Please open with me to the book of Proverbs. We'll be looking at chapter 14. Proverbs chapter 14. We will be considering verse number 34. Proverbs 14, 34. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Please bow with me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for your word. We ask that you would open our eyes and our hearts and our ears to receive your word this morning. Father, we ask that you would speak to us, that you would awaken us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. This morning we are deviating from Ephesians to deal with a pressing issue. every year before the the pride festival here in Holland, I preach a sermon to try to help us understand how we should review and respond to what is happening in our nation. I do this for two reasons. First, like I said, to help us view what is happening correctly, but also to stimulate our hearts to prayer and evangelism and preparation for taking the gospel to those who are celebrating sin in our city. I am convinced that this is a very important topic as what is happening in our city and our nation has major consequences. Repeated exposure to just about anything leads to acceptance and complacency. This is true even of sin. We have many examples of this principle played out in our lives today, what we would call the normalizing of sin and how it leads to acceptance and complacency. Let me give you a few examples. public immodesty. Now, obviously, there's a bit of subjectiveness in what we call modest or immodest, but if you were to go down the road to the beach, you will likely find people dressed in such a way that would have gotten them arrested in the early 1900s. When bikinis first were invented, they were considered absolutely scandalous. They were rejected by Christians and by society at large. One woman's magazine actually refused to address the topic because they said no woman of decency would even dare be caught in something like that in public. Some nations even banned them from being worn in public, and they were also banned from beauty pageants, even here in America. Now, why did everyone respond this way? Well, they recognized that it was wrong to be dressed this way publicly. So initially, there was a public outrage over this, but eventually, as people pressed the agenda of having women dress this way publicly, it became normalized through media and other things, so that eventually, the scandalous nature of it was gone, and it was gradually considered normal. Now, here's the question. Did we come to that conclusion theologically? No. Did the culture shift? And so does the Church. The same could be said of language. If you watch older movies, there are certain words that would not be said and certain things that would not be talked about, even by secular Hollywood. A standard called the Hays Code actually banned the use of profanity in movies. But what happened? They started throwing in a few words here and there, and eventually what happens? It becomes normal to the point where now even commercials have terrible language. And now you would be hard-pressed to find a movie or show that is not filled with profanity and even blaspheming of God's name. What do we see? Moral degradation. And the same is true of homosexuality. Here in America, we used to have what were called anti-sodomy laws. It was not legal to practice sodomy, homosexuality. And at one point in time, it even carried the death penalty. And even early on in our nation, a man was put to death for committing this act with his servant. But as our nation down-spiraled in sin, homosexuality became more common, especially publicly identifying as homosexual So there has been a purposeful normalizing of the sin in our nation. And how did this happen? Well, it has been normalized through movies. Even when I was in high school, a teacher offered us extra credit if we would go and see a homosexual cowboy movie. We could see the agenda was already happening. But we see commercials and advertisements. You see homosexual couples together more and more. And this is designed to get you to think and to feel as though it's normal. We have books, kids books and libraries exposing little children to this stuff so that they grow up thinking this is normal and good behavior. We have the dedication of periods of time to this and it's pride month. We have the celebration of this and we have pride festivals. And all this has led to the shame of homosexuality disappearing and the acceptance of it as a normal and good thing. So we have gone from a nation with anti-sodomy laws to a nation that devotes an entire month to the celebration of sodomy. And how did this happen? When we are exposed to something over and over and over again, it becomes normal. So why do societies seek to normalize sin? Why do this? Well, there's several reasons. Number one, when other people join in your sin, you feel less condemned, don't you? The more people you see living in the same sin as you are, the more comfortable you are. There's comfort in numbers. By the way, this is why some in our nation push this agenda so hard. It's not just about the acceptance of homosexuality. It's about the normalizing of it. That's the lie we've been told by homosexuals. We just want to be accepted. We simply don't want to be treated differently. And