Thorns In Our Nation’s Side

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Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.

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This is the first parable ever given in the Bible. It’s the parable of the trees who wanted a king. Verse 8, The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them. And they said unto the olive tree, Reign over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness wherewith by me they honor God and man and go to be promoted over the trees? And the tree said to the fig tree, Come thou and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, SHOULD I FORSAKE MY SWEETNESS AND MY FRUIT, AND GO AND BE PROMOTED OVER THE TREES? THEN SAID THE TREES UNTO THE VINE, COME THOU AND REIGN OVER US. AND THE VINE SAID UNTO THEM, SHOULD I LEAVE MY WINE, WHICH CHEERETH GOD AND MAN, AND GO TO BE PROMOTED OVER THE TREES? THEN SAID THE TREES UNTO THE BRAMBLE, COME THOU AND RULE OVER US. AND THE BRAMBLE SAT UNTO THE TREES. IF IN TRUTH YE ANOINT ME KING OVER YOU, THEN COME AND PUT YOUR TRUST IN MY SHADOW. AND IF NOT, LET FIRE COME OUT OF THE BRAMBLE AND DEVOUR THE CEDARS OF LEBANON.” IT’S AN INTERESTING STORY, ISN’T IT? I WANT TO TELL YOU TODAY THAT AMERICA’S IN A CRISIS AND THE CRISIS CONCERNS LEADERSHIP. WE NEED, IN AMERICA TODAY, DESPERATELY NEED LEADERSHIP. SOMEBODY HAS GIVEN US THIS LINE A LONG TIME AGO, TALKING ABOUT LEADERSHIP, IF THE GOLD RUST, OH, WHAT SHALL THE IRON DO? THAT IS, IF THOSE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN AREAS OF LEADERSHIP DON’T LEAD, THEN WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN? WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE WORD OF GOD IS THE STORY OF A PITIFUL POLITICIAN AND A NATION IN DISARRAY. I HEAR PEOPLE QUOTE IT LIKE IT COMES FROM THE BIBLE THAT WICKED RULERS ARE GOD’S REWARD FOR WICKED PEOPLE. THAT’S NOT A QUOTE FROM THE BIBLE, BUT I BELIEVE IT IS A BIBLE TRUTH. NOW, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STATESMAN AND A POLITICIAN? WELL, A STATESMAN WORKS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. A POLITICIAN WORKS FOR THE NEXT ELECTION. I BELIEVE THAT, UH, WE HAVE SEEN SOME STATESMEN ELECTED AND SOME POLITICIANS ELECTED. WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THESE PASSAGES ARE THREE STEPS IN THE DECLINE OF A NATION. AND I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT THEM. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT YOU TO SEE WHAT I’M GOING TO CALL THE APOSTASY, THE APOSTASY OF AN UNTHANKFUL PEOPLE. NOW GO TO CHAPTER 8 AND LOOK IN VERSE 33, AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS SOON AS GIDEON WAS DEAD, THAT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TURNED AGAIN, AND WENT A-HORRING AFTER BALAAM, AND MADE BAAL-BEBETH THEIR GOD. THAT IS, A FERTILITY GOD. THAT IS, THEY TURNED TO IMMORALITY. And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side. Isn’t that pitiful? Is that not pitiful? God had given them a wonderful, wonderful victory. And verse 34 says, they forgot it. They remembered it not. And they had gotten off into a fertility cult. NOW, AS WE TOLD YOU THAT THE BOOK OF JUDGES HAS AN UNDERLYING THEME, AND IT’S JUDGES 17 VERSE 6, IN THOSE DAYS THERE WAS NO KING IN ISRAEL, AND EVERY MAN DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES. THAT IS, THERE WAS NO FIXED STANDARD OF MORALITY. NOW, EVERY