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

Alright, we're starting a new series. We just ended a very long series and we're starting a very long series. We're going to preach on fundamental family tips. And this sermon is going to be an introduction to the topic and we're going to be here for several months talking about fundamental family tips. And I would say that, you know, in the world we live in today, obviously the devil is attacking everything we believe for and stand and what we say in the Word of God. But I would say the biggest thing that's under attack is the family unit and it is being attacked by this world, it is being attacked by the devil. That's actually the first point of this sermon is, number one, there is an attack on the family in today's world. Genesis chapter three, verse one, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden, eat of every tree of the garden? And you see in verse number one, Satan is casting doubt on the Word of God. He doesn't say, well, he didn't say it, but he's saying, hath God said it? He asks the question, verse two, And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be open and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. So here's the devil who is deceiving Eve into taking of the fruit. And she's going to take it, then she gives her a husband. Verse six, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. What you see in this story is that the devil attacks a marriage between a husband and a wife, and he goes to the wife, and he gets her to do something that she was not supposed to do. And he gets her to do something that her husband Adam had told her, we're not going to do this. And he deceives her, and that gets passed on then to Adam, okay? Now in this story, the devil has to individually go to Eve to deceive her. But you know, in today's world, the devil can do that very easily. You say, how does he do that? He does that through the cell phone. He does it through the television. He does it through the music. He does it through the movies. He does it through the public fool system. He has all these different methods in today's world, and he can just, through social media, reach out to so many different sources so easily. See in this story, he has to come up to Eve to attack God's word. But you know, in today's world, it's 24-7. Everywhere you go, the devil is attacking God's word. Now go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4. And in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4, I want you to notice what the Bible says here. It says, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. Now in verse number 4, 2 Corinthians 4, I want you to notice God is lowercase, okay? Here's a few times where God is mentioned in the Bible and it's lowercase, and the reason why is because the translators knew, well, this is not really God, okay? When it says the God of this world, that is clearly referring to the devil. It's clearly referring to Satan, because Satan's the one who's blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine onto them. The devil is trying to prevent people from believing on Jesus Christ. And what it says about the devil is he is the God of this world. See when Jesus Christ came here 2,000 years ago, he didn't come as a conquering hero. He didn't come to just put his rules in place like the millennial reign of Christ. He came here and he died and paid for the sins of the world. See at this time right now, Satan is still the God of this world and what you have to understand is that many institutions, many forms of entertainment, many things in this world, they weren't created by God. It's not something God is running, it's something the devil's running, okay? Now go to Proverbs chapter 6, Proverbs 6 in your Bible, Proverbs chapter 6. I mean I hate to break it to you, but when you look at Hollywood and these big movie entertainment things, those were not created by independent fundamental Baptists. Those aren't being run by soul winners. The movies that are coming out that are really famous and everything, they weren't created by fundamental Baptists. They're not created by God either. The music industry that's out there, these popular artists, I mean are they promoting soul winning? Are they promoting going to church? Are they promoting the things of God? No, they're attacking them, okay? The movies, the TV shows, and it's getting worse and worse and worse as this world is waxing worse and worse. They're becoming more wicked and they're openly attacking the things of God. Now in terms of people going to school, God's system is that parents raise their own kids. Isn't that what the Bible teaches? That is God's system and guess what? The world has attacked that for the last couple hundred years. I mean something that's actually a modern thing is public school. That is not something that has always existed, but now in today's world the public school system is very common and what's happening is that's an institution not set up by God, okay? Set up by the devil and what is the devil doing? He's attacking families via the children in the public schools. Now look, I'm not preaching against someone who's a teacher. I used to be a public school teacher, okay? I'm not saying it's a sin to be a public school teacher. I think there's no verses I would say that you could support that. What I'm saying though is it's an institution that God did not create though. See, God set up the system of husbands and wives raising their own children and look, as wicked as this world is, it should make sense to us, okay? The family unit is under attack in many different ways. One way the family unit is under attack, it's being attacked in the aspect of marriage. Marriage is under attack by the devil in today's world, both before and after marriage, okay? Notice what it says in Proverbs 6. One aspect of marriage is that when you get married you ought to go to the altar pure, right? When you get married you ought to be pure, that you have not been with somebody else before, that you have never committed the sin of fornication. And that's something that used to be common. It used to be people went to their wedding day pure. They had not been with anybody before. In fact, that's where the tradition of the white dress comes in, because of the fact you've been pure, okay? But in today's world, good night, people are 20 years old living with people they're not married to. I mean, fornication is very common in today's world. And because it's so common, it just doesn't seem that bad to us. Whenever something's common, it just feels normal to us, like it's no big deal, okay? And yet there's verses in the Bible where God killed 23,000 people in one day for the sin of fornication. Well, it sounds like it's a big deal to God. Twenty-three thousand people in one day, 24,000 overall for the sin of fornication, the Bible says. It is a big deal for God. And as Bible-believing Christians, we play by a different set of rules, because we're worshiping a different God than other people in this world. They're worshiping the God of this world, we're worshiping the true God. And as Bible-believing Christians, you know what? We ought to be peculiar and different than the world, okay? Marriage is under attack, and one aspect is just being pure, not committing fornication, not committing adultery. Proverbs 6, verse 23, for the commandment is a lamp in the law's light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. And in verse 24, it talks about a woman who is an evil woman, a wicked woman. And it says she's a strange woman. That term strange is referring to somebody you're not married to, okay? Not saying she's weird, it's saying someone you're not married to. She's the strange woman. So if you're married, your wife is not a strange woman to you, okay? But any other woman is going to be the strange woman to you. That's what the Bible is saying, okay? Verse 25, lust not after her beauty in thine heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids. Now, in verse 26, it's going to refer to this woman as a whorish woman, meaning she acts and dresses like a whore. That's what the Bible is saying, okay? But I want you to notice in verse 25, it says, lust not after her beauty in thine heart. See, the Bible's saying the whorish woman, she has a beauty to her, right? I mean, you look at these famous actresses out there that are dressed like whores and act like whores, they have a beauty toward them. But the Bible says do not lust after them for the beauty that they have. That's not the sort of beauty you should be attracted to. Why is it that they have a beauty? Probably because they're dressed like whores. They're showing off all of their body, okay? That is the indication in the Bible, and it says do not lust after them in your heart. How does that happen? If it enters into the eyes, what does it enter into? The heart, and it affects the actions. That is the way it works. So you say, well, Brother Stuckey, I don't want to lust after this kind of woman. Don't look upon that kind of woman. And in