Ron Dunn Podcast - Our Civilization is Collapsing

Episode Date: June 17, 2015

Pastor Ron Dunn preaches a message from Micah 6:12, called "Our Civilization is Collapsing"

You are listening to the Ron Dunn Podcast. Ron Dunn is a well-known author and was one of the most in-demand preachers during the latter part of the 20th century. He led Bible studies all over the United States, Europe, and South Africa. For more information and resources from Ron Dunn, please visit rondunn.com. But anyway. All right. The book of Micah.

I almost forgot what book. I started to say Malachi. The book of Micah. And it's right between Jonah and Nahum. If you've been here yesterday morning, yesterday night, by now you probably know exactly where it is. I want to begin by reading the last verse. Now we're going to be looking at the entire chapter tonight, but I want us to begin with verse 12, Micah chapter 3, verse 12. Micah chapter 3, verse 12.

Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. This is a final and complete picture of judgment, absolute devastation. Now, any serious student of history will discover that there are three things that can be said about every civilization, every nation that the world has ever known. The first one is this, that no nation, no matter how pure its inception, eventually goes corrupt. There never has been a civilization in the history of mankind, no matter how pure its beginnings, but that has in every case, not usually, but in every case, the general population has been either ignorant of that corruption or indifferent to it,

unaware or unconcerned that it was collapsing. The third thing that you'll find is that in every case, the causes of the collapse are the same, are similar, familiar. Every nation, every civilization, no matter how pure its inception, has eventually gone corrupt. The population has generally been unaware

or unconcerned about it. And as you study the reasons for that collapse, you will find that they are similar in every situation. Israel, of course, is the great illustration of this. No nation, no civilization ever had a purer inception than Israel. Never. I mean, it was a theodicy. It was founded by God himself. It produced the highest moral code and ethic of any civilization that has ever existed.

And yet it went corrupt. And eventually, for all practical purposes, disappeared from the face of the earth as an organized nation and civilization. And as you read the Old Testament, and especially these prophets, you'll find that while this was happening, the people were either ignorant of it or indifferent to it. And we're going to look tonight at the causes of that collapse. Now, I want to keep reminding you, like we saw yesterday morning in the first chapter, that God calls the heathen nations, the Gentile nations, to take a front row seat to observe what God is doing to his own people, to remind them that what he does to them he also will do to the nations at large.

We must always remember that when we're looking into this book, that we're not just seeing things that general principles that apply only to Israel, but these are moral and spiritual principles that apply to any nation, to all peoples, to every civilization. Now, God says through Micah that his judgment upon the people is going to be absolutely devastating. That's the way he puts it in those graphic words in the last verse of that third chapter. Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple, a beautiful temple that was filled with praise and singing and people worshiping God.

But now you come back and it is demolished and deserted and it's got weeds growing all through it and wild animals live in it. It is, for all practical purposes, extinguished from existence. But what I want you to notice in that twelfth verse is the first line. Therefore, because of you, this will happen. Now what I want to do tonight is to go back and see who the you is that God is talking about. There are some people that are evidently responsible primarily for this judgment. Why does a civilization collapse? Why is ours collapsing?

Only a fool would deny that our civilization is in collapse. And only a fool would deny that our nation is in decline morally and spiritually. Therefore, because of you, we need to find who the guilty party is. Who is to blame for this? And so I want us to go back to the beginning of chapter 3. And there are three groups of individuals that Micah singles out as to why that civilization is collapsing. He begins in verse 1,

Then I said, Listen, you leaders of Jacob and you rulers of the house of Israel, should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil, who tear the skin from my people and eat the flesh from their bones, who eat my people's flesh and strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces, Now, who is he addressing? You leaders of Jacob and the rulers of the house of Israel. Now, the leaders of Jacob are what you and I today would call civil leaders, unelected officials perhaps. They were the leaders in the community.

They were the people to whom the rest of the community looked up to for guidance and took their encouragement from and perhaps even took their standard of ethics from. The rulers of the house of Israel were the governmental leaders, what we would call the elected officials of that day, and he's addressing them. So let me say first first of all, that a civilization collapses because, in the very first place, of corrupt politicians, corrupt leaders. He is addressing them, first of all. That's who he goes after right at the first. And as a matter of fact, if you read through all

the prophets, the major and the minor prophets, you will find that any time these prophets begin talking like Micah is talking, they don't start out with the people of those people. A civilization collapses because its leaders become corrupt and polluted and perverted. Our civilization is collapsing because of corrupted leaders. Notice what he says about them. He says, you rulers of the house of Israel, should you not know justice? Now, most scholars will agree that Micah, this country preacher, has somehow got him invited to, you know, maybe a campaign benefit dinner or something. I don't know, but he's speaking to the elite of the country. I don't know how he got there, and the reason he probably preaches such a hard sermon is because he knows he'll never get invited back.

