Some do not want the Lord who speaks and relate to them. So they turn to things made animals and things and become angry. They do not realize their covetousness. But God has the true way of the Blood of Christ to change us. (Romans 1:18-23; Genesis 4:4-6; Amos 4:13)

Speaker(s): Thomas Schaller
Sermon 12194
11:00 AM on 11/7/2021

P. Schaller –

What a happy song, huh? Happy song. Have any of you ever had someone come to your house and visit your
home and you want to make a good impression and so you have a back room and you just kind
of throw all the junk back there? Be honest! Come on! Yes, the junk goes in the back. Shut the
door. That’s it. Then visitors come and have a great time and they have no idea. They have no
idea what’s under the carpet, what’s in the back room, right? That’s what I want to speak about
today.

I want to talk about really like finding God. Really finding God. Being real with God. What do you
think? I think you’re here because you want to expose yourself to the Word of God and the
possibility that God will speak to you. You’re going to be like opening up your, you know, and
say, go ahead. Hit me. I’m ready. Jesus comes into the house and he goes beautiful house.
Beautiful house. I got to go to the back room. And you go no, Lord. You don’t need to go there.
We’re good. We’re good. How about it? Like that phrase, we’re good. I’m good. Really? Are
you? I got to go to that room. I got to talk to you. We got to do some business. We got to get
down to it cause I’m God. I’m God and I’m all about it. I got to go there. No. That’s off limit.
We’re not doing that. We’re not going there. That’s the way it is.

This is people, isn’t it? This is the way we are as people. We hide. We deny. We deflect. We
resist. We lie. We do all kinds of stuff and I just want to say a few things today about it. I don’t
know. Is it going to be a good morning or not? What do you think? Hey, wait a minute. Lord, you
can talk to me but don’t use the CAT scan. Don’t go into, do the x-ray. We can talk, but we got
to keep it on that level. And the good doctor says we got to do something. We got to talk. I love
you. I love you. I’m not like others.

What does the Bible say – the Bible says he is, listen to this, he is the only wise God. How
about other gods? No. What would be an adjective for the other guys? I heard over here
“stupid.” They can’t do it. They can’t do it. They don’t have it. They can’t go there. They don’t
know. They don’t have the means. They don’t have it. He is the only wise God. Not only is he
wise, but he is effective. He is effective. He is loving us.

You know when this happens in our hearts and God speaks to our hearts and it becomes a way
of life for us, it is life changing. If there’s anything needed in this world is for people to be
changed by knowing him, by worshiping him, and hearing from him. Okay.

So, I have a little story here. “Several years ago, California farmers were threatened with a
disaster from the Mediterranean fruit fly. Probably they entered the state with someone who lied
about not having any fruit when they crossed the border.” Anyone ever done that? Have any
agricultural products? No. We had a problem with that in Bulgaria I think. Bananas. The border
guards and we were on a bus. Actually, let me correct that. I wasn’t on that bus. I wasn’t in the
story. Somebody told me about it, but I’ve been in similar things. This banana story is not mine.
So the custom stop. The bus – I think it was Bulgaria and Turkey – I’m not sure. But they found
the bananas. Who hid bananas underneath in the bus, right, in the luggage. They pulled the
bananas out and the border guards they just started – they dumped them out and they started
jumping up and down on the bananas, you know. They were furious. They were angry. They
squashed them.

Any way, pray for me that this message will be – come on! Man, I need help today! Other times I
can do it on my own but today I need God to do it! No, I’m joking. I need God to help me, amen.
“The larva hatched and multiplied, took a rapid all-out effort to save California’s fruit crop. The
larva, fruit flies, and other insects do not eat their way into the fruit from the outside. Rather the
insect lays the egg in the blossom of the flower. The fruit grows around it. Sometimes later, the
insect hatches inside the fruit and eats its way out.”

