Here is the teaching outline for SUNDAY NITE LIVE.  Join us at 6 PM EST.

According to the Random House Dictionary the word heathen means:

“an unconverted individual of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a pagan; an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.”

The word irreligious is defined by dictionary.com as:

“showing indifference or hostility to religion.”

Acts 4:25 AMPC

“Who by the mouth of our forefather David, Your servant and child, said through the Holy Spirit, Why did the heathen (Gentiles) become wanton and insolent and rage, and the people imagine and study and plan vain (fruitless) things [that will not succeed]?”

Here are seven things that will make you a “closet heathen

1.       Not tithing

Malachi 3:8-9 KJV

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.”

2.       Talking down leadership or those in authority

Acts 23:5 NLT

“I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.”

Acts 23:5 CEV

“. . .The Scriptures do tell us not to speak evil about a leader of our people."

If you don’t know how to live under authority. . .you will never be given much authority.

1 Peter 2:13-17 MSG

“Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.”                                                          

3.       Not believing God will do what He says He will do.

Numbers 23:19 AMPC

“God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?”

Fact # 1        God can’t lie.

Jeremiah 1:11 MSG

“God's Message came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "A walking stick—that's all." And God said, "Good eyes! I'm sticking with you. I'll make every word I give you come true."

Fact # 2        Every word. . .every promise He has ever given you will come true.

Genesis 28:13 MSG

“Then God was right before him, saying, "I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I'm giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they'll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this very ground. I'll stick with you until I've done everything I promised you."

Fact # 3        God will stick with you through thick and thin. . .till His promises come in.

Luke 1:45 MSG

“Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”

4.       Being a stealth sinner.

Mark 4:22 NLT

“For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.”

Mark 4:22 NLT

“There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known.”

5.       Putting down your spouse or anyone else for that matter.

Genesis 2:24 KJV

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Ephesians 5:29-33 MSG

“No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.”

“Yea, but Brother Harold, you don’t know my wife.”

That’s right, I don’t know her, but God does. . .if you begin to treat your wife the way that Christ treats His bride, the church, you will witness the most amazing transformation you’ve ever witnessed. . .an extreme makeover from a heathen to a fruit producing believer. And guess what? It starts with you.

6.       Taking the credit for what He has done for you.

John 10:10 NLT

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

Romans 12:3 MSG

“I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.”

2 Corinthians 2:12 NLT

“When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me.”

Psalm 35:28 AMPC

“And my tongue shall talk of Your righteousness, rightness, and justice, and of [my reasons for] Your praise all the day long.”

Deuteronomy 28:47-48 NLT

“If you do not serve the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The Lord will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.”

7.       Being stuck in a comfort zone.

Your comfort zone is an enemy of your future. . .a hindrance to your success. . .a stumbling block to your destiny.

Mark 7:8-10 NIV

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”