Good.
And
all the
singing
praise
the water
and
three
number three
N.
Three.
Jesus made it all, all to Him I owe.
Sing and let the princes sing,
He was divine and true.
For now and here I find,
Thy paradigm alone.
May it change the leper's heart,
Sing and let the princes sing,
He was divine and true.
For love be good and high,
Whereby thy grace do claim,
Thou art my darkest light,
In the blood of God's hand.
Jesus made it all, all to Him I owe.
Sing and let the princes sing,
He was divine and true.
For it bled me to the throne,
Out of standing room I'll be.
Jesus died my soul to stay,
While I live shall still remain.
Jesus made it all, all to Him I owe.
Sing and let the princes sing,
He was divine and true.
We've got the Churchwide Soul below that,
as well as the Salutations, the Baptisms,
as well as the upcoming Song Schedule,
although that's probably all changed.
So just scrap the Song Schedule.
We're probably just going to play it by ear going forward,
so you can just anticipate that.
It'll be like Christmas morning every time you come to church.
What songs will be seen today?
The Omega Conference over on the right-hand side,
I know some folks went on this morning
with Pastor Bill Jones, right?
Is he good?
Yeah, he's a great preacher.
I've got to see that.
And then of course this Wednesday,
Pastor Aaron Thompson will be preaching.
I'm really looking forward to that.
The shuttle is leaving around the church building.
That taught me a vibe.
There's still plenty of room if you want to sign up.
And then of course you've got next Sunday,
Pastor Bruce Bonilla.
And the following Wednesday,
the pastor goes on to speak.
So if you want to go to English Wednesday night services,
just go ahead and sign up.
We've got the small town soul link to Hagwood Creek.
And on the 22nd, of course,
this is Brother Ray Cooper up in Tennessee
putting that together.
But I can definitely help you get in touch with him
and get you signed up.
Same thing for the Navajo reservation soul link
and do some bowling on this trip.
So I don't know if they have bowling things around here,
but if you've really got a anchor for bowling,
you can just go to the Navajo reservation and do it there.
I don't know if the game of bowling
is worth that much to you,
but you also get to do some soul links.
And you get to see a lot of different parts of Arizona.
A lot of the people don't see you.
When you go on these rest trips,
you're going to see a lot of unique places
and actually a very scenic beautiful country up there.
So everyone just get out.
I can't promise you'd be getting out of heat going up there
because I think it's still pretty warm up there.
But there might be a moment's retreat
as you roll through Flagstaff.
So you can just roll out the window for a few minutes.
Below that, there's the Toronto Soul Link marathon coming up.
If you are interested in participating in that
or in the mission trip on the back of St. Lucie,
just let me know.
And I'll see what we can do for you.
I have 15 to pray for the very Baptist Church members.
This is during the season of the hospital.
We have Dari.
If there are baby John, you have the details there.
It's better than the communion.
Below that, 15 to pray for the expect ladies.
A couple of them have added to the list.
And tonight, we'll be adding chips and salsa after service.
So hopefully you became hungry,
and we'll help fill you up.
We'll help the Soul Link very quickly going back to Friday.
If it's going to be Friday, it's going to be Friday night.
And if it's going to be helping outside the group yesterday,
we're going to do the group today.
All right.
We'll go ahead and sing another song
including the season of the night.
We're going to go to song number 137.
137?
Oh, 138.
138.
And I was confused about the one
because it looks like a very big one.
It looks like a comma.
Turns out the eighth is what I should have been concerned about.
The seventh and the eighth.
So 138.
You heard it here.
The Haven of Wreaths.
Let's say it on the top of your page and on the wrong page.
["The Haven of Wreaths"]
beginning at verse 1.
Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hand
to vex a certain of the church, and he killed James
and brother John with a sword.
Because Jesus saw it, he and the Jews,
he proceeded further to take Peter also.
Then were the days of the leavened bread,
and when he apprehended him, he put him in prison
and delivered it to the four quaternions of soldiers
that he could attend after Egypt,
bringing forth to Egypt.
Peter therefore was kept in prison,
and Herod was made without seeking of the church.
And when Herod would have brought him forth
the same night Peter was sleeping,
between two soldiers, bound with two chains,
keepers before the door, kept the prison.
Behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him,
and the light shined from the prison,
and the smoke hit her on the side,
and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly,
and his chains fell off in his hand.
And the angel said unto him,
Bury thyself, and bind all thy servants.
And so he did, and he saith unto them,
Cast thy garment on Valtu, and followed him.
And he went out, and followed to him,
and went south, that it was true,
that it was done by an angel,
but thought he saw a vision.
When they were past the first and the second floor,
they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city,
which opened to them up the golden floor,
and they went out, and passed on through one street,
before with the angel departed from him.
And Peter was come to himself, he said,
Now I know, assured he, that the Lord had sent his angel,
and delivered me out of the hand of Herod,
from all explanation of the people of Jude.
And he had considered that he came to the house of Nereus,
the mother of John, whose surname was Mark,
where many were gathered together praying.
And Peter knocked at the door of the gate,
and the damsel came to park it, and rode it.
And when she knew Peter's voice,
she opened up the gate, but ran in,
and told how Peter stood before the gate.
And they set up to an hour-and-a-half,
because she constantly affirmed that it was even slower.
Then said they, It is a danger.
But Peter continued knocking,
and they had opened the door of the song to their stars.
The heat beckoned unto them with the hand to hold their peace.
He declared up to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison.
And he said, Go show these things up to James,
and to the brethren, and your party went into another place.
Now as soon as it was day, there was no small skirt among the soldiers,
nor would he come here.
But Herod had sought for him, and found him not.
He examined the keepers, with the matter that they should be put to death.
And he went down from there, to this rear.
And there both, and Herod was highly displeased with them,
with the power of the society.
But they came with one of the poor two of them,
having made blasters.
The king's chaplain, their friend, desired peace,
because the country was nourished by the king's country.
And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in a roar of terror,
sat upon a throne, and made an oration of it.
Then the people gave a shout, saying,
It is the voice of God, not of man,
and merely the angel of the Lord, Samoa,
because he gave not God the glory.
And he was even at work, and gave up the ghost.
