A few years ago I came to the conclusion that I just had to change. I could see that I was a little old fashioned and was holding back progress. I began to realize that if I didn't change, the younger people would lose respect for me. So one day I decided I would take the plunge, no matter what it would take.

So I called my secretary into my office and said, "Would you mind teaching me how to run the computer?" You see, for all these years I had been satisfied to draft my letters and do my sermons by hand on those big yellow note pads. You know what I mean. I would do a draft of a sermon in my "unique" handwriting. To be perfectly honest, my handwriting depends entirely on how much of a hurry I am in. Somehow, through the years, the secretaries have been able to decipher it regardless, with the exception of a few words here and there.

So I would do a draft, and then another, and then the final. It was an enormous amount of work and would take hours of my time, not to mention the secretary's time. But I figured that I could never learn to do the computer. I thought that I surely wouldn't be able to compose a sermon and type all at the same time.

But then, as I was saying, I realized that the time had come for me to change. The status quo was no longer acceptable; in fact, it was intolerable. People were probably even then losing respect for me, because I refused to be up with the times.

So I took the plunge and began to come up to the 21st century. For more than a year now I have been, as they say, "into" computers. I have gone even further than learning how to do sermons. I even signed up for CompuServe and America-On-Line. So now I have joined all of the computer nerds out there in cyberspace.

We live in a time of change. The winds of change are blowing. Change is inevitable. Something that isn't changing isn't alive. In fact, you might say that life is about change.

Well, back to the idea of computers again. A while ago I wanted to put a little program into my system. It was on what they call a floppy disk. What happened was I made the mistake of trying to turn the program on before I copied it off the floppy, and as a result my hard drive crashed. The hard drive, as you know, is the space in the inside of the computer where all the information is stored, including what makes it run. A crash is really more like a freeze up. In a crash, the computer loses its way. It is not able to respond to a command. It is like dumping all of your filing cabinets on the ground and then trying to put them back in order with a blindfold on.

So they call it a crash, I guess, because that's how you feel when it happens! I had to take my computer to a friend who is into this kind of thing, and after some hours we got the disk reformatted (reorganized) and were able to re-install all of the files again.

The reason I am telling you all of this is to illustrate that when I crashed the disk I was only trying to improve the way it worked and make it more, you might say, appealing and user-friendly. I was trying to change it for the better, but it backfired on me.

You see, I believe in change. I think that change is absolutely necessary. We need to realize, however, that there is always a risk in change. Whenever we do something, there will be change; but we don't always know what kind of change there will be unless we have had some experience in the change or know of someone who has.

If whatever we are trying to do has never been done before, it is necessary to experiment. There are risks, of course, even in experimentation. How serious the risk depends on what the experimentation is all about. You know that when they are developing a new kind of medicine, for example, the result of not having everything just right could mean somebody might die. This is the reason why, when they are testing new medicines, they begin by testing them on animals. When you are experimenting on a new drug and it doesn't work, it would be better to have dead rats, rabbits, or monkeys than dead people.

I was talking with someone the other day about all of the changes that are coming into the church. The person told me that we need to change, and that they guessed in the process we would just have to make some mistakes. I told them it is one thing to be testing something on animals in a laboratory setting; experimenting on people is quite another.

But the stakes are infinitely higher when we are experimenting in the areas of what are called faith and morals. When we take a trial-and-error approach to matters having to do with faith and morals, then the mistakes may well be lost souls.

There are strong forces, winds of change, blowing all around us, in our society, in our church, and in our homes. There is a mindset these days that wants to change. It is almost a way of thinking that says, "If it is not broken, break it." This mindset can be dangerous. Changing a wardrobe or your hairdo or buying a new car is not the same as a change in the area of faith and morals.

Some of you remember the days before they had latex, water-based paints. There was only oil-based paint. It took a solvent to clean the brushes. If you got the paint on you, it didn't wash off like the latex-based paints we have now.

