I have this tin plated picture I bought that has one of my favorite quotes on it. It is a quote from a western philosopher you might have heard of named John Wayne. It says “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyways.” I love that quote and it is an encouragement to me in a lot of the battles that we do. Sometimes when we are called to go out and engage in different things at the abortion mill or street preaching, I am reminded that even though you are afraid, you do it anyways because it is the right thing to do. I think of the quote when I am doing pastoral counseling and I need to say something, and I am scared to say it, but I know have to do it anyways.
When we think about courage there is more truth in this quote than I think the good cowboy knew and that is this: We will all fear something. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is having more fear in the right object than you do the wrong one.
We live in a time when I think that many in the church in America are scared to death. We are. We're living in a time when it seems as if the enemy is gaining ground. In such a short period of time, it seems as if morality has and is rapidly changing. I say seems because we often have a short sighted view of history. But it does seem that the enemy is taking ground. Persecution is on the horizon and already here.
Fear has captivated the church and keeping it from being effective. Fear in combination with a love of comfort has made so much of the church ineffective. These two things have captivated the church: Comfort and fear.
We are comfortable with the world and the world's things. We are comfortable in our positions. With that comfort comes fear of the loss of it. We fear being hated. We fear being persecuted. We fear the loss of reputation or loss of friends and family. We fear man. This fear makes us ineffective.
This love of comfort and a fear of loss of it has created a new reformation in the church with its own five solas. Instead
Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Glorie, we have today because of cowardness and comfort embraced Sola feelings. My feelings dictate everything. How I feel is the determiner of what is right and wrong. How I feel determines how I will act. With that we have embraced Sola Relationship. I feel that I have a relationship with God. Its all about me and him alone drinking coffee. Christianity has become void of the commands of Christ and hyper individualized in such away to have eroticized it. Salvation is me and my relationship alone and who are you pastor to tell me about my relationship with God.
We get there through Sola Pragmatism by Sola Niceness for Sola Ego- my own glory alone.
Cowardliness makes us unfaithful. It was fear that kept the Israelites from taking the promise land. The twelve spies entered the land and ten of them came back only seeing how wicked and evil and big the people and their gates were. They were afraid and did not believe what God said and so they wondered around the wilderness for 40 years rather than taking the promised land.
Fear led them to not belief God and therefore they wasted away their lives. Fear will lead us into unfaithfulness and compromise in order to not be hated. Fear of man and love of comfort and ease make our love of God grow cold and cause us to compromise on the battles we face.
Yet God calls us to be courageous. He calls us to be bold. Over 50 times the scriptures say “take courage.” 143 times the scriptures say fear not. God calls us to courage and boldness. He calls us to faith. This courage is as I said earlier not the absence of fear. It is fear in the right object that will lead to courage. It is the fear of the Lord. When we fear God rightly and above all else, we find that he upholds us and strengthens us to take courage. He will enable us to take the promised land and to disciple the nations.

Myth: Someone in authority should never teach those under them to obey their authority.
Truth: Titus 2: 15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
You cannot read a letter by the Apostle Paul without him defending and maintaining his authority as an apostle. He does it over and over again. And then he instructs Titus and Timothy to do it with their authority.
Sometimes those in authority have to defend their authority and they do so with scripture. A faithful husband will wash his wife in the word. This will include teaching his wife about authority and submission. It will sometimes mean defending his authority in the home.
Exercising authority is not the same thing as lording it over. Husbands exercise authority for the benefit of those under his charge, for the benefit of the whole family. Sometimes that means they will instruct on things they personally may benefit from. This does not mean that they should abuse their authority and use it primarily for their own benefit.
Parents will instruct their children to obey them. This constitutes a whole lot of the instruction of parents. Parents who refuse to do this are being unfaithful.
The same thing with pastors. Pastors often have to instruct their people on submitting to pastors and to paying tithes, things he benefits from but he does it because he is being faith to God and is looking for the benefit of God's church.

