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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Any Salvations to report for a bulletin? Any in the back section? Salvations? Any Salvations 1? Anybody else? How about in this section, Salvations to report 3? Anybody else? How about over here? Salvations 1, 1, 1. Anybody I missed? All right. Good job, everybody. Seven Salvations. Before we move on, we do have a gift for all the Fathers that are here. And so on the back, the top of the fridge back there, a couple of the guys can pass out the black pens. So if you're a Father here today, as the men are going around, you know, just raise up your hand, make sure that they know, make sure that you get a pen. These are worth, you know, 100,000 pesos apiece, so you don't want to miss out on it. All the Fathers, you know, you're welcome to one as they're going around. And let me just go through a couple of things real quickly as he's handing out the pens. After the last song here today for the second service, we need all of the men that are Fathers to come here to the front. So first we're going to have a picture without the children, and then after we're going to have a picture but we need all the Fathers not to talk and mingle for 10 minutes and we have to keep calling and say, hey, all the Fathers come up. Right after the last song, Fathers come to the front. Alright, we'll get the picture. We've got a lot going on today. Picture without the children, and then if you're able to, then bring your children as well or have the children come up, and then we'll do the picture with the children for all of the Fathers. We're going to be here around 2.45. If you're not in the main group, it's not far away. It's in Trinidad subdivision. So for soul winning here today, it only gives us a limited window for soul winning. So if you're not planning to be here for the basketball or the fellowship, obviously that's fine. Brother Franklin's going to be doing the pairing, so you might want to let him know that because he can probably send you to a more receptive area because obviously door to door nearby is not our most receptive area. So if you're planning for the fellowship, you can mention it to Brother Franklin. He can probably put you past the grain forest or Hardeen or one of those other places. If you are staying, though, for the basketball and the fellowship, then the soul winning's going to be nearby, and I know we've talked to these people a million times. It's time for a million and one, right? And we always still see people get saved nearby, even though obviously it's not as receptive now as it used to be, but obviously there's still a lot of unsafe people. We're going to talk here today if you're in the main group, and afterwards we need to come here, and I assume you want to change. I mean, I'm not playing basketball in a suit and a tie, right? So come back here. You can change in the bathroom quickly and get changed in your basketball gear and everything like that. And so anyways, that's the schedule for soul winning here today, and after the basketball, we'll come back here. We will have pizza here at the building for dinner afterwards at around 5. So I believe that's it for announcements. At this time, we'll have Brother Sean lead us in another song. Actually, it's choir. My bad. The choir will be performing now. Okay. Oh, ah, oh, ah, ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah. Ah, ah, Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. 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Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. So that's a quote from Isaiah. He says, Hezekiah, His son wasslome fire, Zer Jessiephch, squasper andolly. So he actually said Hezekiah onto Isaiah, good is the word of the Lord, which thou has spoken, and he said, is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days? Isaiah just pronounced judgment upon Hezekiah and and his lineage and their children and these children. And the reaction of Isaiah hey, it's good because my life's going to be good while I'm on earth. Basically, who cares about the next generation? And this is the kind of statement that I don't think he would have said this if he had time to stop and think about it, but out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, and you can see from this story that Hezekiah is a very unambitious father. When we're saying unambitious, ambition or being ambitious means to have a dream, to have a vision, to have goals that you're shooting for, to have plans in your life. We, all of us, should have visions and goals and be ambitious in our lives, but one of the big areas as a parent is to be ambitious as a father, be ambitious as a mother, and not have this attitude, well, as long as it's good when I'm alive, whatever happens to the next generation is whatever happens, right? Turn in your Bible to actually look at verse, real quickly, let us see point number one. The first thing that we see that Hezekiah is unambitious, and look at verse number 17. It says, Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house, and thou, which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And the first thing that Isaiah mentions to Hezekiah is basically all of the wealth, all of the money you've accumulated is all going to be gone. Everything is going to be wiped away. And he's essentially saying, the next generations are going to be dirt poor. And of course, Hezekiah's response, well, at least I'm rich. At least it's good in my day, even though the next generation is going to have nothing. And you know, one area that we need to be ambitious as fathers is to prepare the next generation financially. And look, obviously the biggest and most important thing is spiritually, and we will talk about that, but in the order of things mentioned, the first thing it says is, hey, prepare financially, because he says the next generation is going to be dirt poor, and Hezekiah's like, no big deal, at least it was good in my lifetime. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 5, 1 Timothy chapter 5, 1 Timothy chapter 5. Now when it comes to preparing the next generation financially, there are basically two aspects of this, and the first aspect is the most obvious. It's something we all realize, it's something we all think about it, and yet it's not the most important. And I'll mention the first one, and the first one is just that as the father, you're the financial provider for your family. That is the job that God has put upon you. And notice what it says in 1 Timothy 5, verse 8, but if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. You see in verse number 8, it says, his own, it says, his own house, it says, he hath denied the faith. And what you're seeing is the responsibility is upon the man to be the primary provider in his family. Now in the same passage, it talks about the woman guiding the house, but it says the man is the provider for his own, especially for those of his own house. Now it's interesting because in other versions of the Bible, they change this verse quite a bit. And you know, in case you're new at our church, you know, one of