we've seen it happen, haven't we? But it does not end there, does it? No, simple acceptance was not enough because they still feel condemned, even by heterosexuality. So they need more people to be like them. And this is why homosexuals in our culture are not just quietly living their lives, but rather being evangelistic publicly about getting others to join in with them. By the way, this is how an entire city like Sodom becomes given to such a sin. those living in that lifestyle become evangelistic about it. They believe that they can find joy and fulfillment in their sin if people did not exist who opposed them. I had a conversation with a practicing homosexual woman a few years ago, and I asked her this very question. If giving in to your sinful desires brings you joy and satisfaction in this life, then why is it that so many homosexuals are suicidal? What was her response? Because of people like you. But you have the right to do what you want. To live your life with acceptance. But I take away her joy. Her satisfaction. You see, unbelievers want to live in their sins. And the easiest way to do so without opposition and without punishment and with a clear conscience is to have the sin normalized. Because again, The homosexual will even feel threatened by heterosexuality in general. You think you're better than me. You're judging me, aren't you? But there's another reason. I would say the ultimate reason why society has normalized sin. And that is because Satan desires for cities and nations to be overtaken by sin. And those who are given into this are doing his will. Remember what we learned about those dead and their trespasses and sins in Ephesians 2. Paul says, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins. And once you once walked following the prince of the power of the air. Who is that? That's the devil. The unbeliever is following the devil. This is what this is what Scripture says. There's no neutrality you you are either following after god or you are following after the prince of the power of the air So there's no doubt about it when we think of sin being normalized. We can guarantee That satan is behind it. It is his agenda But now the question is why is this a big deal Why does it even matter? Well, there are many problems with sin being normalized But one of the biggest reasons this is an issue is because when any sin is normalized, we become desensitized to it. Being desensitized to sin, especially public displays of sin, is a very bad place for people to be. When we see people parading all types of perversion around us, We should not be to a place where we say, oh yeah, it's just Pride Month again. No big deal. It'll be over soon. I remind you that Paul, when he was in Athens, had a very different response to the sins of that city. Athens was given over to idolatry, Paul said. And he responded with righteous indignation. Now, if Paul felt that way walking to a city filled with idols, how would he feel walking into a city where sodomy and transgenderism is being celebrated? And some may say, well, why are you singling out this sin? There are a lot of sins in our culture. Yes, that's true. There are. But the reason is because it is one of the few sins in our society that is actually celebrated and promoted as a non-sin, which is good. When's the last time you saw a thief festival? Well, what about a murder parade? How about an adultery month? Is there any month where companies put certain colors on their logos to celebrate stealing? Our city and our nation do not have months and festivals designed to celebrate, promote, and spread other sin. But we do have these things to spread the promotion of homosexuality. And we must be aware of Satan's devices. Because we are being targeted. He is attempting to desensitize us to all the sins and the LBGTQ agenda, and we must not fall for it. He wants to lull us to sleep while our nation is being destroyed. And listen, if we become desensitized to this, two things can happen. Number one, when we become desensitized to the sins of our culture, we are in danger of accepting and participating in the very sins of our culture. Unfortunately, even Christians are often swayed by cultural shifts instead of biblical truth. To think of the examples I gave you earlier, public immodesty, that the cultural shifts in our nation greatly influenced Christians. Many Christians today are willing to dress publicly in a way that even unbelievers were too ashamed to do 70 years ago. Why? Because it is simply what everyone does. It's what's normal. And that's our justification. It's all the justification we need. We say, Well, a bikini is a swimsuit. This is what people wear to the beach. That's what everyone does, so why would we be any different? Listen, this is absolutely absurd to think about. What has happened? Essentially, we have allowed the world to rebrand underwear as swimsuits and normalize wearing them publicly, and that's literally all it took for even Christian women to take off their clothes in public, and for Christian men to accept it. All it took was rebranding and normalizing it. After Christians became desensitized to this, you see it enough, it becomes normal. It only took a few short years before many Christians changed their morals to adopt the new cultural standard. So