Just What Is Evil?

Dr. Mike Murphy
June 12, 2014

Few things shock us anymore.  But the events that recently took place in Wisconsin did make me take pause.  The attempted murder of a twelve year old girl by two of her friends.  These two twelve year old girls claimed they were led to commit this tragic crime by a mythical character named Slender Man.  The urban legend that has come to be known as Slender Man, first made his appearance on the internet in 2009.   He is seen as a tall, narrow figure dressed in a black suit, with arms that hang almost the length of his body.  This “so-called” supernatural spirit is said to have no face, but has tentacles that protrude from his back.  It is said that all who look upon his face as snatched up, never to be seen again.  It is also said that children are his favorite prey.

The two girls lured their friend into the woods after a sleepover, stabbing her nineteen times and leaving her for dead.  Reports also show that the two girls had been planning this murder for months, proving their devotion to Slender Man by attempting this murder.  Both believed Slender Man to be real, living in a forest in northern Wisconsin.  Both said they planned on joining Slender Man at his estate in the wooded area after murdering their friend.

A few hours after committing the crime, the two girls was caught.  One of the two girls told the police she felt no remorse.  When asked why they had committed this horrible crime, one of the girls said she had to carry through or Slender Man would kill her family. One of the girls told police that although she had never met Slender Man, he watched over her and could read her thoughts. Both girls are being tried as adults, and could face up to sixty-five years if convicted.

As I heard this tragedy being discussed on television and radio, the comments that followed troubled me as much as the acts of these two girls. More than once I heard it asked, “If there is a God, why did He not stop this?”  “If God was so loving, then how could He allow such evil?”  And, “Where was God when this girl needed Him to protect her?”  I then heard a pastor speak, who had been asked to help make sense of the situation.  His reply troubled me even more.  He told the audience, “God has not given us the ability to understand evil. We are incapable of knowing what evil is, explaining where it came from or how it was created.”

With each tragedy we see today, we watch the world ask these same questions.  And with each question, we often watch as Christians today do not have the answers.  We make vain attempts to answer, leaving the world with even more questions than they had before.  We then are left to watch as the world pushes God farther away.

So why can the Church not seem to answer these question when it is asked?  Why are we unable to leave the world with answers of a loving God, rather than leaving them with more questions of why God would allow this? Although sad, the answer to this question is quite simple.  We, the Church, no longer understand what evil truly is and what place it has and carries in this world today.  We can no longer answer the ‘why” and the “how”, because we no longer follow and understand the words of the “Who”.  To truly understand this, we need to take a hard look at two often asked questions.  “What is evil?”  And, “Who created evil?”

So what is evil?  The dictionary defines evil as “morally reprehensible, sinful, wicked”.  Evil has become a very broad term to define the malicious and destructive acts we often see around us.  In order to truly define evil, we need to look at what it does.  Evil can only be defined if we not only look at its’ cause, but also at its’ effect.  In order to do this, let us look at a simple comparison.

Walk outside in Green Bay, Wisconsin in the heart of winter, and you will soon hear one phrase over and over.  “Wow it is cold!”  But ask any scientist and they will tell you that there is no such thing as “cold”.  Cold is nothing more than a word we have created to describe the absence of heat.   The less heat we feel, the “colder” we say it has become. The same can be said of evil.  Evil is the word we have created to describe the absence of God, and the goodness that only He can bring this world.  Therefore, the farther we find ourselves separated from God, the greater the chance of evil a situation may hold.

When we see a tragedy on the news, we need to understand that the event we are watching is not evil.  Evil is the result or the outcome of the event we see. Evil is not the action, evil is the outcome, or the effect of that action.  The action that caused the evil is sin.  We often confuse sin, the act, with evil, the effect. When we watch a terrorist strap a bomb to their body, walk into a building and kill all those who were innocently there, we are witnessing sin.  The act they commit is sin, evil is the result or the effect of that act. 

Sin is the act of behaving against the law and teachings of God, and His plan for our life.  Sin is what separates us from God, and prevents us from allowing His love and wisdom to guide our lives.  Sin is a choice, one we make each day.  Do we follow the ways of God or do we follow the ways of man, allowing sin to rule our lives?  Evil is often the outcome of that sin, and the effect of our choice not to allow God’s plan to lead our lives.  We must understand, where you see evil you are witnessing a choice that has been made.  A choice by someone that has chosen sin over God.  We must also understand, evil and God can never be found together in the same sentence.  Where God is present evil cannot exist.