In matters having to do with faith and morals, it is more like oil paint--actually more like indelible ink. Faith and morals stick to you and even to your kids and grandkids. You know how it goes. It is easy to forget where you put the car keys, but the dirty joke that you heard last week keeps coming back to haunt you.

But we live in an age of change. The question is not will we change, but how fast and in what direction will we go. There seems to be two groups in the church these days. These groups have always existed, but now they are more out in the open. The groups I am speaking of are the liberals and the conservatives. Even in Jesus' day there were liberals and conservatives. The Pharisees were conservatives and the Sadducees were the liberals. Of course, the Pharisees were careful to observe external forms of religion. But the Sadducees had their problems. They didn't even believe in a resurrection.

In the 21st century there seems to be a group who is saying that they are fed up with the way we have been conducting church in the past, and they are pushing for change and are actually making it happen. Those who don't want to have a rock band as part of the worship service are sometimes accused of wanting the church to die out and all of the young people to be lost.

Contrary to what some believe, the issue is, do we want the young people to stop coming to church or to be lost? Everyone I have ever known wants the young people to come to church and, of course, to be saved. We who are parents and grandparents know more about these kinds of feelings than many who have not been around so long. No, the issue is not, do we want the young people to be saved or not. The issue is, will bringing a rock band and theater to church help our young people to be saved or will it actually interfere with their salvation?

I do not believe in experimentation in the area of faith and morals. The price is too high. If we make a mistake in the area of faith and morals, instead of being saved, our children and grandchildren could be lost.

You might be thinking, if you don't believe in experimentation in faith and morals, does that mean we have to be stuck in a rut? Does that mean we have to keep doing things the way we have always done them? Does that mean what we have been doing is the only way that things should be done?

I don't mean to say that. In fact, I don't believe it. When I say that I don't believe we should experiment in the area of faith and morals, I mean I don't think we should try to re-invent the wheel. Remember, the wise man told us that there is nothing new under the sun. This means that we don't so much invent as we discover or even rediscover.

You see, the rules were already here when we got here. Faith and morals are not like a game where you can agree to change the rules if you want to. God, our Creator, has already laid down the rules of the game here. If we try to change those rules or decide that we will not pay attention to them, there is always a price to pay, and it is more than dead rabbits and monkeys.

We wish we could know the future, for then, when we take off on something that we have not done before, we could know what was going to happen. But we can't. So sometimes we just do whatever we decide to do and we wait to see what happens. They call this "making your own mistakes."

But sometimes the mistakes we make can be deadly or can permanently scar us. This is why we could avoid a lot of grief in our lives if we would just study history. The saying goes that those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it. Likewise, in the 21st century I am afraid we are really not making history, we are just repeating in our context something that has happened before.

It is inconceivable to think that, whether we are liberals or conservatives, we don't want what is to the glory of God. We all recognize that we must change. It seems to me that, rather than working against one another, we ought to sit down and talk together about where we want to go, and then discover from history and the Word of God the best way to get there.

But this seems to be the crux of the problem. Right now some would declare that part of us is for change and the other part is in a rut and doesn't want to come out. True enough, there may be some who are in a rut and don't want to come out, but I believe that some of the tension being felt in church circles these days is that there are some who feel it is better to be in a rut than to climb out and fall off a cliff.

It seems these days that the church is like two people riding on a bicycle built for two. They are peddling up a steep hill. When they get to the top, the person in front says, "Boy, I thought for a minute we weren't going to make it and were going to roll back down the hill, so I was peddling like crazy."

The second person says, "I thought we were going to roll back, too, so I had the brakes on all the time!"

So it seems. Part are peddling for all they are worth to make it up the hill, and part, it seems, for fear of going backwards, have the brakes on all the time.

Ladies and gentlemen, the fact is, there are few who are against change, but there are many who are against change at any cost. The problem arises when those who are against change at any cost are accused of being satisfied with the status quo or of being stuck in some kind of rut. The issue that confronts us in the 21st century is not shall we change, but how shall we change and on what basis.

Jesus Himself is calling the church in the 21st century to change. The counsel to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3 is a call to change. The message basically is that the status quo is unacceptable.