the stances we take is that in the English language, the King James Bible is the perfect, preserved word of God to us today. And we don't believe the Bible can only be in the English language. Obviously the Bible can be translated into any language because God created all languages and he's outside of language. We get that. But in the English language, we believe the King James Bible that came in 1611 and is essentially the only Bible for hundreds of years, the Bible that has trained people, that has sent out missionaries all over the world, we believe that is the word of God in the English language. This is what it says in the NIV. And you know, pay attention to what your King James says as I'm reading this and see if you spot the differences. In the NIV, anyone who does not provide for their relatives, there's two major switches there. Number one, it takes away the masculine pronoun, right? It says in the NIV, anyone who does not provide for their relatives and especially for their own household has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. It takes away the masculine in verse number eight. Completely removes it. It doesn't really make a lot of sense because in the same passage it puts a responsibility upon the women to guide the house so there would have to be a responsibility for the man, right? But the other thing it does is it changes his own to their relatives. Now look, God's responsibility upon me is to provide for my wife and my kids, not my cousins, not my aunts and my uncles, my immediate family. Look, one of the big things in the Philippines is this idea that you're part of this massive nuclear family and you're all in it together. And so if you make more money than anyone else in this massive family, you've got to pay money to your fifth cousin twice removed. That is not a biblical concept. Now look, if you want to provide and give money to your family, that is a very nice thing to do, but you are not obligated to provide for your cousins. As a husband, as a father, I'm responsible for my wife and my kids. I'm not responsible for my cousins. I'm not responsible for those outside of my immediate family. Now of course it's a nice thing to do and you're welcome to do it, but you are not required according to the Word of God. But you are required as a husband to provide for your family. That is what the Bible teaches. And I'll tell you what, it's not just in the Philippines, it's in the U.S. as well. The Bible will fly in the face of cultural norms in every country. And you've just got to realize that just because this is the way people do things in the Philippines, that doesn't mean that's the way the Bible says. The United States is wrong on a lot of things and a lot of the standards and customs are not what the Bible says. And this is one that is big in the Philippines, it is not what the Bible teaches. Now as a father, when my kids get older, I need to help them out financially. If I choose to have my kids go to college, then I need to provide for them, but I'm not responsible for cousins that I have. That's not what the Bible teaches, because the Bible does not say their relatives like it says in the NIV, it says for his own, and it's very specific, his own house, and it's about bringing your wife and your kids, right? Go in your Bible to Genesis 3, Genesis chapter 3. You say, what's the problem with providing for your cousins and everyone in this giant nuclear family? Well, there's nothing wrong with it, but here's what I will say. Lazy people will take advantage of situations like that. People need to learn to work on their own. It would be one thing if you had a relative that was really trying and they were just struggling, but they were a hard worker, you knew that, and you say, hey, you know what, this is a good person, he loves God, he's working hard, he's fallen on tough times, God has blessed us more. You know what, let me be generous and give him money. But it's another thing when someone's lazy and refusing to work and they just take advantage of the relatives that are more successful their entire lives. You know what, I see that all the time here in the Philippines. I just want you to realize that you are not required to provide for every single relative that you have. If you want to, that's fine, but you are required for your own household, the Bible says. Now, that's the most obvious thing about providing for your family, but one thing that I think is often missing that fathers do not realize, where they are very unambitious, it's not just having money while you're working and your kids are growing up, but have you prepared your kids to be their own providers one day? Do you understand what I'm talking about? It's one thing to give them money and help out, but are your kids growing up having the skills and abilities that when they're 20 years old, someone is going to pay them for the skills and abilities and experience that they have? Or are you just babying your kids year after year and they're never growing up? They're like the Peter Pan who never wants to grow up, the Toys R Us kid who never, I'll never grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid. Are you actually preparing your sons to be their own providers? Because there's going to come a day when my son has to work and provide for himself and you know what, I'm not going to be able to do it for him. He's going to have to do it. Are your kids learning and developing the skills and abilities where people will actually pay them? Genesis chapter 3, notice what the Bible says in verse 17. And on the Adam he said, Because thou is hearken unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. The Bible says by the sweat of our faces we're going to provide. Now obviously in today's world there are a lot of white collar jobs where maybe you work at a computer and you're not physically sweating. Obviously during these days all of the jobs that you're doing pretty much are manual laboring jobs. But the same principle would apply that even if you've got a white collar job, be a hard worker. You say why? Because life is hard. Life is difficult. Here's the problem. Kids don't realize this. They don't realize this at all. You say why? Because when kids are born they're 100% dependent on mom and dad. We do everything for them. I mean sometimes your kids are like, hey, can't we buy this? It's like, with whose money? It's like, that says 2,000 pesos, not with my money. But kids don't realize how expensive stuff is. They have no idea. It's like, why don't we just always go out to nice restaurants? Because it costs money. It's not easy in life. It's hard in life. But kids don't understand this. Why? No child understands the value of a dollar. Because they've never had to work for it. You see, if you work and then make your own money you start realizing how valuable that money is. It's like, wait a minute. I worked really hard to get this 1,000 pesos. I don't want to just spend it all at one restaurant. I mean, that would be stupid. I'm just going to go with the cheaper option and start saving up money. What's amazing is when you start working hard and you start making