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

["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background. People talking in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] ["Do My Pain Have A Love For You?" playing in the background.] Take out your bulletin. We'll go through a couple quick announcements. I'm always worried singing songs like that because I'm thinking, oh, no, you know, we're going to have a lot of rain later or something like that. So I guess we'll see. But let's count up salvations from the past week. Did anybody have any salvations to report? Anybody? Two? All right. Praise the Lord. Anybody? One? All right. Anybody else? Salvations? Anybody? All right. Well, hopefully no storm later and then we can have our soul winning. But let's see. A couple other things real quickly. So our Bible memorization challenge, it's chapters 23 through 41. And basically for every chapter you memorize, you get a prize. And so we do have the prize in case you weren't here when I announced it in the first service. So here's what we have. And when we run out, we'll have more of them. So you have basically lots of different types of chips. And then we also have like various types of candies. So basically first come, first serve. So if you're the first person here next Sunday to church, then you can basically come in here and say, all right, I memorized one chapter. Then I'm going to walk away before you rush up here. Let Marlon get away too, you know, as he's done with the last song before you stampede, okay? But we're going to have that. Every week we're going to restock it. So we want to motivate you to memorize the Bible. Because I didn't mention that as a pillar in your life. If I'm memorizing the Bible, it really keeps me meditating on God's word. It's a great, great thing to do. The other announcement is for our September visitor challenge, we do have the prize here today. So we have a mango bravo cake in the freezer. And 14-3, right? 14-3 if your last name is S through Z, then you get the prize. But we might have individually, it's probably unlikely that the person you guys say will come. But if 20 different people really work on bringing people, then we're going to have visitors, right? You know, just by sheer numbers of inviting people. Anyways, I think that's it for announcements. We'll have Brother Marlon lead us in another song. Jesus some gold some so the big tree the blue for me for you sad hearts oh so it's dark like him to be oh jesus some gold jesus some gold so the big tree some gold for me for you oh no tears or crying shawty more eyes love once united eternally oh what a day great that more will be some gold and a great jesus will come some gold and a great battle's all won he'll shout the big tree rain through the blue some gold and a great for me for you so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so amen for a scripture reading please open your bibles to the book of psalm psalms 26 right in the middle of your bible psalm 26 and as our custom we will be reading the entire chapter psalms 26 amen if you're there amen psalm 26 first one judge me oh lord for i've walked in my integrity i have trusted also in the lord therefore i shall not slide examine me oh lord and prove me try my reins in my heart for thy loving kindness is before mine eyes and i have walked in thy truth i have not sat with vain persons neither will i go in with dissemblers i have hated the congregation of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked i will wash mine hands in innocency so will i come past thine altar oh lord that i may publish with a voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works lord i have loved thy habitation of thy house and a place where thine honor dwelleth gather not my soul with sinners nor my life with bloody men and whose hands is mischief and the right hand is full of bribes but as for me i will walk in mine integrity redeem me and be merciful unto me my foot standeth in an even place and the congregations will i bless the lord amen bless the name of god's word let us pray lord god in heaven thank you lord for the stage you've given to us a privilege to bless the lord for our lunch fellowship later on also lord for our soul winning give us lord good weather and bless the preaching of your word lord amen alright we're hearing psalm 26 and the name of the sermon is the examination from the lord well just think about in a courtroom what is a hearing a hearing is the formal examination of a cause civil or criminal before a judge according to the laws of a particular jurisdiction so let's say you're on trial for something there's a hearing and the judge is gonna basically look at the case look at the evidence and he's gonna make a decision based on it well here it says in verse number 1 judge me oh lord and the psalmist is basically saying i want you to put me on trial i want you to check out my life god i want you to look at it and see whether or not i'm innocent or guilty that's not something a normal person is gonna do in the secular world are you gonna go into the courtroom and just tell the judge i want you to deeply examine my life to see if i've done anything that i can get thrown in jail for well in a statement like this they must be confident that they're innocent right now that doesn't mean confident that you're sinless because none of us are sinless but blameless right confident that you're also in the lord therefore i shall not slight so the psalmist says you know what i have walked in mine integrity i'm doing what's right i'm obeying god's commandments i want you to judge me god now of course a question you can ask yourself in your heart right now is do you feel confident to ask god to judge your life do you feel confident that if you were put on trial by god he would say you know well done my good and faithful servants it's a question for you to ask inside your own heart and in your own mind but the psalmist says you know what i've walked in mine integrity i've trusted also in the lord therefore i shall