Thank you.
All right, good morning everybody.
It's good to see everybody this morning.
Go ahead and find your seats.
Welcome to Pure Words Baptist Church.
And go ahead and pull out your hymnals.
We will open up to our first song.
It will be song number 169.
Song number 169,
Come Thou Fount.
Number 169.
Can you find your place?
Come Thou Fount.
Number 169.
Can you find your place?
Song 169.
Come Thou Fount.
Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God.
He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood.
The last co-loose grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it.
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Amen.
Brother Yair, you want to pray for us this morning?
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning.
For everyone here and everyone that couldn't be here, we pray for those.
We pray that you give our brother Ben the Holy Spirit and give him a sense of mind to teach boldly and accurately.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
The second song we'll sing is song number 187.
Song number 187, Jesus Loves Me.
On the first.
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong.
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me, He who died.
Heaven's gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin.
Let His little child come in.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me, He will stay
close beside me all the way.
Thou hast bled and died for me.
I will henceforth live for Thee.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Amen.
Great singing.
So if you could, at this time, pull out your bulletins.
If you do not have a bulletin, raise your hand nice and high.
Brother Henry and Eli will bring them around to you.
And on our top left, we have our service times.
Our morning service is at 10 30 a.m.
Our evening service is at 5 30 p.m.
And our midweek Bible study is on Thursday at 7 o'clock p.m.
And here in your bulletins, there's a notation for so for this coming Thursday service,
it will be canceled due to the men's retreat just so that we could try to get as many men
up to that retreat as possible.
So just just note that this Thursday, there will not be a midweek service this coming Thursday.
And then this below this is our soul winning times.
On Sunday, we go out at 2 p.m.
On Thursdays, we go out at 5 15.
But just know that there's no midweek service this Thursday.
Then on Saturday, we go out at 10 a.m.
And that's led by Brother Mo.
And we always ask that you just kind of just be here at the church about 15 minutes early.
They meet here at the church.
Below this, we have our totals.
For this year, we have 279 salvations.
So we're doing a great job there.
Does anybody have any salvations to report?
Brother Mo, did you have any from Saturday?
No? Okay. Good to go.
And then we are still in First Corinthians chapter number 13,
and we're on the last verse for a Bible memory passage.
All right. So Pastor Shelley usually gives a grace week.
Okay. So so definitely work on that.
I mean, it's a pretty short chapter, so I'm sure you could cram a lot of verses in and get it done if you need to.
All right. So definitely work on that.
We have some prizes for you.
And then just another reminder for the children.
Memorize this verse by next week.
Oh yeah, we're not going to have a service next week.
So I guess you have two weeks to memorize it.
So even better, all right?
The next Thursday, you'll get some ice cream.
So kids work on that.
And then we do have prayer prayer requests.
If you have a prayer request, you could always email it to the church, purewordsbaptist at gmail dot com.
And we'll have everybody praying for you, whatever the case may be.
So definitely email your prayers into the church.
And then also be in prayer for our expectant mothers.
We have Sarah Gomez.
And today is her baby shower.
All right.
So it's at today at 2 p.m. in between the services.
So everybody everybody could come.
All right.
I'm sure the guys we're going to be out there soul winning.
All right. But the ladies can have their good time here with the baby shower.
And that is today at 2 p.m.
And then just another reminder.
We have the men's conference slash retreat.
And that is June 18th through the 20th.
So you're coming up.
It's at River Bend Retreat Center.
So for those of those are the men that signed up.
It should be a good time for you guys.
But that is the announcements for the morning.
You could go out and pull out your hymnals.
We'll sing our third song.
Song number 86.
Song number 86 in the garden.
Number 86.
First, I come to the garden.
And the voice I hear calling on my ear.
The son of God.
And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own.
And the joy we share.
As we tear every tear.
None other has ever known.
He speaks and the sound of his voice is so sweet.
The birds hush their singing.
And the melody that he gave to me within my heart is ringing.
And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own.
And the joy we share.
As we tear every tear.
None other has ever known.
I'd stay in the garden with him.
Though the night around me be falling.
But he bids me go through the voice of woe.
His voice to me is calling.
And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own.
And the joy we share.
As we tear every tear.
None other has ever known.
Amen. Great singing.
So at this time if you could pull out your Bibles and turn in your Bibles to Judges chapter number 8.
Brother Samson will come and read for us and we'll go ahead and pass the offering plate.
Alright that's Judges chapter 8. We're here again. We're going to read the chapter together.
So everyone find your places.
Follow along with me.
Judges chapter 8 verse 1 as the Bible reads.
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus?
That thou callest us not when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites.
They did chide with him sharply.
And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you?
Is not the cleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Orev and Ziv.
And what was I able to do in comparison of you?
Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
Gideon came to Jordan and passed over he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint yet pursuing them.
And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me.
For they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zeba and Zelmunah kings of Midian.
And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zeba and Zelmunah now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
And Gideon said, Therefore, when the Lord had delivered Zeba and Zelmunah unto my hand,
then will I tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars.
And he went up thence to Phineel, and spake unto them likewise.
And the men of Phineel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
And he spake also unto the men of Phineel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
Now Zeba and Zelmunah were in Cachor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men,
all that were left of all the hosts, of the children of the east.
For there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east side of Nobah and Jogbehah,
and smote the hosts, for the hosts were secure.
And when Zeba and Zelmunah fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian,
Zeba and Zelmunah, and discomfitted all the hosts.
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
and caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him.
And he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zeba and Zelmunah, with whom you did upbraid me,
saying, Are the hands of Zeba and Zelmunah now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness, and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
And he beat down the tower of Phineol, and slew the men of the city.
Then said he unto Zeba and Zelmunah, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?
And they answered, As thou are, so were they. Each one resembled the children of a king.
And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother, as the Lord liveth. If he had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
And he said unto Jethor his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword, for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
And Zeba and Zelmunah said, Rise thou, and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.
Gideon arose and slew Zeba and Zelmunah, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son's son also, for thou hast delivered us from the hand of the Midian.
Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, the Lord shall rule over you.
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire request of you that you would give me every man earrings of his prey, for they had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.
