you
Let's take our seats and let's get our teams and start our first service by turning to him number two for
me
you
Let's pray there are far we thank Lord for this point
We ask of God we can bless our first service and we ask Lord for the sins and our shortcomings to you about I pray
Lord that you bless for sake and see we just lost a sermon
the
Tentative to the sermon Lord remove instructions Oh God and also prone afraid that you would bless our fellowship Lord and also saw winning this
After we're asking all these things in his name
All right, good morning everybody welcome to Verdi Baptist Church take out your bulletin here today and
Our verse of the week is acts 10 verse 26 the Bible reads, but Peter took them up saying stand up
I myself also am a man that's a great verse there
We are a family integrated church meaning children and infants are welcome during the services
We do have a mother baby room back there for your convenience as well as the ladies restroom
The men's restroom is up here in front
Remember no eating during the service maintain a professional atmosphere and keep the children from running making noise during the church services
Our service times are listed on the middle of our bulletin first service is at 10 a.m
a short break in our
1115 service Wednesday evening Bible study is at 7 p.m. So many times listed
We have so many at 4 p.m. On on Wednesdays all day
So any on Saturdays at case on memorial circle, of course, we do have so winning this afternoon right after lunch around
145 here today our salvation and baptisms are listed there for all of our churches for the year as well as the month
Birthdays and anniversaries as well then on the next page our Bible memorization challenge
And so today is the last day to quote Matthew 4 verses 1 through 11
I'll be preaching on that in the second sermon and then the new option is
Matthew 4 verses 12 through 25 for those of you that are ages 11 and above of course if your age is 8 to 10
It's memorizing 7 verses and ages below 8. It is memorizing one verse upcoming activities
Our prayer meeting is going to be in three weeks
And of course, we're going through the alphabet of Bible doctrines and the book of Matthew here on Sundays and on the back
There's a place for notes for the sermons here today. So I believe that's it for announcements while brother Marlon lead us in another song
Here for an excellent turn to him number 305 in number 305 yield not to temptation
For you may be seen, each committee will have you, some honor to win, I am fully on board, the heart passes up to you.
The Pharisee, Jesus, he will carry you through.
Ash the seer to have you, one word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
Son, he will command us that language be seen.
God's steeple in reverence, Lord, take it in vain.
He will carry you through, one word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
God's steeple in reverence, Lord, take it in vain.
One word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
One word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
One word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
Ash the seer to have you, one word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
One word said let it give you, he is giving to need you, he is giving to need you, he will carry you through.
For our scripture reading, please open your Bibles to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 4.
We are going to read Philippians chapter 4, the verses 1-13.
Please say amen when you are there.
Therefore my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
I beseech Eudas and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
And I entreat thee also to your fellow, help those women which labored with me in the Gospel with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men.
The Lord is at hand, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which path is all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any place, think on these things.
Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you.
But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me has flourished again, wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity.
I know that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer and eat. I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.
Thank your Father for the day, for everyone who's here. Lord, please bless the service, please open our hearts, give us understanding, and help us to apply everything what we learn in the Bible and in the sermon, and also please bless the preacher, we paint his name, Amen.
Alright, we're here in Philippians chapter 4, and we're looking at the letter V for the alphabet of Bible doctrines. We're going to talk about the topic of veneration.
And this is a common word within the Catholic church. It's called the spiritual leader, reverend so and so. Right, by their last name. It's blasphemous because the only time you have reverend in the Bible, it says holy and reverend is his name.
Right? Now look, is it proper to respect various people? Sure. Respect your parents, respect elders in general, respect your bosses at work, respect spiritual leadership, but don't worship any of them.
Right? And when you're saying holy and reverend, it's like respect, but it's to an unhealthy level because holy and reverend is his name. We should only be revering God, not revering man.
Go back to Philippians chapter 4. And look, it really doesn't matter how many Baptist pastors go by reverend so and so, it's still blasphemous. Right? Because here's the thing, there's a lot of people that go by holy father. That's still blasphemous.
It doesn't matter if most spiritual leadership in the Philippines is father so and so, it's blasphemous. And look, reverend so and so, it's blasphemous because holy and reverend is his name. No man is worthy of being revered and no man is worthy of being venerated.
Now within the Catholic Church they'll talk about the veneration of the saints. They'll claim they don't worship the saints, but they pray to the saints. They go to saints as mediators to talk to God. And no, they make statues and they have them in the wall. I mean, you're worshipping them. Whether you say that or not, you are still worshipping them and it's wrong. Notice what the Bible says.
And I'm going to show you the big argument they use for the veneration of the saints. And it's right here in Philippians 4 verse 8.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. And so the way the Catholic Church interprets this, in verse 80 lists all these different things that you could think about.
And then he said, hey, you know what, those things you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. And so they interpret that as Paul saying, hey, you know what, think upon me because I'm true and honest and just and lovely and pure and of good report and there's virtue in me.
And it's like that is not what he's saying. What Paul is saying is this. Think on things that are true. So when you see me reading the Bible, do the same. He's not saying worship me. He's saying do as I'm doing.
You see me go soul winning, you go soul winning. You see me praying, you pray. He's not saying I'm pure, I'm honest, so think upon me.
It's like what do you think about all day long? Just Paul the apostle. Right? I'm just meditating on Paul the apostle. But that's the way the Catholic Church interprets this. They say, well, you know what Paul is saying, think upon me because of how great I am.
How about thinking about God? How about thinking about Jesus Christ? Right? I mean, there's exciting stories in the Bible. I mean, I love reading about stories of Elijah and Moses and all these miracles.
