The Duck Test. How to make wise choices in a world full of cultural compromise. Love not the world!

[0:00] This morning I issue a call to discernment and as a preacher I must speak the truth.! Some may consider me judgemental and legalistic when I do that but whatever the reaction I must speak the truth.

[0:14] ! It's incumbent on me I must urge people to that end. And first let me set forward some foundation principles really to tell us where we're starting here, what we're going to do and what we're going to expose.

[0:29] Let me make one remark first up. Know that scripturally the enemy's main tactic, his hallmark, is deception. It is deception. We read that in the context of the last days, Revelation 12 verse 9.

[0:44] It tells us, And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

[0:59] So we can be sure that the devil has this modus operandi, if you like, this methodology that he always engages, that he cloaks himself with all kinds of disguises.

[1:12] And he can appear as an angel of light. He wants to con people and lead them astray. 2 Corinthians 11, 14 it says, And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

[1:26] And in the context it talks about his ministers are like servants of righteousness. He's got his own kind of synagogue, the synagogue of Satan. We see that Satan is very religious, and he's very angelic.

[1:39] So sly and cunning that he can masquerade as even an angel. And people will be fooled by him. The masses follow him still, like the Pied Piper.

[1:50] You know the children's story of the Pied Piper? He played his tune, and they thronged after him, didn't they, to their destruction. And the Word of God tells us about the devil as being this arch deceiver.

[2:02] And it tells us that we are to earnestly contend for the faith. We read in Jude 1, 3, it says, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend.

[2:22] There's a fight there, a contending for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Now there's a song that goes, we are on the battlefield for our Lord.

[2:33] That's the sense of it. This is a battlefield. This is not some game. It's a real battle that we are in. We are in hostile territory.

[2:44] The Bible gives us these pictures, and it's not just pictures. It's the reality for us. And the vast bulk of humanity is in falsehood and has fallen for lies.

[2:58] This is the truth. And we're meant to be part of the army of the Lord, fighting back. We need to have that fight back. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 4, verse 7, he says, I have fought the good fight of the faith.

[3:14] I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. It's a fighting of the good fight, the good fight of the faith. But it seems, if I put to you, if you could perhaps consider this statement, that everywhere we look, we see compromise.

[3:31] Compromise and conformity. And we can make a choice to either fight or to surrender. It's one or the other, isn't it? We can either fight or we can retreat.

[3:43] We can give up and just cave in. And it seems to me like many Christians and preachers are weak and wimping out on many fronts. There's a whole lot of accommodation going on of error for fear of daring to offend anyone.

[4:00] Now, that's the last thing I want to do is offend anyone, but probably I'll offend everyone this morning. So get ready. But honestly, I issue a loving warning. I'm not here to make it hard for me or for you.

[4:14] But there is a sense where the preacher must warn as needful rebuke or reproving and exhorting. And I want to lift up my voice, but lovingly, caringly, speaking some things and against some things that may unsettle you.

[4:29] Even offend you. God forbid. I pray not. But rather that it be a blessing. A blessing unto you. A blessing, nevertheless. And so we read in Romans 12, this familiar one from Paul.

[4:43] Romans 12 verse 1. He exhorts the people of Rome. He says, I beseech you, beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

[5:02] There's this prayerful preparation to prayerfully yield ourselves there. And then verse 2 goes on to say, And they not conform to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

[5:23] The sense of it there is this conforming to the world, the world squeezing you into its mould, as someone has described it. There's this sense where we're getting squeezed into a mould and shaped by what the world wants.

[5:38] But rather, we're exhorted to be having the transforming of God, of our mind, of our thoughts, of our thought life, that we might prove what is God's will.

[5:49] And that is perfect. It's good. It's acceptable. The will of God. So there's some hard truths here this morning. Be not conformed to this world, but rather be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

[6:08] Be not conformed. Be not conformed to this world. Amen. So really, that's what repent literally means, a mind change. And there's a preacher, James Melton, who I think puts it quite appropriately here, about the kind of mind of the world, the mindset of the world.

[6:29] He's listed this list. He calls it the sins of the mind. The sins of the mind. There's the corrupt mind. There's the proud mind.

[6:40] The doubting mind. The worrying mind. And the selfish mind. You can get all these scriptures later. But it's an interesting word study.

[6:51] The Bible tells us much about the mind, about it can have evil thoughts, it can have conceit, unbelief, anxiety, or be minded after gain and ambition. And all of these kinds of minds are the kind of worldly thinking, aren't they?

[7:04] Our mind and our thinking needs to be, rather than worldly like those things, rather be godly, patterned after Christ. And according to his will, shaped by biblical truth.

[7:15] And the mindset that is after God and his word, not after the world, and what the world approves of. Now some would shy away from such a bold concept.

[7:26] After all, that may mean we may need to give up some things. Now I don't know about you, but I don't like giving up some things. I'm a bit of a hoarder.