not slight examine me oh lord and prove me try my reigns in my heart for thy loving kindness is before mine eyes and i have walked in thy truth so the psalmist says you know what i've walked in mine integrity one thing he mentions in verse 3 is thy loving kindness is before mine eyes and what he's saying is basically that god is kind god is loving well none of us are sinless but if you're right with god you can still be confident that god will look at your life and he's blessing you right if you're doing what's right and he's saying you know what i'm confident i'm obeying but i also know you're kind so any mistakes i'm making i'm not making a grievous sin i'm trying to do what's right go to john 3 john 3 john 3 john chapter 3 now in many ways when you go to a church like this what are you saying you're saying judge me oh lord judge me oh god you say why because when a church is actually preaching the bible and pointing out sins and teaching what the bible says you're basically on trial every single week now of course i don't individually know everybody's sins and nobody else knows but you know inside of yourself and if you're going to come to a church like this you're obviously telling god i want you to judge me so if i'm messed up in an area i want to fix it right that's why you would go to a church like this because we shine that flashlight so bright into your eyes to let you know here's the problems in your life you say brother sucky i was at my old baptist church for 20 years i never felt bad about not reading the bible but now after this morning you're like read the bible every day read the bible every day you say what is that well it's called that you're basically on trial you're being judged and if there's an area you got to change change it right but that's why you like this church if you consider yourself a member of this church you like this church for that reason because we're trying to help you fix the problems in your life john 3 verse 19 and this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil now why is it that people want to dwell in darkness because their deeds are evil because they're doing something wrong now of course there's a symbolic reference here but in a literal aspect as well when people do wrong don't they like to be in dark places aren't bars a dark place aren't clubs a dark place don't people commit murder in the darkness so people don't see it don't people commit adultery in darkness the bible says they that are drunken are drunken in the night you say why well they don't do it in the day generally because they know it's wrong people commit sins and do wrong in darkness and in a symbolic sense people that are doing wrong don't want the light to be shown on them to show all of their problems right so people love darkness rather than light why because their deeds are evil why do a lot of people not like a church like this because their deeds are evil that's what the bible says i'm not being arrogant by saying that that's simply what it says in john 3 a lot of people don't like their sins pointed out they don't want to know if they're doing anything wrong they just want to be patted on the back you're great you're awesome well done even if they're not good even if they are messing up now this is a very foolish thing though think about just in any area of your life think if you're taking free throws and then you air bowl the free throw and then your friend is like that was great your form was awesome you were just the wind caught it right the wind caught it that's why it missed by ten feet right you did great they're doing it the exact same way wouldn't that be foolish and yet people walk into churches all the time and yet their lives are a mess and yet they walk out feeling like man that free throw was awesome i just got unlucky right that's the reason why my life has been a mess for 25 years right it says men love darkness rather than light why because their deeds were evil for everyone that doeth evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved but he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are rotten gods now look this is true for saved and unsaved people most saved people don't want their flaws pointed out either but it's also the reason why a church like ours is going to be the one that gets persecuted by the world because we're actually pointing out sins how dare that preacher say that you shouldn't do this how dare him say that's a sin how dare him say that that's a sin that's worthy of death according by what I mean how dare how arrogant that pastor is but see it's because their deeds are evil right you're not going to be offended if you're innocent right turn your Bible to someone 39 someone 39 someone 39 I mean I guess it really comes down to what your concept of what a church is supposed to be like you know for me I always thought you know with church you know I want to just fix the errors in my life I want to know the truth and I want to try to follow it see for a lot of people to go to church because it makes them feel good right they feel emotional they feel spiritual I feel good so I go here because it pumps me up and it motivates me I'll be dead honest you know what if I wouldn't even go to church if that was my mentality right if I wasn't seeking for the truth I wouldn't just go to feel spiritual if I wasn't spiritual I would have plenty of hobbies to do other than that I have always gone to church to learn I went to the church that taught the truth the best church in the area everywhere I've lived you say why I want to know the truth I want to change the areas of my life I need to change I don't understand why people don't have that mentality but the truth is most people want to be told that what they're doing is right no matter what right I mean it doesn't even matter what it is you can look at anything in the world you can you can point out to people some flaw in articles they're reading and why what they're saying doesn't make sense got all these articles you say well here's statistics that prove