The first thing I want to focus on is there in verse number 9 where the Bible reads,
wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound.
And the title of my sermon this morning is, The Word of God is Not Bound.
Or, for a different title, you could choose, The Word of God is Not Banned.
All right?
They can ban me, but they can't ban the word of God.
He says in verse 10, Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes.
Who are the elect?
Those are the ones who get saved.
Those who believe in Christ.
Those who are justified by Christ.
That they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
What's Paul saying there?
He's saying, the reason that I endure these things, the reason that I'm motivated to keep working and preaching for the Lord,
I'm not doing it for the people who reject the Gospel.
I'm not doing it for the haters.
He's saying, I'm doing it for the elect's sake.
It's worth it for the people who get saved.
In the end, whatever we go through and what the Bible calls our light affliction in this life is worth it.
Now, why am I preaching on this this morning that the word of God is not bound?
Well, in case some of you haven't heard, I was actually preaching on this this morning.
In case some of you haven't heard, I was actually banned from the country of Jamaica.
We had a big missions trip planned for this last week and I was scheduled to fly out on Monday morning.
And when I got to my connecting flight in Atlanta, I was told by the airline that they were not going to allow me into the country of Jamaica.
That I had been banned from entering the country of Jamaica.
Now, regardless of the fact that I personally was banned, the trip was a huge success. Huge success.
Now, let me give you a few stats on this.
There were 39 people that were supposed to be on this missions trip.
37 of them made it to the field.
I think that's a pretty good ratio right there.
The only people who didn't make it were me and my son Isaac.
Everybody else made it to the field.
So 37 out of 39 soul winners made it to the field.
And on a week long missions trip, they had approximately 800 people saved through personal soul winning, either one on one or in small groups.
800 salvations with a team of 37 people in Jamaica.
It's an extremely receptive place.
People are ready to hear the gospel.
Not only do they do personal soul winning, but they also preach to giant crowds in school assemblies.
I saw some video of school assemblies where they're preaching to five, six hundred students at a time.
And they're just getting the gospel out to five to six hundred teenagers as they stand there and listen to the word of God.
Not only that, they preach from classroom to classroom to smaller groups.
Even preaching for as long as an hour at a time.
Sometimes they were given the whole hour and just told teach the Bible for an hour.
So we had people from our church in the schools just teaching the word of God for an hour.
These are just public schools.
So this is in Jamaica.
And then also they even preached in police stations.
They went to literal police departments and preached to the police force.
They preached to the military at a military base.
So I mean just great exploits all week long.
It was an amazing trip.
They handed out over six thousand DVDs and flash drives mainly of our film New World Order Bible versions about, you know, why we need to use the King James Version of the Bible and so forth.
So did me getting banned slow down the mission strip in any way, shape, or form?
Not at all.
Because of course most people made it.
But not only that, all the media attention about me getting banned from Jamaica caused millions of people to hear our message.
And not a single school or a police department or preaching engagement of any kind cancelled.
And that right there proves that it's not the people of Jamaica that didn't want us to come and preach.
Because if so, then our team would have been running into opposition every time they turned around.
But rather, they were welcome with open arms.
Nothing was cancelled except for there was a, we were going to play our film Babylon USA at a university campus.
The left wing university cancelled that engagement.
But all of the actual preaching engagements, they all went forward without a hitch.
And the people received the Word of God with gladness.
And so it was a great trip.
It wasn't slowed down whatsoever.
And in fact, and if you would turn over to Acts chapter 28.
Go to Acts chapter 28.
The book of Acts chapter 28.
Brother Garrett said to me last night, because we were both on the same flight home from Atlanta.
And he mentioned to me that the fact that I got banned actually made people more interested in listening to the preaching.
More interested in listening to the Gospel.
And more interested in watching the DVDs that were handed out.
Now, instead of 39 people going, 37 people went.
But everybody was ready to hear, okay, what's this about?
Because they'd seen it on the front page of the newspaper.
They'd seen it on TV.
They'd heard it on the radio.
And so it actually made people more interested.
That's actually Biblical.
Look at Acts 28 verse 22.
I love this verse.
But we desire, this is the Jewish crowd that's in Rome.
And they're talking to the apostle Paul and they say in verse 22,
But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest, for, what does for mean?
Because.
For as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.
So what are they saying?
The fact that it's spoken against everywhere, that makes us want to hear what you have to say.
You know, we want to hear what you think because we know it's spoken against everywhere.
And then verse 23,
And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging,
to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus,
both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
That's the way life is.
But we do it for the elect's sake.
Right? The ones who get saved.
Go if you would to Romans 8 28.
Romans chapter 8, the famous verse there, in verse 28.
I'll start reading it since it's probably familiar to you anyway.
And then we'll continue in the chapter.
Romans 8 28,
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow.
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brethren,
moreover whom he did predestinate, then he also called, and whom he called,
then he also justified, and whom he justified, then he also glorified.
What shall we say to these things?
What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?
The Bible says.
Now the Bible says in verse 29,
whom he did foreknow.
See, God does not choose who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.
God's willing that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
But God foreknows who will believe and who will not.
And the ones who he foreknew that they would believe on Christ,
he has predestinated them,
he has chosen them a destiny beforehand that they would be conformed to the image of his son.