As you read through the book of proverbs, there are several themes that appear over and over again.   You can see one theme take shape in the four verses above.  The book of proverbs teaches us that a wise person diligently seeks wisdom and as they grow in wisdom, wisdom will flow from them.  Wisdom will fill their heart and then flow outwardly through their speech.  In other words, a wise person will guard their speech.   Their speech will be like a tree of life.   Whereas the fool in the book of proverbs loves to spout off about what they don’t know and uses their words carelessly or harmfully.  This same theme is picked up in what is often called the Proverbs of the New Testament, James 1: 19-20 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
There is much to say about how this applies to you specifically as women.   What immediately may come to mind is how the scriptures say that godly women have a chaste and respectful demeanor with their husbands that reveals an imperishable quality of a gentile and quite spirit which is precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 1) as opposed to a brash and loud nagging spirit that is associated with the foolish harlot in scripture.  It is pretty obvious from all the instruction in the New Testament that women should cultivate a gentle and quite spirit and that Satan, the world, and your flesh will fight against this. 
Today I want to specifically apply this instruction to you as you discipline, instruct, and care for your children.  As a mother, you must remember that a soothing tongue is a tree of life.  Your words in the lives of your children will have a major impact.  When you get frustrated with your sons or daughters, how you speak to them will either move them to life or push them to death.  The words of a mother are powerful.  I can still remember things that my mother has said to me at different points of my life that God has used to mold and shape me.  Your words mothers are power and can be either good for building up or tearing down.
When you are frustrated, you are going to be tempted to say things like “why do you always do that” or “you are a troublemaker”  or “why are you being such a ….”   You are going to be tempted in your frustration to lash out.   When you say something like “you always” or “you never” you are communicating more than just your frustrations, you are say to your child to them that they won’t ever succeed in that particular situation.  This is tearing down rather than building up. Furthermore, saying they never obey is a lie.  Clearly, your child has obeyed at least once before.  It would be much better to say something like “Son you have disobeyed by doing _______ and this is the consequence.  I think you can do better in the future.”  Now you are thinking, sure I should say something like that but you try doing that when your children have frustrated you.  And I do know what is like to be frustrated.  But we must remember what the book of James tells us.  The anger of man (yes, women you are included here) does not achieve the righteousness of God. 
With that in mind, let me give you some things that might be helpful when you are in this circumstance. The first thing is to get prepared before you are in the moment.  As Mark Cox says we sweat more in training so we bleed less in battle.  We have to be prepared. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 12 “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.  But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Your mouth speaks from what is stored up in the heart.  That is what you are preparing with is what will come out.  This is why I said at the beginning, the wise person is filled with wisdom and then flows forth with wisdom.   Therefore, the first piece of advice I have for you is that you be constantly filling your heart with wisdom.  Preparation for dealing with frustrations looks like:
1.  Being in God’s word.  Meditating on and memorizing verses like Proverbs 15:1-4.  
2.  Be praying that God will give you strength when dealing with your children.  Before the children wake up, say a prayer for them.  If one of them is the one you most struggle with losing patience, make sure to pray for them often.  Cultivate a love and even a pity for them.    
3.  Pray with the children when they wake up in the morning and throughout the day.  If one is having a difficult day obeying, sit them down and pray with them. 
4.  Make a list of what you will say when disobedience or even childishness happens.  Don’t be caught off guard and just wing it. You know the times and circumstances that are most likely to happen.  Make a list even if its just in your mind of how you will react and what you will say.   Write down some of the things you are tempted to say and then reword them to be words of exhortation.   When you make your list, make sure to include some godly rebukes.  A rebuke is a good thing scripture teaches.  But a rebuke is founded on truth and has a purpose other than venting your frustrations. 
My second exhortation is that you make sure that you are disciplining on the first time.  Don’t wait till you are at the end of your rope to discipline.  Gently correct the first time there is disobedience. This is hard for you to do because you are not usually frustrated the first time and so you will be tempted to let it slide.  But know that when you let the disobedience slide by without correction and discipline, you are not being fair to yourself or to your child.  You are setting yourself up for failure. 
My last exhortation for you is this: You are not alone.  We have a gracious heavenly Father who loves to give his children the Holy Spirit.  He has also given you church family that loves you.  Where you have failed here and we all have, we must repent and seek the forgiveness of God.  We must pray for his enabling to do better. We also must not be afraid to reach out to each other for encouragement, accountability and help.  If you are at your wits end with a child or anyone else, send a text to one of the other women.  Don’t be ashamed to get help or advice.  The church exists for a purpose and we are to carry each other’s burden. 
Now the application I have made today as been aimed at you mothers with young children but this same application can apply to those of you with older children or who don’t have children at home.  You still need to guard your words and speech when you are dealing with your husband, people in the church, your neighborhood, or wherever you are.  Your gentle and quite spirit is precious to God and it will be used by God to win others to the kingdom.  Older women you need to be checking in on the younger women who have young children.   You know what it is like to be in their shoes.  They need you to teach them to love their children.   You who have wisdom need to pour that out to those who need it. 

