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. . . . . My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. When darkness fails his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. His oath, his covenant, his blood, so pour me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. When he shall come with trumpet sound, may I then in him be found. Dressed in his righteousness alone, fallest to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just want to thank you, God, for today. Just a beautiful day to meet in your house and hear your word preached. I pray, O Lord, that you would just receive honor and glory out of everything that's said and done. Fill our pastor with your power and spirit in Jesus' name. We ask all of it. Amen. All right, you may be seated. And if you would take your songbooks and turn back a couple pages to song 121. Song 121. We'll sing Like a River Glorious. Song 121. Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace. Overall victorious in his bright increase. Perfect yet it floweth fuller every day. Perfect yet it groweth deeper all the way. State upon Jehovah hearts are fully blessed. Finding as he promised perfect peace and rest. Hidden in the hollow of his blessed hand. Never folk can follow. Never traitors stand. Not a surge of worry. Not a shade of care. Not a blast of hurry. The spirit there. State upon Jehovah hearts are fully blessed. Finding as he promised perfect peace and rest. Every joy or trial falleth from above. Traced upon our dial by the son of love. We may trust him fully all for us to do. They who trust him wholly find him wholly true. State upon Jehovah hearts are fully blessed. Finding as he promised perfect peace and rest. Amen. Welcome to Mount Baptist Church on this beautiful Sunday morning. And some people that are out traveling and some not feeling well. But just be in prayer for those that can't make it this morning. And so hopefully none of you are worried about the election or anything like that. You know, the media said that it's over and they called a victor. But you know, they never tell a lie and they never say anything fabricated. So I don't think it's over yet. I don't know. Most of you, actually, I don't say most of you. That's the wrong way to say that. Those that are my age or older remember when Al Gore was deemed the victor in 2000. And we remember how that turned out. Now, here's the thing, though. I'm not here to say, man, I hope Trump wins and I hope Biden loses. I think either way you look at this, whoever wins, we have half the country that's voting for a person that's for abortion, for all the wickedness that's in the world and that are just proud about it, love it, think it's awesome. And that's a problem. So I don't care how you look at this election or who wins this election. The problem is the hearts of men in America right now. So that being said, don't worry about it. Just sit back, get some popcorn, watch the show. That's the way I look at it. You're like, well, there are going to be riots. Probably not in West Virginia, so don't worry about it. But the people are already rioting for Biden. He's supposedly winning, and they're rioting in their streets and stuff like that. It doesn't make any sense. That would be like us rioting if Joe Biden won in West Virginia when every county in West Virginia went red. So it's just stupidity. And you can't reason with people like that, and that's what you find out on that whole left side. On the right side you have those people that are supposedly conservative, supposedly Christian, but aren't really. And then you have on the left, you have just psychopaths and unreasonable wicked men. That's what you have on that side. So you're dealing with two bad things, but the one side is just like you can't reason with people like that, people that are looting their own stores and doing all that stuff. It just doesn't make sense. You're almost just like, I don't know what to say to you. Just go away. Anyway, so hopefully you're not worried about that type of stuff that's going on right now. Just reading your Bible and thinking about things of God because that's what really matters, and this whole election thing doesn't matter in the long term. But just general church announcements here. We have our normal church service today. We have our soul-winning time at 1 p.m., so we'll be teaming up before 1 p.m. to go out soul-winning today. And then don't forget about Tuesday, the Tuesday time at 6 p.m. that Brother Charles leads up. And we have our upcoming event this coming Saturday, and I might be... So there's two little towns as you go down to Moundsville. As I was kind of looking this up, there's two little towns, like one's McMechan. I might not be pronouncing that right, and then there's Glendale before you get into Moundsville, and we might go ahead and just try to knock those out. I'm not saying we won't do Moundsville eventually, but from what I saw, there's really not... I mean, Moundsville has some, like, restaurants, but it's like Perkins or Burger King, which there's no way we're going to Burger King. Places of the devil. I don't know, you know, like Taco Bell's up there. I don't know where I'd put Burger King. That's like picking the Antichrist or the False Prophet, you know, which one would be worse. But anyway, so we'll probably meet at the Panera that's over there in Cabela's for breakfast, and then we'll drive down to one of these areas. So I'll probably just get maps off of that McMechan. McMechan? Okay, so it's a hard K sound on the CH. Okay, so McMechan or Glendale, or maybe both. I'll do the maps for both of those. And so all those areas, McMechan, Glendale, and then going down to Moundsville, are very, like, consolidated, and the houses are really close together. So I think any way we slice this, it'll be good. So maybe if we go to those smaller places and it's just not