Sermon – “The Beginning of the Great Apostasy”

24 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen[a] as far as the Red Sea.[b] 7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!

29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.

5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

12 the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

Before I begin let us pray Heavenly Father we do praise you magnify you we thank you for your presence in our lives and we know that that you are the light of the world that you are the light father that even in the darkness Lord that light cannot be extinguished or we pray that your word would go forth we pray that your spirit would move in our hearts in our lives and in our nation today Father God That is our cry today that you would be with our nation may be open May ears beyond stop may hearts be softened towards you father and or May your word go forth May your word be proclaimed may your name be lifted or hot today in Jesus’ name amen this morning a message titled The beginning of the Great Apostasy so I don’t know if I’ll get all the way through it today but we’re going to try first thing what is an apostasy because some may not even know what that means maybe the Young was may not or maybe some of the older it is defined as a standing O. way from it means a falling away a withdrawal or a defection now you know it doesn’t necessarily absolutely have to be attributed to faith you know you can look at a communist regime they might had some that were here to and believe then that but may have fell away from that but we’re speaking of faith apostasy is not found in English version of the Bible but used twice in the New Testament in the Greek original to express of Banda meant of the faith so apostasy for of the church as meaning or for God’s people is abandonment of the faith it means a first say King of or a falling away from ya way. And you know the nation of Israel often often fell away from God They fell away from their belief from the the confession the follow God and be faithful to him they often fell away from that and it was attributed to their wanting to be like the other nations around them they were they allowed the nations around them to influence them instead of the other way around so wayward was the heart of Israel the Joshua found it necessary to replenish the entire nations but then let the to God before they were permitted to enter into the Promised Land and that’s the first crypt I’m going to read this morning it is a little bit of a long one Joshua twenty four one through sixteen then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shek him and called for the elders visit of Israel for their heads for their judges and for their officers and they presented themselves before God and Joshua said to all the people thus says the Lord God of Israel your fathers including Tara the father of Abraham and the father of nuff who are dealt the wealth in the other to wealth on the other side of the river a bite of a part on getting through if I can’t read the words right and old times and they served other gods so their father served other gods says then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river led him through all throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his descendants and gave them Isaac to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau all to Esau I gave the mountains of SERE to possess but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt also I sent Moses and Aaron and I played Egypt according to what I did among them after were afterward I brought you out. Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you came to the sea and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea So they cried out to the Lord and he put darkness between you and the objections brought the sea upon them and covered them and your I saw what I did in Egypt then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time and I brought you into the land of the Amorites who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan and they fought with you but I gave them into your hand that you might possess their land and I destroyed them from before you then bailiff the son of the poor King of Moab arose to make war against Israel and sent and called Bale on the son to be your be or to curse you but I would not listen to bail and therefore he continued to bless you so I delivered you out of his hand then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho and the men of Jericho fought against you also the Amorites the parasites the Canaanites the hit tights the sites in the hip bites and the jebus sites but I delivered them into your hands I sent the Hornet before you and drove them out from before you also the two kings the Amorites but not with but not with your sword with your bow I want to pause why should we worry wash we be concerned because God could send an army of foreigners to draw the enemy out from the forests Amen or God nothing is impossible with our God He can use horns it might be elegiac it’s a next time I don’t know he says I how that would hurt I have given you a land for which you did not labor cities in which you did not build and you dwell in them you eat in the vineyards and all of the groves groves which you did not plant now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincere T.V. and in truth that is the most crucial part of this passage that we serve God insincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river in Egypt and serve the Lord and if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve whether the gods which your father served which were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord so the people adjured said Far be it from us that we sent for sake the Lord to support to serve other gods they got out his blessing to the here and in the reading of His Holy Word choose for yourself this day Joshua knew these people he knew their tendency to fall away he knew their tendency to renege on the promises they made to God Joshua was was there in Exodus twenty four when Moses took the book of the covenant He read it in the hearing of all the people and they the people said unto Moses all that the Lord has said we will do but yet they fell away and again all the Florida said we will do and they fell away again and again they fell away and it does seem like we often used a nation of Israel as an example. Of a nation that did not remain faithful to God and then they would be faithful to God then they would not be faithful to God and you know they were God’s chosen nation they were his chosen people it was through Israel that God intended to reveal himself to reveal that he is a long suffering God that he is patients slow to anger but he is also just but through the Nation of Israel God has proven that if you are faithful to Him He will bless you that if you fall away he will bring corrective action it’s many times he would bring corrective actions and they would turn back to him but God just long for them to follow his ways to follow and be truthful to him but the main problem again they longed to be like the other nations around them they allowed the other nations to influence them they would enter Mary with the nations around them and those in our marriages would bring in false gods it would bring all forms of on godliness as with any nation oftentimes their sins would be done in secret for a time it would be done in the shadows were not everybody would see it would only be a minority of the people were kind of talk of the minority this morning