Hey, I admit it—we cover some news on this show that can get downright depressing sometimes.  Our country turning its back on God more each day; political leaders who seem to lack any principles or good judgment; so-called Christians looking to blend Islam and Christianity.  It could be easy to get down and depressed about all that is going on.  Except for one thing—we know God’s nature and His end plan.  His Word clearly tells us He will vanquish evil and the faithful will inherit eternal life with Him.

It’s important we look at suffering in a new, different light these days.  As humans, we are so self-centered most of the time.  And as Christians we sometimes think life should always be seashells and balloons.  Time to take a look at 1 Peter, Chapter 4:

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange is happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.”

As things become more challenging for true Christians, our suffering might well increase.  We may face discrimination, poverty, even persecution.  We will be hated because the world hates Jesus.  When that happens, will we be joyful?  Or will we resent God?  

If we resent God for the trials we face for His name, imagine just how foolish we will feel when He returns and we stand before Him.  When His glory is revealed to the whole world, will we have remained faithful?  Or will we jump ship because of the trials we faced?

The apostles counted it as joy when they suffered persecution for the gospel.  Will we?  Will we remain true and faithful when the world calls us foolish and persecutes us for our faith?

The end is drawing near.  Time for all true Christians to strengthen our faith.  No way better to do that than to be in God’s Word and see how the story ends—with Jesus returning triumphantly to vanquish evil and save the righteous.  For those of us who persevere, what a glorious day it will be!  For those who do not, what a day of great sadness.

So, we put on the full armor of God and stand strong on His promises.  He is God and is incapable of not doing what He promises.  All He asks is for us to really believe in Him—in good times and in bad.  The reward that awaits the faithful is beyond human description or understanding.  Let’s focus on that and remain strong in Him.

I’m Mike LeMay, standing up for the truth… 

You know, deception would be easy to spot if it wore a neon sign that said “False teachings here”.  Unfortunately, satan is far too clever for that.  Instead, as scripture says, he often appears as an angel of light—with words that sound good but lead to lies and destruction.

Satan tempted Eve with what sounded like something good—eat the fruit and your eyes will be open.  He even tempted Jesus using scripture.  He told Jesus that if He bowed down and worshipped him, he would give Jesus all the earthly kingdoms.  How did Jesus respond to satan’s lies and temptations?  By quoting the Word of God!

Well last weekend in Manitowoc, satan was at it again.  A local church and an organization called “Light on the Lakeshore” brought in a Christian band to attract Christians, and then presented a speaker who is a pastor that endorses homosexual marriage and promotes the homosexual lifestyle as acceptable within Christianity.  A couple brave Christians saw the deception and spoke out against it—turning down an opportunity to advance their singing careers by standing strong on God’s Word.

Well, this organization that calls itself “Light on the Lakeshore” appears to actually be full of darkness.  The true “light on the Lakeshore” were these brave Christian musicians who stood strong for their faith, turning down an opportunity for self-advancement by standing on their biblical principles.

As deception increases in these latter days, many of us will be confronted with opportunities to either give in to the world—or stand firm on God’s Word.  Will we have the courage and wisdom to stand up?  Or will we go along with the world to increase our personal popularity?

I received several emails and calls over the past couple days about the fact that a local Christian radio station promoted this event.  And my response is this:  Be careful about casting stones.  None of us is above being deceived by a crafty enemy who comes disguised as an angel of light.  It is nearly impossible to find the time to thoroughly check out every speaker, band or event.  Trust me, I know!  We spend countless hours here in our roles as watchmen, trying to get as much information as we can about speakers and events within the Christian community.  But I cannot promise that we will never let one unintentionally slip by us.

This event shows the need for all Christians to become Watchmen on the Wall.  The deceptions and numbers of wolves in sheep’s clothing is increasing at an alarming rate.  Unless we immerse ourselves in the Word of God, pray for the discernment of the Holy Spirit, and speak out when we see false teachings and deception, many will be deceived.

I got a phone call from a listener last week.  She told me she really loves the show but that the topics we cover scare her sometimes.  Well, there are a lot of scary false teachings out there these days.  And maybe the church needs a shock to the system to wake us up and see the lies that are being passed off as truth these days.