So he's going to work in their life, he's going to use things in their life,
and all those things will work together for good,
as long as that person loves God,
as long as that person is called according to his purpose,
then it will work together for good.
And if God be for us, who can be against us? The Bible says.
Look at verse number 32.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifieth.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died.
Yea, rather, that is risen again, and is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake were killed all the day long,
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is an encouraging passage, and this is the spirit that we need to have as Christians,
not to fear opposition, not to fear tribulation, not to fear distress.
Look, if God be for us, who can be against us?
Just preach the word of God, just go soul winning, live for God, serve God,
and realize that if God is on our side, no one can stand against us.
No one can stop us.
So why are people so fearful today?
Why do they get so nervous if they would just realize that God's for us?
That's all that matters.
We need to spend more time figuring out whether God's for us.
We need to spend more time figuring out what we can do that will please him than wondering,
oh, I wonder how people are going to react to what I do.
Oh, I wonder what the cost is going to be for serving the Lord.
I wonder what I'm going to lose. I wonder what I'm going to have to give up.
You know, that's a dumb question.
It ought to be, I wonder what God wants me to do.
Because I already know that he will make me more than a conqueror,
and he will work all things together for good.
Now, it's not necessarily that he's going to work things all together for our comfort
or our popularity or our riches,
but it will work together for the greater good of conforming us to Christ's image
and to reaching more people with the Gospel and that his work go forward
and that people hear the Gospel and be saved.
That's what really matters at the end of the day is that God's work goes forward.
Not that we necessarily reach our personal ambitions and goals.
That's not as important. That's on the back burner to God's program.
Go to Acts chapter 8, if you would.
Acts chapter number 8.
We need to have a Romans 8 kind of attitude that doesn't live in fear
but realizes that through Christ we're more than conquerors.
Now, as we study the Bible, we'll see that the more this world tries to stop the Gospel,
the more they try to fight against the truth and fight against the Word of God,
and the more they persecuted God's people, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament,
it just causes God's work to thrive even more.
It's actually a blessing when they fight us.
It's a blessing when they attack us.
Look what the Bible says in Acts chapter 8 verse 1.
And Saul was consenting unto his death.
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church,
entering into every house and hailing men and women, committed them to prison.
Therefore, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word.
So in this time of intense persecution, when havoc is being made of the church,
the result is that instead of all the believers being concentrated in Jerusalem,
they get scattered abroad and then they go everywhere preaching the Gospel.
That was his plan anyway, was to get them out of Jerusalem
and to get them to go to some new places and spread the Gospel in new places.
That was God's will.
And so God used that persecution to get them out there doing what they were supposed to do.
Jump down if you would to chapter 11 verse 19.
It should just be a page or two over.
Acts chapter 11 verse 19.
It continues on the same thought.
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen
traveled as far as Phoenice and Cyprus and Antioch,
preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only.
That was a mistake.
And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene,
which when they were come to Antioch,
spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them,
and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.
Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem,
and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch.
Who when he came and had seen the grace of God,
was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord,
for he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,
and much people was added unto the Lord.
So it starts out with, oh man, intense persecution, lots of opposition.
People are fighting against them and it ends up with much people being added to the Lord.
That's God's plan.
That's how it works.
Go to Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter number 6.
So my son and I, we're at the airport in Atlanta on Monday evening,
and we figure out, okay, we've been banned, we can't go.
And obviously my son was excited.
He kind of has his heart set on going to Jamaica.
He bought his passport out of his own money and had been really looking forward to it.
So I told him, I said, son, I made this commitment to him earlier on.
I said, listen, son, if we get banned from Jamaica,
we're just going to hop on a plane and go somewhere else,
and we're going to continue the mission somewhere else.
So I told Isaac, I said, Isaac, don't get discouraged, you know.
Let's just find somewhere else.
So we hopped on the computer and we started just looking up flights
to all different Caribbean countries, just trying to find the best deal,
because we're already in Atlanta, so we're already halfway there.
So we started searching for the deals, and we ended up going to Aruba.
So we found a flight leaving the next day on Tuesday,
and that night I did a bunch of interviews with the Jamaican radio.
I did another interview in the morning.
I did a live TV interview by video Skype.
So the message was getting out, the truth is getting out,
the Gospel, the Word of God, talking about salvation,
talking about other aspects of hard preaching that people needed to hear,
that I'll get to later in the sermon.
And so we ended up flying to Aruba.
We were only there because it was kind of last minute,
we had to just throw it together.
We were there for a little bit less than three days,
but we ended up getting 11 people saved while we were there.
And not only that, but we gave the Gospel to a ton of people who didn't get saved,
because a lot of people were really willing to listen to the Gospel,
even though most of them didn't get saved right then and there on the spot.
But we were able to do soul winning in Aruba.
We were able to scout it out and spy out the land for a future missions trip,
do that recon.
And you know what?
For those people, those 11 people that we were able to win to Christ,
you know what?
It worked out for good unto them.
They're glad that it worked out that way, because they got to hear the Gospel.
When I was doing all these interviews, because I kept just doing them over the phone
and on the video Skype just as we went,
one of the questions that pretty much every reporter that I talked to
asked me the same question.
