Hebrews 3:7-19 (Lest We Fall Away- Jeff Kliewer)

A voice in the dark, a song that lights up the stars

One breath that gives life, one sovereign and proud

Who speaks with thunder and fire, one lord, one king

There is no other that can compare to you

You are the one, my lord in greatness

The one who never changes Jesus, you are the one who holds the power

The one who reigns forever Jesus, the one true

God One man on a cross, one by the war

One, one word, one will be said

And you, you are the one, my lord in greatness

The one who never changes Jesus, you are the one true

God And we have seen the lord in greatness

The one who never changes Jesus, you are the one who holds the power

Jesus, the one true

God You're the one true God To you lord

Jesus, here this morning Who would save themselves

Their own soul could heal

Our shame was deeper than the sea

Your grace is deeper still Who would save themselves

Their own soul could heal Our shame was deeper than the sea

Your grace is deeper still You alone can rescue, you alone can save You alone can lift us from the grave

You came down to find us, let us out of death

You alone belong, our highest praise

You have made a way, the great thing that's ever still

You alone can rescue, you alone can lift

You came down to find us, let us, you alone

Lift up our eyes, you're the giver of life

We lift up our eyes that you alone can

You alone, you alone

You here this morning, we are so thankful for you And the way that you can rescue us

Bring us out of the dark places We know that we're surrounded by evil things

We know that you are our hope in life and death

We know that you stand forever Guide us in our hearts throughout this week

To remember that you are ever true The one true

God And rest in you Because you are

God and God alone Is our hope in life and death

Christ alone, Christ alone What is our only confidence

That our souls to Him belong

Who holds our days within His hands

What comes apart from His command And what will keep us to the end

The love of Christ in which we stand

Oh sing Hallelujah Our hope springs eternal

Oh sing Hallelujah Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death What truth can calm a troubled soul

God is what is good

Oh sing eternal

Oh sing Christ our hope in life and death

The grave, what shall we see

Christ He lives, Christ He lives

What reward will heaven bring And sin and death will be destroyed

And we will feast in endless joy

When Christ is ours forevermore

Oh sing Hallelujah Our hope springs eternal

Oh sing Hallelujah Our hope springs eternal

Oh sing Hallelujah Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death Good morning.

Let's pray. Father, we do thank you this morning for the opportunity to come into this place to gather around your word that your voice, what you say by your

Holy Spirit would be the center of our attention. We thank you Lord for this opportunity to praise the name of Jesus that Jesus would be lifted up in this place.

We pray that you would make us to be worshipers in spirit and in truth. Help our hearts to cling to you.

Lord, if there's any here that have a distracted heart, a drifting heart we pray that you would draw their attention more closely to you and to your word.

We pray that you would speak now through your word in Jesus name. Amen. 2

Thessalonians 2 verse 3 says Let no one deceive you in any way for that day, now this refers to the day of the

Lord the last seven year period of tribulation and difficulty on this earth right before the second coming of Christ he says that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first.

Rebellion the word in the Greek is apostasia from which we get the term apostasy.

We are told that there will be an apostasy before the tribulation and the antichrist and then the second coming of Christ.

Brothers and sisters I think that we are living during the period of the great apostasy.

I say that because when I look to Europe here is a continent that once burned with reformation fire.

Now one percent of the continent is evangelical. Can you believe that?

One percent. Let's jump there for a period of time here for my introduction to the country of France.

France was touched by the reformation fire. Now we know that France became essentially a

Catholic country even despite the reformation whereas England and Scotland and all of the

Germanic peoples even the Netherlands these all turned to the evangelical religion. France remained kind of like Italy and Spain in Roman Catholicism.

However there was a time when the evangelical faith was taking off in France. Does anybody know the name of the reformed in France?

The Huguenots. If you anglicize Huguenot it is the Huguenots. These were reformed evangelical believers in the 1500's the 16th century.

There was a famous affair back in 1534 called the affair of the placards.

The evangelicals were so excited about the reformation that they began to put up placards all around town.

