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of Ammon unto this day. Brother David, would you lead us into a word of prayer? All right, amen. Genesis chapter 19. A lot of hard truths. Not pleasant by any means, but if you know anything about our church, we don't back down from the truth, no matter how harsh it is. So tonight, we are going to be doing a word study. We're going to study one word, but it's going to take several Bible verses to explain that word. Now, keep your place there in Genesis 19. We're going to come right back to it, but go to Romans chapter number one. Romans chapter number one. And while you're turning there, so if you notice, while we were reading the chapter in the beginning, okay, Lot makes a proposal to these evil, wicked sodomites. What does he say? He says, hey, I will offer up my daughters to you if you do not do this great wickedness. Now, do the people that are at his door, do they accept that offer? No, they do not, okay? They do not accept that offer. Well, there is a word for that, and there's a reason that they do not accept that, and that's what we're going to be talking about today. But just real quickly, in case you're not familiar with this, you're not sure how could a person get to this mindset. I'll just sum this up for you. In Romans chapter one, it's very clear, and we've talked about this several times in the past, the Bible says that people can get to a point where they reject God over and over again, and God finally says that I'm done with you. Look at verse number 24. Actually, back up, look at verse number 23. It says, and change the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, into birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. So Paul's explaining to the Romans, okay? He's explaining to the Romans how come people in their civilization are the way that they are. It's a lot like the United States of America, okay? And what he's saying is, hey, these people decided in their hearts that they would rather worship nature, they would rather worship the creature, and basically make up their own truth. And so look at verse 24. It says, Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Jump down to verse number 30. Now, so this is very clear, right? You know, people always ask the question, well, how do people get this way? Are they born that way? What's going on? Well, no, the Bible tells you. They reject God. God says, you know what? I've had enough of this. Obviously, I can see in your heart. I know the future. You will not ever accept me. And so these people, he gives them over. But look at the attributes here of these types of people in verse 30. It says, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, and don't miss this next word, proud, okay? Now, I'm going to stop right there for a second. Now, today, we're going to be starting a four-week series basically rebuking Pride Month, okay? Now, you say, well, why do you want to do that? Well, because God hates it. That's why, okay? And unfortunately, today, a lot of people would rather make excuses for this behavior or just go along to get along, and that is not what we are commanded to do. Now, I've been accused recently of saying that we should take the law into our own hands and go out and harm people, and I've never said that at all. That's not at all. Look, it's the government's job to take care of evildoers and wicked people, right? Are they doing that? Absolutely not. They are doing the exact opposite. If you don't believe me, why haven't they shut down Disney yet? Disney came out and said that we're coming for your children. We want to take your children, and we will do this. Obviously, I'm paraphrasing, but that's their agenda. Everybody knows that. What does Uncle Sam say? Say, oh, if you say anything against Disney, we'll just cancel you. We'll just shut you off YouTube. We'll just get you off Facebook. Well, you're the problem, okay? They have the same mindset that these people in Genesis chapter 19 has. And what does the Bible say here about these people? It says they are haters of God, despiteful, proud. Why is it that the alphabet people have to have a whole month displaying their nasty debauchery? Because they're proud. Because they hate God. Because they want to be accepted. Not only that, but they want to force this stuff onto everyone, okay? They've been telling me recently, sending messages, almost on a daily basis again. You know, I guess this is just a thing in June. They got to step it up. Oh, we're going to shut you down. You're getting arrested for hate speech. It's like, this isn't Canada, okay? I can say whatever I want to, and I will, okay? And even if it was Canada, I'd rather obey God than man, okay? So, back to our word study tonight. Look down at verse number 31. So, talking about these people, it says this. It says, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, okay? Now, let's stop right there for a second. You know, we were talking about this with somebody out soul-winding not too long ago, and, you know, they were basically questioning us on this, and like, well, why would you ever, you know, why are you against the pride parades and things like that? Well, if you know anything about those, you know, those people are, you know, displaying pornography and all sorts of just wicked, blasphemous things. Now, let me ask you a question. Is there an age limit on attendance? Absolutely not. Kids and children are more than welcome. In fact, you can go to any store, and they just push this stuff and push this stuff and push this stuff. Guess what that is? That is a display of a group of people that are without natural affection. In other words, pedophilia is what that is, okay? Now, look at this next word. This is the word that we're going to be focusing on tonight. It says implacable and then unmerciful. Keep your place there. We'll probably come back to it later on, but go back to Genesis chapter number 19. So, the Bible says that these people are implacable. What does that word mean? Well, let's ask the question, what does it mean to placate somebody? Well, it means to appease them, to satisfy them, to try to get them in a state of peace, if you will. Now, the Bible says that about this group of people that they are implacable. What does that mean? Again, it means impossible to placate, okay? These people cannot be negotiated with, they cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be placated. The Bible tells you that. The Bible gives you example after example after example of that very same thing. But yet, I'm put on blast all the time. Oh, you're a hate monger, you're this, you're that. But look, this is the word of