Methinks They Doth Protest Too Much

               It's been an interesting and a little bit disconcerting Lord's Day. My wife is away so I took advantage of being alone and drove up to Chagrin Falls, Ohio to experience a megachurch and hear Alistair Begg preach. Then I came home just in time to stream John MacArthur preach his morning service in Pacific time being three hours behind us.
               Let me start with the last first. John Macarthur was preaching from Revelation....and that in itself was good because there was a strong warning on the day and age that we live in....and the nearness of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....but he seems constantly....this for quite some time now....to be defending himself in the mistakes he made over the past few years....on politics no less....in that twice in the sermon he referred to the pandemic as a hoax. I have wanted someone to ask him what he meant by this since he first stood before his congregation and said....I watched him say it....."There is no pandemic." And He brought up the vaccine again!
               In his sermon today he referred to our two security agencies....I presume that he meant the FBI and NSA....and how they spy on us....but here is the kicker.....they spy on us to drive us to the Internet so that they can eventually control our money. This is a sermon....from a skilled long time minister of the gospel and defender of the faith? Folks....it usually takes a week or so for his ministry....gracetoyou.org....to add the latest sermon. If you are patient you can then listen to it for yourself.
                I had only a few days ago....in a repost from 2011....stated how Christians in America have been for a long time thwarting the globalist goals on a one world government. MacArthur essentially said the same thing....but he referred to all of this....that goes back many decades....as the....Make America Great Again....movement! How does Trump get a 'shout out'....in a sermon....from a strong and experienced minister on the national and international scene....on something that precedes him by decades?
               All of this could be called....Trump  Delusion Syndrome....or....Trump Distortion Syndrome. Trump didn't demand NATO pay more to strengthen it....he wanted to end it! He was kissing Xi Jinping's ring just before the tariff war. How does he get away with telling Putin to do whatever he wants? How do veterans think he is pro-veteran when he has ridiculed veterans? How do evangelicals think that he cares one iota about Christianity when he thinks they are idiots? And how did John MacArthur....a defender of the faith for over fifty years....fail to recognise a false prophet in which he warned against for decades?  
                 Alistair Begg's church was a beautiful structure....the people seemed lovely....it had a first-rate....I guess....latte bar or whatever you want to call it....and the bookstore was excellent. I did not like the huge video screens above and to the left and right of Alistair speaking from the podium....for at least a dozen times I had to force myself to look at the real flesh and blood man in front of me....albeit quite a ways in front of me....instead of the giant figure on the screen. I sang contemporary praise songs way back when....over thirty years ago....but I cannot do it anymore....so instead I tried to concentrate on the words on that huge screen....but even that was difficult. It's like reading a 'living translation' of the Bible....designed for enquirers or new Christians to be able to understand. One last thing....the sermon was quick....and surely will be an episode on a future program of....truthforlife.org....which makes me wonder if the congregation or the radio audience is most important. This was a second service.....and nearly full.
                If you are not up on the church news....a few months ago Alistair Begg....in a Q&A on his radio program....advised a grandmother to go ahead and attend her grandson's wedding to a transgendered person....telling her humorously to take a present as well. Well...that advice went viral and Alistair Begg apparently was disinvited to John MacArthur's upcoming Shepherd's Conference....and was taken off what seems to be a couple hundred Christian radio stations. He also....like John MacArthur....seems to be in a defensive mode....defending his....what appears to be an.....unforced error....from the Q&A. John MacArthur made a similar unforced error in late 2020....when President Trump called him after a morning service....and MacArthur told him that surely all real true believers will be on Trump's side in the election....relegating millions of us who did not nor will not vote for a proven false prophet....to be not real true believers. Why are these mega-ministers incapable of admitting to a mistake? We all remember that Abraham Lincoln quote....I've heard minor variations of it...."He who represents himself has a fool for a client." Another might be from Shakespeare's Hamlet...."The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
                 One last thing. Alistair Begg made a comment from the pulpit that I just shook my head on. He mentioned that he had watched the Super Bowl on television. Come on Pastor Begg....did you have to bring that up....when much of the Christian church still believes in an actual Lord's Day? Is it that important to demonstrate that it is OK for followers of Jesus Christ to watch the Super Sunday Super Bowl....as the world crumbles.....and Jesus is at the very gate? The thought that came to mind was from that clip from the movie Barbie....where Ken looks at her and says....."So cool." Super Bowls after preaching a sermon....so cool!
                 I did listen to another sermon today....on the two hour drive home....actually I believe that it was a conference talk of some sort....but I strongly recommend it to you....just Google....John Piper YouTube....false prophets, absolute truth, divine power, antichrist.