Shawn Snobelen - Be Not Ashamed - Class 2 - Without Excuse

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:01

   All right, this is the 2024 Watch and Lake Bible School. Our third period speaker is our brother Sean Snowblind. His second class, which he will be delivering to us, is entitled Be Not Ashamed without Excuse. Well, thank you brother and, and welcome everyone to Class 2. A couple of the comments that I got last night. And by the way, I really appreciate all the comments that I got and we’ll we’ll reference some of them during the course of this talk, God willing.

2. 0:42

   One of them was that it’s very distinct that was given to me by two or three people, including my wife, was that I went overtime by 10 minutes. And with a title like that, I am therefore without excuse about the timing on on this one. So we opened yesterday’s class by looking at the the theme for the week. Paul’s bold statement in in Romans chapter 1 and 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. And those in Christ believe in the existence of the Almighty God.

3. 1:17

   And that he has called us out of darkness that we might share in his glorious light. And, and we also looked at the the sense that we have to believe in God’s future and his future promises and in a knowing and believing that there is a future will help us make decisions in the present day.

4. 1:34

   And we looked at how God has made us in his image that we might be like him and that we might act like him and manifest who he is and that his character might form our character in our lives. And so I think it’s a very profound and it’s a very humbling thing what our God has done for us, that he surrounded us with his name, that he surrounded us with his character, and that he has surrounded us with his power. That literally everywhere we look we might see the character of God.

5. 2:04

   Now, I’ve often thought of this, and I’m sure you have as well, that when we walk into our ecclesial hall, we should. See Christ everywhere manifest. If we are all in embodying the the characteristics and the the spiritual divine characteristics of of our Lord Jesus Christ that when we walk into our collegial hall, we should see it reflected in all the brethren and sisters.

6. 2:35

   I wish that were true and I wish that were true for myself because oftentimes I don’t manifest those characteristics in my life. But I think that’s something we should think of when we walk through the doors and not not just our ecclesial hall, of course, but in our families, even in in our place of, of work or where we go to school, that we should be reflecting God’s character and the character of his Son in our lives. And so the message for this class is that that we see God everywhere.

7. 3:09

   And so therefore we are without excuse. So turn to Romans chapter 1 and let’s just look at this section where the Apostle Paul talks about this very thing.

8. 3:22

   And we went over this quite a bit with the with the young people. And I have a statement I want to make about the young people at the end as well. That those that deny the existence of God are without excuse. But at the same time, and I think even in a greater way, those of us who are believers or even more without excuse. But look at what Paul says.

9. 3:42

   For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made so that they are without excuse. Now I’m sure you know what these word meanings are, and I didn’t when I did this study, but if you have clearly perceived, I think from the ESV in your Bible, it means to behold fully.

10. 4:09

    It means to experience the physicality, the emotional nature, the spiritual nature of God. That’s what it means to clearly perceive. It’s not obscured. It’s not difficult to see. God is everywhere. And when Paul says there without excuse, it’s this interesting word. So we are Christian apologetics. We defend our faith. This is the opposite. This is in the Greek and apologetics. There is no excuse, there is no defense for anyone to say that they cannot see God.

11. 4:47

    And so the truth of God exists all around us, His eternal power, as Paul says, and his divine nature. These attributes are to be held fully in everything that we see, in everything that is being made, and that we are without excuse. We have no apology and no defense. It’s it’s irrefutable. So the nature of God should be manifest in US and it’s irrefutable to everybody in the world to see.

12. 5:16

    And how long has that been going on? Since the very beginning of time. And where is that happening? Everywhere God saw fit to make sure that his character and his nature and his divine power could be seen everywhere all at once. Like you just think about the words that Paul says. That’s incredible. Not only God, in his infinite love and mercy would make himself available, but it would be so obvious. That we would be indefensible, That we would be without excuse now.

13. 5:58

    Then Paul goes on to talk about the wrath of God. And so why is God angry? Well, God is angry for two specific reasons. And I think this resonated, I, I hope with the young people as we try to understand what what Paul is talking about. It says in verse 80 where the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth and unrighteousness. So so why is God anger?

14. 6:22

    Well, these these two words are very specific. Ungodliness, this word in the Greek for Asabaya, the word generally translates in the New Testament as ungodliness. And in most cases, in some cases it’s translated as reverence. And it refers to this proper, this lack of reverence for God, failing to worship God, failing to honor God as he is.

15. 6:44

    And we’ll call that, you know, our vertical relationship with God. So the first thing God is angry at is that man has severed that vertical relationship with God, that mankind is no longer inhabiting the image that God created him in. And the second word for unrighteousness is this word attakiya. In the Greek, this word is typically translated as unrighteous. But what we’ll find in Class 4 is that it’s also translated as injustice and righteousness and justice. Are these Co equal terms in the New Testament, which will come up when we look at social justice? And so it comes as all the we can say, the moral wrongs, the unjust actions that violate God’s ethical standards and his morality.

