(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, let's see how it goes. Basic. Basic. All right. All right. All right. My My My My My My My Amen. Welcome to Barricade Baptist Church Manila. Let's start our first service, and let's get our hymns and turn to to him number 202. Him number 202. Let's sing the song, My Redeemer. Maroona him bok bok. Let's sing the song, My Redeemer. Him number 202. I will sing of my Redeemer. On the first. Ready. Sing. I will sing of my Redeemer. And his waters talk to me. On the good across the soft earth. From the curse the set me free. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer. And his tongue he purses me. On the cross he sealed my pardon. Made the dead and made me free. I will tell the wondrous story. How I lost his name to save. In his boundless love and mercy. He the ram he gave. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer. He purses me. On the cross he sealed my pardon. Made the dead and made me free. I will praise my dear Redeemer. He's my own good parlor child. How the victory he gave. Overseen in death and death. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer. With his love he purges me. On the cross he sealed my pardon. Made the dead and made me free. I will sing of my Redeemer. And his hand he taught to me. He from death to life had brought me. Son of God with him to me. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer. With his love he purges me. He sealed my pardon. Made the dead and made me free. I pray that you would guide Brother Stuckey as he preaches to us a sermon, Lord. I pray that we could learn new something from it, Lord. And I pray that you would remove the hindrances and help us to be attentive with the Sermon on God. I pray that you would also bless the congregation singing, the reading of your word, and the preaching of the Sermon on God. I also pray, Lord, that you would bless our fellowship this afternoon and also the weather that we may be able to go out, Lord, and preach your Gospel, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you would continue to bless this church and we're bringing back all the glory and honor to you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. For our next song, let's turn to hymn number 369. Hymn number 369, let's sing the song, I Know the Bible is True. Hymn number 369, I Know the Bible is True. I know the Bible was sent from God. They brought their voice on the first. I know the Bible was sent from God. Behold the status of new. It's hard and cold in the living room. I know the Bible is true. I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. To God is far, the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. I know the story of Christ is true. His hope and glorious word. His life is then reopened to and his return to the earth. I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. To God is far, the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. I know the Bible is holy true. For is it given within? It drives me, guards me, day by day. And gives me, bring me your sin. I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. To God is far, the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. For is it given within? It drives me, guards me, day by day. For is it given within? It drives me, guards me, day by day. I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. He won't inspire the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. All right, good morning everybody. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Take out your boats in here today. And our verse of the week is, it's not a misprint or typo. It's the same picture, same verse because we're still looking at that verse here today. The verse of the week is Acts 17, verse 18. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him and some said, What will this babbler say? Others, some he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. That's a great verse there. We are a family integrated church, meaning children and infants are welcome during the services. We do have a mother-baby room back there for your convenience as well as the ladies restroom. The men's restroom is up here in front. Remember no eating during the service. Maintain a professional atmosphere and keep the children from running and making noise during the church service. On the next page are service times listed. First service is at 10 a.m. Second service 1130, Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. So many times listed on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. meeting at the church building. On Saturdays at CASO Memorial Circle morning and afternoon lunch is provided by church. And of course we have soul winning this afternoon around 2.15 p.m. Our salvation and baptism are listed there for October and also year to date as well as birthdays and anniversaries for this month. The next page our Bible memorization challenge we do have prizes back there if you're able to complete the challenge. Upcoming activities so we do have a lot of activities to mention I only have two listed in the bulletin but others to make note of. So in two weeks is our monthly prayer meeting and of course that is after soul winning time and then in three weeks is our second annual Children's Day. So that's going to be a fun event for all of the kids we're going to have a great time lots of games, we're going to have food and everything like that. Other things to make note of so today we do have basketball from 5 to 7 you can ask Brother June for more details I think there's going to be lights this time and less water but I cannot guarantee that so that's going to be today you can ask Brother June if you have more questions. So today we're planning to start choir practice we will have choir performing for a four year anniversary on our four year anniversary at this church is going to be November 27th so we actually are renting a venue for it because we're planning to have a lot of people here so we're not going to be meeting here on November 27th I don't know the name of the place off hand I know it's near Gouli area so it's still in Pasig and so that's going to be coming up on November 27th that's a great time to invite people to come for the first time we have people at our church that their first time attending was at the anniversary just a couple years ago and they've been with us ever since so it's a great time to invite people November 27th, the fourth Sunday of November will be our four year anniversary and then we have our three year anniversary in Pampanga on November 12th and likewise we're going to be renting a venue because there's a few people that have visited that building it's like, you know what, you can't put 50 people in that room it's already super super packed so we're going to be renting a venue for that as well and so if you're able to come down you know it's going to be a nice time it's going to be in heaven's favor is our general plan and it's going to be the area where they actually do weddings so it's going to be kind of a nicer location than where we used to meet for church if you visited we did the anniversary a couple years ago in the other building for heaven's favor that's coming up on November 12th so I do have this sign up sheet that I'll put back there and this is for the anniversary and so we have, let me just quickly explain this who's John Doe? well you're learning something and I learned who Juan De La Cruz is so John Doe translated into Tagalog is Juan De La Cruz it's a generic name whenever somebody murders someone we're on the lookout for John Doe I feel bad for anyone named John Doe or Juan De La Cruz that's what John Doe is it's just a generic name in the US and anyways once a ride, and I put in parentheses this is important because if you're planning on driving separately the answer would be no if you're planning on riding with someone but not with a church rented vehicle the answer is also no so this is to get an idea depending on how many vehicles we would need to rent and of course this is not 100% guaranteed we're trying to get this together and see what the costs are going to be but most likely we're going to rent vehicles for people to be able to come down so this is, if you need a ride if you're at the church building the answer would be yes to that now if you want a ride but you're not going to be at the church building well it's going to be very difficult this would be the meeting location so the answer to that would be yes if you need a ride but if you're riding separately the answer is no here's the thing though, if the answer is no we still need you to sign up because we have to figure out how much food to order and so basically here's the total in the family and total 5 years and above and total below 5 so this plus this and this should match this so for example my family, total in family 5 total 5 years in order would be 2 because my son is 4 and total below 5 is 3 that's to get an idea how much food to order because obviously a young child is not going to need as much as someone who's an adult or whatever so hopefully that makes sense you can let me know if you have any questions but we really want you to try to sign up as soon as you're aware if you can do that today I'll have that on the back table and other than that just on the