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. . . . . . . . . . . . Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our services this morning here at Faith Ward Baptist Church. It's very nice to see you all here. If you don't please find your seats now. Grab a hymnal. Go to hymn 260. And we'll begin this morning. Hymn 260. 260. He is able to deliver the hymn number 260. Once you've found your place, we'll lift it up on that first verse now. Hymn number 260. 260. 260. And now we'll begin that first verse now. Hymn number 260 begins. Hymn number 260. Sing it out together now. Hymn 260. . . . . . . . . He is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. Though my sin of rest comes in him, for rest our God is able to deliver thee. To the grandest demon we are dormant. To the grandest demon for immortal strength. To the grandest demon tell the world again, our God is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. Though my sin of rest comes in him, for rest our God is able to deliver thee. To the grandest demon the titans roam. To the guilty heart to the sinful soul. Lord to God in faith he will make thee whole. Our God is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. Though my sin of rest comes in him, for rest our God is able to deliver thee. I'm going to start to our singing this morning. We want to go to the Lord's prayer for the service, so if you would put your heads together with me. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning and we thank you for the privilege to be in church and we thank you for the safety you've allowed us to have to be able to be here. We ask the Lord to blessing upon us as we sing out these praises unto you that we would be edified and encouraged as we sing out these hymns and to focus on the words and that you would also just prepare our hearts for the preaching to come. We thank you for bringing Pastor Dave Berzins here to Arizona to preach to us and that we just ask that you fill him with your Holy Ghost and that you have your power and unctioned be upon him as he preaches to us. Help us have open hearts and ears to receive the message tonight and that all that's said and done would give you the honor and the glory that you deserve for it. We thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Hymn 258, 258. Christ receiveth sinful men. Hymn number 258. We'll sing it out on that first verse. Sinners, Jesus will receive. Hymn number 258. Sing it out now. Sinners, Jesus will receive. Now this word of grace to all, Through the heavenly path they lead, All who linger, all who fall, Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the best of their claim. Christ receiveth sinful men. Come and heal if you rest. Trust him for his word is free. He will take the sinful best. Christ receiveth sinful men. Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the best of their claim. Christ receiveth sinful men. Now my heart prevents me not. You're before the law, I stand. He who plans it, almost lost, Satisfied his rights to live. Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the best of their claim. Christ receiveth sinful men. Christ receiveth sinful men. He with me, with all my strength, Birds from ev'ry spot and sing, And with him I enter in. Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the best of their claim. Christ receiveth sinful men. If you have a bulletin, go ahead and open it up. On the left-hand corner is our service times. Right below that is our soul winning times. And at the very bottom is our baptism and salvation for the year. If you are here and you would like to get baptized, come speak to me or someone and we'll make it happen after the service. We are ready to baptize anybody that would like to. On the right-hand corner, we have our announcement. In regards to more information about our mega conference, today it's going to be Pastor Dave Berzins who's going to be preaching for us. And on Wednesday, it'll be Pastor Roger Jimenez. And then after that, we've got two more preachers that are going to come by and preach for us. So take a look at the information when you get a chance. And join us next Sunday, August 4 for donuts and coffee and honor those celebrating their birthday in the month of August. And also a very important announcement. Congratulations to the Dickens family on the birth of Evie Esther. Born Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Measuring 18.25 inches. Mother and baby are doing well, so please pray for them throughout your week. And on the back of the bulletin, join us for a small town sewn in this Saturday, August 3 in Glenbar, Arizona. And if you have any questions about that, talk to Brother Raymond and he will help you out. All ladies are invited to a baby shower in honor of Artie Anderson. Sunday, August 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. A catered lunch will be served. Nurses only preferred. Please RSVP. Once again, please RSVP to Mrs. Anderson. And can they do that at Faithful Word 1? It's Mrs. Anderson. She is back there. Mrs. Anderson. Mrs. Anderson, to the front, please. She has her noise-canceling headphones. Hey, Mrs. Anderson, really quick. I don't know if you can hear me. Somebody turn around and say, yo, there's a girl that's trying to rap at you. Sorry about that. In order for them to RSVP, FaithfulWord1 at Gmail and Facebook, text, tell or FaithfulWord1 at Gmail.com and I'll forward it to her. Amen. All right. Other events coming up, take a look at those when you get a chance. Other than that, that's all I have for announcements. Brother Hernandez, lead us in the next song. All right. You should find the insert in front of your hymnal with Here Am I, Lord. We do have it this time, so if you need an insert, you can raise your hand and we'll sing it on that verse. Lord, I give my life to you. Lord, I give my life to you. Take control each day. I will follow anywhere near or far away. Here am I, Lord, send me. Here am I, Lord, send me. I will serve you faithfully. Here am I, Lord, send me. Lord, I want your perfect way. Be my faithful God. I will never be afraid. You are close beside. Here am I, Lord, send me. Here am I, Lord, send me. I will serve you faithfully. Here am I, Lord, send me. Let me see my mission clear all around each day. Fill my heart when Jesus comes. Here's the Lord I pray. Here am I, Lord, send me. Here am I, Lord, send me. I will serve you faithfully. Here am I, Lord, send me. Let's go in your hymnals now to hymn 441. Hymn 441. Great is thy faithfulness. Hymn number 441. 441, great is thy faithfulness. O God, my Father. Lift up your voices on that first. Great is thy faithfulness. O God, my Father. There is no shadow of turning within. Thou changest not thy compassion, Your living passions they fail not, As thou hast been thou forever will be. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see, All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is my faithfulness, Lord unto me. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest. Sun, moon, and stars in their courses of love. Joy with all nature in bad and bold witness. To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth. Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all five, with ten thousand beside. Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. All right, this time we're going to pass the offering place or as we're passing out the offering place, brother Brock is going to read. So please turn your Bible, Jeremiah chapter number six, Jeremiah chapter number six. Jeremiah chapter number six. O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem and blow the trumpet into Koa and set up a sign of fire in Bathacarim, for evil appeareth out of the north in great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her. They shall pitch their tents against her roundabout. They shall feed everyone in his place. Prepare ye war against her. Arise and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us, for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. For thus hath the Lord of hosts said, Hew ye down trees and cast a mount against Jerusalem. This is the city to be visited. She is holy oppression in the midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness. Violence and spoil is heard in her. Before me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, they shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine. Turn back thine hand as a grave gatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken. Behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach. They have no delight in it. Therefore, I am full of the fury of the Lord. I am weary with holding in. I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together. For even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days, and their houses shall be turned unto others with their fields and wives together. For I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. For from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness, and from the prophet, even unto the priest, everyone dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore, they shall fall among them that fall. At the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Thus, saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, wherein, where is the good way? And walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein. Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, we will not hearken. Therefore, hear ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth, behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifice is sweet unto me. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish. Thus, saith the Lord, behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear. They are cruel and have no mercy. Their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war, against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof, our hands waxed feeble, anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way, for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes. Make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders. They are brass and iron. They are all corruptors. The bellows are burned. The lead is consumed of the fire. The founder melteth in vain, for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. Dear Father, heaven, please fill past the birds with your spirit, and please give us all ears to hear to receive wisdom from the servant this morning. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, all right, it's very good to be here with you all this morning, today. Appreciate Pastor Anderson for inviting me out here to preach to all you, and it's always good being back. It's another home for me, so hopefully, you're gonna wanna keep me coming back. I don't know, this morning, I've got a little bit of a fiery sermon, so we'll see how that goes over. I'll ask you this much, though, okay, the Bible says in Proverbs 18, 13, he that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. So, you know, when you're hearing the Bible preach, just make sure you hear all of it before you get mad, and then, if I'm being faithful to the word of God, don't get mad at me. I mean, you have a problem with God at that point. So, and I started out with that verse, too, because I'm preaching on shame this morning, and the title of my sermon is Have You No Shame? And is this something that I've noticed? It's something that, first, kinda just piqued my interest recently. We're going through the Book of Jeremiah at our church, Stronghold Baptist Church, as our Bible study, midweek Bible study, and we did chapter number three, and there's a verse there in verse number three of chapter three where the Bible says, therefore, the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain, and thou addest a whore's forehead, thou refuseth to be ashamed. And, you know, there's just this concept, it's kind of an interesting verse there, talking about having a whore's forehead, and saying, well, you refuse to be ashamed, and that's what it's talking about here when it's describing a whore's forehead, because a whore is out in the public, out in the open, they're doing what they do, and they don't care, and they don't care who knows it, and it's not anything that they're embarrassed about or enshamed about. They just got this forehead that just says, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do, and they have no shame whatsoever. And in the Book of Jeremiah, of course, is a very, I guess you call it negative book, because the Lord is bringing judgment against his people. You know, they're supposed to be worshiping him and serving him, he's giving him all the prophets and all these oracles, and, you know, just providing the word of God to them, and he's separated them, and they're supposed to be serving him, but of course, they didn't, they strayed away from serving him, and got themselves in a lot of trouble. And ultimately, to this point to where they, like as collectively, as a whole, as a nation, they have this whore's forehead that refuses to be ashamed. And that happens when people start getting really comfortable with sin, and when cultures start being more tolerant and more embracing of wickedness and sin, to the point to where people who ought to be ashamed and walk around in a condition in which you ought to realize and be like, man, you ought to be ashamed of yourself going out in public, looking like that, or doing that, or committing this sin or this iniquity, but when a whole nation just becomes super tolerant and super accepting of things, all of a sudden, the shame just kind of goes away. And as people get emboldened, and really the opposite of having shame-facedness or having shame would be pride, right? People just lifted up in themselves, I can do no wrong, I don't have anything wrong, I don't have any problems, I'm gonna go and do this, and I'm