Often today, we hear a familiar question every time evil raises its’ head. “How could a loving God allow this to happen?”   We can find the answer within the question itself.  It is because of the love God has for us that we have the choice we just discussed!  Free will allows each of us to choose or reject God, to choose His wisdom or to follow the logic of man.  Tragedy, destruction and evil are the outcome of this choice, a choice each of us has the ability to make daily. Although God could easily stop each catastrophic event we see, in doing so He would also take away this incredible gift He has given us, the gift of free will.  We would become nothing more than robots, following a path that was chosen or predestined for us.

Way too often, we confuse what God allows with what God desires.  God wants nothing but the best for each of us, and no one hurts more when He sees heartbreak come to our lives.  God has given us the wisdom of His Word, and example after example of what can come from our choices.  He has done everything short of stopping free will in order to keep evil from our lives.  God knows our future, and has over and over tried to warn us of where our choices may lead, and the devastation that could await us because of those choices.  But in the end, God knows that man will often choose sin, and evil will again show its’ face.  We must never forget, evil has and never will be the result of God’s judgment, but is the outcome of man’s choices.

Now that we have an understanding of evil, we can look at the second question, “Who created evil?”.  For years this question has been at the heart of attempts by many to disprove God.  They often say that if God is truly good, then evil could not exist.  They even go as far as to try and link God and evil.  They will often make the following argument, attempting to make God as the cause of evil. If God is the creator of all things, and evil exist, then God must be the creator of evil.

This is a logic that may be sound to the minds of man, but does not hold up when we look at it with the wisdom of God.  To accept this argument, we must accept the assertion that evil is something, that evil is a “thing”.  Evil is not a “thing”, but the lack of a “thing”.  As I stated earlier, evil is the outcome of sin, the absence of God.  Evil is not a created thing.  I have never met a person who has seen, touched, felt, smelled, or heard a physical evil.  It does not meet the definitions and principles of physics, you will not find energy, matter, or dimension associated with it.  I have never yet seen a person who went to the store and purchased a bag of evil!

Evil is without question a reality, but evil does not and cannot exist in or unto itself.  Evil has no existence of its’ own, and cannot be found outside the action of sin.  Unless we first see the choice of sin, we cannot find the presence of evil.  We can look to God’s Word to prove this.  All of us know the Creation story, of how God created this world and this universe.  The Bible tells us that as He finished this creation, everything He made was good(Genesis 1:31).  In other words, the universe was without sin.  We know that sin entered this world because of rebellion against God, not because God created it.  So therefore, evil came into this world because of the action of sin, not by the hand of God.

God did not create evil, but because of free will, He allows for the possibility of evil.  And praise the Lord that He does!  Had He not allowed for the potential of evil, we would be serving and worshiping God out of requirement and necessity, not out of choice.   What a blessing and a gift that we can each choose God!

When we look at these two questions, we begin to see how our nation today defines and labels God.  We have continued to push God farther and farther away from our everyday decisions.   We define God by our own logic, confining God to our own desires.  We paint a picture of God with the broad strokes of a logical brush, not with the precisional beauty that can be found in the brush of wisdom.  Looking at this painting, we should not be surprised when we see the face of evil, because in this painting you will not find the true image of God.

The Church needs to understand what evil actually is, and the role it plays in our society and in each of our lives.  We need to be ready the next time we hear those familiar questions,  “If there is a God, why did He not stop this?”  “If God was so loving, then how could He allow such evil?”   “Where is God when evil comes?”  We have to let the world know that God is right here!  Here waiting for us to do with this gift of free will what He has always longed for us to do. Choose Him!

Praying each of you choose wisely!

American Idols

Dr. Mike Murphy

May 14,2014

“That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done.  So there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”?  Already it has existed for ages which were before us.”  Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

It was a long, fearful night for Gideon.  As he crept through the woods that night, he knew that the task that was before him was a dangerous one.  God had commanded Gideon to tear down his family’s altar and shrine, and replace it with an altar to the Lord God.  His family, and the people of the town were committed to Baal and Asherah.  They were obsessed with the practices of immorality and perversion that came from the ritual worship of these false idols.  

