you
Good evening, everyone. Welcome back to Faith Award Baptist Church. It's very nice to see you all here for our Sunday evening service.
Find your seats, please, and we'll begin with our singing tonight. Go to hymn 424 in your hymnals tonight, number 424.
O come, all ye faithful, hymn number 424.
We'll let our voices together on that first now, hymn number 424.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. Let's sing it out.
Unto the Lord this evening, hymn number 424.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and be holy for the King of kings. O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him.
O come, let us adore him Christ the Lord.
Sing, fires of angels, sing in exultation.
Sing, all ye idols of heaven.
Glory to God, all glory in the highest.
O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him.
O come, let us adore him Christ the Lord.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee for this happy morning.
Jesus, to thee we all glory in.
Word of the Father, now in flesh of hearing.
O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him.
O come, let us adore him Christ the Lord.
We want to go before the Lord and ask his blessing on the service so I've asked for the fidel Gonzalez and you with his prayers.
Father in heaven, we thank you for Lord Savior Jesus Christ and the opportunity to look up our voices to you in praise this evening, Mark.
We thank you for the beautiful weather, Father. We ask you to feel Pastor Anderson with your Holy Spirit.
Bless every aspect of the Resurrection and let it be edifying to us all.
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen. Right across page 423.
423, join to the world.
Minimums are 400 and 23.
Love your voice on that first sound number 423.
Join to the world, the Lord is come.
Sing it out now.
Join to the world, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare his room
And heaven nature sing.
And heaven, heaven nature sing.
Glory to the world, the Savior reigns.
The hand is unemployed.
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
The Lord's hands and sorrows flow
The Lord to press the ground
He comes to take his blessings home
Far as the curses now
He rules the world, the truth and grace
And takes the nations through
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love
And then we've got coming up this Thursday night
Christmas caroling.
So this is something we do every year.
We've done it for many years now.
It's funny because we started it a really long time ago,
like, I don't know, 16 years ago or something.
And we actually had kind of a bad experience.
And then we didn't do it for a long time.
And I'm really glad that we resurrected this
like 10 years ago or something
because for the last eight, nine years
it's been awesome.
It's been one of our mistakes the first time.
And so this Thursday we meet here at 5.30.
We get organized.
It's super easy.
You get in a group of like 20, 30 people.
So if you're not confident with your singing,
just fade to the back.
It's still going to be a great time for you.
We're singing easy songs.
Oh, come all you faithful joy to the world.
Keep it simple.
Piece of cake.
Everybody loves it.
And then afterward we'll come back here
for a time of fellowship with cookies and milk.
You're providing the cookies, right?
Because we're having the cookie potluck.
We're providing the milk.
And so that's going to be this coming Thursday night.
I hope you'll be there to celebrate with us
starting at 5.30 right here.
And then the bridal shower, that ship already sailed.
But thank you to everyone who participated in that.
We got three birth announcements.
It was a fruitful week.
We've got baby Priscilla.
We got baby Liliana and baby Hannah.
So be sure to congratulate all the families.
We got some beautiful pictures here.
We got all the stats, all the vitals there.
So everything's looking good.
Another thing that's not in the bulletin,
but I'm going to be preaching this coming Friday night
in Spokane, Washington.
So if you happen to know anybody in that Spokane region
or any of the surrounding area,
please let them know.
Anybody out there watching that's from that area,
please show up.
But at Sher Foundation Baptist Church in Spokane,
there's going to be a dinner at 5 o'clock
and then preaching at 7 o'clock.
So pray that that goes well.
I'm going there this Friday.
And I believe that that's about it for announcements.
All right.
Let's go ahead and count up the soul winning
for the past few days.
Going back to Thursday.
Anything to report from Thursday?
Okay.
All right.
How about Friday?
Okay.
All right.
And then Saturday.
Okay.
And then what about today?
Does Brother Scott have a total for his group?
Oh, you got it.
Six for the main group with Brother Scott's normal crew.
Okay.
Gotcha, gotcha.
Got it.
Anything else from today?
All right.
Very good.
Keep up the great work on soul winning with that.
Let's sing our next song.
Come lead us.
All right.
You should find the answer in front of your hymnal
with the two songs.
We'll start with go tell it on the mountain.
If you don't have an answer,
you can raise your hand and you'll receive one.
Sing it on that verse together.
Go tell it on the mountain over the hills
and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
The shepherds that they're watching
or silent once by night
behold throughout the heaven
there show the holy light.
Go tell it on the mountain over the hills
and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
The shepherds fear and tremble when low above the earth
hang out the angels' chorus
that hail the Savior's birth.
Go tell it on the mountain over the hills
and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
Down in the lonely manger
the humble Christ was born
and God sent us salvation
that blessed Christmas born.
Go tell it on the mountain over the hills
and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
That's a good thing everybody.
Flip that sheet over.
We'll sing together.
God rest ye merry gentlemen.
God rest ye merry gentlemen
glad not may you dismay
remember Christ our Savior
was born on Christmas day
to save us all from Satan's power
when we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy
comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
from God our heavenly Father
a blessed angel came
and unto certain shepherds
a tidings of the same
now that in Bethlehem
was born the Son of God by name
O tidings of comfort and joy
comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
near not men said the angel
and the King in the pride
this day is born a savior
of unemergent pride
to free all those who trusted him
from Satan's power and might
O tidings of comfort and joy
comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
the shepherds and those tidings
rejoiced as much in mind
and left their flocks of beating
and tempest storm and wind
and went to Bethlehem
straightway the Son of God to mind
O tidings of comfort and joy
comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
beginning in verse number one
Ecclesiastes chapter 7
a good name is better than a precious ointment
and the day of death than the day of one's birth
it is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting
for that is the end of all men
and the living will lay it to his heart
sorrow is better than laughter
for by the sadness of the countenance
the heart is made better
the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth
it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than for a man to hear the song of fools
for as the crackling of thorns
under a pot so is the laughter of the fool
this also is vanity
surely oppression make it the wise man mad
and a gift destroy it the heart
better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit
be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry
for anger resteth in the bosom of fools
say not thou what is the cause
that the former days were better than these
for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this
wisdom is good with an inheritance
and by it there is a prophet to them that see the sun
for wisdom is a defense
and money is a defense
but the excellency of knowledge is
that wisdom giveth life to them that have it
consider the work of God
for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked
and the day of prosperity be joyful
but in the day of adversity consider
God also hath set the one over against the other
to the end that man should find nothing after him
all things have I seen in the days of my vanity
there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness
and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life
and his wickedness
be not righteous over much
neither make thyself over wise
why shouldest thou destroy thyself
be not over much wicked
neither be thou foolish
why shouldest thou die before thy time
it is good that this
it is good that thou shouldest take hold of this
yea also from this would draw not thine hand
for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all
wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men
which are in the city
for there is not a just man upon earth
that doeth good and sineth not
also take no heed unto all words that are spoken
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee
for often times also thine own heart
knoweth that thou thyself likewise has cursed others
all this have I proved by wisdom
I said I will be wise but it was far from me
that which is far off and exceeding deep
who can find it out
I applied mine heart to know
and to search and to seek out wisdom
and the reason of things
and to know the wickedness of folly
even of foolishness and madness
and I find more bitter than death
the woman whose heart is snares and nets
and her hands as bands
whoso pleases God shall escape from her
but the sinners shall be taken by her
behold this have I found sayeth the preacher
counting one by one to find out the account
which yet my soul seeketh but I find not
one man among a thousand have I found
but a women among all those have I not found
lo this only have I found
that God hath made man upright
but they have sought out many inventions
Thank you Lord for giving us the opportunity to be here today
I just pray that you can bless Pastor Anderson
film with your spirit as he preaches
and I pray that we can all be attentive tonight
I pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen
The title of my sermon this evening
is Tips for a Happy and Healthy Life
Tips for a Happy and Healthy Life
I've got here an article from Gallup
the polling organization called
US depression rates reach new highs
so more people in the United States of America
are depressed than ever before
and if you stop and think about it
we're actually experiencing more prosperity
in the United States than any other previous generation
and yet people are more depressed than ever
this is like the most depressed generation
why is that?
