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

Okay, we're in Judges chapter 18 tonight and the title of my sermon this evening is the value of shame, the value of shame. Look down at your Bibles at Judges 18 and verse number 7, it says, Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure, and there was no magistrate in the land that they might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Zidonians and had no business with any man. We'll come back to the story in just a bit, but basically what's taking place here in Judges chapter 18 is that what you have is the children of Israel are obviously possessing the land, they're seeking to get that which is their inheritance by God, and in fact, Judges 18 is actually an incident or it's an event that actually takes place earlier on in the book of Judges, in fact, it takes place towards the latter end of the book of Joshua when the land is being distributed, so you have chapters 1 all the way to chapter 17 and that's in chronological order, but when you get into chapter 18, it's actually a callback to the latter end of the book of Joshua when the land is being distributed because of the fact that we see that Dan is trying to inherit the land here and he's seeking to get that which is given to him by God through the different leaders that they have there trying to give the land and distribute all the plots there and so they're kind of looking for a place to dwell in and they come to a place called Laish and they see that Laish doesn't have any magistrates, they don't have any governors, they don't have any leaders, so it's essentially good for the picket, you know, it's pretty easy to take over, they don't necessarily have an army, they don't have anybody to defend them and we see that they dwell quietly and secure, they're kind of careless, so you know, this is basically your utopian society that everyone wants, you know, no rulers, nobody telling them what to do, there's no magistrates, no governors, there's no one putting them to shame and I think that's great, you know, they're dwelling carelessly, quiet and secure until someone is taking them over, right, until someone is coming to destroy them, then it's just like oh man, we messed up, we need someone to defend us, but they don't have anybody to defend them and therefore they're taken over by the tribe of Dan and they're destroyed, but the point that I want to make here or the part of the verse that I want to focus on in verse number seven is the fact that it tells us there that they have no magistrate in the land that might put them to shame in anything and we see here that often when we think of the term shame, you know, we think of it in a negative manner or society thinks about it in a negative manner, but really there's a lot of value in being ashamed, there's a lot of value in having shame, now what is the definition of shame? Well here's the dictionary definition, the painful feeling arising from feeling dishonor, improper or feeling ridiculous or being ridiculous, done by oneself or by another, it says to have disgrace or humiliation, okay, and so we see here that in the Bible there are instances where it's good to feel shame, it's good to be ashamed and obviously there's instances where we should not be ashamed, right, and in fact you think of what David said in the book of Psalms where he says that the sons of men have sought to turn his glory into shame and that's basically the day and age in which we live because of the fact that what he's referring to, his glory is God, right, his glory is the word of God, is that which is righteous and godly, but the sons of men are trying to shame him in those areas and today we have the same thing where ungodly wicked people are trying to look at us and what we believe and what we stand for in our convictions and try to shame us for it, right, they basically turn evil into good, good into evil, they want to seem as though, hey, you know, living a godly life, having a biblical home, serving God is a shameful thing, having a lot of children is shameful, having a godly marriage, that's shameful, that's not what the world is promoting, but we obviously understand that we should not be ashamed of those things and the reality is this, is that, you know, there's a lot of things in the Bible, the Bible teaches us that we should not be ashamed of, for example, the gospel, right, we should never be ashamed of the gospel, the Bible tells us, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, we should never be ashamed of our gospel presentation, it's like, oh man, you know, our gospel presentation is a little crass, it's a little rough, it seems a little too confrontational, telling people they're going to hell, telling people that they're sinners, it just seems a little abrasive, but you know what, don't be ashamed of the gospel because that's what's needed to get people saved, you can't do it by using, you know, illustrations and being just all kind and lubby-dubby and no negativity, you need the subject of hell, you need the subject of sin in order to help someone to realize their need for a savior, okay, and so we should never be ashamed of the gospel, the fact that we believe that there's only one way to heaven, which is through Jesus Christ, and not make apologies for it either, you just say well, you know, we respect you because you're Buddhist or whatever, folks, I don't respect Buddhism, I don't respect Hinduism, I don't respect Catholicism, I don't respect any religion, why, because those religions are taking people to hell, therefore they do not merit my respect or anybody else's respect for that manner, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and any chance we get, if we ever get an opportunity to speak on a public forum, we need to make sure that we speak about the gospel and say that it's by faith alone in Jesus Christ, it's once saved, always saved, you can never lose your salvation, it's not by works of righteousness, it's not by repenting of your sin, you're like whoa, that's gonna create division within Christian sects, and so be it, okay, we need to make sure we're not ashamed of the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but not only that, just not be ashamed of God and Jesus Christ in general, His word, right, and you know, a lot of people will say, well I'm not ashamed of the gospel, but you know, there are some things in the Bible that I just don't feel enough boldness or confidence to speak about, because you know, they don't wanna say it, but it's like, they're ashamed, okay, and the Bible says in Mark 838, whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, listen to this, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his father with the holy angels, and I want you to notice that when he says be ashamed of me, he couples it with what? His words, you cannot separate the word of God from the man Jesus Christ, it's not like, well I like Jesus Christ, there's certain things in the Bible, then you don't like Jesus, if you're complaining about things in the Bible, just say it, you're complaining about Jesus Christ, because we have a trend today on the internet, social media, where people wanna act like they're taking a bold stance because they believe in Jesus or talk about Jesus Christ, but then they're always making excuses for abrasive passages in the Bible, controversial passages in the Bible, because people are telling them, well