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...and scorched and shaded, please God, for me. The most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. And the most beautiful thing that I've ever had, from the back of my heart, from the rear to the rear. Amen. Good morning, all of the Verity Baptist Church Manila. Let's begin our service by turning the hymn number, the very hymn number one. The Tagalog hymn book. The other hymn, the hymn book. So, please get this hymn book in turn to page number two. So, hymn number two. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. 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Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Let's sing the song. Alright, good morning, everybody. Happy New Year! Welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Take out your bulletin here today. And our verse of the week is 1 Corinthians 16 verse 15, the Bible reads that they have addicted themselves to the Ministry of the Saints, and 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' comfort room. The men's comfort room 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, our service times are listed. Our first service is at 10 a.m., and then our second service is at 1130. Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. Soul winning time is listed. Wednesday at 5 p.m., two hours before the service. Saturdays 10 to 12, and then a lunch break, and then 2 to 4. Lunch provided by church. And then, of course, we have soul winning this afternoon at around 2.15 p.m. And then praise report for 2021 in December. So during the second service, obviously, we normally count up our salvations. I'll try to give you an exact total during the second service. We'll count them up. But 6,995 not including this past week, so I think we can safely say we jumped past 7,000, right? And so great job, everybody. We'll count it up, though, during the second service and get a final total. And we'll put my math skills to the test, right? We'll see if I can do that in my head or quickly as we tally them up. And anyways, birthdays and anniversaries for January are listed there below. Then on the next page, the Bible memorization challenge. So we are on chapters 23 through 41 of the Book of Psalms. And if you're able to quote it word for word perfectly, any of those chapters, then you get a prize. And also, I mentioned before, we don't have the prize here today, but I said if you read your Bible cover to cover in 2021, you're going to get a prize. And so the prize is going to be the same. So next week, we're going to have a lot of chips and a lot of candy back there, okay? Hopefully, a lot of people read their Bibles cover to cover. But obviously, we have our New Testament Bible challenge in January, but I don't want you to basically take an 11-month vacation, okay? So I want to give you some sort of motivation to keep reading it, you know, at the end of January. So upcoming activities, we do have our prayer meeting in two weeks. We're back to our normal routine with that. The chess tournament is in four weeks, right? So who's excited about that? Just me, maybe a few other people. So with this chess tournament, it's a one-day tournament, so the games are going to be short, right? And we'll see how many participants, but I'm really thinking we'll just do the five-minute blitz, and it might not be single elimination depending on how many people participate. Let me just say this, though. You know what, even if you play chess a lot, I would recommend practicing doing a blitz game on the computer because five minutes is quick, right? Just doing a couple of practice games last week, I was like, I don't know, and just, oh, whoops, I gave away my queen, right? It's hard when it's only five minutes, so you might want to practice that, but that's going to be in four weeks. Anyways, our New Testament Bobber Reading Challenge. Hopefully you are not using up both grace period days, you know, yesterday and today, but basically, you know, just the charts that we gave you to read through the New Testament in January, and we encourage you to try to do that, and then you will receive a prize if you're able to complete that. At the end of January, we'll give you various optional charts to read through at the last 11 months during the year to try to motivate you. Current and upcoming series, we are in the Book of Psalms, and we're taking a break from that here today, and we have our false philosophy series, and also Genesis via livestream on Tuesdays, information on our group chat, and then on the back, there is a place for notes for the sermons here today. So I believe that's it for announcements. At this time, we'll have Brother Marlon lead us in another song. Hymns to hymn number two. Let's sing the song Glory to His Name. Hymn number two. Let's sing the song Glory to His Name. Glory to His Name. Glory to His Name. On the first Now that the cross of His name is gone We'll come to the same old time, Lord Where the hope of His love is gone Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name On the last One last night It's a great sight Let's sing the song Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name Let's take our offering. Let's take our offering. Amen for scripture reading. Please open your Bibles to the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. And as our custom, we will be reading the entire chapter. 1 Peter chapter 2. Near the end of your Bible, please say Amen if you are there. Amen. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 1. The stones are built of a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Until therefore it is believed he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made ahead of the corner. And the stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, were unto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having our conversation honest among the Gentiles, that were as they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thank worthy of a man or conscience toward God in your grief, who is suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto are ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin? Neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. He did not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. For his own self bears sins in his own body in the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were a sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Bless the word of God through let us pray. Lord God in Heaven, we thank you, Lord, for this day that you've given to us, and I pray, Lord, that you would bless the Lord with the wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy Ghost, Lord, for your preaching, and your preaching, Lord, of the word of this day. Amen. All right, we are here in 1 Peter chapter 2, and we're continuing our series on false philosophies, and what we're going to be talking about in this sermon is the false philosophy of environmentalism. The false philosophy of environmentalism. Now let me just say this, that if you want to have something that's a good lie, you're going to mix some truth with it. It's not going to be 100% a lie where everything is just made up. It's going to be some truth mixed in, and when it comes to protecting the environment and the environmental movement, I will say that some of the things they're saying are true. Now a lot of the things they're saying are very misleading, but it's not 100% lies. However, they take it to an extreme that is just absolutely ridiculous, okay? Now there was a famous documentary that came out, and I actually watched it when I was flying to the Philippines for the first time, because it's a super, super long flight to the Philippines, right, from America. And it was called An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore, which is kind of the preeminent documentary on environmentalism. And I watched it, and you know what, there's things they said that were true. There's things that were interesting. There's also some lies and misleading information in it as well. But I will say that, you know what, I've seen the other side of this argument, and we're going to see whether it actually stands the test of what the Bible actually says, okay? Point number one, why is it that it's a false philosophy? Well, because of the fact we are just sojourning here on earth. This is not our home. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2, verse 11, Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims. Now what are we strangers and pilgrims to? Well, we're strangers to this earth, right? This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. Right, this is not our permanent home. We're only here for 80 years, 90 years, however long we live. And you know what, it's over, and then we're going to spend forever in heaven. And look, if you spend your entire life worrying about this environment and protecting this world that's going to be blown up by God one day, what a waste of your life. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth, that's what the Bible teaches. And it says, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. So the Bible says the things of the flesh, the things of the earth, war against the heavenly and spiritual things. There is a battle that is going on in this world. And there's a battle within you as well if you're saved. Your flesh is warring against your spirits. And the earthly things are warring against the things that are heavenly things. And look, the environmental movement is all about protecting this earth. But here's why I don't believe in it. Well, we're only strangers and pilgrims. We're not going to be here forever. We don't have to protect this planet for another 4.6 billion years or however long they say it is. This world is not going to last that long. Now turn to Luke chapter 12. I don't want anyone to get confused when I make jokes. I don't believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old. I think it's less than 7,000 years old. How could you believe that, Brother Stuckey? I mean, are you uneducated? It's like whenever you don't agree with the mainstream opinion, they'll say you're uneducated. You don't know anything about math and science. I got a math degree in college. But the Bible teaches the earth is less than 10,000 years old, less than 7,000 years old. And quite honestly, everything I've seen and all the studies I've seen, it confirms what the Bible says. And science is always catching up with the Bible. They learn something new. Wow, the Bible talked about that 3,000 years ago. Right? And the Bible teaches the earth is young. And what it teaches is we are sojourning here on earth. And what it means to sojourn, it's kind of a makalumang word. But sojourn means to live somewhere temporarily. It means it's not your plan for a permanent home. For example, if somebody's in OFW, oftentimes they're merely sojourning in that country for a couple years. And then with the plans of saving up money or working remotely, coming back to the Philippines, right? They're sojourning there, meaning it's not meant to be their permanent home. They still consider their home here. That's what it means to sojourn, to basically live somewhere temporarily or to plan to live somewhere temporarily. We are sojourning here on earth. This is not our permanent home. Luke 12, verse 16. Then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. So the Bible speaks about the person. And I believe the most accurate application would be with a saved person. But let's say somebody's a saved person, but they're not living for heavenly and spiritual things. They're just living for the things of this earth. Thou fool, what a wasted life. You get all these possessions on earth, all these great things, and then boom, it's gone in a moment. And it's like, well, what about your home in heaven? What about the rewards you could have had in heaven? And you threw them all away because you were worried about the things of this earth. Verse 29. Go to verse 29. And seek not ye what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather, seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Anyway, when it comes to the nations of the world and what the world promotes and what they believe in, it's oftentimes the exact opposite of what the Bible says. This world is concerned with the things of this earth. Isn't that true? Worldwide, countries are concerned and care about what's happening on this earth. They're worried what's going to take place here. Now, as a Bible-believing Christian, this is secondary. We should be concerned with the things above and the things on earth. It's kind of like, well, I mean, we're supposed to be living for heavenly things. Seek those things which are above, the Bible says, not the things on the earth. But see, the world, they seek after the things of this earth. You can look all around the world, and they're so, so worried about protecting the environment in 2022. I mean, they're paranoid in the United States. Politicians are like, you know, man, if we don't protect this planet, in ten years, it might be destroyed. And I just think to myself, you believe the earth has been around for four and a half billion years, and in ten years, it could be destroyed? And I'm the one who's Bobo? Right? It's like, does that make any sense? I mean, do you realize that, I get it, not everyone majored in math, but those zeros on the end make a big difference. It's only a couple extra zeros on the end of 4.6. Right? It's not that big of a difference, is it? Right? You don't know a whole lot about exponents, right? It's like, that's a huge difference between four and a half billion years. That's a long time, my friend. And look, if this earth has been able to last for four and a half billion years, like, why would you be afraid it's going to be destroyed in just a few years? It doesn't make any sense. Right? But they're so paranoid and so scared that this world is going to be destroyed in a short amount of time, they're concerned with the things of this world. Go to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Now, let me just be honest with you. If I did not believe in heaven, if I did not believe in hell, if I did not believe about these spiritual things, I'd probably be paranoid about, you know, the earth making minor changes. You say, why? Well, let's say, for example, the temperature has increased by 0.2 degrees in 50 years. Now, would anybody say 0.2 degrees is a huge difference? Would you notice that if the temperature was 0.2 degrees higher? Probably not. Right? 0.2 degrees in 50 years is very small to me. But if you believe that this earth we need to protect for another million years, well, that's actually a lot. Because if it does that every single 50 years for another 5,000 years times by 100, well, that's 20 degrees. And 20 degrees warmer is a lot. That's a big difference. 