are stopping to think, the human body alone, folks, could not have evolved. There's way too much intelligence behind it, way too much design, even within the human eye or the human ear. And with all of that comes the inborn knowledge of God. We know that there's someone higher than us, someone we ought to be worshiping. And that one is the one who created us. That one is the divine authority. In Psalm 9 and in verse 20, the Bible says, put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. We have a God we answer to, and the nations are but men. And our final authority is not in Washington, D.C. It's not in the White House. It's not in the Supreme Court. It's not in the Capitol building. You know that Paris does not set the fashion trends for this world. Did you know that it's not London that is in charge? NATO is not in charge. The United Nations is not in charge. It's not the rich and the powerful who think they need to depopulate the world. None of them are in charge. The Bible says, put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. We have a God who created us. and a God who's in charge. We see, first of all, the divine creator, but secondly, we see the declared canon, a word for the Bible. This book here is the final authority. You know, I was in a Dollar General this last week, and I was buying things at the counter there, And they had the tabloids up there. And how many have seen the National Enquirer? The National Enquirer. Oh, there's a credible source of information. Amen. I mean, just you can believe everything you read on the cover. And, you know, on the cover, you'll find, you know, aliens visit the White House and talk to the president. And I'm looking at this and thinking of this. And it's incredible what people will even read. But it does beg the question, where's the truth out there? I mean, you got all these things coming at you and a lot of voices talking out there. And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14, there are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world. And isn't that the truth? There's so many voices out there. And the Democrats are saying this, and the Republicans are saying that. The liberals are saying this, the conservatives are saying that. And isn't it amazing to you how polar opposite they are, and how much they both think they have the truth. They are telling the truth. There are so many kinds of voices in this world. There's the socialists, there's communists, there's the fascist countries, and all you can do is just throw up your hands and go, where's the truth? Who has the truth? Well, folks, we have a declared canon right here. God has already declared this, His Word, the source of truth. And isn't it only fitting that if God would put us on planet Earth, He would not leave us here scratching our heads saying, where are we? And where have we come from? And where are we going when this thing is over? He has an instruction manual. And beloved, this book is the instruction manual on life because it is the source of truth. That is the $64,000 question since the beginning of time is, where's the truth? What's the truth? You know that when Jesus Christ was on trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus Christ said something about truth, and Pilate stopped him dead in his tracks. And he said, truth. And John 18, 38, Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? What is truth? He wasn't being a smart aleck. That was the burning question in the Roman Empire, and before them the Greek Empire and the Babylonian Empire. What's the truth? Where is the truth? And we live in a world that is crying out for the truth. Well, what is truth, folks? Where is the truth? The night before the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, he was praying for his disciples to his Heavenly Father. And in John 17, 17, he said, Thy word is truth. Thy word is truth. Think about this. In a world of chaos, God's word is truth. In a world of speculation, God's word is truth. In a world of circular reasoning, God's word is truth. In a world of just pulling opinions out of the air, well, here's my opinion, there's her opinion, and all these opinions, There is something that is called truth. Otherwise, it's just what you think or what somebody else thinks. But we read this in Psalm 33, for the word of the Lord is right. What's right? The word of the Lord is right. You know, if I had more time today, I would like to take you through reasons why we believe the word of God is truth and the word of God is right. And I have Bible studies with people and I take them through the seven steps to God. And we talk about some things that the Bible records that are now just being discovered through science and archaeology that only God could have known. And God shows us over and over again, this book is truth. You know, in 1 Thessalonians 2.13, Paul said, when you receive the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it as it is in truth, the word of God. We have the source of truth right here, the decreed canon, and something that God actually reverences above his own name. And so don't poo-poo the Bible because we have a creator that gave us this book and it is the final authority. We see the divine creator, the declared canon, but thirdly, we see the decreed correctness. Now, we've all heard the expression politically correct, right? You've all heard that? And we live in this society, we live in this nation that says, oh, you shouldn't do that, you shouldn't say that. That's not politically correct. And my question is, who says? What's the barometer for political correctness? Who is it that decides whether something is correct or not? You know, we live in a society with these talking heads, and all day long, they're given their opinion, and you can tune in to local KFGO radio or WDAY radio, and all day long, people are calling in and giving, well, this is what I think. Well, that's what I think. Well, this is what I think. and they have opinions, and it goes on and on and on, and the host gives their opinion, and you just throw your hands up, and you say, I gotta turn this off. And then you go home at night, and you turn on TV, and you see the talking heads from here on up, and all night long, they're giving