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Amen. Okay, we're in Exodus chapter 23, look down at your Bibles in verse 9. It says, Also, thou shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt. And this morning, I want to preach on the subject of immigration from a biblical perspective. Immigration from a biblical perspective. And the reason I'm preaching this is because it's in light of recent events where, of course, as you've heard, I'm sure you've heard, that Biden has withdrawn the American troops from Afghanistan. And there's been a viral video of Afghan refugees fleeing the country to come to America. Obviously, you know, a lot of what's taking place in that video is very suspect, okay? And I'm not necessarily addressing that video in particular, but here's the thing is that the recent events have resurfaced the subject of immigration in the minds of Christians. And so often when things like this come up, people revisit this concept and they wonder, well, is this biblical? Is it not? What does the Bible say about this? And it's important that when events like this take place, that we come to the house of God to see what the Bible has to say about these things. Not what Fox News has to say, not what your favorite conservative talk radio host should say about this, not what Alex Jones has to say about it. I'm talking to some of you out there, right? Not what Alex Jones has to say about it. You know, we need to make sure that we see what the Word of God says because we're Christians before anything else, right? For safety. And conservative groups have done a great job moving the goalposts to get Christians to fight for stances that are not even biblical, okay? And so what we need to do as Christians is move the goalposts back to its original position, right? And actually ask ourselves, what is the issue at hand here? And the reason I say this is because for some reason, you know, when political controversies like this come up, Christian conservatives have a tendency to put doctrine on the backburner and they put their political parties before that. It's like, who cares what the Bible says? You know, who cares what, you know, the Word of God says? Who cares what the church says? Who cares what pastors say? You know, this is my political view and this is what we're gonna run with. But here's the thing, folks, we're Christians at all times. We don't compartmentalize God or the Bible and say, well, you know, I'm gonna do the Christian thing when it comes to winning souls to Christ and when it comes to Godly living. But when it comes to politics and foreign policies and whatnot, you know, I'm gonna stick to my political party in that regard. No, we need to go with the Bible. And the Bible tells us that the Word of God has everything that pertains to life and godliness. So it not only has things that pertain to godliness, it has things that just pertain to life in general, okay? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 19 verse 21, there are many devices in a man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. No matter what preconceived ideas you might have or what your political party might believe, you gotta recognize that at the end of the day, it's the counsel of God that should stand. It's the counsel of God that should have the preeminence in your worldview. You know, think of what Jehoshaphat said. He said unto the king of Israel, inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today. You know, when things like this come up, we should inquire at the word of the Lord. What does God say about these things? Now, go to Ephesians chapter number two, if you would. We'll come back to Exodus, where actually for the majority of the sermon, we'll be in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. We'll reference some scriptures in the New Testament as well, of course, but we're just gonna go over some of these verses here. Go to Ephesians chapter number two. First and foremost, we need to understand what God's general view is of immigrants, okay? What is his general view of immigrants? And of course, when I say immigrant, we're referring to foreigners, those who the Bible will refer to as strangers, aliens, okay? Not the UFOs that people, you know, think are aliens. It's just a foreigner, it's a stranger, someone who is an immigrant to a specific nation. Let me read to you from Deuteronomy, you're in Ephesians chapter two, I wanna read to you from Deuteronomy 10, 18, it says, he, referring to God, doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. So God loves the stranger, he loves the foreigner, and he gives him food and raiment, and why is that? Well, Matthew chapter five tells us that he sends rain upon the just as well as the unjust, okay? It's just God. The Bible says, we read in Exodus 23 verse nine, and thou shall not oppress a stranger, for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Look at Ephesians chapter two verse 12, speaking to the Ephesian church, which is obviously a Gentile church, they weren't necessarily a people who were of the nation of Israel, these were Gentiles. Verse 12 says that at the time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. So what this tells me is that basically every single individual, and let's just go ahead and say it, like conservatives, right? That's unsaved, is actually an illegal immigrant in the eyes of God, right? I mean at one point you and I, before Christ, before getting saved, were illegal immigrants. Now some of you were illegal immigrants in more ways than just that, okay? But hey, even if you're born here, even if you are a, you're born in the United States of America, you're a citizen here, and this is where you're born, you're free born, if you weren't saved, in God's eyes you were an illegal immigrant. And it doesn't matter how conservative your views are, how right winged you are, how Republican you can be, what views you have in regards to the United States of America, if you're not saved, you're an illegal immigrant. You said to what? Well, according to God, to the nation, which is the spiritual nation, Israel, the spiritual Israel, heaven, okay? You are an illegal immigrant. Every immigrant, and this is totally opposed to what people say, because you hear a lot of people sometimes say, well every immigrant is a rapist, murderer, and a thief. That's the narrative that you often hear. How many of you have ever heard something like that? And here's the problem with that, is that they often paint immigrants with a broad brush. They kind of throw out the baby with the bath water. And you know, when I think of that statement, I think of what David said when he's being persecuted by, you know, Saul and by the enemies of God, he said, in my haste I said all men are liars. And he understood that in his haste, he basically grouped all these people together and said, you know what? I can't trust anybody. Well, in like manner, because there's a narrative being pushed, or because maybe you may have had a bad experience with an immigrant, you know, with a wet back or something like that, you know, you might have the tendency to say, well all of them are rapists and murderers and thieves, you know, but that's not necessarily a fair judgment according to the Bible, okay? Go to 1 Peter chapter 2. So as I mentioned, if you're without Christ, you're actually an illegal immigrant in the eyes of God. And in fact, the Bible says in John chapter 10 verse 1, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. So he's basically saying, hey, you know, you spiritual