If We Just Ignore

Gays, They'll Go
Away, Right?

Larry Nevenhoven

Copyright 2016 by Larry Nevenhoven

All rights reserved. This article is protected by the copyright laws of
the United States of America. Written permission must be secured from
the author to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief
quotations in critical reviews or articles.
Unless otherwise noted. Scripture quotations are from The Holy
Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Published by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 1
It had been a hot September Saturday at the Oldsmobile-Cadillac
dealership with heavy traffic from our advertisements. I worked late
because of a used car delivery for a last-minute customer. The other
salesmen had long since gone home, leaving just the sales manager
and me to close up the place.
As I walked into the sales managers office to hand him the keys,
a car with what appeared to be a middle-aged couple pulled onto the
sales lot to look at used vehicles. Both stepped out of their car to check
out one particular auto. They then looked toward the sales managers
office as if to see whether sales people were still available for helping
them.
Thats just dandy, I thought, now the sales manager is going to
make me wait on those two people. Im tired, hungry, and want to
leave right now.
Larry, said the sales manager, if we just ignore them, theyll
go away.
He turned off the lights and we left. His words ended up proving
to be accurate because the couple drove off.
This is how most of us Christians have handled the
American gay rights movement so far.
And our results mirror our attitudes, in that we almost always
end up losing.
Admittedly, the gay rights movements ranks are not filled with a
bunch of wimps. They are tough adversaries who understand how to
pressure governments, politicians, corporations, major media outlets,
churches, and whomever to win battles. They wield fear and threats
like swords to cut down their foes.
Sadly, we Christians are not prepared for this type of warfare. We
enjoy nice fights with scriptures lobbed back and forth like Nerf balls
in a church sanctuary. The declared winner is the one with the most
scriptures to justify his stance. Cake and coffee are served afterward in
the church basement to soothe any open wounds.
Well, Im sorry to be the bearer of bad news because this aint
ever happening with gays.
So, what can we believers do?

Chapter 2
For two thousand years, Christians have agreed on at least one thing:
we live in the last days. (1) Each generation of believers has hoped to
see with its own eyes Christ arriving from heaven to whisk His bride off
to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (2) So far, this has not happened,
but my generation remains as optimistic as ever that this will happen
soon.
How can we remain so hopeful after all these years of not
happening yet?
The Lord gave us a profound mystery to encourage us: marriage
between a man and a woman. (3)
The Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 5:22-33 how the
husband and wife are to mirror Christ and the church. The husband is
supposed to love his wife like Christ loves His church (or bride) and the
wife is to be submissive and loving like Christs bride.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast
to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. (Ephesians 5:31)
This verse has a natural meaning and a spiritual one. The natural
meaning obviously refers to men and women leaving their parents,
living together, joining together sexually, physically, financially, and in
every way possible to become an inseparable union before God.
The spiritual meaning is that Christ Himself left His Father to
come to earth to be the Second Adam, and to bring forth from His body
a bride (the church), much like God brought forth Eve from Adam. (4)
Then Christ returned to His Father in heaven and will soon return in the
fullness of time to hold fast to His bride forever.
There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul is referring to men,
women, Christ, and the Church in these verses.
So, who else understands that we live in the last days and wants
to pervert this profound mystery?
Notes:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Hebrews 1:2
Revelation 19:9
Ephesians 5:32
1 Corinthians 15:45

Chapter 3
To understand todays same-sex marital problems, we have to
first realize we live in a fallen world and that the god of this world is
not the Lord God Almighty and Creator of Heaven and Earth. But
rather, the god of this world is a usurper and a thief named Satan. We
believers must open our eyes and quit walking around with our heads
in the clouds and tossing out trite phrases, like: Dont worry! Gods in
control and Ive read the end of the Book. We win!
Because for the most part, God is not in control in todays world.
If anyone doubts me, go to abortion clinics or the prisons in North
Korea where 75,000 Christians are held captive for their beliefs or the
sex trade in Asia where five-year olds are raped for money or to my
home on one of my bad days. These examples should wake us up!
Okay, now that were on the same page, lets look at Gods
original blueprint and what happened.
Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over
the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God
createdmale and femaleAnd God blessed them and said to them,
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis
1:26-28)
God created man and woman to be His ambassadors on earth.
Each had specific strengths to help the other carry out Gods plans. (5)
They were also told to have babies, which yes meant they had sex.
Interestingly enough, procreation was accomplished without Youtube
videos or sex guides. It was innate and a part of our human makeup.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold
fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his
wife were both naked and not ashamed. (Genesis 2:24)
Adam and Eve had a great deal going for them, but was the
Garden of Eden a perfect place to live?
Heavens no!
Notes:
(5) Genesis 2:18