Pastors, ministry leaders, Christian business leaders—become watchmen for those you lead.  We’ve been given the privilege of leadership by God.  With that privilege, comes great responsibility.  If you want the privileges and blessings of leadership without accepting the responsibilities, you are not fit for leadership.  The stakes are too high for leaders to sit this one out!

I’m Mike LeMay, standing up for the truth…

In Matthew 13:45, Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he sold everything he had and bought it.  Everything this merchant owned was worth that one pearl—so he gave it all up so he might have it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that parable lately.  Am I willing to pay the price—everything—to acquire that priceless pearl—eternal life with God?  Now we know that our salvation cannot be earned—that only our faith in Jesus allows us to receive it.  But even though it is a free gift, there is a price we pay to have it.  We must be willing to forsake all we have—our wealth, our desires and even sometimes our friends.  But too often we live straddling this fine line—one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the world.

Now pardon the football analogy, but hey I’m a guy.  In college football if a receiver keeps only one foot inbounds when he catches a pass, it is a completion.  But once he graduates to the NFL, the rules change.  He must maintain possession of the football with both feet inbounds for a legal catch.

So, are you playing by college or NFL rules?  Are you trying to live a worldly life and add in a little of God’s teachings?  Or have you chosen to walk away from everything this world stands for and live completely in God’s Kingdom and by His rules?   

Solomon, the wisest of all men, wrote at the end of Ecclesiastes:  “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Father God, that your Word would become that great, priceless pearl of our lives.  Lord give us the wisdom to turn our backs on everything this world offers to obtain that great pearl and treasure it.  Give us a desire to know and love you and hide your Word in our hearts.  Lead us in the way of the everlasting, no matter what it costs us in this lifetime.

Dave Wager talked yesterday about how so many teachings and opinions these days are a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Some are mixing teachings from the bible, Islam, the business world and other sources so much that there is no distinct message or flavor in the message any more.

We see this happening in politics as candidates often abandon their core principles to find that elusive middle ground where they will appeal to the largest number of voters.  Values seem to have taken a back seat to delivering a mushy message that will win elections.

Now, perhaps we should expect no more from most of our politicians.  While there are certainly some who have remained principled, most have sold out and seem only interested in gaining and holding power.

But shouldn’t we expect more from the church?  If some leaders are willing to compromise the truth of God’s Word for the sake of finding common ground with Islam, just where does that lead us?  It leads us to apostasy and heresy.  And sadly, that seems to be where some are headed.

The next two days we will take an in depth look at the movement called Chrislam—the attempt to find common ground between the Word of God and a false religion that worships a false god.  The ultimate path where this leads is a major step toward a false one world religion foretold in the bible.  It also has huge implications for God’s chosen people—the Jews.  See, this movement toward Chrislam is as much political as it is religious.  It attempts to undermine God’s edict that brought the Jews back to Israel in 1948.  Once mainstream Christianity combines and cooperates with Islam, it is lights out for Israel.  The world will unite politically and religiously to rise against Israel and destroy her.

Now we know that ultimately, but after much suffering and death, God will save Israel.  And the stage will be set for the return of Jesus Christ to condemn the wicked and rule for eternity.  God clearly warns us that those who oppose Israel in these final days will be dealt with harshly.  And our government is increasingly opposing Israel.  But now it seems even the church in America is positioning to align with Islam and come against Israel through religious and political movements like Chrislam.

If you are not studying God’s Word and seeking His voice every day, please start now!  Don’t think for one moment you are above being deceived by satan.  As Jesus said the path to eternal life is narrow and few find it.  And deceptions in these last days will be great and powerful.  Without the anchor of God’s Word and truth, many who call him “lord” will spend an eternity separated from Him.

Deception is everywhere these days for Christians.  There are the blatant attacks on the Word and truth of God through movements like Chrislam, The Emergent Church and Social Justice organizations.  And there is a growing movement to lull Christians into beliefs of humanism, collective salvation and even universalism which accepts all gods as equally valid. 

