But, you know, another guy that was really well known for this doctrine of positivism
and positive only type of thing was a guy by the name of Norman Vincent Peale.
Who knows what I'm talking about?
This guy, Norman Vincent Peale, all right, it was only the older crowd.
You're dating yourselves.
No, I'm just kidding.
But back in the previous generation, you know, this was a big name, Norman Vincent Peale,
the power of positive thinking.
He was on the bestseller list with his book for a couple of years straight and he sold
millions of copies of this book.
Now this guy was a Protestant pastor, but this guy taught a lot of false doctrine.
And guess who grew up going to this guy's church?
Power of positive thinking church.
His pastor was Norman Vincent Peale.
Donald Trump.
Yeah, so lately Donald Trump has been saying how, oh man, I'm a Christian, I'm Protestant.
He said, I'm Presbyterian.
And he said, I grew up going to listen to my pastor, Norman Vincent Peale.
And he said, oh, I love, he was the great Norman Vincent Peale, wonderful man of God
and oh, so great.
Now this doctrine of the power of positive thinking has to do with a lot of just praising
yourself and kind of looking at yourself in the mirror and you know, I'm a great person,
you're going to succeed today.
And it was all about sort of using God to gain a lot of success in life.
That's how, you know, Trump interprets it too, is like, oh yeah, you know, it's all
about succeeding and making money and being successful in the world's eyes.
And this power of positive thinking is how you're going to basically climb the ladder
in the corporate world and succeed and make money and all this worldly achievement that
you're going to get through tapping into this energy that is God.
Now what does that sound like?
You know, God as the force, God, you know, use the force, Luke, like using God for your
own gain.
Using God, if I can just tap into these secrets of Christianity, then I can make money and
be successful.
It doesn't, they suppose that gain is godliness, as it says in 1 Timothy 6, from such withdraw
thyself.
But I've got to tell you this, and I have to cover this in the sermon tonight, I don't
think that there's a more prideful, arrogant person on this planet than Donald Trump.
I mean, the guy is like a caricature, it's like a parody or something.
It's almost like a joke, it's almost like a comedy or something.
How prideful and arrogant this guy is, where does it come from?
It comes from this preaching that only ever builds you up, and puffs you up, and it's
all positive, and the power of positive thinking, and builds you up, and you walk out with an
ego as huge as Donald Trump.
That's the product of this type of Christianity, this positive only Christianity.
Maybe if Norman Vincent Peale would have had a little more anger, and got up and ripped
some face on sin, maybe Donald Trump would have grown up to be a more godly person.
Maybe if Norman Vincent Peale would have had a little more hatred in his heart for sin
and ungodliness and wickedness, he could have done some real preaching that could have influenced
young Donald to grow up and have a little bit more of a modest, humble view of himself.
What does the Bible say about pride?
The Bible says in Psalm 10 verse 3, for the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire and
blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God.
God is not in all his thoughts.
Recently Donald Trump was asked, do you ever ask the Lord for forgiveness, have you ever
asked God for forgiveness?
He just said, well, you know, I mean I just do the right thing and I don't have to ask
forgiveness.
I mean I can't remember asking forgiveness because I mean I just do right, I just do
the right things.
I mean it's bizarre to listen to this guy talk, he literally just talks about it, man
I'm such an awesome guy, man everybody loves me everywhere I go, man I'm the richest guy,
all the most famous people, I say jump and they say how high on the way up, you know
I've controlled all the politicians with my money, I hang around with all the biggest
people, I'm the most successful guy, I'm a good looking guy, I'm an awesome guy.
I mean it's weird, has anybody else, is it just me?
It's weird, I mean it's crazy, it's like what?
Now you expect politicians to praise themselves, right?
You kind of just come to expect that politicians are going to get up and praise themselves
and say look at my wonderful track record, look at all the wonderful things I've done,
my record speaks for itself and I've done this and I've done that and when I get an
office I'm in a clean house, these guys don't know what they're doing but my businesses
have all succeeded and I'm number one and you expect that but he takes it to a whole
new level that I've never even seen, I've never seen it, it's like a parody, it's weird
that anybody could not just be revolted by listening to this guy talk.
What does the Bible say?
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
Okay well where does that lead us, does it lead us to the dark side?
No the Bible says that when we hate evil he says pride and arrogance and the evil way
in the froward mouth do I hate.
See I hate that froward mouth, I hate that pride, that arrogance, that's what the Bible
says we should hate.
The Bible said when pride cometh then cometh shame but with the lowly is wisdom.
Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Everyone that is proud is an abomination to the Lord.
Let me just back up and say that again.
This is Proverbs 16 five, everyone that is proud is an abomination to the Lord.