gonna be proud about it. And we'll get into that a little bit more real soon. But we started off reading there in Jeremiah 6, and remember, and I want you to remember this, is that this is a warning to God's people, essentially, right, Jeremiah, the book of Jeremiah, it's a warning from a man of God to God's people. Now, of course, we know they went after strange gods, there's plenty of people who weren't saved at that time in Israel, but the image, the picture here, is God's warning is people. And look, you're saved today, you're in church this morning, you're God's people, okay? And God has the same warnings for us as he has all throughout the scripture, and when it comes to, especially when it comes to things that you could do to be ashamed. Look at Jeremiah 6 there in verse number 15, the Bible says, were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. What happens when you get ashamed? You get embarrassed, right? So, you know, you get caught doing something, and you become ashamed, you're guilty, and people have a tendency then to blush, right? Your face gets all bright and red, and you're going like, I can't believe I just got caught, I can't believe I just, you know. That's what someone, you know, who has the right view on right and wrong, and has the right view on things that are appropriate and inappropriate, even though they may be doing something wrong, when they get caught, when they get found out, they become ashamed, they get bright red and get embarrassed, you know, like that's at least shows that you know right and wrong, right? But the people who are just, they don't even blush. They go out, they commit iniquity, they commit abomination, you know, that which God hates, and they could just do so and not even blush about it, and like it's no big thing, and it gets to the point where they just start endorsing it, and just throwing it out there for everyone to see, like the whore who's got the whore's forehead, not ashamed, not gonna blush, doesn't matter to them, and God forbid we would ever get to the point where we would be like that, where you can just live in sin and iniquity to the point to where you just don't even care about it anymore. And you know, maybe, you know, you're not gonna be guilty of some of the things I'm gonna be talking about this morning, but there's all different subjects, and I had just picked some through scripture that literally brings up the word shame, and we're gonna look at things the Bible calls is a shame, and we need to make sure that we are set in our own morality, in our own standing, our own understanding of what's right and wrong, our own discretion to know when we ought to be ashamed, and not get to the point to where just because something's really common, just because a lot of people do it, just because it's how the world is, and no one's ashamed out in the world doesn't mean that we ought not to be ashamed. You know, a great example is back in the day, it used to be a really shameful thing for people to live together that weren't married. Like, in American culture, in the United States of America decades ago, it used to be really frowned upon and looked down upon as a culture, as a society. And why is that? Because it was more of a Christian society, because people looked to the Bible a lot more for their standards of morality, and it used to be a thing where it was like, you wouldn't even wanna, maybe you had a son or a daughter that was living, even if it was just a roommate, and there wasn't fornication going on, but it's the appearance of evil, that alone was looked down as being shameful, as it ought to be. But that's something that these days, it's just normalized and almost expected, like, oh yeah, so where do you, oh yeah, they're not married, they're 35, but they've been living together for 10 years, and you know, like, and it's just part of normal life, as opposed to the family member you don't really wanna talk about, it's embarrassing, because it's shameful. Well, this is the condition that the children of Israel were in in the Book of Jeremiah, because it's right before they're being taken captive. God's already really, really angry. And what you'll notice in the beginning of the Book of Jeremiah, and I'm not gonna go through much of Jeremiah this morning, but God still has this heart towards them, to just like, look, just come back to me, just turn back to me, like just, please, just repent, get right with me, and I'll still be there for you, I'll still take care of you, and over and over again, we see that they say some things with their mouth, they say some things with their lips, but their heart is far from the Lord. And obviously, that's what matters most, is getting your heart right with God. You have to know these things, believe these things, and hold to them, for it to really make a difference in your life, not just to say them with lip service as a man pleaser. So, verse 15, again, were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore, they shall fall among them that fall. At what time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein. The Lord's giving them the right way, saying, look, you can't blush, you're committing abomination, now you're gonna fall. Therefore, you're gonna fall, here's what's gonna happen. And God still, please look, stand in the good ways, look for the old paths, like do things the way they used to be done here in the Bible, and God's old ways of doing things. Nope, don't wanna do it. Sorry, too much of a hassle, too much of a change in my life. Well, guess what, now they're going to be judged. Even in chapter eight, the verse is literally repeated in chapter eight of Jeremiah, verse number 12. God's doubling down on this message and making sure that it's heard. Jeremiah 8, 12 says literally the same thing as Jeremiah 6, 15. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore, shall they fall among them that fall. In the time of their visitation, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. But verse 13 here says, I will surely consume them. The follow-up verse to that previously was, hey, but still, stand in the ways, ask for the old paths, do what's right. Now he just says in verse 13 here of chapter eight, I will surely consume them, saith the Lord. There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade, and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. And we have to realize is that when we are living in a way that's so not pleasing to the Lord, yet we still have a heart and an attitude that just says, I don't care. You can expect for God to bring you low. You can expect for God to bring judgment down on you. Okay, now look, this is, of course, talking to the people, the land, the nation, which is absolutely true and totally applicable, but even just individually in your life, you can expect for God, a loving father, to chasten you and to discipline you when you have the heart and you have an attitude that