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your word, just ask that you would be with our pastor now, strengthen him, please just fill him with your spirit and help us to be edified by the preaching and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. All right, we're in 2 Thessalonians, chapter number three. Look down at your Bibles at verse number one. The title of my sermon this morning is Free Course. Free Course, look down at your Bibles at verse number one. It says, finally brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you. Now, when we think of something having free course, we can basically compare it to a path that is without obstruction, it doesn't have any hindrances in the way. You know, there's no restraints, no distractions, no hindrances on a channel that will inhibit something's progression, right? And this is basically the gist of what the Apostle Paul is saying. He said, hey, I need you to pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course. He wants the word of God to prosper, that they would be able to see people saved and change people's lives, that the word of God would be without hindrance, have free course, have free reign, no hindrance, no obstruction, no barricades, no stone walls that would hinder the word of God from accomplishing that which God has called it to do. Now, I want you to notice that he doesn't say this. He doesn't say, I would, you know, that you would pray for me, that I would have liberty to preach, okay? Pray that I would be able to preach the word of God and you know what, that I wouldn't be afraid to preach. But here's the thing, a lot of pastors do that today, actually, and they'll often stop themselves from preaching the word of God hard or preaching the whole counsel of God, and they'll often say this, oh, you know, I didn't feel at liberty to preach that. I felt like the Spirit wasn't allowing me to do that. No, what it is is that you're just not Spirit-filled. That's what it is. Because God tells us to preach the word of God. He tells us to preach hard. He tells us to preach the entire counsel of God. He doesn't tell us to, hey, you know what, maybe you wanna like cut it down a little bit and relax a little bit, not be as zealous, not be as passionate. No, that has to do with the man who's just not Spirit-filled. He's fleshly, he's afraid, he's a coward, he's not bold in the Lord, okay? You know, the Bible tells us of Paul that he kept back nothing that was profitable unto them, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. He says, I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. You know, he's not saying, well, you know, the Spirit told me not to preach this to you. I feel a little tension in this church, like you guys don't wanna hear the truth, so I'm just gonna not talk about the sodomites, not talk about false doctrine, not hit on or step on your toes because I don't feel at liberty to do so. No, where the Spirit of God is, there is also liberty, amen? You know, if a man has a Spirit of God dwelling within him and he is Spirit-filled, he's just gonna let it fly no matter what happens. And in fact, the Bible tells us in Jeremiah 26, verse two, Thus saith the Lord, Stand in the court of the Lord's house and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house. All the words that I command thee to speak unto them diminish not a word. What is he saying? Look, everything that I tell you to preach in that sermon, you better not cut back on anything. If it's offensive, let it fly. If it's edifying to them, let it fly. If I tell you to preach it, preach it, don't diminish one single word. But you have pastors today that will literally breeze over a word in the Bible because they think it's a cuss word. It's like, well, you know, it says the A word, but even though it's in the Bible, we shouldn't say it. That's nonsense, folks. The words of the Lord are pure words, the Bible tells us. And look, if the Bible tells us, talks about hell, it says the word ass, it says the word damn, it says all these words that today people would consider to be offensive, you know, it doesn't matter. The Bible tells us don't diminish a word. We ought not to diminish a word and try to set our standard on the word of God and say, well, I know God wrote it this way, but you know what? I don't think it's right to use that type of language. You're just not spirit filled. We have the liberty to preach whatever the Bible tells us to preach. And if it's written in the word of God, we can preach it. If the words are found in the word of God, we can preach it. Okay, the Bible tells us to preach the word to be instant in season, out of season, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. And let me just say this is the Bible will always be effective, right? It'll always be effective. It'll always accomplish that what God has called it to do. Go to Isaiah 55, if you would. Isaiah chapter 55, the title of the sermon this morning is Free Course. We as Christians should desire that the word of God would have free reign in our lives, right? I hope that you came today to church because you want the word of God to have free course in your personal life. You know that the preaching of God's word would hit your heart, that you would come desiring to change something, amen? That you would be challenged, that you would be convicted, that you would be prompted to just change your ways or to build upon your faith, that the word of God would do something to you. We shouldn't come to church expecting to be bored. We shouldn't come to church, you know, I can't wait for lunch and I can't wait till after church and I got a football