Number two you need to approach claims with caution
You need to approach claims with caution go to Proverbs or I'm sorry go to Deuteronomy 19
You know Proverbs 14 15 says the simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going
You know apply this to conspiracies, please
Just because you hear of a conspiracy you need to approach that with caution and look
Believe that conspiracy theories are real the Bible is actually full of conspiracies if you actually look for it
I've preached a whole sermon called conspiracy theory or coincidence theory
I believe in conspiracies
But that does not mean that every conspiracy theory is real and when you hear a claim
You should approach that with caution and not just instantly believe it. No, you should actually actually do your own research
But think about this mentality. Some people have of just believing everything they hear they don't approach claims with caution
What if we just took that same mentality and applied it to steadfast Baptist Church
What have you just typed in steadfast Baptist Church into Google and just believed everything you read and believed everything you hear
You want to know here's some claims made about steadfast Baptist Church
there's a video online of
this black guy pulling up to steadfast Baptist Church back when we were in Hearst and
This little skinny little white kid comes up to his window and the black guy asked him. Hey, what are they doing in there?
And the little white kid says oh, yeah
They said that they'll steadfast steadfast said that they'll allow black people to go to heaven if they promise to be their slave
These are the types of claims that are online about our church just absolute
fabricated out-of-nowhere
Complete and utter lies, but you want to know what an idiot stupid person would do they see that video and they go wow
What a terrible church. It's like hey moron. It's a lie
Let me explain you something about the internet not everything on the internet is true
Not everything you hear is true
Not everything you see is true. And so realize that if if there's videos about steadfast, you know
We're gonna have slaves in heaven someday. Maybe you're weird Joe Biden hologram theory is also a lie. Do you ever think about that?
You know, maybe you just look up and you see outer space at night and then you go in your inner your internet says
Oh space isn't real. Maybe it's lying to you
Maybe you should actually approach claims with caution and not be a complete idiot. Here's another
Claim about steadfast Baptist Church our protesters claimed that I pointed an ar-15
rifle at the protesters during church and
They would they would repeat this over and over and over they made videos about it. I'd walk out of the church
Hey Dylan, why'd you point a rifle at us?
It's like look what kind of an idiot would believe something like that?
But people do people see that video and they believe it not realizing that if I had pointed a rifle at
Protesters in church that I would be in jail right now
I would be in jail, but the simple believeth every word they hear a claim. Oh
Dylan pointed an ar-15 at protesters must be true. Why because I heard on the internet
Here's another claim about us on the internet pastor Shelley wants video gamers to be murdered. I
Mean our protesters literally had signs pastor Shelley wants to kill all video gamers
It's like we have tons of video gamers in our church. Why isn't he killing all of them?
Because it's a lie
but we're so full of
Idiots in our society that just believe everything they heard pastor Shelley wants disobedient children to be murdered
Wow
Here's one here's a video I saw some
Protester claimed to have infiltrated one of our services
They said that oh I went in I attended one of their services and as soon as I got in the service all the ushers
Corded off the building and locked all the doors and locked everyone in during the service
it's just like
Unbelievable, but people are gonna watch that video and they're going to believe it
Why because they're stupid and you think you're so much better than them. But hold on. Do you believe everything that you hear?
Do you approach claims with caution or do you just believe every single stupid tick-tock video that you see?
You believe any conspiracy video that you see on Instagram. You might be guilty of the same stuff
Don't fall into that trap. Don't just hear a claim and believe it. No approach claims with
Caution, you know, let's apply this to people because oftentimes
Accusations are made against other individuals. We should not just believe
Accusations made against individuals with no evidence by the way
I even apply this to people I don't like in fact, I even apply this to people that I hate
Just because someone is a sodomite does not give you the right to lie about them
It does not give anyone the right to lie about them and it does not give you the right to exaggerate about them
And if someone is saying something about a sodomite that is false, you should be rebuked for doing so
When someone says something false about anyone you should be rebuked for doing so, you know Greg Locke
I'm paraphrasing him here, but
Unfortunately, I listened to one of his sermons and he got up
He's being all charismatic and he was saying who's the two guys he called out
He's like he's like Kenneth Copeland is a pedophile. Joel Osteen is a pedophile. Yeah, why don't you sue me Joel Osteen?
