You see, friend,
the truth of the matter is
a person doesn't go from walking
red hot with God
in intimate fellowship with the Savior,
to a life of evil overnight.
It's a slow, downward process.
They begin to compromise the best thing
for good things,
and it's not long before
they start compromising good things
for that which is evil.
It made for good preaching years ago
to curse the charismatics.
After all, some of their big name boys
bit the dust to immorality.
But, I tell you, friend,
we have just as many evangelicals,
fundamentalists, and reformed people
in the church that are falling.
You mark my word tonight.
It did not begin with them going
from having a vital relationship with the Savior
to total apostasy in one night.
It was a slow process
as you'll see in the life of King Solomon.
This is a warning.
It is a shepherd's warning.
And I want to begin tonight
by sharing with you
a little satire that I trust
will kind of settle things
that you might understand where
we're going this evening.
It's called "The Plan."
"Satan called a worldwide convention.
In the opening address to his evil spirits,
he said, 'We can't keep true Christians
from going to church.
We can't keep them from reading their Bibles
and knowing the truth.
We can't even keep them
from having conservative values.
But we can do something else.
We can keep them from forming
an intimate, abiding experience with Christ.
If they gain that connection with Jesus,
our power over them is broken.
So let them go to church,
read their Bibles,
and have their conservative lifestyles,
but steal their time,
so that they do not have time
to have an intimate fellowship with Christ.
This is what I want you to do.
Distract them from laying hold of Jesus Christ
and maintaining that vital connection
throughout their day.'
'How shall we do this?' they asked.
'Keep them busy
in the non-essentials of life,
and invent innumerable schemes
to occupy their minds.
Tempt them to spend and spend
and borrow and borrow.
Convince the young wives that they
have to work,
and the husbands they must work
six days a week for 10 or 12 hours a day,
so they can afford their lifestyles.
Keep them from spending time
with their children.
As their family fragments,
soon their homes will offer no escape
from the pressures of work.
Overstimulate their minds
so they cannot hear that still, small voice.
Entice them to play the stereo
whenever they drive.
Have them keep the TV, VCR, or the CD's
going constantly in their homes.
See to it that every restaurant and store
in the world plays music constantly.
This will jam their minds
and break their union with Christ.
Pound their minds with news and weather
24 hours a day.
Invade their time in the car
with glowing and glaring billboards.
Flood their email and mailboxes with filth
and junk mail to make them stumble.
Even on vacation,
let them be excessive.
Have them return from their time away
exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared
for the upcoming week.
Don't let them go into nature.
Send them to amusement parks,
sporting events,
concerts,
movies,
and shopping malls instead.
And when they meet for spiritual fellowship,
don't let them talk about anything deep
or where they're struggling.
Discourage them from enjoying His presence
when they're together.
Instead, make them fearful of opening up
and fill their time with small talk,
idle chatter, frivolous laughter,
and gossip
so they will leave with troubled consciences
and unsettled emotions.
Let them be involved in soul winning,
but crowd their lives with so many good causes,
that they have no time to seek strength from Christ.
Soon, they'll be working in their own strength;
sacrificing their family and health
for the sake of the vision.'
It was quite a convention.
At the end, the demonic spirits
went eagerly to their assignments
causing Christians everywhere
to get busy with life
and pull them away from
the One Who is life."
Have they been successful?
You judge.