The gospel is about change. A person who has accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and has made a commitment to Him is going to change. A person who claims to have accepted Jesus as their Savior and who continues to be substantially what they always have been is kidding no one but themselves.

Those who are calling for a change in the sense of bringing the church up to the speed of the 21st century--I'm talking about those who believe we ought to preach the gospel in the context of the contemporary lifestyle--may not be aware of it, but they may be, in fact, on a collision course with what the gospel is all about in the first place.

There is a contradiction these days that comes out of a word that has become the motto of the contemporary religious scene, and that word is "acceptance." Some are saying, "You're OK, I'm OK." Some are saying that Jesus "accepts" us just the way we are.

Now, this is true only if it is understood what the gospel is all about. Coming to Jesus just the way we are is actually like getting into the shower just the way we are. A person doesn't take a shower before they get into the shower. They get into the shower just the way they are, literally. But when they get out of the shower, they are different, they are clean. That is because that is what showers are for. To shower is what I do to get clean and keep clean. And so a person comes to Jesus just as they are, like you or I get into the shower after a hot day of working in the garden.

A person who comes to Jesus just as they are--proud, selfish, bitter and resentful, lustful and out of control--and who stays that way hasn't really come to Jesus at all. Coming to Jesus is about being washed and being made clean. The scripture is clear, that those who are forgiven must also be cleansed from all unrighteousness. That is what 1 John 1:9 is all about.

This is where some are really concerned these days. They are concerned because the changes that appear to be coming into the church seem to be giving the green light to the things of the world and actually playing down what the gospel is supposed to be all about. Like the text says, it has "a form of godliness but denying the power thereof." It says, "Preach the gospel, but don't let it do its work in your life."

There are some who seem to be interpreting the Bible in such a way that it would appear that the gospel is something that, when accepted, we don't have to take the Bible seriously anymore. There are some who are giving the impression that obedience to the will of God is an option. Friends, I don't know whether you have really thought about it seriously, but far from being a way to get out of being obedient to the will of God, the gospel is actually the process that makes it possible for us to obey.

The Apostle Paul would be sorely distressed if he could hear the way some people misinterpret what he wrote in Romans, Galatians and Colossians. Contrary to what you may have heard, these books actually tell us how to be obedient and thoroughly condemn disobedience.

No, the issue in the 21st century is not shall we change; God is insisting that we change. We are all going to change before this is over. But scripture and history teach us that some will change and be saved and others will change and be lost.

Maybe the trouble is that we have been hearing only one side of the issue. In any conflict there are two sides. When they get ready for war you would do well not only to know about your side, but you should know as much as possible about the enemy.

You might already be ahead of me and be reasoning that Jesus has already overcome the devil, so we just have to know as much as possible about him.

If we lived in heaven, that would surely be true. But I don't have to tell you where we live. We are living right in the middle of enemy territory. If this were not true, we wouldn't have to lock our houses or look out for our children and all the rest.

In recent years there has been a lot of emphasis given to what is called the "great controversy." The great controversy is, of course, the great struggle between Christ and Satan. A lot of people believe that, when the text says the hour of God's judgment is come, it means that God is on trial. One might get the impression that somehow God needs our support if He is going to survive as God. Of course, it is not said exactly that way, but a person could come to that conclusion without much trouble.

Back in the old days, the emphasis that was given to the hour of God's judgment was different from what is believed today. It used to be taught that the hour of God's judgment means that we are in danger. It was taught there are forces out there which can do us in, and that our only safety is to be completely committed to Jesus. It was taught that the devil was going to be destroyed, and those who persisted on being on his side would be finally destroyed with him in hell. That's the way it used to be taught.

There is a new spin being given to things now. Hell is out. It is not politically correct to talk about hell. Love is in. Of course, the truth is that if you really want to know what the love of God is all about, you have to keep hell in the picture. Can't you see how that has to be? If we do away with hell, there is not really much incentive to respond to the love of God.

