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

...this morning. There's so much that we need, dear God. There's so much in the Bible that needs to be taught, and so little time. But Father, please just use this message to stir us up, dear God, and to teach us the doctrines that we hold so dear, the truths of our salvation, dear God. And in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Now of course in 2006, the year that we're living in, unfortunately, Baptist churches across America, people do not know what they believe. And not only that, sometimes those who do know what they believe as a Baptist, and more importantly as a Bible-believing Christian, is that they don't know why they believe what they believe. They might just believe it because somebody told it to them, and they don't know if the Bible really says that, or what the Bible says about that, or why they necessarily believe that. And so I think it's very important that I preach doctrinal-type sermons, laying the foundations strongly in your mind of what the Bible teaches, just basic Bible doctrine that you can anchor yourself to and never change what you believe about something that the Bible clearly says. Now the doctrine that I'm going to preach on this morning is one of the most important doctrines that we believe, and toward the end of the message I'll explain to you why that is. But the doctrine that I'm going to preach on this morning is the priesthood of the believer. The priesthood of the believer. Now look if you would, we're going to be in 1 Peter, so stay there, but flip over if you would to the book of Revelation. The last book of the Bible, just go forward in your Bibles, it's probably a few pages. And look at Revelation chapter number 1, and I'm going to show you this. Revelation 1 and verse number 5, the Bible reads, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and that made us kings and priests, unto God and his Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You see the same Jesus Christ when he saved us, it says that he's the first begotten of the dead. It says that he loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Now in the same sentence you see there's a comma at the end of verse 5, you've got to always watch that, we're in the same sentence. He says he washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. You see, if you've been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, if you're saved this morning, then you are, according to the Bible, a priest. That's what the Bible says. It says he not only washed us from our sins in his own blood, but he also made us kings and priests unto God and our Father. Look back if you would at 1 Peter chapter 2 and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Look at 1 Peter chapter 2 and I'm laying the foundation for the message right now, but look at 1 Peter chapter 2 verse number 1. 1 Peter 2, 1 the Bible says, Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming, as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, unholy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Now if you would look down at verse number 9. 1 Peter 2, 9, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, unholy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into the marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. You see God is saying if you've obtained mercy, if you're God's people, He says you are part of a royal priesthood. Now who is the book of 1 Peter written to? Well flip back a page and look at 1 Peter chapter 1 and we'll see who this book is written to. The Bible reads in verse number 1, Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Now he's making a point here at the beginning of the verse here that he's not talking to the Jews, I mean he's not talking to Israel, he's talking to the strangers. And the word stranger in the Bible is our modern day word of foreigner. You'll see that word throughout the Bible, stranger is the same word as foreigner. He says I'm writing to the strangers that are scattered throughout all the world, Galatia, Pontus, these are places in Asia. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, the Bible says in verse 2, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again, there's your born again right there, begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. See this book is written to every saved, born again Christian who is scattered throughout all the world, scattered throughout all Asia. He says you are God's people. You are a chosen generation. You are a royal priesthood. He says you are a priest if you've been saved. Now look if you would at verse number 2 of 1 Peter chapter 1. This is just the foundation, bear with me, this is important information for the masses to know about this doctrine of the fact that every believer of Jesus Christ is a priest in the New Testament. Look if you would at verse number 2 of 1 Peter 1. The Bible reads here, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit. Now you see that phrase sanctification of the Spirit? That phrase occurs one other time in the Bible. Turn there if you would, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and we'll see the other time that this phrase is used, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse number 10. Just a few books before where we were in 1 Peter, the Bible reads in 2 Thessalonians 2 10, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness and them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks all away to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God had from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now did you notice how many times the word believe is used in that passage there? He says that they all might be damned who believe not the truth. He said God's going to send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie. He says they won't believe. He says but God has chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our Gospel. And what does the Bible say about the Gospel? The Bible says for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. You see the Gospel is powerful to those who get baptized. No. The Gospel is powerful to those who live right. No. It says the Gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone that believeth. Everyone that believeth. Anyone who believes on Jesus Christ whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. And so sanctification of the Spirit is where you get saved. The Bible says your spirit is sanctified. And when your spirit is sanctified that means it's holy. And we taught this a couple weeks ago. Sanctification is holiness. He says it's set apart to God. It's completely holy which makes you a saint which makes you set apart as a priest to God. And that's why he says in the same wording about sanctification of the Spirit in 1 Peter he says through sanctification of the Spirit he says you are a royal priest. He says you are a priest as a believer in Jesus Christ. Now how did a person become a priest in the Old Testament? Well if you think about it in the Old Testament the Bible says that the only person that could be a priest was the Levites. And that was a certain family. I mean that was a certain