But I don't just stop at night and just meditate upon Moses. That's ridiculous. What Paul is saying is, hey, you've seen an example in me and do the same. He's saying I'm thinking upon things that are true. I'm thinking upon things that are just.
I mean, there's none righteous. No, not one. So why would Paul contradict and say I'm just and I'm honest and I'm true? I mean, I thought the Bible said let God be true, but every man a liar. Nobody is 100% perfectly true.
So what the Bible is saying is there's a lot of things that you can think about in this world and there's nothing wrong with them. You can think about spiritual things. You can think about your kids and your family. You can think about pure things and good things.
And any of those things, think on those things. And Paul's saying you've seen my pattern of life that I'm not living a worldly life. I'm living a godly life and you do the same as I'm doing. But he's not saying think upon me. Just meditate upon me.
It's like, Brother Stuckey, what are you advising me to do? Just think about me all day long. Just dream about me and just build a poster in your house. That's bizarre. That's weird.
And I would personally be, you know, if I visited your house and there's like a poster of me on the wall, I'd be like, Whoa. It's like, what are you doing? Right? Turn your Bible to Acts chapter 10.
Acts 10. Acts 10. Acts chapter 10. Acts 10 verse 25. And the Bible says,
And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. Now look, Cornelius is a good man, but he is good as in our perspective. Obviously he's a sinner just like us. But he's an unsaved man.
It says he fears God. It says he's very zealous. He's trying to do what's right, but he does not know how to get to heaven. Right? And what takes place is God sends Peter to talk to him.
And then what happens? Cornelius bows down and worships him. Well, there's a problem because you're not supposed to worship or venerate a man. And notice the reaction of Peter. But Peter took him up saying, Stand up. I myself also am a man.
Peter's saying, I don't want you to bow down before me. I don't want you to worship before me. It's just like, you know, you should worship God and him only. I don't know about you, but when you read this, I think, Man, Peter would have made a terrible pope.
He doesn't let people bow down and worship him. Right? Another problem with Peter being a pope is he was married. That's kind of a big problem. Another big problem is he wasn't a pedophile.
I mean, when you're not a pedophile and you're married and you're not letting people worship you, you're just not going to make a great pope.
And I don't know about you, but I seriously doubt he's wearing like this bright, you know, red shoes and gold everywhere as he's probably wearing normal clothes. Right?
So I'm sorry, but I don't see anything the Bible would say. Peter's the first pope. He says, Stand up. I myself also am a man.
But you can see videos and pictures all over the Internet of people bowing down before the pope. Just bowing down and worshiping him.
And Peter said, Stand up. I myself also am a man. I mean, what would your reaction be if you go out sowing today and then someone just, you know, on their knees is before you?
You're like, Whoa, what are you doing? Why are you trying to kiss my feet? Right? That'd be weird. Right?
And Peter says, Stand up. I myself also am a man. You say, Why? Because venerating saints is wrong. Worshipping saints, worshipping people is wrong.
Turn to Acts chapter 14. Acts 14. Acts chapter 14.
Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying it's wrong to respect people. I mean, I do believe that as Paul was speaking in Philippians, it's like, yeah, Paul lived his life in a way that you ought to respect him.
He's someone who obviously knew his Bible. He was reading his Bible and memorizing the Bible.
And you ought to respect people. And the Bible even says, Look at people as an example to follow. But it doesn't mean that you think upon them.
Because Paul was a great Christian because he thought upon God. And so if you want to be a good Christian, do the same as Paul and read God's word and meditate upon God and pray to God.
Not think about Paul the apostle. Okay? That's strange. That's weird. And it's wrong. You know, venerating or worshipping a man or a woman is wrong.
The Bible says in Acts 14 verse 11, And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Liconia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
And they called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Murecurious because he was a chief speaker.
And so apparently when you're worshipping planets, Mercury is above Jupiter. I would have assumed Jupiter because it's the biggest planet, right?
So I would think it would be Jupiter, but apparently not because it says Mercury is above Jupiter and the planets you worship, right? Because he's the chief speaker.
And so they're calling Barnabas, Hey, you're Jupiter. It's like you're like a god come down here to earth. And then Paul is like Mercury coming down here to earth.
Verse 13, Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands under the gates and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Which when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things?
We also are men of like passions with you and preach on you that you should turn from these vanities onto the living God which made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are therein.
So Paul and Barnabas are saying, Why are you worshipping us? We're no different than you.
We're sinners saved by grace and just like we hope you get saved by grace too as you're a sinner also. He's saying, Why are you worshipping me?
Right? Turn your Bible to Revelation chapter 4. Revelation 4. Revelation chapter 4.
And see, here's the thing with the Catholic church though. They'll say, Well, you know what? We only worship or venerate people when they're dead.
Right? We venerate them after they're declared a saint, you know, long after they pass away. Well, that's even more bizarre.
You shouldn't worship people while they're alive and you shouldn't worship them once they're dead either. Right?
I mean, it's like you're not supposed to worship any man or any woman. It's like worship the Lord God Almighty and Him only.
The Bible says in Revelation 4 verse 11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power.
For thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
See, God is worthy because He created all things. I'm not worthy of being worshipped. You are not worthy of being worshipped.
The Pope is certainly not worthy of being worshipped. No man's worthy. Not even Paul the Apostle. Not even Peter. Not even Barnabas.
They rejected it. They said, We're not worthy. Right? Because they're sinners just like us. They're humans just like us.
And I get it because let's say you're there for Elijah and the false prophets of Baal and Elijah performs this miracle.
