This sermon delves into the importance of staying true to the original gospel message amidst the changing tides of modern interpretations, highlighting the dangers of diluting the truth and the need to return to the simplicity of prayer and the unchanging Word of God. It emphasizes the significance of discerning false teachings, standing firm in faith, and being willing to go back to the foundational truths of the Bible, even when faced with opposition or confusion.

Welcome. How's everybody doing? Good? That's good. Look friendly, eh? They must have screened them at the door. They got the ones. For those of you who don't know who I am or anything, I'll just give you a little overview of where I came from. I was raised on a small farm. I didn't grow up in a church. I ended up suicidal in my early 20s. It's fairly easy to talk about now because it's a long time ago, but it wasn't good back then. And my best friend took his life at that point. A little hard time, but God uses hard times. And most people, it seems like they have to hit a wall before they look up, and I was no different. I met a preacher at a small wedding, and, well, he helped me a lot. And he told me about a God that I didn't know anything about. I picked up a guitar when I was 27, and I started getting songs. And I'd worked on farms for 20 years as a relief milker, and I traveled around. I was a farmhand and did all that stuff. The last eight years, all we've been doing is singing, just in Canada, mostly. We had done six CDs, and I thought, you know, I guess that's it. You know, God gave me enough songs, and I'd never written any songs for about three years. And all of a sudden, this past spring, I got enough songs for two CDs. It all came just in a big... Every time I look at a hydropole, I get a song. This is getting ridiculous. But many of the songs are to deal with... I've had a scripture in my head the last few days, so I'm assuming it's because God put it there. It's in Jeremiah. And we've seen, I believe you see this, and it's a very puzzling thing in our nation. It says, The prophets prophesy lies, and the priests, or pastors, if you want to say, they rule by their own authority, and the people love it this way. That's a scary scripture, but I believe there's a fair bit of truth in that. You see, in the churches, we have a soft church age. And I'm not an expert. I haven't figured it all out. Maybe I never will. But all I'm going to do tonight is try to sing a few little songs that may help someone somewhere. I've heard a few stories of people that lives were almost shipwrecked and some terrible things. 15, 20 years, marriage is torn apart all because of a polite word would be silliness in the church. But it's come from this new gospel that started about 30 years ago. But I want to start with a song. I tell everybody I'm a deep thinker, and they lock most of us up. I'm still running around. I like to have fun like everybody, but there's a time and a place. And the Bible talks about times when people's joy should turn to mourning. And nobody wants to mourn, not in North America. Let's just all be happy. Well, who defined what happy is? God's looking for people, I believe today, to stand up where they are and live for God. And this song here is called Picture of Today. And it's Noah. Everybody knows about Noah. I didn't even grow up in church, and I knew about him. He's the guy with the boat and all the cute animals and where they go. I don't know why you didn't take care of the mosquito when you had a chance. I wasn't really thinking there. But if you read the Bible, it's more than just a picture on a wall with a boat and cute animals. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So put that together. It took him 100 years to build the boat, more than 100. Noah must have preached beside the boat. And it probably just wasn't Sunday morning. It may well have been every day for 100 years. And the story goes that the flood took them all away. Hardly anybody listened to that man. It's quite a story. It's not just a cute story. Think about it. The man was not there for two weeks. They had an excuse. Well, he's just some crazy old man. God told him to build a boat. What does he know? 100 years. And they still didn't recognize God's man when he stood up. And then you look on and you read later in the New Testament, it says, As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the end. And I'm not saying that I know the end. But there's some very definite signs of some things happening. If you were to bring some people back out of the grave today from 50 years ago who weren't even Christians, they would look around and they'd say, Why do you live like this? What's wrong with you people? So Noah, I would imagine, once again, I don't know. I wasn't there. But I have a feeling that Noah cried at night a lot because he talked to the people and they wouldn't listen. This song's called Picture of Today. In the end it will be like the days of Noah Men will shake their fists and laugh at God The curse is named from early in the morning And run from every good thing they've been taught You wonder how they get along without a Savior When all around their world is crashing to the ground Still there's no room for some baby in a manger Eat, drink, and fart You just get one time around Cause they don't care where they're going Even if there's hell to pay Can't see they're reaping what they're sowing Add it up, that's the picture of today If you gave these folks a brush and a canvas Most of the paint would be just outside the lines They call it freedom of expression when it's madness They say to make this world go round it takes all kinds But when you look them in the eye you see a sadness In that state They should be ready for some love They think only money, fame, and dreams will bring you gladness They don't want the stuff that fits from up above Cause they don't care where they're going Even if there's hell to pay Can't see they're reaping what they're sowing Add it up, that's the picture of today Cause heaven's just for those with simple minds And hell don't fit today get with the times You see, they don't care where they're going Even if there's hell to pay Can't see they're reaping what they're sowing Add it up, that's the picture of today play rock-and-roll I have a good friend, you might have noticed on stage, my wife Jennifer. applause And I have a daughter right over here, Amanda. I have two daughters. applause Sarah, our oldest daughter, our firstborn, she's up in Grand Prairie, Alberta, going to Bible school. So they've, all three of them, well I live with three nice ladies, even when we traveled in the first motor home we got a hamster and we thought it was a boy and it turned out to be a girl. So Eric follows me around. They put up with a lot because I, I do a lot of thinking and I do it out loud and I'm always trying to figure things out, God, what's it all about? And this song here is called I'm Leaving Town and I