We are not hearing enough about the devil and his tactics these days. We do not seem to be aware that there is an enemy after us who is more dangerous than a sniper or a stalker or a pedophile. There is an enemy who is after us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the time we are born into this world until we check out at the end.

But we are not very wise; because if we were, we would be studying and briefing each other on the devil's tactics and how he works. We would be up-to-date on how he operates in the 21st century. When a person is at war, he had better study the enemy's tactics, his strengths, his methods, and all the rest.

The scriptures warn us repeatedly of this throughout our lifetime, but particularly at the end of the world the devil will appear to give up and even appears to get saved. Did you grasp that thought? He would even appear to get saved.

You remember that at the beginning of the Christian era Satan tried to destroy the church by force. But this only caused the church to band together and to actually grow. Satan then changed his tactic, and instead of trying to wipe out the church by force, he simply decided to join it, and he encouraged his infidel followers to do the same. What was true way back then is especially true in this generation. If a person is not aware of this infiltration these days and expects the devil to be on the outside and the good guys on the inside, that person will be in for a big surprise.

There is much talk these days about a ban on land mines. A land mine is an explosive device that is buried in the ground. It is sensitive to pressure, and when it explodes, depending upon its size, it can blow up anything from a person's leg to a vehicle. In Cambodia, Kuwait, and Bosnia, even though the official hostilities have diminished or even ceased, there is always the danger of buried land mines. So Special Forces are trained to find and disarm or explode the mines before they can hurt innocent civilians.

I recount this so that we may understand that, although Jesus won the victory over Satan at the cross, our spiritual lives are still at risk because of the many spiritual land mines that the enemy has placed all around us. There is a growing feeling that we have nothing to worry about. But unless we happen to believe in "once saved, always saved," we do have something to worry about.

When the devil appeared to Jesus in the wilderness, he did not appear in the form of a red imp with a pitchfork. He appeared as an angel from heaven. If Jesus had judged strictly from appearances, He might have been deceived.

And so in the 21st century, if we judge strictly by appearances, we will be deceived. The scripture is clear in the book of Revelation that before this is all over, the very elect could be deceived. There will be miracles wrought and other signs and wonders.

I believe that the saints must be given a complete briefing in this warfare that is going on. All must thoroughly understand everything possible about the Lord, yet we must be thoroughly instructed concerning the enemy, how he operates, what his purposes are, and how we can expect to have to deal with him.

I am very concerned with the winds of change that are blowing in the church of today. This is because changes in the church mean changes in our personal lives. After all, that is, as they say, where the rubber meets the road.

The fact of life that is somewhat new to many is not that suddenly some of the members of the church appear to be worldly. Since the very first, the church has probably always had worldly members. The difference, however, in other times was that the worldly element was not out in the open; they were in the closet, so to speak. They had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof.

They lived one way during the week and appeared to be religious on the Sabbath. This has now changed. No longer are the worldly people hiding their worldliness. It is out in the open. As church members we were never perfect, but we knew the difference. Rock and roll was invented when I was a teenager. We knew, however, that its rhythms were inconsistent with the Spirit-filled life. Yet back then we could have never imagined that in this generation rock rhythms would be heard in the church of God, corrupting the holiness of the gospel.

We knew back then that the theater was in opposition to the guidelines for the Spirit-filled life as given in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Of course, the theater isn't an issue anymore; television took care of that. You don't have to be very smart, looking back, to see that if we were right about the theater in those days, the same principles applied to TV. To make matters worse, we have in many places brought the whole business of make-believe and "acting" to church, rationalizing that we are only doing parables. Anyone can read what the Spirit of Prophecy has to say about these particular activities. One would have to been illiterate not to understand that these things are not to the glory of God.

We are in many places not only bringing the ways of the world into our lives with impunity, but we are bringing the world into church in the name of worshipping God. There is a tremendous emphasis these days on the love of God. But the love of God was never meant to be a blanket under which everything hides.

