We Live In A Different Country, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. One of the reasons human beings create an image of God is we have a vacuum inside of us. There's a vacuum only God can fill.

So we need an explanation. If there is no God, how do we do it? Well, how about all the religions of the world?

That's a good way to fill the vacuum. How about all the idols? I mean, back in these days, they did worship idols.

Crawling creatures and four-footed animals and birds. We're a little too sophisticated for that, so who do we worship? Us. We made the idol of us. We are the measure of all things. Man is the one who measures everything that exists.

That's up to man. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. If you look at the complexity of creation, look at the conscience of man, both in the macro and micro of creation, you find God says, You're without excuse.

I'm giving you testimony of who I am. But Psalm 14, 1 says, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. And that's what Paul is going to go on and say now. He says this, For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. There's the digression. Four things in that verse. God says, They know I'm here.

That's interesting. Just look at the creation. Look at their conscience.

Look at the complexity of human beings. He said, But notice, they didn't honor me as God or they didn't give me thanks. God's the creator. He deserves what? Honor. We're the creature. How should we respond?

Give thanks. He said, No, they didn't do that. They weren't going to do that. He said, But they became futile when their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. Now you're going to see what he's talking about, a digression.

As bad off as man is, he'll digress spiritually because of his rejection of God. It's amazing to hear explanations. It's kind of a hobby of mine with astronomy, but let me give you one. Astrophysicists have found out. They said they understand now how the whole universe is held together.

That's pretty amazing. And they say they'll tell you it's black matter. They have no idea what it is. None. They have no. They can't measure it in any single way.

None. We know the whole universe is held together by black matter. They shouldn't even call matter because it apparently isn't matter because they can't see it.

I mean, the whole point of it is that's their explanation. Now, let's just take Colossians 1 17 and in Christ, all things hold together. I'll tell you who black matter is. It's Christ.

He created all things, all things were created by him and for him and by him, all things hold together. And they're like, No, no, no, no, no. It's black matter. You see, it doesn't matter to them. They the one thing they can't do is say that they're responsible to God.

I mean, they've said this over the years and years. There's think of the most basic questions. There's only two answers that I've ever read about from the secular world with this. How did creation start?

Where did it come from? Secular worldview is pretty simple with this. One, everything came from nothing.

Now, that's good science, isn't it? That there's no explanation. Everything you see came from nothing. There was always nothing. And then now there's everything.

Like. Or the other one is maybe a little bit more popular is that matter is eternal. It has always existed. And at a point in the past.

That matter. Exploded into everything you see. That's how it worked. The problem with that was if matter was eternal, that means it was eternally inert. It never did anything forever.

Not for forever, but then at a point in time. Here we go. It's everything we have is right here. That's the explanation. Now, please, you can speculate all you want, but don't call that good science.

There's no good. I mean, it's a it's like, why is there life on Earth? And I can remember reading somebody and he said, well, I think the reason is it was brought to us from another planet. Doesn't that just kick the can down the street a little bit?

Where do life get in the other planet? Well, we're not going to deal with that. We'll do anything.

See, those are the most basic questions. That's what God's talking about. So as we go on. He says, professing to be wise, they became fools and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man.

Birds, four footed animals, calling creatures. One of the reasons God that human beings create an image of God is we have a vacuum inside of us. There's a vacuum only God can fill.

So we need an explanation. If there is no God, how do we do it? Well, how about all the religions of the world?

That's a good way to fill the vacuum. How about all the idols? I mean, back in these days, they did worship idols, crawling creatures and four footed animals and birds. We're a little too sophisticated for that. So who do we worship?

Us. We made the idol of us. We are the measure of all things. Man is the one who measures everything that exists.

That's up to man. So what happens? Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, they worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

Amen. Three times in this passage, God's going to react to man who rejects God. The first in each one of these would say God gave them over. The idea to me of God giving him over is he simply steps back one step from them and now they reap what they sow. The second time he steps back again, they reap what they sow. The third time he steps back and they reap what they sow. Each of these makes man much, much lower spiritually. Each of these have enormous consequences to human beings. So here's the first one he gives.

He said God gave them over to the lust of their hearts and to impurity when you walk away from God. David Jeremiah gave me this information all based on something he wrote in 2015, but I wanted to show you this at work. He cited one single porn site in America on a computer. One. One porn site in 2015. At that one site, there were 87 billion videos watched in one year. 87 billion videos in one year.

