God Is in Control — Robert B. Thompson

How we praise you, Lord, how we praise you, for your presence among us, Lord, is stupendous. And we just thank you, Lord, for everything that has transpired, Lord. We give glory to the God of Israel. Praise your name, Lord.

Praise your name. Thank you, Lord, for your blessing on the young people, Lord, as they rejoice in you and find such joy and service. We thank you for that, Lord. The talents that you have given them, Martha and all the rest, Lord.

We just praise your name. Lord, we pray for each family here. You know the pressures on people. You know the problems. You know the pain, the confusion, sometimes the despair. And we pray, Lord, there'll be a lifting of it this morning, that your presence will be so real to each person here, knowing that you are going to intervene in their families, Lord, and answer to their prayers.

Sometimes it's a while coming, Lord, but it does come. Hallelujah. When your way is being done in our lives, you want obedience, Lord. That's all you're asking for. We live a righteous life. We pray for those who are out working now with little children in the children's church.

Bless them and the children. And as we continue, Lord, we need to hear from God. So we pray you will bless us all together and give us understanding of your word. In Jesus' name, Amen. You may be seated.

Jesus’ Prophecy of the Temple’s Destruction

We'll turn our eyes up to the big board. We're going to read together. This is the NIV, Matthew 24, verses 1, 2, and 3. We'll read out loud together. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.

Do you see all these things, he asked? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another. Everyone will be thrown down. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.

Tell us, they said, when will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming? And at the end of the age? Who's over there close? I'm going to need some water, I think. Thanks. Anthony. Oh, we're all set.

Thank you. Thanks very much. Alright, now, I'd like to tell you when I start out preaching so I don't confuse the burden of the Lord with a lot of words. What God is telling us this morning is regardless of what we see come to pass, whether it's in our own lives or whether it's in the nation or the national scene, God is in control.

God’s Care for Every Person

And I've asked the Lord about this and I think God finally spoke to my heart because I've been concerned about Kosovo and the people starving in North Korea and the floods in our own country. And I believe that God impressed on my mind very clearly that God knows every person well.

Even the baby that is born in some third world country and doesn't live past the age of five days. Now, we have a scripture to that effect, don't we? What is it? The sparrow. The sparrow. Why don't you think about that?

Assuredly, a person, even if they're five days old, is of infinite worth compared to a sparrow. Is that true? So, God is telling us something by that. There's not a sparrow falls to the ground. God knows about it in detail.

Not a sparrow. I was walking one time down the street praying. There was problems. As there often are. Is that so? Anybody here without a problem, raise your hand. And I looked down and there at my feet was a dead sparrow.

A dead sparrow had fallen out of a tree, apparently. And that scripture came to my mind so clearly. There's not a sparrow falls to the ground. But God knows about it. And I thought, well, Lord, this being the case, and I don't doubt it, whatever, what shall we say then about the things that happen?

Suffering, Providence, and the Price of the English Bible

I guess another thing that triggered it was I just finished a book about the Wycliffe Bible. Now, Dr. Wycliffe translated the Bible from the Latin into the English 200 years before Martin Luther. I didn't know that.

And he's called for that reason the morning star of the Reformation. And in theory, he died of a stroke. Died in peace in a stroke. Although the papacy had issued bulls against him. Their writings condemning him as a heretic.

But he was in England. And he had powerful friends in high places. And so they couldn't just kill him. And so he did die naturally. What so infuriated was the Catholic Church over this. I want to remind you, over one thing.

He had translated the Bible out of Latin into English so the average person in England could read it. Now, that's a great sin, isn't it? Man, isn't that a sin to read all sins? And they were so infuriated at him that some 30 years or so after he died they had his bones etchewed and burned and scattered in the river.

Just out of sheer rage over the fact that this man would translate the Bible out of Latin into English. And I thought, God! And other people of course suffered. One girl, 28 years old, read the Bible in the English language and the authorities found out.

And they burned her at the stake. And ask you, 28 years old. Her crime. She read the Bible in the English language. Maybe a page, maybe two pages. But many people died before it was generally accepted that people could have a Bible in their own language.

And as I thought about that I thought, here we have in our homes as many translations as we want in the English language and we can read it all we please but we do not understand what a price was paid by people to make it possible for us to have a Bible in our own language.

