I'll carry you out there. I'll help you get out there. No problem. Don't hesitate to ask anyway
We do have online donations coming
So if you're one of those people don't want to like to go to church
But you want to just give all your money. No, I'm kidding. We're gonna have that coming up and so get ready for that
Man, we got 73 souls saved so far this year
That's a lot for our little church praise God for that and I pastor went out today with his wife and one another
One I believe so. Praise the Lord praise God
You can see the September tithes and offerings there and we don't announce that for everybody. It's not in their business
So anyway, pastor Thompson is going to be here preaching tonight. He'll be here next Wednesday, too
Don't miss it this coming Sunday
We got brother Sean
Brother Sean Collins gonna come and preach for us morning and night
I'm looking really looking forward to that love brother Sean and his preaching a very
Well-learning man in the Bible. So let's go ahead and sing another song now page 37
How great thou art a
Great song that was in Europe for a half a century before it came over here this song
I know for a fact it was in Russia
For quite a while before it came over here they call it cock TV leak over there
That means how great thou art in Russian page 37
Sing it out nice and loud now
Oh Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
I
See the stars I hear the rolling thunder
Then sings my soul my savior God
How great thou art
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee
How great thou art
On the second
And forest glades I wonder
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down
from lofty mountain
grandeur and hear the brook and
feel the gentle breeze
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee
How great thou art
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee
How great thou art
On the third and when I think that God his son not sparing
Send him to die
I
Spares can take it in
That on the cross
My burden gladly bearing
He bled and died
To take away my sin
Then sings my soul
my savior God to thee
How great thou art
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee
How great thou art
When Christ shall come
Wish out of acclamation
And take me home
The joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow
in humble adoration
And they proclaim my God how great thou art
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee
How great thou art
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee
How great thou art
One more page 299 page 299
Day by day my daddy's favorite songs
My daddy used to go here
Passed away about six years ago
He used to sit two rows in front of you pastor
Oh
Strength I find to meet my trials here
Trusting in my father's lies me storm and
I've no calls for worry or for fear
He who's hard
is kind beyond the measure
Gives unto each day what he deems best
Lovingly it's part of pain and pleasure
Mingling toil with peace and rest
Every day the Lord himself is near me
with a
special mercy for each hour
All my cares he fain would bear and cheer me
He whose name is counselor and power
The protection of his child and treasure
Is a charge that on himself he laid
As thy days thy strength shall be in measure
This the pledge to me he made
Help me then in every tribulation
So
To trust thy promises. Oh Lord
That I lose not faith sweet
consolation
Offered me within thy holy word
Help me Lord when toil and trouble meeting
There to take as from a father's hand
One by one the days the moments fleeting
till I reach the
promised land
And now we're going to take an offering
So
Let's pray for that offering dear Lord bless this offering father
Just bless it for thy use father may be used for thy honor and glory to bring souls to you
to take care of the
expenses here and
And everything else Lord. We just thank you father that we have an opportunity to be here and serve you
We thank you for this offering and we're about to receive in Jesus precious name. Amen
You
Let's turn our Bibles to James chapter 4
James chapter 4 you'll see it right around the back there by Hebrews
You'll see it back there in the back of the Bible there
No before you get to
First second third John and Peter and all that James chapter 4
For once come wars and fightings among you
Come they not hence even of your lusts that warn your members
You're less than have not you kill and desire to have and cannot obtain you fight in war yet
You have not because you ask not
You ask and receive not
Because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lusts
The adulterers and adulteresses know you not that the friendship the world is enmity with God
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God
Do you think that the scripture saith in vain the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
But he giveth more grace wherefore he saith God resisteth the proud and giveth grace
unto the humble
Submit yourselves therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you
Draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you
Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded
Be afflicted in mourn and weep let your laughter return to morning in your joy to heaviness
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up
Speak not evil one of another brother
He that speaketh evil of his brother and judgeth his brother speaketh evil of the law and judgeth the law
But if thou judge the law thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge
There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy who art thou that judgeth another
Go to now you did say today or tomorrow
We will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain
Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow
For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away for that
You ought to say if the Lord will we shall live and do this or that
But now you rejoice in your boastings all such rejoicing is evil
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin
Mr. Thompson
All right, good evening everybody
And before I get started in the sermon, I just wanted to mention a couple more
Announcements we're planning on having a soul any marathon
That's gonna be October 20th and 21st. There may be a special guest speaker on Friday
But regardless of whether that person is able to come or not
They're still gonna be preaching. So if that person's not coming then I'll be doing the preaching
But we're still gonna have a preaching time. We're gonna it's gonna be here at the church, of course, and I
Was planning on doing maybe a couple hours of soul winning on Friday
And I definitely want to knock the town of Hera so the
Yakima small town, it's I guess as you go towards White Swan, it's west of
Wapato, I think I'm right about that. But it's I think it's about a town of about 500 or something like that
So there is a Baptist Church in town
It sounds like they are saved but I still want to go there anyway and do some soul winning. So
I was trying to buy some some stun guns for the dogs, but the state of Washington
Isn't letting me buy them anymore for whatever reason, but I think I might have enough
Laying around our church back in Vancouver
I can bring them we're not gonna actually use them to stun the dogs unless we have to but you know
Those res dogs they they will come after you
And I've talked about the Chihuahua leader of the gang in White Swan and I wasn't joking that that dog was mean
Had it controlled all the other bigger dogs that were in the town
so
But anyways, that's the most scary part for me about knocking these towns is when you get into those reservation
the towns that a lot of people have dogs, but a lot of people just kind of let him roam around and I've almost
Got bit before I think when I was in Wapato the last time this dog
I didn't see him and he was just like one of those dogs those creeper dogs
He was in his he was in his little house or whatever
And as soon as I started to step in the yard it just like shot out of its doghouse and like like
Almost bit me like it was really close. But anyway, so enough about that
But I just wanted to make mention of that and will of course be very hospitable and if anybody wants to come
And and spend the night here
Just needs to talk to like if someone's from out of town and they want to come to the event
They just need to see me about maybe
Possibly maybe getting a group rate. I'd like to do a group rate at the hotel. We normally stay at but
But if anybody needs a hotel for that night, they can come talk to me about it. So
Or just message me. So anyway, James chapter 4. Let's get into the to the word here and
So this is the second
Sermon in James and like I've said before I kind of just recap a little bit that James is like the book of wisdom
not not that all books aren't the book of wisdom in the Bible, but
It's kind of like the proverbs of the New Testament in my opinion
So a lot of great stuff here a lot of Christian living Christian principles how to treat one another and just things
We should not say, you know, there's a whole
there's a whole chapter just about how how damaging the tongue can be and
This kind of just has a little bit of a hodgepodge of things in it
And I got to I think verse 6 last time, but I am gonna finish the whole chapter tonight
It's not that long of a chapter. So but I was kind of going with the theme of
You know doing one thing versus the other and I'm gonna kind of continue that theme tonight
So let's look down at our Bibles at verse number seven. The Bible says submit yourselves therefore to God
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. I'm gonna pray real quick
Heavenly Father we thank you Lord so much for this great church here and Lord
May be small in number but Lord
I believe that you're gonna build this church into a great powerhouse of soul winning and Lord
I just pray that you'd bring forth labors to the harvest
I pray Lord that people get plugged into this church and get faithful and I pray that you would just help us to be
Examples as leaders in the church here and we pray that you would just bless the services tonight and
Lord though we'd be few in number tonight
Pray you would just bless each person that came tonight to hear the Word of God preached and to sing songs to you in Jesus
Name we pray
Amen, so submit yourselves therefore to God
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. So point number one tonight is submitting to God versus submitting
To Satan because if you don't submit as a Christian if you don't submit yourselves to God
Then who are you really submitting yourself to I mean because Satan is the one that made humanity to fall in the first place
So in reality if we're not submitting ourselves to God
We're submitting ourselves to the world to the ways of the world and who really is the one that makes these ways
What like why is the world the way it is because of Satan?