Sin is like that. It’s on the inside and it’s just a matter of time and opportunity for it to come out.
Every one of us have a potential of being a criminal, finding trouble. Every one of us have the possibility of messing up our lives and hurting other people. Every one of us because we have
inside a sin nature, and we cannot control that sin nature left to ourselves. We need God. That’s
why Christ came, to deal with the deepest thing, the big problem, the real thing that is inside our
hearts. Mark. 7:21-23, Jesus described what is in our hearts.

So we have a three-point message today. The first one is the simple, the sin nature of man. I
talked with my son, Justin, yesterday and he told me this. He said, dad, why do you think people
worship insects and creeping things? You might say, I don’t do that. Turn with me to Rom. 1.
We see the truth about God is suppressed in the heart of an unsaved person. God is
everywhere in the universe speaking to unsaved people. Unsaved of course, unsaved people
have the witness of God in the universe. The nature of the universe is such that it speaks to our
hearts that God exists. I cannot see him. I do not know him. But there is something speaking to
me from nature, from the universe, from the nature of it, the order of the universe. It cannot be
an accident. It’s intelligence. Intelligence in the DNA.

Intelligence in the cosmos. The order of things. The incredible messages that are in the universe speaking to us about God. This is Romans 1:18-20. It’s clearly seen. His invisible attributes are clearly seen in vs. 20.
Basically, the question that comes to our mind is not “what” but “why.” “What” happens in the
world of science. “Why” happens in the world of philosophy. Why am I here? Why do I have
eyes and ears and tongue and a brain and feet and opposable thumbs? Why are we this way?
Why are we existing. Okay. But because of that infection inside, deep, this lie in my heart called
sin – sin is real but the effect of sin is I’m a liar. I hide from God. I see God but I don’t really want
to – I don’t want a moral law that is higher than me telling me what is right and wrong, so I will
deny God. If I deny God, the Almighty God, the Creator, then I can find other gods. This is what
it says. vs. 21.

One thing when you meet an atheist you just say to him, not in any other sense but to provoke
him to think, oh, you don’t believe in God? I’m sorry about that. Why are you sorry about that?
When you go to bed at night, you have nobody to thank. Who can you thank for the universe?
How can you be thankful to someone for the universe and your bed and your family? There’s
nobody to thank for that. So, that’s all.

vs. 21. Futile means there isn’t any value in my thoughts. It’ s like a loop. My thoughts are just a
small loop of thoughts. There’s no real value, eternal value or value of love in my thoughts. It’s
more me. Those thoughts are from me, through me, and to me. My world is small. Why?
Because I don’t have God. Without God what do I have? I have me. I have the world around me
and how I see it, but it’s actually small and actually I have this thing that happens where I want
to worship. What could I worship that would not be moral? What could I worship in the world
here that is not moral? Meaning it won’t make me feel bad. I got an idea. Animals.

Animals are not moral. They will not say to me you’re wrong. They only try to eat me, destroy
me if I’m a lunch for some animal. Or insect. Insects will not say to me, you are wrong, but you
can worship an insect or an animal. This is what it says. vs. 21-22.
Professing to be experts maybe. Experts in life maybe. Experts in philosophy. Experts in
business or economics or society. The high level of expertise by people but then God says
regarding these people who profess to be wise or another way of saying it, they are the leaders
of our society. They may be wise but they have become fools. What a paradox. The expert has
actually become dangerous. He’s qualified and professional but in his mind is something very
empty and futile and dark.

This is what it’s saying. You might say, no, pastor. I don’t do that.
vs. 23. I have an image. What is an image? Like a frozen – it’ s like a frozen statue. An image.
It’s something nice that I can worship but it will never talk back to me. It’s a corruptible image of
what? vs. 23. The image could be a man but could also be birds four-footed beasts and
creeping things. Now some of you maybe have never traveled to a country where you have this
kind of adultery. I have seen it in many places, many times. I see it in our country in another way
but it’s the same thing. We don’t say that we worship a four-footed thing or animal or insect.