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

The woman of virtue: clothed in fine linen, strength, and dignity. Busy with her hands, always looking to the ways of her household, never eating the bread of idleness. The virtuous woman opens her mouth teaching kindness, in wisdom. She has a husband who is known at the gates, a man of influence, with children who are thankful and give her much deserved honor and respect. This godly woman recognizes that beauty is vain and passing away, so adorns herself with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit.
Young ladies, you are going to need much prayer, and much striving to enter through the narrow gate, to resist the minefield of temptations before you in this day and age. Feminism has a chokehold on our society right now, and is placing pressure and demands on young women that are direct attacks on the biblical picture of womanhood. If Proverbs 31 illustrates for us how a godly, spirit-filled woman cares for her family and home, Proverbs 7 could easily be pointed to as an example of how feminism utterly destroys the relationship between men and women, and subsequently, their homes.
The adulterous woman is wayward, loud, boisterous, and dresses like a prostitute. She is not content to be at home, working diligently to provide for her family, but rather prefers to be everywhere but home. She is brazen, with flattering lips, seeking to seduce with smooth words.
Let’s be honest, there is a temptation to look at your godly mothers, with their gentle and quiet spirits, submitting to one man in their lives, their husbands, caring for their homes, and say to yourself “What a dull, drab existence. I want to get out and experience life. The way my mother wants to live her life might be fine for her,,,,but it’s sooooo old fashioned. This is 2019. I want to make lots of money. I want to get my finances, education, and house in order before I have a family. In the meantime I will test drive my potential spouse, and if they don’t meet my specific demands, I will find another. That’s how things work in 2019. Children? I am not ready for that. How can I work, go to school, have time for dating, and do what I want to do, if I have kids. I have plans, and  Proverbs 31  definitely puts a damper on those. I think I like the picture painted in Proverbs 7 better: she seems to have more freedom, and seems to be having a fun, adventurous life. What could possibly be wrong with enjoying myself for a few years before being shackled with the burden of managing a home, full of whiny kids and a demanding husband?” Young ladies, he who thinks he stands, needs to take heed lest he falls. Many, many a fine young lady, having grown up in very reformed homes, have fallen prey to these temptations. Many young ladies have traded the life of a virtuous woman, for that of a wayward feminist who destroys her own home. The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. A very vivid picture of this can be seen at the abortion clinic as young ladies, who a mere decade before would have never conceived of murdering their children, pay Anne the Butcher to do the dirty deed so that they can continue living their wayward lives unhindered.
You say “I would NEVER have an abortion”. Fine. So, what middleman are you willing to pay so that you can shirk your responsibilities to God in pursuit of your will be done?
Young men, you are responsible here as well. If you think you can fill your mind with pornography, sports, entertainment, and other worthless pursuits, rather than the Word of God, and be blessed to find a godly wife….you are a foolish young man, and will be seen lurking past the door of many an adulterous woman. Young men, if your aim is to walk down the broad road of destruction, dabbling in all this world has to offer, thinking that your future wife will submit to you in that, I have a warning for you: God will give you the desires of your heart. “Good!” you say. No, hear me very clearly young men: if it is your aim to reject the godly wisdom your father has sought to instill in you as you sow your wild oats, planning to return to the narrow path after you have tasted all this world has to offer, what you may find is that you have been blessed with a prostitute of a wife who will destroy your home and be a continual nagging drip, with children who hate you, dishonor you, and you will have been given everything you asked for, with nothing to blame but your cold dead heart.
Thank God we have an advocate. Thank God we have a mediator. Thank God we have a Saviour. Let us kneel if able and cry out to god for mercy, and wisdom, and forgiveness for our sins against Him.
Most High God. We thank you for giving us the perfect example of what a Husband and wife relationship looks like in Your Son Jesus and His Bride the Church. It is a beautiful picture that displays what You have decreed is best.  Yet far too often, we trade Your beauty, plans, and wisdom for creaturely pursuits. Rather than submitting to Your ways, we trust the lord of our hearts, our lusts and passions, to guide and govern us. We confess with our mouths “Jesus is Lord” yet in our hearts say “My will be done”. Father, we often despise how You have made us, wanting instead to conform to the image of the world, rather than the image You created us in. We are prideful, arrogant, and restless. We always think that other pastures, other wells, and other shepherds are where we will find true contentment, satisfaction, and joy, only to find in the end no contentment, no satisfaction, and a cruel taskmaster all to willing to keep us in chains. Father, please be merciful towards us sinners. Please pour out Your grace upon us undeserving wretches. Please forgive us of our sins, and restore to us the joy of Your salvation. It’s in Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