money, you know what you're going to often find? You start being a little bit more careful with how you spend. Sometimes I see people that, they become adults, but they never learn the value of a dollar. Because they've never worked hard. They've had everything handed to them. And then they just spend money like crazy and you just think, what are you doing? It's like, why don't you save up that money? But they have no idea. They just spend money and just have this idea. Money's going to fall from the sky. Because when they were a kid, their parents paid for everything. Obviously, as fathers, we need to provide for our kids when they're growing up. We need to make sure that they realize they're going to have to be their own provider. And here's the truth. At a job interview, your skills at Mobile Legends is not going to get you hired. Your skills at Super Mario is not going to get you hired. You know what's going to get you hired? Having computer skills. Having language skills. Having math skills. You know why they hire you for that? Because it's a specialized skill that a lot of people don't have. You know what it's called? Maybe as all the other kids are going out and just having fun. Why can't I be like the other kids in the neighborhood? All they do is play all day. Yeah, but what about 20 years from now? When they have no skills and they will not be hired by a staff. And look, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with whatever job you work. You work hard. God can bless you. Work hard. God can provide. But here's the truth. I think all of us as fathers would say, I hope you would say, I want my kids to be in a better situation than I am. Shouldn't you feel that way? Here's the reality. It's a lot harder in the Philippines than it is in the United States. A lot of fathers, they work overseas because they have to make money to provide for their families. Here's the reality, though. Nobody actually wants to do that. If they get paid the same money in this country, they wouldn't do it. And here's what I'd say to every young boy in this room, every teen male in this room. Hey, develop skills where they're going to hire you. Because otherwise you're just going to have to take whatever you can get. That's the reality. Look, I'm not trying to make anybody feel bad that's an adult, that didn't work hard and develop a lot of skills as a kid. I'm just saying as a father, I want my son to have a lot of opportunities. I want to be in a situation where he's got a lot of skills and abilities and experience and how much of this company do I want to work for and they're all paying a decent amount of money, a good career option. I don't want it to be just like, you know, whatever I can find. I mean, if that's your situation, I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I'm just saying for our kids as fathers, we should want something better for them. They have skills, they have abilities where somebody will actually pay them for that skill or ability. I mean, in Genesis 3 it says you got to work hard. You know what you need young kids? You need to start becoming a man at a young age. One of the problems with our modern day is that life is oh so easy that people sit around and do nothing and they don't have to work hard. Do you realize if you went back a hundred years ago, life was hard for everybody. They were doing it just to get their daily water, their daily needs provided. But a lot of people, they have life so easy that they just kind of float through life, no goals, no dream, no vision. Here's the thing, we expect that from young children because they don't know any better. As fathers though, you need to have a big ambition for your kids. Go to Proverbs 6. You want to be in a situation in life that when you're in your young 20s, maybe you've worked jobs, you started working when you're 16, 17, 18 or whatever, and you develop skills, maybe you go the college route, maybe you don't, but you have real actual skills where basically you put out resumes and you're actually getting callbacks. Where it's like yeah this person has a skill, let's interview this guy. You don't want to be in a situation where basically you cannot apply to any established company and you're just trying to work whatever minimum wage job to get by. I'm not against you if that's your situation now, I'm just saying I want a good situation for my kids growing up. I need to have opportunities and abilities. You know what that means? I need to be ambitious as a father because young boys are not going to naturally study math and language and computer skills over playing video games. Every single one of them is going to play a video game because it's more fun. Us that are adults, what did we do when we were young? Play video games as much as possible, watch movies and TV shows as much as possible. Is there a place in life to being a kid and having fun? Absolutely, but you know what? It's lasting way too long in today's world. Somehow people are going to turn that magic age of 18 and start acting like an adult. Number one, you have no skills so you can't really be an adult where they're going to hire you to real company. Number two, you don't just flip the switch and start acting mature if you've been lazy and done nothing your whole life. Proverbs 6 verse 1, My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou strict in thy hand with a stranger, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself when thou art coming in the hand of thy friend. Go humble thyself and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Now, when the Bible is saying give not sleep to thine eyes, it's not saying that you're playing video games at three in the morning and make sure you don't fall asleep and beat level 27. That's not what it's saying. What it's saying is, hey, life is hard. Work and work and work. Get stuff done. Give not sleep to thine eyes. Your life should not be, I'm staying up till three in the morning, and then at lunchtime it's like, oh man, I'm so tired. It's like, I mean, I've seen this out so many before. Right? And it's like 10 in the morning. I was sleeping, man. And it's not because they have a night shift. It's because they stayed up till four in the morning. It's like, what are you doing with your life? It's like, you've got to be kidding me. You know the old adage, early to bed, early to rise, makes men healthy, wealthy, and wise. And you know what? There's a lot of truth to that. It's like, wake up early, by the sweat of your brow, get something done. You say, well, I don't have any responsibilities. I'm a kid. I've got some skills that you can start practicing and start them at a young age. And as parents, as fathers, have ambition for your kids. You say, Pastor, do you let your kids play games? Yeah, you know, we let our kids play games, but you know, a lot of the games that Zeph has are math games. Those aren't the only games, but a lot of the games are, hey, did you know four times eight? Hey, you get two points because you got it right. You say, why do you do that? Because those are the games I played when I was a kid. I think it was called math blasters was the game I