Despair, Deception, Denial

I would really encourage you to stay for the afternoon and hear more about New Path. You know, I think this is a ministry that we're invested in heavily, and I think it's a great ministry. It's the ministry of the Gospel. I think three of our guys, Phil, Greg, Dennis, serve on the board. We have two directors here. You've seen them.

Tons of you volunteer. We appreciate that. So it's good to see you involved in that kind of a gospel ministry. Well, we want to look at some things today from the Word of God. So let's just ask God to help us in our time together. Father, now as we consider these things, we pray that we would see the full counsel of the Word of God, that you would use the Word to give us an understanding of what's happening.

And Lord, not just to get an understanding, but to do something. Help us now, we pray. Help us to think through this clearly. Help us so that your name is glorified. We want to exalt the name of Jesus, who is a Savior today. So help us to that end, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. You know, there's not much I can say in terms of what's going on in our culture today. You can look around and see all kinds of things going on. and we're almost getting numb to it. Babies suffering from operable defects are left to die, untreated in hospitals while doctors and nurses go about their rounds. The sick and elderly are being viewed as, are being eyed for assisted deaths because they no longer have what's called a reasonable quality of life or they become emotional or financial burdens.

People who are in comas are being starved to death by the removal of standard practice feeding tubes. A number of our states have legalized suicide laws. In the most liberal country in the world on this front, Belgium, in the last two months recently, 17 and 11 and a nine children re or killed And the legalized killing of unborn children continues unabated.

Now the problem is this, is that it all looks so attractive. Seemingly easy solutions to desperate situations. many including some Christians see nothing wrong with starving someone to death aborting of the baby is for many the best solution to an unwanted pregnancy and there's no outcry against it very little today but the question we have to ask is why is it so attractive why are people willing to accept such practices why do so many even believe that they have a moral obligation to actually kill someone who is suffering? How is it that the commandment that forbids killing has been turned on its head?

How is that possible? I think that's the questions that we need to ask today. And the answer to those questions is going to tell us what we need to do. How is it possible that that's happening. You know, we're God's voice. God's people is God's voice in the world.

And so we have an obligation. I think the first thing we have to do is we have an obligation to understand. We have to think these things through. Too many of us Christians are molded by the world around us because we're not thinking. We're just not thinking people. And we need to think with the Bible in hand and to say, I've got to get God's viewpoint on this.

I've got to be able, not just the viewpoint of that's wrong, okay, but how did we get here? The Bible ought to tell us how we got there, and if we can find the roots of those things, then we have something to work with. We have something to do. We can address it beyond just saying, that's wrong, stop. So first of all, I think we need to recognize the roots of these ungodly practices.

And I'm going to give you three. Three roots to these practices that are so common today. The first is despair. Despair. People face incredibly difficult situations and they despair Here a woman her name is Janet Atkins several years ago She despaired at the prospect of oncoming Alzheimer and so she sought out help to end her life. Carla Myers was 14 years old when her parents got a court order to have her feeding tube removed.

She wasn't dying, but she wouldn't be able to live a life as full as they thought she should up to that point. and she died because her parents despaired over the condition that she was facing. They despaired. I picked up a copy of The Lantern. I was down at OSU, I remember, some years ago, and The Lantern is their student newspaper. And on the front page was the story of Terry, a 15-year-old from Toledo who was seeking an abortion.

She didn't know what else to do. She's 15 years old, right? Her whole life's ahead of her. She has a baby. That's going to change everything. What's going to happen to college?

What's going to happen to her? She's desperate. The future looks bleak. So in desperation, she goes for an abortion. People are despairing. Hopelessness and despair are driving desperate people to find hope in the hopelessness of abortion and euthanasia.

These are people, frankly, who are despairing. They can't see life any other way. They can't see life, but everything looks bleak to them. There's no way of seeing life other than from the point of despair. The second route, if you want to call it that, is deception. The practice of euthanasia and abortion is so common because millions are deceived.

Billions are deceived. Turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 for a moment. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. By the way, we'll be going here and there and everywhere in the scriptures today. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Let's look at two verses here.

We'll come back to this text, but there are two that are important. Verses 3 and 4. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of christ who is the image of god people have been deceived by satan and his world system they are deceived that there are they are deceived in in in saying there are no absolute in ethics any longer The loving thing to do is to terminate that life which is suffering or that causes suffering.

And whispering in the ears of many is the rules don't apply here. The only rules that apply are you. What's happening to you. Those are the only rules that matter. Here's another deception that the end of physical life is the end of all life that the end of physical life is the end of all life in hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 we read and just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that comes judgment we live in a culture that says when physical life ends, everything ends, and the Bible says no.