As he led his servants to tear down the altar to Baal, and the Asherah pole that stood beside it, their spirit must have felt the evil that permeated from the area.  But they were obedient to the Lord.  They tore down the idol structures that night, and as the people of the town woke up the next morning, they saw standing in its’ place an altar to the Lord.

We all know the story of Gideon.  His courage as a leader was without question.  We know the story of how he led three hundred men against a force of one hundred, twenty thousand Midianites, with the Lord driving the Midianites back beyond the Jordan River.  Israel was returned to God’s favor, and peace was found in the land for forty years.  Forty years of peace was an extraordinary period of time for that day.

Soon after Gideon’s death, the Israelites would drift back into the devastating practice of idol worship.  Throughout the period of the Judges and the Kings, we watched as the Israelites would cycle between their loyalty to the Lord, and their desire to worship at the world’s altar.  We finally saw the stubbornness of the people lead to their ultimate downfall.  Their desire to put false idols before their love of the Lord would eventually lead to their destruction, and their exile to a foreign land.

When we look back at ancient Israel, we see three main idols that filled the surrounding lands, and way too often, the Promised Land itself.  Idols to Baal heavily influenced the Jewish people.  Baal was a god worshipped by the Canaanites and the Phoenicians.  They worshipped Baal as the sun and storm god.  Baal was pantheistic, a god of the environment, and worship of him was very ritualistic and often times sensually practiced.  The Bible tells us that in their worship of Baal they would scream uncontrollably, and inflict wounds on themselves(1 Kings 18:28).  Jesus even referenced Baal when he called Satan by the name of Beelzebub, or ‘Baal-Zebub’.

Another of the idols that filled the houses and towns of the Jewish people was Asherah.  She was the moon-goddess, worshipped as the goddess of love and war by the Syrians, Phoenicians, and Canaanites.  The Syrians worshipped her under the name of Ishtar.  They would carve large, limbless tree trunk with the image of Asherah on them, and place them in groves of trees as an area of worship.  These groves became so common that the Lord told Moses that trees were not allowed to be planted around the altar that was made to Him(Deuteronomy 16:21).  Worship of Asherah was very sexual, prostitution rings of both heterosexual and homosexual rituals surrounded the idol poles that stood in the groves.  Worship of Asherah also involved the practice of fortune-telling and divination.

Another of these idols were made in the worship of Molech.  The name Molech literally means “the personified ruler of shameful sacrifice”.  Molech was represented by large, metal statues of part man and part animal.  The people would turn to Molech for financial prosperity.  And to gain this they would willing sacrifice their own children.  Inside the abdomen of these giant statues was an open pit where fire would burn.  The people would place their still alive children in this fire as a sacrifice to Molech, in hopes of securing their financial future.  Before God lead His people back to the land of Canaan, He warned Moses about this practice.  “You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”(Leviticus 18:21).  One of these areas where this sacrifice took place, and the pure evil that occurred there, was spoke of by Jesus.  These sacrifices were performed in the Valley of Hinnom, right outside the city of Jerusalem.  An area God, Himself, would curse(Jeremiah 7:30-34).  An area that when the Jews returned to the land after their captivity, was set aside for the burning of trash.  This was also an area that Jesus would often use to describe Hell.  The area we know today as Gehenna.

So why did the people of Israel so easily turn to idol worship?  Did they not see the horrors this would bring on them?  Did they not understand the consequences of their actions?  So what drove these men to idol worship?  The people of Israel turned to idols for the same reason we see the world doing so today.  In ancient days, the same things drove men to worship idols that drive the hearts of men in current times.  Covetousness, pride, and the desire for self all bring men to feet of idols.  I believe that John summed it up best.  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”, 1 John 2:16.  When we put the values of this world above the Word of God, then idols will soon be found in our future.  When we are willing to put aside the proven truth that the Lord offers, the ways of this world will soon consume us.  The Bible warned us of this very day.  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,”, 2 Timothy 4:3.

