PP0228 DATE
THE LION IS OUT OF HIS THICKET!
Jeremiah 4:5-7; 1 Peter 5:8.
(Jer 4:5 KJV) "Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities."
(Jer 4:6 KJV) "Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction."
(Jer 4:7 KJV) "The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant."
(1 Pet 5:8 KJV) "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
In the text the lion has reference to Nebuchadnezzeer. But in 1 Peter 5:8 Peter likens the devil to a lion also, and he is no longer hiding.
INTRODUCTION: There is a terrorist loose and attacking every person alive. He will show no mercy toward any person regardless of creed, color, or culture. He is wicked and extremely dangerous. We must be on the alert for any and all attacks that may come our way. There will be no warning of his coming attack. There is only one safeguard against his merciless attacks.
The Bible describes this terrorist as a Lion Out Of His Thicket!
I want to explain where he has already attacked the American people.
I. HE HAS ATTACKED THE WORD OF GOD!
This is not a recent attack. It started in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis three, Satan told Eve that God did not really say they would die if they ate of the forbidden fruit. He changed the Word of God to fit his plan. He has been doing that ever since then.
A. Satan’s Ultimate Goal Is To Change Himself Into The Almighty. (Isa 14:12) "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"
(Isa 14:13) "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:"
(Isa 14:14) "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."
(Isa 14:15) "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
This one mention of the name “Lucifer” is the only time it is mentioned in the entire Word of God. The NIV has taken “Lucifer” out completely. There is a design behind that mind set.
Satan’s effort has always been to exalt himself above God. He has attempted that by attacking the Word of God. The only authority man has from God is the Word of God. If that can be changed to transfer authority from God to Satan then Satan will have accomplished his goal. The effort to accomplish this will be through the attacks on the Word of God.
The NIV has become the best tool for accomplishing this. If some of the Baptist leaders in this country heard me make this statement they would immediately declare me as being the #1 enemy to Christianity and the Word of God in America. However, what I am about to say is authenticated in the very pages they hold so dear – the NIV.
Here is what it says: Isaiah 14:12 identifies Satan, Lucifer, as “son of the morning” in the KJB. In Rev 2:28, and 22:16, Jesus Christ is identified as the “Morning Star”.
The NIV takes the Isa. 14:12 scripture and changes places with Lucifer and Jesus Christ. You follow in your KJV as I read from the NIV, “How you have fallen from heaven, O Morning Star, son of the dawn:” With this slight of hand switch Satan changes places with Christ and now Christ is the fallen one from heaven.
What will happen to generations that know nothing but the NIV? They will see Jesus Christ as being in the place of Lucifer.
If a person grew up knowing no other Bible than the NIV they will know a totally different Jesus than does the KJB present. So let me ask you, “Has the Lion attacked the Word of God”? A great big loud “YES”!!!
Many SBC churches use only the NIV. The children’s mind will be ruined. Mom and dad may be getting strong enough for this teaching not to matter much, but the 4’s-5’s-6’s year old are being taught that Satan is the Jesus Christ of heaven. Unless the children are given the truth twenty five years from now most of the teaching force will be by those who know only the corrupt NIV.
If that doesn’t make you angry, nothing will.
I will not take time to develop this thought, but the NIV also presents Satan as “The Holy One” In the New Age Theology Satan is identified as THE ONE! You can well see what has taken place there.
B. How Do We Know The King James Bible Is The True Word Of God Today?
Turn to: (Psa 12:6) "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."
(Psa 12:7) "Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."
The KJB was written in 1611. It is the only Bible that has produced revivals in the past. It is the only Bible that has proven itself to be the inspired Word of God.
It is the only Bible that has withstood the tests of time.
It is the only Bible that God has blessed.
You can place your trust and faith in the King James Bible. All other versions are to be completely and totally rejected as being corrupted and untrustworthy.