I mean, when you got just one shot at it, folks, I mean, give them both barrels, right? And so here is Micah speaking to this elite bunch of leaders and others, and he starts out by addressing them, and then he says, you who should know justice. And that at first comes across as a compliment. He's acting like, you know, I'm talking to you people

because you know what's right better than anybody else. Those of you who know justice. And you can almost see the leaders there kind of, you know, swell with pride and say, well, this country preacher may not know much, but he knows that much. But notice how quickly he takes it back. He says, should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil, who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones, who eat my people's flesh and strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces,

who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot. And he lambasts these leaders. And then he comes to the end and he says, It's because of you that God is going to bring judgment. It reminds you of Elijah standing before Ahab, and he's saying it's because of you. You are the one who troubles Israel. You're the one because of your sin.

It is you who has brought this judgment of God upon us. And all the way through the Bible, you'll find that the prophets will always go to the leaders. They are the first ones because dead will always go to the leaders. They're the first ones because dead fish always rise to the top. I mean, if you want to start cleaning out a stream, cleaning out a lake, cleaning out a swimming pool, what do you do? You skim off the surface first. I mean, everything that's corrupt floats to the top. And so he goes to the top and he says, it is you politicians who have become corrupted. Now, let me hasten to

say that I'm not inferring or implying that all politicians are crooked, not by any means. But I admire any man or woman who can go into public service and remain pure and maintain their integrity. It is a battle for them. And I admire them. And I pray God would have more people like that. And I believe you and I ought to take an active participation in these things and know who is running and know what they stand for and that we ought to try to get these kind of people into those positions of leadership. But even at times

we've done that and we've seen people that we thought were men and women of high ethics and great integrity. But I want to tell you something, the institution is stronger than the individual. And once that person takes power, it is difficult for them to maintain their personal integrity. Many do, I'm not denying that. But I'm saying that civilizations collapse first of all because their leaders themselves become corrupt. And any student of history will know that to be the truth. I don't think it's any different in our own country. I think one reason for the decline in morality and spirituality and integrity in our country is because of the corrupt leaders that we've had on every level.

I believe that with all of my heart. Now, he accuses them of a couple of specific sins. Number one, these leaders sin against superior knowledge. They sin against superior light and knowledge. Notice Micah says, you who know justice, you who should know justice, you who should know what is right, what is best in a situation. Now, we'll be entering a campaign before long, presidential campaign. There's already a lot of posturing going on, and then it'll happen at the state level, on the local level. It always does.

Now, let me ask you a question. On what basis does a candidate run? I mean, why he's saying, you should vote for me more than for my candidate. Why does he say that? Because he believes that he knows better and can do better for the community. He can see what is wrong, and he's going up there, and he's going to make things better. That's the basis upon which they campaign. I know what's best for this country.

I know what's best for this state. I know what's best for this city. And if you'll put me in office, I will exercise my superior knowledge. what's best for this state. I know what's best for this city. And if you'll put me in office, I will exercise my superior knowledge. And why do you vote for them? Because you believe they have superior knowledge of justice, that they know what's best, that they know what's right, that they know what to do in certain situations. And when they get in that position and suddenly find themselves compromising, what are they doing? They're sinning against superior knowledge and superior light. And that always brings the greater judgment of God. You do know that, don't you? The more you know, the

greater your judgment. That's why James says, don't be in such a hurry to be a teacher because you shall receive a greater condemnation. I was always concerned why God treated Moses so badly. You know, Moses didn't get to enter into the promised land. Bless his heart. I've always felt God was kind of unkind. I acted a little bit harshly to Moses. All he did was lose his temper. And God said, you can see but not touch. Took him up there on the mountain, let him look over, and that was it. And he died, and God buried him. Why did God judge Moses so harshly? All he did was lose his temper because Moses knew better. I mean, God talked to Moses like a friend talks to a friend face to face. And it's because of Moses' superior relationship with truth

that God judged him that harshly. And so when a man or a woman is elected to a position or they have a civil leadership role in the community and they take advantage of that and they exercise what they know is not the right thing to do and they compromise their principles, God will always respond to that eventually in judgment. But the second thing he accuses them of is this.