We don’t say it but in principle, that’s what we do. What does it mean? It doesn’t talk back to you.
And also, you pretend like you are honoring this thing but you are in control of it. You can ignore
it, walk away from it. You can squash it with your foot. You can get rid of that god. You are in
control of the god.

The big change that happened to us was that we became subject to God who is the living God
who is able to speak to us and tell us that we are wrong. To use the example, Jesus comes into
the house. I got the back room filled with junk and Jesus says very nice to be here. I am
present. I got to look at that room. I say, no, no, no. Let me show you the door, and I’ll get
another god that will never do that. He’ll never want to go to the back door and he can’t talk to
me. He’ll never walk into the house. I’ll go out there. Worship him. Leave him in the back yard,
and come in and live my life. That’s how people live, isn’t it?

Let’s go to the two last points of the message and it is Amos. This is the key verse for the
message and it’s about God talking to you which is the most amazing thing that could happen in
your life that the living God would be talking to you. Amos 4:13, could we go back. Are we
there? Amos 4:13. We’re not there. Where is it? Oh, it’s over there. Here we are. Okay. Alright.
This last part, “he declares unto man what is his thought.” That’s the key. Does he declare to
you his thought? Wow. This is the new mind. This is mind renewal, Romans 12:2-3. We have the
mind of Christ (1 Corithians 2:16).

We are able to meditate on the Word and God communicate to us his thought. That thought is
not sin. That thought is Christ. That thought is the key to your life. When he comes into the
house and he wants to do house cleaning as we see with the story of Cain. When Cain offered
his offering, the Lord said to Cain in chapter 4, why are you angry? Why is your countenance
fallen? I find in those words love. I find that God loves us. He will talk to us. He does. To the
Jews, I love it.

I’ve been studying the prophets and teaching the Bible as you know, but I just touched deeply
by how much he loves the Jewish people and what he’s doing for them. He comes back again
and there’s a prophet and then the false prophets. He comes back again. These prophets were
not professional people. It’s so beautiful. These prophets were just people that were Spirit-filled,
anointed and had a message. When they said something, it wasn’t like chatter or actually the
Hebrew has it dribble. Dribble. The prophets their speech is dribble. Wow. But their word is like
a hammer. Like Jeremiah said his word was like a hammer. It’s penetrating. It’s true.

He comes in the house. I got to see the back room. Woe! Wait a minute! That’s not very polite.
I’m not here to be polite. I am God. I am God. Isn’t that beautiful. I’m going to help you. I’m going
to change your life. I’m going to help you. I’m going to talk to you. You got a problem with pride.
God could say to anyone of us, you got a problem with covetousness.

I heard recently one psychiatrist had been counseling people for 40 years in America and he
said I have heard people say I am proud. I’ve heard people say I am anxious. I am depressed. I
have heard people say I’m selfish. But I never heard one of my clients ever say I am covetous. I
am greedy. And he said I wonder why? Maybe because in our country this is acceptable to get
as much as you want whenever you want on any terms that you want. But when Jesus comes
into the house of our life and he says you are covetous. That’s a problem you got. You are
greedy and selfish. And I love you. I will declare to you my thought. Okay. This is beautiful.

Let’s go to the last part. Ge. 4:4, What is the meaning of this? Abel offered an animal with blood.
The blood offering. And it was respected. Another way of saying it is it worked. It affected me. I
offered up an offering, and it was accepted. God said amen to it and it worked in Abel’s life. I am
free. I am a worshiper of God. The offering was from God and it was for me to be saved and to
have a changed life, for God to come into my life. That happened.

What offering is it a type of but Jesus Christ’s offering himself and the blood sacrifice that works
in you with a clean conscience, Heb. 9:14. The Holy Spirit filling you. You know the truth and it sets you free. You’re a worshiper of God. God loved you first. We love God and we have
fellowship with God and we are different. Our face is different. Our heart is different. Our motive
is different. We have found God. God found us and it works. Wow! That’s the Gospel. It is
powerful. Whether you are in Egypt, Kazakhstan or Burma. Whether you are in the Philippines,
Japan or Moscow or Argentina or Mexico. Wherever you are, it doesn’t matter.

