commentary: Is Education the Answer? (Part 4)


John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)
Given 01-Jun-13; Sermon #1161c; 12 minutes

Description: (show)

Our society seems to be controlled by people who worship science and secularism, completely disregarding God, having proven themselves hopeless fools, totally oblivious to the cause-effect relationship between sin and curses. Because the secular progressives control the media, entertainment, and education, Americans have no inkling about how sin destroys the quality of life. Our culture is undergoing the same curses that ancient Judah and Israel received in the prophecies of Isaiah. The mighty man and the skillful artisan have been taken away, replaced by foolish children or comparatively adolescent spoiled brats having no understanding of the havoc they have placed on this nation. As God's called-out ones, we cannot afford to fall asleep at the switch, but must exercise diligence and watchfulness in the turbulent times ahead, resisting the "dumbing down" being carried on by the selfish, arrogant, ignorant, secular progressive destroyers of Modern Israel, leaders de-sensitizing the populace to the deleterious effects of sin, leaders pandering to selfishness and instantaneous satisfaction.




The rise, spread, and the influence of the Nones give reason for serious concern regarding the future of this nation. These people are largely Boomers, and Gen Xers and the Millennials are rapidly being added to their numbers. These people are secularists. They worship science and themselves, and they have no background and no foreground from which they can seriously relate to God. Psalm 10:4 says,

Psalm 10:4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

Psalm 14:1 adds,

Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.

Please understand that I am speaking to the choir in my position here. I am reporting to you that my major concern is that we—that is, the ministry—are giving you a good mixture and quality education in things that matter regarding living in God's family Kingdom.

In an overall sense, I perceive that a majority of American citizens do not seem to grasp cause and effect in relation to sin. They do not seem to grasp that sin destroys the quality of life within the nation. They may grasp that crime destroys the quality of life, but they do not get it regarding sin.

What is so perverse is that the people who do care and whose thinking is generally along standards that were formerly commonly followed in the United States as a way of life are being persecuted in one way or another by those who are turning civic life upside down. That's the Nones. What is so egregious is that the Nones and their cohorts have the overwhelming power of their offices within the administration, in media, and in their ability to communicate their way of life and their standards in the public schools, the popular religions, and in entertainment. So on the surface, it's a very one-sided battle.

Rush Limbaugh attributes President Obama's reelection to what he terms "low information voters," and what he means in part is that a large number of people vote who have no idea whatever what is going on. They have no idea of what the consequences are of following this administration's policies. They have no idea of the importance of the lack of character in positions of power, and they, in short, are not considering the end result of what they are voting for regarding the future for their children, for our economy, and our place among the nations of the world. What's happening?

We are witnessing something that was written in the Bible around 700 BC by the prophet Isaiah, and it is applicable to what God is beginning to do with this nation. I have taken this from Isaiah 3:1-5. Here is what is happening:

Isaiah 3:1-5 For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stock and the store, the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the diviner and the elder; the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the skillful artisan, and the expert enchanter. I will give children to be their princes, and babes [the immature] shall rule over them. The people will be oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbor; the child will be insolent toward the elder, and the base toward the honorable.

Do you understand what is happening and that we, along with this world, are having to experience and endure? God is punishing by removing wisdom and upright character from civic life. I believe that we are living in the time of the curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 as they are beginning to be seriously exacted against the Israelitish people, which means to me that Jesus' warnings given in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are not very far off in the future.

Are we, the church of God, given any specific instructions regarding what it says in those prophecies and what we must do? I do not know whether you ever noticed it, but the Olivet Prophecy, as given in Matthew, is followed by three instructive parables, teachings that we are specifically given for this period of time. They are directly attached to Matthew 24. The overall theme of all three parables is, "Don't go to sleep at the switch."

Regarding carrying out our responsibilities to God and His family, our faithfulness is what is primarily required during this period of time. He goes on further to extrapolate—He says, "Don't be concerned—turned aside by self concern. Do not be turned aside by the flashy appeal of this world's culture. Don't be turned aside by this world's busyness in such a way that [you] lose caring for what really matters in life." Following these instructions is not easy. It requires a great deal of discipline, of vision, and faith.

What Jesus warns us of is happening in many of those in this culture that surrounds us. They are already caught up in what they determine they can get from it that will be a personal benefit to them. And so they no longer care for the nation because their mind is on themselves. If they ever had any patriotism, any love of country, they have lost it.

Now we have a huge economic problem that we should be on a wartime-footing to solve, and yet the administration is not calling on people to sacrifice for the nation's sake, and the citizens likewise, make sure that they are not going to have to sacrifice in any proposed solution to the economy. The major reason the citizens do not any longer care is because God has been taken out of the picture, and thus the God of the Bible and His Word is no longer related to this nation in the minds of its citizens like it was at its founding.

Many now cannot seem to relate to sin and its consequences, and to add insult to injury, people out there are promoting that all religions are equal; that it matters not what one worships; it matters not that people should make a distinction between ways of life. People's judgment is incredibly lacking.

A second reason is that very much of this nation's history has been deliberately dumbed-down and twisted to such an extent that there is little to have pride in, and so love of the country is not promoted. Satan's plan to destroy Israel from within is working smoothly and efficiently.

This attitude can happen to us in relation to God, in relation to our calling, and in relation to the church, too. This is my concern, because we might pick it up from the spirit in the world. We are not immune to retrogressing. Some do fall away, just as the American citizenship is falling away, or has fallen away, from patriotism or love of country.

Do you love God enough to sacrifice your time? Do you love His family Kingdom enough that you really care for it so that all the time you are working to make it look good and to strengthen it?

Americans are no longer doing this in relation to the nation, and the result that is we no longer care. We just desire satisfaction in the moment. This is why this nation's general conduct is going downhill fast. Right education is a good beginning, but the education has to be believed and used or its value is wasted.

JWR/aws/dcg












 


 
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