In fact they got so zealous that one of them snuck into the king's palace and posted a tract right on the door of his bedroom.

When he woke up in the morning he saw that well of course this Roman Catholic king did not take kindly to that move and that very next day right outside of Notre Dame they began to kill

Christians. The persecution really began after the affair of the placards in 1534.

There were faithful Christian evangelical pastors who were burned at the stake right outside of Notre Dame.

But this didn't stop the evangelical faith did it? It continued to grow and by the year 1560 some estimates say that there were 15 % of all of France that gathered in Huguenot churches.

And that's not to mention that the ones who remained in the Catholic church, many of them were being influenced by the

Protestant religion. So they were drifting more towards the Bible and away from papal tradition.

So there was really good things happening in the 1560s. In fact in 1570 one

Admiral Caligny was becoming very close with the king and the

Catholics were nervous that the king of France was going to become evangelical. They got even more nervous when

Henry IV well before he's Henry IV he's just Henry, good old plain old

Henry Navarre, he marries one of the princesses of France and they are evangelical

Christians. So in response to this maybe you've heard of Catherine de

Medici, the Medici family she ordered the killing of Caligny. And not only did a person assassinate

Caligny that day, but a great outburst of wrath against the church broke out that day.

Many of you know it's referred to as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Just in a demonic, satanic hatred for the evangelical religion, 30 ,000

Huguenots were massacred. 25 ,000 of them right there in the city of Paris.

So it was a demonic hatred for the gospel. Well this caused many

Huguenots to flee. So many of them went down to Rio de Janeiro, good place to go, and that's why the

Reformed faith is still strong in Brazil to this day because of the Huguenots that went there, but also to the

Americas even before the Puritans came to America there were Huguenots who settled in Jacksonville.

Some of them went to South Africa and many went to other parts of Europe. So the church was scattered that day, but much like Acts chapter 8, with the stoning of Stephen, wherever they went they preached the gospel.

And so they started fires wherever they went. Gospel fires. This scattering reduced their numbers, but the church still continued to grow.

Persecution did not stop the evangelical faith in France. What happened then?

Well it's really a sad episode. Henry, good old Henry, he now had the opportunity to take the throne.

All he had to do was capture Paris and because of his marrying into the royal family, he had a direct path to become king and in fact he does become king.

You want to know how he did it? Rolling into Paris he said these words,

Paris is worth at least a mass. In other words, he converted to Catholicism.

He apostatized from the evangelical faith. Now we recognize those of us who understand propitiation, which is the finished work of Christ, a once and for all sacrifice on the cross by which he satisfied the wrath of God, forever assuaging that wrath and sat down once and for all at the right hand of the father never to have to interpose his precious blood again.

We know as evangelicals that the finished work of Christ is never to be repeated but in the

Catholic mass of course the priests feign themselves to offer propitiation on the altar rendering the body, soul, blood and divinity of Christ present on the altar and making propitiation for the people's sins.

Of course that's a blasphemy but this king was willing to take

Paris by conversion. He thought, well if I become a Catholic, Paris will fall easily and of course it did.

His dreadful statement, Paris is worth at least a mass is really the words of an apostate.

It's a sad episode but the Huguenot faith began to die that day and it diminished till today.

There are less than 2 % evangelicals in the country. We have a missionary there. Now before I read his note to us this month

I wanted to share that I have known many Christians who have gone to Paris and several of them came back, although they went as missionaries, they came back deconverted.

They gave in to the postmodernism and the deconstructionism of that culture and they went as Christian missionaries came home apostates.

Close people to us. It's sad to see and others remained faithful and kept on but none of them were able to plant a church there until this missionary who we support,

Michael and Corinne DeGenna this month they gave us an update. Now by the way, I know Michael a little bit because one time he came to visit here and the night before, or the

Friday night before we went deep sea fishing. We were out all night and I think

Michael's son might have caught one fish and nobody else on the entire boat. I will never do all night fishing again.

It is horrible. I mean the waves are higher than the boat so it's kind of terrifying and you just sit there all night long and pull nothing in.

