Sermon: Stop the Groundhog Day of Sin

#1629B
Kim Myers (1947-2023)
Given 11-Dec-21; 34 minutes

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Some of this split sermon is my thinking and purely my speculation. You do not have to agree with me, but think about the times we are living in. I think we are living in the birth pain leading up to Jacob's Trouble. We all know that birth pains start out with light pain and then the pain gets more severe as each birth pain comes, and the birth pains get closer and closer until the birth of the child. I think we are living right now in the birth pains leading up to Jacob's Trouble.

I want you to think about 2020, and the years I am talking about, for me, go from Feast of Tabernacles to Feast of Tabernacles. In 2020, one of our main concerns in this country and in the church was covid and how covid was affecting our lives with masks and social distancing. I feel that the year 2020 was even harder on people that have a religious affiliation and especially on us, God's people. A lot of people did not attend Sabbath services for a solid year. That is a tragedy, brethren. The different churches of God had a hard time finding buildings to meet in and a lot of people stayed home and did not attend the Feast of Tabernacles. That was all in 2020.

All of this brought some unrest and division to God's churches in 2020.

Now in 2021, the birth pains have gotten quite a bit more severe. The churches of God, in a lot of cases, are now struggling to find buildings to rent without the whole congregation being vaccinated. This year, 2021, we are now paying double or more for gas. We are also living with very high inflation that is constantly increasing. You know, six weeks ago I went to the grocery store (I told some of you this) and bought two bags of organic blueberries. The cost was $6 and some change (we will say $6.50). Two weeks later I needed two more bags of organic blueberries. This time the cost was $10 per bag. That is quite an increase. Two weeks later I needed to buy two more bags and the cost this time was $13 per bag. So inflation is now taking a toll on our incomes and our well being.

We are now living with a wide open southern border in 2021; and a lot of people are being forced to get vaccinated or lose their jobs. I was talking to Doug Refuse on the phone a few weeks ago and because both Canada and the US will not let you cross their borders without being vaccinated, Doug will probably not be able to keep the feast with all of us in America this coming year. Doug told me that without being vaccinated he might not even be able to cross the borders from one province to another in Canada. Can you imagine that?

Things are getting tougher. On top of all of this, there is a very severe drought in the Southwest and especially in California, which will probably have an effect on our food supply in the coming years. In 2021, we are also dealing with all kinds of shortages. My son has told me that he has a hard time getting certain parts to repair cars. And one of my nephews in California who owns his own business said that he was spending all day long on the phone, not working at all. He was on the phone to secure raw materials to build the things that he makes himself. And another of my nephews that lives in California said the company that he is second in command of struggles to get the parts they need to supply their customers.

Now, I could talk about a lot more that is going on in 2021 that is making our lives more difficult, that is bringing hardship and concern to all of us.

So what will 2022 look like? I do not know, brethren. I do not know how many of you realize that this is a Shmita year. Did you know that some of us know it, but others probably do not. A Shmita year in the Bible comes every seventh year and it is a year of release and a land rest year. Now Clyde Finklea and I sat on the beach during the Feast in Myrtle Beach this past year and Clyde told me about this being a Shmita year and what had happened on the last three Shmita years.

On the first of these three Shmita years we were attacked and the towers in New York came down. That was a major catastrophe. Nothing like that had ever happened in America before except Pearl Harbor. On the second Shmita year under President Obama, we went into a very severe recession that lasted for over six years and that affected a lot of us. My son did not work for five years. On the third Shmita year our leaders plastered gay pride flags and rainbows all over the White House which started all the stuff in the schools with transgenders and with all the gay stuff and bathrooms for boys and girls and all the rest of it.

Remember, God works in patterns. Now I want you to think of this. What we are experiencing God is allowing as He moves us towards Jacob's Trouble. We all know that God controls the weather, right? I want you to listen to these dates. This is about some hurricanes.

We are going to start with Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina on 8/29/2005 made landfall and hit the city of New Orleans. The death toll was 1,833 and it did $125 billion dollars in damage. Next off was Hurricane Gustav on 8/29/2008. Gustav made landfall and hit the city of New Orleans. The death toll this time was 153 and it did $6.61 billion dollars in damage. Then there was Hurricane Isaac on 8/29/2012 and it made landfall and hit the city of New Orleans. The death toll was 34 direct deaths and seven indirect and it did $3.11 billion dollars in damage. And then there was Hurricane Harvey on 8/29/2017 and in made landfall and hit the city of New Orleans. The death toll was 68 direct deaths, 39 indirect deaths, and it did $125 billion in damage. And then there was hurricane Ida on 8/29/2021 and in made landfall and hit the city of New Orleans. The death toll was 71 direct deaths and 11 indirect ones, and it did $95 billion dollars in damage. This storm also killed 50 more people in Pennsylvania and New York City.

Did you pick up on the dates these hurricanes hit on? This is not just an accident or a coincidence. They all hit on the eighth month and the 29th day. These hurricanes did not hit Israel or America on the fringes of the country. They all hit in the center of the country, right up the gut, as it were, and went up the Mississippi Valley and made a right turn and dumped a ton of water on top of our most populated areas of the country, like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. Although we are experiencing and seeing, even in the church, God is allowing it as He tries to get our attention and prepare us for His Kingdom.