You could easily see how people might just be like, alright, bowing down before Elijah and acting as if he's like God or something like that.
When in reality, he's just a man that God gave the ability to do something mighty. Right?
Turn in your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 18. Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy chapter 18.
One common thing you see from people and from religions is the veneration of saints, which in the Bible, a saint is someone who's saved.
It's not someone who hundreds of years after they die, the Catholic Church declares as being like super righteous or whatever.
It's just a saved person. But you should not venerate or worship any man or woman. Okay?
Another thing people will venerate is their ancestors, their relatives, their grandparents.
It's very common in religions around the world of ancestor worship where they worship their great grandparents and their grandparents.
Notice what it says in Deuteronomy 18 verse 9. And usually they're worshipping them after they're dead, not while they're alive.
But once they die, they're like, You've got to pay homage to your ancestors. You've got to venerate your ancestors.
You've got to worship your ancestors. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 18 verse 9,
When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire.
Many cultures, if you thought that God was upset with you or you wanted God's blessing, what would you do?
Sacrifice something very valuable to yourself. So they would put their son in a fire or their daughter in a fire and burn them to death, thinking that's going to get God's favor.
It's like, Wait a minute. We've got a famine in the land. We better kill one of our kids.
That's literally what the Bible is saying, and that is literally what cultures have done around the world in various religions and these pagan religions for thousands of years.
The Bible says, Or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
So we're talking about sorcery, right? Think of like Mancuculam, like sorcery, magic, all of this stuff, and it's very intertwined together.
All of this stuff is wrong, right? You know, you look at the people and say, Well, you know what? It's like the voodoo is bad, but, you know, an albulario is good.
No, it's all bad. All of it. It's all sorcery. You say, Well, it's white magic. There is no white magic. There are miracles, and there's black magic.
Right? Whatever. You say, Well, brother, that's racist. Call it white magic. I don't care. There's miracles, and there's magic.
Right? There's things from God, and then there's things from the devil. Right? And so all of this is associated with sorcery and magic and witchcraft and all of this stuff.
And by the way, this stuff has the death penalty in the Bible. It's not a joke. It's not a game.
Well, brother Stuckey, it's just a movie. I mean, Harry Potter's just a movie. Right? And this is what I hear Christians say sometimes. Yeah, but you know what?
I mean, Harry Potter is like the age-old battle of good versus evil. No, it's a witch doctor, an albulario versus a voodoo priest. They're both bad.
They might think they're against one another. They're both performing sorcery. They're both bad.
And Harry Potter's the obvious one, but, you know, like Lord of the Rings, you think of that, and it's just like supposedly was made by a Christian.
And it's like, Man, I don't know what kind of Christianity you're reading your Bible. But it's like there's witchcraft and sorcery and false gods and all these things out of these mythologies and false religions.
Right? You say, Yeah, brother Stuckey, I want to watch that. Okay, Chronicles of Narnia, if you want me to get like a little bit harsh for the Christians.
And look, I've been at Baptist churches where it's like after church, let's just watch Chronicles of Narnia as a church. And it's like, Yeah, I'm feeling kind of tired today. I think I'm just going to head home.
Because it's all, you know, witchcraft and all of this stuff, it's not appropriate. And it's not a game where it's like, Well, it's no big deal.
You know, it's just like, Well, it's just a Ouija board. It's just fake. It's like, Well, I don't believe magic is fake.
What I believe is that when Moses met Pharaoh and Moses threw down his rod and turned it into a snake, I believe they did the exact same thing.
I mean, that's pretty scary. I believe that when they turn the water to blood, they did the exact same thing. The magicians and the sorcerers.
I don't know why you would turn more water into blood. I would think you'd turn the blood back to water, but they obviously couldn't do that. Right?
But they were able to do that as well. Now eventually they reach a point where they can't do the miracles of God. And obviously any power that the devil has is because God allows it.
We get that. We understand that. But there are devils out there. There's sorcery out there. There's black magic out there. This stuff is not to be messed with from anyone, especially not Christians.
Say, Brother Shaki, I'm saved. I could never be possessed. But do you think that God wants you to watch this stuff online and watch the movies and all of these things and TV shows associated with sorcery?
It's like, No, it has the death penalty in the Bible. It's not a game. It's not a joke. And just because they label a kid's programming like old Disney movies, it's like, No, I'm sorry.
When did sorcery become something for little kids? The one that came out recently was Little Mermaid. They did a remake or reenactment of the movie from 30 years ago.
And it's like, there's sorcery. And unless they've changed the plot, when I saw it as a kid, it's like, there's sorcery. It's not okay.
And then what they do is they desensitize people to how wicked it is. And look, I grew up watching every Disney movie. I get it.
You watch all those Disney movies, which many of them have sorcery and black magic and Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, all the old ones, Cinderella, all that stuff. It's wicked.
It has the death penalty in the Bible. It's not a joke. The Bible says here in verse number 11,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard. And notice this. Or a necromancer.
Now all of these things are intertwined, but someone who practices necromancy is someone who communicates with the dead.
You think of somebody with a crystal ball. And look, it's not just a joke. There's literally people that have it. They have crystal balls.
And then think of the Witch of Endor, if you want a biblical example, where they're trying to communicate with the dead and talk to the dead.
This is something that has the death penalty in the Bible, and it's not something for Christians to mess with.
There's no such thing as ghosts. When your relatives die, they're dead. Their body's in the ground. And their soul is in heaven or hell.
You say, what about those that get trapped in this world? You're watching too many movies.
You say, Brother Sucky, what about all the stories of people that have seen their dead relatives? They saw devils.