Isn't that something? Maybe the next time you pick up the Bible and you read it you say, boy, there was a girl burned at the stake for reading the Bible in the English language instead of Latin. So, we have a tremendous heritage and I was thinking about people suffering and I was thinking about people dying for no crime other than reading the Bible and the people that are suffering in many instances are because of the selfishness of leaders and their desire to be more famous, etc. and so on, the whole nine yards.

And I was fussed about that. I wasn't fretting because I preached about that. But I was fussed about it. And I think the Lord spoke to me about that about the total control that He had over Anne Askew the control that He had when she was brought to the stake.

He had the power to stop that, you know. Easily. Easily. All the king of England had to do was just sign a thing and the execution stopped. And I believe the Lord told me that these things happen because it is necessary to bring out what He wants from the human race.

Now that may seem far-fetched to you. I don't know. And at the same time I was reading Piercing the Darkness by Peretti and it was the same thing. These people being attacked some murdered and the children taken away from them by people who wanted to remove Christianity.

Of course, this is happening in our own day. It was quite popular a few years ago. It's kind of died down now. But a few years ago kids were taken away from their parents for attending a Christian school.

Oh yes. Oh boy. Some real bad things happened 20 years ago. It's kind of died down in this country but there was a terrific attack on the Christian schools about 20 years ago. This was in my mind. And I felt the Lord say concerning the story that you just read even though it's a story look at what it did for the people the Christians involved how much deeper it brought them in God because of the devil working in people.

And the Lord made me know this is what the world is all about. This is what the world is all about. It's God working in a garden and the things that happen even though God uses wicked men to do them if we respond correctly our particular destiny that God has planned for us will be wrought through this pain that was caused by sinful people.

Romans 8 and God’s Purpose in Trials

You remember also the verse we all love in Romans 8 28 and 29. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God who are called according to His purpose and so while everyone's character, everyone is tested according to the plan of God for his or her life when it comes to those whose names God has written before the foundation of the world that they might be His chosen in Christ Jesus as the Bible teaches us in several places how much more how much more is our life so carefully orchestrated by the Lord all things and we look at what happens to people that we love in the pain and we wonder how long how long how long but God is He doesn't go one second longer than necessary for God to work His will in that person's life.

Can you believe that? Because God nature is love very childlike in some respects God is with a happy heart with a child's heart and that's the way God wants us we have to be if we're going to enter the kingdom we have to be adults in understanding but for the rest of it be children that means no malice no unforgiveness no jealousy and striving against other people we're just skipping around merrily praising the Lord.

God loves that and so when He sees us and we're bowed down with an emotional pain or a physical pain we're worried half to death biting our fingernails maybe concerning what worries us that's right check my own it isn't because God doesn't care.

It isn't because He doesn't love us it isn't because He doesn't know what's going on. He assuredly does and He assuredly knows what to do about it. He certainly does. God is not caught napping known unto God the Bible says are all His works from the beginning of the world and so when you're thinking does God know what's happening to me.

Does He care. Is the devil winning. Well think about the sparrow and say well if God takes care of a little gray bird that is no earthly good as far as we can see except to just make the landscape a little bit better how much more will He take care of you.

Does He care? Yes. Is He able to do something about it? Yes. He does not allow you to go through things because He's got nothing better to do than to watch you suffer. He's developing in you the character that you're going to need in terms of what He has for you for the rest of your life on earth and then for eternity there's another aspect of that too.

Spiritual Warfare and the Limits of Demonic Power

I went. I think I mentioned this Tuesday night I'm not sure I read two of Peretti's books in a row The Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness and I had just finished The Visitation so I went to bed at night and I guess what my head was full of demons angels fallen and otherwise they were going round and round.

I wasn't particularly scared about them but I was picturing because some of the righteous angels got beat up pretty bad in those books and I felt real bad about that. Of course when the other guys got hurt I didn't bother at all those righteous angels, that bothered me.

I didn't want them to get hurt but anyway some of them did and I went to sleep and I always pray, I know as you do too, just before I go to sleep the Lord isn't anything else. It's the day over and sometimes when I do that the Lord says go to sleep or He may say, no I've got something to say.

