Several years ago, a particular gospel landed on the Southern shores of the United States. You might say, that the American Church was invaded. A gospel of laughter, of jokes, a gospel of foolishness. I remember seeing this, just a few weeks perhaps after this all began, I looked at it and I said, to my wife, well at least it takes absolutely no discernment to see what this lunacy is. And then much to my shock, it swept almost the whole Western world, great quarters of the charismatic Pentecostal movement. I remember crying out to God, God how could it be, how could it be! How could this thing happen to your church! You see folks, we’ve forgotten something. Here we are in New York, and the twin towers have come down, and the Pentagon has been attacked. And rightfully we can say the walls are down, and the justice of God is touching a nation that has rejected truth. But we forget that judgment begins in the house of God! The arrival of this gospel was the judgment of God on a slumbering church! A church that wanted prosperity and security–they wanted no cross, no Word, no repentance, no cutting of the sword, no living water! They wanted to FEEL GOOD! And so God, you see in the Old Testament, has poured a spirit of drunkenness, on what called itself the church of Jesus Christ. IT WAS THE JUDGMENT OF GOD! It began in the church, and I remember saying to other people, it will not be long, and the judgment will be touching the shores of North America. Because it’s begun in the house of God. I knew it when this started that judgment was at the door…Your people have been taken captive by Baal!…Beloved church, get away from their altars! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

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20:36 – Pastor Carter refers to the born again experience as “the exchanged life,” as Hudson Taylor had put it.

49:40-54:20 – Pastor Carter is referring to Rodney Howard-Browne’s anti-repentance, Hell rejecting, atonement rejecting, EASY BELIEVISM, HYPER-GRACE, happy laughing, prosperity message as the cause of the September 11 attacks.

1:12:45 – Pastor Carter weeps over all these charismatics turning their back on Hell, repentance, and the cross and embracing the worship of materialism and “happy happy joy joy” INSTEAD of the traditional Gospel message preached by John Wesley, Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, Hudson Taylor, Billy Graham, Leonard Ravenhill, and David Wilkerson.

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I bet you thought that I was dead and gone
You wouldn’t know that something’s even wrong
And when you’re lyin’ on the silver tracks
No difference to me

And you don’t know that you’re a sacrifice
All my tears are turning into ice
And people, when the sky is turning black
You’ll know that it’s me

Are you savin’, are you savin’ it for me?
Are you savin’ all your precious love for me?
Are you savin’, are you savin’ it for me?
Are you savin’ all your precious love for me?

Baal’s back!

I bet you thought that I was dead and gone
You wouldn’t know that something’s even wrong
And people, when the sky is turning black
You’ll know that it’s me

Are you savin’, are you savin’ it for me?
Are you savin’ all your precious love for me?
Are you savin’, are you savin’ it for me?
Are you savin’ all your precious love for me?

Baal’s back!
Baal’s back!
Baal’s back!
–The Pixies, “Baal’s Back”–

They said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? –Luke 24:32 (KJV)

I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. –2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NIV)

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If you’re deistically thinking that I’m mistaking a spiritual experience for indigestion or heartburn, then think again. Here’s how the scientific community defines those things:

What is Heartburn?

Imagine you’ve just eaten a delicious, spicy meal. Shortly afterward, you feel a burning sensation in your chest, right behind your breastbone. That’s heartburn. It might also make you burp or bring a sour taste into your mouth.

What is Indigestion?

Indigestion is a bit different. It’s more like an upset stomach or discomfort in your belly. You might feel full even if you haven’t eaten much, or you might burp a lot. Some people describe it as a feeling of bloating or gassiness. It can also make you feel like you need to vomit.

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The fire of love, the flame of love, incendium amoris, the Aldersgate Experience is neither heartburn, nor indigestion. It is not stomach acid acting up. Nice try naturalism, not this time. Heartburn is when you have a chronic, constant, painful burning feeling behind your sternum. Indigestion is simply a feeling of bloating or gas in your stomach; and it makes you nauseous (a bellyache).

There’s some really important differences that both heartburn and indigestion have with the spiritual experience of the fire of love:

1. The fire of love happens in the belly mainly; but it can flare up to the chest area.

2. The fire of love happens when you’re thinking about the Bible or praying.

3. The fire of love is a sensation that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you.

4. The fire of love is God’s Spirit testifying that he loves you as his child (Romans 8:16).

5. The fire of love is the supernatural love of God shed abroad in the heart (Romans 5:5).

6. The fire of love only lasts for a second or two.

7. The fire of love is a truly “heartwarming” or bellywarming sensation. Its pleasant!

8. The fire of love is not a burning feeling in the sternum, but mainly in the belly.

9. The fire of love is not a feeling of nausea or bloating in the stomach (not a bellyache).

10. The fire of love is a Holy Spirit experience in the belly that flares up for one or two seconds at most. It only happens when you are thinking about the Lord, the Bible, or praying. It only happens in order to confirm some truth of Scripture and increase your faith in God.

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WesleyGospel, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, pp. 62-66.

Richard J. Foster, Prayer, p. 133.

Jim Goll, Wasted on Jesus, p. 164.

Kenneth J. Collins, Wesley on Salvation, ch. 3.

Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love.

Herbert Thurston, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, ch. 8.

G. B. Scaramelli, A Handbook of Mystical Theology.

Joan Carroll Cruz, Mysteries Marvels Miracles, ch. 12.

Steven Fanning, Mystics of the Christian Tradition.

This sermon is based on 1 Samuel 2.
Any similarity with real life pastors is purely coincidental.

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‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.’   
–1 Samuel 2:30–

NOTHING, NOTHING GRINDS MORE ON A BACKSLIDDEN THEOLOGIAN THAN SOMEBODY PREACHIN’ ON HELL!                       –David Wilkerson, 45:04

This is the most HARDCORE REPENTANCE PREACHING audio sermon that I’ve heard to date. Several of the early Assemblies of God preachers, like Smith Wigglesworth and others used to preach like this: tough, confrontational, aimed at breaking up fallow ground, and cracking people’s stony hearts, to make them soft and contrite at the altar to make room for the sweet Holy Spirit to be felt in their lives. –J.B.

There is no one righteous, not even one;
     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.
 Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.
The poison of vipers is on their lips.
     Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
     ruin and misery mark their ways,
 and the way of peace they do not know.
     There is no fear of God before their eyes.
–Romans 3:10-18–

naughty (adj.)

late 14c., nowghty, noughti “needy, having nothing,” also “evil, immoral, corrupt, unclean,” from nought, naught “evil, an evil act; nothingness; a trifle; insignificant person; the number zero” (from Old English nawiht “nothing;” see naught)) + -y (2).

Specific meaning “sexually promiscuous” is from 1869. The mitigated sense of “disobedient, bad in conduct or speech, improper, mischievous” (especially of the delinquencies of children) is attested from 1630s. Related: Naughtily; naughtiness. In 16c.-18c. a woman of bad character might be called a naughty pack (also sometimes used of men and later of children).

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. –1 John 2:18-19

Sand is inexpensive and heavy, which is why sandbags are used for jobs like protecting vehicles and buildings during bombings or storms, or balancing the total weight on a boat. When you use sandbag as a verb, it either means to protect with sandbags or to deceive or coerce someone to get something you want. When you pretend that you’re terrible at basketball just so you can beat your cousin in one-on-one, you sandbag her. –Vocabulary.com

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins! –Isaiah 58:1 (KJV)

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. –Ephesians 4:31-32 (KJV)

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Back to the Future III has a lot of cussing: so if you’re going to watch it, please use Clearplay or VidAngel. –J.B.