WILL THE CHURCH FORGET?

Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments... If you by any means forget the Lord your God... I testify...that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord... (Deut 8:11-20 NKJV)

Dear Praying Friends,

The late Dr. D. James Kennedy (1930-2007) founding pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, FL, served as senior pastor for 47 years. He produced several worldwide ministries that have profoundly impacted the church and America. His daily radio and weekly TV programs live on through Truth in Action Ministries. On Memorial Day Sunday, 1997, Kennedy preached, "Will the Church Forget?"

The question I would ask today is, "Will the Church forget what you and a great many thousands of others fought for, and what some gave the last full measure of devotion to defend? Will the Church forget the principles upon which this nation was founded--principles of liberty, and not license; of godliness and piety and morality. This is what this nation was built upon. Will those things be forgotten? Alas, dear friends, I'm afraid that not only will the Church forget them, but to a large degree the Church has already forgotten them.

Don Wildmon, a gentleman who has done an amazing job with the American Family Association, wrote about a decade ago something I think is even more true today. He said this:

Today, 4,000 innocent precious lives of unborn babies were snuffed out... And 300,000 pulpits are silent... The networks make a mockery of Christians, the Christian faith and Christian values with nearly every show they air. Greed, materialism, violence, sexual immorality are standard fare. Program after program, movie after movie contains anti-Christian episodes and plots. News articles condescendingly refer to the "fundamentalists, right-wing Christians." Those who speak out for the sacredness of life are branded as extremists. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.

Teenage suicide is the highest it has ever be en [it's higher now than a decade ago]... Christian morality cannot be taught in schools, but atheistic immorality can... And 300,000 pulpits are silent.

Rape has increased 700 percent in the last fifty years, and that takes into consideration the population growth . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent.

Rock music fills the airwaves and our children's minds with music which legitimizes rape, murder, forced sex, sadomasochism, adultery, satanic worship, etc. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.

A majority of states now have lotteries [gambling has been legalized, no longer a crime]. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.

What important matters are being dealt with in our churches? The church bulletin says there will be a meeting to plan the church-wide supper. We are raising money for a new floor cover in the kitchen. (The old one doesn't match the new stove and refrigerator--we must deal with important things first. The sermon subject last Sunday was "How To Have a Positive Attitude." And best of all--we are organizing a softball team...

Recently, at a convention attended by people from all over the United States, the speaker asked this question: "Do your pastors speak out on the great issues of our day?" Though there were hundreds of people from churches all over the country of various denominations, not one that I saw raised his hand. "Are you satisfied about the way your pastors are addressing the great issues of our time?" Not one hand went up!

I would like to turn from this congregation to do something I have never done before. I would like to speak directly to the ministers who are watching me right now, and say to you, Brethren. Gentlemen, God needs men who will speak out on the issues of the day... We are literally seeing the end of Western Civilization... We are involved in a great conflict for the soul of this nation, for the soul of the world--and many are spectators on the side. Ah, dear one, Christ wants you to be a soldier for Him. Pray that God will fill you with intensity to do whatever you can, to become involved, to get out of the bleachers and onto the playing field and become a participant in the greatest struggle in the history of the world--a struggle for goodness, a struggle for godliness, a struggle of Christ against Satan. That is the battle we are in...

• "Father, we pray that you will have mercy upon us. O God, I pray that you will take this congregation and fill them with your Spirit, fill them with a passionate intensity for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, for the winning of souls and the up-building of this nation and this world according to your teachings. O God, deliver us from our craven silence. Make us soldiers of Christ. Deliver us from being lukewarm, lest Thou spewest us out of Thy mouth. I pray it in Thy name, O Christ. Amen."