Listen now to the comforting assurance offered in the gospel to all who repent:

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!   


(From the 3/17/19 liturgy of Sovereign King Church, written by Aaron Sabie.)

 The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

Christian wives, your worth is far above jewels. As your reprobate counterparts build their resumes, you are busy building up your home. As the feminists of the world unite against the patriarchy, you stand by your husband doing him good, not evil. As men in the world increasingly view women as manipulative, cold, calculating, and out to “#metoo” them, your husband trusts you as his helpmate. Matthew Henry says this regarding the trust a husband has for an excellent wife: “He trusts in her fidelity to his interests, and that she will never betray his counsels nor have any interest separate from that of his family. When he goes abroad, to attend the concerns of the public, he can confide in her to order all his affairs at home, as well as if he himself were there. She is a good wife that is fit to be trusted, and he is a good husband that will leave it to such a wife to manage for him.” Men of the world watch and give approval as the women in their lives destroy their children in the womb, wiping out their posterity to avoid the “burden” of childbirth, and the inconvenience of parenting. In contrast, your husbands look at you with awe and wonder as you embrace the pain of childbirth, wearing your battle scars like stripes earned in combat, knowing that children are a gift from the LORD. By your husbands side, you train these children up in the way they should go, sharpening them like arrows, knowing one day you will launch your children out into the world, into the enemy’s heart. The world hates you because you submit to your husband's headship, desiring to see you submit instead to the state, an employer, and the lusts of your flesh. With a heart full of delight, you work hard in your home: laundry, meals, diapers, homeschool, dishes, exhausted most days, contending with a husband and children who are often ungrateful, all the while displaying a gentle and quiet spirit as one of Sarah’s children. The scars, the quiet submission, the perseverance, the pressure, the challenges of keeping your home, raising your children, and submitting to your husband….are all pressures meant to refine you like a lump of coal being squeezed and transformed into a beautiful jewel. Wives, you truly are a gift to your husbands, treasures meant to be cherished.
 Yet, because of indwelt sin, you will oftentimes be tempted to hate your role as wife. You will be tempted to resent your place in the home, toiling day after day, often with little to no recognition for all your hard work. Because of desires in your heart not yet brought into subjection to Christ, you may find yourselves longing for the “freedom” enjoyed by those who co-opt the management of their homes and the raising of their children. Wanting to submit instead to employers, the pressures of the culture, and the lusts of your flesh, you may at times find yourselves doubting God’s plan for you, envying the wayward women of the world, embracing a little dab of culture here, a little bit of rebellion there.
Husbands, though you know your wife is a precious jewel, and you know that you are to lay your life down for her the way Christ laid down His life for the Church, you often lay burdens on her that are meant for you alone to carry, forgetting that she is the weaker vessel. For instance, when you fail to apply swift corrective discipline to your children's foolishness, it is your wife who is left at home to deal with the ramifications. Not only can this lead your wife into resentment, it provokes your children to wrath. Additionally, as husbands leading your homes, Godly men, looking for avenues to serve Christ in all areas of life…..far too often we wind up neglecting the most important ministry God has put before us: loving our wives, encouraging our wives, teaching them from the Word, listening to their hearts, cares, and concerns. Men, we must learn to say no to things that interfere with our ministry to our wives, and by extension, our entire families. This means not only ministry opportunities, but also hobbies and other pursuits, anything that detracts from your ministry to your wife, rather than enhancing it.
Husbands, we must love our wives the way Christ loves His Bride and laid down His life for her. Show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. Young men, you will not find an excellent wife among the harlots and temptresses of this world. You must look to the daughters of our heavenly Father for wives fit to be called precious jewels. Wives, rejoice in your high calling: child of God, wife, and mother. Your place in the home is one of the most vital, rewarding, and precious callings to be blessed with. Respect your husband as head of the home, in gentle, quiet submission. Take heart wives, and have faith, knowing that your labors of love are not in vain. Young ladies, look first to the Word of God, and second to Godly women in the Church, for a picture of marriage which is sure to honor your Heavenly Father. Resist the temptation to take advice on relationships from your worldly wayward friends. Resist the temptation to take your dating cues from a culture completely bent on destroying your womanhood.
If you are able, please kneel as we cry out to our Heavenly Father for the forgiveness of sins, and grace to walk in the truth.
Heavenly Father, we come to You with our distractions, our weaknesses, and our sin. We come with the baggage of a culture that hates womanhood, wives, and mothers, and which loves weak men and boys who never grow up. We come to You only by the blood of Your Son Jesus. Father, as the men, women, boys, and girls of SKC, we cry out to you for mercy. Please forgive us men where we have sinned against You when failing to love our wives. Please forgive the wives for their rebellion against your created order. Please show grace to the young men, and young ladies, that they may grow into maturity being shaped by Your Word rather than the world around us. Father, please show us grace, that we might encourage one another, love one another, and bear one another's burdens as we trek through this life together in communion with You. It’s in the Name of Your Son Jesus that we pray, Amen.
 
 Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!

(From the 3/10/19 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

There has been a paradigm shift that has occurred and is occurring in the battle to end abortion.  I would summarize the focus of this shift to be about three primary aspect.   First, we have begun speaking the blunt and hard truths of what abortion is.  Instead of speaking of it as a healthcare issue or with euphemisms, we have begun to expose this murder for what it is in all its graphic and barbaric forms.  We have used graphic images and videos of abortion.  We have called it murder.  We have refused to talk about it as healthcare.

Two, we have refused to compromise with the slaughter of children.  There can be no compromise in any way with the intentional murder of children.  There are no exceptions.   This means that groups that pass bills compromising on the issue are being exposed as compromisers and are called to do what is right.  We do not support exceptions for rape, incest, or health issues.   Abortion is murder, period.  We don't support measures that regulate abortion or say its ok to murder your baby if the abortion doctor can't find a heartbeat that they really won't be looking to find.

Thirdly, we are acknowledge that there is no such thing as neutrality. You will either submit to and obey God or you will rebel against him.  The Supreme Court is not neutral nor are they God.  The paradigm shift is pushing the “prolife” movement to acknowledge that either Christ is our God or the Supreme Court is our God.   These three things, no neutrality, no compromise, and no flinching from the truth, are enabling those who battle this evil to do so with the power of God through faithfulness to him. This is having no small effect.   There are and have been many haters and many difficult battles to make this shift but God is working and will be glorified. We are seeing  because of this shift a change in the conversation nationwide even among those who are still operating under the old paradigm shift.   Even those who are pro-abortion are having to acknowledge that this shift is happening. 

This same paradigm shift must occur in the church’s battle with sexual immorality and the protection of the family.  We must realize that there is no such thing as neutrality.  The LGTB alphabet soup mafia does not believe in neutrality on this issue.  They want to eradicate any and all opposition to their views.  They readily acknowledge that they want to indoctrinate children and are doing so in the public library, public schools, and entertainment media.  We in the church must recognize that there is no neutral ground on this issue.  You will either celebrate this evil or you will hate it.  You will either bow to the Supreme Court on this issue or you will obey God.  We cannot give pretense to neutrality.  We must call men to repentance and faith in Christ on this issue. 

Secondly, we must recognize that compromise is unfaithfulness to our Lord.  Where we compromise on sexual immorality in our personal lives, families, or churches, we are being unfaithful to God and will find ourselves losing this battle.  Compromise on this issue starts with compromising on the distinction between male and female.  It starts with women usurping authority and men shirking authority. It starts with failing to raise our boys to be boys and our girls to be girls.  We teach our daughters to find their identities in their careers instead of preparing them to be the kind of young women Titus 2 says they should be.  We are compromising by ordaining women in the church or having them be the primary leaders of worship.   