remember as a brand new Christian I came home and I was 22 years old and the first few little experiences I noticed or signs I guess, I was just learning, I was working on a farm, man was quite sick and I worked there for two years helping out and it was May and I had the old farmer's old pickup truck and I was picking up brush along the fence, you know, stuff you do, clean things up and I had the door open and the radio blasting like I'd always done, you know, just, I'd been in church just a few weeks, I'd heard some songs that I'd never heard before. And I remember I went to this thing on a Sunday night, I think the first Sunday night after I became a Christian and they called it Singspiration and it was this little church and people would get up and sing a song and a family would get up and then they'd sing a couple songs and the whole, you know, almost everybody would sing a song. Some of them, you know, they didn't hold that great of a tune but it didn't seem to matter. I recognized something and I heard something that I'd never noticed before or been around and I'm not saying all of these people were following God but there was quite a few of them. And I noticed the radio songs didn't sound as good as the ones in church, they're supposed to be the professional. I thought, wait a minute, you see, I was learning that, you know, the whole value system is different, you march to the beat of a different drum and so I turned the radio off, of course I turned it back on later but then I turned it off again, I was having this, anyway. My dilemma, I guess if you call it, is I have a hard time understanding in our church age how so many people still have a twinkle in their eye for that stuff but yet Jesus is on their lips. To me, it's almost grade one Christianity, I thought that's from the very beginning, isn't it? If people had a true conversion, the world looks funny, like the old chorus said, turn your eyes upon Jesus and if things of this earth grow strangely dim, I'm leaving town. There are days when I fall down on my knees and I must admit I'm just plain tired preaching sea to sea, convincing men they need the Lord is no small task today, it seems most would rather play than pray, what compels a man to live his life alone, from coast to coast they wander, still their hearts must groan, they're looking for the answer but their search is all in vain, until they turn to God their sin remains, don't they want to go to heaven, don't they know it's peaceful there, but they chose this world, to me they don't compare, one is full of hardness and slogans that let you down, they can have it all, but as for me, I'm leaving town. We get all enthused with our cars and sporting games, but when we turn the key and start the game, it never brings a change, we're hopelessly devoted to things that can't fulfill us all, we live from day to day for that next thrill, don't we want to go to heaven, don't we know it's peaceful there, but we chose this world, to me they don't compare, one is full of hardness and slogans that let you down, they can have it all, but as for me, I'm leaving town. I just want to go to heaven, I hear it's peaceful there, I've tried this world, they really don't compare, one is full of hardness and slogans that let you down, they can have it all, but as for me, I'm leaving town. They can have it all, but as for me, I'm leaving town. I have little classrooms that I get to walk through every year, and God knows how to teach you stuff. I had one last October, and I was asked to sing at Saskatoon at a trades fair convention for the western provinces, and they had a big award thing, or a banquet Friday night, a big award thing Saturday night, and Sunday morning they had a small breakfast, and I guess they wanted somebody to sing Amazing Grace, or some little token song, make them feel good. And I realized most of the people wouldn't be there, but I said I'd still go, you never know who's listening. But she called a week before, and she sounded a little bit panicking on the phone, and I realized probably there was no one else to ask, and I was the last straw. She had a cancellation on a Friday night, and she said you wouldn't want to sing on a Friday night. I said well, if you want me to. So I went, and there was five acts that night, each had a half an hour, and it was a big place, and everybody's at their tables, and everybody's drinking, and yakking, and not the easiest place to sing gospel music, and tell a story about a song, because you're more background music than anything, and the first guy got up, and he was a singer, and nobody listened to him, and I realized, well, it's going to be hard, and the next guy was a comedian, and I wish I could tell you it was funny. The guy was, I knew what a dirty joke was, but I guess I'd been removed from that a little bit. There's no line they don't cross to say anything, and I was backstage. I thought some people would be embarrassed, because he just kept going, and deeper, and deeper, and but it didn't work that way. The worse he got, the louder they roared, and I was backstage, and I had to sing after him, and I thought, oh, I wanted to go at the back door, but I couldn't find it, because it was too dark, but I went out, and I said, God, I told him, I said, this is why I'm here. I said, I, God gave me a new lease on life, and I have a few little songs, and they're nothing special, and I get scared when I do this, but if you'd like to listen, I'll sing. To my surprise, they didn't make a sound for half an hour. I wasn't expecting that, but they listened, and, but what I learned that weekend was this, and that's where this next song comes into play. People came up to me afterwards, but it was always, there's quite a few of them, but it was always alone in the elevator, and they'd say, good job, and in the bathroom, you know, one-on-one, one Christian to another, I really liked what you did, but I watched those people through that weekend, there's quite a few, and they wouldn't come near me in the crowd. I don't know, when I went to school, two and two was four. You want to be a Christian, stand up, be counted. See, that's about where we are today. We've, like, I've heard somebody, I'm just stealing an expression that I heard somebody else use, but it used to be that the church was up here, and the world was down here. The world sunk way down, and now we think if the church, if we're three notches above where the world is, we're okay, and they'll want to come to where we are, they can almost step over, but it never worked like that before. All those people for years that lived by standards and values, called themselves Christians, apparently they didn't have to do that. So either they were wrong, or this new church age is wrong. They look at it, and they say, there's a Christian, but then they say, I don't see, you know, he's marginally different than I am, just a little. Why exactly do I need this in my life? This is the North American Christian. Yet