it was once considered a scandalous thing as now a normal practice, even for those in the church. Consider the example of language I gave you. How have Christians responded to things like God's name being blasphemed publicly for the sake of entertainment? How have we responded to that? Again, this was something that even unbelievers thought was too much for a long time. But once it became accepted, what did Christians do? Accept it. Today, even Christians watch movies where they know that God's name is going to be blasphemed. So that many are now willingly hearing God's name taken in vain on a regular basis, merely for the purpose of entertainment. Think of the absurdity of that. What the world once dared not do, the church is now willing to do on a regular basis. Sin was normalized by our culture. And everyone, including Christians, became accepting of it. You know, there's often like criticism for men like Jonathan Edwards because he had slaves. Jonathan Edwards was a godly man who loved Jonathan Edwards. But he did have slaves. And this was not a bond servant. These are men who were stolen. This is wrong. But how does a godly man who knows the Bible like Jonathan Edwards not see that? Because it was so deeply ingrained into his culture. That it took an entire generation to realize the abomination of it. And so his son became an abolitionist. But think of that, a theologian, a philosopher, a preacher on a level of Jonathan Edwards having blind spots that we can clearly see. So the question is, what blind spots do we have? What in our culture has been so drilled into us that we accept it even though it's wrong? You see, this is the danger of sin being normalized. We end up being blind to it. And again, the same is true of homosexuality. The church has been affected by this as well because it has been normalized by our culture. You have churches that either have accepted homosexuality into the church or are wrestling with it. I have told you before about the CRC elder who came to this very church and after church, he stood over there and he tried to convince me that homosexuality was not a big deal. And he brought it up. I didn't. He said, you know, The word has only been put into the Bible recently. An elder in a church. Well, Christians run red lights, don't they? That's sinful. Do you allow people in the church to run red lights? As though this is the same thing. That man was not questioning his views on sodomy because of some revelation he received in God's word. but because the prevalence of the sin in our culture was pressing against his standards. It has become so normal that he was tempted to find a way to accept it. the normalizing of the sin has caused many churches and professing Christians to rethink their views on homosexuality and embrace unbiblical views. And that's what this entire month and festival is about, you learning to accept it. And the longer we go on, the more we accept it, unless we have a biblical understanding of how to view this. When the normalizing of sin in our culture causes us to be desensitized to it, we are at risk of participating in it or at least accepting it. We begin to say, it's not that big of a deal. It's what everyone does around us. Yeah, we live amongst sinners. What's the big deal? Did you just think of how you felt the first time you saw a pride flag on a church? Did it shock you? It shocked me. But what happens when you see that flag over and over and over and over again? Suddenly, you don't even notice it anymore. It's just the way it is. That's the danger of being of sin being normalized. Even Christians are tempted to accept it and practice it. But there's another danger as well. This is a huge danger. When we become desensitized to sin, we will not be burdened to share the gospel with those given to that sin. If what a person is doing is okay, if I don't see them as a slave to their sin, then I have no need to share the gospel with them. You know, Paul's abhorrence the idolatry he saw in Athens motivated him to proclaim the gospel to them. When Paul saw the idolatry in Athens, there are few possible ways he could have responded. But really only one of them would lead to a zeal to proclaim the gospel. I'm going to illustrate this for you. So Paul gets to Athens and he sees the people given to idolatry. Let me give you five possible reactions. Based upon reactions to this sort of thing we see today. First of all, there's the tourist reaction. He sees the idolatry and it fascinates him. He says, wow, look at these statues and this amazing architecture. I know they're committing adultery, but this is amazing. So he gets his camera out. And he starts taking picture of the idols because it's intriguing. And he walks around observing their idolatry like a tourist. If that's his mindset, he doesn't feel the urge and burden to share the gospel with them. But then there's the false humility reaction. He sees the idolatry and he says, yes, these people are sinning. But instead of judging them, I need to look at my own heart. This is simply an opportunity for me to say, what idols do I have lurking in my own heart? How dare I, but a sinner, tell another person that they are a sinner? If that's his mindset, he doesn't evangelize, because who is he to tell them that they are sinners needing a