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All right, we're here in 1 Kings chapter 10, and we're continuing our series on the alphabet of characteristics, and we're at the letter Q. And of course, the letter Q is not the most common letter to start words off, so it kind of limits you in your choices when you do a series like this. We're going to be talking about the idea of questioning, questioning. And, you know, we're thinking about being an inquisitive person, someone who likes to ask questions, which it can be good, it can be bad, it kind of depends. We're going to see the balance here. We're going to be looking at the character of the Queen of Sheba. And with the Queen of Sheba here in 1 Kings 10, what we see to start off is she is skeptical. There is skepticism from the Queen of Sheba. She doesn't really believe that Solomon has this wisdom that she's hearing about him. It says here in verse number 1, And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him, which means to test him with hard questions. And so the Queen of Sheba is like, all right, we're going to see if he's the real deal. I'm going to come and give him every single complicated question I can ask him that nobody knows the answer. We're going to see if he really has this wisdom that people say. Now, of course, why did Solomon have this great wisdom? Because God had blessed him with wisdom. And God asked Solomon, what would you like? And Solomon, he proved himself already to be wise because he asked for wisdom, which actually showed he already had some wisdom. But he asked for wisdom, and God blesses Solomon with wisdom. And so he had more wisdom than anybody else on earth, right? Verse number 2, And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bear spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. So every question, everything she didn't know the answer to, she's like, I'm going to test him and give him all of these questions. We're going to see if he has the answers. And I want him to answer my difficult questions. I don't know. Verse number 7, verse 7, she says after she hears all of his answers, how be it? I believe not the words until I came and mine eyes had seen it. What's she saying? I was skeptical. I didn't really believe that Solomon had this great wisdom that everybody's talking about. I had skepticism whether or not he was the real deal or not. Go to Matthew 12. Matthew 12. Matthew 12. Now when it comes to people asking questions, let me say that in general, you can kind of boil it down to two types of people. People that are asking questions because they want the answers and people that are asking questions because they want to argue. And she does come with a bit of an argumentative attitude. I believe it's kind of implied there. But she ends up being willing to just listen to the wisdom that Solomon has. But throughout the Bible, people come to Jesus with questions. And oftentimes, usually, they're pretty dumb questions. They're questions for people that don't want the truth. They're not trying to figure out the answers. They just want to argue and make Jesus look bad. In Matthew 12, verse 38, the Bible says, then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. So they say, hey, we want to see a sign. We'll believe if you give us a sign. Show us that what you're saying is true. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And the Bible says, for the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. So if people are looking for a sign, I'll be like, well, you know, I can show you what the Bible says if you have 10 minutes. That's the sign I got for you. I can show you the gospel that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. I mean, that's the sign. You want wisdom. You want a sign. Well, I'll just show you what the Bible says, and you can decide if you believe or not. I mean, that's all we got. I mean, that's how people get saved. They hear the word of God. They hear the gospel, and they get saved. Isn't that how you got saved? That's how I got saved. Somebody gave me the gospel. I heard it. I believed it. I got saved, right? And they're saying, we want to see a sign. But see, what the scribes and Pharisees are saying is, we want to see some bright light up in heaven. We want to see, like, you know, with the lies of fire, come down from heaven and we'll believe. And Jesus is like an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. You know what's interesting in the Bible? What you often find is that God will give signs to people that are already saved, but he doesn't really give signs to those that are not saved. You say, what are you talking about? I'm saying, like, with Gideon. You know, he's very skeptical, and God's like, all right, I'll show you, right? But when it comes to these unsaved people, God's like, well, I'm not even going to give you a sign. I'm going to give you the sign of the prophet Jonas. That's it. I'm going to explain what Jesus did for you. I'm not going to give you another sign, right? It says here in verse number 39, the sign of the prophet Jonas. Jonas is referring to Jonah. So what is the Bible referring to? Well, in verse 40, for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now, Jonah, in many ways, pictures the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, Jonah was a sinner. That's how he got down to the whale's belly to begin with, but he pictures Jesus in many ways, and, you know, he even said, Out of the belly of hell, cried I. And then he makes a statement, The earth through their bars was about me forever, where the fact is, Jesus, he went to hell to pay for our sins. He suffered an eternity of hell in those three days and three nights. But Jonah was in the belly of the whale, and I'd imagine being in the whale's belly is pretty painful. It's pretty dark. It's pretty painful. The stomach acid's a pretty miserable place to be, and where was Jesus those three days that he was dead? Where was his soul? It was in hell for three days and three nights, in the center of the earth, out of the belly of hell, cried I. Now, just on a side point, I find it interesting that when I was a kid, you know, you learn in science, you see this picture of the earth, and they break it into parts, and you got the outer core, the