I'm not saying they're all lying about it. I'm sure some of them are on LSD or some hallucinatory drug, but not all of them.
I'm sure some are dreaming or whatever, but I've heard many people tell me, my old neighbor used to say, my dead husband used to visit me every night.
That's creepy. That's scary. I don't have any experiences dealing with this sort of sorcery as a kid.
But I've talked to a lot of people that do, and I used to think people were just lying about it or faking it.
I've heard it too many times, though, to think that it's fake and realize there is something to this.
Now, do I believe in things like Aswang's? No, but maybe it's based on something, right?
I mean, all these stories of vampires and all this demonic sort of stuff, it's probably based on something.
Now, the stories have gotten exaggerated and changed, and obviously people's minds wander, but there are devils out there.
There is sorcery out there, and it's not something for Christians to mess with, especially to people that have passed away, because people that are dead are either in heaven or hell.
You say, but what about those that are trapped in purgatory? Well, once again, you're coming out of the Catholic Church, okay?
Stay with us, and we'll get that doctrine out of you, because the Bible says, if you believe you have everlasting life, if you don't believe, you have the wrath of God upon you.
One of two places that you go. And verse 12,
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Go to 2 Samuel chapter 12.
Now, when it comes to the veneration of saints, that is a Catholic thing very much, right?
What Catholics call a saint is what Roman paganism called a god, and they mixed the false Roman religion that came out of the false Greek religion, basically,
and then they mixed it with some sort of weird, more form of Christianity.
Because you're not seeing in the Bible, it's like you walk in, there's holy water and all these...
I mean, these are just weird things that are practices from other religions that Catholicism brought into their own.
But here's the thing. Even though it's more common in other religions, which I'm going to read about in a second,
there is something called All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, whichever day it is, where I get the two days mixed up,
where you're going there and offering food to your dead relatives, and it's like you go there the next day, the food's still there.
Or you see a rat eating it, but somehow you think it was your dead relative that came up from the dead.
That's demonic. That's weird. And here's the thing. This is what Baptists will do. This is what Christians will do.
It's like, well, I don't believe in this, but I don't want to offend my Catholic relatives.
Now, I'm not looking for a show of hands, but many of you... I don't have any Catholic relatives in my family.
I married into a lot of Catholic relatives, but it's like many of you have gone down to the graves not believing in it,
and you did that because you didn't want to offend your family, right? It's like you gave in to peer pressure.
But the Bible says have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
Does offering food to your dead relatives help get your Catholic relatives saved? No, it doesn't.
Now, obviously you can be polite about it. I'm not saying to be rude. I'm just saying Christians should have nothing to do with going to graveyards
and offering food to their dead relatives. I mean, it makes no sense, but it's not just that.
I mean, it's sorcery. It's witchcraft. It's bizarre. And if anything happens down there, I would not want to see it.
That would be a very scary, scary place to be, right?
Actually, before we turn to 2 Samuel 12, let me just read to you from a few different religions.
One famous religion that practices ancestor worship is the religion of Taoism, Taoism or Taoism.
And it says more than 3,000 years ago, our ancestors already developed the idea of paying respect to the heavens,
honoring the deities and paying respect to our ancestors.
This concept was passed down from one generation to the next.
This, together with Taoism, fueled the promotion and practice of ancestral and deity worship,
and are now deep-rooted in our hearts, and it is a hallmark of the Chinese.
And he said, Brother Stuckey, what is Taoism? Well, at the time of Christ, it was one of the four primary religions in the world.
I think about 20% of the world was Taoist by percentage.
And if you don't know what Taoism is by name, you know what it is because you know the yin and the yang.
Right? You got that circle with the white side and the black side, and a black dot on the white side,
and a white dot on the black side, and that curved line in the middle.
And it's not that white and black fight against one another. They're meant to complement one another.
And you say, well, Brother Stuckey, I'm not familiar with that.
But you've heard of Star Wars. And Star Wars is based on Taoism.
Right? I thought it was just an entertaining movie as a kid.
Yeah, but you know, there's people over in China that really believe this with martial arts where they're tapping into the force and the dark side and all this stuff.
People believe this stuff. And it's based on a false religion.
And here's the thing. If anything takes place, it's demonic.
If anything takes place, and I get it, oftentimes it's just in people's heads, but sometimes something demonic happens at certain things.
I don't want to have anything to do with it. Because here's the thing.
I mean, Pharaoh was confident that his magicians can turn a rod into a snake also.
And he was right. Why? Because obviously they've experienced various things before.
And of course, when Satan's here during the end, he's going to have many lying wonders that are going to cause people to believe.
The Antichrist will be performing many things like lying wonders, and it's going to cause people to believe because of these lying wonders. It's going to deceive people.
Another example besides Taoism is in voodoo.
Now, voodoo is a little bit different because they don't really believe that their ancestors are good.
They generally believe when someone's trapped in this world, they're usually angry.
And so when something happens, their granddad is mad at them or whatever that's passed away.
And so this is kind of the philosophy they take.
If their granddad passes away, and then they lose their job a month later, and their granddad was a drunk, I better drink alcohol to make my granddad happier. He's going to curse my life.
I mean, that's literally the way that they look at it.
And I'm not saying everybody in Haiti or everyone who practices voodoo in these African religions looks at it this way.
But for example, when the big earthquake happened over a decade ago, and 5% of the population was killed like that, they believed that was because their ancestors and their gods had cursed them.
They believed that it was sent by the gods and that he was angry, but what they took away is we better worship voodoo even more.
