4th of July and Idolatry

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon, everyone, I guess I guess we should do this. Good afternoon everyone, and happy fourth of July, at least, I guess for those of us in the United States of America. It is Thursday, July the fourth, twenty twenty four. It is currently three four pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, I don't know who the person was who thought it was a brilliant idea to dedicate two weeks of having everyone for the sermon's two point oh sermon challenge simply focus on watching the live webcast and listening to the live webcast. Whoever that person was, they had no idea what they were thinking. They were clueless, they had no idea what they were doing. They made a horrible, horrible decision.

1:21 And whoever that person was, I'm going to find them and I'm going to hold them accountable. There will be consequences. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we know that that person was me. I Look, I'm being honest with you. I did not think about it, right, I just like my thinking process was, Hey, we've been doing the sermon's two point oh app challenge now for over half a year. Okay, I think we've tried a lot of new and different things. I've tried to keep it interesting. I've tried to be creative. There's something we haven't done. Instead of listening to random sermons, we'll just watch and listen to random live webcast. That that's a great idea. So before I really thought about it, I turned on the microphone and told everyone, Hey, for the next two weeks, let's focus on live webcast. And then it dawned on me, oh no, the first week is going to include the fourth of July. The first week is going to include the fourth of July holiday. What am I thinking?

2:28 Because immediately I realized, oh man, many of these webcasts, it's going to be just a display of patriotism and politics in the American church. Oh this is going to be irritating. This is going to be frustrating. This is going to be aggravating. But I don't know it, if, if even I was prepared for what I started seeing, because I started seeing things happening in many of these churches for their worships. Yeah, they were worshiping. I just I just don't think I just don't think it was God. What these worship services from everything in the sanctuary, you know, like the front of the pulpit covered with an American flag, or a little display in front of the pulpit with seventeen seventy six and the American flag and just all this, you know, things that represent the country, patriotism, nationalism, almost like covering up what the church is actually supposed to be about. I just sat there watching and listening, watching and listening, and I was just like, I cannot take this anymore. So I was just really frustrated and really aggravated, and instead of turning on the microphone just kind of mentioning specific webcasts that were currently happening, are reviewing one as soon as it was finished, I kind of just decided, you know what, I'm done, Like, I'm not gonna watch anything else. I'm just gonna I'm just I'm gonna close the app down. And you know, I know I told everyone to do this, but I've watched mine. You know, I've done one every

4:00 day, so you know I have participated. But I just can't keep watching this. I just cannot do it. I'm just going to get more and more frustrated. So then I kind of moved on doing my own thing. And then I started thinking about it. Well, I mean, it is the fourth of July. I only have a few hours to possibly broadcast because in a couple of hours there'll be fireworks going off all around, you know, the studio, so it'll be interrupting any broadcast. And then I was thinking, well, not, no one's really going to be listening anyway, so do I even do a broadcast? But then I thought, you know, I I've got to talk about this, right even if it's even if it's even if no one agrees with me, even if it doesn't benefit or change anyone's mind, I have to talk about it so that I can just kind of in a sense, I can process it. I can I can put it out there, and then I can move on because I addressed it.

4:59 Because I don't feel many will address it. I think many will think it's an amazing display of patriotism and nationalism and a love for country, and that it's amazing and it's beautiful and it's wonderful. Many will celebrate it and praise it. But I am not of the opinion that it's anything to be praised or celebrated. I think it's sad and I think it's frustrating. So I'm going to try to present this discussion, hopefully in a meaningful way and it will be beneficial. But we're going to be discussing the fourth of July and idolatry. We're going to be talking about idolatry not in the culture, but inside the church. See, if the culture is involved in idolatry, well, okay, of course, why, I mean, why would we not expect that, right, we would expect the culture to be involved in all kinds of idolatry. But the idolatry that we should be most aware of and be most concerned of, is not the idolatry outside of the church, but the idolatry inside the church. And if you really think about the Bible, yeah, it mentions the idolatry of the culture, but the real focus is always on the idolatry of God's people, the idolatry happening within Israel, the idolatry happening and our lives, and that constant reminder to put away idolatry, Do not commit idolatry, do not bow down to graven images, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The Bible is filled with and in

