Truth Decay | Student Pastor Zach Hammond

Going to get out your Bibles. Turn to Matthew chapter number 28 and verse number one. Thankful to be in the house of the Lord tonight. What a powerful powerful message that we heard this morning. Amen. >> If you are ministered to this morning, don't you let pastor know that by a hand clap. Powerful. Thank God for a pastor voice that will preach the truth. Amen. >> It's um it's it's such an honor. um to always stand before you. Um I many times doubt myself, but I never doubt the Lord. And I believe uh that he's given me a message for uh this evening. I'm I went to the office with all intentions staying there this afternoon and pivoting, changing a little bit after what pastor preached this morning because I found a lot of similarities and I thought, let's go maybe another direction. But the Lord would not allow that. And so I'm going to preach to you tonight what I believe the Lord has given us uh for this service because it's not just another service. >> You're here ordained. It's not just I just happen to be here on a Sunday night. You're here for such a time as this. in this moment, in this season. We all sit here differently, different seasons of life, different ages, but God has something for each and every one of us. Just quickly, if before we read, if I could just make a quick plug for next Sunday. Next Sunday, we've we've made a push to invite our neighbors. And um my friend is a friend of our families. We've become acquainted with him. pastor's been with him a couple times, but I've known him for a long time. Um, from from Porter, Texas, really, North Houston, if you really want to be specific of where you would know, is Brother Joel McCoy. He's going to be preaching next Sunday. And I know you may not know him, but just take my word for you're going to be blessed. You're going to be entertained. You're going to be laughing, but most of all, you're going to be ministered to. And so, make plans to be here. Be here. Bring your family. Bring your neighbor next week. And uh we believe God is going to do great great and mighty things. Tomorrow, if I could give honor to my wife, tomorrow is our 14th wedding anniversary. Man, I love her and honor her. Thank God that she puts up with me. I get to thinking, man, I've been married for 14 years. Might be why I'm starting to feel a little older. Saw brother Snitzer over here haggling. Brother Ericson for being in the trends setter choir. We're all get we're all getting older. All right. So, amen. I'm thankful that Easter Sunday has come and gone for many churches. I'm thankful for all the wonderful things that happened. But it's still Resurrection Sunday around here. Amen. >> It's still Resurrection Sunday around here. Amen. Easter is still still one of the greatest things. In fact, it says that Paul they they put him in prison and they were going to they were going to execute him, but they said we'll wait till after Easter. Well, Easter, it still delivered him. All it took was just a delay for something that was going to happen. Easter is something that can help you every single day of the week. there comes a a little bit of a angel shows up in this story and this is an amazing story but that's not one of the only times you see Easter in the Bible but Easter is still powerful for you today tomorrow the next day it can be uh just as as great for us but I I want to take you to what happens after the resurrection after the resurrection in Matthew 28 and1 and I just want to preach to you simply about truth is that Okay. Truth. Truth is a foundational thing. Everything that we preach around here, we try to navigate and put it all together so that you understand it's the whole Bible. We're not taking any little portion of scripture. Everything that we see, in fact, I'm not going to probably preach anything you've never heard before. Um, but every part of the Bible is is validating itself. In fact, I'll give you a little nugget for all of you that came to hear something you never heard before. There is uh uh the word scarlet in the Bible where everything that's in in the Bible that's used that is dyed to the color scarlet actually is the same word they use for worm because Psalms 20 he says I am but a worm. Same word is scarlet because the only way they could get the scarlet dye was to crush this worm and to dye the fabric or the wool or the cord for the day of atonement. the veil that stood before anything that was scarlet that you read in the Leviticus and everything, it was all died by this worm. It says, "I am but a worm." You said, "Why in the world would he call himself a worm?" Because this specific worm, the only way that it could reproduce was it was to crawl upon a tree and it would plant eggs or larvae or however you want to describe all those crazy things that happened. And those eggs would begin to eat on that worm and the worm would give itself for the life. It would die so that something else could live and it would leave a red residue of scarlet on that tree. They said that if you watch it take place, it takes about three days and that scarlet residue turns white and flakes off. Don't tell me the whole scripture and every single word doesn't make perfect sense and fall in perfect line with everything that he did, but specifically the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's the most believed fact in all of history. But Matthew 28 says, "The end of the Sabbath, as it began dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the supplr. And behold, there was a great earthquake, and the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was as lightning and raignment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. The ground shakes, the stone is rolled away. The angel is there sitting on the stone. And for fear, the guards play possum. Can you see the picture with me? They're laying there on the ground, got one eye closed, one eye open, acting like they're dead. God, help us that when the spirit of God starts moving, we don't play dead. Last thing we need is when the God starts moving and we start singing about shout out now that we have Pentecostal possums that just throw their head to the ground and just kind of maybe this is a good time to go to the bathroom. You know, I'll move on. Verse 11. Now when they were going, this is where it gets fun. Behold, some watch, some of the watch, that's the the guards, came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, tell this story. His disciples came by night, and stole him away while he we slept. And this and if this come to the governor's ear, we will persuade him and secure you. So they took the money and did as they were taught. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. You felt the ground shake. You saw one of the most powerful things in all of history. It was demonstrated right before your eyes. You saw the angel ascend, the stone roll, but for a sum of money, you'll tell a lie. So, I want to preach to you for just a few moments tonight on this topic. Truth decay. Truth decay. If you'd lay your Bibles down, lift your hands to heaven, and just ask God to speak to us tonight. Lord, we're thankful for your word. Lord, your word is forever settled in heaven. Lord, your word is what will be laid in the other side of that balance, Lord. Lord, that we will be judged by on that day where we stand before you, Lord. I pray that you would help us tonight, God. You would lead us and guide us as fathers, as mothers, Lord, as saints of the most high God, Lord, to live for you in this world that we are not of. Lord, I pray, God, that you would guide us and lead us, Lord. Lord, purge us of anything that's not like you, Lord. And we'll give you all the praise and all the glory in Jesus' name we pray. Somebody shout, "Amen." >> Amen. >> Amen. You may you may be seated tonight. Oxford dictionaries declare that post truth the international word of the year for 2016. Seems like for some of us that wasn't too long ago, but that was 10 10 years ago. It was defined as relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. Now, that's a lot. That's a lot there. But, um, this new post-truth normal was underscored in early 2017 when the Time magazine, Brother Nolan, could you bring me that frame? Time magazine created a cover for the second time in the history of Time magazine that did not have a face on the cover. I used this as a demonstration at a youth conference quite some time ago. And this hangs in my office as a reminder of what can happen simply in just a few decades. And that is this was the cover that was printed in 2016 when this po this this this idea of of of of truth was being um was being you know kind of tossed around. But this this magazine cover was April 8th of 1966. The first cover read this is God dead. same story that was told by the the paidoff possum crew >> was still a story in 1966. But when you fast forward to 2016, they would print another copy that is commemorative. And because when you believe that God is dead, >> you will then believe that truth is dead. >> And when you do not have a truth, when you do not have a belief that this is the infallible, forever settled word of God, >> you can hang everything else up. You won't fear him. You won't reverence him. You won't serve him. >> You got to believe this is true. It's the beginning of all things. If you do not believe that this scripture is true, we can't move on. We can't go anywhere else. >> So, we see here that this magazine cover is quite a reflection uh of what we see in in in kind of our world today. In fact, Dr. Green Leaf, the royal professor at the law of Harvard University, says there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than any other event in mankind's history. >> Oxford University says there is no one historical event that has better, more fuller evidence than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But if we can convince them that he's not alive, if there be no resurrection, then our preaching's in vain. >> Our worship's in vain. >> Our witness is in vain. It's it's Paul. He tells us, he says, if there if he's not alive, it's a quick downhill slope of not believing anything. If there's a place I can this work tonight. I want you to simply see this and I'm going to go slow to make sure that you can you can take in everything that we're going to try to walk through tonight. Because when you remove God, you remove truth. When you remove truth, you remove right and wrong. Hear me tonight. This is not just for young people. When you remove right and wrong, you remove conviction. The oughts and the ought nots become blurred. And when you remove that conviction, you remove morality. And when you remove morality, you remove separation. And when you remove separation biblically, you are given to a strong delusion. It all begins with just believing a lie. >> I've often said it and I will often repeat it that you don't have to be a liar to go to hell. You just have to believe one. Wow. >> You don't have I'm not doing this and I'm not doing that's all well and good, but if you believe something you scrolled through last week, it'll send you to hell just as much as smoking and drinking and being addicted and being sir. >> Some of us have things in our mind that will put us in a position that we are way more messed up than the person that's drunk on a bar stool. >> But we can we can hide those things much easier, right? Yes, >> we can filter those thoughts and make sure we don't say that around the wrong group of people or >> but it's a process. 2 Thessalonians 2 and10 and with all deceivable deceivleness and of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not a love notice the process a love of the truth that they might be saved. For this cause, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie. We in in our world today, if there's anything, it's not a new spirit, it's not a new devil, it's not anything different than they faced in the Garden of Eden. It was a lie. >> The problem is there's a whole lot more voices. You you were ministered to Wednesday night on the topic of voices. There's you have information overload. Everybody's got a mic. Everybody's got a platform. Everybody's got a podcast. Everybody's got a blog. Everybody's an influencer and got a page. >> And the problem with a lot of people is they're giving more voice. It's no different than you listening to the polluted music >> and expecting yourself to come in and feel comfortable in the presence of God. If you listen to foolish conversations and foolish thoughts and these ideologies and philosophies all day long and then you come in, you're like, I wonder what pastor thinks about this and I wonder what p you begin to question. He says, ' And you'll believe a lie that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, who had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks always to God. For you, brethren, beloved, of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth, where unto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. John 18:37 Pilate said, and it's it's correlating with our opening story. Art thou the king? Then Jesus answered said, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born. For this cause I came into this world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth >> heareth my voice." That's right. >> You say, "Well, I've not heard from God in a while." >> Truth's right here. >> I've noticed the more I read this, the more I hear him. >> I don't sit around with a bunch of folks over coffee singing kumbaya and expect God to speak through a donkey when I got his word right here. I don't need I don't mean any harm, but I I don't have to have a prophet in my ear to live for God on Monday. >> Why? He says, "If you love my word, if you read my word, all of a sudden something you you've said it before. I've talked to some of you said, "I'm reading the Bible through, Brother Claver, and all of a sudden, you told me this the other week. I'm reading things and I'm I've done this for years and I'm reading stuff and it's it's talking to me in a way it's never talked to me before." Why? Because when you read the word, you'll hear his voice. >> It's a It's the craziest thing. I could sit here and read scripture all night and something will resonate with you that won't resonate with you and something will resonate with you that won't resonate with you. What is that? That's the voice of God. >> It's God speaking. He said, "Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." And so Pilate saith unto him, "What is truth? >> It's where we're living today. >> What? What is truth? What is it?" And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and said unto him, I find no fault in no fault at all, but you have a custom that I should release unto you one at Passover. Will you therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? They cried. He said, they cried. They all again saying, "Not this man, but Barabbus." Now, Barabus