16. 7:23

    We’ll call that the horizontal relationship we have with our fellow man. So not only has has man severed the relationship with God in our ungodly behavior, but we have also separated our relationship severed. That relationship with mankind and that’s why we see chaos in our society. And so Paul says we are without excuse. It’s indefensible.

17. 7:47

    It’s an apologetic. Our situation of being in a state of dishonor with God and wickedness before man cannot be defended or tolerated. So this is very a very serious accusation that Paul is leveling at those that are unrighteous. And so This is why God is angry. The very reason why God created all things in the 1st place was so that man would see him everywhere. And the very reason God created him in his image was so that man would see God and inhabit that likeness, that image, that form and be like God and to act like God. And yet what we have today is a complete reversal of that in every way, shape and form, where mankind is now embodying the ungodly and unrighteousness of humanism. Now I’m sure everybody knows who. This man is Professor Richard Dawkins, and we’ve heard all of his quotes, I think.

18. 8:41

    I think the. Best thing I’ve. Heard about Richard Dawkins and I’ll show you the video at some other time is when he finally, finally admits under cross examination that Christ did exist. I think it’s just the most wonderful thing from this atheist who for years said Christ the the historical Jesus didn’t exist. But Richard Dawkins this this infamous evolutionary biologist and we’ll say militant atheist, neo Darwinist as he likes to refer to himself.

19. 9:11

    Was being interviewed for a documentary about 20 years ago and the last question that the interviewer asked him was Mr. Dawkins. What if you actually meet God someday and God condemns your rejection of him?

20. 9:28

    What are you going to say? And as arrogant as this man is, he said he responded to the interfaces. I would say, Sir, why did you take such great pains to hide yourself? You know, we can look at this man and we can hear his statement. It would just be, you know, awestruck at the.

21. 9:55

    Ignorance of this kind? I’ve asked my brother Stephen. Who kind of walks in these circles who I don’t think yet has met Professor Richard Dawkins. And what are you going to say when you do meet him? And he’s, he’s going to say, how come you’ve never read the Bible? Like, so we find it mind blowing. But I, I, if we’re thinking about the person that the apostle Paul is, is referring to in Romans chapter 1, it’s this kind of person because as a evolutionary microbiologist who should see the intricate and beautiful detail in the cell which we will look at tonight, God willing that he could suppress that truth in his own life. And I think that’s the person the apostle Paul is talking about.

22. 10:40

    South Man has inhabited God’s image with ungodliness. It says in Psalm 53 and verse 2. So God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any. That didn’t understand or to seek God and every one of them had gone back. They were all together become filthy. There was none that doeth good.

23. 10:58

    No, not one. And so man has continued to pursue this ungodliness and this unrighteousness and humanism is is as old as mankind itself, right? I mean it goes back to the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, given everything. They were literally given everything separated from creation in their own ecclesia.

24. 11:21

    And said they saw something that they wanted to put themselves in line first ahead of God. You know, they, they thought they could be a better version of themselves. And I say that because about 10 years ago there was a bus ad for a beauty product that was running in, in downtown Victoria. And the, the, the tag line from it, I never was able to photograph it.

25. 11:47

    So I can’t prove that the story is correct. It said be a better version of yourself. And then it showed this beautiful model who had, you know, a before and after like ugly and then beautiful because of the makeup. And I that that’s, that stuck with me that we are not in this world under God to be a better version of ourselves. God doesn’t want a better version of ourselves. God.

26. 12:09

    Wants us to represent his Son. And so mankind, since the dawn of civilization, has tried to subvert the existence of God in ways that make it possible for us to live the life that we want, free from, as it were, the influence of God, the free from the guilt to follow our own sinful lives.

27. 12:32

    And so this is the issue. This is why God is angry. This is why God is wrathful. And God has every right. To be wrathful, it says in Romans 1 and 28, and we read part of this the other night. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteous evil, covetousness, malice.

28. 12:56

    They were full of envy, murder, strife, maliciousness, gossip, etcetera. So it’s like God got to a point and said, if this is what you, it’s like with Pharaoh, right? We some people say, oh, it’s was unfair because God started to, you know, harden Pharaoh’s heart. And if God does that to us, that’s unfair.

29. 13:15

    I say well. God’s world, and by the way, Pharaoh hardened his own heart, I think five times. And then God said, if that’s what you want, then that’s what you will have. And the same thing is happening with us today, with mankind. You know, it’s like you think about. How? Heartbroken God must have been. When he looked down on mankind in Genesis chapter 6 before the flood and as it says, he only saw evil completely. You know, it’s, it’s a very sad state of affairs that God would look down from heaven and not see anyone that didn’t understand.

30. 14:00

    And so humanity has pursued this unrighteousness as a passion. And so this is all these are all the things that Paul’s trying to get out to the to the Roman ecclesia and to us. And what mankind has done is is systematic. And so this is what Paul says happens. And this, I think this is interesting.