POLITICIAN TODAY WILL STAND UP AND TALK ABOUT VALUES, BUT WHEN YOU ASK HIM WHOSE VALUES, HE SHUTS UP. HE DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO GET A STANDARD FOR VALUES. IN OTHER WORDS, EVERYTHING IS RELATIVE. THERE’S NO FIXED STANDARD. WE HAVE A GOVERNMENT TODAY THAT’S RUN BY POLLS. FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE WANT AND THEN GIVE IT BACK TO THEM. CAN YOU IMAGINE MOSES TAKING A POLL IN EGYPT? CAN YOU IMAGINE MARTIN LUTHER TAKING A POLL AT THE REFORMATION? THAT’S NOT LEADERSHIP. WE HAVE GONE FROM AUTHORITY TO RELATIVISM. WE HAVE MOVED FROM TRUTH TO PRAGMATISM. NO LONGER DO WE ASK, IS IT TRUE? WE ASK, DOES IT WORK? AND PEOPLE CHOOSE RELIGION TO PRODUCE HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS. IT’S MAN-CENTERED RATHER THAN GOD-CENTERED. WE HAVE GONE THIRDLY FROM REVELATION TO FEELING. AND PSYCHOLOGY HAS BEEN SUBSTITUTED FOR THEOLOGY. It’s not theology, it’s me-ology. It’s man-centered. Sin is no longer the enemy. Sorrow is. Sadness is. To feel good about yourself is the number one priority. Fourthly, we’ve gone from convictions to opinions. Few people really have convictions about anything except their right to be happy. Now the sad thing is that this is being played out IN GOVERNMENT TODAY. THIS NATION HAS HAD SOME GREAT NATIONAL TREASURES IN OUR CONSTITUTION AND IN THE THINGS THAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS DIED FOR. BUT I WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME RULINGS NOW THAT HAVE COME DOWN. I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO THESE. IN THE CASE OF REED VERSUS VAN HOVEN IN 1965, THE COURT RULED THAT IF A STUDENT IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL PRAYS OVER HIS LUNCH, IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL FOR HIM TO PRAY OUT LOUD. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? IN THE CASE OF DESPAIN VERSUS DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN 1967, THE COURT RULED THAT FOR KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS TO RECITE THE NONSECTARIAN PRAYER, WE THANK YOU FOR THE FLOWERS SWEET. WE THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD WE EAT. WE THANK YOU FOR THE BIRDS THAT SING. WE THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.” FRIEND, THEY SAID, THAT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. WHY, THEY EVEN LEFT THE WORD GOD OUT OF IT. WE JUST SAY, THANK YOU. AH, BUT THEY SAID SOMEBODY MIGHT THINK OF GOD. THEY MIGHT THINK OF GOD. SO YOU, YOU CAN’T HAVE LITTLE CHILDREN JUST BOW THEIR HEAD AND SAY, THANK YOU. NOW, BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE HAVE A CHAPLAIN THAT OPENS WITH PRAYERS, AND THOSE PRAYERS ARE RECORDED IN THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. BUT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN AMERICA’S SCHOOLS ARE PROHIBITED FROM OPENLY PROFESSING ALLEGIANCE TO THEIR GOD. THEY CAN’T EVEN HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE In some places, they’ve ruled that you can’t even bring a Bible in a plain brown wrapper. This is America. It’s unconstitutional, they’ve said, for a school graduation ceremony to contain an opening or closing prayer. And in Alaska, the students were told that they could not use the word Christmas at school because it had Christ in it. They were told they could not even put the word Christmas on their notebooks. They