You know Satan is the one that made Adam and Eve fall in the garden
Satan is the one that controls the world through his
Principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places and you know what Christians like to fall into the trap of the devil all the time
But the Bible says if we resist the devil he will flee from us now turn to Matthew chapter 4 verse 1
I want to show you how Jesus made Satan flee from him because you know
I'm not gonna pull some Billy Sunday moves up here and just say yeah, come on devil. Let's fight and all this other stuff
We're gonna have a boxing match and like have some fake
Shadow boxing up here where I'm pretending to fight the devil or something. That's ridiculous
If the devil wanted to fight me and and God let him he could kill me easily
So I mean to get up here and say that you could fight that
We're gonna fight the devil in some spiritual or physical fight
It's not gonna happen as a matter of fact
We the Bible says we shouldn't rail against the devil, you know, don't even the devil
We're not supposed to rail against so saying things
About the devil that aren't true is not something that Christians should do either as a matter of fact
I think we should avoid trying to say that we're gonna fight him
the only way we can fight him is to resist his will and
his will is completely just always bombarding our lives and our minds and our eyes and our ears and
Everything about us every single day of our lives and and look we we Christians have a hard fight
You want to talk about people that have a hard fight in this world people like oh, yeah
Christians are just treated like that. We're treated like garbage
We're treated like garbage by our own families. We're treated by garbage by the world. We're treated
as garbage even in the places where we work sometimes and
You know, we have to resist, you know, all these principalities and powers, but we also have to resist our own flesh
I mean
Unsafe people they ignorance is bliss
You know, they might not even realize, you know, obviously people have problems because of sin, but they don't equate it to well
You know if I just get saved maybe I could have some victory over this stuff
But we need to take the example that Jesus took he didn't say come on devil. Let's fight
You know, let's do an MMA cage match or something. This is how he this is how Jesus did it
Look at Matthew 4 1 it says
Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil
So the devil did tempt Jesus just like he tempted Eve just like he tempted
You know all the people that have come before that were great Christians in the past
But Jesus had one thing on his side that really made him
Different and set apart from everybody else. He was the sinless Son of God. He had not committed sin and he is God
So he's not only God but he's also the God man Christ Jesus
and so the devil did try to break him and to tempt him and
Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil
And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward and hungered
Would you be hungry after 40 days and 40 nights? I'd be hungry after 40 minutes and for you know
40 seconds, I mean, you know, we we as human beings we can't even imagine doing a fast like this
Can it be done?
Well, you know the only people that ever did it in the Bible was Jesus Moses and Elijah that is recorded in the Bible
So it's not just some feat that anybody could do
But he specifically did this so that he could be tempted because imagine how hungry you would be after 40 days and 40 nights
He'd be really hungry. He was probably emaciated
He probably was really skinny and that kind of that kind of fast can really mess with your mind, too
People have gone crazy over doing long fast like that
But of course Jesus, you know, he was you know, he had superiority over the will and of the flesh
He was born without a sin nature so it you know, but he's also God
This is a test against got the God man Christ Jesus. So human beings get hungry. God doesn't have to eat
Does that I mean does that make sense to you?
So but so Jesus was human and so he did feel the same things that we feel
He feels the infirmity of the flesh that we feel and he understands our plight because he's been a human being before as you know
God has been you know, he came down as the Lord Jesus Christ. So
And it says when he had fasted 40 days and 49
He was afterward and hungered and when the tempter came to him
He said if thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread
So what's the first thing he tempted him with? Hey, I know you're a little bit hungry
Why don't you turn those stones into bread and it's like, you know
The first thing that you think about when you're really hungry if someone even you know, a lot of people are like well
You know bread it's not a big deal. I'd be I'd want something else
Believe me if you're starving a piece of hot fresh bread, you know, especially from Texas Roadhouse or something
It's gonna be like, you know
Heaven tastes in your mouth. So but this is what he did to tempt him
He said, you know make these stones bread
But he answered and said it is written man shall not live by bread alone
But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God
So, how did Jesus fight against the devil? He used Scripture
He's the scripture that he knew and so that's why it's important for us
To know the scriptures so that we can defend ourselves in those times when we're being tempted
So he's being tempted to what sin
He's being tempted to sin and says it says then the devil taketh up him up to the holy city and
Seteth him on a pinnacle of the temple and sayeth unto him if thou be the Son of God cast thyself
Down for it is written
He shall give his angels charge concern in me and in their hands
They shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against the stone
So the second temptation is he's saying here just throw yourself down if you're the Son of God
He's tempting him to try to tempt God
Like if he just jumped off that they eat he's like basically saying hey the Bible says
That if you just jump off this this pinnacle that God will bear you up on what the angels are gonna protect you
But I think that if he would have jumped God would have let him die I
Mean, obviously he was never he was never gonna not pass that test
But he still it was a temptation
It was a temptation to use his power because Jesus was God
So he could he have made the breads and the stones and the bread. Yes
Could he have floated down from the pinnacle? Yes
But obviously these are temptations that the devil is trying to use against him
And it says in verse 7 and Jesus said to him again it is written again thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God
Again, the devil taketh up to an high and exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them
And saith unto him all these things
Will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me then saith Jesus unto him get thee hence Satan
For it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve
Then the devil leaveth him and behold angels came and ministered unto him
So, you know the Bible says submit yourself to God therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you
How do you get him to flee from you? Well, you resist the devil by submitting yourself to God
That's what it says and how did Jesus do it? He submitted himself to God
He didn't allow the devil to tempt him to do things or to say things, you know
and you know how it says that the devil takes him up and shows them all the world and
Says that I'll give you everything here
So that just means to me that the devil does have the power to give those things to people
But you know, that's why you have people that you know, you're like inexplicably, you know
All of a sudden they can play this this music and and it's funny how these rock stars will say
I don't even know how I wrote that. I just wrote it
Yeah, because they made it they made a deal with the devil
You know the devil does come, you know
If he came to the Son of God, he will come to other people to get them to do his will and it's like
You know, did he does he appear with a hay fork and and devil horns and a little contract?
I mean, I don't know what he does, but I know that the testimony if you just look up
People that have sold their soul to the devil
You can find multiple interviews online Bob Dylan, you know, Katy Perry all these
Eminem, you know all these different types of really famous
Musicians and things like that
Literally say they sold their soul to the devil to be able to be famous and so Hollywood movie stars do that
But I think that just regular people do it. I'm sure too. I'm not sure how that process works
I've never had the devil come to me with a contract but you know, I'm a son of God
I'm saved
I'm not the son of God but I am saved and so there's it's a pointless contract to try to bring me because I can't
Lose my salvation, but I think there are people that work for the devil literally and they're called the sons of Belial
They're called the children of the devil and you know, it is a real the devil's real
it's not some fake made-up thing to make us be scared and give money to the church or be scared and you know,
We you know, that's that's superstition
That's Catholic superstition the whole cross thing and the the holy water and all those, you know
You know those Exorcist style movies and things like that. They don't that's not that's not power
There's no power in a trinket that goes around your neck with with Jesus hanging on it
There's just no power in that those things are vain and Jesus isn't still on the cross anymore
So there's no reason to put those things on your body or in your house
So number one, we need to submit ourselves to God
Versus submitting ourselves to Satan and how we resist Satan
The best way to resist is to memorize scripture in our heart
The Bible says thy word of I have I hid not thy word of I hid my heart that I might not sin
against thee so your best weapon against sin and against with resisting the devil is
To hide the Word of God in your heart
number two tonight
Getting near to God versus being backslidden getting near to God versus being backslidden
Look at verse number eight back in our text in James chapter 4
The Bible reads draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you
Cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your hearts. He double-minded
so
It's interesting that he's God says this
Statement draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you
What does that mean that we can get away from him?