31. 14:17

    You probably all have it in your notes. And that’s great. I didn’t, but but this is what Paul says. Look at the systematic because if you think it’s unintentional, what man has done, it is not it is highly intentional. It’s the first thing in in Romans chapter 1 and 23. The first thing mankind does is they change God because if we can remove God, then we remove the rule maker. And so that’s what they’ve done.

32. 14:47

    For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and they changed to make different was what that word means to change from one form to another. And it actually means to exchange from one form to a lesser form. So they remove God, the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like corruptible, corruptible man, or birds or 4 footed beasts and creeping things, as we’ll see in just a minute.

33. 15:17

    So once the rule maker has been removed, then it becomes easier to change the rules. So that’s the next thing Paul says in verse 25. Who then changed the truth of God into a lion? They worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. Now this word is a different word for change. It means a profound change.

34. 15:38

    It means from exchanging one form to a completely other form. Right? Which we can see as the unrighteousness of man creeps in. And so they remove the rule maker. Then they remove the rules and then what happens? Well, then your morality changes. There’s no more center post, there’s no more moral underline, there’s no more baseline. And so he says in verse 26 for this, ’cause then God gave them up to their vile affections, the verse we’ve already read. And So what?

35. 16:15

    What then follows from that is all of the the wickedness, unrighteousness and ungodliness of mankind. Gave them up to their uncleanness, to the lust of their own hearts, the dishonor of their own bodies between themselves. And so we can see the intentional devolution of man remove God, remove the rules and remove the guilt. And now we can do whatever we want. And we talked yesterday about that word autonomy. Write this word for self law and you wonder why now we have self law now it says in in Psalm 7 and and this is. A beautiful Psalm in the sense of what it’s calling for. Psalm 7.

36. 16:50

    I’ll just read this out starting verse 9. I’ll let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you. Establish the righteous, the psalmist says. You who will test the minds and the hearts are righteous God. My shield is with God who saves the upright and heart. God is a righteous God and a God who feels indignation every day.

37. 17:11

    And if a man doesn’t repent, God will wet his sword. He has bent and readied his bow. He has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. And Brother Kitson in his class this morning, and I’d never heard this before about how we would diligently teach our children in Deuteronomy chapter 6.

38. 17:30

    And that word diligent means to wet the sword and sharpen it. And I was like, how did I miss that? And so it’s the same kind of sense here, but we’ll talk about. Our children in in a in a in a subsequent class, God willing and that very thing about how we need to prepare them after the world out there.

39. 17:48

    But God, God didn’t want the world this way. God. Didn’t intend humanity to be this way. He has given us free will so that we might make the choice to follow him. And unfortunately, the vast majority of humanity has decided to go in the opposite direction and so turn over to to Exodus 24. Really, this was an example for the teens, but I think it’s relevant for us as well because this shows how fast we devolve into sin when we remove God.

40. 18:17

    And so we know what’s happening in in Exodus chapter 24. It’s the wonderful setup before Moses ascends the mountain and receives the the law from God and, and he received also the pattern of the Tabernacle and the design for the priestly garments and the, the cleansing and the process and all those beautiful things and, and of course the 10 commandments in X is 24 and three. They start at the chapter God calls Moses and the elders to the mountain and and what they do first is they reconfirm the covenant with the nation is this is important because it’s Moses came and and called all the people and said all the words of the Lord and brought all the.

41. 18:56

    Rules as it says in this particular version. And all the people answered with one voice, and said, all the words that the Lord has spoken we will do. And at verse 7 he took the book of the covenant, and he recommitted them to the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.

42. 19:14

    And Moses ascends the mountain, God calls him, and he ends up going up just. With a Joshua. And he leaves behind Aaron and her and Abinadab and the 70 elders. And Moses tells them, you stay back and and deal with all the issues and answer all the questions and stay with the people.

43. 19:32

    And so this is what happens. And they they separate and Moses says, wait here till we return. And behold, Aaron and her will be with you and whoever. Has a dispute, let him go to them and and Moses and Joshua go up, and they commune with God and. And as Moses sends them out in a thick cloud covered the base of the mountain, then up at the top of the mountain, as if to say God is manifest everywhere.

44. 19:50

    It says in the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain. It says in verse 17 inside of all the people, Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights and so we understand the backdrop. They have committed to the to the rules of God.

45. 20:06

    They’ve recommitted to the covenant of God. They said we will obey everything. Moses goes up to the mount and God has manifest for all of them to see in the sight of all the people and Moses is on the mountain for 40 days and he receives. All of these wonderful things from God.

46. 20:23

    And in those. 40 days him and Joshua would have been writing these things down and understanding them, committing them to memory. These were this was the pattern of worship whereby the nation of Israel was to approach their God. And in Exodus 31 and 18, he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking unto him in Mount Sinai, the 2 tablets of the testimony, the tablets of the stone written with the finger of God.