Maybe some of you are better fishermen than me. Anyway, I know Michael DeGenna from talking to him all night. He wrote this

Pray for the French church planners to have courage as we exercise faith in a land that is hostile to the gospel where fellow believers represent 1 .5

% of the population. Like much of Europe, up to 75 % of the

French population declare themselves as atheist or without religion.

Can you imagine? 75 % in France claim themselves atheist or no religion.

But currently we have around 60 to 70 people gathering with us for worship. We're renting a small theater.

Isn't it good to know that in Paris this morning, even as we gather here in beautiful Mount Laurel, New Jersey there in Paris, nothing in comparison beauty wise to Mount Laurel, right?

No, it's a beautiful city but there's still a remnant. Still an evangelical church there.

This particular one and many others that gather in the name of Christ. This morning

I want to talk to us and share from the word about this idea of apostasy. Apostasia.

Falling away. I have been in ministry for 20 years and sadly

I've seen it more times than I ever could have imagined. People that I never would have guessed.

Missionaries to Paris never would have guessed that they could turn away from the faith.

In the same way as I look at all of you I don't believe any of you could fall away.

It just doesn't look that way to me from the outside. But this morning we're going to look at what the scripture says regarding your heart.

Guard your heart because all of us actually are prone and if we fall it doesn't mean that we lost our salvation.

It means we never had it. We left off last week with that concept from Hebrews 3 .6.

It says we are his house if we hold firm the confidence we had at first.

In other words you are born again if you demonstrate the evidence of continuing in the faith.

You're holding on to the faith. You still have the confidence you had that day when you raised your hand at a

Billy Graham crusade or Greg Glory crusade to bring this up to date. If you're continuing in the faith that's the evidence that you're raising of your hand or you're praying the sinner's prayer or writing your name in a bible that that actually meant something.

That you were born again. It's the continuing that gives evidence. So picking up on that thought we go into Hebrews 3 .7

and following. If you don't have a bible you can get one from the back table or just find it on your device or in the

ESV if you want to use the same you can use whatever version you like as long as it's not a

King what is it a Jehovah's Witness the NLT sorry that's for you.

Yes. Yeah new world translation. As long as it's not an NWT you can use

NASV, King James. We're using the ESV. Therefore as the

Holy Spirit says today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion on the day of testing in the wilderness where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years therefore

I was provoked with that generation and said they always go astray in their heart they have not known my ways as I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest take care brothers lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living

God but exhort one another every day as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin for we have come to share in Christ if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end as it is said today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion for who were those who heard and yet rebelled was it not all those who left

Egypt led by Moses and with whom was he provoked for forty years was it not with those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest but to those who were disobedient so we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief this then is the second warning of the book of Hebrews the first chapter of Hebrews is about Jesus greater than angels and as you get into the second chapter we're told we must pay much more careful attention lest we drift away that's the first warning now in Hebrews 3 7 and following we have the second warning do not harden your hearts lest you fall away lest you fall away in Hebrews 3 7 the first part make quick note and then we'll go on of this expression as the

Holy Spirit says therefore as the

Holy Spirit says when the author of Hebrews goes to quote

Psalm 95 he does not attribute the text to David although David wrote it the author of Hebrews here the human author is not the ultimate author of what we are reading this morning as we read words printed on a page these are living words breathed out to us by the

Holy Spirit it said we can't say this enough we're evangelical so this is what defines us that we believe these are

God's words 2 Peter 1 21 for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the

Holy Spirit and so here again in Hebrews 3 7 we have an affirmation that all scripture is theanusta it's

God breathed this is the Holy Spirit breathing words to us it's not just some author giving us recommendations

I'm not a preacher of somebody's ideas I'm a preacher of God's word preaching his word to his people

I tremble at that but what a privilege it is and as listeners we need to pay careful attention when

God speaks so what does he say this is a quote here in Hebrews 3 7 to 11 it's a quote from Psalm 95 7 to 11 the numbers just happen to match there what is

