All right, I know you have your bibles there in proverbs 23
But for now, please turn to genesis chapter 9 turn to genesis chapter 9
And i'll be preaching today, uh before we had the coronavirus before the pandemic I was going through a series
I was going for a series called sins that will get you kicked out of church
All right. Now look, it's not my desire to kick people out of church
I'm not like on this trigger to just find somebody some terrible sin to kick them out
But the bible is very clear that there are some sins that are committed by
Brethren and it's better if that person is not part of church. You might say well that's unloving
But here's the thing
It's partly so they understand how wicked that sin is in the eyes of god
But also partly to protect the congregation so they don't get affected. They don't get influenced to do the same sins
Themselves and some of these sins may seem in our society as very acceptable
But in the eyes of god, they are very wicked and i'll just read to you first corinthians chapter 5 verse 11 says
But now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother
That's a safe person in our church be a fornicator. So we cover that or covetous
We've covered that or an idolater. We've covered that or a railer. We've preached on that. We're up to part number five now or a
Drunkard or a drunkard or an extortioner with such and one no not to eat
Drunkenness now look where where we live in australia
And you know one of these things that we're noticing about the the restrictions being lifted, you know
What you're seeing the media is hey, when's when can we go to the pub and have a drink with our mates, right?
So embedded in our culture is this idea of alcohol consumption, you know, it's just a social gathering
It's something we do with our mates and it may seem like if you don't if you're not familiar with the bible
You're not familiar with what god has to say. You may seem like well, this is just normal life
This is just what everybody does. It's what people do to have a good time. It's what people do to relax
It's what people do to release a bit of tension and yet god says drunkenness is a sin
Worthy of being kicked out of the church
And so this is part five of sins that will get you kicked out of church on drunkenness
Now when it comes to this topic of drunkenness within
Churches there are different camps. There are different ideas of what this means and camp number one when it comes to the bible
The thought will be well within the bible
You know
It talks about the word wine now wine is the is the word that is most often used by god when dealing with this topic
But sometimes the lord may use words like strong drink
Okay, or the mixed wine but wine is is a word that's used very often in the bible and you either come from two perspectives
Number one, you know when we think of wine, don't we automatically think of alcohol?
You know if I said hey i'm going to drink some wine right now
Wouldn't you automatically think well he must be drinking alcohol, right?
So some people take that perception of how we define wine today and they apply that for the entire bible
Every time the bible says wine they think this has to do with an alcoholic drink
Okay, that's one camp but then there's a another camp there's another side to this that says well
No
You know the word wine is a more general term and this is the camp that I sit in and the word wine
Has to do not with the alcohol content, but the word wine has to do with the product of the vine
Okay, and so in spanish the word vine is what is what is the word vine in spanish?
Vinea vinea. All right and alcohol will be vino
So the word wine comes from the it has the same root word as vine vine
So the fruit of the vine the the produce of the vine is called wine
and what you'll notice and what i'll be teaching to you today is the difference between what the bible refers to as
alcoholic wine and also
Non-alcoholic wine and yet the bible itself will refer to it most often not just a general word of wine
As the product that's come from the vine not necessarily referring to the fact that it is referring to alcohol
Okay
So these are the two thoughts and even the church that I was sent from had the idea that wine always represented an alcoholic drink
Okay
Now look at genesis chapter 9 and verse number 20 genesis chapter 9 verse number 20
This is the first mention of the word wine in genesis chapter 9 and verse number 20
It says and noah began to be an husband's man
So that's someone that works in a vineyard and he planted a vineyard and he drank of the wine
We say well, hold on he drank of the wine. Could this be alcoholic or could this be non-alcoholic?
That's a good question. But within the context it's answered and was
Drunken, okay. So obviously if he gets drunk, what was he drinking alcoholic wine. All right
Now is that the right thing to do? Well, that's the question we see noah
God used noah in a mighty way and yet he got to a point where he was drunk
And he says and he was uncovered within his tents. So one aspect of one. Uh, uh, uh, what's what i'm looking for? Um,
Consequence of getting drunk is potentially just getting naked. Okay, just getting naked not realizing that he's undressed
So he's uncovered within his camp verse number 22 and ham the father of canan saw
The nakedness of his father and told his two brethren without and shem and japheth
Look what they do took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father
So there's one son that points out. Hey dad's naked but the other two sons actually well he's naked we better cover him
Yeah, there was one that was kind of mocking him, you know, uh, just uh, you know not desiring to cover his father
But the other two said no, we need to cover our father, right?
So they go in backwards so they can't see their father's nakedness and they cover their father
In verse number 24, it says and noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him
And he said cursed be canan a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren?
And so he curses canan who's the son of ham? So it's obviously something very wicked took place here
some people believe maybe there was some type of
Filthy perversion that took place with uh with a ham. Yeah
Or just the fact that he left him uncovered that he left him naked
That could be wickedness as well because one of the first things that you notice when you're reading through the book of genesis
Is that adam and eve tried to cover their nakedness but the lord came and covered them with coats of skin
And so the lord wants us now that we're in a fallen sinful state to cover up our nakedness
So that could part be part of that
Wickedness that took place but the first thing I want you to notice the first mention of wine is alcoholic wine
And it falls it comes to this point where there's nakedness and the uh, noah's uh, noah curses his grandson for what his father did
Okay, so you can see a really this this has a negative connotation
The first time wine is mentioned is in a very negative sense and we obviously understand this is about alcohol
Now if you can please go to deuteronomy
Deuteronomy chapter 11 deuteronomy chapter 11
Because you know, there is a principle of uh, the first mention that's that's a good way to understand the bible
You know, you look up the first time the lord mentions something in the bible
Usually it'll tell us what he thinks about that and the first mention of alcohol is well, it's very wicked
Okay, and it really hurt the family of noah, but if you go to deuteronomy chapter 11 verse 13, I want to show you now
How the word wine can also?