47. 20:44

    It’s just it is a beautiful thing when Moses is on the mountain with God. But then chapter 32 and verse one, when the people saw that Moses had delayed 40 days, came down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said unto him, Up make us gods, who shall go before us, for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt only 40 days. Ago.

48. 21:03

    We don’t know what’s become of him. So they’ve removed God. God’s out of the picture. They can’t see him. They removed the authority figure of God, which was Moses, and they gave Aaron their gold, and he fashioned for them a golden calf. These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in verse 35 and verse 32, when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it and God and Aaron made a proclamation, even said tomorrow we’ll have a feast. And so within 24 hours they removed God, they removed the rules that they just re covenant to and their morality goes out the window.

49. 21:43

    And when Moses and Joshua come down from the mountain, they, they saw that the people had broken loose. They were, they were naked, they were dancing, they were reveling. It says, to the derision of the enemies of God that Moses stood at the gate of the camp and he said, Who is on the Lord’s side? And this is where we have the calling out, of course, of the Levites.

50. 22:03

    He said, who’s on the Lord’s side? Come with me. And all the Levites gathered their swords and they went to Moses. And unfortunately, what happens, very sadly, was the judgement of God on those people who had cast off all restraint.

51. 22:18

    And the Lord destroyed those who are wicked with the sword of the sons of Levi. This is the result of removing God from our world, of removing God from our Society, of removing God from our family, from our ecclesia, from our own minds. But we were without excuse because we know what happens when God is not present and we see it everywhere in the world. So The thing is, brothers and sisters, is we too are without excuse.

52. 22:47

    We know all of these things. We’ve been given all of these examples. The end of of chapter 1 of Romans and verse 32 says, though they know God’s righteous decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them, but they give approval to those who practice them. And it’s like when we read about the nation of Israel and all the things that they did wrong, it’s like, Oh, we’re not like that. And when we think about the disciples, you know, and the disciples just couldn’t understand. I, I remember growing up, it’s like, Oh, I, I would have known that.

53. 23:20

    Like we, we, we tend to set aside some of these examples that God has given us and said, we’re, we’re not like that. We’ll never make that mistake. But the the interesting thing is what Paul says in verse 32 when he says that we give approval, the word in the Greek means to associate with, to have companionship with. It’s not like we’re standing afar off. We’re saying, ah, you know, I don’t do that or I don’t do that.

54. 23:46

    The problem is president and sisters, that even in our daily lives, we tend to associate with and have companionship with people who are ungodly. And this is one of the questions that came out at the end. We did a little workshop with the young people at the end, which was I think was really great because their answers were phenomenal, you know, And one of the things was how difficult it is to separate from somebody that you’ve grown up with in the world or that you have a fond association with in the truth. And this is not just an issue with young people. This I think is a bigger issue with us older people. We tend to hang on to those relationships. Marnie and I have done a number of, of have had a number of classes with, with couples getting married. And one of the things we always bring up is what are you going to do with the people you associate with in the world? What’s going to happen with those relationships? As sad as it is, you know, we have to sever those relationships.

55. 24:46

    Otherwise we stay in association with them. We have companionship with them. And before you know it, it leads to justification of the things that they’re doing. How many people in the time of Moses with the golden calf stood by and said, that’s amazing, right? And didn’t do anything about it and didn’t stand up for truth?

56. 25:10

    Romans chapter 2 and four, let’s just turn that up because we have, we have a decision to make when these things happen. And as I said, we can, we can never look at any scripture and think, oh, that’s not for me. I think Romans chapter 1 and 2 is absolutely for us as believers.

57. 25:25

    Romans chapter 2 and verse 4 Speaking of the mercy of God and what it’s intended to do says or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance, But because of your heart and impedance and heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed and He will render to each one according to His works. And So what Paul is presenting to us here are two choices 2 responses that we need to make when we identify and understand the things that are happening in the world. The first response is verse 7 to those who by patience and well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality. He will give eternal life.

58. 26:08

    And the other direction, thinking about Moses who said you have to pick a side. It’s for those who are self seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness. There will be wrath and fury. There’ll be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good.

59. 26:28

    One of the questions that was asked, which I thought was great, is. How do you know when to cut somebody off? How do you know when that friendship has reached the point of no return?

60. 26:42

    That’s hard because we think we can save. People. Right. We think if that our association will somehow sanctify these people. And I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. I’m not saying it it shouldn’t happen and I am saying it does happen. People come into the. Truth because of association with those in in in Christ. The problem is we have to know specifically when we start to veer off in their direction.

61. 27:06

    And as soon as that happens and we realize. That we can no longer stay on the straight and narrow path. That’s when we have to sever that relationship. And that was a comment that came up from the young people is that that’s a really hard thing to define. Think of how difficult it is for us and all of our additional justifications. So, so so, So what are we?

