THIS IS MY LAST SERMON
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
SEPTEMBER 28, 2008
Although the thought of bringing today’s
message didn’t occur to me until recently, I’m firmly convinced I must preach
it. Because of some of the feedback I’ve received concerning my recent sermon
entitled Deceived, feedback which included constructive criticism such as,
“Mike, “Although the opening paragraph was an
attention grabber it was too strong. It may have turned some people off and
taken away from the main things you were trying to say, but especially certain
comments from another friend whose feedback I also appreciate; I’ve decided that this is my last sermon.
Allow me to share part of that critique, but first, I want to assure you that what
I’m about to read is not something I made up. After expressing whole hearted agreement
with my remarks in the first half of the sermon, my friend had a change of
heart and wrote:
“Mike: It was going so nicely and I thought of forwarding
your sermon to my friends Mark and Jennifer the college students who visited
your church with me last summer, until I got to the Catholic bashing part. I
would never send that to them. Their hearts would be broken to know you have
such hate for the church they both love. Imperfect as it may be, they still
love it. Both of them absolutely hate what we know some of the priests have done.
They’ve called it despicable, disgusting, sinful, and beyond belief and they
can barely speak of it, Mike. But I cannot forward your sermon to them. They wouldn't
step foot in your church again if they knew how you felt about the Catholic Church. Neither
of them would listen to anything you'd ever have to say if they understood how
much hate you harbor for their church.”
“I've been praying for you Mike.
My specific prayer is that the Lord would free you of the hate you
have in your heart for the Catholic Church. It's not a good thing to hate with
such ferocity. There are other churches that preach stranger things, more
hostile to Christ than what comes out of the Catholic Church and Catholic
Mass these days. I don't think it's an evil church Mike. I think it is deceived
in some areas and yes it preaches what we would consider odd things, wrong
things, manmade ideas like purgatory, praying to Saints, etc., but I
think it's easy to show that those teachings are a bunch of hogwash. I
think the church is sincere in its love for Christ, but it falls short. But we
can say that of Methodist, Charismatic name it and claim it type
churches, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, Episcopalian, etc. But you don't seem
to have such vehement hate for these other churches and I don't know why. Many
are deceived by the Pastors and leaders of these churches too. How come you
don't hate them with such intensity? It seems like such a waste of energy and
time to hate so fiercely. Isn't there something else you could do with all that
hate energy? When was the last time you went to a local Mass and really
listened Mike? You're not going to go to hell because you enter into a Catholic
church and listen. I'd encourage you to go to a Catholic Church on a Saturday
evening and hear for yourself what is being preached. Or make an appointment to
sit with a local priest, and ask him some questions instead of just hating so
unabashedly. Try to understand why they believe what they believe and
focus on showing them the light, the truth, instead of just hating them so
much. You're not going to convert anyone with the strong hateful thinking you
have in your heart right now. Isn't the whole idea to lovingly show people the
truth and allow the Holy Spirit to work within their hearts? I hurt for my
Catholic friends such as Mark and Jennifer when you go on and on about their
church the way you did in this last sermon, Mike.” End of quote.
Needless to say, that sermon had quiet an
impact on that person, who incidentally is still one of my friend’s. In case
you weren’t counting, the words hate, hates, hating and hateful were used a
dozen times to describe my feelings towards the Catholic Church. I have to
admit that particular critique has made quite an impression on me. So much so,
that the title of this morning’s sermon which is: “THIS IS MY LAST SERMON,”
popped into my mind within a matter of minutes after reading it a few times. The
question I had to ask myself was: “did I sin in anything I said or in the
manner in which I spoke when I preached that sermon. Was I biblically accurate
and factual and did I deliver that sermon in a spirit of love or of hatred.”
