I highly recommend this sermon! It truly hits the nail on the head of the issue of indifference & the lukewarm attitude within the American Church today and how risky it is.
The Focus in Scripture: Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 19:1-10, Revelation 3:14-22 Additional Supporting Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 8:19-22, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 25:31-46
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Dearest Dave, I went to church today & my pastor's words rang clear & true to what I've been trying to say. After hearing his message, I feel more encouraged to speak to you truthfully.
The Holy Spirit is really convicting me to say this to you. I think that after this message, I've said enough. I will say no more & I will just listen to how you respond to my statements. This will be my last appeal because in scripture, it says not to argue too much and I would like to obey that. I do not agree that salvation consists of willful sin. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that salvation frees you to sin as you please or that Christ died to let you sin without fear of Judgement. It says quite the opposite. Beware of false teachers who preach this sort of Gospel! (2 Peter 2:1-22) So please consider this, if not anything else I've said. Christ bought us with his blood, yes? Before he came into our lives, we were sinners, we were wolves with no righteousness in our hearts whatsoever (Romans 8:7-8, Romans 3:10-18). All you have to do is look at the world around us to truly appreciate my statement. America has left God behind & I think as scripture says, He has left Americans to fulfill their evil lusts. Romans 1:24 For this reason God allowed their lusts to control them. Romans 1:26 For this reason God allowed their shameful passions to control them. Romans 1:28 And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. **Take for example, the Catholic priests who one after another have molested young boys. It's despicable, and it’s really sad. But I believe that that this is a judgment from God. In the past, God protected priests from their wicked hearts, as he protects us, and he kept them from sinning so gravely, however, today, God has let them go to fill their shameful lusts. **One Old Testament example is Exodus 9:12 of how God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Do you remember that story? God hardened his heart so that He would receive glory. He does everything for his Glory of course. Romans 9:9-16 He did that so that the Egyptians would know that the God of Israel is not a god to be messed with. He meant business, so he hardened Pharaoh's heart so that Moses would go to him day after day and plagues would hit Egypt day after day. So we know that God can to this and has done this before. ![]()
I am an escapist. What does that even mean??
A quick look in the dictionary will tell you that an escapist is one who indulges in escapism – the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind in entertainment or in imaginative situation, activity, etc. I think I've known for years that I was an escapist because almost all my life I have escaped reality in all sorts of ways and for all sorts of reasons. From the age of 13, I indulged in the fictional, in all sorts of magical and amazing imaginary worlds in the form of TV online. When I was 13 to when I was 15, I spent almost every waking hour watching TV program after TV program. My entire summers were spent in front of my computer screen (not watching porn) but watching TV. It’s amazing that I did well in school despite spending all my days craving escape from my sometimes boring & sometimes painful life. Why Did I do it? On the TV screen, I could vicariously live through the protagonists I adored. I could be popular, have an exciting life with superpowers even. I could be or have anything by watching these shows! Because let's face it, TV shows us what we wish we had and who we wish we were. What I saw on TV made my life as an only child with few friends and a single mom seem less miserable & boring so I spent even more time escaping. When I was 15ish, my escapism reached a peak when I discovered that I had a passion for creative writing. Creative Writing! It was better, richer, and more complex than anything I could have ever viewed on a TV screen. With the pen in my hand, and the characters in my control, at command, I could create elaborate worlds known only to me, specific to my desires, my wants & fantasies, making it the maximum source of entertainment and pleasure because it was made personal by me and for me. I stopped writing shortly before entering college and I now I believe this was the Lord pulling me out of my head before I lost myself to the imaginary. Why am I telling you this? |
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