Chapter 4

What was God thinking about when He placed Adam in the Garden of
Eden? Didnt He know that the much more clever serpent (Satan)
would attempt to take the Kingdom away from man through deceit and
spiritual warfare?
This is a plain indication of Gods righteous judgment so that you
will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you
are suffering. (2 Thessalonians 1:5)
God wants royal sons and daughters who are worthy of His
kingdom. He wants His royal family to learn how to trust, obey, and
worship Him in all situations, but achieving this status takes time,
training, and testing of our faith in Him.
For Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden was their classroom. They
were trained over a period of time, maybe even decades, and then the
serpent (Satan) administered their final test to them.
Now, remember: Adam and Eve had authority to rule over
everything on the earth as Gods ambassador. They could have
ordered the serpent to shut up and go away, but they didnt use their
authority that day. Instead, they listened, believed the serpents lies,
and sinned.
If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.
But if you are dishonest in little things, you wont be honest with
greater responsibilities. (Luke 16:10 NLT)
Because Adam was unfaithful with the handling of His authority
to rule in the Garden of Eden and to keep just one commandment,
Adam never received full authority to rule over the whole earth.
Therefore, Adams treason in the Garden resulted in his and
through his lineage all of mankinds spiritual deaths, a life apart from
the Spirit of God. So, instead of being a son in the Kingdom of God with
royal benefits, Adam and all the rest of mankind after him became
slaves in the kingdom of darkness, under the cruel god of this world:
Satan.
But even with Adams failure, our Father had another garden and
a second Adam in mind so the Kingdom of God would eventually rule
on earth.
(Excerpt from Storming the Kingdom by Larry Nevenhoven,
2014, an Amazon eBook)

Adams sin resulted in the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden,

but sadly, another fall happened there. Gods government on earth fell
so that the god of this world became Satan along with his demonic
horde.

Chapter 5

The Bible doesnt tell us dates, such as on August 17, year 98 of

Creation, Adam and Eve sinned and were driven out of the Garden of
Eden. Yet, we have a few clues.
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in
his own likeness, after his image and named him Seth. (Genesis 5:3)
When Seth was born, Adams oldest son Cain had already killed
Abel. (6) So, how old were Cain and Abel when this tragic first murder
happened? We dont know for sure, but both were productive young
men. Maybe they were in their mid-20s.
Thus, lets guess that Adam was in the age range of 90 to 100
years when he sinned in the Garden of Eden.
At the same time, we dont know exactly how old Satan was
when he rebelled against God, but I do think that Satan and all of the
angels were only a few days older than Adam. Jewish theologians
believe all of the angels including Satan were created on the
second day of Creation.
Adam, Eve, Satan and his demonic horde, and Gods angels grew
up together in the Garden of Eden. Did Adam and Eve know Satan? We
dont have a clue about that, but Satan certainly understood the
couple because he knew their weaknesses.
And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall
not eat of every tree of the garden?' And the woman said to the
serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You
shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent
said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the
day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:1-5)
Eve was deceived and ate the fruit. Adam, who was standing next
to his wife, openly rebelled against God and also ate the fruit.
Thus, Adam and Eve disobeyed the revealed word of God,
believed the lie of Satan, and placed their own desires above Gods will
for them.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

So, how does this apply to gays?