savior when he still has sins in his own heart? These are the sort of arguments we hear today. But then thirdly, there's the blessed pluralism reaction. He sees the idolatry and he says it's a wonderful thing that they have such freedom of religion to worship their gods publicly. It's actually good that so many people are worshiping idols because it actually demonstrates that they have truly established freedom of religion in this city. What a wonderful display of freedom. This is how Christians think today. But if he thinks that way, he's not motivated to proclaim the truth to them. So then, fourthly, there's the this-is-normal reaction. He sees the idolatry and he hardly notices because that's what the people always do. He sees their sin and it doesn't move him. He doesn't feel anything. He's numb. He sees it and he says, there they go again, and he goes about his day. With this mindset, he definitely has no burden to share the gospel with him. You see, all of these reactions show a level of being desensitized to the seriousness of their sin. And if Paul did not see their sin as a major problem, he would not have been eager to apply the remedy. We don't apply the remedy unless we see a need to. So then, fifthly, there's Paul's true reaction. How did Paul actually respond? Acts 17, 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. He's provoked. He doesn't say, you know, my own heart is an idol-making factory. How dare I be upset about their idols? He is provoked. What does it mean that his spirit was provoked? John Gill said, not only his soul was troubled and his heart was grieved, but he was exasperated and provoked to the last degree. His heart was hot within him. He had a burning fire in his bones. He was weary with forbearing and could not stay. His zeal wanted vent, and he gave it. In other words, seeing a city given to sin made him so troubled and angered and grieved that it moved him to do something. He had to do something. And what did he do? Did he go there and throw stones at him? No. What did he do? He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons. and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. And he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. He reasoned with them and proclaimed the gospel to them. Why? Because their idolatry provoked his spirit. If he was desensitized to their idolatry, he would not have been moved to proclaim the truth to them. He would have seen it and went about his day as normal. But because the shock of their public idolatry, he was moved to do something. He was angered that the one true God was not being worshipped. He was grieved over the lost souls looking for false hope. He mourned that God's law was being broken. And he knew that the only remedy was the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation. So that's precisely what he did. He proclaimed the gospel. If you are desensitized or numb to the sins around us that are on public display, you will see no need to take the gospel to those who are given to such sins. But now listen, if you see the homosexuality and a transgenderism being celebrated in our city. And it angers you that sin is being celebrated and promoted. And it angers you that children are being targeted by those who are doing this. And it grieves you that God's law is being broken. And it grieves you that sinners are in bondage to sin and on their way to hell. Then, and only then, do you burn with zeal to cry out to God for change. And do you burn with zeal to take them the gospel. The church has been desensitized and numbed to the cultural sins around us for far too long. And this is why we often do nothing. The church is so desensitized to some of our cultural sins that not only do we not try to stop them, but we actually try to stop the Christians who try to stop them. For how long have churches done nothing about abortion, but instead spoke out against the Christians who were taking the gospel to abortion clinics? Well, I don't know if it's appropriate to share the gospel in a place like that. I don't think we should be trying to confront people with the gospel. I don't think we should be sharing the gospel with those we haven't established relationships yet with. Yeah, because that was Paul's model, right? We sit around and debate the tactics of those who go out and do things instead of doing things ourselves. But dear saints, it is time for us to wake up and actually be moved by the sins which are promoted in our land. Because when we read Scripture, we see men who are not numb to sin. It's time for us to be provoked within like Paul when he saw a city given to sin. It's time for us to be like David who said, my eyes shed streams of tears because people do not keep your law. It's time for us to be like Paul, who said, I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. These men were not stoics. They were not desensitized to what was going on around him, what drove Paul to be beaten and persecuted and stoned. and get up and take the gospel to the people once more. Part of our problem. We're swimming in sin. And so we're like fish, we don't know we're wet. And because sin is so normal in our culture, well, it's just not that bad, it's just normal. But what happened when Isaiah, caught a glimpse of God's holiness. He pronounced