they were awful kind, their life spoke so loud, they didn't need no sign. They didn't fit in like today, wasn't a game. So we modified it a bit, so it all looked the same. Follow me, I'm a North American Christian. Yeah, well, I'm not that different from anybody else, except I got a Bible on my shelf. I mostly read those how-to books on the important stuff. We don't need to be living like that no more. Folks will start to wonder what we're living for. They might get to believe in that the Bible is true. Yeah, they'll figure me out, and then what will I do? I gotta keep this thing from getting out of hand. I'm in the middle of the road, and it's right where I'm gonna stand. Hey, follow me, I'm a North American Christian. Well, I'm not that different from anybody else, except I got a Bible on my shelf. I mostly read those magazines about my car, my truck, my great big dream. Follow me, I'm a North American Christian. Let's take old God and bring him up today. He was asking a little bit much now, don't you think? That was fine for the old fogeys back then, but I think we're a little smarter than them. Why don't we all join hands and try to get along? We don't need to draw no line between right and wrong. Follow me, I'm a North American Christian. Well, I'm not that different from anybody else, except I got a Bible on my shelf. I like every new thing that comes along. All you need is love, there's nothing to stop. Follow me, I'm a North American Christian. I also read that Christian Club, I got the best of both worlds. I'm living it up. Follow me, I'm a North American Christian. It doesn't take too long, and I'm sure there's people here, and people are listening. To this, if you've set your mind and say, God, I want to follow you, it'll be a very short time before you will run into a bit of trouble, and you'll run smack dab into the social religiosity of the day, too. We had an experience last year, God got us a little house. We live in Tucksford, Saskatchewan. Does anybody know where that is? Does anybody want to know where that is? We, to make a long story short, we had a little 110-year-old farmhouse, and God had worked for years to try to pay the whole thing off, and then God sent us into ministry, and the house was gone. Seven years later, God gave us our house back, and we weren't even looking for it. It just happened in two days. It was a $37,000 warmest little house we ever had. It's all fixed up, and it was a log cabin, and they moved it there, and insulated the living daylights out of it. It's a cute little thing, and everything's cute. I have a cute wife, I have a cute house, I have cute cars. Does anybody ever, I used to have Chevettes. Anybody ever own a Chevette? I can't even admit to it. I had five of them, but they wouldn't start in the winter. So God gave me something better. Now I have Geos, which is a three-cylinder, it's a sewing machine on wheels. It's a motorcycle with a tin around it. But we had lived in a mobile home for three years on a Bible school campus, and this is what happened. We ended up at a prayer meeting on Saturday mornings when I was home, and it was for a man that had worked 40 years working with Muslims, and he was a prisoner in his own home. His wife had Alzheimer's and cancer, and this man, he's a gem. And I started a meeting in his home because he couldn't go out anywhere. So I went there, and we'd gather around, and I'd listen to him tell his stories and watch the tears run down his face. I feel so far removed from anything. I didn't understand anything about missions or other countries. I mean, I milked a cow. I didn't know, just seemed so distant and far away. But I started to understand a little bit of the need, and so what we did was, we felt God was telling us, well, God basically almost gave us our trailer, so we gave it back. We thought, we'll give it for missions. Except it sounded like an easy thing, just, you know, put a sign up, and away you go. But we got into a pickle, and I would have never expected it, but I think it was a lesson, and God was trying to show us something. We had a couple of people that we thought were going to take the trailer, and then all of a sudden they disappeared, and they found something else. And it came down to a young couple that we'd received. I got a phone call from them, and I sort of just kind of discarded them, because they were just young, and they said they didn't have any money, and it wasn't, you know, but it just sounded like they were kind of hoping, maybe. Well, guess what they called? They were it. They had the money. Oh, well, we got somebody. That's good. So we can do this. And except that night, I remember when he talked to me on the phone, he said they were getting married. At first, I thought, that's great, but all of a sudden, this equation didn't work. They were living together, and I was going to take their money and give it to missions. Somehow, that didn't go together. I wasn't sure. Well, I can't do anything. What can I do? If I mention one word, it'll sound like I'm saying, you're a no-good-for-nothing, low-down, rotten sinner, no matter how nice I said it. So we prayed, and this is what God told us to do. We called them up. They were getting married anyway. We said, we'll pay for your rent for a few months till you're married, and we offered to chip in $1,000 to help them with their wedding, and they said yes. We went, oh, thank God. That wasn't so bad. I was getting all worried for nothing, except they called back the next day, and they said, who do you think you are? Didn't sound good, because they said, you know, it's not 1952. It's 2006. You're crazy. You can't tell us to do what you're doing. And I said, well, I'm trying to. I just, I said, my conscience won't allow me. They said, you're crazy. I said, well, I'll have to throw my Bible out this afternoon. They said, no, no, we need Bibles. I said, well, my Bible was the same in 1952 as it is in 2006. What am I supposed to do? I was shaken that night, and I started to realize, if you want to live for God, you're going to run into it. Somebody has to stand for something, don't they? I said, well, you're not allowed to draw lines. You know, when I was talking to him on the phone, I said, well, he said, you're discriminating. And I said, well, I don't, I said, well, what about gay marriage? He said, well, no, that's acceptable. I said, well, what about abortion? He says, no, I don't really like abortion. I just said, oh, you just drew a line. You're discriminating. I said, well, soon we'll be able to kill our mother. She's getting old. You know, that's the logic of this. It's that bad. We'll do anything. I used to hear and read in the Bible about the lonely road. Jesus walked a lonely road up to a cross. Eleven of the twelve disciples were killed for bringing the good news. Why did they kill them? Because with their life, they drew a line. God drew a few lines. He had to. We live in a society that says we don't need any lines. We