0.2 degrees is very minor. And see, here's the thing. For us that are Bible-believing Christians, we don't get concerned because there's nothing about global warming in the Book of Revelation. Right? I mean, the ice caps are melting by the North and South Pole. Right? Some of the animals are becoming extinct. Well, the Book of Revelation was already written and it tells us what's going to take place. We do not have to worry. But I'm just being honest. If I believe that we had to protect this environment and this was our home and there was no heaven, there was no hell, I would be paranoid about small changes. But if you extrapolate that out, it ends up being a major change. For us, we don't have to be concerned because we seek those things that are above and we realize we're just sojourning here. But honestly, it makes sense for those that are seeking the things below how they're scared. Right? But they don't understand the end picture. Hebrews 11 verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they did say such things, declare plainly, that they seek a country. And surely if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country that is in heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city. As Bible-believing Christians, the Bible says we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. And we ought to be aware of that. And we should seek the things that are above, the heavenly things. Not be so concerned with what's happening on this earth. Okay? Now turn in your Bible to Genesis 8. Genesis 8. Now look, is there truth to what they're saying? You know what? There is truth to some of the stuff they say. I don't believe in trashing this planet. I don't believe in just throwing your garbage outside on the ground. I mean, if you're my soul-winning partner today, and you're just throwing trash on the ground, I'll rebuke you for it. I think it's stupid. It's like, what are you doing? Because I don't think any of us want to walk in a place that's really dirty and polluted and stuff like that. But last I checked, it's not really Bible-believing Christians that are throwing their trash on the ground. Right? We're not the ones throwing cigarettes and empty beer cans on the ground. Right? That's not really Bible-believing Christians in general. Okay? So yeah, you know what? I do believe we should try to protect this environment on a small scale. And I'll be honest, a couple years ago when they cleaned up Ermita, I thought it was great. Right? They had that big cleanup, and you could actually walk in Resolve Park, and you're like, wow, it's clean. I think that's great. I mean, if they had a community project, where it's just like we're cleaning up the community and it didn't interfere with church, I might volunteer to participate because I think that would be great to clean up the earth, clean up the oceans. So there is some truth to what they're saying. I'm not saying that, hey, don't care at all. I do believe with all the pollution that's been created, it is causing some minor changes to the atmosphere. And in some parts of the world, it is starting to cause some problems. But I'm here to tell you this, that I've studied their side, and a lot of what they say is very misleading. There is a shred of truth to it, and the best lies do have some truth to it. So they'll show you a statistic, and sometimes it's true, sometimes it's accurate, but they're very misleading with their information because in their minds, the ends justify the means. So they don't mind being misleading and deceiving you. But see, as Bible-believing Christians, at the end of the day, this world is not our home. Now, think of this idea of sojourning and living somewhere temporarily. Let's say, for example, you live somewhere. Let's say you're working overseas as an OFW. There's probably many things that you're not going to buy for your apartment or your house, because you say, I'm going to be moving back in a couple years. There's no point of buying all these things and just wasting my money, putting in the effort, when I'm just going to be moving anyway. Or let's say, for example, right now you're living in an apartment that you're renting, but you're saving up money planning to buy a house in a couple years. There's probably a lot of things that you're not getting right now that one day you would like to have. My wife and I, we are renting a house right now in Pampanga. We didn't buy a house yet. So there's things that we would like to have, things that would be nice, but it's kind of like, is there really a purpose if we're going to end up moving? Once you basically say, hey, this is my permanent home or I'm going to live here for a long time, then you start buying things with the idea it's worth it because we're going to be here forever or be here for 30 years or 40 years. Well, here's the idea you have to think of. We're not here permanently. We are here 70, 80 years is what the Bible says on average, and then we're gone. And then we're going to spend forever in heaven. So why would you spend all of your time getting all the nicest things, everything you want down here on earth, and you only have it for a short time? Because in the grand scheme of things, 70 years is pretty short compared to all of eternity, which is timeless. Now, look, I'm not saying you can't have nice things. I think it's good if you have money, get some nice things, but if all you're concerned of are the things of the earth, you're wasting your money, you're wasting your time, you're wasting your effort. Point number one is sojourning. We are sojourning here on earth. Point number two is this, survival. The Bible teaches this earth is going to survive until the very end. It will not be destroyed in 10 years. And if it is destroyed in 10 years, that's because the end time is going to start in a couple. Right? It's not going to be destroyed. It's going to survive until the very end. Right? That's what the Bible teaches. Genesis 8 verse 22, While the earth remaineth, Genesis 8 verse 22, While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. The Bible says while the earth remaineth. You say, well, Brother Stuckey, how do you know how long the earth is going to remain? Well, I believe the Bible says a new heaven and a new earth at the end of Revelation. So it's referring to at the end of Revelation there's going to be a new earth. And until then, while the earth remaineth, the Bible says we're going to have seedtime and harvest, we're going to have cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Now, obviously, depending on where you live, your definition of cold is going to be different than other parts of the world. By my definition, I've never experienced cold in the Philippines. You say, Brother Stuckey, what about at the wedding you got recently? That was really cold, right? No, that was not cold. 20 degrees Fahrenheit is cold. 20 degrees Celsius is not cold, my friend. 15 degrees Celsius is not cold in my opinion, right? Obviously, this is relative depending on where you live, but the idea is this. We don't have to worry about the temperature just exploding up in heat all around the world or just going down. Because 50 years ago, the big craze was global cooling. Because basically, they looked at the earth over the last 20 years, and it had dropped by a very small amount. They said, no, wait a minute. We might be headed for another ice age. Right? That's what they were concerned about, right? Now they've switched to global warming. That's the big concern. Because what they're doing is they're looking at 30 years or 40 years of data and trying to extrapolate, but, you know, things go up and down, right? There is some truth to what they're saying. Obviously, there's changes that are taking place in this world. But they basically look at 40 years of data and just say, at this rate, this is what's going to take place. But see, the Bible's very clear. We're going to have cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease while the earth remaineth. Go to Hebrews 1. Hebrews 1. Hebrews 1. You say, Brother Stuckey, why do you say that there is some truth to what they're saying? Well, I'll prove it to you biblically. See, the earth was created less than 7,000 years ago, and what the Bible teaches is the earth was created with 0% decay, meaning it was in perfect condition. And then ever since that date, the earth is getting old. The earth is getting worse. That's what the Bible teaches. Notice what it says in Hebrews 1. Hebrews 1, verse 10. And thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, referring to the earth, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. See, the Bible says this earth is waxing old as doth clothing, a garment. Let's say you buy a brand-new dress shirt. If you buy a brand-new dress shirt, for example, and you work at an office, you've got your elbows on the desk all the time, what ends up happening eight months down the road? All of a sudden you hear a tear, and then all of a sudden you look, oh, wow, I got a hole in my dress shirt, because they're slowly rubbing against the table for a long period of time. That's what always happened to me. I'd be working at my desk, and then all of a sudden, boom, I hear a tear. Oh, wow, I need to get a new dress shirt, right? Even if it doesn't tear, if you have a dress shirt for 10 or 20 years, it's going to get very faded, right? Isn't it going to be pretty obvious after a while that this is not a new dress shirt? Because when you buy something, you buy clothing, you're going to buy something that's new and it looks good, but what takes place over time? It gets old. That's what takes place. That was the big miracle for the Hebrews that their clothing didn't get old. Because, look, you have shoes. Eventually they get old. That's what takes place, right? You're not going to have the same pair of shoes for 40 years. You're not going to have the same shirt and the same clothes for 40 years. They get old. They wear out. That's what takes place. That is what's happening to the earth. It waxes old as doth the garment. And as clothing gets old, you're going to have problems. It's going to fade. There's going to be holes. There's going to be stains that you get on your shirt and then it's going to be messed up, right? That's the way God created this earth as well. The Bible says in verse 12, And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. So they're going to be changed because what's going to happen is God's going to destroy this earth and take what's destroyed and create it new. He's not going to start with something brand new, but He's going to take what's destroyed and make it new. But see, what the Bible says here is the earth is waxing old as doth the garment, right? Sounds to me like God never intended us to live here forever. He never intended it to just last for hundreds of thousands of years, millions of years. We've got to make sure we're not increasing the temperature because we might destroy this earth. No, it sounds like God said it's going to get old, there's going to be problems, and then He's going to destroy it, and then we have a new heaven and a new earth. That's what the Bible teaches. Go to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. Matthew 24. So look, is there truth to what they're saying that there's problems developing in the earth? I'm sure there are. Because biblically, the earth is waxing old as doth the garment. As I said, I'm not saying 100% of what they're saying are lies. Now, they are being very misleading with their information, but some of what they're saying is true. There are more problems than 50 years ago or 100 years ago or 150 years ago because the earth is waxing old, right? Notice what it says in Matthew 24, verse 5. Matthew 24, verse 5. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nations shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. Now, diverse means different. And the Bible says there's going to be wars and famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. Do we see wars today? Yes, we do. Do we see famines today? Yes, we do. Do we see pestilences today? Yes, we do. Do we see earthquakes today? Yes, we do. But the indication is they're going to be very heightened during the end times. Now, in reference to the earthquakes, why would there be more earthquakes as we get close to the end? Well, doesn't the Bible say hell hath enlarged yourself? When people drop into hell, it actually enlarges hell, meaning hell is closer to the earth's surface. And you know what? If hell is closer to the earth's surface, guess what we're going to see? More earthquakes, more volcanoes, more problems, right? Now, here's the thing, though. God didn't intend this earth to last forever. It's not a big deal to me as a Bible-believing Christian because I'm merely sojourning here on earth. This is not my permanent home. But yeah, you know what? They say, wow, have you noticed there's an increase in natural disasters? If you look at the last 500 years, it's slowly increasing. Probably is, right? Makes sense to me biblically. Hell hath enlarged yourself. And as people drop into hell and you've got billions of people in the heart of the earth, yeah, you know what? Hell is slowly enlarging itself. It's slowly getting closer to the earth's surface. And you know what? If I was not a Bible-believing Christian, that would scare me, right? That hell is getting close to the earth's surface and there's volcanoes and earthquakes. Well, the Bible says there's going to be earthquakes in diverse places. Now, obviously it's possible that miraculously God could cause earthquakes in diverse places. But just scientifically and biblically speaking, it actually makes sense as hell is enlarging itself and getting close to the earth's surface. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes 12. And look, sometimes we can speak so much against things that are false And look, sometimes we can speak so much against things that are false and this is a false philosophy, but you know what? There is some truth to what they're saying. It's not 100% made-up information. There is some truth to the environmental movement. We don't have to be concerned because we know the end of the matter in the book of Revelation. We don't have to be concerned at all, but you know what? There is some truth to what they're saying. And look, I'm not an expert at all of this stuff because we seek the things above, right? There's only so much time in the day, things to study, things to do. But some of what they've said, you know what, I think is actually true, biblically speaking and also just from my personal study, some of what they're saying is true. Now look, the idea that this earth's going to be destroyed in ten years, that's just fear-mongering. That's ridiculous. Right? Even a lot of the other environmentalists will say, that's garbage, that's not true. That's just called fear-mongering where they're lying and trying to scare you. And some of them do that. But there is some truth to what they're saying. Now another thing is this. The earth is compared to our bodies as well. And just as basically our bodies, when you get the glorified body, God is not really giving you a brand new body. He's basically bringing up the old dead body and basically making it new and giving you a glorified body. They which sleep in Christ shall rise first, the Bible says. Then we which are alive and remain. And so basically the dead in Christ shall rise first, the Bible says. And those of us that are still alive when the rapture takes place, we also get the glorified body. And here's the thing. If we are alive when the rapture takes place, our bodies have already started to decay since birth. So we need that glorified body too. Right? Because our bodies get old over time. And this is what the Bible speaks about in Ecclesiastes 12 verse 1. Ecclesiastes 12 verse 1. Ecclesiastes 12 verse 1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain. Verse 3. Speaking about basically serving God when you're young. Then it says the things that take place when you get older. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble. What keeps your house? Your hands. Your hands open the door. The keepers of the house. As you get older, your hands shake and tremble. Right? It's just what takes place as you get older. Your hands are not as steady. The keepers of the house shall tremble. It says, and the strong men shall bow themselves. Isn't it true as people get older, oftentimes they're a little bit hunched over. They don't have as good of posture. Because the strong body parts start to bow, and then people will often look a bit hunched over. Right? My grandmother is almost 100 years old, and all these things I could verify with her that over time, that's just started to happen. Right? Then it says, and the grinders cease because they are few, referring to your teeth. As people get older, they oftentimes lose their teeth. They have to get new teeth or get repaired teeth. The grinders cease because they are few. And those that look out of the windows be darkened. As you get older, your eyesight is going to go. That's what takes place. My grandmother, for example, if she looks straight at you, she cannot see you. To see you, she has to look to the side, and then she can see out of the corner of her eye, but she doesn't have eyesight right in front. She wouldn't be able to see you. And this is just very common as people get older. I mean, she's almost 100 years old. As you get older, these things fade. Now, when she was young, her teeth were fine. Her eyesight was fine. But as time goes by, this is just what takes place. And the Bible says that our bodies are very similar to the earth in the fact that they get old, there's problems, and then eventually God's going to take what's destroyed and make it new. What's the same thing with the earth? This earth, as time goes by, is going to have problems. Look, generally when you're a teenager and in your 20s, you don't have a whole lot of health problems. But as you get older, you have to start monitoring your health, checking what you eat, and making sure you're okay. When I was a kid, candy, junk food, whatever, I'm fine. You wake up the next day, you're ready to go. As you get older, don't you have to start checking the things you eat? If you don't pay attention to what you eat, you start gaining weight. When you're young, it seems like nothing really affects you. But as you get older, it starts to really affect you. You've got to make some changes. You have problems that take place. You could have high blood pressure, various different things. As you get older, these are problems that take place. That's just the way God's created us. It's just a matter of fact. But see, I want you to understand, just as you're... I mean, look, all of us that are of age know that when we were younger, there were things that we could do that we can't now. I love sports. I love playing sports. But when I wake up sometimes after working out or playing sports, I'm like, oh, my lower back. It's like I'm getting old, right? What in the world, right? It's like when I was younger, you play basketball for hours, you wake up, you don't stretch, you're perfectly fine. But as you get older, things like that start to slowly fade. It's just the way it is. That's the same way with this earth. As time goes by, there will be more and more problems with the earth. It's just a matter of fact because the Bible compares the earth to our bodies, and it waxes old as doth the garment. So some of what they're saying is true. You say, Brother Stuckey, why are you not concerned then? Because I'm just sojourning here. And the Bible said this earth will survive until the very end. Yeah, it's going to get worse and worse and worse, but it is going to survive until the end, and the end is not going to come because we're not protecting the environment. Go to Genesis 1, Genesis chapter 1. Genesis 1. Genesis chapter 1. Now, people get all concerned. They look at earthquakes that take place. They'll say, wow, this earthquake took place. Maybe we're at the end times or something like that. There's hundreds of earthquakes every single day, like all over the world. They're just very, very minor. They're not a major big deal. I believe with earthquakes, it's just going to progressively get more and more as hell gets closer to the earth's surface. That's my opinion on that. But we don't have to worry about, oh, no, there's an earthquake. It might be the end times. There's always been earthquakes. It's just they're getting more and more as time goes by. If we really want to know when is the end times going to come, the only way to really be confirmed 100% we know for sure is when the Antichrist declares himself to be God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And when he declares himself to be God, which is midway through Daniel's 70th week, three and a half years in, then it's like, okay, we're definitely in the end times. Abomination of the desolation, take the mark of the beast, and if you don't take it, you can't buy or sell. Well, then there's no doubt as Bible-believing Christians, according to the Bible, we're definitely in the end times. Now, of course, things have been taking place throughout the world for centuries, millenniums, where people might think this is the end. And look, if I lived during the time of World War I, I would have probably thought it was the end of the world. The Spanish flu, World War I, with both of those things combined, I mean, pestilences, wars, as a result, famines, right? I probably would have thought it was the end, but obviously it wasn't. That's why I don't think we should necessarily get paranoid about things taking place, because we don't know. Right? It might look like it's the end, but even, I think, some of the writers of the Bible, you know, questioned it themselves. They didn't know themselves. I mean, even the Church of Thessalonica got a little bit confused on these things, because things are taking place, you're getting scared and everything. The only thing we know for sure is when the Antichrist declares himself to be God. But what will take place with the earth as we get closer to the end is there will be more and more problems with the earth. There is some truth to what the environmental movement is saying. Point number one, we are sojourners here on earth. Point two, this earth will survive until the end. Point three, the Bible teaches we are meant to supervise this earth, the supervision of this earth. Notice what it says in Genesis 1, verse 26. Genesis 1, verse 26, And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, and the image of God created him, male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea. And it mentions all of these animals here. The Bible says we are to subdue and have control and dominion over the earth. You say, Brother Stocky, then don't we need to protect the earth then? Well, God gave this earth to us to use. Right? It's the same reason why we're not vegetarians, or at least I'm not a vegetarian. Right? Because God said, Hey, eat these animals. Now, look, you can eat however you want. It's not a big deal. But I'm saying we are allowed to eat the animals because the Bible says they were given to us. We subdue it. We have dominion over the earth. And here's the thing. There are natural resources in this world that are not being used because countries are worried about protecting the environment. Right? One of the big ones in the U.S., which I've used as an example before, is like with drilling with oil. I mean, it was like a booming business when I was in college. Everyone's like, You've got to become a petroleum engineer, six-figure salary within five years. It's the way to make money. And then all of a sudden, the government's just decided, Well, we've got to protect the environment. We can't drill for oil anymore. Right? That's the natural wealth that God has given you to use. Right? And it has a purpose. Use it. Right? Now, look, of course, I believe that if you're going to drill for oil, there should be protection involved so you're not just trashing