The only way to stand strong and combat these false movements is to really know the Word of God and hide it in our hearts.  As times get more challenging, pressure will increase on Christians to be more tolerant of these views.  Those of us who do not will be branded as hateful and close minded.

But there is an equally dangerous deception that satan is promoting these days—lulling Christians into a lukewarm faith.  For those of you who have ever boxed or understand boxing, the analogy is this:  usually before trying to land a knockout punch on the opponent, a boxer will spend a lot of time softening up the opponent with body blows to the midsection, trying to weaken the opponent’s resolve and leg strength—the boxer’s foundation.  Once this has been accomplished, the opponent is weakened and susceptible to the knockout punch that defeats him.

Well, the body of Christ is taking blows to the body at an increasing number these days.  We are becoming soft in how we live out our faith.  Too often our faith is just something we put on Sunday morning for church—and the rest of the week we act no differently from the rest of the world.  We are increasingly ignorant of God’s Word and what is expected of us as disciples of Jesus Christ.  It’s like we say the sinners’ prayer and think we’re good to go.  But there is much more to following Jesus than just saying a prayer for salvation.

There is turning away from the world, hating all it stands for.  There is loving God more than anything this world has to offer—wealth, power or prestige.  We are called to become holy.

The Body of Christ is being weakened by many body blows these days and many of us are being set up for a great knockout punch when things turn really bad.   When our financial future and security are threatened and we are forced to conform to the world, will we give in?  Or will we stand strong on our Christian faith, regardless of the consequences?

The strongest part of a fighter’s body is the legs and midsection—his very foundation.  If these become weak, he is susceptible to the knockout punch.  Our foundation is the Word of God and the pursuit of holiness in our lives.  If we do not build ourselves up on these foundations, we will be in jeopardy when the enemy goes for his knockout punch.  If you think you have nothing to worry about, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:  “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

The great final battle for the souls of men is coming soon.  Are you in training, building up your foundation?  Are you ready?

In Ecclesiastes 1:9 Solomon wrote:  “What has been will be again; what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

How very true, especially when it comes to false teachings and false prophets.  The Apostle Paul continually warned new Christians about dangerous false teachings by the Judaizers and Gnostics.  Wherever the absolute truth of God is, the enemy is there to sew seeds of deception with lies and half-truths.

Jesus warned that in the final days many would be deceived by false teachers and prophets.  The delusion would be so great that even the elect might be deceived.  He asked: “When the Son of man returns, will He find faith on the earth?”

Well, while the false teaching of Chrislam may be nothing new under the sun, it is very dangerous.  Maybe I’m just too simple of a man, but what can these Christian leaders be thinking of when they seek to find common ground with a religion that denies Jesus Christ as the Son of God?   To be in agreement and spiritual communion with people who worship a false god? 

I think it points to two things:  First, as we’ve discussed, we have become biblically illiterate as a church.  Too often, we look to clever writings by Christian leaders or the world, instead of immersing ourselves in the Word of God.  Second, we live at a time when everything man has built seems to be falling apart.  War and uprising in the Middle East; economic instability in the United States; decaying moral values.  We are so desperate for peace and tranquility that we will do anything to achieve it—even ignoring the Word of God.

But the Word and truth of God can not be ignored—it will have its way!  And there is nothing man can do to change what God says will happen.  The world is headed into its final days before our Lord returns to judge the wicked and save the faithful.  The titanic is sinking.  And our job is to be God’s workers to rescue as many as are willing to get off the sinking ship.

Movements like universalism, collective salvation and Chrislam want to save the world and usher in peace and harmony.  And their message is a lie—a message that says man can accomplish these things—humanism.

Our only defense against the lies and false teaching is the Word of God.  If you have not yet become a student of God’s Word, I suggest you become one immediately.  The deception of the enemy will only get stronger—and without the anchor of God’s Word and truth, we are in deep--and eternal-- trouble.

It has always been said that when we get together with friends or family, the two subjects you should never discuss are religion and politics.  These issues lead to passionate discussion and often heated disagreements, causing rifts between friends and family.