God, okay? I know this goes against culture. I know this isn't popular. But you know what? The truth isn't very popular right now. But that doesn't mean that we just roll over and go the other way. No, we need to stand up for the truth. We need to protect our children, okay? That's what I'm talking about today. So, let's break this story down here. We're going to be reading from verse five to verse number nine. And so, let's start reading here. Look what it says. It says, and they, okay? Now, who are the they? These are the people of Sodom. These are the Sodomites. And it says, and they called unto Lot and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we may know them. Now, if you're younger in here today and you don't understand what this is talking about, I'm not going to explain it to you in detail, obviously. It just means that you don't need to understand this at your stage of life, okay? That's what that means. But for the rest of us, I'll say this. They're not talking about sitting down at Starbucks over a cup of coffee and getting to know each other, you know, each other's backgrounds and so on. They want to rape these men. And who are these men that just came into town? They're angels, exactly. Now, obviously, they don't know that yet. But look at verse number six. It says, and Lot went out at the door unto them. Okay? Very important here. Look at this next part of the verse. And shut the door after him. So, if you read this and you kind of visualize this, he's got these angels inside his house. And they're like, hey, it's time to go. We really need to get out of here. And all of a sudden, there's a bang at the door. Lot comes out. He shuts the door behind him. So, in Lot's mind right now, he does not think that anybody's listening, that anybody's ever going to read this, you know, 5,000 years or whatever it is later on. And look at what he decides to do. Verse seven sounds good. It says, it said, I pray you, brethren. Okay, that's where it starts to get really bad. Okay? Because this guy is calling them brethren. And look at what he says, do not so wickedly. So, why bring that up? Because that proves that that get-to-know-you part there in verse five isn't about having a cup of coffee. It's not about getting to know somebody mentally or as a friend. So, look at verse number eight. So, Lot says this, behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Now, I hope that there's not a man in this room that would ever make an offer like that. Okay? But back to the subject here. This is where we begin to learn what it means to be implacable. Okay? As sick and disheartening as this offer is, the question is, is it accepted? Do these people say, okay, this will suffice us, this will placate us, this will appease us? So, he says, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes only unto these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. Now, you have to understand, if you've been reading, if you've read all the chapters up to this, you kind of get to know that Lot has been in Sodom probably for a long time. Okay? You know, Genesis 14, he was carried away with the title King of Nations in Keteleomer, and Abraham had to rescue him. And so, he's been through a lot with these people, so he's kind of grandfathered in here. He's kind of gone with the flow. You know, this nation has obviously progressively gotten worse and worse and worse as time has gone on. And so, they've probably never really tried Lot. He's just kind of been there. He likes living there. He's got his family there, and so on and so forth. And now, all of a sudden, he makes this offer, and all that they can focus on is what he said in verse number 7. So, he says, only unto the...look at the last part of verse 8. It says, only unto these men do nothing, for therefore they came under the shadow of my roof. Now, look at verse 9. And they said, stand back. And they said again, this one fellow came in to Sojourn, and he will needs be a judge. Okay? Now, what is our society today saying about judgment? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? They're saying it's a bad thing. They're saying, why are you judging? Okay? This is one of the big voice messages I got last week, is that I'm going to hell because I judge people. Well, it's kind of funny that you say that because Paul said, the spiritual judgeth all things. And again, I've said this before, and I'll say it again. You couldn't even get to this building without making a judgment. Did you stop at a red light today? Did you go through a green light today? Well, obviously, you made a judgment. Okay? Judgment is a good thing. Now, obviously, off-balance judgment, you know, wicked judgment, and those things we don't have time to talk about today, that is definitely not right. We all understand that. Everybody knows that. Okay? But let's focus on this verse again. And they said, stand back. And they said again, this one fellow came into Sojourn, and he will needs be a judge. Now, look at what they say to him next. Interesting. Lot, trying to protect these people, he doesn't even know. Okay? He doesn't even know who these guys are. He says, hey, here's my offer. Okay? You can have my daughters. Which if, I mean, if that's not bad enough, I don't know what is. But these people, they don't even bat an eye. They don't even consider this proposal here. What do they focus on? They focus on the fact that he judged them, that he said that what you are about to do is wicked, and they don't like that. They cannot be placated. They want to follow through with their rape, and they will stop at absolutely nothing until they get what they want. If you don't believe me, look at the rest of the verse. It says, And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. Now, go to Romans chapter number 12. Romans chapter number 12. Now, as the weeks progress here, we will go through the rest of the story and focus on different parts of it. But for now, we are just going to leave it there. So again, the title of the sermon this evening is implacable. People that are impossible to placate. Okay? Say, why do we need this? Why do we need a sermon focused on one word in the Bible about these people? Say, you're picking on people, you're a bully. Look, I'm not the bully. You want to see my inbox? Do you want to see the death threats that I get every single day? I'm the bully. Okay? I don't think so. But more so than this, the big reason why we need to focus on this stuff is because our society culturally is just spiraling out of control. It's going downhill. And the Bible says that evil communications corrupt good manners. So you as a Christian, you as a born-again, Bible-believing