They all asked me, so how did you feel when you realized that you were banned?
How does that make you feel?
When you're sitting on the plane and you heard that announcement
how you need to go see customer service,
you pretty much saw the handwriting on the wall at that point.
You know, how did you feel?
And the answer to that question is simple.
I rejoiced at getting banned.
That wasn't because I didn't want to go to Jamaica.
I was excited about being with the team and being with the group
and all that energy and all that excitement and all the great exploits and everything like that.
But honestly, my gut reaction was to rejoice immediately.
Why?
Because that's the habit that I'm in just from years of being in the ministry.
Because that's what the Bible tells us that we should do is just rejoice about it.
Where did I have you turn?
Luke 6.
Okay, before we read Luke 6, listen to Matthew 5.
Matthew 5 verse 10.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Go to Luke 6.22.
Blessed are ye when men shall hate you,
and when they shall separate you from their company.
You know, or what?
Separate you from their whole country.
And shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake.
Rejoice ye in that day, and watch this, and leap for joy.
He's not just using an exaggeration like, oh well, you know, rejoice.
No, he said leap for joy.
Jump up and out like, woo!
Another band!
Yeah!
Bring it on!
Hey, you say that's crazy.
No, you're crazy if you think that Christ's word here isn't true or doesn't matter.
This is the truth.
He said, leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven,
for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Verse 26, woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you,
for so did their fathers to the false prophets,
to the false prophets when they speak well of you.
See, the Bible said in the verse where we started,
and if you would, flip over to Luke 12 since you're already in Luke.
The verse where we started said, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer,
even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound.
Basically, I as a Bible-believing preacher am treated as a criminal, right?
I'm treated as an evildoer.
I'm treated as a criminal where police are escorting me onto planes and telling me,
hey, you've got to leave.
You can't be here.
You can't go to this country.
I mean, think about how many people are allowed to go to Jamaica.
What kinds of people?
Do you really think that only good, righteous people travel to Jamaica?
I'll tell you this.
When I was in Aruba, the local population were very nice people,
and I really enjoyed talking to them and getting to know them and giving them the Gospel.
But I'll tell you what.
A lot of the tourists who were in Aruba seemed like total degenerates.
I was standing there at one point, and I just overheard a conversation of some of these tourists,
and it was the filthiest conversation I've ever heard in my life.
In my life, I've never heard people have such a filthy conversation.
It was two married couples just having the filthiest conversation that you can even imagine,
and I'm just thinking to myself, these people from the United States are degenerate scum,
but there's no talk of banning them, right?
I mean, there's no talk of banning them.
I wonder how many murderers who have murdered their own child through abortion
are allowed to just waltz into Jamaica for whatever the reason.
I wonder how many perverts and how many thieves and just criminals of all types.
I wonder how many just convicted felons can just waltz into Jamaica, no problem, right?
But I am literally treated as an evildoer just for preaching the Bible.
Now, people will say, yeah, but your preaching is not Christlike.
Well, let's see what Christ said in Luke 12, 49.
He said, I'm come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it be already kindled?
That was his attitude.
Hey, what do I care if it's already kindled?
He said, but I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straight until it be accomplished?
Suppose ye that I'm come to give peace on earth?
I tell you, nay, but rather division.
For from henceforth thou shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father,
the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother,
and the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
But that probably would have happened anyway.
But the point is here that the Bible is saying that Christ and his preaching brought division
In the Gospel of John it says there was a great division amongst the people because of him.
His word brings division.
His word cause a fire to be kindled.
And every tree that his father had not planted was rooted up and destroyed, and people were wiped out.
And so this is the Jesus of the Bible.
You say, well, you weren't banned for preaching the Gospel.
You were banned cause you preached other stuff in the Bible.
Well, we're supposed to preach the whole Bible, friend, number one.
But first of all, and if you would, flip back to Leviticus 2013.
Let's go to the dreaded verse that gets me banned.
This is the verse that gets me banned.
Look, make no mistake.
I'm not banned because of anything about me personally.
It's not my personality.
It's not my haircut.
It's not my accent.
It's not the clothes that I wear.
It's not the hobbies that I have.
I'm banned because I preached what the Bible said.
And it's this verse that's got me banned.
Now you say, well, you weren't banned.
Look, I was there to preach the Gospel.
I had no intent of preaching anything about sodomites
because I have better things to do than to spend my life talking about a bunch of filthy homos.
I was going there to preach on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
I was going there to do soul winning.
I was going to stand up in those schools just like I did in Guyana
where I preached at like seven different schools to big crowds.
And I gave the Gospel.
I presented salvation.
I focused on Christ and Him crucified.
But when I'm in the local church here, I'm supposed to preach.
Not even supposed to.
That's not a strong enough word.
I'm commanded to preach the whole Bible, the whole word of God.
And so I preach the whole word of God, and this is why I get banned.
You say, well, why don't other pastors get banned?
Because they don't preach the whole word of God.
And the ones who do will be persecuted, and they will be banned.
Pastor Burzins is banned from South Africa.
So is Roger Jimenez.
So are a lot of other guys.
You get banned when you preach the truth.
Now, here's what the verse says.
Here's what the verse says.
It says in Leviticus 20, 13,
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,
both of them have committed an abomination.