62. 27:26

    Doing Do we? Expect that we can rewrite all the principles of God that that deem us righteous and then change them. Do we think we can modify? Do you think we can accommodate the truth, hoping and thinking that maybe this problem will go away or this person will change, or, you know, somehow we will be able to resolve that conflict Instead of standing up for truth and saying, I can no longer tolerate this issue because we, we, we think things like, well, maybe. And I’ve heard that I have.

63. 27:56

    Literally heard this in the truth. You know, Sean, maybe. All of God’s laws are not right. You know, maybe God is not. Aware of the complexity of the social order today, you know, and brother Mark Hunter said to me, and I’m going to like, I’m super bad at remembering stuff, so I’m going to like, really badly paraphrases.

64. 28:21

    And he heard this from somebody else. Like isn’t. It, he said. Isn’t it funny? That all of the principles and the doctrines that we’re told we now have wrong just seemed to align with the new social order. And when he said funny, he didn’t mean funny, he meant like. Sad that all the things that were challenging today in the truth, in our cliches, in our families, just happened to align with all the pressures of the world that are coming at us.

65. 28:55

    It’s, it’s uncanny. And, and this is also why I think God is so merciful to us. It’s, it’s not like it’s difficult to sort this out, but if we have the mind of the truth, we will. And if we’re tainted by the darkness of the world, then we won’t. And that is, that’s the fine line that we walk.

66. 29:16

    Some of the things that I’ve heard in the ecclesial world are actually frightening. Now here’s here’s one I’ve heard brothers and sisters now not using the term husband and wife.

67. 29:35

    They refer them as partner and ask, well, why? Well, because, you know, at work, that’s kind of. You know those words, husband and wife, they’re violent because if you’re not a husband or wife and then you’re excluded. So we just use partner because it’s, it’s representative. Every anybody can have a partner. Well, it’s not scripturally representative of the relationship between man and woman. And it’s not only that, but but you’ll notice that there this is in Canada.

68. 30:07

    I think the US is thankfully a little bit further behind on this. They’re scrubbing terms from textbooks in school. Like husband, wife, brother, sister, mother, father. They’re scrubbing those all out and using these sort of neutral, ambiguous terms because, well, not everybody’s a brother. Not everybody. Can be a mother, right? Not, not everybody can be a father. Oh, that’s unfair.

69. 30:32

    And we, we talked about this. I think it was a breakfast or dinner. I I forget about how illogical some of these things actually are. And we’ll, we’ll, we’ll dive into a few of those, God willing, in the next couple of days. I just, you know, you know, what’s happening in society and, and literature in school and, and, and the curriculum is, is creeping into our ecclesias that, that we could actually even think that that’s OK to change that term.

70. 30:57

    It’s just a word, right? It’s just the word, but it’s not just the word. It’s a spiritual concept that God gave us that we would be one man and one woman and we would form the ecclesia of God on that basis.

71. 31:12

    Now we know that on the extreme side of things, there are cliches that have already completely capitulated to worldly thinking and practice. This is not something we talked about with the young people that allow alternative lifestyles that have already transitioned. All of the biblical roles for men and women turn them upside down.

72. 31:34

    They they promote alternate explanations for shocking acts of evil. Here’s 1A Bible class on homosexuality using Sodom and Gomorrah. You know why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was because they weren’t hospitable to Lot’s friends. That’s the explanation. And in the New Testament, when Paul talks about it and condemns it, what Paul really meant was, well, only if it’s idolatrous or only if it’s in fornication.

73. 32:02

    But a loving relationship, a loving LGBTQ relationship, well, that is acceptable by God. That’s a Bible class that you can download from a Christadelphian ecclesia right now. I believe it’s still there online. So you have ecclesias that are already a reimagining God’s truth and reprinting it in a way that is completely ungodly, you know?

74. 32:28

    It’s sad because the other impact that we have is with our extended family and I and I say with my extended family too. So, so we all have family who are not in the truth. And sometimes we go to a family gathering, a big dinner, something that you you have those kind of radical members of the family who are pro Kamala Harris or pro Trudeau or you know. They’re liberal, they’re progressive, they talk about things like, you know, abortion and you know, women should have the right to do all this like.

75. 32:59

    And so, so those conversation happen and and there are those who who will then sit idly by and not say anything because they don’t want to create any issues. They don’t want to, they want to rock the boat within their, the broader family. But all these things are heard by their kids and other people. And eventually you hear that enough and you want to you want to keep access to your grandchildren, right? And so.

76. 33:22

    You kind of just go along with it. It’s a good thing Marty’s not here because but I’ll say this while she’s not here, and so don’t tell her. And I’m not talking about. Political ideology. But as believers in Christ, we should be fundamentally conservative, conservative, small C conservative in our outlook on life. We believe in the traditional family. We believe in traditional roles, we believe in God’s presence in our life.

