Light on the Hill

James Kaddis: If you want a good result, you have to walk in extremes. If you won't walk in extremes, if you won't be willing to do the work that needs to be done in order to achieve the result that God intends—oh, you might be comfortable, and it might last for a very long time, but there will come a point where everything falls by the wayside, and it all falls apart.

Guest (Male): Child exploitation is occurring at an alarming rate in today's world, even in places you might not expect, like the classroom. Today on Light on the Hill, Jesus has very strong words for those who are engaging in such behavior. He says it would be better to tie a millstone around someone's neck and throw that person in the ocean than to exploit a little child. Pastor James Kaddis helps us understand what Jesus is conveying as we turn to Mark chapter 9.

James Kaddis: As we jump in where we left off, Christ is talking about ministering to children. That's kind of where we left off, and I thought that it was really important because we know that the Lord puts a premium on faithfulness and obedience to Him. This has been sort of an ongoing conversation that we've been having as we've been going through the Gospel according to Mark. We've also talked about the need that we have as human beings to lean into our Creator.

I think that anytime we defer from that need, anytime we walk away by seeking to fulfill that vacuum that exists within us using other things, we find ourselves in a place of very unique despondency. It's a mechanism that oftentimes, when pursued incorrectly, destroys our minds and it destroys our hearts. I think that it's so incredibly important to remember that and to think through that because the insight and instruction that Jesus gives us, that the Bible gives us, that the Lord gives us, as uncomfortable and confrontational as it might sound, is extraordinarily beneficial, not only for our very souls but for our minds, our hearts, dare I even say our physical bodies.

So, it's really important that we pay attention to the importance of all of these things, especially when you consider the type of world in which we live today. One of the things that I'm thinking about a lot right now as we get into this section of the Bible is to consider how insane our society, specifically our country, has been going when it comes to children and protecting children and the exploitation of children. It seems as though the exploitation of children is becoming more and more of a commonality, and it seems as though it's becoming more acceptable.

Of course, I think this is a function of how the enemy works. The enemy is very good at getting us to be very nonchalant about these actions when they're taken against children because if a society will go so far as to become apathetic with respect to what it's doing to its own children, then there will be nothing that a society will stand up to. That's why the enemy has worked so hard in allowing people's minds and hearts to be taken away from the things that are so important.

A society whose hearts and minds are turned towards the Lord will always care about the things most critical to a society. This is why we've cheapened women. This is why we've exploited women. This is why the trans movement is such a big deal. That's why the lies continue to be communicated by this trans movement—and I will never call it a community because it's a movement like a bowel movement. It's disgusting. The reality of it is the reason why these things have come so prominently and so prevalently as it sits today is because it is perhaps one of the most effective tools that the enemy has used today in doing several things.

Number one, in exploiting women and causing them to become vulnerable so that the value that they bring to society is diminished to a point where it's no longer conclusive the need that we have for them in raising up our families, raising up our children. The other thing that it does is it opens up the door for the exploitation of children, which when done and done effectively and on a regular basis, causes whole societies to completely lose sight of anything that resembles the value of life, which is why we've become a death culture and which is why abortion is so prevalent and this type of murder is something that nobody thinks about anymore.

Perhaps the most consequential and significant thing that it does is it continues to propagate the actual function of the spirit of Antichrist. The spirit of Antichrist is exactly what it implies. Remember, when we say anti, we're not talking about opposed to, we're not talking about an opposition or against. Anti, as we read it, is actually "in replacement of." In other words, it's "instead of." That's what it means.

So, when we talk about the spirit of Antichrist meaning "instead of Christ," that means there are elements that are being brought into society and into humanity that are designed to replace Christ within our minds and our hearts. Perhaps the most significant and consequential tool that the enemy has been using to remove all consciousness collectively of who Christ is and His existence is through the trans movement because the trans movement does exactly that. It teaches you the epitome of what it means to say, "I am not satisfied with what my Creator has given me, thus I'm going to create something that He never did give me or never intended for me to have. In order for me to accept what I've created for myself, I myself must take His place and become God."

