Daily Devotional for Monday September 18, 2006
The Drive to Make Homosexuality Mainstream
(Deuteronomy 28:7; 1 Timothy 1:18, 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:4; Ephesians 6:12)
Normally I would take several paragraphs to lay out a topic before giving you the bottom line, but today I am going to start with what this whole issue really boils down to, who wants it bad enough. Who is more motivated and willing to go the extra mile to present their beliefs to the masses and influence our culture. That answer should be obvious to everyone. Those who have chosen to commit the sin of homosexuality, those who have chosen to live their lives in rebellion to God are bold, aggressive, and tireless in their efforts to make the sin of homosexuality mainstream. If this was a football game, they would be winning 77-14!
Just in the last week, the all-out assault by the pro-homosexual forces has been before us in the marketplace. You have former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey parading around the country on every national media outlet promoting his new book detailing his desire to have sex with other men. He calmly and confidently explains to the mainstream masses his choice to live his life in complete rebellion to God while destroying his marriage, family, and the lives of many people around him. As I share with you often, sin always costs a huge price and sadly, it hurts many people. None of us sin in a vacuum.
False-hope merchant Oprah and others in the media have been fighting each other for the opportunity to expose McGreevey's disgusting story to the world. Of course, everything he says is unopposed and without challenge, so he actually sounds like a sympathetic figure while reinforcing in the minds of millions that this deviant form of sex is acceptable and perfectly normal. Instead of being seen as what he is, an unrepentant sinner who needs Jesus, he is promoted as some sort of hero for having the "courage" to openly flaunt his deviant choice of sex with other men.
Also in the last week, you had Wal-Mart asking to join the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a leading promoter of homosexual marriage. That is right, Wal-Mart! You can't get any more middle-America, mom, God, and apple pie than Wal-Mart. I have no doubt the deceased founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton, is spinning in his grave over what is happening to the company he founded. It is clear that Wal-Mart wants to be part of the mainstream culture and market their goods and services to the masses. So to appeal to our mainstream culture, they are reaching out to a very small segment of our society that is only differentiated by their choice to have deviant and perverted forms of sex.
To show you how mainstream homosexuality has become, you can simply go to many churches to hear this sin condoned and accepted. Rev. Betsy Singleton, "pastor" of the Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, preaches from her pulpit that gay marriage is perfectly okay. Not surprising, this "pastor" who makes a mockery of the work of God, also says that Jesus is NOT the only way to God. As I have shared with you, when you condone sin, the first thing you have to do is minimize the Bible for the Truth that it is. Once you reject the Truth of God's Word about a sin like homosexuality, it is easy to reject the actual words of Jesus who said HE is the ONLY way to God.
Don't think satan is playing for keeps? How about one of his great spokeswomen, Rosie O'Donnell? A while back I did a Devotional on this radical lesbian entertainer who is a huge advocate for gay rights and the abominable practice of gay adoption, being back on television. She is now on ABC TV's "The View." Last week, to the applause of the audience, which was very disturbing, she stated, "There is no difference between radical Islam and radical Christianity."
I would like to point out to Miss O'Donnell that the goal of radical Islam is to KILL all "infidels," or those who reject their false religion (including her). The goal of what she calls "radical Christianity" is to lead people to everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. One seeks to KILL LIFE, the other seeks to GIVE LIFE. The funny thing is that if Rosie lived in a Muslim nation she would be taken to the local soccer stadium and stoned to death for her deviant sexual lifestyle!
The "radical Christians" Rosie refers to, are those who have the audacity to stand up and call her out for the sin of homosexuality and work against her efforts to destroy the lives of children by letting homosexual couples adopt. On my TV program, whenever I deal with the sin of homosexuality, I am always attacked and labeled as "extreme," a "homophobe," "intolerant," narrow-minded," and often referred to as the same as the "Taliban." Those who promote this deviant form of sex know that in most cases they can silence those who confront them by intimidating them and bullying them. That is exactly what Rosie was attempting to do with her comments last week.
I've been telling you for over 7 years now, that when you tell the lie long enough and loud enough, people begin to believe the lie to be the truth, and the truth to be the lie. The fact is, the people who glorify and promote the sin of homosexuality simply are more committed to the work satan has given them to do than the followers of Christ are in the work He has called us to. Sadly, many of those who God has raised up in these last days have taken their gifts, talents, and resources to build their own kingdoms.
This week's cover story of Time is another sad expose on the wealth and excess in the church today. The key to this story is what I have been talking about for so many years now. Some of those who God has raised up have focused strictly on preaching to a small percentage (and getting smaller every day) of our society who already know Jesus as their Savior, since that is the people they can profit from through donations, selling resources, and public appearances. That is why over 95% of the people who watch them, go to their events, give them money, and buy their products, are already Believers! That is not an accident, since that is exactly who they target and reach out to!
So while they get fat, the masses outside the four walls of the church are left to the McGreeveys, the false "pastors," the Wal-Marts of the world who are out in the mainstream telling them homosexuality is a perfectly normal and acceptable lifestyle. Ever hear any of these powerful men and women of God stand in front of the cameras and call homosexuality sin? They don't even have the guts to it when they preach to the choir! They are too worried about "offending" people who might give them money or buy their products, or come to their events.
SO THE VERY PEOPLE GOD HAS CALLED FORTH TO CALL SIN WHAT IT IS, WON'T EVEN DO IT!
I love you and care about you so much. Let me ask you a question this morning. Do you care enough about the things of God to take a stand for Him? Those who hate God take a stand for satan every day. Many of them are tireless in their efforts to see the work of satan furthered. You don't have to be very astute to look at our culture and see that those who hate God are doing a much better job than those who love God.
We have a difficult time just doing the basics in our own personal lives each day. Things like reading the Bible, praying, and going to church are often not very high on our list of priorities each day. The point is, if we aren't even taking care of our own daily walk with the Lord, we certainly aren't doing much to serve Him and allow God to use our lives to make an impact for His Kingdom. In the meantime, those who serve satan are busy about the business of the enemy 24/7. Boldly, aggressively, and without shame or conscience, they faithfully serve their master satan day in and day out. The live their lives in total rebellion to God and do their best each day to influence others around them to live their lives in rebellion to God also. Those who serve satan do a much better job of influencing those around them for evil, than those who serve God do in influencing those around them for righteousness!
I pray that this word today will stir something inside you. The fact is, God has called and needs every one of His children serving Him every day. It, of course, starts with our own relationship with the Lord, but then extends to how we live our lives before others, while doing our best to influence the people in our lives for Christ and finding ways to serve the Lord.
Let me leave you with this Truth today. Whatever power satan has for this brief season is minimal. Those who know Christ as their Savior have the power of the Holy Spirit within them. Listen to me carefully. That is the power of God at your fingertips. The greatest and most awesome power in the universe. For us to be living in a culture dominated by evil, for us to be losing this war for the souls of men makes no sense. It simply boils down to the fact that those who serve satan are more motivated and committed than those who serve Jesus.
I will be praying for you today. Let God speak to your heart today about how He can use you. Make it your goal over these next few days to get motivated in serving the Lord. If the people of God got serious about serving Him, even a fraction as motivated as those who serve satan, we can see an immediate change in our culture. Sins like homosexuality will no longer be treated as acceptable and mainstream, but called what they are, rebellion to God!