77. 33:54

    We believe in obedience and accountability and being governed not by self but by God’s law. So those are all conservative values. And I, I, I, I, I, I think the problem is, is that we are in some ways and in some places turning left and becoming progressively liberal. It says in Acts 20, the apostle Paul, pay careful attention yourselves into all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the ecclesia of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

78. 34:28

    I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away disciples after them. And this, this, this is actually happening, Brothers and sisters, it’s happening. It’s happening a lot. It’s happening, I think, more than you think it’s happening. Even in a.

79. 34:59

    Conservative ecclesia, you go on and ask them, you know, have you listened to this certain brothers class? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen to that class. It’s, it’s great. I’m like, I’m not going to say who it is. If you want to know, I’ll tell you after. But it’s, it’s not great. I’ll tell you it’s not great. And and it’s and it’s ungodly and it’s unscriptural. The apostle Paul says in Romans Chapter 9, verse 20. But who are you?

80. 35:22

    O men, answer back to God. Well, what does molded say to its molder? Why have you made me? Thus has the Potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump 1 vessel for honor, and one vessel for dishonorable use. And so God will determine what He will do with those people. He has chosen to be in a position of those who are honorable and those who are dishonorable. And we have to decide and judge which ones those are. And so how else are we without excuse? We have been given by God the ability to discern things spiritually and scripturally.

81. 36:01

    We quoted this yesterday in Colossians 2 and 8. See to that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depend on human, human tradition. We must test the spirits that they be of God. And you know, we have to know we will be persecuted. We will feel pressure. I asked the teens. I said, do you feel the pressure to conform to society? And a lot of hands went up.

82. 36:22

    A lot of hands went up. I feel pressured by society. Second Timothy 3 and 12 says, in fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. See, here’s this is exactly what’s happening. If you’re a Christian, if you’re a God fearing Christian and you, you, you live your life on godly principles, you will be condemned for doing that.

83. 36:46

    That’s what’s that’s what’s happening in today’s society. But those who are wantonly falling off of after their own sin, they’re actually celebrated. And all you have to do is just look into the world and you will see that. And so we’ve been warned, brethren and sisters, about all of these things. What else have we been warned about?

84. 37:06

    Well, we’ve been warned about the difference between false teachers and doctrines. And we if we know the truth, we can apply that filter. Peter says in second Peter chapter 2. But there’ll also be false prophets among you, just as there were false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who brought them, who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. And many will follow after their depraved conduct and we’ll bring the way of truth into disrepute.

85. 37:32

    And so we have a responsibility to uphold biblical doctrine, and that’s it’s not always an easy thing and sometimes that creates conflict. And so we have to do it in the the right and appropriate way. But when we see something in our ecclesia entering in, we cannot. Wait, we have to deal with it.

86. 37:48

    It says in first Timothy chapter 4, the spirit clearly says that in later time, some will abandoned the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things that are taught by demons. And, and we have to we have to catch them before they’re gone, before these things undermine other people, undermine our cliches, undermine families. How else are we without excuse?

87. 38:15

    Well, we, we know about the moral decay and lawlessness that is happening now. I don’t know how many of you, so I got to be careful. I’ll condemn myself here, but I kind of been watching the news while I’ve been up here. I know I shouldn’t, but a lot of things are going on in Israel right now, including some incursions by Hezbollah just just this morning and, and, and, and, and I get tired of looking at the news because it’s, it’s literally all bad.

88. 38:45

    It’s just all lawlessness. It’s, it’s mobs of hundreds of people running into, you know, shopping malls and just stealing everything. And, you know, when they, when they finally catch some of these people and they interview them, their answers are, are crazy. They don’t. Think that what they’re doing is wrong. Many of them they don’t think Do you know that the number one, the number one crime for 18 to 28 year olds is.

89. 39:19

    Now is cheating on their taxes and and they they justify it because they say things like the government takes too much or I deserve to have. More or they don’t understand my situation like so we’re changing morals to justify doing things, just standard things. And so we know these things are happening. We know they’re out there.

90. 39:41

    But mark this the apostle Paul says to Timothy, there will be terrible times in the last days. People be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of guideless, but denying its power. Have nothing to do with these people and and I know that these first few classes are very dark and they’re very negative and I apologize for that.

91. 40:12

    It is the reality of what we have to deal with every day. And so we’ve been warned we’re without excuse. We know about the moral decay and the lawlessness and we know what the Lord Jesus Christ said. And so here’s I take this as positive, and I’ve said this to a few of you here.

92. 40:29

    It’s like God is throwing everything on the table for us. You know, we just looked at the at Hezekiah’s boulet. That was like even little things like that I find just fantastic. It’s like God, let’s let them have that. But he’s throwing everything on the table for us. He’s given us everything in terms of the moral decline in society, everything that the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. It’s happening now.