So the spirit of Antichrist, as it works today and as it's been prophesied in the Bible, has been deployed in a way that has allowed the collective consciousness of God within society to be removed, thus replacing God within their own minds and hearts. When you replace God within your own mind and your heart, you create the kind of mess that we are actually watching manifest today. You're looking at children being exploited at every level. You're looking at people who are going out of their way to do and to say things that are literally—the whole purpose of it is to destroy everything within its path, and there's very few people that actually want to get involved.

I was walking the dog the other day and I actually had my son with me. As I'm going down an alley, when I have my son with me, nobody can really see that he's with me because on my cart, he's kind of tucked in between my legs in his little safety seat there, like a little area where he sits. I'm walking now with the dog and as I'm walking with the dog, I see this couple. It's a man and his wife and it's a little baby that's in the stroller.

The wife is on the side that's closest to me and the husband is on the side further away from me. The husband, he's kind of a young man, he sees me, he looks a little bit alarmed by my presence. I do appear to him to be a little bit out of place. He's never seen me around before. So what does he do? He literally stops his wife, he stops the stroller that his wife is pushing, he gets up in front of her, gets around so that his wife is no longer exposed to me, and he looks at me like he's ready to go to town, like he's ready to fight.

I sort of stop as I pass him and I say, "Good for you. I don't see a lot of men man up like you just did right now and actually stand in a way to protect your wife." Of course, he was very happy that I was able to articulate that to him and he said thank you and so on and so forth. But in reality, the average man today, at least the way they're being conditioned in the world in which they're being conditioned, would push the stroller at the threat and in essence hide behind their wives because that's the mindset.

It's funny because I think about this on a regular basis. It's something that Jane and I, my sister and my wife, were talking about earlier before we came out here. It's hilarious to me the kind of position women are in today. I mean, most women who are seeking to get married oftentimes are not married even by the time they get to relatively old ages. Why? Because they can't find men that are worthy of that marriage, because there's a lot of cowards that are out there and a lot of people who spend more time focusing on their entertainment than they do actually being a man.

They spend more time being concerned about what's in front of their computer screens or what's on the queue for their next video game or what's going to entertain them in the moment than they are looking at developing and becoming something that's important and substantial. Because we have a society like that and because we have a world like that, we are continuing to function in a place that chooses to allow it to be not only acceptable but to be admirable to actually exploit children.

So, we start off with this verse where Jesus says something I think really important and really incredible. Look what He says in verse 42 of Mark chapter 9. Of course, we've already established the context and we've talked about what has been going on and the interactions that Jesus has been having back and forth and all of these things. But look what He says in verse 42: "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."

Okay, most people don't ever put any weight—there's a slight pun intended to this—don't ever put any weight in the description of or the understanding of what a millstone is and they don't understand the consequential articulation of what this does relative to a person who is deemed or considered to be an exploiter of children. Let me just first say that most people who develop a real appreciation for this oftentimes first do it when they go with us to Israel for the first time and we take them to a little town called Capharnaum. Now for those of you who don't know the name of that town or that name doesn't ring any familiarity to you, it's Capernaum.

We take them there and when we go there, we show them what a millstone looks like. Most people don't know what a millstone looks like, but a millstone is this massive, huge, probably 800-pound piece of stone that is used for some very specific purposes as it relates to wheat. Here's the thing about millstones and it's really interesting: they sink when you put them in water. Okay? They sink. They're 700 pounds of stone. Jesus is saying it's better to tie a millstone to somebody's neck and throw them in the ocean than it is in essence to be able to continue to exist as you do exploiting a little child.

Think about this for a second. In other words, the terrible, horrible death that would be ensued by that very action is nothing compared to what God is going to do when He judges those who exploit. Now, I think that's kind of a heavy statement because that means that those who are walking into libraries in drag, reading to kids, would be better off in that context. That means the librarians that are allowing it to happen would be better off. That means, think about this folks, that means the people who are leading school districts that are allowing pornography to be entered into to exploit these kids. That means all this stuff, there's a lot of consequences they're about to face.