Though hand join in hand, and I'm sure he's had hand join in a lot of hands, he shall
not be unpunished.
Whatever it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with
the proud.
I bet some of his ex-wives would probably agree with that too.
An high look and a proud heart and the plowing of the wicked is sin.
Proud and haughty scorner is his name who dealeth in proud wrath.
A man's pride shall bring him low but honor shall uphold the humble spirit.
Go to Daniel chapter four, Daniel chapter number four.
Bible says in James chapter four verse six, but he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith
God resisted the proud but giveth grace unto the humble.
What am I trying to say tonight?
I'm telling you, this positive only religion that we see today, this positive only Christianity,
this your best life now mentality, this God is not mad at you mentality.
I mean, there's a book out by Joyce Meyer called God is not mad at you.
No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no, the Bible says God is angry with the
wicked every day, but see, oh, God's not mad at you.
Oh, it's just the power of positive thinking.
Just everything's going to go great.
They say peace, peace when there is no peace.
What is the result of this positive only Christianity that we see?
An imbalance where it's all love, no hate.
You know, all boldness, no fear.
It's just all positive and no negative.
The result is people who are proudful and arrogant people.
Why?
Because nobody's ever telling them that sometimes you're not doing that great.
Sometimes you're being an idiot and somebody needs to rebuke you and tell you that.
Sometimes you don't need a pat on the back.
Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants and people who never get that swift kick in
the pants, they grow up to be arrogant, prideful, self-glorifying, boastful people.
The Bible says in Daniel chapter 4 verse 28, all this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of 12 months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
The king spake and said, is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of
the kingdom by the power, by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?
Is not this the great Trump tower that I've built?
Is not this the great business that I've built?
While the word verse 31 was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying,
oh king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee and they
shall drive thee from men and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field.
They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen and seven times shall pass over thee until
now know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of man and giveth it to whomsoever
he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven from men
and did eat grass as oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hairs,
uh oh, uh oh, Donald Trump, maybe the process has already started, till his hairs were grown
like eagle's feathers and his nails like birdcalls.
I wonder if that hairdo is the curse of God on Donald Trump.
He did it to Nebuchadnezzar.
But you say, well, come on, pastor Anderson, Donald Trump's our guy.
You know what?
I don't have a guy.
My guy is Jesus.
I don't have a guy.
You say, well, you're preaching about the election.
I'm not even voting in the election, let alone preaching.
I don't even care about the election.
Oh, but Donald Trump's our guy.
No, because God said that everybody who's proud is an abomination.
Yeah, that's right.
That, oh, sorry to confuse you with the Bible, but everyone who's proud is an abomination.
I'd be shocked if even the most staunch fan of Donald Trump would say, well, he, no, he's
very humble.
I mean, it's just, it's a joke to even suggest that, right?
But these are the type of people that are produced from a Norman Vincent Peale type
Christianity from a positive only type Christianity.
It's not a pretty sight, literally and figuratively.
It's not a pretty sight.
You know, when you hear this guy praising himself and you know, you expect it from politicians,
but I mean, it's just to the point of, of where it's just a joke.
I mean, it's unbelievable.
You know, maybe you haven't heard this guy talk and that, you know what, great.
If you haven't, because it's great to just unplug from any of this.
But I just recently I hadn't, I hadn't been hearing him because I don't really pay any
attention to these things because I, you know, I kind of know that it's all controlled and
everything and I'd rather just, you know, focus on that, which is spiritual.
But recently I sat down and just watched this guy talk about Norman Vincent Peale and
I watched that and it was just like in 10 minutes he praised himself like a hundred
times.
It was bizarre.
It was sick.
It made me want to throw up and I don't like being around people like that where they just
to look how great I am, you know, and it's just like Nebuchadnezzar and it's just like
so many other people in the Bible who are destroyed by pride, you know, you want to
talk about the dark side.
It's pride.
That's going to take you to the dark side.
You know, when you start exalting yourself to where you say, I don't even need to receive
forgiveness from God.
He said, well, I go to, you know, I go to church, I eat the little cracker, I, I drink
the little wine, you know, it's, you know, you sound like you're not discerning the Lord's
body.
You know what I mean?
Didn't God say something about that in first Corinthians 11?
Sounds like you're eating and drinking damnation on yourself, buddy.
Being blasphemous and making light of the Lord's supper, you know, and just, yeah, you
don't need forgiveness.
Well, you know what?
Don't worry because you're not going to get any because you, what, you know, what do you
need it for?
Right?
You don't make mistakes, at least not big ones.
That haircut was a big mistake or whatever, whatever you call that thing.
But anyway, the moral of the story is this.
We need to spend more time at God's word.