back of our bulletin is a place for notes for the sermons here today so I believe that's it for announcements while Brother Marlon lead us in another song very next song let's start the hymn number 370 throw out the lifeline across the dark green pick up your bow he points us on the first throw out the lifeline across the dark green there is a brother someone you can see someone's mother golden will hear to throw out the light of your heart there is a brother someone you can see to throw out the lifeline he's there will to cheer throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is lifting away throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is singing today throw out the lifeline we have we can't fall fall fall fall see he's singing he's singing he's singing and all the light from evening are waiting throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is lifting away throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is singing today throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline singing and whisper there will never be winds of depletion willows of gold will soon run out till our fathers come throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is lifting away throw out the throw out the lifeline someone is singing today more than that soon will the season of rescue be over so will they live to eternity for peace and water for time for the day throw out the lifeline someone is singing today throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is lifting away throw out the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is singing today soon will the lifeline throw out the lifeline someone is singing today someone is singing today someone is singing today tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow Let us open our bibles to Ezra chapter 4 after the second book of Ezra chapter 4, we are going to read the whole chapter. Ezra 4, please say amen when you're there. Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity built the temple unto the Lord God of Israel, then they came to the little Bible and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as he do, and we do sacrifice unto him, since the days of Esar, Hadon, king of Asur, which brought us up here. But the rabbil and Jeshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God, but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and sabotaged them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, even unto the reign of Davis, king of Persia. And in the reign of Hasbroz, in the beginning of his reign, brought there unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Ataxax, wrote Bisham, Betharat, Tabeir, and the rest of their companions, unto Ataxax, king of Persia, and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. Rehum, the counselor, and Shimsai, the scribe, wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Ataxax, the king, in this sort. Then wrote Rehum, the counselor, to Shimsai, the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinatites, the Afazafsites, the Tappetites, the Afasites, the Adhevites, the Babylonians, the Susanites, the Dehevites, and the Elamites. And the rest of the nation, whom the great and noble Asnapah brought over and sat in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side of the river, and at such a time. This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Ataxax, the king. Thy servants, the men on this side of the river, and at such a time, be it known unto the king that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come to Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof and joined the foundations. Be it known now unto the king that if the city be builded and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toil, tribute, and custom, and so though shall in damage the revenue of the kings. Now, because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers, so shall thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time. For which cause was the city destroyed? We certify the king that if this city be builded again, and the walls that are set up, by this means thou shall have no portion on this side of the river. Then send the king and answer unto the whom the counselor, and to Shimshi the scribe, and to the rest of the companions that valence her maria, and unto the rest beyond the river, peace, and at such a time. The latter which he sent unto us hath been plainly that before me. And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made within. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river, and told, vivid, and custom was paid unto them. Give ye now commandments to cause these men to cease, and that the city be not builded until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. Watch damage grow to the herd of the kings. Now when the copy of King Ataxax's letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshi the scribe, and the companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God, which is at Jerusalem, so it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Last way, I thank our Father for your words. Thank you for the Bible. Lord, please help us to understand today your words. Please also bless the preacher, and give him your might and power. And we also pray that you will always help us to apply things that we hear, and we pray in his name. Amen. Alright, we are in Ezra chapter 4, and the name of the sermon is The Persecution Against God's People. The Persecution Against God's People. Now, I mentioned this in the introductory sermon, and I want you to be aware of this because as you're reading Ezra, hopefully you're reading it and studying it and having a better understanding. This is the most confusing chapter in the book of Ezra, and the reason why is because it covers quite a bit of history. There's various kings that are mentioned here, and this is basically a chapter that is done thematically, where basically there's a set theme that the Bible is speaking about, and it's about basically people that would try to prevent the work from being done. But it talks about it during the days of Darius, and also in the days of Artaxerxes, and then also in between you've got Ahasuerus as a king. So this covers a lot of time period, and what you're going to see is in chapter 5 the king is Darius, and then Artaxerxes, which is the primary guy in this chapter, is not the king until chapter 7. So that's important to understanding Ezra chapter 4 in the book as a whole. But the name of the sermon is The Persecution Against God's People. The Persecution Against God's People. Verse number 1. Now these are people that are adversaries. These are people that are enemies, and they don't like what is being done, but what they say is let us build with you. And point number 1 is you see the enemy linking up with God's people. And what they're doing here is they're lying. They do not seek the God of Israel, they seek to destroy the God of Israel, but they are pretending to be like God's people. What they want to do is link up and destroy it from the inside out. Go in your Bible to Joshua 9. Joshua chapter 9. Joshua chapter 9. You know, when I was I believe 20 years old, I stayed in Utah for a couple summers. I was helping out a Baptist church when I was like 20 and 21 years old, I believe it was. And you know, they're building a church building in Utah, and it's right near, it's in West Jordan, Utah, but it's like right beside Salt Lake City, which is like the center of Mormonism in the world. Right? Because when I first got saved, I had a friend who was Mormon, so I really studied Mormonism. I wanted to learn about it and figure out how to get people saved in that religion. And the church building we were building, the Latter-day Saints offered to build it for us, a Baptist church. And the pastor's like, no. Now you say, what were their intentions? I have no idea. You know, maybe because they want to basically say that, hey, we're trying to get along with everyone and look good in the community or whatever. I'm not really sure, but they offered to build that Baptist church for us, and the pastor said, no, you're not allowed. Now I don't know whether they would have tried to get that legally in their name, so they technically owned it. I really don't know what their plan was, but it's like literally, I was just thinking about this like 30 minutes ago. Yeah, I remember. Hey, let us build with you, right? Let us build that Baptist church here in Salt Lake City, Utah, right? Of course, you know that they have ulterior motives if they say something like that. But you know, this would seem like a strange thing to us because none of us are going to join that church right over there and to pretend to believe like they do and say, yeah, I see World War I and Revelation chapter 7. I see it. I see the last messenger and say I'm going to join that church and pretend to be just like them and then try to destroy it from the inside out. We wouldn't think like that. That's strange, right? Why would you do that? If you don't believe in it, why would you pretend to believe in it? So this is a hard concept for us to understand, but you're seeing people that are bad people, people that hate the God of the Bible and they have no conscience that would make them feel bad about lying. They think