I was looking through the article
and it had some specific things
like saying that women and young adults
are the ones who are really just increasing
the most in depression
you're just seeing the numbers for young people
just going through the roof
for how many of them are depressed
and these are people with serious problems
because these are the questions that they're asking
has a doctor or nurse ever told you
that you have depression
or do you currently have
or are you currently being treated for depression
that's the kind of stuff they're asking
but they're being treated
if a doctor is telling them this
I'm 43 years old
I've never had a doctor or a nurse tell me that
I've never gone through that kind of treatment
maybe you have, maybe you haven't
but obviously these people are pretty upset
I've been upset before
but not to that level
later on it talks about
people who are experiencing loneliness
and depression
so that they can't function
and do their normal duties in their life
for over two weeks at a time
so I mean there's some serious
serious depression going on
in our country
people are sad, people are unhappy
they're not mentally healthy
the rates for mental illness are really high
and so what I want to do tonight
is preach from Ecclesiastes chapter 7
some tips for how to have a happy
and healthy life because
if this is something that's happening all around us
we want to make sure that we don't
fall prey to this as well
we want to have the joy of the Lord
we want to be happy, we don't want to be depressed
and so forth
I'm sure this is something that is affecting
people in our church
and if it isn't now, it will in the future
it's something that we all want
is to be happy in life
nobody wants to be depressed
nobody wants to be sad or down
so I was preparing the sermon
I was making a list of things
and I was just kind of going all over the Bible
just looking for tips on
having a happy, healthy life
and I was just
putting together points and everything
but it seemed like I kept coming back to Ecclesiastes chapter 7
and I'm finding so many good points
in Ecclesiastes 7 alone
I decided to just make the whole sermon
just about Ecclesiastes 7
because this one chapter
has so many great things
for living a happy and healthy life
so point number one is kind of just the obvious
no-brainer point
which is be right with God
if you want to live a happy
and healthy life
you want to know why a lot of people are depressed
is because they're not right with God
now look, obviously there are lots of other reasons
which is why this is not a one-point sermon
yeah, you could be totally right with God
and still get depressed
but if you're not right with God
then trying to fix all the other things
is a waste of time
the first thing you need to fix is you need to get right with God
because look, if you're depressed
and you're not following Christ
the first thing I would say is
well that's the problem
you need to get right with God
because how can you have real joy in your life
how can you have real happiness
if you're not A, saved
and B, living for God
so you got to fix that before you fix anything else
now, obviously I'm not going to spend
a huge amount of time on this point
because we're at Sunday night church
and I'm not preaching to a bunch of backslidden
lame people
I'm preaching to people that virtually
almost all are saved
and are living for God
and are serious about the things of God
but I still need to touch on this point
it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1
a good name
is better than precious ointment
and the day of death
than the day of one's birth
now if you think about it, the day of death is only better
than the day of birth
after a life that's been well lived
okay
and the day of death is only better
if you're saved and going to heaven
right so right away
you want to be saved and living for God
now you keep your finger in Ecclesiastes 7
because we're going to be there the entire time
but flip over if you would
to 1 Peter chapter 1
as well if you want
1 Peter chapter 1
but the Bible said a good name
is better than precious ointment
well what is a good name
well Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 1
says dead flies
cause the ointment of the apothecary
to send forth a stinking saver
so does a little folly
him that is in reputation
for wisdom and honor
so according to the Bible
a good reputation
is a reputation of wisdom and honor
right so a good name
is when you are known for being
wise and honorable
it's a life of integrity
it's a life of doing the right thing
living for God
the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 6
wherein you greatly
rejoice right this is what we want
we want to be happy
we want to have joy so we don't get depressed
and go to the doctor and tell the doctor
we're depressed and have all these problems
that disrupt our lives
you greatly rejoice though now
for a season if need be
you're in heaviness
so even God's people
who are living right and serving God
are going to go through sad times
because that's what heaviness means
he says you're in heaviness
through manifold temptations
that the trial of your faith
being much more precious than that
of gold that perisheth
though it be tried with fire
might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
whom having not seen you love
in whom
though now you see him not
yet believing
you rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory
receiving the end of your faith
even the salvation of your souls
and so what I want to show you from this passage
is that when Christians
when you're saved and you're living for God
even when things are going badly
even when you're going through trials
tribulations, afflictions
and there are seasons where you're sad
you're down, you're upset
still at least rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory
because of the fact that you have Jesus Christ
you have salvation
and you know that you're living for God
and that ultimately God's going to see you through
in the long run
and so the first point
again I don't want to spend a lot of time but
get right with God because you know what
if you're out there as a backslidden Christian
living a worldly sinful life
I'm not surprised at all
if you're depressed
I'm not surprised at all if you're lonely
because that is a recipe
for depression and loneliness
getting out of church and living some
self-centered drunken partying
drug life you are just
virtually guaranteed to be depressed
so you don't even need to just
turn off the sermon right now and get right
with God because the rest of this
point is for people that are actually right with God
okay but number two
so number one you said be right with God
number two and this is
a saying that I often like to use
and that I've said in a lot of sermons
schedule your suffering
okay look what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes
7 verse 2
it's better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting
for that is the end of all men
and the living will lay it to his heart
sorrow is better than laughter
for by the sadness of the countenance
the heart is made better
the heart of the wise is in the house of morning
the Bible is in the house of
mirth you see stupid people
they just want their life to be
all fun and games and
partying and it's just one feast
one party after another
but that doesn't make you happy
okay that's not going to give you real joy
and it certainly doesn't make you a better person
because the Bible says that
sorrow makes a better person
you see true lasting joy
real joy in our hearts real happiness
that will safeguard us against
depression and
being down in the dumps all the time
it's not an absence of sorrow or suffering
right Peter talked about
how even in the midst of trials
tribulations and sadness
we are still able to rejoice with joy unspeakable
okay
absence of pain won't make you happy
absence of suffering
getting everything you want won't make you happy
I'll put it that way
go if you would to Ecclesiastes chapter 2
just a couple pages to the left in your Bible
because look
this article from Gallup
it talks about how the depression
rates are so high and everything
and it kind of guesses at some of the reasons for that
I don't think that they really necessarily get the reasons right
because you know what I've noticed
is that people who get depressed
it's usually because they have everything given to them
their life is too easy
it's too good everything's handed to them
and if you think about it
depression rates are not just going up in the US
they're actually going up worldwide
this article talks about that
worldwide and you know what else is going up
worldwide is prosperity
now look I want to be prosperous
I want our nation to be prosperous
I want our world to be prosperous
I don't want to see people in poverty
and struggling to eat
and going without things
but at the same time if we're going to live in a land of abundance
and plenty we need to know how to live
in a land like that
without getting depressed
okay because you know you look at the
countries that are the highest on the happiness index
right
the OECD happiness index
you know of course it's like Denmark
Sweden all these stupid Scandinavian
idiot places
sorry Scandinavians out there
but you know those are always like oh the happiness index
they're the highest
they're also the highest users of antidepressants
in the world
it was like the same country that was the happiest
popped the most happy pills
you know what's up with that
if they're so stinking happy
then why are they taking so many antidepressants
I'll tell you why because their happiness index
is just really how good they have it
but guess what having it good
doesn't make you happy
people are still depressed
the more of a spoiled brat you are
the more you'll probably tend to get depressed
I'm going to explain why
but look at Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verse 10
and whatsoever my eyes desired
I kept not from them
I withheld not my heart from any joy
so here's King Solomon he has the ability
to indulge in whatever he wants
and that's exactly what he does
he just gets everything he wants
and it says in verse number 10
be there for my heart rejoiced
in all my labor
this was the portion of all my labor
then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought
and on the labor that I had labored to do
and you'd expect them to be like God
where God made everything and said
hey it's very good
but instead of saying it's very good
then he says
it's all vanity and vexation of spirit
you know what vexation of spirit is
it means something that just irritates you
and bothers you
so having everything he wanted
irritated him
bothered him, made him upset
and it was all empty, meaningless
and a vexation to his spirit
verse 11
it says there was no prophet
under the sun
and then if you jump down
in the chapter I forgot to put this in my notes
but he literally says like what four verses later
therefore I hated life
so he gives himself everything he wants
ends up hating life, why?
