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There are plenty of things. I mean, it's a pretty simple book compared to other books, and it's my name, so I shouldn't learn it pretty well, right? But there are a lot of things from Matthew I just don't understand. You say, why? Because of the fact you're constantly learning, you're constantly growing, and the reality is none of us are going to know everything here on earth, okay? And then it says this in verse 52, And so, he gives this analogy, and he's saying you bring forth things new and old, and when I preach sermons, I give you a lot of the same things we've heard many times. I mean, maybe when you first started coming here, everything was new, and you learned, you're like, man, I've never heard that before, you're learning all this information. You know, if you've been here for a while, a lot of what I preach, you've already heard me say. A lot of the information is not new, and a good preacher is going to strive to bring forth both the new and the old. We must be reminded about the things that are important, but it is my job to learn more and study more and be able to present new information. Go to Acts chapter 20. Acts 20. Acts 20. I mean, if you're a parent here, you've probably told your children before, hey, don't smoke, but is it okay to just do that one time? Okay, there we go. I just forgot to turn it on. That's better, right? I want to keep my voice here today and not lose it screaming, okay? The sound is much better in this building, so it's harder to notice, right? At the old building, it's like if the sound's out, I'm like screaming, I can't be heard. Here, though, the sound is much better. But anyways, as a parent, you know, if you tell your kids, do not smoke cigarettes, and you only tell them that one time when they're five years old, is that really going to have an impact on them? You need to tell that to them over and over and over again. But of course, as they're getting older, you've got to teach them new things. So you're going to be bringing forth both new and old as you teach and train your kids. Acts 20, notice what it says here, verse 18. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I've been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when it says repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, what the Bible is saying is that when a person gets saved, they must change their mind about who God is in order to place their faith on Jesus Christ. I mean, if you're a Muslim, you cannot keep believing in Muhammad and also believe on Christ. If you are a Hindu, you cannot keep believing in Shiva or Vishnu and believe on Christ. If you're a Buddhist, you cannot keep believing in Buddhism and also believe on Christ. You must change your mind about what you believe. And I would say in this room, a lot of people grew up Catholic. You're born, you're raised Catholic, and here's the thing about this. Once you got older, you had to make a decision, am I going to change my mind about what I believe and believe on Christ or am I still going to stick with my Roman Catholicism? You cannot believe the same thing and also place all of your faith on Jesus Christ. But it's not referring to changing your mind about sin or getting rid of your sin or changing your lifestyle. It's talking about changing your belief because in that verse, faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, we're talking about what you believe, not what you do. Verse 22, And now behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count on my life, dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received with the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men. Why? For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. It is my job to teach you all of the counsel of God. And a lot of the things that I'm going to be teaching you are the same things that you have already heard, the same things that I preached. But if I'm going to teach all the counsel of God, I need to study. I need to learn. You say, why? Because right now I'm memorizing through the book of Isaiah. I'm in chapter 3 right now. And let me just say this, that of all the books that I've memorized, that might be right at the top of the ones that's confusing. I've memorized chapters 1 and 2, and you say, do you understand everything in those chapters? No. I understand a lot more, but I don't understand everything. I mean, it's a confusing book. It's hard. And so here's the thing. I need to constantly learn and give you the same old truths and also teach you new things. Some of the same old truths that we teach are that salvation is by grace through faith. Now, of course, I'm preaching to save people in this room, but we need to be reminded of these things so we keep in mind how important this is. I hate Calvinism. If there's one doctrine I hate, it's certainly Calvinism, and it's something I preach on from time to time. You say, why? Because I don't want Calvinism creeping into our church. Quite honestly, that's a topic I have to force myself not to preach on too much because I just hate it so much I want to preach on it every week. But I do need to remind of these things. Right? I mean, how about soul winning? Of course we're a soul winning church. We go soul winning. But I need to keep reminding us to keep doing it. You say, why? Because there's a temptation in our flesh to take it easy. There's a temptation in our flesh to think we've already done enough. And so we need to be reminded of these same old truths that we know. Turn your Bible to Matthew 13. But the truth is that if