6:30 fact, you should just take the time one day to find all the Biblical commandments and prohibitions and examples of idolatry, because the Bible constantly condemns it. But I believe the fourth of July comes along and many churches engage in just full blown idolatry. They just as well, you know, just remove all of their clothes and start dancing around the golden keff, because that's basically what it has become. And it's maddening to me. So I know, I was thinking, you know, so what do we do? What do we do? What do we do? Well? The thing that kind of motivated me to just go ahead and start, you know, writing down some notes, and you know, coming to the microphone. I know it's, you know a little after three pm on you know, July the fourth. I mean, come on, I bet you, I bet you. I have zero listen listeners right now, but I don't even I doubt there's anyone even listening right now. But that's okay, that's okay, you know, because maybe this is just for my own mental health to be able to process this.

7:35 But what happened is I had an article saved in my notes library entitled seven False Gods in the Present Age, Seven False Gods in the Present Age, and I'd been waiting to possibly do a podcast about it, right, do an episode, and maybe we could do like a mini series on the seven false Gods in the present Age and do one, do an introduce episode, kind of introducing them, and then do an episode for each false god. I thought, I was thinking, like, we're trying to design something like that, but then, well then I have kind of the little mini series going on with Revival. We still have our Saw eighty three, so I'm like, you know, I don't want to necessarily add one. So I've just been saving it, just saving it, saving it, saving it.

8:18 But I saw it there in my notes, and I'm like, seven false Gods on the present Age. Well, let me at least see how the article begins, right, let me see how the article begins. And so I decided, you know, let me let me do a little reading of it. So this is how the article begins. The Study of the Fall of civilizations is to believe is believed to be a complex phenomenon considered by sociologists, historians, archaeologists, and other academics using a variety of theories and methodologies. All right, so I want you to hear a part of that again, the study of the fall of civilization. So obviously they're going to be talking about some of this related to the fall of a civilization. I want us to consider maybe this idea of false gods as it pertains to the fall of God's people, the fall of Israel, the fall of the Church.

9:16 I want it to your personal fall, my personal fall, like like, I wanted to see it more from that perspective. But okay, it says these academics study economic, political, social, and environmental external, environmental, external, cyclical, and technological dynamics. By examining these various factors, scholars aim to understand the multifaceted process that leads to the fall of a civilization. However, the Bible gives a much simpler answer for the reasons culture fail. Cultures fail and end up on the ash heap of history. So they're looking at this more from a cultural phenomenon, a cultural perspective, and I say that, Hey, within the academic world, they look at all of these varied things, all these different categories, to try to determine why, you know, civilizations crumble, why they fall, whin they end up on the ash heap of history. Why. According to this article, the Bible gives a much simpler answer. Well, what is the simpler answer? Well, they then have a kind of a heading here entitled Understanding the Fall of Civilizations. They make a reference to a book entitled Idols of Destruction. Idols of Destruction sounds like a possibly interesting book. In this book, the following is stated again the name of the book Idols of Destruction, and I'm going

10:50 to go to quote directly from it. In place of these analogies by academics, the Biblical explanation of the end of societies uses the concept of judgment. It depicts them civilizations as either having submitted themselves to God or having rebelled against him. The Old Testament betrays Israel as having become an evil nation, fully deserving the judgment God needed to it is. It's rebellion against God was accompanied by turning to idols, and this idolatry brought the nation to its end. With silver and gold, said the prophet Hoseiah. They made idols for their own destruction. Hoseiah, chapter eight, verse four, with silver and gold.

11:39 They made idols for their own self destruction. Now I'm gonna look up Hoosea four and a couple of translations here. I don't know what translations are quoting. I want to see how many translations agree with that reading. Right, let me find it. Here, should be just a second. Here, we'll find it, and we'll look at it. Here's Hosea, chapter eight. When it's a newer Bible, it's always hard to find exactly where it is or But this is the one that was sitting in front of me. Hosea, chapter eight, verse four. It says here they set up kings, but not by me. They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them from their silver and gold. They made idols for themselves. That they made that they might be cut off, So that they might be cut off, is how it's rendered in the New King James. I'm gonna look at the King James. Let me reach down and grab that bible. That's the new King James. All right, let's look at the King James.