93. 40:57

    Like all of it, like literally all of it. And you’ll hear of wars, rumors of wars. Check. See, we not be alarmed. This will take place at the end as nation will be against nation, yes, Kingdom, against famines, earthquakes in various places, lawlessness, all these things, they’re just literally happening. And on top of that, God is giving us incredible prophetic results.

94. 41:19

    So we know about, you know, Psalm 83 and Hezbollah and in Gaza, all those things are literally happening right now. And I know it’s been going on for a year, but we we’d lose track of how prophetically important this is and, and how that, you know, for a long time now Russia’s been aligned with Iran and we’re. Kind of like.

95. 41:39

    Give me something new. Well, now Russia’s aligned with Sudan, Ethiopia, so all those powers are coming together and, and now we’ve got the threat of Iran attacking Israel again. We’ve got the, the US just sent a nuclear submarine with nuclear warheads is now heading now to the Middle East. They’ve got 3 battle groups, 3 aircraft carriers, hundreds of jets and planes. Why?

96. 42:00

    the US knows something’s going to happen. The Ukraine you probably saw yesterday or the day before invaded Russia. They’re in Russia with one or two battalions and they’re actually making headway. They’re like 40 kilometers inside that eastern region of Russia. Like they’re in Ukraine’s gone in. This is the land of Mego that’s being attacked back and forth. Like God couldn’t give us anything else to remind us that he is in control.

97. 42:35

    All these things Christ says in Matthew 24. Are just the beginning of birth pangs, and they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you’ll be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

98. 42:55

    And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow old. What is happening in the world is frightening, brothers and sisters, but the beautiful part of all of this is God has told us every single one of these things before that happened, and that leaves us without excuse. And the other beautiful thing is what the Lord Jesus Christ says it in Matthew 24 and 13. But the one who endures to the end will be saved, and this gospel.

99. 43:31

    Of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Do you know that the gospel was not possible? To proclaim throughout the entire world until about 40 years ago with the advent of the Internet and technology. But we have to be ready, brothers and sisters.

100. 43:51

     We have to be ready. And there’s hope in the last days. We have God on our side. The writer of the Hebrews says God has said never will I leave you? Never. Will I forsake you? And Paul says to Timothy, this young man Timothy, who is an example for us of, of faith and courage in the face of, of unbelievable things in his life, says, now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award.

101. 44:19

     To me, on that day, and not only to me, but also those who have longed for his appearing. I’ve had many great conversations so far about this series and I do appreciate it. I I’ve had some corrections and I’ve had some great verses that I’ve missed. And it’s it’s, it’s this is what we’re here for. We’re here to learn.

102. 44:43

     And brother Ken Styles. Has mentioned to me a couple times and did again last night that that really what we also need to talk about and it’s not fair to throw it in here because we don’t have time. I don’t want to be overtime again. How do we got till 10 after? OK, We have a responsibility within our, within our colleges to uphold biblical truth. And we, we need to build a model that helps those that are struggling to deal with these issues to identify them, to understand them and create a biblical foundation for us to deal with them and refute them.

103. 45:19

     And so we need to, we need to get back to clear biblical teaching. And not only that, but to showcase clear biblical teaching as as it relates to the issues we currently have. And that, now that’s a tough thing to do. And we started to do that two years ago. We, we initially, I, I spoke with many brethren that are here over the last couple of years and just ask things like, hey, what’s going on in your ecclesia? Do you, are you having this issue, having that issue? And oftentimes the answer was, yeah, we do have the issue or no, we don’t have that issue.

104. 45:51

     And then like a month later, I get an e-mail. Yeah, we actually do have this issue. And so we put together a regional, a set of meetings and in the end we had 13 ecclesias in the, in the Pacific Northwest that the gathered, I think is Dan here. Do we have two or three meetings?

105. 46:07

     I can’t remember to talk about these issues, the, the, the postmodern agenda, how it’s affecting our Clesia and, and the fact that that these doctrines are in our clesions. How do we deal with them now? We haven’t. We need to. We need to take. That to a place where we can kind of formalize a process to train and to teach and to help understand and and and and and address and expose the issues of the day.

106. 46:29

     We need to create a safe place for young people to come in and ask questions who are concerned or don’t know which way to turn. It’s like what I don’t understand, you know, how this how this can be? We need to be. Shepherds and examples of our ecclesial flock to provide a way where we can understand what God’s truth is and deal with the danger of these new human philosophies.

107. 46:58

     We have a responsibility, brethren, assist us to do that in our families, to do that in our cliches, to uphold truth and expose this deception. As it says in Jude, we need to earnestly contend for the faith and in the broader community, we need to share the resources that we already have. And we have lots of great resources, books and and talk series that deal specifically with these issues.