was a robber. Jesus says, "I come to bear witness of this truth. Everybody that's of this truth will hear my voice." Pilate asked the question, "What is truth? I don't have any fault against him. I don't have any reason to crucify him. I can't find any reason to doubt him." From Harvard to kindergarten, they say, "He got up out of the grave. We can confirm this. There's no denying this. The seal was broken. The stone rolled away. Everybody saw it. Even the people that didn't really act like they wanted to see it saw it. And they bear witness of it because he walked among them. And all these things are true. But I don't have any reason to kill him, but your culture does. >> I can't find fault in him, but you have a culture. I I don't see any reason to kill this man, but you have a custom. You've got a cultural thing that you do that we're going to you get to choose. I guess the redeemer or the robber. You get to choose. >> You get to choose which one you're going to kill tonight. You can crucify him with flesh, aresh, or you can you you can you can live the way you want to live. Hear me this evening. No one has any reason to kill him. Never has, never will. >> There's no fault in him. There's still no fault in him. >> He's never done nothing but good. >> He's never let me down. He's been the most faithful father, the perfect friend. He's my redeemer. He's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. But tell I'm telling you tonight, culture will kill a good man. Culture will crucify >> because culture is still today choosing a lie over the truth. Jesus said, "Everyone that is of this truth needs to hear my voice tonight. I'm here tonight to get you to buy the truth like never before. And I want to convince you like never before, not sell it. It's not for sale. young people, parents, saints of God, no matter what season you're in, you're scrolling through stuff no generation's ever scrolled through. And I'm here to challenge you. Buy the truth and sell it not. >> There is a decay of truth in our world like never before. It's wearing a mask of tolery. >> It used to be simple. buy it or sell it, love it or hate it, this or that. Now, let's just both agree to disagree. Let's just just just understand that this is a topic we don't agree in and we can still be friends and we can still love one another and we're all going to heaven. Mankind once accepted truth on the basis of revelation, authority, and crazy enough, tradition. I don't have time to go into it, but there was a generation who accepted truth simply on tradition. Oh, it's farfetched, and I would even ruffle many feathers in this place tonight, but I got a lot of I told you so growing up. Because I said so. That's why. >> And guess what? I'm good. >> I made it. >> Huh? >> Yeah. Yeah. Isaac followed Abraham up the mountain. I didn't know what was going on, but because I said so, we're going to worship. >> Believe it or not, there was a generation who believed truth simply on tradition. They didn't have a revelation. They didn't have a burning bush. They didn't have a moment with God. God spoke to generations before them and we just lined up in it. >> And I'm all about you asking questions, but you better be asking for the right reason. >> Cuz if you're questioning God, you're wrong. You ought to be questioning yourself. >> Truth used to be something that was revelatory. It was built upon authority and tradition. Now human reasoning and this standard of truth is fluctuating like a bell curve. Influential thinkers have worked to kill God's role from generation to generation. Charles Darwin sought it through biology and my generation. Carl Marx attempted through history and Sigman Freud through psychology. And the list goes on and on and on and on. But years after years and deathbed after deathbed, these people seem to claim that it was just a theory. Well, that's all well and good, Mr. Darwin, but could we get that recorded and could we rewrite all those books? >> Can we take the legs off the fish for the people that's been polluted in their mind? >> Because those theories get real when you're breathing your last breath. God help us. Oh, I I understand. There's information, information, information. Just because somebody knows the Greek or the Hebrew and just because somebody can quote this or quote and just because it's old literature, don't make it right. >> They've been lying about the scripture since it was written. The world decided since we couldn't find a truth that involves faith and God's supernatural power that would make sense and fit our flesh that we'll just create a universal truth. >> There'll be no absolute if Darwin and Marx and Lenon and Stalin couldn't reason with it. We'll just go with the fact that there's no absolutes. You just live by what you see right in your own eyes. >> Perhaps worse than Darwin's theory of evolution against creation's creation and uh Freud's psychology, it's a thing called tolerance. It's not really standing for nothing. It's up for anything. >> Whatever. You know, it's not even rebellion. And that's the problem. And a lot of us are trying to deal with it. parenting and teaching and coaching and ministering and leading this generation is they don't really openly rebel. They're not going to openly be disrespectful. It's going to happen in chat rooms and DMs and behind closed doors and text threads. >> I'm preaching to you tonight. >> You really think this is true? >> You really think this happened? begin to question. It's in our culture. It's the undertoe. It'll carry you out to sea. Be in waters you were never meant to tread. I'm not going to love it, but I'm not going to hate it either. I don't know if I really want to buy it right now. I'll buy it when I get in college. I'll buy it when I get married. I'll buy into this thing and really live for God when I figure other things out and give it a try. I like it on Sundays, but you know, the world has a custom on Monday. World has a culture. I'm here to warn you this evening that tolerance of everybody's truth is worse than the rebellion of one. >> Say that again. Tolerance of everybody's truth is worse than the rebellion of one because we don't know how to identify it. It's like nailing jello to a wall. >> You're like water. You just take the path of least resistance. >> I catch you in this thing and you just flow over here. Be not conformed to this world, >> but be transformed by by the renewing of what? your mind. Why? Because your mind is where this truth ought to be. >> You are conformed whether you realize you're conformed or not, you are fitting the mold of this earthly flesh nasty world of sin. No matter if you've masked it with some standards and you mask it with some filters of how you talk and how you act around certain people if you don't have this truth inside of you. >> Tolerance can hide behind love and grace and mercy, compassion. Tolerance can sit comfortable on church pews. Everyone come as you are. We're not any denomination. We'll just you just come as you are, but you'll stay as you are, too. Cuz we're not going to preach any repentance, pastor. >> We're not dare going to put you in a place where you feel uncomfortable. God forbid conviction happen. >> However you want to serve him, however you want to interpret it. You determine your holiness separation. That's between you and God. We're not compromising. We're just trying to make people feel comfortable. And we've got this seeker friendly place. >> Tolerance is the spewing