But the word of God grew, and multiplied.
And Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem,
and they had fulfilled their ministry,
and took with them John, whose sermon was marked.
But Adam, can you pray for us?
Father, thank you for your goodness, and work with us.
Thank you for all you do, Lord God, I ask you to just
bless everybody here in attendance, Lord God.
Thank you to this church, Lord God.
Bless us, and go by the core of your spirit, Lord God.
Give us a heart of understanding, Lord.
Amen. So I'm going to get into Acts 12, the latter half here,
really beginning in verse 18.
There's just really one thing I didn't have time for
on this last Thursday night when we're going through the rest of the chapter.
I'm going to re-preach the first half.
Of course, we probably, if you were here Thursday,
you already remember that Herod had reached out,
and he's persecuting the church, he's doing all these things.
And then you have this kind of really just amazing story at the end that's just,
you know, it almost seems outlandish, right?
When, at the end there, where Herod is literally eaten of worms,
okay, and this is, you know, one of these,
I think it's a pretty cool story, you know, honestly,
to think about the fact that God is smiting somebody
and seeing them literally eaten of worms.
Now, you could, you know, you could sit there and say,
was that something that happened slowly over time?
But, you know, I believe this is something that happened
instantly and immediately, like,
it wasn't some kind of a festering disease,
but he's giving an oration, and people are praising him and saying,
oh, it's the voice, it's like the voice of God, he speaks like a god,
and he doesn't give God the glory, he kind of accepts that praise.
And finally, that's kind of the straw that just breaks the camel's back with the Lord,
and just, I believe, immediately he's just eaten up in front of the people of worms.
Like, he's just devoured, like it's this miraculous thing.
And then, of course, it ends very well.
It says, you know, but the word of God grew and multiplied, right?
So it's a very, you know, it starts out as a very kind of, maybe a discouraging chapter.
You have Peter being thrown in jail, James the brother of John is killed, he's vexing the church,
but then it has, you know, God taking vengeance on Herod at the end,
and then, of course, as a result, the word of God is growing and multiplying.
You know, God has essentially removed this person out of the way who was hindering the work of God,
and he does it in a very graphic way, in a very demonstrative way.
And, you know, that's a lesson we need to learn,
that there are people on this earth that God will absolutely destroy.
You know, and people sometimes have these misconstrued ideas about the nature of God and what he's like,
you know, and today it's a very popular message to say, oh, God is love, and God is love.
But we have to remember also that God is a God of wrath, that God is a God of justice,
that God is a God of righteousness.
You know, besides this story of him literally smiting a man with worms to being eaten in front of people
as horrific as that sounds, let's not also forget that God is a God who on a daily basis has people cast into hell.
That's the God of the Bible, right?
So God is a God who is just and holy and righteous.
You know, we might not understand everything about God's holiness and righteousness,
and some of the things that we read in the scripture might rub us the wrong way.
There might be some things that we don't like to hear, but you know what?
This is who God is, and when we get to heaven and we have the glorified body and we have the mind of Christ,
we'll read these things, we'll understand these things, and we'll say, amen, even so.
So be it.
We might as well just start learning to do that on this side of heaven, okay?
Understanding who God is.
Because you might read that story and think, man, that's kind of harsh.
Do they really have to go to those great lengths?
Well, let's not forget here that Herod had it coming in the story.
Herod had it coming, right?
Let's just back up, you know, well, I don't even take the time to go through the whole thing,
but let's just consider a few things before you get to that, you know, verse 23 where the angel's smiting him,
and he's being eaten of worms.
Let's not forget what Herod had done previously leading up to this.
One, he's persecuting the church, right?
He's literally persecuting the church, trying to stop the work of God.
It says in verse 1, about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
So he's opposing God's work.
He's going against it. He's literally trying to vex and stop God's church.
He wants the gospel to cease.
Because here's the thing, if the church stops, if the church is quenched, if the church disbands,
then the gospel does not go forth in that region.
If this church were to disband in Tucson, you know, I would hope and pray that there was another Baptist church
that at least has enough sense to go out soloning, but I'll tell you what, they're getting fewer and farther between these days.
They're interested in doing a lot of other things besides the one thing that we've been called to do,
which is to preach the gospel, right?
So if this church in Jerusalem is disbanded, you know, who's going to step up and take up the mantle?
Potentially no one. Perhaps nobody would. Perhaps the gospel wouldn't go forth.
You know, so you can see why God is upset with Herod when he's trying to stop his work,
because though God is a God of wrath and justice, you know, God is also a God of love and mercy,
and he wants people to be saved.
You know, that's why he sent Christ. That's why he wants the gospel preached,
because he is a God of love, because he is a God of righteousness and wrath.
He doesn't want people to go to hell, but you know what?
That's where they'll go if they don't hear the gospel and believe.
That makes our mission all the more important.
You know, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth.
But if there's no one there to preach that truth, if there's no one there to give that message,
that is where they will go. They will go to hell, right?
So when God looks down and sees people that are trying to hinder and vex and stretch forth their hands
and stop a church, God takes note. God marks those people, and those people have it coming.
That's what I get out of this story. Herod had it coming. He's persecuting the church.
Let's not forget also what he did. Verse 2,
And he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
He takes one of the twelve disciples and kills him, and it's probably, you know, like a public execution.
He kills him with the sword. I imagine it was done in front of people, right?
So that's a pretty big one too. It's pretty bad when you're just vexing God's church,
when you're trying to stop the work of God, but now you're literally taking men of God
and you're trying to silence them. You're trying to cut them off.
In Herod's case, literally kill them, okay?
So you can kind of see some of the things that he's doing before you even get to verse 23,
and God has finally just had enough with Herod, and Herod gets what he had coming.
And that's to also not forget verse 3.
And because he saw it please the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.
So he takes Peter, and he casts him into the prison.
So let's quickly recap. What all has Herod done?
Well, he's vexed the church, he's killed one of the apostles, he's killed a man of God,
and he's imprisoning another one, and is determined to do it after Easter, right?
If you read the rest of the chapter, then were the days of unleavened bread,
and he determined after Easter to slay Peter also.