all I ever do is just give you the same old information, the same five points over and over again, it's going to get old after a while. I'm sure there's a lot of people in this room that would say that you've gone to churches before, and I hope you would not say that about this church or about me, but that you never learned because it was like the same sermon repackaged over and over and over and over again. I remember the first church I went to after I was saved. It was a Baptist church. And I remember when I first went to the church, I really liked the preaching because it was all new to me. And the pastor, pretty much every sermon it was about salvation. And at first I was like, this is great. We need to know this and defend this. Once saved, always saved. But then after a couple months I was thinking, is there something new though? Because it was just the same sermon over and over and over again. And you know, when I preach I need to bring forth the old things, but I also need to bring forth the new things as well. Matthew 13 verse 53. And look, just remind yourself of this because church is very exciting when you first come and everything is new. You will reach a point where all of a sudden a lot of the information is not new, and you just have to realize it's good to be reminded of those same things. I cannot always just preach some new thing. I mean, if I always try to come up with something new, I'm going to get into some weird doctrines. It's like, man, I got to come up with something new. I don't know. Let me just talk about aliens. I saw a UFO last night. I just got to come up with something new. I'm going to start preaching some really weird things. And there's going to be a tendency to try to just always come up with something new. It's like, no, you need the balance of the old and the new. Matthew 13 verse 53. And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed thence, and when He was coming to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished and said, Whence or from where hath this man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? They're saying, isn't this Joseph's son? I mean, how is he getting all this information? He seemed like an ordinary boy, and yet now he has all this information. Where is it coming from? Now turn to Luke chapter 2. And they make this statement, Is not this the carpenter's son? And they're referring to Joseph's son. Now let me say this, that the statement they're making is not completely false, and it's not completely true either. Okay? And first let me just show you a verse here in Luke 2, verse 40. Luke 2 verse 40. The Bible says in Luke 2 verse 40, And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. Now when it's referring to his parents, it's referring to Mary and Joseph. Right? Now here's the thing about this. Was Jesus the biological child of Joseph? No, he was not. Right? He was born of a virgin. He had no earthly father. But at the same time, you do see the terminology in the Bible that if you raise somebody, that you are the father or mother onto that person. They are your child. That is a terminology given in the Bible. Here it refers to Joseph and Mary being his parents. Okay? But here's what I want us to understand about this. When they said, Is not this the carpenter's son? They are surprised at his wisdom. Obviously the people saying that don't believe in the virgin birth. They don't believe in this miraculous birth. They assume that this is the child of Joseph and Mary. And they're saying, This was an ordinary kid. He's the child of Joseph and Mary. So where did he get this wisdom? Right? Because obviously even though we know that Mary was born of a virgin, does that mean that most people believe that? No. Unless you're a believer on the Lord, you're not going to believe that. Right? I mean, if somebody has a child and they say, Well, you know, I was never with a man. I was just, you know, the Holy Ghost came upon me and I had a child. It's like, I don't believe that. Right? And so if people were not saved, they would not actually believe that. And they assume that this is the child biologically, genetically, of Mary and Joseph. So here in verse 41, it does refer to Mary and Joseph as being the parents of Jesus. Because even though Joseph was not biologically the father, he did raise Jesus. But go to verse 46. Verse 46. And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And Mary says that, you know, why did you do this to us? You know, we were, you know, sorrowing. We were sad trying to figure out where you were. And, you know, they're like, Why would you do this to your father Joseph and myself? And then it says here in verse 49, and he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business? Now, when he makes a statement, who is he referring to as his father in verse number 49? Not Joseph. He's referring to God the Father. Right? Because Jesus was born of a virgin, and his father is God the Father. There was no sin nature passed down from father to son with God the Father to Jesus. Jesus is perfect. He's sinless. All God, 100%, not 50-50. Jesus was not 50% God and 50% man. God was manifest in the flesh. He's 100% God. He's also 100% man, but he had no sin. Okay? And then it says in verse 50, And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. So it's easy for us to look back at this and read this in the Bible. We see that, you know, father's capitalized. We're like, okay, I get this. The business of God the Father, he's doing the work of the Lord. Obviously, though, if you're there and you hear that statement, it's going to be