I am convinced we had better get smart in the 21st century in three ways. First, we had better find out what the devil is up to and how he works. Second, we had better find out what the Bible means when it says not to love the world and the things in the world, and that if we persist in doing that, we will be lost. Finally, we had better realize that love is not proved by committing adultery or fornication; rather it is just the opposite. Jesus said that if we really love Him, we will keep His commandments.

Some would lift up the cry that we are not saved by works. Some are saying that Jesus did it all and we don't have to do anything. Have you heard that one? I don't know why we haven't seen through this logic before. Follow, now. Life is about "doing." Something that is not "doing" is not alive. We speak of "doing lunch." Make no mistake; the Christian life is about "doing." A person who claims to have salvation and is not "doing" the Christian life doesn't have salvation. People who have salvation in Jesus Christ "do" the Christian life.

The problem is that, since the devil was baptized and became a member of the church in good and regular standing, he has been trying to change the rules and re-define the parameters of the game. Of course, this must not be allowed in the church, because as far as church doctrine and the meaning of holiness and godly living are concerned, it is the Word of God that has the last word. It is not up for a vote or a matter of how a person may see it. As soon as we start setting our standards by Gallop Poll--that is, by consensus--we are in real trouble. This is especially true when being born again and filled with the Holy Spirit is no longer a prerequisite for holding an important position in the church.

Please don't misunderstand. I am not saying that we should compare ourselves among ourselves to see who the best is. I am saying, however, that we must return to the Word of God as the standard of righteousness. We must wake up and see that, although we are changing and we must change, the change must be a change toward holiness and godliness and not a change that would institutionalize the world and its sinful ways. It cannot be a change that makes acceptable what is an abomination to the Lord.

Some would say that we ought not to emphasize truth, but we ought to emphasize people. The fact is that truth is not against people. A person who understands the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is the only one who can truly minister to people without deceiving them. A real "people person" is one who gives people the facts. Withholding vital information is not being a people person, but just the opposite.

One of the most quoted sayings of Ellen G. White these days says, "Christ's method alone will bring true success." Without doubt you have heard someone use that quotation. In fact, there are probably people who really don't have much respect for the Spirit of Prophecy who use this quotation because it fits their ideology. This is for the computer buffs. I happen to have a CD-ROM that has all of the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy on it. You can look up just about anything. It is incredible.

I decided I wanted to see for myself this paragraph that is quoted so much that begins, "Christ's method alone..." So I typed the words, "Christ's method" into the search window, and it told me there were approximately 64 places where these words are used together. I opened up the first one, and there it was, just the quotation I was looking for. Remember, now, people are telling us these days that we should read things in context. Some are always saying that it is not correct to take things out of context, and that is true. So I decided to read the paragraphs that preceded this quotation and those that follow after it.

You might be wondering why I went to all the trouble. What is wrong with using Christ's method? Nothing, provided that we are actually doing just that. The problem is, that in some places this quotation is being used to support the argument that, if we are going to preach the gospel effectively, we are going to have to meet people's needs, which is extrapolated to justify having rock music and theater in the worship services. I don't know where you may be personally in all of this, but I just want us to be clear how all the changes that are taking place these days are coming about.

I want to cite this now famous quotation to you, but in its context, as they say. "From Christ's methods of labor we may learn valuable lessons. He did not follow merely one method; in various ways He sought to gain the attention of the multitude, that He might proclaim to them the truths of the gospel."

Note the methods He used:

"Jesus came in personal contact with men. He did not stand aloof and apart from those who needed His help. He entered the homes of men, comforted the mourner, healed the sick, aroused the careless, and went about doing good. And if we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must do as He did. We must give men the same kind of help that He gave. This was the way the Christian Church was established. Christ first selected a few persons and bade them follow Him. They then went in search of their relatives and acquaintances, and brought them to Christ. This is the way we are to labor. A few souls brought out and fully established on the truth will, like the first disciples, be laborers for others. Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow Me.'"