because getting everything you want doesn't
make you happy
now let me just give you like a little
go back to Ecclesiastes 7
I'm going to give you this little science lesson
that's going to help you understand
why people who are super prosperous
or people living in a prosperous country
like America
are up in this really prosperous generation
where even like fast food places
are begging you to work there for like
$16, $17 an hour
you know why is it
that prosperous people are depressed and down
let me give you a little science lesson
what goes up
must come down
now if we apply this
to biology
and look
obviously we already talked about
getting right with God and the spiritual reasons
but a lot of our mood
and happiness
has to do with chemistry
in our body as well
it's not all just spiritual there's a physical component
to being in a good mood or a bad mood
as well
now from a biological
standpoint our bodies
are constantly trying
to reach homeostasis
our bodies
basically if you put them in a cold environment
what's our body going to do
our bodies going to generate heat
if you put them in a hot environment
what's our body going to do
it's going to cool us down
because our body is seeking equilibrium
alright
and it's the same thing with your moods
if you are
constantly
just hitting that reward
center of your brain
and just indulging in pleasure
after pleasure
your body chemistry will balance that out
by bringing you down
ok
whereas if you go through pain
if you go through suffering
your body will not want you to go too low
so it will actually
release feel good endorphins
to make you feel good
when you're going through pain
and then you end up feeling
bad when you're
indulging in too much pleasure
because your body is trying to bring you down
your body is trying to keep you from getting too hot
feeling cold
too happy
too sad
and so what happens is we have a generation today
that's just constantly
just tickling that reward center
of their brain
it's just constant indulgence
in ice cream
and candy and whatever
and it's just like bing bing bing
now obviously
there are things that are even worse
for just
your brain like how about
things like pornography
ok that's going to just absolutely
destroy your brain
ok that's the stupidest thing you could
be doing is looking at pornography
ok but or
how about this another one drugs
you know you take drugs and you're
just basically just lighting up that reward
center like a Christmas tree
feels so good but then it's interesting
that after people get high
afterward they feel like total crap
there's always going to be
the low after the high
what goes up must come down
so just stop and think about this
fact every time you
enjoy pleasure just realize
that your body is going to
compensate for that by bringing you down
and so if you
over do the pleasure
you're going to be having some serious
lows and things like
drugs and alcohol
and pornography are
obviously just taking this to extreme
levels and they're going to
make you super depressed
super low super down in
the dumps but not only
that just even innocent things
if they're taken to an excess can do the same
thing like I said even just ice cream
and candy and you're just constantly
just indulging in all these feel good
things then you wonder why you're
sad and depressed because your body
is bringing you down this is chemistry
ok this is biology
it's not even a spiritual thing
it's just a physical fact
of the human body
and so therefore you can't just
go through life being happy all the time
feeling good all day every day
it doesn't exist
feeling good all day every day
does not exist
and if you seek that
and you're just like oh I just got to feel good every day
just more ice cream
more candy more drugs
and then video games right you're just
falling on the video game and then you're watching
all these movies and just having all this fun
fun fun fun fun
the people who are indulging
in just so many sweets
and so many games
and so much entertainment
and they end up being depressed
which is ironic
the more pleasure you indulge
in the more depressed you get
because what goes up must come down
now the way to
flip this over and use this principle
the advantage is to schedule
your suffering
go through pain on purpose
then you will feel good afterward
but you want to make it
the good kind of pain
you see here's the thing
if you are going through
pleasure and then afterwards you're all
down and sad and depressed
that doesn't help anybody
you got to schedule
some positive suffering in your life
that's a good kind of pain
that's a good kind of suffering
here's an idea work hard
if you go out and work hard
and you push yourself and work hard
going to your job and working hard
guess what that's going to make you
feel better in the long run
because any pain or suffering
that you go through at your job
your body is going to compensate
by making you feel good
that's the way our bodies are supposed to operate
you know we get hurt
and our body makes us feel good
and then we get the reward at the end of the day
but what we're trying to do in America
in 2024 is cheat the system
and just here
let me just inject pleasure into my veins
let me just drink a bottle of pleasure
here let me just pop these pills
oh just watch this stuff on these devices all day
and just feel good, feel good, feel good
you cannot beat the system
it's impossible to beat
you've got to live life
the way life was intended to live
where you work hard
and then you feel good afterward
so work hard at your job
or how about this
go to the gym and work out
here's the thing, if you go to the gym and work out
news flash
it hurts
running hurts
amen? who agrees with me that running is painful
all day long
of course running is painful
running is painful
jump and rope is even more painful
lifting weights is painful
lifting weights isn't that bad
but
running and jumping rope is painful
whatever
exercise you do
you're pushing your body
afterward you'll feel good
some people have said that exercise or running
it's kind of like the opposite of getting drunk
because getting drunk people are like
they're feeling good and they feel horrible later
exercise you feel bad
and you feel great later
right?
have you ever noticed that after you do a hard
workout or a hard day's work at your job
you're just kind of in a better mood
for the rest of the day or you're in a better mood
the next day? why? it's because of this
idea of what goes up must come down
it's the same thing
and so you've got to
not allow yourself
to just give into this super
comfortable society
in America that just indulges
in too much feasting
pleasure
you've got to every day do things
that you don't like doing
every day
look there should not be a day that goes by
when you don't do something unpleasant
what do I mean by that? either
some kind of a workout
where you push yourself and go through some pain
you eat some vegetables that you don't want to eat
okay?
you do a job, you do some errand
that you don't like to do
we all have chores
we have errands and jobs
that we don't like doing
whether it's a study that you need to do
and look, here's the thing
I hope that Bible reading and praying
aren't painful for you
but you know what, if they are
then that's just even more reason to just do them
you're like oh man
reading my Bible is such a drag
would that
read it twice as much then
because not only are you getting the benefit
of just reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible
but also train in your brain
to not just be indulging in pleasure all day
so that you become super depressed
because you wore out the reward center
of your brain
so you've got to schedule
your suffering, right?