II. HE HAS ATTACKED OUR MORALS!
When morals go down the wrath of God goes up. Church members today will stand and argue with the pastor and church leadership that the lifestyle displayed on TV is acceptable and appropriate for their children. I say Phooey!!!! Since when is Sodomy, raw bedroom scenes, drunkenness, and gutter talk appropriate for children? The industry says, “Don’t let your children watch it if you don’t agree with it.” That would be like putting a bowl of ice cream in 110 degree weather and say, “Don’t let it melt.”
A. Sodom And Gomorrah Is An Example. Their morality status had gotten so low that God was trying to locate 10 righteous men so He could spare the cities and found none. He destroyed Sodom because of immoral conditions.
B. Babylon Is Another Example. Belshazzer had gotten so wicked and the morals of that city were beyond God’s tolerance level and he allowed Belshazzer to be killed. Dan. 5. Babylon was captured.
C. I Think Of Our Own Country. The morality level got so low during the 90’s. Our own presidential leadership during that time brought the morality level to an all time low. The majority of America took up for him. That tells us that our morals are at a zero level. Our current crisis is a direct result of the moral upheaval of the last two or three decades.
D. Television Has Done More To Destroy The Morals Of Our Society. TV is dirty and rotten. The only thing on TV that a person should watch is football. And that is becoming questionable.
In the history of the world God destroys a nation when wickedness gets out of hand. I don’t know how much further America can go in this matter of wickedness and God not unleash His wrath. The time must be short.
E. Christian Morals Are Much Lower Today The They Were Fifty Years Ago.
1. Used to it was seldom that Christian young people had sex outside of marriage. Today that has changed a great bit.
2. Bad music once was only accepted by the lost crowd. Today, Christians have accepted it as an alternate listening pleasure.
3. Honesty has always been upheld as a strong Christian trait. Now, many church members are dishonest.
4. Conversation was once pure and righteous among Christians. Not so with some today. I hear Christian cursing often.
We have allowed the devil to attack our morals as Christians.
III. HE HAS ATTACKED OUR UNBORN!
Abortions have reached more than forty-one million since the Roe-Vs-Wade in 1973. That is in America alone. The world figure is over one billion and it increases by one baby killing every second. Every day, worldwide there are 86,400 babies aborted.
Think what the world has lost in this high cost of the freedom to sin at will – we have lost all the income that these one billion human beings would have generated. We have lost the possibility of one of them discovering the cure for cancer, aids, and a dozen other dreaded diseases.
Think of the number of automobiles they would have required. The number of additional teachers that would have been needed to teach them. Think of the number of blue-jeans they would have needed. Nike shoes. Hamburgers. Hotdogs. Pizzas. Bubble gum. Billions of dollars have been lost; not counting the moral and emotional loss.
That is a pretty high price to pay just so a man and woman can break the adultery commandment of God without having to give birth to a baby.
IV. HE HAS ATTACKED OUR PERSONAL FINANCES
The average home is so in debt that it will take 10 to 15 years just to clear the credit card indebtedness.
A good rule of thumb is: If you can’t pay cash for it – don’t buy it – except perhaps for your home. Your parents and grandparents lived by that rule. They died with a lot more assets than most today will.
Greed, covetousness, and impatience has bankrupted the American home today. Most will not wait until they can buy the things wanted without putting them on a credit card.That’s one reason some churches have a hard time. People are so in debt they can’t give like they should.
Everyone forty-five and under look at me: Credit card purchases will destroy you financially if you do not control spending with a tight fist. You do not have to have everything your friends or fellow employees have. You can live and live happily without having to have everything that your neighbor has.
Satan has convinced most Americans that they cannot live without the item they want and thus has arranged for purchase on credit.
Don’t allow the Lion to dictate to you what and how you will purchase the things you need.
V. HE HAS ATTACKED OUR TEENAGERS!
A. Too Many Homes In America Are Not Children Oriented.
1. Wrong discipline. The discipline must fit the crime. Do not punish a child for spilling his milk as you would if he took the family car, without permission, and wrecked it. Nor should you punish him for stealing the car as though he spilled his milk.