Compromise happens when we fail to see how seriously the bible takes sexuality.  In the very first chapter of the Bible we learn that God made male and female.  All throughout scripture, we find that God takes sexual immorality very seriously.  Things like adultery, incest, sodomy, and bestiality are considered crimes in the bible and God destroys nations for tolerating them.  But we compromise by failing to take things like modesty, chaste speech, and what we entertain ourselves with seriously.   We compromise by our pretense to neutrality.  We do this by adopting a live and let live mentality.  We say “what you do in your own bedroom is none of my business.  Who am I to judge?”   But this filth is not staying in the bedroom and those who practice it are all too ready to judge.   We will either judge rightly or be judged.

Thirdly, and perhaps the hardest for us to to today, is that we are going to have to speak about this with the same blunt and forcefulness as we speak about abortion as murder.  Those supporting sexual immorality have spent years working to change the paradigm on the issue.  They have couched it all in terms of relationships and love.   In turn, many in the church have been put on the back foot.  We have started speaking about sodomy as something that just isn’t best for human flourishing.  I guess you could say that when God reigned down fire from the sky on Sodom that humans were not flourishing too well that day.  But we have began to soften the biblical and historical Christian witness against the sins.  We have seen this in terms of relationship instead of abomination.

We have also embraced the terminology of sexual orientation.  Many talk about same-sex attraction as if it is some neutral thing.  This terminology of sexual orientation is a useful tool for those pushing this sexual immorality.  To give one example, it has been used to try and distinguish between men who sleep with men and men who sleep with boys.  That is they have tried to argue that no gay man abuses boys.  The truth is that every time a man sexually abuses a boy, he is committing a same-sex sex act.  That is homosexuality at work.   But we have been taught that we can never make this connection.

The use of orientation language is often used to position those who commit sexual immorality as victims.  They are victims of something they never chose.  It is all God’s fault they are “gay”.   The hard truth is that these men and women who give into to sexual temptation are morally culpable.  They are not perpetual victims.  Even if some of these people have been victims of sexual abuse, they are responsible for how they respond to that abuse.  The “LGBT” movement has been good at painting themselves as victims in order to garner sympathy and support for their position.  

The sexually immoral have managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the culture and of the church. Our work is going to be the hard and difficult task of pulling that wool off and exposing this evil for what it truly is.  The bible commands us to expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness.  We are going to have to get over our addiction to being liked and being nice and speak the blunt truths of sexual immorality.  We are going to have to work to restore the shame to this evil.  We need to speak the hard truths of scripture and call these sins what they are, abomination, perversions, attacks on nature and nature’s God, filthy and disgusting sin worthy of death.  We are going to have to expose the truth about the connection between sodomy and child abuse.   We are going to have expose how sodomy destroys men’s bodies, minds, and souls. 

Why must we do this?

1.  We love God. And we want to be faithful to his word and his created order.
2. We love the church.  We don’t want to see the church compromise and be stained with impurity.  We don’t want it to lose its saltiness.  Nor do we want to see future generations of the church facing the consequences of our inaction.
3. We love our children.  We do not want to see them assaulted with lies and sexual perversion.  We don’t want to see them fall into the destructive patterns of these sins.  Nor do we want them to be a part of a nation that experiences the full wrath of God.
4.  We love our country.  God has placed us here and we are to be salt and light to it.  We want to see it fall on its knees before Christ and honor him in the culture and the laws it enacts.  We also don’t want to see it continued to be destroyed.  We don’t want to see God wipe it from the earth as he has done with other nations that have followed this path. 
5.  We love those who are caught in these sins.  We love those who practice these sins that destroy their minds, bodies, and souls and therefore we warn them truthfully, without compromise, and without neutrality.  For their sake we cannot pretend there is some neutral ground where God is not to be obeyed, where Christ is not king.  We cannot pretend as if the gospel cannot save them if they will humble themselves.   For their sake we don’t compromise letting them continue in their pride.  For their sake we speak the hard blunt truths that put the shame on what they are doing so that they may be humbled by the demands of God’s law and look to the only hope of forgiveness, Jesus Christ.  