[7:37] I probably need to give up a lot of things in my place. Have you ever seen my place? We've got every nook and cranny's filled and Julie's wanting another nook and cranny to fill it with some more.

[7:48] I'm not blaming Julie, but we've both got a problem. Pray for us. It's easy to accumulate things, isn't it? And you don't ever throw anything away. But the Bible tells us there's some things that would be good for us to throw away.

[8:00] They'd be good for us to change, to change some things. But some would rather compromise with the world and make concessions. Yet the word of God is clear.

[8:11] We're talking about this context of the world. We're talking about culture. We're talking about choices this morning. And James 4 verse 4 talks about the world. The world.

[8:22] And he rebukes the ones he's writing to here in James 4 verse 4. He says, He adulterers and adulteresses. Know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity or hatred.

[8:37] It's hostile with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world will be the enemy. Is the enemy of God. So it's quite strong words there, isn't it? So what is, air quotes, the world?

[8:50] What is the world? How do we define it? And for some of us we might have different thoughts where we draw the line here or there. Whether we draw the line here or draw the line there. Or as to what we say is within what we see as right or wrong.

[9:07] How do we define the world? How do we recognise it? Now I've had a reaction to my preaching. God forbid that does happen sometimes.

[9:20] And that's always good. You've got to make people either sad, glad or mad. Or maybe all three. But a while back I think it was when I was mentioning, I was touching on the Bible account of Lot and of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[9:34] And that's a good choice, isn't it? What Lot's choice was. He chose Sodom and Gomorrah. And I touched on the issue of Sodom and all that goes with Sodom. And now when we look at sin, whatever it is, we're sure to exhort people in love.

[9:49] That's my motive. That's the vein of what I address. In how I address things. Grace and love. Yet grace and truth too.

[10:01] I try to be sure to exhort people in love. To flee to Christ. To flee to Christ as that sure refuge and to find His grace. And let me assure you, there is a Saviour you can know.

[10:15] There is a Saviour you can personally trust and know. And no matter your sin, there can be forgiveness and salvation for you. If you flee to Christ.

[10:28] Now as kindly and as carefully as I address such matters on occasion, some will not flee to Christ, but they will flee somewhere else. And so I receive word from this person who we still continue very much to care about.

[10:45] I want to continue to urge her to find her peace in Christ. But she wrote to me to tell me that she has found a church that aligns with my values.

[10:58] Now I'm not necessarily saying what those values are, but I've got a feeling what they are. A church that aligns with my values. They're out there.

[11:10] They're out there. They're in this community. I suppose we can pose the question, what should our, air quotes, values be?

[11:21] What should our values be? What is it that should set our values? Should our values be said about what the world says is right? Or what the world does by what Sodom does, by what the world thinks is right?

[11:36] Or rather by what does God say? What does the word of God say? And we're not saying that in a prideful way, but in an honest, God-fearing way, in a humble way.

[11:47] Can we be honest this morning and honestly consider the question, could it be that we are being swayed by the world's values? Could that be the case?

[11:59] I know it is for me. It can be for me. Sure enough, the world does have its values. What are they? Tolerance, acceptance, inclusion.

[12:11] Of course, tolerance these days has come to mean you just go along with whatever the world says is right. What the world says is right. Even though the Bible clearly shows us and tells us quite specifically in black and white that something is clearly wrong.

[12:30] Some would still seek to accommodate that. Now tolerance is, as the world would put it, it's not a tolerance for what is biblical.

[12:41] They'll tolerate anything, but if you're a born-again Christian who says, actually I believe what the Bible says, then you're not included. It's inclusion up to a point. I just don't include Bible-believing Christians in that word tolerance or inclusion.

[12:56] Now here's a man, Pastor Fihaki from Mooloolaba, Queensland. And this is an article that's just four months old and the headline article reads, But he has not departed from the teachings of the Holy Bible.

[13:41] In this regard, right now there's a war on people. There's a war on it. It's a war against Christian values. It's a war against Christian ideas and beliefs. The world would tell us that the world's values are absolutes.

[13:55] That we're meant to have this full acceptance of ungodly ideas and beliefs. Yet as God's people, as Bible believers, it's the Bible that should dictate to us what to believe.

[14:07] It's the guide of faith and conduct. It's the Bible that dictates what's right and wrong. It's thus saith the Lord as to what to believe and to practice. Now I know God's people are still in the Uniting Church.

[14:20] Some of them are still in it. I think that they're an ever-increasing minority in such a thing as that. Now we're going to start to get a bit personal here this morning.

[14:36] So fasten your seatbelts. Now let me quote how someone has explained this by way of an analogy. An analogy. I had to practice saying that so I didn't get tongue-tied.

[14:47] An analogy. It's an analogy about a truck coming down the road. And it's, I'm going to quote largely here, it's an important part of child-rearing in today's society to encourage a child to find himself, express himself, figure out what is true for him.