could not exchange Christmas cards, or Christmas presents, or participate in any activity which acknowledged Christmas as the most sacred holiday of our Western tradition. When are we going to wake up? I mean, the First Amendment says, Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or the free exercise EVERY BITE THAT THE LEFT TAKES TAKES ANOTHER BITE OUT OF OUR RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES. IS ANYBODY PAYING ATTENTION? YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE FIRST AMENDMENT. THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FIRST AMENDMENT SAYS. LISTEN TO IT AGAIN. CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION. THAT IS, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE NO NATIONAL RELIGION, NO GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED CHURCH, BUT THE OTHER SIDE SAYS, NOR THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF. YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THIS, WHEN THE FIRST UNITED STATES CONGRESS WAS PASSING THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS, AT THE SAME TIME THEY ALSO PASSED THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE. HISTORIANS HAVE TOLD US THAT THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN OUR NATIONAL HISTORY ARE THESE, THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE, THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, AND THE CONSTITUTION. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE SAID? NOW, I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE FRAMERS MUST HAVE LOOKED ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT. HERE’S WHAT THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE SAID, AMONG OTHER THINGS, RELIGION, MORALITY, AND KNOWLEDGE BEING NECESSARY TO GOOD GOVERNMENT, AND THE HAPPINESS OF MANKIND. SCHOOLS AND MEANS OF EDUCATION SHALL FOREVER BE ENCOURAGED. WHY SHALL WE HAVE SCHOOLS? WHY SHALL WE HAVE MEANS OF EDUCATION? BECAUSE RELIGION, MORALITY, AND KNOWLEDGE ARE NECESSARY TO GOOD GOVERNMENT. THESE ARE THE ONES, THE SAME ONES WHO WROTE THE FIRST AMENDMENT. I’M TELLING YOU FOLKS, IT’S TIME THAT WE WAKE UP. AND NOT ONLY HAS THE RELIGION BECOME APOSTATE AND, AND THE REVISIONISTS REMODEL OUR CONSTITUTION, BUT THE MEDIA MOGULS ARE SYSTEMATICALLY SEDUCING OUR CHILDREN. THEY HAVE NORMALIZED THAT WHICH IS ABNORMAL AND SUBNORMAL. THEY HAVE NORMALIZED. KIDS WATCH ENTERTAINMENT TODAY AND THEY SEE PEOPLE SLIPPING IN AND OUT OF BED, UNMARRIED PEOPLE, AS NORMALLY, AS NATURALLY AS PEOPLE WOULD SHAKE HANDS. PROFANITY AND FILTH ARE KNOWN AS POLITE CONVERSATION. AND AFTER THEY’VE NORMALIZED, THEN THEY HAVE DESENSITIZED. WE’VE COME TO THE PLACE WHERE THINGS DON’T SHOCK US ANYMORE. WHAT USED TO AMAZE US NOW AMUSES US. AND WE HAVE A GENERATION TODAY THAT DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO BLUSH OR FLINCH. AND IT GETS FILTHIER AND FILTHIER TO KEEP THE AUDIENCE COMING BACK. AND AFTER THEY’VE NORMALIZED AND DESENSITIZED, THEN THEY LEGITIMATIZE. THEY HAVE LEGITIMIZED THE ILLEGITIMATE. SEXUAL PERVERSION HAS GONE FROM A SIN TO A SICKNESS TO A SOCIALLY ACCEPTED PRACTICE. THEY HAVE LEGITIMATIZED THINGS THAT GOD CALLS SIN. AND AFTER THEY’VE DONE THAT, THEY STILL HAVE NOT FINISHED. THEY HAVE THEN STIGMATIZED THAT WHICH IS GOOD AND DECENT AND GODLY. The word virgin is a word to be laughed at. Monogamous marriage is a joke. And for you to stand