Note more of His methods:

"Our Savior went from house to house, healing the sick, comforting the mourners, soothing the afflicted, speaking peace to the disconsolate. He took the little children in His arms and blessed them and spoke words of hope and comfort to the weary mothers. With unfailing tenderness and gentleness He met every form of human woe and affliction. Not for Himself, but for others did He labor. He was the servant of all. It was His meat and drink to bring hope and strength to all with whom He came in contact.

"Christ's chief work was in ministering to the poor, the needy, and the ignorant. In simplicity He opened before them the blessing they might receive, and thus aroused a soul hunger for the bread of life. Christ's life is an example to all His followers. It is the duty of all who have learned the way of life to teach others what it means to believe in the Word of God. There are many now in the shadow of death who need to be instructed in the truths of the gospel. Nearly the whole world is lying in wickedness. Yet we have words of hope for those who sit in darkness."

This, then, is the context of the paragraph that states, "Christ's method alone will bring true success." I can see nothing in what is quoted here that would support the moves some are making to render the church, as they say, more user-friendly. Where in this quotation can a person justify rock music and theater in the worship services? In fact, it may be only a dream, but I wonder what the church would be like if we were really using Christ's method. I am convinced that to a great extent the methods being used in some churches today are not Christ's methods at all, but rather the method of "Constantine the Great."

You will recall that Constantine the Great was the Roman emperor who ruled during the fourth century of the Christian era. His full name was Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus. Although he wasn't baptized as a Christian until shortly before his death, it was during his rule that Christianity became the "in" religion in the empire. As we would say today, anybody who was anybody became a Christian. Constantine will probably go down in history as being the greatest evangelist of all time as far as baptism is concerned. Of course, a baptism in those days could mean simply marching your army through the river and coming out on the other side a Christian in good and regular standing.

In order to make former pagans comfortable with the idea of religion, Constantine made the now famous change in the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. You see, the pagans were already worshipping on Sunday. Endeavoring to make church worship more familiar to the uninitiated is no doubt the philosophy behind today's custom of putting religious words to rock music.

Later people got the idea of putting images in the churches to accommodate the pagans, who were already accustomed to worshipping idols. Of course, the second commandment prohibits this, but it was explained that the images were not there to be worshipped, but that the illiterate people who couldn't read the Bible could visualize what the biblical characters looked like. It was suppose to make worship more meaningful. Of course, for people who had been accustomed to gods, these statues failed to go very far toward teaching Bible literacy, and soon the people began to worship the statues as their new gods.

The argument that many are using to justify bringing certain changes into the church is that they are only trying to save sinners, especially our young people. But a person who has studied history a little can see that the things that Constantine used to win the unchurched boomeranged on them and will probably boomerang on us, too, unless we wake up before it is too late.

The changes taking place these days seem so natural. Of course, it has always been more natural to live like the world than it is to live a godly life. History proves that whenever the children of Israel began to reach out and contemporize their religion and make it relevant to the times, they inevitably backslid and required God's correction.

The ideology that we must meet people's needs if we are to attract them to Jesus is flawed unless it is well thought out. Dope addicts have needs. Their need is more dope. Those who sell drugs are meeting the need. The same holds with the cigarette habit. The vending machine is meeting a felt need.

A culture that is crazy for thrills and entertainment will have more thrills and more entertainment as its felt need. To provide this to the people in the context of the preaching of the gospel is to betray them to the devil.

Whenever Jesus began to minister to certain felt needs, the people would tend to miss the point. He healed ten lepers one day, meeting their felt need. As far as we know, only one even said "thank you." A man asked Jesus one day to get involved in helping to settle a dispute over a will, and Jesus flatly refused. He told the man that was not what He came to this world for.

Another time He fed 5,000 people. The people tried to follow Him, probably thinking how much He could save them on the food budget. It is closer to the truth to say that Jesus more often met a person's real need than his felt need.

The matter of showing someone that you care is very delicate. If the person is into what I call "the flesh and its support groups," trying to meet their felt needs can be very frustrating, to say the least. It can even be dangerous to their soul's salvation.