you're wrong well you know they just make up some sort of excuse it's like because people don't want to be told they're wrong it's a matter of pride they're not humble enough to admit that they're wrong. Psalm 139 notice what it says in verse 23 and verse 23 is very similar because the phrase judge me is throughout the book of Psalms throughout the book of Psalms the Psalmist is saying judge me judge me judge me judge me but he also says here in Psalm 139 verse 23 search me oh God search me oh God it's basically the same thing where he's saying look at my life and search to see if you see anything wrong this is actually you know there's that song in the hymnal we sing where it's like search me oh God and know my heart today it actually comes from this verse search me and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and if you're going to make that statement of search me and judge me and look at my life it obviously means that you think for the most part you're innocent that you haven't done wrong right and it also means that if there's an area that is wrong it's like God help me fix that area right that's why you come to a church like this if there's an area of your life you got to fix you say I want to know what it is but judge me search me oh God and if you're not confident to ask God to judge you and help correct your problems it's probably because you've got a lot of problems that you're trying to hang on to you don't want to make those changes but if you want to actually fix your life you're going to say judge me God search me God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and what he's saying is know my heart that I'm not just on the outside doing the things that make it look like I'm spiritual inside my heart and inside my thoughts they're pure now I cannot see your thoughts here today but ask yourself that question if your thoughts were to be up here on a big board right what did brother so and so think about you know before he came into church would you feel okay with that would you feel confident or would it be like whoa what in the world was you know he doing right it's just like you know the psalmist here is confident you know what I've had a pure heart I've had a pure mind I'm trying to serve God I'm trying to do right search me oh God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting so he's saying God judge me search me look at my life and you can tell there's nothing wicked inside me I'm right with God I'm doing what's right not even on the outside but my thoughts in my heart are pure and you have to ask yourself is that the case with you here today are your thoughts pure throughout the day I mean are you meditating on God's word day and night the Bible says you know that basically whatsoever is pure whatsoever is lovely what's I mean there's plenty of good things whatsoever is a virtue of good report plenty of things that you can think about that are pure and fine but are you thinking worldly thoughts in your free time are you thinking sinful thoughts in your free time are you just focused on everything that does not matter and things that you would be ashamed of who was brought to the public well the psalmist says you know what on the inside I am right with God and he's confident well notice what it says in verse 21 because you know we sing that song and I feel like people have never actually read it in the Bible right Baptist sing that song all the time it's a famous song search me oh God and know my heart it's a great song I love that song it's an awesome song and Baptist sing that song all the time and sometimes I wonder if they've just never read it in the Bible because let's look at the context because he says search me God judge me look at my heart look at my thoughts I am pure I have nothing wicked inside of me notice what it says in verse 21 do not I hate them oh Lord that hate thee and am not I grieve with those that rise up against thee I hate them with perfect hatred I count them mine enemies and the psalmist says in verse 23 and verse 24 search me oh God nothing wicked inside of me my thoughts are pure my heart is pure that is right after he said God I hate people that hate you do not I hate them oh Lord that hate thee and am not I grieve with those that rise up against thee and see the Bible says that those that hate the Lord we are to hate and the psalmist says I hate those that hate you God search me look at my heart look at my thoughts there is nothing wicked inside of me the context is right after he talks about hating the wicked and then he says there is nothing wicked inside of me do not I hate them oh Lord that hate thee and am not I grieve with those that rise up against thee I hate them with perfect hatred I count them mine enemies search me oh God and know my heart today right I mean he is saying that he hates the enemies of the Lord and then he is like search me oh God there is nothing wicked inside of me no bad thoughts nothing bad in my heart you know what that teaches there is actually people we are supposed to hate those verses alone would say it but it is just really interesting that is right before you ask God to search him check out my life is there anything wicked inside of me it is like brother Stuckey you are a hate preacher you hate people yeah I am a hate preacher the Bible says there is people we should hate we should hate those that are the enemies of God that is what the Bible says and right after that he says search me God look if there is anything wicked inside of me and you know what he is saying there is nothing wrong with hating those that hate the Lord in fact the Bible tells us to do that go back to Psalm 26 Psalm 26 it is funny how people try to explain this away in the book of Psalms they will say things like well you know that is just what David said but that does not mean that God is telling you to do that I mean that is the word of God there is nothing there that would say that what he did was sinful it is not like the story of Job where it is clear that the guys are wrong the Bible tells