is just unrepentant and doesn't care when you ought to be ashamed of yourself. So let's look at some examples. First Corinthians chapter 11 is one of the first things that comes to mind of verses that literally say that something is a shame. And there's all manner of things that are shameful. Essentially, any sin is gonna be shameful, like any iniquity is gonna be shameful, but obviously there's some things that are definitely gonna be way worse than others. And committing abomination and not caring at all and having no shame is just really, really, really bad. Because things that the Bible calls abomination are, you know, it's really extremely hated of God. Even though God doesn't, you know, he hates all sin, but the abominations, things that God really just, just gets him really angry, those are even worse. So first Corinthians 11, this isn't, you know, the most important thing, and this is actually phrased more in a question than it is in a statement, but it's still stating a truth that's held even naturally. Verse number 13, the Bible says, is given her for a covering. And of course this chapter, verse 15 clearly just says what the, you know, all throughout the chapter it's talking about a covering, uncovered, covered. Verse 15 says what the covering is, it's hair. It's not a hat, it's not a bonnet, it's not, you know, if you're wearing a hat and you're praying, you're dishonoring the Lord or anything like that, it's your hair, okay? And then specifically between men and women, the length of your hair. So if a woman has long hair, it's a glory for her, her hair is given her for a covering, you can read the whole chapter later, get that in context. But verse 14 says doesn't even nature itself teach you that? And you know what, nature does teach you that it's a shame for a man to have long hair. Naturally, as an unsaved kid just growing up in the world, you see some dude walking around with really long hair and you think it's a girl, that's a shame, that's shameful. Right, you're walking behind someone, you see someone who's long, flowing, curly locks or something, and then they turn around, you're like whoa, whoa, whoa. How do you go out looking like that? You look like a woman, man. And hey, the more the culture, the more the world, everything accepts it, not a big deal, who cares? No problem. Look, even nature should tell you that that's a shame. And look, this is just a warm up, this is not, look, and you know what, that's an easy fix. I mean, isn't that an easy fix? Just get a haircut, done, done. Like you wanna start getting sin out, you wanna start getting righteous, you wanna be a little more godly, like how much easier can you get than just like alright, we're done, we're good. Next. Turn, if you would, to Revelation chapter 16. This is a big one, and this is a big one, and this one, this drove me nuts. And it's not just here, but it's this time of year. You know, but coming out here, and you know, staying at the hotel, and you know, good night. This got me fired up for this whole weekend. People need to realize that nakedness is a shame. I don't know what happened where people think it's okay to walk around in next to nothing and have no problem with it whatsoever, and just put your whole body out on display and think that somehow that's not shameful. And I don't care how often it happens, and wherever, I mean, I do care, but that never, never should get in your mind of just thinking like, well, it's okay, I mean, we're at the pool. Well, it's okay, I mean, we're at the lake. Well, it's okay, it's just hot outside. No, no, it's not okay. You know it's okay to be uncovered in your house, like by yourself, or whatever, or with your spouse. That's fine. Not out in public. Revelation 16, 15, the Bible says, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. Now, obviously, this has a much broader meaning than just literally our clothes, but the surface application of just talking about being naked and seeing shame totally applies, and that's how the Bible uses being naked all throughout scripture, is that when you're naked, people see your shame because you're not covered. In fact, turn to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 20. We'll start in Isaiah chapter 20. We'll also look at Isaiah 47. People's definitions of words change over time, too, in just the way that you understand things like nakedness. Well, Isaiah chapter 20, we're gonna see a situation here where there's gonna be a description of people who are naked and barefoot, and that that's a shame. And you go to any pool these days, and you're gonna see a lot of people naked and barefoot, according to the definition that we find here in Isaiah chapter 20. Look at verse number two, the Bible reads, At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners and Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot. Look at this, even with their buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt. And I don't, like I said, I don't know what happened, like bathing suits these days on women. They're not, it's not even, you can't even, it's not even fair to call it underwear. It's just like, expose the buttocks. Where is your shame? Have you no shame to go out in public just so uncovered that you're like a prisoner being taken captive in scripture. Everyone understood what's going on here when Isaiah's going around and God puts him out there as a sign, as a prophet, naked and barefoot. Yet people are walking around, lounging around enjoying themselves naked and barefoot with their buttocks uncovered. And not ashamed and not blushing and not thinking there's anything wrong with it whatsoever. God help us. Turn to chapter 47 in Isaiah, chapter 47. Cause now we're gonna get even more specific on what is being referred to as nakedness. Cause what the world will tell you is nakedness is probably just essentially if your genitals are covered then you're not naked. That's like the world's definition. And just apply a little logic then. So like, if we're just gonna say that's all that's naked. Well, I mean, if we're not naked then we're clothed, we're covered, right? So is it just appropriate then for, I mean, if we were just all hanging out in here and just all we had was genitals covered and that was it? Of course, I mean, it's ridiculous to go out to the store go anywhere for that matter, right? Like, is that really your definition and you think it would just be okay or fine or acceptable to do that? No, of course it wouldn't be. Well, what is the definition? Where do we look to the word of God to get our instruction on determining, hey, when is it that I'm considered naked in God's eyes? Cause you know, that's a pretty important line and distinction that we wanna be able to make. We don't wanna falsely be able to say, oh no, I'm just fine, I'm not naked but God still looks at you and says, no, you're naked. Cause that's what people do today. That's what's being done out