relation. And not only that but you didn't just have to be a Levite to be a priest in the Old Testament. You also had to be a descendant from Aaron. So Aaron was a descendant of Levi and you had to be just in this certain family. If you were a descendant of Levi and you were a descendant of Aaron that's the only way you could be a priest in the Old Testament. Not only that but in order for you to be a priest and I'm just going to read this for you for sake of time Leviticus 8.30 says and Moses took the anointing oil and the blood which was upon the altar and sprinkled it upon Aaron. So he took the oil and he took the blood from the altar where they had sacrificed the lamb on the Day of Atonement. He took the blood and he sprinkled it on Aaron literally and on his sons and that was a process that they had to go through to become a priest. They had to be number one, they had to be in that family. And number two they had to be sprinkled by the blood and that sanctified them and set them apart as a priest to God in the Old Testament. So let me finish reading the verse Leviticus 8.30. Moses took the anointing oil and of the blood which was upon the altar and sprinkled it upon Aaron and upon his garments his clothing and upon his sons and upon his sons garments with him and sanctified Aaron and his garments and his sons and his sons garments with him. So look at 1 Peter where we are. 1 Peter says right here in verse number two, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. You see how consistent the Bible is in this idea? He says number one in the Old Testament to be a priest you had to be a part of a certain family. He says number two in order to be a priest you had to be sprinkled by the blood from the altar. And this is what he is saying in the New Testament. He says you have to be a part of a specific family in order to be a priest in the New Testament. But it's not the family of Aaron. It's not the family of Levi. He says that Jesus Christ is the new high priest called of God a priest after the order of Melchizedek. He said he did not descend from Aaron because Jesus Christ physically did not descend from Aaron. He was from a totally different tribe, a tribe of Judah. And he said if you want to be a priest in the New Testament you've got to be born again. That's why he said he's begotten us again into the family of Jesus Christ. And then he sprinkled us with the blood of sprinkling. And so now we are a priest if we believed on Jesus Christ. Did you know that you were a priest before you walked in today? I mean you see some jerk with his collar turned around backwards who's wearing a dress when he ought to be wearing a pair of pants. And he says call me Holy Father, which is blasphemous. The Bible says call no man your father upon the earth for one is your father which is inevitable. You thought that guy that was walking around with his collar turned around backwards, bringing around poofoo dust and emptying out the dust buster on top of the platform there in the Catholic church and telling people that he can forgive their sins. When the Bible says who can forgive sins but God only? You thought he was a priest. He's not a priest. He's a liar. He's a false prophet. He's teaching people a false gospel of Catholicism works salvation. I'm going to tell you something. You're looking at a priest right now. And you know what? Go look in the mirror if you're saved this morning. No female, man, woman, boy, girl and you're looking at a priest as well. That's what the Bible teaches. Now why is this so important? Why is it so important to know that you're a priest? Why is it so important to know that the fact that you've been born again and that Jesus Christ is your father? Why is it so important to know that because you've been sprinkled by the blood of Jesus Christ the moment you got saved, why is it important to know that that makes you a priest? Well number one, it's important for you to know that because the Bible says, well what did the priest do in the Old Testament? He was kind of a mediator if you think about it. I mean he kind of went between the people and God. I mean they would bring their sacrifice to the priest. They would bring their offering to the priest and he would take that lamb and put it on the altar or the goat or whatever the case may be and he would make an atonement for them. I mean he would pray to God that God would forgive them for whatever they had done wrong. Now the Bible says in 1 Timothy 2.5, and see this is the New Testament, that's in the Old Testament, where they had a high priest that was a man that was a sinner. They had a literal high priest, first Aaron, then it was Aaron's son Phinehas, and then it was his son Eleazar and so on and it went all the way down the line, down to men like Joshua the son of Jazadek and all the way down the line it was a descendant of high priests. And then you had a whole priesthood of people and these were a religious class that was kind of between the people and God. But the Bible says in 1 Timothy 2.5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. You see the only person that's between me and God right now is Jesus Christ who is God and who is man. He's the son of God and the son of man and he is the mediator between God and man and the Bible says that I can go through Jesus Christ and just pray to God. I don't need a priest. I don't need to go to a priest. You don't have to come to me and say, Pastor Anderson, would you pray for me? Now that's good to get me praying also, but see you should be praying also yourself. It's not like, well I know that God's going to hear you Pastor Anderson because you're the pastor. Well look, God is going to hear you because you're a priest just like I'm a priest. And so you don't have to go to a man and have some man forgive your sins. You don't have to go to a man and pray through some man. And you know what's so ridiculous? Did you know that the Catholic Church, and you say, why do you keep mentioning the Catholic Church? Look, I'll just keep mentioning it more if that bothers you because you probably need to hear it more. If that bothers you that I'm mentioning the Catholic Church in a negative way, that just means that you're exactly who needs to hear it. So maybe I should be mentioning it even more because if you have a problem with me pointing out a false religion, you're in the wrong church because I'm going to continue to point it out because it's ungodly and somebody's got to stand up and tell people that it's wrong. And did you know that they actually call Mary the Mediatrix? Have you ever heard that term before? Yep, ex-Catholic right here has heard that term. And the Mediatrix, that's what they call her. No my friend, there's one mediator between God and man, and it's not the Mother Mary, it's the man, Christ, Jesus. And so there's only one priest that's between me and God, and that's the high priest, which is Jesus Christ. And then I'm part of the priesthood, I'm one of the priests, and you're one of the priests. And so one of the most important reasons why we need to understand the priesthood of the believer, that every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest, is because number one, we've