today's world, that means you need to be ready even when you're going soul winning. I mean, isn't this true? Because a hundred years ago, you know, it wouldn't have really been as dangerous as it is now. But in today's world, look, the horse woman is everywhere. You're driving, she's on the billboards, she's just walking down the street, and unfortunately, this is the way a lot of women are dressed now. And as guys, you know, we need to protect our eyes. Now this is true for ladies as well, but look, obviously this is something guys probably struggle with more, okay? We need to protect our eyes, and the other thing, not only do guys struggle with it more, but there's also a lot more billboards with women dressed like whores than guys dressed inappropriately. Why? Because they're marketing to guys that are perverts. They understand that guys like this sort of stuff. And look, God says, you know what, don't lust after her beauty, okay? Verse 26, for by means of a horse woman, a man is brought to a piece of bread and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. This same woman who would dress like a whore and act like a whore, she causes men to be brought to a piece of bread, meaning she causes men to become poor. Now the indication here is this is the sort of woman that's trying to find some guy to be her sugar daddy, right? He marries her because she's good looking, and she dresses hoarse. She steals all the money, then she moves on to another guy. She basically is selling her body, whether it's actually prostitution or just kind of a different form of prostitution, right? She sells off her body, she shows everybody, and man is brought to a piece of bread, right? The Bible's saying guys would actually fall for this sort of woman because she's got the flattery of her tongue. Oh, you're so handsome. I've never met a guy like you before. And then guys just foolishly go after this sort of woman. Look, the way she's dressed is going to basically show you a large part of her character. And as guys, especially if you're a guy that's looking for a wife one day, you ought to realize this, okay? Verse number 27, can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Actually, go back to verse 26. When it talks about this woman, you say, man, you're saying this woman's a wicked woman. That's a really strong term. Notice the end of this verse, and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Hunting is implying you're putting in effort to do this. Isn't that true? If you go hunting to kill an animal, you're actually putting in effort to kill that animal. And the Bible's saying there are women that are horse women, and they actually are seeking to commit adultery. They're actually trying to find some guy who is married and destroy that marriage. Now look, if the Bible brings this up, it's obviously because it's something that can happen. And even as a married guy, you still ought to be ready for this. You shouldn't even be tempted with this sort of stuff. And in today's world, many of us, we work and our coworkers might be ladies. Be very careful about the lady at work that's always giving you compliments and always making you feel so great. She might have ulterior motives. And the Bible's saying there are wicked women, and their goal is to basically steal money from that guy, and they're willing to prostitute their body, sell their body for this cause. This is something, whether you're married or unmarried, you ought to take heed to. Verse 27, can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned? Verse 29, so he that goeth into his neighbor's wife, whosoever touches her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold, he shall give all the substance of his house. The Bible's saying if somebody steals because they're really hungry, they have no food, they want to feed their family, you know, we'd be willing to forgive that person. Right? I mean, if somebody stole from me because they're like, man, my son is at the point of death, you'd be willing to forgive that person. Okay? But the Bible's saying you're not going to forgive the person that commits adultery with your wife. Okay? Notice what it says in verse 32. But whoso committeth adultery with the woman lacketh understanding. He that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. If you commit adultery, you are destroying yourself, the Bible says. Verse 33, a wound in dishonor shall he get, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. What is verse 34 saying? Verse 34 is saying that if some guy catches you with his wife, he will murder you. That's what he's saying. Jealousy is the rage of a man. Love is strong as death, the Bible says. Look, he would be willing to kill you. Jealousy is the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. Okay? Verse 35, he will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. Right? If some guy catches you with his wife, and you say, oh, here's a gift, well, that's only one. Here's another gift. Many gifts, he's not going to forgive you. I'll give you 50,000 pesos, he's still going to kill you, right? That's the indication of the Bible. He's not going to forgive you for that. Right? And look, you hear about these stories. There are times there's a murder trial because a guy comes home or something, he catches his wife with another guy, and he literally beats the guy to death. That takes place. And the Bible's saying it's something that would make you so mad as a guy where you would lose control and you would beat that person and kill that person. Right? Look, as Bible-believing Christians, whether you're saved or unsaved, we shouldn't even come near this sort of thing. And we need to realize there are evil women out there that would try to attack you. Now, look, the same is true as well. There are guys that would come to church just to find a wife, and they would act very nice and everything. And look, you need to look at the character of that person. Make sure they're the right kind of person, okay, because there's bad women and there's bad men out there. This aspect of purity in marriage, it's something that we need to protect before we're even married. We need to protect ourselves from committing adultery and being unfaithful to our wives before we even get married. Say, what are you talking about? Well, I talked about it in the last sermon about not committing any fornication, because if you really believe that you're going to get married one day, realize that I understand it's not adultery, but kind of in a sense it is in the fact that you're cheating on the person that you're supposed to be with with somebody before you're married. It's wrong. But another aspect in today's world is a sin of pornography. And this is a major, major epidemic in today's world, right? I've got a few statistics for you here, and these are going to probably be shocking to you. 80% of men between the ages of 18 to 24 monthly watch porn, at least every single month watch pornography. Now what's funny is when you look at statistics about pornography, they will not say somebody's addicted to pornography, they watch it every single month. But look, if you're doing things that you know are wrong, and you're still doing them, you're addicted. Okay? When you're doing things that you know you shouldn't do and you don't want to do but you do it anyway, you're addicted. How do you know if somebody's addicted to smoking cigarettes? If they don't want to smoke and they're doing it, right? 70% of men between the ages of 18 to 24, that's more than two out of three. Seven out of every 10 men between the ages of 18 to 24 is watching pornography on a monthly basis. 84% of people, not just men, between the ages of 18 to 49 have watched pornography before. 84%, okay? Now of those that have watched pornography, this is a statistic that is shocking. 93.2% of boys that have viewed pornography, they did it before the age of 18, with the average age being 11 when they first watched pornography. 11 years old is the average age of a guy first watching pornography. Now let me ask you a question, whose fault is it if an 11 year old is watching pornography? Mom and dad, right? Mom and dad, 11 years old, I mean that's pretty young, 11 years old. And look, in today's world, with the internet and cell phone, and look, what's the reason for a 10 year old having a cell phone? Explain that to me. What's the reason for an 11 year old having a cell phone? I mean, do you really trust a young person, if they're not able to take care of themselves on their own, can we really trust them with things such as that? Look, you could be helping them destroy their lives before they're too old to even understand these things. They don't understand what they're playing around with. And in today's world, just on YouTube, ads pop up, and Facebook, I mean it's gonna come to the point where Baptist churches have to preach against these things, because of all the things that pop up on the computer. 