We can draw away from God
But he says the the way to not be backslidden
The way to get closer to God is to get close you get close to him and he will get close to you
So if we're always resisting Pete, you know
It's like if someone wants to hang out you want to hang out with someone but they don't want to hang out with you
You know
Have you ever had someone you like wanted to be their friend and they just really don't want anything to do with you
No matter how hard you try
They just it makes it does the opposite like they then they just don't want to hang out with you or whatever
you know, but that's
If if we do that with God, he's not gonna want to hang out with us. He's gonna resist us too
Because we have to be nigh to God. We have to be close to God
We have to love God and you know, he's gonna be close to us
but you know
One of the things that he's not gonna he's not gonna be happy with how do we draw away from him?
Well, he says cleanse your hands you sinners. It's obviously sin
Separates it does separate you from God. Now people say well, you're teaching the hell of separation from God. No, I'm not teaching
I'm talking about sin is separation from God the more sinful you are and the less
Repentant you are about those sins the less close to God you will be that's why the next breath
He says cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded
Because
Well, we're in Christian. We're in church. That's the that's the easy time to be you know
Just really spiritual and godly in church and you're around other people that believe the same thing as you do
You're not tempted to sin in a place like this like you would be in some other place
So what about outside of the church? We're outside of the church a lot, aren't we?
And we were rubbing elbows with people that are not necessarily, you know, spiritual people
And then that brought, you know, the more when we hang around people that are not spiritual. It's gonna drag us down
So who you hang out with does determine how spiritual you'll be sometimes
That's like, you know when you know bringing the example of school again
My parents would or you know, people would tell me don't hang out with that crowd. That's a bad crowd
They're gonna drag you down and as a as a teen you don't understand that as a younger kid
You might not understand those things you think well
They're just cool, you know, everybody likes them they're popular
But you know what the things that are popular in the world are not the things that God finds, you know popular
Those aren't the people that he wants you hanging out with the most popular usually the most popular or the most sinful to
There the the nerd of the class that gets straight A's
Which there's nothing wrong with being a nerd, but they're the the geeks, you know
You know school has like a lot of social constructs to it
there's the jocks the rich kids the
poor trailer trash kids
There's the geeks
There's the there's you know
The jocks the athletes or whatever and people are kind of separated into these things at school
It's been a long time since I've been in public school, but I don't you don't forget stuff like that
And so but usually the ones that are the most popular are the ones that are doing the worst things
They're popular for a reason and a lot of times they're just rich and that's why people like them or they're more beautiful
Or more handsome than the rest of the other kids that can also separate things and you know
We just don't want to get into that mindset. Well, we're hanging around the wrong people
Going to the wrong people's house because you know what's gonna happen. You're gonna become like those people and
If that's not what you want to be then don't hang around them
You know and it says draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you and
if you're cleansing yourself from your sins by you know, praying and asking God to forgive you and
Then purifying your hearts. How do you do that?
Well, you know thy word have I hidden my heart that I might not sin against thee is a good verse
But also, you know, how shall a young man cleanses ways by taking heed thereto according to thy word
You take heed to God's Word and he will purify you he will cleanse your ways
So, you know and as Christians sometimes we can be double-minded, but we don't want to be that way
What is double-minded? Well, it's where you think one way and then you go off and you act another way
You have to it's like two minds, you know, you got the carnal mind and you got the saved mind. So
Look at Psalm chapter 119 verse 8 Psalm 119 verse 8. Oh, well, I forgot that I had this
Already put in there. So I already quoted the verse but these are some good verses
Look at Psalm 119 verse 8 if you want to know how you know, David, of course David wrote Psalm 119
He loves the Bible. He loves God's Word. It's the longest chapter in the Bible Psalm 119 and
It's just mainly what it is about is about God's Word and the great things that God's Word does
Look at verse 8. It says I will keep thy statutes. Oh forsake me not utterly
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word
How do you how you gonna cleanse yourself you sinner? Well taking heed to God's Word paying attention to what the Bible says
You're like, well, you sound like, you know a boring fuddy-duddy. Well, you know what?
Well, do you want to live a good life as a Christian or do you want to live a life where you're being chastened all
The time because the Bible says whom he loveth he chasteneth
You know, obviously God is gonna chasten us and nobody likes to be spanked
Nobody likes that
But that's what's gonna happen
And the more we take heed to God's Word the better off we're gonna be and the closer to God
We're gonna actually be you know, the Bible there's a saying I'm probably gonna mess it up, but it's like
something about
Sin will keep you from the
No, not not that one it's about the Bible but anyway, I forgot what it is, but it's like sit, you know sin will
Keep you from this book, but not anyway
Yes, be from this book this book will keep you from sin
Yeah
and that's true because most people when they're sinning and in a in a spot where they're just really backslidden the
Bible isn't what they're reading because if they were reading the Bible they probably wouldn't be like that
So when you take heed to God's Word, then that's the the more God's Word is in your heart the more
You're gonna have you're gonna think about these situations and these things that you're doing and maybe
It's going to steer you in a different direction a good direction
So it says with my whole heart have I sought thee. Oh, let me not wander from thy commandments
Thy word have I hid my heart that I might not sin against thee so this is talking about Bible memorization
So a lot of people and in our movement, you know in an independent Baptist movement a lot of people are into
memorizing big big
Portions of Scripture and I'm definitely not against that. I think that's good. I would never say yeah
It's just it's dumb to to memorize God's Word. I wouldn't say that but here's here's what I personally think about
Memorizing Scripture, I think if you're gonna memorize Scripture memorize things that are gonna help you because you might have half the New Testament
Memorized but if you're not applying it and if it's just because look if you don't use it
You're gonna lose it
If you don't use the Scriptures that you have in your heart
Then like if you don't just keep repeating it and doing maintenance on those big portions of Scripture
You're gonna forget it your mind can only take in so much stuff
So why not just take the best Scriptures that are gonna help you with your life
Like I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me the first scripture I ever, you know, memorized
Strengtheneth but strengthens and strengthen is the same thing. But anyway
So but that what I can do all things through Christ
That's a truth that we need to get so like when you're like, oh, I just don't know if I can really do that
I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me now you can do all things
It's not like oh, I can't do this, you know can't never did anything
Isn't that the truth? I can't do this
You're never gonna do it because you already think you can't but Christ says he can't and he can he says you can do
All things through Christ. So when we hide God's Word in our heart when we get you know
When you know the Scriptures about soul wanting and you and you could just quote those at the door. That's great
You know, but at the door
We're supposed to use our Bibles to show people what the Bible says about how to be saved
But what about when you're on a plane next to somebody?
What about when you're on a bus next to somebody and you just don't happen to have your Bible?