And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, besides ornaments and collars and purple raiment that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about the camels' necks.
Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah. And all Israel went did a whoring after it, which thing became a snare unto Gideon and to his house.
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Druval, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house. And Gideon had three score and ten sons of his body begotten, for he had many wives.
And his concubine that was in Shechem she also buried him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sephacle of Joash's father in Ophrah of the Abizarites.
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Balaam, and made Baal-bereth their god.
And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.
Need you show their kindness to the house of Druval, namely Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto them.
By his, for a quick word of prayer.
Heavenly Father we come before you again this day just giving you thanks for allowing us to assemble here once again together.
Pray that you be with us with all the activities today, soul winning, baby shower, and the service today.
Pray that you fill brother Ben with your Holy Spirit and we just give you thanks for allowing him to come down and preach to us today.
We give you thanks and we love you always in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
Amen.
This is the first time I've ever preached with all that delicious food back there.
So, the flesh is telling me just 15 minutes and let's get out of here.
But, I'm not going to do that.
Alright, well, thanks for having me again.
It's definitely a pleasure to be back and I want to thank Pastor Shelley first of all for the opportunity to contribute here.
Judges chapter 8, let's look at verse number 1, the Bible says there,
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou callest us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?
And they did chide with him sharply.
So, what's going on here is that the Gideon, I'm sorry, the Gideon, Gideon defeated the Midianites.
It's a famous story.
And he did so with his 300 men that surrounded their camp and they ended up appearing when the Midianites and those heathens least expected it.
It was a great victory.
And here what's going on is the men of Ephraim are upset that they were never called.
And they're saying, well, hey, how come we weren't invited?
How come we didn't have a bigger part to play in this victory?
Look at verse number 2.
And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you?
Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb, and Zeb, and what was I able to do in comparison of you?
Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
So, Gideon affirms that, hey, you guys actually did have a big role to play.
You destroyed the leadership there. Your hands were used to destroy the princes of Midian, Oreb, and Zeb.
That was an important role. You should be satisfied with that.
And at that point, the men of Ephraim, their anger, the Bible says, was abated.
Gideon reiterates, again, the importance of how they contributed to this victory for the children of Israel.
The problem with the men of Ephraim here is this interaction should have never happened.
They come up to Gideon and they say, we should have had the same role you did.
How come we didn't have a bigger role to play?
We wanted to be part of that battle that you partook in.
That should have never happened because what the men of Ephraim here were displaying is a sin called envy.
They wanted to have those same responsibilities.
It wasn't enough that the children of Israel had just won this battle against the heathen that should have satisfied them,
but instead they are concerned with themselves.
There are people like this today in churches, and they'll be thinking in their heads as they listen to the preacher,
man, how come I'm not the preacher? How come I don't get to play a bigger role in church?
How come I'm not leadership? How come I'm not the pastor?
How come I'm not the one who has on the spotlight? I want to be the big superstar.
And people who have this mentality, listen very carefully, will fail in the ministry every single time
because guess what I just told you? Ministry. You know what that entails? Ministering.
It's about serving other people. It's not about yourself.
Envy, though, exalts self.
Envy, though, places oneself in the spotlight, is concerned with oneself rather than our brothers and sisters in Christ.
It's wrong.
The men of Ephraim apparently forgot that they were on the same team as Gideon.
And there are a lot of carnal Christians today who forget that very same fact, that we're all on the same team here.
And so if we win as a team, then we all benefit from that. Go to Galatians chapter 5.
They should have been ecstatic about the deliverance of Israel.
They should have been in a celebratory mood, not a whiny mood, not complaining about how they wanted more authority,
about how they wanted more for themselves.
This, I think, reveals their heart. This reveals what was going on in their head.
It wasn't about the team. It wasn't about the team's success, the success of the nation of Israel.
It was about them. It was about them receiving acclaim.
Galatians 5, notice verse 19,
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these,
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variants, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, notice, envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like of the witch.
I tell you before, as I have also told you when time passed,
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
What that means is those sins which emanate from the flesh, they are what the Bible describes as the work of the flesh.
Understand that your flesh isn't saved. It's your soul, it's your spirit.
This flesh will go into the ground after we die. It'll be raised up incorruptible.
And so flesh and blood cannot enter heaven. That's what it's talking about there.
But notice it says envyings, envyings listed as one of the works of the flesh.
And the title of my sermon this morning is The Effects of Envy.
The Effects of Envy.
The fruit of the spirit versus the works of the flesh. This is a topic covered here in Galatians chapter 5.
And essentially what it's teaching is that different behavior is exhibited depending on whether an individual is either walking in the spirit or walking in the flesh.
And if you walk in the spirit, you will display what the Bible says is the fruit of the spirit.
But if you walk in the flesh, then you'll display the opposite which are the works of the flesh.
And one of the works of the flesh is envyings. And if you're wondering what that means, I'll read a few definitions for you.
Envy is described as a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities or luck.
Desire to have a quality possession or other desirable attribute belonging to someone else.
If you're wondering, well, how do I know if I'm feeling envious? How do I know if this sin is festering in my heart?
Well, if someone else succeeds at something and you have bitterness toward that person as a result, what you are feeling is envy.
And you ought not feel that way.
Here are some examples of envy. Suppose there's a mosquito trying to hijack my sermon.
Suppose there's a brother in Christ who just received a...you never know what could happen when you're up here, folks.
Suppose there's a brother in Christ who just received a promotion at work.
You should feel happy for that person. You should feel happy for that brother in Christ.
But if you have envy in your heart, you're going to feel a seat of just bitterness toward them.
You're going to feel negatively toward them. You're going to want to knock them down a peg.
For women, you might notice that there are sisters in Christ here at this church who've been blessed with many children.
They're well behaved. Families here who appear to have everything together.
If you feel anger or hatred or malice toward those women for any reason at all just because they're succeeding in their Christian life, you have envy.
You need to kick that out of your life as quickly as you possibly can. It'll destroy you.
And we'll see that here, how it will destroy your Christian life.
When other people succeed, we ought to feel like we're succeeding with them. We're brethren. We're on the same team.