got to know that we don't need to go through a man in order to somehow speak to God or get something from God. We can come boldly under the throne of grace ourselves and get on our knees and talk to God ourselves. We don't need to go through the saints because the Bible says we're all saints. If we've been sanctified in our spirit, we've been sprinkled in the blood, the Bible calls Aaron the saint of the Lord, capital S, because he was the high priest. And if you're a priest, you're a saint, and if you're a saint, then you don't need to pray to some dead person. Hey, you're a saint. Pray to God yourself if you're born again, if you're saved. But why is it so important? Well, part of this idea of having a mediator between us and God, you know, we don't need another mediator for salvation like the priest forgiven our sins. We don't need another mediator to pray and do that for us. What else do we not need a mediator for? We need to understand the Bible. You know, people have this idea, well, you can't understand the Bible, so you need to go to church so that the pastor can explain it to you, because you can't understand it on your own. And I think about, you know, how in the old days, the Catholic Church used to actually have the Bible chained to the pulpit, and many Protestant churches. They would chain the Bible to the pulpit, like you can't, you couldn't take it with you. You couldn't own, there was a time when it was illegal to own your own copy of the Bible in the dark ages in Europe. And so you could come and you could get it at church, because you need the priest to explain it to you. You need the priest to teach you what the Bible means, because you can't understand the Bible for yourself. And I'll tell you what it reminds me of. It reminds me of these preachers who get up with the Bible, and this is what they'll tell you. Now, if you look in your Bible there, it says, you know, John 3, 16, whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting faith. Unfortunately, the rendering here is not very clear. Unfortunately, this hasn't been translated accurately, because if you go back to the Greek and you study the word pistuo, which is the Greek word for believe, and you study this word pistuon, you'll see that it's actually an obedient faith. It's actually a belief where you're actually also obeying God and living right at the same time, or whatever. Hey, look, and maybe not that extremely good example, but these pastors that go back to the Greek, I'll tell you something, they're like a Roman Catholic, they're trying to be your priest, is what they're doing. They're trying to get you in their church and sit you down and tell you, you cannot open this Bible and get the right meaning out of it yourself. You need me, Dr. Theologian, to go way down deep into the Greek and tell you what it really means. Look, you don't speak Greek. So if their Bible's in Greek, and I have to sit there and, like, go back to it and explain to you what it means, well then now you're relying on me to tell you what the truth is. Is that right or not? I mean, if you have to come to church, and I can tell you that the Greek says something other than what you're looking at, now I am God, because I am more supreme than the Bible than you hold in your hand. I mean, think about that. If you're holding a King James Bible in your hand, and I get up and say, what you're looking at is superseded by something that I'm telling you that I've seen in another language that you've never seen, that you know nothing about, and you're going to say, well, he said that in the Greek he said something different, you're trusting me above the Bible that's in your hand. I mean, do you see that? Do you see that you're trusting a man to tell you what God said instead of picking up and reading it for yourself? Hey, look, that's Roman Catholicism. That's the priest up here trying to tell you that you can't understand the Bible without him being a mediator for you, showing you what it means, explaining to you what it means. Look, the Bible says, but as the anointing that you have received of him abideth in you, he says, and you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you of all things and is truth. That's what the Bible says in 1 John chapter 2 at the end of the chapter there, that you don't need a man to teach you the Bible, you can pick up the Bible and understand it yourself. And that goes for children, you can pick up the Bible and understand it. The Bible's not that hard to understand if you want to understand it. I mean, you're not trying to change what it says. It's very easy to understand. And so God wants every man, woman, boy, and girl who's been born again and saved to say, I don't need a priest. You know, I want to have a pastor, you know, who's going to preach the Bible to me so I can learn more, but I don't need a priest to get up and tell me that he knows what God says and I don't know, and he's got to tell me outside of the book that's sitting in my lap. That's wrong. It's sin. It's ungodly. It's wrong for a pastor to control people by saying that the knowledge of what God says is somewhere in a book somewhere on some shelf somewhere that nobody has, that nobody reads, that nobody knows, and that we have to rely on him. Hope he's telling us the truth. No. Look, the priesthood of the believer is a philosophy that says, I have access to God. I have access to the word of God. I have access to salvation. It's a philosophy that says there's no difference between a pastor and the person in the pew. He says, we're both just brothers and sisters in Christ and there's not some difference where he's so holy and we can live unholy. No. He said to everybody, this is in the same chapter that we read in 1 Peter 1, he said, be ye holy, for I'm holy. So number one, that leads me to my second point about this. Number one, it's important to understand this doctrine of the priesthood of the believer because we need to realize that there's no mediator between us and God. I mean, we don't need some preacher to try to put himself between us and the Bible. We can just pick up the Bible and read it. We don't need some Catholic priest to tell us that he's got to forgive our sins. We don't need some saint or Mary to pray to between us and God. We have access to God through the grace wherein we stand, it's said in the same chapter. So much in this chapter, 1 Peter 1. But number two, the second reason why we need to understand the priesthood of the believer is that if we're a priest, then we should live by the same separation that a priest lived by in the Old Testament. Look if you would at 1 Peter 2, verse 9. If you're still in 1 Peter, look at verse number 9 of chapter 2. He says right here, 1 Peter 2, 9, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, look at the next words, a holy nation, a peculiar people. Now what does peculiar mean? It means different. I mean, it even has a connotation of seeming a little bit strange. I mean, if I said that's very peculiar, that means, boy, that's strange, that's a little different, that's a little bit odd. Isn't that something else? Well, look, that's the way we're supposed to be as Christians, God says. And see, you