They shall surely be put to death.
Their blood shall be upon them.
Now let me just start out by saying this.
And you can like this or lump this.
If you don't believe this verse, you're not even saved.
You're going to go to hell when you die.
If you don't believe what I just read you,
you're going to hell when you die.
You're going to burn in hell for all eternity.
You're not even saved.
You don't even have Christ as your savior.
You say, how do you know that?
Because the Bible says,
He that is of God heareth God's word,
and you therefore hear them not because you're not of God.
And you know what?
If you don't hear the word of God that I just read to you,
and you say, that isn't right, that's wrong, that's mean,
you know what?
You're not even of God.
You don't even have Christ in your heart.
You're not even saved.
You need to put your faith and trust in the Christ of the Bible,
not the Christ of your own imagination.
And you say, well, how do you say that?
Well, because He that is of God heareth God's words,
and you therefore hear them not because you're not of God.
Christ said that His sheep hear His voice.
And you know what else He said?
He said that anybody who adds to or takes from the word of God
is eternally damned.
You can't cut this verse out of your Bible and be saved.
Revelation 22,
If any man shall take away from the words of the prophecy of this book,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life
and out of the holy city
and from the things which are written in this book.
Now, obviously that's not teaching that you can lose your salvation
because the Bible's crystal clear
that no one can ever lose their salvation
because of eternal life
and nothing can separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
He'll never leave us or forsake us.
It's talking about an unsaved person
who adds to or takes from God's word
loses their opportunity to get saved.
Their part in the book of life,
the place where their name would be,
isn't even there.
He's removed their part out of the book of life.
He's removed their part out of the holy city.
Oh, that place where they could have gone to heaven?
Use that for someone else
because they're not going
because once a person adds to or removes from God's word,
they're eternally damned.
That's what the Bible says.
And you say, well, what if a saved person did?
A saved person will never do that.
A saved person is indwelled by the Holy Spirit
and they hear the voice of the shepherd.
Now, they don't always obey the word of God
because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Amen?
And so, you know, as Christians, we're going to sin,
we're going to do wrong things,
we're going to make mistakes,
but we're not going to say,
oh, God's word is a lie.
When somebody tells me that God's word is a lie
or that the Bible is a lie,
I just walk away and say, well, that person's not saved.
Oh, this person rejects the word of God?
That person must not be saved.
Now, here's the thing.
You say, well, it's just how you interpret that verse.
Well, what language is it in?
Can somebody get me an interpreter?
You know, I thought we all speak English here.
Now, there are over 400 translations in English
that you can buy today,
and you know they all say the same thing in this verse.
You know, the NIV changes a lot of things, right?
The ESV makes a lot of changes.
The Living Bible and the Message
and the New Living and the New American Standard,
they make a lot of changes.
But you know what?
This verse has not changed in any of them.
Look it up.
Every single Bible...
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong,
but I've looked this verse up in like 50 versions.
I've never found a version that didn't teach this.
So, I mean, how do you interpret this?
Even the most liberal Bible societies,
even the most liberal translators,
they all got this verse.
They know what it says.
What does it say?
If a man also lie with mankind,
as he lieth with a woman,
both of them have committed an abomination,
they shall surely be put to death.
Their blood shall be upon them.
Oh, I can't believe you said that.
Well, then get out,
because you're not even of God anyway.
This is a church.
Why are you even here if you're not even of God?
You can't even hear God's word.
Now you say, well, it's just a different interpretation.
Okay, let's say...
Let's try to figure out how...
How are people interpreting this?
Let's try to figure it out.
I mean, we got over 300 people here.
Let's try to put our heads together
and see if we can figure it out.
What are people doing with this verse?
Right?
Now, you say, well,
why don't we just listen to other pastors
preach on this verse,
and then we can see how they interpret it.
Because they won't touch this verse with a 10-foot pole.
You can't even find them preaching on this verse.
So we don't even know what they think.
So let's try to speculate.
Somebody help me out.
What are they doing here?
What else could it mean?
Oh, that's the Old Testament.
Okay, well, you know what?
I believe the whole Bible.
I'm not just going to take my Bible.
All right, get rid of the Old Testament.
New Testament only.
I believe the whole Bible.
Somebody help me out.
What are we going to do with this thing?
Because this verse is getting me banned.
We got to do something with this thing.
It's symbolic.
Wow.
Symbolic of what?
I've never even heard that one.
That's interesting.
We're getting creative.
Oh, God did away with the death penalty
in the New Testament, right?
I've heard that one.
Which is nonsense,
because Romans chapter 13 reiterates the death penalty
and says that the powers that be are ordained of God
and that they don't bear the sword in vain.
And that when they bear the sword,
they're doing what?
They're the minister of God.
A revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
If the death penalty has been done away in the New Testament,
what are they using that sword for?
A spanking?
You know what I mean?
What are they using that sword for?
You know what a sword is for?
It's to put someone to death.
Say, oh, it's done away.
The death penalty's done away.
But the average independent fundamental Baptist,
they say, well, the death penalty's done away with,
except for murder.
That's the one thing.
Well, okay, where do you get that?
How do you just pick that one thing?
How did you pick that?