up for Bible truth or for me to preach what I’m preaching today, I’ll tell you beyond the shadow of any doubt, I will be called a part of the radical religious right. JUST FOR SIMPLY SAYING THAT THERE’S A RIGHT AND THERE’S A WRONG. I MEAN THOSE WHO STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT ARE NOW NOT ONLY NO LONGER TOLERATED, THEY ARE STIGMATIZED. WE’RE LOOKED UPON AS A THREAT TO SOCIETY. NO WONDER THE PROPHET ISAIAH SAID IN ISAIAH CHAPTER 5 AND VERSE 20, WOE UNTO THEM THAT CALL EVIL GOOD AND GOOD EVIL. FORMER CONGRESSMAN JACK KEMP, WHAT HE SAID WAS SIGNIFICANT. I QUOTE, WHEN GRADE SCHOOLERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO LEARN AND TO READ ABOUT CONDOMS, BUT FORBIDDEN TO SEE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ON THE CLASSROOM WALL, SOMETHING IS MIGHTILY WRONG WITH EDUCATION IN AMERICA. THIS IS A DOUBLE STANDARD THAT UNDERMINES ALL STANDARDS. OUR CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN LESS ABOUT THE MECHANICS OF SEX AND MORE ABOUT THE MEANING OF CHARACTER. WHEN CHILDREN GROW UP IN HOMES WITHOUT A FATHER’S DISCIPLINE AND LOVE AND WITHOUT A MOTHER’S NURTURE AND COMFORT, WE CONSIGN A YOUNG GENERATION TO PROBLEMS THEY HAVE NOT CREATED AND DO NOT DESERVE. AN AMERICA WITHOUT A FOUNDATION OF STABLE FAMILIES IS AN AMERICA BUILT ON SHIFTING SAND. WHEN WE ACCEPT THE DENIGRATION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, WE COMPROMISE THE MEANS OF OUR DELIVERANCE. TODAY WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN HIS NAME, THEY’RE ALSO, IT SEEMS, AS THE ACLU IN THEIR MIDST. WE BELIEVE IN A FREE CHURCH AND A FREE STATE, BUT THAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION DOES NOT MEAN FREEDOM FROM RELIGION. WE AS A NATION WERE CONCEIVED IN FAITH, FOUNDED ON FAITH, AND PROSPERED THROUGH FAITH. I THINK THAT’S WELL SAID. NOW FOLKS, THE VERY FIRST THING I WANT YOU TO SEE IS THE APOSTASY OF AN UNTHANKFUL PEOPLE. LOOK AGAIN IN CHAPTER EIGHT VERSE 33, AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS SOON AS GIDEON WAS DEAD, THAT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TURNED AGAIN, AND WENT A-HORING AFTER BALAAM, AND MADE BAAL-BARITH THEIR GOD. AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL REMEMBERED NOT THE LORD THEIR GOD, WHO HAD DELIVERED THEM OUT OF THE HAND OF THEIR ENEMIES ON EVERY SIDE. NOW HERE’S THE SECOND THING I WANT YOU TO SEE. NOT ONLY THE APOSTASY OF AN UNTHANKFUL PEOPLE, But I want you to see the arrogancy of an ungodly leader. In this situation, there arose an ungodly leader. His name was Abimelech. Begin to read now in chapter 9, verse 1. And Abimelech, the son of Jeroboam, went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren and communed with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, I pray you in the ears of all the men of Shechem, weep. WHETHER IT IS BETTER FOR YOU EITHER THAT ALL THE SONS OF JERUBALE, WHICH ARE THREESCORE AND TEN PERSONS, REIGN OVER YOU, OR THAT ONE REIGN OVER YOU, REMEMBER ALSO THAT I AM YOUR BONE AND YOUR FLESH.” NOW I WANT TO PAUSE HERE TO SAY THERE WAS A MAN HE WAS A BRAMBLE, HE WAS A THORNBUSH, BUT HE HAD AN UNHOLY AMBITION TO LEAD THE COUNTRY. SO THE VERY FIRST THING HE DID IN VERSES ONE AND TWO WAS TO BUILD A COALITION. HE WENT TO HIS FRIENDS, BACK WHERE HE WAS RAISED, AND HE SAID, LISTEN, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM ONE OF YOU. I AM A PART OF THIS