have to understand the continuity of this book of 1 Peter. He starts out explaining to us, he says, you've been born into the family of Jesus Christ, who's the high priest, so that makes you a priest. Because think about it, everyone who descended from Aaron was a priest. So he says, you've been begotten into the family of Jesus Christ, which makes you a priest. You've been sprinkled with the blood the moment you got saved, which also makes you a priest. He says, therefore, you ought to be separated and set apart and holy and different, just like the priest was supposed to be in the Old Testament. Well, what does that mean? Well, if I'm a priest in the New Testament, and I've got this whole Old Testament Bible right here, telling all these different, you know, standards and things for the priest to abide by, wouldn't you think that God would want me to maintain some of those same standards of conduct and separation, that the priest, I mean, he told the priest in the Old Testament he needed to be holy, I think God wants me to be holy in the New Testament. And you can see that throughout the Bible. Well, for example, this is just an example, and see, you could look at a million different places, but look if you would at Leviticus chapter 10. Because now that you know that you're a priest, it's like, wow, now the book of Leviticus really applies to me. You know, because I'm just talking all about the priest and everything. Well, look, you're a priest. So let's read what the Bible says about priests, and I can show you many different places where he tells them how to dress, how to cut their hair as a man, how to do this and do that, but look at this great example. Leviticus chapter 10, verse number 8. The Bible says in Leviticus 10, 8, third book of the Bible, Leviticus, And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine, nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, and that you may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. He says, how are you going to teach people the Bible? How are you going to put a difference between what's clean and unclean, between what's holy and unholy? He says, if you drink or consume any alcohol. You see, what's the first thing? I remember I was one of the times that I took traffic school, and don't be too hard on me, because I do a lot of driving for my job, okay? I drive very long distances for my job. It's more opportunities for a little slip up here, a little stop sign violation here, because, you know, sometimes I'm driving in unfamiliar areas and on and on. So one of the numerous times that I've been in traffic school, I remember them telling me, they said, and you know, you have to take a little quiz at the end, like to show that you learned everything. And a lot of it's about alcohol, right? And because it's just standard for anybody who had any kind of violation. And so, you take the test, and what's it say, you know, the first thing that's impaired when you drink alcohol is your judgment. Isn't that what they say? I mean, they say, you know, before you start, you know, this kind of stuff, or like, you know, before you start hugging, I love you so much. You know, people get when they're drunk, you know, they're like, you have no idea what you mean to me. They get all sad and stuff, you know, but before you get there, I mean, when you just take one sip, they said. That's what they taught me, and this wasn't a Baptist preacher. I mean, you just take one sip. And the first thing that becomes changed is your ability to discern between what is a good decision and what is a bad decision. What is the right thing to do and what is the wrong thing to do? They said, long before you're drunk, he says, you just can't really make a good decision. So in a split second, you know, should I slam on the brakes or should I step on the gas, your judgment making, your decision making capability is gone. Isn't that exactly what the Bible says here? He says, I don't want you to ever, ever drink alcohol, he says, when you go into the congregation, because he says, you need to put a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. He says, how are you going to tell the difference between right and wrong? If you drink any alcohol, and he says, and you know what, I feel so strongly about it, he says, if you do it, I'll kill you. Isn't that what he says? He says, don't drink unless you die. And he killed some people. Read Leviticus in Numbers, he strikes some people dead. Aaron had four sons, two of them were killed personally by God, because they wouldn't obey this kind of laws. And it was in the same chapter, it was in the beginning of the chapter, because they violated some of these other rules. He says, look, I feel very strongly about this. Now you say, well, wait a minute, Pastor Anderson, that's just talking about the priest. I mean, he's not saying nobody can drink. I mean, he's just saying that the priest can't drink. And he's saying he can only not drink, you know, when he's doing his service for God. You know, when he goes into the tabernacle to do his service, that's when he's not allowed to drink. I mean, good night. When he's off duty, live it up. Let me tell you something, you're missing the message, because you're missing the fact that you are a priest. That's what we established this whole thing about. That's why you need, this is the way you need to interpret the Bible. When you read this, you're a priest. And I don't know about you, but I want to be serving God seven days a week. I'd be serving God 24 hours a day. You know, there's a story about Joshua. It says everybody else left the tabernacle congregation. It says he stayed there. He said he just didn't want to leave. And see, I want to live my life in the fellowship and presence of God all the time. And as soon as I take a drink, I'm not there, according to the Bible. I'm not in the tabernacle anymore. And if I am, then that's even worse, because now I'm violating the rules here. And so don't ever let alcohol touch your lips, kids. Did you hear that? Don't ever let it touch your lips, because God says it's wrong. And you see, people are always trying to make excuses, and they're trying to see what's the least that they can get by with. You know what I mean? They don't have an attitude that says, what exactly does God want me to do? They have this attitude of like, what can I do when it's not technically a sin? That's the wrong attitude. Look at Proverbs 31. Right in the middle of your Bible, Proverbs 31, and I'll show you this again. And the example that I'm giving is not the important thing. The important thing is that you understand this concept of reading your Bible. That God in the New Testament does not put certain people on different levels than others. I mean, if God says that the pastor should not be given to wine, if the, if the Bible says that the pastor should be blameless, shouldn't every church member be blameless, too? I mean, am I on some kind of a higher standard than you are? That doesn't make any sense. He's just saying that before somebody can be qualified to be a pastor, they need to be living this way, because everybody should be living this way. I mean, if it's wrong for me to do it, it's