Psalm 95 Psalm 95 is a call to worship maybe you'll remember some of the words of the

Psalm oh come let us sing to the Lord let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation let us come into his presence with thanksgiving we just had thanksgiving oh come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the

Lord our maker Psalm 95 is a call to worship and it ends with this passage that we see here today it's a warning that if you hear his voice today you need to pay attention today today today that's the emphasis on that word today as the author of Hebrews will unpack for us but do you know that every

Jew had this Psalm memorized how would

I know that because Psalm 95 was the call to worship to the synagogue when it was time to come meet in the synagogue someone would stand in front of it with as loud a voice as they could muster and they would read

Psalm 95 they would proclaim Psalm 95 come worship with this warning today hear his voice because Jewish people understood that their forefathers were brought out of slavery and yet they fell in the wilderness they died that generation did not make it into the promised land and so there's a warning to us we need to hear his word today you cannot live on revelation that you received 20 years ago unless you're meditating on that today if you prayed that sinners prayer long ago and you had that fire in your heart to go share the gospel but you don't have it today what good is that today we need to continue hearing the word of God today if you hear his voice that's the exhortation that's why he's quoting from Psalm 95 you and I need the word of God today so then let's follow the author into verse 12 from 12 to 19 you have what's called expository preaching this is why we at cornerstone we take passages of scripture and we exposit we make propositions we posit out of what's in the text it comes x means out from in the

Greek also we get the word exegesis that way which means to draw out from the text this is what the author does from verses 12 to 19 he's applying

Psalm 95 to the audience he says take care brothers lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living

God fall away there's that word apostasia evidently what happened to the

Israelites coming out of Egypt but falling dead in the wilderness is a warning not just to an ancient tribe an ancient people but to you and I to us and the author presses this point beyond our mental comprehension right down deep into the heart in fact this thought will culminate in chapter 4 verse 12 saying that the word of God is living and active sharper than any two edged sword dividing bone and marrow the thoughts and intentions of the heart the word cuts us deep to the heart so in verse 12 the issue what's the main word that you should circle there if you're taking notes the word is heart brothers and sisters we need to guard our hearts carefully says in Proverbs 4 23 keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life

I mentioned friends who have turned away from the faith at 20 years ago we were in ministry together and now their faith is deconstructed which is the point of all these higher criticism movements critical studies critical race theory all of these things are deconstructive in nature they're meant to tear down and divide that's a side note the point is many people are deconstructed in their faith and as I look at you as I mentioned earlier this morning

I don't see any apostates I don't look at you and think here's one that will turn away that's not how

I see any of you I really don't but I've been in ministry too long to think that it's impossible and here's the way the path often goes someone someone was in an evangelical church maybe grew up in it heard the word preached and life is going great and they're fine to identify with Christ maybe they still go to church every

Sunday but then tragedy strikes maybe it's not the

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre but tragedy strikes their own life maybe it's a diagnosis or a child dies or some horrible circumstance, divorce and the next thing you know there's a hardening of heart that begins to take place and the facts of the head versus the desires and the feelings of the heart, the word heart in the bible refers to the deepest place of who you are it's the seat of your emotions and very often emotion can override what we know to be true and the heart is deceitful above all else, who can know it maybe the heart begins to run after other things maybe just to protect itself from the pain maybe it's easier not to be a

Christian maybe it's hard to be around people in the church because for some reason that stirs up the memory of a funeral maybe there's some heart issue that causes a person to leave brothers and sisters guard your heart for from your heart the wellspring, the wellspring of life, life itself flows from your heart take notice if you're snapping at people do you find yourself getting snippy just a short fuse like why am

I just snapping at people for no good reason I'll tell you why out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks your mouth is a signal that something is going wrong on the inside guard your heart and when you begin to sense your heart is not warm anymore maybe you're becoming jaded and bitter or jealous there's something going wrong in your heart you need to get alone with God and beg for mercy and go to a

Christian friend and ask for prayer and go to the word and say Lord something's not right in my heart because the warning of verse 12 is take care brothers lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away see this is a preaching to Christians Hebrews is written to the gathered assembly