Be attributed to non-alcoholic beverage because it says in verse number 13 and it shall come to pass if ye shall hearken
diligently unto my commandments
Which I command of you this day to love the lord your god and to serve him with all your heart with all your soul
That I will give you the reign of your land in due season
I'll stop there in a moment. What land is this referring to obviously when the lord delivered israel out of uh, egypt
He wanted them to go into the promised land the land of canan, right?
And this land was going to be a very fruitful land. It was a very blessed land
The lord was going to reward that nation
But look at this it keeps going the first rain and the latter rain that thou mayest gather in thy corn
and thy wine
and thine oil
Okay. Now think about this if you are uh walking into the land and by the way corn there is not corn like we eat corn
Right corn is a reference to just uh, uh wheat or um, you know, like barley or or something like that
So, you know the the kernel was referred to as the corn there
And so when the lord refers to that you can gather your corn off the land. Is that a raw product that can be gathered?
Okay, it's obviously not bread right? It's been gathered as corn as something that is raw off the land and then he says and thy wine
Do you think when god led the israelites into the land of canan that there were barrels of fermented wine alcoholic wine
Just sitting there so they could just drink of it
What are your thoughts or do you think by wine he's referring to the grapes?
The grapes that are on the trees the grapes that are on the grape wine. Okay, obviously the the raw product
Okay, it's not like the lord saying
All right
You're going to the land of canan and you're gonna have barrels of alcohol there so you can party up all night
No, he's referring to the raw product that's off the land, you know
And of the of the oil there, right?
And so what we see there is obviously the lord referring to wine as something that the land produces
Okay, just like the corn just like that which what comes out but wine alcoholic wine requires you to take that product off the land
And obviously crush those grapes and you know, uh, ferment that product
Okay, so what we see there is a reference of wine in a non-alcoholic
Very raw sense and even i'll just i'll just read to you in actually turn there go to proverbs chapter 3
Go to proverbs chapter 3 because we will come back to the book of proverbs
proverbs chapter 3, please
And I want to show you this proverbs chapter 3 and verse number 10
proverbs chapter 3 and verse number 10 says
so shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with
New wine
New wine and so if you go to some of those european countries, I know in some of these places
They still press wine with their feet, right?
I don't maybe even know France where they get all the grapes the clusters of grapes
They put it in some big barrel and then you'll go in there barefoot and you'll press down those grapes
And what will flow out of that press is new wine now
Let me ask you if you take grapes off the vine and you trample on it and you let the juice flow
Is that alcoholic?
No, it's non-alcoholic, right? It's fresh
It's new wine. And so this new wine that is being burst through from the presses, of course is non-alcoholic
Okay, and so you can see how the lord uses the word wine for alcoholic wine
But also wine as a general sense for non-alcoholic wine and even in isaiah
You don't need to turn that just read too quickly isaiah 65 verse 8
It says thus saith the lord as the new wine is found in the cluster
As the new wine is found in the cluster. What's the cluster?
The cluster of grapes, right?
So if you were to go to a grape wine, you see a cluster of grapes. You might pull that off cut it off
Well within that cluster the lord says that there is new wine found in that cluster again
Is that alcoholic if you ate that grape, would you get drunk? Would you have the effects of alcohol? Of course not
Okay. So again, you see the law referring to the word wine as a non-alcoholic product
Now the argument is this well, hold on pastor kevin
You know, you've grown up in baptist churches. You've been going to church your whole life
You know your parents come from a fundamental christian church in chile, you know
You've been going to fundamental, uh churches independent fundamental baptists and you know the baptists the fundamentals, you know
They got this, you know all mixed up, right?
The reason you think that wine can refer to alcoholic and non-alcoholic
Is because you were taught in church or because that's how you were told to interpret the bible and that's a fair point
That's a possibility. I understand that it's pretend, you know, I I have the potential of being influenced incorrectly
But here's the thing
This is the bible is not the only place where you'll see the word wine referred to as alcoholic or non-alcoholic
In fact, it's found throughout just other books other things that have nothing to do with the bible and i'll just show you uh, you know
In in 300 bc 300 years before jesus christ
There was this greek politician known as calyxenas
Who was a contemporary of socrates a lot of people know socrates this philosopher?
Well a contemporary of his was this greek politician calyxenas
And he wrote that they were i'll just read it to you
They were trampling on the grapes and the new wine
Ran out over the whole road
So this is before christ. He's referring his writing about a new wine that is being trampled on the streets
There are grapes on the streets. They're being trampled and what's flowing out of there. He uses the word new wine
Would that be alcoholic wine that's flowing out there? No, it's obviously non-alcoholic. It's it's it's grape juice that's being flown thrown out of there
Well, what about after jesus christ? Well after jesus christ in
350 to 400 ad there's this guy called gemara that wrote about wine and he wrote how wine is preserved
in its grapes
Wine is preserved in its grapes. So once again, he's saying look within the grape
There's wine and it's preserved there. Is that alcoholic? No, it's not alcoholic, right?
And then in 1670 ad so when was the king james bible translated?
1611 right so around the time of the king james bible 1670 ad there was an english author that wrote a book
His name was f edward phillips and he wrote wine newly pressed from the grapes wine
Newly pressed from the grapes. So if it's newly pressed, it's just come out. Is it alcoholic?
No, okay. It's just juice but he refers to it as wine and then in
1828
In the noah webster dictionary under new wine, it says wine pressed from the grape
But not fermented. Okay wine pressed from the grape but not fermented. Okay, this is in the
1828 noah webster dictionary say what's your point?
My point is even outside of the bible if we go before christ
We go after christ
We go close to when the king james bible was translated and we come to a closer time like 1828
When the english language was well developed they still used even throughout all these hundreds of years as wine as a reference
To both alcoholic and non-alcoholic products. Okay, so it's a general term
And so we don't need just you can't just say well, you know, you just got that from your fundamental churches
No, even other writings, you know that have nothing to do with bible refers to the word wine for these two things
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic and I don't think that is that difficult to understand because it's like the word gay
All right. Now I I wouldn't like to I don't like to refer to anything as gay today because of the connotation about homosexuality
Right, but the bible does refer to at the word gay as gay clothing, you know
The word gay originally has to do with being joyful being happy, you know
I remember when I was a child in the 80s. I don't know. Did anyone ever watch the flintstones?