out of the last days. It's not hot. It's not cold. It's just lukewarm. As Revelation 3:16 says, tolerance says you can have whatever you want. 2 plus 2 can be five. It can be six. It can be 12. It doesn't matter. You just you just choose. There must be a right and there must be a wrong. There was never a lie until there was truth. noticed if you want to be a atheist, you got to steal from the word theist. >> There can't be a lie without truth. >> And your mere mention that I don't believe in God. You got to acknowledge him. >> There there's not an option. There's a knowledge of good and evil. You know how you get evil? There's got to be a good Right? >> That's why the tree, the forbidden, is all about this right here, cognitive capacity. You live at the capacity of your comprehension. There's no other way to live. I don't care how how athletic you are and how built you are physically. You can only do what you can cognitively do. Your capacity is right here between your ears. >> I've seen it too many times. Extremely athletic individuals can't participate in certain sports because they can't comprehend what you need them to do on the court. You live at the level of your capac your your comprehension. So as my comprehension increases, my capacity increases. You say, "What are you trying to say?" I'm telling you this. Let me give you a spiritual. I was baptized at the age of seven. >> All right? >> Why? Tradition. >> I didn't know why. For me, it was tradition. Yes. >> Daddy was baptized. Grandpa was baptized. Great grandpa was baptized. >> Guess what? I seen what it was doing. But as I've grown up, my comprehension of baptism is not the same it was at 7 years old. >> But boy, do I live at a different capacity of what happened to me when I went down in a watery grave at 7 years old at a little baptismal pool built out with stone. Brother Wely that my grandfather had built and my dad took me down in that water. Boy, it was just something I did out of submission and I was told that it was right. I didn't understand it. But I'm thank God that my capacity has grown with my comprehension because the truth, the more I buy it, the more I reap from it. The more I read it. I'm telling you, >> if you could gather this The American church is sadly falling prey to the idea that it is for unbelievers. It's not what Paul said. Paul said the church is for the perfecting of the saints. >> It's not to It's not for believers. It's for disciples. >> I I know I'm messing with you because everything you scroll through is a strategy. We got a seeker friendly church. People don't need to come in and see a church that looks like the world. That's not why they came to church. Seeker model churches are trying to orient their church to unbelievers. So the people in the pew begin to look more like culture than Christians. They they won't talk about what is tearing this generation apart. They won't talk about this or that cuz why? Oh, it may offend the people coming in. They know they're a part of it. >> We're not going to talk about transgender. We're not going to talk about this. We're not going to talk about that. We're not going to talk what, >> conviction, repentance. >> God help us. >> John 6 told us that Jesus was teaching and after the hard teaching, people walked away. his own disciples walked away. Guess what? He didn't say, "Hey, come back. I can preach it a little softer for you. I got some different convictions for y'all. >> We'll start another campus. >> It's a little more relaxed. You don't have to, you know, you don't have to put on your best. You can Huh." And many I've talked to, they act confused. Notice this. Lately, confusion has become the cover up for conviction. That's too confusing. Oh, is it? Because you can figure out all these other things. The truth is not confusing. You just want to keep running with the wrong crowd. It's not hard to understand. Your flesh is just somewhat hard-headed. I'm not smart. I'm just convicted. Oh, you h how do you I get questions from young minister text. How what what would you what would you what would you think about this? Or how do I preach or how do I do this? Or how do just have some conviction. >> Conviction will cause you to have some disciplines. Yes, >> conviction is a thing. You I love this truth. >> That's why I read it. The truth is not always fun though. It convicts us with repentance before it gives you a promise. That's how it happens. The first person person truth makes uncomfortable is always you. So why why would it why would it why would it not make the next person uncomfortable? That's what conviction is. It makes our flesh uncomfortable. Don't dodge the truth. It will make you uncomfortable before it makes you free. >> It'll make you uncomfortable long before it makes you free. >> It don't set you free. It's not the cage bird thing, you know. It's a molding and a making. It's a washing of the word. No one, hear me, no one is going to stand before God wishing they had heard less truth. I need the truth more than ever before. The doctrine is something we must cling to. It never gets old. I don't care if we get up and we preach on the oneness of God every service. Why? Because I love this truth. We need to know this book. We need to eat this book. I'm going to be weighed in the balance with this truth. That's every knee's going to bow. Every tongue is going to confess. >> He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. He is the way. >> He is the truth. >> And he is the life. >> He is the way which is the Pentecostal experience. >> The death, burial, and resurrection, repentance, baptism in Jesus name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. That is the way. There's not another way. There's not a back door. There's not a side door. >> It's the way. It's not multiple choice. >> It's the way. Repent. Peter said >> you must be born again >> of the water >> and of the spirit. It's the Pentecostal experience. That's the way. So, we shouldn't be lost. >> He said he is the truth. The truth is the apostolic doctrine. The doctrine of the apostles. >> The way is the Pentecostal experience. The truth is the apostolic doctrine that we are believe so strongly around here. And if he is the truth, we shouldn't be confused. >> And he is the life. You say, "What's the life?" It's a holiness lifestyle. >> It's the holiness lifestyle. And I ought to act like it. No matter what the world says, holiness is still right. >> Standards are still essential. Yes. >> Just because, hear me, I'm trying to stay slow so that you can gather this. Just because it's called unholy don't mean it's right either. Hear what I'm saying? Just because it's unholy doesn't mean it's right either. There are vessels that were just declared common that were not to be brought in either. So those are unholy vessels. Yeah, they don't get to come in. But they're vessels that were called common. You say, "What are you trying to say?" I'm saying, don't be one of those people that says, "I got to have Bible for everything." >> Why? Because there's things in this world today that the principles are there. The principles are there, but the standards need to be modernized to a generation >> that's dealing with things that Paul didn't deal with. >> You say, "Well, well, it didn't say it in here that that was unholy." Yeah, but there >> the vessels that were deemed common weren't unclean, but they were kept out of the temple. There's common things that aren't good for you. >> There's common things that can send you to hell. >> In fact, let me let me deviate a little bit. Numbers 16 and 26, he's speaking to the congregation. This is Moses speaking to Kora. Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest she be consumed in all their sins. Touching leads to being consumed. Touching leads to us being consumed. This is not your your your hands-on experience right here. Some of us are being consumed by what we scroll through, consumed by what we're looking at. It requires us to have a love for the truth. But the truth requires something called submission. Submission. Everybody say submission. >> We must submit to God's voice. We must submit to his word, which obviously go hand in hand. And we must submit to the man of God. It's not a way, a truth, a life. It's not multiple options. You need a voice, a singular voice, God's word. We need to submit to those things that represent the truth in our life. I love the truth. Thankful for the truth. Most colleges aren't educating anymore. They're indoctrinating. Church hadn't got political. Politics have gotten into morals. It's it's a thing where you have to understand and I hope my college students and future college students maybe some adults are in college. They can't get their basic biology right. Why? Because it's not about education. It's about indoctrination. They understand science confirms the creation. Again, you don't get science unless you have the creator. It's a confirmation of it's not two separate things. They work together. >> The facts are there. It's very easy to understand. You're not confused. >> You're just trying to indoctrinate a generation >> on something called tolerance. You can be whatever you want to be. You want to be a rabbit, you can be a rabbit. Oh, but you Yeah, that's that's this is a I'm telling you, you can watch it on forums. You can get the little things from the church leadership thing. Don't you talk about the furries. >> Don't talk about the furries. It's sad we're having to address the furries. >> God help us. But if you keep scrolling through that, guess what, brother Hammond? going to offend those people hopping around like rabbits. What in what are we talking about? >> Do we see Do we see they have on a tail or they got on I realize I'm going to get eat alive tonight, but it's going to be okay. It's going to be all right. I'm going to be all right. Okay. Don't feel sorry for me. >> Why? Because if we don't believe there is a there there is the truth. >> If there's not an absolute, we can go ahead and take this section right here. We might as well go ahead and put them out there because that's where we're going to end up. We are one. >> We're one print away. >> Yeah, >> that's right. >> If there's not if there's no truth, young people, I I I and it's not just the young people. I get so frustrated with the comment, man, this generation's different. Yeah, their parents must have been different. I'm I'm just telling you, I'm still baffled and I'm going to keep saying it. If you can go to heaven without a leg or an eye, >> you can go to heaven without an iPhone. >> Why we keep handing? Cuz then they get that phone. And I want you to tell they're scrolling through indoctrination. Say, "Please don't get on this. I'm telling you, just give me a minute. Huh? They're teaching, you know, where where in the world I could hear the I could hear this this morning when pastor said that that that we had to deal with some things that all there was there was a a group of you that were like, why? You'd be really shocked if you scrolled through what the algorithm's throwing to them because it's not throwing it to you. You're a fool. I'm I'm just telling you, we're we are fools if we're handing these things to them with nothing. >> Why? Because the world is just indoctrinating. They're teaching us. They're teaching those children. And they're teaching you, too. Because I know a lot of you are listening to it because I see you like it. >> I see your little heart up there, you know. And I don't know if you realize this or not, but the algorithm when we all follow each other, it throws it to my page because you liked it or you reposted or you watched the whole stinking thing. It baffles my mind that we have people that are against the truth and we got people in this church or in our organization or that believe the truth that are following false doctrine and the spirit of Jezebel and all these things on the internet and they're following them and giving them their time. Our movement is the reason a lot of them exist because we want to get on there and see what's going on. They're teach they're indoctrinating. They're scrolling through. They're teaching they're teaching that Israel is an oppressor. >> Huh? >> You know why? Because Israel, I tried to explain this to our students. Israel is a trigger word right now. It's a hot word. It means anybody that can get on and give a hot take. That's more money. >> It don't have to be true. It's the same thing that happened to those guards. Hey, I'll give you money to say that he isn't there. >> I'll give you money to say you'd never saw him get up. >> It's the same thing. It's the algorithm. Hey, the more clicks and the more follows, I'll just I'll say anything. I'll say anything. >> That's right. borders are bad and capitalism is worse than communism and Christianity is all about control. >> You put this in their hands and oh how true it is that he alone who owns the youth gains the future. >> You know who owns the youth right now? God help us. God help us. The more I talk to some, they're so open-minded their brains have fell out of their head. Bishop GA Mangan told classmate one time, I'll never forget it. He said, "Son, I appreciate your digging. I appreciate your academia, your your your attempt to understand, but he said, 'You're going to dig yourself straight to hell." Because if you're digging to try to find fault, if you're digging to try to find a loophole, if you're digging with your flesh in mind, >> God help us. >> I just see a lot of people that can't discern between what is right and what is wrong on the internet. And I'm challenging you. You need to take some time. The older generation called it spitting out the bones. Let me just put it for you this way. The internet is more of a boneyard. Very little meat. Truth decay is like tooth decay. The wrong diet can cause both that don't happen overnight, but it's a slow process. What you are consuming is ultimately going to determine how you see and experience life and whether or not you see and experience heaven. It's a slow decay. We must examine our daily consumption. Is the Bible a part of that? What is it that you're wanting to stop doing? What is it that you're wanting to give up on? Why are you feeling anxious and depressed? Why are you lacking faith? Why do you not have a desire for the things of God? Because you're listening and you're consuming things that are not promoting that. The devil's depicted as a snake. A snake don't have ears. He just does a lot of talking. Always be careful of people that all they do is talk and never listen. Consuming too much. I'm going to move through this quickly as I know I'm running out of time. The internet has housed 18.1 million text messages, 188 million emails, and 4.5 million YouTube videos. In 2020,2020, God knows what that number is at now. Our phones are now encyclopedias, libraries, universities. For some reason, more information is not bringing more wisdom. Statistics show