12:48 Hosea Chapter eight, first four south. Quick I can find it in a Bible I typically use. Or they have set up kings, but not by me. They've made princes, and I knew it. Not of their over in their gold. Have they made them idols that they might be cut off, almost identical. So the idea of being cut off, the idea of being destroyed, the concept is clearly there. The Israel made out of their silver and gold idols to their own destruction. Now again, this article wants to take this and apply this to the culture or to nations. I think this is an example of the downfall, the fall, the destruction of God's people, or we could say the downfall of the church. At least of course, in one sense, the church will always be there, But I'm just talking overall in general, the downfall of the church. For depending on your system of eschatology, many of us feels like things are gonna get worse and worse and worse and worse. And when we talk about getting worse and worse and worse, a lot of times we put our focus that it's gonna get worse and worse in the culture, it's gonna get worse and worse in the Church. And I think the thing that's going to get worse and worse and the Church is the Church is going to become a source, is going to be the house of great idolatry. Just like Israel corrupted the temple and moved in idols into the temple. One of the signs of the end times

14:18 apostasy of the church. The Church will be a source of idolatry. That's at least my hypothesis. As ancient Israel went, the Church too will go. The Church will slide into greater and greater apostasy. The Church will now become the temple of idolatry. We're gonna move in. We'll still be claiming to be worshiping the true God, we still will be using some of that language, but ladies and gentlemen, it will be worshiping something other than God. So this article goes on to say idolatry and it's large meaning is properly understood as any substitution of what is created for the creator. People may worship nature, money, mankind, power, history, or social and political systems instead of God who created them all. I'm going to read this like fifteen times. All right, I want you to pay close attention to this all right, idolatry and its larger meaning. It's properly understood as any substitution of what is created for the creator. People may worship nature, money, mankind, power, history, or social and political systems instead of the God who

15:52 created them all. Do you hear that last part? That they may worship social and political system systems instead of God who created them all. I'm going to add I'm going to add a word here. People may worship nature, money, mankind, power, history, social nations, and political systems instead of the God who created them all. The New Testament writers in particularly recognize that the relationship that the relationship need not be explicitly one of cultic worship. A man can place anyone or anything at the top of his pyramid of values, and that is ultimately what he serves. The ultimacy of that service profoundly affects the way he lives. When the society around him also turns away from God to idols, it is an idolatrous society, and therefore it is heading for destruction. I think when the Church becomes an idolatrous society, and I think time and time again, the church. Look, we always want to look at the idols in the culture. We always yell about the idols of the culture, social media, music, entertainment. Wait, we always sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon after but we sometimes we'll be literally standing next to our golden calf while we scream at the idols of the culture. Well, everyone is in the church is taking off their clothes and dancing around the

17:25 golden calf inside the sanctuary, and nobody wants to point it out. It's always easy to miss your idol when you're worried about someone else's idol. You need to worry about the idol and the sanctuary before you worry about the idol in the public square. And I think there's some idols in the sanctuary, and nobody wants to admit it. The first commandment, according to this article is you shall have no other gods before me. The commandment does not acknowledge the existence of other gods as real entities. Instead, it emphasizes the exclusive worship and devotion to the One True God. Nothing must ever come before him or be first in one's heart or life. The Lord is to be loved supremely because he is supreme and worthy of being supremely adored and obeyed. John Calvin, the sixteenth century theologian and reformer, has said man's mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition, so much that if a man believes his own mind, it is certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain. Idolatry is who we are now, the first and greatest idol. Okay, now, just to make sure we understand this, before we talk about the idol in the sanctuary, let's always remember there's already an idle inside all of us. It's our sinful nature, and the sinful nature exalts us. We are our own idol. We don't like to admit

18:56 it. The idol, the greatest idol of your life is you. You want to see your idol. Look in the in the mirror. That's the idol you worship. That's the idol you serve. And you even use the concept of God to better serve that idol, which is you. God becomes a tool to the exaltation in the worship of yourself. I do it, you do it, We all do it. They go on to say, this insight, this insightful observation I should as I should read it. Reading's especially true today the Western world, long shaped by the precepts of Christianity, now finds itself on what many describe as a post Christian era. The shift is evident in society's increasing turn to modern idols. So now this is it.