Christian, you may think, well, I'm good to go. This doesn't affect me. The problem is it does because these people are everywhere. Okay? But not just that, you know, just implacable people in general seem to be everywhere. They seem to be multiplying as the days go along. And it is hard to be in a society like that. It does rub off on you to some degree. And so from time to time, we need reminders of how we're supposed to act and how we are supposed to handle these types of situations. Okay? I mean, just think about Lot's actions here. Do you think that Lot, I don't know, let's just say 10, 15 years prior to this, do you think that he would have made that same offer? When he was with Abraham every single day and he was, you know, farming and learning from Abraham, do you think he would have offered his daughters to these people? Absolutely not. Okay? He got that way from living in Sodom. And you know what? Today, we're pretty much living in Sodom. So we need to understand this. So again, why preach this? Look at Romans chapter 12, verse number 18. So the Bible says this, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Okay? And so, look, you ought to memorize this, highlight this, write this down in your Bibles, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to live peaceable with all men today. You know? I mean, it's just what it is. As soon as they find out that you believe the Bible, that you study the Bible, whatever, it's like, oh, they're just going to turn on you. You know? They're just going to come after you. Oh, you're in a cult. All this, all that. It's just a million and one reasons why you've changed, why you are just such a horrible, bad person. But the Bible does say, if possible, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. And the reason why it says, if it be possible, is because it's not always possible. So in that situation, with implacable people all around us, how do we do this? Okay? Is it possible? And I'll tell you, it is possible, and we'll go through that here. Go to 2 Timothy, chapter number three. 2 Timothy, chapter number three. You know, just looking at my own background, I've told some of you guys this before. You know, I've been a supervisor, you know, for quite some time in my past, and I've had to supervise people like this. You know, I've had to write evals for people like this. And, you know, when they would do good, do you think that I would just hide their records and, you know, not give them what they would do? No. Not at all. Because, look, let me tell you something. When you're in the world, you need to remember that you are an ambassador for Christ. Most people don't understand this doctrine. They don't understand what we're talking about today, okay? And now, that doesn't mean you back down. That doesn't mean you roll over. That doesn't mean you roll out the red carpet, invite them over to your house. Because if you do that, this will be your end. Okay? I promise you, this, Genesis 19, will be your end. We see it all the time. We get phone calls all the time. I wish I would have known this back in the day. I wish I would have known this a few weeks ago. I wish I would have known this a few years ago. It would have saved my family a lot of heartache and trouble and so on and so forth. But I'll tell you, you know, when you're in the workplace, it can be difficult because these people will try you. And it kind of depends on how long they've been going down this road. You know, I've had to supervise all these people, and I'll be honest with you, there are some of them I've had to tell to shut up. You know, just shut your mouth. Because it's like everything that you say, they want to turn into perversion. And you know what? Sometimes, if the boss isn't going to do nothing, if the people around you aren't going to do nothing, sometimes you just have to stand up and say, hey, you know what? Be quiet. I don't want to hear that stuff anymore. It's disgusting. And if you get fired, oh well. You know what? God is able to give you much more than whatever it is that you're making. You know, so don't say, oh, no, pastor's getting soft because he's saying... No, I'm just saying that, hey, if it be possible. So if it's possible, and that's up to you, you have to learn discernment. You have to understand your surroundings. If it be possible, though, I would encourage you to try to live peaceably with them. Be quiet. Don't talk to them too much. Because if you do, they will drag you down. They will pull you down. They will try to make you look stupid. So on and so forth, okay? But let's move on here. 2 Timothy 3, look at verse number 2. This is going to explain to us why it's becoming less possible to live peaceable among all men. So look at what the Bible says that people will be like in the last days. Verse number 2, it says this, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, don't miss this word again, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, and unholy, okay? Now, everybody in here struggles with pride. But people in here don't struggle with pride the way that the Sodomites do, okay? That is a completely different avenue of pride. That's pride on a whole nother level. But let's focus at the beginning part of that verse there, where it says, for men shall be lovers of their own selves. What does that sound like to you? It starts with an N, narcissists, okay? You're going to see a rise in narcissists, people that are obsessed with themselves. So at a stoplight the other day, just right over here on Fairview, and I look over, and this guy has got, like, hair, like, way up to here, and he's just sitting there taking pictures, taking pictures. And I'm like, I wonder if he's going to see the light turn green. Sure enough, light turns green, we go, and I just hear horns honking, you know? And I'm just like, wow, you know? That's the society we're living in. Now, I'm not preaching against you guys to take selfies or whatever, put it on Facebook, that's fine. But you need to have some balance in your life, right? You don't want to be like that guy over there on Fairview and Milwaukee, or whatever it was, because that's embarrassing. The Bible tells us, for men shall be lovers of their own selves. And I mean, that verse there will preach all night long. And if you really think about it, the people in Genesis 19, that's who they were. They were lovers of their own selves. They only were concerned with what they wanted to do with those strangers that they've never even met before, who they just saw roll into town. And let me tell you something, that is their goal today. Their goal today is to be able to get away with that