11 years old is the average age. You know what, that is the fault of mom and dad, okay? Now look, my children are very young, and I'm not standing up here saying that I will not screw up, and my kids could never do something like that, but that is reality though. At the age of 11, in the Bible, it's the father's responsibility for his daughter to be pure. And look, those kids are still in your household, which means if they do have access to various things, you need to make sure you know what they're watching, and what they're doing. And look, this might seem extreme to you, but let me tell you something, even with other people here at church, look, it is not wise to just let your 12 year old go over to somebody else's house, and just hang out with them, when you're not around, and you don't know what's happening. Now look, it's great if families get together, and they're fellowshipping together at somebody's house, but just dropping off your 10 year old, or your 11 year old, or your 12 year old, because it's somebody from church. Yeah, that is where pedophilia and stuff like that happens. You do not know who you can trust. And look, with your own kids, you ought to be careful. Say brother Sucky, this is extreme, this is really old fashioned, well look, I wouldn't have to say this if the average age wasn't 11. I mean 11 years old. That's coming from the smart phones, it's coming from the computers, it's coming from being over at somebody else's house, and those kids introduce them, 11 years old. When it comes to girls, because 84% of people have watched pornography before the age of 49, okay, 62.1% of girls view it before they're 18 years old. Oh, it's just guys that struggle with this, 62% of girls, 62.1%, 62.1%, my little girl would never do this. Yeah, but what about if they're over at somebody's house, and those kids introduce that to them? Right? Could that not happen? Does that not happen oftentimes? Look, you need to be careful with your kids when you're raising them, and the families getting attacked before someone's even old enough to make their own choices. And they're being shown this stuff by other kids, and they don't even want to see it, but you know what, it enters into their eyes, and it's permanently scarred into their heads. That is the way it works. And you say, well, Brother Stuckey, I still think this is mainly men, right? One third of all porn users are women. One third. Two thirds men, one third's women. Yeah, men struggle with it more, but one third's a pretty high percentage, my friend. This is a major problem in today's world, and a large part of it is the cell phone. Can cell phones be used for good things? Yeah, I mean, people can watch me screaming against cell phones right now. There's the good use of it, okay? Yeah, but you know, a lot of these modern things, they're making it so easy to commit sins in today's world, it's dangerous. You say, Brother Stuckey, I don't know if this is really an attack on marriage. Look, I understand that in this country, divorce doesn't happen, it's not legal, but 56% of divorces in the US, one of the primary causes given is because their partner is addicted to pornography. Over half of marriages where divorce happens, one of the main reasons is, well, because the person I'm married to is addicted to pornography. And doesn't this make sense? Think about it, if you're a lady and you come home and you catch your husband watching pornography, how are you going to react as a woman? I mean, are you going to be happy? Or if you're a guy and you come home and your wife's watching pornography, what's your reaction going to be? Look, it's an attack on marriage before people are even getting married. Because what takes place is this stuff enters into people's minds and it's causing them to not be satisfied with the person they're married to. That is what is taking place. This is happening at a very, very young age. Now turn in your Bible, turn in your Bible to Exodus 28. Exodus 28. Look, I understand this is not the most pleasant thing to preach on and stuff, but it's like, you know what? It has to be because of the percentages. If this was something that was very rare and very uncommon, you know what? It wouldn't be something I'd preach a sermon on. But because of the fact this is I mean, 56% of divorce is one of the major causes because of pornography. Sounds like that's attacking the family, doesn't it? It sounds like that's an attack on marriage. It needs to be preached on. Not only before marriage, though, people doing this afterwards, but also and look, this is true before you're married and afterwards. Look, if you are a married guy, it's not appropriate for you to be alone with another woman you are not married to. Now this might be considered very old fashioned. Well, I don't really care. We're taking a trip back to the 1800s today. In both sermons. All right. Yeah. You know what? You're protecting yourself from making major mistakes in your life, and I want you to just be logical for a second. Even if you would never commit a certain sin, you know what? Somebody could accuse you of something, and if they accuse you, everyone's going to assume you're guilty, even if you're not. That's the reality. Right? I mean, there's a lot of celebrities and athletes who get accused for sexual assault and things like this. Right? Look, it might be true. It might not. But I always assume they're guilty. That's probably how most people are. They just assume it's probably guilty. Right? And the reality is, if you put yourself in that situation, somebody could accuse you of something. And quite honestly, that's a permanent stain on your reputation. There's many pastors that have been accused of various different things, you know, way back in the past, various Baptist pastors, and you don't know whether it's true or not. And it's like, unfortunately, when you put yourselves in certain situations like that, you could be accused of stuff, and no one's ever going to know. And they're always going to kind of wonder. That's just the way it works. Look, even if you would never commit that sin, you need to be very careful. I remember my old job in Maryland, you know, I worked in an office, and my schedule was very flexible. I could come in early. I could stay late to do the work or whatever. And I remember there was just a couple times where I was working at the office, and everybody started going home, and I was still working. And then all of a sudden, it's just me and then one other woman. You say, what did you do, Brother Stuckey? I clocked out and went home. And I said, you know what, I can come early to work tomorrow. And I did this before I was married and after I was married. You say, why? It's just not a smart position to be in. And even if you do not intend to do anything, and even if you don't do anything, what about Joseph? Guess what? People probably thought he was guilty. In fact, they did think he was guilty. And I'm not saying that was his fault, because I don't believe there's indication he did anything wrong or it was his fault. I'm just saying, though, they thought he was guilty. And they still thought he was guilty 20 years later. It was a permanent stain on his reputation for those that knew him at that time. They thought he was guilty. And look, the reality is, if you put yourself in that situation, you don't know who might be the strange woman. You need to be very, very careful and appropriate with relationships of someone of the opposite gender. And it's true before you're married. What do you think's going to happen when two 18-year-olds are alone in a bedroom at 10 o'clock at night? People wonder, why is fornication happening? People believe the Bible, but they're committing fornication. They're putting themselves in that position. All you've got to do is avoid the situation. And look, this can kind of be attached to the aspect of dating, as we talked about in the last sermon. Hey, if you want to date someone at church, why don't you join them for things like soul-winning marathons, be here at church, you can get to know them, because certain things are meant for after you get married. You say, what's the big difference? It's only a difference of a couple months. The big difference is one thing is called fornication and one is not. And fornication is a sin where God actually kills people in the Bible. You need to protect your purity in marriage before and after. You're in your Bible here at Exodus chapter 28. Another aspect of why fornication is on the rise and adultery and all of these different things is quite honestly the way people are dressed in today's world. That is a large reason why fornication and adultery and everything is on the rise in today's world. If you brought someone from 125 years ago from 1900 and just teleported them into this world or transported them into this world, they would be shocked. They would be shocked with the way people are dressed. Have you ever looked at old pictures that are black and white and everything like that? And you see people that are sometimes they color them, they make them modern and everything, but you see people the way they're dressed. And I'll be honest, it looks like a great world to live in, doesn't it? I mean, guys are dressed professionally and everything like that. They're dressed very well. Ladies are dressed with long dresses on. They look very beautiful and everything like that. You're thinking, man, that looks great. Now we understand that the world has always been wicked and there are wicked people back then. But isn't it true? You just look and it's getting worse because man looketh on the outward appearance. And I look at a picture from 1900 and then I look at a picture from 2020 where you got Vice Ponge with a few other people. It's like, yeah, the world looks more wicked now. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize it's more sinful now than it was in 1900. And look, the way people have dressed has changed dramatically and not even going back 120 years. You could go back 50 years. Okay, now look at Exodus 28 verse 41. Exodus 28 verse 41. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother and his sons with them and shout, anoint them and consecrate them and sanctify them that they may minister on to me in the priest's office. And thou shalt make them linen breeches. Now breeches is an older word or spelling for the word britches, which is referring to pants, which I'll talk about here in like five minutes. But the men are wearing pants. The men are wearing britches or breeches, okay? What is the purpose? It says to cover their nakedness. The purpose of those pants and the purpose of our clothes in general is to cover up our nakedness, right? It says to cover their nakedness is the purpose of the pants, okay? From the loins, even onto the thighs, they shall reach. Now you say, Brother Stuckey, it says to cover their nakedness, then it says the nakedness is the loins to the thighs. What part of the body is that? Well, your loins are referring to basically your reproductive organs, okay? So basically just below your waist, right? Really right at waist level. Now I've heard some people say, what says the loins even onto the thighs? So maybe it's referring to the top of the thigh. There's a problem with that. The loins to the thighs is the same spot if it's referring to the top of the thigh, right? Because I've showed this to people, I've told people, when it's saying the loins to the thighs, it's clearly referring to the bottom of the thigh. It's referring from here to here. And we know it's not the top of the thigh because that means there's nothing that's naked on your body. It's, oh, from the loins to the thighs, okay? No, it's referring from your waist down to your knee. That's what the Bible is saying is the part as a guy to cover your nakedness, okay? Now look, in the 1980s in the NBA, they should have applied this, right? You got those old highlights of Michael Jordan flying through the air and everything and they're flying with shorts that go to here. It's naked according to the Bible. The Bible says this area of your body is nakedness. Now people hear this and they think that sounds extreme, but you have to ask yourself, what is nakedness in your own mind? What does that mean? What does it mean to be naked? You say, well, that means if they're not wearing clothes. Well, what if somebody has no clothes on, but they're wearing one sock? They got one sock on, but no other clothes. Are they naked? Well, yeah, they're still naked, right? Because the foot's not nakedness, right? What if they're wearing two socks? I mean, they're still naked, right? What if they're wearing two socks and a hat? They're still naked. You have to ask yourself when you say things, what do you actually mean by that? What does it mean by nakedness? And here's what I'm trying to tell you. The world doesn't know what that definition is. Ask 50 people, 50 different definitions. Now there are certain aspects of the body that everybody would say are nakedness, right? But you know, what's amazing is people would still consider this part of your body nakedness, but not the backside anymore. Now all of a sudden this is no longer nakedness. Now people 50 years ago would think you're crazy. How could you not refer to that as being naked? But see, the world is changing. God gives us an actual definition and what he defines as nakedness is from our waist even onto the bottom of our thighs. That is our nakedness as men or women, okay? Now go to Deuteronomy 22. Deuteronomy 22. Say, Brother Sukkiah, I don't like this sermon. It's going to get worse, okay? It's going to get more extreme. Deuteronomy 22. You know, an attack on the family, we have lied to women in today's world. We have taught women that basically their value is found in their body. That is what women are taught in 2020. That their value is taught just in the way they look, just in their body. And you can see that because on billboards going by there's women that are dressed like whores that the Bible would say is the whorish woman, okay? And women have been lied to and unfortunately many are adopting that. That's how they make money oftentimes. Look, it's wrong because the dress standards have not changed that much for guys. Now we wear different types of outfits but we're still wearing pretty much the same thing in general. But how women have dressed has changed so much in 50 years. Why? Because the biggest attack from the devil is on the woman, not on the guy. See, I don't know about that, Brother Sukkiah. Well, what was our introductory chapter in this sermon? Genesis 3. Who did Satan attack? The woman. Isn't that true? Doesn't the Bible talk about, you know, in the first time these silly women laden with sins that would be led away with folly? Look, I'm not trying to insult you but that is what the Bible says. The Bible shows that the devil primarily attacks the woman. And here's the thing as guys, if they attack your wife, you're probably just going to go along with it like Adam. That's reality, especially in today's world, okay? The devil is attacking the family unit and a large part of that attack is on women. That is reality. Now in Deuteronomy 22, notice what it says. It says, the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man. And look, let me explain something to you. When we just talk about nakedness and the way people are dressed, because people are showing off their bodies in today's world, that is leading to fornication and adultery and these sins being committed. Because when it enters into the eye, it enters into the heart and that affects your actions, right? Look, because of the way people are dressed, you better believe that's a large part of the increase in fornication and adultery and all of these sins, okay? Deuteronomy 22 verse five, the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment. For all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. Now notice the end of this verse. It says, all that do so are abomination. Now it does not say that the sin or wearing that clothing is an abomination. It's saying the person is the abomination. For all that do so, the people that do this are abomination, the Bible says, okay? It's referring to the person at the end of the verse. And look, let me just explain what I'm about to preach. I understand you're not gonna hear this in any church in the Philippines, okay? But I'm just showing you what the Bible says. And when I preach sermons, I preached you verses, and I tell you my applications, and you might not agree with every application. And honestly, that's fine. I want you to go home and look at verses, especially if it's something that's new to you. If you've never heard it before, hey, meditate on it, think about it, pray about it. But actually look at what the Bible says, and let the Bible determine what your beliefs are not this world. This world is insane. It's crazy. I mean, sometimes I'm just like, am I dreaming right now? Because I know I'm not crazy. And then I look at the world and I'm just like, they're insane. That's the world we live in, okay? Allow the Bible to determine your beliefs, and the Bible is timeless. Which means if it was true in 1000 AD, it's true in 2000 AD. Means if it was true 4000 years ago, it's still true today. The Bible is outside of time. What does the Bible say? It says, the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment. So the Bible's telling you that there is a garment, an article of clothing that belongs to women. And it also says, you know what, that there is clothing that belongs to men. Women should not wear what belongs to men, men should not wear what belongs to women. Now there are many applications of this, many different articles of clothing you could think about, okay? Now one example is this, obviously I'm the one who's wearing a suit and a tie right now, not my wife. Why? Because this really would be kind of weird for my wife to wear. It's kind of guy's clothing, okay? Or if I came in here today, think if I was wearing pink high heels. I mean, do you want to see me preach in pink high heels? You'd be like, what in the world? Brother Stuckey's cross-dressing, he's wearing women's clothing, right? Because maybe, for example, I come into a church