do you believe what Leviticus says, and they're just like, well you know in the cultural times, in the cultural context of that day, it's like why don't you just say you're embarrassed of the Bible, just say that, because what they're implying is that God was more abrasive, more judgmental, and that doesn't apply for us today, and the reason they do this is because they're afraid of the persecution they might get if they actually preach what the Bible says, but you know what we as Christians should do, is say well I'm not ashamed of Jesus, which means I'm not ashamed of his word, which means I believe all the Bible, and I think all the Bible should be put in Hobby Lobby on a piece of wood, in cursive writing or whatever, you know you can choose the most abrasive verse, it'll make a beautiful decoration in your house, and in fact it's funny, my wife and I were talking about this, we have this, it looks like that, right, that style right there, but in our house we have, you know, thou hatest all workers of iniquity, we have Psalm 5.5, and we didn't know where to put it, and so like I was just like well just put it above the bed, that's a good thing to look at, you know what I mean, I'm in my room, you just see it there, you know, thou hatest all workers of iniquity, it's just like amen. Well you know we had a home birth, and the home birth required the midwife and her assistants to come, and so you know, my wife said that she was just kind of like, the midwife was just kind of looking at the sign like, does that say what I think it says? You know, it's just like yes, that's what it says, I didn't tell my wife, hey take that sign down real quick, you know, while they're here, you know, I mean she claims to be a Christian so guess what, she should agree with what it says there, she's not going to criticize it, right, it's Psalm 5.5, it's in the word of God, I mean I'm sure she's read the Psalm before she's a Christian, but it's just funny, she looks above our bed and she's just like whoa, these people are crazy, thou hatest all workers of iniquity, it's not like, you know, it's not husbands love your wives, does Christ also love the church, you know, it's not a verse on marriage, it's just about hating reprobates, you know, you're like oh that's a little too much, not really if it's in God's word, you know, I'm not ashamed of God's word, and if someone brings up hey did you know your Bible says this about this group of people or it says that God hates this group of people, I'd be like yeah, it's an awesome verse, I love it, yeah, yep, it says a lot worse than that too, by the way, okay, you say why would you have that attitude? Well because of the fact that when Jesus Christ returns, I don't want him to be ashamed of me for being ashamed of his word, okay, I don't want to be embarrassed at the judgment seat of Christ or at the second coming of Christ because of the fact that I know in my heart oh man, I didn't stand up for God's word, I was ashamed of it, I made excuses for it, I apologized for it, I mean that's a shameful thing, and so for these fake Christians out there on the internet claiming to stand with Jesus as they simultaneously make apologies for what the Bible says, it's hypocrisy is what it is. Don't be ashamed of the gospel, don't be ashamed of God's word, don't be ashamed of good godly churches and godly men, the Bible says be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me his prisoner, we shouldn't be ashamed of associating with men of God and churches who the world hates, right, and have this attitude well you know they're going to bring a bad name upon us or something like that, and there are churches that are like that, that don't want to associate with churches like ours because they're afraid of the bad publicity they're going to receive if they associate with First Works Baptist Church, but the reality is this, they can use some publicity you know, they can use a little bit more rewards in heaven for the persecution they get for associating with our church. Not only that, we shouldn't be ashamed if we are persecuted and you know that's the reason a lot of times Christians they buckle under the pressure and they apologize for things that they say, it's because they're suffering as a Christian, they're being persecuted and they can't handle that pressure, but the Bible says yet if any man suffers as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God on this behalf and we need to have a paradigm shift as Christians to recognize when I'm being persecuted and revolved for righteousness' sake I'm racking up rewards in heaven, you know, it's an indicator that I'm doing that which is right in the eyes of God, I can't just you know throw in the towel or something and think this is a bad thing that's happening to me, it's great, okay. And so obviously there's certain things that we shouldn't be ashamed about, can't be ashamed of the Gospel, don't be ashamed of God's word, don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord and his prisoners, don't be ashamed of what the Bible teaches, you know, be grateful and proclaim it, not proudly but you know what I mean, proclaim it in such a way that people understand hey this guy obviously loves the Bible, he's not going to make apologies for the word of God, he obviously believes what he's saying, okay. Now you're in Judges 18, let me talk about the value of shame because there are certain things that we should be ashamed of and there are certain instances where shame actually does us good, not just as individuals but even as a society, okay. Number one, shame prevents sin and crime from becoming excessive in a society. When you have a society that has no shame, then every man does that which is right in their own eyes and they're not embarrassed over their shameful deeds that they commit, okay. Look at verse 8, it says, in those days was there no king in Israel and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. Now verse 7 tells us that there is no magistrate in the land as indicated by verse number 1 that there's no king and when you don't have an authority, when you don't have someone leading the entire operation, then you don't really have someone enforcing rules and laws so that when someone commits a crime, commits sin, does something shameful, they don't really have anybody to rebuke them, correct them or have them suffer the consequences of their actions, okay. And really what impedes a society from going overboard and getting involved in things that are just wicked and vile is we have a society that still somewhat enforces certain laws that will impede the wicked from just foaming out their own shame, you understand. You know that's the reason we don't have just people just walking naked down the street. If someone were to do that we can literally call the police and they'll come and arrest them and take them away because it's shameful, it's against the law, okay. Now given we are in a society that's getting more away from the word of God and is becoming less ashamed of those abominable things and shameful things but in general that's what a magistrate is supposed to do, that's what rulers and kings and those who are in power are supposed to do is create a society that shames people and the book of Judges is a perfect example of what happens when you don't judge, it's called the book of Judges but it's also a good example of what happens to a society