This sermon emphasizes the consequences of despising the Word of God, warning against trusting in oppression and perverseness. It highlights the importance of humbling oneself before the cross, repenting, and obeying God's Word to avoid calamity. The speaker shares personal experiences and societal examples to illustrate the impact of disregarding God's commands and the need for true repentance and obedience.

Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 12. Now, my dear friends, this is what the Scripture says. Therefore, thus said the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this Word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon. Therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach, ready to collapse, fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. My dear friends, here we are told that despising the Word of God has serious consequences, sudden calamity, but when somebody is told it's okay, you're religious, you're fulfilling these forms, you're coming and sitting here, you're saying these prayers, you're going through the motions, you're fine. Now, I have no authority to say that. I have to point to the cross and say, now if a man goes to the cross and humbles himself, a new life begins. You know, back in the last century, 1919. 1919 is more than a decade before I was born. Well, there was the 18th amendment and the Volstead Act. Prohibition came into force. When prohibition came into force, what did Mr. Joseph Kennedy do? Over in those islands, some craggy little islands, which are the possession of France, a case of Scotch whiskey was available or it was brought for $45, handling and other expenses, and quite a number of other liquids were mixed and it was sold for $85 in the rum row of Long Island. What an import! What damage to a country! What devastation to families! And rum was brought in from Cuba and the Caribbean. Now, had the power of Jesus been presented to that family at that stage and all the potential and all the talents of that family were placed at the cross, my dear friends, what an impact it would have had upon not only this nation, but many other nations. Should the church stand against this? Should the church provide a paint by which all this is forgotten or painted over or glossed over? That's not the business of the church. The business of the truth is to the truth will set you free, said Jesus. Now, alas, that was not done. And my, the litany of sorrows and tragedies, and they were all avertable tragedies, nearly all of them. See, all of us are subject to calamities and dangers and diseases, all of us, but who forgiveth all your iniquities and healeth all your diseases. What a miracle that we can go to the Lord and say, Hey, Lord, I need this terminal sickness. If you want me in heaven, take me, but you're able to heal me. That more than 20 years have passed since I had my massive heart attack, and then I'm still on the road. It's just the mercy, sheer mercy of God. It's not so of some wonderful thing in me. Sheer mercy of God. But let me tell you, I never despised the word of God. I humbled myself at the word of God. I repented at the word of God. I turned away from sin and obeyed the word of God. Alas, alas, when a nation does not do it, but is just given a nice painted picture of what wealth can do. What a wrong idea is projected upon people. What can wealth do? Wealth can only provide pleasing paint, nothing else. Here, the Bible tells us if we despise the word of God, there is, it is like a high wall which collapses upon us. Now in Proverbs chapter 28 and the ninth verse. You see friends, we see these things happening all the time around us, and maybe in our own families. We had better warn people. We don't go about with a fine paintbrush. People will curse you finally, saying you knew the truth, but you never told us the truth. Ninth verse, he that turneth away his ear from hearing the word, the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. You see, think of prayers that become an abomination. My dear friends, it is terrible. You know, the liturgy has certain wonderful prayers. Wonderful, beautiful prayers, and people just skim over those prayers. Of course, they have learned it from childhood, but the truth of the word of Jesus does not ever turn them around because they don't care for it. Suppose all of you went out of this drive and immediately turned left. What would you do? You would go right into oncoming traffic because you would be on the wrong side of the road. Does anybody have to tell you that? No. Can anybody persuade you to make a sharp left turn as soon as you get out of this drive? No, no one can. You don't want to kill yourself or kill others by getting right driving right into the wrong side of the road, but what does the Bible say? When you turn away your ear from obeying or listening to God's word, then even your prayer becomes an abomination. Now, if you turn to 2 Samuel 12, you will see how King David was dealt with when he went against the word of God. You know, friends, when we do not provide or the church provide, the church is you and me. So, let's not talk about somebody somewhere. Let's talk about ourselves. When the church does not provide the truth and people who stand fast by the truth, then there is danger to people. Now, if you look at the 9th and 10th verses, Wherefore have you despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight, that was killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword? And you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon? Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because thou has despised me, and has taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Can you imagine running before the sword of your own son? David had to run before the sword of his own son. How terrible! You see, folks, but when you go against the word of God, when you turn your heart away from keeping the commandments of the Lord, you know, my dear friends, as a very young man, when I heard of Chappaquiddick, that little island on which a young woman of 18 was drowned, I couldn't understand it. How is it the matter was not reported immediately, when the car went over a bridge, or fell off a small bridge, and the driver escapes, and doesn't alert anybody? I couldn't understand that. All right, there were the expressions of regret, and of deep remorse, but how was it that a knowledgeable person did not immediately report that, hey, my car fell off this bridge, and a girl is drowning there? Of course, the question is asked, why was that girl, what was that girl doing so late at night? Well, so many of those questions people have swept under the rug, but it affects the character of a whole nation. See, when I do a crime, or I'm an accessory to a crime, and because of my power and payoffs, I can get off, then I never repent. I am so powerful, or my family is so powerful, I'm let off the hook. What is the impression that anybody gets? Oh, money can buy off anyone in the land. What a tragedy! No, that's not the rule of law. The rule of law should not, and does not, differentiate a poor man from a rich man. It's the rule of law. The word of God does not differentiate anybody, the man in the pulpit. In fact, that judgment shall begin at the house of God, is a warning given to preachers and religious people. For judgment shall begin at the house of God. The word of God is despised. I'm the king, and I want this woman. This kind of thing seems to be taking place in many places, even today. I can't go into the details now, but it is a very sad thing. Here, God says, you have despised my word. If you turn to Thessalonians, the fourth chapter, 1st Thessalonians, 4th chapter, 7 and 8. For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who has also given unto us His Holy Spirit. See, it says very clearly, when we fight against holiness and choose uncleanness, then we are despising not man, but God, who has given unto us the Holy Spirit. Holiness is God's basic requirement. And you know that holiness does not come to us automatically. No, as a matter of fact, uncleanness seems to come to people automatically. In spite of everything, the best of education, the best of this and the best of that does not address the cancer of uncleanness. The cancer of uncleanness in families, the cancer of uncleanness in a nation, the cancer of uncleanness in a society where marriage is just made lighter. My friends, that there is disaster ahead when we despise God. God says, you have despised me. How am I, a small lily potion, going to look at God and despise Him? I tremble before Him. I want to obey Him. Be not hearers of the Word, but doers, doers, not despisers of the Word. Friends, we have to choose a religion without power, a religion which is just hearing, hearing, going through the motions, or going to God with a broken spirit and saying, here I am, O Lord. Take me, this foul creature standing here. Take me, and you have a purpose for my life. Use me. Be not hearers of the Word, but doers. Let us pray. Let us tell God, Father, here we are. We want to be doers of your Word. We don't want to be just mosquito swatters, fly chasers, hot air vents. We want to be doers, doers of your living Word. Come to us. Give us this cleansing which is at the cross. We want to be doers. We don't want to be in collision course with the Word of God. We don't want our families to be in collision course with the Word of God. O my Father, come to us. And O my Father, the society at large, the great and the powerful in the land may never begin to think that the church or the prayers after death and holy water or whatever, incense or whatever, and prayers are not going to change the destiny which we have chosen while we are alive, not by any means change the consequences of our actions, disobediences while we are alive. Do not allow the nation to be in any way painted over with this false paint. We need a new heart and obedience to your holy Word. So help us in Jesus' almighty name. Amen.