Well, He said this to me and the spiritual checked it out with the Lord. He said it's not going to be like that meaning the Peretti books although I certainly don't want to miss those books, they're wonderful very entertaining too and helpful in spiritual ways I think but He says it's going to be a difference so then I begin to ponder well what is the difference.

How will it be different today than it was for example in Daniel where the angel, one of the great princes said I would have come again but I was resisted by this prince or that prince the angels fighting again where Paul said I would have come to you once and again but Satan thwarted us in a battle and I felt the Lord say it's not going to be like that because all power has been given to me and I'm going to hold it in my hand in the future and the battle will not be power against power, it will be truth against the lie it will be righteousness against wickedness.

Because the Lord has all power and He can do as He will with the angels.

With the nations with your circumstances and mine and He has all. Well why didn't He. Why did He let Satan thwart Paul. Well we know why He let Satan give Paul a thorn in the flesh. Why was that so Paul would quiet down let the Lord do it.

My strength is made perfect in weakness and so the thorn in the flesh was not because Paul and the devil went over on Paul and was hindering the gospel. It's not that reason at all. Jesus permitted that so that His strength would be revealed in Paul.

And this the Bible teaches clearly. So that says something very those two thoughts. One that the first one which was what did I tell you get old pray. I can only preach as the Lord gives it to me. So the first one was that in the time to come it's not clear in my mind what was it.

What was the first thing God told me to tell the congregation can't hear you. Yeah that's the second thing. What was the first thing. Yeah that He knows about your life. That was it that God knows He knows and He cares.

There's nothing going to happen to you that will not result if you take it right. You blame people you just become bitter. And I'm talking about things that may come in the future like persecution perversity where the government does things we don't approve of.

Someone was saying they're taking away all the guns. That's what Hitler did that's to disarm the population. And I'm not here advocating guns or anything of the kind. I'm just telling you that maybe things happen that we will not like and the government may interfere in things.

And we are not to lose our cool. When I realize God will put up obstacles and the working through of them even if we're burned at the stake the working through of them will result in what God wants in us.

And if that's the case then I say Lord bring it on. Life is short enough and we've got all eternity to rest. So God said don't be concerned about it. All that happens in the world the works of evil men are only to bring forth what God wants out of human beings and he knows every sparrow that falls.

Overcoming Satan Through the Blood, Testimony, and Surrender

And then the thing about Peretti what God said was I am in control and we've gotten into a thing and I guess some of it's ok in the charismatic move there's a lot of talk about what we're going to attack.

We're going to attack the principalities. We're going to attack and bring down the spirits that rule over America. We're going to attack sons of God go forward with all power and put an end to the demon world.

Have you heard anything like that? That's kind of a flavor of that isn't it. But see the book of Jude speaks against that. It talks about people whose lives are not right speaking evil of dignitaries.

And Jude says Michael himself would not do that but said the Lord rebuke you. So what I think we're getting into is presumption now it is true that you cannot spoil the strongman's house until you bind the strongman.

But it seems to me that God before we go taking on the prince of San Diego or the prince of California we should hear from Jesus first. I don't think God because I'll tell you what our tendency is as Christians.

You don't mind me talking about Christians. Do you? I'll talk about Christians since that's us. What we're apt to do is to lead a life that isn't quite there. Maybe we're into little flirtations or a little profanity or whatever.

We're not quite there. Our life is not quite wire tight. You know what I mean. We're not really prayed through. We're not keeping short accounts with God. Our life isn't righteous. There's things that are not right and we know it and we figure well I'm saved by grace.

That's the difference. Then we come to church and we rebuke the devils. I rebuke you. Oh I rebuke you. There isn't one single passage in the epistles that tells us to rebuke devils. Not one. So what are we doing.

Are we showing off. I think what's happened is in the charismatic move. We got too big for our bridges. That's an old saying. That's probably before your time. I just got too big for our bridges where I rebuke you.

But Satan of course enjoys this. He enjoys the attention and he laughs and capers about gleefully. Because that's not how we're going to battle in these end days. It's by rebuking devils. We're going to battle by truth and righteousness.

Now we'd rather not do that. It's much easier to rebuke devils than it is to live a righteous life. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee. I say rebuke the devil. Now what's the difference.