wet backs out there who are trying to get into the kingdom of God through some other way, other than the legal way, which is through Christ, you know, you're a thief and a robber in the eyes of God. That's what the Bible says, because I don't like you using that word wet back, you know? Well, you know, I mean, what do you want? I'm brown. First Peter chapter 2, look at verse 9, but ye are a chosen generation of royal priests that a holy nation... It's like you don't know if to be offended or to laugh, you're like, oh, man, you know, he is, you know, he is Mexican or something, so, you know, I don't know, it's okay to laugh. But ye are a chosen generation of royal priests that a holy nation of peculiar people that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past, look what it says, were not a people, but are now the people of God, which hath not obtained mercy, but now hath obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as what? Strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul. So not only are the unsafe people, unsafe conservatives or any unsafe person in general an illegal immigrant to God, but even we who are saved, we're basically immigrants in this land, because the Bible says that we're strangers and pilgrims here in this world because this is not our home, okay? And yeah, you know, some of us, we're born in the United States of America, some of us are Americans, this is where we're born, or you might be a third, second or first generation American, but at the end of the day, if you're saved according to God, even if you're saved, you're still an immigrant here in this world because you're a stranger and a pilgrim. This isn't your home. You are an ambassador for Christ. You are a representative of the kingdom of God here on this earth, okay? Now I'm speaking on the behalf of the Bible, of course, but I'm also speaking from experience because although I was born here, my parents were immigrants, alright? And you know, both of my parents are immigrants. One was legal and one was illegal, amen? One came legally and one came illegally. But I'll be honest with you, I'm thankful that they came. I'm thankful that one came legally or the other came illegally, I'm not saying it's right to come illegally, I'm just saying I'm thankful they came. Why? Because I got saved. I came to a country where the gospel was preeminent, where it was found here, I got into a church, someone gave me the gospel, I got saved, I was able to get a bunch of people saved, and you know what? I'm a pastor of a church. And obviously a lot of lives have been changed since the church has started, so I'm thankful that they made the decision to leave a really bad country, you know, because apparently they thought the country was bad enough to leave, right? And this is one of the reasons I'm not against people coming to the United States of America because if they're coming, you know, for the right reasons, obviously they're coming because whatever country they're coming from is worse. They obviously see the United States of America as being a superior country where they can start a better life and have a better life for their children. Why wouldn't we want that for people, okay? My wife's grandparents, or her grandfather, excuse me, her great-grandfather, was actually placed on a boat in Italy to come here to the United States. So you know, she comes from that as well, so I'm thankful for that, you know. And so let me give you a couple things here. Go to Exodus chapter number 12, if you would, Exodus chapter number 12. What are God's views, laws, and solutions to immigrants? You know, because you see a lot of it is taking place, you kind of wonder to yourself, man, this is unjust. Is it right to have these people here? Is it right to have the Islamists here? Is it right to have the Mexicans here? Is it right to have whatever person, immigrant here, what should our view be in regards to immigrants? Well, look at Exodus chapter 12, I'm gonna read to you again from 1 Peter chapter 2, and just remind you that we are immigrants, of course, to this world. But first and foremost, let me say this, is that God made salvation available to everyone including immigrants. Even in the Old Testament. And now obviously I'm hitting on the spiritual aspect of this subject of immigration, but we're gonna get into the laws and everything like that, but I wanna lay a foundation, and the first thing that you need to know is that God wants immigrants to be saved, okay? He wants immigrants to be saved, he wanted us to be saved, that's why he said in times past you were not a people but are now the people of God. Look at Exodus chapter number 12, and look at verse number 43, and the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, this is the ordinance of the Passover, there shall no stranger eat thereof, but every man's servant that is bought for money, well before I read that. So what's taking place here? He's saying in the nation of Israel, in order to partake of the Passover, you had to be a citizen of Israel. So if you were a foreigner, an alien, a stranger, a sojourner, which means a person who's just kinda passing by, maybe they were just kinda passing through Israel, staying there for a couple years, and just kinda being helped out, because obviously Israel was gracious because of their God, they weren't allowed to partake of the Passover, which obviously is a picture of salvation, you understand? If you remember, when the children of Israel were in Egypt, God was gonna send forth the destroyer to kill all the first born, and he instructed the children of Israel and said, Take the blood of the lamb, put it on the post, and when the destroyer comes, it will pass over you because you have the blood on the post, which obviously is a picture of salvation, okay? You know, when we die, we're not gonna go to hell, why? Because there's blood on us, the blood of Jesus Christ has been imputed upon us. But here's the thing, that privilege was not only for the children of Israel, any Egyptian were allowed to put the blood on the post. So he said, look, anybody, of course the children of Israel, but anybody, even the Egyptians, if they just put blood on the post, this privilege is available to you as well. And there were some Egyptians that did that, okay? Because you say, well how do you know? I know this because of the fact that when they left Egypt, some Egyptians left with them, which they obviously lived, okay? They adhered, they were adhering to the laws of God, the instructions of God, and so God was merciful and gracious to them, because you know what, at the end of the day, although Egypt was a wicked nation, not everyone in Egypt was a wicked person. Some people were just normal individuals who just grew up there, they didn't have a choice, you know, in the matter, and so he wanted them to be saved. But here he says, this is the ordinance of the Passover that no stranger shall eat thereof. So he's saying, look, strangers are not welcome to eat of the Passover, they're not allowed to. Verse 44, but every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. So he's saying, look, but if the stranger is willing to partake of that covenant, then he can have it. He can eat of the Passover. And the Bible says in Romans chapter number 2 and 28, for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision outward in the flesh, made of hands, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart and of the spirit, and not of the letter, whose praise is not of man but of God. So in other