And it's like, no, that's exactly why God sent a natural disaster to destroy you, but they didn't get it.
2 Samuel 12, verse 19.
But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
Then David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped.
Then he came to his own house, and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child while he was alive.
When the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live?
Then he says, But now he is dead. David says, My baby's son has passed away. Wherefore should I fast? He's saying he's already dead. I mean, me fasting is not going to do anything.
He says, Can I bring him back again? Can I bring my baby back from the dead? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
Now David was a saved person, and what David's saying is, I'm going to go with him in heaven, but he's not going to return to me.
So here's the thing. There's a lot of ladies that have had miscarriages, or people lose children at a young age. My wife and I, we dealt with that several years ago, but here's the thing.
You don't have to worry about a parent, what happened to your child as a baby that passes away in a mom's womb. You say, Why? Because of the fact that child goes to heaven.
This is what David's saying. This is one of the strong proofs right here. He's saying, He's not going to come back, but I am going to go to him.
And see, when somebody dies, they are either in heaven or hell immediately. You cannot pray them out of purgatory. You cannot baptize them out of outer darkness, like in Mormonism, after they're dead.
They're gone. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 2. You say, Brother Stuckey, I want to honor my relative that passed away. How do I honor them?
Well, there's actually a way that you can honor your relatives that have passed away. Let me ask you a question. If your relative died and went to heaven, what do you think they want you to be doing right now?
I mean, let's say they had vices they struggled with. Do you think your relative in heaven wants you to drink alcohol like they did when they were on earth?
No, what they want you to do is go to church, read the Bible, go soul winning, serve God. You say, What about if my relative is unsaved? Think of Luke 16. Right?
I mean, the man who goes to hell says, Hey, send someone to talk to my brothers. So look, whether your relative was saved or lost that died, if you want to honor them, how do you do that? By serving God.
Because that's what they're going to want you to do now. I mean, that story in Luke 16 is a very chilling story. It's one of the best stories in the Bible, but it's hard to read.
Because it's a true story. And God gives us an inside look on what hell is like, and he's crying out. He's like, Send someone to my brothers. He's like, If they hear, they'll be persuaded and believe on Christ. Right?
So whether your relative was saved or unsaved, I think you should honor them. Not venerate, not worship. But how do you honor them and their memory? By doing the things of God, by serving God, by going to church, by reading the Bible, by getting people saved.
No saved person up in heaven is struggling with worldliness now. All of us on earth, we struggle because we've got the sinful flesh. But once you're in heaven, you're not struggling with that.
So what do you want your relatives to do that are left on earth? Serve God. Bring more people to heaven. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 2, verse 5,
For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.
See, the Bible says there's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Why? Because Jesus was all God and all man. Right? The perfect mediator between God and man.
Now, by the way, you're never going to see the mediatrix in the Bible. The Catholic Church says, well, Mary's the mediatrix. It's like, no, when we pray, the template in the Bible is you pray to God the Father and you end your prayers in Jesus' name. Why?
Because Jesus is the mediator between God and man, not a Catholic priest. Now, look, people at our church, you know, the men at our church are welcome to come to me if they have questions.
If you're a lady, you're welcome to come to my wife if you have questions and you need help on various things that you're struggling with. And I get that, but I'm not a Catholic priest.
It's like, don't give me a list of things where, well, just say, you know, 11 Hail Marys, you know, and God will forgive you. Right? It's just like, you know, no, because you go directly to God and you should be going to God on a daily basis and asking for forgiveness.
Now, obviously, if you're saved, you have eternal life, but at the same time, you're a sinner on a daily basis and you need to get right with God and get cleansed. You don't go to a man. You say, why? Because Jesus is the mediator between God and man.
Go in your Bible to Genesis 1. Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1.
Answer number one, one thing that people commonly worship or venerate is saints, right? It's various people. It's like, we should never worship any people. Another thing is worshiping ancestors. Guys, let's keep the children, the noise down. It's distracting. Okay?
Another thing is worshiping relatives. Another thing is worshiping or venerating animals. And it's a common thing in 2023 is worshiping animals.
The Bible says in Genesis 1 verse 26, and God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea. We have dominion over the fish. We did not evolve from a fish 2.1 billion years ago. We're not fish. Right? We're human beings and we have dominion over the fish.
Bible says, and over the fowl of the air. We have dominion over the birds and the fowls of the air and over the cattle. Right? So in India, they go down and bow down before the cow. Right? They treat the cow as if it's a god. It's like, no, wait a minute. As a human, kill that cow and eat it.
You have dominion over the cattle. Right? You don't go and it's like, well, let's just put a necklace on it and bow down to it and pray to it. And it's just like, man. It's like, no. And this is literally what people do around the world. They worship animals. They worship Mother Nature. Right? Instead of God the Creator.
It says, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image. In the image of God created He him. Male and female created He them. And God blessed them. And you know what? Man is made in the image of God. You know, God does not look like a monkey. God does not look like a bird. Right? It says man is made in the image of God.
And God blessed them and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveeth upon the earth.
The Bible says we have dominion over the animals. And it says subdue them. Put them under control. You say why? Because man has the ability to put any animal under control. Man creates weapons and animals can't withstand them. It just is what it is.
It doesn't matter if the animal is bigger than us. It's like if you've got a gun then you've got the power over them. Right? And you know what? We have dominion over the animals. Go to Genesis chapter 9. Genesis 9.
You say brother, what's the difference between a human and an animal? What happens to an animal that dies? They just die. That's it.