In our pluralistic, multicultural society, we have watched as this world attempts to redefine God.  The world has decided that the God of the Bible is just too harsh and judgmental.  That society seeks a god without demands, and one who does not know guilt.  At the center of this attempt to give God a makeover, we find many in the Church, willing to put forward an image of this idolised god that is accepting of all behaviors and all human lifestyles.  They are more than willing to define God as one who is in harmony with the desires of man, not a God who is in harmony with the words of the Bible.

The idol god that the world is now attempting to construct, will never leave the hearts of men satisfied.  Each word of Scripture teaches us that a life apart from God is meaningless and futile.  How easily we forget, God created us in His image, but we can never create God in the image of our desires.  We will never create anything more than an empty shell with hands that cannot feel, and feet that will never walk(Psalm 115:1-8).

The Church in America has lost focus on its’ first love, and must get back to the example that Gideon set.  We must get back to what God has called us to do, and that call is a simple one.  “Build Me An Altar!”  A place where our lives with God will be consecrated through our prayer, our worship, and our love for the truth in God’s Word.  A place where we devote our life to God, strengthen our faith and walk with Christ.  A place that will be a true shining example for this needing world to see.  As we build this altar, the Church must again look at the blueprints God has given us.  We cannot continue to build this altar to God on top or beside of old altars.  This is not a space the Lord wishes to share, but a place He alone must occupy.  We must first tear down the old altar of idolatry and wickedness this nation has constructed.  Filled with the images of Baal that line its’ walkways, images that attempt to make God a part of this world, not the God of this world.  Filled with the poles of Asherah we have raised, idols of sexual immorality that have and always will be perverse in the Lord’s eyes.  And filled with the statues of Molech we have lit, the consuming fires that cost us the over a million of our most innocent lives in abortion clinics every year.

As the Lord looks across the countryside of America today, He is again looking for a Gideon, and a handful of devoted followers.  Men and women who will put aside their fears, proclaim the name of God, and restore Him to His proper place atop this country and its’ people.  Those who will tear down the altars to Baal this country has built.  Those who will chomp down the modern day Asherah poles.  And those who will drown out the fires of Molech.

The Church in this nation is facing its’ ‘Gideon Moment’.  Will we follow the Lord’s voice, tearing down the idols that fill our land and lift the Lord up to His rightful place above this nation once again?  Or will we ignore His warnings, watching in sorrow as we are marched off into exile?  The answer to these questions, I do not know.  But I do know that the Lord’s calls have now become screams, as He is pleading with us to once again built Him an altar.  We have ignored warning after warning that He has given us.  We continue to watch in silence as this nation builds more and more idols, mocking the Lord with each one that is constructed.  Each time He calls the Church to step forward,  we run to the corner and cower in fear.  The Church in this nation, now finds itself entwined in man’s opinion.  We have a greater fear of people’s conceptions, than we do of the Lord’s judgment.  The Church is far more concerned of what society thinks of us, than what the Lord can make of us.

This is our moment.  This is when we must decide exactly who we are.  Are we the army of the Lord, or are we servants of man?  The Church must decide which altar will stand in our presence.  Will it be an altar to man’s desires, or an altar to the Lord’s truth?  The Church must realize there is only room for one altar.  There is not enough land to build both altars side by side, and the Church can no longer try to appease those who worship at both.

Today is the day!  The day we must be willing to raise our hand and be counted.  The day we must pick up our tools and begin to build an altar to the Lord.  This day will not be an easy day for us.  Just like Gideon, the world around us may curse and mock us.  They may lash out at us, spewing venom in their words.  And yes, they may look to any means to silence us.  But we must cast aside our fears and follow the commands of the Lord’s voice.  It is time we rolled up our sleeves and get busy, we have many American idols standing before us that the Lord is calling His people to tear down.

Praying each of you will answer the phone, God is calling!

Stop, Drop, And Roll Will Not Work In Hell!

 Dr. Mike Murphy

April 22, 2014

“How naive and selfish of me would it be to think Jesus is the only way to Heaven.”  “What makes me think as a Christian we have all the answers?”  “Jesus works for me, I am sure God uses other religions for other people.”