Before we consider those thoughts I want to assure you I harbor no anger,
bitterness or resentment toward a single Roman Catholic the Lord has caused to
cross paths with me. In fact, since I have become a Christian I try to treat
all people with kindness, respect and dignity. I haven’t always succeeded and
sometimes I have failed miserably, but I do try. In fact, I start each day asking
Him to strongly incline and then give me the strength to do so. God’s Word tells
us:
Ephesians
5:6-17 (ESV) Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons
of disobedience. 7 Therefore
do not associate with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light
in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in
all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in
the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is
shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything
is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is
light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and
Christ will shine on you." 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as
wise, 16 making
the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not
be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of
darkness, but instead expose them.” And that’s exactly what I attempted to
do in my sermon when I spoke of “some of the teachings and activities taking
place within,” what I referred to as being, a colossal “Church of Darkness.”(A)To
whatever extent I wasn’t factual or didn’t present my opinion in a spirit of
love, please let me know as some folks already did in the comments they entered
in my web page guest-book. The truth of the matter is I am very angry with some
the Church’s official teachings as well as some of the practices which
occur during a Catholic Mass, and I believe I have legitimate justification for
feeling that way. I also believe if I wasn’t angry enough to speak out in the
manner in which I did, I would have joined the ranks of “man pleasing pastors,”
who one day will be required to justify their indefensible silence and apathy
toward a system which I would characterize as being “the Devil’s masterpiece of
deception.” I can relate to the Apostle Paul who once declared “Woe to me if I
do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16), and I must say “woe to me if I
don’t’ speak out in protest towards that
Ephesians
4:26-27 (ESV); 30-31 (NIV) 26 Be angry and do not sin; do
not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the
devil. 30 And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. 31 Get
rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every
form of malice.
A quick reading of verses
26 and 27, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are
still angry and do not give the devil a foothold,” coupled with verse 30: “and
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption,” and then part of verse 31 which says, “Get rid of all bitterness
and anger,” may seem to confirm my friends assessment of my attitude toward the
Roman Catholic Church. I must admit I have been and continue to be upset,
even to the point of actually hating some of its teachings and practices every
bit as much as I do with what cancer and AIDS does to a human body.
At this point some of you are probably being tempted
to characterize me as being intolerant and perhaps even fanatical concerning
this issue. Years ago folks who shared my views were simply referred to as
being Protestant’s and many of them were burned at the stake because they
wouldn’t recant their convictions. And,
it’s sad to say there aren’t enough of us around these days even in some
allegedly Evangelical Protestant pulpit’s in
Commenting on what Catholics refer to as being
“Holy Mother the Church,” Martyn-Lloyd Jones reminds us of why this is so. “The
Church herself comes between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. She claims she is
essential to salvation. Outside the Church—“extra ecclesiam,” there is no
salvation—“nulla salus.” She is absolutely essential. She puts herself between
my soul and the Lord Jesus Christ. She arrogates that position to herself. You
do not find anything like that is the New Testament; but you find it in Roman
Catholicism. She alone knows what truth is, she claims. She describes it and
she alone can define it and interpret it. She and she alone is able to understand
the Scripture and to tell us what to believe. She says this partly because she
claims that she has received “continuing revelation.” She does not believe as true
Protestant’s do, that revelation ended with what we have in the New
Testament. She claims continuing and a continuous revelation. She therefore
does not hesitate to say that you must add to the truth in the Scriptures.
While saying that the Bible is the Word of God, she claims that her tradition,
which she adds on, is equally authoritative and equally binding. And that is
the way in which she takes from the Bible, because she says things in what she
adds on in her tradition that deny biblical teachings and take from it. That is
where the subtlety comes in. In the end it comes to this, that she claims
our totalitarian allegiance. She claims to govern us in what we believe and in
what we do. She claims to be responsible for our soul and its salvation. We
must therefore submit utterly and absolutely to what the Church teaches us. She
has a totalitarian system. There is no question but that she binds the souls of
her people absolutely, as much as Communism does, as much as Hitler did under
his horrible system. It is a totalitarian system. The church is supreme and
thus stands between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (C) Please correct me if this
teaching really isn’t evil. And please get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church and compare it with The Bible and then judge for yourself whether or not
Lloyd-Jones assessment of this abominable system is accurate. And, as I’m
constantly reminding you, search the Scriptures for yourselves to see if what
I’m saying is Biblical truth. I’m not infallible or too old to learn and be
corrected.