opinions, and the thing goes back and forth and back and forth, and you say, this is a mess, and it is. Man's opinions are a mess. Not only that, they're messed up. In fact, Proverbs 14 says, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. There are some things that man has embraced, and it's just so sure this is right, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And you have a society that is following their opinions and following their heart. And yet Jeremiah says that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? There is nothing more deceitful than the human heart. And here are these people trusting their hearts and following their hearts when the Bible says it's deceitful above all things. And so you have this mess, these people, these talking heads, these opinions, these people following these people with these opinions. And Jesus Christ comes along and he says, if the blind lead the blind, Both shall fall into the ditch. And that's so easy to understand as we look around, isn't it? You've got the blind leading the blind spiritually, and both falling into the ditch. You have the blind leading the blind politically, and both falling into the ditch. You've got mainstream media leading people in their opinions and their agenda, and you've got the foolish following the simple, and it's the blind leading the blind. And Christ says they're going to both wind up in the ditch. You have people out there spewing out opinions, a lot of man-made drivel that doesn't square with this Bible. And that's the problem. We are living in a nation right now, and we have been taken way off course. We've gotten way off course because we're not following the instruction manual. And if Grandpa and Grandma could see what's taking place in this nation today, they would be shocked. They would be shocked at what's going on. There has been... an incredible change that has swept through our land in the past few decades. We see this decreed correctness, but to add to the confusion, we see the defiled conscience, the defiled conscience. We have morals that are going down the tubes because people's consciences are getting harder and harder and more seared and more seared and more defiled and more defiled all the time. The story is told of this hobo who got hungry out in the woods, and so he got his iron kettle together, and he found some water in the stream, and he put it on this fire, and he went off to the woods to gather some food to put in it and make this stew with. And along came this frog, and needed a bath, and hopped in this water, and at first, because it just came out of the stream. But, you know, as that frog stayed in that pot over that fire there, it began to warm up a little bit. Pretty soon it was kind of lukewarm. Then it was like, ah, warm. And pretty soon it was really warm. And when the hobo came back, he saw this dead frog floating in boiling water. And you say, well, why didn't the frog hop out? Because it got accustomed to it, little by little. And folks, we have consciences in our country that are getting accustomed to the stuff going on around us. And even God's precious people really don't have a proper worldview anymore. We are taking our cue from this world and we really don't see how far we've gotten from the truth and how desensitized we become. There are things going on in public high schools today that when I graduated back in 78, I'm telling you, I would have never dreamed this would be going on, but it's going on. You know, if you raised back to life the people who died in World War II and you showed them what's really going on today, they would be shocked. But that's what we've come to as a nation, because it's happened so slowly. And people have gotten inoculated to it. And now they're missing it, and even Christian people aren't seeing what's going on. We have defiled consciences. You know, the Bible says a lot about the conscience. Let me give you a few quick verses. 1 Timothy 4-2 speaks of having their conscience seared with a hot iron. 1 Corinthians 8 says their conscience being weak. is defiled. Hebrews 10.22 speaks of an evil conscience. And folks, the greatest enemy today is not like Japan in World War II, or Germany, or Italy, or the Axis, or the Communists, or even China. It's a defiled conscience. As a nation, we have gotten way off course to where we look at entertainment and it doesn't faze us. We look at the educational system and we don't realize how far off course it's gotten. but we are missing the mark and we don't even see it. You know, Jesus said, if therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. He's talking about folks who believe something and they're just convinced it's right, but it's not. And if the light that is in them be actually darkness, he says how great is that darkness with an exclamation point. How great is that darkness. Years ago, they caught this pirate by the name of Hicks, who was terrorizing the seven seas. And they brought him to trial in New York City, and they found him guilty. But they asked him before they hung him on the gallows, just shortly before the Civil War, do you have any final words? And he said, well, I just want you to know something. I was once an honest sailor and I sailed the seven seas and made a living, but I'll never forget when we captured our first ship and plundered it and I killed somebody and I went back to my cabin and I wept like a baby. My conscience bothered me so much. But in time, we continue to plunder and rape and murder and steal. And he said, I got to where I could murder multiple people, go back to my cabin, eat a full course meal, and lay down and sleep like a baby. He said, I lost my conscience. The Bible speaks of us losing that conscience, being insensitive to what is going on around and accustomed and inoculated to even the scenario and the landscape of this country at the present. We see what I call the defiled conscience, but fifthly, it leads us to what I call a defective conclusion. a defective conclusion. There are some positions as a nation that we have taken that are way off the mark. They are way off this book. It's really gotten outrageous. We could talk about abortion. It's absolutely outrageous that you would invade the womb of a woman and take and dismember