a curse upon himself. Woe is me, for I am undone. Why? Not only because he had unclean lips, but he said because he dwelt among a people of unclean lips. To understand God's holiness is to understand the nature of sin in general, not just our own sin, but the sins around us. If we truly know God and have changed hearts, and if we ourselves have been experienced and the forgiveness and grace of God. How can we not want to take this to others? How can we not be moved? Paul said he was a debtor to both Jews and Greeks. Why was he a debtor? He received grace. And he felt that he was compelled to extend the grace of God to others. He knew his sin. And he knew that Christ had came and washed away all of his sins. And he experienced that grace, that free grace. And so he was burdened that others would experience it as well. Being desensitized is frowned upon in Scripture. Let me show you. Not only do we have the examples of men who are moved, David shedding streams of tears, Paul being provoked within him, but there's a very sobering text in Ezekiel that we must take to heart. In Ezekiel 9, God is going to execute judgment on Jerusalem for their sins. And he sends executioners. It's a rather frightening scene. Ezekiel 9.1, then he cried in my ears with a loud voice saying, bring near the executioners of the city with his destroying weapon in his hand. Can you imagine that? These are potentially angelic warriors with weapons in hand entering the city. God says, bring the man. We read in Ezekiel 9, to behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand. By the way, this isn't going to be a battle. They're about to be slaughtered for their sins. And with them was a man clothed in linen with a riding case at his waist, and they went in and stood before the bronze altar. So these six executioners are about to destroy this city. Men, women, and children without mercy, except for one group of people. Who are those who are going to be spared here? Ezekiel 9.4, he says to the man who's dressed in linen, pass through the city. through Jerusalem, now pay close attention to this, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it. Who's being spared there? The men who sigh and groan over their abominations. What happens to the rest of the city? Ezekiel 9 5 and to the other she said in my hearing pass through the city after him and strike Your eyes shall not spare and you shall show no pity Those people were thankful that they were not desensitized to the abominations happening around them it literally spared their life and Matthew Henry knows that the men who were saved in this text are such as sigh and cry, sigh in themselves as men in pain and distress, cry to God in prayer as men in earnest because of all the abominations that were in Jerusalem. Listen to this. These pious few had witnessed against those abominations and had done what they could do in their places to suppress it. But finding all their attempts for the reformation of manners fruitless, they sat down and sighed and cried and wept in secret and complained to God because of the dishonor done to His name by their wickedness and the ruin it was bringing upon their church and nation." Here's the question. If God were to send executioners to Holland right now, Would we be spared based upon this text? Matthew Henry applies this to us today. He says, note, it is not enough that we do not delight in the sins of others. and that we have not fellowshiped with them, but we must mourn for them and lay them to heart. We must grieve for that which we cannot help as those that hate sin for its own sake and have a tender concern for the souls of others. We are not allowed to be numb to this. We must do all we can. to suppress the evil around us. And we must cry out to God for help and guidance, and we must mourn and grieve that his law is being broken and that sinners are perishing. that this is the polar opposite of being desensitized to the sins of our nation and our city. And although the text in Ezekiel was specific to a certain group of people, it reveals to us how God views those who are apathetic about the abominations around them. God is not desensitized to sin when it becomes popular. In fact, what did God do when sodomy became popular in Sodom and Gomorrah? He burned those cities to ashes in his wrath. We must remain sensitive to the sins around us so that we would be moved to fall on our knees and cry out to God to change hearts and lives and laws. And so that we would then get up off our knees and be moved to go out and deliver with the gospel those who are in bondage to such sin. According to this text in Ezekiel, when God's people are living in cities that are given over to sin and do nothing about it and care nothing about it, we have guilt. Why? Well, first of all, it shows that we don't really hate sin because it's sinful. We're like, as long as it's not our sin, we're okay. But a true changed heart makes a man look at sin and hate it, even though it's not his own. But also at the at the minimum, we should be sighing and mourning and crying out to God on behalf of our cities. And we also have a mandate to take the gospel to those who are lost and baptize them and disciple them from Christ. And we are called to be salt and light, the moral preservative of our cities and the