It is love that demands we refuse neutrality, refuse compromise, and refuse to speak soft words of peace when there is no peace.   Love demands that we have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  Church its time for a paradigm shift. 

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

Toward the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis, we read that Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are crowned as kings and queens of Narnia. Though Aslan was THE KING, he saw fit to allow the others to rule alongside him, saying “Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen. Bear it well, Sons of Adam! Bear it well, Daughters of Eve!” Through his wisdom, walk, and ultimately his sacrifice, Aslan taught the 4 children how to rule with justice, honor, dignity, and sacrificial love. He waged war to defeat evil, set the White Witches captives free, establish peace in Narnia, and set Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy over Narnia to tend it, keep it, and do justice, as stewards, kings and queens.
Brothers and sisters, has this business not been laid at our feet? As children of the Most High God, servants of King Jesus, have we not been entrusted with the sacred, solemn task of opening our mouths for the mute, for the rights of the unfortunate? Have we not been called to judge righteously and to defend the rights of the afflicted and needy? Does not this counsel in the proverb today, from a mother to a son, apply to us, not just as good advice for Christian living, but as a charge directly to those God has chosen out of this world to take dominion and wage war as kings?
Revelation 1: 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The charge to vindicate the weak and the fatherless, to do justice to the afflicted and the destitute, to rescue the weak and the needy, and deliver them out of the hands of the wicked, is for us, as kings and priests of the Most High God by the blood of the Lamb, King Jesus. Every place upon which the soles of our feet tread, Jesus has said “Mine!”. There is no place, no stronghold, no idea, no dark corner, no philosophy, no sidewalk, no workplace, no carved out location on earth, or in your mind, where Jesus Christ does not command His people to “Go therefore”.  At Sovereign King Church, we are very good at seeing the dangers and pitfalls in the culture around us, and stepping into the fray as ambassadors for Christ. Whether it is at the abortion clinic pleading for the lives of the unborn, at the Jeffersonville Pride rally encouraging men and women to look unto Jesus, or in Thailand, providing much needed relief to impoverished folks lacking basic necessities, we faithfully go though many enemies sometimes rise up. We do not shrink back from these very grand, public, tangible areas of ministry. We are obedient to the praise and glory of King Jesus. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. But what about the places where no one is really looking? Are you fulfilling the charge of a king and priest of the Most High in your workplace? Your neighborhood? Among your lost family and friends? How about your mind? Do you take dominion over your thoughts, lusts, and passions? Are your affections and desires driven by Christ, or by your own insatiable lusts and desires? Has your desire for the next big battle led to the neglect of your kingly duties in your everyday, mundane life? Are you drawn to the big Super Bowl Sized ministry opportunities, to the neglect of those trapped in bondage sitting right next to you?
Brothers and sisters, where we serve King Jesus, as kings and priests, NEVER has to be an either/or proposition. However, because of sin, we sometimes fall into the trap of pursuing the next big thing, while neglecting the routine, everyday opportunities to take dominion, believing that bigger, grander, more exciting ministries have more eternal value and bang for the buck. Have you neglected the routine? Have you fallen into the trap of believing that bigger event means more glory for Christ, so you choose the bigger, to the neglect of the seemingly mundane? Let me ask: What ministry could be more fulfilling, more satisfying, and more glorifying to God, than to minister day after day, week after week, rejection after rejection, to that lost friend, coworker, family member, or person sitting next to you? Jesus came to set the captives free, to seek and save the lost, to proclaim freedom to those oppressed by sin and death. Proclaiming His blood shed for the remission of sins, and His resurrection from the dead, the gospel, is the most God Glorifying mission you can be a part of, and the field of battle is everywhere your foot treads. Let us not neglect this High Calling that we have been charged with. Let us not neglect those around us in our everyday who are trapped in bondage and going to hell. This is the true battlefield, is it not? Heaven or hell. Life or death. Children of wrath or children of the promise. Speaking on a personal level, I find it easier to street preach at a hostile event, than I do to preach the gospel to my coworkers. I find it easier to speak the truth on facebook, than I do to speak words of peace to my next door neighbor. I find it easier to fill up my personal calendar with visits to the nursing home, than I do to speak the truth to my own extended family who have shown an aversion to the truth. We are not called to a life of ease. We are called to follow Jesus, Who said that He came not to bring peace, but a sword. We are called to endure hardship as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our King! Let us kneel, if able, and repent where we have fallen short of His glory.
Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we are eternally grateful for your mercy towards us sinners. We are forever thankful that You have called us weak, sinful worms out of darkness into Your marvelous light. Father, we long to follow Your Son. Our hearts desire is to please You, yet we often go and do to the neglect of those going to hell all around us. Father, oftentimes we chose a grand path, which winds up being a path of ease meant to satisfy our conscience, to the neglect of the next door neighbor or coworker. Frequently, because we are cowards, we gravitate towards ministry which is comfortable for us, rather than trusting You and stepping into the Jordan, forgetting that wherever our feet tread, You are with us and will never leave us nor forsake us. Please forgive us for our sins against You. Please help us to have courage in our everyday lives. Please forgive us where we have shrunk back from conflict in our everyday lives, and chose paths free from warfare instead. It’s in the Name of Your precious Son Jesus that we pray, Amen.
 Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!