a baby apart in a partial birth abortion under the guise of a woman's rights. Have we gotten so used to that we don't even see it anymore? It's something horrible. You know, the Bible is clear. God's instruction manual in Psalm 51 implies that life begins at conception. So stop talking about the weeks or this many weeks or that many weeks. It's just a fetus up until then. No. The soul is the source of life, and you receive your soul at the moment of conception. And in God's estate and in God's economy and in God's mind, if something is done to that baby after that, it is murder. We read this in Exodus 21. If men strive and hurt a woman with child, or focuses on that child, so that her fruit depart from her and yet no mischief follow, in other words, she gives birth but the baby survives, the Bible still says he shall surely be punished according to the woman's husband will lay upon him and he shall pay as the judge determines. And if any mischief follow, in other words, if that baby is lost, Thou shalt give life for life. In other words, God looks at that unborn baby as a life. We live in a sick country that is protecting eagles and dolphins and whales and spotted owls, and yet not protecting human beings. It's an inordinate affection, according to the Bible, and we've lost our ability to think. We've lost our ability to reason. Let me give you something else the Bible has to talk about here. and that is adultery and fornication. The Bible says in Hebrews 13, four, marriage is honorable and all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Now here's God's declared canon, once again saying God's mind on adultery and fornication. We live in a world that just poo-poos that, and sex outside of marriage is commonplace, and primetime television has fornication on it all the time, and even adultery is comedy now, on primetime TV. Did you know that 85% of the Hollywood crowd sees nothing wrong with adultery? And yet, what does God say about it? In 1 Corinthians 6, it says, the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers shall inherit the kingdom of God. We find that God has some strong feelings about fornication adultery. The world might be laughing really loud about this, but it tells us that fornicators and adulterers shall not inherit the kingdom of God. That ought to sober them up. That's pretty serious. What about the subject of sodomy, sodomy? Sodomy is a perversion of what our creator designed. You know, the body, the human body was never made for that act. And there are some consequences that follow that you're not hearing about in the media, but you hear about them in the Bible. We find the defective conclusion when it comes to the act of sodomy. And God has this to say, likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men, working that which is unseemly or unnatural, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error. which was me. There's all kinds of detrimental health effects that come from sodomy. Where did sodomy get its name? Well, it came from Sodom, Sodom and Gomorrah. It's a historical fact. It's a biblical fact. We find way back in Genesis and God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. You remember Lot's wife looked back and she died in that destruction. And archaeologists believe that they have found the site of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah, but they say that this meteor blast, this meteor blast really incinerated it, but no. God rained down fire from the sky and he destroyed it as his judgment upon something that he condemns. Our Creator condemns the act. In fact, In Leviticus 20, verse 13, it says, if a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. God calls it an abomination. No matter how brainwashed people have been about this, our creator calls it an abomination. You say, well, pastor, really, was Sodom and Gomorrah an actual historical fact? Well, Jesus Christ referred to it. He said, remember Lot's wife. He mentioned this actually being an event. Now, in that same passage where God mentions that fornication and adulterers won't inherit the kingdom of God, he has this to say. The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, katamite, abusers of themselves with mankind shall inherit the kingdom of God." You can look up the Greek for abusers of themselves with mankind and you will find sodomites, sodomites. And now we live in a society where they are ordaining men to the ministry who are homosexuals. You say, but pastor, Lady Gaga and others say that we were born this way, and there are songs that talk about it. Well, Lady Gaga is about as credible as a national inquirer. And really, her opinion does not matter. We have a creator. We've established that already. And what are you going to stake your eternity upon? Some human, man-made opinions here. Now, do sodomites have the right to practice sodomy in America? Yes, it's not against our national law. They have that right. But there is a higher law that we'll answer to one day. And for now, the advocates of sodomy are free to promote it and free to practice it. But Bible-believing Christians also need to retain our freedom to follow this book, right? And to follow what God has to say. Now, there's another defective conclusion, and this has become the latest thing. And it's the gender confusion, the transgender thing, the multiple gender thing, men claiming to be women, women claiming to be men, and all this debate on whether if biological men can change to women and compete in women's sports, and it's in the headlines these days. And this past week, if you can imagine this, in Vegas, Miss Nevada was crowned and it's actually a transgender man. This is a biological man. This was born a man, this person here, and through surgeries and drugs and so on, has now made himself into a woman, and she won. She won Miss Nevada. I thought of how disheartening that had to be to the women who were actually entered in the pageant to be beat out by a man, but it happened. Now, we've already established that God's our creator and that he hath made us and not we ourselves. So is God missing the mark here by making someone who should be a man a woman and someone who should be a woman a man? Good question. Well, the Bible tells us God is not the