Notes:
(6) Genesis 4:8
(7) Genesis 3

Chapter 6

God looked at Adam and saw that he needed a helper, a person

providing him assistance and support in good times or bad. (8) The
person who God created to help Adam was like the first man, but
different. She was a woman.
Adam and Eve then became Gods pattern for humans. God
blessed the first couple and gave them His plan for mankind
Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over
living thing that moves on earth. See, I have given you every herb that
yields seed which is on the face of the earth, and every tree whose
fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. (Genesis 1:28-29)
Gods plan for mankind was given to a couple: a husband
(male) and wife (female) team, not to two men or two women.
Satan also knew Gods plan for mankind. The evil one understood
that if man and woman followed Gods plan, mankind would continue
to be blessed forever and ever by God. Satans desires to be like the
Most High would then never happen. (9) So, he had to do something to
further his ambitions, but what?
From experience, Satan knew he could not defeat God, but he
also knew God would not put up with the sin of rebellion. (10) His plan
was simple: deceive Adam and Eve into rebelling against God.
You will not surely dieyou will be like God (Genesis 3:4-5)
Eve saw the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good for
fruit, it was pleasant to her eyes, and she desired it. (11) She took the
fruit and ate it.
Adam watched Eve eat the fruit and noticed she didnt die. He
then ate the forbidden fruit, too.
Rebellion!
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once
walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2)
Notes:

(8) Genesis 2:18

(9) Isaiah 14:14
(10) Revelation 12:9
(11) Genesis 3:6

Chapter 7

In a back and forth discussion, the Pharisees stated that Abraham was
their father, but Jesus hit them right between the eyes when He said,
"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your fathers
desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out
of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (12)
Lets put on our thinking caps for a moment, okay?
Did God create a murderer and a liar when He created Satan?
You [Satan] were perfect in your ways from the day you
were created, till iniquity was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:15)
God created Satan as a perfect spirit being that was obviously
given a free will of sorts. He eventually used his freedom to sin.
Plus, who could Satan have murdered when he was first created?
Not God or the other angels who were also eternal spirit beings. Man
and other animals were not created as yet, leaving no one to murder at
the time of Satans creation.
Thus, Jesus use of the words murderer from the beginning could
not refer to when Satan was first created as a spirit being. But rather, it
most likely referred to when the evil one sinned and became known as
Satan. This probably happened sometime soon after Adam and Eve
were created.
Jesus called Satan a murderer. Who did the evil one
murder?
And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, You may surely
eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you
shall surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)
Without a gun, knife, or club, Satan murdered mankind by relying
on Gods integrity to honor His word when he deceived Eve and caused
Adam to rebel against Gods revealed word. (13)
For your information: the deception by Satan did not negate
Adams responsibility to obey Gods words because Romans 12:12
states that sin and death entered into the world through Adam and
then spread to all men. (14)
But still and all, we have to realize the father of lies and the
deceiver of mankind is a murderer. (15)
Notes:

(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)

John 8:44
Psalm 138:2
Romans 5:12
2 John 1:7

Chapter 8

Do you realize Satan still has a voice and a standing before God
whereby he can accuse us believers?
Wait a second! you shout. Satan has been cast out of heaven,
along with his followers?
Yes, thats true in part, but lets look at Scripture for our answers.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. (Job
2:1)
Obviously, Satan had access to the courts of God. So, what did
Satan do after the Lord mentioned Job?
He accused Job of serving God just because of His blessings. (16)
And we know how that turned out for Job: a long trial.
The prophet Zechariah had a vision:
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the
Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
(Zechariah 3:1)
The Angel of the Lord in this verse is understood to be a
theophany or a visible manifestation of the Lord. Satan stood at the
Lords right hand, which is the place for the prosecutor or an accuser
before a judge.
Lets look at the main evidence
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now the salvation
and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his
Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown
down, who accuses them day and night before our God. (Revelation
12:10)
If you look at the three verses before this one, you will learn that
war broke out in heaven with Michael and his angels fighting against
Satan and his group. (17) Satan loses the war and is then cast down to
earth.
But when does this happen?
and the woman [Israel] fled into the wilderness, where she has a
place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260

days. (Revelation 12:6)

The words for 1,260 days refer to the midpoint of the
Tribulation, which has not happened as yet. Thus, because of the
context, Satan still has standing before Gods throne to accuse us
believers.
What about the words of Jesus?
And Jesus said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven. (Luke 10:18)
This is the in part, I mentioned earlier. Yes, Satan and his rebel
horde no longer have direct access to Gods third heaven and are
banished to the second heaven and below where the principalities and
powers are located, but at the same time, Satan somehow has a
standing before God.
My guess is it has to do with different dimensionsbut thats
only a guess on my part.
Now, for the gays, Satans position as a deceiver and an accuser
is a double whammy for them.
Notes:
(16) Job 1:9
(17) Revelation 12:10