Flintstones, you know one of the songs at the end of the flintstones was you know, we'll have a gay old time
And what that meant is that you know, the flintstones are having a great time. It's a joyful time you watch this cartoon
You're going to enjoy it
Obviously had nothing to do about homosexuality
And so what we see even within my time, you know as a child watching a television program to today
We've seen how english words can change. All right, and so when it comes to the word wine
Yeah, eventually it became as we know it today as something that is just alcoholic
Okay, but throughout history throughout the beginning of the english language, you know wine could be used interchangeably between any of those two things
so the question is
You know when it comes to the topic of alcohol is alcohol a sin
Is alcohol a sin now one thing that's amazing to me and I don't know why it stopped
But when I first was made a pastor when I was ordained a pastor and I went to the sunshine coast
I had all these weedos call me
Like we put out my phone number on the website and all of a sudden just had all these people ringing me
All across australia just weedos and I don't know if it's the same people. I don't know if they were friends
I don't know, but they kept asking me basically two questions
What do you think about divorce? And what do you think about alcohol? Is alcohol a sin?
And I was like once okay answer once it's like another question like this another question
And one thing that surprised me is you know for myself personally i've never really liked alcohol
I can't say that i've never drunk alcohol because when I was when I turned 18 and you turned the legal age
You might want to experiment. I went out there and experimented and went to some parties and and drank some alcohol
So I can't say that I never drank it. But one thing that i'm very thankful for I hated this stuff
I did it out of a social pressure. I did it just to get along with mates. I never enjoyed it myself
Honestly, I just never it's something that I could never really enjoy
And I thank god for my wife because she's seen the effects that alcohol can have
And she hates alcohol when she's when she smells fermented grapes
She just kind of she wants to throw up by the smell
So for me and my wife we just never really enjoyed alcohol
And so it's not a topic that really interested me much. I never really, you know
I cared much to study this topic in the bible, but i'm surprised by how many phone calls I would receive is alcohol a sin
And let me just say to you that question is a stupid question
There's no one answer to that question is alcohol a sin
Because alcohol in of itself will actually let me cover this because I I what this sermon is
It's going to answer this question in three ways
And let me give you three answers to is alcohol a sin because it all depends on the context that's been referred to there, right?
Is alcohol a sin?
No answer number one is no it's not a sin is alcohol a sin answer number two is yes
It's a sin and answer number three is yes, it's a sin
No, yes, and yes, but you see people don't ask the question is drinking wine a sin is drinking a beer a sin
the question is is alcohol a sin and that is up to
It depends on the context of which you're asking that question. So let me teach this
Let me explain to you why it is not a sin and then why it is a sin and why it is a sin
Okay, so answer number one. Why is it not a sin?
Well, first of all alcohol is a liquid created by fermentation
Okay, alcohol is a liquid created by a fermentation and fermentation is basically when yeast or bacteria
Break down sugars and as it's breaking down those sugars, it becomes fermented. It becomes alcoholic, you know
You can take fruit juice and you can you can leave it out. You can go bad
You can open it and allow bacteria to enter it through the air and that bacteria will start eating through those sugars
And the output will be alcohol you can actually turn great just normal juice into into alcohol
Okay, say well, you know, some people have the position that well alcohol is always a sin
It's always a sin. Well, i'm just saying to you that alcohol is something that happens naturally. It's a chemical compound
I think i've written down what it is. It's basically
Two carbon molecules one from the methyl group one from the methylene group which attaches itself to one
Oxygen oxygen molecule from the hydroxyl group. Okay, so it's a chemical
So the question is is this chemical a sin?
Right is is a chemical a sin and there are some that will just say look it is always a sin
They'll say it's always a sin. Even if you just look at alcohol you've committed sin
But here's what's strange about that is that if I go to that person's house
I promise you I promise you if I go to your house i'll find alcohol
It's everywhere. It's everywhere because alcohol is just a chemical compound
All right, you say where do we find it in people's homes? Well number one if you brush your teeth, it's in your toothpaste
If you use mouthwash, it's in your mouthwash if you use creams
Moisturizing cream or any kinds of cream sun cream when you go to the beach or something. There's alcohol there
If you use super glue, there's alcohol there. Okay, if you what else what I said right here
Any kinds of external creams super glue
Vanilla extract. I know some people like bacon some ladies like bacon. They might use vanilla extract
You know that vanilla extract has like 35 alcohol in it
You know if you get the real stuff the good stuff, you know, is is that a sin?
Is that a sin that you use that vanilla extract to make some muffins some vanilla muffins, you know
Vanilla ice cream has alcohol because it's usually used. It's usually made with that vanilla extract
And what about now? What about now during the covid 19?
What is everyone recommending my dad and I went to bunnings today to get that sign there toilets, right?
And we walk in into bunnings and there's what do you hand sanitizer, right?
Hand sanitizer and well you look at that. That's got a heavy content of alcohol. Is that is that a sin?
Is alcohol a sin from a chemical perspective actually it's a really good chemical it's used for many things
Why is it used it's because without the chemical without the ethanol that's the main one that's being used ethanol
Your your your products will become hardened. And so the alcohol allows it to remain smooth
That's why it's in creams and stuff like that and the ethanol of course
It's it's a germ killer things like that. My car that i've got up on the sunshine coast. We use e10 fuel
It's like is it 10 percent? I don't know what it is. It's some percentage basically ethanol some alcohol
Am I committing sin when I use that fuel?
Okay, say well is alcohol a sin
Well, it's not a sin because it's a chemical and that chemical can be used for good that chemical can be used for evil
Okay, it's no different to marijuana. Is marijuana a sin? Listen marijuana is just a plant, you know, god created marijuana
You know, it comes out of the ground is can a tree can a plant be a sin?
Can a chemical compound be a sin? Of course not. All right, but can marijuana be used for good?
Hey, it's got some really good oils that apparently can kill a lot of things apparently can be used for very good
But can it be used for evil? Can it be used to destroy your brain?