19:45 They're gonna look at this from a societal standpoint, from a societal standpoint, and at some point I will look at it from a societal standpoint. But what I want to do is stop right there and say, you know what, Now, what we need to do is stop looking at how the post Christian culture. I think we're in a post Christian church. I think the post Christian church has become a house of idolatry. And I think one of the greatest idols inside much of the American church today is the God, the idol of Are you ready patriotism and politics? Patriotism and politics, patriotism and politics. And all you had to do was focus on many of the webcasts that broadcasted live on the Sermon's two point oh Approbta dot sermonadio dot com website, especially those that aired yesterday, which was July the third, because that was Wednesday. Many, many of the churches that had their Wednesday night service dedicated it basically to some capacity to patriotism to America. To the songs that were being sung that was exalting America, talking about our faith in America, America. I'm a patriot, I serve my country America, America, America, America. So the songs that were sung in many cases, look, there's no other way for me to describe it. They were just straight up blasphemous, and I don't know why. In some cases, it's kind of like, does that not violate the the you know, the terms broadcasters

21:22 have to agree to to even broadcast on the platform because they're literally blaspheming God by exalting something else before God. But no one will ever call it into question, because hey, if it's patriotism and politics, as long as it as it's republican, as long as it's conservative politics, we don't care, even if it becomes our idol. And as long as it's patriotism for America and not some other country, we got no problem with it. Because these are the idols, these are the golden calfs that nobody is going to ever call into question. But not only did it go from the songs, it went from the deck of the sanctuary. It was insane. One as he was preaching, literally there was an American flag draped over the front of the pulpit, So, in other words, the pulpit was covered by the American flag. How dare you do that? You cover the pulpit with the American flag? That is utter blasphemy. And then some had like in front of the pulpit that had a little display, had a little sign that said seventeen seventy six a folded an American flag, I don't know, some other nonsense.

22:30 And I'm like, what is the inside the sanctuary? And everybody's just sitting there going, ay man, I'm proud to be an American. And I'm like, what is happening? Why don't you just why don't we just say, hey, we're the Church of the Golden Calf, draped in an American flag, and it's all good because as long as it has the red, white, and blue, we don't call into question how big the Golden Calf is. It's just an absolute abhorrent form of idolatry. If people brought other things into the church, this is what's such. The hypocrisy of this drives me crazy. If people brought in other songs about not about America, but about something else, and they brought other decorations in about people, like what are you doing? You can't do that in church. Why you can do it to the America. You can bring in all this American stuff, which you have no New Testament example of doing this. You have no command, you have no ex forget the regulative principle. I don't I think this is even a violation of the normative principle. You got no biblical support for turning your sanctuary into a kind of a an altar to the United States of America. That is not allowed that I don't even know how that is taught.

23:48 People should walk into the church and go no, turnout, kids, let's go. We're not going to be a part of it. This has nothing to do with Christianity. This is a worship service to a country, not to the worship. And I know the church will say no, so we're worshiping God and being grateful for a country. Well, then you just worship God and you leave all of this symbolism of America, leave it off the church property. It's just complete idolatry. But you can't call it in to question. You can't because if you do, you'll be attacked for your lack of patriotism. You will be attacked for your lack of love of country.

24:36 Wait wait, wait, wait, So now you're going to judge someone because of their lack of patriotism, of love for country, not because maybe they're trying to stand I don't know for the scriptures that say, do not have any other God before me. Now, everybody, everyone, there's idolatry in all of us, In me and in you. That idolatry manifests itself in variety of ways, and all of it is equally wrong. The idolatry in me is just as equally as wrong as the idolatry that I think was has been on full display in many churches for their so called, you know, Celebration of America nonsense. The church is the church has never been called to engage in any of that. So this article goes on to talk about the gods of our society, and at some point we'll talk about them, but I want to talk about the God inside the American church, the the idol, the false god inside the American church, and I think it is patriotism and politics. There may be many others, but since it's July the fourth, this is the one we have to deal with, right. So I did a little bit of work and copied some things down and just started, you know, trying to kind of create my own thoughts here so that

26:06 I could process this. In my notes, I just put fourth of July, and then I have a couple of paragraphs. Here's one paragraph. In the Bible, idolatry is the worship of idols or false gods, putting anything, anything, or anyone above the one true God. It involves giving reverence, adoration, devotion to something other than God. Idolatry is strongly condemned in the Bible, as it violates the first Commitment, which dates you shall have no other Gods before me. The idolatry often leads to spiritual harm and distancing oneself from the true worship of God. Now again, I know everyone's gonna say, no, no, no, we were worshiping God. We were worshiping God. Everything in your sanctuary said you were there to worship America, not God. I don't look you, you say, so if I bring in an idol of some sort, but it's just small, and I sit it over in the corner. That's okay, And you say, no, that would be horrible. Well, you've got the American flag sitting right there.