wrong for you to do it. Now, let me ask you something. Do you want to see me down at the movies, watching some, watching some worldly movie this afternoon, and drive by and see me at Harkin Theater here watching the movie? Then why are you there? You wouldn't want to see me there. Would you want to see me drinking socially? Would you want to see me with a Budweiser in my hand? Then why would you ever have a Budweiser in your hand? Am I somehow on some other clergy level, some man of the cloth, like the Roman Catholic Church? No. I'm a priest just like you're a priest. We're both supposed to be holy. Look at this in, in, chapter 31 of Proverbs. He says, the words of Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him, what my son, and what the son of my womb, and what the son of my vows, give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment. There's that traffic school again, and pervert the judgment. Man, it's bringing back bad memories now. And pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that's ready to perish. Does that sound like somebody that's saved or not saved? I thought it says, whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. I thought it said in Revelation 1 that God has made us kings and priests, kings and priests, unto God and our Father. Give strong drink unto him that's ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. He says, let that bomb, that homeless fool in the street, in the gutter, who's not a king, who's not a priest, who's not a child of God, give booze to that idiot, and let him drink and forget his sorrows and fall in the gutter. He's going to die and go to hell anyway. But you, Lemuel, are a king. You, Lemuel, are a priest of God. You, sir, are above that, and so you ought never touch it. I mean, I've heard people actually point to this, and to me it's like, I can't understand how a sane person could read this and say that God's condoning alcohol. I mean, he says, see? It says to give it to this guy. I mean, it's like, are you an idiot? I mean, he's saying, like, it's like a figure of speech, like, yeah, give it to that crowd, but it's not for you, son, because you're a son of God. It's not for you, son, because you're a son of the king. It's not for you, son, because you're a priest of the Most High God. It's not for you, son, because you're a chosen generation, you're a royal priesthood, you're a peculiar people, you're a holy nation. If you want to be in the crowd of this perishing, miserable, wretched crowd that's not a child of God, then go ahead and drink. I'm not going to stop you. This isn't some kind of a church where you have to follow rules and stuff. You can do whatever you want to come to this church. You can wear a halter top and a miniskirt and listen to rock music. You can have your subwoofer booming on your way into church. You can be drinking a brewski on your way in and on your way out, but I'm going to tell you something. You are not right with God if you touch alcohol. Hey, go ahead and drink it. Be like this crowd. I'm not that crowd. Have more respect for yourself, is what I'm saying, than to be that crowd. Say to yourself, I'm a king. I'm a priest. I'm God's son. I'm God's daughter. I think I'm going to dress like I'm God's son. I think I'm going to have enough decency and pride in myself and say yes. I'm not going to throw myself in the gutter and be a derelict because I'm God's son. I'm somebody. I've got respect for myself because I'm made in the image of God. When you understand your position, think about it. You think that if I were the President of the United States, if I was the President of the United States, wouldn't that be great? If I was the President of the United States, you think I'm just going to wear jeans with holes in them and sag my pants and wear old tennis shoes and just be sloppy? You think George Bush gets up for a press conference and he's just like, dude, it's hot. Man, Phoenix? You think that's what he was doing? Wasn't he here a couple weeks ago or something? You think that's the way he was? No, I guarantee you that he walked out there. He probably stood up straight. He probably had good posture. I'm sure his shirt was tucked in. His belt was right. I don't think it was like this or something. Look, no. Why? Why? Because he's some kind of a priest or something? No. He's like less than a priest. He's like less than a king. He's the President of the United States. And what do you think is more important, being a priest of God for all eternity or being the President of the United States? What's more important? What's more important, being the First Lady, Laura Bush, or being a priest of the Most High God and being a king with Jesus Christ that's going to reign forever and ever, not four years, not eight years, forever and ever? What's more important? So who's more important? You or President Bush? So why does he dress clean and decent? Why does he stand up straight and tall and look people in the eye and speak clearly and normally? But then we think that we can just be sloppy and drink a beer every once in a while and dress sloppy and dress... No. It's wrong. The reason I'm wearing a suit and tie this morning, the reason I'm not like 99% of the pastors around here who got their little polo shirt and they say, what's wrong with that? Hey, what's wrong with the polo shirt and the slacks? Hey, I'm just not that casual because I'm too important. I'm serious. I'm just too important. And you say, man, you're prideful. You're arrogant. No. I represent Jesus Christ. I'm a royal priest, friend, so I dress as sharp as I can. If I can find a way to dress sharper, I'll do it. If I can find a sharper way, I'm not talking about expensive clothes. This suit cost me $10 at the thrift store, but it's still a nice suit and it's still a clean, decent clothing. And so I'm not talking about wearing expensive clothes. I'm not talking about having a gold ring. My, you know, my, my, uh, my wedding rings not even, it's white gold. You know, this isn't some kind of a big diamond studded thing. Hey, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about having some character and some decency and some poise and say, I am somebody. I'm too important to drink. I'm too important to sit around watching some filthy movie. I am too important to dress like a slob. I'm too important to live like a slob. I am important. I'm somebody. I'm a child of God. I'm a priest. I had to be separated. I had to be holy. I had to be righteous. And that doesn't go for the pastor. It goes for every priest that's sitting in this room. And that's what the Bible teaches. And that's what, that's all God's saying here in Proverbs 31. He's telling you what crowd is for alcohol and what crowd is not for alcohol. Where do you want to be? You decide whether you want to believe alcohol is right to drink or not. Just decide which crowd you want to be in. Do you want to be in the priesthood crowd or do you want to be in the gutter, perishing crowd? Well, not only that, but I was thinking about the word saint. The word saint is one of my favorite words in the Bible. And it occurs many times throughout the Bible. Hundreds of times throughout the Bible, the word saint. Now