Why don't you sue me Kenneth Copeland and I'm just thinking like, okay, you know, maybe Kenneth Copeland is a pedophile
Maybe Joel Osteen is a pedophile, but do you have any evidence for that?
Do you have any evidence for making a claim against someone that is a crime being worthy of putting to death?
Because look, I don't care how much I hate Kenneth Copeland
I don't care how much I hate Joel Osteen if that's not true
Then Greg Locke is guilty of railing and according the Bible should be literally thrown out of church
He should be thrown out of church for a lot of reasons actually
But look just because you don't like someone just because even someone's a false prophet
Don't get up and just lie about them and when you hear claims about someone
Realize that you should approach that claim with caution
Even if you hear a claim about someone you don't like someone says something bad about a false prophet. Make sure it's true
Someone says something bad about the Jews make sure it's true
Why because I think God cares that we care about truth
Not just
Confirmation bias I hate the Jews a lot of people in the new IFB have this attitude where they hate all Jews
Which by the way, I don't hate all Jews. I don't think you should hate all Jews
I think you should hate the religion of Judaism
but there's people who call themselves Jews that can get saved but don't just turn off your brain and
Turn on your little confirmation bias and you hear something negative about the Jews and you just automatically believe it
You know, you could be guilty of being simple being stupid someone that just believes
Everything that they hear I'm sick and tired of hearing this go to Deuteronomy 19
verse 15 says
one witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin in any sin that he sinneth so
One person comes up to you and makes a claim about another person. Don't even listen to it
Don't even give a credence in your mind for one single second
Someone makes a claim about someone to me and there's one witness
I'm just gonna pretend like I heard nothing
I'm gonna change the way I think about that person's zero and and stuff like this has happened and you know
What not understanding this actually causes people harm because there's been people in the past that have made false accusations
Against pastors one witness and I hear people their heart and their attitude has been changed towards that person
Because they're wondering in that my in their mind
Could it be true?
But you know what you're just a fool if you do that because the Bible says one witness shall not rise up
And so when one witness comes to you just immediately let it go out of your mind approach claims with caution
It says at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established
So look you need to have two or three witnesses even to open up an investigation
That doesn't mean that two or three witnesses just automatically automatically convicts that just opens up an investigation
You know, let's just use a theoretical example
let's say you have video evidence of
brother so-and-so
inside of a bar
Now the simple-minded person would say oh, yeah for sure. This proves beyond any shadow of a doubt. This guy's a drunk
You know who what was he doing there blah blah blah that video just shows that that person was in the bar, right?
But you know
There could be other logical explanations for things that you need to investigate before you just jump to a claim that someone's guilty
like for example
What if someone was doing door dash and was just delivering food or picking up food from that restaurant and leaving?