legally, okay? Every story in the Bible concerning these people, and we don't have time to take it all apart tonight, that is where it always leads. Say, why say that? Are you trying to be a downer? Are you trying to get us depressed? No, I'm just trying to warn you. I just want you to understand that this is what it will be like before Christ comes back. The Bible tells us about this. But going back to this verse here, for men shall be lovers of their own selves. This is why it is difficult to live peaceably with all men. Because when you're around these types of people in your job, in your neighborhood, just in daily life, these people will stab you in the back, okay? And you need to learn how to spot them so that you don't trust them. You don't make the mistake of telling them something maybe personal, telling them something, you know, I don't know how you feel about the company you work for or about something going on with your family because they will turn around and use it for their own gain, okay? This is why we ought to be a discerning people. Now, you can leave your place there and go to 1 Samuel 2, Old Testament, 1 Samuel 2. So, again, narcissists will increase. They will explode in the last days. We are definitely seeing that today. You know, your narcissistic boss, you know what he's like, right? He basically thinks, well, you know, this world or this workplace would just be so much better if everyone were just like me, if everyone would lead the way that I do, if everyone would make the same decisions that I do. Well, guess what? There's a lot of narcissistic preachers in the world today. And you know what their attitude is? Christianity would be so much better today if everyone just preached like me, did things the way that I do them and they kind of push that type of attitude today. Well, let me start up this course here and you can pay $500, $600, $700 and learn to be like me because if you're not, well, you've got problems, you've got issues, okay? Wrong attitude. Everybody's different. Everybody's got a different background. Everybody has a different communication style. As long as the Bible, the Word of God is your focus, which unfortunately it's not for most preachers today, you know what? It is what it is. People explain things differently, so on and so forth, but don't ever get this attitude that the world would be a better place if people were more like me because we're all sinners, we're all messed up and we've all got issues, okay? Never lose sight of that because I'm telling you, we don't want the attitude of the world rubbing off on us because it's going to hinder the mission that we desperately, desperately need to execute, especially in this valley here, which is getting people saved and getting them discipled, teaching them the Word of God so that they can grow. And so, I mean, look, we've got a lot of doors to knock. You know, my new area is down here, you know, all the way down to, you know, the end of Roosevelt down there. And I'm seeing so many different apartments, you know, little onesies, twosies, and I'm like, how in the world are we going to get this stuff done, you know? We're going to have to have another marathon, but East Boise style, I guess. But, you know, praise God, we'll keep praying. You know, there's plenty of doors to knock. It's just that the laborers are few. So, with that being said, let's take a look at another example in the Bible about some people that are implacable. So, we're going to read a few verses here in 1 Samuel 2, and this is going to describe for us a priest, and his name is Eli, okay? Now, Eli, if you know anything about the Bible, Eli was the one who trained Samuel, brought him up, but he had a problem, okay? And his problem was that he didn't like to discipline his sons. And this issue carried forth until they became adults, and the result is they became sons of Belial, okay? So, what's a son of Belial? It's a son of the devil. That's what that means. They were given over to the devil. They were his sons, not the Lord's. And so, let's take a look at their attitude here and the things that they, the harm that they brought on the nation of Israel. So, look at verse number two. So, it says this, now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial. They knew not the Lord, okay? Now, let's stop right there. Okay, this is taking place in Shiloh where the tabernacle of God is, okay? Eli is a priest. His sons had a head knowledge of the God of the Bible. They knew who he was. They knew who Moses was. So, when it says they knew not the Lord, it's saying they did not believe on Lord. They were not saved. They were not born again. They were not God's people, though they were born in Israel. Look at verse number 13. It says this, And the priest's custom with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came while the flesh was in seething with a flesh hook of three teeth in his hand. Look at verse 14. And he struck it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the flesh hook brought up, the priest took for himself. So, they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. Now, this kind of describes a lot of churches today, unfortunately, doesn't it? You know, a lot of churches today, they're all about that dollar, all about the money, all about what can you guys give me? Okay, that is not the way that it's supposed to be. And you'll see the result here in a moment, but look at verse 15. It says, Also, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man that sacrificed, give flesh to rose for the priest. Or, I'm sorry, for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. Look at verse 16. And if any man said unto him, let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth, then he would answer him, nay, but thou shalt give it me now. And if not, I will, what? Take it by force. Okay? You have to understand that these sons of Belial, these sons of the devil are implacable. They are impossible to placate. They want their wickedness, and they will accept nothing less. Okay? That is what is being taught here. Now, if you go on and you read the story, okay, what did men in Israel, what did women in Israel, what was their view on God at this point in time? They abhorred the offering. They were like, oh, man, I got to go to Tabernacle again and give the offering. These people made the people of the land, okay? So these priests, they made the people of the land hate going to the Tabernacle. Right? You say, well, what is that like today? Well, it's like most churches today, where everything's about money. Give me money, put money in the plate, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Now, obviously, we