in the world. And some people seem to have no problem thinking that they're not naked when they are naked according to the Bible standards. Look at verse number one of Isaiah 47, the Bible reads, come down and sit in the dust oh virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground. There is no throne, oh daughter of the Chaldeans for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal, uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man. So obviously it's still symbolic but what is symbolic of is someone crossing a river here and they're making bare the leg and then uncovering the thigh. So the thigh was covered but as soon as the thigh becomes uncovered, now all of a sudden, hey, your nakedness is uncovered. Because once you get past the knees and start heading up, you're exposing your thighs. And when your thighs are exposed, I would say very clearly here in Isaiah chapter 47, you know, it's not just the leg but you just keep going up the leg, you're crossing the river, keep pulling up. As soon as you get up past the thigh, now all of a sudden your nakedness is being uncovered. And you know, I'm not gonna, there's an entire sermon you can preach on this. You can go back to the Old Testament and you can see the clothing that was made for the priests to cover their nakedness. It went from their loins down to covering their thighs. It's extremely clear in scripture. And I just wanted to make a brief mention of that because too many people think it's just fine just because it's hot outside, just because you live in Phoenix, just because it's 150 degrees outside that you can just get naked in public. And of course, you know what? You ought to be, you ought to be concerned and care. And you know, I would say this is also a pretty natural thing too. My children, I mean, except when they're really, really little and just like totally innocent and they don't care and they're just running around naked, like it's no big deal. But once they hit that age where they start to realize like I'm unclothed, even little kids, you don't really have to be taught that you don't want people seeing you naked, right? And they naturally will be trying to cover up and going in a room and shutting doors and going at you like, hey, don't come in the bathroom, all this stuff. Because it's just, it's built into us. And people have to overcome that instinct by just the normalization of people just being naked in public. Well, you know what? As Christians, we ought to say no. Say where is your shame? And not participate in all the nakedness that's going on out there. And you know what? We ought to have, I believe this too, we ought to have high standards. And let's not try to find exact, hey, what is the exact length of clothing that it has to be before it becomes a sin? How about we don't find that exact measurement to our body and just make sure we're covered? Is it really that big of a deal to make sure you're covered? You could still enjoy a swimming pool and be covered. You could still enjoy life outside and be covered. And in fact, it's gonna keep you from getting too sunburned if you have some clothing, some fabric, covering your skin and covering your nakedness. And nakedness is the most sensitive part of your body anyway, so I don't know why you wouldn't want to have it covered up. All right, Proverbs chapter 23. Let's go to Proverbs 23. And I hit on this last time I was here, so I'm not gonna go real deep on this, but the shamefulness of drunkenness. Shamefulness of drunkenness. We talk about shameful when people start babbling and just saying stupid things because they've been drinking. Oh man, I don't know how many times myself or others that I know have been totally embarrassed about the things that were said under the influence of alcohol. And you know what? You ought to be, and it ought to be seen as shameful because that's what alcohol's gonna do. And look, if you've never drank before, don't do it. You're gonna hear the reasons from other people why they think you should drink and how fun it is and oh, you're gonna laugh and it'll be cool and it'll be fun. But how about you hear the other side of the story? And you can read all of Proverbs 23 later, especially that latter half, but verse number 33 says, "'Thine eyes shall behold strange women and thine heart shall utter perverse things.'" Now I don't know about you, but if your heart starts uttering perverse things, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Perverse, crooked, perverted. That's what alcohol has to offer for you. Boy, doesn't that sound like a lot of fun? Yeah, I'm sitting here totally sober today and I just want my heart to utter perverse things. I want my eyes to just behold strange women. And you know what? Hey, I'm gonna go around and be around other people that are under the influence of alcohol whose eyes are beholding strange women. And let's just all be part of that culture. Shameful, my friends. Amen. Another passage regarding the shamefulness of alcohol is found in Habakkuk chapter two. You don't have to turn, you turn if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Habakkuk 2.15, the Bible says, "'Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink that putteth thy bottle to him and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness.'" That's a good warning, by the way, of the people who want to use alcohol to take advantage of people. Like in this context, a man with a man, or probably more frequently, men trying to get women drunk and take advantage of them, and ladies, women, young girls, don't ever allow yourself to be put in that situation where you're gonna not be in control of your body and of your mind to be able to avoid being taken advantage of, because there is plenty of people out there that that is their intent. Oh no, let's just have some fun. Oh yeah, here, here's another, here's another, here's another, oh, we're having a good time, right? And as soon as you get started, it's gonna be that much easier to have more and have more and have more, because your inhibitions get lowered. All the things that are gonna be firing up in your head telling you not to do this, it's gonna get quieter and quieter and quieter, and oh no, we're just having a good time and everyone's laughing, and then before you know it, the next day, you're going, what in the world did I do? And you're gonna find yourself in a situation you never wanted to be in. Verse 16 says, thou art filled with shame for glory. Drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered. The cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. And I'm not gonna go into any further context of that or description. Shameful spewing, I think, speaks for itself. 