That's 12 videos for every human being on the planet. This is just in America. He said at that same site, there's 116,000 daily inquiries daily for child pornography. 300,000 kids in America in 2015 were forced into the sex trade. You don't see a lot of that in the news, huh?

We don't talk about things like that. By the way, those children have 13 times the suicide rate of other kids. That's America. That's our culture. That's all around us. If you go and research them on your own, you're going to find out among our young people there's an epidemic, sexually transmitted diseases. It's epidemic in our culture.

How many newscasts have you seen about it? Nothing. We don't want to mess with that. They're just expressing themselves. It's just absolutely terrible. You see, that's what the culture is. You say, I'm giving you over, he says, to the lust of your heart. Verse 26, for this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions. Their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. And in the same way, also, the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire to one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. The rise of homosexuality can't be clearer.

That's an amazing thing. The rise of homosexuality. We live in a day where we see that rise. Now, remember, when this whole thing first started becoming more liberated in the 70s and 80s, then into the 90s, the whole idea that the culture was hoping for was that you were all created that way and that there would be a gene that would prove it, would genetically prove why you were made that way. They never found it. Much to their own chagrin, they did not find it. So I can remember back then when they didn't find it, John MacArthur saying, if you watch in the next 20 years, you will see a tremendous rise in homosexuality and lesbianism.

You'll find it. And the reason is it proves you're not born that way because only people born that way would do it. But the rise will be people will choose to live this way. That'll be a choice that is made. And he said for a whole lot of different there are a whole lot of different factors involved in that choice. And that's true.

And so consequently, he said that would be part of the second step. Now, our culture really doesn't like that. They give an example.

This is back in the 90s. I went to Dallas Seminary and took a went to a conference on homosexuality in the church. And the man who led the conference was a Dallas Seminary graduate. Who was a homosexual porn star. He had made over 1000 homosexual pornographic movies.

It's amazing. And then he became a Christian. And then he went to Dallas. And then he married a woman and had three children. And he started a ministry to homosexual men and women in the Mid-Cities area. He tried for a long time to get on Oprah Winfrey. He said I'd like to get on there and tell my story.

They said absolutely not. You can't tell your story. Well, I thought you're interested in a story like this.

No, we're not interested in that because you're in some kind of form of denial. See how the culture is? That's our culture. The culture wants no explanation that way whatsoever. I don't want to even hear about that. The trouble with these verses is this is where Christians always stop.

Please don't do that. You want to know what's wrong with America? I'm telling you. The only thing wrong with America is there's too many gays in America. And that shows you God's judgment on America is there's so many gays.

Come on. That's not what this passage is saying at all. That just said that at the second stage, the second time God steps back, those are the symptoms of him stepping back. But guess what? There's a third stage that we ignore and pretend it isn't even there.

He says. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do the things which are not proper. Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, mouths. They are gossips, slanders, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving and unmerciful. That's the third stage. Notice he says being filled with all unrighteousness and wickedness.

That's totally depraved. That's like Jesus talking about the days of Noah. He said, before I come, it'll be like the days of Noah when you go back in Genesis and read it. It says in the days of Noah that man's man's thoughts and actions were continually on evil. It means it's as bad as man can get. And he said, that's what the stage is here.

But what's amazing to me about this stage is look what's on the list. He says here, the first thing after all unrighteousness and wickedness is greed. They become greedy. Greed's not that, is it? I mean, all we want is more. There's nothing wrong with greed.

Not at all. God says it's on the third stage. They become greedy.

Isn't that something? I remember back in the 1980s, a guy named Snyder wrote a book. And the title of the book was Rich Christians in a Hungry World. And it was all about our greed in the 1980s. And he says, no, they'll be greedy. Full of envy. We don't envy anybody. You don't envy anybody's neighborhood, anybody's car, anybody's job.

You don't envy people, do you? I mean, we wouldn't do that. Murder, strife, deceit. He says they are gossips. Wait a minute. Gossips ends up in stage three? Homosexuality is only in stage two? Yes. We don't gossip, right? We do, don't we?

You see, part of it is that whole idea of call. What God considers terrible is not necessarily what we consider terrible. What you and I consider terrible is any sin that you and I wouldn't commit. If I won't commit that sin, that's a terrible sin. By the way, it's human nature.

For example, in our country right now, in this secular country, is our country against pedophilia? Yes. Why? They wouldn't do that. I would not do that to a child. So we're all against it. Christians are very similar. We just pick the sins that we wouldn't do and say that's a terrible sin. No, it's just sin.