very differently than you and I would think. Why? Because their conscience is seared with a hot iron, the Bible says. These are bad people that are pretending to be of this faith and yet they don't believe in it and they hate it and they want to destroy it from the inside out. Go to Joshua chapter 9. What you're seeing though is they are linking up with God's people and here's the thing. If that happened before the time of Christ, the same thing could happen in 2022. People that decide to link up with us but they don't believe in our church. They don't believe what we teach. They're just here for ulterior motives. Joshua 9 is an example. Notice what it says in verse 1. And it came to pass when all the kings which were on this side Jordan in the hills and in the valleys and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, heard thereof that they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one accord. And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done onto Jericho and to Ai, they did work wily. You know, think of like the wily coyote if you ever watched that cartoon. It's like an American cartoon. But basically being very subtle, being very cunning, being deceptive, being very clever, not being honest, they worked wily. And then it says, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors and took old sacks upon their asses and wine bottles, old and rent and bound up. So they're basically going to pretend to be something that they're not really. And what they do is they bring old sacks and they bring, you know, old wine bottles. And what they're trying to make it look like is they came from a very, very long journey and their clothes and their food is basically just destroyed because of the journey. Now in our modern day, you hop on a plane and even if you're going to the other part of the world, you can be there in, you know, generally less than 24 hours, right? A direct flight from the United States to here coming from California is only like 10 hours. It's just hard to get a direct flight. It's like 9 or 10 hours or whatever. But obviously during this time period, if you're going to travel, that's a long, long trip that you're going to be doing. Then it says in verse number 5, and old shoes and clouded upon their feet and old garments upon them and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua onto the camp at Gilgal and said unto them, and to the men of Israel, we come from a far country. Now therefore make ye a league with us. So they're lying and saying we come from a far country and they're trying to get the clothes and everything to match the part. They're making it look like they came a very long distance. We come from a far country. And they're asking for a league or an agreement with the children of Israel. Verse 7, and the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, peradventure ye dwell among us, and how shall we make a league with you? They're basically saying, you know, we don't really know if we can trust you. Right? Peradventure ye dwell among us. Then it says in verse 8, and they said unto Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, who are ye? And from whence come ye? See, Joshua has the right reaction because he's like, how do I know if this is true? Who are you? Right? Where did you come from? Right? Who are ye? And from whence come ye? Where did you come from? Verse 9, and they said unto them, from a very far country, thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God, for ye have heard the fame of him in all that he did in Egypt. So they don't really answer the question, where did you come from? From a really, really, really long distance away. Right? They're trying to be as vague as possible and just making it sound like they put this great journey because they heard about the Lord. Now look, I do believe that there's saved people all over the world. And during this time period as well, there would be people that heard about the Lord and got saved that did live in a very far country. So that is definitely possible. Now if it's a large group of people, there'd definitely be a question mark how a whole group of people converted to the true God. But they say we came from a very, very far country. Then it says in verse number 10, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond Jordan to Sion king of Heshbon and to Ab king of Bashan which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us saying, take victuals with you for the journey and go to meet them and say unto them, we are your servants, therefore now make ye a league with us. I mean the modern day application is like if the country of Saudi Arabia said we're rejecting Islam and now we're Christian. I mean that would be a big question mark. It's like the nation of India, we no longer believe in Hinduism, we're Christians. There ought to be a big question mark in your head. An entire country just converted and rejected their false religion? I mean that's a bit far fetched to take place. Obviously, you know what, in any country there's saved and unsaved people. But to say that a country basically rejected a false religion and converted to Christianity, I mean that's obviously not very logical. And then it says in verse number 12, This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you, but now behold it is dry and it is moldy. So they said here's our bread and you can see that there's mold on it and it's like that's proof we came from a very, very, very long distance away. Obviously bread takes time to go moldy. If you put it in the fridge it lasts longer. I made the mistake recently not putting it in the fridge and then I took a bite and I saw that little blue mark. It's like alright, I'm going to throw this away. But basically they said our bread is dry and moldy. It's old and it says in verse 13, And these bottles of wine which we filled were new and behold they be rent. And these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. And the men took of their victuals and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. So it looks very convincing. They looked apart. They say we came from a long distance. What's the proof? Look at our clothes. Look at our food. We must have come from, where did you come from? From a far country. It's like a very vague answer but that's what they say. They came from a far country and they believe it but the problem is God's people, they don't ask counsel of the Lord. And so they look on the outward appearance and then basically they fall for it. Verse 15, And Joshua made peace with them and made a league with them to let them live and the princes of the congregation swear unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them that they heard that they were their neighbors and that they dwelt among them. It's like they found out actually these are our next door neighbors. They came from a far country, oh, like, you know, five kilometers away. It's kind of like U.S. soul winning and it's like, you know, a ten minute drive to our church. That's so far away. I got to take, you know, two gypney rides or whatever. It's just like, no, actually that's not that far away. Right? They say they come from a far country. They're actually their neighbors. They were lying about it. Go to Matthew 26. Matthew 26. And what you see in Joshua 9 is people that are lying and they're linking up with God's people because they have ulterior motives. Look, if that happened thousands of years ago, the same thing could happen in 2022. People could come to our church and they could say, Yeah, you know what? I seek your God. I listen to those sermons online. I believe the same thing. You know, I grew up in a false church. Here I am. I want to worship God. I want to go soul winning with you guys. I believe in it. I want to support this church. And yet they're lying about it. I mean, if that happened thousands of years ago and there's nothing new under the sun, the same thing could happen in 2022. And the same thing does happen in our modern day as well. And look, you know what? You are naive and gullible if you don't think that could ever happen in 2022. Because there's nothing new under the sun. And here's the thing. In this time period, the Gibeonites, they look convincing. Right? I mean, they got the clothing that fits the part. The modern day application would not be a torn, you know, shirt, but like looking nice, dress nice. It's like, how did you get saved? Well, you know, I was listening to that sermon online. They say they got saved or whatever, but they're actually lying about it. And if that took place thousands of years ago, the same thing could happen today. Another example, and the most famous, is Judas Iscariot. Where he pretends to be like God's people, but he's just a phony the entire time. Matthew 26, verse 20. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve, and as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that divveth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas which betrayed him answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. Now if you study this passage, and I mean, Jesus literally says, it's Judas. And that thou doest do quickly. And all of God's people are like, I wonder what he's talking about. Right? It seems so, I mean, Jesus literally says, it's Judas Iscariot. It goes straight over their head. You say, why would it go straight over their head? Because Judas was convincing. Right? I mean, doesn't that make sense? And you've got to think about this logically. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two to preach the gospel. Right? I mean, Judas had a soul winning partner. Right? They're going out preaching the gospel all the time. And it doesn't mention every time they preach the gospel. But on a weekly basis, they're going soul winning a lot. So he went soul winning with a lot of different people. Here's the thing, if Judas never got anybody saved, and Jesus said, one of you is a phony, they'd be like, it's that guy. Right? I mean, he's the guy who never got anybody saved. So here's the thing, and do not misunderstand me. An unsaved person cannot get somebody saved. The Bible is clear on that. I don't want to go on a big rabbit trail. That is very clear in the Bible. However, an unsaved person can explain the gospel and pray a prayer with someone, and it appears like they got somebody saved. I promise you, it appeared like Judas Iscariot got people saved. You say, why is that? Because otherwise they would have said, yeah, it's that guy. And here's the thing, I don't think Judas preached a false gospel when he's preaching the gospel. Because here's the thing, the soul winning partner would figure that out. Imagine you get paired with someone later today, and you're the silent partner at the door, and then all of a sudden, you know, they're going through the gospel, they go to Acts 16, and they're like, see, Muggs Isci. You're like, what? Did I misunderstand him? Yeah, Muggs Isci. You'd be like, you're preaching a false gospel. It'd be obvious, wouldn't it? I mean, if Judas was preaching a false gospel, it would be obvious. Here's the thing, if he was preaching an incomplete gospel, it would be obvious. What I mean by that is if his soul winning presentation was terrible, it would also be very obvious. They'd be like, this is the guy, because look at his soul winning presentation. What I'm saying to you is Judas Iscariot probably said all the right words, had a very smooth gospel presentation. I mean, it sounded great, but actually in reality, it was fake. He didn't actually believe it himself. And here's the thing, they can explain the gospel, but nobody's going to get saved, because a corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit, the Bible says. Now turn in your Bible to Jude 1. Jude 1. Jude chapter 1. And you know what, I've seen this before with people that turned out to be bad people. You know, I've gone soloing with a lot of people over the last 20 years, and I've gone soloing with people that turned out to be bad people. Anyway, to be honest, a lot of them had very good gospel presentations. I remember I went soloing with someone in Sacramento. I went soloing with the deacon of another church just a couple weeks before it turned out he was this oneness heretic, this fraud. And I'll be honest, his gospel presentation was very good. I mean, it was smooth. I mean, it made perfect sense. And when I was with him, the person he preached to did not get saved. He said they didn't believe it, but I can certainly see where people would pray a prayer, and it would sound very convincing. I mean, he had a very good gospel. It wasn't just, well, you know, he got through it. No, it was actually very smooth. His words were very clear. Here's what you have to realize. If someone turns out to be a bad person, a defense is not, but they preached a very good gospel. That's not a good defense. That doesn't mean they're saved. But they went soloing, they got people saved. It's like just because someone prayed a prayer doesn't mean they actually got saved. An unsaved person cannot get somebody saved. So if it turns out somebody's a heretic and they're not saved themselves, it doesn't matter how smooth their gospel is or what they said, they didn't get anybody saved. Right? You can't just trust. I mean, it sounds so convincing. They're so charismatic. Yeah, it's part of the act. They've been practicing it. They're just like a trained actor that just didn't make it to Hollywood. They got rejected from Hollywood, rejected from Bollywood, rejected from all the major whatever, and it's just like so they decided to attach onto religion to try to make their money. That is often the case. And here's the thing. With Judas Iscariot, why did he link up with God's people? What was the reason? Money. He was a thief. He kept the bag. He did it for the purposes of making money. Now, that's not the only reason why someone would link up with God's people. There's many reasons. And you know what? That's a whole sermon in and of itself. With Judas, it is because of money. But this certainly does happen in 2022. Jude chapter 1 verse 10, it says, But these speak evil of those things which they know not. These are referring to people that are reprobates, false prophets, unbelievers, but actually children of the devil, not just your normal unbeliever. But what they know naturally as brute beasts in those things, they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Corey. Now, when I read verse 11, and what I preached before is, I believe these are basically, you know, tatlun, klasenang, psychopaths, or reprobates. Three types of reprobates, or children of the devil. You've got Cain, and Cain, in my opinion, represents a violent psychopath. People that would be like a serial killer, or people that would be like a serial rapist. I mean, these major, major crimes. It's like, that's what Cain represents. And if you look at people that are these serial rapists and serial killers, these are bad people, okay? And then all of a sudden you see Balaam. Well, Balaam, it says, for reward, it's talking about for money. And it's very clear from the context, Balaam is basically the false prophet after money. I would say this is probably the most common of the false prophets that you have, of people that would link up with a good church and pretend to be like them. I mean, there's a lot of pastors, probably most pastors, are like Balaam. It's all about money. I mean, they just go through the act and say whatever to try to make money. I mean, it's all over the place. But people do that within the church. I would also say that here in the Philippines, the biggest type of false prophet we will deal with, inside of our church, is the Balaams. And you say, why do you say that? Well, from experience. That's what we've dealt with. People that have tried to attach themselves to our church and our movement, why? To make money. And, you know, it makes sense because, like, well, you know, an American missionary, you know, they're getting money from another country, and they're like, maybe we can get some of this money. Right? That is the reality that people would attach themselves to this church and this movement, why? For the purposes of money. And you say, Brother Saki, I don't think that would take, it's already taken place at our church. What are you talking about? I mean, literally, it took place just a couple of months after our church started. Someone who came from another Baptist church, another seminary, and they attached themselves here. It's like, I'm stuck in Metro Manila. I have no money to make it back to my home area, trying to get money from us. And they would literally sit in church. This kid, this, you know, who is now a pastor that's unmarried, he's like 22 years old or whatever. And he was like the biggest fan ever of the new IFB. And he literally spoke zero words of English. And I'm not exaggerating. For those that are with, is that not true? I have never met anybody in the world that spoke less English than this person. But he's the biggest Pastor Anderson fan in the world. It's like, you can't understand what Pastor Anderson's saying. What are you talking about? I mean, literally, I mean, when I try to talk, and I would talk to the just basic words, you know, thank you. It's like, what did he say? Thank you. Thank you, I'm confused. Hello. Like, hello. Right? He literally spoke no English at all. And literally, I mean, the proof of that was the fact that he was never actually inside of our church building doing the services. He'd just go to the bathroom for like an hour. Literally. We're like, what happened to that kid when he's hanging out in the bathroom? It's like, what are you doing? Right? I mean, it was strange. But here's the thing. That took place right after our church started. Where he pretended, and this guy was the biggest fan of the new IFB ever, and he's a huge fan of me, huge fan of Pastor Anderson. He didn't know who Pastor Jimenez was. It's like, what? It's like, he had no idea who Pastor Jimenez was. It's like, all right, something doesn't add up. And with him, the lies were so ridiculous that you started to get confused. Like, nobody could be that bad at lying. Right? Nothing matched up. But here's my point. People would come to this church for the sake of money. No. I mean, we have people that knock on our door all the time just to ask for money. And let me help you out. If somebody ever asks, you can just tell them, Brother Stuckey said no. You say, Brother Stuckey, you're not even going to listen to their story? Look, you know what? In Pampanga, just about a month ago, I went sowing with Brother Raji. Someone hops in the back of the jipney. He's got this sob story about his family, and he needs money. I mean, his kid for surgery, he can't pay for the hospital bill, and everybody's just pulling out money. He got, like, 500-plus pesos on the jipney. 