like, because, you know, I'm assuming he's spoken parables a lot, and they're probably just like, I don't get this one. I'm not really sure what he's saying here. Then it says this in verse 51, And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them, but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. Look, Mary has the perfect reaction that when we hear something and we don't fully grasp it, we don't fully understand it, keep that saying in your heart. Look, I preach a lot of different types of sermons, and I am sure that sometimes I preach things that you've never heard before, and you're like, I don't know. I need to think about it. And there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, if I teach you something from the Bible and you're not quite there at that point where you fully understand it or fully believe because maybe you've got to check it for yourself, that's fine. The Bible says to search the Scripture daily. Search the Scripture, study to show thyself approved unto God, take what I preach and go home and check it for yourself. And she keeps that saying inside of her heart, and it says, And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Go to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. And it says in verse 55, Is not this the carpenter's son, saying, Is not this the son of Joseph? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas, you say, Well, wait a minute. I thought that Mary was perpetually a virgin. Why would Jesus have brothers if, I mean, isn't this what the Roman Catholic Church teaches? That Mary was perpetually a virgin? That basically, you know what, hey, born of a virgin and then after that she just remained celibate her entire life? But wait a minute. It says right here that Jesus had brothers. Now, obviously, these are his half brothers because it's not like every birth was a miraculous one that Mary had. No, they're born the same way that we are where father and mother come together as a normal husband and wife do, and then he had brothers. James and Joseph and Simon and Judas. And it says in his sisters, Are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? Now, it mentions his sisters here in verse 56, and sisters is plural, which would mean at least two, but it's actually at least three because it does not say, Are they not both with us? It says, Are they not all with us? Signifying at least three, meaning that he had four brothers and three sisters, at least three sisters. I mean, he had a lot of siblings. And so what kind of a bizarre teaching, and where are they getting this information that Mary was perpetually a virgin? Right, because you kind of wonder with these churches, how do they get these doctrines? Aren't they reading the same Bible we are, and yet they walk away with some of the most bizarre teachings that there are? Now, I'm going to take a rabbit trail, and we're going to learn a little bit more about Catholicism, and we're going to read out of their own mouths what they say about this because the Catholic Church is very clear that Mary was perpetually a virgin. And if you study Catholicism and understand the saints a little bit more and who you're supposed to pray to, they'll say that, you know, if you're having struggles in marriage, it's like, Pray to Joseph, because he knows what it's like. That is what the Catholic Church actually teaches, right? Now, that's bizarre. It's like, explain to me what the difference is between praying to a god versus praying to a saint, right? But this question comes up, and on their website, the hypothetical question to the Catholic Church, I've never understood why Catholics claim that Mary was a virgin her entire life. The Bible says that Jesus had brothers. Yes, I agree. Matthew 13.55 settles the matter for me. Amen. I agree. This is the same question. I want to know what their answer is, right? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Now, of course, that's not the King James, but you can see, basically the same. And are not all his sisters with us? Sounds pretty clear to me. He had brothers, he had sisters. Case closed. Here's what the Catholic Church says. In answering any biblical objection to the faith, step number one is putting the other at ease by agreeing that if a teaching contradicts Scripture, the teaching must be wrong. Next, examine the biblical evidence. Now, look, whenever people add unnecessary words to an answer, it's because they don't have a good answer. It's like you're just adding a bunch of fluff before we get to your answer. Just tell us what the answer is, okay? And here's what we got. In the case of Mary's perpetual virginity, the key to explaining Matthew 13.55 is understanding the Greek word for brethren. So basically, you cannot explain it in English, but you're going back to the Greek. Why isn't the whole article written in Greek then? I mean, why don't you just stick to one language? And here's what it says. The Greek word for brethren, adelphoi, and its feminine counterpart, adelphai, if the Greek words used in this passage connotate only siblings, then the Catholic dogma of Mary's perpetual virginity is false. However, the word adelphoi has a much broader meaning. It may refer to male relatives that one is not a descendant of and that are not descended from one, such as a blood brother, step brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, etc., or non-relatives such as neighbors, fellow workers, co-religionists, and friends. Now, here's the thing about this. They go to the Greek, but I could have showed them the same thing in English. Yeah, you know what? The