Light on the Hill

Guest (Male): The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah is nothing compared to what's coming. Here's Pastor James Kaddis.

James Kaddis: The judgment that awaits America is probably going to be far more significant than Sodom and Gomorrah. Because in a world that exists right now, there are so many people preaching the Gospel, yet we have so many who are rejecting it.

Jesus gives us a warning in Mark chapter 6 that is so significant. We deserve what's coming if we don't heed it. We must wake up and pay attention to the world around us. A lot is coming our way, and we have to look up and listen if we hope to find shelter. Here's Pastor James Kaddis on Light on the Hill.

But Jesus said unto them, "A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." Isn't that sad? Look at what Jesus is saying here. Again, I want people to focus on what I believe the author intended for us to focus on.

You see, most people when they hear this passage will quote, "A prophet is not without honor, bro," and they'll just leave it alone. But what they're not focusing in on and what they're not paying attention to is what Jesus is declaring by making that statement.

Tell me if you've ever heard anybody teach this to you. I know that I haven't because I haven't seen it in commentaries. But look what Jesus is saying: "A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house." Jesus is basically speaking of Himself.

He's saying that in His country He's being rejected, amongst His kin He's being rejected, and in His very house He's being rejected. When He says His very house, what do you think He's talking about? Do you think He's talking about the home that He owned? Jesus didn't have a multi-million dollar home.

Jesus told us He doesn't have a home. He doesn't have a place to shelter like even the birds do. He doesn't have a home. But He's talking about Himself here when He says a prophet is not without honor but in his own house. He's talking about the synagogues and the temples.

When you start looking at the place where people gathered in the name of God, He's God Himself. This is His own home and He's being disrespected. To this day, that still happens. You know that to this day, when you go into what is supposed to be the house of God, it's insane to see how much God is dishonored.

Look at what's going on with the pride flags in front of churches and all the lying and the crazy. I saw somebody post this just a few minutes before I came out here, and it broke my heart to read it because she's right. She's not wrong.

She's saying, "Has anybody ever stopped to think about how it is that an obscene amount of pastors that gain popularity are also ones who exhibit signs of abusing others?" Believe me, as a pastor, that's not a comfortable question to confront. It's not a comfortable question to ask, even.

But you know there's a direct correlation. There's a uniquely direct correlation because we see even early on that Christ Himself was rejected in His own home. We have an institution filled with people who continue to reject Christ in His own home. They continue to reject the Lord in His own house.

That should wake us up, shouldn't it? It should cause us to develop a little bit of awareness and understanding of where we are and who it is that we're dealing with, and maybe have respect for the work that God has done for us.

Maybe with a deeper and better sense of gratitude for all that we have and all that God continues to do, we have a different outlook on how we ought to consider one another and how we ought to look at one another. We should think of situations that God has put in front of us. By the grace of God, so go we.

Amen? I mean, if you think about it, look at how blessed each and every single one of us are. And yet we seem to be dissatisfied with the place that we're in because we just want a little bit more. I think we should be dissatisfied in our walk with God in seeking just a little bit more to accomplish His purposes.

Don't worry about everything else because everything else tends to fall right in line when you take care of that main thing. It's very important that we look at that. Look at what it goes on to say: "And he could there do no mighty work, save he that laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them."

"And he marveled because of their unbelief, and he went roundabout the villages teaching." What a heartbreaking picture. Again, this is not what's taught often. Most people don't even pay attention to it. But the fact that Christ is rejected in His own home was the very tool that was used by the devil to keep God's very best from entering into that town and being amongst those people.

Do you know that God's blessing upon you is directly correlated to what you'll allow Him to do and what you won't allow Him to do? God's blessing upon you is directly associated with what you choose to do when He asks you to do it.

If you choose to reject God because you're stumbled by Him for whatever reason, you also choose to stop from allowing God to do the work that He wants to do. The blessing that you actually want to receive won't be received because you've rejected the one who wants to give it to you.

I think there's something pretty spectacular about the man and the woman who says, "I will allow myself to be yielded to the final court of arbitration, which is the Scriptures, knowing fully and understanding the fact that if I continue to give myself to it, then the blessings that God puts upon me will always be unmitigated."

It's never going to be stopped. I'm never going to be the reason why God can't bless me. I think we are the sole reasons why oftentimes God can't bless us because we don't let Him. We don't let Him through our rebellion. It's heavy. Look at what He does.

By the way, can I just say this? I still can't get past this verse. Verse 6 is a tough one for me to stomach because they had it right there at their fingertips. They just had it. It was there. They had it right there. It's amazing how that works.

I remember one time, years and years ago, a young man who was very eager about being in ministry. He wanted to be in the ministry so bad. God had opened up a pretty spectacular door for him to get in the ministry as a pastor and to get involved.

He came to us in a very abrupt way and he said, "Man, I just know, I know I'm supposed to be here and I want to be in the ministry and I want to serve. I really, really want to serve and I want to do it." I go, "Well, you already are serving. Do me a favor. Just trust in the Lord and let His timing handle everything."