To use an analogy from sports, hey, guess what?
If I'm, let's say, playing a soccer game with somebody and I pass my teammate the ball and he scores,
imagine if I just then walked up to him and punched him in the face because I was angry that he scored the goal rather than me.
How stupid and nonsensical would that be?
But yet, people go to church with that same mentality.
Unless I'm the one winning the most souls to Christ compared to everyone else.
Unless I'm getting the most preaching opportunities, then I'm not happy.
Well, you know what? You might as well just leave now then if that's how you think.
You know, when other people are succeeding, we need to rejoice with them.
The Bible says, rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep.
Rejoice with them that rejoice.
Be happy when other people are accomplishing their goals, when other people are accomplishing achievements that they set out for their life.
Lay aside envies. Lay aside evil communication.
That's what babies do.
I've seen kids who come from families that are not churched and they throw a fit when it's someone else's birthday and they didn't get the toy.
They didn't get the gift.
These little toddlers, they start screaming and crying.
That's a baby's perspective. That's how babies act.
Oh, it's not fair. He got the birthday gift. I want one.
You know what? I'm going to teach my kid and my wife's pregnant with a baby right now.
I mean, like you could be pregnant with anything else, but my wife's pregnant and the baby's name is John.
We've already decided. I have determined in my heart right now that if it's not John's birthday, he's not getting a gift.
He's going to be happy that his friend got the gift.
He's going to be happy that his friend got the birthday gift and he's going to rejoice with them that do rejoice.
I've seen some parents who, they buy a gift for their children when it's someone else's birthday just to pacify them so they don't get envious of the kid when it's his birthday.
That's stupid. That's garbage. I'm not going to teach him those values. I'm going to teach him to rejoice with them that do rejoice.
Go to 1 Samuel chapter 18. Let's talk about the effects. Let's talk about the consequences.
Let's talk about the ramifications of envy. What can this sin lead to?
What can happen to you if you just allow, unchecked, this sin to rule your life?
Well, my first point is that envy sows discord among brethren. Envy sows discord among brethren.
While you're turning to 1 Samuel 18, I'll read from Proverbs 6 which says,
These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him.
And it says, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Make no mistake, envy will sow discord in this church because it will cause your eyes to be adversarial towards your brother or your sister in Christ
rather than having that team mentality, rather than saying, we are going to accomplish the goals that this church has set out to accomplish together.
And God's going to use each of you differently here. Some of you might win more souls to Christ than others,
but it doesn't matter. What matters is what you're doing collectively.
Obviously, we should all go out sowning. We should all set in our minds, in our hearts, and determine in our hearts to go out and do the work of the Lord.
And you might do less work than others because perhaps you're not as in fire as somebody else,
but use those positive examples here at Pure Words Baptist Church not as an excuse for you to be envious,
but rather as motivation for you to do better, as motivation for you to improve.
1 Corinthians 3 says, For ye are yet carnal, for as there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?
It's a carnal attitude. Churches overcome with envy are carnal churches, not spiritual churches.
The success of others, folks, that's anathema to the envious Christian. Think about how sad that is.
We're all saved brethren here. The church at Corinth, it had strife, it had divisions. Why? Because of their envying.
It's a package deal, folks. It all comes together. It's a package deal. Think about it.
Think about it. What better way to knock someone down a few pegs than by railing against them behind their back?
Just a little bit. Then by back fighting against them. Then by whispering against them.
If you notice that someone's garnering a positive reputation because they're walking in the Spirit and on fire for the Lord,
then the envious Christian is going to find a way to knock that person down a peg. How?
A little bit of railing, a little bit of back fighting. Hey, did you hear so-and-so said this and that?
Did you hear so-and-so believes this? Kind of weird. Did you hear so-and-so is a little socially awkward?
Just lying, making up false accusations against them. You say, that'll never happen to me.
Oh yeah, it will if you allow envy to rule in your life. It's a carnal attitude. It's detestable.
Notice 1 Samuel 18 and verse 6.
They have ascribed but thousands. And what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
What you have to understand about what's going on in this story is both claims are hyperbolic, okay?
They're an exaggeration. And yet Saul is upset at the fact that they ascribed more deaths to David than they did to himself.
He should have rejoiced! Hey, you know what? Great! If David's succeeding, so am I because we're on the same side in this warfare.
But rather than rejoicing, rather than feeling genuine happiness and excitement for his brother here, they're both the children of Israel,
he ends up falling into a selfish, immature, wicked attitude and it leads him to want to slay David.
He wants to kill David. He wants to end his life because David committed the crime of succeeding and destroying Goliath.
Think about that. You know what Moses said? He said,
Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets. Would to God that multitudes, great multitudes of men would rise up the ranks in their churches
and would achieve great things and would be prophets and would go out and preach the gospel or end up getting ordained as pastors or end up just being career soul winners.
That's fine too. Would to God that men who love the Lord would stand up and say,
I stand on the Bible no matter what. Ended up being used of God to fight back against this rapidly degrading culture that we have today in 2020 that's only getting worse.
Would to God that more men would be used of God. Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets.
I agree with Moses there. When Joshua was trying to make him feel envious of the fact that there were other people who were preaching the word,
Moses said, Hey, you know what? That's great. Let them do it too. I want everyone to be a soul winner.
I want everyone to win multitudes to Christ. I want everyone to join an independent fundamental Baptist church that preaches against sin and is actually making a difference.
I want everyone to succeed. That should be the mentality we have. But you know what?
You might find yourself thinking, Well, who's that guy? Why is he winning more souls than I am?
Why is he getting more opportunities than I am? If you allow this, this bitterness, this envy into your life, it's like poison.
Just a little bit is going to hurt you, even if it is just a little.
First Samuel 18. Let's look at verse 10.
And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul.
And he prophesied in the midst of the house, and David played with his hand, as at other times.
And there was a javelin in Saul's hand, and Saul cast the javelin, for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it.
And David avoided out of his presence twice.
Saul's on the same side as David here. What's he doing casting a javelin at him? Envy.
David slayed Goliath. David was getting the acclaim. David had the spotlight at this stage.
And Saul didn't like that. So what do we see? Discord.