All the difference in the world. Resisting the devil means that you do not yield to temptation. Whoa that's harder. Anybody can rebuke the devil. The kids maybe have heard a Sunday school song which makes me cringe.

If the devil's in the way we'll run right over him. I got the kids singing that in Sunday school. Well Satan doesn't even bother listening to it. He's busy to see if he can get the kids getting into lying, stealing and drugs like that.

Just ignore this other blather because that's all it is. It's blather. Having said that pray got to keep my mind clear. So the battle that we're coming into in Revelation 12 it says they overcame him meaning Satan by first the blood of the lamb.

That is because there's no answer to the blood. When our lives are not perfect you know we can be perfect but not perfected. We're perfect for the day. If we're doing all we know God has asked us to do we're perfect, don't let anybody tell you different.

We're without condemnation. We haven't been perfected but we're perfect, you can only be perfect for the day. Amen. Hallelujah. Aren't you glad for that. So you're only an overcomer for the day. You can't be an overcomer for tomorrow.

Now if you are living, if you are doing God's will you will overcome the devil even though you haven't been perfected because of the blood. The blood makes up the difference between your present state and a perfected state.

Okay so you can be a Christian for two days and be perfect but you haven't been perfected. The blood is making up the difference. You see that you can be a Christian for 30 years. You can be perfect for the day but you haven't been perfected.

So if you're not perfect each day you'll never get perfected. We move toward perfection a day at a time. We have to just do the thing for the day. That's all that God asks. That's all he asks. And we're perfect as far as God's concerned because the blood is making up the difference.

What's the second way we overcome the devil. The word of our testimony. And what kind of a word are you giving forth today by your speech and your attitude and your actions. What kind of a word are you bearing witness of Satan, of yourself of God, you're bearing witness of something in this world.

And God wants us to pray each day until our speech our behavior our attitude is showing forth God showing forth his nature. That's the word of our testimony. And of course you want to be a happy Christian, I want to be a happy Christian but little things get us down.

The demons sit on our shoulder and whisper in our ear until we're irritated. And then we show a lousy attitude toward everybody. Is that right? We're not bearing a good witness. We're bearing a witness but it's not of God because God isn't irritated over the things we're irritated about.

So that's the second way and that is done by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to get our life up to where we're bearing a true testimony of Jesus whether it's in word or in action or in attitude.

The first is the blood of the lamb. The second is the word of our testimony. But it's the third one that will pin Satan's shoulders to the mat and the wrestling match will be over. And it's the one that God is calling for today.

Loving Not Our Lives Unto Death

And it's the most difficult. The church as a whole there have been noteworthy individuals but the Christian church as a whole has never been to this third realm. And that's why Satan is still operating.

And that is what? What's the third way we overcome Satan? By loving our life to the death and see you can be saved and be in Pentecost and be very much in love with your own self will. And that's why in Pentecost there are all kinds of strife and division.

That bitterness that you can imagine exists in Pentecost even though the people are saved and speak in tongues. Well how can this be? If any of you have been in Pentecost for a number of years you know what I'm saying is true.

Sometimes Pentecostal churches if something doesn't happen they become a cage of demons. I mean there is more bitterness hatred, unforgiveness strife and sometimes drunkenness, adultery fornication and everything else.

And the people come to church and speak in tongues and the pastors know it. Oh yes it's fairly common. And they know well that one's living with that one's wife and she's living with him and everything that's going on.

And I don't know why nothing's done about it and I'm not poking fingers at anybody else. I'm just telling you it's going on it's going on going on in Bible schools. Oh yes it's going on in Bible schools.

Adultery, fornication all kinds of things. The standards of holiness. In fact I heard from someone yesterday was telling me that the young people's pastor in his church was forbidden by the senior pastor to teach from the Bible.

And he wouldn't believe that. But he said it's not effective with people. That's the truth. And this is not you know this is a fundamental church as we call them fundamental churches. So we can see things are at a low ebb and it's because of this third realm people give assent to the blood.

They give assent to the fact that we should be representing Jesus in our life. But when it comes to really receiving Jesus as Lord we draw the line. I'm not just talking tongues and everything. But right now what's going on.

I can't do that. I simply cannot do that. What are you asking of me God. I can't do that. You ever been there. I wonder how Abraham would have been if God said I'll offer up Isaac and Abraham said anything for that.