What he didn't know is that just a day or two prior, there was a conversation that had ensued with the senior pastor encouraging him to consider bringing this young man on as a staff member and to serve the Lord and to really excel.

Well, this young man was offended by the counsel that we gave him to sit still and let God do what God wants to do. He ended up contacting, against our advice, the senior pastor and said some things while going over the heads of the people that were overseeing him that pretty much sealed his own fate.

His lack of willingness to submit and obey kept him from having the job that he was literally probably within an hour away from getting. I think that's the story of all of us when it comes to the Lord. We want things so bad, or we think we should have things so bad, or we think that something should go a specific way.

In our lack of belief, we choose in our unbelief to take things into our own hands. Then we go and we take them in our own hands and all we do is make the situation worse instead of just simply saying, "Okay, Lord, I know that You've called me here, so I'm not going to make an issue of that. I'm going to trust that You in Your timing will handle the situation as You see fit."

Boy, I wish we all thought that way. I wish I thought that way oftentimes. Sometimes I reject my own counsel. So much more could have happened other than just a few sick people being healed. That's a heavy statement.

He called unto him the twelve and began to send them forth by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits; and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: but be shod with sandals and not put on two coats.

He basically goes to them and says, "Okay, you're all going to be paired together. You two get together, you two get together, you two get together, you two get together and go do these things. Go preach the Gospel, cast out demons, go do these things. Don't bring any supplies with you."

I think God was teaching them an exercise in faith and trust. I really, truly believe that because this idea of going somewhere and not being prepared is a miserable prospect to me. It's completely miserable. I've been having to do a lot of travel as of late, and I hate traveling.

I hate long drives. I'm not a fan of any of that stuff. I don't like flying. I would much rather be at home and live happy at home. That's the way I am. My idea of a vacation is being a hermit. But I know that human beings were not designed by God to be hermits.

When you choose to be a hermit, you just destroy your life. I know lots of people who have destroyed their lives by isolating themselves and just doing nonsense their whole lives. But if I could have it my way, it would be that.

I don't because I know that God's called me to do other things. But when I do travel, I go out of my way to make sure I'm prepared. I go out of my way to make sure certain things are in order, that I've got things set up.

All the things that I need that I depend on on a day-to-day basis are all squared away. I make sure I have extra batteries, my computer, I do it all. I think that's important. Imagine Jesus going to them and telling them, "No, you're going to go travel, don't take anything. Don't do a single thing other than what I just asked you to do."

That's a scary place to be in. In verse 10 He said unto them, "In what place soever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day of judgment, than for that city."

And they went out and preached that men should repent. They cast out many devils, and anointed with oil that were sick, and healed them. That's kind of a heavy statement if you think about it. It's a super, super heavy statement.

Analyze the story for just a moment. Consider what happened in the circumstance related to Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were both judged by God and that judgment was set. Abraham is told that the cities were going to be judged.

So Abraham says, "Listen, if there's just a few people over there that are godly, will You spare the city?" Of course, God says, "Yeah, of course I will." Then that number drops and it gets lower and it gets lower and lower and lower.

Finally, when Abraham presents to the Lord, "Hey, if there's just a handful of people, will You save the city?" God says yes. And there wasn't. There wasn't even a handful of people. Literally, the city could not be spared because of the rampant unrighteousness and wickedness.

Lot was referred to as a righteous man, yet Lot is recorded in the Bible to not have shared any of the truth that had laid within him. We don't see record of it in the Bible. As a matter of fact, when the Bible talks about remembering the days of Noah, it's a very different thing from when the Bible says remember the days of Lot.

The days of Lot are indicative of a man who was righteous, yet was attracted to the world based and built upon materialism. As he stayed in that world, he became affected by that world. He was so attached with the prominence and the position that had been given to him in that city that he was willing to sacrifice his own daughters to be able to somehow appeal to and maintain some semblance of reputation.

Contrary to popular belief of the movement associated with gay and lesbianism, the judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with a lack of hospitality. There couldn't be a more evil conclusion. The prime indicators that we get from that story are not only was a righteous man influenced by that city and not only was he carried away.

We know that by the way because even when he was running away from judgment, he still wanted to go hang out in a cave where he could overlook the city. Think about that for a second. His wife turned back. She stopped and turned back and she became a pillar of salt.

During that time, there were no righteous people in Sodom or Gomorrah. During that time, there was nobody there to warn them about their rebellion against God. They were so rampant in their rebellion that it was obvious they were going against the very thing that God had embedded within their hearts. So they were worthy of judgment because of the wickedness that they gave themselves to. There's no excuse.

But when Jesus actually makes the statement that it is going to be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city, He's saying it'll be more tolerable because at least in Sodom and Gomorrah, there was nobody there preaching the Gospel and telling the truth.