played as a kid. You say, why? Because it's actually a skill that you're developing that, you know, one day you can make money with it. You don't make money by beating Mario in less than an hour. Right? The Bible says in verse five, deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. The Bible says to be like a roe or be like a bird. Stop and think about this verse. When it says to deliver thyself, is it saying you've already been shot and now you need to deliver yourself, roe? No. What is it saying? Deliver yourself ahead of time. If a bird's already been caught in the net, it's done. It's saying, prepare yourself ahead of time because then he's going to use the example of ants preparing for the future. So what is the Bible saying in Proverbs 6? It's saying, prepare yourself ahead of time because then he's going to use the example of ants preparing for the future. What is the Bible saying in Proverbs 6? It's saying, hey, when you're young, develop skills now. As fathers have some ambition to try to drive our kids to develop skills at a young age, why? So they can deliver themselves 10 years before they're in the situation where they actually need those skills. That's what the Bible's saying. Verse six, go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise, which having no guide oversee her ruler, the Bible says to go to the ant. You know, my kids, you know, my two youngest kids, especially, they do not like ants because they've been bitten by ants and, you know, they can be very fearful of ants. I appreciate ants. You know, it's an animal I really respect. Honestly, I mean, I don't want to have a ton of ants in my house, but it's like I really respect the animal, especially as the Bible says this, because when do you ever see an ant that's just sitting around doing nothing? You never see it. You see other bugs doing nothing and when they catch you, then the e-piece is like you don't see that with an ant. It's always moving. But here's what you have to understand about ants. Ants live a very short life. Did you realize that? They don't live a long life. They're not even preparing for themselves. They're working hard to prepare and guess what? They're not even going to be partaking in that food. They live less than two years. I mean, I don't know all the different types of ants that there are, but my understanding is they live about one year. They don't live long lives and they're often preparing and they're not even going to be partaking in it. You know, as fathers, why not doing all the work you can to help prepare the next generation? You say, well, I won't partake in it. What's in it for me? Well, if you're an ambitious father, you won't feel like Hezekiah. I want my kids to be successful. Is money all there is in life? Absolutely not. But you know what? I do want my kids to financially be successful. I want them to have a lot of opportunities. You know why? Because especially the world we're coming to, it's like there are a lot of jobs that are off-limit for Christians in 2024. Jobs where if you are actually wanting to serve God, you can't work those jobs. And it's like, you know what? I want my kids to have plenty of opportunities where they say, hey, you know, I've got my choice. Which one of these jobs could I serve God the best and still provide? I want them to have those opportunities. That doesn't come accidentally, and it is not going to come by your kids making the decision to do it on their own. Now, eventually, you kids, you need to learn to work hard even if there is no guide, no overseer, or no ruler. But as fathers, you are that guide and that ruler, so help them. Make sure they're not just wasting their life. Make sure they're actually doing something with their time. The Bible says in verse 9, How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelth and thy want as an armored man. And the Bible says an armored man, and throughout the Bible you look at this, it's about taking up arms. It's talking about taking a weapon in your arm. And the Bible says your desire is going to be like an armored man. You say, what is the Bible saying? You're going to be like the person that robs a 7-11 traveling around as a vagabond trying to do whatever, do whatever scam to get by, and you might even find yourself robbing a store because you have no skills and no one's going to pay you. Or, you can learn to work hard at a young age, and as fathers, we can help train our kids to work hard. So when they are 18, 19, 20, 22 25, they will have skills, opportunities, and be in a great situation in life. The Bible says in verse 20, My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. You say, you know, Pastor, who are you preaching to today? Well, number one, I'm preaching to fathers. Number two, I'm preaching to Zeph and Ezra. My son, Zeph, listen to what I'm saying. Keep these commandments with you. Tie them about your neck. I mean, look, print off a Bible verse that says, don't be a lazy bum if you need to. Put it on your fridge, put it on your computer, put it on the front door, do whatever you need to do. As fathers, we need to work hard to provide financially while they're growing up, but wait a minute, when you come home, you've got to get involved in the life of your kids. So they will one day be a provider for themselves. It is not going to happen accidentally. Go to 2 Kings 20. 2 Kings 20. You say, well, Pastor, I mean, I just want my kids to be able to have fun and I don't think they should have too many responsibilities. Okay, you're an unambitious father. How's that? You're unwilling to put in the time and effort to help your kids. Yeah, you know what? There's a time to have fun and play, but you know what? If you're just letting your kids do whatever and watch whatever and sit around and you're not trying to actively get involved, they're going to waste away their lives. And yeah, you know, it takes time. I mean, on a daily basis, I will ask Zeph, Zeph, did you study your math yet? Zeph, did you study your Tagalog yet? And you say, well, I'm just going to be smart because he's not going to naturally do it on his own most of the time because he's a kid. You say, why are you doing that? Because I want him to be smart. I want him to be educated. And here's the thing. I don't want him to be. You say, well, my kid is just as smart as the average kid. So they're dumb is what you just told me because the average kid is dumb. The average person growing up in today's world is uneducated with no skills or abilities. You say, well, how can you say that? Because I used to be a teacher. I used to be a high school teacher. I felt like I was teaching like preschoolers. It's like, what do you mean? It's like, you don't know what six plus five is? It's like you're 16 years old. I mean, when I was a kid, you just memorize the addition tables. You memorize the multiplication tables up to 12. But in today's world, I mean, I'm not joking. It's like two times four. And people would pull out their phone and it's like, or calculator, two times four, oh, it's eight. It's like, and then, you know, what was amazing to me, these same kids would be like, well, when am I