every believer is a saint. I firmly believe that. For example, I'll just read this to you, Philippians chapter 1, verse 1. The Bible says, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. So he's saying like, well the bishop and the deacon, they're saints. No. He says, I'm writing to all the saints as well as the bishops and deacons. Because the bishops and deacons, those are the only two offices that God gives in the New Testament in a church. He gives an office of a bishop, which is me, the pastor. Pastor and bishop are used interchangeably in the Bible. I'm the bishop, and churches that are larger have deacons, and that's it. And he says, those aren't the saints. He said, I'm writing to all the saints, as well as the bishops and the deacons. See, it's not having a position that makes you a saint. It's not being some righteous scholarly person. It's if you've been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. You see that word, sanctify? Saint, it makes you a saint, because it makes you holy. It's the sanctification of your body? No, the sanctification of your spirit, is what we saw in 2 Thessalonians 2 and 1 Peter chapter 1. And so, everyone who's saved is a saint. And so think about this verse. Here's another separation. Look at Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19, that great, exciting book of the Bible. Leviticus 19. And I'm telling you, hang with this thing of Bible reading, and you'll get to where you like the book of Leviticus. I mean, it'll get exciting to you, I guarantee you. The first few times, you might have to plow through it, but you'll get to where you like it. Look at verse number 19 of Leviticus 19. The Bible reads, you shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a divers kind. Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed. Neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee. Now turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 22. And we'll see the same thing, Deuteronomy 22. Deuteronomy 22 verse 9. Deuteronomy 22 verse 9, the Bible reads, thou shalt not let thou not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds, lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown and the fruit of thy vineyard be defiled. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers swords as of woolen and linen together. What's he saying? He's saying, look, I'm going to give you three areas of separation. Because you're a chosen generation, because you're a peculiar people, because you're a priesthood, because you're a holy nation, he says, I'm going to give you three areas of separation that are vital. Number one, area of separation. You must be separated in the seed that you're sowing. What am I talking about? Well, what is the seed throughout the Bible? Think about it. The sower soweth the word. The verse that we were just in. I mean, this is throughout the Bible. Even the chapter we just looked at, 1 Peter 1, said, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. See, the seed throughout the Bible is always the word of God. When the sower is sowing the word in Matthew 13 in the parable of the sower, every single explanation that he gives, he says, the he that received seed by the wayside is he that heareth the word, you know, and anon with joy receiveth. You know, he that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word, and every single time you'll see that. He says, the seed is the word of God, and in Luke he says, the sower soweth the word. And so, should I, as a separated, independent, fundamental Baptist preacher, should I be associated with the crowd that's sowing a different seed? No. What are you talking about? I'm talking about these kind of seeds. That's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the seed of the living Bible. This isn't the seed that I got saved with. This isn't the seed that I'm sowing. I'm not sowing the new American standard today. I'm sowing the word of God, the King James Bible. You see, the King James Bible says, for I am not ashamed, I'm sorry, it says, for the preaching of the cross is to them the parish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. Well, this seed right here, this other seed says, for the message of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness, but unto us which are being saved, it's the power of God. I'm not being saved. I've already done been saved. And so this is the seed that I'm going to stick with. So you ask me, are you going to fellowship with the other church down the road that's using a different seed? No. Because God said, don't get together with them and go soul winning. Don't work together with them. Don't all get together at some Billy Graham crusade and Billy Graham's preaching the NIV seed that's out of hell and you're preaching the King James Bible seed. Hey, don't sow my vineyard with a diverse seed. He said, use one kind of seeds. See, you have to understand the spiritual application of the Bible. God explains the Bible in the New Testament. He said, don't throw out these old chapters and say, oh, it's just the law. Yeah, it's the law. Keep it. Follow. Don't sow your vineyard with a diverse seed. Don't use some other seed besides the word of God. Don't use the corruptible seed, use the incorruptible seed, which liveth and abideth forever the word of God, the preserved word of God, the King James Bible, not some Bible of the month club that just came out last week, some new Bible that takes out 15 verses and changes everything else. And so number one separation is the seed that we're sowing. Number two, he says in, I lost my place, Deuteronomy 22 10, thou shall not plow with an ox and an ass together. Now what's that talking about? Well, the Bible says that the ox, all throughout the Bible you see this, look up every time the word ox is mentioned, the word ox is referring to a preacher. I mean, it's referring to a preacher. The Bible says, thou shall not muzzle the ox when it treadeth out the corn. And he said, therefore has God ordained that they that preach the gospel should live up the gospel. And on and on he'll say, you know, the elders that rule wealth are but a pastor, count them worthy of double honor, for it is written, thou shall not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And on and on, look up the word ox. Ox is a symbol in the Bible for a preacher. The ass is a symbol of the false preacher. That's the symbol of like Balaam. You know, that's a symbol of a preacher who's preaching another gospel. You see, everything brings forth after its own kind. Did you know that? Now, correct me if I'm wrong, an ass is a donkey. Is that right? Or is it a mule? I think it's a donkey, right? Yeah. An ass is a donkey, okay? So, is a donkey going to give birth to an ox? No. And can you breed an ox? Because an ox is a cow. I don't know if you know that. An ox is a cow. If I take a cow and a donkey, can I breed them together? No. Because they're different kinds, okay? Have you ever studied science and there's like species, genus, order, phylum, class, kingdom, you know, it has the different eight classifications of animals? Well, the Bible says everything brings forth after its own kind. There are certain species that you can