Chapter 9
The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is a heterosexual book.
Period. And where homosexuality is mentioned in Gods Word, its
referred to as being immoral and sinful. Gods revealed plans for a
married couple a man and a woman is that they will be fruitful and
multiplyand have dominion over the whole earth. (18)
So, what is Gods revealed plans for same-sex couples or gays or
lesbians?
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality,
impurity, sensualityI warn you, as I warned you before, that those
who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians
5:19, 21)
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)
For a person to not inherit the kingdom of God or to be known
as the least in the kingdom of heaven for all of Eternity is a
horrendous ending for a human, especially a believer. I dont claim to
know how this will affect salvations, but what if gay believers end up in
the outer reaches of heaven? So the little bit of light they have, may
seem like darkness, causing them to end up weeping and gnashing
their teeth? (19)
Not a happy thought, right?
Sadly, the same Satan who deceived Eve and caused Adam to
rebel in the Garden of Eden is the one who speaks to the minds of
gays, saying, God is a God of love and as long as youre in love with
your partner, theres no problem. After all, didnt He create you this
way?
And as soon as a gay sins, Satan stands before God, accusing the
gay, saying, He has broken Your word, according to Leviticus 20:13,
and deserves to die. (20)
How long can we believers ignore how the kingdom of darkness
has imprisoned gays in their sins? Some of whom are believers who
have been bought with the blood of the Lamb?
What can we do?
Notes:
(18) Genesis 1:28
(19) Matthew 22:13

(20) If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them

have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death;
their blood is upon them.

Chapter 10
First of all, if we believers are going to get serious about ministering to
the gays in America, we have to get rid of our hatred and dislike for
them. The only way we can do that is by being cleansed by the Holy
Spirit, but we have to initiate the process.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Then, we have to ask for Jesus perfect love to fill our hearts for
gays. His perfect love will drive us to fast and pray for gays and then
be willing to be His vessels to them. (21)
This may take some time, but we must get free of our hatreds
and be empowered by His love before we move forward.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:1820)
The Greek word ethnos is translated into the English word
nations in most versions of the Bible. The word nations is one
translation, but the Greek word also means a people group or a group
of people of the same nature.
Thus, I believe Jesus has commanded us to go to the gay
communities (or people groups) of America and make disciples of
them.
The gay communities we go to should include the Castro District
of San Francisco, West Hollywood in LA County, San Diegos Hillcrest
Neighborhood, San Joses St Leo Neighborhood, and the cities of
Oakland, Portland, Seattle, and other West Coast cities.
Will we make mistakes? Yes.
Will we have perfect plans for each city? At best, we may
only know one step at a time for each city and have to wait on the Lord
to tell us the next step, but to be honest, this is the safest route to
victory.
Will there be trouble? Oh my yes! The kingdom of darkness
will not open its gates so we can plunder it with the Gospel. We can
expect fights, bad publicity, and maybe jail cells awaiting some of us.
The early Salvation Army provides us with examples of how to
change cities by invading them with the Gospel:

We are not sent to minister to a congregation and be content if

we keep things going. We are sent to make war and to stop short of
nothing but the subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus.
(William Booth, founder of Salvation Army)
Go for souls. Go straight for souls, and go for the worst.
(William Booth, founder of Salvation Army)
Notes:
(21) 1 John 4:18

About the Author

Larry Nevenhoven is a businessman and a former real estate agent,
living with his wife, Carol, in California. They are the parents of four
children and the grandparents of six grandchildren. Two ferocious cats
round out their immediate family.
More information on Larry can be seen at his web site and blog:
www.larrywho.com
Or on FaceBook: Larry Nevenhoven
Or on Twitter: Larry Nevenhoven @ mrlarrywho
Email: mr.larrywho@gmail.com
If you enjoyed this article, you might want to check out the e-books
by Larry Nevenhoven on Amazon.com:
Common Sense 2016
Unhinged Geezer
The Day LA Died
Jonah
Deceived Dead and Delivered
The Hunt for Larry Who
New Wind Blowing
Prophecy 101
Planning + Preparation = Survival
Giving to the Poor: What's In It For Me?
Storming the Kingdom