A SIGN OF THE TIMES

     Thank you and a pleasant good morning to each one in our
listening audience today.  Your presence in this radio audience is an
encouragement to me. It is my constant prayer that the lessons and
material which is presented from Sunday to Sunday in this time slot
are helpful to each listener. If you are benefited, please tell
someone else about the program, that they too, might be helped. If
you feel that we have taught error, please call our attention to it.
May I assure you, if I you point out something wherein error has been
taught, I will be the first one to make the correction. You will be
my friend for having pointed it out. It is my hearts's desire to be
right in God's sight, and that can only come by being true to His
Revealed truth, the Word of God, the Bible as we now know it.
     Now to our thoughts of the morning. There was an article in the
Beaumont Enterprise of Saturday, February 7, entitled "Hard-core
Hymns." It was under the major heading of "Faith and Values." The
article begins, and we quote, "The lead singer sported a shaved head,
goatee and pierced ears as he bounded around the stage in baggy
shorts and incited the crowd of teens to dance with abandon. And
dance they did. Doing the pogo, bodysurfing and shanking their
hearts out. A scene from Lollapalooza? A concert at an alternative
music night club. Nope. This mosh pit was in church. Alternative
Christian bands The Insyderz and Fold Zandura appeared Sunday night
at Calvary Baptist Church, where more that 300 teenagers transformed
the sanctuary into a concert hall."
     My listening audience, is this the kind of worship and devotion
that our Lord expects out of His creatures?  Can you picture the Son
of God with shaved head and goatee, adorned with short baggy pants,
inciting those present to dance with abandonment? Is that the picture
that you see of the crucified Savior of mankind? Is that the
impression that God's Word leaves with one who will open the pages
and use just a little bit of the common sense that the Lord has
bestowed upon each one of us?  I cannot imagine our Lord doing the
pogo, or bodysurfing, or shanking.
     What is the pogo? According to this article in the Beaumont
Enterprise, The pogo is "Punk rock dance that involves jumping up and
down."  And what is "Shanking"? Shanking is "A ska dance that
resembles the jitterbug or Charleston played in fast forward." And,
what is "Bodysurfing"? Bodysurfing is "A grunge-inspired fad where
participants run up to the front of the stage to leap off backward
into the crowd and be carried hand to hand over the audience." All of
these definitions found in the article we are quoting from. Can you
in your wildest imagination picture Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Savior, running up on a stage and falling off backward into the crowd
to be carried hand to hand over the audience?  Evidently, someone has
been reading a different Bible that the one that I have come to know
and love. Or, is it possible that those who practice such things no
longer have a desire to do "all things according to the pattern shown
them," as stated by the apostle Paul in Hebrews 8:4-6?
     In fact, the newspaper article quotes one of the participants as
saying, "It's a ministry method that doesn't just bang the Bible over
your head." Does that tell us something? It suggest to me that those
who practice these actions do not wish the Bible to be brought into
the discussion. And why is that?  Very simply, because there is
nothing even remotely resembling the "Pogo," the "Shanking," the
"Bodysurfing," found upon the pages of Holy Writ. The truth of the
matter is that God's Word very clearly condemns the modern dance as
sinful. That is another full lesson that needs teaching upon. Perhaps
in the near future we will discuss what the Bible says about the
modern dance as we now see it. Obviously, if I do something that is
condemned by the Bible, I do not wish to be banged over the head with
the Bible.
     What is the design or purpose of this type of service in the
sanctuary of this Church in Beaumont. I once again quote from the
newspaper article. "Jeff Payne, youth minister at Calvary Baptist
Church, said that since starting the weekly 'Sunday Night Live'
program in October, the numbers of teens attending the concerts have
increased from 12 to more than 100. We have a lot of young local
bands, such as The Calrissian All Stars, and touring bands play here
and almost all of the music is alternative because that's what the
kinds want, Payne said." In answer to the question, "And what about
the ear-blasting volume level and moshing in the church?," Payne
responded, "I believe culturally, we have to speak the language of
our kids."
     Did you hear and grasp what this "youth minister" said? He said
we are doing this because this is what the kids want and like. I
wonder if he has ever stopped to consider, "What does God like?" Has
man reached the state that we no longer have the desire to do what we
do in order to be pleasing unto Jehovah? Are we to be guided in our
religious actions by "what kids want"?  Does the religious world no
longer desire to determine "What God wants"?  Another was quoted as
saying, "It's really great because this is the kind of music that we
like."
     My listening audience, are we at liberty to bring just anything
into the worship and service of Jehovah that "we like"? Is that the
criteria for determining what is to be done in service to our God. I
like it so it must be all right. That sounds incredible close to the
doctrine of materialism that states, "If it feels good, do it." What
I like or what you like has never been the standard of judgment as to
what is pleasing unto the Lord. How are we to determine what is
pleasing unto Jehovah?  Only by allowing Him to tell us of what He
approves. And that comes through the study and application of His
Word.