need money to run things and whatever. You know what? But God will supply all of our needs. Okay? That's the attitude that we should have. Not like, hey, you know, did you pay your 10% today? If not, well, you can fill out this form right here, and we'll deduct it from your paycheck. Right? You know there's an organization in town that does that, right? Yeah. What's it called? It's the Mormon Church. Yeah. And if you don't believe me, we'll take you to someone's house who just recently went through that. Okay? I told you this last week. I don't know why I can't stop thinking about this. To me, it's just surreal, you know, that this guy goes and visits a Mormon Tabernacle. And then, you know, because I guess the guy's boss at Wingstop invited him. And he's just like, well, you're one of us now, you know, and he starts taking 10% of the guy's wages. I mean, that is this story right here. You know, if you don't give it me, we will take it by force. Okay? So that is an attribute of people that are implacable. What's the attitude today? What have we been told this week? Pastor Jones, if you don't stop talking the way that you do, we're going to shut you down. We're going to take your tax-exempt status away. We're going to get you off YouTube. We're going to get your Facebook shut down. Oh, no, I'm so scared. I'll just make another one. I'll just make another one and keep saying the same stuff. Okay? I'm not going to stop. So why do you lose sleep over trying to shut me up? It's absolutely insane. But you know what? That's cancel culture for you today. Okay? Cancel culture. Who is that ran by? Who's pushing this agenda? People that are implacable. People that are impossible to placate. What if I were to be like, okay, look, I'm only going to do this in June. You know, I'm only, you know, or I'm going to, I don't know, you know, I'll just tone it down a little bit. Do you think that would be okay for them? No. Okay, let me ask you this. What if I was like, okay, I'll never preach about it again. Do you think they'd still be okay with our church? Absolutely not. What if I just talked about salvation? Would they be okay with that? No. They will not stop until we are dead. Okay? You have to understand that. That's where Genesis 19 is trying to tell you. I mean, it's trying to tell you, hey, this road here, when these people are in charge, when these people are the majority, guess what? This is the result that they're after. They're after violating people. I mean, think about it. These two guys, you know, no one knows that they're angels. They just show up in the town. And the town's men are like, oh, perfect, fresh meat. Let's go get these guys. And guess what? You just read the whole chapter before the service. Guess who else they brought? Both young and old. What does that tell you? What connection does that make for you? That these people are pushing the pedophile agenda. Look, I'm just trying to warn you. It's in Genesis 19. It's in Judges 19. It's taught throughout the books of the kings. It's in the last book of the Bible. It's from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible. This is the truth. But a lot of people today, for whatever reason, they just can't stand it. They hate it. Go to Proverbs chapter number 26. Proverbs chapter number 26. And let's talk about something. Let's give you some tips here on how to deal with these people. Because sometimes you just cannot avoid it. And like I've told you, I've had to deal with them in the workplace. And to keep a good testimony, you know, when these people would do something, and they would never stay around very long, but when they would do something good, I would put them in for their awards. You know, I can remember one time this young lady come up to me. She's like, I know what your views are. I know what you think about my people, basically. Why did you do this? I'm like, because you did a good job, and it was the right thing to do. You know, it is what it is. You know, we have to work in the world, and we have to at least, as much as live in us, live peaceably with all men. Now, there have been people that were far more advanced than her, like I've already told you, and these people were just, I mean, just as crude. I'm pretty much Genesis 19 style people, okay? June people. Sulphur munchers, okay? Whatever you want to call these people. And you say, well, that's rude. Well, I think being a pedophile's rude, okay? How about that? You know, Jesus said it would be better for you to have a millstone hung about your neck, and for you to be cast into the depths of the sea, than to harm a little child. But yet, I'm the bad guy? I'm the one that's got the problem? I'm the bully? You know, it's kind of funny how they're allowed to hate me. They're allowed to hate us. But we can't hate what they do. We can't hate the actions that they try to push on us. And then people want to say, oh, well, you're a hypocrite. Yeah, get real. So, going back to some application here. Proverbs chapter number 26. Look at verse number four. So, the Bible says this. It says, answer not a fool, according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Now, look at the next verse. It says, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. I've, you know, if you go to one of these websites, 101 Bible contradictions, you know, this one's on there. You know, and it's so funny because there's a lot of different ways that you could explain this first. But just read it carefully, okay? And first of all, it kind of helps to understand what a fool is. Now, a fool is somebody who rejects wisdom outright. I don't want it, right? That's basically a fool's attitude. And I'm not saying that everybody who's foolish, or that's a fool is a sodomite. I'm just simply saying that this is some good wisdom on how to deal with people that are implacable, okay? Because it's not just sodomites that are implacable, right? All of us can probably think of someone right now who is just impossible to please. We've all had that boss. We've all had that family member. We've all, you know, we've all gone through even seasons in our lives where, you know, we're just not going to be placated on something, okay? But we are not implacable in the sense of Romans 1, okay? That's a whole different thing. That's really what we're talking about. But going back to this verse here, answer not a fool according to his folly. So what he's saying there is, hey, look, sometimes you're going to have to reason with people. You're going to have to defend doctrine. You're going to have to defend truth. And the way that you answer a fool, okay, you do not want to do it according to their