No. After you die, there's still conscious existence. You're going to face judgment even after you die. And all men, all have been deceived by their own hearts. Jeremiah 17 verse 9. Jeremiah 17 verse 9.

The heart is Many folks have been deceived by their own hearts. You know, man, man, and I'm, what should I say? Not man, you know what I should say? We, we who are not in Christ, have an endless capacity for self-deception. We have an endless capacity for self-deception. We deceive ourselves into thinking that killing is a humanitarian act.

Deceived by our own hearts. The last root of what we see today is what I would call denial. Despair, deception, denial. Look at Romans 1. Romans chapter 1. Verses 18-21 in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. The third root of all this is denial. We deny God. Okay? Drop down to the end of this chapter in verses 28 through 31. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossip, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. See? When you deny God, When you deny, for example, that man is the image bearer of God and you accept the evolutionary hypothesis, man becomes nothing more than another animal.

And to euthanize a man is no different than euthanizing an animal. There's a denial of God. And when that happens, when a denial of God happens, all these things spring up. All these things spring up. It's the natural accompaniment. It's the natural consequence of abandoning the idea that this God is sovereign.

So many today deny not just that we're image bearers. They deny that God is sovereign, that either he does not exist or if he does, he is he he's there to help you with whatever you want. Or he's just impersonal. He takes no interest at all. The result is that we become OK. Let me say this word.

This is something we all need to know. We become autonomous That is we become free We become a law to ourselves There nothing outside of me that can tell me what to do We live in a culture today that believes in radical personal autonomy that there is nothing outside of me that has the right to tell me. I am me, and no one can tell me how I ought to be.

I know me. In fact, one has said we no longer look beyond self for meaning and for ethics. We must look within. That is our culture. You look within. And when that happens, there's a descent down a slippery ethical slide, a denial of God's sovereignty.

That is that God rules and that he has a law that must be obeyed, which gives way to man's sovereignty. Now, ethics, knowing and doing what's right and wrong becomes something of consensus. A couple years ago I used the phrase statistical morality. If you can get 51% of everyone to agree with you, that's what becomes right and what's wrong, you see. And when we abandon the sovereignty of God or we deny the sovereignty of God, we end up with absolute individual sovereignty, ethics by looking within, not by looking without. don't tell me what I should do I'm me I gotta be me you can't tell me how I ought to be and so Terry that poor 15 year old girl when she was interviewed said this that she used to be against abortion but then she got pregnant you see right and wrong comes from me there's no external right or wrong that ought to tell me what to do, that ought to guide me in anything.

I've got to be me. And that's what happens when we deny the sovereignty of God. So how did we get to this point where all these things are happening, where children are euthanized, where old people are eyed as a burden and we ought to get rid of them and children are aborted? How did we get to that point? Despair, deception, and denial. that's how we got here now it's easy to diagnose what's wrong what are we going to do about it what are we going to do about it we have to respond to those things we have to respond we have to respond to despair with hope Greg as he was praying to our God today talked about that as he spoke to God We have hope.

Of all people, we have hope. We can offer hope. No, more to the point, we offer God to people. Listen to Romans chapter 15, verse 13. Look it up. Romans 15 verse 13.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is a God of hope. And listen to me, when this God tells us what's right or what's wrong, he's doing it because he knows what's best for us when he says do this and don't do that he is a god of hope and when you trust in him and you say all right i don't see how that's true but i'm going to believe it what does it say as you trust in god you overflow with hope you're filled with joy and peace that's what we have to offer that's what we have to offer to desperate people that's what we have now listen to me and listen to me carefully.

We certainly must stand for what is right. But, I'll show it to you, 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I want you to turn there. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Can I say this, and I don't want to contradict the scriptures, but let me just put it this way. God has not called us to be prophets, he's called us to be ambassadors.

Prophets stand and they preach against. And there's a place for that. We all, we have a prophetic ministry. The church has a prophetic ministry to stand in a culture and say, God says that's right and this is wrong. But if all we see ourselves as prophets, we have failed. Second Corinthians chapter five, verse 16 listen to what the apostle Paul says here's God speaking to us from now on therefore we regard no one according to the flesh even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh we regard him thus no longer we don interpret this Christ the same way anymore therefore if anyone is in Christ he a new creation The old has passed away Behold the new has come All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. therefore we are ambassadors for Christ God making his appeal through us we implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God we have not been called as God's people to just stand and wag our finger and tell people you're wrong for what you're doing that's only part of the message you're wrong but I see your despair and I offer you as an ambassador a God of hope who can reconcile you to himself who can give you peace who can take away your despair and give you hope that is our mission now don't hear me wrong I'm not saying we don't say we don't any longer say don't do that that's wrong we stand and say it's wrong but when all we do is give people the law that leads to greater despair the law should bring us to Christ the law that says that's wrong and you are wrong and God condemns you for that that's not the whole message but we have a savior who can rescue you from the curse that the law brings. That the God whose wrath is poured on those who disbelieve, who do not obey, this same God implores you to be reconciled to Him. And He's given His Son.