word brethren is used to refer to your nephews and nieces and cousins, and that's true. But wait a minute. In that verse, it's referring to Mary and Joseph, the children of who? Those are the adults mentioned. Those are the parents and the children of who? Joseph and Mary. Yeah, you're right. You can go to Genesis, and brethren can be used just generically. We say brother so and so, sister so and so, and yeah, brethren can refer to cousins and nephews. All of that is true, and I could have showed that to you in English in the King James Bible a multitude of times. But what about the context of the verse? Who are the parents being mentioned? Joseph and Mary. So they're the children of who? Joseph and Mary. Because they're saying, Is not this the carpenter's son and his mother Mary? And they're mentioning here his brothers and sisters of who? Joseph and Mary. I mean, the context is very obvious. And here's what they say when they go on. It says, But there was a Greek word for cousin. This is the hypothetical statement back to them. But there was a Greek word for cousin, anepsios. If the brothers of the Lord were really his cousins, why wasn't that word used? Now, that's not a good hypothetical question because brethren is used for cousins all the time. But here's what it says, and this one blew my mind when I read what the Catholic Church said. Here's a common misconception to be on the lookout for. Catholics teach that the brothers were actually cousins. That's not the Catholic position. In fact, we can't tell if any of the brothers were cousins. All the Church affirms is that they were not children of Mary. They could have been children of Joseph from a prior marriage. So Joseph was married before he got married to Mary? I have never heard that bizarre teaching until preparing for this sermon. It's like, you've got to be kidding me. It's like, that's your answer? I actually wanted to add this to my notes because I took a picture of this here this morning. Let me see if I can pull it up. And actually turn to Matthew 1 while you're waiting. Matthew 1. And so this is also from the Catholic website, and this question comes up to the Catholic website. It says, My mother told me years ago that shortly before St. Joseph was betrothed to Mary, he had been married to a woman named Melka who bore him a lot of children. Is this true? And where does this story come from? That's a good question. Where does that story come from? Joseph being married to Melka. And here's the answer from the Catholic website. The story about St. Joseph being married to a woman named Melka with whom he had six children is taken from apocryphal writings, which have no authority. From the Catholic Encyclopedia's entry on St. Joseph, It will not be without interest to recall here, unreliable though they are, the lengthy stories concerning St. Joseph's marriage containing the apocryphal writings, when 40 years of age, Joseph married a woman called Melka or Eska, by some, Salome by others. So according to this in the apocryphal writings, and this is why we've got 66 books of the Bible. Forget about those seven books the Catholic Church adds, and forget about the multitude of other books that people try to add as well. The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Judas, whatever, the Gospel of Barnabas, whatever they want to say. But here's the thing. If Joseph got married to this first woman at the age of 40, that means he's pretty old when he marries Mary. Right? So here's what it says. They lived 49 years together and had six children. The six children being the four brothers, probably, and the two sisters, although that should be three. And it says this, that a year after his wife's death, as the priests announced through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Judah a respectable man to espouse Mary, then 12 to 14 years of age, Joseph, who was at the time 90 years old, 90 years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates. A miracle manifested the choice God had made of Joseph, and two years later the annunciation took place. So according to apocryphal writings, not only was Joseph married before, he was married for almost 50 years, and at the age of 90, he's marrying a girl that's 12 years old. Let me explain to you what the word for that is. It's not marriage. It's called pedophilia. It's called disgusting. It's called sick. What kind of a bizarre teaching? And of course the Catholic Church takes this in-between position. Well, we don't know. Maybe they're cousins. Maybe he was married to Melchiah. I mean, there's a lot of possibilities, but no, it cannot be that Joseph and Mary had a normal marriage. Okay? Matthew 1, let's see what the Bible says. Matthew 1, verse 18. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, or on this manor, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Now, in verse 18, the Bible says that Mary and Joseph were espoused. Think of the word spouse. Are they married at this point? Yes. They are married. And the reason why this is hard for us to understand is that it's hard for us to understand And the reason why this is hard for us to understand is because of the fact, you know, in our modern day, generally, when you get married, you go through the legal action of getting married and you're immediately with your spouse. But, you know, it's not like that all over the world. I mean, some cultures, maybe you get married and then you're not together immediately. Or you could think of situations like when my wife and I got married, we got married with the fiancé visa, meaning we got married in the