We have all heard these statements and heard the questions asked.  But what might surprise you is how many people within the Church are now asking the same questions.  In 2008, a poll was taken that showed 57% of Evangelical Christians said they believe that many religions can lead to eternal life.  In the last six years that number has increased to almost 67%!  Think about that.  Next time you are in church, look over to the person on your right, and then glance over at the person on your left.  The odds are that both do not believe that salvation can only be found in Christ.  If that does not scare you enough, then realize that polls also show that 50% of church-going Christians do not believe that Jesus is always the right answer.  The majority of people sitting with you in the pews on Sunday, do not believe the words they are hearing from the pulpit.

The effects this is having on the Church and society today is devastating.  But what is even more concerning is the effects this is having on our younger generations.  In the age demographic of 18-29 year olds, the majority do not believe there is an absolute truth.  They believe that cultural beliefs are more important that religious beliefs.  The do not believe the Bible plays any role in their decision making.  And they do not believe that sin is a problem they ever need to worry about.  This has lead to only one in three young people believing Christ is the only way to Heaven, or even see Him as a necessary part of their lives.  

The details of these polls are more than just troubling.  They show us a picture of not only a Church in decline, but a Church that unless it makes drastic changes, will continue to remain in decline. Our pick and choose approach to theology has led to a generation with an anything goes theology.  Faith is being defined by what not to believe, instead of why we should believe.  We have defined “tolerance” as an ecumenical, all encompassing, anything goes form of a faith.  In the name of tolerance, we have made Christ intolerant.  

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”(John 14:6).  This is not only a statement of our faith, but a statement for our faith.  The whole basis of our faith can be summed up in those nineteen words. Most know these words by heart, but do we know what these words mean?

I AM.  In Greek, the words used for “I am” had great meaning.  They carried a heightened and more profound meaning than we tend to read in the words.  The mean, “I, and only I, am”.  Jesus was not making a general statement, but a specific one in which He is proclaiming that He, and He alone had the authority to make.  We reads the words “I am” used seven times in the Gospel of John, and in each one Jesus makes this same proclamation.  These words show us a supremacy that only God Himself could make.  We see as Him proclaims these words in John 8:58, the leaders and the people knew immediately who He said He was.  As we watch Christ say “I am” in John 18:5-6, we see the soldiers that came to arrest Him fall to the ground.  Jesus is telling us that God, and only He as God, could make this statement.

WAY.   The Greek word for “way”, means “travelled or proven way”.  A travelled path was one that could guarantee you to reach your destination.  Those who had travelled the path could tell you what it was like.  And a travelled path did not carry the dangers that a wandering path would have.  Throughout His time on this earth, Jesus had told His disciples to “follow me”.  As often as they had heard this, the had questioned where He was going, and how they could follow.  In these words, Christ is not only showing us where He was going, but how we could get there.  He was providing for us a proven path.
The Bible tells us that our sin had separated us from God(Isaiah 59:2).  Christ came so that we would no longer experience that separation, and to provide a “way” for us to be reconciled with God(Romans 5:10).  Christ was that proven path, and as Peter would later proclaim(Acts 4:12), the only path that would lead us to salvation and a future with the Lord.  “I am the way” was Christ’ exclusive proclamation that only He was the travelled and proven path that would lead us to an eternity with the Lord. 
TRUTH.  We cannot describe truth in a single word.  Truth is a reality, a proven fact, something of certainty.  Truth was righteousness in the eyes of the Lord.  The Word tells us that God’s law is truth(Psalm 119:142), and Christ tells us that He came to fulfill that law(Matthew 5:17).  Christ is telling us that He alone is the source of all truth.  To explain truth, we only need to point to Christ.
So how do we know that Christ is truth?  Jesus not only spoke and lived the truth, but prophecy shows us the certainty in that truth.  Jesus fulfilled over three hundred prophecies in His first coming.  The odds that one man could do this are 10 to the 157th power.  That is far greater odds than there have been total people who have lived on this earth!  I defy anyone to show me one example of history that can be proven with a greater certainty!  To deny Christ is to deny the truth!

Although truth is factual, it is far more than facts.  Truth is not just something we act upon, but something that acts upon us.  We are incapable of changing the truth, but the truth can and has changed each of us.  We can discover the truth, but are incapable of creating truth.  Truth is, well, true!  The proven reality that we base all the examples and the standards of our life on.
The Bible tells us we are to walk in the truth, love the truth, and to believe the truth.  Christ was the perfect example of all three.  Christ did not just show and teach us the truth, He was the model of truth.  To see Christ is to see truth.  Christ was the witnessing testimony of God’s Truth!