     Suppose these 15 and 16 year olds came to their parents and
said, "I do not like school, I believe I will no longer attend." What
do you think parents would say, at least most parents. No doubt they
would say, "I am not really impressed with what you like, you are
going to school." And yet, churches are allowing 15 and 16 year olds
to dictate what is being done with the trite explanation, "This is
what teen-agers like."  But, is this what "teen-agers" need? I have
never read anything that differentiates between an adult and a teen-
ager in regard to worship or service to our God. There is nothing
that says, Here is what adults do to serve God, and here is what
teen-agers do to serve God. When a person reaches the age of
responsibility and commits sin, the same thing is needed by all. And
that is the salvation that comes through the blood of the Son of God
as we obey Him. Teen-agers and adults alike have the responsibility
to pattern their lives after the example of Jesus Christ.
     Another young person was quoted as saying, "Give the people a
show, and if they get something out of it that can help their lived
in some, that's cool." Did you hear that?  Give them a show!! Put on
a circus. Appeal to the fleshly appetite of man. Stir up their
emotions with performers. Entertain the audience. My friends, Jesus
Christ did not die upon the cruel cross of calvary in order for us to
be entertained, in order for us to be given a "show."  The religious
world no longer has a concept of God that is HOLY. Man's concept of
God today has become too casual. Many have developed that "BUDDY-
BUDDY" concept. And as a result of this type of thinking, God has
been brought down to man's level; rather that attempting to lift man
up to God's level.
     Another quotation from the same article, "Sure we sign
autographs, but we talk to the kids and try to invest in their
future. "A lot of them come with problems, and they never would have
come into a church except for the fact that there was a concert
here." Why did they attend this service?  Because there was a
concert. But, then, this shouldn't surprise us too much, for you see
the adult world has been trying this approach for years. The
religious world has for years been using hamburgers and coffee to
entice people to visit with them. Look around us and you will see
churches with their "Family Centers," their "Fellowship halls," all
with the intent to provide fleshly and carnal activities to draw
others to them, or to keep their members with them. The trouble is
that when a hamburger is used to convert someone, it is not long
before they expect "beefsteak."  And, if something "new" is not
offered to them, they become weak and often fall by the wayside.
     Another quotation from the article says, "Since the rebellion
factor is part of what makes musicians appealing to teens, listening
to alternative Christian music allows young people to be good
Christian kids and rebels at the same time."  Once again, I ask, did
you hear that??? I have never thought of a child of God as being a
"rebel."  In fact, the very opposite is demanded of God's children.
The Child of God is to be submissive; obedient. One cannot serve God
without being obedient and submissive to the Will of the Lord. This
concept of being a rebel is as foreign to the Word of God as daylight
is to dark; the north pole from the south pole. In the book we call
the Bible (and, I guess I am banging your head with the Bible), God
has always demanded of mankind that we have faith; and yet, faith
come through the hearing of the Word of God. Listen to Romans 10:17:
"Faith cometh hearing and hearing by the word of God." Hebrews 11:6,
says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that
cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of
them that seek after Him."
     I realize that I am not saying things that are popular with the
masses around us. In fact, this lesson has been very critical of this
modern day practice. But, my friends, unless we are motivated by
faith to do what we do, we are wasting our time and efforts. Every
thing that we do in service to Jehovah must be done by faith. Yet,
faith comes through a hearing and application of the Word of God.
What we are saying is this: Unless we have book, chapter, and verse
for all that we do in our worship and service, we do not have God's
blessings upon us. Where in the scriptures do you read of the "pogo,"
"bodysurfing," or "shanking?"  Where do you find anything that
remotely resembles a performer with shaved head and baggy shorts
jumping around of the stage, inciting the crowd to dance with
abandonment?  Maybe, you have a scripture you would like to share
with me that teaches or justifies such action. I would be happy to
hear from you. Or, will those who practice such things just give a
shrug of the shoulder with the trite expression, "Well, he just a
mossed back old preacher, who does not love teen-agers." But, my
friends, that is the very reason or purpose of my statements today.
It is because of my love for the souls of teen-agers that I would say
what I have said today. If I did not love their soul, I would just be
quite, say nothing, and let the world go its merry way toward
destruction. But, in all good conscience, I cannot just stand by and
see the world slipping further and further into materialism and
fleshly appeals.
     It is my prayer that each one who has stayed with me to this
point will seriously consider what has been said. I have no grudge to
fulfill, no axe to grind. I do have a love for the souls of man; a
desire to see all men come to the knowledge of the truth.

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