Spiritual Discernment: Recognizing Evil and Embracing Justice

Please listen. If you cannot see the devil's fingerprints in Western civilization, that was based on the Reformation, on a bit on the Bible, on the word of God, when the reformers took us back to it. If you cannot see his fingerprints, not only trying to destroy Western civilization but to impact the Church of Jesus Christ, you need to get some spiritual binoculars. [Applause]

Rabbi Jeffrey Sullen of Hollywood, Florida, spoke with utter sadness of his heart to what he sees as young Jewish people who succumbed to this moral madness, non-judgmentalism. He said, "I've heard Jewish young people tell me we have no right to judge the Nazis because they thought that what they were doing was right."

Beloved, the Bible from cover to cover tells us that we must call wrong wrong, evil evil, sin sin, wickedness wickedness. [Applause] Listen, whether that sin is in our lives or the lives of others, I condemn the sin in my life faster than I condemn any other person. The beauty of David's claim, this calm reasoning with the Lord, is this: it's not based on self-righteousness, not even the rightness of his cause, but was based on the character of God. Are you with me? The character of God.

In fact, David already approached God, and you see that in the beginning with confession. He says, "Protect me from falling into these sins." He confesses his sinfulness. So he doesn't begin the prayer with asking God to judge the wicked. No, no, he begins by asking God to keep him from being dragged into these wicked schemes.

I often use the words of John Wesley whenever I hear of a preacher falling or this happening, a preacher turning away from the faith. I often say the words of John Wesley: "But for the grace of God, there go I." David was always aware of his own propensity to sin. Now, if you're not aware of that, you need to do some work with God today. I, as your pastor, am aware of my propensity to sin. That's what David begins with—confession.

But please don't miss this. Don't miss this, okay? I plead with you, don't miss this. When David was praying for justice against the wicked, he was not just praying as a private citizen. He was praying as the ruler of his people. He was praying and assuming his rightful place as the ruler, as the leader of the nation, and as the ruler, he is responsible for executing justice, not mercy. Justice, not mercy. Mercy is what you and I exercise, but the government is called to exercise justice.

Over ten years ago, I can't remember, maybe 12 years ago, when I was called to jury duty, and then finally I got to the final thing, and the judge was asking me all sorts of questions: "Do you have friends in the police? Do you live...?" And so I said, "Look, let me tell you something. Everything I say is in writing. You and all of those who sit in those benches are not to exercise mercy; you need to exercise justice. That is what God calls the government to do."

I have never been called to jury duty again. I can see her writing something; whatever it was, I never got another summon. But David, I mean, even Romans 13, that people always rush to, Romans 13 is the government supposed to exercise justice. Please don't misunderstand what I'm going to tell you. The film is—I understand that these things because people have all kinds of views, and I don't care about views; I only care what the Scripture says, right?

Evil must never prosper, regardless of how we feel about the perpetrator of that evil. Did you get that? You're only repeat it? Okay, I will, I will, I will read it so I don't mess it up: Evil must never prosper, regardless of how we feel about the perpetrator of that evil. We must pray to God to frustrate the evil designs, the evil's plan.

I know there are some people who bind Satan and all that stuff, but listen, even in the book of Jude, the Archangel Michael said, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan." Always ask the Lord to do it; he's the only one who can.

Sadly, today in our culture, as we drift away from our biblical moorings, as we drift away from our godly moorings under the guise of compassion and tolerance, we let the criminals roam in the streets and care nothing for the true victims. We want to protect the civil rights of the wicked more than those who suffered from their wickedness. We care more about the rights of a child abuser than the abused children. That causes me to weep. It should cause us all to weep.

Cry upon God to do something. Cry to God to do something. Beloved, evil is evil, and wrong is wrong, and we need to pray that God will raise up godly leaders who would administer justice. [Applause]

Thank you. Confidently requesting, karma reasoning, cause for rejoicing. Look at verses six all the way to nine. You know, as I was writing last Tuesday, I was writing these words. I thought, "I'm the one who is confessing, but I think it applies to all of us." I think we're all very good at requesting. Hello, come on, we are all very good at requesting. We may even be good at reasoning, but very few of us, very few of us are thankful when the prayers are answered.

We don't stop long enough to thank him. Soon our exuberant emotion fades, and as time passes, well, yeah, but what did he do for me lately? Our gratitude diminishes as our memory grows fuzzy. I think all of us are familiar with the passage in Luke 17 when ten lepers wanted to be healed, crying to Jesus, and he heals all ten of them. Nine were Jewish, nine—I'm sorry, it's not flank math—nine were Jewish, the sons of the Covenant. One was a Gentile, a Samaritan, and only the Samaritan came back with the same intensity by which he was asking. He was thanking with the same intensity, with the same passion that he wanted to be healed.

He came back to give thanks, and Jesus asked, and you can see the pain in his voice, "Where are the other nine? Who are the other nine?" When they ten altogether, other than others, grateful and thankful is this Samaritan. Well, probably they felt the world owed them something, but not David. Not David.