[15:09] And obedience is like an outdated concept now. And sometimes disobedience is actually applauded. After all, how can a child or an adult truly express himself if he's trying to adhere to someone else's rules?

[15:23] The quote goes on, I don't believe there's any mother, however, who on seeing her child run out into a busy street to fetch a ball, would not immediately grab that child out of the way of oncoming traffic.

[15:38] It would not occur to her to say, Jill is expressing herself now, when a big truck is roaring down towards her. And the shaken mother would say to Jill, always remember to look to the right and look to the left before entering the street.

[15:55] But this picture of a child running out into danger is exactly what's going on in our culture today. Most people don't read the Bible. If they do read it, they don't believe it. Or they've got some warped ideas of what they take from it.

[16:11] And people would say, what truck? I don't see a truck. If I want to play in the street, isn't that up for me to decide? By telling me I shouldn't be out here in the street, you're upsetting me.

[16:23] And upsetting people is not loving. Why don't you learn to be loving like a Christian should be? The truck. It's God's judgement. And it's coming down full pelt.

[16:35] God has given us the Bible, and the Bible tells us that God will judge. God's judgement is coming like Brother Jeffrey read. It's appointed unto men.

[16:47] God wants to die after this. The judgement. And we were at the doorstep yesterday talking to someone, and he's saying, I'll kind of work it out myself.

[16:58] I'm still figuring it out. Judgment day is coming. The time appointed is coming. And of course we know as the quote goes on, it's not just about the last judgement, but God's judgement is about what's right and wrong.

[17:11] We should actually take heed of what God says. But many are like this child playing in the street, oblivious to the moral and spiritual dangers, the confusion.

[17:24] They're playing with fire. We're talking about the world. The world. Now the world doesn't dictate what's right for me or my flesh. I can't trust that.

[17:36] I can't trust myself. Where are the strong in such a day of weakness? In 1 John 2 it talks about the world, and in the context John writes to the fathers, he says, You've known him that is from the beginning.

[17:50] And he says, I've written unto you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. Where does this strength come from? The word.

[18:01] The word. Then it goes on, verse 15, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

[18:13] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

[18:25] All of these things. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God, abideth forever. So in the context, talking about the world, John says, the stronger those who have the word, that hold fast to the word of God.

[18:44] In other words, they've got an eternal perspective. They're not just focusing on the present, the temporary. They've got an eternal dimension. What is it of the world that we love so much?

[18:57] Now for each of us, it could be something different. Likely it is something different, and we've all got to set our own measure of that, I suppose, as we calibrate that for ourselves.

[19:11] What is of the world in my life? Fact is, what's actually right, may be uncomfortable, and hard for me to do. It may mean giving up something.

[19:23] Think about that. Now, some things come with spiritual maturity, and these things are spiritually discerned. In 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14, it says, some people can't get it, because they haven't got that spiritual discerning of the word of God.

[19:39] I pose this question lovingly to you today. What should my attitude be to the world, and the things of the world?

[19:50] Should I love them? No. I should not love them. Galatians 6 verse 14, what should we have rather? Paul says, but God forbid that I should glory, saving the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ.

[20:06] Saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Paul's talking about his relationship with the world.

[20:18] He says, by the cross, by Christ, the world is crucified unto me, and I am crucified unto the world. Crucified. That sounds painful, doesn't it?

[20:31] That doesn't sound like it's comfortable, does it? It's uncomfortable, isn't it? Do we stop doing something for God because it's not comfortable to go that way? Well, we go the way of the cross.

[20:44] The way of the cross. What does it mean? Self-denial. It means loss. Sacrifice. And in Luke 9 verse 23, our Lord tells of discipleship, He says, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

[21:09] It's going to take some courage to take that road less traveled, isn't it? Yet many would shy away from the word. Sacrifice. Denying myself. The world would say, love yourself. You know, just, it's all about the self, isn't it?

[21:25] That's what the world would say. Pamper yourself. Spore yourself. If it feels good, do it. Look out for number one. But Jesus says, He's the number one. He says, deny yourself.

[21:36] Many will not want to bear the offense of the cross, of the gospel. And we wonder why the modern day church is largely ineffective. The salt has lost its savor.

[21:47] We see churches that are just caving in to what the world says is right, when the Bible says clearly it's wrong. Are we of the world? The world.

[21:58] It's a big question. John 15, it reads, If you were of the world, the Lord says, the world would love his own. But because you are not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you.

[22:11] I know I was talking to someone lately, who was talking about feeling hated by the unsafe people, that she knows around about them. Friends, we can expect to be hated.

[22:23] You might have experienced that. Well, that can be hard when your family don't understand. We can expect to even be hated. Now here's a good motto that I picked up.

[22:37] Better to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. It's a good motto for life. Where does it come from? This is the cadet prayer from the West Point United States Military Academy.

[22:50] And the prayer dates back to World War I. You can read the whole prayer. It's got some good content. It's a prayer that speaks about excellence, about aspiration, courage, about serving with honour and integrity.