Smoking that stuff and and dummy that absolutely and so answer number one is alcohol a sin
Well, no, it's not because it's just a chemical right now
You can use it for sinful purposes or you can use it for good purposes, you know
And so that's answer number number one
What about answer number two is alcohol a sin? And of course this usually has to do with drunkenness drunkenness
Okay, so is getting drunk a sin is getting drunk a sin. Yes
Okay, and in fact, I don't really know any christians. I don't know of any christians that would truly say
Well, I don't think even drunkenness is a sin
I think most christians can read their bibles very clearly and understand getting you know drunk
Throwing up forgetting what you did the night before because you were so heavy on alcohol
That is definitely a sin. It hurts your body and especially as believers
We have the holy ghost living in our bodies. Our bodies are to be holy acceptable unto the lord
And if we're just destroying our bodies, yes with alcohol, but with any other kind of products that might hurt our bodies
We're committing sin
We're hurting our bodies and god will not be able to use us in our bodies if we're just there destroying our bodies
Destroying our brains of course alcohol
Drunkenness destroys, you know your brain cells, you know has a terrible effect on you
and so, you know
The the issue with alcohol though and drunkenness is this the question then becomes well, what is drunkenness?
You know and what I what I what I think about this is kind of like, you know, the bible's very clear
You know if you read uh first corinthians chapter 11, it's very clear that men are to have short hair
And women are to have long hair very clearly in the bible
In fact, it says the nature itself not teach you you can go into pretty much any nation in this world
Even people that are not christian people that do not have the bible and guess what you'll find in nature
By men and women's standards that you know men are to have short hair and women generally have long hair
That's just a normal aspect of that right? But here's the thing what happens is people say well, how short is short?
How long is long?
How drunk is drunk and now you start to understand well, hold on
Why don't you just cut your hair short enough that it's clearly short or ladies?
Why don't you leave your hair long enough? So it's clearly long or how drunk is drunk?
Well, how about you don't even touch that stuff?
So you don't have any of the effects of the alcohol when you start answering asking those kind of specific questions
That's where you can start to stumble
That's where you can start to fall and I want to share with you my position on this and help you understand this
Please go to leviticus chapter 10 go to leviticus chapter 10 and verse number eight
Why is drinking alcohol drunkenness in that sense? Why is that harmful for us?
Leviticus chapter 10 verse 8 leviticus chapter 10 and verse number eight
And we're going to a time when the lord is setting up a priesthood in the in the nation of israel in verse number eight
It says and the lord spake unto aaron saying so aaron
Remember, he's going to be the high priest and his sons are going to be the priests serving in the tabernacle in the temple
Verse number nine. He says do not drink wine
nor string strong drink
Thou nor thy sons with thee when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation
Lest ye die
You know what god's saying if you drink strong drink if you go and drink alcohol while you come and serve me
I'm going to kill you
Lest you die. That's what god is saying. Right now. Look at this. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generation
So even those that follow after you all your children children children that become priests in the tabernacle. They get to keep the same thing
Why is this important? Why verse number 10 and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy
And between unclean and clean that's why hey i'm choosing you to be a priest because you've got to be able to differentiate
Between what is holy and what is unholy what is clean and what is unclean?
I need you to understand what is the difference between what is a sin and what is a righteous thing?
So what is god saying if you drink strong drink and alcohol, it's going to dull your senses
It's going to cloud your judgment
You're not going to be able to pass correct judgment because you've allowed the alcohol to have an effect on your brain
That's what he's teach. Look at verse number 11 and that ye may teach
The children of israel all the statutes which the lord have spoken unto them by the hand of moses
So the priests were commanded you're going to teach the whole bible to your people
You're going to teach about do you think a pastor should be under the influence of alcohol?
The pastor has the same responsibility to teach the word of god, right?
Just like the priests and and alcohol will have an effect on changing your the judgment that you have in your mind
Okay, you're under the influence of alcohol. You're going to start teaching incorrect things
You're not going to be able to tell the difference between holy and unholy. We say well, that's the old testament priesthood
You know, we we're not part of the old testament priesthood truly. Yes, you're right. We're not part of the old testament priesthood
Please go to proverbs 31 now go to proverbs 31 and verse number four
Proverbs 31 verse number four, but I want you to understand why was god so angry about why did he prevent them?
He says look if you drink it i'm going to kill you
Okay, god is serious about how he wants the word of god to be preached
He wants the word of god to be preached by someone that has no
No has no is not under the influence of any alcohol but look at proverbs chapter 31 and verse number four
And uh, it says here. These are the words of a mother to a king
And of course, this is referring to king solomon, but a name that his mother gave him here in verse number four
It is not for kings o lemuel
It is not for kings to drink wine nor for princes strong drink
So this is a mother's advice which was so good that god says I want that in the bible that is canon
I'm going to write that's going to get written down for all generations. This is good advice. This is good sound advice
Okay, so no drink no strong drink for kings just like a priest why why look at verse number five?
lest they drink and forget
the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted
Why were kings instructed not to drink alcohol not to drink strong drink or wine because again it perverts their judgments
Okay, the kings in these days had situations come before them
They had to pass a law they had to make a decision
And the important thing was that they the judgment was not clouded right that they would not pervert
They would not forget the law of god and let me tell you now if you drink alcohol you start taking this stuff
You're going to start forgetting the law of god. It's going to start preventing your perverts in your judgment when you read the word of god
Okay, so well, that's the king of the old testament. That's the priest of the old testament. That's not us
But here's the thing. You don't need to turn there. Just read it to you revelation chapter one verse six says and have made us
God has made us kings and priests
God has made i'll read it again and have made us that's you that's me kings and priests
Unto god and his father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever amen
What are you in the new testament you're a king you're a priest hey, what was the instruction for the priests not to drink
Alcohol not to drink wine not to shrink not to drink strong drink
Neither of the kings and listen those guys were doing a very uh, we're ruling from a very carnal perspective, right?
Things to do with the tabernacle things to do with a physical nation. Well if that was right for them
How much more than us that make up a spiritual kingdom?
