“Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” -- King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 1:2
"Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. -- GOD, Jeremiah 23:24
Then I saw a Great White Throne and Him Who was seated on It. The Earth and the heavens fled from His Presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before The Throne, and books were opened. Another Book was opened, which is The Book of Life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into The Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is The Second Death. Anyone whose name was not found written in The Book of Life was thrown into The Lake of Fire. -- The Apostle John, Revelation 20:11-15
In God's Defense
God is not an idiot. God does not lack basic intelligence or common sense. God is not foolish or stupid. God is not affected with extreme intellectual disability. God is not ignorant--about ANYTHING. God is not a moron, imbecile, dimwit, dullard or simpleton.
One would think that declaring so very obvious a truth would be unnecessary--especially in the Church...especially in the American Church, since many American Christians consider these United States to be a "Christian" nation blest with Special Divine Unction and Protection.
Since the year 2020, most United States citizens profess to believe in the God described by the Bible (about 64%). Fifty years earlier (in 1970) the number of professing American Christians was 90%.
My question to you is: Why is the American Church pretending that God doesn't know what the Church itself knows but refuses to talk about?
The title of this message is WORSHIP. One of the first things I learned as a worshiper of God is that THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS SECRETS. Secrets are an illusion...a methodology sinners use to put off to the future things they need to deal with NOW, but are too emotionally and spiritually FRAGILE to do so. As saints, our God allows us to play this game, knowing that our "secrets" so-called, have a life of their own; secrets fight the darkness we have imprisoned them in, and ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL, break into the daylight of public knowledge.
For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. -- Jesus Christ, Luke 8:17.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. -- King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 12:14
The Sinking Ship
I am the head of my household, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I am the watchman on the wall of my castle. In addition to facilitating a life group at the Encounter Church and writing books and blogposts regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its relevancy to the times in which we live, I work a full time job, pay bills and WATCH. "What do you watch, Brother Calvin?" I watch EVERYTHING. I observe news coming from every sector and every country on the planet...including this country: the United States of America.
Politics. Culture. Technology. BioTech. Agriculture. The Food and Drug Administration. Changes in Law and Policy. Finance. Banking. Cryptocurrency. Housing. Homelessness. Economics. Cost of Living (I find it nearly hilarious that humans, who represent themselves as the "top of the food-chain" don't have a problem being the ONLY species on this planet that has to pay to live). But I digress...
...I see everything...and what I am seeing scares me to the core of my being.
"There's no fear in Love, Brother Calvin, for Perfect Love cast out all fear." That's what the Bible says (1 John 4:18): the Love of God cast out every fear except ONE...
...The Fear of God. If the Holiness, Righteousness, Justice, Wrath and Vengeance of God Almighty doesn't raise the hairs on the back of your mortal neck, you are not saved.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his [the wicked's] eyes. -- King David, Psalm 36:1
Behold therefore the Goodness and Severity of God... -- The Apostle Paul, Romans 11:22
But I will forewarn you Whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him. -- Jesus Christ, Luke 12:5
God wants His children to be filled with BOTH His Love and His Fear; it is only then that we can avoid treating God like He's an idiot.
What am I seeing (you may ask)? In the United States of America I see a Nation dying from within while sitting under the Judgment of Heaven and the Wrath of God.
How do I know this? Why am I so sure? I know this because I have studied the history of great cultures, nations and empires from the beginning of recorded time until now. Sumer (Biblical Shinar), Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Germany, China, India, Mongolia, Russia, The Aztec, Maya and Inca Empires... they all without exception followed the same pattern and fell to the same fate. They all started with the understanding that Morality is superior to Law; and laws that violate morality must be either changed or abolished. Then they all decided at some point that Law was more important than Morality. Then they decided that Money was more important than Law or Morality. They then changed the Law to support the Wealthy and oppress the poor (and anyone who has read their Bible knows that God takes an extremely dim view of those who oppress the poor). To keep the poor pacified, they then published the lie that Pleasure (at least for the poor) is more important than Law or Morality. At that point the poor sought either hedonism, drugs or both to comfort them in their poverty. And so civil war and division destroyed those civilizations from within...
...and God let it happen.
Now you would say to me that the United States had its civil war early in its history; to which I reply that THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR NEVER ENDED...it just changed form, and more than a few times.
As a world power the United States is going through the SAME PROCESS as all of her predecessors; and those in the Church who are participating in her sins are sitting under the same judgment as she.
Christianity?