mantle, the inner core, and in the inner core, you've got this giant, spherical, solid object that they say is really hot. Well, science just discovered last year that the center of the earth is actually liquid. It's like, well, I mean, I could have told you that Jesus went to the heart of the earth. It's about time that you figured it out, and that just kind of shows we ought to trust what the Bible says and realize that what science says is not necessarily two plus two equals four, because he was out of the belly of hell in the dead center of the earth, according to the word of God. And so as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment of this generation and shall condemn it, because they were pitted at the preaching of Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south, this is referring to the queen of Sheba, the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth here, the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. I mean, God gave Solomon wisdom above any man on earth, but you know what? It's still not the wisdom of Jesus Christ. A greater than Solomon is here, and you're rejecting it, scribes and Pharisees, is what Jesus is saying. A greater than Jonas is here. A greater than Solomon is here. And you know what? Those of Nineveh, a wicked country, they changed their mind about what they believed, but not the scribes and Pharisees. The queen of Sheba even came with a bit of a skeptical attitude, but she changed what she believed, right? And he's condemning them for not believing the words that he is expressing. He's like, I'm not going to give you a sign. Because here's the thing, before you learn the great mysteries of the Bible, you know what you need to understand before you can understand the rest of the Bible? Salvation. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. This is a spiritual book. This is not a physical book. This is not Dr. Seuss or Curious George or Clifford or something like that. This is a spiritual book. You need the Spirit of God inside of you to understand this book. And if you are saved, you've got the Holy Spirit of truth that indwells you, that's going to teach you all knowledge as you read and study the Word of God. Now turn to Luke chapter 2. Luke 2. Now in Matthew 12 we saw a bad example of asking questions. They want to just argue. They say, well, give us this sign and they just really want to argue. I mean, here's the sorts of questions that people like that ask. Well, what if there was this woman and she's married to this guy and the guy dies and she marries her brother and the brother dies and she marries the next brother and the next brother dies and she marries the next brother over and over and over again. I mean, who's she going to be married to in the resurrection? And it's just like, what a stupid question. They neither marry nor are given in marriage, but as the angels which are in heaven. It's like, what are you talking about? In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. It's like they're trying to ask this question to make Jesus look stupid. In reality, it's like you just prove you have a stupid question. You don't know what you're talking about. So there are certainly times when people ask questions where it's like, they're just trying to waste their time. I mean, you go out soul-winding today and somebody starts just bringing up stupid stuff, just move on. You're wasting your time. But you might have somebody bring up questions that you need to answer. Like, for example, you're giving the gospel and someone says, well, can I ask a question? You're like, sure. Well, I mean, I've always heard people bring up, like, Acts 2 38. You know, I understand what you're saying. Like, doesn't it mention baptism, and they're saying it, but they're not trying to argue. There's just things that are in their way from them getting saved because they've heard false things, and you've got to address those things, right? So asking questions is not necessarily bad, but it's not like it's always good either. It depends on the situation. Now, in Luke 2, we actually see Jesus asking questions. Luke 2, verse 42, and when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast, and when they had fulfilled the days, Luke 2, verse 43, and when they had fulfilled the days as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. When they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. It's never good when you lose the Son of God, right? Verse 46, and I'll tell you what, you know, I used to find this, you know, more humorous, you know, I mean it's still kind of a humorous story, but it's like, now that I'm at three kids, like, I'm like, where's, where's, you know, where's, where's that? You know, where's Christabel? It's like, the other day, you know, my wife and I were trying to look for Christabel. We were at the church. She was hiding inside the church, like, behind a curtain. We're looking around, like, where'd she go? So I kind of understand this now. After a third child, it's like, okay, I get it now, right? And it says here in verse 46, and it came to pass that after three days, they found them in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. Now, when Jesus is sitting in the midst of the doctors, it's not medical doctors. It's doctors of the law, okay? So he's not talking to surgeons, you know, about, you know, medical procedures. He's talking to, what would you say, doctors of the law, people that are considered experts in the Word of God, and what is he doing? He's listening to them, and he's asking them questions. The Bible says, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, right? So in stature, but also in wisdom. As he got older, he's asking questions, he's learning things. And it says here in verse 47, and all that hurt him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Let me say this. If you want to be a young person that shocks people and astonishes people, you know how you can really astonish and shock people? By putting aside your video games and putting aside your movies and your TV shows and actually read books, read the Bible, get educated. And people are going to be shocked at how much knowledge you have, even before you're a teenager. I mean, you know, we're living in a day