GENERATION. SECOND THING HE DID, HE BOUGHT HIS CONSTITUENTS. VERSE THREE, AND HIS MOTHER’S BRETHREN SPOKE OF HIM IN THE EARS OF ALL THE MEN OF SHEKHEM, ALL THESE WORDS, AND THEIR HEARTS INCLINED TO FOLLOW ABIMELECH. THEY SAID, FOR HE IS OUR BROTHER. AND THEY GAVE HIM THREESCORE AND TEN PIECES OF SILVER OUT OF THE HOUSE OF BAAL-BERITH. THAT IS, OUT OF THE GOD OF SEXUAL IMMORALITY. THAT’S WHERE HE GOT HIS MONEY. WHEREWITH ABIMELECH HIRED VAIN AND LIGHT PERSONS WHICH FOLLOWED HIM. HE BOUGHT HIS CONSTITUENTS. THIS WAS A SLAP IN THE FACE OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL BECAUSE OF WHERE THE MONEY CAME FROM. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SOMETIMES BUY AN ELECTION. SOMEBODY TALKED ABOUT A MAN WHO SPENT TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS TO GET ELECTED. THEY SAID, ISN’T THAT AN AWFUL LOT? HE SAID, WELL, ONLY WORKS OUT TO ABOUT TWO DOLLARS A PROMISE. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PROMISE A LOT, AND YOU CAN BUY A LOT, He bought his constituents. And look, he brutalized his competition. Look, if you will, in verse 5. And he went into his father’s house at Oprah and slew his brethren, the sons of Jerobel, being three score and ten persons upon one stone. He was a bloody man. They say, we don’t see that happening today. No. They put you in jail for that. Can’t do that today. Not openly, you can’t do that. YOU CAN STILL HAVE A GOVERNMENT BUILT ON BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF LITTLE BABIES, INNOCENT CHILDREN. YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS IN ABBACUC CHAPTER TWO VERSE 12, WOE UNTO HIM THAT BUILDETH A TOWN WITH BLOOD AND ESTABLISHETH A CITY BY INIQUITY. VISIT THE VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL. IT’S THERE AND I’M GLAD IT’S THERE. THAT MEMORIAL HAS 68,000 NAMES ON IT. IT STRETCHES FOR 500 FEET. BUT IF WE WERE TO BUILD A MEMORIAL FOR THE LITTLE BABIES WHO’VE DIED SINCE ROE VERSUS WADE, IT WOULDN’T HAVE ON IT 68,000 NAMES. IT WOULD HAVE ON IT 30 MILLION NAMES, AND IT WOULD STRETCH FOR 60 MILES. IF YOU’VE HAD AN EMORTION, I’M NOT HERE TO MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY. MANY PEOPLE HAVE DONE THINGS UNKNOWINGLY, UNWITTINGLY, OUT OF FEAR OR IGNORANCE. AND THERE’S A GOD OF GRACE AND A GOD OF FORGIVENESS. AND GOD DOES FORGIVE, BUT OH, SOMEBODY HAS TO SPEAK UP FOR THE UNBORN. SOMEBODY HAS TO SAY SOMETHING. I KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS CONGREGATION WHO DON’T LIKE IT WHEN WE, WE SPEAK ABOUT THESE THINGS, BUT AM I THERE FOR YOU, ENEMY, BECAUSE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH? AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE HERE? YOU HAVE A MAN WHO BUILT A COALITION, WHO BOUGHT HIS CONSTITUENTS, WHO, WHO BRUTALIZED HIS COMPETITION, AND THEN HE HAD HIMSELF INAUGURATED. WITH A SHOW OF RELIGION. LOOK IN VERSE SIX, AND ALL THE MEN OF SHEKOM GATHERED TOGETHER IN ALL THE HOUSE OF MILLO, AND WENT AND MADE ABIMELECH KING BY THE PLANE OF THE PILLAR THAT WAS IN SHEKOM. NOW WHAT IS THIS? SOME TRANSLATIONS GIVE IT BY THE GREAT TREE THAT’S IN SHEKOM. MOST BELIEVE THAT’S WHERE GOD SPOKE TO ABRAHAM AND GAVE ABRAHAM THE COVENANT. AND THEY’RE IN THAT PLACE TO TRY TO ASSOCIATE HIMSELF WITH THINGS THAT WERE GOOD AND HOLY AND WITH A COVENANT. THEY MADE A FARCE OF THE WHOLE THING. NOW, YOU HAVE THE APOSTASY OF AN UNTHANKFUL PEOPLE. YOU HAVE THE ARROGANCY