have to have lines. This song is called The Lonely Road. Things are not the same. All the ways from yesterday have been removed or changed. They say we've come so far, we can't go back. You'd think if we're that smart, we'd know more than that. I'll take my chance with you. I believe the saints of old. They said a time would come like this when many would grow cold. The Lord himself gave warnings, so I guess we've been told. So I must prepare myself to walk this lonely road. The world keeps growing darker now. The light's been left behind. And those who live their life for good are harder now to find. It seems that we've forgotten how to blush. And if you raise your voice against it, they say, what's the fuss? I'll take my chance with you. I believe the saints of old. They said a time would come like this when many would grow cold. The Lord himself gave warnings, so I guess we've been told. So I must prepare myself to walk this lonely road. I'd like to think it's just a phase. There's saner days ahead. Because at the rate we're going now, we might soon raise the dead. Because they've been rolling around quite some time. And if they came back now, they'd say we've lost our mind. Well, I'll take my chance with you. I believe the saints of old. They said a time would come like this when many would grow cold. The Lord himself gave warnings, so I guess we've been told. So I must prepare myself to walk this lonely road. So I must prepare myself. I'm sure there's other people on the lonely road. I'm not the only one. It's quite a wrestling match sometimes. But it's not a hard decision which way to go. But in the early years as a Christian, especially, Eventually I thought, God, this thing better be real. I lost a lot of friends here, and I didn't even try. And back again to the disciples, remember they killed them. These people weren't doing any harm, any wrong. They were preaching the message that God from heaven told them to preach. They loved people. Jesus loved people, and they killed him. Because the Bible says men loved the darkness. The light came in to the world. The men loved the darkness. And I guess it's been away from the beginning, and I guess you can't really change it. It'd be nice if you just think everybody would just, come on, let's go. Follow me, let's go. But the wrestling match is I either have to go with this all the way, walk away from it all, or the worst of the three is go to church and put all that effort into trying to fool other people that I'm still on the road. This song here is called The Show Goes On, and in many churches across our nation, you don't have to go to the theater. The Show Goes On. The Show Goes On The stage is set, the curtain's drawn Sunday church, the show is on Heaven's all throughout their songs. You'd think they meant them all along. They've been doing this for years. Sometimes they even shed some tears. They're unfaithful without fear. This play's not like it appears. They're so impressed by the world. They've won their heart with just one song. It looks like the villain got the girl. Please tell me why the show goes on. You see they found another love. This one's not from up above. I hope their new flame is enough. Loving both is kind of tough. They say that God's still number one. They just want to have some fun. If there was danger they would run. But up till now they're finally numb. They're so impressed by the world. They're torn between which part to play. They'd like to give them both a whirl. But you can't live your life both ways. Not a good old-fashioned play. Not like the stuff we see today. People living just that way. Then they have a nerve to pray. All these actors should have known. I'm sure at one time they were shown. Just by how much they condone. They're saying heaven's not their home. They're so impressed by the world. They've won their heart with just one song. Looks like the villain got the girl. You wonder why the show goes on. Until the good guy wins the game. I guess the show must go on. I have a song that I wrote about my wife. We had our marriage vows redone last year. On our 20th anniversary. In the backyard of a missionary friend of ours. My wife had her wedding dress on. She's my first and second wife. I like them both. We've come from a little bit of awkward backgrounds. Like I said, I was suicidal. There was a lot of bitterness. People not speaking to one another. My dad had an awful life because of that. I was spared most of it. He was beat up and locked in rooms. That was all through that. For the grace of God, that's the same path I would probably be in right now. My wife, she's the city girl. I'm the country boy. She had to come to the country for me to find her. I was scared to drive. I was a farmhick. Hillbilly, but borderline. My wife's story, it's somewhat awkward. Some people say you're not supposed to talk about things. Just keep it to yourself. The thing is, when God gives you, he's given us a voice. I fought it for quite a while. I realize now that God's given me a place to speak. I don't take it lightly. Before we left on this trip, we had 40 concerts in two months. I felt God telling me, I fasted for a week. I was saying, God, please help me to say what I'm supposed to say. It's to bring hope to other people that are in. If you don't remove the scars, sometimes you can't get in there where people live. My wife's mom and God is still God. God loves her just as much as he loves us. It would only take one step on her part and God would come running. She went through a couple husbands and became a gay rights activist and married another woman. People can say what they want, but that's very difficult on everybody. Only God can get you through that. I believe he has. This song I wrote, I told this story before. I wrote it at a little campground called the Rubber Ducky Resort. It was a small little place, sitting beside a duck pond. I like her. This song is called Ivy Wed. Ivy Wed We've walked this road together Twenty years have passed And as a wife she's truly been Much more than I could ask Her beauty leaves me breathless Her smile still melts my heart I pledge again today I'll stay with her till death do part Ivy Wed We've forgotten to stand And I promise I will always hold her hand Ivy Wed My lovely bride With God we'll face the future side by side The day that I first met her My poor heart skipped a beat I knew she was the one Who would make my life complete A present sent from heaven God wrapped her oh so nice I won the world that day Cause that girl became my wife Ivy Wed We've forgotten to stand And I promise I will always hold her hand Ivy Wed My lovely bride With God we'll face the future side by side She gave me precious children And I'm proud to be their dad Just another gift from God That I never would have had Surely he has blessed me More than any man deserves That's why I'm standing here today Repeating these three words Ivy Wed We've forgotten to stand And I promise I will always hold