us what they said was wrong I mean this is the scripture this is the word of God and the Bible is saying you know actually we are supposed to hate them that hate God and count them our enemies well it says the same thing in Psalm 26 verse 4 remember he said in verse 1 judge me and then notice this I have not sat with vain persons neither will I go in with dissemblers I have hated the congregation of evil doers and will not sit with the wicked so in verse 5 he says I hated the congregation of evil doers see there are certain people the Bible says that we should hate hated the congregation of evil doers you say what would be a good example of that well how about a gay pride rally right there is a congregation of wicked people that hate God there is a congregation of people that you should hate according to the Bible there are people the Bible says are enemies of God and those that are enemies of God the Bible says we should hate you know one of the things that makes the book of Psalms repetitive is how much the book of Psalms talks about the wicked people it's like every single week it's like in chapter after chapter it's a song book that's what they are supposed to be singing right just talking about the people that they hate now go to Matthew 5 Matthew 5 you say brother Stuckey I don't know because maybe this is new to you I've never heard this before there's people that we should hate I've always heard hate the sin love the sinner you know what's interesting about that I gave you Bible verses show me hate the sin love the sinner in the Bible right now don't misunderstand me we're going to look at it here in a second that when it comes to our personal enemies those are not people that we're supposed to hate and we're going to look at that in the Bible but those that are God's enemies those that hate the Lord the Bible says we are to hate okay you say brother Stuckey I'm not sure about this you know I just have so much love inside of me so much love okay well let's say that you have a little puppy you have a little puppy you have a little kitty cat and then all of a sudden you see this snake eating your cat or eating your dog I just love that snake so much I don't want to harm that snake I mean I love that I mean I love my cat but I love that snake I mean God bless the heart of that snake I mean it's eating my cat but it's just like I'm not going to have a young child and then there's predators and people that want to harm a little child yeah those are people that we ought to hate you can't say well I love this little baby and I love the person that molested that baby I just love both of them right I'm just so filled with love you know I'm not you know and you know you've heard these stories before in the public where someone will get caught doing something like this and people cover it up because they're so full of love that you know what even though someone did wrong they're willing to forgive no matter what is that what the Bible teaches the Bible says do not I hate them oh Lord that hate thee there are people that we should hate you say well who should I hate brother Stuckey well notice what it says in Matthew 5 verse 43 Matthew 5 verse 43 let me let me help give you the difference here because I'm not sitting around here saying that basically you can just hate anyone you want and no matter what I mean somebody you know messed up your order at a restaurant and now you hate that waiter and you're cursing at him you're screaming at him blah blah blah well that's not what I'm saying because notice what it says in Matthew 5 verse 43 you have heard that it hath been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy now I want you to realize something in verse 43 the Bible does not say that the word of God tells you love your neighbor and hate your enemy okay he says he have heard that it hath been said so he's saying this is basically what's commonly reported people are saying you know love your neighbor and hate your enemy okay the Bible does not tell us to hate our enemy the Bible tells us to love our enemies now people are going around saying this and he said Jesus said ye have heard love your neighbor and hate your enemy but he's going to say the opposite because the Bible does not tell us to hate our enemies the Bible tells us to hate God's enemies not our enemies then he says in verse 44 but I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you so Jesus is not changing the law where in the Old Testament it's hate hate hate now it's love love love no actually it was the same in the Old Testament you're supposed to love your enemies as yourself love your neighbor as yourself you weren't supposed to hate your enemies if somebody is your personal enemy you are not to hate that person unless they're an enemy of God unless it's someone who hates God if it's someone who hates God you ought to count them as your enemy but look your coworker that does not like you because they don't like the church you go to or whatever reason it's like that's not someone that you should be hating right because they've done nothing for you to hate them now they might be your personal enemy but we're not supposed to hate our enemies we're supposed to love our enemies we're supposed to hate God's enemies there's a big difference there now turn to Acts 7 now really the context of being searched or judged part of that context is actually hating the wicked so here's a question for you today how's your hate life well I just love everybody well you know you're not ready to be judged by God then because God says I expect you to hate certain people people that hate God now if we're walking down the street you know you won't necessarily know all the time whether someone hates God or not now here in the Philippines there are a lot of people that make it pretty obvious but you know there's people in a crowd you don't know whether they hate God or whatever like that but people that actually do hate God the Bible says we're supposed to hate those people right I mean you say what about what let's give an