And of course with today’s movement to relative truth—you know, your truth is different from my truth—people seem unwilling to tackle and discuss controversial issues for fear of offending someone.  So as Christians, what should our roles be on these controversial issues?

Let’s start with politics.  The number of problems facing us as Americans is staggering!  We are on the verge of economic bankruptcy that could all but destroy our country.  On issues of morality like abortion and gay marriage, the country is also bitterly divided.  Every day it seems there is another political scandal and many Americans have lost all faith in politics and Washington D.C. 

As Christians we need to be informed and involved in the political process.  We need to stand for principles that are biblical and keep our nation firmly on the Judeo-Christian values upon which we were established.  But we must not cross the line over to where we look at politics as our hope and salvation as a people. 

So what about religion?  Well it seems Christians are less and less likely to share their faith with friends and family these days.  Maybe we are afraid we will offend someone or lose a friendship.  Or maybe we’re just ashamed of the gospel.  No matter what our excuse, we need to understand this:  it is our duty as followers of Jesus Christ to share the gospel message with everyone we meet.  The world is rapidly becoming a more evil place.  If Jesus returned today, millions, even billions of people would be condemned to eternal damnation.  Shouldn’t that bother us as Christians? 

If we are afraid to share our faith and hope with friends and family, what does that say about our faith?  More important, what does Jesus say about it? 

Luke 9:26:  “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father.”

Yet, we seem more passionate about politics and the economy than we do about the Word of God.  Just what does that say about where our heart is?  And our love of God? 

First, a big thank you to Dave Wager for sitting in for me the past few days.  I am always amazed at Dave’s ability to take issues we face these days and tie them in with God’s Word to show how there really is nothing new under the sun. 

It was fascinating to listen to Stand Up For the Truth these past couple days as a listener instead of the show host.  As I listened as one of the audience, a couple things stood out to me.

First, we seem to be in a state of malaise as a church in America these days.  We seem more concerned with how the Word of God can improve our lives instead of seeking a deeper intimacy with God by really hiding His Word in our hearts.  It’s like we lives our lives and occasionally check in to see what God has to say—and usually only when we are in trouble.  Maybe one day we will come to understand that God’s Word is the only solution to our issues and problems.  Instead of first trying to figure things out with our human wisdom, and turning to God when that fails—hopefully we will develop the wisdom to turn immediately to Him for the answers we seek.

Second, just how impactful and important this show is.  Not because of the hosts, but because of the real star of the show—the Word of God.  The church has become filled with too many biblically illiterate Christians.  We go through life thinking an hour a week at church and an occasional peek at the Word of God will suffice.  We listen to others give their opinions on God’s Word but take so little time to read it ourselves and seek God’s intimate message for us.  A message of hope; a message of peace; a message of love; and a message of stern warning.  A warning of just how easy even the elect can fall into deception if we are not anchored in God’s Word.

When we started this show, we didn’t worry about the number of listeners or the finances needed—we just decided to obey God’s calling to do this show and leave the results in His hands.  And as usual, he has been faithful.  But tuning in as a listener these past couple days has really encouraged and challenged me.  It has given me a deeper appreciation for the wonderful blessing God has given us to share in His work in these final days.  It has stoked my passion even more, to boldly stand on His Word as false teachings and deception take hold. 

If Stand Up For the Truth has been a blessing to you, I ask you to do something about it—tell your friends to tune in.  Not because the hosts are anything special, but because in these days it is crucial that Christians wake up to what is happening and go to the Word of God as the anchor of truth in their lives.  Big storms are headed our way, and without the anchor of God’s truth, many will be carried away and lost forever.

It took a couple of days away from the microphone for me to fully appreciate what God is doing with this show.  I hope you have been blessed as much as I was these past couple days listening.

In Luke 10:2 Jesus states:  “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.  Go!  I am sending you out like lambs among wolves”

Sheep among wolves---not a very comforting thought is it?  We are sent out into a world that hates Jesus and will subsequently hate us.  And our only protection is from our loving shepherd who promises He will be with us.