27:07 Why why why is that in the sanctuary? Why? Identifying when patriotism and politics have become idols in the American church can be challenging. But here are some signs and evidence that might indicate the phenomenon is happening. So it can be some kinds. It can be difficult, and I think the reason it can be difficult is because when you try to identify it, you're always going to get pushedback. No, no, we love God the most, but we just we also love America. And it's always easy to just you know, you can just say the right words, but everything screams there's something, there's something something wrong, something desperately wrong. And in fact, just preach a sermon whill you criticize or you bring up the sins of America's past, You'll get people mad, you'll get people upset. Well, no countries, they'll get defensive and you're like, well, why are you getting so defensive? Why? Oh, I see because I'm bumped up against your golden calf that you've got, you know, robed and an American flag. Here's some possible signs that may be your church, maybe your own heart. The false god of patriotism and politics has so infiltrated and over emphasis on nationalism.

28:38 When churches prioritize national pride and loyalty above the universal message of the Gospel, it can be a sign that patriotism has become an idol well. I think in many of those churches on their Fourth of July nonsense. They are prioritizing, they are emphasizing nationalism, They're emphasizing pride to country, They're emphasizing celebrating country, country, country. They may try to they may try to word it in the correct way, but that's what it is. Many many cases, look at how Israel did their idolatry. They may have said they were worshiping the true God, they may even refer to the true God, but it was all corrupted by their idolatry. You may be worshiping the true God, but you've corrupted it with your emphasis on nationalism and pride and America and proud to be an American and all the other stuff and the politics and winning elections, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Now you're still maybe using the right words, but you're corrupting it and there's no way to get around that and overemphasis on nationalism. Number two, political alignment Trump's Christian values. That's not a play on words. Okay, that's not a play on words anyway, shape or form. Okay, that wasn't.

30:07 That wasn't. That wasn't intended. Okay, actually I got the I got the sentence from something else, but I changed the sentence a little bit. They use the word trump being Christian values. I just want political alignment Trump's Christian values. So I'm using the same concept. But that's not necessarily intended. You can take it anyway you want. If church leaders or members consistently prioritize political alignment over upholding Christian values such as love, compassion, and justice, it may indicate that politics has taken precedent over faith. Has politics and patriotism taken precedent over faith. Now, of course, the people involved in this wall, we say no, no, no, no no. God first, God, country comes, country comes third. You know, God guns country, or however you want to order you want to order it.

31:06 I mean, that's that's pretty close to the way some people think. But it's always easy to say the right order. But you could just look at people and their thinking and and and they sound more like you know, a certain political leaders social media feed than they do Matthew, Mark Luke or John They sound like Republicans more than they sound like Christians. They sound like children of the of Trump. Then they sound like the children of God. So when you overemphasize nationalism, and when your political alignment Trump's Christian values a lack of unity and division when politics. When political differences lead to division within the church, causing conflict, hostility, or exclusion among members, it suggest that political ideologies have become idols that divide rather than unite. And there have been way too many people who've even emailed me said that's I'm not going back to my church because of the politics. Not going back. Not going back.

32:10 You you've got to be, you know, a red baseball cap wearing Trump supporter, or you're not welcome in this church. You have to be like America America, America, America, America, America, America, America Trump, America America Trump a Constitution, Trump, Trump, Trump tru or you know you're going to be well, you're going to be an outcast in your own church. That's because the church becomes Look, I've stated it so many times with any Well, maybe you guys don't feel this way. I think there's a lot to try to. I think there's a lot of what typically happens is, you know, people kind of flock together, you know, that are the same. So a lot of cases, churches are very they're identified with a certain way of thinking, a certain politic because people just find that they're going to only be with people who are like them, and that's not the way it should be. You should look at a sanctuary people and it should be people who are radically different, different in their everything. They're different, they have different likes, different hobbies, different, they're just completely different in every way, shape or form. They say, well, what will bring unity? Because the church is where we emphasize the teaching of scripture and the Bible and all of these other differences are secondary because our unity to Christ trumps all of these secondary issues. But in many cases, the church really, you know, they kind of flock together because they're the same.