example what about the pope I hate the pope say why do you hate the pope because the pope is on his way to hell and he's a false prophet there's no hope for someone like that no hope for the pope my friend there is no hope for him he's a child of the devil and you say he's a child of the devil and you say well how do you know that well look it's obvious that the pope is a child of the devil right I mean how many cases the Catholic church covered up a pedophilia but they stand for everything against what the Bible says that is someone that we should hate but he seems so nice on TV it's an act it's fake and he stands for everything opposite of what the Bible says right you can see videos online this kid goes up to the pope and he says you know he's crying he's like I'm really worried my dad died and he was an atheist you know is he in heaven and pope Francis is like well don't worry son was he a good man oh he was a good man well then I'm sure he's in heaven look that up on YouTube look it up on Google not making it up you can go there and he told some kid your atheist father is in heaven because he was a good person that's funny because I thought my Bible said there's none righteous no not one you say why do you hate the pope I hate him because he's like the biggest false prophet in the world he's probably the biggest every single person in that church will know because how many of them really hate God probably a very small percentage right I mean the average person that walks into a Catholic church they don't hate God there's no reason for you to hate that person just because they have the wrong religion they're just an unsaved person that needs the gospel right but someone who does hate God is someone that we should hate the Bible says Acts 7 let me show you an example a very extreme example where there's a group of people and not all of them in Acts 7 are children of the devil go to the end of the chapter into the chapter chapter verse 54 verse 54 Acts 7 verse 54 and this is the chapter with Stephen and this is where he gets stoned to death okay Acts 7 verse 54 when they heard these things they were cut to the heart now what does it mean that they're cut to the heart well I mean think about a sword is something that cuts right but they're cut to the heart because the word of God is quick and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even and dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and of marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart right so the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword it cuts to the heart right so when it's saying that they're cut to the heart what's taking place Stephen is preaching the word of God and guess what the sword cuts to their heart right a physical sword only cuts the body cuts the outside but to actually get on the inside to the thoughts and intents of the heart it actually takes the word of God and the word of God is a way to get on the inside and when it gets on the inside you can have two reactions you can say okay I'll make the change or you can stone Stephen which is what they do in Acts 7 because they're mad so it says they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth you say brother Stuckey they gnashed on him with their teeth I mean are these like some sort of zombies or a Mike Tyson situation now when it's saying they gnashed on him with their teeth with their words they're not actually okay no bite okay they're just gnashing on him with their teeth they're basically casting things against him with their words they're not actually biting him okay and you've been watching too many zombie movies if you know just like basically yelling at him and complaining they gnashed on him with their teeth but he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said behold I see the heavens open and the son of man standing on the right hand of God then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears so they don't want to hear it anymore they stopped their ears because the word got to the heart and they were mad about it they don't even want to hear what Stephen says they're so angry at Stephen they don't even want to kill him and look the word of God is quick and powerful right I mean to say something that would make people so mad that they would kill you that they would stone them to death you say why because the word of God is a way to get on the inside and many people get very angry at that message people get angry when they hear sermons that are just straight from the Bible and they get mad because they don't like the words that are being said it doesn't matter how you say it either now you know obviously we should preach the truth and love sometimes you can say it as loving as possible but here's the thing when you're going soul winning you can be as loving as possible and you should be but you're still telling people they're going to spend forever in hell well that's a message that can make people mad right especially when you run into someone that's already saved right you run into a Baptist it's like I'm a Baptist too right like yesterday I ran into a Baptist door to door they said oh you know the Bible Baptist church here I was like no I'm not familiar with it but they said you got to repent of your sins and you know they believe you have to change your lifestyle to be saved and everything I was like well the Bible says that you don't have to repent of your sins you just have to believe it's amazing how someone that's so excited to see another Baptist all of a sudden can get so upset when they find out wait you don't have to repent of your sins excuse me right they get very mad about that sometimes now this person actually he didn't get mad okay but oftentimes they do because they don't like what you're saying they don't like the message and we should try to speak the truth in love because we don't want to try to offend people as we're trying to preach the gospel but sometimes people get offended when we're preaching the gospel because they're mad at what the Bible