I mean most people have phones
Okay
So you can probably pull out your phone
But isn't it good to have the scriptures memorized so you could actually lead someone to Christ without having to
Well, if you don't have a Bible you have it in your heart
So the things that help you and encourage you the things that keep you from sin, you know different scriptures can help you
And you know scriptures that can comfort you, you know
So like John 14
I mean John 14 1 through 3 is really comforting that he's gonna come for us again someday
And he's going to prepare a place for us. You know, look at Luke 15 verse 11 Luke in verse 11
Luke 15
verse 11 the Bible says
And a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father
Give me the portion of goods that falls to me and he divided unto them his living
This is talking about this. This is a really famous set of scriptures. It's about the prodigal son now
You know if you draw nigh to God, he will draw nigh to you and this it's really exemplified in this story
So when this guy this guy has two sons one of them, you know
He wants his portion his inheritance now
He's gonna leave his family and this is showing this is talking about they're both sons
so at God the Father
Represents the father in this story the two sons means that both of them are saved
But one of them's not living right and the other one is okay
look at verse 13 it says and not many days after the younger sunset gathered all together and
Took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living
So he's not a very good Christian is he and when he had spent all there arose of mighty famine in the land
And began to be in want so as a Christian if you think you're just gonna go off and leave the church
And do and live however you want and you're gonna go off and just waste your life and things like that
God's gonna God's gonna curse your life
That's what this is representing right here when he had spent all there arose a mighty famine in the land
And began to be in want and he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and sent him to
Into his fields to feed swine
And he would feign have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat and no man gave unto him
So, you know, he's he's in a sad state here
God God is you know, if you think about it
God is this is picturing God punishing his life to the point where he's gonna bring him back to the realization
That he needs God. He needs his father and it says when he came to himself
He said how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare and I perish with hunger
I will rise and go to my father and will say unto him father
I have sinned against heaven and before thee and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son
Make me as one of thy hired servants. So he's basically saying I know I screwed up my life
You know father and but I you know, I know I'm gonna admit that I sin
I'm gonna go and get right with my father and you know
He's gonna just let me at least, you know be like one of his hired servants or whatever
It says and he rose and came to his father
So remember it says if you draw an eye to God
He will draw an eye unto you. And so what's this guy do he decides?
Hey, I've had enough of my life being smoked and cursed and I'm gonna go back and do what's right
But it says he arose and came to his father
but when he was yet a great way off his father saw him and had
Compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. So when we draw an eye unto God
He's gonna draw an eye unto us
But he noticed that he was making mistakes here. You just can't do things. However, you feel like however, you want
to come to God the way he expects you to come to him and that's with repentance and sorrow when you
Screw up when you mess up your life. You can't just well, you know, I'm just gonna keep doing it
No, God's not gonna draw an eye unto you unless you draw an eye unto him first
But then he's gonna come running right? Isn't that what it says?
He saw him afar off and he was like, you know, he ran towards him
So, I mean, let's put that picture into into play
Brother Rick, would you come up here just real quick?
What will you come up to?
Yeah
So this is just an exercise just go stand by the piano brother Rick go over there
So I guess Rick has to be the father. All right, he looks older. So
All right
So now here's the prodigal son. He's messed up his life. He's on drugs
He went and spent his parents inheritance not not in reality, but this is just pretend right? So he's over there
He's he's living wrong, but then he realizes
You know, I've messed up my life and I want to get right. What do you do?
Well, what did it say that he's gonna go to his father and say father
I've sinned against heaven and before thee and so once you get to that point
Then the obvious choice, you know when your life is all messed up and you're backslidden and you're out of church
And you realize that that you know
Your life is going bad because God's making it go bad because here's the thing as a saved person
You can't just do whatever you want
You can but you're gonna get punished
I mean we teach this at the door to people all the time and then those same people that are at the door
They're like, yeah, I'm not gonna go to church. I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna go soul winning
I'm not gonna go to church and then you know
You start getting out of these things and then you you're like, I just don't understand what my life is so messed up
Hey dummy, get back into church and your life won't be messed up
Get back into serving the Lord and doing the things of God and your life won't be messed up pass the test
Endure the temptation and you know
If you're out of church and you're backslidden then get your lazy carcass back into church and have some character
For crying out loud now, he's gonna develop some character. He's gonna go to his father now just start walking really slow
Brother Rick without falling down run. Just run down
Say this is what it's like
see
That's what it's like, you know, I mean brother Rick. He ran as fast as he could you guys go ahead sit down
but like, you know, that's
That's what it's like though
The father is gonna run back to you and he's gonna get close to you
But you can't just come however you want. You have to come, you know with hat in hand
sorrowful and
Realizing that you messed up so we can get backslidden but God, you know what he gives us a second chance
Look what it says in verse 21 and the son said unto him father
I have sinned against heaven in my sight and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son
You know what? None of us are worthy to be called his son. None of us are worthy to be called daughter
But it's that's not that doesn't have anything to do with it. We once you're saved. You're his son
You're his daughter and doesn't worth has nothing to do with it was Christ's worth that made us worthy in the first place
And it says but the father said to his servants bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on
His hand and shoes on his feet and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it less and let us eat and be married
For this my son was dead and is alive again
he was lost in his found and they began to be married so life moves on and
What happens with the prodigal son? Well, he has this realization
Hey, I got to get right and how does he get right? He does repent of his sins, doesn't he?
And you know, we believe in repenting of your sins after you're saved
But see the story of the prodigal son. He's already a son and a lot of people apply this to salvation
I guess you could kind of do that
But if he was already a son when he left that just tells you that people can get backslidden
People can get away from God and God is willing and ready to receive you back
In fact, he's gonna run towards you the moment you try to draw an eye to him
So don't just think oh God can't use me anymore
That's kind of what his attitude was like well, at least I could be like one of the hired servants
No, you're still the son. He still puts the robe back on you. He puts the ring on your finger
He slays the fatted calf and you know
He's gonna be happy that you've come back and everybody else should be happy
When a prodigal son comes back when someone leaves church and gets out of church for a while
But then they come back and don't give them a bunch of grief about it
Hey, where you been brother or whatever don't be like that, but you know, just be happy that they came back to church
You know this guy the the father of the story doesn't go
Well, you know I was just waiting for you to come back, you know, I'm just saying stupid stuff to him
He's just like hey
Welcome back home and that's how we should be when people get backslidden in our church and
You know when they come back don't give them any grief just be happy that they're there and rejoice with them because they came back
So let's look back at our text in James 4 9. It says
Be afflicted and mourn and weep
So that's the opposite of just being happy and excited, you know, obviously we should be excited when that you know
This is talking about the attitude that you should have when you're in sin when you're outside of God's will be afflicted
You know that means
You know be upset about the state that you're in mourn that sin that you've been committing weep
You know get it out of your system
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness, you know laughing is good
Mary Hart do with good like a medicine and and I don't think there's anything wrong with joking around laughing
I think God has a sense of humor
Otherwise, he we wouldn't have a sense of humor, but it can get out of control. I understand that it can get too crazy
but
That when you're in sin, and you're far from God, you shouldn't be
Okay with that and I've been happy about that
He's just basically saying this is how you should be when you're backslidden. It says humble yourself
Selves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. So how do you get lifted up?
It's not by saying look at me
I'm such a great Christian and and you know
I do this and I do that and I I tied the ball that I have and you know, like the Pharisees
That's how they were they're proud about everything all the works that they've done and I'm not like this guy over here this publican
That's that's how the Pharisees were
But the Bible says we're supposed to humble ourselves
You know the guy that stood next to the Pharisee wouldn't even look up to heaven
But said Lord the publican said Lord have mercy upon me a sinner. He smote his breast
He he was upset with how he was and one went to one went away
Saved justified and the other way the other one the Pharisee he wasn't even saved
It's funny how these people that are act all religious or whatever, you know
They're not saved and they're sitting there talking about us about how bad we are and like dude you're bad, too
You just nobody can see it
But God sees it God sees how those types of people are number three tonight
Proper judgment versus unrighteous judgment proper judgment versus unrighteous judgment
There's a saying out there in Christendom and it's actually doesn't come from Christians
I think I think they people like to take one verse out of Scripture and
And twist it into we're never supposed to judge about anything and that's just completely ridiculous
Look at verse number 11. The Bible says speak not evil one of another
brethren he that speaketh evil of his brother now speaking evil is like
You know things that you hope would happen to them. Basically it says and judges his brother
Speaketh evil of the law and the law and the and judge at the law
But if thou judge the law thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge
so
Now what what is this specifically talking about? Well, it's talking about speaking evil about your brother and
When you do that, you're speaking evil of the law and judging the law
So God said we're supposed to love that our neighbor is ourselves
And we're supposed to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts mind soul and strength
But you know people will even say this. Well, we're not supposed to judge anybody for any situation ever
But that's just not true look at verse 12
It says there's one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy who art thou that judges another
So basically he's so by the context. It's saying who's able to save and destroy so
When you're talking about someone that's your brother
This is talking about someone that's saved and you're saying I wish that person would die
I hope all this evil comes upon them. You know, I don't even think that they're saved and
What is God saying here he's saying there's one lawgiver
Who's that lawgiver? It's God right who is able to save and to destroy?
