Read: Psalms 14:2 |

Timothy Rogers, a popular Arkansas evangelist and singer, preached at a funeral in early June 2018. During his sermon, he told those assembled, “Hell is a fairytale no different than Santa Claus!” He then continued to veer off track with more non-biblical pontifications. Not believing what I was reading, I stumbled onward and was stunned to find that those at the funeral applauded the comments! [ChristianPost and Faithwire]

Since then, multiple Pastors have pushed back against his heretical statements. Upon reflection, his statements sound like something a “Christian Atheist” might say. He detoured around God’s divine authority and reduced scripture to something that “he” could comprehend.

Psalms 14 speaks of the folly and wickedness of men declaring atheistic views that there is no God. For this study, I extended the interpretation to include the views of believers who have drifted far away from God and His teachings.

About
Psalm 14, written by David, is lament psalm. Lament Psalms focus on expressing deep sorrow for the calamity described in the verses. They typically begin by detailing hardship and end by requesting God’s blessing or intervention.

An additional point of interest is that Psalm 14 has a near identical twin found in Psalm 53. They are both referenced in Romans 3:10-12. The distinctions are:

• Though the lyrics are nearly identical, Bible scholars report they were sung to a different tune and have a slight change of thought near the end of each psalm
• Psalm 14 focuses more on God’s deliverance of the righteous, while Psalm 53 focuses more on God’s defeat of the wicked
• Psalm 14 uses “the Lord” (Yahweh), while Psalm 53 uses “God” (Elohim)

Main Message – The depravity of human nature and the corruption of mankind
Jacob Dufour, a Christian actor/writer, posted an experiment on a Christian FaceBook Group page in July 2018. He posted:

“Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” – Luke 4:7. Type Amen if you agree

It was labeled an experiment because, he didn’t tell the group of FaceBook believers that Satan was speaking in this scripture. Subsequently, he received well over 666 Amens from people who agreed with Satan’s statement! Sadly to date, only 3.5% of the respondents noticed that Satan was speaking and not Jesus.

This experiment reminds us that as believers, we are called to be more attentive to what we have seen, heard and believe [Hebrews 2:1]. Satan’s game plan is centuries old. He knows that our human nature can be easily swayed and manipulated if we don’t maintain our “full armor”.

Satan has worked to ensure that the main-stream movies, TV and the music that we consume often do not reflect our faith or espouse Christian values. Ultimately, the mixed messages bombard us with images that attempt to legitimize things the Bible has labeled as sin. This in turn tempts us to lower our shield of faith and standards to match “their way” and demote “God’s way” as old-fashioned.

Once we yield in one area, it starts a domino effect on our faith. If not corrected, we can start drifting away. For instance, if our church attendance is not as frequent as it used to be, we might be drifting. If we attend church but we begin to mentally skip parts of the worship service, we might be drifting. If our prayer life consists mostly of praying at meal time, we might be drifting. If our devotion time is nil or never or not often, we might be drifting.

As believers, drifting can cause us to miss the opportunities that God has placed in our paths. Drifting can lead to sin. Sin can lead us to be a Christian on the outside, but on the inside we don’t always let God lead and guide us. Over time, God will prick our conscience and prod us to yield our drifting hearts to him. However, if the believer becomes anesthetized to “their will” over “God’s will”, then their back-sliding can lead them astray.

Answer God’s call to stop drifting and start believing in Him. God is waiting to restore us and as it says in Psalms 14:2 God sees and cares about our backsliding – come back to Jesus, it is never too late!

Questions:
1. Discover –
A. How much does the TV/Movie/Music that you enjoy change your spiritual walk? Have you ever watched a show or listened to a song that you found went too far? What did you do?
B. Satan is seeking to devour and corrupt us. What do you do to keep your armor ready? Prayer Time, Bible Study? Fellowship?

2. Develop –
A. Pastor Brian Carter, Sr. Pastor at Concord Baptist Church in Dallas, noted recently at the EK Bailey Church Conference that our human tendency is to gravitate towards the things that fulfill our desires and appetites. We trend towards a self-centered consumer view of life. As Believers, we are called to be Christ-centered and heavenly-minded. Our primary motivation changes, because our love for God makes us want to yield to His divine will and not our own. What motivates you? Does your motivation wobble at times? If so, When?
B. The late great preacher Charles Spurgeon suggests that the title of this Psalm should be “Concerning Practical Atheism”. Practical Atheism is acting with apathy, disregard, or lack of interest toward belief in God. Do you know any Atheist or Practical Atheist? Is your faith strong enough to have a discussion with them about their lack of faith? If not, pray for them.

3. Demonstrate –
A. An embarrassing question for me and maybe not for you, … When was the last time that you shared your faith? What was the result? If you haven’t shared recently, let’s pray