game to watch or I got a baseball game to watch. I want to do other things. No, you know what? The word of God does not have free course in your life if that's your attitude, okay? The word of God, the Bible says, is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces even to the dividing of sunder of soul and spirit joints in the marrow and is a discern of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. So what is it telling us? The word of God is not the problem. The word of God is effective. It can accomplish great things, but here's the thing, the path that it uses to get there can be obstructed by people. It can be obstructed by us, okay? Look what the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 55 and verse number eight, it says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my way, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but water at the earth and maketh it bring forth in bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. What is he saying? Well just as rain comes down and it doesn't just come down vainly, it has a purpose behind it. It waters the ground, it waters the earth, it produces fruit, it produces buds, it's a seed to the sower and bread to the eater in like manner the word of God has purpose behind it. He says, So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, he says, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. What is God saying? The word of God will accomplish that which God intends for it to do. You know in a church service, if you leave here and you think to yourself, well I didn't learn anything, well that's not my fault. Because I guarantee you there's other people in the church that leave and say, well I learned something new. Or you know what, maybe I didn't learn something new but I was reminded of something that I already knew but maybe I have forgotten. Or maybe I was just added faith or I repented of this specific sin or I was encouraged to continue to go forward and not quit. You know why? Because the word of God never comes back void. It only comes back void to the people who are obstructing the path by which the word of God should be to your heart. Let the word of God have free course. It will always prosper in the area that we send it to. But let me say this is that even though the word of God is effective, even though it's powerful, even though it can accomplish great things, there are times when outside forces can basically intercept the message of God's word so that it doesn't reach its final destination. There's times when it's intercepted by something or someone and it doesn't accomplish that which God has called it to do. It's not the Bible's fault. It's not the preacher's fault. It's just that there are outside forces seeking to hinder that message, outside elements that can obscure the path of the word of God. There can be a point when recipients of God's word, you know, they just don't receive it. They don't benefit from it. Now turn with me if you would to go to Matthew chapter 13 if you would, Matthew chapter 13. Let me talk about those outside forces this morning. By the way, I'm gonna hit on two categories. One is an outside force that will keep the word of God from having free course. Another one is an inside force that will keep the word of God from having free course. So let's talk about the outside forces that obstruct the path of receptiveness in an individual. Number one is the most obvious one, the devil, right? The devil is a tool or is an angel that really will obstruct the path of the word of God. He's the one that comes and desires for people not to listen to the word of God. Now this happens more commonly with unsafe people, okay? The devil will seek to intercept the path of God's word in order to hinder the free course of the word. You know, he'll try to inhibit its progression. Let me read to you from 2 Corinthians 4, 4. It says, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them. So who is the one responsible for causing people to not be receptive towards the word of God? The devil. He's blinded the minds, the Bible says, right? He's caused them to believe false doctrines, false ideologies, false religions, that in turn cause people to be close to the true gospel. You understand? Now look at Matthew 13. I'll let, this is important to know because if you're a soul winner in our church, you're gonna run into people who are gonna frustrate you. You're gonna run into people where you're like, why aren't they getting it? Oh, they're just wicked reprobates. Well, not necessarily. Maybe they've just been duped by the devil. Maybe it's Satan just placing a hindrance on the path so that the word of the Lord does not have free course in that person's life. So what are we doing when we go out there and preach in the gospel? We're making the path straight is what we're doing. We're trying to make our gospel presentation as clear as possible. We're trying to be prayed up, spirit-filled, know what the Bible's talking about so that we remove all distractions when we're talking to an unsaved person, right? Why? Because we have someone called Satan who is seeking to obstruct the path so that the Bible, the gospel, does not have free course in that person's life. Look at Matthew 13 and verse number one. It says, the same day when Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside and great multitudes were gathered together unto him so that he went into a ship and sat and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parable, saying, behold, a sower went forth to sow, and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up. So the analogy that's being presented here is a sower's going and he wants to produce fruit, so he takes the seed, he puts it on the ground. It's not that the seed is just, you know, can't produce any trees or any fruit. It's not that the seed is just void. It's just that the fowl, the bird of the air, comes and eats the seed, removes the seed from the ground so it doesn't produce fruit. Skip down to verse 18. Hear ye therefore, verse 18, the parable of the sower. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, who is the wicked one? Satan, and catcheth the way that which was sown in his heart, this is he which received seed by the wayside. Folks, have you ever been soul winning and you're preaching the word of God to someone, you're giving the gospel, they're in agreement, and then at the end of the conversation, you're like, so, you want to get saved? They're like, ah, no, I'm good. I don't really believe that stuff. Like, you know, I got my own religion. What in the world? What happened? I'll tell you what happened. Satan came and removed the seed out of that person's heart. Blinded the minds lest they should believe the glorious gospel. Satan will come and do that in the lives of unsaved individuals all the time. You see, he can't hinder the power of that seed, but what he can do is obstruct the path that it's on so the recipient doesn't understand the gospel. And look, this is why it's important that we preach clearly, right? This is why it's important that we know what we're talking about when we're out there soul winning. We don't want to make the gospel complicated. We want to preach Christ and Him crucified, amen? You know, learn the Romans road, memorize the verses, be spirit filled, and put the cookie on the bottom shelf. Don't try to use all these, you know, extravagant biblical terms when you're out there soul winning just because you want to just look like you're just this professional soul winner. We just want the person to get saved. We want the common people to hear us gladly, right? And so the way we combat this is that we need to make sure that we remove all these distractions. Go to Genesis chapter 15. That's why it's important that when we go out soul winning, we love the people that we're going to, right? Because what happens when you love someone and they're just kind of frustrating you, you're long suffering towards them, right? When you love an individual and they're just, you know, stubborn, they're not getting it, your love will cause you, your compassion will cause you to be long suffering and patient towards them, right? So when you're out there preaching the gospel, if you love the people you're talking to, you're not just going to write them off and just be like, oh, this person's an idiot, stupid. They're not getting it, wicked, reprobate. No, what you're going to do is be patient with them. You're going to be long suffering towards them. And what you're going to do is you're going to remove the birds that are coming to remove the seed out of that person's heart. Look what the Bible says in Genesis 15, good little illustration here in verse number nine, it says, and he said unto him, take me a heifer of three years old and a she-goat of three years old and a ram of three years old and a turtledove and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these and divided them in the midst and laid each piece one against another, but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abraham drove them away. So we see here that these birds are seeking to intercept Abraham's worship. They're seeking to interject, intercept, just kind of ruin the sacrifice here. He's trying to serve God, obey the Lord. And does he just say, you know what, trash this whole thing, let's just start over again. No, instead, what does he do? He just drives away the birds. He just removes them. Get out of here, move, move. So how can we apply that when it comes to preaching the gospel? You know, when people don't seem to understand what you're saying and they want to cause you to go into a different subject, what do you do, you shoo that away, right? Well, I believe in the Virgin Mary. Okay, well, you know, the Bible doesn't really talk about that at all. But let me tell you what the Bible, who the Bible says you have to believe in in order to be saved. And it's not the Virgin Mary. What do you think about the earth being flat or something? You believe the earth is flat? Don't get carried away with another conversation. You have to realign that person's conversation to the matter at hand. Drive away the birds. When the bird and the fowls come to remove the seed of God's word out of the person's heart, don't just throw the towel in, says just let them eat the seed. Just let them eat that individual. No, have the discernment to say, well, maybe this person has some hindrances, some roadblocks, some stone walls that I need to remove. I need to cast down those imaginations for that person in order to help them to understand. And this is what the Bible says that these people have to overcome the world, right? The ideologies that they believe. We need to dissolve doubts, folks. And look, it's important that when you go out there, you go out there with the attitude that we love people. Don't go preach the gospel because you want to get, you want to raise your hand for salvation's like, I got this many. Go out there because you actually want to see people saved. You want to actually pull people out of the fire. And if you go out there with that motive, you'll be far more patient with people. Don't be rude with people out there, folks. And look, this is why we have the teams, right? The teams are existing in our church in order to train others how to effectively preach the gospel in such a way that we are able, as soul winners, to remove all the obstruction, drive away the birds, and get people saved. I've been soul winning with people who are just like, good night, must you be so rude? Right? How many of you have ever been with someone like that? I remember one time going out soul winning and it's just like this one guy, he went up to the door, he knocked on the door, and look, I knocked twice, and if they don't answer, I move on. I've known people that are just like. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I said, I'll explain to you why. Passes out, he's fine. They ended up calling the paramedics and he was fine. The paramedics said he was fine. But I told everyone, I was like, you guys need to go soloing. I'm gonna stay here with this guy because if the managers come or something, I need to be here, I'm the one in charge. So he's fine. And then everything's fine, he's eating. And then all of a sudden the managers do come. And they're like, who's in charge here? And I'm like, I'm in charge. They're like, we need to speak to you in private. And I'm like, oh, snaps. And it begins. They pulled me aside and they said, you guys can't be here anymore. I'm like, why? Well, we got reports from people and they're calling the authorities on us saying that you're here, you're not wearing your masks. And they say, and amongst other things that you say on YouTube, we saw it fit to not have you be at our venue anymore. I said, the money, you already have my money. So just honor it, like we can't. You need to be out of here within the hour. I was like, within the hour? I was like, you know how long it took to set up all that equipment? And you expect me to break this down in one hour? They're like, you gotta go, you gotta go. So Marcus and I were like, okay, we gotta go. So I called Brett, Brett's out there sewn in. I said, I need you to stop everything that you're doing and go find another venue. Because there's someone out there who wants money. Money's green. You will find someone out there who wants it. And I said, go find someone. He's like, I'm on it. 20 minutes later, he calls me, I got one. Signing the papers, at this time, we can go set up. Great, now the reason I say that guy fainted was of the Lord because if he had not fainted, I would have not stayed and if I would have not stayed and I would have gone, they would have waited till we came back for the night preaching and told us that we can't be there. And at that point, man, looking for a venue with an hour to spare is very difficult, okay? So I believe that was of God. Keeping us there so we have enough time to look for another venue. And I was just thinking to myself, this is great. This guy's helping me earn rewards in heaven. Such a wicked individual that he would shut us down and bring these people. So we get there and then Brad was like, brother, Brad said, I sent a bunch of other decoy venues. So this guy, the reason follows a guy, he's like calling all these other places and like, yeah, we got them shut down over here. It's like, sucker, we're not even over there. It's a decoy. We're sending you in a wild goose chase because you're a beast. You're the goose. And I was, if you saw the podcast, I was talking about that. I'm like, you're not gonna be able to stop us. We're still gonna have service no matter what. No matter what happens. He said, what were you doing Pastor Mejia? I was making the course as clear as possible to the best of my ability. And you know what, people were blessed. We got 65 people saved in two days. 65 people saved. We went to an area, extremely receptive. People were getting saved. I got like three people saved in about an hour and 15 minutes or so. Very receptive. But you know what, there's wicked and unreasonable men. He said, so what's the solution to the wicked and unreasonable men? Just stand up to them. Just punk them. Just show them what's up. Show them that we don't back down. You don't cower to them. You don't capitulate to them. You don't surrender to them. What do you do? You fight back. And you tell them, you can shut me down as much as you want. This is still gonna happen. You can say whatever you want. Make as many videos as you want. You can say all manner of evil. You can call the police. You can call the CDC. You can call whatever. You're not going to stop me. Outside forces, they hinder the word of God is this. You have the devil and then you have the devil's minions. The treason files. I'm telling you, he just came out with a new video. We shouldn't have stopped them from their freedom of speech and we apologize for everything. Shut up, you weakling. If we would have capitulated to you, he wouldn't have been putting that video out there. He's only doing it because he knows he lost. We have guys texting him from the conference like, you failed. You're a miserable failure. You didn't stop us. You suck. It's true. So when we think about the word of God having free course, you're gonna have Satan. You're gonna have all these things that people believe that you have to remove. You're gonna have wicked and unreasonable men. And by the way, new IFB conferences are way better than old IFB conferences. Let me just say that right now. And we have a different element. Old IFB conferences, they don't have enemies. They have zero enemies. I guarantee when they have their conferences, wicked reprobates can care less what they do because they're not a threat. You know why they come after us? Because we're a threat. We threaten them. They don't like us. They don't like the truth. I thought it was exciting. I