Hebrew believers who are tempted to go back to Judaism because that's safer and easier in the

Roman Empire persecution is breaking out Peter crucified upside down,

Paul head chopped off maybe we just go be Jews again and not do this

Christian thing there are temptations to make an easier way and you need to guard your heart because it's not stable in and of itself it's only

God that can hold it take your heart to him that means not just your mind this word heart speaks to a deeper place don't just go through the motions of coming here on Sunday morning make sure your heart is in it what kind of worshipper does our father seek the one who worships in spirit and in truth not one who just goes to this mountain or that mountain but the one who comes with a heart that's open to God that's the first big exhortation take care of your own heart it's pointing to each one of us and if you think you're so steady be careful that you do not fall but that's not the only exhortation this next one is just as important verse 13 but exhort one another every day as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin it is the entire church's responsibility to hold on to one another you guard your own heart but you are also responsible to hold on to other people exhorting one another encouraging one another all of us are prone to wander and there are some who are young in the faith just learning the faith who may very easily drift especially in a culture that's pulling them it's like a tidal wave pushing them to the left you have to be that rope to them tie it around their waist tie it to your waist and hold on to them and do not let them go what does that look like it looks like maybe a phone call maybe you see someone who's struggling and you call them and just share a bible verse with them be encouraging build them up pray with them on the phone ask them how can

I pray for you I still remember there are people in my life as I grew up in the church certain people that just built me up they were encouragers would you be that for a kid who's in the

Sunday school class this morning would you be that person that just says hey how you doing give them a fist pump in the age of COVID you can't shake their hand you just got a fist pump would you be the one that notices them and encourages them they need that more than you and I can imagine adults need it too don't we one of the reasons we still have to gather

I think is because the bible says greet one another with a holy kiss we need to do that but culturally we don't need to necessarily plant a big sloppy one on somebody's cheek we can apply that text with a fist pump with a hug around you don't have to do that right now the point is greet one another with a holy kiss means be in each other's presence notice each other encourage one another one of the things

I love about our church is that if I'm the last one to leave at one o 'clock there's still people talking it's hard for me to be the last one to leave because people hang out and encourage one another after the service is over this is necessary this verse is so important in our day and age who will stand in the midst of an apostasy it's the one who's not trying to stand alone and you are holding on to other people you might not even know what a lifeline you are to them so apply this verse profusely now 14 again this is the same point we made last week and it's almost the same language look at the language of verse 14 so that therefore it's the same idea in this whole concept here in this whole passage for we have come to share in Christ if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end

I want to preach that again but I'll just let you go back and watch that sermon from last week the idea is you already are born again you are a new creation if you're demonstrating the continued fruit of holding on to Christ your perseverance indicates that your salvation was real this is the pea and tulip perseverance of the saints some of you know that I believe in the doctrines of grace which are spelled out in tulip and the last one is pea perseverance of the saints google that if you don't know what

I'm talking about it's really the preservation of the saints because it's God who's keeping us but our responsibility is to hold on to him hold on to that original confidence so now verses 15 through 19 are really a set of questions but it begins here by a quote from psalm 95 as it is said today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion well we weren't there for the rebellion but the application now is being made to us psalm 95 applies to us and the big operative word here is today as I preach right now you need to hear his word today this word needs to affect you as I tell you that Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead to bring us to God there will be some who hear this on youtube or maybe in this room who doubt that and they say you know

I'll think about that someday maybe it's true gotta give it some consideration this word here says today if you hear his voice

God speaking God the Holy Spirit says that these things are so if you hear that today do not harden your heart respond there is a sense of urgency in that word today isn't there today

D .L. Moody was that great evangelist who preached in Chicago one time he had a giant rally gospel big tent revival he's preaching

Christ crucified, risen forgiveness of sin, eternal life repent, believe he's issuing this gospel for an hour you think

I preach for a long time D .L. Moody, he's going on and on but he closes his sermon this way he says you all go home and you think about what

I said you consider it and you come back here tomorrow and make a decision for Christ next day of the rally that night the great

Chicago fire ripped through the city and many of those who were in attendance burned to death

I don't think the next day of the event ever happened but D .L. Moody was changed he said from that day on he never again said go home and consider come back tomorrow and make a decision for Christ from then on D .L.