U.S. But, you know, people get married on the spousal visa and sometimes they wait to have that relationship until they already move to be with their spouse because they're worried about pregnancy if they're not there because it might take a long time before they can actually move. And so even in our modern day, you know, here in the Philippines, people could get married and actually wait a couple years to actually have that intimate relationship because they're not yet together. Right? And what you're seeing here, in my opinion, is that Joseph and Mary, they decided, we want to get married and they're not around each other all the time. And then basically, before they actually come together, he's probably saving up money and preparing the house, maybe six months, eight months to prepare to get married. Okay? To be fully together. So there's basically two aspects when it comes to marriage. There's the civil union and there's the actually coming together as husband and wife. In our modern day, usually that is just like back to back. But it has not always been like that. So it says that they are married, they're espoused, and yet they have not had that intimate relationship yet. Verse 19. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately, quietly. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Now you've got to understand when you're reading this that Mary has not talked to Joseph about this. Mary has not come to Joseph and said, an angel came to me and I'm with child of the Holy Ghost. And so basically, how does Joseph know this? I would say the cheese me's got to him. It's like, whoa, why is Mary pregnant? And then he hears about it from other people. So what is the natural reaction going to be of a man if he has not yet been with his wife and now she is with child? Of course, you're going to assume that she was with somebody else. What else is there to assume? Because the virgin birth is a one-time thing. It's never happened before, right? And so, of course, this is what Joseph would assume. And then an angel actually comes to him and he does the right thing because he takes his time to think about it, gets calm, he's patient about this. And it says in verse 21, and she shall bring forth the Son and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth the Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took on to him his wife. Now notice this in verse 25. And knew her not, referring to being intimate with his wife, and knew her not till or until. What does that word imply? What that word implies is he did not know her up until this point, but after that point he did. What is the Bible saying? He knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus. So, after she gives birth, Joseph and Mary had a normal relationship like any husband and wife have. That's very clear in Matthew 1, verse 25. It is clear from Genesis to Revelation. There's plenty of scripture that shows us this. He knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son and, of course, then they have a normal marriage like anyone would. In fact, it would be a sin of Mary to refuse that relationship to her spouse. I'm not going to go there for the sake of time, but the Bible is very clear in 1 Corinthians 7 that when you get married, you owe something to your spouse in that department and if she had refused it, she would be wrong. She'd be in sin. You really think that Joseph and Mary, it's like for decades, sleeping in the same bed beside each other unless you think that Joseph was in another room with another bed or whatever. I'm assuming same bed beside each other and she's like, nope. I'm sorry, Joseph. It's just like I'm just going to perpetually be a virgin. That is weird. That is bizarre. And that is not what the Bible teaches. Right? The miracle of the virgin birth is that she had never been with a man and quite honestly, you're kind of throwing some water on the fire when you sit here and say, well, just her entire life she was never with any man. What's the purpose for teaching something so bizarre? And that is not what the Bible clearly teaches. Go in your Bible to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. And you might not have realized this growing up. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't, but what you come to realize is that the Roman Catholic Church, they are not forming their beliefs based on what the Bible says. They're forming it based on man's tradition, weird teachings that the pope have come up with. I mean, even if you go back to that movie that was 20 plus years ago, The Passion of the Christ, when it came out, it wasn't even based on the Bible. It was based on these women that had stigmata where they supposedly felt the pain where they had, you know, the nails going, where Jesus had the nails going in and supposedly, I mean, that's where they actually base it on. It was like Anne or Mary Catherine, Anne and Mary, if I'm remembering correctly, there's two different women that they base it on. The movie wasn't even based on the Bible. It was based on these women that had stigmata. And if you've ever seen that movie, which I would not recommend, you can tell it's not based on the Bible. I remember watching that movie shortly after I got saved and I knew very little about the Bible and I had only been saved for a couple months and I was like, what a cool movie. And I watched it six months later and I was like, this is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life because I started reading the Bible and I'm like, where are they getting this from? They're not getting it based on the Bible. They