ever going to have to use this in real life? You never have to use four plus five in real life? Are you kidding me? I mean, I can understand people saying that about like differential equations or upper level math classes, trigonometry or calculus, but it's like, wait, you never use addition and subtraction in life? Here's the problem. If you don't have skills, you don't really realize the value of them. But if you actually have skills, you're going to use it on a daily basis. Look, the average child is unimpressive in today's world. The average child in the secular world, they don't know much. So don't have this goal of saying, I want my kid to be equally as smart as the other kids. No, how about having an ambition that your child knows more? Has more skill, works harder, has more ability, and is in a better situation in life that they can be successful one day. One problem with Hezekiah that was a great man of God is that he was unambitious as a father in regards to the financial well-being of his children. Number two, he was unambitious to the physical well-being of his children. Because notice what it says in verse 18. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. You know, if somebody told me that my kids 20 years from now are going to be poor, you know, it's not the end of the world, but of course I'd be a little bit disappointed because I have an ambition for them to have opportunities and be successful financially. But even more so, if I'm told my kids in 20 years, my sons are going to be eunuchs, not have the ability to have children, I mean, that would devastate you. Wouldn't that devastate you as a parent? I mean, there's a lot of parents with young children. Wouldn't it devastate you to find out that there is that physical destruction upon your child 20 years from now? It would devastate me. Now, I'm not Hezekiah. He's like, well, I mean, I was able to have kids. Who cares about my sons? The physical well-being of your children matters. Right? Turn your Bible to Genesis 19. Genesis 19. Now, there's a lot of things you can look at in terms of physical well-being. Obviously, you know, your kids being healthy, you know, eating vegetables and fruits. They understand exercise. I mean, these basic things are good things for them to get, but, you know, how about just the physical safety and protection of your kids? That should matter to you. As a father, you should really say, hey, I want to protect my son. I want to protect my daughter from any harm that could possibly come to them. Genesis 19, verse 4. But before they lay down the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compass the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And the Bible says here in verse number 4, both old and young, and when you see old and young, it's not specific to how old. So you can make an argument, well, what is young? I mean, is that 12 years old? Is that 15 years old? Is that, you know, 18 years old? It's like it's kind of up for interpretation. But verse number 11 kind of gives us more insight. Because the Bible says, and they smote the men there at the door of the house with blindness, and notice what the Bible says, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. Now, look, you can make an argument that a 16-year-old is young, but can you really make an argument that a 16-year-old is small? No. I mean, it's very possible that my son, Zeph, will be taller than me when he's 16. 16-year-olds are almost at their full height. Right? I remember when I was a freshman in high school, I was very short as a freshman. I really grew between my freshman and sophomore year. I was about five foot tall as a freshman, which, especially in the U.S., is pretty short as a freshman. But even still, as a freshman at the age of 14 and being shorter than almost all of my classmates, I was already at, you know, 85% of my height. I'm not six foot. So even though I was short for a kid that was 14 years old, it's like I was still at almost my whole height. I mean, honestly, when you think of small, I wouldn't even look at 12-year-olds as small, usually. You know what I'm saying? I mean, like, can there be exceptions? Yeah, but you know what I think? I think there's kids that are less than 10 years old. Because honestly, you know, once you turn 11, 12, 13, you're at about most of your height that you're going to be. Right? And so whatever the age is, I mean, we can't be for sure, but here's the thing. You're talking about kids that are not yet adults, for sure. They're not off on their own. You've got young kids that are sodomized. How do you have young kids that are part of the LGBT? Because they're getting molested. That's the reason why. Why? I can't believe that you'd say that. Wake up. And everybody knows it's true whether they want to admit it or not. But you know why people don't want to admit it? Because they want to pass the blame. Because you've got a lot of parents that are not involved in the lives of their kids at all, and when something happens, it's like, well, I mean, things happen when you're not involved. Look, we live in a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah. Look, I just put this on my Facebook a couple days ago on a statistic that came out. The Philippines is tied for first in the world of the highest percentage of the LGBT, according to that statistic. Now, I don't know how accurate this statistic is, but I promise you the Philippines is near the top of the list. And look, why is it there's so many people that are becoming Sodomites here in Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, they're not being born that way because nobody's born that way. The Bible says the natural desire for a man is toward a woman and a woman toward a man. But what's happening? These kids are getting defiled at a young age. You say, Pastor, how are kids getting defiled in 2024? Well, I mean, one obvious thing is, you know, the Catholic church. But wait a minute. Is that what we're going to do as Baptists? Just pretend that the only place this happens is the Catholic church? I mean, Baptist churches with children's programs. Right? You've got to realize, if you have these big children's programs where there is no, you know, protection, no, you know, camera to see what's going on, it is going to be a breeding ground of bad people. Common sense. And look, you know, from my experience here in the Philippines, it seems like most principals are homos. It's crazy. You say, why is it that, I mean, my wife used to be a teacher here in the Philippines, and her principal was a homo. Why is it a lot of men want to become principals? Because they have access to kids. That's why. You've got to realize, whenever there are situations with young kids, bad people want to be in those situations to harm kids. Well, here's the thing. If you're an ambitious father, you know what you're going to say? Hey, I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to my kids. I'm not going to put them in opportunities where something can happen. Look, as a parent, when I go to the mall with my kids, and my kids run up like 15 feet in front of me, I'm like, hey, Zeph, Kristen