that doesn't judge. You know people are always like oh don't judge, judge not lest he be judged, don't judge me, why are you being a judge like that, stop being judgmental but if we were to just stop judging completely the world would become so chaotic, churches would just go apostate, societies would just crumble and be destroyed and atrophy and just be assessable of iniquity and sin because you need people to judge and say that's a crime, you're breaking the law, that's sinful, that's disgusting, that's wicked, you need people to pass judgment so that people are ashamed of what they're doing and sin does not permeate, crime does not permeate throughout that city, state, country. Verse 26 says and the children of Dan went their way and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him he turned and went back into his house and they took the things which Micah had made and the priests which he had and came unto Laish unto a people that were quiet and secure and they smote them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire and there was no deliverer because it was far from Zidon and they had no business with any man. So notice that it says in verse 7 there's no magistrate and the parallel passage of verse 28 says there's no deliverer. So what does a magistrate do? It puts you to shame but it also delivers you when needed, right? You need someone to enforce these laws and when I think about this in modern terms, modern days an example, a couple years ago you had this really stupid city called Chaz, you guys remember that? In Washington? Where like all of these rebels and anarchists, they're like we're going to make our own city, Chaz. How many know what I'm talking about? It's the dumbest idea ever and they're just like no police and we can just, we'll enforce our own stuff, everything's free, we'll just share food but of course there's all types of crimes taking place within that city and they're like no police either but then when people are starting to get beat up and raped and people are being stolen from they're just like call the police! Well no we can't because there's no magistrate in the land to deliver you from that because you don't want rulers over you. So obviously you know that didn't last long, Chaz, I don't remember what it was called before that or after that, it had two names. What? Chop. Chop. It was called chop after that? Yeah it was chop down for sure. You know because of the fact that that is not a functioning society, it's going to fall apart and they chose some wicked ruler too and obviously they're not going to listen to him because they abhor and despise governments. So when you have a society that abhors and despises governments, when they put someone in power they're going to hate that person too because eventually someone has to bring some sort of order or rule in that land lest things get really out of hand and then you know crime runs rampant. And so obviously it didn't last until it was like a couple months or something and then they started starving because no one works and they're breaking into stores and obviously once they break into the stores to take the resources, the resources run out and then crime is starting to take place and they're like get the police and the police is like well you don't want us here so how are we going to deliver you from these crimes taking place? It's complete nonsense folks. Romans 13 verse number 1 says, Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists at the power resists at the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. So when the Bible talks about power here in Romans chapter 13 it's referring to authority and the Bible says that God wants us to be subject to these authorities. Why? Well because of the fact that he wants us to be law abiding citizens, not just a bunch of criminals breaking laws left and right, he wants us to be a law abiding citizen. And he says in verse 3, For rulers are not a terror to good works, or at least they shouldn't be. He says rulers are not supposed to be a terror to good works, they should not be favoring the wicked and condemning the just. Like they did in Washington with Pastor Thompson at the King James Conference. He had a conference and a bunch of these reprobates showed up to protest this church with a bunch of assault rifles or guns or whatever, sorry if I don't get the terminology right, the stuff that shoots bullets, you know. They had a bunch of them, right, and they're protesting and so Pastor Thompson calls the police and he's just like, you know, can you do something about this? He's like, well, you know, no we can't, you know, we just, I don't want to put my men in harm's way or something, that literally said I don't want to put my men in harm's way. He goes, oh, so basically what you're saying is you're willing to put the children and families in harm's way. Isn't that your job? Isn't it your job to put yourself in harm's way to protect the innocent? So this is what they did instead, they flew a drone over them just to kind of see and make sure everything is, you know, now luckily when we were in Omani, as wicked as Omani was, you know, the police in Omani were pretty awesome, I'll just be honest with you. Because, you know, the chief of police came to me and said, before the protest, he stated, he's like, hey, we're coming, but we're not coming to protect you, we're not your bodyguards. And he told me, he's like, do you guys have guns? And I'm like, yeah, you know, maybe, who's asking, you know what I mean? He's like, well, we got guns, you know what I mean, so we'll be there just to, but we can't protect you, we're only there to make sure there's no violence. Like alright, whatever. And then, the day of the protest, they started realizing how violent these people were, so they had no choice but to defend us. So then towards the end of the service, or towards the end of the day, the Sonomites took a picture of the police, and they were literally standing in front of the church building with their hands like this, protecting us. Walking us to our vehicles, and then the Sonomites are getting on them, they're mad at them because they're defending us, it's like, what do you expect? You know, this is their job, their job is to protect and serve. They see that godly families are coming to the church, they're not bothering anybody, and then they have these dogs barking at them, saying all manner of evil, so it's just like, it's pretty obvious who they should be protecting. And so, you say, what did you do? I bought the police station like ten boxes of pizza after that, just to sustain you. I mean, I wanted to give honor to honors too, amen? You guys deserve some pizza! And they were like, thank you, they gave me thanks, and there's more where that came from, you know what I mean, if you just keep... But even prior to that though, before all that took place years prior to that, I remember instances when we would go zoning in Omani, and it would be dark, and we'd be knocking on doors, and police would drive by and literally check up on us to make sure we were okay. How's everything going? Are you guys okay? Are you guys safe? Just be careful out here. They weren't like, trying to kick us off the property or anything like that, they were doing their job! That's exactly what they're supposed to do, not like these wimpy police officers in Washington. Fly the DJI drone! Send the drone instead! It's like, what