2. Wrong direction.
a. Many of the youth leaders across this country are worldly or even unsaved.
b. There must be a godly influence for our children. Make sure your children are taught the godly principles that they must have to insure they are saved.
c. The leadership getting down in the gutter with the kids is destroying them.
3. Wrong dress. If they dress like the world they will begin to act like it.
They will begin to participate in worldly things. Drugs – booze – sex – then comes addiction – disease – then death or suicide.
Have you ever seen your children dress up in adult clothes and play. One will put on daddy’s clothes and be the daddy. One the mommy, and so on. Some will put on Cowboy outfits and play cowboy. Clothes will make them act like they who they are dressed like.
Satan’s greatest attack on the home is through the kids.
Many Baptist homes are not even attempting to rear godly children. The Bible has been thrown out and in its place we have accepted the worldly methods. Your home will be destroyed and dysfunctional if you follow the ways of the sit-coms on TV. You had better get the Book of Proverbs and make it the source book for rearing your children.
4. Wrong education. Secular education will turn your child from the Bible,
God and your home. Secular education will instruct your child to experiment in pre-martial sex; the mind altering games; dungeons and dragons. These games will instill in the mind of the kids to turn against parents, authority, God, and the Bible.
Hear me if you don’t intervene, your child will be faced with just what I am saying right now. Hey, they won’t know how to handle it and many will be sucked into the system of destruction.
Youth Of America Are Expendable In The Culture Of Society.
5. Drugs a major threat to every child.
6. I was not exposed to drugs.
Billy Sunday said concerning the booze industry that the young American boys and girls were the raw material for the booze industry. I would add to that so is the drug industry and the rock music industry.
Dad you should about once a week get a current magazine and set your children down in the living room and turn to a page where cigarettes are advertised. Tare that page out and throw it on the floor, stomp your foot and say, “No, No, No! Cigarettes bad. Cigarettes bad.” Then turn to a beer page, and do the same thing there. “Beer bad. Beer bad!” Then is there is a page in it (there probably will be) of a woman nearly nude, and do the same with it. If you will do that with all social sins you will teach your children that sin is bad, and it is bad.
I did that at a chapel service in a Christian school one day and a 5 year old kindergartner went home and got his father’s Sports Illustrated and tore a page out, stomped his foot and said, “cigarettes bad.” His dad told be about it later and I said that I had preached in chapel again and in teaching the evils of TV busted one with a hammer. He said, “Oh, no!” I was just joking.
The lion is out of his thicket and he is attacking our young people. Rock music does more to destroy the morals and the character of our youth than anything else.
Many churches condone rock music. It is featured in their services. You had better keep your child away from rock music. Be sure to replace it will good Christian music. If you don’t there will be a vacuum that will suck in every kind of worldly air wave floating around. Replace the evil with good. Take away that which is bad, but put in its place something that is of character building.
The lion is on the loose, and he is after each of your children. If he can he will steal them and destroy their testimony, their character and their life. You must protect them from the Lion that is on the loose.
VI. HE HAS ATTACKED THE PLAN OF SALVATION!
I suppose there are hundreds of different kinds of religious groups today that call themselves a church. Each one has its own unique way to obtain salvation. Most as far from the truth as is the next one. If you follow religion today you will wind up in hell.
Most teach that salvation comes from works; from attitude of the heart; from baptism; from performing religious deeds. There are hundreds of ways to gain salvation according to each of these religions. By having so many different ways for salvation Satan has confused the issue until many have no idea how to get to heaven.
But the Bible teaches that there is only ONE way to be saved. (Acts 4:12 KJV) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Any other attempt is spiritually anathema. The attack by the wicked Lion has and will send many souls to hell. He rejoices at each person who dies confused or practicing the wrong way to heaven.
(Present the Romans Road.)
Each family here must be sure that your children understand what true salvation is. Don’t take for granted that they know. Just because they are growing up in and around this church does not insure they will get saved. There is so much garbage floating around for them to have to sort through until many will make the wrong choice, and die and go to hell.
Satan has attacked salvation and will continue to attack it until the Lord casts him into the lake of fire.
INVITATION