that receptive, we'll go down to Moundsville. But if it's really receptive there, then we'll just try to knock it out. That would be the key is that it'd be cool if we could knock out those little areas, and then next time we'll go down to Moundsville. But if you're like, I am dead set going on to Moundsville, you can do what you want. You have Christian Liberty, you have a car, you can go down to Moundsville. I'm not going to stop you. But anyway, so I'm just mapping that out. But just plan on Panera, the same place we met for the Wheeling Marathon, that Panera, that's by Cabela's, or on Cabela Drive. And so I got to call them and make sure we kind of have, I'm not sure what their regulations are right now with COVID or whatever, or if they care anymore. I mean, the election's over, so it's gone now, right? The CDC came out and said that now you don't need to be six feet away, you just need to be a meter away, which is just like three feet. And if you're any further than that, you don't need to wear a mask. So, oh, that's interesting. Right after the election, we're going to be like, oh, you know, we don't really need to be that far away. Anyway, so I'll find out what that whole deal is. But be in prayer, though, even if you can't make it to the Sullivaning Marathon this coming Saturday, be praying for it, and be praying for the hearts of the people that we talk to, and obviously for those that are going out. And then the next thing on the list we got here is the men's prayer meeting at the end of November. So, man, it's already, we're getting into the midst of November. That means deer season's coming. So, not all this spiritual stuff aside. We're going after Bambi's dad. So, no. Anyway, birthdays. So today is what, the eighth or ninth? Eighth. That means Paula's birthday's coming up. So, what, Tuesday? So we have Miss Paula, and Alyssa's not here, but we'll get her eventually. I was on the 12th, and then the rest will be later. So didn't we have another one on November 25th? What's that? Jules, Elijah, Ford. Wasn't there another one? Wasn't there like three? Or could we just not fit them on there? Maybe that's it. Maybe we just got bumped off because we put Caitlin on there. Dude, we could sing for you again. That's not fair. So, but yeah. So that's pretty much it for announcements. You know, everything's as usual today. And so, Brother Dave will come and sing one more song. And then, who's reading this morning? Anybody reading this morning? Did anyone want to read this morning? It's Romans chapter five. It's not that. Brother Richie, are you up for it? Okay. So Brother Richie will read Romans chapter five for us this morning and after Brother Dave leads. All right. Song 127 in your song books. I was saying, "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus." And we are definitely not going to forget to sing to Miss Paula. I mean, if we forget anybody, we're not forgetting. Okay. So Tuesday is your birthday. Happy birthday. We'll get you to stand up. You know what? This is the thing. We're too good of friends for me not to let you stand up. You know what I mean? I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. You don't have to stand up if you don't want to. So, all right. We'll sing happy birthday to Miss Paula. Here we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. All right. We'll sing song 127. "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take him at his word. Just to rest upon his promise. Just to know the saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to trust his cleansing blood. Just in simple faith to plunge me Neath the healing cleansing flood. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. Yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus. Just from sin and self to cease. Just from Jesus simply taking life and rest and joy and peace. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. I'm so glad I learned to trust thee. Precious Jesus, Savior friend. And I know that thou art with me. Will be with me to the end. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. All right, if you would take your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter number five. Romans chapter five, we'll have brother Richie come up and read that for us. All right, Romans chapter five says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But now is the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense, death reigned by one, much more they which received abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. And let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this beautiful Sunday morning, and just thank you for everyone who was able to make it to church this morning, and just be with Pastor Robinson as he preaches your word. And I pray that we all have ears to hear, and we learn something from this sermon. In Jesus Christ's name I pray, amen. I forgot to mention the memory verse, but 2 Timothy 1 verse 7, God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And that is the chapter we're supposed to be memorizing this month. And so 2 Timothy chapter 1 is our memory chapter as well. And so you're there in Romans chapter 5, and I want to preach a sermon about winter. And, you know, we're going to be coming in the winter, and it's not really fitting right now because it's like 77 degrees in November right now. But the name of the sermon is Glory in the Winter. Glory in the Winter. Okay, now we live in West Virginia. You know what, I'm always hearing people say Texas is the best state, or Arizona is the best state, or California is the best state, but you know what, West Virginia is bar none the best state in the union. So, you know what, it's called almost heaven for a reason. So, and you know what, everybody's usually saying, well, I don't like West Virginia because of the winter. Okay, and the thing is, I like winter. Okay, I don't like it