[23:03] The cadet prayer of the West Point United States Military. It speaks against compromise, against irreverence, against half-truths. It speaks for accountability, to be a person of moral courage, a person of conviction.

[23:20] Better to take the harder right instead of the easier wrong. In other words, don't just go with what's easy, go with what's right. Go with what's right. Take that harder path, the uncomfortable path.

[23:34] Why? Because it's the right one. What does that look like? I could say, you know, tongue-in-cheek somewhat, what does that look like?

[23:45] In other words, eat your greens. And some adults never learn that. They're fussy eats when they're a little boy or girl, and they don't eat their greens. It's a problem, isn't it? You've got to choose the harder right.

[23:57] Eat those things you don't like, because they're healthy. Eat your greens. Do the exercise. Do the study. If you want to finish, do the study. Delay gratification, so you can save for the future.

[24:10] You know, scrimp and save so you're better off later. Stick with that diet. It's the harder right, isn't it? Avoid eating that that you know will be bad for your health.

[24:23] We could do that, couldn't we? That would be a good thing to do. But some would take the path of least resistance. They end up like this river that's all over the place. You know, it just goes to the path of least resistance.

[24:34] They don't ever make those hard decisions. But we have to make them. The easy wrong will cost you in the long run. You reap what you sow.

[24:45] So, I mean, this is in a military context, but we could think about it spiritually too. Are we prepared to face adversity, to brave ourselves, to do right, even if all around us are choosing the wrong?

[24:59] To choose integrity, to choose truth? Do we want sound biblical doctrine? Really? You may pose a question about some subject or other, but what about X, Y, Z?

[25:13] Put your issue there. I put to you, if the world is for it, then chances are it's wrong. Chances are it's wrong. If the world has no problems with it and endorses it and promotes it, then watch out.

[25:28] If the crowd are for it, then be wary. Why do I say this? Think about this. Who is the God of this world? If the world is for something and it's just falling over whatever it is, then we could question what's driving that.

[25:47] Who is the God of this world? We know that it's the devil, don't we? The devil. In the context, it's talking about lost people. In whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them, which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

[26:04] Now, if you're lost this morning, some of this message might be a little not quite directed at you so much, but there is a saviour. And if you're outside of Christ, there's like these blinkers on your mind that that gospel light cannot enter.

[26:19] But God helping you, prayerfully, you'll seek and find the saviour. And for you that are saved, we can see this is happening all around us. There's blindness all around us.

[26:31] And whether we're saved or lost, we all have choices to make. And choices have consequences, don't they? You can choose working on a Sunday. There's lots of jobs out there where working on a Sunday is very rewarding.

[26:46] You get an extra lump of dough in your cash, in your pay packet. It's very attractive, working on a Sunday. But if you've got the choice not to, wouldn't that be better that you can fellowship?

[26:59] Wouldn't that be better? Now, dare I touch on something that may provoke a reaction in you today? Now, I was being very careful not to pick on one particular thing.

[27:10] Your favourite sport. So that's everybody here, okay? Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sport. Don't get me wrong here.

[27:21] But playing sports on a Sunday is a bad idea, isn't it? I've seen young men and women drop out of fellowship because of a sport. A sport. So innocent, so harmless.

[27:33] Maybe you could see even as something beneficial. It's a social outlet. It's innocent. It's fun. It's harmless. It's a way to increase physical health and achievements.

[27:45] But, did I mention the word deception? How we can get swayed where things can take his place.

[27:57] The word deception comes to mind. How utterly damaging it could be to your spiritual health. For your soul. Your children. If you're sending your children to some sports game, instead of coming to church.

[28:09] You're setting a trajectory there. You're setting a trajectory. But that's what they're going to continue to do as they get older. And church won't be on their radar. Sunday will be the sports day.

[28:20] Not the Lord's day. And how damaging. Damaging that can be. Parents. Think of your children. Where they're going. What really matters. It's the eternal. It's the eternal dimension, isn't it?

[28:32] Redeem the time. The days are evil. There's a battle on for the minds of our children. Parents here. There's principalities and powers that want to take your children away from him.

[28:47] Hearing the word of God from following the word of God from fellowship. Getting them out of the habit of coming to church. You know?

[28:58] How often are you in the habit of going to church? Chances are your children will be less in the habit. It says what people do in moderation, the children will do in excess.

[29:10] So if you allow, if you accommodate something, the children are going to be, chances are, less godly than you. So let me be straight and plain with you today about a few things.

[29:24] And again, my motive is love. I'm driven by love. I don't like being attacked after a sermon, but feel free. But here is a key Bible principle.

[29:35] Here's a key Bible principle. It says, abstain from all appearance of evil. We've got a crying need of discernment, haven't we? A need of discernment.

[29:46] Some things can be oh so subtle. Now, a little tongue in cheek thing here. Just picture this yourself. You might have been, you might have experienced this yourself. Have you walked through the local mall and amidst all the hustle and bustle, the shopping going on, you come across someone sitting, looking like they're meditating, almost praying, holding some treasured writing in their hand.