They make up a spiritual nation that are spiritually priest because we're in jesus christ
Listen, if that's good enough for the old testament kings and priests shouldn't that be even better for us now in the new testament
Isn't that something that should be very clearly followed for us because we're kings and priests we're commanded to pass judgment
We're commanded to understand the law of god
We're commanded to teach people our children our churches what the word of god says should we be under the effects of alcohol then?
Should we be drinking wine and strong drink?
No, the bible's very clear god says it's going to impair your judgments you're going to forget my laws, okay
now
Let me show you my personal experience with drinking alcohol
Okay. Now I don't say this with any pride or I mean, I I wish I never touched the stuff to be honest with you
Okay, but you know, I remember uh, the first few times I drank alcohol. I just have a one b, you know
What is it five percent alcohol?
Let's say one b has five percent or one, you know wine has about 12 to 15 just depends on the wine, right?
So wine itself has like three times the alcohol content than just uh one b
Okay. Now I remember going out with my mates and we'd have a beer i'd have a beer now. Listen
Nothing would change on the outside. Nothing would my my speech would not be slurred
My reactions would not be slower. I was pretty much no one
No, no one could tell any different from the outside that I had one b
Okay, and that's the aussie way just one b. What's a big deal, right? I mean, no one can tell on the outside
But I tell you something I could tell on the inside I could tell
I'm, not 100 so far. I the way I could tell was walking when I would walk my steps were just not
Sound I was walking. It's not like I was like, you know
Going from left to right and throwing up. I could just tell by taking certain steps that it was not as solid
It was not as grounded as I normally would be if I didn't drink that one beer
So I could already tell and I really I really thought wow the effects of just one beer with five percent alcohol
Well, what about that wine that has like 13 14 15 percent some some have 18 percent, you know alcohol in them
And I could I could tell the effects that it had had on me
Well, you know what would what would I know i'd share this with my friends. I say well, this is why this is why?
One b is having an effect on you
Even though they could tell no difference on me they said because you need to build up a resistance
I'd say well, how do you build up a resistance? You got to keep drinking
You know, you got to get to a point where you know one b has no effect
And maybe maybe two or three b's five b's won't have an effect on you
So what are you saying that I just got to keep getting?
Lose my sobriety just so I can build up a resistance so I can drink more alcohol so I can what in the world?
Isn't that the opposite of what we're trying to achieve to be sober minded?
And listen, I just noticed that just myself just just one. I know other times I would have another beer
I'd notice the same thing over and over again. It would have an effect on my steps now
Listen, we we live in a ungodly world, right? We live in a wicked world. Wouldn't you say that?
I mean just the fact that there was probably 250 abortions today in the in the nation of australia
I bet you didn't even hear that on the news today
You know you but we live in a wicked world
Okay, we live in a wicked world, but you know what even in this wicked world
This wicked world is still warning people not to drink alcohol
Okay, especially when you drive and I got this information
Oh, I'll share with you later where I got this information from
But this has to do with drinking and driving and I want to share with you
What let me see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven
I want to show you what this this is a government website what it says if you have seven
Beers, let's say let's say you have seven drinks what kind of effect it has on you when you drive number one
It says here substantial impairment in vehicle control
Loss of auditory information processing so you can't hear as well major loss of balance vomiting may occur. That's with seven
All right. What about okay seven. I won't have seven. I have six. I was six. It says clear
deterioration of reaction time
reduced ability to maintain lane position
reduced ability to break appropriately
slurred speech
say well, maybe five maybe uh
Well, actually now i've got this wrong. Maybe four maybe four beers, right?
I'll just have four and then I can drive perfectly fine. It says reduced ability to concentrate
Short-term memory loss lack of speed control impaired perception and self-control
All right, so maybe okay. Let's just just free I have free before I drive reduced coordination
Reduced ability to track moving objects. Imagine that you're driving
It reduces your ability to track moving objects. Isn't that what you do when you're driving the whole time?
difficulty steering
Slower response to emergency driving situations. So well, maybe just two beers
Well two beers says decline in visual functions inability to perform two tasks at the same time
Loss of judgment altered mood now this information doesn't have what one b does to you
But I know what one b did to me and the fact that he already had an effect on my step
Look, if two beers has an effect like this, you can't tell me that one b is not going to have an effect
That's five percent alcohol. Okay, and I got this information from
the centers centers of disease
Control and prevention, you know what it's saying? It's saying here that alcohol is a disease
That's what it's from the the center of disease control
Now look, we're trying to protect ourselves
Or maybe not maybe not all of you are but you know from this covid 19 disease
All right. Look at all look how much is happening in this world to prevent an outbreak of this disease
And yet they have no problem with making you know, allowing people to go to the pub and drink alcohol
And you know, they're saying look it's a disease. It has an effect on you
In fact, I guarantee you more people have died from alcohol than covid 19
From drunkenness, okay from impairments of judgments
And so is alcohol a sin in the sense that it causes you to be drunk?
Well, absolutely. It's a sin with that's that's definitely sure even our world our ungodly wicked world that has no problem boarding babies
Says hey, you need to stop doing that. In fact, if you try to get your l's
How many beers are you allowed to have if you try to get your learner's license at 16?
Zero zero if they catch you drinking alcohol or under the effects, you've lost your license
Okay
So even in this wicked world they realize we better tell people to stop drinking
Because alcohol has an effect on your mind. It has an effect on your ability to function
And so yes, it is it is a sin
And so the next thing is like I said, well how much what is drunkenness? How far does it go?
Well, listen if one beer already has an effect
You gotta start thinking about that. Is that be worth it?
Is that will the lord be pleased?
Am I going to be able to open up the word of god and teach my family?
The word of god after i've had a beer or whatever it is that people drink, right?
It starts to have an effect on you. What is it? You know, can we drink in moderation?
You know, can I have well, you know half a glass of wine with my with my meal, you know
Just just one here one there, you know, what effects that that has for me?