that smart phones are producing dumb people. scrolling from a movie to a photo from a friend's vacation to an article on an abortion, followed by a podcast promoting a short preaching clip, two selfies, a half-dressed female, two puppy dogs, and the daily viral Tik Tok, an obituary followed by an outlandish baby reveal to the new trend of parenting where you just yell the name Jessica. I guess none of you have seen that. Don't worry, young people didn't tell me about it. My mom did. She said, she said, "People says it works." I'm like, "It won't work in this house. Everybody is male that needs to be yelled at." Okay. sports scores and love stories, worship music to today's trends and this is happening. The internet has no limitations. Competing for clicks based upon money will tell whatever story we have to tell as long as you'll pay. Eating too much and taking in consuming too much this diet that we have and we're taking it in too much and too fast. If you don't respond to your friends within 20 minutes, you might jeopardize your friendship. If you are any sort of leader, have any kind of responsibility, you don't weigh in on some social media outrage or what's going on the day, you might lose your leadership status. You know, I've told many recently, if it's only important today, it's not important. Pace is called no crit cause no critical thinking. That's why viral fake news has become a term and conspiracy theories are increasingly becoming the norm. And because speed creates errors, but no one cares as long as it creates the craze and the clicks. The fast-paced internet creates these massive holes for you just to assume and you to fill in the gaps because they know that's what you're going to do anyways. Questioning becomes the norm. We just want it to fit how you feel. Leads to the third major problem where you begin to only consume what makes you feel good. create a profile and over just the course of a few weeks you begin to see that it's the things that you are talking about, thinking about, looking at that show up more and more and more because you can find an article, you can find a blog, you can find a page and a friend who will partner with you to defend your version of truth. More data, less clarity, more distraction and less stillness. More opinion with less research. More to look at but less to see. More amusement with less joy. Our eyes are strained. Our brains overstimulated. Our souls are weary. And our minds are anxious. We've got so much knowledge that I believe one of the main issues that we are fighting is that we are thinking or we are persuaded into the idea that we have outsmarted conviction. No one can tell you anything. You know everything. You used to respond to the call of God. You used to respond to the preaching of the word. You used to respond to the spirit of God. But you've got so much knowledge and you've got so much information that you've outsmarted what used to convict you. There are emotions that you're feeling that are the same emotions that are described by the heroes in your Bible. The difference is is they took them to prayer and they took them before God. They didn't take them onto a comment section of some Facebook thread. We should be reaching for the spirit of God and the word of God. And yet we reach for more information to try to find a antidote for our obsession. In the last days, perilous time shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful and unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heavy, hide heavy, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and leave lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lust. Verse seven, ever learning, >> never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. False doctrine today is a lot of what we're scrolling through. Cannot allow just anything to be true. You lose your faith. You're tossed to and fro by any wind of doctrine. The scary thing about this postmodern movement and the statistics is that they are characterizing the American Christian. tell the truth about our own lives. We're honest with ourselves. Some of us need to really take inventory tonight of what we're taking in. If the word tells us it'd be better for us to remove physical things, God, help us that we remove things that are just so unnecessary. If you would for just a moment, I I'm going to try to bring this to a close, but I feel I feel so heavy to make sure I communicate it. Would you just raise your hands and just ask the Lord to speak to you in the next few moments? Feel the presence of the Lord in this place tonight. Come on, lift up your voice for just a moment. Mighty God. >> Mighty God. >> Mighty God. >> Church. I'm going to go back to our opening text to close here in just a moment. Some of us have been in this for some time now. Some of you still new to this. The truth is such a powerful thing that our belief in this truth is what should bring us together. That is what community or culture is. It is a collective conscience of right and wrong. What brings people together is a collective conscience. It don't take long that if you show up at somebody's house and they're doing things that you think are wrong, you're not going to keep going back to their house. >> Right? >> There was a collective conscience in my home growing up. There was a collective conscience at at other people's homes. There was certain rules that again they weren't necessarily nothing that you know that were it was in the Bible but it was just things that like you didn't go in the room and close the door. >> There wasn't a set of rules on the wall when you walked in and said, "Hey, we make sure that we follow these things in the Hammond house or this house or that house when it went over to a friend's house." It was just a collective conscience. Right and wrong. That's what creates a body or a congregation or a culture. A lot of people don't want to call that culture anymore because it requires a right and wrong. They want a culture of just feel good. The problem with that is I would rather have righteous division than unrighteous unity. I would rather have righteous division >> than unrighteous unity. God help the spirit that creeps into your mind. >> God help the feeling that says, "I got more in common with those folks on the ball field. I got I feel more at home with those folks out at >> from the workplace or the they I I've heard it time and they don't even believe like we believe, but they sure I sure do have a good time with them. And you know, they got they got they got better convictions than some of the folks that No, no, no, no, no, no, no. God help us. We are in this world. God, help us that we distance oursel from the people of the way, the truth, and the life because, well, they just aren't doing this or their kids are this or their there's going to there's going to be division no matter where you go. There's going to be a more conservative or a more liber. It doesn't matter how conservative the crowd is. There's always going to be a left and a right. There's always going to be that you have a personal prevalence. Why? Because we're all unique and we're all different. But God, help us that we unify ourselves in what we know is the truth. We have to unify ourselves. Parents, young people, >> hold ourselves accountable >> to right and wrong. >> It's the truth. It's the truth. If you're the only one in the text feed >> that's willing to speak up, it's still the truth. It doesn't matter if the whole world's against