What's going to happen in a church in which people have this Saul-like way of thinking, this Saul-like perspective? Discord.
You won't be in unity. You'll be casting javelins at each other. I don't want to see that happen.
Saul hated David. He hated him. And we know he was eventually replaced by David.
I don't think that's a coincidence. Just as sure as David replaced Saul, spiritual Israel replaced physical Israel.
The Jews hated Christians. Well, you know what? The Christians replaced them, didn't they?
My second point is that envy breeds malice against the righteous.
We see that with Saul and David. The righteous David, who I guess committed the crime of slaying Goliath and achieving too much, ends up making an enemy out of Saul, which was unrighteous.
And also we see that someone who has envy in his or her heart, that will breed maliciousness and a malicious intent against the righteous.
Go to Isaiah 14, if you would. Isaiah chapter 14. This, I think, is a major theme with respect to Bible prophecy.
And I think it all starts here in Isaiah chapter 14. Let's look at verse 12 when you get there.
Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 12 will get some insight into how the devil thinks.
It says in verse 12,
Listen to this.
He wants divinity. He wants to be like the Most High. He wants to be like God rather than worship God.
That's the heart of someone who has this way of thinking. Instead of wanting to follow the leader, the individual wants to usurp the leader or be the leader.
And the devil has this same way of thinking.
I want to be like the Most High, he says.
And what does this lead to? Go to Daniel chapter 8.
We're going to go a few places here just to make this point. Daniel chapter number 8.
This leads to a time in which Christian persecution reaches a fever pitch.
The Bible says in Matthew 24 when Jesus Christ is preaching a sermon that the theological scholars call the Olivet Discourse,
He says,
But for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. So that's the good news. The rapture will come and shorten that great tribulation to 75 days.
But we know the great tribulation is coming and why? Why is it that the devil has it in his heart to slay Christians?
It's because of the envy that we've been talking about so far here this morning.
Let's look at verse number 25. Daniel 8 verse 25. It says,
Now obviously if you want to look at the near future application of this verse, you could look toward Antiochus Epiphanes who was the king of the Seleucid empire which came out of the Greek empire.
But I do think there's also an end times application to be made here in Daniel chapter 8 and Daniel chapter 9, Daniel chapter 11 as well.
Which is that the antichrist will come on the scene in the end times and his goal will be to magnify who? Himself.
It's all about himself. It's all about self exaltation. It's all about how he can persecute Christianity as a whole.
Which then entails persecuting Christians. Those who are saved. Those who have the Holy Spirit inside you.
He knows he can't take your salvation away so what's the next best thing? Killing you.
And the devil wants to kill you right now. Let alone later on through the antichrist.
Now go to Revelation chapter 13. This will provide some more detail. Revelation chapter 13.
It started with envy. It started with a mentality that says I want to be like the most high.
And it culminates in the devil literally inhabiting the antichrist. He comes on the scene first as a political figure.
The Bible says in Revelation 13 and verse number 3,
What does that mean? It's talking about a deadly wound to the head.
Well this political figure, the antichrist, as he rises to the top of a new world order power structure,
this deadly wound to the head is a reference to the fact that he's going to die.
Now I'm not exactly sure how. I can only offer conjecture. Perhaps he's going to get shot in the face somehow.
I don't know. But he's going to die. He's going to receive a deadly wound to the head and then he's going to come back.
It's going to be a mock death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is how the devil will counterfeit Jesus because the devil is a great counterfeiter.
The new world order itself you could look at as a counterfeit of the millennial reign of Christ.
Jesus will rule the world one day but the devil wants to through his own satanic government.
So we see that this deadly wound to the head will lead to the antichrome.
This is what it's talking about. The antichrist is getting assassinated in some way.
He's going to come back. The Bible refers to him in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 as the man of perdition.
The only other man who's referenced with that title is Judas in the Bible.
And what do we know about Judas? The devil literally inhabited him.
So when this antichrist receives the deadly wound to his head, he will literally be inhabited by the devil himself
and resurrect not just as a political figure but this time as a messiah figure.
And he's going to say, Worship me. Receive the mark of the beast. Bow down to the abomination of desolation.
And then verse number 5. Let's look at verse number 5 here.
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.
And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.
And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him
whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
What's this saying? This antichrist, he will brand himself as a false messiah.
And he's going to say, Worship me. And you know what? The entire world will be engulfed with this deception.
And bowing down to the abomination of desolation to receive that mark.
Look how many people want to go out and get vaccinated today courtesy of COVID-19.
If you think this is unbelievable, you can't conceptualize how this would come to pass.
We're seeing right now shades of what this era might look like.
But my point is this. He makes war with the saints. He overcomes them, the Bible says.
The persecution will reach its climax at this point. And how does it start?
Why is this even happening? What's the devil trying to accomplish? Remember what we read in Isaiah 14?
I'll be like the Most High. And this is what it eventually leads to.
You say, well, I'm never going to be the antichrist. Why are you talking about this?
I understand that. What I want to show you is the danger of envy.
I want to show you the consequence of envy. Look what happens when it's unchecked.
Look at the chaos it's going to create in the end times. It is, in many ways, the impetus for evil.
And we see also that it's the modus operandi of the devil. The devil himself.
Go to Genesis 37. Genesis 37. While you turn there, I'll read from Genesis 4.
You're going to Genesis 37. The Bible reads in Genesis 4.
And Cain talked with Abel his brother. And it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.
Abel brought a sacrifice. Cain didn't. Cain brought his works.
We know that God was pleased with Abel and what did Cain do? He slew him. Why do you think he did that? Envy.
Envy moved him to violence just like it did with Saul and with David too.
Often times when you find yourself in a situation where you're right with God, be careful because there might be others who then want to take you out.
And it's not the right attitude. I think we've accomplished that so far.
Genesis 37. Look at verse 4.
Why? Look at verse 10.
Joseph's brethren hated him because his father loved him the most and also he dreamed a dream in which it was prophesied that he would eventually be in a leadership position.
And this came across wrong to his family. They didn't like that and it says that his brethren envied him.
The Bible reads in Acts 7.
We know what their motivation was. The Bible makes it clear there in Acts 7 verse 9.