schedule yourself, hey, if it's hard for you
to go to church, good, go to church
do the hard thing, go to church
read the Bible, pray
soul winning is hard, great
do more soul winning, oh that's just so hard
to get to the gym and workout, good
more, you'll be happier
I guarantee you
people who live a disciplined life
and make themselves do hard
things every day, difficult
study, mental
difficult tasks, physical
difficult tasks, spiritually
difficult tasks, those people are
happier people, guaranteed
because when you just indulge in only
fun, like oh I don't feel like doing that
and you only eat what you feel like
you only drink what you feel like
you know what, you're going to be one of these statistics
of people that's depressed
because you have
wired your brain the wrong way
now look down at your Bible, it says
in Ecclesiastes 7.5
it's better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than for a man to hear the song of fools
for as the crackling of thorns under a pot
so is the laughter
of the fool, this also is vanity
now in the previous few verses
he's been explaining look
use sorrow not just continual
feasting and partying and having fun
okay
but here he talks about
the laughter of fools
the people are just stupid and they're just always having fun
always partying
it's always ice cream, booze
drugs, porno, video games
movies, you know just always
out there just indulging
they're stupid people
and here's the thing, their laughter
is like the crackling of thorns under a pot
now what does this analogy mean here
the crackling of thorns under a pot
where's the thing, if you make a campfire
and you throw thorns
like thorn bush
briar type stuff
if you throw it into the fire
it's gonna crackle and pop
and it'll flare up really bright
and burn bright for a minute
and make a lot of noise
but it's not really providing any substantial or long lasting heat
you know whenever you make a campfire
with children
they'll bring you stuff and they'll be like
oh man this stuff burns really well
and it's like pine needles
you know what I'm talking about, I have like dry pine needles
oh man this is the stuff right here
watch this, they throw it in
it's like
you know
and it's popping and it's flaring up
and they're like watch this
they find some dead branch with just so many pine needles
they throw it in
they're like yeah that's what I'm talking about
but here's the thing
I'm gonna ask for like 10 seconds
that's not the stuff
that you want to roast your marshmallows on
okay because you know you want to roast a hot dog
you want to roast the marshmallows
you're gonna need those
mature coals
that are glowing and warm and hot
from a serious log
you know there's been like an actual log
that was actually good fuel for the fire
and here's the thing, you put a big log in the fire
that thing could burn for hours
those pine needles are gonna burn for 30 seconds
and those little crackling
and popping of thorns
you get these like really dry briars
and thorns and all this stuff
you throw the thorns in, yeah they're gonna flare up
and they're gonna crackle and pop
but it's gonna last for 30 seconds
you know what that is, that's the pleasures of sin for a season
just that little
fun
you know you're out there laughing
and partying, the laughter of fools
is like the crackling of thorns under a pot
you know if I'm trying to cook goulash
in the pot
I'm gonna need some real heat
generated by real logs
and some of you, you know the reason that your goulash
isn't cooking
is because you don't have a log under the fire
all you got is a bunch of thorns
and crackling and popping of just your little
yay fun, yay ice cream
you know, yay candy
yay drugs or whatever
sorry to put those in the same category
I'm not saying ice cream is a sin
but you know what, if you're gonna over
look, I think ice cream is great
in moderation
you know what I mean, like
entertainment is great in moderation
but we live in a day
where people are overindulging in these things
constantly and then they're not
willing to go through any suffering
anything is like, oh I don't want to do that
oh I don't feel like, oh I don't want to eat that
you know what I tell my kids too
when my kids don't want to
eat something on their plate that's a healthy
good thing for them to eat and they don't want to eat that
I always tell them, I say, you know
you ever see people at the gym
and they're lifting weights and they're like
they're like
they're like going through pain
and pushing themselves to get that last rep
I always say to them, you know
why don't you bring that mentality
why don't you bring that mindset to the table
and pick up that, you know, let's say it's
Brussels sprout, I love Brussels sprouts
but like, let's say it's a Brussels sprout
you know, you're just like, oh I want more rep
because here's the thing
if you can scream
and strain and go through pain
to put up the barbell
why can't you just like scream
and strain and put down
that vegetable and put that broccoli
in your mouth
right?
because both of them are the same thing
like you're suffering for your health
I mean you're running that last mile and you're just like
you know, it's just kind of like
I gotta get through these last couple of cauliflower
right?
because look man, life
is going to be doing stuff that you don't want to do
eating stuff you don't want to eat
going places you don't want to go
doing jobs that you want to do
I mean imagine if my wife and I just decide
we're never going to do anything we don't feel like doing again
poopy diaper, don't feel like changing it
don't feel like making food
don't feel like going to work today
don't feel like cleaning
don't feel, no, you just do it
well guess what?
when it comes to your meal
you do it
right?
and that's why I try to tell them, I say this is your
bench press right here
eat your breakfast
but it's so funny how that
people are like, well I'll do that in the gym
you gotta take that mentality everywhere
the whole world
is the gym
you're doing reps of diaper changes
you're doing reps with the dishwasher
you're doing reps with the laundry
right?
get your work done
and look I guarantee you that there
I hope not in our church but you know
there could be some lazy housewives out there
maybe listening at home
I know that there would never be any in our church
but you know lazy housewives out there
just letting the place turn into a pig sigh
letting it get all filthy and dirty
cause they just don't feel like
getting up and doing the work
and then they're just
on their phone just looking for another endorphin hit
another endorphin hit
another reward center
is going
right?
that noise needs to be coming
from the oven
the washing machine needs to be going
another load's done
right?
and you're like cha-ching
online gambling
and by the way
why do you think people become
gambling addicts?
because when they pull that
they're getting these little
hits to their brain with a chemical
it's a reward center
dopamine hit
that's what's going on
and so it could be the same thing
with a lot of other things in our lives
we need to schedule our suffering
okay?
and we need to realize that the partying
and fine is a short-lived happiness
like the crackling of
thorns under a pot
we need the big log of
serving God
living an honorable and honest
and righteous and wise life
having real achievements
that's a real log that can go under the pot
I gotta move on for sake of time
point three is
I already talked about it but point three is don't overindulge
so point number one
be right with God
point number two, schedule your suffering
point number three, meaning do stuff
you don't want to do
point number three, do not overindulge
okay? has thou found honey
eat so much as is sufficient
for thee, lest thou be filled
therewith and vomit it
the Bible is telling you look
it's okay to eat honey but don't eat too much
or you're going to puke it up
and you know, those of us who have kids
we've all had that experience
where our kid over does
the candy, cake, soda, whatever
and pukes it all up
who's had your kid puke just simply because they ate too many sweets
simple, we're all
terrible parents
but we've all done it, we've all seen it
and we're like, yup junior that's what I told you
you know that was going to happen
I told you not to overindulge
withdraw thy foot
from thy neighbor's house
lest he be weary of thee and so hate thee
don't overdo stuff
you know, you find a good
humans are just greedy
it's like we find something good
and then we just overdo it
enjoy the honey and moderation
enjoy all the good things of life and moderation
don't go overboard on any
pleasure
okay? you've got to
moderate yourself
number four
you should always be working toward a goal
and stay motivated
be healthy life
right? be right with God
schedule your suffering
don't overindulge and always have a goal
that you're working toward
have something that you're working toward
have a purpose, have meaning
look at the Bible says in verse 7
we're in Ecclesiastes 7
it says surely oppression making the wise man mad
and a gift destroyed at the heart
better is the end of a thing
than the beginning thereof
and the patient in spirit
and so the idea here is
staying with something
and patiently
having a goal
working toward a goal
and achieving something real
instead of just hastening toward
a cheap thrill
or a shortcut to what you want
have an actual long term goal
and actually work on achieving something real
that's another way
to be happy
and healthy
focus on the positive
and don't let
negative things bother you
look I'm trying to tell you how not to be depressed
because look we all have
negative things in our life
we all have circumstances that are bad
and if we focus on those things
and fixate on those things
then we're going to be unhappy people
if you want to be happy and healthy
you got to learn to focus on the positive
I just preached about this recently
what sort of things are true
just what sort of things are pure
what sort of things are lovely
what sort of things are of good report
if there be any virtue
and if there be any praise
think on these things
don't let your mind constantly be on the negative
think about all those good things
and don't focus on negative things
or let them bother you
don't sweat the small stuff
don't let negative things bug you
verse 9 is where I'm deriving this point
be not hasty
be not a spirit to be angry
for anger, resteth
in the bosom of fools
do not be a person
who just gets mad about everything
and you just get upset about everything
just
think about the good things
and don't let every little thing bother you
and by the way
people that are soon angry
people that are hasty
in their spirit to be angry
it's because they already have anger resting
in the bosom
that's why the bible says
be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry
for anger, resteth
in the bosom of fools
because people that just blow up at you
in one second they were already mad
nobody goes from just being
in a good mood, well adjusted
happy moderate person
to just all of a sudden
you knock on their door soul winning
and they're just like
are you cut them off in traffic
and nobody was already mad
you know people are just going through life
just seething
and they're just dwelling
on all the negative things in their life
and then they're just ready to blow up
about everything
every little thing bothers them
but you know what if you're actually a joyful