her hand Ivy Wed My lovely bride With God we'll face the future side by side All with God we'll face the future side by side I have a, that song was a love song about my wife But I have three other kind of love songs about my wife too But the very first song that I ever wrote Well I had written just a few songs And my wife came home and she said How come you don't write a song about me? And I said well I'm not sure how You know God gives me these other songs They just come from somewhere I don't know how to sit down and just rhyme But I thought well I'll give it a shot She was going out the door to town to get some groceries She was only gone for a couple hours And I'd just been reading a book in the Bible Called The Song of Solomon Has anybody read that? I was kind of embarrassed when I read it the first time I wasn't sure but I just looked at it It's just a short little book there I thought well there's some things in there maybe I can So I ended up with a little tune when she came home And she said that wasn't exactly what she was thinking But see they described, they would be describing Their wife or their husband in that book And they use different terms than we do today Like we have all our little expressions Like the first date I called my wife I said she was cute as a button And maybe that was corny but that wasn't my line But they didn't say button or anything like that back then They had all kinds of other stuff And so I put this in a little song And I won't give God any credit for this song I wrote this one It's not very good But the thing is just because it didn't work for me This song doesn't mean it won't work for some of you guys You could try it Maybe you've just never heard these terms And you'd go home and this could just change everything for you It may be good, it may be bad This song is called That's Your Wife Well there's a book found in the Bible It's just after the book of Psalms There's some biblical words in there to describe your wife If you're in love or you did something wrong Now these words, they used to be flattering They don't get much use today Somewhere in the translation they lost a little something along the way They used to say she's got hair like a flock of goats Teeth like a flock of sheep A nose like the Tower of Lebanon And you, you really like her feet She's got a navel like a goblet And a waist like a mound of wheat What they were really trying to say is She's so sweet Yeah, that's your wife, that's your wife And she really changed your life She's the apple of your eye And you'll love her till you die Yeah, that's your wife, that's your wife She's the cutest little thing Now that's the kind of songs they used to sing Now they talked a little different back then I'm not sure if they'd qualify as compliments today But it all depends on your wife This might take her breath away Now if your wife is close, I mean, what harm can it do? Just check your insurance policy once or twice Grab her hand and sing her a verse or two Tell her she's got a neck like an ivory tower Eyes just like doves Lips like a scarlet river She's the one that your heart loves Oh, she's got temples just like pomegranates And you, you really think you're blessed And all you're trying to say is She's the best Yeah, that's your wife, that's your wife And she really changed your life She's the apple of your eye And you'll love her till you die Yeah, that's your wife, that's your wife She's the cutest little thing Now that's the kind of songs they used to sing Now at this point your wife is angry Or the doves in her eyes are gone Just remind her that it's biblical And it's one of God's guys that wrote the song You figured it might spice things up Or make your marriage strong Now if the door's locked and you're outside Well, you know you figured wrong Now apologizing is biblical too And you and Rover can't fit in the same house After a few nights on the front porch You'll be starting to miss your spouse Just tell her that you're sorry You won't be quoting the Bible to her no more And promise her stuff, like you'll do the dishes You won't snore like you did before She's your wife, she's your wife And she really changed your life She's the apple of your eye And you'll love her till you die Yeah, that's your wife, that's your wife Well, she's the cutest little thing And this may not be the song you need to sing Yeah, you just might need a different song to sing Written before the brain surgery, so... Before we left on this trip I got a song, and I thought songs were all done You know, God gave me all the songs, and it stops But I got this other song, and I was thinking God, no more songs, they're too expensive But we have a little church just down the road Where we moved I went out looking, exploring, just driving down the road And I found, and I don't want to read into numbers too much Seven is a pretty important number in the Bible I know they use stuff like that for gambling and stuff today But God, they didn't invent that, God started it God was, it was His number a long time before they ever got a hold of it This church is exactly seven kilometers from our house Not 6.9, not 7.1, when you drive in the driveway and you park And it's out in the middle of the prairies, all by itself And it holds maybe 35 people And it's a historic site, with the door unlocked all year round And I thought, wow I found a little treasure here, didn't I? God did this for me It wasn't just for me, I'm sure lots of other people I read some notes in there, people would leave notes People come, there's guest books, they come from all over the place But to me it's almost like a museum And that's why I wrote the song in there And when you say that statement really quickly, it sounds good A museum, everybody likes museums That's fun places to go, the museum But if you analyze that sentence It's not a good thing A museum is a place where people go To look at things that used to be And aren't anymore We're almost at the point Where we can make a museum In Canada For what the church used to be And people said, well you're really stepping out on a limb Saying things like that, that's not There's lots of good things in church Well I learned many things that I didn't realize I would learn Living on a Bible school campus, the largest one in Canada I had no clue what was going on But they're pumping preachers out of there, all across the land It was the hardest place I ever sang, bar none I sang at that place, I'll be easy This is a pretty easy place to sing Fifteen hundred people walked by me And not one person talked to me I'd never experienced that in any place in all of Canada I was confused What did I say, did I say something? Well I soon found out All the new things that they're bringing in to Bible schools Not all Bible schools, some have held on and said no Some have turned around and made it back But there's an outright hatred And mockery Of the old gospel message I didn't believe it was possible Until I seen it, I