Bell, get back here. Do not go that far away from me again. You say, why? It's a dangerous world. Who knows what can happen to them? I'm amazed. I'm amazed in the Philippines how people just let their kids run off and do whatever. This past week, we took our kids to a carnival in Pampanga, and, you know, they had a bunch of rides there, and there was one ride, specifically I'm thinking of, where they had a teenager that was the one doing the ride, like, organizing it, and, you know, I saw a bunch of kids get on this ride, and I'm amazed the lack of safety regulations at some things that I see. There was no door on this ride. You walk in, but there's no door that you close. It's just open, and the ride is spinning around, looping around, going very fast. I'm thinking, you've got to be kidding me. I wouldn't even trust myself to hold on to those bars and not fall out, and then I saw, literally, even a six-year-old who would be my guest, like probably brother and sister, go into the ride, and it's like, there's no parents there. I'm thinking, there's no way. That's how old Zeph and Chris Abella are. There's no way I would let them in that ride. But here's the thing. I don't think their parents are with them. I think the parents just wanted to have a night off. I just want to relax and get my own time, and just, I'll just give you money. Just do whatever you want. And you wonder why things are happening to young kids here in the Philippines? Because you have unambitious fathers and mothers. You have fathers and mothers that are more concerned with their own lives than they are in the lives of their kids. And that's sad, my friend, because the Bible shows us that our lives are not about us. Hey, if God has blessed you with kids, take it seriously! They're your responsibility! They're yours! Well, it takes a village to raise a child. What a lie! No, it's the responsibility of Mom and Dad to raise those kids. Take it seriously! Something could happen to them! And look, it's happening all the time in the Philippines and all over the world. Why do you think that the LGBT is just shooting off in percentage? Why? Because we have a bunch of unambitious parents that just let their kids do whatever. That's why. The Bible says in verse number 4, But before they lay down the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called on the lot and said to them, Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we may know them. And Lot went out of the door unto them and shut the door after him and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Now I'm not going to keep going with this story And if you're a young child that doesn't quite understand what I'm talking about, hey, you know what, Mom and Dad, make sure you warn your kids about this. We taught our kids at a young age, homosexuals are bad people. You say, why? Because they need to know it. Because otherwise they're going to think, oh, it's just funny, ha ha ha, they're not going to get it. They need to know that. Go in your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. One thing is just the physical safety of our kids, but another thing physically, and I believe you can link this to this, is the emotional and mental protection of your kids. And there are a lot of ways that we can look at this and apply this, but what I want to talk to you about is protecting your kids from the sin of pornography. And you know what? Honestly, I've never preached a whole sermon on pornography, and I do want to preach a whole sermon, and it's an uncomfortable topic to preach on, and it's a bit awkward, but it's a major problem. By statistics, and it's a lot easier to get statistics in the U.S. than the Philippines. By statistics, the vast majority of male teens are addicted to pornography, and I'm saying 75-plus percent. By statistics. You say, why is it so common in today's world? Because it's so easy. Computers and cell phones, it's right there. I mean, in the past, you'd have magazines. That would be a much more difficult thing. Now, you give your child a cell phone and just let them watch whatever without paying attention, yeah, they might just get addicted to pornography when they're 15 years old. Now, here's the thing. I don't know the exact statistics in the Philippines, but here are some statistics I do know. That according to the most common pornography website in the world, the Philippines is number nine on accessing it the most of any country in the world. Number one is the United States of America. Number nine is the Philippines, and the Philippines is number one in spending the most time on it when accessing. So it's a major problem in the Philippines. You wonder why people are fornicating so much? Because if you're addicted to pornography, it's not going to seem like that big of a deal. You're looking at it all the time. Now, look, not only should kids not have any opportunity to be looking at pornography, you should know what they're watching. I mean, if you give them a computer, you better make sure that you've got so many blockers on there and you're paying attention to everything they're doing. You are foolish if you give a young teen the opportunity to do whatever they want. Look, you allow your kids to get addicted to pornography at a young age, they're going to take that baggage with them the rest of their life, the rest of their life. Us that are adults that are trying to serve God now, I'm sure most of us in the past listened to bad music. And when you allow something in your system, it's hard to get it out. You still know the words to those songs, don't you? Imagine if you allow all those images to get in the heads of your kids. That's going to stick with them forever. I get it. This is uncomfortable to talk about and to preach about, but it's a major issue in today's world. And you, as fathers, be ambitious and say, hey, I'm not just going to sit around and do my own thing, I'm going to make sure my kids aren't just doing whatever in their free time without me paying attention at all. Because I'm telling you, you are going to end up being that naive parent that thinks, well, my little child would never, would never do that. Look, if the vast majority of teens are addicted to pornography and your child has the same sinful flesh that everybody other child has, guess what? Most likely they will do the same thing unless you make sure you're an ambitious father. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 15, Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two sayeth he shall be one flesh. But he that is joined on the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body. But he that committed the fornication sinneth against his own body. The Bible says that sexual sin is different than other sins in the fact that it harms yourself and I'm telling you, if you let your kids watch whatever they want, they're going to be taking those problems into their marriage. It's not just going to magically go away. There are many times, many times that wives will catch their husbands looking at pornography and it causes major problems in that marriage. You say, why? Because that husband has this addiction that he started when he was 14 years old. And he can't get rid of it. Why don't you do some preventive maintenance as a father and make sure your kids never get addicted? Turn your Bible to 2 Kings 21. 