happy person in general
and then somebody does something to make you mad
you're not going to be quickly angry
you're going to be like this guy cut me off
whatever, who cares
move on
the bible says a merry heart
do with good like medicine
but a broken spirit dry at the bones
keep that merry heart
focus on the positive
this is the day which the lord has made
we will rejoice and be glad in it
and along those same lines
number six don't be pessimistic
don't be a pessimistic person
always looking at
the bad things and always
thinking the worst about every situation
look at the bible says in verse 10
say not thou what is the cause
that the former days were better than these
for thou dost not inquire
wisely concerning this
now there are two reasons why
you're not inquiring wisely
if you ask
why the former days were better than these
number one you're wrong
the former days were not better than these
that's number one you're just wrong
and this is something that a lot
of people in America think right now
they think that things
used to be so much better in America
and that we just have it so bad right now
and you know it's the biggest bunch of bologna
ever because this is like
the most prosperous America has ever been
in history and you know what
especially these kids and young people
try to tell us how easy
it was in the 80's and 90's
and everything folks we were there
and it was not
easier it was harder than it is now
okay so this question
is a stupid question about
why things used to be so much better
they weren't
the olden days have been
romanticized
and the prosperity has been exaggerated
okay and then
you're comparing it to reality
so you're comparing a fantasy about the
80's to a
reality of now it's funny
I saw a picture it said oh you grew up
in the 80's and it showed like
a bedroom that was all like
pink and yellow and blue neon all this
like neon stuff that you would think of in the 80's
and it's like no I grew up in the 80's
it was all like brown and olive green
that's how it really was
everybody's furniture was brown
I was there
okay it was just shades
of brown
shades of dark green
shades of dark yellow
all this neon stuff yeah
but you know what the skating rinks more neon
now than it was then
it's just a fact
you think everybody was just running
down the street just wearing a bunch of like
neon wristbands and neon headbands
everybody's just doing aerobics and neon
outfits that's just on TV
that wasn't real life back then
we didn't know anybody who did aerobics
we didn't know
a single person who did that stuff
okay
but it's like oh man
why did things used to be better
you know what you're just whining and complaining
and being a pessimist about your situation
you're not looking on the bright side
of all the good things
that are going on today
and you're like man why weren't the former
days so much better than these days
number one you're wrong they weren't
and number two even if they were
it's a dumb question to ask why
because we can't go back in time
so you just got to deal with
the world the way it is right now
oh man what can it be like back then
well it just isn't
deal with it
and by the way this is especially true when it comes
to spiritual things
we were lied to in the old IFB
that in the past
America used to just be so
super godly and there were just so
many great churches and so many
great revivals and stuff
and oh the great awakening and the second
great awakening of it go back and look up
those great awakenings and they're a bunch of crap
seriously it's just a bunch of
Pentecostal dumb stuff it's like
it'd be like saying today that like
Billy Graham and
Rick Warren is a great
it's like saying Joel Osteen is a great
awakening or something
I'm not kidding
the past is glorified
and exaggerated how it's just
oh so much revival
hey I think that some of the best
soul winning ever is going on right now
you know I don't
sit around thinking about some church from
the 60s or 70s and all the souls
they got saved I'm looking at
faithful word Baptist church
in December of
2024 doing great works for
God right now getting
people saved right now doing
worldwide missions right now
and look I could pull out a book and read about
some guy in the 1800s doing missions
I could read about a guy in the 1790s
doing missions guess what our results are
bigger and better and I'm not
and that's just not us other fundamental
Baptist all over the world are having bigger
and better results not even just the new
IFP the old IFP
is having great results
compared to even some of the famous
missionaries from 200 years ago
you know the past is being
overly glorified and romanticized
it's a dumb question to ask
why it was better back then it wasn't
okay
and when it comes to prosperity
America is
just objectively
more prosperous right now than it's ever been
and by the way so is the entire rest of the world
if you actually look at hard
data and real numbers
the prosperity levels of the entire
world have gone up over
the last several decades
why because of technology
because of technology so you can sit there
and say like oh man you know
and you see this stuff online all the time don't fall for it
of oh man it was
so easy this is the house that you'd live
in you know one income
back in the 60s a guy
could live in this house on one
income and it was so easy and what happened
to us and blah blah blah
and you know our parents are just
no my friend you're wrong
because you know what I'll prove it to
you okay go and
look at all the houses that were built
in the 50s and 60s in Phoenix, Arizona
somebody just said it
they're small
did you notice that all the houses
that are built in the 50s and 60s are all tiny
and usually they've been
added onto and now they're
way bigger because the original houses
are tiny they're like
800 square feet
okay and let me ask you this
did the people in the 50s and 60s
did they have a smart phone smart watch
laptop internet
subscription here subscription
that look we have all this
technology we got three
vehicles in the driveway we have a house
that's twice as big
and you could look at like oh this is the house
of the richest person in the whole area
and it's like a house that
like tons of people live in now
I mean look at this house just a mile from here
the Peterson who's ever toured the Peterson
house right on the street here right so
that's like a mansion from like one of the
main citizens or whatever
folks
there are a lot there there are probably
thousands of thousands of houses in this city
that are way bigger than that Peterson house
okay so it's like oh yeah
you guess what if you live the life
let's say you had no cell phone
right no computer
no flat screen TV
no internet connection
no get rid of everything that didn't exist
in the 50s right
go back to 50s level technology
on everything
right 50s level technology
on everything drive a car
that did what that car did back then
only one because people didn't have three cars back then
right nobody has two televisions
you know you're not going to have all these different
things that we have
go back to those levels and live that
way and live in your 800
square foot house or 1000 square foot house and you know what
you'll be able to afford it on one income
it's true
and in fact
the mansions that people are living in now nobody
was living in houses like that back then
and so yeah obviously
it was cheaper but there's inflation
we're making more money we have more opportunities
we have more technology we have higher quality
of life we got
the washing machine
and the dryer we got the dishwasher
we got the refrigerator the freezer
we got but look at the
why don't you have a refrigerator and freezer from back then
you know get all get just out of yourself
with all super old stuff
and live at that level
and you could also make it just as easily
as they made it back then
and look I remember when I was
starting out you know and I'm not that old
but when I was 16 years old
okay so that'd be like
1997
I turned 16 and I wanted to
get a job and I'm telling
you I applied at like
every fast food place in the city
and not even one of them
even gave me a call back
okay
you know a clean cut sharp young man
that I was and I went in there
and just filling out application after I
couldn't even get a fast food job
finally I got a job at round table pizza
because I kind of exaggerated on my
resume about my work experience
because I'd worked in the family business
so I kind of made it sound like
I did a lot for the family business
which I did but you know I kind of polished
the apple a little bit
spiced things up on that resume
round table pizza making $5.15
an hour
okay and here's the thing
I had to spend days and days and days
applying in a bunch of places
just to even get any job
and everybody was like fighting
for those minimum wage jobs
to make five bucks in California
okay so it's
not like oh it was just so easy back then
it was so great and then you'd be an
electrician you start out making $8
an hour as an electrician
for an hour for years
you know trying to build up to
10, 12, 14 or whatever
and it's in California
I'm telling you man
yeah things were cheaper
but you also made a lot less money
and so you can sit around
and complain and whine
and talk about how much easier it
was back then
number one you're wrong
number two who cares
you're living now
look on the bright side
quit thinking about what things used to be
so much better either spiritually
or financially
or whatever
you know oh the food
used to be so much more nutritious
and stuff a carrot used to have
100 times as much nutrition
you know what that's a bunch of bologna
I don't believe that for one stinking second
that oh one carrot back then
used to be like 50 carrots now
one tomato back then
50, bologna
because you know what you got
people make it you could go buy
heirloom tomatoes right now
you can go buy those heirloom tomatoes
and you're not just going to become some superman
overnight and look at me I have a six pack
because I ate a bunch of heirloom tomatoes
and no
it's not the way life works
yeah maybe tomatoes are a little
less healthy than they were back then
it's not 50 times depleted
that's absurd
you've been watching too many weird infomercials
I don't believe that stuff
oh the produce
it's all just a shell of its former self
blah blah blah
you can buy all kinds of organic produce
and heirloom produce
and I don't see the people eating it
just having just superhuman
strength and vitamin levels
and just feeling great or something
you eat the heirloom tomatoes
it's exactly the same
okay it's true
I mean I like heirloom tomatoes they're good
I kind of think it's cool how they look like little pumpkins
or something but hey
they're fun
they're fun to chop up and put in your food
and make it look weird but
you know I don't believe this stuff for one second
that oh you know the soil
and that's why you need to buy our vitamin shake
or whatever to fix it
don't be pessimistic
be optimistic why don't you just think
you know what we have a better soul winning
opportunity than anybody has ever had
in the history of mankind that's what I think
I think we have a better soul winning
I mean you got these guys over here
they're going on the internet and getting people saved
on OME TV were they doing that
in the 60s right
hey we're hopping on an airplane
going to Jamaica going to Bahamas
going to these places Guyana