heard it I studied what they were teaching Some of the things And I was discussing things with some students Some that thought it was great And others that actually wanted to live for God And realized this stuff is wrong And I guess my The last straw was when I talked to a missionary friend of mine That I'd met And he'd been 25 years in the mission field And I got to know him really quickly But he'd been over in China and Turkey and a couple of places Been gone a long time, hardly ever home And he was sitting in his trailer on a Bible school campus And he was with a dozen or so students in their early 20s And he told me later He said when they left He said I felt like I was a different religion than they are And he asked me He said explain this to me And I said I don't know I don't know how to explain it All I know is that they've changed the gospel It can't be for a good reason This song is called Step Back And you can't come out swinging and say Look you guys, smarten up But maybe with a gentle little Look through a window Maybe like this song, I don't know It's just a cry I guess To those like them and others That may be listening to this Would you please one more time Consider what you left behind Those people put a Bible in our hands Because they live for God I would hate to think what would happen If our generation was to change places with theirs I don't think there would be a Bible here today Let's go in the museum Take a look at how it was back then We could study the Christians See how it must have been And what caused their survival Made them pass along the faith that we had Step back in the past And see what the church once had Look there's a Bible They say they thought it was all true Don't see many professors That cuts down on the points of view You see they clung to that old Bible They weren't in need of some religious fad Step back in the past And see what the church once had They had pure undivided faith Their hearts were sure When they stood to state their case They had both feet On the right side of the fence And if you offered them this world They wouldn't give two cents Look over here There's a book with all the hymns they'd sing And over there The church bell they used to ring And oh how they loved to gather With faith like a child would have Step back in the past And see what the church once had See the old revival shot Primitive as all can be They preached fire and brimstone Somehow it made the people free They didn't have much education Somehow that doesn't make me sad Step back in the past And see what the church once had They had pure undivided faith Their hearts were sure When they stood to state their case They had both feet On the right side of the fence And if you offered them this world They wouldn't give two cents Our tour is over now Admission here is always free We're open day and night You don't even need a key We trust your mind was challenged And that your heart was glad As you stepped into the past And saw what the church once had But it was just a little bit down the road Farther than that little church And if you're a Christian There's times that you're There's no way that you can get through Well sometimes it's days Sometimes you might go through a few months if you're lucky But I don't think you get that far You're going to have a day Or a moment where you're overwhelmed And you say, God, why have you done this for me? Some days, you know, we think we sort of deserve What we've got, we're happy Hey, I'm a Christian, I can do this, I'll walk But you realize it's only God that leads you down this path He knows what we're made of That's no excuse for sin But God, you know, today they've made it Sometimes the gospel, as one missionary told me It's like Jesus, there's even books Jesus goes behind you with a little mop pail and just mops up You can just live any way you want It's not a license for that When you read the Psalms There's a lot of emotions in there, isn't there? David is saying Save me from my enemies In many cases, they're trying to kill him He was saying, God, why doesn't other people understand? Why don't they? But many times when it gets back to the end, he's always saying Thank you, thank you, thank you, God And this song is just called Look What You've Done I was just a young man When I heard the call of God I was sure you were mistaken I'm not Peter, and I'm not Paul There must be someone else, Lord I'm not sure that I could stand Then I heard your voice say Trust me, take my hand Look what you've done It's more than I deserve Look what you've done You sure stand by your word You give peace and strength and power And help me rise above it all Look what you've done I just said yes when you called At times I thought I'd suffered And done more, but when you stand my list Beside your cross, it really don't compare I've been blessed beyond all measure With a joy this world can't give I was dead and sinning when you called me Come and look what you've done Look what you've done It's more than I deserve Look what you've done You sure stand by your word You give peace and strength and power And help me rise above it all Look what you've done I just said yes when you called Look what you've done It's more than I deserve Look what you've done You sure stand by your word You give peace and strength and power And help me rise above it all Look what you've done I just said yes when you called Look what you've done I just said yes when you called Sometimes it's a little misunderstood because you travel around and say well here's the guy with the fancy hat I paid $100 for it 10 years ago so that's $10 a year I read scriptures when I first picked up the Bible it said if you lose your life for the gospel you gain it if you try to hang on to your life you lose it maybe it's misunderstood I'm in good company though I guess a whole bunch of other missionaries, people left what they had we don't have any savings account we have no RSPs, we have nothing it's amazing how God he got us a little house like I mentioned the prices, this is what happened last year, the houses from summer 2006 to 2007 in Moose Jaw $50,000 house went to $100,000 it was all kinds of that because people coming from Alberta and whatever was happening and we got in just under that we don't know nothing about nothing and God got us a house for $37,000 which would probably be worth double at least about two months later it's gone this is the hard part now I like singing love songs am I singing another love song? no I'm not when we went in the studio this time we had the most difficult song of all was this one and I wasn't sure I said God am I allowed to sing this? these words are but I was sure God only gives me songs when he gives them to me and they just come out and I'd wrestle back and forth well two things happened one might sound a little like I'm reading into it but when we went to do the final mix in the studio you have to set all the levels and about two days of work there and