words, if they were willing to partake and become a citizen of Israel, then they could partake of the Passover. And from a spiritual perspective, what this is basically telling us is that a stranger is not allowed to just have salvation unless they're willing to go through Jesus Christ. So you know, if you're a Hindu, if you're a Buddhist, even if you are a moral person, so to speak, if you come from a different religion, you can't have eternal life except through Jesus Christ. That's the only exception that God will make. Why? Because Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. It doesn't matter where country you're from, doesn't matter what nation you're a part of, salvation is available to you but on God's terms. Salvation is available to the Buddhist on God's terms. In other words, they can believe on Jesus Christ but they have to forsake Buddhism. They can get saved by believing on Jesus Christ but they have to forsake Hinduism. They have to forsake the Virgin Mary or something, you understand, in order to be saved. So God says, look, it's available but you have to forsake your nation's beliefs in order to partake of Israel and have the Passover there. Verse 45, a foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. Go to verse 48 that says that when a stranger shall sojourn with thee and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised and then let him come near and keep it and he shall be as one that is born in the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. So what do we see? We see the literal law is this. If you want to be a part of Israel, you actually have to be a part of Israel. Right? In other words, if you want the privileges that the Israelites have, you need to become an Israelite citizen. So the practical teaching there is this, if you want what Americans have, you've got to become an American. I mean, is that so much to ask? And look folks, when my mom and my dad came here, that's exactly what they wanted to do. They wanted to become Americans. They wanted their children to become Americans as well. And when they became Americans, they became Americans. I mean, my mom and my dad, they both speak Spanish, a little broken, you know, but they speak it and they understand it, they can write it, and they were hard laborers and hard workers. But I'll give you an example, and don't judge me on this because this is before I will say it, okay? I went to Guatemala when I was younger, and that's the homeland, that's the motherland or whatever you want to call it, and I was there for like a month, okay? And you know, you're there, so you're amongst your cousins, aunts, and uncles, and they kind of make you proud to be like that nation. So I was kind of like proud to be a Guatemalan, I was like, yeah, I'm Guatemalan, you know? And they bought me a flag, a Guatemalan flag, just a massive Guatemalan flag. Oh, I was like, right on, you know, cool. So when I get back home like a month later, I get my flag and I put it in my room, okay? The Guatemalan flag, put it in my room, like, you know, I'm Guatemalan. I go to work, I come back, and my flag's gone. I was like, where's my flag? I'm like, ma'am, where's my flag? She's like, I threw it away. I was like, I was like, why? She's all, because you're in America. And she's like, and we don't put other foreign flags on American soil. She's like, you think it's right to put an American flag in Guatemala? She goes, we're an American, you're an American, I'm an American. And you know, and here's the thing, like, if you met my mom, she's Guatemalan. I mean, I'm talking about like culturally to a certain extent, she could be Guatemalan, and that's how she grew up. But she understood, like, look, I've gone through all this to become an American, we're not going to put up Guatemalan flags in America. And she was just like, you know, we're not Guatemalan, if we like Guatemala so much, we should go back to Guatemala. And I've never found that flag ever again. And I remember thinking to myself, like, man, my mom's crazy, my mom's a racist. I was just thinking to myself, well, you know, she's right though. You know, because it wouldn't be right, because I thought about it, I was like, what if I did put an American flag out there when I was in Guatemala? They wouldn't think that would be very good, you know what I mean? They would probably protest that and tear down that flag as well. Why? Because it's another country. So it's not right to bring another flag of a foreign nation into America when this is America. You understand? What am I saying? Well, when you're in America, you have to be an American, okay? And obviously, I have views of America as a Bible-believing Christian. I believe it to be a wicked nation, okay? Because of its morality, the decline of its morality, its exception of sodomy and abortion, all the wicked leaders and politicians that are in this world, but that's a sermon for another day. But just in general, obviously, I'm an American and I think we should be Americans when we come here, amen? If we love this country, because here's the thing, if you're coming to this country from a foreign land, you're basically saying, this is better than what I had before. What I had before is worse. I'm fleeing what I had before to come here. So why would you want to bring that which you hated to this country? You understand? If you believe this nation to be a superior nation, you should not seek to embed the habits and rituals and customs of your foreign nation to this country because you're an American, okay? Oh, you're a Nazi. It says, let all his males be circumcised and then let them come near and keep it, okay? Go with me if you would to, go to chapter 23 if you would, chapter 23. So with that being said, immigrants should be under the same laws as citizens, okay? Immigrants should be under the same laws. If they're here, they should be subject to the same exact laws that every other person is under in this country, okay? I'm going to read to you from verse 49 again, one law shall be to him that is homeborn and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. So look, these foreigners and strangers, these aliens who would come into the nation of Israel, they couldn't just do whatever they wanted to do and say, well, this isn't really my country, it's not really my nation, so I can just kind of do whatever I want. I can bring the abominable things that we did in our country to this nation of Israel and I can just get away with it because I'm under a different system. Well, here's the thing. You might have done that in your country prior to that, but if you're in the nation of Israel, you're subject to Israel's laws because you're living among them. You're using their resources, okay? You are living among the people, so therefore you should be subject to the same exact laws. Leviticus 24, 22 says, you shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country, for I am the Lord your God. And what this tells us is that God is no respecter of people, okay? God is no respecter of people, law should not be different for foreigners, and in other words, foreigners should not receive privileges and freebies for being here, right? The nation, well, you know, they're underprivileged, they don't understand English, they need to learn English then. And look, my mom, again, I'm sure you've spoken to my mom and I'm sure you've understood my mom and I'm sure she said words to you, you know, she tried her best to get by and she can speak English, probably not as good as you or me, but she understood