He says in verse 32 then, And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but they also give hearty approval to those who practice them. That's the culture. And by the way, do you see that in our culture? Are there certain sexual sins in our culture that right now the culture says to you, not only do you have to allow it, you have to accept it and you have to embrace it and celebrate it.

And if you don't, you're phobic. You're a hater. You see, that's what we do. In other words, whatever sin we commit, you have to celebrate it and approve of it with the rest of us. That's what happens to the culture.

And that is just a general description of America. In messages that come, we'll talk about other aspects of this. So the last question I have is how do we respond to this?

I'm afraid some Christians respond with just utter despair. It's over. Oh, I remember the good old days. We're never going to have the good old days again. Anyway, think of this, though. When the good old days were good for you, they may not have been good for everybody in our country. But you don't have people. It's just despair. It's all over.

There's another group of Christians. Well, the whole key to this is we have to win political victories. Hey, look, I am all for us voting our conscience. I'm all for that.

Go ahead and vote your conscience. But if you believe that politics will solve this, I hate to say it, but you're naive and mistaken. This has been coming to America for 200 or 300 years and over the last 60. And it doesn't matter which side of the aisle is in control. It may happen faster with certain political decisions made than others. But this is a different thing. This is bigger. This is the fiber of America.

Politics will not rescue this country. Thirdly, we could become the salt and light that Jesus called us. We should be the salt and light that Jesus called us.

Your salt, your light, let your light shine. What we do is we spend our time shaking the fist at the culture and say, you're not doing what we're telling you. No, they're not, because they don't believe what you're telling them.

Well, what you're doing is wrong. They'll say, who are you to say? Well, you'll say, well, but God said, or the Bible said, and they said, that has no authority with us.

That won't do it. We're to be salt and light. Jesus said we're to love people and pray for people. And by the way, when he said people, he included, because he went out of his way, your enemies. Love your enemies, pray for your enemies.

Well, why would we do that? Well, here's something I know about sin. It pays lousy dividends. It really does. So we live in a culture now that is basically without conscience, sinning as openly as it wants to sin.

Remember the Bible said, God does not mock whatever a man sows, so shall he reap. That's what's happening in our culture. I mean, think of this pandemic. The sales figures right now on alcohol, all-time record high.

Why? That's how we cope. I'll just get drunk. Then I'll be good until when?

Until I'm not drunk anymore. I mean, that's it. Or even worse, if you want to know what a pandemic is, just look at antidepressant medicine. That's a pandemic in America.

It's everywhere. I actually saw, Velma and I saw a commercial, and I couldn't believe I saw it, but it showed a lady who was miserable and depressed. And she's on antidepressants. And the doctor came on and said, now, see, here's the problem.

All antidepressants don't work necessarily, won't help you necessarily, and might leave you depressed. So we have a booster antidepressant that if we can give you this, we can numb you enough that you won't feel any more pain. What do those people need? Peace, joy, and hope. What is it we should have with all these circumstances going on? Joy, peace, and hope. See, if you have joy, peace, and hope in the middle of this, somebody who has none may just ask you, how do you do this? How do you have joy, peace, and hope in the middle of this?

And then, as Peter says, you can give an account for the hope that's in you. G.K. Chesterton named moments in history such as the fall of the Roman Empire and the period of Islamic conquest when Christianity faced apparent doom. Each time, a fresh spirit of renewal emerged from the crisis, and faith was revived. And as Chesterton put it, he said this, the faith has to all appearance gone to the dogs.

But it was only the dog that died. Christianity has died many times and risen again. And in this statement, for it had a God who knew his way out of the grave. That's what the gospel is.

We have a God that knows his way out of the grave. This is not an easy time to be Christian. But in some ways, it's an exciting time.

It's a wonderful time. America is in decline. But you and I, we're the church of Jesus Christ. And he said the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Let's pray. Father, we're all aware of the decline of our culture. And we're all disappointed in it. But Father, it is what it is.

It hasn't surprised you or shocked you. It falls right in Romans chapter 1. But your children are here. Your spirit is here. And the gospel is here. And I pray, Father, that we see these difficult times as a great opportunity for us to offer people the hope of the forgiveness of sins of eternal life and of a relationship with you. Father, it's been done over and over again in the past.

And I am sure it will be done now. So I pray that you use us for your glory and for our good as we give testimony to this culture. In Jesus' name, amen. In Jesus' name, amen. In Jesus' name, amen. For any message you are looking for, you can listen online. Or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.