where people are very devoid of basic knowledge. And look, I understand that not everybody is a math person, and that's fine. I am a math person. But I taught high school math, and when I was teaching Algebra II, it's like over half the students couldn't do four times five without a cell phone or a calculator. And I'm sorry, but it's like you ought to learn that at a young age. The basics of just education, even outside the Bible, learn the basics with education. I mean, get educated, get smart. But the world we live in today, just people sit around playing video games. So I remember my principal said, you know, next year I want you to teach calculus to these kids. I'm just like, they don't know four times five. How am I going to teach calculus? You've got to be kidding me. But if you want to shock people, I'm dead serious. You know what? Take life seriously at a young age, and you will shock people. Now, look, I do believe in kids being kids and getting to have fun. I think we ought to let our kids have fun and run around and play. But we should also teach them life is not just games and fun. This is not the way parenting should work. Let your kids goof off until they're 18 years old, and then at 18, flip the switch. Now you're a full-grown adult expected to do everything. You know they have to actually reach that point? You have to slowly bring them along. If you treat them like a five-year-old till they're 18 and then just try to flip the switch, guess what? They're still going to act like a five-year-old. And so if you want to be mature young kids, you know what you can do? Read it. Take your school seriously. Get educated. And Jesus here and there are astonished at his understanding and answers. And I promise you, with the Word of God, look, if you at a young age start reading the Bible, by the time you're 12, you're going to know more than most Baptist pastors in the Philippines about the Bible. I'm dead serious about that. I mean, if you just start reading the Bible and you pay attention in sermons and take notes and take it seriously, they're going to be amazed by the time you're 12. Like, where did this kid get so much wisdom? And it's just unti, unti. Little by little, you slowly add on knowledge. So look, it's not always wrong to ask questions because Jesus is asking questions. Go to Proverbs 14, Proverbs chapter 14. But let me say this, that whenever you hear anything, unless you know something is for sure 100% true, or unless you know a Bible verse that says, Thus saith the Lord, there ought to be at least a little bit of skepticism if you can't prove it. You can hear a lot of things that are convincing. It doesn't mean that it's so, though. And the Bible says here in Proverbs 14, verse 15, The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going. You know, the average person, they just believe everything they hear. You say, what's wrong with that? Because most of what you hear is false. I'm amazed. You know, as you get older and you get saved, and it's like the veil is, like, gone from your eyes, blocking you, and you start learning about topics, you start realizing, man, I was lied to about a lot of things growing up. So much of what you learn is fake and false. And then as a saved person, if you pay attention to what's going on in the world and you use the Bible as your lens to determine right and wrong and what's correct, there's a lot of things where it's like, that's wrong. That is not true. That is not what the Bible says. But the simple believeth every word. I mean, this is why it's not really surprising that, you know what, it's so easy for the devil to deceive people. Because people just believe whatever they hear. They hear something, well, it must be true. I mean, so-and-so said it. They said it's a fact. I mean, I guess I'll believe it. It's like, look, a lot of what you hear and learn in life is not true. It's not correct. Now, look, I mean this with all sincerity. When I preach sermons, I am not correct on everything that I say. I try to be. But I don't have perfect knowledge of the Word of God or every subject that I preach. And I try my best to be the pillar and ground of the truth here at Verity Baptist Church. And I preach the truth. I show you Bible. But here's the thing. When it comes to me hearing sermons, there's really kind of three different things that you're going to hear in sermons. Number one are things that you immediately know are correct. Because you know what the Bible says about it. So if I stand up here and say, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. On the inside you're thinking, amen. That's what the Bible says, whosoever believeth in him, right? Not a shred of doubt. I mean, Jesus is the only way to heaven. You're thinking, amen. Then there are other things that I might say. And that should be the majority of things if you know a lot about the Bible. Most of what I say, it's really just confirming the things you already know. Because honestly, you should be learning more in your Bible from your own reading and memorization than what I'm teaching you in church. I only have you for three hours of preaching. But then you've got things that I might say where you're like, I'm not sure. It's interesting. I mean, you said things and you gave Bibles, so you have a reason for it. But I can't confirm 100% whether or not that's true. So I need to double check for myself by reading the Bible. That should happen to you. And then a third category, which should be lower, is you hear things and it's something you've already studied. You already know what you believe and you hear it. And you're like, I don't think that's true and here's the reason why. Like I say, being in church, the vast majority of things that I would hear in church as a part of a lot of good churches, I was like, that's true. Amen. Other things I heard, it's like, that's interesting. I've never heard that interpretation. I've never thought about that. I need to think about it. And then every once in a while, something would pop up where maybe I just had a different opinion. Because the truth is that there are topics in the Bible that say people can have different opinions on. Even people that love God and read the Bible every day can have different opinions. There are