Okay, but let's just for a moment,
let's just for argument's sake,
let's just say that they're right.
Let's say that they are right
and that in the New Testament,
the death penalty's done away.
Or you could just say in the New Testament,
it's only for murder.
That's it.
Other than that, it's done away.
Does that change the fact that this verse is still true?
That God really said this?
So even if you say, like, okay, that was back then,
but it's done away now,
then wouldn't you have to agree
that at one point on this earth,
God said, kill them?
Right?
I mean, at some point, He said that.
He said, hey, they shall be put to death.
Now, look, I'm not saying that any person should go out
and just kill them,
but this is the law of the land
for the people that are running their country.
They were supposed to go to the judges of the land and so forth.
I'm not saying anarchy.
I'm not saying, you know, as I often get accused of,
of telling people to be violent or anything like that
or to be a vigilante or anything like that,
but you know what?
This used to be the law of the land in America.
In America.
Now, not since the Constitution and all that junk,
but before that, you know, in Massachusetts,
they did this and other places.
So the point is that, you know,
even if you took an interpretation that said,
well, that's Old Testament,
okay, does that mean that Moses was evil?
Does that mean that God used to be evil?
Does that mean that Moses was evil?
Does that mean that the Levites were evil?
Was Aaron evil?
Was Miriam evil?
Were all these people that were worshipping God in the wilderness,
Joshua and Caleb, were they evil people?
Because they all believed this.
They all followed this.
Was David evil when he said,
I love the law of the Lord?
Because David was in the Old Testament.
Were all of God's people,
for thousands of years in the Old Testament,
were they hate preachers?
Were they hateful?
Were they evil, bad people?
They were good people who loved the Lord,
and they're in heaven right now,
and the Sodomites are burning in hell right now.
And you know what?
It's garbage to take a Bible preacher
who preaches something that is stated explicitly in the Bible,
black and white, point blank, and say,
oh, you're hateful.
You're a hate preacher.
You're, you know, you're not like Jesus Christ.
Hey, Jesus Christ wrote this book.
Jesus Christ was the Word of God made flesh.
Now, if you would, go to Psalm 19.
Go to Psalm 19.
And honestly, if you can't handle that verse
because you've been brainwashed by a bunch of music
and a bunch of TV shows
and a bunch of Hollywood movies
and a bunch of magazines,
if you can't handle this verse,
what other verse can't you handle?
What other verses don't you like?
What other verses do you want me to stop preaching?
So that people,
oh, you're turning people away from Christ.
You know what?
If the verse turns people away from Christ,
then let them go to hell then
because if God told me to preach the whole Word of God,
I'm going to do it,
and if it turns people away, then to hell with them.
I'm not going to sit there and say,
well, I don't know, this might turn somebody away,
so I better just disobey God.
The Bible says, oh, let us do evil that good may come.
God forbid.
I'm not going to do evil by censoring God's Word
and not preaching the whole counsel of God.
Oh, that good may come.
And by the way, for every person that this turns away,
it brings two people in.
These bunch of gatheists and phagnostics,
they hated the Lord
before they ever even heard of Stephen Anderson.
They hated the Lord
before I was even a gleam in my father's eye,
and after I'm dead and buried
and my soul is in heaven,
they will still hate the Lord,
and they'll hate somebody else.
So, you know, you sit there,
well, it's turning people away.
Really?
Because it's bringing people in.
That's funny because our church is growing faster
than other independent Baptist churches around here.
That's funny.
If it's turning people away,
why does our church keep growing?
Why do we keep getting more people saved?
How come when I get banned from a country,
I have three times as many listeners on YouTube now
from any country I've been banned from?
Oh, no, it brings people in.
You know what it brings in?
People who are clean.
And you know who it turns away?
People who are filthy.
Did I have you turn somewhere in the Bible?
Psalm 19.
Yeah, this isn't in my notes,
so let me get there myself.
Psalm 19, and, you know,
I was reading my Bible a lot on this trip
because I was sitting on the airplane a lot
reading my Bible.
I was just taking a lot of time
to read up on the book of Deuteronomy,
which is a great book in the Bible.
The fifth book of the law of God.
And as I was reading Deuteronomy,
I thought to myself,
you know what,
Moses is preaching way harder in this book
than I've ever preached.
And even I in my flesh,
like even just from my carnal mind,
my flesh,
I was thinking to myself,
you know, Moses is being too rough here.
That's what I thought.
But then I had to check myself and say,
you know what, though?
But this is God's word.
So he's doing it right.
I need to be more like him.
Even though in my flesh,
you know, it was like,
oh, man, he's preaching hard.
But I'm just thinking to myself,
how can anybody read this
and then think that I'm taking too hard of a stand
when they read what Moses is saying in Deuteronomy?
I mean, that's a harsh book.
But as I thought about that,
something just kind of clicked in my mind.
This verse popped into my head in verse 7
where it says,
the law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul.
Now, what does it mean to convert something?
It means to change it, right?
Like if I converted,
what are the things that are converted?
Convertible?
What did you say?
Yeah, like a file.
Like if I converted a file
from a,
you've got a computer guy here,
you know, from a word document to a PDF.
It's like a file conversion, right?
I take an MP4 and turn it into an MP3.
You know, that's a conversion, right?