Yet in the city that these men go to visit, you have righteous, godly men preaching the message of the kingdom and repentance, and they're being rejected. God says when they reject you out of that city, it'll be better for them to have been Sodom and Gomorrah on judgment day. They've been confronted with the truth and now they've denied it.

That's why I'm so nervous about the generation that we're seeing today. Do you understand how inundated with the truth we are today? Do you understand how easy it is to get into the word today? Do you understand how little effort is involved in even doing something as simple as reading the Bible?

If you wanted to, you could hear the Bible read to you every single day of the week. You could literally give yourself to seven hours if you wanted to, of listening to the Bible in time and a half being read to you and listen through the whole Bible.

If you listen to it two and a half times, you could probably have it read to you in about two and a half to four hours. It depends on who's reading it. If it's James Earl Jones reading it—sounds like Darth Vader when he's reading—it takes a little bit longer because he's slow.

My point is, it's easier and easier today to know and to learn and understand God's message. I just got told by our team that we've got 8,000 videos. Can you imagine how long it would take to get through that? The point isn't to say, "Look at what I've done."

The point is to say we have hundreds and millions of resources out there that are designed to get you to be more deeply acquainted and familiar with the word of God. And yet we are a society that rejects God more than we've rejected God so much in the past. It is amazing to see the levels of rejection.

That's why I'm so excited about what I've been seeing as of late. Jack Hibbs sent me the opening prayer that was shared at the beginning of the cabinet meeting. I was blown away by it. I don't know if I was blown away by the prayer as much as I was blown away with the president going, "Wow, that was great," or "What a beautiful thing."

The president has made it clear that he wants all of his cabinet meetings to be opened up in prayer by the HUD Secretary. I never thought I would see the day again where people would open up meetings in the Capitol, especially at that high of a level saying, "In the name of Jesus."

The judgment that awaits America is probably going to be far more significant than Sodom and Gomorrah. Because in a world that exists right now where there are so many people preaching the Gospel, yet we have so many who are rejecting it, we better pray for a spiritual awakening in this country.

If we don't have a spiritual awakening in this country, it is going to be worse for America on the day of judgment than Sodom and Gomorrah ever was. Because what Sodom and Gomorrah never had that America has plenty of is people preaching the Gospel and telling the truth about salvation.

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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While you're there, you can also send us an email. It would be great to hear from you and have you share the station you listen to as well. Just visit lightonthehillradio.com and then click on Contact. Pastor James has a question for you as we close.

James Kaddis: Here's my point, and this is where it gets really heavy. If none of this has felt heavy to you, let this part feel heavy to you. What are you doing with all that God's given you? That's a question that is not designed to be rhetorical in nature.

I'm asking you that question with the hopes that you will stop for a moment and reflect upon your answer. What have you done with what God's given you? Are you faithful? If God's given you an audience, are you cultivating that audience?

If God's given you a talent, are you cultivating that talent? If God's given you the ability to communicate, are you cultivating that? If God's given you the gifting to be an earner, are you working on that? What are you doing with what God's given you?

Here's my question: are you willing to accept the fact that if you will be faithful to what God has done for you and what God has called you to do, that you will find blessing beyond your capacity? You have to be willing to understand that.

If you're not, you'll be held accountable for not taking advantage of every gift that God has given you. You'll be held accountable for not taking part in the freedoms that you have. I was reminded of the process that the body of Christ goes through in China to be able to know the Word.

Just so you know what they do, they take the Bible—this is not a joke—they rip out each page of the Bible. Amongst the people that meet secretly, they hand out the pieces to one another like contraband.

The job of the people that have their page is to memorize that page. Then they give that page to somebody else to memorize. They all start exchanging these pages, and eventually they all have already memorized the Bible. It's amazing to think about the extents that they go through to be able to do it.

Yet we have it in plenty here. What do we do? We just trash it. We just waste it. It doesn't make any kind of sense. It might perhaps be one of the most shocking things. One last quick thought on this to help you understand the principle a little deeper.

One of the most interesting things that I used to notice from people coming from other countries where they were starved was the utter shock in their faces when they would go to a restaurant. Typically, there were two things that would shock them.

The first thing, they were shocked with the sheer volume of food that was available to them. But what was more shocking was how willing people were, after their meals were done, to throw away so much food. They would look at it and they would say, "How could you do that?"

It's so scarce where we're at. Do you know how hard people have to work to get the kind of food that's on a single plate here? We look at that and we go, "I get it. We come from a different background." But we do the same things spiritually.

God has abundantly blessed us with so unbelievably much. What have we done? We've basically not valued it. We've glutted ourselves in some ways and thrown away so much of what we've been blessed with. We don't take it seriously.

I would encourage you to understand everything God has put in front of you and take full advantage of every resource that you have. Why? Because there's so much to gain from it. We are the only ones that are limiting God from doing the full blessing that He wants to do in our lives. So let's wake up and take advantage of every opportunity. Amen?

Guest (Male): Remember, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Light on the Hill with Pastor James Kaddis is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Signal Hill.