Only God can save people and who can destroy
The gods the only one that can destroy someone's life and destroy. I mean, obviously other people can't but
He's talking about in the context here of you know
Saying these evil things about your and speaking evil one of another so
You know, obviously Christians fight it happens
but it's not something that you know, we should never go to the point where you're just like
Condemning someone as a reprobate to save it shouldn't be you know
So, you know, you you should be careful about what you're saying about other people
Especially if it's if it's possible if that person is saved
So there's only one lawgiver who's able to save and destroy who are thou that judges another
So people will take these and say we're never supposed to judge anybody for any reason
But let me tell you something. There's a book called judges in the Bible. So obviously God allowed
You know, he made a system called the you know, the system of the judges
Where he had people that ruled over and made judgment calls against certain things that people were doing
They were supposed to judge the righteous judge righteously and judge those that were doing unrighteousness
according to the law so
Here's another one that people like to take out of context. Go ahead and turn to Matthew chapter 7 verse 1
Matthew chapter 7 verse 1 and you're like so far. You don't really seem like you're right about this, but
You know the I'll show you some other
so
But the fact that there's a book called judges should just tell you right there that God isn't saying that we're never supposed to judge
So look at Matthew 7 1 it says judge not that you be not judged this is the
unbelievers favorite verse oh
Only God can judge me, you know, they get those tattoos or whatever that says only God can judge them but
But the funny thing is that this is talking about in the cut
Look, you can't arrest the text from the context. You have to preach you have to understand the Bible in its context
So what is Jesus talking about here?
Well, you can't just take this verse here and isolate it and say don't ever judge because you're gonna be judged too
I mean, is that true? It depends on what you're what you're talking about here. Look at verse 2
It says for with what judgment you judge
Ye shall be judged and with what measure you meet it shall be measured to you again
And why beholdest the moat that is in thy brother's eye, but consider it's not the beam that is in thine own eyes
So what is it saying here?
It's saying that if you're gonna judge somebody you're you've got a they got like a little sliver in their eye
And you're trying to get it out. Hey, you're doing this wrong and then like you got a beam out of your eye
You have a bigger than a sliver
You have a way worse problem than they do and you're trying to judge them for a situation
That's small when you have a beam hanging out of your eye
Is that what it's saying?
You have a beam in your own eye
How how or how wilt thou say to thy brother
Let me pull out the moat out of thine eye and behold a beam is in your own in thine own eye
I mean, what is this talking about here? Don't judge as a hypocrite. That's what it's talking about
See is verse 5
It says thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to judge
Out the moat out of thy brother's eye. It's saying it's not saying don't ever judge the moat that's in someone's eye
It's saying hey if you got a your own problem like that or it's even worse than that, then you're a hypocrite
It's like if I just got up here and said, you know stealing is wicked
It's of the devil and you know, all that's true
And then I'm like, you know
Someone's forgot to give someone their pencil someone's pencil back and you're like just ripping on someone for taking that pencil
You know you didn't mean to but you know you did you took it and then you like do bank heists on
the weekend or something
Like that's kind of the difference right, you know, someone accidentally stole someone's pencil
Which you know, it is technically stealing if you don't give somebody their pen or pencil back or whatever, but what what is worse?
Doing bank heists on the weekend, I think is a lot worse
stealing widow's houses
You know going and trying to rob the fatherless and widows
From their stuff or just breaking into people's house and stealing the stuff that they work for
That's a lot worse, isn't it? There are degrees of sin people say well, you know all sin is equal
That's actually not true
All sin is not equal all sin will send you to hell
But all sin is not equal, you know
The difference between stealing a pencil and shooting someone in the face is a pretty big difference, isn't there?
Like which one would you choose your pencil to get stolen or someone to shoot you in the face?
Like obviously you're gonna choose the pencil and the the penalties in the Bible if someone does premeditated
Murder there they get the death penalty if you steal someone's pencil
You have to give back two times the pencils that you gave them or something like that
So it's there is a difference but look what it says in verse 24 here Matt or excuse me
John actually go to 1st Corinthians 5. I'm just gonna read John 5
724 it says in John 724 judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous
Judgment that's Jesus Christ saying that so are we supposed to judge? Well, Jesus said judge not according to the appearance
But judge righteous judgment, that means that you're judging rightly isn't righteous the right thing
The perfect judgment and how do we get that perfect judgment we get that from the Bible
So, how can people say well Jesus said judge not
You know when people repeat that like a parrot over and over again right judge not
And it's just like you hear it so much. Well, who are you to judge me?
This is like well, you know
If I'm not stealing and I get up and I rip on people stealing then I'm not judging as a hypocrite am I?
But we do have to judge we judge everything we judge so much every day that you if you really just stop to
Think about how much we actually judge you'd be probably really surprised who's ever read the DMV book before to get their license
everybody
Are you supposed to judge how far you are away from a vehicle?
How do you judge that situation like how many car lengths you're supposed to be from somebody on the freeway?
Depends don't they have like a figure where if you're going 60 miles an hour
You have to have a certain amount of car lengths in between. How do you how do you know that?
How do you know whether you're doing it right or not?
You have to judge your distance, don't you and and then you have to look at like a poll and then count seconds or whatever
Want to you know, I I don't even you know, this is bad
I drive all the time, but I don't know that what the distances are anywhere. It's been a long time
But I'm just saying that we are supposed to judge, you know, you judge
Whether you can get into a parking spot or not, right? Can I can you make that spot?
Well, what what judgment call are you gonna make on it?
Can you make it or you can't and you have to be able to judge on the fly about a lot of things?
that's those are simple and silly situations, but
They are things that we do every single day, right?
So we have to judge and do the right decisions in our life to every day. Is this right?
You know, we're supposed to judge ourselves
So that God won't judge us
Right, we're supposed to judge ourselves in our own situation
We're supposed to look at the perfect law of liberty and see what God wants from us and then we judge if we judge ourselves
And we go to God for mercy then he's gonna be more lenient. This is like a police officer if he pulls you over
you know, my wife got pulled over last week on our way out of town and
She was going over the speed limit, you know where they're doing that new roundabout which is dumbest thing ever
But anyway the new roundabout they're doing on the highway going towards Wapato
Well, he police officer pulled us over and you know, we were really nice
we're just like trying to get everything, you know, hand him the registration right away and
He came we were nice. We gave him everything we needed and we didn't suck up too much
But when he came back, he goes I'm gonna give you guys a break
And why did he do that?
Well first thing the first thing he says is the first person I pulled over I of the day
I usually give them a break
But do you think we would have been like what are you there's crime going on all over Wapato
Why are you pulling over us? You know, we're law-abiding citizens. Well, no, we weren't because she was speeding
So is there worse crime going on? Probably? Yes, but and are they going crazy with all the speed limit stuff right now?