So he's just killing men of God, killing God's preachers, killing God's prophets,
stopping the church. So by the time you get to verse 23, hopefully you're kind of on God's side with things.
You're kind of saying, hey, amen, Herod had it coming.
You poke the bear long enough, don't be surprised when he wakes up and mauls you.
And that's kind of what's going on here in the story.
He's pandering to the wicked. You know, it says there that because it pleased the Jews.
Let's not forget the Jews were the people also that are trying to stop the gospel.
They're the enemies of the cross of Christ, that's what the Bible says.
They're trying to hinder the gospel.
So he's pandering to these people, he's willing to persecute God's church just to please wicked people.
When God looks down and he sees people that are siding with the wicked against the man of God,
against the church of God, God takes note.
And God is not idle.
Now is God going to literally do what he did to people to do to Herod today?
Do I expect to see the enemies of God eaten up with worms?
Not in this life, but the Bible does say that in hell their worm dieth not.
They're going to go to hell where the fire is not quenched and the worm dieth not.
So God is going to eat up the wicked eventually in hell.
And Herod just got a foretaste on the way there.
He got a taste of being eaten by worms on this side of hell.
And then he immediately went to hell and there he was eaten of worms for eternity.
And he's being eaten of worms to this day.
And you know Herod had it coming and really when we look at our world today we can say the same thing about the wicked.
You know there are wicked people today who are doing some of the exact same things that Herod is doing to the church then.
Maybe it's not going as far as killing people, at least you know in America here or elsewhere.
I don't know if it's going on anywhere, but you know it could come to that, right?
The wicked have it coming, that's what we learn from Herod.
Herod had it coming and so do all the wicked people of this world that oppose God, that opposes people, that oppose the gospel.
You see and that's really the thing, you know, why is it that, you know, what's the big deal about this?
Why is it that God is so upset when people, wicked people oppose God's people?
Is it because, you know, we're God's people and we're just better than everybody?
Or is it because God's people have the truth, have the gospel, have the ability to go out and get people saved?
You know that's why God is so upset when wicked people try to hinder God's people.
Not necessarily just because of who we are because we're something special,
but because the message that we bring is the message of salvation through Christ.
And nobody else can bring it, nobody else can do it. We are the ones that have to do that.
When God looks down and sees wicked people stretching forth their hands, slaying and silencing others, God moves. I believe that.
The wicked have it coming, the wicked persecute the righteous.
I'm going to have you move around in a bunch of places tonight, but go to Psalms, Psalms chapter number two, okay?
And, you know, this morning was kind of a lead in to this sermon, honestly.
We talked this morning about how, you know, God's men are hated, right?
You know, people hate, they hated James, they hated the preaching of Peter, they hated the preaching of the apostles, they hated the preaching of the gospel.
You know, preachers are hated, they're hated preachers, not hate preachers, they're hated for the message that they bring.
And this is the message that we've heard from the beginning, right?
First John chapter three, I'll read to you, that we should love one another and not as Cain, who was of that wicked one and slew his brother.
You know, it's a wicked person that would want to just slay somebody else for no reason.
And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous.
That's what we preached about this morning.
You know, the wicked hate the righteous for the message that they bring because it condemns them.
They hated Christ because he condemned them by testifying of their works that it was evil.
You know, and people hate the preaching of God's word, they hate God's people because it shows their own works to be evil.
People hate it today when you stand up and preach the word of God for what it says.
Unashamedly, unabashedly, unapologetically just get up and say, thus saith the Lord, people hate it today.
And they're trying to silence us and they're trying to stop us.
And you know what, if they could, they would run us over and they would kill us just as quickly as Herod killed James.
I believe that. There's people in this world that, if they could, would tear us limb from limb for the message that we bring.
The message of God's word. That's why Cain slew Abel.
Because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous.
The preaching of God's word is a righteous thing. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you.
Look at Psalms chapter 2 verse 1.
So, you know, it's to be anticipated that we're going to be hated by the world.
If we preach like Peter, if we preach like James, if we preach the word of God, if we're trying to do the work of God,
there are going to be people that come up against us that are going to try and stop us in any way, shape, or form they can.
They're going to try and silence us.
And you know, we could get discouraged by that.
You know, we could see some of the things that are happening to our brethren.
We could see some things that maybe we're having in our own lives and that could discourage us.
And we could say, you know, why isn't God eating up these people with worms?
Why isn't God smiting these wicked people that are trying to hinder the work of God?
Why isn't God just, you know, opening up the ground beneath their feet and letting them go alive down into the pit?
Why isn't he doing that?
We could get discouraged.
What we have to remember is that God is in control and that God, you know, eventually will punish the wicked.
Look, the wicked have it coming.
Maybe not in this life, but they have it coming, ultimately.
The Bible says vengeance is mine. I might repay.
No, I will repay, sayeth the Lord.
It's coming.
Look at Psalm chapter 2 verse 1.
Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed.
Look, the Bible says that there are people in this world that literally set themselves against God's people.
They sense themselves and they take counsel together.
They plot, they conspire, they get together, they make plans in order to stop God.
They make plans against the Lord and against His anointed.
And obviously the anointed is referring to the Lord Christ, but you know, we also are God's anointed today.
We have an anointing, an unction from the Holy Spirit, and people are plotting against God's people even today.
And people say, oh, you're not so far out. What a conspiracy.
Look, I'm just reading Bible. I'm just telling you what the Bible says.
I mean, why is this story in Acts chapter 12?
I mean, what significance or relevance does it have to us in 2023 America?
God's trying to show us, look, this is the way it's always been.
Cain slew Abel because his works were righteousness.
Marvel not that the world hate you.
People have been trying to stop God's people since the beginning of the church, and it's not going to stop now.
Has the devil gone away?
Have the workers' iniquity vanished?
You know, have all the workers of iniquity just gotten together and say, hey, let's leave God's people alone and disappear?
No, they're still here today.
The devil is still around. He still has his crowd, and he's still working against the gospel.
Because Satan wants to drag every single soul that he can straight to hell.
How's he going to do that?
By silencing the preaching of God's Word.
He wants to turn as many people in this country against God, get as many people as he can involved in all kinds of iniquity,
make as many reprobate God-hating people as he can in order to drag as many people as he can down to hell.