actually says I mean look you talk to a Muslim you can say I am the way as nicely as possible but when you say you know whether you say I am the way or I am the way or I am the way I mean however you say it you're still saying Jesus is the only way to heaven anyway that makes a lot of Muslims mad right it makes a lot of Hindus mad they get mad at what you're saying because they don't like the words and it cuts to the heart it says in verse 58 and cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul this is Paul the Apostle Saul before he was saved verse 59 and they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit verse 60 and he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice these are the dying words of Stephen Lord lay not this sin to their charge lay not this sin to their charge now here's the thing the Bible has always told us to hate those that hate God and Stephen is asking God to forgive these people lay not this sin to their charge and you know what it's indicating that Stephen is saying not all these people are reprobates not all these people are children of God he believes that there's still hope for some of these people and the way I look at this is he's basically saying God give them another chance you know basically give them a chance to still be open to the gospel it's pretty similar to when Jesus Christ said Lord forgive them or Father forgive them for they know not what they do and guess what we see in Luke 23 right around when he says that the person who's beside him on the cross ends up getting saved the same person beside him who's mocking him earlier ends up getting saved because of the attitude of Jesus right and he's willing to be receptive and what does that tell you well many people that mock Jesus were not actually reprobates right some of them were I'm sure not all of them here lay not this sin to their charge it's like saying God give them another chance and what he's indicating is you know what not all these people are reprobates I still want them to hear the gospel even though they're killing me right now you say well how is it that these people could do something so wicked and not be a reprobate well number one Saul or Paul the Apostle is obviously not a reprobate and he's sort of like overseeing this or one of the main people involved here but it's because of the fact they have the wrong religion and Paul said that God was merciful to him because he did it ignorantly and unbelief and see Paul had the wrong religion and it led him to do very zealous things that were very wrong and very wicked but he thought what he was doing was right it's not like Paul the Apostle was going out in his life and getting drunk and committing stealing and lying and doing all these sins he was doing something because of his religious belief and he thought it was the right thing to do did you know that there are some people that are extremely zealous in false religions that are not reprobates and they might argue with you they might yell at you it doesn't necessarily mean that they're reprobate so we see that in Acts 7 we see that with Jesus Christ let me give you a couple of secular examples there's a famous guy by the name of Jim Elliot who's heard of Jim Elliot anybody heard of Jim Elliot he's like a famous Christian missionary and I don't know the exact beliefs of Jim Elliot but he's kind of the most famous Christian missionary and he's very famous because he was martyred he was killed and there was a group of Christians that went to this tribe in Ecuador to preach the gospel to a group of people that are these natives that aren't that familiar with Christianity and they got there and five of them were just killed by these people because they were mad at the message that they were bringing and Jim Elliot's wife Elizabeth Elliot she forgave them and everything and she ended up actually working in that community later on some of the people in that tribe ended up getting saved now I don't necessarily know their exact beliefs I'm not you know you could look something up online and maybe you'll just prove me I don't know the exact beliefs of Jim Elliot and what gospel they heard obviously but what I'm saying is this it doesn't mean that they were all reprobates just because they had a part in killing Jim Elliot because they're very zealous for the wrong thing and a lot of people just kind of go along with what everyone else is doing everybody else is doing it I'm going to do the same it's like you know step one step forward turn left back you know they just do whatever they're told and they don't even think about it for themselves well the Bible says that we ought to actually you know use our own minds and use our own logic and use the word of God but not all those people that did that were necessarily reprobates another example that happened in 1999 was with Graham Stans who was in Australian missions they stopped overnight in the car it was cold and they were waiting they were going to go the next day 50 Hindus surrounded the car this was in 1999 they set it on fire and they tried to escape and they didn't let them escape they let them burn to death look I don't believe all 50 of those people were reprobates you say why well Acts chapter 7 not everybody that stoned Stephen was a reprobate not trying to go soft in the doctrine I'm just trying to be honest with the scriptures and say when people believe a false religion sometimes they do terrible things I mean the main person that orchestrated that killing that missionary he was hailed as a hero in India by the hardcore Hindus because good job you know you killed the Christian right and the main reason why let me let me read you from this article it says Dara Singh who was convicted of the murders was treated as a hero by the hard line because of them people are eating hamburgers and they murder them oh Hindus don't worship cows whatever right it's like you're liable to get killed over that's what happened in 1999 nothing new under the sun same thing happens with them killing people today for eating cow