Do you
know how God wants His children to view evil? He tells us we should, “hate evil
and do good,” (Amos 5:15). Christians must hate evil and hate it with a
passion! We must have nothing to do with it! And we must have nothing to do
with this humongous work of darkness, and give anyone the false impression that
we think certain teachings and practices are not that big a deal by our
presence at a Mass; especially if the Christian is a evangelical pastor such as
I am. Instead, followers of Jesus should expose it at every divinely ordained opportunity.
I doubt very much if most Americans who
consider themselves Roman Catholics have a clue as to everything a real
Catholic believes, but I assure you every single Catholic priest without
exception does. I know there are some true Christians who have deceived
themselves into rationalizing their continuing involvement in one way or
another with the Catholic Church. They don’t believe some of its official teachings
which my friend earlier referred to as being “hogwash” any more than you and I
do. In fact there are some Catholic priests who don’t either. There are priests
who firmly believe the truth of: Ephesians
2:8 (ESV) 8”For
by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God.” Nevertheless, they grieve the Holy Spirit by not
proclaiming this truth from the pulpit just as all too many of today’s
allegedly Evangelical pastors who only tell the people what they want to hear
do. How can we explain their silence? I believe part of the problem lies in
their not fully understanding what it means by grieving the Holy Spirit. Allow
me to once again quote Lloyd-Jones who in a different work offers the following
insightful comments when he wrote that all too often we “persist in regarding
the Holy Spirit as no more than an influence or as a kind of power. But we must
realize that He is a Person! You cannot grieve an influence; you can only
grieve a person. You cannot hurt a power; you can only hurt a person. He can be
disappointed in us. A principal cannot be disappointed. And here, I say, is one
of the most vital and important things for us ever to grasp, that we are in
this relationship to the Holy Spirit; if we are Christians He is in us, He dwells
within us! Wherever we are, He is! And let us never forget His tenderness. Is
He not represented in the Scriptures as a dove? He descended upon our Lord at
the baptism in the
“Now obviously all this is only true of those
who are believers; it cannot apply to a non-Christian. An unbeliever can resist
the Holy Spirit, but he cannot grieve Him. The only person who can grieve Him
is one who belongs to the family, and is in this personal relationship. It is
in this way that I, as a Christian, must look at sanctification; not simply in
terms of particular actions or happenings or experiences. I must forget all
that, as it were, and realize that the Spirit is in me and is always with me.
My every action is known to Him, and it is possible for me to grieve Him. That is the meaning of this
term grieve. How then do we, or may we grieve the Holy Spirit of God? And the
answer is plain before us. Anything that we do which is not holy is grieving to
Him.” (C)In other words, you and I grieve Him whenever we sin.
The Holy Spirit is in me! Regardless of where
I am or what I’m doing; He’s right there inside of me. I can’t leave Him
outside when I enter a Catholic Church. It’s impossible! I can’t even begin to
comprehend the magnitude of how broken hearted He must be whenever He is
brought into the Church of Darkness by a Christian who apparently has forgotten
the indescribable agony Jesus experienced on his or her behalf and who are now
“part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own
possession, that they may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light,”
(1 Peter 2:9). Brothers and sisters in Christ; don’t ever forget to remember
that 8 “at one time you were darkness, but now
you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of
light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to
discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in
the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians
5: 8-11 (ESV). Personally, I have no more desire of going into a brothel
than I do a branch of the
Thanks for allowing me to share where I am in
my pilgrimage through this dark sin-infested world on my way to my real home. There
are many other anti-Christian abominations which are taught and practiced
within this system which is truly the Devils masterpiece of deception. However,
as far as me preaching again about my decision never to attend a Catholic Mass
goes, all I can say is, “this is my last sermon, unless the Lord has other plans!!!”
Lord willing, soon….
(A) http://s128601634.onlinehome.us/sermons/deceived.htm
(B) ROMAN CATHOLICISM by D.
Martyn-Lloyd Jones, © 1985 The Trinity Review, Number 42 March/April 1985.
(C) DARKNESS AND LIGHT, An
Exposition of Ephesians 4:17-5:17, © 1982 by D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones Baker Books,
P. O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, Mi. 49516-6287, pages 269-270.
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