Well, the bible's already very clear that uh, you know, uh, it has an effect on your judgment and so the thought is well
You know as long as you don't get drunk as long as you don't have drunk, you know
If you get tipsy, all right, but you don't get drunk. That's okay
You get tipsy you get a buzz you get a bit of a high, you know
It helps you relax a little bit you get tipsy. Well, you know what I looked up what tipsy means in the dictionary
Okay, you know what it means tipsy
I wouldn't have given it this definition but the dictionary gives it this definition by definition tipsy means slightly
drunk
Does god want us to get drunk? No, do you think he wants us to get slightly drunk?
No, so let's give it a nice name tipsy. Okay, maybe god is happy for us to be tipsy
No, he doesn't want us to be drunk at all
Now one of the reasons I didn't care much for this doctrine number one because I didn't really I never drank
I'll go, you know things that you're interested in you're going to study more and so I was never really interested now
Of course, I never really studied it out
But one thing that was very clear to me as someone that read the bible is how many times god says
That being sober like he wants us to be sober sober mind so many times to be sober and listen
When it comes to sobriety, we're talking about someone that is not under the influence of alcohol
Okay, but what does that mean exactly being sober? Okay
Well, if you can please turn to titus chapter two, let's have a look at this titus chapter two
Why am I turning to titus because titus was a pastor?
Okay, titus was a pastor and so the apostle paul is writing to titus
To help him to uh lead his church to teach his church and listen
I'm, basically a titus right and I need instruction. I need to learn how to grow as a pastor
I need to know what it is that I need to preach and in titus chapter two verse number one paul says to titus
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine
Hey this topic of drunkenness is a topic that is required that is called sound doctrine
Okay, this is well grounded. This is not something of a matter of opinions. It's a well-grounded sound doctrine
What is it number first number two that the aged men be sober?
Hey the elderly the older people in your church teach them to be sober
Grave
Temperate sound in faith in charity in patience. Look at verse number three
The aged women likewise what does likewise mean in the same way the same manner, right?
So you just you just teach the aged men to be sober. We need to teach the
Aged women likewise teach them to be sober as well, right that they be in behavior as become of holiness
Not false accusers not given to much wine teachers of good things
Look at this that they may teach the young women to be
Sober, so not just the elderly not just the old man in the old woman
But the old women should teach the young women to be sober to love their husbands to love their children to be discreet
Chased keepers at home good obedient to their own husbands that the word of god be not blasphemed
Look at verse number six young men
Likewise exhort to be sober minded. How many times was titus instructed to teach his church?
To teach them to be sober. Hey, you're old. You're an old man be sober. You're an older lady be sober
You're a younger lady be sober. You're a young man be sober and look I know that it's not just about alcohol
I know that sobriety also, you know, you can throw in the teachings of obviously drugs
You know things that will get you off your face like marijuana, you know cocaine, you know
All these hard drugs that that cause you to lose sobriety, you know god's command is for you to be sober
And listen, if you've got some of these things in your life, i'm telling you it's going to destroy your mind
It's going to destroy your your understanding of the word of god. It's not going to make god happy
He might even kill you early just like he promised the priest that he'll do
Okay, and it's time to get rid of this cut these these substances that destroy your brain, you know
God wants us to be sober. That means that we are sound we have a strong mind. We can pass judgment correctly
We're not being affected by some other products whether that's alcohol or some other, you know, uh, you know products like hard drugs
And things like that so you can see
You know, I could just see how often god would speak about being sober
Why would I want my mind to be affected now? Let me tell you something sober means that you're sound, you know
You can you have full judgment. You have full control
So if i've had that one beer now I didn't go in and do some wickedness I didn't go and commit some grave sin
And destroy my testimony and my life over one drink
But I could tell like I said that one step that I took was just not quite right was just not I don't know
Maybe it's 99.9 percent sound but there's 0.1 percent there that I realized that something off
Was I being sober at that point was I striving to be sober?
No, I had lost even if it's just a small minute
Amount I had lost a level of sobriety
And god's commandment for me is to be sober god's commandment for you is to be sober
Okay
Please go to proverbs 23 where our brother, uh, matthew read for us, please proverbs chapter 23. I better hurry up
proverbs chapter 23
And verse 29 proverbs chapter 23 in verse number 29
The bible reads
Who have woe now woe is like misery who's got misery, okay who have sorrow that's like depression
All right, who have contentions?
That's people that are in strife and struggling right who have babylon that's like foolish talking who have wounds without cause
You get hurt for no reason who have redness of eyes
It's like inflammation of the eyes who are these people that make up this description? Who are they verse number 30?
They that tarry long at the wine they that go to seek mixed wine
But I was saying look the drunkards
These are the people that have these problems these woes these miseries these contentions these babylings these wounds without cause this redness of eyes
It comes to drunkards look at verse number 31
Now I want us to really focus on this verse pay attention to it
It says look not thou upon the wine when it is red
When it giveth his color in the cup when it moveth itself aright
Okay, so let's understand. What is this talking about? So it says look not upon the wine when it is red
Why is it referring to redness then?
Well when it comes to a grape, I don't know if you ever
As a child, I don't know if I don't know if you guys do this, but I used to peel my grapes
I used to peel off the the skin because you know the skin sometimes is kind of bitter
So you kind of just want the sweet juice so you peel off the skin
It's a bit frustrating, but then you just eat it
But then when you peel it off like the grape itself is kind of like a whitish
Color and if you were to squeeze it, it's not red. It's it's white, right? So what makes wine red?
You know what it is. It's the seeds and it's the skin
Okay, so by mixing the the juice with the skin and the seeds it starts to give your wine the color red
Okay, and what's that about? Well on the skin you may sometimes notice on your grapes
There's like a bit of a white film sometimes on it. Well, that's that's basically a like a yeast
Okay, natural based yeast and if that yeast gets into the sugar, okay
Just like some type of bacteria it starts to eat it up and the produce will be
Fermentation it'll cause some some level of alcohol that that ferments out of that
Okay, and so when people make wine they use that natural yeast
But then the the producers will also add further yeast to reach a certain standard or to make it more alcoholic
That kind of stuff, right?