folly, meaning their lack of wisdom, okay? So, for example, somebody's like, you know, the battle's full of contradictions. And you're like, well, you're full of contradictions, you know? They're just, you're just proving their point, so to speak, you know? You're being likened to them, okay? Now look at the next verse. It says, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. So you want to answer the fool according to his folly, meaning you want to use wisdom to pounce on the foolishness, okay? And then when you do that, he will not be wise in his conceit. I mean, just think about all the different interactions that Jesus had with the Sadducees and Pharisees, right? When they would come up to him and be like, should we pay tribute to Caesar? You know, what did Jesus say? I mean, that's a foolish question. I mean, you're a teacher in Israel, you've got the Old Testament, you've got the law, you call yourself a Pharisee, a Sadducee, some kind of religious leader, and you're going to go up to the Son of God, the one who's been healing people, the one who's been doing miracles, the one who's teaching salvation. And you're going to say, should we pay tribute to Caesar? That's a foolish thing. Well, how did Jesus answer? Yeah, yeah, render it to Caesar. He said, who's super inscription? Is this on the coin? And they're like, Caesars? He's like, well, give unto Caesar what Caesars and give unto God what's God's. And they were like, what? What does that mean? That is a fulfillment of Proverbs 26 verses four and five, right? You want to use the word of God. You want to use wisdom when you're answering a fool. And here's why you want to do this, okay? Now, let me just back up for a second. Let's say I'm in a room here, I'm at work or whatever, and you know, there's somebody who's implacable and they're attacking my beliefs or whatever it is. You know, I'm probably just going to be like, whatever, just stop, okay? Because there's nobody around. I ain't got time for this. But if there are people around who are hanging in the balances, who have not made the decision to believe on the Lord and be saved or to believe on the devil and be damned, whatever it is, right? If there's people hanging in the balances, I'm going to answer that fool according to his folly. I'm going to basically define truth. But here's how you have to do it. You have to speak to the people. You may be looking at this individual, right? Jesus was looking at these people and he was saying, hey, who's super inscription is on this coin, right? He was asking the questions, but the reason why he was doing that was for his disciples and the people around that were going to wait and, or that were waiting rather, to see what he had to say. See, this is why it's important to learn the word of God, learn how to defend doctrine. It's for those who are hanging in the balances. Who's ever found themselves in the situation out solely, where you're giving someone the gospel and all of a sudden the cranky cousin shows up and it's like, oh, what's that? A Bible? Oh, you know, the Bible is written by King James because he wanted a Shakespearean book. Okay, look, in that moment, when that person attacks what you're doing, you need to answer that individual, right? And hopefully, I mean, hopefully you try to do it in a kind way at least at first because, you know, a lot of times that might please that individual. They might be like, whoa, I didn't know that. And sometimes they'll listen or they'll be like, hey, I don't want any part of this. This guy definitely knows what he's talking about and sometimes they'll go away, right? But you always want to try to answer, you want to try this verse four and five. You don't want to answer them according to their folly. You don't want to, you know, match their aggression and just be like, you know what, you're a jerk or whatever at the first. Now, there are some people who, you know, I know Jess looking at me like, hey, what are you preaching to me? Look, I'm just as guilty. There are some people that just come right out the gate and they want to scrap, okay? This doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen from time to time, or they just want to come right at you. That's a different situation, right? You need to neutralize that. You don't need to turn your back on those people. You need to say, hey, you need to stop or whatever the situation is. I'm talking about the person that's just challenging you because maybe they're interested. Maybe they want to see, are you somebody you know, worth listening to? Okay. And the way they're going to make that determination is how you answer that person. And you want to read verse five here, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. So you want to have that right answer. You want to have that clear, concise explanation. You want to be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh of the hope that is within you, right? That is the way we should live. Why? Because sometimes when you do that, they're like, well, I want to listen, you know, or cool, have at it, right? Because sometimes, you know, it might be older brother that comes home, right? And he's in charge. He can stop this conversation. But if you answer that person in the right manner, he may just let that conversation continue on. You never know, right? So this is why we, as much as lieth within you, live peaceably with all men. Though some people it's not possible. Go to first Corinthians chapter number six, first Corinthians chapter number six. So hopefully that kind of helps in dealing with these people because as time progresses, as the weeks and months and years go by, you know, we're just going to have to be dealing with these people more and more in the workplace. I'm seeing them almost every single day, you know, where I'll show up to somebody's house and they're like, my life's falling apart. You know, my fridge is warm. My fridge is warm. What am I going to do? I got all this food. And it's like, all right, just relax, right? I get the situation solved. I'm like, here's what we've got to do. And they're like, you're trying to take my whole life savings. You know, it's like, look, it's not even 300 bucks. You know, I'm like thinking to myself, you know, the guy down the street with a sub-zero just paid 800, you know, or a thousand or whatever it is. I'm like, this is like 200 bucks. You know, and obviously you can afford it because you've got the five car garage. You know, the boat is like, why are you so upset? I'm like, well, just fine and do it then. You know? And it's like, wow, you couldn't figure it out. You called me. I solved your problem. I think it gave you a pretty fair deal. And all of a sudden, nothing satisfies these people. Nothing's good enough, you know? And it's like, for me, it's hard because I want to be like, you suck. You're terrible, you know? But I can't do that. You know, at least I'm not supposed to. Everybody has a bad day. So just a quick disclaimer. Okay. So let's talk about 1 Corinthians 6 here. How should Christians act? So part of the sermon is obviously understanding how we should be because the world does have a tendency to rub off on us. And we need that reminder from time to time to not let it happen. Okay. Remember, evil communications corrupt good manners, the Bible says. So 1 Corinthians 6, look at verse number 3. It says this. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life? So Paul's rebuking them here because they're going to court and they're trying to sue each other. And he's like, hey, look, don't you know that we're going to judge angels? So how much more things that pertain to this life? Meaning you should have judgment. You know, in order to have better judgment, you need to learn discernment that comes from exercising the Word of God in your life. And we've talked about that on Sunday nights. Look at verse number 4. He says this. If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. So why do that? Why not set the people that are just rich and high on life and, you know, these high achievers and stuff? Well, because a lot of times they have a tendency to be respecters of persons. So more on that later on. Look at verse 5. He says, I speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren. Okay, you see that there? So a wise person is a person that has judgment. Look at verse 6. He says, but brother goeth to law with brother and that before unbelievers. So look, guys, this is very important. The way that we treat each other is a testimony to the world. And this is why we don't want to be taking each other to court. This is why you definitely don't want to ever be bad-mouthing another brother, especially in front of the world. I mean, what is that going to get you? You know what the Bible says? You are, if you do that, unwise. You lack discernment. You lack judgment. Look at verse 7. Now, therefore, there is utterly a fault among you because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? This would save so many people's relationships in the body of Christ if we could just learn to allow ourselves to be defrauded. Meaning somebody's having a bad day and they say something that's a little crass to you, maybe a little harsh. You know, like, oh, did you get a haircut? Gee, how much you pay for that? You know, it's like, just turn around and walk away if it's really bothering you and forget about it. Let it go. Don't dwell on it. Don't get upset. You know, I want to go talk to the pastor about this. This is messed up, you know. Look, I got better things to do than to handle that. But you get the point here, okay? Now, with those people in Genesis 19 that were surrounding Lot's home, were they willing in any capacity to allow themselves to be defrauded? Not at all, okay? This is the sign of somebody who's implacable. They will never allow themselves to be defrauded, not even for a second. Look at verse 8. It says, nay, ye do wrong and defraud in that your brethren. Okay? Let's look at verse number 9 real quick. He says this. It says, know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, verse 10, nor thieves, nor curvatures, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 11 says this, in such were some of you, but ye are washed. Okay, now, this should smash anybody in the world who says you have to repent of your sins to be saved. You have to turn over a new leaf, or you have to give your life to Christ, because it's like, wait a second, that's not the case here. You have to be washed. Who's the one that does the washing? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's what he did on the cross, right? It says, in such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, meaning separated, but ye are justified in your own name. Oh, wait, that's probably what the NIV says, possibly, I don't know. Oh, it says, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. So again, proving the fact, look, all of us can find ourselves on this list probably somewhere. We've all stolen, we've all been covetous, or something to that effect, okay? And so what Paul's saying here is, why would you want to act like the world? Why would you want to bring a member of the body of Christ down in front of the implacable, in front of those who've rejected this message, in front of those who hate God? What is your point? Why would you want to do something like that? It's unfathomable, okay? Look at verse number 12, he says, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Now, is he saying you can just go have a heyday, do whatever you want? No, right? Obviously, as a child of God, there's consequences for actions, right? Just like you that have children, you know, I've got kids, and if they do something bad, guess what? There's consequences. Does that mean I'm kicking them out of my family? No, of course not, okay? God doesn't kick anyone out of his family either, okay? And that's hopefully what these folks would understand. Look at verse 13, he says, meat's for the belly, and belly for the meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Now, if you would, real quickly, just go back to verse number 9. Look at the last part of that verse there. So, after mentioning Ephemera, it says, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. And people will often, you know, message or whatever and say, see, that's the sodomites, that's not what it's talking about. He's talking about fornicators, that's what he's talking about. Because, I mean, wouldn't it be kind of weird, he gives that long list, and then all of a sudden he's just, now the body's not for fornication. Not having any prior context, okay? Right, so obviously the context is people fornicating. Read chapter number 5. What did Paul say to the Corinthians? He's like, look, you guys have a member in your church that is guilty of fornication that's not even mentioned among the heathen, among the Gentiles. And he's like, and you guys are proud of this. You guys are gloating about this, right? And so he's continuing that same thought here. And he's just saying, hey, look, that damages your body. We all know that, we've talked about it before. So just some doctrine, just a quick commercial break. Look at verse 14. It says this, and God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power. Now, I gotta say this, okay? I gotta say this. Because