Moody said today if you hear his voice you and I do not know that we're given another day, if you're breathing right now as you hear about the

Lord Jesus Christ today is the day to repent of your sin, believe in him, trust him for forgiveness of sin, ask him to come in and save you,

Lord save me pray that to him right now if you're listening on YouTube pause this sermon go accept

Christ, come back and then hit play, don't wait for the end today is the urgency and now the questions are posed to us, verse 16 for who were those who heard and yet rebelled, was it not all those who left

Egypt by Moses, in other words the author here is questioning our faithfulness questioning our responsibility to what we've already been given to whom much is given, much is expected, from him much is expected, the

Israelites saw the miracles, they saw the lamb's blood that marked the doorposts and their children were spared they saw the parting of the

Red Sea and they walked through on dry land and yet for having seen all of that they still turned away they still grumbled and complained they were responsible for what they saw and so they fell brothers and sisters you're responsible for what you've heard you have heard it preached that Jesus is the only way he is the way, the truth, the life no one comes to the father except by him and if you choose to try to take a different way, your own righteousness, another religion anything other than what the

Holy Spirit says, you are responsible for what you've heard the next question in verse 17 with whom was he provoked for 40 years was it not with those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness with whom was he provoked for 40 years this questions their ways this was not a slip up this was the habit and pattern of their lives this

Israelite generation didn't question God once and complain once, 10 times they tested him and tried to go back to Egypt, many times they tried to stone

Moses, again and again it was the pattern of their life we get into patterns, we get into ways about us in fact psychologists will probably tell you that a majority of our decisions are not conscious, they're subconscious right we just brush our teeth because that's our habit of doing it we don't have to think it through like will

I brush my teeth today, well if you do you probably just haven't developed the way by the way

I am so good at self discipline that I have quit drinking soda 12 times in the last 2 years,

I just have this way about me where I start drinking soda and then once I do it once it's part of my ways so I have to quit again, right now

I've quit so isn't that great listen, we create ways about us, we create patterns of thought, ways, this is what is being questioned, for 40 years it was the habit of their life create habits and ways about you that conform to godliness and finally verses 18 -19, and whom, to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient he questions our obedience, so we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief we are called to hear the word of god and obey the word of god we're not saved by our obedience we're saved by grace through faith and the fruit of that is that we obey, we won't do that perfectly we'll stumble but obedience needs to be the theme of our life and our concern if you'll focus on one thing obeying the word of god your life will be blessed does that mean that everything will go well for you and you won't suffer, no it means that you'll walk in righteousness, he'll walk with you trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey we just need to obey that's one way to stay on the straight and narrow, just do as he says, so in closing the point today is that psalm 95, this call to worship what the synagogue leader would cry out it's a call to us to guard your heart to hear his voice every day but also to hold on to one another,

I close with the story of a German named Olaf Latzel isn't that a great name,

Olaf Olaf Latzel is a pastor in Germany and Germany is a lot like France very hostile to the gospel this week he was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison for a sermon he preached the sermon was recorded and put on YouTube maybe you shouldn't do that well

I do so but what did he say at a seminar called biblical driving school for marriage he was teaching about male and female relationship and marriage

Latzel said that homosexuality is one of the degenerative forms of society but he also went on to say that adultery, consumption of pornography, flirting with the secretary are quote just as worthy of death as lived homosexuality so he wasn't attacking any particular people in their particular sins he was pointing to the guy in his own pew saying if you're looking at pornography that's worthy of death if you're committing adultery deserves death if you're flirting with your secretary deserves death so turn to Christ in the gospel be forgiven and stop start obeying the

Lord this is how he spoke yet in those words he mentioned that there were criminals at the