if I'm gonna be in this country, I need to learn the language, okay? So they shouldn't get any privileges or freebies just because they are immigrants, they shouldn't be let off the hook, also for their crimes, okay? I don't know, you sound like a prejudiced type of a person. No, because here's the thing, I'm brown, okay? My parents are immigrants, I got a lot of family members who are immigrants, I just from a biblical, because remember, what's the title of the sermon? Immigration from a biblical perspective. And the biblical perspective is this, is that God is no respecter of people if a citizen or an immigrant commits a crime, they both should be punished equally and not be given a privilege just because they're from a different nation where they're poverty-stricken or they didn't know that, okay? Look at Exodus 23 verse 12, let's look at an example of this, six days shall do thy work, excuse me, thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, that thine ox or thine ass may rest and thy son of thine handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. So strangers were subject to observe the holy days and Sabbath days. And here's the thing, here it says he wanted them to do it so that the stranger could be refreshed. But folks, what was the punishment if they didn't observe the Sabbath? Death. So that means they were not only subject to the privileges of Israel of having the Sabbath, they were also subject to the punishment if they refused to observe it, okay? Go to Exodus 30, chapter 30 if you would, Exodus chapter 30, I'm sorry, go to Leviticus chapter 17, we're gonna skip Exodus 30 for now for the sake of time, go to Leviticus chapter 17, Leviticus chapter 17. So we should not have, you know, special laws for immigrants and special laws for citizens, you know, if you're just in this nation you should just be subject all to the same exact laws. Leviticus 17 verse 10 says, and whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, verse 10, or of the strangers that sojourn among you that eateth any manner of blood, I will even set my face against the soul that eateth blood and will cut him off from among his people. So these were obviously the meats, drinks, and divers washings, carnal ordinances that were imposed upon the people until the time of the Reformation. These are things that Israel or even Christians just in general today do not have to observe or adhere to. But during this specific time they were subject to adhere to those laws. But not only they, the strangers. So he said look, the citizens of Israel, they're not to eat anything with blood in it, but guess what? The strangers as well. Well, you know, in my country though we drink blood, we're like Mongolians and stuff like that, and that's just like a tradition of ours, it's a custom of ours, that's how we do. Well, he's saying, well I don't care. I will set my face against you. Why? Because you have chosen to integrate yourself into God's nation. And so if you're going to integrate yourself into God's nation, obviously you have to live by these rules. Now let me just make myself very clear. I'm not saying that America is God's nation, unless someone should take me out of context and say that. God's people are God's nation according to 1 Peter chapter number 2. But what I'm doing is I'm showing you the parallels in the application of just nations in general, that if God had this standard for his own nation, other nations should obviously copy that standard and recognize that immigrants and citizens should all adhere to the same laws and be subject to the same punishment, and even have the same privileges, why not? He says in verse 11, for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul, therefore I said unto the children of Israel, no soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten, he shall even pour out the blood thereof and cover it with dust. So it looks to me as though the strangers were subject to the customs of Israel as well. So even if they were customs that they're not typically used to, you're used to eating camels or something, they're used to eating the bats and these unclean animals, you know that was permissible in their nation, it's no longer permissible. It's a matter if that's what you grew up with, this is what you're subjecting yourself to when you come to that nation, okay? Go to Leviticus chapter 20, what chapter are we in, chapter 24 if you would, Leviticus chapter 24, I'll read to you from chapter 18 verse 26, ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. What I'm trying to show you here is that God is not a respecter of people, he expected the strangers, the foreigners, and the aliens to subject themselves to the laws of God. Look at Leviticus 24 verse 16, and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him, look what it says, as well as the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. So the punishments, the capital punishments that God has set forth, he said look, if the citizen of Israel committed it, they die. If the foreigner were to do it, they die as well. But here's the thing, if the foreigner makes the God of the Bible his God, and if he hears someone blaspheme the name of the Lord, his hands are supposed to be on him too. So the stranger was supposed to partake in the punishment as well, punishing that person. So this is not just like a, oh you just have to do exactly how we say it, no, they are to also have the privileges, and the benefits, and the responsibilities of that nation. Like today, they should be paying taxes, amen? And so, let's keep that in mind, go with me if you would to, go back to, or I'm sorry, go to Deuteronomy 13, and let me just say this, foreigners should not be allowed to institute their own form of government and laws, right? I mean that wasn't permissible in Israel. It wasn't permissible for them to come with Beelzebub, and Baal, you know, with their false gods, Ashtoreth, and just, you know, oh you know, we like the way you guys run things here, but we're just gonna go ahead and compartmentalize this aspect of Israel and worship the devil, or something. That wasn't flying with God. God said, yeah you can do that if you want, but you're gonna die, you're gonna die if you do. You'll be put to death for blaspheming the name of the Lord and for serving false gods, and he has strict laws in that regard. And the reason I say that is because of this, look, here's the thing, obviously there's foreigners that come from different nations that are good people, okay? And some of them are not even religious. Some of them, if they are religious, they're not really like into their religion. For example, Catholicism, right? Or even Buddhists or Hindus that come to the United States of America. But here's the thing, what about Islam? You know, when people who are Muslim come to this country and they want to establish Sharia law in Detroit, and by the way, I'm not against everything the Sharia law says, okay? Obviously there's certain aspects of Sharia law, it's like you guys copied us, okay? But there's some things about Sharia law, obviously the vast majority of it that's wicked. And they don't have the right to leave Afghanistan or these Middle Eastern countries to try to institute unbiblical laws and just bring their religion and their false god, and let me say this, Allah is a false god. He's an inferior god, our god is superior, our Bible's superior, which makes our nation superior. So why would you bring this false god or allow them to bring this false god to institute their laws when