And I'm here as an ambassador to tell you that the God who condemns what you're doing is the God who also offers you hope so that you can be reconciled to Him. That is our job. you know what in the church of jesus can communicate hope as it ministers to desperate people we must minister to those people you ever think about that person. Here's Terry, that 15-year-old, and she's despairing, right?

Life has changed for her. And the only thing she hears is, don't you dare get an abortion. God says that's wrong. That's the only thing she hears. You think she's going to have hope? No.

No. How do we help the Terrys of this world look at romans 13 how do we help romans 13 verse 8 oh no one anything except to love each other for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law now don't you know people have so taken that out of context as a verse that tells you to be debt free don't ever borrow money it's not what he's saying here he says oh no one anything except to love them. You have this continuing debt of love to one another.

Right? Love. That fulfills the law. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and any other commandment are summed up in this word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Hey, if you love your neighbor, you're not going to commit adultery with his wife.

So long and short of it. If you really love your neighbor, you won't get involved with his wife. Why? Because you love him. You don't want to hurt him. Right?

Love in your neighbor will end up fulfilling the law. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore, love is a fulfilling of the law. What am I saying here? We need to be communicating things that a Bible-believing church is indeed the place where women are welcome. Where, you know what?

The abortion mills that are out there, you know what they see women as? Sources of income. And we ought to be communicating. you're not a source of income. You are a person who needs help, and we want to help you. And we're going to treat you with respect, and we're going to love you. No matter what your situation, we want to help.

And that those who are dying will find comfort. Those who are dying will find comfort. visits, encouragement by cards, staying with them, talking with them. Here you are your father is now dying and while he at home with you as you care for him it a taxing burden Almost every waking hour is spent with him This is where God's people should minister, right?

We should be the ones that are stepping in and saying, right? Because why? You get in that situation, getting rid of someone looks attractive, doesn't it? So what's our answer? We're going to minister to that family. Let us help you with your dad.

Let us be a part of your life and his life. Let us communicate hope by that. How else do we do it? We can help, like at New Path, a ministry that's an ambassadorial ministry. We can be a part of that. Those are the sorts of things we can do.

And there is hope for guilty people in the gospel. there is hope for guilty people in the gospel. Too many women see us shaking our fingers at them. They don't see us coming alongside to help. And listen, listen to me now. Here's the good news of the gospel. Well, here's hope, because there may be in our midst some who have had an abortion.

You know, there's hope for that person. Why? In Jesus, all that, listen, all that is wiped clean. There's no record of that in heaven. There's not a record of that. God has forgiven you completely you are not guilty ever isn't that good news there's hope for guilty people in the gospel they don't have to carry that burden anymore they don't have to carry that burden it's free they've done nothing they've done nothing but accept Christ and his forgiveness.

There hope Kara posted this I think it was this morning a quote from Matt Chandler and I think this sums it up well As a church, we must not say of abortion, this is murder, without saying to the pregnant women, we will serve you. If we are doing the former without the latter, we aren't truly understanding the gospel. We must listen, love, foster, adopt, give money, babysit, donate supplies, mentor young women, and support in whatever ways God has equipped us.

That's what God's called us to do. So there's hope for despairing people. There's hope for people in the midst of this horrible despair. and listen there's hope as people come to christ and are transferred to the place of god's special loving providence we have something that people outside of christ do not have you know what it is it is this that whatever happens in our lives god is working for our good that's a promise to god's people.

You know, when folks say, well, I know good's going to come out of this. I want to say, well, only if you're in Christ. You're sowing seeds of destruction. That's not good. But if you're in Christ, you're not sowing seeds of destruction. If you're in Christ, you're the object of God's special providence, right?

Romans 8, 28. What does it say? All things work together for good to those who what? Love God, who've been called according to his purpose. and listen people of God go through despairing things but they have a lens that they can look at those same events that are different than anyone else that says this is horrible this is awful but I know God's working for my good I know he wants to mean to be like Christ I know he wants more joy in my life he's he's helping me understand that he's enough right and I know he's up to something good in all of this.