the first song you spend two hours on that and then the other songs go quicker after that but when we went in the studio that morning our producer Bobby Lalonde had this song on there and after a while because you have to listen to it for two hours and after a while I asked him is there any reason you picked that song? he said no I just put it into the thing and it found its way to the top first I thought oh no and then I thought no maybe that's God trying to say but the other sign was what happened with our daughter and I would never write out a left field but we had to see this she went on a trip to Florida for three months to be a nanny for the cutest kid you've ever seen in your life two years old with this young couple he was doing his internship to go into some form of ministry and the trip didn't last three months it lasted one month and what happened was our daughter called home and first I thought she was homesick sounded a little lonely or whatever on the phone she talked to Jenny a couple times but then I realized no it was something else and to start off with when she got down there they told her you're not here to be a nanny you're here because God's will is for you to be here I was confused because that was the whole deal but then there was different things going on a little bit of drinking and planting seeds my daughter would excuse herself from the living room if they were watching shows that she wasn't raised that was just a small thing but they mounted up fairly quickly to the point where they were surrounding her almost and they were in one of these churches where they love you and they felt the need to surround her and basically rescue her or convert her away from her parents in our old legalistic narrow minded gospel I guess they call it and our daughter was calling home and she was in tears and I thought oh boy this is worse than we thought I had no clue and they were in one of the new love churches I think this one was there's so many different varieties today you can't hardly name them all but this one was purpose driven they had DVDs laying around the house how to be a millionaire God's way anyway we said well I guess you'll have to come home well we talked to some of our older missionary friends and they said you've got to pull her out you can't leave her on the front lines that's too hard but when we did they said they wanted all the expense money if you want her to come home you've got to pay us before she comes home I said well okay whatever you want is fine and they said $700 and I said well it's probably half that but I didn't say that's okay my bible says bless those who curse you I sent them $1400 plus a plane ticket we had $2300 in our account which was not normal it's a good thing I did a couple of concerts where people took a lot of CDs and I guess God knew what was ahead and we didn't and so it was $2000 plus a $120 cab fee to the airport they wouldn't even drive her to the airport in Orlando this is the new love gospel it's an ugly monster is what it is as I heard one guy say recently an older man preacher he said in the dark ages the devil's plan was to get rid of the bible if you've read any stories they tried to get it off the face of the earth they never succeeded but the devil's plan today is to water it and dilute it so badly that it's only partial little bits of truth mixed through it there's enough in there if people have not read their bibles and they're not praying and they have a twinkle in their eye for what's in this world this gospel will pull them in so quick they won't even know what hit them Jesus went in a temple one time with a whip and he drove a bunch of people out of there he upset their tables and he said this is my father's house people are trying to find me here you're in the way there's a lot of stuff that's in the way today why are you not allowed to speak against it because all the masses are going in one way how dare anybody speak against it they run to all their conferences if Jeremiah came back today how many people would go to his meetings not many, I don't think this song is called Wait a Minute they told me call in they'd give me a book, no need for stalling then they gave me that look it sounded like they were honest men right through to the bone in just forty days I'd have purpose in life, pray like Jabez you'll be blessed more than twice repeat after me and you'll get more from God than your mind has ever dreamed I look at Schuller and his big glass tower, it's a big draw for those with fame and power although I tried I couldn't figure out where the Lord came into play and then there's Oprah oh and by the way she's got the secret new age is in today I guess anything goes there ought to be some questions that I can ask just wait a minute that can't be right it was a close one I was starting to buy it's a good thing I stopped and prayed or I'd have been riding in it just wait a minute if you want victory your choices are few, you need Joyce she knows just what to do and Benny has the cure, just make sure you send along the funds there's the wild at heart that's the outdoor bunch in the emergent church they're out to lunch, we got thirty-two flavors of Jesus why don't you give them all a try and then the prophets come on with their word for the day, it's always good news you know the games that they play I wonder why they don't make prophets like they had in the Bible times they just smile a lot and tell you their lies they're a sneaky bunch, hard to recognize study these tricksters long enough they'll always cross the line and you'll say just wait a minute that can't be right it was a close one I was starting to buy it's a good thing I stopped and prayed or I'd have been riding in it just wait a minute something wrong, they've gone way past the limit just wait a minute you know some people might get into some nut with a bunch of opinions and I never said about any of these things for a long time I would come home sometimes you go six months if I was lucky and I'd say I see this and they're telling me it's this and I'd talk my wife's ear off and then the devil says and you know everything and you're the only one that knows it's not like that see now I've met and I stack them up I've met people quite a few older people but they're not always old I've met some good young people too good young preachers but if someone well I'll just tell the one story because it was last year there was a guy in Salmon Arm, B.C. and I heard him crying in a concert you see people cry but you don't usually hear them cry and I seen he was troubled he had his hands and his face in his hands and I went over and talked to him later I said how old are you and I just opened the conversation because he's a sweet old guy he said if I lived three weeks I'd be 89 but then I didn't feel so comfortable talking because he started to tell me that he preached for 45 years and he was a man of few words but he said he preached 45 years and he preached back