33:37 And if you come in you have a different political standpoint, you will be You'll basically be run off. Even though no one may say those words, you're going to feel like a complete outcast because the church becomes more known for its political leanings than it does its gospel belief. So there's an overemphasis on nationalism, there's political alignment trumping Christian values. There's a lack of unity and division, or I should say political differences becomes a source of division. Maybe we should state it that way. Blind adherence to political leadership. If church leaders are members unquestionably support political leaders or parties without critically evaluating their actions or policies and a lot of Christian principles, it could be a sign of idolizing political figures. It's like if Trump says something many of their church it's just good. It's just good. It's like, what are you talking? Why?

34:39 Why can you not just like he just said fifteen things that are fraudulent, that are false, those are falsehoods. Well no, no, no, that's just fake news. Or maybe it's like he's the one giving the fake news, but you're so blindly loyal to him, you're not willing to criticize fact check or even think for yourself. Okay, when Christians start doing that, it's just blind allegiance, blind adherence to political leaders and parties. That the church has been compromised. The church is a place of political idolatry.

35:21 I think that's something that has to be considered substitution of worship. In some cases, if church services or gathering start resembling political rallies, or if political or national symbols become more prominent than spiritual worship, it may indicate that politics or patriotism has become an idol. Well, guess what I saw yesterday watching all of these webcasts. The substitution of worship political national symbols or being placed above or in front of, or over actual symbols representing Christianity. That is an absolute wrong. That's that's a substitution of worship. Look at somebody look at it like, I don't know, I don't know what some of the churches. Hopefully, I'm hoping by Sunday all these churches have moved on.

36:27 They got their patriotism, they got all of that out of their system on Wednesday, and they'll go back to being a church. But even if it was for one day, that's not acceptable. There'll be replacing songs that are supposed to point and focus on God, and you start singing about our country. Get your patriotic songs out of the worship service. So what do we have when for looking for patriotism and politics becoming a golden idol, becoming an idol in your church? Well, there's an overemphasis on nationalism, political alignment, Trump's Christian values. Your political differences lead to division. People who demonstrate a blind adherence to political leaders or parties, they begin to substitute as a substitution of worship takes place. Next, they begin to prioritize political goals over kingdom values. When churches prioritize achieving political goals or advancing a political agenda over promoting the values of the Kingdom of God, such as justice, mercy, and humility, it can be a warning, a sign of misplaced priorities.

37:45 Many Christians are focused on winning elections versus kingdom values or spiritual goals. In fact, in some cases they try to merge, thinking that the winning of election is spiritual goals. No, no, it isn't. In some cases. I've said it so many times. The church has so prostituted itself to political party. Conservative churches has prostituted itself, has laid down for political parties to simply use them. That I think in some cases for our spiritual good, for the spiritual good of the church. The best thing that could happen is that every Republican at every level of government be voted out of office and there's no one left. There's not one Republican left. It's Democrats from city government, state government, federal government, every branch of government, it's all Democrat led and controlled. No Republicans. Now, people say that will be the end of our country. Could be the beginning of a major revival in the church, because we would stop looking to politics at that point, we'd start looking to God, would realize stop worrying about voting. There, it's over, it's done, and we would start praying, Hey, start worrying about the next election, and let's fast, Hey, let's present that we would actually then realize there's no hope. There would be we would not be looking to chariots and horses, We'd be looking to God because there would

39:16 be nowhere, there would be no political party to prostestant, prostitute yourself too. Now, whenever I say that, people lose their minds. But they're more worried about the state of the country than they are the state of the church. But I thought this is not our home. See, I thought we're pilgrims and strangers here. I thought we're not of this world. I maybe I just misshred all of that. Maybe I just missread all of that. Some people want to use politics to try to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. If Christ wants a kingdom on earth, the sky will open.

40:00 He will come back on a horse with a sword, kill all of his enemies and establish it. It's not going to be done through the Republican Party. Last rejection of dissenting voices or perspectives, if church communities silence or ostracized individuals who hold differing political views, is suggest and basically that politics has become an idol in the church. Political ideology has now become the idol. And that's what happens. If you're not a part of their political ideology, you're going to be ostracized. And guess what they'll do if you don't hold to their political views. They'll call your Christianity into question because you don't hold their If you don't support Trump and you don't support Republicans, you're not a Christian. I mean we even heard some of that in the last election.