2 Kings 21. You say, what does that mean? It means that when your kids are in your household, you ought to know where they're going, what they're doing. It shouldn't be that your kids just leave the front door and then you have no idea where they're headed. No. Your child's under the roof of your house, you should know where they're at. You should know what they're doing. And kids that are growing up don't have this stupid attitude. Oh, I can't wait to grow up where my parents can't give me any rules and I can do whatever I want. You know why God set up the system of having a mom and a dad? Because when you're young, you're stupid. That's why. Because as a child, you don't understand. As a young teen, you do not understand. You need a mom and you need a dad. And look, dads, fulfill your role of being an ambitious father. Get involved in the life of your kids. Look, I'm glad you're financially providing for your kids, but if that's all you're doing, you're failing. Come home and get involved. Have some ambition for your kids. Or your kids are going to grow up and have no skills, no abilities, addicted to pornography, all the wrong music, all the wrong movies. And then when things don't work out, I mean, where did we go wrong? I mean, we brought them to Verity Baptist Church. I don't understand what happened. We did everything right. No, you didn't. This church is not going to guarantee your kids turn out right. Don't rely on hard preaching to make sure your kids turn out right. They will not turn out right. They will turn out right if you get involved as a father and you get involved as a mother in their lives. Point number one, the financial well-being of our children. You ought to care that your kids are educated with skills and they're hardworking and they have opportunities when they get older. One of the amazing things to me that is a big encouragement, because obviously my kids are young. I preach these things and my kids are six, four, and two. I can't tell you for sure what's going to happen in 20 years. One thing that's very encouraging to me, that when I was a member of Verity Baptist Church Sacramento, a lot of the people that were there at the time were maybe 13 or 14 years old. And a lot of time has gone by since then. I see people that are like 20 years old and you know what, they already own houses, a lot of job opportunities. They saved up a lot of money. A lot of them are married with kids on the way, and it's not just that. They're mature. They're godly. They're hardworking. I mean, for those that were at the first mission strip, you probably know some of those teens that were there. You think about some of those kids. They've grown up. It's like, man, it's like some of them bought houses. They're 20 years old. They started working when they were 16, saved with their parents, saved up money, and being able to buy a house, have a good job, have success, they're doing well. It's an encouragement to me. You know why? Because if you hear the preaching that's being done at a great church and you apply it and you get invested as a mom and a dad, you can pass that on to your kids. Your kids need this kind of preaching. But you as a father, don't just automatically assume your kids are going to end up godly. You have to get involved. And I know it's hard work. You're tired. You want to rest. I'm just saying it's not going to accidentally happen. Do you really think anybody accidentally becomes very smart and very educated and very successful and everything is just great in their life and they accidentally turn out godly? It doesn't happen that way. Financially, we need to be involved in our kids and have some ambition for our kids, have some dreams, have goals for them. The physical well-being of our kids. But obviously the most important is the faith of your kids. And I'm not just saying that they believe on Christ because that's a very low bar to set. But that they love God. They love the Bible. They love soul winning. They're memorizing the soul winning verses. They read the Bible on their own. The Bible says in 2 Kings 21, verse 1, Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem and his mother's name was Hepzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord after the abominations of the heat in whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. You say, why is it that Manasseh turned out wrong? Well, his father was unambitious for him financially. He was unambitious for him physically. Is it any shock he was unambitious spiritually? He's not involved in the life of his son. And here's what's sad. It says here in verse 3, For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. And he reared up altars for Baal and made a grove as did Aaph king of Israel and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. You know, I remember when I got saved and I started listening to Godly preaching and I started making changes in my life. And you know what that meant? It meant I had a lot of CDs I had to get rid of. I had a lot of movies I had to get rid of. And it was difficult to make that decision to throw away all the trash that I had bought. I mean, symbolically, I was throwing down the altars of Baal in my life. Wouldn't it be sad as a parent when you put in such energy to throw down these altars that your kids just build them back up and they're 16 years old and all the stuff that you worked hard to get rid of and yet it's completely involved in their life? What a sad thing. But isn't that true in a lot of examples in the real world? Isn't the Bible just filled with Godly characters that did not do a good job raising their kids? You say, well, you know, my kids are going to turn out right because I'm Godly. Have you read the Bible? I mean, maybe you're not Godly because you obviously don't know what the Bible says because father after father after father after father in the Bible messes up. Right? And sometimes people can get this intimidated view like, man, I mean, is it just random? I mean, what can I do? I mean, it's like they're probably not going to turn out right because look at all these Godly people who raise ungodly kids. No, it's just Godly people that did not get invested in their kids. Because the Bible promises train up a child that he should go when he's old, he will not depart from it. You say, what's the practical application of that? Well, go to Proverbs 29. Proverbs 29. And, you know, obviously my kids are young, so I don't want you to take this the wrong way because obviously I can't guarantee how my kids are going to turn out. But let me just explain to you some things that we try to do that I believe are really helping. In our house, downstairs, we have Bible reading charts on the wall. A Bible reading chart for myself, a Bible reading chart for my wife, a Bible reading chart for Zeph. Now obviously we don't read the same amount every single day because I'm not expecting my son to read as much as me. He reads one