service and I forgot my dress shoes or my dress shoes were messed up and I had to wear tennis shoes, hey, you would be okay with that. It's like, hey, I apologize, I'm not dressed appropriately, but I'm not going to wear pink high heels, right? You would say, hey, that's women's clothing, right? I remember when I was in high school, when I was a freshman on the soccer team, you know, this is an example of jokes that are just not appropriate in the house of God, but this is something that somebody did. He was one of the seniors and he thought it was cool. He came to practice without a shirt on, but he was wearing a bra. There's a problem with that. It's women's clothing. It's not for guys, okay? There are certain clothing, and look, you can think of a lot of different things and there might be clothes of certain colors and stuff like that that maybe I would wear, maybe you wouldn't or whatever, but what I'm saying is there are certain clothes that belong to men and certain clothes that belong to women, and I think we would agree on that, right? Obviously I'm not going to wear high heels. Obviously my wife's not going to wear a suit and a tie and things like that, okay? But there's one major one that becomes a point of contention, and that is in terms with the pants versus dresses. Now look, I'm going to tell you what we believe is a church, and I'm going to show you why we believe this and explain it, but what we believe is that pants were designed for men and dresses were designed for women. If I came to church today wearing a dress, if I came to church today wearing a dress, what would your reaction be? I mean if somebody walked in here wearing a dress, a guy, what's your reaction? You say, hey brother suck, are we allowed to kick this guy out? Is that not true? Because you'd say your natural assumption would be, hey, a guy coming in here wearing a dress, I mean he's probably a homo, right, he's probably a sodomite, like why is he wearing a dress? That would be your first reaction, right? Because guys' dress standards have not changed that much yet, but mark my words, in 50 years a guy wearing a dress is going to be considered completely normal, and in some places here in the Philippines it is considered normal. But look, it doesn't matter if it becomes common, whether it's common that does not make it normal. Why? God's standard does not change, okay? Look, in the Bible you're always seeing men wearing breeches or hosen, which is in reference to pants, okay? It would be wrong for a guy to wear a dress, and you would agree with that, it would be wrong for a guy to wear a miniskirt, and look, yeah, that also applies to kilts, right? In Scotland they've got these mini dresses that they wear in Scotland as they lift big logs, I don't get that, but yeah, you know what, that's not guys' clothing. But you know, the contrary is true as well. Doesn't it make sense if dresses are designed for women that pants would be designed for men? Now you say, Brother Stuckey, that sounds extreme. Yeah, but you know what, this is actually a point that the world agrees with me on. Let me give you a picture to prove it to you. Notice the difference. Now let's say for example this did not say women, and let's say this, I mean, would you be confused? I mean, if you were trying to find a restroom, and you saw this picture, and it didn't have any words, because you know, this is the universal symbol for anyone who's visiting a country to know whether or not it's a guys' or girls' restroom. In any country, you can know based on what? No words. You don't speak the language, but you know what, you understand, hey, dress, that belongs to women. This is the universal symbol. And guess what? The difference, the men wearing the pants, the women wearing the dresses, look, everybody in the world would have agreed with this sermon 125 years ago. Everybody. Okay, the Bible didn't change. I am the Lord, I change not. What's changed is the world has changed. Now you say, Brother Stuckey, I don't understand why this is God's rules. It doesn't matter if you understand it. In the Bible, do you ever see a guy wearing a dress? No, you don't. You see guys wearing pants, you say, why? That is the way God designed it. Okay, why? There's meant to be a difference between men and women. And in today's world, it's all the same. Guys and girls have the same hair length. Guys and girls wear the same clothes. And unfortunately, you're walking around, sometimes you're like, I don't know if that was a guy or a girl. You say, why? Because there's no difference anymore. Look, there's meant to be a difference between men and women. There's meant to be a difference. And in today's world, that difference is being very blurred, okay? In Deuteronomy 22 verse 5, what it says is, the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall man put on a woman's garment. Now here's the thing, if you disagree with my interpretation, that's fine. But you need to come up to your own decision on what is it referring to then. If you disagree, that's fine. But what you must admit is there's certain clothing that only women should wear, and certain clothing that only men should wear. And you know what, whatever that decision is that you make, you know, you should follow that decision, okay? Now let me read you actually from some articles to explain to you how the clothing has changed here in this country, okay? And it talks about in this article, the difference in clothing, and let me give you an example. Before Ferdinand Magellan came here, okay, and obviously I'm against the Catholic Church and everything, but you know, people were dressed ridiculously. They're dressed with no clothes on. They're dressed with, I mean, you go to Rizal Park, and there's that statue of Lapu Lapu who's like the most ripped bodybuilder ever, and everything like not wearing a shirt and everything like that. But you know, that is how people dress. Now it's not just here in the Philippines. Every culture that is worshiping Mother Earth and has no semblance of the word of God in it, that's the way they dress. That's how they dress in the US, the Native Americans that worship the land, and everybody, including the women, are running around without their shirts on and everything like that. I mean, that was very, very common in those societies where there is no word of God. Look, when the word of God's not there, every man does that which is right in his own eyes, okay? That is what the Bible teaches. And look, I want you to realize this, that as I showed you, your nakedness is from your loins to your thighs. I'm not going to say there's a verse that says this is naked, because there's some verses that are kind of unclear on the topic, but I would say it's not modest to run around without your shirt on. And I'll be honest, as a guy, I don't do that. I don't believe it's modest for a guy or a girl to do that, okay? Now, you might have a different opinion, but look, I do follow that. I don't think it is modest, okay? And so there are things that may not be nakedness, but that doesn't mean that we should, as Bible believing Christians, dress that certain way. Just because it's not defined as nakedness doesn't mean we should just go around wearing whatever we want and just not think about it or whatever, okay? Now, look, you might say this is very extreme, it's restrictive, I've got to cover up this part of my body. Good night if you were in a mosque, if you were listening to Muslims as women, they'd make you cover up everything, including one of your two eyes. It's like all you're allowed to show off is one eye so you can see a little bit, right? It's like this is not that tough compared to what the Muslims have them do. It's like the women are literally covering up every part of their body, every part of the back of their neck, every one of their toes, you got to make sure otherwise it's inappropriate, right? Look, I'm not preaching something super extreme, okay? I didn't even preach that the dress has to be like the longest dress in the world. No, I'm just saying this area of your body, the Bible defines as nakedness and look, honestly it kind of makes sense because think about this, this area of the body, the knee is not exactly the most attractive part of a body. It doesn't cause people to lust, okay? But what is above the knee, that is what causes people to lust, okay? So look, we should be avoiding nakedness, we should be modest, but also we should dress to determine what gender we are and there's a difference between men and women, okay? Let me read you this article because before Magellan came here, people were showing off their nakedness and very immodest. Then when the Spanish came here, people changed the way they dressed, but that eventually changed because of the United States of America, quite simply. The most affected groups are those that were in place to easily mix with the Spanish, Americans and the Japanese. This hardly happened in the more isolated tribes, the so-called cultural minority groups or tribal Filipinos and it also never affected the Muslim people