[30:14] And they look mesmerised, mesmerised, spellbound, as if in some kind of trance, some kind of spiritual ritual.

[30:28] Their eyes are transfixed. What are they doing? To me, it looks like some kind of worship. They're looking upwards.

[30:39] They're looking upwards as they stare, as they stare at the numbers. I don't know if this is what it looks like, but they're staring at the numbers, the numbers on the screen. They're praying.

[30:50] I don't know who they're praying to, but they're very prayerful. They're believing, seeing if they will win the lucky numbers. And again, their hopes are dashed.

[31:01] Over and over again. The world looks to other things, doesn't it? Rather than to God. They look to luck.

[31:13] It's true for we that love the Lord, as one song says, and I'm not endorsing the song necessarily, but I like this line of the song, I'm not lucky, I'm blessed. That's true for you, isn't it?

[31:25] If any good thing happens to you, I'm not lucky, I'm actually blessed. And you're still blessed even if bad things happen to you, amen? Because the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

[31:36] It doesn't matter what your earthly gain is. You're blessed whether you've got much or little. But what are we to make of the world's concepts? The worldly concept of luck.

[31:48] People are being robbed blind by the armed bandits. The one armed bandits, the poker machine stats are frightening. This is some local figures here.

[31:59] In Playford, the LGA local government area in the last financial year. Port Addo, Enfield, 86 and a half million dollars.

[32:11] Salisbury, 84 and a half million. Onca Peringas, 72 nearly million. Charles Sturt, 70 million. Playford, that's here, 46.7 million dollars.

[32:25] Blown on the pokies. Ching, ching, ching. Boom. Toot, doot, doot, doot. Ching, ching, ching. Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. Ching, ching, ching. Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop.

[32:36] Just feed the machine. Feed the machine. How do you know that? Oh, I'm just imagining what they do. But honestly, I don't know, is that a good imitation, you that are worldly?

[32:52] No, the poker machine stats are frightening, aren't they? Millions, millions of dollars. It's frightening. It's the world. It's the world, isn't it?

[33:03] And when they win, do we thank our lucky stars? Do we thank chance, karma, or fate? Or do we give thanks to God?

[33:14] If something good comes away, we don't want to thank luck, we want to thank our Lord. And look, I'm not endorsing doing that, by any means. Now some have this idea, don't they?

[33:25] The world trusts in luck, good luck charms, good luck objects. And think about it, I'm going to touch on some things now. You might say, wow, I never heard about that one before.

[33:36] And you might say, oh, Andrew's being extreme again. I get that. But please bear with me, I've gone through some various lists, and there's various things here, and I can explain to you, you might say, oh, that's a lot of hogwash, preacher.

[33:50] I can give you some information later, so feel free to email me or buttonhole me, and I'll let you know why I would urge caution here. Now there's some obvious things out there, but some things are not so obvious.

[34:05] Where do you draw the line? That can be up to you. You might draw the line differently from me. But let me put to you some of these things, so bear with me. I'm going to try to not have too many confronting images here, but the New Age movement.

[34:21] Now some people, some Christians think some of the New Age stuff is okay. Feng Shui, Reiki, mindfulness. Can we do New Age things to the glory of God?

[34:34] I know that I can't. I cannot. Some suspect things are obvious. You see them selling them down at Bunnings now, at Cheapest Chips. You can buy your own Buddha, 50 bucks.

[34:46] What a bargain. Wow. You can buy them these days, as if it's something funky and trendy. The world loves it, doesn't it? The world loves it. That's the point I'm trying to make.

[34:58] The world loves it. And it's still a bit of an in thing to display images of Egyptian gods and goddesses in your home. We've got relatives who do that. They've got Egyptian gods and goddesses.

[35:10] Pictures and statues and whatnot. It's still an in thing. We're all making choices, aren't we? Making choices. We're talking convictions. We're talking choices. We're talking culture.

[35:22] Now let me share some more challenging thoughts with you. Now this is going to press some buttons here this morning. Think about what the world pushes on our children these days.

[35:33] So again, I may hit the nerve for some people here today, but I can explain. I can give you the information. Fantasy. Fantasies. We're living in an entertainment culture where Hollywood's just giving out, dishing out lots of fanciful fantasy stories.

[35:59] The entertainment culture. Fairy stories. Oh, nothing wrong with that. Disney princesses. Science fiction of all kinds.

[36:10] Stories of aliens. Extra-terrestrials. What are those extra-terrestrials? These may all seem innocent. I mean, from a glance, oh, what are you saying?

[36:23] That's rubbish. That's harmless fun. Innocent fun, you may say. But look a little deeper, people. Look a little deeper. What's behind this stuff?

[36:35] Who's behind this stuff? Could it be the God, small g, of this world? What's behind it? Look into it. Look up each of these things here. Here's another list. This is going to be confronting.