topics where, you know what, it's not two plus two equals four. It's more of the gray area, different interpretations, and that's fine. On major things, obviously, you should believe the things that you're hearing. Now you say, what if I'm hearing a lot of things that are wrong from whoever I'm listening to? Well, I mean, I would say that if you think most of what I'm saying is wrong, you're at the wrong church. Why are you here if most of what you're hearing you don't agree with? And what I would say is, if there's anybody that you're listening to, there's this guy on YouTube I listen to all the time, you know, it's really interesting, but most of what he's saying is wrong. Why are you listening to him? Because the Bible says here in verse seven, go from the presence of a foolish man when thou perceivest not in him and in the lips of knowledge. Explain to me why half of Filipinos listen to Ellie Soriano all the time. It's like, well, I'm Catholic, but I love to listen to Brother Ellie. You realize he's not a Catholic. It's like, why are you listening to him? I don't get it, because number one, I don't particularly find him interesting, and I don't particularly find him wise. His voice kind of annoys me, to be honest, but so many people love to listen. I mean, he's just so intelligent, and it's like, you don't agree with what he's saying, though. Like, why are you listening to him? Look, I don't sit around and just listen to Joe Loestein and T.D. Jakes and Benny Hinn, and it's like, why are you listening to people that you don't agree with? So what I would say is, you know what, if you're going to listen to someone, you better make sure they are a good source of information on any topic. I think it's great to educate yourself and learn, and quite honestly, if you can listen to people that already know a lot about a subject, they can teach you a lot. But make sure that your source of information is a good source of information. I mean, think about this. If somebody failed algebra one, am I going to listen to that person teach me calculus? It wouldn't make a lot of sense, would it? They're not going to know what they're talking about. I mean, if somebody's just like horrible at something, why would you listen to that person? And the Bible says, go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge. Number one, there should be a sense of skepticism whenever you listen to anything, and skepticism might not be a perfect word, it works for an illiterate sermon, but you should have a sense where it's like, I need to make sure that I prove these things are correct, okay? But number two, if you're going to listen to someone, you ought to have silence as you're learning. The Bible says go to 1 Kings 10, 1 Kings 10, and once again, if they're not a good source of information, don't listen to them. You shouldn't even listen. When you're in church, you ought to be paying attention, and if somebody asks you, what do you believe about this, your answer should not be, I believe this because Pastor Stuckey said so. That is a bad answer. Now, I always challenge people, and I think it's a good thing to, you know what, when you hear things, make sure it's something you know to be true, and search the scriptures if you're not for sure on it. Now, the other extreme, though, would be approaching sermons with a critical attitude where it's like, let me just wait for Pastor Stuckey to mess up. It's like, well, why are you at the church if you think most of what I'm saying is wrong? It doesn't really make a lot of sense, right? So I don't think it's right to have a critical attitude like you're waiting for Pastor Stuckey to mess up. If that's the way you feel, you're at the wrong church, right? But there should be, at least, a sense of the fact, well, I better make sure that I know things to be true because, look, sometimes somebody might ask you about something, and you better have an answer for every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. You better know not just what you believe but why you believe it, and if you don't know why you believe stuff, then there's a possibility that you're actually wrong in what you believe. So there should be, I mean, point number one is skepticism, and point number two is silence as you're learning. It says in 1 Kings 10, verse 3, and Solomon told her all her questions. There was not anything hid from the king which he told her not. So she asks him all these tough questions. He has all the answers, and she listens silently and learns from him. You know what? We go soul winning, and people say they're not for sure they're going to heaven, and what's frustrating is when people listen to us but they're just wasting our time. They don't want to learn. They're not being silent to learn when we're teaching them. They're just trying to argue, and I'm just thinking how foolish you are because you're the one who said you're not for sure you're going to heaven, and somebody says you can know 100%. You would think there's at least a small part of them would say, hey, even if I doubt this guy's going to give me the answers or this woman's going to give me the answers, I'm going to listen if there's even a possibility because I want to go to heaven. But then we run into people that say they're 80% they're on their way to heaven, and then instead of actually listening, they just want to argue with us, and it's like, you know, it's frustrating. It's like, man, why did you waste my last 15 minutes, right? I could have talked to someone who actually wanted to learn, and so, you know, yes, there can be skepticism where you're not sure if what you're about to hear is going to be true or not, but you ought to be willing to listen silently to find out if it's true or not. Actually, turn to Proverbs 12, Proverbs 12, Proverbs chapter 12, and it says in Proverbs 12 verse 15, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth on to counsel is wise. I mean, you've got a lot of foolish people that they think everything they believe is correct, everything they believe is true, and what's amazing is oftentimes people that are so confident they're correct, they don't have any real reasons for why, right? You give the gospel to people. They are confident you have to live a good life to go to heaven, and