Trinidad we're going to these places
we hop on a plane boom
we're over there we win scores
of people to lord and fly home and call it a week
were they doing that in the 60s
no
and so we have
the internet to reach literally millions
of people with the gospel through the internet
millions of people right
I would say youtube but we don't have
that anymore but we did and it was cool
and we reached
hundreds of millions of people with the gospel on youtube
while we could
did they do that in the 60s
you know we have
all kinds of transportation
computers
internet we have all these abilities
we have free reign
it's totally legal we can march up and down
the street we can knock doors
we can go to mission field we can go
to the Indian reservation we can go to all
these places every door is open
we can do so much soul winning
I don't want to hear about something
from 50 years ago let's do
it now
show don't tell
right
and so don't be pessimistic
spiritually don't be pessimistic
financially you know what
go out work hard you can succeed in America
in 2024 and by the way
yeah you know in the 50s
and 60s California
was really prosperous for like 20 years
there was kind of a special boom or something
post war boom okay
that was an artificial post war boom it wasn't
happening all over the country number one
and number two it was
just a short
live thing and number three
we still probably have a better quality of life
because we have a bigger house
better appliances better electronics
I mean look we hop in our cars
and we can just drive all over the country
it's just no issue
it was probably a lot harder to get across the
country in a car back then I don't think the cars
were as reliable I don't think they're as good
as they are now or get a good gas mileage
as they are now
oh but everything was so cheap
yeah but you also got paid little
you know and you didn't have the amenities
that we have
so you can always find and look
there are going to be people that don't agree with me
be a pessimist then I'm going to be an optimist
and think about how I'm so
happy to be living in 2024
but number seven
don't worry about things that you
have no control over
look at verse 13
consider the work of God
for who can make that straight
which he has made crooked
there are certain things that you just have no control over
if you want to be a happy person
don't spend time
stressing and worrying about things that are out of your hands
only think about things that you can actually control
and
as the saying goes
have the serenity to accept the things that you cannot
change
you've got to be able to do that
which of you by taking thought
can add one qubit under a stature
and taking thought in that context
is worrying
number eight realize
that life is a series of good
and bad days
no one has all good days
no one
look what the bible says in verse 14
in the day of prosperity
be joyful but in the day
of adversity consider
God also set
the one over against the other
to the end
that man should find nothing after
so God has put the day of
prosperity
and the day of adversity one against the other
back to back and you know what I've noticed
some days I'll just be having a really bad day
and I'm just like man this is a bad day
and I'm just like I'm just going to go to bed early
before any more
damage happens because this is a bad day
I just want to say to be over
but you know what I always know
tomorrow is going to be a good day
right
because when you have those bad days
usually it's a good day after and you know what
whenever I have a great day and some huge victory
I kind of brace myself
there's probably a bad day coming
whenever I fix one thing in my life
I'm always just ready for a big problem to pop up
always happens
100% why that's the way life is
God has set the one
against the other the day of adversity
there's this fiction there's this myth
that you're going to live happily ever after
and just be happy all the time
all good I think I even saw a sticker
they're like no bad days
are you nuts
is there am I making that up
or is there a sticker like that
yeah yeah
no bad days you know what
if that's your philosophy you're going to be a real disappointed person
because you're going to have bad days
and again this kind of no bad days
mentality is the same
mentality that says oh I'm feeling
sad better indulge
better eat drink
party better get myself up
up up here let me just inject this
pop this make myself feel good
because I want to feel good good good every day
it's impossible
you are going to go through pain
you say oh I don't want to run
because running hurts too much
you know what I run because not running
hurts too much
oh being on a diet hurts too much
it hurts too much not to be on a diet
let me ask this
you think people that are
200 pounds overweight are experiencing pain
okay do you think people that are
the ideal weight are experiencing pain
yeah in the gym
right and here's the thing
you say oh I can't afford to eat healthy
you can't afford not to eat healthy
because you can't afford the doctor bills
the hospital bills you know what I mean
it's all going to happen to you one way or another
right you're going to suffer
choose your suffering you know
you want to suffer by
go into the gym or you want to suffer
because you have all these health problems
from being idle and overweight
and everything like that you know one way or the other
it's going to hurt
and here's the thing you're going to be sad
and if you if you say no no I'm not going to be
sad because I'm going to take this pill it's going to make me happy
well then you're just going to be sad as soon as the pill wears off
and you're going to be even worse
and here's the thing these people
who take drugs man they're super depressed
why because they got super high
they probably got higher than we've ever been
they probably tagged these
mountain peaks of of joy
that we'll never experience
the very first time they shot up heroin or something
and then now
they're in these depths of
hell that we can't even imagine
except the problem is
that the low is a lot worse than
the high is good it's never worth it
and so you got to realize
that life is a series of good and bad days
if you think that there's anybody in this world
who just everything
is good in their life
it's a facade it's not real
everybody it goes through pain and suffering
the people who are rich
and have all their dreams come true
are miserable people
they're just you know it's
the first world problems
that'll get you
number 9
so we said number 8 realize that life is a series
of good and bad days except both
receive the good and evil from the hand of the lord
number 9
don't respond to every
negative thing that is said to you
or about you
look you want to be a happy person you got to learn
to just let things just bounce right off you
look what the bible says in
ecclesiastes 7 verse 21
so remember all 10 of these points are from
ecclesiastes 7
I was all over the bible when I was writing
the sermon but then I went to ecclesiastes 7
and I was like it's all right here
it says in verse 21
also take no heed
unto all words that are spoken
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee
for often times
also thine own heart knoweth
that thou thyself likewise has cursed others
so the bible is saying
don't take heed to every bad thing that
everyone says about you
if any says something bad about you or to you
let it go
don't worry about it you'll be much happier
look if I wanted to
I could just go every day
this is what I could do if I wanted to be a miserable person
I could go online
I could go to google
I could type in pastor steven anerson
and just choose like last 24 hours
or this week or something
this week
and find all the junk that people are saying
about me this week
and here's the thing
there are so many people talking
so much smack
about me online all the time
and then you want to talk about
most of it's not on google
you go to a place like facebook
or like other social media sites
and it says
right
and so here's what I do
whenever I see people
on my facebook feed
or other social media talking crap about me
what I do is just block this person
now why do I block this person
is because I'm scared
I'm really not scared
it's because I don't want that kind of
negativity in my life
amen
why would I want to go on facebook every day
and see people talking bad about me
and then I'm going to feel like oh I got to defend myself
oh I got to prove these people wrong
or oh man I'm going to sit around and think about it
it's going to bother me
so it's just so much easier to just block that person
if you go to my facebook account
and look how many people have been blocked
it's hundreds
I probably have more people
blocked on facebook than almost any facebook account
I probably have some kind of a record
because I've probably blocked hundreds
and hundreds of people
because I'm just like anybody
who is railing on me
and lying about me, slandering me
criticizing me, attacking me
they just get blocked, I just block hundreds of people
it's because I just
don't want them to be able to say
what they have, no it's because I don't want to see it
because guess what, what I don't know can't hurt me
what I don't know
can't hurt me
right, so how would I even know
if people are talking bad about me
and I don't know about it
then I can be happy
but if I'm just listening to people talk bad about me
all day then that would be vexing
wouldn't it
so here's the thing about that, what does the bible say
take no heed
unto all words that are spoken
you don't have to acknowledge
everything that is said about you negatively
or to you negatively
you can ignore it
and sometimes you just need to block people
unfriend, block
just physically stay away from people
that vex you
and that's my final point actually
number 10
cut toxic people out of your life
okay
so on social media is just one way that you do this
but look
again that way you don't have to take heed
well I got to know what everybody is saying
about me so I can respond to it all
look if I responded to every negative thing
that was said about me over the years
it would be a literal full time 40 hour a week job
just responding
to the criticisms
and it would be a foolish use of my time
and a waste of my life
so therefore I'm just not going to take heed
to all words that are spoken
sometimes I'll address things if I feel like
I need to and sometimes I might do it
even when I don't need to and maybe I'm wrong
or right about when I do and when I don't
but at the end of the day I'm not going to take heed
to all words that are spoken because
it's just going to make me unhappy
and I want to live a happy
and healthy life I don't want to be this
I don't want to be this chick on this article
who's like curled up in the fetal position
because she's so depressed on this gallop article
I don't want to be all
fetal position on the bed
sad depressed
because I'm just taking heed to all words that are spoken
I don't care
ok people can say whatever
they want about me and as long as I don't hear
about it I can be happy
and I can just read my Bible
and I can pray and I can go to church
and I can go soul winning
and I can preach the Word of God and I can serve God
and do great things for God
in 2025 or I
can just sit around thinking about all the
people that are mad at me and all
the bad friends that I've had
or people that have stabbed me in the back
what's the point?