light of truth that shines through the darkness. If we do none of these things. While our city is celebrating and promoting sin, our complacency makes us guilty. We simply don't care. This is why we cannot allow ourselves to be desensitized. We actually accumulate guilt. And sinners perish without warning. So the million dollar question is how do we avoid being desensitized to the sins that are celebrated around us? Well, there are multiple approaches we could take to this. We could talk about thinking about those souls who are in bondage to sin and on their way to hell and having something in our heart compel us to love them, to take the gospel to them, to rescue them. But I'm not going to go there today. Today, I'm going to point out that we must remember that sin affects entire cities, states, and nations. Here's the lie we've been told. What I do in the privacy of my home does not affect you. Did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because the sin was public? The text doesn't say that, does it? This is a dangerous lie. Because in reality, nations and cities just like ours are either blessed or cursed based upon the sins of their inhabitants. This is what I read to you this morning. Righteousness exalts a nation. But sin is a reproach to any people. Consider that. Look around you at the sins of our city and take that to heart. And what does it mean that sin is a reproach? If sin is a reproach, then what is our nation? What is our city? reproach. As Christians, we are called to care about our cities and our nation. We are called to seek their welfare. We are called to care about what happens to us and our neighbors and our children and our grandchildren. And the bottom line is that if our cities are given over to sin, we cannot expect good. Consider what the Proverbs says. It is righteousness that exalts a nation. Matthew Henry says, justice reigning in a nation puts an honor upon it. A righteous administration of the government, impartial equity between man and man, public confidence given to religion. The general practice and profession of virtue, the protecting and preserving of virtuous men, charity and compassion to strangers. These exalt a nation. Listen to this. They uphold the throne. And qualify a nation for the favor of God. Which will make them high. As a holy nation. Righteousness qualifies a nation. for the favor of God. We used to understand this as believers. We don't care about this anymore. I've told you before about in Zambia, how when they constituted, they declared themselves to be a Christian nation. Why? Because they wanted the blessings of the West. That they recognized the correlation between public virtue, between public righteousness, and blessing from God. No, obviously, you don't get there just by declaring yourself to be Christian. You must actually practice righteousness. But we must understand that righteousness exalts a nation. John Gill says righteousness sets a people above their neighbors and high in the esteem of God and man and is attended with privileges and blessings, which makes a nation great and honorable. Righteousness elevates a nation in the esteem of God. And he says this is attended. With privileges and blessings. Listen, we should actually desire our nation to be righteous. So that we have the favor and blessing of God. I mean, is there anyone here who doesn't want God's favor? The only way to obtain it is through righteousness. He bless disobedience. He does not bless disobedience. And since blessings for nations come through through righteousness, we must understand that the only standard of righteousness is what? God's law. His law is the only standard, which means that if we desire for our nation to be blessed by God, we must desire for our nation to obey God's law. If our nations. And our cities. are publicly celebrating rebellion to God's law, we cannot expect our nation to be exalted in God's esteem and therefore blessed and privileged. In fact, the other part of this proverb tells us about those nations and cities that are given to sin. The writer says, but sin is a reproach to any people. Matthew Henry says vice reigning in a nation puts disgrace upon it. Sin is reproached to any city or kingdom and renders them despicable among their neighbors. It is therefore the interest and duty of princes to use their power for the suppression of vice and the support of virtue. And not only does the sins of a people make them despicable, But it places them under God's judgment. Consider Psalm 107 verses 33 and 34. God turns rivers into a desert. Springs of water into thirsty ground, not good. A fruitful land into a salty waste. Why? because of the evil of its inhabitants. This is the revealed word of God. This is what God does to a nation, to a city, when its inhabitants are evil. Matthew Henry says many a fruitful land is turned to saltness, not so much from natural causes as from the just judgment of God, who thus punished the wickedness of those that dwell therein. God judges cities. He judges nations. Listen, we see the downgrade of our nation. We feel the economic turmoil. I understand the solution is not just a conservative president and conservative leaders. The solution is that we bow our knee to Christ and repent of our wickedness, which makes us despicable and worthy