the earth. I'm not going to an extreme and saying, Do whatever you want. Throw trash on the ground. Don't care about it. But you're going to another extreme by saying, Well, don't even use that oil. Right? In the U.S., they're trying to convert everything to electric cars. Get rid of all gasoline. It's so illogical. Electric cars all over this world, I mean, they don't have charging stations everywhere. Your car's going to run out of battery, then it's like, Oh, man, I'm stranded on the side of the road. It's stupid. It doesn't make sense. Right? It's not a good strategy. Right? But they're so worried about protecting the environment. That's what's going on all around the world. Now, go to Genesis 9. Genesis 9. Genesis 9. I mean, and actually, all around this world, I believe that God has provided countries with the ability to make wealth, natural minerals, natural resources, and people always say, Well, Brother Stuckey, you don't understand. And look, I understand to some degree some countries can be more disadvantaged than others, but a lot of countries are just wasting the wealth that they have and saying we can't use it for whatever reason. Right? Over in India, they're so concerned about we don't have enough food, we're poor. Eat your cows. It's a pretty easy solution. I mean, that's all you have to do. And then their other big problem is they're so worried about the animals, they let the animals destroy all of their natural grains. And actually, the rats are probably a bigger source of the destruction of food in India than the cows. And the cows just eat all their resources, but you can't kill a rat. You can't kill a rat even though it's eating up all your grains, all your vegetables, and everything, because, well, you know, it's like your brother just in a different body or whatever. Right? It's like they worship animals. Look, I mean, God has given that country natural resources. They just have to use it. Genesis 9, verse 1, And God blessed no one his sons and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and the fear of you and the dread of you should be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things. Now, when the flood took place, it destroyed everything that was there before. Right? Now, it is true that some plants do grow in water. That's why you see the olive branch that's mentioned there, because it can actually grow in water. But largely, the fruits and vegetables were destroyed, and now God says, start eating meat. Right? But here's the thing. God gave them their natural resource to eat. God says, here's the meat to eat, and he gave them various minerals and natural resources, and they had an ability to survive. God has given us this earth to use when we need it. This idea, well, we can't do this. We've got to protect it or whatever. It's like God gave it to us for our use. Go to Genesis 6. Genesis chapter 6. Point number one, we are just so joining here on earth. This is not our home. We were never intended to be here forever. We're going to last 70, 80 years and spend forever in heaven, if you're saved. Right? Now, if somebody doesn't believe in heaven and hell, you could see why they get paranoid about protecting the earth. And look, some people that are these hardcore environmentalists, some of them have a good heart. They just don't believe the right Gospel. They have a different belief, and they want to do something good. Right? Because I'll tell you this. Before I was saved, always inside of me, I wanted to have a difference in life. I didn't know what that meant, but don't you want your life to have meaning? Wouldn't it be a shame to die and then it's like your life was just a waste? It's like, wow, you know, you won a bunch of video games or whatever. It's like, what a waste, right? You want your life to have an impact where you impact other people. Now, of course, when you get saved, you realize, what does that mean? It means leading souls to Christ. But if somebody's, you know, not saved, I could see them saying, hey, I want to do something that makes a difference. I want to protect the environment to help keep it a better place. Some of those people have a good heart. Not all of those people are just these evil people. However, they bought into a lie. They bought into a false philosophy, and we're not meant to be concerned so much about the things of this earth, but the things above. We are so joining here. The earth will survive until the end. We are the supervisors of the earth. And here's the thing. What brings about the end of this world? It starts with an S. Anybody got a guess? Sin. It's not that we didn't protect the environment. What brings about the end of this earth is sin. That's what brings about the end. You say, well, prove it to me. Genesis 6. Genesis 6. Look at verse 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fouls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them. So why is it that God destroys the earth when it comes to the worldwide flood? Due to sin or wickedness. Sin was exploding. And look, the Bible doesn't tell us a whole lot about chapters 4 and 5. I mean, a lot of times going by, obviously, a lot's happening. But over the course of a couple chapters, a lot of sin is being involved. And God says, it is so bad, I must destroy man. Now, look, our world is getting pretty bad in a lot of ways with sin. There's no question about that. In countries around the world, they're starting to basically talk about it, and it will be true in the future that they will probably legalize pedophilia in many countries in ten years, I would say. And for people to say, well, that would never happen. Well, that's what people said about, you know, the homeless getting married, and that's completely legal in the U.S. in every state, I believe, I think. Every state, I think, has legalized it. People said that would never happen. No, no, things change pretty rapidly. Right? This world is getting worse and worse and worse and worse and worse, and eventually they can mock God, they can laugh at it and say it won't take place. Put up your rainbow, mock God, about the rainbow God created and say, it's not going to destroy us. Peace and safety, boom! Then God's going to bring about the end. That's what's going to take place. Go to Genesis 19. Genesis 19. So look, when it comes to protecting the environment, getting rid of pollution, yeah, you know what, there's truth to what they're saying, but that's not my number one concern in this earth. Right? I mean, we're concerned about heavenly things. That is our number one thing above anything else. Now look, if you have time and it's a hobby of yours to try to contribute or volunteer with some things, there's probably good things you can do to help volunteer, help make this place a cleaner place and things such as that, but your number one concern as a Bible-believing Christian ought to be the things above and not the things on the earth. What's going to bring about the end is the sin that takes place in the earth. Genesis 19 verse 4. But before they lay down the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compass the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called on the lot and said unto them, Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we may know them. And when they say that we may know them, what they're saying is we want to molest these men. We want to rape these men. Right? They're not saying, hey, we want to shake their hand and get to know them. Okay? And in verse 6, And Lot went out at the door unto them and shut the door after him and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now I have two daughters which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes, only unto these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And this verse blows your mind with Lot where he