meat but here's the thing I don't believe now I would probably presume this guy is probably a reprobate that orchestrated this but look even though it's very wicked not to let them out of that car there's probably some of those people that are just kind of doing what everybody else is doing got a mob of 50 plus people a lot of people are just kind of going along for the ride they don't know what's going on it's like they start running it's like oh let's go get them then they start running it's like what are we doing then all of a sudden you're setting someone on fire it's like whoa right it doesn't mean that they were all reprobates because they did something wicked though some 26 some 26 so we don't necessarily know in all cases whether or not someone's a wicked person but we should have a hatred for those that hate the Lord the Bible says point number one was a hearing from the Lord basically being on trial point number two is a hatred for the wicked point three is happiness from innocency happiness found from innocency some 26 verse six I will wash my hands in innocency so will I compass thine altar oh Lord that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell all thy wondrous works verse six I'm innocent I haven't done anything wrong verse seven he says I'm going to publish with the voice of thanksgiving so he's happy so what do we see well in verse seven he's happy why because he's innocent right did you know that the Bible teaches you will be in a good mood if you're obeying God's commandments as a safe person the Bible says if you know these things happier ye if ye do them not if you know these things happier ye if you have a lot of money not if you know these things happier ye if you have a great job not if you know these things happier ye you know if you're really successful you know if you know these things happier ye if ye do them what gives us happiness in our Christian lives is obeying God's commandments that's the truth the times in your life where you're depressed and you're down and you're miserable you know it's usually because of the fact that you're not right with God right I mean I'm honest with myself at times when I'm not in a good mood usually it's because my life my stability is just a little bit all over the place and I got to get back to the things I need to do but when you're reading the Bible and you're praying and you're going to church isn't it true that you're in a good mood even if things are messed up at work even if things are messed up in other areas of your life it's just like man I shouldn't be in a good mood but I'm in a good mood read the Bible today I saw a couple people get saved you know why would I complain when my life is not about me because here's the thing when you realize your life is not about you and it's about other people when you invest in other people you can be happy why because you see the success as a result you see other people get saved when you preach the gospel it will make you happy the most miserable people are the people that focus all their attention on themselves when you focus on yourself you're going to be miserable you say why because none of us is that special right none of us is that great we think we are we think we're awesome but if we're honest we're going to find out we're not right miserable I mean think of Haman in the Bible Haman was the second most powerful man in the world was he happy he said he will not be happy unless Mordecai dies it's like really because you know for me I I'm happy and I don't need anybody to be killed right it's like I'm happy just going about my life I'm in a good mood I will not be happy unless so and so dies what is what Buddhism is it's a very selfish religion that focuses only on yourself because how can you get nirvana how can you reach that attainment of salvation it's like actually happiness is found when you invest in other people and you don't invest in yourself that's what the Bible teaches psalm 51 let me give you an example psalm 51 and this is after David has been rebuked by Nathan and he's gotten right with God and notice what he says in verse 7 psalm 51 verse 7 purge me with hiss up and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou has broken may rejoice hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities create me a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit within me now this is not a story of somebody getting saved this is a story about a saved person getting right with God because our sins are forgiven past present and future that doesn't change the fact that if you commit sins that in this life you're going to be judged and when you commit sins you ought to go to God and ask for forgiveness and say God please help me make some changes but he's already spiritually saved he's already on his way to heaven verse 11 cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me you say brother Stuckey why does it say take not thy holy spirit from me if he's already saved because people would get filled with the spirit when see in our modern day we get in dwell with the spirit after Jesus left the comforter came the Holy Ghost and you get in dwell with the spirit but you still can get filled with the spirit as you're doing something for God and in the Old Testament they did not get in dwell with the Holy Ghost they were saved eternally but they were not in dwell with the Holy Ghost but they could get filled with the spirit when they're doing something mighty for God a great example as we go out soul winning we pray that God will bless us and fill us with his spirit to get people saved you say why do you need to be filled with the spirit being filled with the spirit gives you boldness look if you're bold as a soul winner you're going to be 20 times more effective than if you're not bold right because sometimes we go out soul winning and maybe we're in a bad mood we're depressed isn't it true that our gospel presentations aren't as good we're not as confident we're not as effective but when you go out and you're filled with the spirit