I know, I know...I was born on a church pew. I KNOW how precious the American Church is to Christ. We are the people of the Gospel...the "Assembly of the Living God...the Pillar and Foundation of The Truth" on Earth (1 Timothy 3:15). Called from every nation, tongue, tribe and people...recipients of the Mightiest Truth ever to descend from the Throne of Heaven...we are the ONLY entity standing between the United States and a Decree from Heaven that none of us in our wildest dreams would begin to imagine. But if we, through the Grace of the Lord Jesus, do not maintain His Chastity and Purity in our hearts and minds...if we do not continue our worship in the Spirit of Christ and the Truth of Christ, we will NOT be able to save this county from the Anger of our God.
A Legacy of Persecution
In the 1,900 years since Christ's Crucifixion (31 A.D. to 1900 A.D.) it's estimated that at least 14 million Christians have been murdered for no other reason than their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the last 100 years alone, over 20 million Christians have poured out their blood as an offering of true worship to Christ.
The Devil has stepped up his game...Satan is playing to win: to wipe out all traces of The True Faith from not just our country but off the face of the entire Earth at any cost...and are we to enjoy lives of prosperity and comfort, expecting our local, state and federal governments to defend our religious liberties to the Day that Jesus returns?
The Lord himself asked a very serious question that today's American Church rarely considers:
And will not God bring about Justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get Justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [true] Faith on the Earth?” -- Jesus Christ, Luke 18:7,8
Brothers and sisters, I ask you: when The Lord Jesus returns, will He find living, righteous, Holy Spirit-anointed Faith on the Earth? Or will He find some other kind of faith...strong in words but weak in deeds, weak in love, weak in joy, weak in mercy and kindness, weak in compassion and perseverance...weak in humility and weak in prayer?
The Final Exam
In 2 Corinthians 13:5 the Apostle Paul charges us to examine ourselves that we may know whether we are in the Faith of Christ or not...and that examination begins now...
Have we in our prayers attempted to advise God on how best to rule over us?
Have we been reluctant to preach the truths that Jesus preached for fear of alienating potential converts?
Have we tried to make the sanctuaries and classrooms of our churches more attractive to the world so that the world would feel more comfortable in the Church?
In our desperate efforts to win the lost have we lost the victory over pride, selfishness and egomania that our Lord Christ suffered and died to secure for us?
Are we trying to get Christ to approve our plans for evangelism rather than waiting for God to reveal His Plan for our Church to us?
If I pointed to any of you and asked you to explain to me HOW TO BE SAVED, or WHAT IS THE GOSPEL SUPPOSED TO SAVE ME FROM, would you be able to give me an answer that any 10-year-old child would understand?
The Assurance of Worship?
I have been blessed to be a member of churches that take their worship of The GODHEAD very seriously. Before I would ever entertain the thought of joining any church, I would first have to bear witness to the Presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ in that assembly of believers, as I have with the Encounter Church.
So it is with a humble and heavy heart I declare to you that WORSHIP IS NOT PROOF OF SALVATION. Your worship of God does not grant you ANY MERIT towards your Salvation.
Therefore God [The Father] exalted Him to The Highest Place and gave Him The Name that is above every name, that at The Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to The Glory of God the Father. -- The Apostle Paul, Philippians 2:9-11
I worship God because HE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP, not because I am worthy to worship Him.
Revelation 5:13,14 makes it very clear: whether you are saved or not, whether you are destined for Heaven or Hell, YOU WILL WORSHIP GOD and acknowledge both that all of His Decisions are Just as well as His Sovereign Right to do with your soul as He pleases!
...You Might Be A Christian
So...where does these truths leave us? How do we know that we are truly saved and that our names are written in The Lamb's Book of Life?
I believe the Holy Scriptures provide us some very clear clues...
If you're seeking to fit the cares of this life into your relationship with God rather than trying to make God into just another care of your life...you might be a Christian.
If your prayers overflow with gratitude and thanksgiving even when God hasn't given you any gift you've asked for (and He's given you trials you didn't ask for)...you might be a Christian.
If your prayers are swollen with compassion for the people who are aggressively trying to destroy you...you might be a Christian.
If company policy doesn't quite curb your enthusiasm for sharing your Faith with your coworkers...you might be a Christian.
If you are convinced that Faith is MORE VALUABLE than money (and you live accordingly)...you might be a Christian.
If you see your life and possessions as expendable as Christ saw Himself as expendable for the Will and Glory of God His Father...you might be a Christian.
If you are are determined to stand with Christ while the world expresses its hatred of Him...you might be a Christian.
If you would rather spend evenings weeping over your sins and the sins of your family than "partying all night long"...you might be a Christian (Ecclesiastes 7:2; Matthew 5:4).
If you'd rather receive compliments from God than from your friends...you might be a Christian.
If your family finds it well nigh impossible to make you angry or push your buttons...you might be a Christian.
If you'd rather starve to death than displease Christ...