40:58 We won't name some famous pass who said from the pulpit, if you vote Democrat, you are not a Christian. As now, your salvation is dependent on who you vote for. My salvation is not who I vote for. It's who chose me, which was God. It's my faith in Christ. My salvation is based off what Christ did, not who I vote for. You may not like who I vote for, but you can't use that to call my salvation into question. You may not like it, you may not understand it, but it's none of your stinking business. This is all the idolatry of the American Church, and nobody seems to care. Nobody seems to care. The church becomes more political, more nationalistic, more patriotic, more pro American, more pro American America. First, make America grady, forget the church, forget Christ for the King God. Now I know as soon as I say that, no, we haven't forgotten God. I mean, we love God, but we love our country too. I mean we want to and that they'll use. They'll use every excuse under the sun instead of stopping going. Man, maybe maybe we got to rethink this. Maybe maybe there is got to be a better balance here. Maybe maybe there is got to be a maybe there has to be a better way. It's essential for church leaders and the members to regularly reflect on their priorities and ensure that their

42:35 allegiance remains primarily to Christ and his teaching, not to a country or political party. We've got a problem, a problem in the American church. We got a big golden calf right there in your sanctuary. Now, I don't know what's gonna happen on your church, church, church Sunday. I don't know. I don't know if you're gonna bust out a bunch of patriotic songs about America. I don't know if there's gonna be a huge American flag in the sanctuary. I don't know if you're gonna have American flags all over the property. I don't know if it's good. I know that there's a church right down. Like if I get in my car back out of my driveway, it goes straight out of my residential area, right go straight down the end of the street. The end of the street, there's a stop sign.

43:38 I take a right three minutes, four minutes. On the left hand side there's a large church. There are American flags. Now I haven't looked. I haven't looked this week, but almost every year there are American flags everywhere, all down the side of the road. And then it goes all American flags on both sides of the driveway that leads to the parking lot of the of the church. Just American flag, American flag, American flag, American flag, American flag, American flag. And they'll have some sign and there's signed will be come celebrate America. You know this Sunday. And it's like, what in the world that is not a church, but yet they sure think they are. Now when I criticize it, I guarantee you if I was to do this on Christian radio, what I'm doing right now, I would be kicked off Christian radio. You say, no, you wouldn't.

44:37 I've been kicked off Christian radio, So I think I have a pretty good idea where the line is right, I got kicked off Christian radio. So I know that Christian radio because you know what they would receive. They would receive their phones would be ringing off the hook right now. People say, I'm not going to donate anymore to your radio station. If you're going to have some non patriotic American, hating liberal or who's probably he woke and he's ruining our country. He needs need to leave America. Here's a plane to go to China. Here's a plane ticket to go to China. In fact, I was listening yesterday to one of the webcasts where he just said that. Well, a pastor literally said it from the pulpit about Hey, people don't like this, they can go to China, they can go to Russia, they can go to what Why is it that you can't offer any criticism for tell someone that tells you to leave the country. And I get sick when people do that nonsense to me. And I don't know. I wore the uniform for nineteen years and almost died and still have issues because of what happened to me while I was in the military. I think I have every right to be able to offer criticism. In fact, that's the reason people are in the military to protect the constitutional right for you to offer that criticism should be told to leave the country because you have criticism, and why is the church telling people? Why would someone from the pulpit tell someone they should leave America? Why would you want them to leave America that you're here to evangelize, You want them to leave America. Wouldn't you want them to stay in America so you can present the gospel to them? But you don't care about presenting the gospel to them. You just care about them standing up

46:07 for America or standing up for America, or you want them to leave, Well, why don't you leave? Can't believe that someone from the pulpit would tell someone if they don't like America, get out, leave the country. When would the church want anyone to leave the country. You want them to be here so that they have the freedom to read a Bible, to learn that you have the freedom to try to advan. Wouldn't you be more worried about evangelizing them and then become lovers of God more than lovers of country. When Christians tell people they should leave the country, they have ceased to think as a child of God and they have been brainwashed by some stinking political ideology.