LIFE.  The dictionary describes life as “existence; the continual change preceding death”.  The disciples listened as Jesus talked to them of his coming death, and at the same time He claimed to be the origin of all life.  They were told that Christ would give His life for all, then claim that life back.  He then told them He had the authority to lay down His life, and to take His life back again(John 10:17-18).  I ask you one simple question.  Who has the authority and ability to not only take life, but give or create life?  Only one, God!  And many witnessed Christ do just that!  Countless numbers were firsthand witnesses to the Crucifixion.  Jerusalem at the time of the spring feasts would have been overflowing with people who witnessed His death.  And Paul tells us that over 500 people witnessed the risen Christ.(1 Corinthians 15:6).  There are over 5500 written scripts about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.  This in a day and age when writing materials was pricey and scarce, and only used to record the most important of events.  History proved the truth that Christ, and only Christ, fulfilled these promises.

But the promise of life that Christ was giving was far different than any had heard.  Christ told His disciples in John 14:19. “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.  In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”  The life that Christ was giving was an eternal one, free of the strains of sin and death.  Eternal live is a gift that God gives(Romans 6:23), but only through the “life” of Christ!

This verse is the perfect example to this nation and this world, if we get Christ wrong, it really does not matter what else we get right.  Everyone today, even atheist, have a theology.  The question becomes whether that theology is true or false.  We must begin to ask ourselves, is our theology truth-driven or is it popularity-driven?

There will always be those in the Church who will tell us that we have no right to tell others about the Truth that can only be found in Christ.  But I would ask those this.  As a person is crossing a road, a car is coming they do not see.  Is it the right thing to do to shout, warning them of the danger, or is it the correct thing to do by waving politely as we watch the car hit them?  The same can be said of God’s Truth and His Grace.  We must follow the call to tell others of God’s Truth, so they may know God’s Grace.  We must begin to understand, you cannot have truth without grace, and you cannot experience grace without truth.

The perfect example of this is a subject many today like to avoid or deny, Hell!  A friend of mine recently said, “stop, drop and roll will not work in Hell”.  Much of our nation today would consider such a statement as insensitive, nothing more than the rantings of wild-eyed, Bible- thumpers who only speak of God’s wrath.  But this view overlooks the obvious statement, if the Bible is real then Hell is also.  Jesus told us of Hell more than anyone else, describing it in graphic ways as a literal place.  Jesus said in Matthew 8:12 that unbelievers would be “cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  So are many now claiming they know more on the issue than Christ?  And if the words of Christ are true, then what does it say for us if we are willing to let those around go to such a place without first letting them know the truth?  It says we are hypocrites!  In the name of tolerance we allow the true grace that Christ came to offer to be withheld from society’s ears.

Many may see it as narrow-minded for us to say that Christ is the only answer, and the only way to the Father.  But the truth is far from it.  Our job is not to be the public relations staff for the Lord.  Or job is not to try to rewrite and improve on His Word so that more will feel comfortable with what is being said.  Our job is simple!  We are to tell all who will listen that Christ is the true “I Am”, and Christ alone is “way, the truth, and the life”!

Hoping all will remember, the need to stop, drop, and roll tomorrow, can be prevented if you will stop, drop, and pray today!

Where Have All My Watchman Gone?

Dr. Mike Murphy

April 7,2014  

Dawn brought fear to the eyes of the captain.  As he looked over the walls of the city, he could see that their enemy had mobilized, encircling them.  The cover of night had brought this surprise to his eyes, and  he knew his fate by what he saw.  The walls were his responsibility, and the watchmen that filled it were under his command.  His men were the eyes and ears of the city, and his sole purpose was to make sure the city stayed safe from all who would bring it harm.  As he looked at the mass of troops that would soon be approaching, he knew that the king would hold him responsible for this day.  The captain knew his fate would be far better to die in battle that day, than what the king would soon have in store.  As he stood alone on the wall that early morning, but one question came to his mind.  “Where had all my watchmen gone?”