you, it's still the truth. Don't believe a lie and be damned in this passage we read in our opening text. I've read over this a number of times. The soldiers, they acted like they were asleep. The bottom line is they did not do their job. Pilate had instructed multiple times to make it as sure as you can. He upped the security. He bound it with cords and sealed it with that Roman seal. Did everything he could to make sure that if that stone moves, he comes out. I've done all I can do. It's almost like Pilate had a little bit more of a idea something was going to happen than maybe even some of his followers. He said, "You better make it as sure as you can. I've heard this guy talking about the words on the streets that destroy this three this temple in three days. I'm going to raise it up." He says, "You're going to make it sure as you can." But these guys, they failed. They couldn't stop it. Of course, we all know they couldn't stop it if they wanted to stop it. But when they failed, this is what I want to point out to you. They should have went to Pilate. >> But instead of going to Pilate, they said, "Um, you know, the body's gone. We didn't do our job." And according to Acts 12 with Peter with with Peter and and and Paul there in Acts I'm sorry Acts 16 and Acts 12 Peter and Paul when when you failed to guard you you got killed. >> They failed to guard Jesus's tomb. Instead they went to the chief priest. They didn't report to Pilate their superior officer. They reported to the Jewish chief priest. They knew the Jewish officers had their same motive >> to cover up this miracle between the chief priests, the elders, and the soldiers. They put together a story of the ages. So I ask you tonight, when you've done something wrong, where do you turn? Because it will define where your truth is at. I I want to ask you that as you stand to your feet tonight. When you've messed up, >> something wrong. >> When you've done something wrong. We We've all done something wrong. We've all done something wrong this week. Let's be honest. >> Where do you turn to if it's the truth? If he is the way, we turn to him. Right? When when we've we've failed, when we've done wrong, we want to turn to a solution. That is merely the only thing that keeps the person from being right with God and unrighteous or in in in a place that you never intended to be. Why? Because you just turned to the wrong person. You turned to the wrong place when you messed up. >> So what happens when you failed? You want to find somebody that will coddle your condition >> rather than somebody that will convict you >> because your flesh don't want to be uncomfortable >> tonight. I can feel it. I I know. I can feel it. Tense up. I can feel some of you. It's like here he goes. He's going to talk about cell phones again. Going to talk about social media. How many hours a day do we spend on that thing? >> We're just not going to talk about it. Cuz it's it's obvious that many of us in our world today is turning to that as a solution when it feels an emotion. And and it's it's no it's no different than the Garden of Eden. You believe a lie and you eat of something. And the the the problem there is you go and hide. You go and hide and you sew together fig leaves and you why? Because when you when you mess up, you just want to keep hiding. You want to keep hiding. You want to keep hiding. You don't want to go to the person that's going to convict you that can help you. I I just want to stir us up a little bit tonight >> that every single person, yes, our young people, I understand that. But every generation, what are what are we consuming? What are we taking in because I've got to believe the truth. So they took the money and they did as they were taught. And the saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Many of us have believed the subtle lies of the enemy and we put the risen savior back in the grave. The Messiah has become a man or perhaps a myth to some. Most of all, he's missing from your life. So, don't believe the lie of the enemy. Don't believe the lie of the enemy. Before we bow our heads and before we pray tonight, I just want to take you to one last story and I won't even go and read the full story for sake of time tonight. I apologize for my lengthiness. It's the forbidden fruit of Eve. It's Cain lying about Abel. It's Abraham's one trip down to Egypt that forever changes a lot of things. This is not my wife. It's my sister. It's a bloody coat for Jacob. It's Gahhesi's leprosy. That lie that happened in the Garden of Eden seems to keep showing up. But it brings us to Acts chapter 12 where two very famous people sadly are remembered because Ananas and Safh lied to the Holy Ghost. Oh God. And I know it's blunt. I know it's straightforward. But they lied and they died. That lie is the conception of sin >> and the beginning of everything. Why? Because the li the lie is based upon truth, knowledge of good and evil. It's the it is the basis of him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not. It's the definition of sin. How spiritually dead we would be. As dead as Ananas and Safh were physically, we are spiritually dead tonight. If we sit in our pew and just lie to the Holy Ghost, I'm okay. I'm fine where I'm at. No, not one, not this man that stands before you tonight, not one single person bring breathing the breath of God tonight doesn't need to take inventory of their life. Doesn't matter what we do in this place. Doesn't matter how we we've got to be honest with ourselves about God. I want to make sure my mind is pure. I want to make sure I'm not being polluted by the things of this world. I want to make sure that I'm not believing something that has a any any ounce of falsehood in it, God. >> Oh God, purge me, God. Lord, of the mindsets of this world. God, cleanse me, God, of anything that this world's tried to pollute my mind with. Oh God, I don't want anything, oh God, Lord, to be between you and I. Oh God, come on church. Could we have a have a moment of consecration individually tonight? Come on. A moment where we submit to God. Come on, submit to God. Oh God, Lord, I want my mind to be right. God, Lord, I want my mind to be stayed on you, God. Lord, I want the truth, oh God, to be stronger in my family, oh God. Come on, let's come on. That's it. Come on. As pastor preached this morning, Jesse, go to the sacrifice. Mom, go to the sacrifice. Come on, take inventory. There might be some things we need to remove. There might be some things we need to get rid of. Lord, I want to be holy. I don't want to be upright before. Lord, let us be a bride without spot, without blemish. Lord, wash us, oh God. Wash us, oh God. Come on, that's it, church. I'm asking you to pray. Come on, search your hearts. Search our hearts tonight. Purge us, oh God. Lord, show us. If there be anything, Lord, show us, oh God. Show us, oh God. Come on, young people. Come on, young people. Be honest with yourself tonight. Come on, be honest with yourself this evening. Come on, mom. Be honest with yourself this evening. Oh, God, help us. Come on. It's family Sunday. I'm asking you to find your family. If you don't have family here, find the family of God and yoke up with somebody for the next few moments. Oh God, help us. God, help us to be the priest of our home. Lord, help me to raise a standard for my family. Lord, help me. Oh God, Come on. Let the presence of God move upon you tonight. Let him stir you up. Oh God, let those tears flow from your eyes. Come