an embarrassment, they should be ashamed of themselves! It says, Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil, wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do thou which is good, and thou shalt praise it the same. What does that mean, you know, the authorities should praise us for being law abiding citizens. It says, For he is a minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is a minister of God, and revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. There's your death penalty in the New Testament, because he's saying, you know, these rulers have the authority by God to put criminals to death who are worthy of death. Because he says that he bears not the sword in vain, you don't spank with the sword. You don't just poke with the sword, you don't spank with the sword, you don't slap on the hand with the sword. You smite and pierce through with the sword, implying that they have the authority by God to put someone to death for committing a capital crime. So he's saying, you know, you should be afraid of that, and that should motivate you to be a law abiding citizen. But in order for you to be a law abiding citizen, make sure that you work on your shame. Being ashamed so as to not break any laws or any rules. Verse 5 says, wherefore you must need to be subject not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. So we see here that there's value in having shame in a society, in a city, in a country, in a state, because it helps people to essentially not break the law, not go beyond the boundaries, and go into that which is abominable, that which is criminal, that which is wicked. And again, I understand we're living in a day and age where that boundary is being moved more and more, right? That standard is being lowered more and more. But you know what, we're not, you know, California is not Washington. I don't know, you know, we're not some godless nation yet, where, you know, there is no laws, there are no magistrates or rulers to put them to shame. We still live in a society where that is still taking place. And let me say this, this obviously applies to a nation, but also applies to a church as well, which is why churches need pastors to put people to shame. Why? Because it impedes the congregants from going off the cliff into grievous sin, things that are just abominable in the eyes of God, or things that are just completely sinful. Churches need a man of God to get up and say, hey, that's wicked, that's evil, stop doing this, stop being an idiot, stop getting involved in sin. And you know what, congregations may not like that. They may think that's too abrasive. Man, I wish you would just give a motivational speech. Well, let me motivate you to just be ashamed. How about that? That's why we need hard preaching. Why? Because it puts people to shame. And I don't know where we get this idea that it's the pastor's job to coddle you and just kind of cover for your sin and just permit you to just go off the cliff because I don't want to offend you because I just want you to live a happy life or something. That's not my job, my friends. And I know that's the definition that many churches have gotten over the years because of TED Talk and all these motivational speakers out there, but that's not my job. My job, yes, I'm going to exhort you, but at the same time, I'm going to put you to shame so that you don't destroy your life. You're involved in fornication. I'm going to tell you, stop fornicating, you fornicator, or else you get thrown out of church. Well, you could have said it a little nicer. That's not my job. I'm not a motivational speaker. I'm not Goggins or whoever that guy is. I'm not going to make a video encouraging you to stop commit fornication. I'm just going to tell you it's a wicked sin and if you don't stop, you get thrown out of the church. This is not some, you know, organization that is just going to go, you know, be lenient on your sin and be kind to you regarding your sin. We obviously want to give grace periods to people and give people space to repent, but it's called preaching though. We need to stop trying to redefine what preaching means and stop trying to redefine it as well as just a motivational speech and you should be encouraging people and not talking down on them. Well, I talk down on everyone here because I'm higher up, so just physically I have no choice but to talk down on you. But not only that, you know, if you want to view it as me being condescending to you because I'm giving you some hard truths, that's your problem, not mine. Because anybody who knows me personally or has known me for any length of time knows that I love our church, I love the people in our church, and if you feel offended by anything that I say regarding your particular sin, you just need to get right with God. That's what it is. Or go to some old IFB fart who's not willing to lose you as a congregant because they want to keep your tithe and your missions offering and your building offering so they're not willing to offend you for whatever reason. You could just be involved in the most gross sin and just destroy your life and your family and it would be just hunky dory, that's not this church. And you're like, well, you know, then I'll just leave. Then go to some old IFB church where they'll call you like that then because the integrity of this church is far more important. I have to give an answer before God and not before you. It's not like I have the judgment seat of Christ. It's like, well, just ask so and so how nice I was to him. I'm not going to be like, hey, just ask them how kind I was and how I covered for their sin. I can't do that. That's a shameful thing. I need to make sure that I shame sin in our church when it's spreading or when it's poking its head through and when there's things that are going on in the church that's against the Bible. When there is open sin, I need to rebuke it. And so, you know, and let me just say this. I know people get sick and tired of me talking about marriage and the importance of not getting divorced and staying together. But if you're getting sick and tired of that, then go to some church where they permit divorce and they don't preach against it. I'm going to preach against it all the days of my life because divorce is wicked. It's wicked. You made a covenant before God. Stop being a covenant breaker. Stop being a truce breaker and stick it out until the end. Like, well, you know, you know, you just don't understand the cultures of the day. Yeah, obviously the culture is wicked. It's always been wicked. The Pharisees wanted a divorce. The Israelites by which the oracles of God came to wanted to get divorce. But you know what? This is God's word and we're going to stick to it no matter what. And so you're like, what if like 50 percent of us disagree with you? Then 50 percent can get the hell out of the church if you want to go somewhere else. Well, what are you going to do? How are you going to feed your family if there's only like 50 percent? I don't know. God fed Elijah with the ravens. I'm not really concerned with that. That's not my problem. You're assuming that I determine what I preach based upon my paycheck or something. You're assuming that I determine what I preach based upon the reaction or based upon, you know, the faces, based upon the paycheck. Wrong, my friends, wrong. That might have been other churches and old IEP churches, but that's not