it's a garbage Bible, okay? The Quran is a garbage Bible, it's not a Bible, Bible means book, the Quran is a garbage Bible instituted by Islam and this wicked pedophile who was illiterate known as Mohammed. Not good, okay? So they don't have a right to come and try to institute Islam here in the United States of America. He said, well, you know, you don't really make a good point about that because in Israel, God was the god of this nation, okay? Our god of the Bible was the god of this nation, the United States of America doesn't necessarily have our god as its god, even though it says in God we still trust on the dollar bill, whatever it may be. Yeah, but here's the thing, okay, all religion aside, just their laws in general should not be integrated into our system because it is anti-American. Because I don't know, don't these radical Muslims want to kill everyone who's not Muslim? There you go, okay? So yeah, if you want to allow Islam to integrate into the United States, then you got yourself a problem because they don't want you here. I'm saying they don't want to deport you, they want to kill you. Well that's not all Muslims. Oh yeah, that's right, that's real Muslims. That's real Islam, okay? And don't be fooled by these people who's like, oh, that's not Islam, it's a peaceful nation, it's a peaceful country. Folks, radical Islamist fundamentalists is actually the real Islam. Just like independent fundamental Baptists are like the real Christians, when you have these mainstream Christians who don't even believe in salvation by grace through faith, they're obviously the false ones. Don't use them to represent us. And don't use the peaceful Muslims to represent what true Islam really is. So foreigners should not be allowed to institute their own form of government and laws, and I'm speaking of course about Islam and of the like, okay? The Bible says in Exodus 23, you're in Deuteronomy 13, Exodus 23, 32 says, Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me. For if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. And so you basically say, look, don't make a covenant with them if they're coming to you, and if they're willing to come to Israel and integrate into being an Israelite and having the God as their God, our God as their God, then that's permissible. Look at Deuteronomy 13 verse 12. If thou shalt hear, say, in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their cities, saying, Let us go and serve other gods which ye have not known. Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently, and behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you, thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. So he's basically saying, look, in Israel, people weren't just allowed to just have free reign on their religion. If they're coming to Israel, that's what they're supposed to do is be subject to the religion of that land, and they're supposed to be put to death if they chose to do otherwise. Go to chapter 15, if you would. Chapter 15. Now not everyone in Israel, not all the strangers and foreigners, came and actually became Israelites. Some of them just sojourned within Israel. In other words, they came, they visited, they used the resources, they were subject themselves to the laws of the land, but then they left. And here's the thing is, you'll see that term used, stranger, stranger, stranger, over and over again in the Old Testament, but here's the thing is that more often than not, it's actually in reference to people who have not become Israelites, okay? Because once they became Israelites, they were no longer a stranger. Now they're a stranger in a sense of, they weren't necessarily born and raised there, but they were no longer strangers because now they're a part of the covenant. Look what Deuteronomy 15 verse 1 says, at the end of every seven years, thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release, every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it. He shall not exact it of his neighbor. So in other words, if your brother owed you money, your neighbor owed you money, and that debt was just incredible, at the end of seven years, if you weren't able to pay that, according to the Bible, you would be forgiven of those things and your neighbor was not allowed to basically demand that sum of you after the end of those seven years. That's how God's economy worked, at the end of seven years, which would be great here in the United States. You know what I mean? It was like just forgiven every seven years or whatever. And obviously, this law is instituted in a way that he's also demanding truthfulness and honesty when it comes to these things. He says there, he shall not exact it of his neighbor or of his brother because it is called the Lord's release. Of a foreigner, thou mayest exact it again, but that which is thine with thy brother, thine hand shall release. So I believe what he's saying here is that the foreigner is that sojourner. He's coming to do business in Israel. He gets into debt. He's not planning to stay. God says, okay, then you should demand it from him because he's not planning to be a citizen of Israel. He's not planning to stay here. He's not planning to be a brother. He's not planning to be a permanent person here in the nation of Israel. Therefore, you can demand it from them. So it's basically showing us that there are certain privileges and certain punishments that are given to foreigners who are not willing to be a part of that nation. Go to Leviticus chapter 19, and then we're going to go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. So what am I saying? What I'm basically saying is this, is that both parties, foreigner, stranger, or citizen born on the land should be subject to the same exact laws. There should be no privileges given. If a foreigner comes and commits pedophilia, he should be punished for that, and he should be punished for that immediately. If they're guilty of some abominable act that's acceptable in their culture, they should be severely and immediately punished for that crime. Now point number three is this, immigrants were not given special privileges or freebies in the Bible. Now let me read to you from Leviticus 25, and herein lies the issue that conservatives have. And I can understand why. Man, they get all this free stuff, schooling, and all these free things, and that's definitely unbiblical. And in fact, a couple years ago I traveled to Sweden, and I'll never go there again. Oh man, that place is bad. And I went to Sweden, and they accept immigrants, and they give them all kinds of free stuff, free housing, like everything's free. And when I went there, I thought to myself, man, these are some of the most just arrogant, snooty people I've ever met. The younger generation. I'm talking about the immigrants that came there, because I saw some Mexicans there. Ulysses, there's Mexicans in Sweden. There's Mexicans there. And you know what? When we go to Mexico to go stolen, they're very receptive people. Hey, Mexican immigrants here, very receptive. I mean, we get a lot of Catholics saved here, there's some Mexicans in here, and you guys were receptive towards the gospel. So I expected that same exact result in Sweden. I went to Sweden, I was like, oh man, there's a Mexican here, this is great. And folks, they're the most unreceptive, rude, arrogant people I've ever met. And I asked them, I said, were you born here? And they're like, oh no, I came from Mexico. And I said, why'd you come here? He's like, because of all the free stuff. Look at all the free