in the south of the country. Hence because of this, at least 10% of the Filipinos were never affected and still retain their traditional dressing. This is such a small number as compared to the other 90% who have been influenced and left their traditional dresses. This is an article on women's clothing in the Philippines, on the history of women's clothing, not men's, and it says who have been influenced and left their traditional dresses to wear the newly introduced jeans, shorts, pants, et cetera. You know what this article states when you read it and look, I don't have time to go into the whole article, it states that people are dressed in a certain way and in America just started to change the way they were dressed and the Philippines adopted what America did. Is that shocking to us that the Philippines adopted the western culture? That's what usually takes place. Not the Bible, but this article is saying jeans, shorts, and pants, they were considered completely foreign to ladies here in the Philippines. It's been only 50 years. It hasn't been that much time. It's really shocking how much this world is changing and you kind of have to go back and look at a picture. I encourage you, go back and look at the oldest pictures you can find in the Philippines. It's shocking. It's so much different. Here's another article that I read talking about this as well. It says this, that in the 1960s, this is talking about dressing standards in general and how it crossed over the Philippines, but it talks about how it was introduced in the United States. It says in the 1960s, most of the styles from the late 50s still remained. However, due to the rise of British pop culture, that spread in the United States and other parts of the world. The US learned it from Great Britain. Brother Matthias lived in Great Britain for a year. This is the guilty party in here. The US learned it from Great Britain and that was passed on to the Philippines is what these articles are saying. It says, fashion started to change. A new kind of dress invented by Mary Quaint called the miniskirt. Many dresses started to become popular and moderate style fashions also emerged. Not the Bible, this article is saying in the 1960s, that was the introduction of the miniskirt. Once that got introduced in the 60s, that's when women really started to show off their nakedness. Now, I remember the first sermon I heard from Jack Hyles, who used to be a preacher in the US. I was curious, I was going through his sermon titles and I had heard of him as a preacher. The sermon that caught my eye and my ear was miniskirts in light of the Bible. That is the first sermon I ever listened to by Jack Hyles. Now let me say this, as a college student who had been newly saved, I thought he sounded insane. So I understand some of you right now, you think I'm insane. That's fine. That's the way I thought Jack Hyles sounded when he was preaching this, right? He was preaching against miniskirts, but you know what? As you read the Bible more and more, and this is what I encourage you to do, you're going to find out this stuff's in the Bible. There's other verses that talk about your nakedness in these things. And I'll tell you what, if you look at the world we live in, it's not getting better, it's getting worse for many different reasons. And here's the thing, I'll tell you my philosophy before I was a preacher at a church. I always held the philosophy I would rather be at a church where the person preaching held a more extreme standard than a less extreme than me. You say why? Because I would rather be pushed to elevate myself to a level than basically to feel like, well, I'm already more spiritual than other people so I can just start listening to rock music and doing this. I would rather be at a church that preached with strong standards, okay? I encourage you to look up this stuff. The 1970s, this is also in terms of women's dressing, bell-bottom pants started to become popular. That would continue the rest of the decade. So it was really the 1970s in the US is when women started to wear pants. And now, this is super common. And look, this changes the way people look at things when it's around all the time. I remember one of my relatives, one of my family, before we were getting married, my wife and I, we were talking to her, and she was born almost 100 years ago, a much different time period. But she was giving us advice on marriage, and here's the reality. Hey, if your relatives give you advice, be respectful, be kind, but not all relatives are fundamental Bible-believing Baptists, okay? And I remember we were sitting down, and she told us, she's like, yeah, she's like, back in my day, it was really old-fashioned, the men were the head of the home, but she's like, and women always wore dresses, but that's not the way it's supposed to be. And I was just being really polite, this is my relative, it's not worth the fight, and everything like that, and I didn't argue or whatever, but I'm just saying, people get affected because they see this stuff. And the reason why some of you right now are saying, man, Brother Stuckey's wrong, is not because of a Bible verse. It's not a Bible verse that is in your head right now. What is in your head is the way people are dressed, and you just think I sound too extreme, but why am I too extreme? What Bible verse would say that I'm wrong about this? Because everything we believe should be based on what the Bible says, okay? Now turn in your Bible to 1 Timothy 5, 1 Timothy 5, 1 Timothy 5, 1 Timothy chapter 5. Now some people would say, well, you know, there's a difference between men's pants and women's pants. Well, I mean, the main difference between men's pants and women's pants is generally the women's pants are really tight, and if they're really tight and showing off every curve of the body, then that would be not modest, okay? So I would say that, because, you know, generally men's pants are a little bit looser, and women's pants are tighter, and I understand in the world we live in today, like guys pants are, but you know, look, it's not appropriate to show off every curve of your body, okay? So I would say this, that you know what, I believe if you look at the Bible, I encourage you to read it. Look, guys are wearing pants, ladies are wearing dresses, that's just the way God designed it. Guys are supposed to have short hair, women are supposed to have long hair. Is it really surprising that there would be a difference in clothing standards too? Because God wants to make a difference between the genders. Here's an article as you're in 1 Timothy 5 from Marcellus Wiley. This was a former Pro Bowl player in the National Football League in the US, and he's like a sports reporter now, he's pretty famous and everything like that, and he's speaking about Black Lives Matter. And Black Lives Matter is this big, you know, institution in America that is basically in all of the sports now, where basically every white person's a racist sort of thing and everything like that, and they do it under the guise of the fact we're trying to protect black lives, okay? Well, here's what he says, and this is a black former NFL player, and he was interviewed about this because he did not support Black Lives Matter, and they're trying to figure out why does he not support Black Lives Matter? I mean, he's a black athlete. Why is he not for the cause? This is what he said. He said he rejected the move by the NBA to paint Black Lives Matter on his court, pointing to the BLM mission statement. So the Black Lives Matter mission statement, which can be found online, because you know, you go to a church's website, you look at their doctrine, find out what they believe, their mission statement will tell you what is that church about? Well, Black Lives Matter has a mission statement. This is what it says. Here are some of the goals to dismantle the patriarchy practice, meaning dismissing men as heads of homes. One of the goals of Black Lives Matter, according to their website, is to get rid of men being the heads of their homes. What does it have to do with your skin color? What does it have to do with being black or white or whatever? But they want to get rid of the husbands being the heads of the homes, and they also want to disrupt the western prescribed nuclear family structure, which is an attack against intact biological families. Basically, they want to make it very normal to get divorced and to get remarried and for homos to get married. Look, what does it have to do with being black? What does it have to do with I would be insulted? I would be just like this man who says I'm insulted because he's a Christian. I don't want to associate myself with that. Attack the Word of God. Look, there is an attack on the family unit in today's world. You're in First 75. First 75. The sermon won't be too long, but we're still in the first point. There's an attack on the family unit. The biggest comedy show in the last 15 years in the US was a show called The Modern Family. By modern family, it's basically just mocking the traditional