They don't have an eternal soul that is going to dwell in heaven or hell forever. They're just dead. That's it. There's no comparison between man and animals. We're not animals. We didn't evolve from animals millions or billions or whatever you want to say years ago.
It's like no, we were made in the image of God 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. That's what the Bible teaches. The Bible says in Genesis 9 verse 1,
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you should be upon every beast of the earth, upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea. And to your hand are they delivered.
The Bible says animals are afraid of human beings. Isn't that true? When you go around animals, they naturally just run away. Sometimes dogs are used to being around humans so they get used to it and they don't have that fear. But animals naturally just run away from humans.
I've said this story before that. I remember I was hiking out by my parents' backyard up toward the mountains and I was listening to an MP3 player, listening to the Bible.
And I had my head down. I'm on a trail so I know where I'm going. And all of a sudden I heard this thud hit the ground. I look up and this bear had hopped down out of a tree just like 20 feet in front of me or 30 feet in front of me.
And it was just running away from me as fast as it could. You say, why? It was scared of me. I don't blame the bear. I mean, I look pretty tough, right?
Now here's the thing. I didn't say that I was not scared of the bear. I said the bear was scared of me. Because it was running 30 miles an hour that direction. I was running at the speed of light this direction.
You had to run back to my parents' house and get inside for safety. But the bear completely ran away from me. You say, why? Because animals are afraid of human beings. Why? Because we kill them and eat them.
And God put that natural fear inside of animals because of that reason. Now there's not really that fear before the flood, but obviously the world changed quite a bit.
And after the flood, it's like there's the fear of you upon every creature is afraid of human beings. And it says in verse 3,
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh of the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat.
And surely your blood of your lives will I require. At the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man. At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
So what he's saying in verse 5 is, whether it's an animal or a human being, if they kill a human being, I require their blood.
He's not saying if an animal dies, he requires man's blood. No, no, no. He's saying, I require it from an animal or a human if they kill a human being.
Basically, the death penalty. Verse 6, Who so shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made he man.
And so we have the death penalty instituted here in Genesis chapter 9, where basically you kill another human, you're put to death, but it's also the death penalty on the animal.
But there's no death penalty for humans killing animals. Now I'm not saying to go out there and harm animals. I mean, if you harm animals for fun, there's probably something wrong with you.
But what I'm saying is, there's not a death penalty for killing an animal. I mean, it's like, if you accidentally hit, I mean, look, I remember I hit a turkey before when I was driving in the U.S. and it went flying and it died.
I didn't have to go to the police to report it and say, hey, you know, I accidentally killed this turkey because it's an animal. It's just an animal.
I mean, as humans, we can kill animals and eat them. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, God made animals for protein for us.
Nowadays, it's pretty hard to tell because you see somebody like walking their dog, there's like a diaper on the dog. Look, diapers were made for babies.
I mean, and it's literally, and look, I'm not against you having a pet. I had a pet growing up and I get it. We have three kids. I have no interest in having a pet at this point in my life.
But here's the thing. It's just like, if you're going to feed animals, you know what you do? You feed them the leftovers, the scraps. It's, I'm going to buy a filet mignon steak for my dog.
It's like, no, just let them eat whatever. Right? I mean, literally, people spend so much money on their animals and it's like they elevate animals to the level of human beings.
Here's the problem with it. When you elevate animals, you are naturally going to devalue human beings. So if you ought to look at humans like this and animals here and you elevate animals, the result is you're going to bring down your respect for human beings.
Right? Because this happens all the time. You know, a dog will attack, like pit bulls are very famous for this. A pit bull will attack and kill a human being. They never get put to death.
And people say, well, you know, it's inhumane to harm the animal. The animal's not a human. What do you mean inhumane? It's like, no, it deserves the death penalty.
Not even just that. The Bible says when animals attack humans, they're supposed to be put to death. You say, why? Because God values humans above animals. Why? We're not animals.
The Bible says man is made in the image of God. Go in your Bible to Leviticus chapter 24. Leviticus 24. Leviticus 24.
I guess I'm just thinking of Disney today. I don't know. There's been this desensitization from things such as Disney where going way back, you know, the movie Bambi.
And who's the villain in the movie Bambi? The hunter that kills the deer and is going to end up eating the deer? How's that a villain?
Right? I mean, animals are made to be killed and eaten. And they make the person who has a gun, which there's nothing wrong with that, who hunts and kills the deer.
They make him to be the villain. He's not a villain. It's an animal. Right? I mean, look, hey, if you're a vegan and this offends you, get right with God.
Right? And you can ask my wife, I am very much a fruits and vegetables kind of guy, but I am certainly not a vegetarian. Right?
I like fruits more than meat, but I certainly eat my fair share of meat. And it's like if you want to be healthy, actually you should eat meat also.
I mean, those that are full age. Right? It's like it's time for the meat as the Bible says.
The Bible says in the Big Kids 24 verse 21, And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it. And he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
I mean, if you kill your neighbor's animal, you ought to pay the money to restore it. That's what the Bible says biblically.
But you kill a human, you get put to death. Do you see a very clear difference between animals and humans? You say, why?
Because animals don't have an eternal soul. They're not made in the image of God. Not something for us to worship or bow down before.
And in our culture here, like people don't worship animals in terms of like they do in India or wherever.
But make no mistake about it, people get way overly obsessed with their pets.
And here's the thing, you say, brother, why is it you have no interest in having a pet? Because I've got young children in my house.
I'm not going to risk my dog attacking my kids. And I'm not saying it's wrong to have a pet. And pets can serve a purpose.
I mean, cats are used to get rid of the mice. Dogs are used for protection and stuff like that.