He accuses them of using their position for personal gain. Using their position for personal game. Oh look how he describes it. You hate good and love evil. You see they're sinning against the responsibility of the position. They're sinning against the public trust and that's a terrible thing because people put their trust in you. And you go into office and you take a position of leadership because the people have confidence in you. They trust you. And have you noticed today we don't trust anybody, especially people that are running for office isn't that a shame I can remember I grew up in the late 40s and the in the 50s and I'm glad I did because that was that was before everybody started telling us everything about everybody and we you know it was all right to be patriotic and you had

confidence in your leaders she did I you had confidence in your leaders. You did, I did. Had confidence in them. You trusted them. And now you hear things about governmental agencies like law enforcement agencies and about presidents and vice presidents and senators and congressmen and how they have sinned against that superior life

and they have broken that sacred trust that you put in them. That's a great sin. It's a greater sin for a pastor or a preacher to do something wrong than it is for the member of the congregation. Why? Because you put your trust in me. And if I don't live up to what I'm preaching, I have betrayed your trust.

And that's a great sin. And so they turn and they use that position for personal gain. They use that position for personal gain. Here's what they do. And as I said, it's a graphic description. He says, you tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones and you eat my people's flesh and strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces, and you chop them up like meat for the pan,

like flesh for the pot. You see, these leaders are supposed to be living for the benefit of the people. They're supposed to be protecting the people. They're supposed to be shepherding the people, caring for the people. But instead, what they're doing is they're taking them and they're filleting them, skinning them and breaking up their bones, putting it all in a pot, making gumbo out of the people that they supposedly serve. Corrupt politicians, corrupt leaders.

And then he adds a note. He says in verse 4, Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. That's what God thinks of the prayers of such leaders as these. All right.

First of all, civilization collapses because of these corrupt leaders. But there's a second group he turns to now. Having had his say to the leaders, he now turns to another group, and this is in verse 5. This is what the Lord says, As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim peace. If he does not, they prepare to wage war against him. Therefore night will come over you without visions and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced, and they will cover their faces because there is no answer from God.

You'll notice in verse 11, Her leaders judge for a bribe, and her leaders judge for a bribe and her priests teach for a high price and her prophets tell fortune for money. The second group that he addresses is what I'll call compromising preachers. Compromising preachers. He leads, he turns from the political leaders and then he turns to the spiritual leaders. You see, it is bad enough to be governed by godless leaders, but it bad enough to be governed by godless leaders, but it is worse to be guided by godless teachers. And he says,

You prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim peace. Now here again, I think the King James is the better translation. He says, They bite with their teeth. Every time they open their mouth and prophesy, they're biting with their teeth. And the Hebrew word there is used only of the bite of a serpent.

Every time these false preachers get up and begin to speak and you listen to them, it's like being bitten by a serpent. Why? Because they are leading the people astray with their preaching, with their teaching. You know, there's a passage in 2 Corinthians where Paul upbraids the Corinthians because they're not discriminating in about who they listen to. That if anybody comes along with a message, they'll just listen to it, and that's how Satan deceives them. And you and I are much the same way. In my motel door, there is a little peephole. I like those. I really do. Every once in a while, I get in a hotel where they don't have one, and I've

often thought about drilling one myself. Because when somebody comes to the door, man, I want to look out that door and see who it is. I have one in my house. Why? Because nowadays you've got to be mighty careful who you open your front door to and let into your home. I wish we were as concerned about what we let into our mind as we are about who we let into our house.

I remember when I was pastor, there was a certain preacher over in Fort Worth. Don't take this wrong. She was a woman preacher, but anyway. But she had great crowds and some of my people went over there and listened to her and of course came back all confused. And I'd have these people call me, won't come in for counseling. And they said, we went over here, so and so, and we don't understand about that.

And you know the first thing I'd say to them? I'd say, why did you go? Why in the world did you go in the first place? Our women's organization one time wanted, they thought it would be a good idea to have leaders of different religions to come in and speak. You know, the Mormons, the Christian side. They came to me and asked me what I thought it would be a good idea to have leaders of different religions to come in and speak. You know, the Mormons, the Christian scientists.

They came to me and asked me what I thought about that. I said, not much. I said, you know what you're going to be doing? You're going to bring these people in. They're going to know what they believe, and they're going to be smooth in their talking, and then I'm going to have hours of counseling trying to straighten you out. The best thing to do is just don't listen to them at all in the beginning, and then I'm going to have hours of counseling trying to straighten you out. The best thing to do is just don't listen to them at all in the beginning, in the first place.