Before the days of home alarms, our house and family was still well protected.  We had a Shetland sheep dog that guarded us, and our home, with her life.  At the slightest of noise, or the first glimpse of anything out of the ordinary, she sprung into action.  She would bark until one of us had gone to the window or door to see or hear what had alerted her. There was never a doubt that she loved her family, and she would have protected any of us at all cost.  She was on constant lookout for any danger, and not once did she fail to sound the alarm to warn those she cared for the most.  She was the gatekeeper of our house, always on watch.

In Biblical times, watchmen or gatekeepers played a very important role.  Most of the cities had thick walls that completely surrounded and protected them.  The watchmen were guards who would patrol these walls, looking upon the land to make sure all within were safe.  Only the elite, the best of the troops were assigned to this position.  They were trained to far higher levels than the average soldier, because of the importance of their responsibilities.  They were the most dedicated, the most respected, and the most honored of all troops.  They took this role so seriously, that if they witnessed a fellow watchman fail to uphold his responsibility, it was considered a crime to not report it.  The future and safety of all would often rest upon the shoulders of these men.

The Hebrew word for watchman is ‘tsaphah’, and it means to ‘ to look out upon or about’.  This word has multiple implications in its’ meaning.  It means to behold, to observe, to spy out, to wait for with expedience, and to keep watch for.  So these men would stand on the wall or in the towers, looking out in the distance at everything that may come their way. They would oversee the city, making sure all were safe.  They would watch for messengers, or as the king or top officials of the city returned.  And they would look for any sign of an approaching army that may bring harm their way.

Hebrew tradition tells us that these watchmen were often positioned throughout the kingdom.  They were positioned at the Temple, to make sure the Lord’s House remained safe, and did not fall into the hands of those that may corrupt it.  We are told they were positioned at the gates of many cities and on routes that were often travelled.  They would not only protect these key locations, but would make sure all were on the right path, pointing them in the right direction if they became lost.  We are also told they were positioned at the house of important people.  They would stand watch while the master of the house was away, and would keep watch for the master’s return.

Today, the role of the watchman carries just as much weight, and is just as important in the Lord’s eyes.  The modern watchmen, the pastors and Christian leaders of today, are called to their place on the wall.  Standing at the very gate of God’s Word, protecting it from enemies that would attempt to destroy it without thought. As watchmen, we are to protect the Church from worldly ideas, and the corruption that follow those ideas.  We are to stand true for the Word of God, unwavering and unfaltering, whatever may come our way.  We are called to protect the people, making sure they are not deceived by false teachings and wrong doctrines.  We are to protect the Church, the Lord’s House, making sure its’ walls remain the example for all the world to see.  We are to guard the crossroads of society, making sure all find themselves on the right path.  And we are to keep the Church and God’s Word safe, always ready to defend it, keeping this house ready for the Master’s return.

But as we look at the Church today, we hear the Lord reverberating the call of the captain that frightful morning, “Where have all My watchmen gone?”  As we look at the vacant walls of the Church today, the words of Isaiah echo through my mind.  “ For the leaders of my people, the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds are blind and ignorant.  They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes.  They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.  Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied.  They are ignorant shepherds, all following their own path and intent on personal gain.  “Come,” they say, “let’s get some wine and have a party.  Let’s all get drunk.  Then tomorrow we’ll do it again and have an even bigger party!”  Isaiah 56:10-12.

As I sit here today, I cannot help but wonder, what has become of the Church’s watchmen?  Why does it’s walls and gates stand empty?  Have they become disheartened, giving up on the very cause that brought them to the wall in the first place?  Have they left the gates, falsely thinking there is no threat on the horizon?  Have they left their post out of greed, falling victim to the world’s values?  Or have they dropped their weapons out of pressure, putting greater value on what those outside the city may say instead of the words of their King?

As we look at the Church today, we see those who no longer are looking for a gatekeeper, they want a doorman who will simply open the gate for everything and anything to enter.  They seek leaders who tell them what they wish to hear, without showing them the consequences of their actions in God’s Word and Law.  They only seek gatekeepers who will not bar the gates, no matter what they may do inside or outside of the city’s walls.  And unfortunately, the leaders we often find inside of our walls fare no better.  We find leaders who fail to confront the sinfulness inside their own churches, shepherds who have blindly lead their flocks into perdition.  Without wisdom and understanding in God’s Word, they find greater offense in pointing out sin than committing sin.