1 Corinthians chapter 14. And again, these aren't in any particular order. I'm not going from the least to the most wicked or something like that. We're just kind of bouncing all over the place as my mind was coming up with things when I was preparing for the sermon. So 1 Corinthians 14, the Bible says in verse number 34, let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak. Uh-oh, wait, did I just say that out loud? Wait, wait, I didn't even expound on that. That just says, it just makes a statement in the Bible. How dare you, misogynistic preacher, say that women should keep silence in the churches for it's not permitted for them to speak? Oh, I don't know. I think it's just what the word of God says. Amen. It's what the word of God says. Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it's not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law, and if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. Why? For it is a shame for women to speak in the church. We talk about something that is definitely not held in our culture, in our society, in this world. Is the fact that God sees it as shameful for women to be speaking in the church. And obviously, you know, we're talking about during the learning time, during the preaching time. And I would say, first of all, everyone ought to have respect for hearing the word of God. But absolutely, it's not question and answer time for women to raise their hand and start piping up and talking during the service. But even though that's also the case, I would also say this. If you think that the sermon time is the time to get up and go hang out and have chat time in a mother-baby room, you know, that's a shame. And I'm not talking about having to take care of your kids or something, but when you feel like, you know what, I'm gonna go hang out because I know so-and-so's back there and we're gonna go have a little chat and I want to talk to her anyways. That's disrespectful and that's shameful. Okay. Turn if you go to 1 Timothy chapter two. 1 Timothy chapter two. Where the ladies are instructed to have shame-facedness. Now it says, having shame-facedness, it's not because you should just always be doing something wrong that you ought to be ashamed of. Shame-facedness is a quality or characteristic of having discretion and knowing what's appropriate and what's not appropriate. And look at verse number nine, the Bible says in 1 Timothy 2, nine, in like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel. With shame-facedness and sobriety. And there you have the link of the clothing with having shame-facedness, right? Because when you're putting yourself in clothing that's not modest, that's getting all eyes on you, all of a sudden you're not gonna have the same, you ought to have a shame face. When you're putting on things, it's gonna make everybody look at you and look at you in a way that is ungodly. And you know what I'm talking about. I'm not gonna go into detail about this. Anyone with half a brain knows what I'm talking about. Okay, it's the length, it's the fit, it's all of it. Look, do you wanna be godly or do you just wanna be as worldly as possible? Do you like having guys drool over you or do you wanna actually have a godly and a shame-facedness? And when it says sobriety there, it's not just talking about like not being drunk. It's talking about being serious and being sober and just having the right mindset of going, no, I'm actually serious about what I'm putting on. I'm serious about how I'm presenting myself and I'm gonna present myself with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly way, but which become with women professing godliness with good works. What is it that you want people to know about you? How do you wanna present yourself? Are you gonna present yourself in a way that's just gonna have people thinking about how your body looks? Are you gonna present yourself in a way that's gonna have people think of your works when they think about you and think about the good qualities and godly attributes about you? And look, this is the way it is in this world, ladies. It's the way it is and you get to choose. How do you want people to know you and remember you and think about you? A lot of that's gonna do with how are you presenting yourself? And just know it's a fact. You say, well, that's not right. No one should be lusting after me. Yeah, guys shouldn't be lusting after women that aren't their wife. You're right. You're right, they shouldn't be. But you know what? It's going to happen the more provocative that you put yourself out there, too. It's just gonna happen. It's a fact of life. Turn, if you would, to Jude, the book of Jude. So those are just some of the things. And really, anything that's abominable, anything super wicked is going to be something you ought to be ashamed of. But just consider this and think about this. Hey, who are you and how do you present yourself? Or the Bible uses the word conversation. What is your conversation? How is it that you act? How do you behave? How do you present yourself? You know, we're in the world, but we are not to be of the world. Do you have a level of shame because when you do something that you know is wrong, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Do you have guilt? Do you blush when you do wrong? Because when you don't and when things start getting too permissive and just who cares, not a big deal, man. I don't know why you Baptists have all these standards and all this stuff. And you know, you're so uptight over this stuff. Well look, because we care and because I want to distance myself and separate myself from the people who truly have no shame and no guilt and no remorse whatsoever because those are all attributes of the reprobate. It's the reprobates of the world that have no shame, that have no conscience, that have no guilt and don't care about anything. That's who that crowd is. And when you start reading Jeremiah, you're starting to wonder and be like, whoa, because the children of Israel are turning into a reprobate nation at that point because they've gotten so bad that God's just like, look, I'm just taking you, I'm just sending you away. I'm giving you a bill of divorcement as it says in Jeremiah, and I'm just putting you away. He's like, I did it to Israel in treacherous Judah, the same thing's going to happen to you. And we see these attributes of the reprobate. Look at verse number 12 in the book of Jude. The Bible says, these are spots in your feasts of charity when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. First of all, they don't even care. They have no fear being amongst God's people. They're not afraid. Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, their own shame. They foam out their own shame. You're thinking about the foam on the waves and they crashed into the beach and stuff and there's all this foam. Well, the reprobate foams out their own shame. They just broadcast it out there and it's not a big deal for them at all. In fact, Philippians three, turn a few of Ephesians five. I'll read from Philippians three for you. Ephesians chapter five is where you're going. Philippians three 17, the Bible says, brethren, be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as you have us for an ensemble. For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction, whose God is in their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. There are people who glory in their shame, something they ought to be embarrassed about and try to hide and cover up. That's their glory. And this is what you have with the pride people. Hey, here's the most disgusting, filthy, vile thing that no one would ever, should ever want to have uncovered if it was something you've ever done one time even in your life. You would never want, that would be mortifying for anyone to ever, and they're going, hey, this is what I do. Hey, here's what I'm gonna do out in public. Here, accept me. I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud of the filthy things that I do. That's the reprobate. That's the alphabet animal crew. Ephesians chapter five, look at verse number one. And they are like natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed. Ephesians chapter five, verse number one, be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. Verse three, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become a saint. Hey, here's some standards for you. In Ephesians chapter five, you know, you're in this world and the world's full of fornication, the world's full of uncleanness, the world's full of covetousness, but you know what? Amongst God's people, you ought to be walking in love as Christ loved us, and what does that look like? Well, hey, the fornication, the uncleanness, the covetousness, it shouldn't even be once named among us. It should not be part of who we are. That should not be descriptive of any of God's people. Those of you that are as become a saint, what's becoming of a saint? Well, not being covetous and not being unclean and not participating in fornication, but continue on here, because the verse doesn't end there in verse three. Verse four, neither filthiness, look at this, nor foolish talking, nor jesting. And look, this could be an area where it's real easy to just become a little bit out of control and not really have your standards up to par when it comes to the foolish talking and the jesting. And especially among the younger crowd, please pay attention, younger people, because this is an area that's really easy to get out of bounds in your walk with Christ. And I'm not saying your walk with me, I don't care about your walk with anyone else or how you look to other people, I'm talking about how God views you and how God thinks about your behavior and the things that you do when you become too involved with the foolish talking and the jesting, which the Bible says, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For know this, this ye know, that no whoremonger nor unclean person nor covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Yeah, God hates those things. This is why people die and go to hell. Be ye not ye therefore partakers with them? For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. Our behavior ought to be such where we're proving, hey, would God find this to be acceptable? Oh, just lighten up, man. Is it acceptable in God's eyes? And no, we ought not to just be lightening up on things. It doesn't mean you could never tell a joke. It doesn't mean you could never laugh. Of course, we're gonna have joy. We have a lot of, but you know what you get the joy from? Wholesome fun. Not foolish talking. And how about this, not joking about things that ought not to be joked about. Not making a mock at sin. Fools make a mock at sin. Fools make a mock at sin. And when you stop treating sinfulness as being exceeding sinful, you're opening up the door to tolerance. You're opening up that door. It starts with humor all the time. How do you think the homos got to where they're at today through media, through movies, through TV? It started them being the butt of everyone's joke. That's how it started. That opened up the door to have fags on the TV screen because, oh, it's okay because we're just making fun of them. It's, they're just a big joke. It's comic relief. And then it turns into, well, no, now we want to get more involved with these characters and understand them a little bit more and know where they're coming from. And then it just, once you open up that door, my friends, it's a slippery slope. And then you wind up where we're at today. Or even worse, in the future. I mean, who knows, God forbid, but that's where we're headed. But look at what the Bible says here. Proving what's acceptable in the Lord, verse 11, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Don't be in fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, with the sinfulness and just the sinful, wicked culture of this world. Reprove it. That means tell it's wrong. Tell me, no, that's not right, that's wrong. I'm not gonna laugh at your stupid, wicked, filthy jokes. That's not right. You ought not to be saying those things. And you don't have to go around and tell people, like, before anything even happens, how to live their life. But if you're in association here and you're having people and someone says something, like, you ought to be able to say, you know what, I don't really appreciate that. The unfruitful works of darkness, it says, but rather reprove them. Look at verse 12, for what? It is a what? It is a shame. It is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. The things that the reprobates do in secret, I think that's pretty shameful. You know what the Bible's saying? It's a shame to even speak of those things. So you want to act like you're some stinkin' sodomite and have conversations and talk about it? You ought to be ashamed of yourself. And I don't care if you're telling a joke and you're saying, oh, it's a big deal. You know what, you start acting like a pervert, you start acting like a sodomite, shame on you. It's not funny. It's not a big stinkin' joke. Why don't you prove what's acceptable to Christ? Why don't you be a little bit sober? Why don't you have some shame-facedness and sobriety? Good night, yes, I'm fired up because I'm sick and tired of seeing our Christians go the way of the world. Do you really believe this is the word of God or not? How important is this book in your life? How important is it? Is it just a big joke? Is it just a big show? I hope not. You know, for some people it is. For some people, they come to church and they'll just, oh yeah, they'll put on the show and they want people thinking well of them and everything else, but when they go home, it's totally different. They're hypocrites. Don't be the hypocrite. You know, the children of Israel, the book of Jeremiah, were hypocrites. And what happened to the hypocrite? But all things that are approved are made manifest by the light. You're supposed to be a light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Parents, we need to