If your door dash driver don't pick up from bars, I'm not saying to do that
But what I'm just showing you is you need to realize that
Sometimes there's more to the story and you can't just run with something right off the bat
Right two or three witnesses that just opens up an investigation then you need to make diligent
Inquisition look at verse 16
It says if the false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong
Then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before the Lord before the priests and the judges
Which shall be in those days and the judges shall notice shall make diligent
Inquisition and behold if the witness be a false witness and have testified falsely against his brother
Before I get on the next verse. I want to point out that phrase diligent
Inquisition what is this? This is a fact-finding investigation a fact-finding mission
this means your emotions are put a said or put aside your
Prejudices are put aside your feelings and dispositions about the person based on their religion
Or if they are whatever to you, those are put aside and you're gonna look into the facts
Okay, I don't like Joe Biden either
But saying he's a hologram
Where's the facts man? I don't like him either, but he's a real person. He exists
Okay, look NASA has done some weird things
But space exists my friend
Okay, the the Rockets don't just go into the Bermuda Triangle if you actually did some diligent
Inquisition you'd find really fast at a lot of those. I mean, how about the Flat Earth? Good night
You don't even need diligent inquisition for that. You just need to like open your eyes and look outside
Okay, the earth is not flat. Please. Don't ever try to convince me the Flat Earth. I don't want to hear it. Okay
Verse 19 then shall you do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother so shalt thou put away
Evil from among you look God hates false witnesses so bad
He says if you if you accuse someone of
Something that's worthy being put to death and if it comes out that you actually are false witness
Then whatever the punishment for the person you are accusing would have been should now become your punishment
You know
We live in a society today where people are not afraid at all
To falsely accuse individuals as I showed you with the examples of steadfast
I mean people are just ready to falsely accuse each other why because we don't have God's law
look false accusations would be a lot less common if
Women who claimed to be raped by a man and were lying about it. We're actually put to death
You know, we have this believe all women movement. No, no, no, no, no, no, you don't just believe all women
You don't believe all men you follow the facts you find two or three witnesses you do a diligent inquisition
Every woman has the right to be believed. No, she doesn't
You don't have the right to be believed either. I don't have the right to be believed either
None of us do you know we have to have facts
Because I had I had someone tell me this
That works in this part of the world that a lot of times women
will either fornicate or commit adultery and in order to cover it up, they will go get a rape test kit from the police and
So the physical evidence often shows oh, yeah
It does show that you have just lined with someone but does that prove that she was raped?
No, it doesn't because sometimes women are doing this to avoid consequences of
embarrassment of
Discipline from their parents or of their spouse finding out that they committed adultery
so
Believe all women know do diligent inquisition. And by the way, if a man rapes a woman
He should be lined up against the wall of the head
Rape is a disgusting sin and a woman who is a victim of rape should have justice and the perpetrators of that crime
Should be dealt with by the government legally and lawfully
But you know what if a woman claims to have been raped and she's lying then she should be put to death
After diligent inquisition after facts are presented why because we shouldn't just have this
Ultra where people are just falsely accusing people all the time, but here we are
So what should we do?
We should approach claims with caution and realize just because something says something does not make it so
Go to Exodus chapter 18 Exodus chapter 18
But you know at least in the house of God we are not going to tolerate railing and false accusations
You know the government may not do anything about it
but if you think that you could just rail against your brothers and sisters in Christ if you think you could just falsely accuse your
Brothers and sisters in Christ and not have any punishment for that. You have another thing coming. That's not how a real church works
Exodus 18 21
moreover
Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men such as fear God
Men of
Truth hating covetousness and place such over them to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds rulers of fifties and rulers of tens
You know when it comes to the qualification for someone to judge in any matter
It's important to have quality men of integrity in the position of a judge
Why because if they're not well then they might just believe everything they hear if they're just a simple person
They're just gonna believe everything they hear or they're gonna be led by their emotions, by the way, I'm sorry
We shouldn't have women judges in our nation
Because women are more emotional than men and sometimes it takes a man to say, you know
What take the emotion out take your presuppositions out or what?