author of confusion. And so, no, God's not confused here. Somebody else is confused here. Jesus said this in Mark 10, 6, but from the beginning of the creation, Christ believed in creation, from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. So we don't need these different bathrooms for all these groups and there's no confusion with God. From the beginning of creation, God made them one of two, male or female. So are these men actually women? Behind me, you'll notice here the current US Assistant Secretary of Health. This is someone who was born a biological man who has now turned himself into a woman through drugs and operations. And so we have now somebody appointed by our president that was born a man and now claims to be a woman. Men have certain biological traits about them. In fact, as I stand like this, My feet tend to do that. I don't know if it's my center of gravity or whatever, but they kind of go out. A woman's will do this. And if you look at men and women standing, you will see that. In fact, here's that same person on the far left there. Notice the men in the background are all standing with the feet spread a little bit like I was a moment ago. That's just natural for a man. Notice how the women, and nobody knew a picture was being taken, notice how the women are standing with their feet forward, and notice this assistant secretary of health with the yellow arrow there and how the feet are standing there, because that's just the way God made us. And you can have operations, you can take prescriptions, you can do whatever, but it doesn't change that. Now, did God actually make a mistake when he created a man to be a man and a woman to be a woman? No, that's a defective conclusion to say he did and to go about trying to change that. But as a nation, see, we've been lied to so long that we're embracing that. And our kids need to know this. This is not right. Here's what God has to say. You know, there's another defective conclusion. Socialism. I never thought I'd live to see the day where we would be embracing socialism. If there's one thing we never learned from history, folks, it's that we never learned from history. And as a nation, we are marching in where others have crawled out, thinking, that's the answer here. Socialism in a nutshell says, I'm going to give money away that's not mine, and I'm going to give it to somebody who hasn't worked for it. It says, I'm going to steal from the industrious, and I'm going to give it to the takers. Let me just tell you something. This nation was built on hard work. This nation was built on labor. And we tend to appreciate what we work for. In fact, Christ put it this way. He simply said, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Meaning, those things we work for, those things we pour ourselves into, those things we invest in, our heart naturally follows. We have some feelings about it now. But freebies have always destroyed character and the moral fiber of people because they don't appreciate them. And if I had time, I could show you this. It fosters a spirit of entitlement. To where we say, woe be to you if you don't give me to this, this thing to me. And we develop this welfare mentality. And it destroys us. You know what the Bible has to say? This we command you that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Parents, one of the best things you could teach your children is to work, to have a work ethic, to be a hard worker. And yet it's disheartening for people today who are working hard. And it's gotten to where you have to work for nearly half the year just to cover your taxes because of all this government giveaway, here, here, and all these freebies that are driving inflation up and destroying our nation like it destroyed Rome. You know that Rome was never conquered. Other countries were conquered. Rome just imploded, and it was doing all the same stuff that we are doing as a nation right now, and we have not learned from this. By the way, speaking of Rome, they imploded morally. Morally, they were the pits, and we have, as a nation, become the pits. You know, in Luke 17, Jesus said, and as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man. Meaning when Christ comes back, the morals are gonna be a lot like they were in the days of Noah. What was it like in the days of Noah? Well, Genesis 6, 5, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil, continually. And it's gotten like that in our nation today. The thoughts of the imagination of the heart of man is only evil continually. Now, we could talk about a number of issues here and a number of defective conclusions, but the point is this. Is everything okay, really? As we look around at this nation here, Is everything really okay? And is God gonna look the other way? And is God gonna sweep the sin of this country under the carpet? And by the way, there are some ministers out there that are claiming it's not that big a deal. Sin's not that serious. And there are folks who are listening to them, the blind leading the blind. But Ephesians 5 says, let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things come at the wrath of God. upon the children of disobedience. Even within the realm of Christianity, we find on Judgment Day there are many who are gonna miss heaven. In fact, Christ said in Matthew 7, wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Everything's not okay, folks. We see this defective conclusion. Next, we see the determined Christian. Now, let's bring us into the picture here, all right? The determined Christian. It's obvious that we are getting upside down in our thinking as a nation. I think if we have eyes, we see that. You know, in Isaiah 5 and in verse 20, the Bible says, woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness. Woe unto them. Now we have gotten callous to what's going on, quite honestly, as a people here. And we've gotten to a place in this land where nothing is sacred anymore. Nobody can blush at anything anymore. And it spells impending doom and judgment from our judge. In Jeremiah 6.15, it says, were they ashamed when they committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore, they shall fall among them that fall. At the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. We find