breed together. You can breed a wolf and a dog together. You know, you can breed a Boston Terrier with a Rottweiler. God forbid. But you could breed these animals together because they're the same kind. You know, they're both a dog. Now, a horse and a cow are not the same kind of animal. You know, a duck and a frog are not the same kind of animal. Okay, they're radically different. And so, what God is saying here is that these two different kinds of animals, the ox, which represents the right preacher who's preaching the truth all throughout the Bible, and the ass, who represents the wrong kind of preacher, he says, don't plow with those two animals because what's the ox going to produce? More oxen, right? I mean, he's going to give birth. He's going to produce fruit after his own kind. As Genesis 1, he's going to bring forth after his own kind. What's the ass going to produce? More asses. He's going to produce after his own kind. And so, let me tell you something. He says, don't plow with the false preacher. He's saying, listen, ox, don't plow with the guy who's preaching the wrong gospel. You see, as a pastor, there are just some asses that I'm not going to plow with. And I'll tell you who they are. They're the pastors who are preaching another gospel, namely, work salvation. He says, I have marveled that you're so soon removed from the gospel to another gospel. In Galatians 1, and then this is what he says, which is not another, but some would pervert the gospel of Christ. You see, he says, it's not really another gospel. He says, it is another gospel, but it's not because it's not good news. You know what I mean? Because the gospel means the good news. And so, you think that I'm going to plow with some preacher who says that you have to repent of all your sins to be saved? Or that you have to be willing to turn from your sins to be saved? Yeah, I'm going to plow with that crowd. No, I will not plow with that crowd. That's one ass that I'm not going to plow with. I'm not going to plow with some preacher who says you're going to lose your salvation. I'm not going to plow with a preacher who says that you have to repent of your sins to be saved. I'm not going to plow with some preacher who doesn't say it's by grace through faith, plus nothing minus nothing, whosoever believeth is not condemned. That's who I'm going to plow with. You say, well, wait a minute. If you could get together with him, maybe you could straighten him out. Listen, my friend, you can't turn an ass into an ox. You plow with them all day long. At the end of the day, you're going to have an ox and an ass. You're not going to have two oxen at the end of the day. It's not going to work. And so, you can't change these people. They need to get saved. And so, you can try to change them and change them and change them. And I'll tell you something. There are some preachers who are saved, but they're starting to kind of lean toward. You know what I'm talking about? They're starting to kind of say, well, you know, I still believe it's by grace through faith, but I do think you do have to be like really sorry for your sins. I mean, you have to like wish you'd never done it. Or you have to really see how bad it is, I mean, and decide that you at least want to live right. You know, I'm not saying you have to live right. You know, hey, look, you look too much like an ass for me to plow with you, because I want to plow with an ox that looks like an ox that smells like an ox that talks like an ox, because I'm not going to sow my seed with people of a diverse kind. Sowing a different seed. No. I'll just go to my own vineyard. And I'm not going to plow with some ass that won't preach the gospel by grace through faith, because it's wrong. And then look at the third mode of separation. He says, number one, the seed separate from the wrong Bible. Number two, he says the ox and the ass separate from the wrong preacher. And then number three, look what he says. In verse number 11 of chapter 22, thou shalt not wear a garment of diverse sorts as of woolen and linen together. Now you study the Bible on this one. All throughout the Bible you'll find that the word linen and that material of linen is always what the saints wear. It's always what people that are saved wear. When we get to heaven, the Bible says that we're all going to be clothed in white and clean linen. And you study this word. I mean, it's interesting. I studied it when I was studying the sermon. I looked at like every time the Bible talks about linen, and it's hundreds of times. And every time it talked about linen, it's like God's people. It's like the priest is wearing linen. It's like people that love God. And then when you get to heaven, it's like white linen. And so he says, number one, be separated from the wrong Bible. Number two, be separated from the wrong preacher who's preaching wrong, even if he's saved. But if he's preaching wrong, don't plow with him. And number three, and I'm talking about preaching wrong in regard to salvation. And number three, separate from the unsaved crowd. Because they're not wearing the same kind of clothes that you're wearing. I'm not talking about physical clothes. I'm talking about they don't have that linen robe of righteousness that you have. They're wearing the woolen, they're the wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak. They're wearing the clothing that looks right. I mean, it looks white, but it ain't linen. It's not fine and clean linen that came from God. It was made by man. And so you see, it's not right for you to have unsaved friends. Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong for you to ever sit down and eat a meal with somebody that's not saved, or coworkers and friends. But you know what, your close friends should not be unsaved. Because what fellowship hath him that believeth with an infidel, is what the Bible says. What communion hath light with darkness? Kids, you know, you go to school, be careful about having all these friends that are not saved. You're going to start living like them, start talking like them. Separate yourself from the unsaved crowd. I mean, look, I'm not saying you can't be friendly and courteous. Hey, that's a lot of times how you're going to win these people to the Lord. You know, being friendly to them and reaching out to them. But you know what, when I want to spend my recreational time, I don't choose somebody who's not saved and say, hey, let's go out to eat, let's go out and spend time together, let's hang on the phone for a couple hours. Not the unsaved crowd, no. It's going to be God's people. Because I need to be separated from those that are not saved. And so, you know, I'm just trying to open your mind to interpreting the Bible and the Old Testament. You know, when you see the Old Testament, it's talking about the priest, it's talking about separation. You've got to be able to apply that to yourself because you're a priest. Because you're one of God's people. You're a peculiar people. And so let me close with this. Back to Revelation chapter 1, and we'll close with this idea. Revelation chapter 1, verse 5. Last book of the Bible, chapter 1, Revelation 1, 5. Revelation 1, 5 says, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and have made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. And then flip over a few pages to Revelation 5, 9. Revelation 5, 9, just a few pages to the right in the Bible says, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. You see that? He said it doesn't matter what race you are. He said it doesn't matter what nation you're from. He said it doesn't matter what language you speak. It doesn't matter what people you're from. He says if you've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, he says he's made you priests and kings, and we shall reign on the earth. We're going to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years, the Bible says. And then the last verse, I'm going to show you Revelation 26. Go forward to Revelation 26. The Bible reads in Revelation 20, verse 6, not chapter 26. You're like, I can't find chapter 26. You've got the NIV. They cut out. If you don't have chapter 26, you've got the NIV. They cut out the last five chapter times. Anyway, Revelation chapter 20, verse number 6, and the Bible says, Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Boy, just think about how exciting it's going to be. Think about getting to heaven. I mean, think about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Think about being caught up together to meet him in the air in the clouds. Think about being given a position by him where he says, you, because you're a priest, because you're a king, you will rule and reign with me in this earth for a thousand years. I mean, can you imagine the excitement? And look, I'm going to tell you something. It's not communism. It's not everybody's going to be ruling the same. I mean, if you think everybody's ruling the same, you're wrong. Because he says to one guy, be thou over ten cities in Luke 12. He says to another guy, be thou over five cities. You know, he says to different people, according to what they did with what they were given, they're given different rewards, different authority. Look, I want to get to heaven, and I want the big crown. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I want to get there, and I want to be ruling and reigning with Christ big time. And look, those of us who win souls, and you know, none of us is perfect. We all have a long ways to go in our Christian growth. But those of us who win souls, those of us who take a sample of what's right, those of us who will not budge, those of us who read the Bible faithfully and fellowship with God, and those of us who bring forth much fruit, I'm going to tell you something. We are going to be ruling and reigning literally with Christ in this world. What a, what a, I mean, can you even imagine what that's like? And you say, well, I just can't take it anymore. I'm going to quit church. Hey, look, you're not going to quit church when you've only got, you know, I mean, 50 years left? And then you can reign for a thousand years? Boy, push yourself as much as you can in this life. Push it all the way to the last breath. Push yourself. Endure the pain. Just move forward. Just go soul winning as much as you can. Read the Bible as much as you can. Just push it all the way to the end and say, I don't know if I can take it, but I think I can just take one more day of it. I think I can just push myself just a little further. I think I can just stay a week a little longer and study the Bible and pray and work and fast and toil and sweat and get people saved. I think I can just push it a little further. Hey, push it as far as you can. And then when you get to the finish line, it's going to be the glory for a thousand years and then for all eternity. Wow. I mean, just think, think about who we are. Think about the sinners that we are. I mean, think about where we came from. And then think about the fact that you can go from, I mean, talk about from rags to riches. I mean, you can go from being whatever your past is like, whatever the sorrow, the misery, the gutter, and you can go to just being a king. I mean, think about that. Go from being totally sinful to one day you could be a priest ruling and reigning with God. To go from being maybe poor in this life to being a rich king in the next life. Wow. What a privilege. I mean, none of us deserves that. And so, if God doesn't give us everything we want in this life, you know what? He's still giving us a fair shake because we're going to be rewarded a hundred times in the next life. The Bible says a hundred times in this earth we're going to be given anything we give up for God. That's a pretty good deal. That's a pretty good investment. People go to college for years and years because they want their investing in their future. I remember talking to a guy in his 20s. He was putting money into retirement like crazy. He's like, man, I can't wait. He's like, I got it all set up when I'm 65. I can retire and just play golf all day. I'm thinking to myself, that's crazy. You know what I mean? He's amassing wealth for when he's 65. I'm thinking to myself, what's he going to have it for 10 years? I mean, how long are you really going to live that 65? 15 years of golf. Wow. The world will do without and sacrifice so they can have 10 years of fun retirement in the world. Hey, we can push ourselves so that we can have a thousand years of rejoicing and then all eternity with Jesus Christ rejoicing about the souls that we've seen saved in this life. It's so obvious, but see, it's unclear to those that don't have their eyes focused on the things of God. It's hazy. It's heaven, you know, but you know what? The closer you get to God, heaven seems like just around the corner. I mean, seriously. I mean, the kingdom of Jesus Christ on this earth just seems like it's just around the corner. And so you've got to get your perspective right. How are you going to get your perspective right? Get in this book a lot. Let this book consume your mind and you'll start to get a very clear picture of the things of God. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, thank you so much for the privilege of being called a priest. I'm so thrilled that I'm a part of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the high priest. I'm a part of that royal priesthood. Royal because I'm a king also and a priest. What a privilege, dear God. Please help me to walk worthy of the vocation which I've been called, the Bible says. Please just help me to realize what an important position I have. Not as a pastor, that means nothing. But the position that I have is being a priest of God. A king that's going to rule and reign with Jesus Christ. Dear God, help everyone in this room, dear God, to realize how important they are. Help them to realize how important they are and how much you love them and how much power they have to make differences in people's lives for all eternity. And dear God, please just help us to not try and make excuses for why we can't be separated, but help us to read and study these books, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, the Old Testament. Help us to see how do you want us to be separated? Who do you not want us to run with? What do you not want us to participate in, dear God? Because we want to...