Their motivation was trying to attack Joseph because Joseph was accomplished. Because Joseph was loved of his father.
Because Joseph would be exalted one day. And we know he was in Egypt. He became a governor.
What they meant for evil, God meant for good. And we can take that lesson into our lives.
If we're persecuted by someone who is envious and they want to destroy our Christian life in some way or destroy our reputation or lie about us.
You know what? What they mean for evil, God will mean for good. If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, then all things will work together for good for you.
At the end of the day, you'll see that. You'll realize that we can't see the end from the beginning now.
And you definitely can't see the end from the beginning when you're in the midst of a stressful situation like that one.
But once it's over, you'll look back and realize, okay, I see how God's hand was involved in this.
And this is a great example of that in the sense that Joseph rose to power in Egypt. He went from oppressed to being respected.
Genesis 37, let's look at verse 23.
Judah said unto his brethren, what profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?
Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and let not our hand be upon him for he is our brother and our flesh and his brethren were content.
They come up with this plan here. He's eventually thrown into a pit. Joseph thrown into a pit by his own brethren.
It reminds me of the Lord Jesus Christ. His own flesh and blood. He came into his, you know, came onto his own, the Bible says.
And what did they do? They persecuted him. They had him delivered to the Roman Empire in which he was beaten and tortured and nailed to a cross.
And after he died, his body was laid into a tomb and he went to a pit called Hell for three days and three nights to pay for our sins before, of course, rising again from the dead.
The righteous man here, Joseph, he's backstabbed and he's tossed aside like dirt by his brethren. Why?
Because his father loved him? Because God told him that he would be a leader one day?
And he clearly was the catalyst for this maliciousness we see in Genesis chapter 37.
This should not be a place in which things like that happen figuratively.
Pure words Baptist Church should not be a place where you devour one another and where you step on one another.
You should lift people up. How about that? You know that somebody's getting opportunities. You know that somebody's succeeding.
You know that somebody loves the Lord. Learn from them. Lift them up. Encourage them.
That's what the Christian life is all about. Don't be bitter against people just because of their achievements.
Joseph, though, he was delivered through bitterness just like Jesus was. The Bible says that the Jews envied him.
And in Matthew 27, it actually says this in verse 17.
Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them,
Who will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas heard Jesus, which is called Christ, for he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
They did it out of envy, just to assure us Joseph was backstabbed out of envy.
And look, no one's more righteous than Jesus Christ. He is perfection.
And instead of worshipping him, the Jews hated him for that. Well, Joseph's brethren hated him as well.
I want to switch gears here for a moment because I think this sermon is actually relevant for what's going on in our world today right now.
You look at the news. Turn on the news right now. You know what you're going to see? You're going to see envy run wild.
You say, what do you mean by that? I'm sure everyone knows about the death of George Floyd.
Let me be clear and say, I think that was horrifying. It was horrifying.
And any police officer who would engage in police brutality and end up murdering someone should be put to death.
That's what the Bible says, and I believe that. But you know what?
You know what I'm seeing come as a result? You know what I'm seeing this situation exploited to further division in this country,
to further a divide and conquer strategy, and also to push something that the left likes to call white privilege.
How many of you have heard of this? This whole white privilege thing?
You know what that sounds like to me? That sounds like envy. And I'm not a European American, okay?
But you know what? That sounds like envy to me.
And anybody who would believe in this whole white privilege thing and say, you know,
oh, white people, they're the oppressors and they get all the opportunities and I don't because I'm a minority, I'm an oppressed minority,
you know what you might as well be saying then at that point? You might as well just say,
I am brainwashed by the corporate media. I am brainwashed by the fake news.
I am brainwashed by a bunch of New World Order puppet masters who want us fighting about something as stupid as the color of our skin.
I don't care what color you are. I care about whether you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your skin color doesn't matter. Newsflash, leftist media, it doesn't matter.
It's just as significant as your hair color. It's just as significant as your eye color.
And this whole white privilege thing, it breeds envy.
It makes minorities envious of this oppressor class that they've been brainwashed into believing is oppressive.
And this is running wild in our world today and it's been exacerbated by the media coverage of this George Floyd situation.
It's race-based envy. It's race-based conflict.
And it breeds tribal resentment which is superficial and meaningless and carnal and has no place in your life.
If you believe the Bible, if you're saved today, you have the Holy Spirit inside you, you need to be focused on the spiritual battle, not the carnal battle.
The Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. The Bible says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
In America though, there's this mantra going around right now that there's an oppressor class keeping everyone else down.
And they're taking all the opportunities. It's breeding envy. It's breeding envy. Let me help you out.
We all have the same opportunities in America.
And if you work your tail to the bone, you can be successful just like anyone else.
Kick out that envious mentality out of your head and recognize that if you put your nose down to the grindstone and you work, you can be successful just like anyone else.
I don't care what color your skin is. And you know what? I would consider that to be racist.
To look at someone who is a minority and say, you have an inherent disadvantage because of the skin color you were born with.
That's ridiculous. That is absolutely ridiculous.
The Bible says in Acts chapter 17, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read it for you because this will put an end to this whole debate, this controversy going on right now.
Envious people going around and repeating a bunch of left-wing talking points about white privilege and all the rest of it.
Here's what the Bible says, Acts 17, 26, and that's made of one blood.
All nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth and that determine the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation.
We're all of one blood, folks.
And you wonder why Bible-believing Baptist churches, independent fundamental Baptist churches that stand on the word of God don't seem to have this whole race problem that the world has.
Maybe it's because the Bible doesn't emphasize it.
Maybe it's because the Bible says we're all of one blood.
Maybe it's because the Bible says there's neither Jew nor Greek in Christ Jesus.
Maybe that's why.
So you know what? If you really are concerned about racism, if you really think it's a problem in America, if you really think there's some sort of conspiracy by white people to hold everyone down,
first of all, you're brainwashed.
Second of all, you need to stop thinking that way.
And third of all, you need to come to a church like this and go out soul winning in the minority communities that these rich white liberals won't step foot in, by the way, and go get them saved and have the mind of Christ.