Actually, he began praising and thanking God before he could see evidence to his answered prayers. Don't miss this; it's the last part of the psalm. Now, I can tell you truthfully, a number of years ago, I prayed for something for six years. Six years! For an impatient guy, that can only be the work of God in me. I would have given up long ago, but I prayed for six years. Nothing. I heard nothing, not even a sign.

You know, when Elijah was more in prayer this morning, read Bible reading, you know, he kept sending his servant to look in the sky, and he came back and said, "Well, there's a handful," he said, "of a cloud." And he said, "Great hand umbrellas by faith; at least we see a little bit." I had nothing. There was nothing. I examined my heart; I examined my motives. I ensured that my prayer was consistent with the word of God. I ensured that my prayer was consistent with the will of God as I knew it.

Why was my prayer not being answered? Finally, the Lord laid something on my heart: "Why not thank him now before the prayers are answered? Why don't you thank him for answered prayer before you see the evidence? Why wait until God answers? Why not exercise faith at the front end?"

Hello, it's easy to exercise faith at the back end, but when God does it, I exercise faith at the front end. So I began to thank God for answered prayers. But be careful; listen to the rest of this. And that prayer of thanksgiving for answered prayers went on for 18 months. Eighteen months! That's all I remember those things. As my wife said, "Do you forget anything?" Unfortunately not.

Eighteen months without a hint or a sign that my prayer is about to be answered. Oh, they were difficult 18 months. They were more difficult than the six years prior. The devil taunted me: "How can you thank God for something he hasn't even done yet? How can you thank God for answered prayer when you haven't seen any answers? Michael, you're losing your grip on reality."

But when my prayers finally were answered, when Satan proved to be a liar yet again, I praised God for enabling me to persevere, thanking him in faith. And that's why I'm testifying today, those many years later. All the time, and I'm testifying again.

Look at verses six and seven: "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song, I praise him."

Don't miss David's fully trusting in God, no matter what. Fully trusting in God before the prayers were answered. Fully trusting. It is like the liberals who say it, the theologians say, "Well, he wrote that first part, then when God answered his prayer, he wrote the second part." Imagine that! They don't want to believe that the man was walking by faith. Though everything to them is just secular, they deny the supernatural altogether.

Beloved, listen to me, please. The life that we're living right now is the life you live in today. Wherever you are in your circumstances today, we live it because of what God did for us yesterday, and we will be in a different place tomorrow because of what God is doing for us today.

You know why I'm saying this? I'm saying this because God is not trapped in time dimensions as we are. When he looks down, he sees the past, the present, and the future all in front of him, all of them accomplished. And that is why, like David, we need to fully trust him, even in the times of what appears to us to be his silence—his silence.

Look at verse seven: "My heart trusts"—that's in the past. "I have helped"—that's the present. "I will praise him"—it's in the future.

Coming toward the end, so don't let me lose you, okay? Just step back. Based on his own experience with God, David based on his knowledge of the character of God, not only in his own life but in the lives of Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and Isaac, as he knew the word of God, based on all of that, David's supplication turns into seeing God acting by faith. Can I get an amen?

I don't give you personal advice very often; I only tell you what the word of God says: "Thus says the Lord." But I want to tell you something of my personal experience, and I know his experience of many of you, but I still take responsibility for it, not blame anybody else.

Take it from this broken preacher. Next March will be 60 years since I've been walking with the Lord. I've been preaching for almost 52 years. After all these years that I've been walking with the Lord, I can tell you with absolute conviction and certainty that the life of gratitude, the life of thankfulness, is the secret to everything. Can I get an amen?

I'm telling you to trust. You can ask others; I know that's the same. I am absolutely convinced now, as I'm standing before you, that gratitude and thanksgiving—and I'm talking about a lifestyle of it, not just occasionally saying, "Thank you, God." No, no, I'm talking about a lifestyle of it. It's a secret to joy; it's the secret to a life of faith; it's the secret to God's blessings.

I know this is a sweeping statement; I know that. But please let me appeal to you to try it. Try it, please. Try it. Practice it. Live it. You will never be the same. You'll never be the same. You will be amazed.

I couldn't help but think of something valid many, many, many, many years ago, but particularly if you're projected in the light of the modern-day royal family in England, where the sense of entitlement—I mean, when I see that, I'm not watching this, but if I see it in the news, for five, ten minutes I've spent watching the news on my phone, I click it out. It's just so disgusting, their attitude of entitlement.

I cannot help but contrast that with something I read many years ago about Queen Victoria, the ancestor of this family. On her 50th anniversary on the throne, it was 1887. Just think about how long it took people to come by boats and ships from all over the world. They came from every state; there were kings, there were rulers, they were presidents, and people came from the Commonwealth because she is, after all, the emperor of the Commonwealth. They brought her gifts, expensive gifts, and none of it impacted her.

The only gift she asked for is for the head of the Madagascar delegation to sing her favorite song during the celebration. What was the Queen of England's favorite song, the song that caused her to weep when she hears it every time? What was that song that evoked tears from the Queen of England? It was the words of Augustus Toplady: "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee."

Actually, Toplady was a sickly man and suffered a great deal, but he heard a sermon from Psalm 28. God is our Rock, inspired him when he was hiding from a storm to write those words.