when it would be winter all the time. Okay, but I like the seasons. Okay, because of winter, we have fall, which is one of the most beautiful seasons. But also, I like winter. There's a couple good reasons why I love winter. Okay, one is the bugs go back to hell where they belong. Okay, they go and die, and you don't have bugs. You know, you open up your door, you don't have gnats and flies flying into your house and all this stuff. And you know what, the air is crisper. There's no humidity, and it's just really crisp and clean, and there's certain things that, you know, Clara, I think it might be her favorite season because of the snow and sled riding and building snowman. She just likes to eat snow. But you know what, there's a lot of things that you can look at it, and you can definitely see the spiritual aspect, and that's something we get into. I'm not just talking about winter, this whole sermon, about, you know, why it's not that bad or why it's something that you should. But you know, one of my favorite times is when it snows, and it's like a super clear night in the winter, and you can see the stars, like you can see the constellations, you can see everything super clear when it's cold. And you know what, people that are down in Florida, they don't get that, okay, because it's muggy, and you know, you look at the stars, you're going to get bit by an alligator. I mean, like there's things that, and listen, this isn't a sermon to be like, all those preachers that are in these other states, you know, they don't know what's up. Listen, you know what, I love West Virginia, I love the seasons, and I'm going to say this, is that I love winter, and I'm going to tell you why I love winter, and why you should glory in the fact that winter is coming. And I'm not here to say like, you should just be like, winter is the best season, okay, I'm not saying that at all. But I want to get into this as far as you should glory in winter like we glory in tribulation, okay. So go to Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. By the way, I was born in the blizzard of 85 in January, so you know what, maybe that's why. You know, I like it when it snows, and you know, at three feet, bring it on. You know, we're going to dig some tunnels and make some forts, and you know, build some snowman's go sled riding, you know what, and people are just like, oh, the snow, it's so bad, you know, bring it on. I love it. Now, do I like driving in icy roads when it's black ice? Of course not. You know, there's obviously bad things about that, but there's also bad things about it being 115 degrees outside and your air conditioner goes out. So, you know, I'm not saying like there's not bad things to it, and the point I'm getting to is that it's obviously a hardship. It's obviously something where it's not super comfortable, right. You're not just going out there in your gym shorts and be like, man, this is awesome. But notice what it says in Romans, chapter 5, verse 1. It says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. So this is great, just showing, hey, we're saved by grace, and how do we get that grace? We have access by faith, okay. For by grace are you saved through faith, and a nod of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, thus any man should boast. So, amen to that. But let's keep going there. It says, and not only so, okay, so it's basically saying, hey, we've got access to this grace through faith, but listen, not only that, but we also, notice this, not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. So we don't just glory in the fact that we're saved and that we have great, you know, the grace of God and we're saved by faith. We glory in that, but we should also glory in tribulations. And that on the surface sounds, you're like, are you a crazy person, right. You're glorying in the fact of being in trouble or being persecuted or, you know, going through hardships, but let's keep reading because it's gonna give you why you should glory in tribulations. You know, God's not saying, hey, you should be a masochist and just love pain and love suffering, right. That's not what it's saying. But we glory in it for a reason. It says, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. So you know what? I look at winter as being, you know, an endurance. You know, you're getting into, let's say, a physical trouble, if you will. And you know what? That's good. You know, this idea of being comfortable all the time is not a good thing. Because if you're comfortable all the time, then you're gonna end up sinning after that. You know, every once in a while, you just need to go through some hardships. You need to thicken your skin a little bit. You just need to endure something. Because why? Because it worketh patience. It makes you patient. And what's patience? You know, and patience worketh experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. And what that means is that, think about a tribulation, right. You go through a trial or tribulation. The next time it happens, you're like, well, I've gone through that before. Is anybody here, okay, and we have people from New York, so they know all about the wintertime. But is anybody here thinking, oh, man, this winter, now some of you are. Because some are, this is like their first winter ever. Like, I think, well, Jennifer's from the Philippines, so this might be a little harder for her, you know, to deal with, right. But most of us, especially us that lived here our whole lives, you know, when we're going into winter, you're just like, man, I don't know if we can handle this. Are we gonna make it? Are we gonna make it through this winter? Then we're like, pfft, winter? Bring it on. Last year was weak, you know. Like, you look at last year, you're like, and it was like barely any snow or whatever. I don't even know if we ever got a foot of snow. And you're