Because the mind of Christ says we're all of one blood.
The mind of Christ says that the house of God is a house of prayer for all people.
It's for all people.
Ecclesiastes 4 says in verse 4,
What this is saying is that a man is envied for every right work.
So a man who is doing right ends up getting envy as a result toward him, directed at him, because he's got his life together.
These race riots, I think, is another example of envy.
Because what are we seeing?
We're seeing private business owners who have done right, just like it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 4.
They've done the right work.
They've made a living for themselves.
They can put food on the table for their family.
And a bunch of envious, narcissistic, brainwashed lunatics with a brick in their hands go and destroy that private business.
And they have no idea that they're acting as a bunch of useful idiots for a nefarious purpose.
Useful idiots of the corporate media.
People who are too lazy to make it in this world are destroying the businesses right now.
Look at what's going on in Seattle.
It's been going on all over the country.
Right now, there are people who've made it in this world, people who've built businesses from the ground up,
people who are working their tail to the bone to provide for their family, and you know what's happening to them?
They're waking up one morning and they're seeing that their establishment has been set on fire and destroyed.
Why? Because lazy morons loot and steal and tear down these low-life scum who are allergic to hard work.
They loot and they steal and they tear down and they destroy because they're incapable of making a life for themselves.
And so they envy those who have.
And that's what's happening.
Romans 13 says in verse 13,
Envying, rioting, strife unnecessarily over something as superficial as the color of your skin.
You know, the Bible is the solution to all that, as I read to you in Acts chapter 17.
Look, there are inner-city communities that have issues.
I believe that. Crime, drugs, things of that nature. I believe it.
The solution, though, isn't envy.
The solution isn't indoctrinating those people to be envious of those who are more successful.
The solution isn't Black Lives Matter, which, by the way, you can look this up for yourself if you don't believe me, was established.
Two of the three founders? Dikes.
Is that an organization you think a Christian should be supporting?
By God haters? Funded by George Soros?
How about if you want to help these communities, why instill them with a bunch of faggotry?
That's what Black Lives Matter is doing.
You look at their website, what's right there on the about section where they talk about what they stand for?
Promoting faggotry.
Trying to indoctrinate people into being loving and tolerant of the most disgusting trash on the face of the planet.
Beasts made to be taken and destroyed, the Bible says. They're vile. They're scum. They're reprobate.
And Black Lives Matter is dedicated to supporting them, to lifting them up.
Imagine, have you ever heard of a class of people that you literally have to indoctrinate others into tolerating?
Think about that. You don't have to do that with any other class.
But you have to brainwash kids in school to think positively about the, quote, LGBT community.
What does that tell you about them?
It tells you that children are naturally predisposed to want to stay away from them.
Because that's normal. They're not normal.
Folks, if you want to help black communities today, it's not by telling them to be envious.
It's not by social media virtue signaling that makes it appear as if you're so tolerant and loving and righteous.
If you care about black communities, why don't you support cleaning them up?
Why don't you support instilling them with family values? With godly values? With the word of God?
Instead of this hip hop culture? Instead of abortion?
Why is it that Planned Parenthood clinics are placed strategically in black neighborhoods?
Has that ever occurred to you? That perhaps there's an agenda to eliminate them?
And you strain at a gnat of George Floyd and swallow the camel of abortion when you're silent on it.
Abortion is ravaging black communities today. Don't tell me you care about black lives if you're silent on abortion.
If you're silent on Planned Parenthood. If you're silent on the destruction of the nuclear family in these communities.
Envy isn't going to fix it. The word of God will.
Stand up and say something. We need to stand up for what the Bible says.
The world is bombarding us right now with this garbage.
Telling us we need to fight with each other over the color of our skin.
I love you if you're black. I love you if you're Mexican. I love you if you're Chinese.
It's not about that. It's about what you believe.
We go into these communities and we give them the gospel. That's how you make a difference, not leftist filth.
That just exacerbates the problem. That just makes it worse. Go to Numbers chapter 16.
Numbers chapter 16. You say, you seem angry.
It makes me upset. It makes me upset to see a group of people brainwashed.
To see people indoctrinated. To see people instilled with an anti-God, pro-sodomite agenda.
An anti-God, pro-sodomite mentality. To see people fighting about superficial characteristics.
Knowing that we have the solution in our hands right here.
And so you bet, you bet that I'll be climbing to the highest hilltop I can find to scream about this.
My third point is that envy leads to the unrighteous pursuit of power.
The Bible says in 2 Samuel chapter 15,
Absalom said moreover,
Absalom wanted his father's throne because he wanted to have that seat of authority.
He sought it unrighteously. He says, oh that I were made judge in the land.
I would do things differently. I would be a better leader than my father.
And there are church members today who feel that same way about their pastor.
Oh, if I was the pastor, I would do things so much differently. You have no idea.
If I was in brother Nick's spot, I'd be just so much better.
You know, brother Nick is, who is he? I'd be doing so much better than him.
And then you end up in that position and you fail. You fall on your face. Okay.
Look, with this COVID situation, there are guys right now, laymen in churches who get up and they, you know, they preach this garbage.
They're like, you know, if I was the pastor, I would keep my church open.
I'd be so much more courageous than these other pastors who shut down.
I'm so much stronger than them. I'm so much more spiritual than them.
I'd be so, I'd make much better decisions than them.
Folks, if you think that, you need to sit down and shut your mouth.
Have respect unto the man of God. He knows what he's doing.
Number 16, look at verse one.
So Korah, Dathan and Abiram, they engage in a rebellion against ordained leadership, don't they?
This is what's going on here. A rebellion against ordained leadership.
And they ask the question, who put you in charge? It should be us.
They don't like following. They don't want to follow the leader. They want to be the leader.
They assert that Moses and Aaron have no authority on them. No authority over them.
What would lead to something like this happening?
Go to Psalm 106 and you'll get your answer. Psalm chapter 106.
If you've been paying any attention since the beginning of the sermon, you probably already know.
Psalm 106, look at verse 16.
Psalm chapter 106 and verse 16. Notice what it says.
A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
It just keeps coming up over and over and over and over again, doesn't it?