be raising our kids right. I'm gonna close on this. Proverbs 29, 15. The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. It's a lot of work to raise children right, especially these days. And I do think, especially these days. And the reason why is because of the easy access to the most wicked, perverted filth that's out there in the world. It's so, in the past, it's a lot easier to shelter your children and shelter your family and raise them in a nice, holy, righteous way. But now you've got these stupid devices that can connect to the internet and just bring access in to a child, to an innocent child, to a developing child that hey, if you leave them alone, you better believe they're gonna get into it. And kids, God bless them, they're smart, but they really like to push the boundaries and sometimes they're smarter than you give them credit for. And they figure out ways to do things. They figure out how to get in and manipulate and do the stuff that you never would have dreamed they can do. So parents, the burden is really on you. And look, I just brought this up last week, or a couple weeks ago maybe. I don't remember exactly when it was at our church. And I bring it up because you need to know about it. Because parents need to know what their kids are doing and what their kids are getting into. And I'm gonna blow the whistle on this, whether it's if you know about it, I preach it to the parents that don't know that kids are gonna be using technology in ways it's not intended for. And like what just recently happened in my household and what I was aware of is my kids all of a sudden got interested in Duolingo. And I'm happy about that because I want them to learn a language. And I liked it and that re-sparked me to learn a language and all this other stuff. But you know what, I pay attention to what they do. And I never even realized you can make comments like, look, my kids don't have social media for a very good reason. Well now they're starting to use the Duolingo that they're supposed to be learning languages on as a chat room. Whoa, hold on a second. You got a bunch of random people that you don't even know making comments in a chat about what's going on here. And then you just start to find out, well, what in the world is being spoken in these comments? It's supposed to be, hey, good job, hey, congratulations. And then it turns into way more than that. And people call themselves Christians ought to be ashamed of themselves for what's being said in those comments. And that's something I never want my children to have to see. So guess what? Now they have no friends because it can't be handled on that thing. But you know what, parents, you have to be vigilant and know what is coming across your kids' faces because you never know what's gonna happen if you just give them unrestricted access. And I get it, not everyone is very technologically inclined. And if you have questions or concerns about the internet access and stuff in your house, you can talk to me about it. I'm happy to help you out because I am inclined in these areas. You need the barriers up. The things that kids have access to will damage them and scar them for life. It's not a joke. And like I said, now more than ever, with that easy access, with that ability, and with just, I mean, all the things that you would think, this isn't a problem, this should be fine. Man, be diligent. Don't leave the kids to themselves. I mean, this verse just expounds so much more in light of all the availability and access that's out there today. We need to watch our kids. We need to have standards. We need to not allow the influence of the world that's gonna make people think sin's not that big of a deal, to know that it is a big deal, to know that you ought to have standards. And you know what, you ought to be ashamed of yourself if you're involved in anything that's wicked that the Bible says is a shame and that we ought to be ashamed of ourselves for. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the instruction you give us from your word. I pray that you please help us. Look, we all have sinned, Lord, but we need to live according to high standards, according to the way your word tells us to, dear Lord. I pray that you please help us to internalize all the truths from your word, dear God. Help us to live them out day to day and that when we do commit things that we know we ought not to, that we would just be ashamed of it and we would allow that shame to give us a sorrow that leads to repentance, that we could change our actions, Lord, and that we could just serve you. And we thank you for being merciful and long suffering and for working with us, dear Lord, as your dear children. But please help us to raise the bar and help us not to be so influenced by the wickedness of our world that we would let our own standards to slide. And God help us with our children, Lord, help us to be able to keep their minds safe from just the worst degenerate filth that's in the world, that we could at least raise them in a wholesome manner, dear God, without having to worry about those things. And Lord, we love you. We thank you for this day. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen, let's take our hymnals, please. Go to hymn number 46 with me. Hymn number 46. My Savior, first of all, hymn number 46. We'll sing this out together and be dismissed. Number 46, when my life work has ended and I cross the swelling tide. Sing it out with me on that verse, number 46. When my life work has ended and I cross the swelling tide, when the bright and glorious morning I shall see, I shall know my redeemer when I reach the other side, and his smile will be the first to welcome me. I shall know him, I shall know him. Everything by his side I shall stand. I shall know him, I shall know him by the print of the nails in his hand. Oh, the soul-curdling rapture when I feel his blessed face and the luster of his mind leave me behind. Now my full heart will praise him for the mercy, love, and grace that prepared for me a mansion in the sky. I shall know him, I shall know him. Everything by his side I shall stand. I shall know him, I shall know him by the print of the nails in his hand. Oh, the dear ones in glory, how they beckon me to come and our party at the river I recall. To the sweet bales of Eden they will sing my welcome home, but I long to be my savior first of all. I shall know him, I shall know him. Everything by his side I shall stand. I shall know him, I shall know him by the print of the nails in his hand. Through the gates, in the city, and the low unspotted swine he will lead me where no tears will ever fall. In the glad song of ages I shall make a wimpy light, but I long to be my savior first of all. I shall know him, I shall know him. Everything by his side I shall stand. I shall know him, I shall know him by the print of the nails in his hand. Amen. Good singing this morning. Thank you for watching.