Okay?
It's still going on.
And the Bible flat out says that there are people that take counsel, and the question is, why?
Why, the psalmist asks.
Why do they rage?
And you can kind of read that and think, you know, is he lamenting this fact?
Like, why do the heathen rage?
Or is it more like, what's the point?
You guys are wasting your time. You're all going to lose.
Why do the heathen rage?
They got what's coming.
They got something coming.
Look at verse 3.
Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their courts from us.
That's what the workers of iniquity say.
They don't like the Bible.
They don't like God's rules.
They don't like the bands that God's word puts on us.
And God's word, it does put bands on us, doesn't it?
I mean, it frees us from sin, but you know what?
There are rules.
God has rules for our lives that we should follow.
And they say, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their courts from us.
I love verse 4.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.
He's going to laugh.
He's going to laugh in the day of their derision.
He that sitteth in the...
That's another Bible verse, by the way.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.
The Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure.
So get the picture.
There's wicked people that are plotting, conspiring, getting together, working against God's anointed.
God's going to literally laugh at them one day.
And then after God's done having his laugh and chuckling at them and laughing and mocking
and ridiculing their efforts and their plans to stop him and to stop his anointed,
after that, he's going to do what?
Speak unto them in his wrath.
And he's going to say, okay, now it's my turn to talk.
That's what God's going to do.
And he's going to speak in his wrath.
You know, God has wrath.
God has anger and vex them in his sore displeasure.
God is sorely displeased with the workers of iniquity.
God is sorely displeased with people like Herod.
God is sorely displeased with people who want to stop the preaching of God's word,
who want to silence God's men, who want to hinder the gospel from going forth.
It makes God angry and he's going to vex them in his sore displeasure.
Look, the wicked, if they could, would kill the righteous if they could get away with it.
I absolutely believe that.
If you would, go over to Matthew chapter number 23.
Matthew chapter number 23.
Look, Herod had it coming.
Herod had it coming for all the wicked things that he did, killing James, imprisoning Peter,
vexing certain of the church, pandering to a bunch of God-hating people.
He had it coming.
He got exactly what he deserved when he got eaten by worms and then went straight to hell.
The wicked would kill the righteous, just like Cain slew Abel.
What was the reason why Cain slew Abel?
Because his own works were evil.
They can't stand it when they see righteous, godly people because it reminds them of how evil they are.
Matthew 23, look at verse 29.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
Because he built the tombs of the prophets and garnished the sepulchers of the righteous
and say if he had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Wherefore, ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children of them that killed the prophets.
You know, I love Jesus' preaching.
Jesus was the hardest preacher that ever lived.
Jesus ripped more face harder than anybody else has ever done in the history of Christianity, in the history of the world.
I mean, I always chuckle when people say, ah, you shouldn't call people names.
And Jesus is sitting there, hypocrites, vipers, devils, publicly in front of everybody.
Right? Thou fool.
These are words that Jesus used.
And he's saying, look, you're hypocrites because you're admitting to me right now that you are the ones that killed the prophets.
Look, the wicked would kill the righteous every chance they could if they could get away with it.
Verse 22, fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
He's like, you deserve it.
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify.
And some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city.
And he's speaking to the Pharisees and that's exactly what they did when Christ ascended into heaven and commissioned the church to go out and preach the gospel.
They persecuted Paul, they persecuted others from city to city.
They were scourging, they were stoning, they were crucifying, they were persecuting the church.
That's why it says when Herod did what he did that it pleased the Jews.
They were pleased by that. Oh, he's persecuting the church, great.
Look, that's what the wicked do.
You take the chains off the wicked, you let them cast off their cords, you let them break the bands asunder and God doesn't do anything, they'll wreak havoc on God's people.
He says, you know what, you're going to persecute them, you're going to scourge them, that upon you, so they are going to do these things, but again, notice, they're going to get what's coming.
Just like Herod, just like the rest of the wicked, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barakas, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
He's saying, you know what, you're going to do all these things and you're going to get exactly what you deserve.
Herod had it coming, the wicked had it coming.
Wicked people have it coming. Look, the wicked people would persecute the righteous to no end if they could get away with it.
And they're persecuting us today just as much as they're able to get away with it.
Go to Romans chapter number 1. Romans chapter number 1. I know this is a new IFB church and we're all real familiar with Romans chapter 1.
Praise God for that. Romans chapter number 1, it says in verse 28, and even as they did not like to retain God and their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, and what else? Murder.
We talked about the envy this morning. How they envy those that are good.
And what does it lead to? Murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient of parents.
Look at the last, look at the end of verse 31. Implacable, unmerciful. Implacable. They cannot be placated. Unmerciful. They will never show mercy.
They would destroy God's people. They're full of murder. They're implacable. They're unmerciful.
You know, and I believe the only thing holding back some of these haters of God, as the Bible aptly calls them, it says haters of God, right?
The only thing holding them back are the reigns of society. The consequences, while they remain, that are holding these people back.
You know, the wicked would literally, I believe, destroy the righteous if they could get away with it.
You know, fortunately, we're not to that point right now. I mean, they have thrown a bomb in a church. Thankfully, no one was in the building and got killed.
You know, it was in the middle of the night. But they, you know, they would wick it. You know, I'm going to keep bringing up the Bob thing every chance I get.
Because people need to not forget that that happened. That needs to get out there. You know, that's why I have to preach like this. That's why I have to constantly bring these things up.
This is me doing something about it. Me putting it out there. Me getting the message. Reminding people that there's wicked people in this world that hate God's people that want to destroy us.
And have even taken certain actions already to that end. And they certainly, if you don't agree with everything I've preached thus far about them wanting to kill and destroy the righteous,
I'm sure many people could at least agree with me that the wicked would imprison as they would Peter or, you know, bring it into our modern vernacular today and say, censor the righteous.
That's really what he's doing imprisoning Peter. Shutting Peter up. And this is something we've already seen in the book of Acts, chapter 4, chapter 5, where they're imprisoning the apostles.
They're putting Peter and John in prison. They're imprisoning the apostles. And they're commanding them not to speak no more in this name.