[36:47] Pokemon. What? Monsters. Gnomes. Gnomes. Gnomes, come on. Look up the word gnome on Wikipedia. See what it says about gnomes.

[37:00] We used to have some gnomes, didn't we? No, we never had it. Oh. I was just thinking back to my sinful past when I had gnomes. No. Fairies, elves, pixies, spirits, ghosts.

[37:13] All of these things. What's behind all that? Look it up. Witches, spells, wizards, Harry Potter. Think about movies that contain horror.

[37:24] Especially vampires and werewolves. What's behind that? What is the agenda? What's driving that? If you don't agree with me, take the time to look up all these things.

[37:37] Ask Google. That's a great authority. You know, look up all of these things. They're all sus. Suspect, right?

[37:48] Here's another thing. Batman. I used to love Batman and Spider-Man. I used to pray. I used to pray, Lord, make me like Superman. I'm still asking. I'm still waiting for that prayer.

[38:00] Still waiting for that prayer to be answered. You know, I used to like Superman, alright? And Spider-Man. But it's a work in progress, you know? But honestly, these things are just fun.

[38:11] Just comic books. But what do they promote? People, let's be honest here. What are these things promoting? Supernatural powers.

[38:22] Supernatural. Where's that supernatural power coming from? There is a force. Force. A power that is behind them, within them.

[38:35] Where do these powers come from? Look it up. Look, do the research. What are the philosophies behind the people who write these comics and these sort of entertainment things?

[38:52] Now, I'm not meaning to go totally extreme here. But I'm just planting the seed that some of these things got a huge question mark. Huge question mark. We need to learn to discern.

[39:04] Parents, I'd urge you to consider and evaluate anything with supernatural energy. Supernatural energy. Evaluate anything with supernatural powers.

[39:15] Whether it be games, videos, TV shows. What is behind these things? Much of what Disney produces is suspect. The fact is almost every Disney movie has some kind of witch.

[39:31] Every Disney movie virtually has some kind of witch as a central figure. And some of these things, that's... Now, if you do a still on Facebook or YouTube, don't think that I've got a new age or anything.

[39:45] But that's the pyramid, isn't it? It's the eye. Now, that's what Mickey's doing here. Alright? Don't do that. But here we see, when Mickey Mouse first appeared, he was the wizard's apprentice.

[39:57] Right from day dot. Disney's been like that. And Walt Disney himself, he's been associated with Freemasons. His movies are full of occult imagery and mind control.

[40:09] So, you might say, oh, this is harmless. Disney, come on. Yeah. It is in there. And there's whole exposés. You can look at it on YouTube about Disney, occult.

[40:22] Do a search. Many of these days we talk about cosmic consciousness. One of my bosses, he used to say, oh, I thank the universe. He was a Catholic man. He used to say, I thank the universe for this or that.

[40:34] Oh, boy. Some would look to superstitions or wind chimes or chakras, crystals, and the ancient cross. See, that's an Egyptian ankh cross.

[40:46] So, it's not like a full cross. It's got a loop on the top of it. That is Egyptian idolatry. If you've got an ankh cross, throw it out. Yeah. All sorts of things.

[40:57] We could think certain kinds of martial arts, rosary beads, crystals. All of these things are sussed. There's a big question mark. I can tell you more if you want specifics. What lies behind all of these strange kind of things?

[41:09] They're mythical, supernatural, spiritual. The New Age movement. It comes in many shapes and forms. How about astrology, clairvoyancing, fortune telling, mediums, meditation.

[41:22] Of course, not Bible meditation where you meditate on the words of God, but this blanking of your mind meditation. We've got mystics. We've got psychics. We've got spiritism. We've got dream catchers.

[41:33] It's all suss. Hypnosis, yoga. And then even in churches, you've got so-called prophecies, dreams, visions. These should be tested. Are they right?

[41:44] Is it scriptural? Now, I'm going to give you a really good, this is a deep theological truth here this morning. This is an important theological truth for all you Bible students here today.

[41:56] This is a theological method to help you with discernment. Okay? To help you with discernment today. Note this very carefully. It is the duck test.

[42:08] The duck test. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Does it look like a duck? In other words, does it look like the world?

[42:20] What am I saying? Now, many years ago, I belonged to a church that had a large paddock around it. And one day, I offered to go and sit on the ride-on mower and mow the lawn.

[42:31] And this was in my younger days. I must have been about... Oh, maybe 20. Somewhere thereabouts. And it was a really hot summer day.

[42:43] And I took my shirt off. I took my shirt off and I mowed the church's lawn without my shirt on. And afterward, the pastor rebuked me for what I was wearing. Or not wearing. I was offended.

[42:55] I felt embarrassed. Now, this pastor was an American pastor. And I thought at the time, maybe he doesn't get Aussie culture. But afterwards, I realized, actually, he's right.