At any time, the living God is knocking on the door so to speak and saying accept me. Believe
me. But not many people do or we don’t know the numbers though the fastest growing religion
in the world is Christianity. It’s growing four times faster than the next religion is which is Islam.
That is growing also, but Christianity is growing four times faster than Islam. And how? It’s by
the preaching of the Gospel. And maybe God would put it in your heart to be part of that. I mean
we all are part of it being here in America. God knows how much our people need for Christ to
come into my life and say I got to check the back room or I know what is in the back room and I
got to go there. There has to be the forgiveness, the new birth, the humility, the fellowship with
God. That’s what’s needed. A fellowship with God and to hear the living God speak to me even
when I don’t like it. Even when it’s not my preference. It’s something I’m going to expose myself
to cause I want the living God in my life.

Cain did not. I’m reading into the story and using it as an example and I think you can follow it
with me. Chapter 4:5, Why not? It was vegetables and agricultural products and those things.
There’s no blood. No blood sacrifice. Only by the blood is our sins forgiven, Heb. 9. By the blood
we are justified. This is the order of God, ordained of God and it works. It’s real. The precious
blood of Jesus that saves a person.

I remember being on a street in Budapest years ago. I met a tourist. He was a Dutch man. He
was very restless. I talked to him on the street. The first meeting with him evangelizing, meeting
people I don’t know. He said, why are you talking to me? I go where are you from? He said the
Netherlands. I go I’m talking to you because I want to tell you good news that Jesus loves you.
He said I just came from prison. I’m out of prison. I was in prison in Holland. I said, why were
you there? He said, I killed a man. I said, do you want to talk about it? He said, yes. What
happened? I was outside a bar room and there was a guy came out of the bar room and he
started to fight with me and he pulled a knife on me and we got in a fight and I killed him with his
own knife. I’ve been in jail for three years. I think it was three years or seven. He said I see his
blood on my hands every day. Like he was bothered by the whole thing and very troubled. I tried
to comfort him by saying God is bigger than this.

God is a living God. God is a forgiving God. I said, by the way, you know this happened to somebody in the Bible. Moses in Exodus 2. He said, no. I didn’t know that. I said but it happened to a second man in the Bible who wrote the Bible. David. He killed one of his best friends. And there’s a third one. Paul who murdered Christians
and he wrote a fourth of the New Testament. Because the hand of blood is on your hands is not
greater than the blood of Christ that was shed that takes away your sin and forgives you.
What is the problem with sinners? It’s almost like that fruitfly, the egg of the fruitfly, on the inside
has to be dealt with and the only one that can do it is God. But if I turn to my insects or other
things that can’t talk to me, what good is it if it can’t talk to me? If it can’t challenge me? It’s not
my God. There are people that love their dogs and their animals.

That’s fine. That’s not what I’m talking about. But if the dog became your god, you don’t have much of a God. You don’t have much of a future. You don’t have somebody who can invade your life, who can challenge you,
who can say I want to see the back room. If I don’t get in the back room, if you don’t let me in
the back room, you don’t believe in me. You’re not trusting me, and we don’t have anything to
do with you.

I mean, read it about Cain here. Genesis 4:5, You might say, okay. That’s it for Cain. He’s done.
God’s got nothing to do with Cain. No, God is after Cain. God is after Cain. I love this story.
Think about it this way. There’s a guy, a criminal guy somewhere in the community. God is after
him. He wants to talk to him. You know what he will say? Are you okay being a criminal and
hurting people? Are you depressed? Why are you depressed? Cain, your religion is not working for you. Cain, why are you angry? Look at it. vs. 6. Isn’t that good. Why are you angry? It’s
another way of saying, how’s it going? How’s it working out for you? Oh, I’m this way or that
way. Oh, okay. How’s that working out. How’s that going for you? Is it working? Are you happy?
Are you satisfied? How’s that working out for you? It’s running flat. It’s going bad. I have
something going on inside in my heart. Actually God, if I be really honest with you, I’m angry
with you. I’m angry with my brother Abel because he’s so happy.