They envied Moses. The result of that was a pit opening up and they fell straight in.
God was not going to deal with this the way they wanted it to happen.
And if you read the very next chapter in Numbers chapter 17,
God affirms that he chose Aaron for his priesthood by miraculously making his rod bud forth and bring forth fruit.
Symbolically showing, I picked Aaron. I exalted Aaron and no man ought to come up against him.
And when you notice that God has exalted a leader, whether it's a leader at your local independent fundamental Baptist church or elsewhere,
obviously I'm not claiming that they're infallible.
I'm not claiming that you should look at them as if they're some sort of god or something like that.
But you ought to have respect under the man of God and don't find yourself being a Korah.
Don't find yourself in a situation just like this where you're trying to organize some sort of rebellion against ordained and official leadership.
Look what happened to them. Destroyed swiftly by God. And I don't want that to happen to you.
The earth swallowed them up. In fact, they went straight to hell.
I'm not claiming you could lose your salvation here, folks.
But your flesh could certainly be afflicted if you allow this mentality to take over your mind.
One of the attributes of the wicked, I've said it over and over again but I'm going to say it one more time,
they envy the leader rather than wanting to follow the leader.
Because for them, it's about the acclaim they can amass for themselves.
Rather than learning from leadership, they say, that should be me.
It's a baby mentality.
Listen. Learn. Follow.
And if you put Jesus Christ first in your life, envy isn't going to be a problem because you'll be concerned with serving him rather than exalting yourself.
Here's another effect of envy, by the way.
And actually, before I get that, I just wanted to say this. You know what John the Baptist said?
He must increase but I must decrease.
Shouldn't we all think that way? He must increase, I must decrease.
Now another effect of envy that we see in our world is female pastors.
They unrighteously have attained power.
The Bible's clear about female pastors.
It says in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 12,
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
The Bible's crystal clear.
No woman in authority in church. No woman pastors.
Not happening.
Period.
Every female teacher is in rebellion against God.
What's the motivation for some of them, though?
I want to do what a man does.
How about you just be happy with being a woman?
I don't understand this feminist brainwashing that says women ought to strive to be exactly like men.
Why not just be happy with being a woman?
Why not just be happy with feminine attributes?
A lot of these female pastors join the ministry in their fake churches
because they want to have the same authority and power as a man does.
It's envy.
Reverend Lynn Williamson wrote this article.
She was whining. She says this,
Female faith leaders continue to encounter sexism.
Sadly, there are still religious communities in the United States
that do not ordain women to the ministry and priesthood.
Now, here's a side note for you guys.
Last time I was here, I preached on the priesthood of the believer.
You're a priest when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I preached that last time I was here.
Now, she's upset that religious communities in the United States don't ordain women to the ministry.
I wonder why that is.
Maybe it's because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14, 34,
Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not committed unto them to speak,
but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
That's not Paul's opinion.
He's speaking the word of God.
Let your women keep silence in the churches, the Bible says.
But the woman preacher says,
I don't care about that. I'm going to be a pastor anyway.
And then they'll claim that they were called into the ministry.
False! You were not called into the ministry.
If you claim to be called to do something that contradicts the word of God,
let me help you out. Not called!
I'm fortunate to have served since 2005, she says,
the congregation of shepherd of the hills who have treated me fairly and with much respect.
That is not true for many women in my denomination across the religious world.
Women with the same qualifications.
It's impossible. The Bible says the husband of one wife.
How do you have the same qualifications?
Women with the same qualifications and experience as men in similar sized churches
earn less than men.
So she's upset that women pastors don't get paid as much.
Let me solve this problem for her.
Here's how much women pastors should get paid.
Zero!
Is everybody listening to what I'm saying? Zero!
None!
Their paycheck, their pay stub should say zero dollars, zero cents
because they shouldn't even be in that position to begin with.
Cry me a river, Lynn, whatever your name is, Lynn Williamson.
Go ahead, cry, I don't care.
Ridiculous.
Go to Psalm 73, Psalm 73.
But why do they do this to begin with?
I want to be like a man.
I want to be a pastor just like a man is.
Psalm 73, here's my final point.
Envy makes people desire the prosperity of the wicked.
It says there in Psalm 73, look at verse number, I'm almost done by the way, folks.
Verse number 3, it says,
The psalmist is in distress.
He describes the prosperity of the wicked.
He says he envied the prosperity of the wicked.
It seems like they're not burdened with the same struggles we go through.
They have all the money, they have all the cars, they have all the big mansions,
everything they could ever dream of.
Evidently, look at verse 12.
Skip down to verse 12 for sake of time.
Drinks, including alcohol by the way, which we should stay away from.
They have the fancy cars, they drive around in Maseratis and Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
It seems like they're overcome with corruption but yet prospering.
How should we look at that?
It seems like they're living a better life than those who are living paycheck to paycheck.
Those of us who might be living paycheck to paycheck.
We look at these devils and their big fancy mansions
and their bank accounts that have more digits than we could even conceptualize
and yet, here we are trying to serve God and struggling to make it.
How should we think of that?
Well you have to remember, as quote rich as they might be,
as much materialism as they might amass for themselves, they're not really happy.
And I'll get to that in a minute.
First of all, I just want to read you a list here of people who are known as some of the richest in the world.
Yeah, Bill Gates, you all know him, Jeff Bezos.
But there are other people as well. Bernard Arnault, I guess he's French,
CEO of LVMH, a luxury goods company, his net worth $91.6 billion with a B.
Warren Buffett, some of you might have heard of him, he's an investor,
net worth $70.5 billion.
Some of the richest celebrities in our world.
How about Oprah Winfrey, the witch?
Her net worth $3.5 billion.
Jamie Gertz, I don't know who that is, net worth $3.5 billion.
Tom Cruise, who knows Tom Cruise?
$570 million according to Google.
Katy Perry, a satanic Jezebel whore, her net worth $125 million.
And I don't know how accurate this is, but it's I think a decent sort of guess as to how much these people are worth.
Here's Planned Parenthood, by the way.
Alexis McGill Johnson is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and she's a millionaire.
I don't know exactly how much, but I know it's at least in the millions.