it would be among the minority but sooner or later it would grow and it would grow and grow to it become widespread there was no king in the history of Israel who allowed the heathen practices of their neighbors to come into the nation and out of the shadows into be throughout the nation then King A have no king did more evil in the sight of God thinking I have I want to read from first King sixteen twenty nine through thirty three. In the thirty eighth year of king of Juda a have the son of Omri became king over Israel and they have the son of Omri reigned over Israel in some area for twenty two years now I have the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him and it came to pass as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the Senate Jeroboam the son the bat that he took as wife jazz a bell the daughter of F. Bel king of soda the sit down eons and he went and serve bail and worship Him then He set up an altar for Bale in the temple of Bale which he built in some area brothers assessor’s the king of Israel they have built a temple for bail in some area and he went and warship them bowed down before him and they have made a wooden image and they had did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to Agger than all the kings of Israel who were before him the marriage between I haven’t jazz a bell this was a political move it was a political arrangement it turned out to be one of the greatest apostasies in the history of Israel politically speaking in the natural It didn’t look like a smart move this alliance would bring the security of the combined armies so they thought they would have that peace and would bring the financial prosperity that they hoped that the have with this these complex combination is marriage but this evil Union brought more wickedness upon the nation of Israel than ever before because they have adopted the deities of the Phoenicians mainly bail and it plunged the nation into. Great moral decline they have allowed his wife to influence him and the nation when she came to Israel and sat upon the throne she was days determined not to allow the faith of her new nation to influence her but she would influence the nation with her faith with her beliefs she was determined to wage war against Israel’s faith she would try to wipe out the very existence of Israel’s faith she would influence her husband to introduce the open worship of their main god Bale who was a Canaanite god of fertility and marital material prosperity the worship of Bale was sensual involved or the worship of bail involved divorcing the sexuality from the confines of marriage and transferring into the public realm the temple. The temple itself the temple of bail would have male and female prostitutes within it horrible things detestable to God But the most horrific part the most horrific sinful action of the bear warship was the shedding of innocent blood killing the nation’s children sacrificing their children to bail this would be endorsed and encouraged by the government by the king by his queen is a bit jazz a bill what was once considered murder sorry Isabel was now openly accepted by the nation it was openly accepted by the nation the problem with they have he was influenced by those around him he was spineless he had no spine to stand up sometimes he did seem to do what was good it want to point he obeyed a law just words in first kings eighteen seventeen through twenty said that it happened when they have slowly lodges that they have said to him is that you owe trouble or of Israel and he answered and said I have not troubled Israel but you in your father’s house have in that you have for saken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Bailes my friends that was his greatest mistake he for saken the commandments of God and followed the Bailes Now therefore sending gather all Israel and come to me all Mount Carmel the four hundred fifty prophets of bail in the four hundred prophets of a Shira who eat at Jazz A bells table so I have sent for all the children of Israel and gather to prophets together to Mount Carmel So he did obey but did you catch that jazz a bell brought all the prophets of these false gods with her they sat and ate at her table with her daily she was the priestess if you will of this Bale warship he called him a trouble or but he was the one bring in trouble pon the nation of Israel because he was not willing to stand up. This leadership of A had been just a bill lead the nation of Israel father from God And I think they’ve ever been and you can see Gaza on suffering you can see is mercy toward his people even in times of disobedience the song we sang said God is slow to anger he was slow to anger God did bring a drought upon the land three years it did not rain he brought a famine upon the land given the people time to repent and turn back to him he could have just utterly destroyed them but he didn’t know my friends let’s turn this to America our nation our nation has been referred to some as a nation like and done to Israel is not to say that we are Israel we’re not but our nation was founded on godly principles like that of Israel look at your money as you carry in your pocketbook your wallet What does a say In God We Trust does it not speaking of our founding principles they’re the bedrock which is nation was founded upon there were five principles of government that were firmly held by all fifty five delegates to the Constitutional Convention first was Rights come from God and not from government this founding principle is actually embedded in our Declaration of Independence we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness The founders didn’t believe that government be stirred rights when or where they the an agent to protect rights governments were the ones to abridge rights Secondly all political power emanates from the people the founders were strongly influenced by John Locke who advocated government as a social contract the term will of the govern the Capulets this concept which means the people are boss. The power of the people was declared in the first three words of the Constitution we the people this principle is also the underlying basis for our Declaration of Independence governments are instituted among men the rive the riving their just powers from the consent of the governed that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to its end to these ends it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government laying his foundation on such principles and organizing its power in such form as they shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness third limited representative republic the founders believed in limited government in the form of a representative republic they distrusted a direct democracy because they quit equated it to mob rule James Madison consider Sicily preached against any system that allowed special interest special interest or factions to gain control in the government he so doubt throughout history majority factions tyrannized minorities whether the minorities have a minority to be based on race wealth religion or even geography we don’t see any special factions today doing number for the written constitution if government of the social contract it has only limited power formally formerly delegated by the people then the contract the Constitution must be in writing as I read this in history England did not have their constitution in writing but we have a constitution and it is writing but my brothers and sisters in Christ we have a constitution we have a covenant and it is in writing and