[43:08] That's why at the family camp, we asked people, dress modestly. If you're going for a swim, wear rashies. Men, some board shorts and a t-shirt. Women, dress modestly.

[43:19] Likewise. But I've grown up a lot since that time. I've grown up a lot since that time. And I realize now that I was wrong. Actually, I left that church because one of the reasons I said to the pastor, I was kind enough to write him a letter.

[43:34] Some people leave this church without writing me a letter. But I wrote to the pastor. I said that their music wasn't modern enough. I realized I was wrong on that count as well. Okay?

[43:45] So I look back. And honestly, when I look back, I look like a duck. I really did. What I was wearing, how I was dressed, it was wrong.

[43:57] It was wrong. I see that now. It wasn't American culture that was the problem. It wasn't independent Baptist. They were Pentecostals, actually. But what the problem was, was the world in me.

[44:10] It was the world in me. Now, here's a picture of me with my shirt off. Brace yourselves. Brace yourselves now. There I am. I'm sorry to confront you with such a picture this morning.

[44:27] But think about it. Do I look like a duck? Yes. I did look like a duck. I really did. I look like the world. I look like the world. Now, we could think about using the duck test like this.

[44:38] Now, maybe you've got a bookshelf at home filled with DVDs. Take a look at them. Go through that bookshelf and take a look at it. Does it look like a duck? In other words, does it look worldly?

[44:49] If yes, then bin it. Right? Take the DVD. Take a look at it. Does it look like a duck? Does it look worldly? Yes.

[45:00] Bin it. Alright? I'm trying to make a point here. Think about it. Think about it today. Please, be honest. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

[45:14] Now, think about it. This world that we're living in. Are there some ducks out there? Let me show you some ducks. Now, bear with me. Some of this is quite confronting. We're living in a warped world.

[45:25] Alright? Look up the word androgynous. Androgynous. There's this blurring of gender lines, of gender expression. Here you've got, on the left there you've got a female.

[45:36] On the right you've got a male. There's ducks walking all around us. Men are looking more feminine. And women are looking more masculine. Some of these things are a bit confronting.

[45:48] So the woman's on the right. The man's on the left, wearing a dress there, you see. So some of these things are a little confronting. I apologise for that. I could have shown you worse examples, believe me.

[45:59] The Bible talks about dressing modestly and distinctly, befitting of our gender. Okay? I have to make the point, maybe a little bit of a shock factor. Now, Hollywood males are dressing in skirts now.

[46:13] Here's one. Again, the male is on the left. The woman is on the right. Okay? Hollywood. Here's one of the Hollywood actors there. As he's going to an awards night.

[46:25] Wearing a full on dress there. Now, I'm sorry to show you this. Because I need to confront you with this. Hollywood male actors, and this is not the only one. They're going to awards nights wearing dresses.

[46:38] Okay? This is repulsive, isn't it? And look here. Another couple of examples here. The man on the left. The woman on the right. What's going on?

[46:49] There's a duck here, isn't it? I see a duck, don't you? And this is really bad here. Look, this one. And this is a, two weeks ago, a CCM artist.

[47:00] You know, contemporary Christian music. He's an artist called Derek Webb. The caption for this photo, he tweets and says, The 54th Annual Dove Awards. Here we come. So here's Webb.

[47:11] This is a Christian event now. A Christian event. Webb attended the Dove Awards wearing this dress for contemporary Christian music. And he was accompanied by a queer and a drag queen.

[47:24] So I don't know what gender the middle person is, but we call them they. We call that one they. We don't call them a he or a she. That's a queer. And then we've got the drag queen there. This is a picture that he took as he was invited to go to the contemporary Christian, I think contemptible Christian music festival here.

[47:45] And it's interesting, this man Webb, he's no stranger to the Dove Awards. He's had ten nominations and three wins. He's playing the Christian contemporary music so that you can tune into on your local radio station, your local Christian radio station.

[48:00] I think this looks like a duck, don't you? I think this is a duck. Something is wrong. What went wrong? What went wrong, people? It used to be more simple, didn't it? It used to be more simple.

[48:12] But there's a load of ducks now. Now you might protest, that's Aussie, this is Aussie culture. Everybody else is doing it, wearing it. Does that make it right? Now we could think, now for example, I could get really, say a lot more about rock music, for example.

[48:28] Now, we don't know, I'm just going to have one very brief comment here. Because this is really an even more obvious thing, isn't it? Because everybody else is doing it, doesn't make it right.

[48:40] Rock music, for one. David Bowie, I quote, Rock has always been the devil's music. I'd say that's a duck. I'd say that's the world, wouldn't you? And you can do a lot of research on rock music.

[48:53] You know, that's a whole other subject. Hell's Bells is a good video to watch. We're talking about the New Age. Now, it's been truly said that the New Age is really the old lie.

[49:05] The old lie. It goes right back to the Garden of Eden. It's still the same as it was in the Garden of Eden. Satan's plan of destruction, deception. That's what it is. It's always been his method.