Planned Parenthood itself reported $1.67 billion in revenue in 2018.
To do what? Slaughter babies.
The Center for Medical Progress released undercover video showing that they're profiteering from babies being slaughtered in the womb.
That's a fact. Those videos were not edited to be deceptive.
Planned Parenthood leadership is raking in the cash $630.8 million in private contributions in the same year.
How should we respond to that?
As we live paycheck to paycheck, as we struggle to get by in our honest jobs,
we see these devil-worshipping scumbags prospering through materialism, through their bank account.
Well, you have to remember that their end will be everlasting destruction.
They have no hope. We have hope that we've escaped the second, we have hope because of the fact that we've escaped the certain second death that the unsaved will experience,
and we'll go to heaven when we die because we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
For these people, they don't have that hope.
That's why a lot of them are chasing after eternal life in this life through transhumanism and all the rest of it.
That's a different topic for a different time.
But anyway, look, God's going to deal with them in due time, okay?
And I don't have a lot of time to get into this. I had some more scriptures on it, but the Bible teaches that these people will get their end.
We'll read about it here actually in Psalm chapter 37. I'll read verse 19 for you.
Look at verse number 19. I'm sorry, Psalm 73. My apologies.
Psalm 73 where we were. Look at verse 19.
How are they brought into desolation as in a moment?
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
They may prosper in this life. They might have millions and millions of dollars.
They might have the Maserati and the Ferrari.
They might have the six car garage mansion with multiple properties across the world.
They might have all the prosperity they can dream of, but if they haven't believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and for these reprobates I can assure you they haven't, their end will be destruction.
Why? Because that's what God promises and God can't lie.
That's what happens to those who've rejected the gospel.
Eternal destruction.
These celebrities I talked about here.
Oprah Winfrey, who mocks the gospel by the way.
Jamie Girtz, Tom Cruise, Katy Perry.
These worshippers of the devil.
These celebrities who brainwash young minds into believing a pro-sodomite agenda.
For them, they're going to experience the eternal fire of hell.
They're going to experience the eternal torment and punishment that comes with rejecting the gospel and having to pay for your own sins.
Experiencing the worst torment that they could ever experience that makes any kind of affliction on this earth, no matter what it is, seem like a picnic.
Planned Parenthood, I talked about them already.
But although they might be raking in the cash right now, destroying the most innocent lives that I could even think of, babies.
They're going to get their end.
They're going to get their end in hell.
God will destroy them.
I hope it happens right now.
I hope God destroys every Planned Parenthood clinic on the face of the planet right now and every abortion doctor gets taken out and put to death.
You say, that sounds like it's a little bit too much for me.
Exodus 21 verses 22 and 23, you read that and come back to me.
It's biblical.
Every single one of them.
These disgusting, decrepit, soulless scumbags.
I hope every one of them get put to death.
I hope every Planned Parenthood gets nuked.
That's what I believe.
So look, don't you dare envy those people.
Don't you dare envy these celebrities.
Don't you dare envy the wicked.
Don't you dare envy the prosperous.
Don't you dare envy those who might have more materialism.
It's meaningless.
If they don't have the Lord Jesus Christ, they have nothing.
Go to Ecclesiastes 8.
We'll be done.
Ecclesiastes chapter 8.
Proverbs 24 says,
Envy unchecked will lead to you desiring the prosperity of the wicked.
Desiring the prosperity of those who hate God.
But again, remember what's waiting for them after this life.
They may profit today, but I can guarantee you that wrath is coming tomorrow.
Look at Ecclesiastes 8. We'll be done.
Verse 12.
Though a sinner do evil a hundred times and his days be prolonged,
yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God which fear before him.
But it shall not be well with the wicked.
Neither shall he prolong his days which are as a shadow because he feareth not before God.
Even if a sinner does evil seemingly unabated, it'll be well with those who fear God.
That's a promise we need to hold to our hearts.
Don't focus on the wicked prospering around you but rather focus on serving the Lord Jesus Christ with all that you've got.
And there are going to be rewards waiting for you in heaven that'll mean a heck of a lot more than any Ferrari or any fancy house could ever mean in this life.
You envy.
You allow envy rather to take over.
All of a sudden you'll be desiring the prosperity of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and all the rest of them.
And you don't want to be in a place like that.
So here's what I said.
I said envy sows discord among brethren.
I said envy breeds malice against the righteous.
I said envy leads to the unrighteous pursuit of power.
We talked about Coors Rebellion and female pastors.
Envy makes people desire the prosperity of the wicked.
Here's what I'm going to end with, the point I want to end with here.
Stay away from envy.
I hope I was able to convince you of that using the scriptures.
Let's pray.
Father, I just thank you for this church, Lord.
I pray that you would help us not to be envious, Lord,
and that when other people succeed that we rejoice with them
and that we have a team mentality
and that we realize that we're in this together.
We're on the same side in the battle.
And Lord, I also pray that you prevent us from feeling this emotion, Lord,
so we don't look at the wicked who are prospering and feel like that ought to be us.
When in reality we know that you have waiting for us rewards in heaven
that mean infinitely more than whatever we can amass,
whatever wealth we can amass in this life.
We thank you so much, Lord, for our salvation.
We thank you so much, Lord, for the blessings that you've bestowed on us
in all of our lives.
And in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Amen.
Alright, the last song we'll sing for the morning is on the 100.
On the 100.
Day by day.
Okay, okay.
Day by day and with each passing moment
Strength I find to be my trial dear
Trusting in my Father's wife be so quick
I will cross over the oak for fear
In whose heart is I beyond all measure
He'll come to this day one healing prayer
Loving me is part of faith and pleasure
Kneeling forth peace and rest
Every day the Lord himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour
All my cares he paints the parents near me
He who paints his counselers high
The protection of his trial and treasure
It's a chore there on himself be laid
And thy faith, thy strength shall be in measure
It's a pledge to be made
And I'll be there in every tribulation
So do trust thy promises, O Lord
That I would not face the consolation
Offer me with and thy only work
Help me, Lord, when torment troubles me
There to take us from our Father's land
One by one the days the moment's fleeting
Till I reach the Father's land
Thank you for watching!