And so when it's talking about a wine when it is red what it's referring to is the fact that it's been crushed
with the
Skin and with the seeds and within that skin
It's got the yeast which causes fermentation which causes it to become alcoholic, but it's not just when it's red
So, you know if I went to drink grape juice and the grape juice is red
Am I am I told not to drink that natural grape juice? Is that what it's referring to? Let's keep going
It says when he giveth his color in the cup now, this is so important in this verse
Okay, it's not there for a reason because i've told you that alcohol is not a sin
All right, so when I go and put some e10 fuel in my car am I putting that in a cup so I can drink it
Is that what's going on or when I use some hand sanitizer? Am I going to put that in a cup and drink that straight?
Is that what i'm aiming to do?
Right or if I get some toothbrush toothpaste to brush my teeth
Am I putting toothpaste in a cup to drink that toothpaste? No, of course
Referring to the copy is the fact that someone's going to participate of a strong drink of a strong, uh, you know alcohol
Uh
Product and then it says here when it moveth itself are right
So this drink moves what is that referring to?
Well, if you understand the fermentation process when the sugar's been break broken down to alcohol
It starts to become fizzy. It starts to bubble up, right? It becomes fizzy and that's that's basically within your cup
It's moving because it's got that fermentation that's happened. So it's gone red and it's moving and god is saying look
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red when he giveth his color in the cup when it moves itself
All right
You know what god is saying if someone comes and puts a cup of alcohol there on the table and says drink up
He says don't even look at it
Because if you look at it, you're going to be tempted to drink it
Okay, that's what you're not meant to look at
You're not meant to look at the cup that you're going to partake of the drink that can cause you to lose sobriety
Okay, that's the sin
Okay, well how much of that cup don't even look at it the bible says
You say well, that's not fair. Well, listen, i'm i'm a i'm a preacher of god's word
I'm meant to preach his word clearly. Okay, and drinking alcohol is clearly a sin. God says don't do it
Look at verse number 32
At the last it biteth like a serpent it stingeth like an adder. Listen if you get bitten by a snake
You've got snakes brother, but they don't bite right? Well, they don't have venom, right?
But if they did what would you do you could lose your life, right? There's venom
You know what god is saying in that alcohol that is toxic. It's venom. It can kill you
Okay, it's comparing it to the venom of a snake
Right, it's toxic. It can destroy your body. It attacks your liver
A lot of people have liver damage, you know that reduces their quality of life because they were drunkards. They would drink alcohol
Look at verse number 34
Yea, there shall be as he that life in the midst of the sea and as he that life upon the top of a mast
So this is look if you drink out you're going to be like someone on a sea
So the winds are bringing you, you know, you've seen drunken people. I'm sure they can't
They can't stand up they fall over. It's like they're being tossed by the sea, right?
That's what god is saying. They're going to fall down. They're staggering look at verse number 35. They have stricken me
Shall thou say and I was not sick
They have beaten me and I felt it not when shall I awake I will seek it yet again
You know what's saying there is look i've been beaten. I was under the influence of alcohol. I was beaten
I was hurt and I don't even remember it. I didn't feel it
How many times do you hear about people that got into stupid things, you know, uh destroyed, you know
Committed some kind of crime and they're like, yeah, but I was under the influence of alcohol. I don't even remember it
I don't even they wake up with sores and pain
They got into some type of fight in the pub and they don't even remember
Because they've been under the influence of alcohol and then it says that the end of verse number 35. I will and sorry
When shall I wake I will seek it yet again
Says listen, I had a terrible time with that alcohol
But when I wake up the first thing i'm going to be thinking about is where's that alcohol? Where's that be?
Why because it's addictive it's an addictive substance. Okay, so you start drinking that stuff
You're going to find it hard to give up
Okay, there are many things in life that are addictive once if they become addicted to you
It's very hard very sinful thing a very difficult thing to give up
That's why when it's in the cup there god says don't even look at it
You know, don't even touch it. Don't even look at it
Don't go near there and listen if you've been someone that's been affected by alcohol
You've been a drunken in the past. You've really you know, you've had difficulty in this area. I would recommend just
Always stay away from the possibility
You know if somebody invites you into a pub just to like a bistro just for a meal
If I had a problem with alcohol, I just I wouldn't go into a pub. I wouldn't want to go into a place
Where I could be tempted to look at that and desire to drink it, you know
So this is a sin that the bible is very clear. Sorry, if you go to go to proverbs chapter 20
Go to proverbs chapter 20 now
Proverbs chapter 20 and verse number one proverbs chapter 20 in verse number one
The bible says wine is a mocker
Strong drink is raging
And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise
You know what? I want from you brethren. I want you to be wise
You know, I preach the word of god because I want you to have knowledge. I want you to grow in wisdom
I want you to be more like jesus christ
And the bible says here look you can be wise
Or you can be mocked
or you can be uh
Raged, okay, you know what's going to cause you to be mocked and get you into a rage wine the strong drink
I mean, listen, I don't like being mocked something about you. We've all got feelings. I don't want to be mocked by a drink
Out of all things but that's what wine does it'll laugh at you. It mocks you. Okay, it's it's addictive
It gets a hold of you. It's got control of you. You may think you have control over that alcohol
No, the alcohol has control of you. The alcohol mocks you will make fun of you
And so brethren
Can I drink
You know, just just a modest amount listen if it's in a cup if it's purpose consuming it directly into your mouth
I think the bible's very clear. Don't even look at it. Don't even go there
Okay, but is alcohol a sin as a chemical compound? Of course not
Okay, so we have to uh be intelligent with how we apply this and I think it's wise especially for our children to learn this
because
You know, uh within some churches you may see them you may hear the teaching stay away from alcohol
Alcohol is a sin
But then when the kids grow up they start looking around the house and go hold on
Look at that vanilla extract there. Didn't mom just make
You know vanilla cake the other day. It's got 35% alcohol if the kid drank that wouldn't not he get drunk
Absolutely, but is it for the purpose of drinking in the cup though?
No, and this is where you know people start asking me questions like this
Well, should I have this product in the house? Should I have that product in the house?