were getting it from these women that supposedly had stigmata, right? The Catholic Church does not base their teachings on the Word of God. Matthew 13, verse 57. Matthew 13, verse 57. And the Bible says in Matthew 13, verse 57, Matthew 13, verse 57, And they were offended in him, but Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house. Now, Jesus is a little bit different than us because Jesus never did anything wrong, but the natural assumption from a child, even if they're doing nothing wrong, you just kind of assume the children are makulit, they're immature, even if they're just playing and having fun like a normal child does. Now, it's true that all kids are makulit sometimes, but sometimes kids are just playing and there's nothing wrong with that. And I would imagine that people that knew Jesus growing up are just looking down on him and they're saying that this was a little kid, I mean, he's the son of Joseph, he's the son of Mary, his brothers and his sisters, and they kind of look down on him just because they knew him growing up. And I would say in a similar sense that oftentimes the people that we knew before we were saved or the people we knew before that we were serving God are not interested in what we have to say. Right? You know, if you've ever tried to give the gospel to your family after getting saved, isn't it true that sometimes they won't receive it from you even if they'd receive it from somebody else? And, you know, I remember when I first got saved, I just kind of assumed, man, everybody would get saved if they just knew. But that's just not true. You start giving the gospel to people that you know and a lot of times they get mad at you. It's like, well, who are you to tell me this? I mean, just a couple weeks ago you were watching that movie. And it's like they don't want to listen to you because they know the mistakes you made or they knew you growing up or whatever. And oftentimes you try to give the gospel to your family and they don't want to listen. They don't want to hear it. And, you know, one thing that's amazing is I've seen this at our church that some people have tried to give the gospel to their family and their family will not receive it, their family will not get saved, and then another soul winner from our church gives them the gospel and they get saved like that. And I get it. I mean, I'm a parent. It's like probably what goes through your mind as a parent is I was changing your diapers. I was holding you when you were sick. I was the one who fed you for years and you're going to tell me how to get to heaven? I mean, even if they don't say that out loud, that is what parents are often probably thinking saying I knew you when you were young and, you know, you did all of these things and I taught you and it's like now you're going to teach me? Of course, that is a very humbling thing to be taught by your child when you've been teaching them your whole life. And I've tried to give the gospel to relatives. I have a relative that's 100 years old and I've given her the gospel several times and she's probably thinking, you know, I was 60 years old when you were born and now you're going to tell me, you know, how to get to heaven. I mean, it's a hard thing for people to receive. And, you know, the sad reality is this, notice that when you try to give the gospel to your family, oftentimes they will reject it not because of what you're saying but because of who you are. Even if there's nothing wrong with you, it's because in the past you were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, you made mistakes and they just do not want to hear it from you because you've basically done a 180. You're a different person now. Even if they might receive it from somebody else. Now, I would recommend to all of us don't give up with family because family does get saved. Sometimes it takes a while. I would say from personal experience that sometimes you're probably getting through to family without realizing it because they don't want to admit it on the outside but on the inside they might be thinking, well, that's a good point, I don't know how to answer that. And so on the outside they're kind of arguing or debating whereas on the inside it's actually making a lot of sense. Okay? But I would say this, that I tried to give the gospel to all of my friends that I was close with growing up and I played soccer with. And I would say that a few people got saved but most, they didn't get saved and they didn't want to hear it from me. And maybe they'd hear it from somebody else but they didn't want to hear it from me. Right? It says here in verse number 58, And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. And obviously, you know, Jesus knows all things and he chose not to do mighty works there because they didn't want to receive it. Now go to 1 Timothy 3 and we'll close up. 