Those consequences are not going to be easy. Those consequences are going to be terrible. God is going to judge them in ways that you can't even imagine. By the way, let me make myself clear: this is by no stretch of the imagination me calling for violence upon anybody. That's not the Bible calling for violence upon anybody. The Bible's not saying go and execute them. What the Bible is actually saying is it's going to be better off for them had this happened. In other words, the idea behind doing so is to in a very powerful way demonstrate how harsh the judgment will be for those that continue to exploit children.

That's a heavy, heavy statement to make. I think that's something that's critically important. I think it's something that is very, very important. I remember as we were looking for more editors to help me with the videos that we were making on a day-to-day basis, I had a guy who was very interested in working for me. Matter of fact, even gave me a line about how he was interested because he needed to gain some more income and he came highly recommended to me by somebody. Then after we go through the whole process, he sees some of my videos, he calls me back and he says, "I cannot make videos for you. Sorry for wasting your time."

I said, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you change your mind all of a sudden?" He said, "Well, because I just disagree with your videos and I can't work for somebody like you." I said, "Okay, I have just a very simple question. Can you give me an example of what it is that caused you to feel so strongly that you can't work for me anymore, or you can't work for me at all?" He said, "Well, I really don't want to talk." I said, "Just what is it? You have to be pretty compelled by something." He says, "I just don't agree with your stand on the trans movement" and he mentioned a few other things.

I looked at him and I said, "You know the interesting thing about you, even though I don't know you and even though I've never met you and even though I know nothing about you, I can promise you this: you're not a father. And if you were, you wouldn't be telling me this. As a matter of fact, if you were, you'd actually be scared to death because, quite frankly, no father who is designed to function the way God has called him to function would ever allow anything like that to happen." I think about this a lot. These are thoughts that continue to go through my mind.

Like when I see these drag queens in libraries and I see this kind of stuff happening, I ask myself this one question: not how could these people be allowed to do it, not what's wrong with the librarian, not what's going on with the district, not what's going on with the city. My thing is like, where are the fathers in all of this? I dare you. Try to exploit our children. Any father in this church, go ahead. Let's see how long that ends up lasting. It's not going to last. I'm sorry, it's not going to take place. It's hilarious how that works.

Interestingly enough, I think that there's a disconnect. The disconnect is if you don't know the Word of God, if you don't understand the Word of God, if you choose to reject the Word of God, if you don't walk in obedience to the Lord, you're going to become like the world is. That's exactly what's happening right now. It's a death cult that embraces wickedness because they have chosen to walk in avid and open disobedience and rebellion. But look at how serious God takes rebellion. Let's talk about this because here's the thing that I want everybody to understand. We are in a society today—and this is especially to Christians—if you're here and you're walking with the Lord, you need to hear this more than anybody else that's listening to this study.

This applies to you more than anybody else. You live in a society right now that has conditioned you to seek comfort. You live in a society right now that has conditioned you to seek entertainment. You live in a society right now that has conditioned you to pursue the state of being that is absent of pain and discomfort. People oftentimes ask me about the psychology of those that are addicted to drugs, especially as it relates to pain pills. People ask me all the time, "Well, James, what is it about pain pills that people tend to run to? You talk to people who struggle with these things all the time."

My statement is the same thing: they're not addicted to the pill itself, they're addicted to the idea of not being in pain. Although I cannot blame somebody with being addicted to not being in pain, I can also tell you that one of the most destructive elements that exists in society today is the conditioning that we have developed in this world to pursue the function or the element of not walking in pain or discomfort. If it's uncomfortable for me, I'm not going to do it. If it means I'm going to have to exert myself, I'm not going to do it. If I'm not in my comfort zone, then I don't want to do it.

That's, by the way, the sole reason why so many people in the body of Christ are not walking with the Lord. It's the reason why so many people in the body of Christ are not growing in their maturity in their relationship with God. It's the number one reason why marriages—people in marriages—come to me and ask for help because they chose to pursue the things that were comfortable and to avidly avoid the things that brought discomfort. When they got to the point of no return, they crashed and burned.