Now my neighbors on both sides of me are extremely liberal. They are very nice neighbors and I like both of them. They have both asked me at least twice, what is going on with our country and why is the government allowing this or that to happen, or why is the government doing this or that. They can see plainly that things are not right in America but they do not understand what all of this means. They say they hope things will get back to normal. Normal is not coming anymore, brethren.

I looked up the word "trouble," as in Jacob's Trouble, and it has a lot of different definitions. Two of them jumped out at me. One was "unrest" and the other was "anarchy." So I think that as we move towards Jacob's Trouble, we are looking at full-blown anarchy and unrest once we arrive there.

So what does all of this have to do with us? It has everything to do with us, brethren. What we are seeing and experiencing in the church and in the world should give us a real sense of urgency. But has it done that? Our prayers every day should include us asking God to show us our sins very clearly—to put them right in our faces—so we can work on them and overcome them. And not only are easily-discernible sins, but our hidden sins. We all have hidden sins, the things that we do not realize are sins with God.

Let us turn to Psalms 19.

Psalm 19:12-13 Who can understand his error? Cleanse me from secret faults. [you see, our hidden faults] Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins. [these are the sins that are really easily discernible]

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Brethren, we have got to stay the course. We cannot get down or discouraged. It is really easy to do now within the church and the world. We have to keep on keeping on—no matter what. Our lives as firstfruits is a marathon race. So we must not get tired, grow weary, or lose heart.

The world we are living in today is a crazy world where nothing makes sense. And every day seems to bring new trials on all of us. Doing good is not seeking to be justified by works, but living as God has planned for those who have received His gracious salvation through faith.

I Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Brethren, do not get discouraged. Do not give up. We have got to keep moving forward. Most anything we do in this life is vanity, but labor in the Eternal has eternal value. Our job right now at the end of the age is twofold. One is, we must keep on keeping on. Even though the times we are living in are very hard and very trying, both in and out of the church. Second, we must overcome our sins and be working on ourselves every day so that we can become Christ-like. And that is a tall order.

Luke 21:34-36 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

We are living in the gun lap and we must not let what is going on in the world and in the church weaken our faith, brethren. We must move ahead more diligently than ever before and we must make changes in our lives as we move towards Jacob's Trouble and the beast and the false prophet. As we move forward in these birth pains, there are things that are mentioned in the Bible that have not happened yet. How will you and I react to the trials Christ says are coming if we are struggling now and we are faltering now? The trials that are coming are going to be much more difficult.

Matthew 10:22-23 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. [We are not hated by anybody. Can you imagine everybody hating you like they hated the Jews in World War II?] When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."

I cannot even imagine us fleeing from town to town because a lot of us are old and we are infirm, but He says that a lot of us are going to be doing that. What kind of a trial will that be? We all realize and know that we are living in very different, very trying times, and just day to day living has become very difficult. What will it be like when everybody hates us? What will it be like when we are persecuted where we live? And how difficult will it be for us to flee from city to city?

Luke 21:9-11 "But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately." Then He said to them, "Nation will be rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences."

David Grabbe talked about plague in his last sermon and you know how the plague we are in now is affecting us. But the plagues that are coming are going to be much more severe.

Luke 21:12 "But before all these things, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues [or churches] and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake."

All of this that Christ is telling us is pretty frightening and pretty terrifying. Yet God will be with us. But we are going to have to endure many, many more things than we have already endured. And through all of this, we must continue to draw close to God. We must continue to pray and study every day. We must overcome our sins. There cannot be any more Groundhog Days for us.

Do you know what Groundhog Day is? You know what I am talking about? I am talking about sins that we have that continue on and on in our lives just like Groundhog Day. We did it yesterday, we did it today, and we are going to do it tomorrow. We commit the same sin today and tomorrow and the day after that because every day is Groundhog Day in our lives.

Now I am going to name a few sins that are really glaring within the greater churches of God. And these things go on day after day. Every day, for some people with these sins, is Groundhog's Day. Let us turn to Leviticus 19. These scriptures have to do with gossip which is alive and well within the churches of God.

Leviticus 19:16 You must not go about as a talebearer [or gossip] among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

Proverbs 20:19 [still talking about gossip] He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.

Proverbs 10:19 In a multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

God does not want us to gossip, yet gossip goes on day after day in the greater church of God. Every day is Groundhog Day.

Another thing that has been going on for year after year after year since I have been in God's church is birthdays. Can you imagine that? My grandkids get invited to birthdays by members of God's church quite frequently. Their mother always says the same thing. We do not celebrate birthdays. Now, if you would like to take the time and look up the origins of birthdays, you will find out that birthdays are just as big as Christmas. So you are not going to celebrate Christmas, right? But you are going to celebrate birthdays. Wow, that ought to fly with God. You are not going to celebrate Easter because it is pagan, but you are going to celebrate birthdays, right? You are not going to celebrate Halloween, but you are going to celebrate birthdays. All the symbols of birthdays, from pin the tail on the donkey to the candles on the cake, have pagan meaning. You can look it up for yourself.