[49:17] Yea, hath God said. He wants to undermine God's authority, the Word of God. And Satan wants to cause doubt in God's Word. We see, as it says in Genesis 3, Satan says, Yea, hath God said.

[49:34] And so much so that he wants to cause doubt in God's Word, that I put to you, I honestly believe that Satan has infiltrated so-called Bibles today.

[49:46] I'm being honest with you this morning. And I can give you a whole thesis on the subject. It says in the margins of some Bibles. You can look in the margins or the footnotes.

[49:57] Does not appear in the ancient manuscripts. In the earliest manuscripts. These words are not found. Yea, hath God said. Yea, hath God said.

[50:09] Friends, we should be careful about that. What should guide the choices we make should be the infallible Word of God. It should be the trustworthy, the faithful Word of God.

[50:21] We know at this time of year we remember the Reformation. In fact today is what they call it, Deliverance Day. Where the Houses of Parliament were going to be blown up by Guy Fawkes.

[50:32] And King James was saved. And he was able to print this book. And we see around the Reformation time, we know Luther. He says, my conscience is captive to the Word of God.

[50:44] That was his sentiment. Now, when Luther stood and we know he was a man, he had failings. But when he did stand for the right, he was right when he said those sentiments.

[50:56] That my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Friends, I know I've touched on some things you might have felt a little bit confronted today. I pray in a good way.

[51:08] We should be counter-cultural. Aren't we as counter-cultural as we need to be? That's a meme I saw somewhere. We should be radical. We should be radical. So radical that people think we're weird.

[51:21] That's good. There is good weird. Alright? There is good weird. There is good separation. There is good being a stranger and an alien.

[51:33] That's a good thing. It's a good thing for you. So it's okay to stand alone too. Some churches wouldn't say any of this stuff. Don't be afraid to stand against the tide. It's like our Lord himself.

[51:45] They all forsook him and fled. Like with Paul. No man stood with me. All men forsook me. It's okay to be in the minority for God. Your family might think you've gone really nuts.

[51:57] Oh, it's that church for you wackos. Andrew Craig's weird church. You've become a bit weird like Andrew Craig. No, that's okay. Don't become like me, but become like Christ.

[52:08] Alright? It's okay to be in the minority with God. Will you do the harder right or the easier wrong? Doing the right thing is always right, isn't it? Will you go along with deception?

[52:21] And look, you might say, I don't agree with you on this, that or the other. That's fine. You don't have to agree with me. Sort it out of the judgment throne. You know, there is a sense where there's danger.

[52:34] There's deception. Look at the root, the fruit. What are we moved by? Is it what's convenient? Uneasy? Are we moved by the fear of men? Or do we actually fear God such that, hey, I'd rather be counter-cultural and people think me a bit strange.

[52:50] Will you stand for the right against what is popular? Use the duck test. Does it look like a duck? Does it quack like a duck? Are we going to be moved by biblical convictions or by popular culture?

[53:03] Who are we following? Is it the God of this world? Or is it the God of the Bible? We've all got a choice to make. And we know that familiar scripture as Joshua pleaded and urged the people and he challenged them.

[53:21] He said, choose you this day whom you will serve. He talks about the gods of the Amorites. We could think that's the gods of the new age. That's the gods of this world, the God of this world.

[53:34] That's all of these things that the popular culture would take us down that track. Or would we rather serve the God? As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. As for me and my house, we're going to say, no, I'm not going to be messing with that any longer.

[53:48] We've got a choice to make. Choose wisely. Love not the world. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you.

[53:59] Pray, Lord, that people would filter out everything that is of my flesh. Filter it out. Object to it. Discount it. Deny it. Throw it in the bin.

[54:10] But Lord, what is from you? Let us hold that fast. Let us be a people with biblical convictions that would rather do the harder right than the easier wrong. Let us be a people with biblical convictions that would rather not be following after the pattern of the world to be conformed to it, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

[54:30] Lord, help us that our mind would be filled with the truths of your words such that we believe it, every word of it, and will stand on it such that our conscience is captive to it.

[54:41] Lord, help us to be a people that are biblical. Help us, Lord, to be loving and kind and gentle. To be hard on ourselves if we must be hard on someone, that we would deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow you.

[54:55] Lord, help us to be such a people, all for your glory and praise. We pray if there's anyone present, they've yet to trust you, their minds are still blinded by the God of this world. They've yet to know a saviour from their sin.

[55:07] They've yet to know a salvation that is sure and eternal. They've yet to know an eternal life that is guaranteed and reserved in heaven for them. Lord, we pray that each one might have that heart's trust to say, Lord Jesus, you died on the cross for me.

[55:22] You rose again from the dead. You're my ever living saviour. And I want to follow you. Whatever this world would bring across my way, whatever I be tired, I will not be swayed. I will not be deterred.

[55:33] I have decided to follow Jesus. We pray, Lord, that that might be the choice that we make, the right choice. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.