We are so... My wife says don't use that word stupid, but we are so unsmart about who we listen to. And cable television has made it worse. We just flip channels and I mean you can get any kind of preaching, you can get any kind of message you want to on there. And we sit down and we listen

and I want to tell you something. About half of the counseling I have to do as I go around the country is somebody who's heard some off-brand preacher or teacher on television, and they've got them all confused about something, you see. Now, I want to tell you something. Anytime you begin to listen to that person, it's like letting a snake bite you. Don't come around then and wonder why you feel so sick and confused. They lead my people astray. I don't know of another generation that has been

more confused religiously than this generation is. You know, when I was growing up, there was just one way to do church. You know what I mean? I mean, it was clearly defined. You were Baptist or Methodist or Pentecostal or Catholic or what. But now there's a multiplicity of different kinds of beliefs, not necessarily formed in denominations, and they all teach something different than the other teaches. And so we are more susceptible than we've ever been in our life to false teaching, you see. And here again, it goes back to the fact that we are attracted more to the spectacular and the sensational

than that which is truly significant. I've always contended that about a month of strong, biblical, sound teaching would destroy half of the ministries on television. And I hate to say it because I am a preacher, but I believe that a great deal of the godlessness of our nation must be laid at the feet of preachers who have compromised in their preaching because they have become politically correct,

because they have wanted to become accepted by the world. And therefore, they're false prophets. Why? Let me tell you how you can tell a false prophet. Here's a false prophet's message. Of course, one thing, they're mercenary in their purpose. They're lining their pockets. Preachers who are preaching simply for personal gain,

lining their pockets. But there's something else. Now, how do you recognize it? He said, if one feeds them, they proclaim peace. In other words, the message, now get this, the message of a false prophet is the message of peace. Now, the word peace in the Bible, it's a good word, a beautiful word.

It means a state of well-being, a sense of well-being. It means a state in which you are shielded from all harm. You are encased and protected from all harm. You are encased and protected from all evil. And you remember how many times in the prophets they will talk about the false prophets who are always going around complaining peace, peace, when there is no peace. As a matter of fact, and this is a sad commentary on it, the word peace in the Old Testament became a technical word for the message of a false prophet. Isn't that something?

Why? I want to tell you something. A false prophet is one who is always promising you peace and prosperity no matter what happens. And by that definition, there are quite a few false prophets going around. Now, he tells what's going to happen to them. He says they're going to be judged. Notice he says in verse 6,

Therefore night will come over you without visions and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. The seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners disgraced. They will cover their faces because there's no answer from God. What he's saying is eventually there will come failure in their ministry. They'll become darkened in their mind, he says. They'll lose their capacity to discern the Word and the will of God. And folks, I want to tell you something. It is amazing how many people I have come to know, I know, who have lost their capacity to discern the will and the Word of God. And as Manly Beasley used to say,

they're like dogs that will jump at anything that moves. And one day they're on this side, and the next day they're on this side, and then when this new thing blows up, well, they're over there, and when this new thing comes up over here, they're on this side, and the next day they're on this side, and then when this new thing blows up, well, they're over there, and when this new thing comes up over here, they're over there. And, you know, there are some preachers

that people call me about half the time, and they call me and say, well, now, what's so-and-so, where is he standing on this latest phenomenon, you know? We ought not to have to call. I hope nobody ever has to call Michael Catt and say, where does Brother Dunn stand on this laughing revival stuff? Or where does he stand on this smelling the Holy Spirit?

What? You think I'm joking? You think I'm joking? You think I made that up? Oh, no, there are people who smell the Holy Spirit. They jump from one thing to the other. Why? Whatever pleases people. You see? Whatever will to the other. Why? Whatever pleases people. You see.

Whatever will please the people. Whatever will make the people feed them. Whatever will increase the offering. But he says they're going to lose their capacity to discern the will and the Word of God. Not only are they going to lose that capacity, their minds being darkened, but they are going to be eventually discredited and disgraced. And you and I have witnessed that to some extent already. I was reading in the latest issue of the Christianity Today,

again, where a certain ministry, I'd never heard of this one, but where he was sending out all sorts of false reports to it, and he was talking about, they were talking about reports of hundreds of thousands of Muslims being saved and he had made this video and everything and the people had given last

year in 1994 2.8 million dollars to keep that ministry going and even published a book on it and now it's coming out that those reports were falsified. He disgraced and discredited. Well, civilization is collapsing because men of God are not men of God

and will not stand and preach the truth. I went to church last Sunday night. My wife and I were on vacation. Every year about this time we take a couple of weeks, go to Cape Cod. We have friends up there who have a condo and it doesn't cost us anything to stay there. That's my kind of deal. And we use American Advantage miles to get up there, and they give us their car,

and so, you know, it's a cheap vacation for us, and we've been going up there every year since 86, 87. We love it up there. Last year we went to the First Baptist Church of Hyannis and heard a good message. I'm kind of ashamed to tell you this, admit this. We did go to church last Sunday night to hear Lou Colombo and his jazz buddies. I told Kay, I said, if we give a donation to these boys, is it tax-deductible? And I sat there and I thought to myself, you know, the truth of the matter is,

this is a desecration to the house of God. Where the gospel ought to be being preached, what we're having here is a purely worldly situation. And the pastor said, if you want to hear more of Luke Columbo, he plays every Monday night at the Roadhouse Cafe. Of course, we stayed until it was over, but anyway. Because he was a doggone good trumpet player. Well, there's one last group Mike addresses.