And this is where when you know
It's not for me to come into your house and tell you what to have in your house
I personally I don't know if my wife has vanilla extract in her house if she does I have no problem with that
Obviously we're going to keep that away from the children
I don't think the children would even desire to open that and drink it anyway
I don't think they even know what that is, right, but this is a matter of conscience
All right, if there are products in your house that contain alcohol and in your conscience it bothers you then just get rid of it
Okay, but if your conscience says well, no, you know, this isn't an issue for us, you know, we'll keep it
But here's the thing obviously we're not talking about the strong drink
We're not talking about the drink that you put into a cup and consume orally
Okay, let me just give you another thought here. You know, I I I hate alcohol, but I love spaghetti sometimes i'd go to a
Italian restaurant and i'll just get my spaghetti bolognese right and there's i'm meeting that spaghetti bolognese
I'm telling christina right went on a date or something. It's like man
It's like the best spaghetti i've ever eaten and she goes she tries it and she goes. Oh because it's got wine
It's got red wine in the sauce, right and like oh man, but obviously it's been cooked
Obviously the alcohol there's not going to get anyone drunk
So in my conscience though, I wasn't really bothered by that but now that i'm a pastor
All right now that i'm a pastor and i've obviously got to set an example
If I ever went out to an italian restaurant with you, you know what i'm not going to order
Spaghetti bolognese even even though I want to eat it. Why why would you not do it? Because if I did it and he had
Some red wine in there. It could cause my brother to stumble, you know, someone might say well, hold on
Why doesn't pastor kevin have a you know problem with this meal?
It's got wine and is it okay for me now to go out and drink some wine and drink some alcohol?
So obviously as a pastor who's got to set a better example, you know
I would withhold from doing that to not allow my brother to stumble
Okay, but you know in my conscience I would not have a problem with that meal because I know that would not get me drunk
It's not like i'm drinking it from a cup and and consuming it, you know, something like that. So
obviously
I don't want to tell you how to control your house
But if you do think there's a product in your house that if it falls in the hands of your children or even yourself
You know an addiction that you may have, you know, I would say you want to get rid of that
You want to get rid of that? Okay. So obviously this is a sin that will get you kicked out of church
Now you might someone might come up to me and say well, I saw brother so-and-so have a beer the other day
Would you kick them out?
You know at the end of the day, you know, these are not easy decisions to make, you know
If someone drinks one beer, i'm probably not going to kick him out of the church
In fact, if somebody if I find out someone does i'll probably talk to him and say look
Be careful what you're doing like set a good example, especially if you're a parent or something like that, right?
um
And here's the other thing though, you know when it comes to accusations the bible is very clear that you need two or three witnesses
You know, so i'm not going to go off someone's one word obviously we need multiple witnesses for that
I mean that should be the legal system anyway in things so you want people to to be a witness of that
but you know, obviously if someone in this church if we find out, you know, it's just
Just a full-on drunk, right? He you know, he's found the side of the road and this becomes news in our church
I'm going to have to tell that person you've got to leave the church
You're not allowed here until you repent of that until you apologize of that and you can be part of the church say why?
Because alcohol appeals to the flesh. It's addictive
It's an addictive substance if we allow someone in our church to be a drunk and to be openly drinking alcohol
It's going to cause others to be like well, why not me and then they're going to fall
You may not even have that much of a problem
But you may have the effect of causing somebody else to get into that drink to get into alcohol to get drunk
so obviously for me
This would be a case-by-case scenario where you're clearly drunk and your reputation has been hurt has hurt the church or whatever. Okay
the other
One and if you can turn to i'll just actually i'll just read it to you habakah chapter 2 verse 15 habakah chapter 2 verse 15 says
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink
That putteth thy bottle to him and makest him drunk and also that thou mayest look upon their nakedness
So it said there woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink
So here's another reason why I might kick you out of church about this topic of alcohol if you go to someone in this church
And say hey come and have a drink with me. Hey come to the pub with me
Hey come to the club and let's go have a drink together
Well in that case I would kick you out as well because I was very clear
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor to drink that putteth thy bottle to him and makest him drunken
Also, you know what i'm saying? If you go and invite your mate out for a drink
He says you're a drunken and you're causing him to be a drunken also
And so the commandment is very clear drunkards are to be kicked out of the church
Now if you say to me pastor kevin, I had no idea the bible said that, you know
And I drink alcohol today and you know, I don't want to be kicked out of the church
well
You know, first of all go to the lord and ask him for his help
I mean the lord has saved your soul. He can help you from that addiction if that's a problem that you have
Number two if you if it does bother your conscience come and talk to me
Like i'd rather you come and talk to me
And I understand you have a problem with this so I can be praying for you
So I can try to help you so that way you're not embarrassed if you do
Struggle with that sin at least you have someone else that you can talk to right and and so i'm willing to to help people
You know, I don't expect someone to come into the church and be like this perfect christian from day number one
Obviously people come to the church and they've got all kinds of sins all kinds, you know
Especially if they've not been in church or they've not been saved for a long time, you know
Just because someone just gets newly saved they come to church and we find out who drinks alcohol
I'm, not going to kick him out of the church necessarily, right?
Obviously if I was very clear that the person that we kick out of the church is a brother
Someone that's been saved for a long time someone that's been in church for a long time
Someone that we we know that is a faithful member of his church and they've destroyed the testimony
That's the person that will need to be kicked out not obviously the brand new christian that struggles in this area
So brethren, you know, if this is a topic you struggle with please number one go to christ
Go to god go sort out and I understand there might be even people in this church right now that struggle with that
Because we live in australia, you know, it's all right, mate
You know, let's go to the pub and have a have a beer. I understand there's that culture here
But you know what the bible is not
Consistent with our nation's culture, you know, we don't belong to this nation
Actually the bible is very clear. We belong to a spiritual nation
God has made us priests and kings and listen. I don't want god to kill me
One of the qualifications of being a pastor is not given to wine
Why because you've got to pass judgment because you've got to teach the lord of god
But hey, we are all kings and priests and so, you know
I pray that if this is something that you struggle with that you do get it right with the lord. Let's pray