here. I have a job to do. And my job, listen to me, my job is to shame sin and abominations to make sure it does not permeate through our church. And even if it does, I'm still going to shame it even more. So even if the whole church just gets involved in a cesspool of sin, which it's not going to do, I'll be alone on this island. I don't care. I'll be like, you guys all suck. You guys are all wrong. You guys are all wrong. I don't care if you all agree. If you all agree that divorce is okay to do, I'll be like, well, you guys are just stupid. And then be like, let's pray. And that's it. Because I don't need a majority to tell me what the Bible says. I know what the Word of God says. And thankfully, obviously, I'm exaggerating. That's not going to happen. I'm just telling you, you know, I'm going to keep preaching on this until the cows come home. And they ain't coming home. Exactly. And I'm going to talk about it every single year because it seems as though the older our church gets, the closer we get to the second coming of Christ, it seems as though people just want to keep making excuses for divorce. You know, we got kids in our church. We have families in our church. And you know what? Every single one of you couples, you're all going to struggle to the point that you're going to want to separate from one another. Don't do it. Make a covenant before God recognizing what a covenant means. And a covenant means till death do us part. Romans chapter 7. Till death do us part. Oh, why are you so... I'll tell you why. Because my kids are here. That's why. My kids are here. I want my kids to grow up, get married, and stay together through thick and thin, no matter what happens. I want them to have the integrity to say, I want my sons to say to their wives, I'm going to be with you no matter what. I don't care what happens. We're going to stick it out through thick and thin because that's what the Bible says. That's the example that my father gave me. And that's the example of our church. That's what we believe. And so we need pastors to get up and start shaming people for it. Not have passive pastors behind the pulpit making excuses for divorce and saying, I think I misinterpreted Matthew 5 a little bit. Except to be for the cause of fornication. I just looked it up in the Greek. I guess it is okay or something. Because you have pastors like that who took a strong stance on divorce at one point and then they're like softened up on divorce. Why? Because a bunch of people in their church are getting divorced. I don't care if our whole church gets divorced. I'm still not changing on it. I'll just say you guys are all wrong. And you know what? There's going to arise another generation after you guys who will serve the Lord and recognize that divorce is wrong and put you guys to shame. If that's your attitude. Alright that's point number one. Go to Jeremiah chapter 8. So you know shame is important my friends. It's important to shame churches. Yes to shame churches, to shame individuals in order to keep congregants in the church from going beyond and committing some grievous sin, a crime. We need to be ashamed. And I'm thankful that I was under preaching that made me ashamed. When I was you know I would sit in the front seat where Gio is at and my father-in-law would preach and I knew he was preaching against me. I was like he's talking about me. I know he's preaching against me. You know what my faith would do? It would just get cherry red. It would just get cherry red and I'm just like he's preaching against me right now. But you know what? It kept me from grievous sin though. And as uncomfortable as it was I'm thankful for that preaching because it kept me right with God. By shaming me, shaming sin, shaming bad decisions, shaming you know just bad ways of thinking. It's important. Let's move on here. Let's move on here. You guys spend too much time on that. Number two, shame helps us to retain our dignity. That's why it's valuable. It helps us to retain our dignity. What does that mean? Self-respect. The Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 12, Were they ashamed when they had committed an abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore shall they fall among them that fall in the time of their visitation. They shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Go to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. You know why shame is valuable? Because it helps us to retain our dignity. It helps us to value our self-respect and dignity and so we make changes based upon that. If we're being shamed for something that is clearly wrong, it's clearly sinful, unhealthy, a wrong way of thinking, it makes us recognize, you know what? I don't want to be a part of this particular group because I'm ashamed of being like that and therefore, you know, I need to stay ashamed and change and not allow myself to delve into this. Now what's a good example of this? Well, you know, there's this trend and it's been going on for quite some time, but you know people condemn body shaming. You guys know what I'm talking about? You know, fat shaming. And it basically is like don't call anybody out for being fat because, you know, we need to have body positivity. You know, so it's just like, oh, okay, so basically don't tell anybody that they're extremely unhealthy and then so they can get diabetes and die of that or something. Oh, you're fat shaming. You're body shaming. One of my favorite memes and I have it in my file somewhere. I'll post it sometime tonight or tomorrow because this is a really good meme. Let me just say this. You know, it's important to fat shame and it's important to body shame, especially if you're involved in something super grievous. You know, you're just destroying your body. It's important to do that in order to keep someone from going off the cliff and just dying physically because, you know, they're just grossly overweight or something. But there's a meme that just properly communicates this just really well, okay? And it's the GigaChad meme and, you know, you have the two girls and this girl's like, do I look fat? And the girl's like, no, girl, you slay, you know what I mean? And then the guy's like, dude, am I fat? And then the friend's just like, I know four fat people and you're three of them. And I looked at that meme and I was just like, that's quality right there, you know? But you know what? Open rebuke is better than secret love. Open rebuke is better than secret love. And I was just like, man, this guy sounds like one of the guys from our church or something. I feel like one of the guys from our church would say something like that, you know? Classic. But here's the thing, though, folks, is that, you know, this is really big online where it's just like people want to normalize being overweight, being extremely unhealthy, even to the point where there's like dudes who are like 500 pounds or something and they're wearing these crop tops and they're just eating all this food all for views and people are like, oh, this is great, body positivity. It's like, dude, the guy's diabetes is positive. That's the only thing positive about the guy. We need body shaming and fat shaming to help us to stay right, to make sure we don't go off the cliff, right? You know, amongst ourselves. I think that's great. Don't do it to women. I'm saying men with men, obviously. You know what I mean? Don't take this and be like, I'm