OF AN UNGODLY LEADER. BUT HERE’S THE THIRD THING I WANT YOU TO SEE. THE APATHY OF UNCOMMITTED BYSTANDERS. NOW GO BACK TO THE PARABLE THAT I READ TO YOU, BEGINNING IN VERSE SEVEN. THERE WAS A MAN THERE WHO WAS A PROPHET, HIS NAME WAS JOTHAM. AND HE STOOD UP AND HE HAD SOMETHING TO SAY. LOOK IN VERSE SEVEN, AND WHEN THEY TOLD IT TO JOTHAM, HE WENT AND STOOD ON THE TOP OF MOUNT GERIZIM AND LIFTED UP HIS VOICE, AND WOULD TO GOD THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE TODAY WHO WOULD, AND CRIED AND SAID UNTO THEM, HARKEN UNTO ME, YE MEN OF SHEKOM, THAT GOD MAY HARKEN UNTO YOU. LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD IF YOU WANT GOD TO LISTEN TO YOUR WORD. THAT’S WHAT HE’S SAYING. HE THAT TURNS AWAY HIS EAR FROM THE HEARING OF THE LAW, EVEN HIS PRAYER SHALL BE AN ABOMINATION. AND SO HE, HE TOLD ABOUT THIS PARABLE, THE TREES. SAID, WE NEED A KING. THEY WENT TO THE OLIVE TREE, AND THEY SAID TO THE OLIVE TREE, WILL YOU RAIN OVER US? AND THE OLIVE TREE SAID, NO, I CAN’T RAIN OVER YOU. I’M TOO BUSY PRODUCING FATNESS, THE OIL OF THE OLIVE. AFTER ALL, THAT’S NATIONAL NECESSITY. AND SO THEY WENT TO THE FIG TREE, AND THEY SAID TO THE FIG TREE, FIG TREE, WILL YOU RULE OVER US?” AND THE FIG TREE SAID, OH, I CAN’T DO THAT. I’M TOO BUSY PRODUCING FIGS WITH ITS SWEETNESS. THAT MAY NOT BE A NECESSITY, BUT THAT’S A NICETY. I’M TOO BUSY DOING THAT. SO THEY WENT TO THE VINE AND THEY SAID TO THE VINE, WILL YOU RULE OVER US? AND THE VINE SAID, I CAN’T DO THAT. I’M TOO BUSY PRODUCING WINE TO CHEER THE HEART OF MAN AND GOD. NOW THAT’S A LUXURY. AND SO HERE THEY WERE WITH THEIR NECESSITIES AND THEIR NICETIES AND THEIR LUXURIES. THEY’RE ALL SO BUSY DOING GOOD THINGS. AND THEY WENT TO THE BRAMBLE. THEY ASKED THE BRAMBLE, THE BRIAR, WILL YOU RULE OVER US? HE SAID, I’LL BE GLAD TO. I’LL BE GLAD TO. AS A MATTER OF FACT, YOU CAN REST IN MY SHADE.” I’LL BE A SHADOW FOR YOU. CAN YOU IMAGINE A BRAMBLE BEING A SHADOW, A SHADE TREE? THE BRAMBLE HAS NO FRUIT, THE BRAMBLE HAS NO SHADE, IT HAS NO TIMBER, IT HAS NO LUMBER, BUT IT RIPS, IT SHREDS, IT CHOKES, IT CLINGS, IT GROWS, AND IT’S VERY HARD TO ROOT OUT. BUT ALL OF THESE PEOPLE FLED THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AND LET THE BRAMBLE RULE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT EDMOND BURKE SAID? A CLASSIC STATEMENT, EDMOND BURKE SAID, ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING. ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING. NOW I MUST CLOSE THIS MESSAGE, BUT I DON’T CLOSE IT IN DESPAIR, BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THE BOOK OF JUDGES SHOWS. GOD HAD RATHER FORGIVE THAN JUDGE. HE IS A GOD OF MERCY AND WE MUST DISABUSE OURSELVES OF THE IDEA THAT THERE CAN BE NO RENAISSANCE, NO REVIVAL, NO RESTORATION. THERE CAN BE AND WE DARE NOT LOSE HOPE. AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN STAINING HEAVEN WITH THEIR PRAYERS. AND ACROSS THIS LAND, PREACHERS HAVE BEEN PREACHING, AND GOD’S ALARM CLOCK IS GOING OFF, AND LET’S NOW JUST PRESS THE BATTLE TO THE GATES, AND LET’S TAKE THIS COUNTRY BACK FOR JESUS CHRIST. OH, FATHER, HELP US TO BE WISE AS SERPENTS, HARMLESS AS DOGS, BOLD AS LIONS, MAY WE, DEAR GOD, SHINE AS LIGHTS IN A DARK PLACE. SEND, O GOD, A MIGHTY REVIVAL AND LET IT BEGIN IN ME. WE PRAY THAT FOR OURSELVES IN JESUS’ HOLY NAME. AMEN.

SPEAKER 02 : 24:19

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