Lobster in a Pot
E.A. Johnston warns that both the nation and the church are spiritually compromised by idolatry and sin, likening society to a lobster slowly boiling in a pot, and calls for urgent repentance and revival.
In this prophetic sermon, E.A. Johnston delivers a solemn warning about the spiritual decline of both the nation and the church. Drawing from Exodus 34, he exposes the idolatry and moral decay prevalent in society and calls for urgent repentance. Johnston likens the nation to a lobster slowly boiling in a pot, emphasizing the danger of complacency. He challenges believers to recognize the seriousness of the times and seek a genuine revival.
Full Transcript
I have a very solemn message to bring before you today, friends, as I unburden my heart before you. In Exodus chapter 34, we find the Lord God Almighty standing with a man named Moses. And this man Moses had asked God, the God of creation, to pass before him and show him his glory.
God concedes to the bold request by revealing more of his attributes to Moses as he passes by. And God's covenant is renewed with Israel that day. But along with these benefits are commands to the precepts of God, as we see in verses 10 through 13, where God declares he will do marvels and a terrible thing in driving out the enemies of Israel from the land.
For in verse 11, we read, Observe thou that which I command thee to stay. Behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. God then gives Moses and the people a warning.
Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. And in verses 15 and 16, we continue to read, Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods. And one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice, and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods.
And make thy sons go a whoring after their gods, I will stop there, friends. The pagan citizens of America go a whoring after their booze. They go a whoring after their drugs.
They go a whoring after their lusts and covetousness and greed. They go a whoring after their gods of fornication and adultery. They bow down and serve the almighty dollar and worship money as a god.
They go a whoring after their sexual perversions. With such boldness they put Sodom and Gomorrah to shame. They go a whoring to the bed of prostitutes and massage parlors and strip clubs and adult entertainment.
It seems at times that the nation of America is seething in a cauldron of lust, like a lobster would boil in a pot, going senseless slowly, minute by minute, until death is in the roiling boil. Things have gotten so dark in this country that it mirrors both the days of Noah and Lot, for bloody violence is in the land and sexual perversion reigns in the land. And where is the church in all of this? The church herself has gone a whoring after her gods as well.
The church has gone a whoring after the gods of material success by way of building programs, recognition within their denomination, and in turn has trafficked in the souls of men for more brick and mortar. The church has gone a whoring after her gods of rock music and culture, inviting the world into the church for the sake of crowds rather than the sake of souls. The church has gone a whoring after a newer methodology for church growth and a watered-down gospel for better acceptance to sinful man.
The church, along with the nation, has forsaken the living God of the Bible and has forgotten God's command, for thou shalt worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. What is the result of all of this? We have a generation of young people today who don't believe in God. Even though they grew up in the church, they see no reality in the God of the Bible.
The nation itself totters back and forth on a preface of financial collapse and nuclear destruction as the people senselessly go a whoring after their gods. The only hope for the country is a heaven-sent revival, but I fear the people are like the lobster in the pot. They are too far gone.
Heaven help us all.
Sermon Outline
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I. God's Covenant and Warning to Israel
- God reveals His glory to Moses in Exodus 34
- Renewal of God's covenant with Israel
- Warning against making covenants with pagan nations
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II. The Spiritual Condition of the Nation
- Comparison of America’s sins to ancient pagan idolatry
- Prevalence of lust, greed, and sexual perversion
- The nation likened to a lobster boiling slowly in a pot
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III. The Church’s Compromise
- Church’s pursuit of material success and worldly methods
- Watered-down gospel and cultural accommodation
- Forsaking the living God and embracing false gods
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IV. The Urgent Need for Revival
- The generation’s disbelief despite church upbringing
- Nation on the brink of collapse and destruction
- Call for a heaven-sent revival and repentance
Key Quotes
“The church has gone a whoring after the gods of material success by way of building programs, recognition within their denomination, and in turn has trafficked in the souls of men for more brick and mortar.” — E.A. Johnston
“It seems at times that the nation of America is seething in a cauldron of lust, like a lobster would boil in a pot, going senseless slowly, minute by minute, until death is in the roiling boil.” — E.A. Johnston
“The only hope for the country is a heaven-sent revival, but I fear the people are like the lobster in the pot. They are too far gone.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Examine personal and church life for any form of idolatry and repent accordingly.
- Resist cultural pressures that dilute the gospel or prioritize material success over spiritual health.
- Pray earnestly for a genuine revival to awaken the church and the nation.