I'll offer up Sarah. No he wouldn't have said that he loved his wife. I'll offer up Eliezer. You can take all my flocks and all my camels and all my manservants and maidservants and everybody else. But not Isaac.

If you can't you'll never get past Pentecost. You won't do it because the third step requires loving not your life to the death. That means all your treasures are put beyond the grave. They're put in heaven.

It means you've kept the first commandment you shall love God with all your heart because you see anything else is idolatry. You know I could have preached all day and never said that. But that's where God is today.

America’s Judgment and Its Mission

That's the next step after Pentecost. And that is what is going to be required to stand in the days that are approaching us that I refer to as the age of moral horrors that's approaching us. We can see it.

We become Sodom and Gomorrah. God will not be slack. In fact I think I'll tell you what I believe God has told me about America and then you can judge it and throw it out on the way out throw it in the basket.

And God has told me that he is going to slap America hard. But he's not going to let it be destroyed because he wants America in the last days to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.

Because you see America stands for Christianity in the world. We know it's no longer applicable perhaps. But that's the way Jesus sees it like he said Moses. I'm going to save the Jews. Not because I want to but because my name is on them.

I'm associated with them in the eyes of people. I'm going to do it for my own namesake. I think that's what God has told me clearly on several times. Your nation is going to be judged hard severely. And I'm going to give you a righteous government at all levels.

And from your country the gospel instead of Hollywood going forth in the filth the gospel of the kingdom now if it doesn't come to pass you can say well he wasn't hearing from God. But I think it's the reason why God is saying to me today to you that he wants you not to be dismayed by what happens.

Anything. Oh I could talk about the potential for war. It's obvious to anyone that's lived for a while. But that isn't the point we don't know whether it's going to be that or an earthquake or a flood or a war or Y2K or the bubonic plague or what.

We're going to be hit in this country. And God wants us not to worry about it. There's nothing you can do to prepare for it. You can flee to Samarkand and that's where your destiny will hit you. You cannot run from your destiny.

So you just be quiet and listen to the Lord because you might run into the bomb. God is in control and he's not Jesus. If it's of you bear witness. He's not yet finished with America. He isn't finished with our country.

He's going to punish us but he's not finished. And if you want to be spared in the hour of trouble then get up close to God as you can in your household as you are able. And that's just good preaching.

No matter what happens even if there's a rapture it's still good preaching. Okay. There's nothing wrong with getting close to God is there. And the Lord is saying the way you're going to overcome Satan is not by all this presumptuous gathering together of people who aren't even there with God yet who are trying to tear down the princes of the world.

But by the blood of the Lamb by the word of your testimony and by loving not your life to the death. Because the battle is not one of power against power. Jesus has all power. He's looking for people who will obey him.

Obedience as the Heart of Spiritual Victory

Obedience makes things possible to God that nothing else makes possible to obey God is better than offerings. It's better than offerings. Obedience to God. That's what God wants to restore to the churches in our day we need to receive Jesus as absolute Lord.

It means more than all the religious actions in the world. If we had every Christian on earth united to rebuke the devil it wouldn't mean one thing. One person who is willing to lay down his life for Jesus and do what he says will do more to bring down the kingdom of hell than all the concerted prayer on earth.

It's obedience that God is looking for. It was the first sin was disobedience. And the thing was reversed first by Abraham's obedience and then by the obedience of Jesus Christ in Gethsemane. Not my will but yours be done.

That's how redemption was brought to mankind. And Jesus learned obedience. Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered. But it was his obedience that broke the back of Satan on the cross. And from that time Satan does not have that kind of power.

Jesus has all power. And even when Christ gives authority to Satan to do the things as we read in Revelation 13 it was given to Satan, given to Antichrist authority over people nations languages and tongues that was given to him by Jesus.

Jesus has it. Jesus has the keys of hell. Jesus has the keys of death. Satan does not have them anymore. Jesus can lock him in or out of hell. Jesus has all power all power all authority, feel it in your bones.

Hallelujah. It's not a struggle of power against power. The nations are nothing that Isaiah says. They're a drop in the bucket as far as God is concerned. It's not. It's not a question of power. He's looking for people today who will lay down their lives for God's perfect will regardless of what it cost them personally.