Yes
Because they lost all that money
for the last two years because they don't want to take anybody to court because then they would have to show up with their
Masks on and stuff but
My point is is that the cop judged us didn't he and he said these are probably decent people
They pay their car insurance there. You know, this isn't a stolen car. They're not doing drugs and drinking inside the car right now
I'm gonna cut these guys a break and and you know when we would judge ourselves
God will be lenient with us like that and sometimes you can just you know
I've pled for mercy from cops before I just said look man. I'm really sorry, you know, I didn't realize I was going that fast
Apologize, so if you're humble to that police officer
Instead of just being a pain in the neck every time a cop pulls you over you're gonna get a different result
now some cops are just like, you know, they're just right out of the
Academy and they just think they got to give a ticket to anybody for everything
Or they're still trying to make up for how they got bullied in high school or something
And they just want to take it back out on the world or whatever
You're gonna run into those good types of people. That's an righteous judge
You know, they're going after specific people some cops just want to be cops so they can break in someone's head
This is what they want to shoot somebody they want to get in some action and some cops are like that
But you know, not all cops are like that
they we have to learn to judge righteous judgment and
First Corinthians 5 where I had to turn so even in the church, we're supposed to judge certain things
Now this these this passage wouldn't be here if we weren't supposed to judge situations look what it says in verse 1
It's commonly it is reported commonly that there's fornication among you and such fornication
As is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father's wife. So this is a really
Wicked sin that's going on here. This guy's fornicating with his father's wife
And it says and you're puffed up and have not rather mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away
from among you
So what is he talking about? He's saying that they're not doing anything about it. They're puffed up
That means they're just like they're doing the opposite of what they should be doing puffed up
You know if you think about like someone's all puffed up there
They're you know, like the tough marshmallow man, they're they're just big and fluffy or whatever
But when you think about dough rising that's 11 that rises and and that's the reason why that bread is able to rise like that
But being puffed up is just another way of saying you're being proud
You're being you know, they're like it's like someone
They're allowing sin to take place because they're too holy to judge that sin if you think of it that way
Because some people I mean I had a lady call me last week and she was just like well
don't you think that you know, we should just love the homos and
you know that we should just
Just be about love and not worry about what what they are and all this other stuff
I was just like, you know, you can't do that. You know, if we love children
We have to hate pedophiles. Is that true?
Like say we have like a whole bunch of children in this church right now
And then we just let all these pedophiles come in here
And know that they're pedophiles
You know, we're putting those people at risk as a pastor
It's my job to be the shepherd of the church and to keep the bad wolves out of here
So do I have to judge who the bad wolves are?
Yes, I do
And if I think that someone's a wolf if I have evidence that they are I got to get them out of the church
so
It's my job to keep these types of people out of here now people could be saved and still be wicked
That's the truth of the matter because it doesn't say this guy isn't saved
It just says he's doing something really wicked
Says you're puffed up and have not rather mourned that he that done that need might be taken away from among you
For I barely as absent in the body but present in spirit. What's it say there? What's the next words there?
Have judged already. Are we not are we supposed to judge or not supposed to judge?
This is the Apostle Paul
He's saying I've already I'm not even there and I've already judged this situation
You know what you're supposed to do guys, you're supposed to get this person out of the church
It says I've judged already as though I were present concerning him that I've done this deed in
The name of our Lord Jesus Christ when you're gathered together and my spirit and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ
To deliver such in one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh
That the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus
So what is he saying he's saying you need to kick this person out of the church so that Satan can destroy him
But you're like, well, that's pretty mean but you know in second Corinthians chapter 6 this guy
Paul tells them to forgive this guy
The purpose of kicking somebody out of church is that hopefully
They'll get right and be restored to be able to come back
But you can't just let that stuff go on and not do anything about it
So that's why he's saying you're puffed up and I've judged this situation already
and you know what you need to get this guy out of here and
It seems pretty harsh to let Satan destroy the flesh. But you know, have you ever heard of that term shunning?
Well, that's kind of what this situation is you're shunning that person and saying hey, I'm not gonna eat with this person
I'm not gonna have coffee with this person
we're not gonna do Bible study outside of church when someone's thrown out of church here to have nothing to do with them and
Unfortunately churches don't practice this and that's why people just are play kit
You know, that's why people are in bold and they're like, oh the past way too harsh with you for doing that
Do you think the Apostle Paul was way too harsh to say you got to kick this guy out of church?
The reason why this guy had to be kicked out of church
Probably is because the people acted like it wasn't that big of a deal and just allowed it to go on
And you can't just allow stuff like this to go on unchecked. You have to get the leaven out
And the only way that you're gonna make them feel sorry for what they've done is to shun them and to kick
Them out and to say you're not coming back unless you get this, right?
Now if somebody gets it right then they can come back, you know for most things
But there are things that people aren't gonna come back for like what? Well, how about just being a false prophet?
Someone that just creeps in here someone creeps in their child molester or they're a fag. They're out the door
They're not coming back and a child with all child molesters are fags anyway
Why would I say well they just melt molest little boys
If you look at the studies that's just not true they do both and because it's weird
It's vile. It's
reprobate it's
Something that shouldn't be happening and people took for people. This is what that woman called me about
She just wanted me to you know to just she was upset that I believe what I believe
But we have to keep the bad people out of here
Church is supposed to be pure as much as possible and you know what?
The Old Testament they were just killed
That's just the way it was they were killed because that's the laws and in Israel
But now we don't live under those laws
And so the only way we can kill them now is we kill them with our words from the pulpit
We kill them with the words of the Bible. We beat them to death these wolves to death with our staff
With our words though. We don't literally do it. We don't I don't have the power to
Judge someone to death in this church
So the only way I can kill that person is to is to cut them off in the Old Testament
Say this person's cut off from the congregation of the Lord if they would do certain things
Sometimes it was just the death penalty period but now
Paul like in the New Testament Paul says, you know, I would that they were cut off that
Trouble you and what's he talking about? Well, he could be talking about that. Maybe God would just kill them
But he also could be just talking about that. They would just be cut off and kicked out. I
Can't kill anybody. I don't want to kill anybody
I want but my words are what kills them the Bible's it's not my words. It's the Bible's words
God said to kick him out
Paul said to kick him out and get over Satan for the destruction of the flesh
So to say that we're not to judge at all is just absolutely insane
So again, there's a book called
Judges
God put the system of the judges America as a nation is ruled by judges
Even though they're judging unjustly
We have a Supreme Court as the highest court of the nation and guess what? They're called the Supreme Court what?
judges
It's written. Yeah, we're justices. But yeah justices, but how much justice are they actually?
It's not really great and there's never
This Supreme Court judges, I don't understand why that is
But you know, it's all a bunch of Catholics and Jews right that's basically who's ruling, you know, secular Jews and Catholics and
So really we're not represented
necessarily as Baptist revival believing Christians
Supreme Court at all. It's all about what they believe and
Obviously, I'm glad that Catholics are against abortion. I
Agree with them. I
Can't agree with Catholics on certain things like the Trinity. I
Agree the Trinity they're right about that
but all the hocus-pocus and holy water and
crucifixes and the transubstantiation
Where they say that when they when you when they do communion, it's literally the body and blood of Jesus
That's just not true. It's that is mum, but that is that is paganism. It's mumbo-jumbo
it's
You know with the fifth thing the fish hat and all
It's just it's bizarre is what it is and we don't want our church to be anything like a Catholic Church
That's why we took that altar out of here where you could just come up and kneel in front of the pulpit or whatever
gone
We don't want
Idols in this church. We don't want any statues. You know, we're not supposed to be an idolatry, but yet the Catholic Church just has
Multiple
Statues all over the place the Orthodox Christians have pictures all over the walls that you're supposed to kiss
you know, they
basically what happened is a long time ago, they there was a
somebody infiltrated their
Infiltrated their church to try to teach them that you know, I you know kissing images is wrong
And so now you have to in order to go to an Orthodox Church
You have to kiss the images of the Saints you have to kiss
those things before you walk in because that's like a
True Christian would not do that
So you have to prove that you're an idolater instead go up and kiss pictures of St
John and like I don't know where they got all these pictures from, you know, they're just made up or whatever
But it's just bizarre
You know worshiping men dead men's bones and you know rosaries and there's all this stuff. It's just strange
It's not what the Bible teaches. I don't know how I got off on that. But we're we're we are a nation
ruled by judges
Unfortunately, they're not judging righteously
See it's okay to judge but to take bribes is wicked to take
You know money so that they won't a certain judgment, you know
This is when judges become corrupt and the Bible's very against that
We're supposed to judge righteously and by the biblical laws in church
We have to judge by what the Bible says and that's just all there is to it number four
so my last point is
Boasting about tomorrow versus circumstance
Circumstance circumspect mindset boasting about tomorrow versus a circumspect
Mindset what am I talking about here? Well, look at James chapter 4 verse 13
James chapter 4 verse 13 the Bible says
Now a go to now you that say to today or tomorrow
We will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain
Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow for what is your life
It is even a vapor that appearth for a little time and then vanish at the way
So James is trying to get across to us here that we you know, we can say well I'm gonna go
Next week to such-and-such place, right?