I was talking about this with my wife because this conversation came up and I think it's one that's been on my heart lately. I get asked all the time—she didn't ask me this because she knows the answer—but I get asked, "James, why don't you do a lot of counseling anymore? Why don't you do as much as you used to do?" I'll tell you why. Because when I counsel people, it's just like antibiotics. I go to somebody and I tell them, "This is what the Word says. This is what you need to do." And I can promise you, it's going to be uncomfortable. You've got to pursue what is not comfortable in order to obtain or achieve an appropriate response.

If you want a good result, you're going to have to pursue that which is not natural to you, that which is uncomfortable. You know what they do? They say, "Okay, that sounds good. I'm so desperate that I'm going to do what you tell me to do." Just like an antibiotic, when they take it and begin to feel well, then what do they do? They say, "Everything is good. I got it from here." And then they end up being worse than they were in the first place. Why? Because they will pursue whatever it takes to allow themselves to get out of the place of discomfort rather than pursue the thing that they know would be the most benefit to them, even if it cost them a thing or two.

It's the reason why most Christians—let me just say a lot of Christians in the United States of America—are more in debt than they are walking in wealth. It's the reason why a lot of people in our society today walk below the line of poverty and in some cases will struggle for the rest of their lives to simply meet ends meet. It's because they're not willing to put themselves in a place of discomfort right now in order to obtain or achieve a comfortable result. No discipline. No willingness to be able to take that step. Jesus is about to tackle this issue head-on right now. He's about to confront it in a way that most people have never heard it being confronted, and it's significant.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us today for Light on the Hill. What you just heard is one part of a study in Mark's Gospel from Pastor James Kaddis. You can hear it again at lightonthehillradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Not long ago, Pastor James released his new book on the first half of Revelation. It's entitled "The Last Book." He points out that Revelation isn't a book of fear but rather a book of hope. Pastor James will help you understand the world we live in and current events through a biblical lens, preparing your heart for what lies ahead. Get a copy by going to lightonthehillradio.com or through Amazon.

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Pastor James, today we're on the subject of child exploitation. Children today are being attacked from every angle: in public classrooms, social media, by music they listen to, even shows on television. How can parents guard and protect against that? What have you found to be effective in your own parenting?

James Kaddis: Look, this is very, very simple. Remember this: boundaries are important. Boundaries are critical. One of the most effective boundaries you can create for your children involves screen time. Make sure they're not sitting in front of screens because what's behind those screens is very telling, it's very damaging, and that's one of the first things I would do. The second thing is if your children are a little older, engage with them. Talk to them. Show them you're interested in what they have to say.

You should be doing this as early as they can talk. Make sure that those times are spent very well and very intentionally, and spend lots of time with them. It's not about quality versus quantity; it's quantity and quality. You've got to do both. Most importantly, pray with them every morning, pray with them every evening, read the Bible with them every single day, and do not ever deny them the opportunity to seek God with you every day.

Guest (Male): Well said. Thanks, Pastor James. Now let's return to our Bible study in Mark chapter 9.

James Kaddis: Let's get into what Jesus says here in light of this. He says, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." That's a heavy statement. Boy, is there some wisdom there, isn't there? There's some real wisdom in that statement. If this hand right here is the very thing that's keeping you from achieving what's necessary in order for you to have your life sustained, cut it off. Better to lose your hand than it is your whole soul. Makes sense?

It's kind of an interesting picture when you think about the way this works and the mindset behind it. I think it's a hilarious thing, but the reality of it is there's a powerful biblical principle that is tied to this, and that's this: God requires us to function in a way that is militant as it relates to our spiritual lives because if we do not have an extreme view, as the one being prescribed here, it will allow sin to creep in in a way that will so permanently damage and affect our minds, our lives, our hearts, that we will enter into the place of no return.

I know lots of people who have entered into that place. I know lots of people right now that I could name you where the only way that I could ever foresee them coming out of the crashing plane, the plane that is going down in a massive tailspin, is by God to miraculously pluck them out of it. Does that happen? Sure it does. But it's very rare when it does. Look, the discomfort that comes from the action of discipline in the moment pays a greater dividend than anything you've ever thought possible, and it's something that's so critically important.

Guest (Male): We'll finish this study next time on Light on the Hill with Pastor James Kaddis, a presentation of Calvary Chapel Signal Hill.