Ephesians 4:19 Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Here is another problem within the churches. Now a lot of you might think that this does not go on in the churches, but you are kidding yourself. I am talking now about pornography. It is not mentioned in the verse I just read because I do not even know if they used the word pornography back then and they did not have computers. But pornography is alive and well in the greater churches of God. In the last few years, I have known three different young couples that became divorced because their husbands were deep into pornography. Day after day after day, it was Groundhog Day every day for these men.

Matthew 5:28 "But I tell you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

And I could go into what pornography does to our minds, brethren, and it is even the catalyst for us molesting our children and for rape and all these different things, but it is alive and well within the church.

I Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Now, I am only picking out drunkards from this verse, but we should look at the other sins that go right along with it. Look at those sins, brethren. Drunkards in this verse that will not inherit the Kingdom of God. None of them will but I am picking out drunkards because it is a big problem in the churches. Alcohol and the misuse of it has been a problem since God called me in 1970 to God's church.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: . . . .

These four sins that I just talked about are very obvious to the persons committing them and to their friends and family. These sins stand out.

Galatians 5:19-21 . . . adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness [here is drunkenness again and look what it is listed with], revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What are we trying to do, brethren? Are we trying to inherit the Kingdom of God? Or we just go to church because we like the brethren and it is a fun thing to do?

In the crazy trying times we are living in we should be asking God to show us our sins, stick them in our faces, like I have already said, so that we can understand what we are doing is sin and it will not fly with God. More than that, we should be asking God to show us our hidden sins because we have those too. Not all sin is easily distinguishable. Now, I want to ask all of you a question: Are we as God's people trying to do what Philippians 3:14 says?

Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Is that what we are doing, brethren? Are we pressing towards the mark, for the prize? Are we getting upset? Are we falling short?

Groundhog Day with all of us must come to an end. We cannot keep living Groundhog Day, day after day. We are living in very trying times and we are headed towards Jacob's Trouble. Do you and I have enough faith? Are we close enough to God to endure what is coming when the whole world hates us? How will this affect you and me when you are thrown into jail? Will you and I be able to endure that kind of a trial?

I do not think most of us has ever spent time in jail. I have spent time in jail a few times and I was not in there because the world hated me. I was in jail for assault and battery each and every time. The police did not hate me. I broke a law. They took me to jail, which is completely different than when the people that put you in jail hate you. Do you know what you get fed for breakfast in jail? A bowl full of oatmeal and a carton of milk. For lunch you get a bologna sandwich on white fluffy bread with no mayonnaise, no mustard, no cheese, and a carton of milk. And dinner is not much better. You get one blanket, no pillow, no sheets on the mattress, and think of this: a toilet out in the open, up against the wall that you get to share with your cell mates. That is wonderful. The cell is concrete, kind of dark and cold.

Are we ready spiritually to be hated and thrown into jail? Are we faltering already, brethren? That is the question. In this next verse, God is telling us to take a good look at ourselves and to check ourselves and to see if we have enough faith to stand up for God and God's laws and to be able to endure what is coming.

II Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves [look at yourselves] as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves [Do you know yourself? I know myself.], that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you are indeed disqualified.

If we do not examine ourselves and make changes, we become reprobate. Are you and I going to spend years and years in God's church keeping the Sabbath, paying our tithes, and keeping the feast and then at the end of the age we are going to fall short of the glory of Christ in overcoming our sins and living Groundhog Day day after day and becoming reprobate in the eyes of God? It does not matter if you completely disagree with the times that I think we are living in.

Levi Graham, in his last sermonette, summed it up pretty well for all of us, that you and I do not know the time of our death. That is what he was talking about. We in the Church of the Great God have lost seven brothers to death in just a little over a year. And I want to share with you how alive some of these brethren were at the feast just this last year on the Last Great Day.

I talked after services to Jerry Biles. He did not have covid and we hugged one another and he told me to call him. I also talked with Bill Gray on the Last Great Day and I told him that I would call him and he was fine and he did not have covid. The night before the Last Great Day, I went to dinner with my family, Dana and Jessica Clifton, and with Sherilyn Merritt and her mother, Sheila Hill. I sat next to Sheila Hill that night and Sheila did not have covid. Yet all three of these brethren are now dead. And it came on them pretty quickly, brethren. They are now waiting for the return of Christ. We did not expect the death of any of the brethren that have just recently died. The only death we really expected was Evelyn Ritenbaugh's.

Since none of us know when we will die, it is crucial to us who are trying to qualify for the Kingdom of God to examine ourselves and to stop living Groundhog Day.

I Corinthians 11:27-28 [these next few verses here, I think really sum it up] Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner [that is Groundhog Day because Groundhog Day is an unworthy manner] will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself [there it is again], and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

We need to be examining ourselves daily. We also need to stop with Groundhog Day.

Let us finish with this verse. We also need to be asking God to examine us and to prove us, brethren.

Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.

That is what we should be praying for every day, brethren.

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