when he worked in the woods all week and preached three times on Sunday and then I didn't feel qualified to talk to him because I thought I played little league baseball compared to what he does or he did but he gripped my hand I waited for him to say something what's he going to say and he held my hand with both hands and his eyes would fill up with water and he looked at me and he said he said the gospel is not the same anymore he said they've changed it he said there was a thing called repentance one time people made things right with God they were broken salvation didn't amount to I vote for Jesus so the way I look at the equation is if those guys were wrong which I have a hard time believing they didn't know God I guess if they knew God and the new kids on the block know God these guys should be in the stands cheering these guys on but they're not their message is opposed, totally opposed so what are you supposed to do I can't discount these guys they're not just old guys that didn't know they're past their prime they don't want to change if they're wrong I'm going down with them this song is my song for the church I guess it's sort of a cry in some ways I'm no Paul Paul warned people day and night with tears I'm just a farm boy I gave a couple songs too but why did Paul warn day and night with tears what were the tears for what I've figured out is in the Bible he birthed those churches and they were like his children and so he must have went and gave warnings and said be careful stopped by that church and didn't fly with planes took a while to get there and he gave these and he says be careful people will preach another Jesus they'll come in here and they'll preach Jesus but it's not the Jesus in the Bible be careful but the devil doesn't use people with pointy horns to lead them astray he uses very nice people with big smiles on their faces so Paul gave these warnings and as he went along he figured they would take the warning and they would understand but he must have heard reports back later that many had fallen all that work and all that love that he put into bringing them to the Lord some guy came in with a smooth tongue and they were gone that's where the tears would come let me think the church would know by now the gospel can't be changed around or be made over but don't look now they've gone and done it they've made it into something strange they can't be sober they say they're going to die they say the world can't understand the message of the cross it might offend so they pretend salvation has no cost, they ought to be ashamed what they've done God helped them all to see God's holy ways will never fit into our liberality I'd like to think they'd know better they're trying to tell me the sky's green not blue I guess all that I can say is shame on you there was a time when preachers prayed and those whose lives had gone astray their knees were bending you might say they saw the light changed their ways and made things right they weren't pretending amazing grace had more than once turned a sinner from his way don't you think we could use that now again in these dark days they ought to be ashamed what they've done God helped them all to see God's holy ways will never fit into our liberality I'd like to think they'd know better they're trying to tell me the sky's green not blue I guess all that I can say is shame on you the church just loves to play and all that I can say is shame on you it's just called Let's Go Home I mentioned, I believe, earlier about hearing people's lives being shipwrecked by sometimes just one book somebody handed them but I've heard stories of one day they got up and shook themselves said I gotta go back where I started and I've had my own experiences I had a man set me up with 8 books I had to read them all in order I was about a 3 year old Christian at that point I became so confused I didn't know what was going on but he sounded so nice this man he preached a lot too one day I got up after about 4 months I might say I had a little bit of a fit but I threw them all in the garbage and I threw a whole bunch of things in the garbage some things maybe I shouldn't have thrown but I remember what it was like when I picked up the Bible the first time there's no games or guesswork with the Bible and that's all I'm sounds pretty simple but that's all I'm telling people there's safety back home be very careful as one missionary said Jesus could come back in North America and many of the church services would go on and they wouldn't even realize he was here they've built them around they're loving people which all sounds so nice they help the poor and that's good just remember Madonna adopts children too from other countries it doesn't prove that much it doesn't prove we're Christians just because we even go on short term mission trips it doesn't prove we're following God sometimes it's just removed by a little emotion we need to ask God test our motives test our hearts God show me and God's very faithful to do that he's very gentle he'll lead us to truth let's go home sometimes we're just not sure they write books that talk of Jesus they have their TV shows their message leaves us troubled is it true we just don't know let's go home back to the simple life of prayer where the Bible was our road map we knew that God was there let's go home they're telling me this journey is a painless carefree ride I could have swore the last curve had a great big danger sign the driver's eyes are eerie when he smiles I feel a chill the road looks unfamiliar this just can't be God's will I must go home back to the simple life of prayer where the Bible was my road map I knew that God was there I must go home God said these times would come when common sense would lead and those who have not loved the truth would surely be deceived my friend hear this warning the gospel has been changed your soul is now in danger please go back from where you came you must go home back to the simple life of prayer where the Bible was your road map you knew that God was there you must go home where the Bible was our road map we knew that God was there let's go home I've heard known to the ears that a word or a letter just at the right time and I guess this DVD is sort of my little letter to anybody that might think they can't stand that you're not alone there's a bunch more that haven't bowed yet you know the God of Baal was basically the God of increase, rain and all that stuff see that's old stuff from way back guess what? it's still here that's what this new gospel is it's the God of Baal bow down and worship this stuff and I'll give you this world the old saints knew this wasn't their home they could care less they wouldn't give two cents thank you again God bless you applause applause There's a voice on every corner They say they have the cure They speak as if they know God At times we're just not sure They write books that talk of Jesus They have their TV show Their message leaves us troubled