And I'm gonna do this next year and I'm gonna buy and sell I'm gonna get gain
I'm gonna you know
He's basically saying you're boasting about what you're gonna do when you don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow
we don't know and this is why so many and is so important because
We we're not promised tomorrow. We don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow
We can't boast and brag about what we're gonna do tomorrow because we don't know we could die tomorrow
It says you don't know what shall be on the morrow for what is your life. It is even a vapor
What's a vapor? It's just like a puff of smoke, right?
In the grand scheme of things our life on this earth our physical body and our physical life is
so small God
likens it to a vapor as
compared to the rest of eternity
It's a vapor that appearth for a little time and then vanish at the way
That's what that's what vapor of smoke does doesn't it? You see it go up and then it disappears, right?
So he's picture he's saying this is what your life is like and so don't be saying I'm gonna do this
Or I'm gonna do that because you don't really know for sure you can say, you know, this is my plan
This is what I want to do, but to say that you're gonna do it. It's like, you know boasting
It's like boasting of things that you don't know for sure are gonna happen. And so what do I mean by circumspect?
I mean that we have to look at our lives and we have to look ahead into the future and see
What it were what is this gonna take what road is this path gonna take me down
because we get a lot of pass in the road as we get older and
You know, we got a mixture here of young and old here tonight
Young and really old. I'm just kidding. That's me
Sorry, but
Anyway, sorry, but you know, we got a mixture and you know, we've all had forks in the road where we
Could have taken a different path, but we chose one and we don't always choose the right one
But see, you know if God is leading us on the path, we're gonna choose the right paths
He's gonna lead us in the right paths. He's gonna teach us the way that we should go
He's gonna if we follow those steps, you know, it's like trails
Why are there trails because that's the best way to get someplace, you know
Think about the Donner party who's ever heard of the Donner party before?
They there was a party called the Donner party and there was a guy that said he had a shortcut to get them to
California that would cut a big amount of time off of it
But he was just swindling them into taking a different path and that path wasn't proven. And so a
whole bunch of people
starved to death and died of malnutrition and people end up having to eat each other and all kinds of weird stuff and
Why because they chose a path that was not proven and so the path of Christianity
the path of the Bible the pathways that God leads us into are
The right path and once we start veering off and saying that take this job that makes me work on
Sunday that's a bad path
That's not a good path
I'm gonna take a job that I have to miss every single Wednesday night at church. That's a that's not a good path
I'm gonna take a path where there's no I'm gonna move to a place for more money where there's no good church
When you have a good church, that's a bad path to take
And God is gonna lead you on the right path
But your flesh is gonna lead you on the other ones
And so you're like, well, it's not that big of a deal if I don't like it. I could just move back
How do you know that you don't know that you have no clue what where that path is gonna take you
Because once you get out of a good church and you get out of a you know
The habit of going to a good church and you get out of soul whining and maybe the place you have
They don't all they have is like a Jehovah's Witness like or a Mormon temple. What are you gonna do?
Oh, I took this so I could you know, take care of my family
Is that really taking care of your family by moving to a place where there's no good church?
Is that is that the good path? Is that really taking care of your family?
I'd rather have not as much money and
To be right with God and right with my family than to take some job where I'm making millions of dollars
And there's it's a spiritual wasteland
So you don't I mean our if our life is that short then don't you think that the decisions we make in this life
Need to be the right ones
What path is this road taking me down and when you make a big major decision like moving away?
or
Taking a certain job or take even taking a certain spouse
Like is that the right spouse for you?
That that you're gonna spend the rest of your life with you know, what listen to me if
You are with somebody
And you want to marry someone that's not the same faith with you as you are you're making a huge mistake
You're already starting off on a wrong foot because if they don't believe what you believe
When it comes to the things of God you're gonna have problems
That's why the Bible says we're not supposed to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers
And you're like, well, you know, I can change them. I know I can well, you don't know that
Again, you don't know that once you make decisions that are based upon the path that you already know is right
Quit trying to put a square peg into a round hole all the time and people just I just watch people just beat
Stupid decisions over and over again. It's like what are you doing?
Like don't you learn from your mistakes?
Don't you see that jumping from job to job is a stupid thing to do get yourself?
established get yourself established at a good church
If you could if you have a good church to go to why would you leave a good church when you like?
Well, I'm gonna go check the church out there as soon as I move there. That's stupid. That's an idiotic decision
You're like what how dare you say that pastor? It is stupid
It's the dumbest thing you could ever do
Go to a place with no good church. That's that's I mean, I can't figure how people
Just think this in their brain. They think this is a good decision. It's like do you have any discernment at all?
I'm just gonna bury this person and you know, they're they go to an Episcopalian Church
But you know, I know I'm Baptist but you know, it's all gonna work out. No, it's not
It's not gonna work out
it's gonna be the worst decision you ever made in your life because look when it comes to faith and
Raising a family one person's gonna have one opinion one person's gonna have another go to my church
No, we're gonna go to this church. No, we're gonna go to this church and look saved or unsaved
If you're saved and you marry someone that's not saved you're gonna destroy your life
You're like, well, you know, I could just divorce them later on. You're not supposed to get divorced
That's why it says tell death do us part in the vows literally
That's why it says love honor and obey for the wife
Because once you get married you I mean when you say those things before God
It's not just some word that you can break easily people do it all the time
But they probably also might wonder why all these problems are going on in their lives
Like people just don't take account of the fact that the stupid decision that they made five years ago is why their life sucks
right now and
If our life is only a vapor if our life is a short time period then why in the world would you choose a duck?
And and that's the difference between
Live in your life by the way you feel. Oh, I just feel this who cares what you feel like do what's right?
That's the difference between God's people and people of the world the world says listen to your heart
No, don't listen to your heart. Your heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked
That's what the Bible says. Don't follow your heart. Don't listen to your heart
Your heart's gonna lie to you. Your heart just said love them
That's not true
Because the heart is gonna deceive you the heart is gonna lie to you and say everything's just gonna be okay
you the only thing you can trust in this world is God's Word and
you're like what what decision am I making a
Stupid one if you don't if you don't follow what God's Word says
If you leave a good church to go live somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, or there's no good church
You're an idiot
If you marry somebody that's not the same faith as you that's not saved you're an idiot
It's really harsh Patrick Thompson, it's true though
It's true. Is it true? Are you just mad because I'm saying idiot
stupid
Well, sometimes it I find that sometimes when I'm just like all nice about stuff then people don't listen
but you know, maybe I'll
Just think like maybe I am being stupid. Why is he like this because I don't want you to wreck your life. That's why
Because I don't want you to come to me for counsel five years from now after you married an unsaved person
and go
I told you not to marry that person
The Bible told you not to marry that person. What are you doing?