that God does take this stuff seriously, folks, and really, if we care enough, we will tell people the truth. You know, we haven't even talked about the family yet, We are as a nation missing the mark terribly in raising kids. We have given them free reign without restraining them, the way the Bible teaches we ought to. We have put kids on an equal plane with their parents instead of providing for them the needed authority the Bible says they ought to have. We have taught them indulgence instead of self-discipline. We have rewarded laziness instead of promoting industriousness. We have let them demand instead of ask. We have fostered a generation of takers instead of givers. And we find contempt now amongst young people where there ought to be respect. And we tout children's rights where they're called privileges, according to the Bible. And as a result, we see a great pride in young people today that we have not seen so much in the past, instead of the humility that earmarked them. 2 Timothy chapter three describes the moral character of young people in the last days as a perilous time, a perilous time. In 2 Timothy 3.1, it says, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men should be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, and unholy. Parents, don't take your cue from this world. Take your cue from this book. And honestly, from time to time, I need to preach like this as a sanity check because we can get into a trance almost watching the world and we need to be snapped out of it. We need to quit marching to the beat of the devil and see what God has to say about all this. Now, as Christians, what can we do about this? Well, let me just say quickly, let's stay in love with God. Stay in love with God. Stay in love with the church Jesus loved and he gave himself for. And don't let the sin of society drag you down. In Matthew 24, Christ said, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. So you need to guard your own heart. Be careful not to be brainwashed by the world. Don't be part of the problem. If you're a child of God, watch your own worldliness. Guard your own standards. Don't contribute to the mess. Don't take your cue from this world. They're way off the mark, way off the mark. You and I need to graciously go against the grain. And I'll say that again, graciously go against the grain. God says in Exodus 19, now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. God says, just follow me. Forget what the world's doing and be a peculiar treasure unto me. In Deuteronomy 14, God says, for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself above all the nations, that are upon the earth. Jesus calls us the light of the earth and the salt of the earth, and let's preserve what we have left. Let's do our part. Well, we've seen the divine creator, the declared canon, the decreed correctness, the defiled conscience, defective conclusion, and the determined Christian. And finally, and quickly, let's talk about a different country. Back here in our text, in Psalm 33, and In verse number 12, the Bible says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. You know, I've got to say at one time, it was evident that this nation's God was the Lord. I'm afraid I can't say that anymore. In fact, there's times I'm glad I'm old and maybe kind of, you know, on the way out, if you will. But my heart breaks for my kids. My heart breaks for my grandkids. What a messed up nation they're gonna grow up in. You know, when America did it by the book, and you know what I mean by that. When America did it by the book, we built the greatest nation since the flood. But today we're dying from within. You know, a while back there was a communist former communists who stated, you know, America doesn't have to be conquered. They're going to implode from within. They're gonna be taken without firing a shot. And you know, in last day prophecy, I find mention of countries like Russia, and I find mention of China, and Germany, and England even, and Israel, and Egypt, but there's no mention of America in last day prophecy. It's like an eerie silence. And you say, why aren't we mentioned? Will our Playboy, MTV, Vegas, Hollywood mentality do us in finally? Will it do us in? So what's the solution? Well, you know what? If we as Christian people would just live right, just make a determination, we're gonna do right, and we're not gonna be taken in by what's going on in this nation, it would make such a difference. We could make such a difference. Now let me just close with this thought. I know this is a hard message. In John chapter six, Jesus Christ got done preaching a hard message, and there were many that went away, and there were many others that said, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? And they left him. I know this isn't popular preaching, I know that. But the Bible says in Proverbs 27, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. And friend, the best friends you have is somebody who will tell you what God says about this. Honestly, this has not been my opinion. We've been just looking at the scriptures, and if you have a problem with any of this, your problem is with God. I'm just the messenger boy, and this is just what God says. Now, my question in closing is this. Would you purposely contribute to the demise of our nation knowingly? And I think the answer would be, well, no, I wouldn't do that. Probably not, yet unknowingly it is possible for us to be on the wrong side or wrong end of the rope, pulling in the wrong direction because we've forgotten what God has to say. So today, we've taken a closer look at God's word and honestly folks, we've just tried to realign ourselves once again with where our creator stands and see what God has to say about our nation. You've been listening to Pastor Tony Skeving of the Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, North Dakota. If you would like a CD of today's message, you can obtain one by sending a gift of $2 to Fargo Baptist Church, 3303 23rd Avenue South, Fargo, North Dakota, 58103. That address again, Fargo Baptist Church, 3303 23rd Avenue South Fargo, North Dakota 58103. We hope you'll join Pastor Skeving next time right here on Pulpit Power. Pulpit Power is a production of Heaven 88.7.