chapter a day. You know, he's in Deuteronomy now, I think. I think he's in the book of Deuteronomy. And so he started in Genesis, one chapter a day, and of course as he gets older, you know, we're going to bump it up. And then basically whatever words he does not know, he writes down. And, you know, my son, you know, he's a very good reader, though, but he has a lot of words that he's like, what's this word? You know, because obviously he's six years old, right? And, you know, here's the thing that we use this Bible reading chart. You know why we use this? Well, I mean, one of the big things is this. It's like, Zeph, did you do your Bible reading yet? He's like, oh, yeah. You know, I forgot, right? And sometimes he does it on his own, but sometimes he forgets, and then he gets to mark it off, and, you know, it's encouraging. Sometimes, Zeph's like, Dad, you didn't mark your Bible reading chart yet. Did you do your reading today? It's like, all right, I need to take a break. Let me do my reading, right? You got me. It's good for all of us. It's good for me and my wife. I mean, it holds us accountable, but it holds our son accountable. It's something we're doing together as a family, even though we're reading different things in the Bible. You say, why do you do that, pastor? Because I want my son to develop a love and a pattern to read the Bible every single day. And that does not happen accidentally. It's not going to take place. It'd be a very rare thing for a child to be in this church unless you as a parent are trying to motivate them, for them to just start doing it on their own. They might feel the desire, because honestly, this started because my son came to me and said, Dad, I heard you say that we need to read the Bible every day. He's like, I need to start reading the Bible. But here's the thing. A desire takes place, and that desire is going to fade from day to day when other more exciting things come up, right? So you say, what do you have to do? You have to get involved in your kids' lives to make sure they're doing it. Otherwise, it's not going to happen. One of the reasons why we have this Bible memorization thing of memorizing one verse to get a prize, you say, why do you do that? Because I want to motivate young people to get involved with loving the Bible and memorizing the Bible and reading the Bible. That's why we do these things. I want them at a young age to get involved in it. Obviously, to a certain level, your kids are going to have to make their own decisions in life, but when they're really young, they're really leaning on you as a father and you as a mother to teach them and to guide them. The Bible says in Proverbs 29, verse 15, The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Proverbs 29, verse 16, When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases, but the righteous shall see their fault. Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest. He shall give the light unto thy soul. And the Bible is saying in verse 15 through 17, it's talking about spanking. It's interesting because notice what it says right after that. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Pretty famous verse. Pastor, why do you start spanking your kids at a young age? Because I have a big vision for my kids. I'm an ambitious father that wants my kids to turn out godly and love God. But the Bible says, Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law happy as he. Look, anything in life, if you're going to be successful, you have to set goals. You have to be ambitious. You have to have visions and plans for your life, and not just for yourself, but for your kids. You say, but Pastor, what if I don't reach those goals? Or what if I set all these goals for my kids and they don't make it? Hey, shoot for the moon. If you don't make it, you land on the stars. Look, if you set this goal and you only make it to here with your kids, at least it's above this. Have a big goal. Be ambitious. And yeah, maybe your kids don't reach the exact things you hoped them to, but they'll reach something. But if you don't set any goals and you have no ambition as a father or as a mother, they're not going to love God. They're not going to be educated. They're not going to be prepared in life. Go to 2 Kings chapter 20. We'll close up. 2 Kings 20. You say, why do we need this kind of sermon as fathers? You know, we need this sermon to re-be motivated on something we already know because it's hard. It takes time. We get home from work. We want to rest. We want to take a break sometimes. It's like, man, I've been doing this. It's like, man, I've been busy all day. It's like, I just want to do my own thing. Yeah, but here's the thing. When you get married and God bless you with a wife and kids, your life's not about you. You need to spend your time invested into your kids. They're the next generation. You say, what do you want Pastor Stuckey for your kids? Here's what I want for my kids, for my two sons and my daughter. I want them to grow up and love God more than I do. I want them to grow up and be smarter and more educated than me. I want them to grow up and be more prepared in life than I am. I don't want them to be at my level. I want them to be above my level. Whether or not that means Zeph or Ezra is a pastor, it's like, you know, I'm not going to try to push them in the ministry, but whether they're a pastor or not, I want them to be godlier than me. I want them to know the Bible better than me. I want them to have more of the Bible memorized, be more zealous for the things of God. Why? Because I have an ambition. And as a father, I hope if God has blessed you with kids that you have this attitude, I want my kids to be better than me. Isn't that the sort of reaction we should have as parents, that we want our kids to be better than us? But this is what Hezekiah says in verse 19. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good if peace and truth be in my days? Hezekiah was a godly man. I mean, he could preach sermons on some of the great things that he accomplished. He was a very, very unambitious father. He had no vision. He had no goals for his children. What's the result? Manasseh grows up and guess what? Doesn't love God. A failure. Why? Because he had a father that was unambitious and not involved in the life of his children. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today, and I ask you to help all of us, including myself, to apply this sermon to our lives. God, help us as fathers to put in effort with our kids, to spend time and get involved in their lives. Help us not to be fathers like Hezekiah that are uninvolved, God, but help us to be ambitious. Help us have goals. Help us have desires. And I ask you to help all these kids to grow up and put in their hearts to love you and serve you and get in a pattern of reading the Bible. Help all the kids grow up and be a better generation than our generation, that they love you more, they're more zealous for soul winning, they're godlier, they're successful, God. I ask you to help all of us as parents to do our job to be ambitious. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.