you're going to have boldness and confidence and you're going to do a better job so he's saying God I don't want your Holy Spirit to leave me because I want to do mighty things for you and I can't do that in my own power I need you to help me okay then he says this in verse 12 restore unto me the joy of thy salvation so here's the thing he doesn't say you know I need to get saved he says restore unto me the joy of thy salvation already saved but lost his joy why when you're living a sinful life you have no joy you're not going to be happy if you're doing wrong look if you're committing sins and doing wrong and disobeying what God says you are not going to be in a good mood because happiness is found in serving God that's what the Bible teaches he said restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit go back to Psalm 26 Psalm 26 we'll close up Psalm 26 so look we see happiness from innocency or happiness found from serving God so point number one a hearing from the Lord being on trial point two a hatred for the wicked point three happiness from innocency and point four we see habitation of God habitation of God verse 8 Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth so where would be the habitation of God's house today well it would be the local New Testament church right verse 9 gather not my soul with sinners nor my life with bloody men in whose hands is mischief and their right hand is full of bribes but as for me I will walk in mine integrity redeem me and be merciful unto me my foot standeth in an even place in the congregations will I bless the Lord what is he saying in the congregations he's saying in the congregation of the Lord in the house of God in the congregation of the Lord I will praise God right now one thing that you can attach to this is not only is happiness found by doing right and obeying God's commandments it's also found in the house of God happiness is found as they're praising God in God's house isn't it true you come to church sometimes you're in a bad mood and then all of a sudden man I'm in a good mood you say why you start fellowshipping with people you're hearing the preaching singing praises to God it causes you to be in a good mood because happiness is actually found in God's house right and look this is the only congregation that you're going to find where you're filled full of people that are you know zealously serving God you're not going to find that in a congregation at a basketball game now I'm not saying it's wrong to watch a basketball game but if you go to a basketball game it's not like you're going to look around and say man we're all these zealous soul winners that's not going to happen right you're not going to find out a congregation of you know a concert you're not going to find out a congregation of a certainly not of a gay pride rally you're going to find it in a congregation at a local church congregation and church are used interchangeably in the Bible right it's a group of people that are saved that are bonded together because really church has the total package you're hearing the word of God preached you've got fellowship you've got the service to God as you go soul winning we have activities we have prayer you know once a month we have our you have everything combined together you're not going to find that anywhere else look you might have a lot of co-workers that you like but you can't tell me as you go to your secular job tomorrow that you're filled full of people that are just like minded that love the Lord you know when I worked in Maryland I had people that walked up to me all the time and they would ask me hey what'd you think about that you know they talk about a sporting event or whatever nobody ever came up to me and said hey you know Matt I just wanted to ask I was reading this verse you know in you know Job 37 I wanted to get your opinion of this you know that never happened at my old job maybe it has happened for you it didn't happen at my job right nobody ever came up and said let's talk about the word of God you say why because it's not a congregation of people that love God you're going to find that in the habitation of God in the congregations will I praise the Lord that's found in the local New Testament church so what do we see well we see number one a hearing from God point number two we see let's see I forgot my points point one a hearing from God point two hatred for the wicked point three we see happiness found from living a godly life and also we see the habitation of God which is God's house look these things are intertwined together so look if you're on trial for God it's like well you need to have a hatred for the wicked right according to the Bible you need to have a hatred for the wicked if you're not happy it probably means you're guilty right I mean obviously we can go through trials and difficult times in life but if you're just always miserable it's because you're doing Christianity wrong it's not like God said you know what I want you to be saved but I want you to be miserable every step of the way no actually he says you can be happy serving God and if you're not happy serving God you say brother Stuckey I don't want to read the Bible I don't want to come to church I don't want to go so I don't want to do any of it right I don't find enjoyment in it well that's probably because you're not doing it because your feelings are going to follow your works okay but if you're not happy serving God let's go game number 34 let's sing a song I know that my I know, I know that Jesus did it and on the earth against us then I know I know the life he gave it that's racing bar are you sir I know he's promised never be like the world he's being it cannot die though that my pleasure see that yet I shall see him by and by I know I know and on the earth against us and I know that very is there I may be oh one or suffer me he care and he at last will come for me I know I know that he's asleep and on the earth again Justin I know I know the light he gave it that way isn't bar are in his hand amen