And it's what I will call complacent people. Look at verse 11. Her leaders judge for a bribe. Her priests teach for a price. And her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet, they lean upon the Lord and say, Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us. Now, in spite of everything that's going on, and remember in chapter 2, the first 11 verses, he's talking about sins against each other. In chapter 1,

he's talking about sins against God. And now in chapter 3, he's nailing down these specific individuals. And he comes and he says, yet they lean upon the Lord. And they say, is not the Lord among us? No disaster can befall us. Complacent people do two things. Number one, they presume God's presence. Is not the Lord among us? That's a strong Hebrew word. It almost means like a part of the body. It means like an arm or a leg. Why?

Why the Lord is with us. Why the Lord is with us in all of this. And how in the world could they believe the Lord was with them in the things they were doing? I mean, they were chopping up people and filleting them and throwing them in the pot. They were taking advantage of them, robbing them.

The preachers were hiring out for money. They would preach anything that would increase the offering. And yet, they come back and they say, Well, the Lord is among us, we lean upon the Lord. We're trusting God in all of this. Presume God's presence. Complacent people.

Like Samson who got up to fight the Philistines and knew not that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from them. I can't think of anything sadder than that. I've often asked God, God kill me before you take your Spirit from me and I don't know it. And you stand up to preach or you stand up to sing or to teach and everything,

and you know not that the Spirit of the Lord has departed from you. You just assume that He's always with you in that sense of blessing and favor. Now, if you're a Christian, of course, He is always with you, but Micah's not talking about that kind of presence. He's talking about God's presence in the sense of God's favor. And then the second thing that complacent people do is they presume upon God's protection. Oh, no disaster can befall us.

Nothing's going to happen to us. There is a verse in Ecclesiastes that says, Therefore, the hearts of men are set to do evil. Why? Because judgment against an evil work is delayed. Therefore, the hearts of men are set to do evil. You know, I don't know why God works it out this way, but it seems to me that if God hit me over the head

every time I did something wrong, I'd kind of be a little more careful, wouldn't you? I mean, if every time I sin, I mean, if every time I lost my temper, if every time there was a twinge of jealousy, if every time I said something I ought not to say or think something I ought not to think, if God would take a big ball, a bat, and hit me over the head with it, I'd get the message. You know, I'd be more careful.

But He doesn't work that way. But it's like a bucket, and you sin, and a drop of water falls into that bucket, and nothing happens. My goodness. I tell you what, I grew up in that legalistic church where the preacher was always saying God was going to judge, and that whatsoever man soeth, that shall he also reap. And I lived under that fear. Well, now I've gotten out from my parents' home, and I'm grown, and I'm away at college, and I'm doing all these things.

Nothing's happening. All that stuff, all that preaching, they were just trying to scare us. Now that's happened, and put another drop in the bucket. If the sentence was carried out immediately, that'd be another thing. But because it is delayed, therefore you set your heart to do evil.

But I want to tell you something. Finally, that bucket gets full, and one more drop is going to make it overflow. That's why He says that what you reap you will sow, because what you sow you shall reap, because you don't sow one day and reap the same day. There is a delay between the sowing and the reaping. And a complacent people can sit by like Israel did, and they can see everything that is happening. And there's been a great deal of criticism of James Dobson lately because he said, I use fighting words when I'm talking.

And they've been criticizing him because he made that statement that we ought to use fighting words. And his response was that there are too many of us that are complacent about what's going on in our nation and what's going on in our homes, and we need to stand up and use fighting words. That's what he was saying. And if you and I just coast along and say, well, nothing can happen to us.

God's not going to let something happen to America because we're a Christian nation. God's not going to let something happen to us because, I mean, I've been putting drops in that bucket now for a long time, and nothing's happened. That preacher, he's just trying to scare me. But eventually, but eventually, that bucket gets full, and one more drop, it's going to overflow. God's judgment is coming. Why do civilizations collapse?

Therefore, because of you, corrupt politicians, compromising preachers, and complacent people. Just complacent. Well, would you bow your heads with me now for a moment. not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. For more Ron Dunn materials, sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from his study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.