Christopher street festival Christopher street festival evidently is kind of like one of these gay pride things that go on here in America that happens in Germany as well and he made some comments about that the judge whose name is

Judge Best said her opinion was from the background of the current climate of opinion and she appealed to society saying we should all work to ensure that we are treating one another respectfully and so for preaching this he is sent to prison for four years or he has to pay 8 ,000 euros which means he would preach the same thing and they'd charge him again until he'd end up in jail anyway so off to jail with Olaf it's a disturbing story but here's the worst part about it his own church the evangelical church in Germany evangelical these are the guys that claim to believe the book right they came out against Latze and said intolerance is against the gospel pejorative and discriminatory attitudes must have no place in the church they already disliked him because back in 2008 he said that the pulpit was strictly forbidden to the ordination of women you see this is the culture in Germany and this is the culture in America the book the

Holy Spirit says the issue is Hebrews 3 7 as we read today as the

Holy Spirit says in 1st Timothy chapter 2 Paul says

I forbid a woman to teach or exercise authority in the church

Paul then grounds that argument in creation order he goes back man was created first woman was derived from man's rib this is

Paul's teaching but it is not only Paul's teaching the Holy Spirit spoke through Paul when he wrote those words this is not the opinion of man this is

God's word so in Germany for preaching the word of God Pastor Olaf goes to prison

I submit to you that that is not the danger we need to fear here I fully believe that the equality act if implemented could put me in prison for the way

I preach and I have no fear of that whatsoever I quit at the first service doesn't that sound like bravado when

I'm here and there's nobody threatening to do that I'm not afraid to go to prison well nobody's about to throw me into prison right now but here's what should cause all of us to tremble tremble is that any one of us if we don't guard our heart could depart from the true and living

God from his word and not just go to prison but to go to an everlasting lake of fire where the worm does not die where there's weeping and gnashing in teeth forever more hell is a real place when the

Bible says today hear his voice there is an urgency in that word are you here this morning but you've never truly repented of your sin you've never truly taken

Christ as your only hope and your rescue today is the day to do that today is also the day to hold on to those around you this culture is in a state of apostasy

America might be 20 years behind Europe but if you look at the trajectory if you look at the way things have been going we are facing a tidal wave that's pulling us to the left away from the word of God will you cling first of all your own heart to the word of God and will you hold on to others lest they fall away let's make that our prayer right now in closing so father we come to you right now in the name of Jesus asking that you would keep us to the end help us

Lord God to be faithful we pray for those among us who are struggling their hearts are hurt they are prone to wander maybe even enticed by the things of the world in the midst of apostasy

Lord God we pray that we would be found faithful to the end help us to learn from the

Israelites who fell in the wilderness pray that nobody in this building here would ever apostatize and fall away help us

Lord to hold on to one another make us an encouraging church full of people that are making phone calls and sending emails going and knocking on doors of those who seem to be drifting help us

Lord to love one another in the midst of the great apostasy Lord I don't know but that maybe you would send a revival but maybe this is not the end times of refreshing from the

Lord of hosts that's our prayer Lord revive your church help us

Lord, we're calling on you this morning and I do pray for any listening that have not yet trusted in Christ, I pray they would do that today in Jesus name,

Amen let's stand and worship the all creating one your

Holy Spirit conceiving Christ the

Son Jesus our Savior I believe in God the

Father I believe in Christ the Son I believe in the

Holy Spirit our God is three in one I believe in the resurrection that we will rise again for I believe in the name of Jesus our judge and our defender suffered and crucified forgiveness is in you descended into darkness you rose in glorious life for ever seated high

I believe in God the Father I believe in Christ the

Son I believe in the Holy Spirit our God is three in one

I believe in the resurrection that we will rise again for I believe in the name of Jesus I believe

I believe in you

I believe you rose I believe that Jesus Christ is

Lord I believe in God the

Father in the

Holy Spirit our God is three in one I believe in the resurrection that we will rise again for I believe in the name of Jesus I believe in life eternal

I believe in the virgin birth I believe in the saints communion and in your holy church