family and making the modern family really fun, really entertainment. Now the main character of the show was named Jay. I apologize, brother Jay. The main character on the show, his name is Jay. And Jay is remarried. He has children with another woman. He's remarried and she's remarried and she has children and everything like that. And then they have various children together and everything like that. One of Jay's children is a homo married to another guy on the show and they make being a homo fun and entertaining and everything. And people are divorced and adultery and everything. It's all just fun. This is the modern family. Don't you want to live in a family where your parents are divorced and adultery and fornication and kids and everything? What in the world? And they make it fun. They make it entertaining in the show. And by making it entertaining, it just seems like a big joke. That's how they first introduced homos into TV. They made it fun. They made it entertaining. Oh, it's just kind of funny. And then it becomes normal to people. And then all of a sudden, I mean, literally, I know people that 10 years ago thought it was an abomination. And now they'll be mad at you if you say that. Why? Because they watch the television. They're brainwashed, okay? That is reality. First Timothy five verse eight. First Timothy five verse eight. I know I read these in the last sermon, but you know, it applies to this sermon as well. First Timothy five verse eight. But if any provide not for his own and especially for they of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. The Bible says that as men, it is our job to be providers for our family. That's not our only job, but that is the job of the men to provide for their families. And look, you young guys that wonder why do I always preach on finances and providing for families? Because I want to help you out. I want you to prepare for a difficult world. I want you to prepare at a young age to know what you're going to do in life and to be prepared to have a family. It's going to be helpful for you. It's going to be good for you, okay? The Bible says this is the responsibility and look, I'll say the same thing I did last sermon. When that first child is born, there's just something inside of you that just feels responsible for that child and that was put in there by God. And you might not feel that now before that child comes. When that child is born, you innately know inside of your own heart, I need to make sure I am there for those children. It is my job to provide, okay? And you as men ought to prepare for this stage of life when you're young. I want my son when he's 10, 11, 12 years old learning skills that will actually help him in life and I want him to have a plan long before he's ever working a full-time job. You say why? Because it's a lot easier at a young age to prepare yourself than when you get older. That is reality. Verse 14, it says, I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion of the adversary to speak reproachfully. See the Bible says it's men's job to provide and it's a lady's job to raise the children, okay? Now I want you to understand this. In the Bible, there are plenty of examples where women can work and it's not sinful. I'm not saying it is always wrong for women to work. My wife used to teach online and everything like that when we were married. And in the Bible, Ruth is working and it's obviously not a sin. And even in Proverbs 31 with a virtuous woman, she is making some money, okay? Now, look, when it comes to where you're going to draw that boundary in various situations, you know, I don't have time to go into that in this sermon and give you all my opinion and stuff like that. But what I'm trying to say is this though, and especially in today's world with the internet and computers, there is an ability to work from home and do both and raise the kids and you're providing and making money and stuff like that. But what I want you to understand as guys is that it is your job to make sure your family is provided for. That is what the Bible teaches. Now go to Joshua 24. Joshua 24. Joshua 24. Joshua 24. But see, that is under attack by the world. The devil is attacking the traditional family with the modern family. It's changing everything. It's changing the roles that God put in society. God made them a certain reason, okay? There is an attack on the family. Now you might say, I think you're going overboard on what the attack is. Maybe you feel that way. But one thing you can't deny is that there's definitely an attack on the family. There's definitely an attack on the family unit that God prescribed, okay? Point number two, we need entire families living for God. Not just the men, not just the women, not just the parents. We need father, mother, and children living for God. Everybody living for God. Notice what it says in Joshua 24 verse 14. Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth. And put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and serve you the Lord. And if it seemed evil on you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He does not just say me. Joshua says, you know what? It's not just me that's going to serve God. As the head of this home, I want to make sure my wife is serving God. As the head of this home, I want to make sure my children are serving God. It's me and my house, everybody. That is something that's being lost in the Baptist world. Everybody in a house serving God. Go to Acts 21, Acts chapter 21. Sometimes you have just the fathers living for God, right? Sometimes and look, one mistake that people could make is because we preach about gender roles and various duties and things like that. Some people would say have this attitude, well, you know, I'm a woman. I'm just meant to have children and raise them. So I'm retired from soul winning now that I'm married. Show me where you get to retire from soul winning and explain to me why you want to retire from soul winning, right? Give me your best reason why you want to retire from soul winning. I don't want to retire from soul winning. Why would you want to retire from soul winning? There are a lot of churches where everybody that goes soul winning are men. I don't want to be at a church where only men are going soul winning. I want whole families living for God, husbands, wives, and children living for God. That is what makes a healthy church. That's what makes a healthy home when mom and dad and children are serving God, everybody in the household. Okay. Now let me show you this next 21 acts 21 verse eight and the next day we that were of Paul's company departed and came on to see Syria and we entered in the house of Philip the evangelist acts 21 verse eight, Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven and abode with him. And I want you to notice in verse nine and the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. Now one thing it says is that his daughters are virgins. Now here's the thing, I don't really think the Bible would say that if his daughter is six years old. I don't think it would say it if she's nine years old. I think it makes sense that she's probably at an old enough age where some women could have already slept with other guys, but that his daughters didn't. I mean at least a teenager is what I would say and we know at least they're old enough to preach the gospel because they're prophesying. They're preaching the gospel. So these are probably women that are 16, 18, 19, 20, whatever, something like that. Okay. But four women and here's a man and his daughters are pure. How does that happen? Well, because the mom and dad did a good job and you know what? They're all soul winners. Do you know, do you know why all of his daughters are so winners? Because they saw mom and dad going soul winning. Doesn't that make logical sense? Because mom and dad were so winning. Not just dad, not just mom, but hey, mom and dad go soul winning. You say, how do you know that brother Stuckey? Look, my son models everything I do. Everything I do, especially being a guy as well, being his father, he wants to be just like dad. Look, I do something, he does the exact same thing. Okay. I don't care what it is. If I put my arm in the air, he's going to do the same thing. Why? Because Zeph wants to be like dad and guess what Christabelle is going to want to do when she gets older? She's going to want to be just like mom. Okay. Why are all these girls going soul winning? Probably because their mom went soul winning. You say, brother Stuckey, it's hard to go soul winning if you have a lot of kids. Yeah, it is hard. Living the Christian life is not easy, but I'll tell you what, when your kids see you doing something that is difficult and you're still doing it, that's going to have a bigger impact on them. Okay. This is reality. This man, Phillip, his wife is also serving God. Okay. Now turn in your Bible to judges to judges to judges to this is why we need both husbands and wives paying attention to the preaching and learning, taking notes when they can, learning what the Bible is