There’s something about my brother over there. I don’t know what it is, but my brother over there, I got a problem with him. I got a problem with him. I got a problem with you. I got a problem with – I got a problem with
myself. So what about that? Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
That could be the attitude of a sinner, isn’t it. How about your attitude and my attitude, isn’t it? I
love it though because the Lord is saying, Cain, I understand everything. I know why you are
angry. I know why you are depressed. I know why you are. If you go to the local drugstore and
get a happy pill, that might affect your emotions but that’s not going to solve your deep problem.
What you need is me. I am the one that will go deep into the back room. I will do house
cleaning. You won’t even realize what will happen in this house called your soul. I will give you
my thoughts. I will set you on high places.

I will give you hinds feet on high places. I’ll give you a renewed mind. I’ll instruct you in how to go, and your life will take on. I’m telling ya. When I am your God, there’ s nobody like me. I am your God. You will benefit. You will be blessed.
psalm 34. John 10 I am the good shepherd. I came to give you what? Abundant life. I am the
way, the truth, and the life. I’m telling you. That’s what’s happened to us. I’ll finish.
As I said, I was in Florida, Tampa. We had Greater Grace conference there. Some of the old
timers came from Ft. Myers area, Miami. New believers also. I met a brother I’ve known for
many years and haven’t seen him for sixteen years and we just had a beautiful time. You know
what I saw in those meetings? I saw that God is our God. I saw that God is taking care of us.
I had a phone call from a guy – there’ s Al Peterson over here.

Okay. Al, I just saw you earlier tonight. He and I went to college together back in 1970. We became friends. He became a believer. His family is here in the church, but do you remember Mike Siminof? He called me up.
He got saved the same time we did. I talked to him. He lives in Colorado. He goes I found you
online. He goes I wanted to call you. We had a talk. You know what I heard? God is his God,
and we haven’t talked for 50 years. We’re talking like teenagers. God has blessed that man and
God has blessed us.

What does this mean? I’m telling you, this country needs help but it’s not on the outside. You
know on the outside there’s all stuff on the outside. We all have it. We all know about it. But it
isn’t about – I stand at the door of your life and I’m knocking on the door. If you hear my voice, if
you are not afraid of me, if you can trust me, let me in and we’ll eat together. And when I come
in, the house will be clean. It will be done. I’ll deal with it. I am God. I don’t fool around with the
stuff like in our culture. All this stuff. We’re drowning in it. It has no value.

Our prophets have found false pretenses, causes of banishment. Our prophets, professional
counselors, teachers, pastors, priests, psychiatrists, doctors, educators, CEO’s, companies, etc.
The whole thing. Have they found the answer for the human race. The answer is no. We’d
rather worship insects cause they don’t talk back to us. But the preacher says, Christ is the
answer. When you find him and he comes into your life and you start to hear from him, it
becomes a habit. It’s not just guessing.

Like I’m going to read the Bible today and [put your finger on a page] and Judas went out and
hanged himself. It’s deeper. Yes, you can do that, but no. It’s the thought, the doctrine, the
study, the worship, the relationship, the faith and the obedience. You will not regret it. Whoever
believes will not be ashamed. He that believes is not ashamed, Romans 10:13. We’ll all be
ashamed. One day we’ll all be embarrassed, unsettled and kind of out of sorts. But he that
believes. There will be some sense of God. The Lord our God is an ever present help in every
time of need. We have the anchor to our soul the living Christ and you folks are people who are welcoming him in and saying come on. Yes, Lord. I’ll confess it and bring it to you. I’ll confess it
and bring it to you. Okay.

Amen.

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.