on. Consecration and conviction brings out an emotion. God, I want to be right. Oh God, I want to be right. Oh, by the truth tonight. by the truth tonight. Oh yes. Oh my goodness. Heat. Heat. I love Jesus. Oh, we love you Jesus. Jesus, we love you. Jesus, we love you. Jesus, we love you tonight. Church, church family, if I can. Brother Nolan, if you want to get pastor a mic, he can close us out. daughter if he already has one. I if I could just say one last thing and pastor can he can fix anything I've said tonight. I just I know I've already been too long, but I I'm I'm asking I'm begging. I know a lot of really really good parents in this place that are dealing with things with their students that is not a reflection of them. >> It's a reflection of this. I hear it. I know. I hear it. I get the I get the, you know, slight comments. Your boys, you you don't know what it's like. You don't have Yeah. I won't know what it's like cuz they won't have them. But some of you, the entitlement, the disrespect, the lack of awe and reverence, the numb look that you get in their eyes when pastor's up here pouring his heart out trying to close a sermon this morning. You could feel the spirit of God so thick. I felt like I standed before the and I look across and I see young people in the back just it's not reflective of their parents cuz their parents are up here weeping. You know what it's reflective of this. I don't know how else to tell you. I'm not an author but I wrote a book. I've tried every way I know to try. Say how does that get in good young men's mind? And how does it good in young good that they would say such a thing? They're scrolling through it. And I've we've tried to make an app list. We've tried to do they don't need it. And I know every young person is hating me right now. >> I understand that. >> But here's the here's the thing we run into. We got a few parents that'll stand strong and a few that won't. So, what happens is one kid shows up and slides over in a booth and they can all watch it together cuz one kid's got it, another kid don't. I'm just being real with you. The collective conscience ought to be and I'm not just talking about Tik Tok and Snapchat. I'm talking about Instagram, Facebook, >> YouTube. It is not healthy. >> No, sir. >> It ought to be monitored if it happens at all. >> There's way other things that you could be doing with your time, your talent, and your treasure. >> Than to be scrolling through that stuff. >> You don't get the keys to a car until you're 16. >> You ought not have access to the whole world before then. Yes. >> At some point at some point over here, the theater is Hollywood's birthing center. It's an atmosphere. It's terrible. We've had a standard. So, we don't do those things. At some point, we can't just let this generation go. I I just feel so burdened with it. >> I keep getting calls. I keep getting calls and I'm just I It's frustrating. I get it's frustrating to parents, but you're going to have to stop it. Turn it all off. Delete it all. >> They don't have to have it and they don't need it. And later on in life, they'll look back and realize, man, the older I get, the smarter my parents seem. >> But it also requires the parents to have some limitations and some standards on their own because you can't take it off their phone and you sit at dinner scrolling through yours. >> It's going to have to change. >> Yes. If we want to see this generation >> make a turn towards God, >> we want them to be greater than us. >> We want them to be better. That's the point, right? That's the prog. We We don't need a generation and the and all of the statistics, the newest thing that just come out. It was just at Congress and they were just making a full pledge with a a whole group of them saying this is the And I I love all you young people. They're saying that this is the dumbest generation ever been raised. Everything plateaued in 2010 and all of a sudden cognitive all the things that are supposed to be happening that each generation has gotten smarter due to education all the way up into 2010 all of a sudden it plateaued and now they are seeing the decline faster than ever before. Why? There's only one thing. has anything to do with the size of the screen either. You got to take you got to take into consideration what you're consuming >> because we can be we can be physically out of Egypt but still have Egypt in our pocket. I I'm just asking you one more time, would you pray with me that you would carefully go to God in prayer and as they did in the Old Testament that I would raise the standard for my own home. Every father would raise a standard. God help us. God help us. God help us. Lord, give every father the courage, the wisdom. Give every mother the wisdom and the courage. Come on, our young people are worth it. Come on, our young people are worth it. Come on, daddy. Come on, mama. Lift up your voice for another moment before we're dismissed. Help us Lord. Help us God. Lord help us God as parents and grandparents. God Lord help us oh God. Help us, Lord. Lord, lead us and guide us and give us wisdom. Lord, you said if any man lack wisdom, let him ask. And Lord, we're asking as parents and grandparents tonight. Come on, Jesse. Come on, Miss Jesse. We're asking for wisdom. We're asking for guidance. Oh, we're asking. We're asking. We're asking. were asking, "Brother Hammond, you were not you were too long of a message according to a leotysa culture, but it wasn't too long." According to an apostolic church, wasn't too long. I had the same anointing. I had the same anointing on me this morning. I couldn't quit. And please don't judge us too quickly until you've been in our shoes. When it just pours through you and pours through you and pours through you. I got through preaching this morning, got over in the corner with several families in the church and went back at it again because it just pouring just pouring out. My daughter Fallon met me today with tears in the office and I didn't know what she was saying at first. She said, "Daddy, thank you for loving us enough to preach to us the truth." Said, "Daddy, thank you for preaching to your your your granddaughter. Thank you, Daddy. Brother Hammond, thank you, Brother Hammond, for Thank you for loving us enough. And I'll just say this. I I've got a plethora of text messages today from saints of God saying, "Pastor, thank you for preaching." But I didn't only get text messages from saints of God. I got text messages from people that are here that are not even born again of water and spirit that text and said many great things, but the main thing was, "Wow, what a message today. What a message. What a message. What a message." First Apostolic, God loves you enough to put the brakes on on a Sunday morning and a Sunday night and say, "All right, just stop for a minute. I know we can shout good. I know all that. I appreciate it if all of you show back up Wednesday night. Jesse, make sure you get your kids here Wednesday night. Miss Jesse, make sure you get your kids. Make sure you get your kids here Wednesday night. And I'm going to close with this verse. The ministry here at the church can tell you how to be baptized. We can tell you the promises of God. Well, just let me read it to you. We can tell you to repent. That's that's what we're to do. We can tell you to be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus. That's what we're called to tell you to do. We can tell you about the promise of the Holy Ghost.