They're saying, hey, don't preach Christ. You know, and that's exactly what's going on today. People want to, they want to censor this kind of preaching.
They want to censor people that would actually get up and preach the whole counsel of the word of God. They want to censor the righteous.
And here's what I say to that. Use it or lose it, folks. Why do you always got to preach about this stuff? Because if you don't preach about it, you're going to lose it.
If you don't use your free speech while you have it, you're going to lose it. You'll forget you ever had it.
And look, we can't do things, we can't do anything about these private, you know, media corporations like Google and other people who control their platform and can kick us off.
You know, people just cry, oh, what about our rights? You know, our first amendment rights? You know, well, it's a private corporation. It can't do anything.
You know, they can kick us off of the social media platforms. But you know what? This is still the United States of America.
You know, I still have air in my lungs. I still have a King James Bible in my hand. I still have an audience. You know what? I still have the ability to get up publicly in this place and preach the whole counsel of the word of God and say, thus saith the Lord.
Every bit of it, it's all legal, and I'm going to continue to do so, so that it remains that way. That's me doing something about it.
You know, and you can thank every other man of God that does the same. Every other man of God that gets up with a spine in his back and preaches the whole counsel of God, you know, that's him doing something about it.
And every single person that wants to stop them and silence them has it coming in this world or the next.
But I say use it. Jesus said, fear them not therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid that shall not be known.
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light, and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye on the housetops. Let the whole world know.
And in case you didn't know, Jesus spoke every word of this book. Words of Jesus in black. Because every word in this book is in black ink. It's all the words of Christ. Every single one of them.
It's the word of God. You know, that's what he's whispered in secret. That's what he's told us in the dark of the prayer closet, in our Bible reading, in those private moments in prayer, in those private moments of devotion.
The things that we read in this book. He says, go out there and preach it from the housetops. And lift up your voice like a trumpet. And show my people their sins. That's what he told us to do.
Preach it upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body. Oh, but there's nobody like that in this world that would want to kill anybody. Oh yeah, Jesus is just, you know, he's just trying to frighten us.
There isn't actually anybody that would want to kill the body. Right, James? Right, Peter? Right, Jesus? There's nobody that would want to actually kill you for what you preach, is there?
No, that's why he said it. Because there are people that would seek to destroy God's people, that would seek to silence God's people.
And this is why we have to preach and be obedient to that command to preach upon the housetops and not be afraid.
Be not afraid of them which kill the body but aren't able to kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. And that's God.
And I'm not afraid about my soul going to hell. I mean, they could destroy my body. They could come in here and drag me out and, you know, drag, you know, and quarter me and do whatever they want to this body.
And when I die, I'm going straight to heaven. The worst they can do is threaten me with heaven. But you know what? They got it coming. They got it coming because when their body dies, it's straight to hell.
They're the ones that ought to be afraid. Not me, not you, not God's people. It's the haters of God that ought to be afraid. Because God will make good on his threats.
That's what I read in Acts chapter 12. God's not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. God will make good on his threats.
Did I have you keep something in Psalms? Let's look at some Psalms. Go to Psalm 34. We just sang this morning Psalm 139.
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked.
You know, there's some people that don't like that song being sung in church. They hear that. Oh, it's not a very sweet spirit. Well, sorry, it's the Bible. Sorry, that's who God is.
God is a God who's going to slay the wicked one day. You know, God's people need to be reminded of that. You know, we go out there and we get beat down by this world and we get told how wrong we are.
And we get told how off we are and how, you know, we're just a bunch of fanatics and we're just a bunch of, you know, we're just the Christian Taliban and all these other things.
And we get, you know, we take it on the chin, you know, especially the men of God in this movement. We're getting the emails, getting the threats, getting people showing out the doors, having news crews show up knocking on their front door wanting an interview.
Disrupting them at home, leaving voice mails. You know, sometimes God's people just need to be reminded, hey, the wicked have it coming. And God's going to slay the wicked one day.
And if you don't like that, you don't like this kind of preaching, you know, tough. Because there are some people in this building that do. There are some people, you know, and I'm trying to preach to everybody.
You know, and there are some people that need to learn these things, you know, you might have heard these things, you might have read Romans 1, you might have the reprobate doctrine down. You know, there's other people that are new to the church that don't know these things, they have to have them explain to them.
You know, there's other people that need to be encouraged, they need to be reminded, hey, you know what, fear not them which could kill the body but can't touch the soul. They got it coming, not us.
They need to be reminded, they need to be encouraged. And if you don't like it, if you can't stand that, you know, do me a favor and leave this church. And I absolutely mean that.
Because you know what, the last thing I need is to go through my week answering emails, answering voice mails, and having people leave discouraging message after discouraging message about my preaching, about the preaching of my friends, and then come in here and get it from anybody in this room.
And this is the preaching that's going to take place in this pulpit till the day I die, till the day I'm taken out from behind it. This is the kind of preaching that's going to go on.
And if you don't like this kind of preaching, if you don't like this church, if you don't like the people that we associate with, do me a favor and leave. No hard feelings.
Go ahead. Because I don't need it. You know, I'm thinking about just getting a few things off my chest tonight actually. You know, the people in this church need to think about whether or not they really want this church.
You need to really think about whether or not they appreciate this church the way they should. Because I'll tell you what, if enough people leave this church, you know, we're going to have to ask ourselves, what's the point?
What are we doing here? And don't take me wrong. I'm glad for everybody that's in the room tonight. And I know we have a faithful core. I know we have a group of people here that have been with us since the beginning and I believe will be with us through thick and thin.
And I'm grateful for every single one of you. But if there's someone in this room who's on the fence, just remember, you know, if enough of people get like that, who knows what's going to happen here?
Who knows? Don't take this church for granted. You know, be faithful to the services. Be faithful to the soul winning. Help this church.
You know, and I'm sorry, but it's a little discouraging to me, you know, when people, you know, have a problem with me and have a problem with my friends and then sit in this church for months on end. For years, perhaps.
For any length of time. You know, it's kind of discouraging. And it makes me wonder why. And look, if you need something else out of a church, by all means, go find it.