things that immigrants get. So all these free things produce the spoiled little brat. So oh, you shouldn't talk about them like that. Well, here's the thing, folks, is that the Bible's completely against that, number one. But number two, do you see what it did to their receptiveness towards the gospel? When everything's just given to you, everything is free, and all these things, and there's no punishments, and all these things. This person was not receptive towards the gospel because of it. And you know what? We were there for a total of about five days, and in five days, going soloing for about six, seven hours, we only got nine people saved. Now thank God for the nine people. You know what? Those nine people were born in Sweden. Rarely any of them were actual immigrants who came there. A lot of these people were just like, they were born there, they were just receptive towards the gospel, and they got saved. But a lot of the immigrants were completely closed. And I went to a major area where there's just a lot of people in this park, and people just hang out, and I just went there to just kind of, you know, because no one would open doors, I would go there to go give these young people the gospel, and they're just completely close to it. That just closed like rude. They're just like rude. But that's the kind of society that communism produces, folks. And so, you know, I don't think that immigrants should get anything free here. Like, I don't think that's right. Folks, immigration from a biblical perspective. This is not my political opinion. This is my biblical, this is the biblical insight we see, okay? You're in Leviticus 19, I'll read to you from Leviticus 25, 35, it says, if thy brother be waxed and poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him, yea, though he be a stranger or sojourner, that he may live with thee. So look, God is not just like, well, they don't get anything free, you're not gonna help him out at all. No, he's saying, look, if a stranger is fallen into decay, he's waxed and poor, maybe he was maimed, he's handicapped, he's incapable of working, help him. Help the stranger, help the foreigner. If he has fallen into some mischief or misfortune in his life, you should have bowels of compassion towards that person and help them, okay? Look at Leviticus 19, verse 9, now there's, the poor people in the Bible were actually poor. And when I mean poor, it means they're incapable of even kind of, they're not able-bodied. They're incapable of working to provide for their family and for themselves, okay? But sometimes, you know, they were poor in the sense of maybe it was a wife who was a widow whose husband had died, okay? Or maybe it was someone who was maimed who was not necessarily not able-bodied, but they're incapable of doing hard labor that would help them to provide for their family, okay? And look at an example of this. Look at verse 9. It says that when you reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard. Thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger, I am the Lord of your God. That's very gracious of the Lord. So what he told them is this, when you are harvesting your stuff, make sure you tell your laborers that when you get to the corners, you know, to leave some grapes there, leave some of the harvest there, don't glean it, leave that. Why? Because there's people who are falling into poverty, they're waxing poor, they're going through a difficult time. They're going to come, I'm giving them permission to come after to work and harvest that themselves. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot the part where it said that what you're supposed to do is harvest that, put it into bags and bring it to their home. Does it say we're supposed to harvest it for them? Does it say we're supposed to bag it up and, you know, put a little Obama phone in there as well and tie it up? You know, a little Egyptian stone in there with some manuscripts in there and just bring it to their doorstop? You know, oh, don't worry, don't do anything, you don't have to work, we'll bring it to you. No, it says they still have to work. But here's where the compassion comes in, you can come glean of this person's field and you can come get the corners of that field, okay? That's gracious. And look, the owners of this land hadn't, they didn't have an option. This is what God told them to do. He's like, and look, and if they didn't, then God wouldn't bless their field. So he expected for them to be generous towards the strangers and the foreigners, not by bagging up the harvest and bringing it to them, but by just leaving the corners so that they would come and glean the corners of the field so they can feed themselves. Look at verse 11. So in other words, he's saying, look, don't mistreat them either. Well, I don't agree with people being paid under the table. Well, you know, neither do I, but you know what, some people actually do it. And if they work for that job, then you should pay them what they deserve. Because I've seen extreme examples of this, and I think I talked about it a couple weeks ago or a couple months ago, where I knew an individual who knew an individual who basically would hire a bunch of day laborers from Home Depot to come do some construction work for hours on end, and then as soon as it was done, it's just like, all right, I'm not paying you, and if you say anything, I'm calling immigration on you or something. That's wicked, folks. I don't think they should be here. Oh, but you think it's okay for them to work for you for free, though. So obviously, it's not a matter of nations. You just think you're just a superior person to them. Verse 33 says, and if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, if you would, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. So here's the thing when it comes to immigration is, you know, they should be free to come to the United States of America, but they have to work, right? They should not get freebies. And if you were to remove the freebies, then guess what? You would remove the bad people. You would get the honest, hardworking class. I'll give you an example of this. You know, my mom and my dad are hard workers. They never stole, they worked for their resources, and obviously, they didn't work out with my mom and my dad. I grew up just with my mom, but you know what? My mom actually never once was on welfare. Can you believe that? She never once was on welfare, never once received food stamps, never once did any of that. She took a government handout. So what did she do? She worked. She labored to provide for her three children, and she did it honestly, folks. And look, I'm not saying that women out there who are single shouldn't take welfare, because if anything, that should be for mothers who struggle, who have children. I'm just saying my mom didn't do that. My dad never did that. They came here to work, and how many of you know a Mexican who's just kind of bawling out of control because they started a business here, a painting job, or no one knows something like that? I guess only the Mexicans know people like that. I mean, there's Hispanics out here that will come, they'll start a business, painting or landscaping, and they make it happen, folks. And they work like 12 hour days. They will work their rear ends off to make it happen. That's how it should be. It's the land of opportunity to what? To just sit on your rear end and not do anything? No, the opportunity to work. Now, this is a New Testament concept. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, and we'll start in verse number 6. The reason I want to bring this up is because someone had told me that someone had taken this passage, who's a Christian, and stated that, well, if a man should not work, neither should he eat, that's not talking about not giving anything out for free. I think our government should still do that. They believe in this socialist gospel, where it's like, we need to feed the poor, give things out for free, this is not what that's talking about. What this is talking about is that people thought that the second coming of Christ had already come, and so people have sold their possessions, so they wouldn't miss the train, but now they have to work in order to eat, kind of thing, which is a complete nonsensical interpretation of this. That's not what's taking place at all. Let's look at it in its context. Look at verse 6. Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us, for yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you. Now what does he mean by disorderly? He keeps saying, disorderly, disorderly, what does he mean by that? Verse 8, neither did we eat any man's bread for naught. So in other words, he said, we didn't just eat your lunch and your, you know, the food you gave us for nothing. He says, but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you. He says, we earned the food that we ate. He says it the first time, not because we have not power, authority is what that's referring to, but to make ourselves an ensemble unto you to follow us. So in other words, you know, Paul the Apostle is saying, I could have done that, because I had the authority to do that. I can live off the gospel. But the reason I didn't do that is because I wanted to be an example to you that you shouldn't be disorderly. Verse 10, for when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Hunger is a great motivation to work, folks. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. So it doesn't say they're not ablebodies, it says that they're busybodies. And he's like, I have to come and show you how it's done, I have to come and show you how to work, because there's some lazy people in that church who are disorderly, they're a bunch of busybodies, they're not willing to labor. He says in verse 12, now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Do you know what that means? The house of God is no room for lazy people. And let's just take a commercial break here for a second and just talk about the importance of men having a job. You say, well, I haven't found the right job, then go to Little Caesars, that's the right job for you. Go to Taco Bell, go to McDonald's, go do something. Go earn a small wage if you have to, but earn something. Go clean toilets if you have to, but earn something. Well, I don't think that's a respectable job. Well, actually, the job that's not respectable is the disorderly job of not working, which is not a job at all. You know, it doesn't matter what you do, if you're a security guard, if you're a plumber, if you are a janitor, it's a job, and you should be able to work. And the Bible says that if you don't have a job, if you're unwilling to work, then we as God's people should note you. Who's that guy? That's the guy who refuses to work. That's what the Bible says. Like, oh, man, that's embarrassing. Well, it says there that he may be ashamed. That's embarrassing. Someone points to you and says, so you don't have a job? You're kind of like, yeah, I'm just trying to get paid more, you know what I mean? Well, that's fine if you want to get paid more, but have a job while you're trying to get paid more. Work, labor. And I understand that some people fall into misfortune where they're going through a difficult season, but this is referring to someone who's just characterized by disorderliness. It's not because they're misfortuneed, they have misfortune, they can't find a job, it's because of the fact that they're just plain being lazy. And so this does not mean that these people sold their possessions because they thought the second coming of Christ was there, and therefore they had to work to labor again. That's not what it's talking about at all, because the plenary of scripture teaches against laziness and tells you you should work if you want to eat, because eating is a great motivator. And it says, yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother, the Bible says. So I don't think lazy people in our church, there's no lazy people in our church, but if there was, I don't think we should necessarily cast them out of the church, but I think they should be confronted and noted about that. If we find out they're not working, it's because of laziness, then they should be talked to. By me, by the brethren in the church, they should be exhorted and admonished, and you know what? Rebuked a little bit. Yeah, but that might make them ashamed. Verse 14, that they may be ashamed. So what motivates a person to work? An embarrassment. Right? Friday, you're just like, I don't care about getting a job, I could care less. Monday, they're just like, I'll take anything, because I do not want to come. I want to come back to church, but if I come back, I don't want to be made fun of for not having a job, because I'm too lazy, so I'll take anything. And don't think that if you get some Little Caesars job that we're just going to rag on you, we'll probably go to Little Caesars and have you hook us up with a discount or something like that. I'll look down on you for any job that you have, as long as it's an honest, moral job. Not slinging crack or something like that. It needs to be something that's honest. Anyways, go to Deuteronomy 28, and we're pretty much done. Now how do we, because here's the thing. Obviously a lot of what I said today, and a lot of what we've seen in the Bible can't necessarily apply to the United States of America, because of the fact that Biden and all these other fools are not willing to implement these things. How do we deter the wrong type of immigrants? Because we want the right type of immigrants, it's good for the economy. And you know what? We want immigrants to come in because we want to get them saved too. We want to give them the gospel, even if they don't speak English, which obviously they should learn, but even if they don't, that's why we learn Spanish, that's why we learn whatever language so we can give them the gospel and get them saved. Why? Because we're not trying to oppress or vex the stranger, we want to love the strangers because we remember at one time we were strangers also, to God, you understand? So we should not have this hatred towards immigrants. There should be a genuine desire and love for them that they would get saved, that they would learn a biblical culture and work. But how do you deter the wrong type of immigrants? There's honest people that come from different countries, but there's also a lot of wicked people that come from different countries. There are rapists out there, there are pedophiles, there are murderers, there are criminals that come from different countries, right? So how do you fix that? Well, you set up a system that makes the nation undesirable to those wicked immigrants. That's what you're supposed to do. In other words, you take away the freebies, then they won't come. I spoke to someone about this yesterday and this is how I likened it, okay? For example, our church, First Works Baptist Church, is set up in such a way that there's certain policies, doctrines, customs, and manner of ministry that would actually deter