like, a foot? People down in Alabama were like, a foot? There's no way we could survive that. You're like, a foot? Try three feet. But that's fun. I love seeing that, you know. And anyway, all I have to say is that, you know, no one here, like most people here, people that lived here and been here for years on end or lived their whole life here, are looking at the winter coming up and thinking, man, how are we gonna survive this? Like, it's not even a thought. Like, you may be thinking like, yeah, man, I'd rather it be summer, right? But you're going into it like, all right, time to put on the gloves, put on the coats, time to get to it, time to, you know, warm up the car, scrape it off, you know, and you just know what you gotta do. Why? Because you have experience. And because you have experience, you have hope that it'd be like, the spring's coming. It's not gonna be a forever winter, okay? Unless the climate change people are right. But I don't know which way they're going. It's either really gonna be cold all the time or it's gonna be warm. You know, it's either that the ice caps are melting or we're gonna have the next ice age. You just never know what they're gonna say next. But the idea is that, go to Genesis chapter 8, is that there's always gonna be the seasons till the end of the world, okay? Anybody that tells you, like, oh, it's just gonna be summer for the rest, well, I mean, isn't that what everybody wants anyway, right? If everybody's always down on winter, let the ice caps melt. And then we'll have beachfront property in West Virginia, so buy up some property here because the ocean's coming to us. You know what? There's a silver lining in everything, my friends. And you know what? And when it comes to that, you know, with this election, you know who's determining these elections a lot of times? Those big, wicked cities, and they'll all be underwater. So you know what? I'm gonna start my truck, and I'm gonna let it run for a little while. And maybe the greenhouse gases will make this, speed this process up. Now, I'm being a little facetious there because I think that's ridiculous that that's actually gonna happen, okay? But in all reality, you know what? When it comes to winter, I don't look at it as being something that I'm just afraid of or I'm just, you know, dreading to come. You know what? I embrace it. I embrace it and be like, winter's coming. Good. Good. You know what? I need a little thicker skin. I need to just endure something a little bit physically. You know what? Sometimes you need to take a shower, and you need to take a cold shower. And you just need to just endure some hardness every once in a while. You know what? I've done that before. You know what? I'll do a workout. And actually, I do it for one reason, because I don't want to just be sweating the whole time when I get back in my clothes after working out. But I'll just put on a cold shower, and it hurts. You know, you're just like, ugh, especially at 7 o'clock in the morning or 6.30 or something like that, and you put that cold shower on, but you know what? It wakes you up, and you're ready for the day. And after that, and then once you do that more than once and you keep doing it, it gets easier. It's funny how that stuff works, how the hard stuff that was really, really hard all of a sudden gets easier. It's just like lifting or working out or anything like that. You know those weights that were really hard at one point? Now they're like nothing. It's like you got balloons on there or something like that, okay? And some of you don't know what I'm talking about, but you don't lift. But anyway, going on in Genesis chapter 8 and verse 22, it says, While the earth remaineth, see time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. So put that in your climate change pipe and smoke it. Okay, you'd be like, oh, you're just a Bible-thumping, you know, country bumpkin that believes the Bible. Yeah, I am. But you know what? Show me when that changes. When that changes, when there's no winter and there's no summer and there's no night and there's no day, then you could shove that in my face, but it's not going to happen. There's always going to be winter, there's always going to be summer, there's always going to be seed time and harvest until the end of the world, okay? So get your V8 truck, just run that thing. Like I said, you know, if there's a silver lining, we'll take out the cities, you know, with the water. But go to Psalm chapter 74. Psalm chapter 74, because I want you to know this too, it's not just that that's there, but God said it to be so, okay? Now I know it depends on what part of the earth you're at, you may just be in full-time winter all the time, right? I mean, you think of like Antarctica, and yes, Antarctica does exist, flat earthers, and it is winter there all the time, you know. But then there's places where it's just, you know, they never see winter. You know, snow is an anomaly. Like if they saw snow, they would think like it was a plague coming down or something. And so I understand that there's certain parts, but I would say most of the world sees the seasons, right? Unless you're on the equator area. But if you go down south, by the way, it starts getting colder as you go down there, okay? I know when you think of south, you're always thinking like it gets warmer as you go down south. Well, if you keep going south, you'll meet Antarctica and it's not warm there, okay? And now notice what it says in Psalm 74 and verse 16. It says, the day is thine, the night also is thine. Thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth. Thou hast made summer and winter. Okay? So deal with it. God made summer and winter. And winter, you know, sometimes in the Bible, you know, they'll just be talking about winter. But sometimes they'll use it as a verb, okay? And go to Acts, chapter 27. Acts, chapter 27. Because