Because let me just, again, put this all out there so we're all on the same page. What kind of church this is. What we're here to do. We're here to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Preaching the gospel. Bringing in people. Helping them learn and understand and grow in the word of God. You know, and if you need your kids to be entertained at some other church, by all means, go.
You know, they're easy to find. www.KJVChurches.com. The number one church finder, locator on the website for KJV churches. There's about a dozen in this city alone.
And you can go there and they can have all their nice programs and they can entertain everybody and they will never preach like this. And you know what? If that's what you want, it's out there.
But if you want someone who's actually going to get up and preach the whole counsel of the word of God and try to encourage us to go out and preach the gospel like we're supposed to and just say, you know, nuts to all the fluff that's out there, you're in the right place.
That's what this church is. You know, and if you're like, well, my kids just need more friends. Well, you know what? Mine too. Mine too. You know, my kids would like some friends too.
You know, and let me remind everybody, my kids have friends or should I say had friends in Tempe where we lived for seven years. And let me remind you, I had friends up there that I saw on a regular basis.
And we left all of that behind to come down here and start this church for the people in this city, for you that are sitting here tonight and for the souls that we're going to get saved through the ministry here.
We left all that behind. And look, I don't count that as some big loss for God. Like, I'm some martyr. Like, put me in the Fox's Books of Martyr. Oh, now I only see my friends once a week for a few hours on Wednesday nights.
Oh, now my kids, you know, they only have each other to play with. Woe is me. You know, I didn't see that in Hebrews 11. But all I'm saying is, you know, that's the way you feel in this church.
You know, we're in the same boat as you. You know, and if we want more friends, you know, let's go win more people. Let's go get that demographic in here.
And again, I'm just getting it off my chest tonight because I just need to. Okay? I'm not interested in entertaining people's children. Let me just come out and say it.
I'm not interested in it. And quite frankly, children get plenty of entertainment without my help. Last I checked, you know, I'm sure that, you know, plenty of children in here, you know, have Xboxes and PlayStations and bicycles and skateboards and toys.
They get to go bowling and roller skating and, you know, I don't need to be your personal event coordinator. I'm here to preach the Word of God. Okay?
Maybe the problem is, maybe if kids come here and are just bored half to death, it's because they're overstimulated, if anything. You know, why doesn't the deacon shoot lasers out of his eyes?
You know, maybe I need to just pull out Roman candles while I'm preaching to wake some people up. I don't know. But that's not going to happen. This is about as entertaining as it's going to get.
You know, maybe one day I'll hop up on top of this thing and preach from there, but it's going to be about 25 pounds from now. That direction.
But, you know, so I just kind of had to get that off my chest tonight. Okay? So hopefully nobody takes that too personally. But, you know, there's been some things brewing and I don't want to think about it all week.
I just want to get it out and just remind everybody what we're here to do. You know, if this church gets small enough, you know, the lease is up in a year and a half.
You know, maybe it's time to go back to old 260 across the sidewalk here. I'm not against that. I'm going to keep preaching like this. I'm never going to stop preaching like this. If you don't like it, you might as well leave now.
This is the word of God. This is what we're here to do. This is a new IFB church. And if you don't like that, you don't want to associate with us, there's the door. No hard feelings.
I would prefer that you left. I don't need any discouragement from the people in this room. I get enough of it out there in the world. I get enough of it, you know, in my 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. I get enough of it.
And I'm going to keep preaching like this and if enough people decide they don't want it and they don't like it and they don't want to associate with us and we just keep getting smaller and smaller and smaller, then I guess less and less of us will just do more and more work.
And you know what? We'll go right back to where we were and we'll just get a smaller space and we'll keep serving God.
Because that's, you know, let me remind you, I know some of you know it, but that's where we started. We started in a room that wasn't any bigger than that foyer. It had more walls in it.
It literally had a television so you could see me 11 feet away. It had a giant screen TV so that you didn't have to do this through a doorway to see me.
What's the preacher preaching about? That's where we started. Up against the wall where I couldn't even back up behind a pulpit. The piano was right there. I could have played the piano and preached.
You know what? I'll go right back to it, folks. If me preaching this way is just going to parse people down and send people running, so be it.
And I'll shrink this church with the preaching of the word of God as small as God deems it. And if it means having to get a smaller space, so be it.
Because you know what? I'm not here to build some giant program to entertain people. To entertain people's kids. And I don't have anything against your kids.
And look, we do fun things. I forgot to mention it in the announcements. I'm going to live stream the Red Hot Preaching Conference this Friday. We're going to have hot dogs, we're going to have popcorn, we're going to have goodies.
So come on down, 4 o'clock on Friday. I can't say publicly who's preaching, but you're not going to want to miss it. I'm going to have the big screen out. Is that enough entertainment for you?
It's going to be some good preaching. At least you get a hot dog out of it. And look, we'll do fun things, but you know what? I'm not going to make that the thrust of this ministry.
The thrust of this ministry always has been and always will be preaching God's word and winning the loss. That's it. That's what we're about here.
And some people are actually encouraged by that. Some people are actually encouraged by this preaching. They actually want to hear it. I'm going to preach to them. I need to hear it. I need to be reminded that God is going to slay the wicked.
Psalm 34, before my little rant there. Verse 21. Evil shall slay the wicked. They got it coming. And they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. Amen.
The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust him shall be desolate. Go to Psalm 37. I'll remind us again of Psalm 139. We sang it this morning. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee.
Am I not grieved with those that rise up against thee?
Look at Psalm 37, verse 12. The wicked plotteth against the just. Oh, you're just out to lunch. The wicked aren't plotting against you. Evil people don't conspire against Baptist churches.
Look, the Bible says the wicked plotteth against the just. And gnasheth upon him with his teeth. Argh, he bites him. It's like a dog. Like an animal.
The Lord shall laugh at him. I love it. God just reminds us, hey, yeah, this does happen. He plots. He gnashes. But you know what the Lord does? He laughs.
Why? For he seeth his day coming. The wicked have it coming. God's just in heaven laughing at these wicked people.
The wicked have drawn out their sword and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy to slay such as be it of an upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart and their bow shall be broken.
They'll get what's coming to them. Just like Herod.