Within the last few days, we have seen three examples that make this very point.  We have looked on as true watchmen have been mocked for pointing out the enemy as they have seen it approach.

We have recently watched as Hollywood released a movie that mocked the story of one of the Bible’s patriarchs.  When asked about the movie, the co-writer and director replied that this would be the least Biblical movie ever made.  The director, a self-professing atheist, did not use the Bible to tell the story, but chose instead to use obscure Gnostic writings and the mythical beliefs of Kabbalah to tell the story.  Several pastors and Christian leaders were quick to point out just how unbiblical this movie was, warning all from seeing it.  But while these watchmen pointed out the dangers of this movie, many, if not most church leaders did not.  They either ignored the issue, or simply did not have the necessary knowledge of God’s Word to be able to recognize the danger in the movie.

Then there was another group, a group of ‘so-called’ pastors and Christian leaders who mocked and demeaned those who pointed out the truth of the movie.  One of these ‘so-called’ leaders had this to say about those within the Church that spoke out against the film,  "It’s embarrassing to belong to a faith that attracts a group of people who always have to be right, and when something pushes them just a bit, they want to shut it down or keep people away."  To this man, silence in the face of evil was of greater quality, than watching as thousands were lead to a false sense of God.  I would love to ask these ‘so-called’ leaders if they have every taken the time to read what God had to say about the issue,  “If I warn the wicked, saying, 'You are under the penalty of death,' but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths.”  Ezekiel 3:18.

Another example came when I read an interview with Franklin Graham the other day.  In the interview, He said that some people working in this current administration were “hostile to Christians”.  He went on to say, “And when I say White House, I’m not saying the president, because I’m not sure how much of this he’s aware of. But it’s people that work for him that have power, that are sitting in offices, and they are hostile to Christ.”  “They are anti-Christ in what they say and in what they do,” said Graham. “And they are pushing this agenda into the military. It’s scary.”

Franklin Graham, a watchman for Christ, securing the gates and pointing out the evil he sees on the horizon.  Since this interview, I have watched as leader after leader within the Church has belittled, mocked, and disparaged the warning of this watchman.  They see it as a greater offense to warn of this evil than to ignore God’s Truth.  I go back to the above verses in Isaiah 56:10-12.  Have these leaders become so drunk on the world’s wine that they no longer care to see evil as it approaches?

My last, but far from my least example, took place at the recent conference of the Religious Communicators Council in Nashville.  For those who may not know, the RCC is an organization of marketing, communications, and public relations officers of several faiths.  It is an interfaith group, that says it comes together to handle the challenges that the world and all religions face.  While I have many problems with the very concept of this organization, within it are many who claim to be leaders of the Christian faith.  As this recent conference, Dr. Bill Warner and a group of Christian leaders asked to address the conference about the issue of Christian persecution that is on the rise throughout the world today.  They were not only not allowed to speak, but the RCC even refused to address the issue.  The RCC went as far as to tell this group of watchmen that they were barred from even being in the premises of the conference.  They called these watchmen trespassers, rebel rousers, and even traitors, claiming this was a non-issue.  We are told that in 2012 over 100,000 Christian were martyred because of their faith, and in 2013 that numbered over doubled.  A non-issue?

The ‘so-called’ Christian leaders that are a part of this organization can call themselves this in name only.  They have willing tried to make God into a god.  In replacing the capital ‘G’, they have lost the very call that Christ places on our lives.  They have replaced God’s wisdom, with man’s logic,  and they have willingly chosen inclusion over God’s Truth.

I see these stories, and again the captain’s call comes to my mind.  “Where have all my watchmen gone?”  We look at the wall, and those who stand on it are sparse.  We see the gates open and the walls left all but unprotected.  We watch as the unexpecting citizens of this city mock and make fun of those that dutifully remain on the wall.  They look up, and cannot believe these few watchmen still stand there.  The citizens ask themselves why they are still there, thinking no enemy would ever approach this city.  They ignore the warnings of the few watchmen that remain, seeing them as demented fools that still stand on an unnecessary wall.

My words today are not a call, and are far more than a warning, they are a plea.  Would the watchmen please come home, return to their place on the wall.  Before our enemies see us vulnerable and unprotected,  Before our Master returns home to find what is left of His city.

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost.  There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint.  Habakkuk 2:1