of judgment in God's eyes. Listen to what Spurgeon says. For nations, there is a weighing time. National sins demand national punishments. The whole history of God's dealings with mankind proves that though a nation may go on in wickedness, It may multiply its oppressions and may abound in bloodthirst, tyranny and war. But an hour of retribution draweth nigh. Think of one wicked empire in our history that is still going. They've all been destroyed. Spurgeon says when it shall have filled up its measure of iniquity, In other words, when God says there's this much iniquity that's going to be allowed and no more. He says, then. Shall the angel of vengeance execute its doom? And there cannot be an eternal damnation for nations as nations. No, the guilt they incur must receive its awful recompense in this present time state. That's a terrifying thought. Yes, as believers, we are secure. But it doesn't mean that God is going to allow us to live in prosperity forever. There is a time when God is going to look at the bloodshed and the homosexuality and the adultery and the fornication and all of the sins of our land, and he's going to say enough. and the angel of vengeance shall execute its doom. Dear saints, do we realize that when our cities and our nations have reached a place where sin is celebrated and paraded in the streets, we are in danger of judgment? Not a good thing. But what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah when they were plagued with this sin? Peter summarizes it well in 2 Peter 2, 6. He says, by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, God condemned them to extinction. Listen to this. Making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. He said Sodom and Gomorrah, God condemned them to extinction for their sin. But but you know what? He also did that as an example of what's going to happen to the ungodly. Listen, this is no light matter. Should this not cause us to be concerned when the very sin that provoked God to burn down Sodom and Gomorrah is being paraded and celebrated in this very city? we must realize that sin is a reproach to any people. That the truth of this proverb should prevent us from being desensitized to the sins around us, as the sins of our nation can and will bring our nation under judgment. How can we be numb and complacent to the very sins that are threatening to bring about our destruction? How on earth Righteousness exalts a nation. But sin is a reproach to many people. May this truth cause us to be awakened to the dreadful reality of the consequences of a city being given over to and celebrating sin. And may this awakening provoke our spirit to a righteous indignation, not a bitterness, but a righteous indignation and a grieving that causes us to storm the throne of God and prayer on behalf of these people and on behalf of our nation, on behalf of our city. And may this awakening cause us to storm the gates of hell with the gospel, to strap on the sword of the spirit and go to war. rescuing lost souls from the wrath of God and the bondage and slavery of sin. I leave you with these words of Spurgeon, written in the 1800s. And may we save America and Holland. What Spurgeon said of England, Here's Spurgeon speaking about his country. He says, our duty at this time is to take heed to ourselves as a nation, that we purge ourselves of our great sins. Although God has given so much light and kindly favored us with the dew of His Spirit, yet England, and I say America, and Holland, is a hoary sinner. And so Spurgeon says, let each one, to the utmost of his ability, labor and strive to purify this land of blood and oppression and of everything evil that still clingeth to her. So may God preserve this land. May that be our mindset. that each and every one of us are committed to doing whatever we can to purge this land of wickedness. Maybe that means you can take the gospel to those around you. Maybe that means spending more time in prayer about this, crying out to God for revival, crying out to God for repentance and reformation. But here's the question, are we committed to doing this to the utmost of our ability, that we may purify this land of all our evils, that God may preserve it. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the warnings like this we have in scripture. Because you could just punish us for our sins and we don't even know why. But yet you warn us that nations will be judged, that cities will be judged. And that righteousness is where we find blessing. Father, help us to understand this. To look at the sins celebrated around us and to be moved to do something. Father, we ask that you would awaken us from our sleep. That we would not slumber while those around us are perishing. That we would not slumber while our nation is on the brink of judgment and our cities are on the brink of judgment. But that you would give us a heart to take the gospel to those who are enslaved to it. That you would give us the boldness and the courage and the love and the zeal to do so. That You would give us the wisdom to see that our laws are changed. That You would give us righteous leaders who would understand that only righteousness exalts a nation, and that sin truly is a reproach. We ask that You would preserve us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.