I'm making a change.
Something's changing, right?
And if you think about our soul,
our soul is really who we are.
If you think about our body,
that's our physical body,
which includes our brain, by the way.
The Bible talks about the carnal mind
or the fleshly mind.
So we have our flesh or our body,
and that's what we interact with the physical world,
with our bodies, right?
And then we have our soul,
and that's how we interact with one another,
with our soul.
That's our personality.
It's who we are.
And then our spirit is that which interacts with God, right?
And so when we pray,
you know, we need to be in the spirit
because we communicate with God through our spirit.
There's a difference in the soul and the spirit.
Well, the Bible says that the law of the Lord
converts your soul.
And I was thinking about how the word of God,
and specifically the law of God,
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
it actually makes you a different person.
You know what I mean?
Like, you're a different person after you read Deuteronomy
than you were before you read Deuteronomy.
And you talk to people who just don't seem to get it.
It just...
They need a soul conversion.
And I'm not talking about salvation.
People often use the word convert
in regard to salvation.
There's nothing wrong with using that word
because that's a big change too.
I mean, changing from being unsaved
to being saved,
changing from not believing on Christ
to believing on Christ.
But, you know, often there are other conversions
that take place.
I mean, Jesus said to Peter,
When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Peter's already saved.
Jesus didn't pick unsaved disciples
except one that the scripture might be fulfilled,
Judas Iscariot.
But he said to Peter,
When you're converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Right?
So, you know, we need to change, friend.
We in America, we as Christians,
I need to change.
You need to change.
Why?
Because we're not perfect.
We have worldliness in our mind
and we have bad ideas about things
and wrong philosophies.
And what is it that's going to change us?
You know what's going to change us?
The law of the Lord.
It's going to make us a different person.
It's going to convert the soul.
Now, you can apply this to salvation and say,
Hey, faith cometh by hearing,
hearing by the word of God, you know.
But then again, we're not really saved by the law of God directly
because the law of God only gets us halfway to salvation, right?
You know, what gets us all the way there
is learning about the grace of God, right?
Because none of us can keep the law.
So the law is what is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
But then when we get to Christ, we need what?
We need the grace of God.
We need Jesus Christ.
We need the death, burial, and resurrection
to get us saved.
But you know what?
The law of God converts your soul, doesn't it?
I'm a different person than before I read Deuteronomy.
If you would have talked to me when I was 16 years old
before I read the book of Deuteronomy,
I had all kinds of dumb opinions.
But now I've learned what God thinks.
He said the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is sure.
There's no doubt about it.
You don't have to wonder if it's right or not.
It's a sure thing, buddy.
And it makes wise the simple.
It takes people that aren't that smart, and it makes them smart.
The statutes of the Lord are right.
And everybody else is wrong.
There's no counsel against the Lord, the Bible says.
Anybody who speaks against the Lord is wrong.
And the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
You know what ought to be our reaction when we read Deuteronomy
or Leviticus or any of these books?
We ought to get happy.
I don't know about you.
I'm in a good mood after doing some serious Bible reading.
Doesn't it seem like reading a lot of Bible puts you in a good mood?
I mean, read like an hour, and you're in a good mood, right?
It cheers you up.
It rejoices our hearts, doesn't it?
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
I mean, it just opens your eyes.
It's like before that, you see things cloudy.
And then it just lights up your eyes.
You're just like, wow, it all makes sense.
I can see what's going on in the world.
It enlightens the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
Isn't that a great scripture?
So let's go ahead and turn now to Matthew chapter 5.
I'm almost done.
Matthew chapter 5.
Let's get Christ's commentary on Leviticus 2013.
Let's see what Jesus Christ has to say
about this important scripture, Leviticus 2013.
What did Christ think of this verse that he's the author of?
Matthew chapter 5, verse 17 says this.
Because you say, well, it's the Old Testament.
OK, even if it was the Old Testament,
if you're going to condemn me for preaching the Old Testament,
you have to condemn Moses.
You have to condemn David.
You have to condemn Elijah.
You have to say Isaiah is giving Christianity a bad name.
Jeremiah is giving Christianity a bad name.
Ezekiel gave Christianity a bad name.
Moses, Aaron, Miriam, they all gave Christianity a bad name
because they all believed in Leviticus 2013.
And not only that, they even rejoiced when they read it.
They even said, I love it.
They said, it's perfect.
It's clean. It's right.
Isn't that what they all... It endures forever.
Until it stops enduring, you know, because of the New Testament.
Let me explain something.
The New Testament had to do with God making a covenant
with all the believers of the world
instead of just making a covenant with just Israel.
You know, the Old Covenant was with Israel and Judah,
and then the New Covenant is with believers in Christ,
whether they be Jew or Gentile.
OK, that's the New Covenant.
The New Covenant is a change in priesthood.
The Bible says the priesthood being changed,
there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
So we don't have the Levitical priesthood.
We don't have the meats and drinks
and carnal ordinances and divers' washings.
We don't have the animal sacrifices because Christ is our Lamb.
There's a change in priesthood.
But there is not a throwing out of the entire Old Testament.
That's a false doctrine.
What does the Bible say? Matthew 5, 17.
Think not that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets.
I'm not come to destroy but to fulfill.