I want to think about things that are true
honest, just, pure, lovely
not going to take heed to every bad thing
that's said about me and also
what does the Bible say? Take no heed
under all words that are spoken
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee
for often times also dine own heart
knoweth that thou thyself likewise as cursed others
look we've all sometimes even said
we shouldn't have been negative when we shouldn't have been negative
and so not only
should we ignore a lot of the bad things
people say about us but sometimes we should
also realize hey forgive them they know
not what they do sometimes it's just people
having a bad day or whatever
and we need to just drop it and let it go
it's going to make you a lot happier
than fixating on the bad
things people say about and to you
lastly
I said this, point 10
cut toxic people
out of your life
verse 26 says this
and I find more bitter than death
the woman
whose heart is snares and nets
and her hands is bands
whoso please of God
shall escape from her
but the sinner shall be taken fire
where she sounds like a real peach doesn't she
whoever this woman is
cut her out of your life
she's more bitter than death
she's all snares and nets
and if you please God
you'll escape from her
look there are some dudes like that too though
there are women like that
and there are men like that
cut them out of your life
cut toxic people out of your life
go if you would to proverbs 25
proverbs 25
you know it's funny
I was criticized
a few times recently for
just being so quick
to just cut people out of my life
right
that's what somebody said about me like
yeah he's just so quick
to just cut people out of his life
and to just be done with people
and you know what I was thinking about that
because you know when I do hear criticisms
I try to think about
you know the validity of them
or is that true or are these people right
you know I'm always kind of examining myself
and I was thinking about
I was thinking about over the years
all the people that I cut out of my life
for being
malicious or toxic
backstabbers
railers people like that
and I went back and I thought about the people that I cut out of my life
and I saw something about it
did I cut any of them out too soon
and I thought about it
and every single instance I thought of
I thought man I should have cut that person out sooner
everyone
I'm looking at
19 years of pastoring
I'm looking at 19 years of pastoring
the people that I have said
that's it I am through with this person
I'm done with this toxic
person
I do not need this fake friend in my life
this friend of me
get this person out of my life
every single instance I look back at I'm just like
man I should have done that so much sooner
never am I like oh I was a little
too hasty there
not even once
can't even think of a single example
and here's the thing about that
part of the reason why I'm
I've not been hasty to do that
is because of the fact I'm always giving people the benefit of the doubt
even to a fault
where people have to take me aside a lot
and be like Pastor Anderson can you wake up
and smell the coffee this person is your enemy
this person hates you
no no I think he's a good guy
no
people have to like
you know try to
get through to me on this because I see
the world through rosy colored
glasses I am optimistic
to a fault
anybody who actually knows me in real life
knows that this is true just ask my wife
if this is true she'll be like
yeah he's ridiculously
optimistic you know
and so my wife has to try to like
you know bring me to reality sometimes
on these things because I'm always
just like giving everybody the benefit of the doubt
so much benefit of the doubt but here's the thing
but then once once somebody crosses that
line where I know that they're a rotten person
I know that they're a fake friend
I know that they're a back stabbing
jerk then I'm just
done with that person
because I've already been patient
I've already given the benefit of the doubt
but the point is am I hasty
to get toxic people out of my life
absolutely as soon
as I know that someone's toxic
I'm done with that person and it's like a light switch
and I don't regret
any person that I've cut out of my life
I look back at the people that I've cut out of my life
people that I've said
I'm not going to be your friend anymore
I'm done with you
I don't want to have anything to do with you again
people that I've just said lose my number
and I don't regret any of it
I'm just like man I should have done that
like six months earlier
okay
and so yeah cut toxic people out of your life
why
because life is too short to be surrounded
by wicked people
surrounded by backstabbers
or how about this just to be surrounded by people
who don't love you
you know it's like I only have so much friendship
to go around I'm only going to use it
on people who actually love me
so that my love is reciprocated
you know I don't want to sit here
and have friends that I'm
treating as a friend and loving them
and then they're conniving and backstabbing
and talking about it's like I don't have time
for people like that life's too short
to mess with people like that and we only have so much friendship
to go around
we only have so much time to deal with people
might as well spend our time with people
that actually love us and care about us
and that are actually adding
value to our lives and adding spiritual value
to our lives
then tearing us down and dragging us down
okay
look at the Bible says in Proverbs 25 verse 18
a man that beareth false witness against his neighbor
is a maul
and a sword and a sharp arrow
get rid of these people
and you don't want these people around
they're not helping you they're not adding value to your life
and then look at verse 19 the next verse
confidence in an unfaithful man
in time of trouble
is like a broken tooth
and a foot out of joint
right that's your fake friend
that's not there for you when you need them
they're like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint
when you put your confidence
in an unfaithful person in the time of trouble
and guess what a friend in need
is a friend indeed
a friend love it
at all times
and a brother is born for adversity
if you have friends that are only your friends
when you're an asset unto them
when things are going good in your life
that's not a real friend
you're wasting your time investing in that friendship
right because a real friend
is there for you
when you're a liability
when you're going through bad times
when you're going through hard times
that's when you need the friend to be there
you're there for someone
and then all of a sudden you're like
okay now I need help and they're like
sorry see you sucker
you kind of realize like okay
I see how that friendship was
and at that point you move on
you know
you just you don't need
false witnesses in your life
you don't need railers
backstabbers gossips in your life
you don't need people
where you're going to put your confidence in them
and they're going to let you down
you know you don't need those kind of people in your life
and you say well how do I know
how do I know if my friends are like
well here's a tip
here's one way that you can identify
gossiping backstabbers
is that if people are gossiping about other people to you
and backstabbing others to you
they're probably doing the same thing about you
to other people
so when people are coming up to you
and talking trash about and giving you all this personal stuff
about other people
and if you were asked to hear
you could just probably bet
they're taking your personal stuff
and taking it to somebody else
and telling somebody else
all of your negative things
what does the bible say
Proverbs 14.7
go from the presence of a foolish man
when thou perceive as not in him the lips of knowledge
get away from idiots
get away from bozos
get away from railers
get away from false witnesses
don't surround yourself with unfaithful friends
what does the bible say
make no friendship with an angry man
with a furious man
thou shalt not go
lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul
hey you have these people that are just super negative
super angry
super pessimistic
they're always dragging you down
just move on from those kind of people
don't be friends with those people
don't make friends with those kind of negative
down people
okay so look
obviously friendship is a two way street
I'm not saying
I don't want you to misunderstand this point
I'm not saying hey only have friends that can do stuff for you
that's not what I'm saying
what I'm saying is
be friends with people
that are not toxic
users
that's what I'm saying
look obviously
you could have a friend that you're constantly doing stuff for
and they don't do anything for you
but that's okay because maybe you don't need anything
and you're blessing them
and helping them but they appreciate it
and they love you and there's a real friendship there
there's a real relationship there
you know
but then there's people that are just
toxic people
where they'll lie about you
they'll slander you
they'll throw you under the bus for their own advantage
cut them out of your life
people that every time you hang around with them
you feel farther from God
and they're leading you into sin
right
and you walk away from them
feeling unspiritual
and worldly and
you don't need those people in your life
find friends
where iron sharpens iron
find friends where
you're both a positive
influence on one another
find friends where you edify one another
look I'll be honest with you