But I'm just saying it's like animals are not at the level of human beings.
So I remember years ago there was this person who was a policeman in the U.S. and he had accidentally left his police dog in the car.
And, you know, it gets very hot when the windows are up and the dog died.
And then people are saying he deserves to be punished with the death penalty for accidentally killing that animal.
It's not a baby. It's not a human being. Now, I believe he should pay for the damage that he did.
Because that's the biblical punishment. But it's not a human being. It's an animal.
And when people elevate animals, make no mistake about it, they devalue human beings. That is just the way it works.
Go to Acts 17.
Say for a second, that offends me. Well, he that's weak eats herbs, right? Isn't that what the Bible says?
Right? I mean, that offends you. I don't know what to tell you. But it's just like in our world today, people elevate animals to a very unhealthy level.
I'm not against you having pets. It's like, you know, it's perfectly fine. I had a pet growing up.
And you know what? Kids love pets. And I get that as a parent. You know, sometimes you'll get pets for your kids to play with or whatever.
But it's like, don't think that that animal is a human being. And don't elevate it to the level of a human being.
It's not a human being. It's an animal. Right? And this is just reality. I mean, when a human being dies, you know what animals will do that are meat-eating animals?
They'll eat the human being for food. That's just a fact. Right? I'm not being morbid. It's just a fact that everybody knows.
Right? I remember there was this case in the U.S. where there was this woman, and she had like a long snake, like a constrictor snake.
And you know, it's like when people are obsessed with pets, it's like sometimes they go to the extremes. And she would sleep in the bed with this snake.
And she said it was her pet, and she would cuddle the snake. And her friends were saying, I don't think it's a good idea to sleep in a bed with a snake.
A constrictor one that will choke you. And then she said, it's been very affectionate recently.
Well, she ended up getting killed by the snake in the middle of the night, because what happens is when snakes are getting affectionate, they're sizing you up to figure out whether or not they can eat you.
And it's like, what a stupid way to die. It's like you're sleeping in bed with a snake that can kill you. You say, what is that called? It's called worshipping animals.
And look, if there's one animal I would never worship, it would be the snake. Right?
Act 17. So number one, worshipping saints is wrong, worshipping relatives is wrong, worshipping animals is wrong, and worshipping idols, venerating idols is wrong.
Idolatry is wicked. Act 17, verse 22.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worshiped, Him declare I unto you.
And around the world, people are ignorantly worshipping God, and they have no idea what they're supposed to do.
And they just follow traditions. It's like, why do you do this? It's what my parents did.
It's like, hey, the Bible says by faith alone, hey, I was born a Catholic, I was raised a Catholic, I'm going to die a Catholic.
If I hadn't heard that like a million times in my life, going out soul winning.
In the U.S. you hear that all the time. It's like, hey, I was born a Catholic, I was raised a Catholic, I'm going to die a Catholic.
Yeah, you're going to die and go to hell. That's the reality. Right?
The Bible says in verse 24, God that made the world in all things that therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
What is it saying? It's saying, if you create a God out of wood and stone and metal and then put it inside of a building,
it's like, look, God is not that idol that you've created. And He's not dwelling inside of that building.
God is everywhere. God is omnipresent. Verse 25, neither is worship with men's hands as though He needed anything,
seeing He giveth to all life and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell in all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation.
And Paul says He's not worshiped with men's hands. We don't have to create God in stone and metal.
And then after a couple weeks of creating an idol, now I'm going to worship it. What?
I mean, can you imagine if you made a robot and then you start worshipping the robot?
You'd be like, what are you doing? You created that. But that's what people literally do with idols.
It's like somebody made that with their hands, and then you worship it, and you're worshipping the creature rather than the creator.
It's like, what are you doing? But around the world, and look, idolatry is huge here in the Philippines.
I mean, you get desensitized after a while, but I remember just being kind of in shock when I first saw it.
I was going swimming on Friday in Pampanga, and I remember I was talking to someone,
and then I saw out of the corner of the eye, out of the house they're in,
I mean, we were in a squatters area, and they had a ton of very big and fancy idols.
And I'm thinking, why don't you use that money for something else? Right? I mean, you could use that money.
And it's like you have the whole communities there gambling and drinking away all their money and spending it on idols.
It's like, man, it's like you could, and I didn't say this to the person, but I'm just thinking, why would you waste your money?
It's like you spend all your money on a dumb piece of metal that has no value. No value at all.
And the only thing that's going to happen is God's going to curse your life. He's not going to bless your life.
Go to Romans chapter 1. Romans 1. Romans 1. And we'll close up here in Romans 1.
And idolatry is a perfect example. Just because something is common does not mean that it's normal.
It is bizarre. It is weird. I did not grow up around idolatry at all in the U.S.
Catholicism's really not that big in the U.S., although I believe it has grown quite a bit in my lifetime.
But it's just like, it doesn't matter how often you see it, it's bizarre.
When you see people carrying their God on their shoulders, that's not normal. That's weird.
I mean, it's like that old video I've seen on YouTube where there's these people at a Catholic church,
and they're carrying Mary on—I think it was Mary. It could have been Jesus. I can't remember.
But they're carrying Mary, a big idol of Mary, and then it kind of slips off the guy's shoulder
because it's like a giant one that they're carrying, and it smashes into the ground.
And it's like, oh! Oh! And you look at all these Catholics. They're horrified. It's like day-gone dying, right?
It's like, our God is dead. What are we going to do? And it's just like, it's a piece of metal.
My God can't accidentally break apart. And you say, well, it's not because people are dumb.