they know zero Bible verses that prove it, right? It's like you're like, can you show me one Bible verse? Do you have anything? And maybe they'll say, well, faith without works is dead. All right, let's look there, okay? Let's go there. I like James 2 also. Let's go there. Let's talk about that. You're saying that James 2, faith without works is dead proves that you cannot have faith without works. Yes, that's what I'm saying. Faith without works. You just said you could have faith without works for those three words, faith without works, and then they use that same verse to try to prove you cannot have faith without works, but the Bible says faith without works is dead. It doesn't say faith without works sends you to hell. You say, wow, what does that mean then by faith without works is dead? Here's what it means. I got this cell phone. I pour water on this phone. You would say this phone is what? Dead. But does it exist? Yes, and a faith that does not have works is a dead faith, but it's a faith that exists. And whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but of everlasting life. So the person that believes without works will go to heaven. It's not that complicated, right? But that's what people are going to tell you. They have no reason for other beliefs. They're so confident. Why? Because the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. That's what the Bible says. Turn your Bible to Proverbs 18. Proverbs 18. I try my best in my personal life. I try not to argue with people. I'll just agree to disagree or not say anything sometimes, but I've had times in my life where people are clearly wrong about a subject, and then they want to argue about it. And they say, no, this is true. I've had people before that will talk about math or something, and it's just like, that's just not correct, I'm thinking. It's like, all right, well, you know, I just have a different opinion. It's like people that are not good at math, they know nothing about it, then they want to argue about it. I remember that a few years ago, we had someone at our church. They're not here now. And then for about a week, they were trying to learn Spanish. And they were excited about it. They wanted to use it when they worked at a call center. And they were saying things. I was like, actually, that's not true, because I used to give the gospel in Spanish. And they're like, yes, it is. And I was like, all right, leave whatever you want then, all right? It's fine. And I mean, I tried to tell them a couple times, no, that's actually not true. And I said, here's the reason why. You're like, no, no, no, you're wrong. And I was like, all right, whatever. I mean, I get the fact that Tagalog and Spanish are relatively similar, but I did used to give the gospel in Spanish, so I think I knew what I was talking about, right? It's like, whatever. I mean, if you want to be a fool and you don't want to learn, if you don't know about a subject, but you're so confident you're correct, good luck learning it. Because you know how you learn? You just stay silent and learn from someone that actually knows. That's the secret. You know, did you know that there are many topics in this world that I do not know that much about? And you know what I do? I ask people that have more information than me about it. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to do that. Even as a pastor, you know, I have pastor friends that know more about subjects than me. And I've emailed them before saying, hey, I'm going to preach on the subject. I know you know a lot about this. Can you just kind of give me something to help me learn more about this? Because I realize I'm not an expert at it. You say, why do you do that? I mean, the series I'm going to be preaching on, you know, science coming up, you know, Pastor Jared Przarnsky is by far the most knowledgeable pastor I know about science. He's a very successful engineer in his personal career. So guess what? I've asked him a lot of questions. I said, hey, can you help explain this to me? What article is going to read? Why? Because I know he knows what he's talking about. And I don't want to stand up here and sound like a fool because I want to act like I'm an expert if I don't know about a subject. It's like, why not just learn? You know, there's nothing wrong with just learning. There are times people ask me questions about the Bible and I'm like, that's an interesting question. I've never thought about that. I'm not sure what the answer is. So you'd say, yeah, there's plenty of things I don't know, right? And there's nothing wrong with not having the answers to certain questions, but there is something wrong with intentionally just staying a fool because you want to act like you're an expert. Proverbs chapter 18, and notice what it says in verse number 6. Proverbs 18, verse 6, it says, Proverbs 18, verse 6, a fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul. What the Bible is saying is, why can't you just be someone that silently listens and learns? Because yeah, you know what, the Queen of Sheba was acting a bit critical and a bit too skeptical of Solomon. She came to test him with hard questions, but you know what, she eventually changed. You know why? Because she was willing to just shut up and listen and learn. That's the reason why. Go to your Bible to Acts 17. Acts 17. And as your turn to Acts 17, let me just read for you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser. Teach adjustment and he will increase in learning. We ought to be the type of people that want to become wiser and learn more. Point number 1, we see skepticism with the Queen of Sheba. Point number 2, though, we see silence as she ends up learning from Solomon and changing her mind. But point number 3, why is it that she ends up changing her mind? Because she was actually searching for the truth. She's doing it in a bit of a critical way, but when the truth came from the Word of God, which Solomon was giving her, she was searching for the truth and she changed her mind about stuff. The Bible says in Acts 17 verse 11, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. And look, this is the way that we ought to be. Number 1, you ought to be reading your Bible every day no matter what. Read there in all