What do you said? Do you think I should move to this place for this job? No, I didn't say that
I said, no, you shouldn't the Bible says that you should be in a good church
The Bible says, you know, you should be in the best church you can be in. Oh, but you know this job
Well, how's your life going now?
And now it's just a vapor that appears for a little time and then it vanishes away
And like do you want your life as a vapor to be some big mistake that you made?
You know, and obviously God has plan B's for people I get that
But why not go with plan a every time you get the chance?
Why not go down the path that he meant for you to go on?
Instead of going down a path that you know is not right or path. It's stupid or a path. That's idiotic
And you know, I'm gonna be
You know crass about that just because I think people need to get that through their brain. Look at Psalm chapter 90 verse 9
Psalm chapter 90 verse 9
I'm running out of time here. Yep
All right. I got a couple more scriptures and then we'll be done
So Psalm 90 verse 9 says for all our days are passed away in thy wrath
We spend our years as a tale that is told this is Moses Psalm, by the way
Moses wrote this and it says the days of our years are three score years and ten
That's saying what 70 years is like the average lifespan basically and if by reason of strength
They'd be four score years so you can live to be 80 and you know
You can people live past that but it says yet is their strength labor and sorrow
So if you live to be 80, it's gonna be tough. You're gonna be hurting all the time. It's gonna be rough
I'm already hurting. I'm only 48. So I'm really in trouble later on
So it says for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Let's talk about soon. We're gonna die
It says who know what the power of thine anger even according to thy fear. So is thy wrath
So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom
So this is something that Christians really need to get ahold of
Moses is saying, you know Moses lived a long life and his natural strength was not abated
But you know, most people aren't like Moses most people aren't invading a you know
And and fighting battles when they're a hundred and twenty years old, but Moses, you know
He was you know, God chose him specially and gave him special abilities or things like that
But Moses said let us number teach us to number our days. That means to think circumspectly
Ephesians chapter 5 and then I'll have you go back to James and we'll be done
These chapter 5 verse 14 the Bible says
Wherefore he saith wake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light
Hey, if you're sleeping on the job as a Christian
He's he's Paul saying hey awake out of that sleep you slumber
Get up arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light
You want to know how to live in this world Christ is gonna be the light to your path
He's gonna be the lamp for your feet
He's gonna give us the Christ is light, you know, it says see then that you walk
Circumspectly not as fools but as wise isn't that what I was just saying?
Yeah, walk
circumspectly think about the
Pass of your life and what those decisions are gonna make and think about the fact that you have a short time
it says
Not as fools, but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil. What does that mean?
It's not saying the days have like witches and I mean they do
But he's talking about the days are evil the more days that we live on this earth
The worst we're gonna feel the older we're gonna feel the more frail we're gonna get
And I talk about this shelf life thing all the time
But we only have a certain shelf life where we're gonna be the best
Person that we are in that time span and yeah, we can still go on and do things more older
I'm not saying we can't but like even when you're younger
You can only do so much your parents kind of tote you along and you kind of have to do what they say
But then when you're old, you know, it's kind of like, you know things happen in reverse
It's weird, but when you're older you kind of have to have people take care of you, too, right?
Like when we get old, it's not like you think that you're gonna be 90 and you're just gonna be like
You know knocking doors and soul winning and preaching and all this other stuff. You're not gonna be you're gonna be laying in bed
it's gonna be hard to get up and
You're gonna be
aches and pains and whatever, you know problems that you have in life that you have to take 50 pills for every day or whatever
it's just
We have to think about when we're young
Making the best decision we can and don't just waste the years of your life
doing foolishness and
Making stupid decisions. We need to redeem the time because the days are evil
Back to James chapter 4 verse 15, and this is what he says that we should this is how we should think
James 4 15 for that you ought to say if the Lord will we shall live and do this
Or that see really it's God's will whether we live another day on this earth
He says but now you rejoice in your boastings all such
Rejoicing is evil. Don't boast about what you're gonna do because you don't know for sure what you're gonna do
He's saying you never know what's gonna happen
That's why we should live our lives like a tale that is told and that we should think
circumspectly think about what that decisions gonna make
because
You know, what? What do you want your life to be?
Well, it's a vapor. We can't help that. It's a small time in this earth. And you know what I remember
My youth a lot of things that I've done in my youth and a lot of dumb decisions
I've made that I wish I never made and even as a Christian I've made some stupid decisions
But you know, I mean we can overcome those things
But why not if you're already young and you're already thinking about this stuff
You know, I wish I had a pastor that would get up and preach this kind of stuff to me
When I was younger and say hey, you know
You got to think about what the decisions you're gonna make instead of just saying, you know
Cuz a lot of pastors won't want a medal
But if someone comes to me and they're like pastor, do you think I should move to this church?
That you know, it's an old IFB Church they don't do soul-wanting they're repent of your sins
But you know, it's a Baptist Church because I'm getting this job that pays
$120,000 a year. What do you think my answer is gonna be?
It's gonna be don't do it
Well, let me talk. Let me ask God God said no
That's what it's gonna be and I'm not gonna just sit there and lie to people and scratch your little belly like a puppy dog
Let pastor scratch your belly make you feel better about your decision. I'm not gonna do that
I'm gonna say you're an idiot if you do that, I don't care who it is
So I'm gonna tell people the truth about things like that because I don't want people to make mistakes that I've seen other people make
I don't want people to make mistakes that I've made my life
And so when I especially if it's a mistake
I know I've already made my life and I know what that led to and I know what pumps I had to get over in
Order for that my life to get back on track again. I'm definitely gonna say I've learned from this experience
Hey
Let me help you to learn from experience that I had that was bad and in a stupid
Decision that I made that I don't want you to make because I know it's gonna ruin your life
And so it's weird because as a pastor I like I've watched people ruin their lives all the time
It's really weird
it's an odd situation to be in I see people do the greatest decisions that they ever made in their life when they get saved and
Get baptized and get it to a good church. I watched them grow
I love that but you know what the other side of that coin is
I get to watch people that I saw do great and do do great things and everything's good and then watch them just
Destroy their life by stupid decisions. I don't want that for my people and I you know
You can get mad about the way I say things but what I'm saying is true and you know
It is what I say makes sense because you know why it does it's not because I I'm saying it
It's because the Bible says it and that's what we have to go with at the end of day. Let's pray Lord
We thank you for the scriptures tonight
We thank you for the book of James and the wisdom that it has for us
I pray Lord that you would just bless this church and help it to continue to grow
Pray that people get a fire in their bosom for
Soul winning and for church attendance and for preaching and I just pray that
Lord our church would grow here and that people would take it seriously take the paths of their lives seriously and Lord
People can go back on decisions they made but sometimes it's hard to come back from decisions that are just foolish
We're gonna sing one more song
You
All right, what a great message from that fourth chapter in James, wow, that was awesome
Thank you pastor
385 385 to piano players
Take the world, but give me Jesus
Take the world but give me Jesus
All his joys are but a name
but his love
Abided ever through eternal years the same
All the highs and depth of mercy
all the length and breadth of love
all the fullness of redemption
Pledge of endless life above on the second
Take the world, but give me Jesus
Sweetest comfort of my soul
With my savior watching or me I can see
the billows roll
For the high and death of mercy
all the length and breadth of love all the
fullness of
redemption pledge of endless life above
Take the world, but give me Jesus
Let me view his constant smile
then throughout
My pilgrim journey
light will cheer me all the while Oh
the death and death of mercy all the
length and breadth of joy
Oh the fullness
of redemption
pledge of
endless life above on the last sing it out now
Take the world, but give me Jesus
in his cross
my trust shall be
Tear with clearer brighter vision
Face to face my lord. I see
all the high and
of mercy all the length and breadth of love
all the
fullness of
redemption
endless life above
Thank you Lord for tonight bless us as we go our separate ways and I'll give us traveling mercies in Jesus preciousness