one of the big criticisms that we're getting all the time is that you teach people you can do whatever you want. That you don't have to turn over a new leaf to be saved. Yeah? Salvation's free. The Bible teaches salvation, not probation. I wish more people would just understand that, you know? And look at this verse again. And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power. Now, if you were to read chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, all the way up to this verse here, you know what you're not gonna find? You're not gonna find this. And God will raise you up with the Lord if you stop doing all these things and turn over a new leaf. Doesn't say that. Okay, why? Because we're washed. He's telling these people that are guilty of all this stuff. It's like, you're washed. Act like it. That's it. That's the whole point, okay? He says that God hath raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power, okay? It's his power that raises us. It's his power. It's not your power. It's not this team effort. It's not this combination. And that's not to say that we just throw the Bible out. We just live however we want. Obviously, yes, we want to be disciples. We want to be sanctified. We want to have a renewing of our mind. Why? So that we could be more effective for the kingdom of God. So that we can win more people, disciple more people, and be a good testimony for the kingdom of God. For we serve the king. Look at verse 15. It says, Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? How would Christianity change today if that just sunk down like in everybody's heart? Tomorrow would be a completely different day, wouldn't it? In all churches. Churches everywhere. If they would just understand this. Obviously, churches believe the Bible. It says, Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. Look at verse 16. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For to sayeth he shall be one flesh. Verse 17, But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. So in verse 18, he says, Flee fornication every sin that a man doeth is without the body. But he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body. So that ties back into the abusers of themselves with mankind. So just so that you know what that's talking about there. Verse 19, he says, What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you? Okay, this is what we need to remember. Okay, no matter how bad the world gets, no matter how many implacable people there are, no matter what laws are passed, we need to remember. We don't just roll over. We stand up for the truth. We preach the truth. We stand on the Bible. We stand on doctrine. But we need to understand that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. And it matters how we act. It matters how we conduct ourselves. And from time to time, we just need some reality checks. We need sermons like this to remind us how we're supposed to act despite the evil communications that are all around us. Look at the rest of the verse. It says, What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God? So again, God is the source, not you and how many sins you've turned from. It's God. And it says this, And ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Again, everything points back to the Lord and his sacrifice on the cross. So if you would, real quickly back to Romans chapter one. And we're, I'm going to wrap this up here. We were just about done. Just about done. So again, there, look at verse 31, Romans chapter one, verse number 31. So talking about the proud, talking about these people in Genesis 19, which obviously these, these types of people are exploding all around us. They are multiplying. It says this without understanding covenant breakers without natural affection. It says implacable, unmerciful. See that word there. Implacable right in between, without natural affection and unmerciful. Okay. This is what I'm talking about. These people here are a different breed. Okay. Don't let people say, well, we're all implacable. That is not true. Okay. Because the last time I checked people without natural affection, aren't allowed in church because we have children here. Okay. And that is not going to happen. And so I just wanted to leave with that. What does implacable mean? It means impossible to placate, impossible to please. Now again, I just want to make sure that I'm clear about this. You know, I'm not insinuating that anybody in here is implacable or anything like that. This is simply being taught to, to counteract the month that we're about to have, you know, with the explosion of pride. God hates pride. The Bible is very clear on that, you know, and part of that are people that are implacable. And we don't want to let that attitude in any capacity rub off on us. You know, just to give you another quick example of somebody who was implacable in the Bible, who remembers Nabal. You remember David when he was in the wilderness running from Saul and he helps Nabal out by taking care of his sheep. Him and his guys take care of his sheep. You know, David's down, he's out, he's out of food, out of resources, and he realizes, well, Nabal's got some excess here. Maybe he'll help us out. Maybe he's willing to give us a helping hand. What does David do? Send some guys to him and says, hey, you know, would you be willing to help us out? Paraphrasing, but he says, Nabal says, no. Okay, why would I help you out? You know, you guys are just some punks basically that are running from their master. You know, it's like, how ungrateful can you be? Right? What happened to Nabal? What was his demise? How did he die? Yeah, his heart turned into stone. Okay. And that basically sums up people that are implacable. Okay, their heart, their mind, or stone. Read Romans one again very carefully. God says that he has given them over to a reprobate mind, meaning he has taken the part of their mind that prevents people from doing unnatural things. This is how psychopaths are born. And we need to unfortunately learn today how to live in a world that is being ran by them and that is being basically filled with them. Okay. And I think that if you pay attention over the next coming weeks, you're going to get some good wisdom, some good doctrine on how to function in a crazy world led by implacable people. So let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for the wisdom in your word. Just pray that you bless the fellowship after the service, Lord, and be with us as we go throughout the week. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Please grab your songbooks one more time this evening and turn the song 404. When the battle...