the days of thy life. But number 2, in addition to your Bible reading chart that I hope you're doing, if you hear something in today's sermon and you're like, that's interesting. I've never thought about that verse before in that way. You know what you should also do in your Bible reading tomorrow? Look at that verse. Look at the context and search whether these things are so. That's what you ought to do. Go in your Bible to Proverbs 2. Proverbs chapter 2. And I would say that at a church like ours, I believe people are actually searching for the truth. And you know what the result is of searching for the truth? You find the truth. Number 1 with salvation. I remember before I was saved, I had a couple years where I really wanted to know how to go to heaven and I had no idea how. I was searching after the truth. I was seeking after God. And then of course, after you get saved, here's the truth. You're going to hear a lot of things in sermons after you're saved that you know what, you do not agree with when you first hear it. You don't want to agree with it. It hurts. Right? The sword of the word of God, it gets in there. You're like, wow, that's not what I've heard before. You're saying my music's wrong. And it's like, here's the thing. The person that's foolish just refuses to change their mind. But the person that's wise is actually willing to say, you know what, I was wrong. There's nothing wrong with just admitting you were wrong and changing your mind. You have to do that to get saved. But the truth is, many things in the Bible, if you're going to actually learn the great things of God and get real knowledge in the Bible, you must be willing to change your mind. Because there are many things I've read in the Bible, and it's like, I guess I'm wrong. Or things I heard in sermons where, you know, you don't want to agree, you're trying to argue with the pastor inside your head, and then you reach a point, okay, I'm wrong. You convinced me. You gave me like 20 verses. I was arguing on the 15th, but okay, you convinced me on the next verse. I was wrong. Right? Why would you do that? Because you're searching after the truth. You want to actually know what the truth is. The Bible says in Proverbs 2, verse 1, My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, should thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding. Yet thou Christ, after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding. If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. You know, the Bible says the person's actually searching for the truth, is actually going to find it. I believe that after I was saved, I was able to come across great churches and great preaching online. You say, why? Because I believe God was guiding me in the truth, because I was searching for it. I believe the same thing is true for you. You wanted to know the truth, you were searching after it, and God led you to the truth. God led you to preaching that helped change your life. Because when I first got saved, I didn't know all the doctrines I know today, and there's a lot of things that, you know what, I just changed my mind about. You learn new things, you change your mind as you're learning, you got to be humble and willing to do that. Well, that's going to come if you're actually searching for the truth. So there's nothing wrong with asking questions and having some skepticism, but the determination of right or wrong comes down to ultimately what does the Bible say? Are you willing to just believe what the Word of God says? Right? Now turning your Bible to 1 Kings chapter 10, and it's interesting because everybody will say they're searching after the truth. Everybody will say they want to know the truth, but it's not actually the case. Everyone's going to act like they're searching after the truth. Everyone's going to say, well, you know what, I believe what I believe based on evidence, right? That is not the case with a lot of people. Because let me break it to you. Most people are wrong about a lot of stuff. I mean, what we believe about the Bible, what I just preached in the last sermon, most people don't agree with that in this world. I promise you. Now maybe a hundred years ago they would have agreed with it. Or if they grew up on a farm, they might have been like, yeah, you know, that makes a lot of sense. But in today's world, most people hear that, well, they would just disagree with it, right? But here's the thing, if you actually want to know the truth, you're actually going to come to the truth. Now I'm going to give you a quote from a man that many people think was the smartest man of the 21st century, who supposedly was searching after this great wisdom that's found in this world. The man's name was Stephen Hawking, right? Who knows who Stephen Hawking was? He's a famous scientist. I use the word scientist very lightly. But he's a famous scientist. He might say, well, I'm not familiar with this person. I think you are. Just, you know, you could probably picture the person and you'd know. He's the one who's wearing glasses that he's in a wheelchair like this. You say, why are you making fun of Stephen Hawking? Because he hated God and mocked the idea of God. And yeah, he was in a wheelchair like this, probably because he was cursed by God for being such a wicked, evil person. And here's a quote from Stephen Hawking when he was asked about his view of God. I mean, do you believe in God? By the way, you know what God did do for Stephen Hawking, which was actually nice? He gave him the ability to actually stand up and bow down on his knees and beg for mercy from God to not have to spend forever in hell. But guess what? It ain't going to happen. You're going to spend forever in hell. Stephen Hawking, here's what he said. The role played by time at the beginning of the universe is, I believe, the final key to removing the need for a grand designer in revealing how the universe created itself. Why do you want to remove the need for a grand designer? Because you do not like to retain God in your knowledge. You don't want to believe in God. I'm not trying to remove the idea of God. And the universe created itself. That's interesting because that's actually how I got this Bible. Pastor, how did you get this Bible? It just created