Our mandate as Christians is to make disciples for Jesus.  And Christians around the world are doing that—standing up against persecution and the threat of death—to proclaim the gospel.  Yet here in America, we seem to be stuck in neutral.  In Pakistan, Christians are being imprisoned for giving out bibles.  Here, we do not even approach our neighbors or family because we fear being rejected or seen as weird.  Just what does that say of our faith and commitment to Jesus?

In China, underground Christian churches meet at the risk of imprisonment or death.  Here in America, some of our churches do surveys to find out what will draw unbelievers into our churches—because we want them to feel welcomed and comfortable.  In Acts Chapter 2, we learn about the first church.  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings, prayer and the breaking of bread.  They praised God privately and publicly.  And the LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBERS DAILY!  

Why do a dwindling number of self-professed born again believers believe the bible is absolute truth?  Why is the divorce rate among Christians just as high as the world?  Maybe because we are applying our earthly wisdom and methods to try to attract people to our churches.  We are playing down the message of repentance and sin—and the results seem to indicate we have become the lukewarm church of Laodicea.  Are we relying on schemes of man instead of the power of the Holy Spirit to add to our numbers in church?

In Luke 9, Jesus states whoever is ashamed of me and my words, I will be ashamed of them when I return in glory.   Are we so ashamed of Jesus’ message that we fear sharing it with friends and family out of fear of rejection?  While Christians in Pakistan, Egypt, China and around the world are being imprisoned or put to death for sharing the gospel, we remain silent for fear of rejection.  Are we in the American church ashamed of Jesus’ words?  Our lips may say no, but our actions say yes.

Harold Camping is a sad person we should pity.  It’s one thing to be wrong; it is quite another to show arrogance in disavowing the Word of God.  In Camping’s situation, he has shown dangerous arrogance in predicting something Jesus clearly said we could never know—the exact day of His return.

And the fallout from Camping’s arrogance could be far reaching.  The FCC, in its thirst for greater power and control, did not need a new excuse to look at ways to gain more control over a free media.  With their call for “diversity boards’, localization legislation and the so called Fairness Doctrine, the FCC has been knocking at the door the past decade looking for an excuse to exercise greater control of media.  And Camping just might have given them the excuse they wanted. 

Look for calls from the FCC and Congress to investigate Camping, charging that he violated the public’s trust.  You know, there is a strange irony in the Federal Government accusing anyone of misusing the public trust--the same Federal Government that has us almost 15 trillion dollars in debt.

Camping’s arrogance and carelessness might indeed usher in new FCC controls that could have negative impacts on religious radio and media as a whole.  But I see nothing that would indicate that Camping did anything illegal—unless stupidity and arrogance have now become federal offenses.

Harold Camping is a very sad, prideful man.  He claims to be a Christian teacher, yet he clearly predicted something that no Christian has the right to predict.  And the people who gave all their money to support him have only themselves to blame. 

But that is not how things work in America these days.  If someone is harmed, even through their own bad decisions, someone else must be at fault.  So, look for lawsuits to be filed; Congress to investigate; and the FCC to offer to jump in and protect the public’s interest.

But the real damage done by Harold Camping is this:  There are millions of lost people in the world who need the hope of Jesus Christ.  And one day Jesus will return to judge and condemn the wicked.  Camping and others who act in arrogance make the task of reaching the lost a little more difficult.  But even in this, there could be a Romans 8:28 moment.  Perhaps one of the reasons we have been ineffective in reaching the lost is we rely on our own skills and talents, instead of totally relying on the Holy Spirit to lead us and speak through us.  Perhaps there is a little Harold Camping in each of us—trying to do something only God can do.

I don’t know the exact date when Jesus will return.  But Jesus did say we could know the season if we stayed in God’s Word and observed the times.  Well, I truly believe we are in the season of time when Jesus could return any day—and there are neighbors, family and friends who do not know him.  The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  It’s time for us as disciples of Jesus Christ to get serious about the Great Commission.  Pray for the wisdom, power and discernment of God’s Holy Spirit so we might become effective witnesses for Jesus.  He is returning—maybe very soon—and it is our duty as His disciples to share His message of salvation with the world that hates Him and us more with each passing day.