“But while men slept, his enemy came...” (Matthew 13:25). It’s part of the Parable of the Tares and, in it, Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven and what can happen when man becomes wishy-washy, indifferent, lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. The enemy comes.
The text of the sermon was taken from Revelation 3:14-22. Those who have red-letter Bibles will notice that these are the last words of Jesus and he’s speaking them to the church of Laodicea. They are neither cold nor hot. All is well with them. They have the good life. In terms of “things” they are rich. So, they kick back and counts their blessings.
God doesn’t take time off, go on vacation, or just enjoy the moment. He knows there’s a war out there. It’s a spiritual one and the enemy never rests. God asks Satan, “Where have you been?” Satan replies, “Walking about the earth.” (It’s in Job 1) Peter goes on to warn that Satan, our adversary, goes about looking for who he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) Who’s the “who” you ask. It’s mankind. The devil’s one mission in life is to take as many to hell with him as he can. For your own sake, don’t let it be you.
What prompts such a sermon? Our pastor has become very concerned of late with the state of things in our country. Why? This is a common question of his which he follows with “I’m glad you asked because I’m fixing to tell you. Because we now live in a world where people will look at Bibles being burned and it’s not as offensive as it used to be. Not as taboo. This is the day and time in which we live. Be against sin. Wake up! Don’t be indifferent. Don’t just glide through life on cruise control.”
Down through the centuries there have been many book burnings. Even the Bible speaks of it. It’s in Jeremiah 36 and it occurs in 7th century B.C. King Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, burns a scroll written by Jeremiah. The king had no desire to repent from the evil he had done. He reigned about 11 years before being carried away by the Babylonians into captivity where he died.
Just recently, August 1, in Portland, Oregon a bible was burned. It’s on video. There are some who say that more than one was burned which may be true but there is absolute evidence of the one being burned.
There is an actual definition for book burning. It is the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question. This definition can be found on Wikepedia.com. That sums it up.
Yes, we live in a country that hardly blinked at the burning of the Bible. It’s come to this in our great country which God has blessed so abundantly. Don’t be indifferent, lukewarm, wishy-washy. The devil is sewing tares. Hell has enlarged herself (Isaiah 5:14). Don’t die and go to hell. Answer Jesus at the door. He’s still knocking (Revelation 3:20).
The text of the sermon was taken from Revelation 3:14-22. Those who have red-letter Bibles will notice that these are the last words of Jesus and he’s speaking them to the church of Laodicea. They are neither cold nor hot. All is well with them. They have the good life. In terms of “things” they are rich. So, they kick back and counts their blessings.
God doesn’t take time off, go on vacation, or just enjoy the moment. He knows there’s a war out there. It’s a spiritual one and the enemy never rests. God asks Satan, “Where have you been?” Satan replies, “Walking about the earth.” (It’s in Job 1) Peter goes on to warn that Satan, our adversary, goes about looking for who he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) Who’s the “who” you ask. It’s mankind. The devil’s one mission in life is to take as many to hell with him as he can. For your own sake, don’t let it be you.
What prompts such a sermon? Our pastor has become very concerned of late with the state of things in our country. Why? This is a common question of his which he follows with “I’m glad you asked because I’m fixing to tell you. Because we now live in a world where people will look at Bibles being burned and it’s not as offensive as it used to be. Not as taboo. This is the day and time in which we live. Be against sin. Wake up! Don’t be indifferent. Don’t just glide through life on cruise control.”
Down through the centuries there have been many book burnings. Even the Bible speaks of it. It’s in Jeremiah 36 and it occurs in 7th century B.C. King Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, burns a scroll written by Jeremiah. The king had no desire to repent from the evil he had done. He reigned about 11 years before being carried away by the Babylonians into captivity where he died.
Just recently, August 1, in Portland, Oregon a bible was burned. It’s on video. There are some who say that more than one was burned which may be true but there is absolute evidence of the one being burned.
There is an actual definition for book burning. It is the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question. This definition can be found on Wikepedia.com. That sums it up.
Yes, we live in a country that hardly blinked at the burning of the Bible. It’s come to this in our great country which God has blessed so abundantly. Don’t be indifferent, lukewarm, wishy-washy. The devil is sewing tares. Hell has enlarged herself (Isaiah 5:14). Don’t die and go to hell. Answer Jesus at the door. He’s still knocking (Revelation 3:20).