For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law
till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments
and shall teach men so,
he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
What's the Bible saying?
He's saying don't think that I'm coming to do away with the law and the prophets.
Jesus is saying I'm not here to replace the Old Testament books of scripture.
I'm here to add a New Testament so you can have the whole book.
Now he did replace Old Covenant, Old Agreement, Old Pact with New Covenant,
New Agreement, New Pact.
But when it comes to the scriptures that we refer to as the Old Testament,
they're God's word.
What do you think the apostles were preaching in the book of Acts?
They didn't even have the New Testament yet.
When it says they reasoned out of the scriptures,
that's the Old Testament that they used.
All scripture is profitable.
And until heaven and earth pass, it's profitable, the Bible tells us.
You say well, but what about the apostle Paul though?
Go to Romans chapter 3, there's another doctrine out there that says
well, only what Paul said is for us, right?
They say the dispensation of the church age, the apostle Paul is our guy.
Forget what Jesus said, go with what Paul said, which is weird,
but that's what they believe.
Even the apostle Paul affirms the law of Moses in Romans 3.31.
Do we then make void the law through faith?
So do we just make void the law?
Because he just finished explaining in chapter 3 how we're saved by faith.
We're not saved by the law, we're not saved by our works,
we don't get saved by the righteousness of the law,
but he said okay, so since we're saved by faith,
since we're justified by faith without the deeds of the law,
do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid.
Yea, we establish the law.
So if Paul established the law, why don't we establish the law?
Why don't I establish the law? Why don't you establish the law?
You say well, because it's not popular.
Well, because it gets you labeled a hate group or a hate preacher.
Well, I just rejoice at that.
Well, it stops people from getting saved.
Yea, it really stopped people from getting saved last week, I noticed.
Yea, I noticed it really stopped.
I mean, Garrett, it ruined the trip, right?
The trip was ruined.
800 people got saved!
Thousands more heard the gospel.
Oh, you know, you're turning people away.
Says the guy who barely even gets out soul winning whatsoever, if at all.
These people tell you, well, you know, you're turning people away from the gospel.
Well, how many people have you won to Christ in the last decade?
I wonder what the average church in America is doing for Jamaica today.
To win Jamaicans to Christ.
I wonder what they're doing.
Probably nothing.
But the Bible says we establish the law.
And I'll conclude with this, go to Genesis 50.
So when I was in Aruba, I was out soul winning with my son.
And as we're out soul winning, a guy walks up to me.
And for those of you who don't know where Aruba is, it's a little island country that's right off the coast of Venezuela.
So it's right next to, it's pretty much South America is where it is.
It's like 9 miles from Venezuela.
And in fact, most of our soul winning success was in Spanish.
Because even though the official languages of Aruba are Popumento and Dutch,
everybody pretty much speaks English as a second language except for tens of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela and Colombia who speak only Spanish.
So when I went soul winning, I have my Spanish Bible and I actually was able to give the gospel mostly in Spanish on this trip, believe it or not.
Even though I was in a Dutch speaking country.
But we did give the gospel in English as well.
But I'm out soul winning in this little tiny country off the coast of Venezuela.
And it has like 110,000 people officially and then I think another 20,000 illegal immigrants that aren't on the books.
But we're down there soul winning and this guy walks up to me, an 18 year old guy walks up to me and he's like,
Pastor Anderson, I'm one of your subscribers on YouTube.
So I'm like, cool.
So I started talking to this guy and we were having good fellowship, good conversation.
And he was talking about how he'd seen Marching to Zion, he'd seen After the Tribulation, New World Order Bible versions.
And we were talking and I get like 3 minutes into the conversation with this guy and a car pulls up.
And this guy says, hey Pastor Anderson.
So this car pulls up and the guy in the car, this is what he said to me.
He said, you know Pastor Anderson, he said, you're big on YouTube.
You know, people watch you down here.
But he said, even though what you preach is true, he said, he said, you are turning people away from Christ just the way that you say it.
Is what he told me.
And I pretty much said the same thing, if I'm turning people away, then why is the church growing?
And why are more people getting saved every week and every month and every year?
I mean our church is just reaching people.
What are you talking about?
So I just kind of blew the guy off and rather enjoyed fellowship with the guy who actually wanted to take a stand for the truth.
But I don't know that guy who pulled up in that car, but I wonder how much soul winning he does.
You know, while I'm busy turning people away, I wonder how many people he's bringing in.
Because you know what the Bible actually says, is that he that gathereth not with me, scattereth.
Let me sink that in for a minute.
He that gathereth not with me, Jesus said, scattereth.
He said, he that is not with me, is against me, and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.
You know who's turning people away from Christ?
The Bible says it's the one who doesn't do any soul winning.
You say, well, I don't do any soul winning, but I don't preach any hate, so I'm just kind of neutral.
No, no, no, you're not a neutral, you're a drag on the body of Christ.
I mean, what if my arm just decided to do nothing?
What if my arm just said, you know, I'm not going to hurt the body and I'm not going to help the body?
I'm just going to sort of sit here, like this.
And what if my left leg did the same thing and just said,
you know what, I'm just going to be neutral, I'm not going to go forward or backward, you know.
