Ephesians 6:11 KJV Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
I. INTRODUCTION -- THIS IS NOT MY USUAL FARE. . .
-This message that I am going to preach is not my standard fare of preaching style. . . and yet there are some very valuable lessons to be learned from a speech that was given in late 2003 or early 2004. It only took him five minutes to deliver but it lodged in the hearts of a few who were willing to speak up.
-It was forwarded on to me by Brother ________ and the more I read the concepts in the speech, the more I begin to realize that not only was it good for the nation but it was also good for the Church. Furthermore, I checked it out on Snopes.com and found that the speech actually was delivered and is not a fictional account to get folks up in arms.
-Former Governor Lamm was not politically correct with his statements. In an age the demands tolerance and political expediency, one must ask “where are the leaders?” Some time back, Bill O’Reilly on the “No Spin Zone” asked, “where is the clergy?”
-We live in a time when there desperately needs to be a strong voice heard about the direction of our times and the direction of the true Apostolic (as the Book of Acts) church.
-Dick Lamm is the former Governor of Colorado. At an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, (almost 4 years ago) the conference center was filled to capacity by many of America’s finest minds and leaders.
-At that meeting, a very brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
-Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States.
-He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that ’An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.’"
-With that Governor Lamm launched into his eight points of how to destroy America.
-First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual.
-Second, to destroy America, "Invent ’multiculturalism’ and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. Affirm that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the minority dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.
-Third, to destroy America, the key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. Without the dominance that once dictated what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together. I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor.
-Fourth, to destroy America, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school.
-Fifth, to destroy America, would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of ’Victimology.’ I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."
-Sixth, my plan for America’s downfall would include dual citizenship , and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common Language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic Games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell.
-Seventh, next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of ’diversity.’ I would find a word similar to ’heretic’ in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like ’racist’ or ’xenophobe’ halt discussion and debate.
-In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said,
-Eighth, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis’s book on illegal and legal immigration. His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don’t read that book.
-There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today.
-Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice unnamed acts of mutilation are growing as we celebrate ’diversity.’
-American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states - to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast.
-It is reminiscent of George Orwell’s book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."
-Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don’t get this immigration monster stopped, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path especially The American Dream.
-As I mulled over those thoughts of former Governor Lamm, I thought about the American church that stands at a crossroads and is desperately in need of a spiritual awakening.
-While I believe that it has not encroached into our local church here, if we (Brother Patterson and myself) are not vigilant, it won’t be too long before it will make inroads into this church.
II. HOW TO DESTROY A CHURCH
-Ultimately the church that Jesus spoke of building in Matthew 16 will never be overwhelmed by the gates of Hell. . . however, there are individual churches that will be destroyed because the quit fighting the onslaught of the flesh, the world, and the devil.
-Governor Lamm was not politically correct with his statements. . . I shall not be religiously correct with my preaching!
A. Encourage New Converts to Maintain their “Culture”
-Governor Lamm stated to destroy America, "Invent ’multiculturalism’ and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture.
-I say that one of the ways that a church can be destroyed is to change the atmosphere of transformation that takes place when one received the Holy Ghost.
• Tell a new convert that they can hold on to the world and still make it to heaven.
• Tell a new convert that they can still hang out with their old friends.
• Tell a new convert that they can still talk and act like they did before they received the Holy Ghost.
• Tell a new convert that holiness matters little in this generation and that God is more concerned with the inside than the outside.
• Tell them that there is no real need to get immersed in the culture of the Church.
• Tell them that they can still actively participate in sin just so they ask God to forgive them.
• Tell them to ignore that wild, radical preacher who is preaching all this stuff. . . He is a killjoy that doesn’t know much.
• Tell them that they can still live like the world and be saved.
-This did not happen to Paul after his Damascus Road experience. He let go of the trappings of his old life so quickly that it was not long before he was being persecuted by the folks he once ran with.
-This same Paul also wrote. . .
Romans 12:2 KJV And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,. . .
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 KJV [14] Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? [15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? [16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, [18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
-It sounds to me like that Paul was saying, “What you were born into is so life-changing and so drastic that you will have to let go of the pull of this world!”
-The devil would love nothing more than for us to have divided loyalties and to be confused about our identity. . . . . He longs for a divided citizenship that will ruin us in eternity!
B. Check In Your Bibles (And Brains) At The Backdoor
-Governor Lamm stated that to destroy America, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated.
-If you want to destroy a church, force everyone to check in their Bibles and Brains at the back door. I realize that some might say that this sermon is a whole lot of fluff (and it very well could be) but you didn’t get much fluff this morning in Sunday School and you didn’t get any fluff last Wednesday night as we are tackling 1st John.