And anything short of that is idolatry. And you can then go on and play church games and talk in tongues and prophesy and have the most wonderful praise. But it won't. There's something missing. And what's missing is judgment and truth.

And this is the issue of the last days is judgment and truth. God wants righteousness iron righteousness fiery holiness and stern obedience to the Father. And there will be people who will meet that challenge.

The only issue is whether you or I are among those people. But according to Revelation 11 there are people who will meet that challenge. And when that happens Satan will be torn down from the heavens and the wrestling match will be over.

The Angel’s Authority and the Saints’ Endurance

It's not a question of power. If you read in Revelation 20 verses 1, 2 and 3 you will see that one angel. One not a platoon not even a squad. One angel down from heaven chain in his hand. He reached out and he took hold of Satan.

One angel not Michael's entire army. One angel and he took that huge chain and bound it around Satan. There was nothing. Satan could do nothing. And the reason is because the saints had overcome him by the blood of the Lamb by the word of their testimony.

They kept their life tuned up to God's word. And when they saw there was something that didn't match God's word they went to the mercy seat for help to get it changed. They're people that mean business with God.

And then God takes them through their own personal Gethsemane. Nothing like the Lord, none of us here are in any shape to meet the pressure the Son of God did. But he'll bring us to our own place where we are brought down to where we say not my will but yours be done Lord.

Once that happens you see Satan has access to God. He called your name out all the time especially when you do something that's wrong. And he makes sure God hears about it accuses them before God night and day.

Bible says. And he called your name up there. Don't think for one minute. Satan is a gentleman. He is not. He is the most perverse spirit one can imagine. But there were people and Satan bounced them around like a yo-yo testing, trying, trying to see when they're gonna say uncle.

The problem is they never say uncle. All they do is say God help me, help me, help me. Until finally God looks at Satan and he said well what are you gonna do next. And Satan just shakes his head and walks off because there's nothing more to do.

He has taken that person and pounded them in the mortar until there was nothing left but a cry unto God oh father help me not my will but yours be done. That's all that's left. It won't take too many but it will take some.

The Last Becoming First in the Kingdom

And Jesus said that many that are last shall be first in the kingdom. Jesus can choose to exalt whomever he wishes you and I were not privileged to live two thousand years ago in Judea. We were not tapped on the shoulder by the carpenter and said come follow me.

But some men were some men were some human beings no better no worse than you and me. They were tapped and called from their nets by the carpenter's son. Follow me follow me. Tradition says they all were martyred with a possible exception of the apostle John.

Even Thomas was martyred in southern India. Paul they say was beheaded in in Rome. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome according to church tradition. But we weren't there. And now their names will be in the foundation of the wall of the new Jerusalem forever.

God exalts whom he will. Abraham was called out of earth to be the father of all who believe. The apostle Paul was given to write the scripture. He wrote most of the new testament all by himself. One guy was given the understanding of the transition from Moses to Christ.

One man God just picked him up. They didn't have a scholarly competition to see who would most clearly speak the transition from Christ to Jesus. We don't understand it today. But it was given to Paul as there and so Christ exalts whom he will.

And he said many that are last shall be first in the kingdom. And I believe he meant last in time. I believe he meant we'll have access to the heights of God and to the commands of his armies whatever Christ meant by that whether it's an inheritance of nations whether it's the power of rulership.

Whether it's the fruitfulness of people whatever he meant by that many that are last shall be.

First, first rank in the kingdom.

Moral Darkness and the Church’s Preparation

Now our day is one of moral darkness. As far as my little knowledge of history I cannot think of any time in the history of man that their sin has been so widely available to the average person and it's spreading.

There is something contagious and viable about the American culture and when it comes in contact with another culture whether it's Japanese or whether it's Iranian or whatever it is eventually that other culture will crumble because what we have in the idea that every man has freedom to do as he will appeals much more to people than a dictatorship no matter in what noble terms it's couched, socialism or whatever, so our culture and coming along with our culture comes sin, drugs all the rest that these more primitive cultures they've always been taboos.

But when the young people come in contact with the American CDs, the American videos when the two cultures come together it has to give way before America. So we are in a time of increasing acceptance of moral perversion and sin.