It's because, you know what, you just kind of ignorantly worship whatever you're taught.
Right? I'm sure many people in this room, you went through the motions of being a Catholic when you grew up,
and you just kind of did things, because that's what your parents did.
And you probably asked the question to your parents, why do we bow down before this statue?
Well, that's what our parents did. Right? And you say, well, it's just what we do.
Or people say, well, that's what the Bible tells you to do. And you just assume that's what the Bible tells you to do.
It's like, no, actually, the Ten Commandments, it's like right at the beginning, you know, the Second Commandment,
thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Right?
Anyways, let's close up, though, in Romans chapter 1.
The Bible says this in Romans 1, verse 18.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness,
because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse.
Because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful,
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
And there's a lot of people out there, they think they're wise, they think they know what they're talking about.
They're actually fools. They're doing the exact opposite of what the Bible says.
And change the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,
and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
And around the world, people that are evolutionists will worship animals,
and the process of the Big Bang Theory, and all these things.
And then you've got around the world these religions, and they'll worship animals.
Right? You know, in India, the rat temple is very famous.
And it's not just idols of rats, it's just literally filled with a million rats.
And it's like if you accidentally kill one inside, if you accidentally step on one,
then you've got to buy this gold thing and offer it.
Because otherwise the rats are going to be mad.
Right? And it's like they literally worship animals.
And just about every animal around the world is worshiped somewhere.
Generally what happens in cultures is that in ancient Egypt, crocodiles killed a lot of people at the Nile River.
As a result, let's worship crocodiles so they quit eating us.
And so why do you worship rats? Because the rats and mice are eating up all of our food, so let's worship them.
And it's like in the Bible, it's like they make an offering of, you know, emerods and mice.
Right? I mean, there's nothing new under the sun. Same sort of thing going on.
And the Bible says in verse 24,
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, to the lust of their own hearts,
to dishonor their own bodies between themselves,
who changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen.
All four examples I gave you in this sermon,
whether it is your ancestors, whether it's saints or human beings in general,
whether it's animals or idols, what are they doing?
They're worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator?
God made the animals, and yet people worship the animals.
God made the stone and the metal and the wood that you turn into an idol,
and instead you worship the stone and metal and wood.
God made the human beings, God made your ancestors,
and then you're worshipping what was created rather than the Creator.
And make no mistake about it, when you look at cultures that are heavily involved in this,
they are perverse and very sinful cultures.
It's a fact.
The most obvious example is India because of just their bizarre Hinduism
that has infiltrated their country, and that owns their country basically.
But you look at India, it was voted the most dangerous country in the world for women a couple years ago.
Last I saw, they were number one in child trafficking of any country in the world.
They were number one in infanticide, which is the death of babies after they're born.
Because if the dowry system is upon the woman instead of the man,
so if someone has a girl born, they would sometimes kill them.
And it's like, you look at all these things, and it's like, they're not a godly country.
Now, they're probably the most spiritual country.
I'm not arguing that.
I mean, most people don't have a 500-foot-tall statue of a rat like they do.
That doesn't make them godly because you look at cultures in the Bible,
what the Bible says is they're worshipping false gods, and they're doing abominations.
They're doing wicked things.
Anyway, that's what you see around the world.
The cultures that are worshipping and serving the creature rather than the creator,
they are filled with wickedness.
They are filled with sin.
So look, we should not venerate or worship any human beings or ancestors or idols or animals.
You say, Brother Stuckey, who should we worship?
The Bible says worship God. He is worthy. Why?
Because He created all things.
Let's close in a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today, God,
and I ask you to help us apply this sermon to our lives
and help us to reach our Catholic relatives that are unsaved
and help us to preach the gospel to them.
We ask you to help them be receptive
and help us to say it in a tender and compassionate way
that they do not get offended but they're willing to listen to the truth, God.
And as many people in this room have turned from Catholicism to believe on you,
we ask for many of our relatives to also do the same, God.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. For our last song, let's turn to hymn number 249.
Hymn number 249.
Let's sing the song, same.
Hymn number 249.
Let's sing the song, same.
Ready on the birds.
Sing, sing, sing.
My sings are all for thee.
Christ is mine.
I'm on my way to Him.
Once again,
tis inner loss and none,
now are done.
Oh, God, take her inside.
Save, I take,
through Christ my all in all.
Save, I take,
whatever be before.
Be thine upon thy cross for me.
Be worthy of the penalty
and now I'll take eternally.
I'm saved, saved, saved.
Saved, saved, saved
by grace and grace alone.
Oh, God,
there's love to be was shown
in my sight.
Christ is just there in mine.
Now are my sins
for He was crucified.
Save, save, save,
through Christ my all in all.
Save, I take,
whatever be before.
Be thine upon the cross for me.
Be worthy of the penalty
and now I'll take eternally.
I'm saved, saved, saved.
Oh, Lord, be on compare.
Christ my all
in all.
Save, save, save,
through Christ my all.
Save, save, save,
through Christ my all
in all.
Save, save, save,
through Christ my all.
Save, I take,
whatever be before.
Be thine upon the cross for me.
Be worthy of the penalty
and now I'll take eternally.
I'm saved, saved, saved.
It's great to have Father there. Thank you for your word.
Thank you for allowing us to be in your house as you leave.
Thank you for your word. Be sure to breathe.
Whatever there is, we have to leave.
For your word, there is no way of dying in our hearts.
That's the fellowship and all the things that we're going to be doing afterwards.
In Christ's name we breathe. Amen.
Let's have a short break.