There are Christians with the false notion that we can somehow change the government or society to give us better opportunities to preach the gospel.  That’s just not true.  There is nowhere in the Scripture where the apostles were told to go try to change the morality of the country and then preach the gospel.  We preach the gospel, then the gospel changes men’s hearts; amen?  The gospel is what removes hatred from hearts.  It’s just hatred.  Aren’t you glad that this is not in the church of Jesus Christ?  Amen?  That is why the problems that are in our society today are not to be in our midst.  Let me ask you this:  What law would you pass that can remove hatred from somebody, that will remove racism from somebody, that will remove greed from somebody, or that will remove lust from somebody?  The world is going to continue in that hatred, that cycle of annihilation, until Jesus comes to set up His millennial reign; until that time it will be continual chaos.  Let me just encourage you as believers in this hour in which the world is getting more volatile:  don’t get involved in it; don’t let you mind go there; stay in the Word of God.  Why would we risk having our own hearts stirred up with bitterness and hatred over something that is secular?  They are killing themselves.  I’m talking about humanity in general, not about any segment of humanity.  We need to make sure that we move in love and forgiveness toward one another.  Unforgiveness can be very subtle, and you need to guard your heart against it.  One way is to put this armor on.

Concerning fiery darts, the greatest fiery darts are coming to you through social media and through television and through talk shows and through gossip and slander; so, we would be wise to insulate ourselves from all of that and make sure that we practice the one and only way to keep ourselves from being caught up in the hatred of the world.  One foolproof way to keep the hatred of the world from your heart is love; amen?  Just go out and love people and preach the gospel and realize that, regardless of peoples’ politics, ideologies, their skin tone, or their cultures, every one of them is a soul who needs to be born again and know Jesus Christ.  Their dilemma is that their lord is Satan, who is ruling their lives.

In the midst of all this turmoil, it’s easy to stay at peace and not get caught up in that stuff—if you put on the helmet of salvation.  If you can’t separate yourself from that bias, that hatred, that prejudice and whatever all that is, then you’re not saved, you are not born again, you are not a Christian.  You might think, “Well, that’s a harsh statement.”  No, that’s Bible:  We are known by our love; amen?  “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”  (1 John 4:8) So that stuff doesn’t affect us, we can just go on loving people and preaching the gospel.  From whichever direction that draw is pulling you, whether through political influence or anything else that emphasizes the secular and the temporal, hold up the shield of faith and quench those fiery darts; amen?  Guard your mind by putting on the helmet of salvation:  let your mind be renewed by thinking on the things that are above; amen?  It doesn’t just happen: all of us are flesh, sin is in our members, and we all have the propensity to fall into these traps.  Protect yourself:  edify one another; speak wholesome words.