108. 47:27

     And we need to create more. We need to have more. I want to close with a few things about the teens. I mentioned last night that they were a great group and I sorry brother Peter, I think it was you that said this. I’m so bad remembering what people said. But I think there’s you that said that you can you can often tell the spiritual state of the parents by how the kids behave.

109. 47:51

     Is that what you said? Yes. And I never thought of it that way. I always thought of it, you know, the other way. And it is true the other way too. But but when he said that, I thought, you know, that’s that’s right. You can tell the spiritual state of the parents oftentimes by how the children conduct themselves.

110. 48:07

     Especially in a place like this. And I will tell you that the teens in this camp conduct. Themselves very, very well. They know the scripture, they understand scriptural principles, they can articulate them and all it always takes a little bit to get teens talking once you get them talking and then it’s really hard to get them stop.

111. 48:30

     But I just wanted to say that, you know, we give accolades to the to the teens. I want to give accolades to you as parents that you’re doing a great job and we’re not perfect and we fail and and and and we understand that.

112. 48:46

     But this group of teens is really exceptional. And brother Jonathan Lawrence and I, we were talking, I think it was a breakfast about the difference between, you know, our generation and this current generation accepting, of course, the Jonathan’s 10 years younger than me. Is that that when I was coming to Bible school and Silver Star, right. The precursor to this?

113. 49:09

     We were doing dramatically differently and poor things. And we don’t see that with this current generation of teens. And I think that’s great. I’m not, I’m not, I’m not sure that we figured out what it is yet. But I think part of it is that when I was growing up, I was in a strict household and I was, you know, taught scriptural information, data, principles, doctrines.

114. 49:34

     But maybe. Today we do a better job of teaching application, which was brother James Larson’s comment. I’m trying to remember what everybody said. We’re doing a better job of right of, of taking those principles so that the teams can apply them. And I think in this day and age, that is so important that we do that. You cannot always refute the evil just by coding a verse. They have to have understood how that verse, that principle applies in their life.

115. 50:04

     Anyway, I do appreciate all the feedback. I, I, I know there’s a lot of issues. I know we’re being beat down by the world and and and and and. I think what Brother Ken was getting at is that we. Need to. We need to. Treat our ecclesias as hospitals where we can treat the sick, where we can bind up the broken hearted, where we can restore people to spiritual health instead of just being a place that we come and we do our duty and we leave.

116. 50:28

     Isaiah 61 and one just under score this point. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has appointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. We have to see our cliches in this light, brothers and sisters.

117. 50:51

     We have to see our families in this light. We are all trying to get to the Kingdom together. We as individual lights need to gather together to form that greater light, to March together to the Kingdom as families, as a cliches, and even as a global community so that we can fend off the issues of darkness. And so as in the time of the flood, when when God looked down and he saw only evil continually and completely, he actually saw amongst the darkness that small pool of light which was Noah. And lest we forget how important that light was, that God saw grace when he saw Noah, that God rebuilt mankind. On that family it pays to stand out as a light in this Dark World.

118. 51:44

     And so let us therefore, brothers and sisters, seek to manifest the light of God’s truth in in in our lives every day that we inhabit the image by which God has created us with purpose, with his attributes, and with his character. So that when God looks down on us, we might stand with courage as that pool of light in this Dark World, thinking and doing those things that are righteous and God.

119. 52:07

     God’s eyes, a God who has redeemed us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are without excuse for since the creation of the. World, God’s invisible qualities, His divine power and nature have been clearly seen being understood by what is made. And so may we not turn a blind eye to the truth that is plain before us.

120. 52:36

     We can’t claim ignorance in the face of some undeniable presence, but let us elevate God in our lives every day. You know what happens when you elevate God in your life?

121. 52:50

     You push yourself down. Your life becomes less important as God becomes more important. I think that’s a principle that we have to manifest every day. Second Peter chapter 3. Let’s just turn to there and then We’re going to close almost perfectly on time. Second Peter chapter 3, starting at verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, the heavens will disappear like a with a roar, the elements will be destroyed with fire, the earth and everything done, and it will be laid bare, since everything will be destroyed in this way. Brethren and sisters, what kind of people ought we to be? Well, Peter tells us you ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and the speed of its coming. Let’s make every effort, therefore, as he says, to be found spotless and blameless and at peace with him. And just to close with the verse that’s up on the screen. We think about the inexcusable, irrefutable nature of God’s presence.

122. 54:02

     When I look to the heavens, the psalmist says, I see the work of your fingers, the. Moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him? The Son of man that you care for him, yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, That whoever passes along the paths of the Seas.

123. 54:30

     O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name and all the earth. Let us live, live in a manner worthy of Our Calling, Brethren and sisters, the calling that we have received, knowing that the evidence of His Majesty leaves us no room for excuse. And in this knowledge, let us boldly proclaim His glory.

124. 54:50

     Let us live righteously. Let us stand firm in our faith, because, brethren and sisters, we of all people are without excuse.