You think this evidence tells you and we're just gonna look at the plain cold facts regardless of where it leads us
That's the type of men that we need as judges in our nation. That's the type of men. We need as pastors
that's the type of men we need as police officers as
Presidents and any type of position of power we need men of truth why because we should be people that approach claims with caution
I want to read to you. This is some commentary from the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and
It goes over this idea of being innocent until proven guilty see our legal system
It doesn't just hear a claim and just believe it and you're just guilty because Kim Jong-un said
Now a lot of communists in our nation want to turn it into that way
But let me read you some comedy commentary from the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts
It says this presumption of innocence proof beyond a reasonable doubt
It is a cardinal principle of our system of justice that every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent
Unless and until his or her guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt
The presumption is not a mere formality it is a matter of the most important substance
So the Massachusetts District Court here saying you'll want to know what the bedrock of our legal system is
It's that a person that's accused of a crime is
Presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. You know what that is how we should treat people in church
That's how we should treat people in our daily lives. We should give people the benefit of the doubt
That's even a legal principle in our own nation
It says this so then it's gonna quote like the directions that a judge would give to the jury says this
the presumption of innocence alone
May be sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt and to require the acquittal of a defendant the defendant before you John Doe
Has the benefit of that presumption throughout the trial and you are not to convict him of a particular charge
Unless you are persuaded of his guilt of that charge beyond a reasonable doubt
The presumption of innocence until proven guilty means that the burden of proof is always on the government to satisfy you
That a defendant is guilty of the crime with which he has been charged beyond a reasonable doubt
The law does not require that the government prove guilt beyond all possible doubt
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is sufficient to convict
This burden never shifts to the defendant
It is always the government's burden to prove each of the elements of the crimes
Charged beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence
The defendant has the right to rely upon the failure or inability of the government to establish beyond a reasonable doubt any
essential element of a crime charged against him if after fair and
Impartial consideration of all the evidence you have a reasonable doubt as to the defendants guilt
It is your duty to a quit him of that crime on the other hand if after fair and impartial
Consideration of all the evidence you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of a defendant's guilt. You should vote to convict
So notice judges tell juries today if there's any reasonable doubt in your mind
Any
Reasonable doubt in your mind that someone is innocent of the crime
They're being charged with that you should then vote for them to be innocent
that is the mentality of even our
System of law and you want to know where this mentality came from it comes from the Bible. It comes from the Word of God
That's what our found our country was founded on in our country
You know knows that the Bible says that you're not supposed to just believe one witness
They're not supposed to just hear a claim and run with it that you're supposed to make diligent
Inquisition to a matter and that there has to be proof of that guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Otherwise don't listen to it. Otherwise, we're not throwing the person in jail
Otherwise, you shouldn't listen to that gossip to that false accusation to that railing by someone about any individual whether they're your friend
Whether they're your foe you should treat everyone the same when it comes to judgment
Everyone the same look at 1st Timothy chapter number 5
And it gives some instructions to both congregation and pastor here
1st Timothy chapter number 5 verse 19
specifically when it comes to
Accusations made against a pastor. This is what the Bible says in 1st Timothy 5 19
It says against an elder receive not an accusation but before two or three
Witnesses so notice for you to even hear an accusation against the pastor
There must be two or three witnesses not to say that the past is for sure wrong
But to even listen to it there has to be two or three then it says them that sin
Rebuke before all that others also may fear
I charge thee the pastor before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that thou observe these things notice without
Preferring one before another
Doing nothing by partiality notice when it comes to judgment. God wants the pastor
God wants judges of this land to judge everyone equally to not be a respecter of persons to not think
Well, I like this person. So I'm going to assume their innocence or I dislike this person
So I'm going to assume their guilt
No
Rather both parties are given the presumption of innocence no matter what and there has to be proof
To convict there has to be multiple witnesses
And if there's not that you know what just approach that claim with caution say I'm not going to listen to this and just let
it go don't treat anyone any differently for hearing it and
Notice how it says there them that sin rebuke before all you know
We need to bring back in a culture in America where people are called out for lying about other people
I mean that is one of the worst things about politics which politics is just terrible. It's just a it's just it sucks
Okay, one of the worst things about it is how people are just allowed to lie about each other just non-stop
I mean, I even had a teacher in my high school that ran for a local low position
He ran for coroner and just even in a little tiny County election
I actually followed that election and I was just blown away at how like bloody and nasty and how many lies were involved in that
campaign
I mean our nation today is full of
Liars and lies and look if someone lies about someone else in this church
They need to be rebuked
They need to be called out and if they don't apologize
they want to dig in first Corinthians chapter 5 says that they should actually be removed from the congregation and
So don't think that because out in the world
Women can go around accusing any man of rape and nothing happens to her
Look if a woman decided to do that in this church, she'd be thrown out immediately
I mean that's garbage if it was false, of course now if it's real and
You better believe we're calling the police. We're like, obviously we're getting police involved when it comes to crimes
But you get I'm saying approach claims with caution