itself. I was just sitting there, and then all of a sudden, there was. This happens all the time. And of course, I mean, here's the thing. I mean, the universe is so much simpler than a Bible. I mean, the universe can just easily create itself. I've listened to many atheists say this where it's like, perhaps the universe is the one thing that can just spontaneously create itself. I mean, you've got to be kidding me. And they're like, well, how do you know that universes aren't just creating themselves all the time? We just don't see it because we're in this universe. It's like, I don't even know how to answer you. This is the smartest guy of the 21st century, supposedly. Time itself must come to a stop. You can't get to a time before the Big Bang because there was no time before the Big Bang. We have finally found something that does not have a cause because there is no time for a cause to exist in. For me, this means there is no possibility of a creator because there's no time for a creator to have existed. Since time itself began at the moment of the Big Bang, it was an event that could not have been caused or created by anyone or anything. So when people ask me if God created the universe, I tell them the question itself makes no sense. Time didn't even exist before the Big Bang, so there's no time for God to make the universe in. I'm sorry, but this sounds like one of the dumbest people I've ever heard in my entire life. It sounds like a little kid with a wild imagination, and this is the guy that's going to give you the great mysteries of life. He's searching after wisdom. He has more wisdom than any man on earth a lot of people would have said. It's like, I'm sorry, this is some of the dumbest stuff that I've ever heard in my life. I mean, time didn't exist before the Big Bang. I'm sorry, God's the one that created time. He literally says nothing, not just, well, there's something before the... No, no, no. He said nothing was before the Big Bang. That's what he taught. And what's crazy about these scientists that are searching after wisdom, here's the thing. You say, well, how is it they can believe in something that contradicts every law of science? Because the laws of science didn't exist before the Big Bang, according to them. But they also teach they did not exist for the first few seconds after the Big Bang either. How convenient you get to just make up whatever you want in the first couple seconds of the universe, because as we approach the Big Bang, the laws of science, like the first couple laws of thermodynamics and the law of the conservation of angular momentum, they just don't exist. They had to evolve into being. I'm sorry, but this is stupidity. You say, what's your point? My point is this. There's a lot of people that say they're searching after wisdom. They're not really searching after wisdom. They want to remove the idea of God. They don't want the truth. If you really want the truth, as a Bible-believing Christian, where's the answer? It's found right here. All of the answers to the mysteries of life are found in this book. This has the answers. If you want to know what the truth is, what do you do? Well, what does the Bible say? A topic comes up and you're not sure? Well, let me think about it. What would the Bible say about this subject? And look, I'll tell you what. If you read and study the Bible and you memorize the Bible, you're going to find that you start making a lot of decisions based on what the Bible says. A lot of things you're like, well, what do I believe about this? Well, what does the Bible say? And then you're like, well, you know what? I used to believe this. I don't believe that anymore. No, we're not going to do this because of this. And that's the way you ought to live your life. You're basing everything on what does the Word of God say? Not based on, well, what have I heard? Because, look, a lot of things you learn in life are false. First Kings chapter 10, verse 4. First Kings 10, verse 4. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom in the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupboards, and his simpa, which he went upon in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. You know what happens? The queen of Sheba, she's skeptical. She asks very difficult questions, communes of everything in her heart. She has silence as Solomon's explaining them. But you really see that she's actually searching after the truth because he explains them. It's like, you know what? I was wrong. He's correct. Anyway, this ought to be the way you are when you're hearing the Word of God, when you're reading the Bible, when you're hearing the Word of God preached. Yeah, it's okay to be like, well, you know what? We'll see. I'm not familiar with this topic. But if the Bible says it, the Bible says it. It's true. But lastly, besides skepticism, silence, and searching, we see satisfaction. We see she is satisfied. She is happy with what she sees. It says in verse 6, And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy accent of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words until I came and mine eyes had seen it. And behold, that half was not told me. Thy wisdom and prosperity exceeded the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee and adhere thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighted in thee to set thee on the throne of Israel because the Lord loved Israel forever. Therefore may he be king to do judgment and justice. What do you see from the Queen of Sheba? You see that she's satisfied. She has satisfaction. She has happiness. Where she hears, she learns, and she's like, you know what? I'm happy to learn this. You know what the Bible says? I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our church, sometimes people, you know, we meet people at soul winning and they'll say, well, what kinds of children's programs do you have? I say, okay, here's the program. You sit down in a seat, your child sits beside you, you make sure they pay attention and don't make much noise, and they get to learn the word of God. That's our program. It's like, well, I just want to go to church that has children's programs. Shouldn't you just be satisfied to go to a church where you actually hear the truth preached? Yeah, I