saying. We need husbands and wives serving God. This is why we never want the mother's baby room to just turn into a hangout place of gossiping. Why? Because the moms in our church need to learn the word of God and look, the primary person that's going to teach your kids the Bible is the woman, not the guy. My wife is around our children more than I am. So guess what? She's the primary person that's going to be teaching our kids the word of God. What does that mean? It means my wife needs to know the word of God means she needs to read the word of God means she needs to go. So when he needs to memorize the Bible, it means when the kids ask a question, she needs to know the answer. And the same is true for all of the ladies in this room. Look, don't just have this attitude. Well, you know, this is the church for us. My husband decided I'm just kind of hanging out and I'm not really in it to win it. Look, if you're going to be here anyway, take it seriously. Pay attention to the preaching. And if you really believe that the word of God can change your life, and if you really believe that I preach the Bible and I show you verses, you're foolish if you don't pay attention. I mean, I'm actually showing you stuff that can change your life, but if you choose not to apply it, what's your choice, right? Number one, there is an attack on the family in today's world. Number two, we need entire families living for God, which means both mom and dad need to read the Bible in their free time. Both mom and dad need to know the word of God and have an active prayer life and be living a godly life. Number three, we need to pass on a godly legacy to our children. And look, this is going to come only if mom and dad are living for God. Otherwise those kids are going to grow up and not really serve God. But you know what? Those kids will serve God if mom and dad are serving God. That is reality, okay? Judges chapter two, verse six. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man onto his inheritance to possess the land. Verse seven, or Judges two, verse seven, Judges two, verse seven. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel. Verse eight, and Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord died being 110 years old, and they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Harry's in the mount of Ephraim on the north side of the hill Geash. And also all that generation were gathered onto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them, notice this, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. The Bible says there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord. Now why is it they didn't know the Lord? Because mom and dad didn't pass on the faith to them. That's the reason why. Because mom and dad were not teaching the word of God to their children. And look, you're around your children more than I am. You can teach them more than I can in three sermons during the week. You ought to be actively teaching your kids the word of God throughout the week, okay? And a generation rises up which does not know the Lord. Why? Obviously the mom and dad just didn't pass on that godly legacy. Now go to Psalm 16, we'll close up. Psalm 16, Psalm 16. And here's the truth of the matter. When you decide you want to be a preacher, your goal is not to be liked by everybody. Now I hope people like me, but honestly that should not be my big goal is that everyone's going to like me. Here's the thing. I mean if you walk away from this sermon and you hate my guts, but it caused you to pass on a godly legacy, I did my job. I mean if you hate my guts, I'm going to prove Brother Stuckey wrong, I'm going to start reading the Bible twice as much. Good. Prove me wrong. I'm going to find that verse. I'm going to read every verse, every word in Zeko, and I'm going to find that verse. I'm going to read through the entire Bible and look to this one point to disprove Brother Stuckey. Good. I'm not upset with that, okay? That's a good thing, okay? My goal should not be to be well liked by everybody, okay? And look, here's the truth. When you preach sermons as best as is possible, you speak the truth in love, but because this world is so crazy, some things you say people can get offended by. And I understand that. But you know, that's not because of what I preached or the words of the Bible. It's because this world is crazy. And here's the thing. There's two extremes here. If you think I'm extreme, which the Bible is extreme, if you think I'm extreme, realize there's two extremes. One extreme is vice pong eat. It's pretty extreme, isn't it? Now everybody would say that's wrong. But here's the thing. If you think I'm over here and I'm too extreme, I would hope that you're closer to this side than that side. So here's the thing. If this offends you, I mean, I hope that offends you. I hope seeing guys wearing dresses, I hope that offends you. That should offend you, okay? Look, what I'm saying is not really that extreme. And I encourage you, hey, you know, in January we're going to be starting the New Testament Bible reading challenge. I encourage you to read every verse of the New Testament and find a verse that disproves the things I'm saying. And here's the thing. If you come to a different conclusion on some of these things, that's fine. You know, I'm not going to be mad at you. I'm preaching what the Bible says. I'm not saying you have to apply everything I'm saying. It's up to you what you want to do, okay? Psalm 16 verse five. Psalm 16 verse five. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are falling onto me in pleasant places. Today, I have a goodly heritage, right? This is the goal that my kids will grow up and my son will be 20 years old. And, you know, somebody's going to ask my son one day, you know, why is it Zephaniah, why is it that you don't smoke cigarettes? Why is it that you've never smoked a cigarette? I never saw mom or dad smoking a cigarette. You know the reason why I've never smoked a cigarette? My parents never smoked cigarettes. You know the reason why I don't curse? Because my parents didn't curse. I've never heard either one of my parents ever say a curse word. Never. I've never heard either one in my entire life. You know, growing up with my parents, I've never heard them say a curse word. Why is it that I take a strong stance against using that sort of language? Because my parents have never cussed before in front of me. So I never cussed. I mean, why is it that I don't drink? I don't drink because of the fact my parents didn't drink, okay? See, the goal is that we pass on a goodly heritage. And the goal is that my kids one day will say that, you know what? I have a goodly heritage from my parents. And look, as parents in this room, that ought to be your goal with your kids. That they will grow up one day and say, you know what? I have a goodly heritage passed down from my parents, okay? So what is this sermon series going to be about? Because this is just an introduction. And I know I hit a lot of topics and everything like that. We're going to have a sermon next week on spouses, okay? Us that are married. We're going to learn how to be a good spouse, okay? And look, that's going to be a good sermon even before you're married to figure out what you need to do. Then we're going to have a sermon specifically for husbands. The wives in this room are like, man, I'm excited about that. You got my husband pretty good. But the week after that, there'll be a sermon on wives, okay? Then we're going to have a sermon on parents. Then we're going to have a sermon for fathers. Then a sermon on mothers. Then a sermon for children. Then adult singles. And then we'll have a sermon on the dreaded in-laws and extended family, okay? We're going to cover everything, okay? And look, all of this stuff, we're going to look at what the Bible says. And I'll tell you what, there isn't a major attack on the family unit in today's world. And the reality is all of us, including myself, we have been brainwashed by the world. You say, what's your goal, Brother Stuckey? My goal is also to brainwash you with what the Bible says, right? You're either going to be brainwashed by the world or you're going to be brainwashed by this book. Yeah, my goal is to unbrainwash you from the world and brainwash you with what the Bible says. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to see your word. And help us to apply this sermon to our lives. I know a lot of stuff I cover in this sermon might be new to people. Maybe they've never heard it. Maybe it might sound extreme. But, you know, I just encourage everyone to just look at what the Bible says and read the Bible and make their own decisions and all these matters. But help all of us in this room, God, if we're husbands, to be good husbands. If we're fathers, to be good fathers. If we're wives, to be good wives. If we're mothers, to be good mothers. You know, and help all of us prepare ourselves and help us to have a strong family unit here at Verity Baptist Church, Manila. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.