going to tell someone today. No, I'm talking about the bros, okay? You know, the bros, because they can handle it, sometimes they need to be told, right? And say, hey, man, you know, you've been skipping leg day and I've noticed. You know, you've got some chicken legs there, bro. You need to start working on them legs. Get some pillars, amen? And here's the thing, it's just like, that's not right. You know, we should reinforce body positivity. And look, here's the thing, folks, is that I'm all for reinforcing contentment with just how God made you, right? Because can the thing formed say to him that formed it? Why has that made me thus? You know, I'm not saying go bleach your skin or something if you don't like the color of your skin. You know, it's just like, well, I'm just going to become like a Korean or something like that. Because I don't like being Mexican or something. That's stupid, obviously, you know? Be happy with the way God made you. And you know what? But if there's room for improvement, make some improvements. And so I'm all for that, but we live in a society where it's just like, no, men should be attracted to these, like, Jabba the Hutt's of this world. And I'm not joking, there's people online. Let me just say this, there's people online. There's women online. And these women are getting destroyed. Who are like condemning men, because she's like 800 pounds or whatever, condemning men for not finding her attractive or something. She's like, I don't understand what's up with these guys, I'm a 10. That's what they say. And then, you know, you should go to the comment sections. Because the comment sections are like 10,000? Like, 10 what? You know, and here's the thing, that's me, you shouldn't say that about them. What makes it worse is how prideful and arrogant those people are. And how they shame us, they shame men, they shame individuals who have these views for not liking that or condemning that lifestyle. They think that that's wrong. So they want to portray and try to gaslight their community, and they're not gaslighting anybody. But you know, they want to gaslight people, manipulate people into thinking, you should be attracted to this, this is what you should like. And it's just like, you're out of your mind. You're delusional. And look, I'm not saying anything that's not on the internet because it's out there. And I'm telling you, this one lady in particular, if you can call her a lady, because by the way, she's very loose in her talk and in her lifestyle. But she shames people for not finding her attractive and it's just like, you know, it's stupid for you to think that way. And promote that. Be ashamed of that. You should be ashamed of that. And you know, obviously, here's the thing folks, again, you can't change the way God made you, the way you look, if you're a big bone. You know, Geo, if you're a big bone or something, you can't really change that, can you? You can't really change it if you're ugly, okay? You know? And here's the thing, you can't change if you feel like you're ugly, if you are ugly or whatever. You know, but make some improvements, amen? Here's my philosophy growing up. I thought to myself, well I can't change the way I look, therefore, I'm just going to have a banger of a personality. That's what I figured. I was like, I'm just going to work on my personality, I'm going to be a very likeable person. And when people are around me, they're going to want to be around me because of how I act and conduct myself around them. Because I can't do anything about my face. You know, I can't do anything about my face, I can't do anything about my structure per se, so you know what? But I can do something about my personality. I can do something about my conversation, how I talk, how I interact with other individuals. I think that's what's necessary. That's the kind of positivity we need to be adding there. Okay? You know, people, those of you should be ashamed of watching anime, let me just say that. Shameful, I don't care how many people are involved in anime, how many powerlifters are involved in anime, I don't give a rip. Okay? Shameful! For a grown man to be involved in that. And to be proud of it. What is that? It's just like, oh man, anime is so awesome. And they're creating these communities where they all agree with one another, and you know, oh it's so great, and you know, powerlifters are doing it. I don't care if a powerlifter is way stronger than me who watches anime, it doesn't make a manly, sorry, no, it doesn't work that way. I don't give a rip about that, it's a shameful thing. It's cartoons. They're cartoons! And they're just like, we want to look like these anime characters. There's people who want to learn Japanese only because they've been watching anime. And so, you know, have some dignity. Have some self-respect. Philippians 3, verse 18 says, For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, listen to this, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things, the Bible says. So they glory in their shame. They're not ashamed of being a shameful person. It's disgusting, and it's just like, you know, obviously we can't change the world, but Christians need to change though. Okay. Let's move on here. Oh, let me just say this, you know, along with that point and the previous point, we need to normalize things in our church, and they are normalized, but we need to continue to normalize things in our church that is accepted in the public but should not be accepted here. Like laziness. You know, being effeminate. It's not acceptable. It's shameful. Not having a job. That's not acceptable. That's laziness. It's not acceptable here. That's shameful. You know, being effeminate, acting childish even though you're a grown man, not having a job. That's shameful. You know, I mentioned this before, but there's a guy who came to our church and he's just like, I'm not going to come to the church until I get a job because they always promote getting jobs over there, and I don't want to be ashamed when I go to that church. So he got a job and then he came to church. That's a noble, honorable thing. And then, by the way, if he came to church and he didn't have a job, we wouldn't condemn him right off the bat. We wouldn't get on him right off the bat, but eventually if he said, hey, we would tell him, hey, you need to get a job. But he knew enough to say, I need to get a job before I go to the church so that I'm not ashamed before them at my coming. Kind of thing, you know? And I think that's great. 2 Thessalonians 3.14 says, If any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed. The Bible says. And so the Bible promotes shaming others when they don't live up to certain biblical standards. Why? Because shame is something that motivates us to get right in specific areas. Okay, let me move on here. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 2. We need to shame being effeminate for men. We need to shame women dressing like whores. We need to shame that in our church amongst ourselves. And we don't have to be all abrasive about it, but in speech recognize we don't esteem that as being a godly thing. That's wicked. It's vile in the eyes of God. Hortem is godless in the eyes of God. You know, dressing like a hoochie mama is godless. Wear a skirt in church and out of church. Wear a dress when you're in church or when you're out of church. Oh, but this activity requires for me to wear, you know, the garments of a man. Then don't do it. That was easy. That's why I'm the pastor. I come up with solutions. So what if I got to do this activity requires for me to wear pants. I got you. Don't do it. Or find a skirt long enough where you can participate in that. And if you can't, then don't do it. Well, then you're just ruining what I'm trying to do here. No, I'm trying to get you to adhere to biblical principles. And here's the thing. You should be ashamed of yourself. If you think, well, you know, I can play church, dress church in church, but out of church, you know, that's not my thing. You're compartmentalizing Christianity is what you're doing. And wearing skirts is not a conviction of your heart. It's obviously you're just playing church is what you're doing. You know, it's not like, well, you know, we promote looking like a man here, but go ahead and look like a little faggotty, feminine dude out there. It's okay or something. It would be wrong, right? It's like, oh, yeah, look masculine and be manly here, but when you're at home, be a little fairy if you want. Right? What it should be is like we're just we we fulfill our God given roles in and out of church. You understand? It's just like you're I don't know if you know this, but it's not like a force field at the door. Or it's just like as soon as you leave this this church building, it's just like, oh, it's a free for all. You could just act however you want. You're a Christian at all times. This is just the building. We're not Catholics here. Not a little bowl where you can, you know, do a little thing there. You're a Christian at all times. This is just a building where we meet and you're Godly preaching, but you're a Christian 24 7. Be ashamed of yourself. Amen. Now, along with that, let me just say this is that shame is attractive. Shame is actually attractive. You say, what? How is that attractive? Well, look at the system for sympathy to eight. I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting in like manner. Also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame-facedness and sobriety. Not with broidered hair or gold or pearls or costly array, but which become as women professing godliness with good works. So what is the opposite of shame-facedness? Brazen. Right? Boisterous. Just rebellious. Okay? And in the day and age in which we live, that's what's being promoted in our society. Be a boss woman or something. Be a boss lady. Right? Whereas the Bible promotes having shame-facedness. What does that mean? You know, having a meek and quiet spirit. Oh, that's so like old. Yeah, it's old and New Testament. It's old and New Testament. Okay? You know, the Bible promotes having a godly spirit, a meek and quiet spirit. Not this rebellious, boisterous, odious, brazen attitude. Okay? Well, you know, he needs to know that he's working with the 10 and I'm going to tell him that he's working with the 10 or something. That's a thing. You know, and it's just like, no, actually men are not attracted. In fact, let me say this. There are men who are attracted to that. You know what men are attracted to it? The little effeministicified ones who end up being really wicked. And the reason the real effeminate, sissified, limp-wristed little punks are attracted to brazen women is because they need someone to walk all over them. They don't know how to lead. They don't know how to lead a family. They don't know how to lead a wife, lead children, lead a home. And so it's just they need someone to lead them. We don't want to raise a group of men who are being led by women. That's not God's order. That's not God's order, right? You know, God's order is that we lead the home. And so a lot of times, these little limp-wristed guys, they're attracted to these loudmouths or whatever because of the fact that, you know, either one, that's what was modeled at home, or two, you know, they just, I don't know why. I can't tell you because I don't know by experience. I don't know what that's like. I'm trying to speak on their behalf, but I don't really know. I just know that it's wrong. Okay. And in my opinion, according to the Bible, what's attractive is shame-facingness, a woman who can blush, a woman who is meek and quiet, a woman who is godly and professes godliness, not with their mouth but with good works. Okay. Not by preaching to your husband, but by winning them over with your conversation and your conduct. Okay. And by the way, that's just not out there in the world. Even here in church, it should be that way. The Bible says, let the woman learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffered not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. You know, one of the most annoying things that I see on social media is women teaching the Bible. Shameful. Preaching behind a pulpit, shameful. However, there's something more shameful than that. Right? I mean, it's pretty shameful to have a woman behind a pulpit preaching to you and telling you how to be a man or whatever. That's pretty shameful, right? But what's worse than that is the dude in that church listening to her. What's that one loudmouth's name? Joyce Myers. Joyce Myers' husband ought to be ashamed of himself. He probably sits in church with his legs crossed like a woman listening to his wife. Amen-ing the whole entire time. That's shameful! Why? Because that's not a woman's place. You know, Mr. Myers or whatever his name is, we'll just call him Mrs. Myers, how about that? You know, he needs to usurp the authority of his wife and say, you know, I'm taking over this church. Thanks for building it for me. Just take it over and start having a biblical church, but obviously that's not going to happen. You know, which is why the Bible says, you know, that someone who is damaged in his stone should not enter into the house of God. You know, that's for him. Anyways, the Bible says in Proverbs 11 22, as a jewel of gold and a swine snout, so is a fair woman, which is without discretion. So it's basically saying, it's just like, it doesn't matter how pretty you are, if you don't have no discretion, you're like a pig or a swine or, you know, I don't know. Are they the same thing? Yeah. You're like a pig. That's what the Bible is saying. It doesn't matter how beautiful you are, if you have no discretion, you might as well just put a ring in a pig and it's like the same, God equates it as the same. You're disgusting. I'm finishing up here. Go to Zephaniah chapter three. Zephaniah chapter three. I'll give you time to find it. Zephaniah, you can go to the table of contents if you want. Let me just breeze through some of these points. Shame is an important factor in distinguishing genders. Because the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 6, for if a woman be not covered, let her also be shorn, but if it be ashamed for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. Essentially referring to the fact that if a woman shaves off her head, it's an indication that it's shameful. Because you look like a man. And in the same chapter, verse 14 says, doth not nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him. So unlike manner, he says, hey, if you're a dude, don't have long hair like a woman. And, you know, I get really sick and tired of dudes always saying like, well, how long is too long? If you have to ask, just look like a man. Stop looking like a sloth. Stop looking like a woolly mammoth or