it was written by the finger of God It’s called the Ten Commandments Fifthly private property rights the founders were influenced by Adam Smith and were firm believers in property private property rights in their mind private property rights were intertwined with Liberty true liberty would never allow the government to come at any time and take a person’s property that would be divine right which they had fought a bloody years to escape James Madison said as a man is said to have a right to his property he may be equally said to have a property in his rights he meant that even if a person owns nothing else he still owns his rights which were the most valuable property of all I consider our most valuable property be our faith our faith and doubt by our creator. One may wonder how the nation founded on sets principles could have plummeted so far and you know I’m not going to point to one given presidency we can’t blame the moral decline of our nation on one man or two man or three man or on a presidency they just go the way the people that think because the people desired sayings it came about but you know our nation has been one of the climb for many years it began as someone mentioned we took her out of schools but guess what you could still pray at home you can teach your kids to pray at home they may have taken the Ten Commandments off the walls in the school but you can still have them in your house we can still train up the child in the way they should go but we went on out to climb when we try to take we took God out of the schools we want to climb when we started killing our children sacrificing children and it came to the forefront under a couple presidencies there was one president that gave fifty million dollars to you in F.P.A. that is the UN agency that work with population control visuals in China who practice forced abortion why would a leader in our nation give fifty million dollars to China to push abortion on them God help us why would our nation allow that we’ve had a president that would have him cover up an inscription to Christ before he would speak there we had a president that would not allow a cross to be rearrested at a war war one memorial we’ve had leaders that have tried to take Christ out of our nation but they will never succeed the church will stand up if the church stands strong you know the list could go on and I could stand up all day and quote these things but how long will God be patient with America how long will God give our nation to repent how long we turned a blind eye to the city’s a go on in this nation. They refused to allow people to take Bibles into the water Reed Military Medical Center for a visit they won’t let the Air Force chiefs let Ehrman know of religious services that are available to them so many things they’ve tried to take away from the church from the people from Gaza the Gaza believers how long will God be patient second Thessalonians to five to twelve says Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things and now you know what is restraining that he may be revealed in his own time for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work only he who now restrains will do so until he’s taken out of the way and then the lawless one will be revealed in the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and worlds destroy with the brightness of his coming the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power signs in line wonders and with all unrighteousness deception among those who perished because they did not receive the love of the truth that they may be saved and for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie that they will be and that they may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had plays or in unrighteousness my friends were living in a time where the ways of the world has even infiltrated many of the churches and I’m not going to point out particular churches but the ways of the world has infiltrated the churches there are many different churches or denominations that are allowing homosexuals behind the pulpit my friends is detestable to God it should not be but that’s not the only or the greatest sin as we were talking is sad a school. God’s ways are the ways that we are to follow if God’s word says that it is wrong it is wrong lying is wrong my friends allow the Holy Spirit to help you not to lie adultery is wrong is just the sinful was homosexuality but many in the claim to be Christ followers today are walking in it how long will God be patient are we living in that time where the lowest one is among us he is among us it’s about away every day but are we going to stand you know as we were speaking down south why as we’re all these things allowed to happen because the church has been. My church has been quiet we need to stand for the truth no matter what that may no matter what the consequences may be has we spoken to have school are we going to stand to the point of death giving our lives are we going to go we’re going to flee but we must stand for the truth allow the Holy Spirit to guide his soul might say well it’s not time for you to die yet flee to another city as Jesus told the disciples and add up as a couple weeks ago go to the city if they do not receive you wipe the dust from your feet and go on to another city but stand on the truth stand on the Word of God we are to follow his walls and His ways and not the laws of the will the world we follow the laws of the world as well as long as it don’t go against God’s will alls God says Do not murder we do not murder our land may have legalized the murdering of innocent children but we don’t go along with it we don’t support it we stand against it we voice we make our voice known against it we support those groups that are trying to stop abortion I know that we’re not Israel but I believe that this the beginning of this nation it was a godly nation and Aubrey There are still many in this nation who love the Lord with all their hearts and I believe that’s what is holding God’s anger back so what do we do we pray we stand for truth we stand for life we stand against evil second Chronicle seven. Twelve through fifteen says then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice when I shut up heaven and there is no rain or command the locust to devour the land or send pestilence among my people if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer made in this place and I know that that prayer that was given to the nation of Israel but the Lord says If my people if mock people who are his people today it is the church it is those who have accepted Jesus Christ and believed on him are his people if my people will repent if we will turn from the work at ways my friends many in the charges of America need to repent I don’t know if it needs to begin with you or Begin with me but it needs to begin we need to repent we need to pray we need to seek his face we need to turn back to him our nation my friends need to turn back to him that should be our prayer that should be our cry for our nation bother forgive us for we have sinned against you hear our prayers Oh God hear our prayers may your spirit move may your spirit bring conviction upon those who are not walking in your ways that their hearts will be softened and turned back to you his ears or attentive to our prayers and yes his eyes are open I believe God has given us warnings but how long how long will you hold back his anger and I believe the only reason he’s holding back is so more can command may we the church be faithful to stand on the truth and proclaim his good news Amen.