In Christ, you're put in that kind of a place where the promises of God are especially meant for you. How do we respond to deception? We have to respond with the truth 2 Corinthians again chapter 4 2 Corinthians chapter 4 We were there Let read it again 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.

We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants, for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We must proclaim the truth. We must proclaim it loud and clear, pressing the truth of God upon the consciences of all.

Which means, this is sinful, this is wicked, this is wrong. But the God who is holy and just is also a God of mercy and grace and love. And we proclaim that. We bring the truth to bear. We bring truth to bear like this. This is what we have to be saying.

See, this is what the problem is. We're letting the world mold our thinking. What about someone who is suffering? What about someone who is suffering? Here's what I can say. Life in a broken world means suffering is inevitable.

All of us are going to suffer. Number two, I need to suffer then to the glory of God. You thought that thought? If all of my life is oriented to glorifying God, then if I'm suffering and God has said, I do not allow you to take your life or to ask someone to take it, what is my choice then? And my choice is then I will suffer for the glory of God so that in my suffering, people will talk about God.

That I will suffer in such a way that people will talk about God. I'm going to do this for the glory of Christ. And when God sees fit to take me, he will take me. We suffer in a different way. By the way, people can suffer for the glory of God when they have brothers and sisters who help them in their suffering. You know what else we need to say?

Children are a gift. Children are a gift from God. They're not an inconvenience. They're not something to get in the way. You know what children do to you? here's what children do. They upset all your plans.

Right? You know what? I had six children. No way am I going to get a PhD. Right? Forget that.

There's too much to do at home. But I'll tell you what. You know what you learn? You learn that the best life comes not by pursuing your dreams, but by serving others. That's what children do. They really, they really have a way of turning things around, don't they?

Some of you have children, and here's the point though, here's the point. You wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. They're gifts from God. That's the sort of thing that we need to be telling people. We need to be, And more than that, you know what we need to be doing? We need to be showing it.

We need to be showing it. The world needs to see us enjoying our kids, not enduring our kids. Right? You say, boy, pastor, that's going to take a lot. Well then pray for the grace of God to enjoy them Right We need to enjoy them That the kind of thing we need to be saying and showing the world So that we can counter the deceptions that are out there There's more to life than pursuing your dreams.

The life that's really worth living is a life where you're serving other people. That's it. That children are to be enjoyed their gifts. That suffering can be done to the glory of God. You see? And then lastly, we have to respond to the denial of God's sovereignty with the affirmation of his rule.

We have to proclaim loud and clear, just as the Apostle Paul did in Acts chapter 17. Okay? You want to turn there? Real quickly. Acts 17. He's talking to these pagan philosophers. and he says to them in verse 22 so paul standing in the midst of the areopagus said men of athens i perceive that in every way you are very religious for as i passed along and observed the object of your worship i found also an altar with this inscription to the unknown god what therefore you worship as unknown this I proclaim to you the God who made the world and everything in it being Lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made with man nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything and he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth having determine allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him.

Yet He actually not far from each one of us for in Him we live and move and have our being And as even some of your own poets have said for we are indeed his offspring Being then God offspring we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people. Notice, but now he what?

Commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Here is Paul talking to people who do not believe in his God, and he's saying, I'm here to tell you about a God who's commanding you to repent, and someday he's going to judge the whole world.

He puts out there the sovereignty of God. He doesn't make apology for it. He says it. And so must we. We have to affirm that God is sovereign. We have to affirm that you don't look within yourself to find out what's right or wrong.

What you find out is right or wrong comes from another. And when left to yourself, looking within to determine what's right or wrong, you end up in chaos. But there is a God who makes commands. And he knows what's best. And so we face denial with affirmation of God's sovereignty. We live in a culture of death.

And of all people, we ought to have the message of life. Not just the message of life, of saving these children. saving these old people Yeah that part of it That what we have to be doing But we have a message of life that goes deeper We have a message that we can take to people and say this, you're thirsty. We can offer you water so that you will never thirst again.

And you find Him in Jesus. That's what we have to do. God help us to be that kind of a voice in this culture. Father, we are thankful that you are a God of hope. You are a God of truth. You are a God who is sovereign.

Because you are that way, help us to be faithful to you in the same ways. Father, we're not going to be the kind of people who get up in front of audiences of thousands to proclaim your truth. We're going to be ambassadors to people at work, to people that we know, to our neighbors. Would you help us to be faithful as ambassadors then? ambassadors of reconciliation who bring both bad news and the best of news.

The news of judgment and condemnation but the news of deliverance and mercy. Make us those kind of ambassadors, we pray. In this world, in this time in which you've placed us, help us to be faithful. in Jesus' name, Amen.