something. And you don't have to go to my, you know, end of the spectrum. I like it high and tight sometimes. You know, I do prefer the military cut most of the time. Because I think it's just, you know, it just never goes out of style. I think it's great. But, you know, if you're just like, you have this long luxurious hair or something and you don't want to show off or something, okay, but make sure it just stays manly though. Okay. Don't look like a hippie or, it should be that when you're walking away from us, you know, and we're looking at you, we're not wondering, wait, is that, what is that? The hell is that? How many of you have had instances like that? Where you see like some girl walking away with a fade or something and you think it's just like, oh man, that dude needs to start lifting. But then it turns out it's a girl, you know what I mean? That's shameful. And you young people, stop having these stupid haircuts too. Okay, you know what, I'm all for the mullets on children and, you know, yes, I praise Adam and his wife for giving little James a mullet. It's the best decision ever. You go. It inspired me. Zias is getting the mullet soon. Okay. But you know what, the Zoomer hair needs to go, young men. Okay. The mop needs to go. If you have to lift up your head so that your eyes can see me, that hair gotta go. You're just like. You're just calling attention to yourself is what you're doing. And so, you know, be ashamed. It's like, well, I don't think it's a shameful thing, then you need to learn how to be ashamed then. Get some shame about yourself. Have some self-respect. Have some dignity. Stop looking like a little faggot. Stop looking like a whore. Let's have some clothing and hair that makes us distinct, right? As what God wants us to be. Look feminine for a woman. Look masculine for a man. And don't make us question or wonder or have to shame you. You know, and I'm thankful I'm a part of a church where the men are honest with the other men sometimes, you know. I prefer that. I prefer for brothers in Christ to come to each other, even if they're a little abrasive and joking about it. You know that there's some heart to it though. You know, because people get roasted sometimes, but you know, sometimes it's necessary though. A roast is good sometimes every now and then. It communicates the truth well. It brings levity to a serious subject, you know. And sometimes we need it. Amen? We need rebuke. We need to be corrected. The Bible tells us the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man. Neither shall a man put on a woman's garment for all that do so in abomination unto the Lord thy God. Don't forget Deuteronomy 22 5 still applies today. Okay. Next, shame keeps us modest and I'm not going to go over all the verses on that from Adam and Eve. That's obvious there. That shame helps us to put clothes on. And you know, obviously we're going into the summer where people have a tendency to take their clothes off. You know, make sure that's not you. Make sure you stay modest and have some shame about yourself. Okay. I'm done. Let me just tell you these last points. Shame is an indicator that we're not desensitized to sin. That's why, okay, let me just park it here for just one minute. Give me one minute, all right. Shame is an indicator that we're not desensitized to sin. That's why stop posting filthy, disgusting pictures on your Instagram. Even if you're exposing sin. Even when I made this video, I made this video, I'm like, man, I have a hard time finding some B-roll on sodomites because they all look gross. And so it's just like, let me just find someone with the flag or something because it just looks filthy and disgusting. I don't want to see trannies on my feed. Even if you're exposing them, I don't want to look at that crap. I just ate. I just ate. People send me videos just like, what do you think about this? I'm like, I don't want to think about it. Because once it goes in, it doesn't come out. Someone sent me something and I messaged them and I was like, don't send me this crap. And I don't really know them that well and they apologize. They're like, I'm really sorry about this. I'm like, it's cool, just don't do it again because I don't want to see it. Why do I want to look at some tranny looking like a damn Satanist with makeup and all this filth and garbage? I don't want to see that crap. I don't want to defile and molest my eyes by that. But you know what? People who are just constantly consuming that content, even if they're exposing it, it shows they're getting desensitized to it because they're allowing their eyes to behold those wicked things. I don't want to see that stuff. I shall set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them to turn aside. It shall not cleave unto me. And so have some shame. When I see that, I'm just like, oh man. He's just like, I still have gag reflexes. And then lastly, shame is an indicator that parents love their children. When your children act in a shameful way, have some shame. Correct your children in public. Correct your children when they're at church. Don't just allow them to run amok and do shameful things and not instruct them and help them to become better and obedient. Now, here's the last thing is this, is that you say, well, how do I grow in my shame? I'm lacking shame in my life. How can I develop more shame in my life? In order to, because I see how valuable it is, how do I, as a Christian, develop more shame? Well, look at verse number five of Zephaniah chapter three. It says, the just Lord is in the midst thereof. He will not do iniquity. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light. He faileth not. But the unjust knoweth no shame. So what is it saying? It says the unjust, they don't know shame because they don't have judgment. So as long as you're exposing yourself to judgment, you're going to develop shame. But if you never expose yourself to judgment, either by reading God's word on a daily basis, listening to preaching, or allowing people to rebuke you, you're not going to know shame. A society that has no shame is a society that does not permit judgment. That's the way it works, as we read in Judges chapter 18. When there's no judgment, there's no one to put you to shame. So therefore, welcome judgment. If someone rebukes you in our church, welcome that rebuke. Welcome the correction, welcome the rebuke, love the preaching of God's word. Why? Because of the fact that judgment helps us produce shame. Because it helps us to realize what the standard is and how we fall short of that standard. And when we fall short of that standard, we should be ashamed. You understand? And so at the end of the day, it's really simple. Expose yourself to judgment. Read the Bible, listen to preaching. Allow yourself to be corrected by others. Allow yourself to be corrected by me from the preaching of God's word. Allow judgment in your life so that you can develop shame and, in turn, reap the benefits of shame. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Help us as your people to continue to be ashamed, Lord. And obviously we don't want to be ashamed of the right things. We want to be ashamed of the wrong things, Lord. And help us as God's people to continue to place judgment before us. Welcome judgment. Welcome the criticisms and or the rebukes and corrections of others. Lord, help us today to do so. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.