You know, I should have had you go to Psalm 139, but you know, in fact, go there. Go to Psalm 139. You know, we sing that section of verses there, right?
Surely thou will slate the wicked, so on and so forth. That's kind of a new IFB phenomenon. But did you know the old IFB sings Psalm 139? Not the verses we sing.
They sing, and we sing it here too. This is a great song. Verses 23 and 24.
Search me, O God, and know my heart today. Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. See if there be any wicked way in me.
Right? That's a very famous song that you'll hear in old IFB churches. But notice the verses it's following.
It's about a guy saying, hey God, search me. Know my heart. See if there's any wicked way in me. And what did he just get done saying? Surely thou will slay the wicked.
Verse 19. Depart from me, therefore, you bloody men, for they speak wickedly against thee, wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord.
He's saying it to God. I hate them. Don't I hate them, God? Don't you know I hate them? Am I not grieved with those that rise up against thee?
Search me, O God, and know my heart today. You know what? God, search my heart and see. Do I not hate them? Do I not hate the wicked?
You know, it's not enough to just hate them. You know, you gotta let people know. You gotta know that God is going to slay them.
You know, I have to let God's people know that God is going to take vengeance on the wicked. It's my job. What are you doing getting so mad?
What are you doing by hollering and yelling against the homos all the time? And look, I don't think I holler against the homos all the time.
I don't think I do that a lot. Not anywhere near as much as I'd like. You know, I actually made a point this last July, or last June, to not preach against it.
I just said, you know what? I'm not going to have this bunch of fags dictate to me when I'm going to get upset. Because I hate them year round.
Because they're reprobates. Reprobate silver shall men call them because the Lord hath rejected them. Romans 1. God has given them over to a reprobate mind.
A rejected mind. They've been rejected by God. They hate God. They're haters of God. They hate God. I hate them. That's the Bible.
You know, and I made a point. I'm not even going to bring it up this June. I don't know if I made good on that. Does anyone remember? I'm pretty sure at some point I ripped on them.
But I was really trying. You know, I was really digging in my heels and saying, you know, not this June. Let all the other guys. If people need to hear it, there's plenty of other good new IFB churches out there that are ripping face on it.
I'm sure everyone heard a good face ripping sermon on the Sodomites this last June. And I guess I should have done it because now here it comes. All that pent up hatred is just pouring out tonight and you have to sit there and endure it.
But you know what? Some people like to hear it. Some people are actually encouraged to hear someone get up and call the wicked what they are and remind God's people that they got it coming.
Can I at least do that without hair-lipping you? You know, God is going to make good on his threats. That should comfort us.
I mean, isn't that how Acts 12 kind of ended? Harrods eating of worms. Just in front of everybody. Such a great story. Have sweet dreams, kids.
Right? But then what does it say next? And the word of God multiplied. You know, people are like, hey, God's still on our side. Man, we saw James get killed. Peter went to jail.
Yeah, I know he got freed, but it just, you know, certain of the church are being reached forth and vexed by Herod. Herod's just getting away with it.
Our enemies have got the government on their side. The Jews have got Herod in their back pocket. Nothing's changed. It just seems like, you know, nothing's going our way.
Then Herod. And the word of God grew and multiplied. God's people were encouraged when they saw the wicked get what they deserve.
So pardon me if every now and then I need to get up and remind people that God's going to slay the wicked. Because some people in this room actually want and need to hear it.
It should comfort us. Go over to Psalm 58. I love Revelation chapter 3 verse 9 where he's writing to the church in Philadelphia.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet.
God's saying, I'm on your side. Don't worry, I'm going to make them come and worship before your feet. And to know that I have loved thee because thou has kept the word of my patience.
Why is God going to honor the church of Philadelphia in such a way? Why is he going to cause that to happen? To bring the synagogue of Satan to bow down and worship at their feet so that they will know that he loves them, that he loves God's people, and not those that say they are Jews and are not, but do lie.
Why is he going to do that? Because they have kept the word of his patience. Because they have kept his word. Because of some great political exploits they did.
Because of some film they made just exposing all the elites or something. No, it's because they kept the word of his patience.
Because of some great political campaign that they took because of their powerful conservative stance on certain Republican politics. No, it's because he kept the word of their patience. That's why.
God honors those that keep his word with patience. That patiently and consistently preach God's word, that are faithful to God's word. That is who God was honoring there.
I also keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the whole earth, upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth.
You know, would to God that every God-hating, you know, just God-hater, just every sodomite, every God-hating faggot, every just God-hating despiser of those that are good, as the Bible calls them.
Would to God every single one of them were eaten up by worms at this very minute. And I mean that.
And again, if you don't like that, welcome to the new IFB. Welcome to faithful word Baptist church.
You know, and this is what it's been for five years since we started this church. This isn't a new thing.
I've been preaching this way since we started this church. So it shouldn't come as a shock to anybody.
Would to God they were all eaten of worms just like here. Would to God that every wicked person that had it come and got it right now.
But you know what? That's not the way it's going to work. They're going to get it eventually.
Did you go to Psalm 58? Look at verse 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance.
You know, it should comfort us to know that God is going to take vengeance on the wicked.
I'm sure it was pretty comforting to the people back then when they saw Herod get eaten of worms.
There was probably people that said, thank you Lord that you took that wicked man out of the way.
There was probably prayers and exaltation and rejoicing going up to heaven all around because of the fact that Herod got what he had coming.
God's people were rejoicing when they saw the vengeance come down on Herod.
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. That's a King James Bible verse.
The righteous are going to wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. He's just going to stomp right through it.
Who's laughing now, Herod? So that a man shall say, verily there is a reward to the righteous. Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.
You know why you're going to rejoice when you see the vengeance? Because you're going to realize that there is a God that judges in the earth.
That there is justice. And sometimes it seems like the wicked are just getting away with it, and getting away with it, and getting away with it.
But the truth is, is that they got it coming. And that God is a God that judges. And He is going to take vengeance.
Look, when we're there at the end of the millennial reign of Christ, and we're watching the dead be resurrected out of hell for the first time in at least a thousand years.
There's people that are there today that will show up. When we're there at that great judgment. The great right thrown judgment of Christ.