basically offers his two daughters and says do whatever you want with them. And what Lot is basically saying is these daughters of mine are virgins, so do whatever you want. Now, I don't personally believe that they were virgins given the rest of Genesis 19 and what they do to their father at the end of Genesis 19. Whether Lot actually believed they were or whether or not he's lying, I'm not really sure. I will say this, though. These are not the same daughters that are married to his sons-in-law because they would know he was lying if he says I've got daughters who haven't known a man. So the other daughters mentioned that are married to his sons-in-law, those are different daughters. Okay? You can tell that from Genesis 19. So Lot has at least four daughters, maybe more, but at least four, according to Genesis 19. But these two ones, he says, they haven't known a man. He's like, I'll bring them out onto you. Then it says in verse number 9, and they said, stand back, and they said again, this one fellow came in to sojourn. Sojourning, as we talked about, is living temporarily. So Lot said, I'll live in Sodom and Gomorrah because it's a rich place, but I don't want to live around a bunch of sodomites my whole life, so I'm just sojourning here. Right? Just temporarily. Right? And then it says, and he will needs be a judge. You know, he's judging us. He's judging our sin. Now will we deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to the door. So basically, they're going to attack Lot and probably kill him, whatever. I mean, it's not really something you want to think about, but they're going to destroy him and everybody in the house, basically. Then it says in verse 11, And then they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. So these men that are trying to attack them, they get smote with blindness, boom, and then they're still wearing themselves to find the door. Right? Like a zombie or something out of a movie. It's like, they're just like, ugh. Right? It's like, man, are they insane? Yeah, pretty much. I mean, this seems pretty insane to me. Right? And this is one of those chapters where it's like, people don't really like to think about it, but if you just read the Bible and believe what the Bible says, it will change your perspective on things that are taking place in this world. It's a scary chapter. It's a scary chapter when you're a father. It ought to be a scary chapter to you if you're a father. It ought to be a scary chapter if you're a mother. You ought to be concerned about your kids and be very careful with them, given the world that we live in, given the country we live in. Look, this is one of the most pro-LGBT countries in the world, and it's possible this is the number one. I don't know for sure, but I'll tell you this. I don't know if there's a country in the world with so many people cross-dressing. It's insane. Right? It is a scary place, at least in the big cities, at least in Metro Manila and the big cities. It is a scary place. You've got to be very careful in today's world if you believe Genesis 19 like I do. If you believe this story, you have to be very careful with your children. Verse number 12. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides, son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever there hast in the city? Bring them out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is wax and gray before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. So the angels say, We are going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because God knows about it, and it's wicked, and it's too much sin, and He's done with them. So what brought about the flood of the world? Sin. What brought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? Sin. Well, Brother Stuckey, just because it was sin in those situations, how do you know that's what's going to take place during the end of the world? Go to Luke 17. Luke 17. Everything we believe, we prove with the Bible around here. Now I would say logically it just makes sense because that's the pattern, and the Bible says, I am the Lord, I change not. He destroys the world, or destroys locations in the world when there's a lot of sin. It used to be in times past when there was a massive natural disaster, they would call it an act of God. They would say God sent it to destroy because of some sort of sin or something they did. God is angry about something, and that's why He sent it, and I believe in that. If you're talking about a massive natural disaster, and look, obviously, as I said, there's hundreds of earthquakes. I'm not saying every one of those small little 1.2 earthquakes is an actual sin by God, but when you're talking about Mount Pinatubo, sin by God. That's what the Bible teaches. It's an act of God. You know what? They're right about that, but as time goes by, people say, well, you know what? God doesn't get involved with us. That's not true. No, it is true because sin is what causes it. Say, how do you know that takes place during the end though, Brother Stuckey? Well, Luke 17 is about the end, and notice what it says in Luke 17 verse 26. Luke 17 verse 26. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. Well, how was it in the days of Noah? There's a lot of sin. Right? They did eat. They drank. They married wives. They were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot. So the Bible's bringing the end times to the days of Noah, the days of Lot. I'm pretty sure we just looked at those stories. Now, there are many applications to the days of Lot and days of Noah. You could preach a whole sermon on that, but one of those applications that's very obvious is sin is going to bring about the end. This is why I don't get so concerned about some of the things happening on earth because, you know what? It's ultimately sin and God that determines when the end is. He's the one who's going to determine it's too much, it's gone too far, I cannot let this continue. Right? That's going to be God's call. Right? And it says, But the same day, verse 29, that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. And see, God is going to destroy this earth when it gets so wicked. And these people, they're going to have the abomination of desolation. They're going to mock us, laugh at us. You Bible-believing Christians, you say Jesus is coming back. Where is He now? They're going to control this earth and all this time is going to go by. Seventy-five days after the abomination of desolation, they'll mock us, they'll try to kill us, persecute us, say we're the ones that are evil. Then all of a sudden, whoops, every eye shall see. Then it's like following us and hide us from the face of Him that's sitting on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. It's like they're going to be crying, they're going to be scared, like, oh no, I've got to hide because we were wrong. And every single day, that's going to be for them. To find out, whoops, we were wrong. This is not something you want to be wrong about. Now look, I'll be honest with you. I am not one who says I want to live through the end times. I personally hope I don't. I personally hope I live to be an old man and spend time with my family and everything. That's my hope. But it is what it is. If we're going to be here during this time, we've got to go all out and serve God during a difficult time. Point one, we are sojourning here on earth. Point two, the Bible says the earth is going to survive until the end. Point three, we're the supervisors of the earth, meaning God has given us this earth for our use. Point four, sin is going to bring about the end of the world. But notice this in verse 31. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away. And he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife? Now here's a verse in the Bible that just seems relatively random. I mean, I know it's talking about Lot earlier, but it's just kind of thrown in there, remember Lot's wife? And the Bible's saying we ought to remember Lot's wife. Now there's different applications you could make to that, but let me ask you a question. What did Lot's wife turn into when she was killed? A pillar of... It starts with an S. Right? You know, an alliterated sermon. A pillar of salt. See, point five. See, here's the truth. I've sort of been dishonest with you the whole time because I actually do think we should protect the earth. We are the salt of the earth. You say, what do you mean, Brother Stuckey? Salt is used as a preservative to stop microbial growth on food. We are meant to preserve this earth. You say, Brother Stuckey, does that mean we should make sure we're cleaning up and everything? Hey, those are all good things to do, but no, no, no. We preserve the earth by serving God. Getting people saved and living godly lives. That's what the Bible's teaching. We are the salt of the earth, and his wife becomes a pillar of salt, and then it's kind of like, Lot, your job in Sodom and Gomorrah was to get people saved. Your job was to be the salt of the earth and preserve that location. Obviously he failed. I mean, he had a wife, at least four daughters, two sons-in-law. I mean, add it up, there's at least eight people you got. It's like, all he had to do was have ten people saved. It's like, I mean, hopefully you got a lot of your family saved. Hopefully your wife's saved. I'm not really sure if his wife was saved. I hope so. I hope his daughters were saved, but I really don't know about that either. Right? But it's like, couldn't you get a few people saved? I mean, he lived there maybe five, ten, fifteen years or whatever. You didn't get anybody saved? No wonder God had to destroy it. What's the point if nobody's going to go sowing in that area to have it even existing? And the sin got worse and worse and worse, and God said, boom, I got to destroy it. We are the salt of the earth, and when we talk about remembering Lot's wife, that's the main thing I remember. Hey, we better make sure we are preserving the earth. Right? Go to Matthew 5, we'll close up. Matthew 5. Matthew chapter 5. You know, what's humorous about this, because I'm telling you that, yeah, we should preserve the earth, but what I'm saying is our method is very different than what their method is. Here's what's interesting. The environmentalists whose goal in life is to protect the earth are actually the same group of people destroying the earth with sin. Is that not true? In general, the same hardcore LGBT person is the same person saying, we've got to protect the earth. Right? You're the one destroying it. Not me. I'm not the one destroying this earth. We are doing everything we can to protect this earth and preserve this earth. And here's the truth about this. I don't want God to send a natural disaster here. I don't want God to send a natural disaster to the locations we live in. I do want to preserve the area we live in. I don't want God to have to send judgment down upon us before the end. I want to be able to freely serve God without judgment coming. And you know what? It's our job to preserve the earth. Wherever you live, it is your job to preserve that area of the world. And how do you do it? Well, Lot had to have ten people saved in Sodom and Gomorrah. That's it. That's part of it. Well, what brings about the end? Well, sin brings about the end. So try to live a godly life. Try to help others serve God. Get involved in church. Get involved in serving God. Get people saved and live a godly life. And those are the two things. Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed for two reasons. Too much sin, not enough saved people. You know what that tells me? If we want to preserve the earth and be the salt of the earth, get people saved and live a godly life. Matthew 5, verse 13. Ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt of lust is saved, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. The Bible says we ought to live our lives in a way where people look at us and they see our good works. We're serving God. We're doing right. And look, as a Bible-believing Christian, you ought to be different than the world. Different interests, different lifestyle, different mindset. You ought to be different than the world. The world is concerned about the world. The earth is concerned about the earth. The people in the earth are concerned about the earth. As a Bible-believing Christian, what should be your big concern? About the things above? Now, sadly, most Christians are probably more concerned with the things of this earth than they are the things above. But here's the thing. If you really want to be concerned about this earth and you want to protect this earth... And look, as I said, I hate pollution. I grew up... My mom is a neat freak, so I kind of basically inherited that from basically how I was raised. I don't like seeing things dirty. You got to make sure you watch everywhere you step. It's like, look, none of us like that. Yeah, on a small level, yeah, I do want this place to be a cleaner place. Of course, we would all want that, right? But if our biggest concern, if you want to make sure you're protecting this earth and the environment, the way you do that is by getting people saved and by living a godly life. And the other thing you could do is get on board with a good church that's trying to do those things. I mean, are we a church that's going soul-winning? Yes. Right? We have all kinds of soul-winning marathons. And it's a team effort. It's not just a one-man show. It's a team effort, right? Are we a church that's trying to fight against sin? I would say that we preach pretty hard against sin. Get on board with a church that's trying to do those things. And you know what? A couple weeks ago, I said I'm a feminist. I'm all for women being feminine. I'm an environmentalist. And I hope you will be too in 2022. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here and see your word on this topic, God. And help us do everything we can to be the salt of the earth here in the Philippines and where we live, God. Help us to preserve this earth by getting people saved and by living godly lives, God. And just ask you to freely give us the opportunity to preach the gospel and serve you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. For our last song, let's turn to hymn number 140. For our last song, let's turn to hymn number 140. Let's sing the song, We Have An Anchor. For the first, We have an anchor Moving the storm on high When the clouds unfold And the rocks are dry When the storm lies there And the wind blows high With your hand on me And for where we've been We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the field is cold And the wind blows high We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the field is cold And the wind blows high We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the wind blows high We have an anchor We have an anchor We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the wind blows high We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the wind blows high We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the wind blows high We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the wind blows high We have an anchor That keeps us safe And comes the truth When the field is cold And comes the truth When the wind blows high We have an anchor When the field is cold When the wind blows high We have an anchor When the wind blows high We have an anchor When the wind blows high We have an anchor When the wind blows high We have an anchor When the wind blows high We have an anchor When the wind blows high Let's have a 10 minute break