a lot of wicked people from coming here. Because they think to themselves, well, I don't want to go there because I'm wicked. I'm a reprobate, and they actually throw out reprobates out of that church. So I'm just not going to go there. So it's already known that we already have certain laws in our church that we institute and we will not tolerate certain things, you understand? So if you have those rules already set in place, you're going to attract the right people and deter the wrong type of people. Who are we going to attract as a church? People who want the truth, normal people who want the truth, people who are seeking the truth, people who are hurt, people who are looking for encouragement. I don't know if this is an encouraging sermon for you, but people who are seeking to be exhorted or they just want biblical teaching, they're going to come and they have nothing to fear. Because if they're willing to come and be a part of our church and learn how to go soul winning and labor, they not only get to partake in the work, but they also get to partake in the privileges of being a part of First Works Baptist Church. But here's the thing, is that the wrong kind of people will not come to this church, I mean for the most part. They're going to say, well, they don't allow pedophiles into their church, so I don't want to sneak in there. Because they say they'll throw people up, but what if they do other stuff to those kind of people too, on their way out or something like that? I don't know. I don't want to risk it, right? Now here's the thing, will wicked people sometimes slip in and come to our church? Yes. It's just the nature of the beast, right? Bad people are going to come, but hold on a second. If we have these laws, if we have these rules and this system in place, they won't last for very long. They will eventually leave, or we will eventually find them and make them leave, you understand? So if a country could run like that, that would actually deter a lot of wicked people. If they had certain laws, or it's just like the pedophiles are just like, I don't want to go to the United States because they might kill me over there. They might throw me off a roof or something like that. I'm not going to go over there. Well, that would deter a lot of people. Who will it attract? The hard workers. The people who want to live an honest life, who want to be successful, who want to come here and enjoy the fruits of their labor, integrate to the American country and be a part of what's going on here, they're going to succeed, they're going to do well if those systems are in place. Now we don't have that, and that's not going to happen, so sorry to burst your bubble. I'm just saying what would help. You say, all these people are coming over, what are we going to do? Well, I'm going to end on a really bad note. Go to Deuteronomy 28. Sometimes you need a good note, but sometimes you need a bad note to end on. It's called a reality check, okay? Because the answer for a lot of people is like, well, we've got to vote in the right guy. We've got to vote in the right person, we've got to vote in the right politician, the right governor, the right mayor, the right president. This is the answer, okay? It's not the answer. Look at verse 43. The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high, and thou shall come down very low. What is he saying? They're going to be preferred over you. This is God telling them this, by the way. He shall lend to thee, and thou shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shall be the tail, like Obama. He's from Africa, right? He was the head at one point, right? Am I right? You guys aren't scared of Obama, are you? Him and Michael? He says, he shall be the head, and thou shall be the tail. So he's saying this, he's like, you read this and you're like, this doesn't sound very good. What do you mean? He's going to be very high above me? He's going to be the head, and I'm going to be the tail? Verse 45, moreover, look what it says, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes, which he commanded thee. What is he saying? He goes, the strangers are going to come in and they're going to take over. He said, why? Because you didn't vote in the right guy? No, because God is punishing you. And God is punishing the United States of America. That's for all you patriots out there. It's a fact. Because we're already in a condition where they're coming in. They're already being favored, they're being made the head. They are more important than the people who were actually born here. And what is that a result of? It's a result of a nation that has rebelled against God, that's what it is. So God is saying, okay, you want to rebel against my commandments? Then I'm going to curse this nation and allow foreign people to come in and destroy your way of life. That's the bad note. I'll finish off on a good note. He says, so what should we do? Not vote in the right person. The Bible says, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin, listen to this, and I will heal their land. That's the solution. The solution is for America to get right with God. To put away from themselves those wicked people. And God says, I'll heal your land. I'll give you the right president. I'll give you the right governor. I'll give you the right leaders. I will bless your nation and I will heal you if you turn from your wicked ways, you seek my face. But that's not going to happen, folks. So what do we have to do? We have to seek, like Abraham, for a better country. You know, we got to be basic. We're like refugees, too. Aren't we like refugees? We want to flee this land called the world to go to a better land. To go to our home, which is heaven, you know, because in actuality, we hate it here. In the United States, they'll just hate this world because this world is so wicked. It's so disgusting. It's abominable. It's so anti-God. It grieves us and it vexes our righteous soul from day to day that we want to just flee like a refugee to our new country, to our homeland. And so anytime I preach a sermon like this, it's really to remind you of the importance of thinking about heaven and thinking about the world to come. And don't dig your stakes down deep too deep into this world. We should be looking for a better country and seek the face of God. And even though America can be destroyed and it's going to hell in a handbasket, we don't have to. We're saved. We're God's people. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. And Lord, thank you for loving the immigrants. We're thankful that you loved us. I'm thankful that there were Israelites out there in times past who loved the immigrants. They loved the strangers. They loved the foreigners. They gave them the word of God. And we're thankful for that, Lord. But I pray, God, that you'd help us as a nation to seek your face. I pray that America would turn from its wicked ways. But in all honesty, I think that's too late. It's probably already too late for that. And so I pray you help us as a church to remain a righteous church, Lord, a church that pleases you, and that we would seek your face, Lord, and love anybody who's red, yellow, black, and white. It doesn't matter what nation they come from. If they're here, they're here, and we should not vex them or oppress them. We should give them the gospel and teach them a Christian culture. Teach them how to work. Teach them how to worship the God of the Bible, because our God is a superior God. And I pray, God, that you'd help us to do so in Jesus' name, amen.