get it. There's a lot of churches that have fancier buildings, bright lights, a rock concert for free that you get to hear each week, and all this stuff. Hey, you know what we have to offer at our church? The pillar and ground of the truth. I preach sermons where you get to see a lot of Bible, you get to learn what the Bible says. And there's nobody at our church that would say, you know what, I've been here for six months and I have not learned a thing. Nobody would say that. Yeah, it's interesting because there are a lot of churches you can go to where you can be a member for years and years and years and years and years and you learn nothing. Right. Look, I was a part of a lot of great churches, but to be honest, I was a part of some churches where I really just did not learn during the sermons. It's kind of frustrating to go to church realizing I'm not going to learn anything, I'm not going to be edified, I'm not going to be motivated. No one at the church is going to go, so many of the time I have to motivate myself to go. But that's the way it is at a lot of churches. And look, a lot of the churches, they offer a lot of programs and exciting things. You say, man, I wish our church had this and this and this. Shouldn't you just be satisfied like the Queen of Sheba that you get to come to church and hear the word of God preached? And look, that's not all our church has to offer. Let me explain to you something our church has to offer that no other church has around this area. This church has the greatest people within the surrounding couple hours of any church by far. I mean, you want to find the people that love God, you can think whatever you want about me. If you don't like my personality, that's fine. I really don't care. One thing you cannot deny is in this room is where people meet that love God within a couple hour radius. It's a fact. You know, it's interesting because it's very easy to want to get this big fish in a small pond mentality, where basically you're like the most spiritual person at the church you go to. You know more about the Bible. And probably a lot of you went to church before. You're the only one reading the Bible. And you know what? It's hard to be motivated to keep yourself going when you already know more than most of the other people. And then you start coming to our church and you start realizing, actually, there's a lot of people that read the Bible every day. Actually, there's a lot of people that are going soul winning. Actually, there's a lot of people that are memorizing the Bible. Actually, there's a lot of people that really love God and are obeying and serving God and trying to do what's right. It's not just me. Don't have this mentality where you've got to be a big fish in a small pond. Be happy to be in a place where you know what? You have people that love God all around you. And if you're a member of this church, you know that's a fact. The people at this church, they know their Bibles. People at this church love God. People at this church love going soul winning. That is a fact about our church. And look, I think our church has a lot to offer. I mean, I personally, I love my kids growing up in this church and just getting to be around other kids whose parents are trying to raise them in the correct way. Because it's important to have that socialization. And you get that at a church like ours with people that love God and are trying to serve God. Look, our church has a lot to offer. But you know what? There's a lot of things our church does not have to offer that other churches have. And honestly, that's perfectly fine because I'm just being honest. We'll probably never have those things to offer. It just is what it is. But I'll tell you what you get at this church. You get a church where you hear the Word of God preached. And you know what? When we see 1 Kings 10, the Queen of Sheba is satisfied with seeing what? By seeing the wisdom of Solomon, actually learning, and also seeing the great acts or works being done. You know what you see at our church? You learn the truth from sermons, and guess what? There's great acts that are being done at our church. Right? You get those two things. You get the wisdom, you get the acts. And I'm not trying to compare myself to Solomon. I'm sure Solomon had a lot more wisdom than me. But it's not even just me. Other men that come up here and preach, you know what? You learn from them as well. Spirit-filled men that have studied topics. I've listened to the men preach on Wednesdays, and I learn plenty of things from the sermons that they preach. You know why? Because people at our church love God. They're trying to serve God. They study the Bible. They know their Bibles. They're spirit-filled. And you know what? You can learn. And you ought to be happy to be at a church where you just learn the truth. Why? Because church is meant to be the pillar and ground of the truth. And yes, Queen of Sheba, I believe that she was a bit too skeptical when she started. But then she came, and she just listened. She's like, you know what? I've never heard anyone provide all these answers to my questions. And one thing you can say about our church, and when you come to a church like ours, you do learn. You might get mad. I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of people offended by my first sermon here today. Okay, that's fine. But you learned. And if it made you so mad that you're going to go home and read Genesis 19 and Judges 19 to disprove me, I'm very happy. Because if you're saved, you're going to find out, you know what? That's actually exactly what the Bible says. Let's go to the word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to see the story of the Queen of Sheba and help us be people like her that are willing to learn the truth and search after the truth, God. And even if things kind of go against some of the things that we believe, help us be willing to be open-minded and change our minds when we see the truth found in God's Word. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. And just a reminder, we do have a baptism now, so if anybody wants to get baptized, if you're a man, you can change up here. If you're a woman, you can go back to the mother baby room, into the bathroom, back there.