100 pesos here, 50 pesos here, 100 pesos here. Brother Raji saw that same guy a week later, different story, lying about it. And look, if you think that only happens outside of a church, you're a fool. Because people at church are often naïve, and people at church are often a little bit too nice. Yeah, it's a good trait to be nice, but you can be a little bit too nice and just believe every single thing you hear. And look, it happens outside of the church for sure. People ask you for money. Oftentimes, they're lying about it. You know, I remember in Sacramento, you know, this guy, he was a homeless guy, and he was on the side of the road asking for money. This guy pretended to be blind, but he was not blind. I knew the guy because he's all over, and just basically when he's not panhandling asking for money, all of a sudden, he no longer has the sunglasses on and the cane. I mean, he can see perfectly fine. I felt like getting out of the car and just taking that cane. It's like, you know, pretending to be blind. I mean, how wicked do you have to be to pretend to be blind for the sake of money? See, people lie and people steal and people deceive, but there's also a level that most people have, and most people would not pretend to be blind or to pretend like their child needs surgery and be lying about it because you've got a conscience. But there are people that do not have a conscience. They don't feel guilty about it. They will do or say whatever they need for the purposes of money, and let me tell you something. At our church, that is the biggest thing that we will deal with. People have used this movement and this church to try to leech off of it and steal money from people. People have literally, at the mission trips we've had, they've waited for that opportunity to go around asking all of the foreigners for money. And they have this story about how, you know, I can't make it here, I don't have any money, blah, blah, blah. And you know what? There's a lot of very nice and well-intentioned people, and they get a lot of money. They get a lot of free stuff. It's like, don't use our church for money. It's like, it's a wicked thing to pretend something and lie about it for the sake of money, but you know what? People do that. They did that during these days. There's the Balaams, and you know what? The same thing happens in 2022. It's not just these false prophets that just talk about money, money, money, money, money. It would also happen within a good church of people that become members, and they guilt other members to give them money. And we've seen it at our church before, and we will see it in the future as well. It also says in verse number 11, and perished in the gainsaying of Corrie, which is a reference to Corrie from the Old Testament. And I believe what this represents from, I believe it's number 16, is basically the psychopath that wants control and power. So basically, psychopaths or reprobates could want different things. There's the violent. There's those that are in it for money. There's those that want power and authority and control. And you have to realize that these sorts of people exist even within a good church. Verse number 12, notice this. And he said, Brother Succy, I don't know if that would happen within our church. Verse number 12, these are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. See, the Bible, when it says feasts of charity, I believe that's a reference to like religious, you know, holidays. You look at the Passover feast, which becomes the Lord's Supper. And after we apply this is that people could literally take the Lord's Supper with us, be among us, or be at our lunch fellowship after church services without fear. They're not afraid of getting caught. They're not afraid of their cover being blown. They're just like, nobody knows. We're going to get away with it. But they're not actually like us at all. And the Bible's saying that they're going to be among you, feeding themselves without fear when they feast with you. Go to Ezra chapter four. Ezra chapter four. First off, this is the context of Ezra four. We're going verse by verse covering what the Bible says. Secondly, I understand none of us want to think that. None of us want to think other people at church are bad people. I don't want to think that either. I wish we would never have a bad person ever come to our church. You know, I posted this on Facebook yesterday. This was my son's commentary from the sermon last night. I was talking to my son last night. And, you know, my son Zeph said, he said, bad people should go to bad churches. I was like, amen. That's good. I might even make a sermon. Bad people should go to bad churches. I was like, that's right. It's like, you know, that shows that even, you know, young kids can actually get stuff out of the sermons for the idea that kids can't be in the service. You know what? Kids actually pick up a lot. They're like a sponge that pick up these various different things. And his commentary, bad people should go to bad churches. I was like, amen. I want bad people to go to other churches. Right? He said, bad people go to bad churches, good people go to good churches. Right? I was like, amen. That's great. Right? But unfortunately, sometimes bad people do go to good churches. Right? The Bible says in Ezra four verse three, But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God. It's like, you Mormons, we don't want your help. Right? But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel as King Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. So basically, they try to link up with God's people. They get rejected. Now, perhaps they knew the story of, you know, Joshua 9. Right? Perhaps they knew other stories in the Bible. They said, hey, you know, we're not going to be deceived or foolish. It's like, obviously, if you're doing a great work for God, there's going to be some sort of persecution. So you have to be ready for it. Right? I mean, if you're doing something great for God, there's going to be resistance from the enemy. And they're ready for something taking place. And they seem to be aware, hey, we don't trust these people. They're lying. They're phonies. We don't need your help. We're going to do it ourselves. First, we see the enemy linking up with God's people. But then what we see in the next verse is them lessening God's people or weakening the work being done. Verse 4, then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them in building and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. So first they try to link up with God's people, and God's people say, no, we don't want you. And since that doesn't work, they just fight against the work, lessen the work being done. Go to Jude 1. Jude 1. Jude 1. The first goal is basically let's destroy it from the inside out. If that doesn't work, well, we'll just destroy it from the outside in. Right? If we get rejected at the door and we're not welcomed to church, we're just going to fight against it from the outside. Anyway, you'll see this with online ministries, a church like ours, or even churches that are more well known in the U.S., and you see a lot of people fighting against the work being done. You know, some of those people used to go to those churches. Some of those people were members of those churches. Some of those people I've done so many with. And then you see they have a YouTube channel and they're just, every video is like anti, you know, the church that they used to go to. And then they're saying that their old pastor that they got baptized by and they remember for years is a false prophet. It's like, well, it's convenient once you got kicked out of church, all of a sudden you're lessening the work being done because you can't destroy it from the inside out. You got caught. Now you destroy it from the outside in. Right? Same thing as in Ezra 4. Jude 1 verse 17. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. Verse 19. These be they who separate themselves, sensual having not the Spirit. What does the Bible mean in verse 19? Well, if you remember from last week, I talked about before we do a great work for God and build for the Lord, what do we need at our church? Unity. We need to be united. We need to be on the same page. If we do not have that unity, we're not going to be able to do as much work for the Lord. Well, what it says here in verse 19 is these be they who separate themselves. And what that means is they basically take people aside and try to cause problems on an individual basis, whether it's spreading gossip, whether it's telling lies, whether it's spreading false doctrine, but they don't do that amongst everybody. Right? It's not like somebody would basically say in front of the whole church, hey, Brother Stuckey, I just want to let you know, I think you got to repent of your sins to be saved. It's like, get out of here. Right? But they might do that individually to someone. Right? Surely, if anyone's been in our church for any length of time, they're not going to try to spread Calvinism to me. Right? It's like, that's like the number one thing that I'm going to be ready for, but they might do that to somebody else. But they do that on an individual basis or small groups. They're separating rather than staying in front of everyone. Well, they want to destroy the unity and cause problems, and then it will destroy the unity that we have, doing it on an individual basis. Go to Ecclesiastes 4. Ecclesiastes 4. Ecclesiastes chapter 4. And you know, I believe I've told these stories before, but they apply to what we're talking about. And you know, I've seen this before in my time as a Christian. Someone who visited Sacramento in California, and he comes out soul winning with me. I'm his soul winning partner, and he literally tells me while we're soul winning, his second week, I think, or third week at the church, he's like, yeah, you know what, you know, soul winning is a good thing, going door to door, but you know, the Bible actually never says, never says that you should do door to door soul winning. It's a good thing, but it actually never says that. And I'm just thinking, did this, we're going soul winning. We're knocking doors, and he's literally trying to convince me that door to door soul winning is not in the Bible. And I told him, well, I actually read it this morning, which I had literally read that morning, and I was like, let me show it to you. And it took me a little while to find it. I was trying to find the exact verse. He's like, see, people think it's there, but it's not. And then I show it to him. Oh, I guess I was wrong. It's like, what in the world? Right? And it's like, it was insulting to me, because you really think I'm that bobo? Or that unspiritual? Right? And this is the way you ought to feel. If somebody comes to you and tries to give you false doctrine, you should feel insulted. It's like, you came to me? It's like, how dare you think that I don't know my Bible? Right? It's like, you coming to me? Well, here's the thing. If somebody comes to you with gossip, you should feel insulted that they think you're going to spread that gossip. You should have the idea, you know what, that, you know what, if somebody's coming to you privately and trying to cause problems, that is a massive red flag. That is exactly what Jude 1 is talking about. This same guy back at the church, you know, I told Pastor Mendez about it, stays for the evening service. After the service, he's trying to convince me and this one other guy that the King James Bible is not the Word of God. I was, I felt so insulted. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. It's just like, this guy even knew I worked for the church, and he thought I knew nothing about the Bible or whatever. Guy got kicked out that night from the church. Turned out, he had a big YouTube channel, and his big doctrine was that there is no hell. He had like over 10,000 subscribers. But, I heard about your preaching online. I believe in it. I want to be with God, but I don't believe in soul winning. Don't believe in hell. Don't believe in the King James Bible, but I love your church. He's lying. I've experienced this before. People that will pretend to be like-minded, but they're lying about it, right? They try to destroy it from the inside out, and sometimes people come to our church, and they might try to do that. They try to separate. They try to lessen the work being done. Unity is very important. Notice what it says in Ecclesiastes 4, verse 8. There is one alone, and there is not a second. Yea, he hath neither child nor brother, yet is there no end of all his labor. Neither is his eye satisfied with riches. Neither sayeth he, for whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good. This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat. But how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. And the Bible is speaking here about the importance of being united together, and you can do more as a team than individuals. An easy way to understand this is that if this church did not exist, and none of us had a good church to go to, and we individually lived in our locations, and you added up all of the salvations individually together, versus what we get as a church now, it would be so low in comparison to what we get as a group. The unity, and I think the unity is an underrated aspect of a church, because there's all these doctrines and all these things that are more exciting, but honestly being a united church is extremely valuable, and extremely important. And if someone's trying to destroy the unity of our church, you ought to be angry about that. Because you're part of this church. You're part of the body. Right? You ought to be upset that someone's trying to destroy what we have at our church. Turn in your Bible to Ezra 4. Ezra 4. Ezra chapter 4. Point number one, they try to link up with God's people. While it happened thousands of years ago, the same thing would happen in 2022. Now look, obviously if people come to our church, you assume the best out of people. It's not like at the door, you know, we interrogate them and try to figure out, well we got to find out if you're a false prophet. Here's a lie detector test. Right? And put this on, and here's the thing, if you're telling the truth you don't have to worry, but if you're lying it's going to shock you, you'll have to go to the hospital, right? Obviously we don't do that. Okay? Obviously we assume the best out of people because most people at a good church are good people. But not all. And what you should do as individuals is just pay attention to things. Pay attention to things that just do not match. Things that don't seem right, where it's like this person acts the part here, they act like a child of Israel here, but then all of a sudden there's these other things that are like the exact opposite. Right? Where it just does not match. And I would say that when we've had problems with people before, it's like I noticed red flags about them before they ever were booted out of our church. Now you got to prove things, you have to be, you know, have actual proof of stuff. You can't just go off, you know, assumptions or some rumor you hear or whatever. But it's just like there were literal red flags that were there because they would look like this most of the time, and then all of a sudden they would actually let their guard down from time to time. And this is what they say, you know, not going on too big of a rabbit trail, but with like famous psychopaths that have existed in history. They will act a certain way most of the time. Every once in a while they let their guard down. They say something that actually comes from their heart because they didn't think about it ahead of time. And basically the evidence is there, but oftentimes people see that they want to assume the best. It's like, well, I'm sure that they didn't mean that. It's like, well, you know what, when it happens several times, you're naive if you just always give the benefit of the doubt on the same person, right? You ought to be paying attention for red flags. And you know what, as I said, I wish this weren't the case. I wish everybody at a church would be a good person and there would never be anything like this, but this is reality. And so you should be paying attention. Now this does not mean that you see something and then you spread gossip to other people at church. If there's something major you've got to tell, you can tell me about it. And people have come to me about various things. It's like I just kind of have it in the background. It's like, okay, I'm aware of that. Doesn't mean somebody's going to get kicked out, but in the past people have gotten kicked out based on what people gave to me. Things that I wasn't aware of, once I found out, is like, hey, there's the evidence. There's the proof. Right? You can't be naive. And here's the other thing. I'll give you an example of this, of a famous serial killer in history. Jeffrey Dahmer is probably the most famous American serial killer ever, or Ted Bundy. But Jeffrey Dahmer, immediately when he got caught, all of a sudden he just said, I feel so terrible. I can't believe that I did this. And then people are just like, oh, you know, he seems sincere. And then he got saved in prison. Isn't it interesting how every serial killer and murderer becomes a born-again Christian in jail? Right? Look, you can't be naive. And this is a fact. I'm not just stating that. Every serial killer pretty much becomes a born-again Christian in jail. Why? Because they want a lighter sentence. They don't want the death penalty. It's an act. Right when Jeffrey Dahmer got caught, it's like, I feel so guilty. Right? It's just an act. And you have to realize, and look, obviously that's an extreme case with serial killers. Probably the most depraved human beings on earth. But inside of a church, people that are bad people, you know what? They can be acting and they can fight against the work that's being done. And if they get caught, it's like, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I feel really bad about it. It's like, yeah, you feel bad you got caught. Doesn't mean you feel bad about what you did. Point number one is they link up with God's people. Point two, they lessen them. And point three, when that doesn't work, they spread libel. They lie. It says in, you know, by definition of libel, a published false statement that is damaging to somebody's reputation. Isn't it interesting how when people get kicked out of church, all of a sudden they just spread all of this information to try to cause problems of the church that they used to go to? And oftentimes they just tell lie after lie after lie, just trying to cause problems of where they just got removed from or kicked out. Ezra 4 verse 6, and in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. So not just in the days of Darius, but when Ahasuerus becomes a king, they make an accusation against the Jews, the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. Then in verse 7, in the days of Artaxerxes, wrote Bishlan, Mithradath, Tabir, and the rest of their companions on Artaxerxes, king of Persia. And the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. And so in verse 6, in the reign of Ahasuerus, then in the reign of Artaxerxes, what is it? They're spreading libel. They're saying false things trying to make the children of God look bad. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. And look, we've had this at our church. People that have been removed from our church and kicked out of our church have then just tried to tear down the church from the outside. Just spreading false statements, trying to pit people against people. Why? Because now that they've been exposed and they're gone, they just want to destroy what our church actually has. Why? Because they're against the church. If they can't use the church for money, let's just destroy it since we're not going to get anything out of it anymore. That has literally happened at our church. Shouldn't surprise you. I mean, if you read your Bible, is that a shock? Because it happens in the Bible. Of course it would happen in 2022. It shouldn't be a shock to them. I mean, you see this online. People get kicked out of churches. Then they've got YouTube channels. They just spread a bunch of false information trying to tear down the pastor. And why would they do that? Well, because they never liked the church to begin with. They were using the church and then they spread false statements to try to tear it down. Look, the same thing happens in 2022. I don't think we've experienced a serious case of this compared to other churches that are like-minded in the States, but other churches in the U.S., I mean, they've been through the wringer of people that get kicked out and then they basically dedicate their lives to destroying that church. And look, the same thing happened in the Bible days. The same thing could happen in 2022. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 10, But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all the will of Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. The Bible says everyone who's going to live godly is going to suffer persecution, but what Paul also says is, here's my manner of life. Here's my doctrine. Here's the way I've lived my life. I mean, you're aware of that. And so look, if anybody tried to criticize Paul, Paul's defense would be, you know my manner of life. You've seen me going soul winning for years. You know what I've taught. Right? The proof is in the pudding. And I want you to realize that if somebody comes to you privately, they separate themselves. I mean, honestly, even if they just criticize and try to tear down other people at church, that ought to be a red flag. But if they try to tear down the leadership, me or my wife or our family, it's like, you know what, that ought to be a massive red flag in the back of your mind. And you should tell me about that. And look, that doesn't mean they're going to immediately get kicked out for what they did, but here's the thing, if five different people have heard a similar thing, and none of them tell me, because if all of them told me, guess what? They'd be gone immediately. That's enough proof out of the mouth of two or three witnesses. Two, hey borderline three, okay it's a done deal. Because when people have been kicked out before, here's the truth, a lot of people had evidence that they did not come to me about. Once that evidence came, it's like, boom, they're gone. Because I can't kick somebody in, and you know what, what's funny is with the church, and look, all churches deal with this. And I get it because nobody wants to criticize other people. Somebody says something bad, you want to give them the benefit of the doubt. And this is why you don't tell other people at church, you tell the church leadership. So you're not spreading gossip, but you're letting the leadership know about a potential situation. Because it could be there's a lot of potential situations with the same person, all of a sudden it's like, well there's the evidence. It should be a massive red flag if they're trying to criticize leadership. What is their purpose? What is their goal? Why are they doing that? Go back to Ezra 4. That's what they did. I mean, that's Korah. That's the story of Moses, that's what they did. Look, I get it. I'm not perfect. I mean, if you catch me losing my temper and getting in a bad mood, well, I'm sure you've seen it. If you've been at our church, I'm not perfect. Right? I mean, just, but here's the thing, it's like, you know my manner of life if you've been at our church. So if somebody comes to you with something that's complete opposite, well what does the Bible say? Well, it's just like, you know what, if you're going to accuse someone who's a church leadership, you better have witnesses, not just some wild gossip. The Bible says don't even receive an accusation against church leadership. And look, I don't know of this going on at our church, but since it happens throughout the Bible, and it's happened at our church before, it's just like, well, you know what, I mean, it could happen today. Right? I mean, I'm not aware of it happening, but I mean, I'm sure it could happen. It's happened before. I mean, some people have been kicked out of our church, you know, I learned after they got kicked out all the bad stuff they said about me. Right? It's like, that would have been nice to know then. Right? The one case I know is like the one woman who was at our church apparently was always criticizing me. Her husband was always trying to stop her saying, no, no, quit criticizing Brother Stuckey. It's like, many people have told me that. It's like, you could have told me that before they got kicked out. I didn't know they were always bashing me to other people, because here's the thing, they don't do that to my face. They act nice to me. Do you realize that? People are going to act nice to your face. But then when you're gone and they're criticizing you, it's like, wow, that's a massive red flag. I had no idea that they were doing that. Right? Ezra 4 verse 8. Rayhem the chancellor and Shemashai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort. Then wrote Rayhem the chancellor and Shemashai the scribe and the rest of their companions, the Dinites, the Afro-Sachites, the Tarpalites, the Afro-Sites, the Archivites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Deivites, and the Elamites. The rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnap are brought over and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest are on this side of the river and at such a time. This is the copy of the letter they sent on to them, even unto Artaxerxes the king. Thy servants, the men on this side of the river and at such a time, be it known unto the king that the Jews which came up from Theudas are coming to Jerusalem, building the rebellious in the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof and joined the foundations. Be it known now unto the king that if this city be built and the walls set up again, then will they not pay total tribute and custom, and so thou shalt damage the revenue of the kings. Once again, spreading libel, just lying about them. Verse 14. Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the kings dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king, that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers, search thou shalt find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time, for which cause was this city destroyed? No, they were destroyed because they got into sin and God destroyed them. But the accusation is, well, you know, they've moved sedition within the same of old time, basically accusing God's people. It's kind of like, you know, your church building gets bombed by a bunch of sodomites. It's like, well, you started the fight by preaching a sermon against them. And then you're expected to pay for it and fix the problem. It's like, we're not the ones who bombed ourselves, right? Or when our church was protested in Sacramento, you know, many years ago, it's like after that took place, and I could be misremembering the order of events because it's been many years now, but in the midweek service, there was a bit of a protest, like 70 people or something like that, which we did not expect, but it was good to have that because it prepared us for Sunday. So one of my assignments for the week was to talk to basically the policemen and leaders of Sacramento and basically, you know, let them be aware of it for safety purposes and everything like that. Someone at the church, former military, offered to go with me. I regretted not bringing him with me because I walked in there and, you know, of course at the police station, it's not like you get to talk to the sheriffs just because you want to, but I said, you know, I was from Verity Baptist Church and I worked for the church. I was on behalf of Pastor Menes. They immediately bring me into a room with like all the leading sheriffs of the capital of California, Sacramento, and I'm sitting there with sheriffs and the various leaders, and I'm sitting there in a chair to like four or five people. I can't remember how many there were, and what they basically said is, you started this situation by preaching that sermon, and it's like you will pay for the damage. You will pay for how many workers that we need to protect your church, and they were making it to be like we are the ones who did it. We're not the ones protesting. We don't organize street protests against homos. Right? It's like we're not the ones protesting, and yet they were trying to blame us, but we were the ones that were blamed. What? Because God's people always get blamed for things. That's just the way it is. It's like there's a problem. Well, you know what? Yeah, you know what? They killed someone, but you shouldn't have said something negative about them. Right? And it's just like, you know, God's people are blamed for everything. They're just spreading libel, and you know, that's the same thing that happened back then. Same thing would happen in 2022. And really, verse 20, right? And it says in verse 20, There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have reared over all countries beyond the river, and total tribute and custom was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? Now, in the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter, it was read before Rahim and Shimsai the scribe and their companions. They went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem, so it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Now, go to Psalm 92, and we'll look at one last place, and we'll close up. And look, this is the context of Ezra 4, that's why we're preaching it, but what we saw from Ezra 4 is that bad people will often try to link up, and that's what we see in Ezra 4, they try to link up with God's people. We also see that they try to lessen them and destroy the work if they're not able to link up. Anyway, here's the thing, if they do actually link up, they'll try to lessen the work from the inside. I mean, they're going to try to lessen the work and destroy it either way. And then basically when they get exposed and rejected, they just spread libel. They just basically criticize and make lying and false accusations. Now, look, this takes place thousands of years ago, the same thing could happen in 2022. But what should we take away from this as God's people? Because when we've had situations at our church before of people getting kicked out for major things, some people were already aware of stuff, and many people were on the inside celebrating, because many people told me I was so happy when that person got kicked out of church. Some people were very happy. Other people were shocked. They couldn't believe it. They didn't notice anything. They hadn't seen a red flag. They weren't aware of all the things they did. Once I gave all the things, they're like, wow, that's a lot of stuff. I had no idea. Right? But what we should take away is this, because sometimes I could have access to information that you do not have access to. I might know things that people have come to me about, and of course I don't go around spreading gossip about situations. And just from a logical standpoint, if you do suspect someone, the last thing you want to let them do is be aware that you suspect them, because then their guard will be up in front of you. So if I have information about someone, it means I'm keeping my eye on them, but I'm not going to make it very obvious or whatever. But what I'm saying is this. What if one day someone from church that you're friends with gets kicked out of church and there's all of this information? What is a bad defense for that person? But they went soul winning all the time. Didn't we see from the Bible that really means nothing? If you really want to think about a verse that applies to that, the Bible says about false prophets, they compass sea and land to make one proselyte. Many times the most zealous soul winners are actually the people that are bad. That's what I've seen through the years, and that's actually fitting with what Jesus Christ himself said. They compass sea and land to make one proselyte. That is not a defense because they went soul winning all the time. That might be part of the act. That might be what they do, or they might just let everybody know about their soul winning, whereas other people are going soul winning and you're just not aware of it. But what you need to realize is regardless of what the situation is, if somebody gets kicked out of church, whether they're your friend or whatever, whether you're not aware of stuff, you ought to have the idea, you know what, I'm not going to let it destroy my place in serving God. You ought to say, you know what, I'm connected with this church, I believe in this church, I believe in this church, I'm planted in the house of God, I'm going to stick with this church regardless of people that get kicked out. And there have been people that have been kicked out of this church and some people are friends with people that got kicked out. And you stuck with this church because you said, you know what, I believe what Brother Stuckey said, he has the authority based on the word of God, right, what's bound in heaven is bound on earth, and I'm sticking with the church, and that is the proper attitude. I mean, I've seen that situation in my life of people that I was good friends with that either got kicked out of the church or left the church on really bad terms, and it's like, you know what, it is what it is. Right, it's like when we moved to Sacramento, the couple at our church that we were closest to before we moved, the couple that actually set my wife and I up, they don't go to Verity Baptist Church anymore. They left the church, they were disgruntled or whatever, I didn't leave the church because somebody else left church. You say, why, I'm not going to destroy my life just because somebody else made their own decisions. And you should have the same attitude in your life. Psalm 92 verse 12, the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing. The Bible says those that are planted in the house of God, even in old age, they're going to bring forth fruit and be soul winners and serve God. Look, if you're planted in this church and you're here for another 10, 20, 30, 40 years, I promise you there will be more people kicked out of our church. Not that I want to. I made a joke before about we count attendance and salvation, we're going to put back there, people kicked out of church, right? This is how many, I say that facetiously, jokingly. I don't enjoy kicking people out, I hope I never have to do it again, but reality is it's going to happen. And if you are planted in this church, you are going to see people that you never suspected, people that were your friends, end up doing things and end up getting kicked out, and you know what, it might surprise you sometimes. But you ought to have the attitude, you know what, just because they made those decisions, I'm not going to destroy my life. This is a good church, it's preaching the word of God, it's serving God, I'm learning the Bible, God's people are gathered here, you know what, I'm sticking with the church. You say, why should you do that? Because you're going to bring forth fruit in old age. Let's close in word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today, and I ask you to help us to apply this sermon to our lives, help us to realize all scripture is profitable, even scripture from the Old Testament. Help us realize that if this happened in the Old Testament, it could happen to us as well in 2022. And I ask you to help all of us to be aware of things, just pay attention to certain things, be on the lookout for red flags and things like that, and not be naive, but be aware that this did happen back then and it could happen now, God. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen for our last song, let's turn to hymn number 183. Hymn number 183, let's sing the song, Oh How I Love Jesus. There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing it's word on earth. There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing it's word. It sounds like music in my ear, let's sing it's word on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me. He tells me of my father long before everyday, and oh, I dread the hearts and back, yet sometimes I don't obey. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me. My last verse, we're going to sing it without the instruments. It tells of one whose loving heart can fill my deepest hole, everybody lift up your voices, ready, sing. It tells of one whose loving heart can fill my deepest hole, who in its soul bears a part that none can bear below. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me. Amen.