I'm a church here at Faithful Word Baptist Church
I don't think I ever
go home
after fellowshiping
and just be like oh man you know
that really dragged me down
seriously I mean look
when I come here
I get in conversations after the service
and talk to people and maybe I'm talking for a half hour
45 minutes you know having conversations with different people
I usually go home in a great mood refreshed
I get in the car
and drive home after fellowshiping at Faithful Word
I feel good
and I'm not feeling sinful
worldly unspiritual carnal
I go out of here
feeling recharged
wanting to read my Bible
wanting to go and do missions
wanting to do soul winning
wanting to live for God
I walk out of here
having my batteries spiritually recharged
that's how I feel and there are some times
when I come in here and my batteries drained
sometimes I show up to church
and I'm not feeling close to God or whatever
and church fills my spiritual battery
hanging around with God's people
fills my spiritual battery
but you know what that's because of the fact
that we got the right kind of people around here
the problem is though
when you get around people that drag you down
because I can think of certain people in my life
where I spend time with that person
and it's all negative
and it's all sinful
or it's talking crap about
people and just giving you too much information
and you're like I don't need to hear that
or whatever and I understand people are going through
problems and going through stuff
but you know what you don't need people in your life
that are leading you into sin
you want people that are
edifying you and building you up
making you a better Christian
not a worse Christian
and you get around bitter
angry pessimistic negative people
you're going to start being the same way
and then you're not going to be happy
so look I hope that the sermon helped you
maybe the whole sermon helped you
or maybe you can just latch on to like one point
quick review of the points
because even if you just latch on to
one or two of these things
I don't want you to end up being this person
I don't want you to be on the bed
in the fetal position I can't go to work
because I'm too depressed and I'm not making fun of this person
because you know what we've all been
and it's just a model anyway
but the point is we've all been super sad
I've been super sad
I've been super
you know depressed quote unquote
you know not to the point where it was clinical
or something but I'm saying
we've all gone through heaviness
we've been angry we've been sad
we've been upset and sometimes I've been
to the point where it's hard to function
hey we need to
know how to avoid that
right we want to be happy
because the joy of the Lord's our strength
how are you going to have joy in your life
pay close attention to the review
and then we'll be done
because I want you to at least grab hold of one
or two of these things and work on it
maybe there's one thing on this list that you need to work on
number one get right with God
hopefully we're already kind of in that ballpark
because it's Sunday night at Faithful Word
hey man hopefully we're there
at least close
number two schedule your suffering
quick going through life thinking
every day's fun every day's Disneyland
no it isn't
you need to
schedule some hard things every day
no pain no gain
what goes up must come down
number three don't overindulge
okay
if you have a cookie
or an ice cream or a cake don't overdo it
right do it in moderation
you know and if you're going to play a video game
or something do it in moderation and then there are of course
certain things that you should never touch
like the gambling
the porno the drugs that stuff's never touched
but even
wholesome things that could be
do it in moderation
don't overindulge
in the sweets or the games
or the fun or partying or whatever
number four
have a purpose
have goals
have Bible reading goals soul winning goals
work goals right
you know have productive hobbies
that you're working on and trying to achieve things
and do stuff
and have some purpose and goals
and achieve things
and I'm going to squeeze six through nine
point six through nine all into one point
focus on positive things
right don't let everything bother you
don't listen to every negative thing
that's said about you don't be a pessimist
you know I'm just kind of
smashing that all into just
focus on the positive things
we all need to just count our blessings
and focus on the positive and move forward
and then last cut
rotten people out of your life
you do not have to be friends with everyone
friends and family
that are wicked
cut them loose
and you know what
there's this like sometimes obsession
with like
oh well you know family is everything
and blood's thicker than water
and all that
right
it's not really what the Bible teaches
I'm sorry it just isn't
I mean the Bible is like
he the love of father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me
he the love of son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me
you know a man's foes will be they have his own household
they'll be in a household split
three to two, two to three
the Bible does not teach this thing of just
well family is family
and it's all about family
nah it really isn't
and you know what if your brother's a queer
to hell with him
your uncle's a queer nuts to him
right
okay the point is
you know you don't need
to just say
well we gotta have our sodomyre family
you know what
rotten toxic family members
I don't care if they're
siblings cousins whatever
if they're rotten talk now look obviously you gotta
honor your father and mother
so you gotta do the best you can
to always do that in whatever way possible
but you know what the Bible doesn't say
honor your cousin
honor your sibling, honor your child
you know people that are toxic
rotten people that are dragging you down
spiritually don't spend time with them
because you know what at the end of the day
physical family is great
I'm super blessed to have two wonderful
godly parents and I've got a lot of other
godly family that I can enjoy
and spend time with but you know what
the family members that are not a blessing to me
I don't want to ever see them again
because you know what
I don't just well their family
you know what who cares
life isn't biology
my friend
at the end of the day who is my mother
and my brother
behold my mother and my brother
that's what Jesus said
or did Jesus say hey family's everything
blood's thicker than water no he said
behold my mother and my brother whoever
does the will of my father which is in heaven
the same as my mother and sister and brother
that's the Bible
that's what Jesus said
and so there are certain people
in your life cut them loose
if they're dragging you down
spiritually because you know what you need to live
for God you need to be happy
you need to be healthy
if they're messing you up
cut them loose
if there's anything in your life that's messing you up
you know so much you just have to get rid of things
and it's kind of a good sermon I think for the new year
right because everybody's kind of thinking about
their life
evaluating new year
new me and all that
well you know what maybe you should evaluate some of the things
that I talked about tonight
and maybe schedule some suffering for the new year
don't overindulge in the new year
maybe decide that there are
certain family members and friends that you just really
don't need to have in your life
and like I said oh you're so hasty to cut people
out of your life pastor
my new year's resolution is to be hastier in the future
to cut
rotten people out
because you know what
I'm on a mission
I'm not playing games man I got stuff to do
there's work to be done
I'm serving God
I don't have time to drag
a bunch of wicked railing bozos along with me
cutting them loose
and I'm going full speed ahead
and sometimes that's what you got to do
let's bards and have a word of prayer
Father we thank you so much for your word Lord
thank you so much for Ecclesiastes 7
it's amazing
that so much
truth is packed into one chapter
kind of not even a
super famous chapter but
there's a lot of great truth here on how
to live a happy and healthy life
Lord help us not to become a statistic
of people that are crippled by depression
and Lord we all want to be happy
Lord help us to be
blessed because we follow your word
and put these principles into practice
in Jesus name we pray amen
amen
all right ladies and gentlemen
please take your hymnals go to hymn 420
number 420
there's a song in the air hymn number
420
you can
on that first verse together now
hymn number 420
there's a song in the air
sing it out now
there's a song in the air
there's a star in the sky
there's a mother's
in prayer
and the ladies go
ride
and the star rains
inspire while the
beautiful sing
for the manger
of death
blood and gradles
of kings
there's a tumult
of joy
there's a wonderful
birth
for the virgin
sweet boy
is the lord of the earth
I the score
rains this fire
while the beautiful
sing
for the manger
of death
blood and gradles
of kings
in the light of that star
like the ages in pearl
and that song
from afar
has slept over
the world
every earth is
a plain then
the beautiful
sing
in the homes of
the nations
that jesus is
king
we rejoice in the light
and we echo
the song
that comes down through
the night
from the heaven
we cry
I shout to the
lovely
evangel they bring
and we pray
in his cradle
our savior
and king
and that good thing
tonight we are dismissed
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