You know what? We're going to rejoice. Rejoice when some wicked sinner who blasphemed God, hated God, worked to God against God's people.
Was a despiser of those that could win that same person on that great day. Which is an absolute reality folks.
It's not some Baptist fairy tale. This is the King James Bible. There's going to be a resurrection of the dead. They're going to stand before God and give an account for the things that they have done.
And they're going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. They might never bow the knee in this life, but that day is going to come where they're going to bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God.
Every single God-hating atheist is going to bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord on that day.
And you know what's going to happen next? They're going to get cast by the angels headlong into hell.
And you know what I'm going to be doing? Rejoicing to see the vengeance. I'm going to say, thou art holy God. Thou art a righteous God. Thou art a God that taketh vengeance in the earth.
Truly there is a reward to the wicked. That doesn't sound fair. Look, they could all get saved. The wicked get saved.
You know, with the exception of the reprobate, because that's literally what it means to be a reprobate. To be rejected by God.
They cannot get saved. That's what that means. They've been rejected by God. They do the things that they do because they have been given over.
God gave them over. God gave them up. Go read Romans 1 tonight. If you're struggling with that, this is your homework assignment for this week.
Go read Romans 1 until you understand that God has rejected certain people in this world.
But you know what? If they haven't been rejected, they'll see people that are going to get cast headlong into hell.
They in all likelihood had a possibility and the opportunity to get saved in this earth.
You know, and it's going to comfort me in that day. It comforts me right now to sit there and think about that.
That God is going to judge the wicked. That the Herod's of this world got what's coming to them.
It comforts me. And I have to believe it comforts other people in this room.
That's why I preach it. And that's why I will never stop preaching it.
Do I think it's going to change, you know, our society? No. I'm not that stupid.
You know, I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but I at least got that figured out.
I don't have such delusions of grandeur to think that my preaching or the preaching of my friends are going to sweep across this nation and start some great revival if people are just going to turn to God.
We're too far gone, folks. Sorry. That's my personal belief.
You know what? I do believe that this preaching helps God's people.
I know it's a comfort to me when I hear preaching like this. That God's going to take vengeance on the wicked. That the wicked aren't just going to get away with it.
Because you know, sometimes we look around and that's exactly the way it seems, doesn't it?
It seems like they're just getting away with it.
We need to be reminded. And we'll be comforted by these things.
Let me close on one last thought. Go to Jude chapter number one.
Obviously the fact that God is going to cast the wicked into hell, you know, that's probably not what you would consider a comforting thought.
And it's hard to explain, but you know, when we're there on that day, we'll understand it.
And we'll agree with it 100%. Even if we struggle with that now because of our limited human perspective, because of the fact that, you know, we see through a glass darkly because we still have this tainted flesh.
You know, maybe we struggle with that now. On that day, we'll perfectly understand it.
And we'll rejoice. We'll say, God is just. God is holy. So be it.
But you know what? It'll comfort us, but you know what it should also do? It should compel us.
The fact that God is going to take vengeance on the wicked ought to compel us to go out and win the lost.
Because the sinner who doesn't get saved is going to face the wrath of God.
Just as much as you and I were. Listen friend, you were going to go to hell until you got saved.
Until someone came and preached you the gospel and you believed, you were on your way to hell.
You know what? And there's still entire, people are just, souls are cascading into hell every day.
What is it? Every four seconds a soul dies?
Every four seconds, someone's slipping into eternity in this world.
Were they saved? The Bible says, few there are that be saved.
Jesus said, broad is the way and wide is the gate which leadeth unto destruction and many there be which go in there at.
Lots of people are going to face the wrath of God.
You know the sad truth is, there's a lot of people that are going to face the wrath of God that didn't have to.
We are not Calvinists here. If we don't go out and preach the gospel, there will be people that go to hell that didn't have to.
If we don't go out and preach it.
Let that sink in.
Because every four seconds, someone's slipping into eternity.
And people, and this has crept into Baptist churches, oh if God wants them saved, they'll get saved.
That's not the Bible.
I thought the Bible said God is willing that all men should be saved.
That He's not willing that any should perish.
That He's the savior of all men.
That's what the Bible says.
It should compel us. Look at Jude chapter 1 verse 22.
And if some have compassion, making a difference.
Oh you're so, you're such a hate preacher.
Well you know I'm just preaching the Bible.
You call it what you want.
And that doesn't, this sermon doesn't mean I'm some compassionist jerk who doesn't care about people. Quite the opposite.
I have a pretty firm grasp and I have a pretty deep faith in the reality of what the Bible teaches.
That people are going to go to hell.
And that's why we started this church down here.
That's why we go out soul winning.
That's why I'm always trying to get people to go.
That's why I'm always preaching on it.
That's why we're doing what we're doing.
Because we have compassion.
It should compel us.
Yes it should comfort us, but it should compel us.
Every sinner is going to hell.
Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
You know some people you just have to have compassion on.
Other people need to be told, hey you gotta be afraid buddy.
You're on your way to hell.
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, present you faultless before the presence of his glory and with exceeding joy.
To the only wise God, excuse me, to the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen.
And you know what Jude, I couldn't have said it any better.
Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer.
Dear Lord again thank you for the word of God.
Thank you for every single bit of your word.
Lord we love your law.
It is the meditation of our heart.
And Lord I pray you'd help us to think soberly about our lives in this world.
Think soberly about what we're doing with our time.
Lord how we're spending it here.
That there are souls in the balance.
And Lord I pray you'd help us not be discouraged as we look around this world and it seems like the wicked are just getting worse every day.
And it just seems like things are going in the wrong direction.
Lord help us never to forget that thou art a God that judges in the earth and that you will judge the heathen and that your name will be known throughout the whole earth.
Pray to help us accomplish that task, to make that name known even now.
We ask these things in Jesus' holy name. Amen.
Alright let's go ahead and sing one more song before we go tonight.
Sing number 129, Rock of Ages.
That song.
Rock of Ages.
In my hand I'll rise again,
Stick me to the cross with thee,
Now thy job is being read,
When my eyes are closed then,
When I rise to want to know,
Let me hold thee on the throne,
Rock of Ages, let me be,
Let me hide myself in fear.
Rock of Ages.