-If you want to destroy a church, promote Biblical ignorance. Because what you don’t know can be deadly. Biblical ignorance can destroy your soul and it gives the devil the advantage because you have no spiritual maturity or spiritual discernment that is promoted to deal with the dilemma.
A few weeks ago, I was made aware of a situation by a Sunday School teacher in our church. . . Not the one down the road or across the country but here. . . A child had never heard the story of David and Goliath. . . It was quite shocking because the age-range of this child was far beyond the nursery or the beginners. . .
-Parents, I plead with you. . . When your child knows more about movies, popular culture icons, TV shows, worldly music, and even sports figures than they have a grasp on the Word, they will spend much of their lives in a spiritual conundrum and never grow and develop spiritually.
-Governor Lamm stated that to destroy America that you allow a lack of education to be at the forefront. Furthermore, he said that books that challenged our thinking and opened our eyes should be censored.
A buddy of mine, __________, was introduced to one of my favorite authors (John MacArthur) a few years ago. In fact, I purchased two or three books for him and sent them to him in the mail. They were books that challenge the thinking of our generation. He told me a few months later that his wife said that when he read some of those books it started playing out in his preaching. He said that she told him that she dreaded knowing he had been reading some of that stuff earlier in the week because when Sunday arrived, there was going to be some challenging preaching in his church.
-How we so need that in this generation! We need to be challenged by books and the Word of God in such a manner that we will resemble and think like those first-century saints.
-I am saying that if you want to destroy a church, replace the sermon with a little ditty on self-esteem, shut down the Sunday School, and give up the Wednesday night Bible study. Put the focus on music, drama, tiddly-winks, and everything else but the Spirit and truth.
-If you do this enough, you will literally emasculate the Church.
C. Encourage Doctrinal Diversity
-Governor Lamm stated the third way, to destroy America, the key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. Instead of America being a melting pot, turn it into a salad bowl.
-Most of us have heard it ad nauseam, “There are a lot of roads that lead to Rome. There are a lot of roads that lead to heaven.”
-If you want to destroy a church, throw the doctrinal mix into the heap and pull out what you might like.
-We are literally in a truth war in this generation and very few are aware of it.
-1st and 2nd Peter was a directive written to a persecuted church who found that they were facing a diversity of false prophets. Peter was saying, “Hey, look, there is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Because there is a lion, you need to be sober and vigilant so that you don’t end up as the main course.”
-Fifteen years later, Jude comes along and writes, “Hey, you know that stuff that Peter was writing about? Guess what? It’s here. There are certain men who have crept in unawares and we have to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.”
-If you want to destroy a church toss out the doctrinal distinctives that set us apart.
-When Moses pulled out Aholiab and Bezaleel and gave them the pattern to build the Tabernacle, they didn’t start fishing around to see what the Egyptians, Amorites, Moabites, Jebusites, Hittites, and all the other –ites thought about what they were doing.
-They built the Tabernacle and all of it’s pieces of furniture exactly like Moses had received it on the mountain. The plan that God gave to Moses was birthed in much smoke, fire, quaking and action (Exodus 19).
-Aholiab and Bezaleel were somewhere at the foot of the mountain and saw the glory descending on Moses. I have a feeling that they were in much fear at the awesome power of God. What they saw from the foothills, made a huge impact on these men and when Moses said use this pattern that is exactly what they did.
-We cannot dare come to a place in history now and having seen the glory of God from the distance decide that we need the alloys of the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Moabites, and the Ammonites to be mixed with our worship.
• This is why that Christian yoga is a misnomer. . . It does not fit. . . Yoga and prayer are coming from two different sources.
• This is why that some denominations in America say that bishops and pastors can be gay. . . That does not fit. . . Two different worlds.
-When you were born into this Church by the Spirit, it became a melting pot. This is not a salad bowl where we maintain our identity with the world.
-I curse the day that I sit down and watch DVD’s just so I can have something to say in the pulpit. There are those in this generation who feel that relevance is the key. . . I disagree wholeheartedly with that. . . the key for this generation is a revival.
-Don’t look for me to be preaching sermon series on:
• NASCAR
• The Pirates of the Caribbean
• Evan Almighty (Movie Theme/Sermon Series on “How To Work With God.”)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Movie Theme/Sermon Series on “Spiritual Warfare.”)
-It is supposedly relevant for our society but the fact of the matter is that it has very little to add to revival and a spiritual atmosphere that can deliver someone.
-I say that there is no doctrinal diversity! There is a New Testament church and it was built on the foundation of the Apostles with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. . . .
III. CONCLUSION -- I DON’T THINK I’M IN A CHURCH THAT WILL BE DESTROYED
-I have a very strong suspicion that I am in a church that will not be destroyed by:
• New converts still holding on to the world.
• The Bible playing second fiddle to all that we do.
• Doctrinal diversity that destroys our identity.
Philip Harrelson
July 29, 2007