Okay, look, then I'm going to be going like this, you know,
and I'm just carrying all this dead weight that I'm just lugging around.
And you know what, it's a drag.
It's a drag on the body of Christ.
The Bible says if you don't gather with Christ, you're scattered.
So, how can you accuse someone who's preaching the word of God, soul winning, and reaching people,
and say, oh, you're turning people away?
No, the truth turns people away.
The wrong people.
And it brings in the people.
See, everyone that doeth evil hateth the light.
Neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved,
but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may manifest that they're wrought in God.
And so I talked to this guy for a while, the young guy who's 18 years old,
and I said to him, hey, come to church with me tonight.
I said, I'm going to church, you know, it's just a mile from here, come to church with me.
He said, well, I can't because my dad's a pastor.
So his dad is a pastor of a non-denominational church there in Aruba.
So he said, I got to go over there, but he said, you know, it's great to meet you.
He's excited and everything.
And then I actually, believe it or not, met another guy while I was there too that was saying,
hey, I listened to your sermons, you know, can I get my picture with you, you know.
Look, there are people out there who want to hear the truth.
So focus on them.
He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
And you know what?
Are there people that are never going to get saved through my preaching because I'm too mean?
Probably.
Are there people that are going to say, I'm not going to listen to that guy?
Well, you know what?
You know how those people are going to be reached?
By all the thousands of watered down pastors.
They're going to be great for them.
Think about that.
Because there are a lot of saved pastors who preach the right gospel, right?
They're saved, they believe the right gospel, but they're just like a wet noodle.
But you know what?
There's people that they're going to reach.
God can even use them.
God can use them to reach all the weaklings and softies.
And you know, I don't even want the weaklings to go to hell.
I don't want, you know, I want everybody to be saved.
I don't want anybody to be damned just because they're a sissy or just because they're effeminate
or just because they're a little bit of a coward or a weakling, right?
Look, I want every spineless coward, every little metro dork, I want them all to be saved and go to heaven.
I do.
I wouldn't want them to go to hell just for that.
But you know what?
There's plenty of watered down soft preachers to get them saved.
And you know what?
There's plenty of people that God's using the faithful word Baptist Church to get saved.
But at the end of the day, it's not about, oh well, this works, this doesn't work, this reaches people.
At the end of the day, it's just, well, what does the Bible say?
We'll just do it.
We just do it.
And let the chips fall where they may, right?
So even a lot of our friends, even a lot of people who love us, even people who love our church have said things.
And this is why I'm preaching this sermon.
Because even people who are our allies have said to us, well, next time let's do it different.
Next time let's not announce where we're going to have the missions trip.
Next time let's not do the live radio interviews, Pastor Anderson.
You know, let's just skip that.
Why make a big noise about it?
I'll tell you why.
Because of the fact that it worked.
It was a success in every possible way.
And you say, how are we going to do it next time?
The exact same way.
What are you going to change?
Nothing.
We just need to do the same thing, just pick a new country.
Let somebody else pick up where we left off in Jamaica.
Let's move on.
Let's keep going.
Let's do it exactly the same.
Actually, I changed my mind.
Let's preach harder.
But here's the last verse I want to show you.
And look, this morning's sermon, you know, I can't really speak with a lot of detail about the Jamaica trip
because I wasn't there.
Come back Wednesday night because Brother Garrett is going to give the preaching from experience.
You know, from being there on the ground.
And look, Pastor Joe Major was there and did great works for God.
Many other preachers from our church were there.
I mean, you know, you need to come on Wednesday night and hear the more positive story.
You know, my story is more of a story of being banned and being exiled.
But if you're going to be exiled, you might as well be exiled to a rubai, man.
But, you know, come back and hear about the great works, the great exploits, all the wonderful things the Lord did.
I guarantee you that every person who was on this trip, their life has changed.
And we know that the souls that were saved, I mean, it made all the difference for them.
But Genesis 50 verse 20,
You know, they meant it for evil.
God meant it for good to save much people alive, to give eternal life to many people.
So look, yeah, we suffer trouble as evildoers, even under bonds perhaps.
But the Word of God's not bound.
They can't ban the internet.
Well, okay, let's not give them any ideas, but, you know, they can't ban the whole internet,
because it's their tool to spread their garbage as well.
Well, we'll turn it around on them and spread the truth with it.
They can't ban the Bible, right?
Are they going to ban the Holy Spirit?
Can they ban every born-again child of God?
They can't do it.
And so the Word of God goes forward.
And onward, Christian soldiers, we just keep marching on and doing more for the Lord.
And you know what?
Even if they were to beat us and imprison us and kill us, the Word of God's not beaten.
The Word of God's not imprisoned, and the Word of God can never be killed.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord, and that it's not bound, Lord.
We thank you that it pierces, it pierces the hearts of those who hear it.
That's why they're so afraid of it.
That's why they get so angry.
That's why they gnashed on Stephen with their teeth, Lord.
And we just pray that that Word of God, whether it be John 3.16 or Leviticus 20.13, Lord,
we just pray that your word would be echoed and redounded all throughout this world,
and that everyone would hear your word and tremble before you, Lord,
and drop on their knees and confess their own weakness and their own sinfulness, Lord,
and exalt and glorify you alone.
And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.