One time I was holding a week of revival meetings. The city had several churches and a day academy. They asked me to come to the academy on Monday morning and give a chapel talk to the young people. Capturing the imagination of teenagers these days is not so easy, so I immediately began to think what I could talk about that would interest them and at the same time leave them with a lesson. Some time before, I had come up with a short, easy-to-understand sermon that I called the "Three Seminars." I decided this probably was the best one for these young people.

I first told them that businessmen pay a lot of money to attend seminars where they learn how to make money. I told them that I was now going to present a seminar on "How to Lose Money," and I wouldn't charge them anything for it. What a bargain!

They liked the idea, and so I began. I told them that there were three ways to lose money. One was is to neglect it. That is, put it under the mattress and leave it there for a few years. I have in my possession some Peruvian Soles that over a period of seven or eight years went from being worth thirty thousand dollars to a couple of cents. So if a person had put that money away and neglected it and then brought it out seven years later, their money would have lost its value.

Another way to lose money is to abandon it. You know the old saying, "Finders keepers and losers weepers."

And then the third way to lose money is to waste it, to just throw it away. In fact, I went to a wedding one time in southern Asia, and that is exactly what someone in the bridal party was doing--they were throwing money to the people as they rode by.

Well, I told the young people that my seminar on "How to Lose Money" was over, and asked them if they liked it. They told me they did like it. Then I said, "Now I am going to give you a seminar on "How to Lose Your Girlfriend or Boyfriend." They seemed to be interested in listening to that, so I began by saying that basically you lose your girlfriend or boyfriend for the same reasons you lose money, by neglecting them, by abandoning them, or by being unfaithful to them. They got the idea and thought the seminars were great. That was two seminars down.

I then told them that the last seminar was going to be about "How to Lose Jesus as a Friend." Of course, you can already guess. A person loses Jesus as a friend the same way they lose money or their boyfriend. Well, I was pleased the academy students had stayed awake and were attentive for the presentation.

At the end of the week I was in church and ready to preach the morning sermon. Someone asked if I would be willing to speak a last word to the teens in the teen Sabbath School. I said I would. I quickly noticed that a number of the young people there that morning had also been at the academy the previous Monday morning for chapel. So naturally I asked them if they remembered me. They said they did--that I was the one who had spoken at chapel on Monday.

I asked them if they remembered what I had talked about. They said they did. They said I had talked about how to lose money. "That is right," I replied. "And how do you lose money?"

"By neglecting it, by abandoning it, and by wasting it," they responded.

I really felt good to see that the talk had hit home. "What else did I talk about?" I asked.

You told us how to lose a girlfriend," they answered.

"And how do you do that?" I asked.

"The same way you lose money," they chorused.

I was really encouraged now. "What else did I talk about?" I asked. There was silence. "Come on," I encouraged, "that was the punch line, which was the most important part of the talk."

"We don't remember," they replied.

I am afraid we are going to be disappointed if we think that, by meeting the people where they are and meeting their felt needs, we will somehow find that they will transfer easily to spiritual things. I was meeting the young people's felt needs when I was talking about money and boyfriends, but when I began to talk about Jesus, I was answering a question that they weren't asking, and they got off the wagon.

We are in a time of change. But this is not the time to go backward and repeat the experience of Constantine the Great. It is time for a real change, not a change in the order of worship or in the kind of music we sing. Jesus is calling for a real change, a fundamental change. To be a follower of Christ is not to put religious words to worldly rhythms or to do theater or religious fiction. Now is the time to get down to business and really change. But it must be a change that will lead to separation from the world, a change that will lead to holiness and godliness in our personal lives, our homes, and in the church.

Though we are in the world, Jesus was very explicit that we are not to be of the world. There is no mistake that the church in the 21st century is becoming more and more like the world. We are trying to change the world, but the fact is, the world is changing us.

Quoting from The Great Controversy, page 49:

"Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, 'the mystery of iniquity' carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions.

"The nominal conversion of Constantine in the early part of the fourth century caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ."

Friends, it seems to me that somehow we are not making history, but we may very well be repeating it.