The word "tolerate" is used 4 times in the New American Standard Bible and all four times it is used in a negative light:

2 Corinthians 11:19 For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly.  (This is said sarcastically)
2 Corinthians 11:20 For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face.
Revelation 2:2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;
Revelation 2:20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
 
God in his word condemns those who think they are being wise, kind, and evening loving by accepting sinful and false teaching in their midst.  He commends those who do not tolerate evil.   Many in our culture talk all the time about tolerance but what they mean is exactly the thing that God condemns.  But there is one time in scripture that the word "tolerance" is used in a positive light:

Ephesians 4:1-3 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The KJV does not use the word "tolerance" but instead uses the word "forbearing." Matthew Henry says this about this passage:

 Forbearing one another in love signifies bearing their infirmities out of a principle of love, and so as not to cease to love them on the account of these. The best Christians have need to bear one with another, and to make the best one of another, to provoke one another's graces and not their passions. We find much in ourselves which it is hard to forgive ourselves; and therefore we must not think it much if we find that in others which we think hard to forgive them, and yet we must forgive them as we forgive ourselves.

We might call this forbearance true Christian tolerance.  This is a love that is displayed in humility and gentleness and patience.  This love overlooks the ways we can be tempted to take offense.   We live in a world where everyone is looking to be offended at all times.  To be offended is to be made a victim and to be a victim is to be powerful.  We are especially offended if someone disagrees with us.  True Christian love for our brothers and sisters however will not stop loving them even when they dare to disagree with us.  Now as was shown in the beginning, this is not a tolerating of evil.  Christians rightfully stand opposed to evil.  We rightfully correct and even rebuke each other when we fall into sin.  But Christian tolerance between brothers will overlook quirks of personalities or things that may cause offense.   Christian tolerance won’t nitpick each other to death but realize that every one of us is on a path of sanctification. 

True Christian tolerance will involve brothers being able to disagree and disagree vehemently.  It means being able to argue even passionately with a brother over truth and at the end of the day still maintain love.  The example of this is two young boys getting in a fist fight and then after getting up off the ground and dusting themselves off, they go fishing together.

Our world doesn’t know this Christian tolerance.  For them tolerance means we must accept all beliefs as valid.  We must ignore the fact that there is truth and accept all truths as valid.  Worldly tolerance is not about love in the face of real disagreement.  It won’t tolerate real disagreement.  Worldly tolerance will tolerate evil but not a battle for truth.  That’s why some of the most intolerant people are constantly talking about tolerance.

Christian forbearance though is between brothers and sisters in Christ.  It doesn’t sugarcoat real disagreement.   It doesn’t make truth relative.  It doesn’t affirm that all positions are equally valid.  Nor does it tolerate evil.  Instead it is love, the kind of love where two brothers can fight it out and still consider each other family. It will not nitpick to death but allow love to cover a multitude of sins.  But it also won't stand by idly and let a brother go down a path of destruction.  It will correct, reprove, and rebuke with the word of God.   

Will you tolerate your brothers enough to fight for the truth with love in humility, gentleness and patience?  Will you tolerate your brothers enough to patiently bear with things that you could take offense at?  Or will you be like the world and when the going gets tough, quit and take your ball home.  The Apostle Paul says this is work to be done with diligence so that the unity of the church will be preserved.