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Now I do believe this, that if you lived a pretty clean life before you were saved and before you were serving God and you have a stronger testimony and reputation that could give you, you know, a way to talk to your old relatives. Maybe they look at you and maybe they'll respect you more. Or the other possibility is this though, maybe you didn't live a clean life before you were saved or before you were living godly but they've seen a major change in you. And I would say this, that sometimes I think what works with family is maybe they don't want to hear the gospel at first but then through your actions as they can see that you're different and it's not some new thing because, you know, for a lot of us, once you got saved you started talking about the Bible. Your family might be thinking, who is this? You're like a completely different person. It's like, did you join a cult? I mean, like, what's going on? You're talking about the Bible and you want to go to church all the time and it's such a complete 180 that they have trouble receiving it because you're basically a brand new person I'd say a lot of us have probably dealt with that. And what I would say is that the way you can have an impact, maybe they don't want to hear your words at first, let the actions do the talking then. Just make sure you start living a clean life, you take Christianity very seriously, you're not getting involved in sin, and over time I believe it will often soften their heart where then all of a sudden you can start giving the gospel, giving some verses, and then maybe get them saved or maybe somebody else could get them saved. Now, I wish that I could stand up here and say that there is some magic formula to always get your relatives saved, but I would say that every single person in this room probably has unsaved relatives. I mean, probably every single person in this room has unsaved Catholic relatives, except for me, but I'm married into unsaved Catholic relatives, so I do too, right? And you know what? I would say that even though they're not listening now, you never know in the future. And look, I know what that's like because I preach the gospel to, you know, there's big family gatherings of my wife's family sometimes in Pampanga, and sometimes there's 100 plus people. Recently, you know, her grandmother turned 90 and I preached the gospel to over 100 people. And, you know, I preach the gospel often, and what you'll often find is all of a sudden they just walk out of the room. It's like, oh, I got to run to the restroom right when I start preaching. It's like 30 of you said the same thing. I mean, that restroom's not that big, but they just don't want to hear. But that doesn't mean that you're not having an impact because we do believe that the Word of God can sow a seed, and then if it keeps getting watered and watered and watered and watered, eventually you might actually be able to get them saved, right? So do not give up on family. But let me just show you where your reputation is very important, and the Bible says this. The Bible says this in 1 Timothy 3, and this is in reference to a pastor, but kind of the same principles and ideas can be applied just in our own general life. This is a true saying, If a man desireth the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober of good behavior, given a hospitality, apt to teach. The Bible says that you must be blameless. And the word blameless and the word spotless are actually used interchangeably in the Bible. Think about something being spotless. Imagine coming home to a house and it's completely white, it's completely clean, and then you spill spaghetti sauce on the floor. That's going to have a massive spot there that is very obvious. And what the Bible is saying in our personal lives is that you need to make sure you don't have one major sin that is just so obvious to people where it destroys your reputation. Obviously, all of us are sinners, but the Bible does say we can be blameless and spotless. Not saying that we're perfect, but that we're above reproach by living a holy and godly life. And here's the thing, if you want to impact your family, that's probably going to have a bigger impact than your words. If they do not get saved at first, don't give up on preaching the gospel, but just decide that through your actions you're going to have an impact on them. Let's close in word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just concluding Matthew 13. I ask you to help us to apply this sermon to our lives, God. Help all of us in this room to have opportunities to preach the gospel to our families and our relatives, God. Help us do everything in our power to try to get them saved, God. And I ask you to help soften the hearts of unsaved family members that we have, God. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, for that song, let's turn our hymn to hymn number 113, 113. Let's sing the song, Wonderful Peace. On the verse. It beats wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Swim over my spirit forever I pray In battleless billows of love What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace Bear deep in the heart of my soul So secure that no power can mine it away While the years of eternity roll Peace, peace, wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Swim over my spirit forever I pray In battleless billows of love I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace Resting swiftly in Jesus' control For I am kept from all danger by night and by day And His glory is flooding Peace, peace, wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Swim over my spirit forever I pray In battleless billows of other form And He thinks when I rise to the city of peace Where the after of peace I shall see That one strain of the soul which the ransom will see Is that heavenly kingdom shall be Peace, peace, wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Swim over my spirit forever I pray In battleless billows of love I'll soar you here without comfort or hurt Marching down the rough fast way of time May Jesus your friend hear the shadows grow dark Oh, except this wind be so sublime Peace, peace, wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Swim over my spirit forever I pray In battleless billows of love .