loved it. We got here late. We set up here and it was just like, I feel accomplished. Bring it on again. Inside forces that obstruct the path of receptiveness, go with me if you would. Turn to Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15. So how do we defeat Satan? Well, we gotta know what we're talking about. We gotta make sure that we're effective soul winners. How do we defeat wicked and unreasonable men? You just plow right through them. You just step right over them. You shove them out of the way. You shove the birds out of the way. And when they fall on the ground, you just step on their stomach, you step on their face and you just keep going. And when they bark, you bark louder. When they threaten, you don't cower. When they come at you, you just stand right. You stand your ground, you don't move, and you fight back. Just picture this. They're like chihuahuas. You know how far a chihuahua can go if you kick one? Think about that. Forgive me if some of you have chihuahuas in here, okay? I don't know if you have chihuahuas, right? They bark a good bark. Little ankle biters, right? But think about that. They could fly pretty far if you just launch one. And that's exactly how these reprobates are. That's why the guy never shows his face. So let's talk about the inside forces that obstruct the path of receptiveness. The greatest inside force that will impede the word of God obviously is our flesh. Because we can't, the Bible tells us that the carnal mind is enmity against God and it's not subject to the law of God, and neither indeed can be. So you know, if you're in the flesh when you come to church, if you're in the flesh when you're reading the Bible, you're not gonna get anything out of the Bible. You have to be in the Spirit because we delight in the law of God after the inward man, you understand? So we need to make sure that when we are approaching the word of God, that we are in a state of walking in the Spirit. But think about this. You know, when you read your Bible, you need to make sure that you remove all the distractions, right? How can the word of God have free course when you're in your personal devotional time? Well, you gotta move your phone, turn off the TV, turn off the radio, turn off whatever. Maybe you need to be isolated a little bit. Why? Because you want the word of the Lord to have free course in your life. That when you're reading the word of God, you're listening, you're ready to hear, you are understanding what you're reading, you are removing all the obstructions that will cause the word of God not to have free course in your life, okay? But what about when you just come to church? Folks, we need to make sure that the word of the Lord has free course in the church. From a physical standpoint, it's just like, well, maybe you just need to get to bed early on time the day before. So you're not falling asleep during church. Maybe you need to change your diet a little bit, right? Maybe you need to take some energy pills or some B vitamins or whatever. Not Red Bull, okay? Or maybe you just need to work on your focus and your retention a little more. Some people in church, their mind just wanders. They're just like. And it typically wanders during the announcements. Because I'll announce something very clear and then someone else will be like, hey, so when does the fall program start, Pastor? You know, while they're holding the bulletin in their hand, you know what I mean? We need to make sure when we come to church that we're ready to hear. Folks, treat church seriously. You need to treat church in a serious manner that you're ready to hear the preaching of God's work, okay? Now, I don't wanna get ahead of myself here, but first and foremost, some inside forces that will obstruct the path of receptiveness in our personal lives, preconceived ideas. We know that to be true in other people's lives, right? When we're talking about end times Bible prophecy, the Jews and all these other things, some people just have preconceived ideas and they cannot see what the Bible wants to teach them because they have preconceived ideas. They're already set in their ways and therefore they don't wanna change that. Well, you're hindering the free course of the Bible in your life. You know, I know people that say, well, this is what I believe and I'm not gonna change. Why? That's weird. What if you're wrong? What if you're wrong? If you're wrong, then you should want to change. Folks, if I have the truth, scrutinize the truth that I have and you know what, if I find that it's wrong, then it wasn't the truth. And I'll change what I believe and I'll believe the truth. Folks, there's so many doctrines out there, so many stances that people have in vain. Pre-tribulation rapture, replacement theology, you know, or Zionism, should I say. What Bible version they use. We were just talking about at the conference of the people that used the rate of error in 1960. They literally had this preconceived idea that that's the word of God in Spanish, even though it's been shown to them over and over again. Now, why is that? Well, because they just don't wanna change. And they're like, well, you know, this is the tried and true 1960, this is the old one, this is like the King James. Folks, the 60s was not that long ago. Do you understand that? 1960 was not that long ago. That's more like a new version, okay? But why won't pastors change on that? I'll tell you why, because they have preconceived ideas, they're not willing to change, they're not willing to take admonishment, and therefore the word of God will not have a free course in that person's life. Go to Matthew 15, look at verse number one. Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees which were at Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother, and he that curseth father and mother, let him die to death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, it is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honor not his father or mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by what? Your tradition. What is that talking about? There are preconceived beliefs and ideas. Go to Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter number five. What will hinder the word of God from having a free course in a person's life? Preconceived ideas. Things that you were taught, things that you just never question. We need to make sure that when we read the Bible, we're just an open slate, we're a clean slate, and allow the word of God to just change whatever it needs to change in our life. Look at verse 43. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. Now look, nowhere in the Old Testament does it say, hate thine enemy. But yet we see here that it hath been said of them of old, love thy neighbor, hate thine enemy. So what is that? That is a preconceived idea that who? The Pharisees gave to the Jews. And the proof of that is this. In the Talmud, the Jews teach to hate the goyems. I mean, a lot of teaching on hating the goyems. You know, you can kill the goyem, you can rob from the goyem. Goyems are beasts, they're animals. Intercourse between two goyems is just animals, animalistic, just crazy stuff that they say, why? Because they teach, hate your enemy. And who's their enemy? The goyems. Who are the goyems? Us, according to them. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute. That's what Jesus is telling. So he's telling the Jews, hey, you have heard by them of old, these Pharisees, these Sadducees, these people who adhere to the traditions of the elders, oh, you need to hate your enemies, aka the goyems. But I'm saying to you, that's not what you should do. They have a preconceived idea that needs to change, okay? Preconceived ideas is an inside force that will obstruct the path of receptiveness. Not only that, but how about ears that are dull of hearing? And then lastly, of course, sin. Sin will obstruct receptiveness in your life. You know, the Bible tells us, go to Hebrew chapter 12. Hebrew chapter 12. The Bible tells us in Mark 4, 18, and these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful, the Bible says. So what is the Bible telling us? You know, sometimes people don't hear the word of God. They don't listen to the word of God, why? Because they're thinking about other things. Sometimes people, let me just say this, let's do a little family time here, okay? Sometimes people refuse to listen to instructions and admonitions. Listen to this, because the cares of this life are choking the word. That's what it is. And 2020's been filled with cares. 2020 has been filled with things that have caused people to fear. And you know what? That has inserted itself into the hearts of people, individuals, yay, even in our church, to the point when we preach what the Bible literally says, we give the wisdom of God, we say what the word of God says, they just can't hear it. They don't see it, you know why? Because the cares of this life has choked the word. The word of God can't have free course. It can't instill faith in that person. And let me just say this, let me just say this, since I'm on this topic, okay? If you hate California, and you don't like California, then good for you. Okay? If that's your position, so be it. But let me just say this, don't go around telling our people in our church to have your views on that. Causing people to be discontent with where they're at. And what God is doing in their life. Folks, I can care less about what's going on in California. I like the fires. It just burned millions of dollars worth of marijuana. Praise Jesus for that. Hey, it made Ben Shapiro leave. Look, if those are your views, I don't think you're a wicked person. I don't think you're a wicked individual. I don't think you're wicked or you have some sort of different agenda. But hold on a second. When you start trying to infiltrate the minds of the people and try to cause them to have your views, then I got a problem with it. You know why? Because you're causing people in our church to be discontent. And look, if you're in here and you're discontent with California, and you come and ask me, should I move? I'm gonna tell you yes. You should. I'm not gonna try to fight to keep people here who don't wanna be here. Because some people's minds, it's already said that they wanna leave. It's already said. And you know what? You hang around with people like that long enough, you're gonna be just like that. And it doesn't matter how much Bible we give you. Doesn't matter how many sermons Pastor Mejia can preach and it's truth and you cannot refute it. You're still gonna do whatever you wanna do. Why? Because the cares of this life is choking the word out of your heart. That's what it is. Oh, you're trying to say I can't serve God anywhere else? Are you saying I can't win souls? Of course you can win souls anywhere else. I just won souls in Ohio and Kentucky. We had the conference in two different states. I won a bunch of souls, but you know what? I came back here. And again, you can have those views. This is not a place where I say you cannot have those views opposite from Pastor Mejia. What I'm saying is this. Don't go around talking trash about California trying to get people to go with you. You're so bold, go by yourself. Right? And look, let me just make it known as the pastor of this church, don't ask me for advice on leaving California. Okay? Don't try to get my approval to say, well, yeah, California's pretty wicked, you should go. I'm just gonna say you should go because you wanna go. And look, folks, and if you go, don't be double-minded. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, the Bible says. They're very unstable. And look, once you go, don't look back. Don't look back. Why? Because you should just be settled on what you do. I'm leaving, I'm going, I'm gone. Okay, leave, going, gone. Go serve God wherever you're at. But don't be this individual in our church, be like, well, I wanna stay, but I wanna go, and it's so, I hate California because of all the liberalism, but I love it because of this. Just make a decision. When I go out to eat with my wife, for me, it's just like, we just pick the spot. I'm very much like, this is where, I want canes right now. I want wingstop. I'm not like, well, you know, just, mm, yeah. I'm just like, this is what I want, this is what we're gonna do. Don't be this individual in our church where you're just double-minded, you're flip-flopping one end to another. And don't come to me for advice because when I give you the counsel, I already know that the word of God does not have free course in your life. It's already evident that it doesn't. So this is what you do. If you're planning to leave California, that that thou doest, doest quickly. No, I'm not calling you a Judas. I'm just saying, do it quickly. And don't come back next week with a changed mind. Well, I changed my mind, because you know what's gonna happen? The next week's gonna come, you're gonna change your mind again. How do you expect to lead a family like that? How do you expect to lead a wife? Men cannot be double-minded. We need to be settled, even if we're wrong. We just need to do something and do it, and if we're wrong, we're wrong. But I'd rather be wrong than just be flip-flopping between opinions, halting between two opinions. Be not like the wave tossed about, just make a decision. And look, folks, I'm not in the state of California, because I'm a Golden State boy. I'm here to win souls to Christ. I'm here because God has allowed a church to be here. I'm here because this is where my brothers and sisters in Christ are. I'm not here because one day it's gonna be a red state. You care less about that. I'm not here. Oh, you know, aren't you afraid of what's gonna happen? Bring it on. Folks, I am a Christian. And as a Christian, we have a different element, and it's called God. We have Goshen, it could be plagues all over Egypt, but you know what? If we're serving God, we'll be A-okay. You know what, let me just say this for all of you individuals out here, if you have someone coming up to you, trying to convince you, you need a California, you need to leave California, California sucks, you just tell that individual, then you need to get out of here and go. Because I'm planning to raise my kids here, and I want them to be bold for the Lord. And we don't need people trying to cause the hearts of the brethren to melt. That's what God did, right? With the Israeli army, He says, if you're afraid, then go. Because you're gonna affect the other people and cause them to be afraid. So if you're scared, go home. Go. It's not, if you're afraid, go to church. Ice cube. It's more like if you're afraid, go home, because those who are bold stay here. And again, no, this isn't the epicenter of spirituality of America. California's wicked, obviously, duh. Tell me something I don't know. But First Words Baptist Church isn't wicked. God's hand is on First Words Baptist Church. And just to let you know, when you move, you go from Babylon to Babylon. This is important, that you make sure that you remove any roadblocks in your life that will cause the word of the Lord not to have free course. And look, let me just say this, people have left our church because of what's going on in California. I love them. I don't hate people like that. Those people are still my brothers and sisters in Christ. I love them. They've always been respectful towards me, and vice versa. I wish them the best. I hope they go to church out there and they prosper, and I don't want no ill upon any individual who leaves our church for those reasons. Obviously, I don't agree with them, but I'm not gonna say that they're wicked, that they're evil, they're dumb, because I don't believe that. Let them do whatever they gotta do. On the flip side of that, don't try to recruit people to your side. Anyways, I had you go to Hebrews 12, but we'll leave it at that. We wanna make sure that in our church we have a clear path, removing all distractions, all roadblocks, all stone walls, so God's word can just do whatever it needs to do in our lives, amen? Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, and Lord, I'm thankful. We're here for such a time as this. We are here for such a time as this, and I pray, God, that you'd help us, Lord, that we would be vessels and to honor me for the master's use, that the word of God would have free course in our personal lives, but also when we go out there, that you will remove unreasonable and wicked men from our lives. And if for some reason they're there and they cannot be removed, help us to just stand up to them and to disconfit them and confound them and cause them, just like the reason, Father, to now apologize for the things that he's done, because he wants your mercy upon his life, because he knows that he's gonna be judged by God for trying to stop a godly conference. I pray, God, that you'd help us, Lord, fill us with your power and your spirit.