46:57 That's a cancer to the American church. If you hear any usually it's Christian men who say some nonsense about people leaving the country, you need to call them out because that's not being a Christian. It's the most ridiculous thing. You want people to leave the country. Why would you want someone to leave the country. If they're here, they gives you the chance to evangelize them. Isn't that what I thought we were supposed to be about. Go and make disciples not go, and make Americans not go, and make patriots not go, and make Republicans not Hey, if they won't, if they don't like our country, they can get out. How about no, they cannot like our country and stay here because we don't care if they like the country. What we want them to do is become lovers of God. Oh I'm sorry. I know I'm the radical one. I'm the crazy one.

47:46 I'm the one who now will be criticized. This has nothing I want to make this very clear and I'll end with this. This has nothing to do with politics. This really has nothing to do with patriotism. This has nothing to do with America or America the way some people want to say. It has nothing to do with any of that. This has everything to do with what is the church supposed to be, how is the church supposed to act, and the constant condemnation of idolatry throughout the New Testament. This is about the regulative principle, the normative principle, and idolatry. This is a philological issue. You're going to make it. See the minute you're trying to make it a patriotic issue or a national issue, is you're the one missing the point. This is a philological issue. You want to set up your society of pro America, wave the flag, Trump Trump, Trump Trump, Just go do it outside of the church. Take it somewhere else. You can have your Tuesday night, you know, good old boys get together and you can sit around and drink whatever you want to drink and wear and make America great red hat and talk about the woke liberals and how we're going to show them and you can do all of that. Just keep it out of the church. Keep your stinking politics out of the church. I think that,

49:20 I think I stated that very clearly and very calmly. Let me state it again, just telling people to lead, and I can't. I just could not believe that I was watching a Christian webcast and the nonsense about people can leave the country. I was like, what am I watching? What what church would tell people to leave the country. Wow, it's like so much for the Great Commission that we don't like their politics so that they can get out. Like I think, Oh yeah, there's so many issues, so many issues, so many issues. But it clearly demonstrates the priority. It clearly demonstrates what's important. And it it's not God, it's not Christianity.

50:01 It's not that it's winning an election and say and then when you hear Christians say, well, we've got to win this election. Our country is gone. So your help comes from a political party and not from God. So stop all the nonsense that God is the answer. All right? You can you can voice your strong disagreements to news I f at yahoo dot com. To news I f at yahoo dot com. That's news I f at yahoo dot com. Whether you agree with me, whether you disagree. We all should be able to agree with this. You shall have no other gods before me. You may struggle with patriotism and politicy, being that I don't struggle with patriotism or politics. Being that false God that idol, I don't struggle with that. So it's easy for me to speak with such you know, passion and condemnation, because I don't struggle with it. I'll be the first to admit. But ladies and gentlemen, let me not end this broadcast with you under a false impression. I've got plenty of idols and plenty of golden calves, probably right here in this studio. I've got plenty of idols and golden calves right down the steps over there in front of me. I go

51:36 down those steps, open the door, step into my kitchen. And if I go then out of the kitchen, cross kind of the living room, dining room, into a hallway, take a right, go down the hallway to my other room where my television is and stereo equipment. Oh that's idolatry central, ladies and gentlemen, And there's no way for me to deny that. I struggle with that all the time. So I've got I am no better than anyone else. I just don't struggle with this particular idol. But I have to speak against it forcefully because many churches do. Because I watched them put it in full display on Wednesday. It would be like this.

52:17 They put all of their patriotism and pro America stuff in the forefront of their worship service. What if Sunday I showed up, if everyone come walking into Victory Baptist Church and I love professional wrestling, I had the entire sanctuary decorated in stuff pertaining to the WWE. Because there's a pay per view this coming weekend money in the bank. Right where they climb ladders to grab briefcases. What if I have the sanctuary where there's ladders all over the place and briefcases hanging from the sanctuary silly and in front of the in front of the cross on my pulpit, I have a big WWE. Simple people would say it's blasphemy. It would go viral, it would be condemned, it would be Wait a minute, what's the difference. Oh, wine is all wonderful and great because it's country, it's America, it's patriotism. The other one is just WWE. I hate that stuff. And it's interesting that the idol you love is always okay and the idol you hate is always wrong. Thanks for listening. Happy fourth of July, God bless