usually when it's using it as a verb, it's basically talking about passing the time or waiting it out, right? It's kind of like we're in a winter here. And the reason it says that is because they basically can't do something because winter's there, right? You think of, I mean, think about all the fishing, you know, that goes on in the world even today, right? They can't fish when winter comes, or they do, right? You think of like the deadliest catch. They're out there like on, you know, catching these king crab or something like that. And it's rough, right? But the idea is that when winter comes and all that, you know, it's not a good time to be out on the ocean, okay? Now, in Acts, chapter 27 and verse 10 here, it's dealing with them, you know, Paul. They're trying to take Paul to Rome and the voyage there. In verse 10 it says, And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless, the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things, which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phoenice, and there to winter, which is an haven of Crete and live toward the south, southwest and northwest. Now, what this is basically saying is that they're in this one place and they're like, well, it's not really commodious to like hold out through winter here, but we'll go over to this, you know, to the other place, right? We'll go to Phoenice, there to winter, right? And that's where they get in trouble, right? Because as soon as they go out there, they get caught in this storm and, you know, you know the rest of the story. They eventually make it, but they're just like for weeks just like, you know, thinking they're going to die, okay? Now, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. I just want to show you some places where it's used as a verb. It's basically wintering, and what I see this, I see is like enduring, you know, you're just kind of sticking it out, bunkering down, and just holding, holding the fort, right? And a lot of times you can't really do much, you're just trying to survive, right? That's the idea of winter, you're just trying to survive. And so, I look at it, I look at it synonymously as winter, you know? Winter and tribulations, those, I believe, if you want a spiritual aspect of what winter is, it's going through a physical trouble or tribulation, hardship, hardness, right? And 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verse 5, it says, Now I will come unto you when I shall pass through Macedonia, for I do pass through Macedonia, and it may be that I will abide, and winter with you, that you may bring me unto my journey, whithersoever I go. So another place where he's basically saying, hey, I'm probably just going to abide with you and winter here with you, okay? Go to Titus chapter 3, Titus chapter 3 and verse 12. Titus chapter 3 and verse 12. Titus chapter 3 and verse 12. Titus chapter 3 and verse 12, it says, When I shall send Artemis unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis, for I have determined there to winter. So do you see the same thing that keeps going on? It's basically like, I have to have a place to winter, right? Basically, you're just, you're going to stay there and bunker down and just wait it out. You're just waiting out the storm, right? And winter is like that. It's basically like this storm that has to pass by, if you will, and then, you know, come spring. And you know what? I think Joe Biden's the one that said that if Trump wins, you know, there's going to be this dark winter. You know what? When it comes down to it, maybe there needs to be a dark winter in America. There needs to be a hardness that happens to America to get them right with God. So you know what? Maybe, I don't care who wins. Maybe that needs to happen. Now go to Matthew chapter 24, Matthew chapter 24, because this will help you understand that why Jesus says this, dealing with the Great Tribulation, okay? Now Matthew chapter 24 is obviously what we would call the Olivet Discourse. The reason it's called that is because he's on the Mount of Olives and he's giving a discourse about the end of the world, okay? And in Matthew 24 and verse 15, notice what it says here. It says, Well, we're already there, guys. So you know, if we have to flee, I guess we go further into the mountains. No, obviously this is talking specifically about those that are in Judea, right? If you're in Jerusalem, that's where the Antichrist is setting up. You obviously need to get out of town, right? Get out of Dodge, you know, another way of saying it. Now keep reading there. It says, So basically what it's saying here is like, you know, here's some things. It's going to be hard for you if you have a sucking child, right? If you're like trying to carry an infant with you when you're trying to flee. Now when it says flight, that's what it's talking about. Taking flight, like armies take flight. It's not talking about flapping your wings and flying away or getting in an airplane. Now it could very well mean that's how you're fleeing, right, in an airplane. But this is just talking in general. When it talks about flight, it just means to flee, okay? So you're running for your life and it's basically saying, you know what, woe unto those that have children that they have to like take with them and sucking children at that time, right? Or those that are with child, you're pregnant, right? You're either pregnant or you have a sucking child because that's not a good situation to where you have to flee, okay? But also it says, you know, pray that your flight be not in the winter or on the Sabbath day and be like, well this is definitely talking to the Jews because if it's the Sabbath then they got to keep the Sabbath and they can't flee then. Are you an idiot? Like do you really think that if there was like something going on like that, that they would be like, no, I got to keep and observe the Sabbath. I got to hold on to that Sabbath because they're trying to kill me but, you know, I got to make sure I don't work. No, it's the idea that nothing's open, that you can't get anything on the Sabbath day and there's still countries even besides Israel that has a Sabbath to where everything's closed. Think about Chick-fil-A, okay? Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday and I know it's not the Sabbath, okay? We don't believe that Sunday is the Sabbath or anything like that. But think about that, right? Let's say you have a country where everything is just closed and then you're trying to get out of town, you can't get gas, you can't get food, you can't get anything that you need at that time. That's the idea. But winter, everybody knows what that's talking about, right? Who wants to travel in winter? The whole idea of all those verses I showed you is the fact that they're like, we're going to winter here, we're going to abide here and winter here. The idea is that you're going to abide somewhere and not move, right? So it's basically saying you don't want to be having to travel when it's snowing. Imagine if there's a blizzard and it's like three feet of snow. You want to travel in that? So that's the idea. And obviously we're not talking about people that had big four-wheel drives that could just plow through the snow. We're talking about them going on dromedaries and donkeys and everything else trying to get out of town, okay? You're walking. Most people are walking. They're not even riding an animal, okay? And so that's not a good time to be having to flee into the mountains when it's winter time, okay? So that's the idea of winter is that it's a time of hardship. It's a time that it's not comfortable, okay? Winter is not a comfortable season. Now you may find some person out there to be like, it is really comfortable. And they're just hot all the time and they're like, I just love just standing outside in my gym shorts when it's like 20 below outside, you know? Or like, I'm going to go do a polar punch. Listen, most people, it's not that comfortable, okay? You're putting on layers of clothes and you're not just standing outside just loving it, okay? So go to 1 Peter 4 because what this comes into is that we need the glory in that because winter will make you a better person, okay? Enduring hardships will make you a better Christian. And, you know, anytime I see people like, oh, I don't want to live in West Virginia because of the winters, well, sissy britches, can you not handle any hardships in your life? Can you not handle, do you just need it to be exactly 70 degrees and like no humidity? You just, all right, Goldilocks, you know, you just need everything just right. And, you know what, I'm tired of people ragging on West Virginia because of the winters, okay? And this isn't just a sermon to defend West Virginia. This is a sermon to show you, hey, there's nothing wrong with enduring winter, okay? And those people in the South have other things they got to endure. Humidity in some places or just hellfire hotness that's in other places. And, you know what, that's a hardship, okay? But there, they're summering there, okay? Instead of wintering there, they're summering there because that's the case, right? If you're in Arizona, you know, you're not going outside when it's 115 degrees outside, okay? So they're literally kind of staying inside and summering through that when we're, you know, outside in the summertime and enjoying it. But when winter comes and we're trying to like, we're basically inside a lot and trying to keep out of the cold, they're outside loving it, okay? But you know what, I like the winter and I like the snow and you know what, I think there's a lot of good that comes out of it just physically speaking and character wise. You know what, it takes a little bit of character to get up in the morning and go to work and you know what, get out there, start your vehicle and scrape off your windows and get to work. You know what, that's a little harder than if it was 70 degrees and you just hop in your car and get on going, right? It takes a little bit more character to get up in the morning. Or if you're going to be like, I'm going to go lift early in the morning, I'm going to go work out early in the morning and be like, oh man, I'm going to go out there and scrape this stuff off. It's dark out and it's just cold and bitterly cold and that is a character builder, okay? So you got to look at winter in that light. I'm not here to tell you winter is awesome, it's the best season, okay? I'm not here to tell you that. I'm telling you that it's a hard season but you should embrace it, you should glory in it and you should use it for your character and for your growth as a human being and as a Christian, okay? 1 Peter 4 and verse 12 here, 1 Peter 4 and verse 12, it says, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. So it's basically saying, hey, listen, if you're tried and you have this fiery trial, don't think that that's strange, don't think that that's like odd. You know, man, I'm going through trials and tribulations. Well, yea, in all that will live, God in Christ, Jesus shall suffer persecution. So you shouldn't be looking at it and be like, man, I can't believe they hate me. Well, if they hated me, they'll hate you. That's what Jesus said. So the idea is that you shouldn't think it's strange but it says in verse 13, notice what this says, But rejoice, rejoice, that's interesting, but rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. See, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, right? The idea of enduring hardness and enduring tribulations is not because you're just enjoying that. The reason you're rejoicing and you're happy about it is because you know that there's a reward at the end. You know that there's something you're going to gain out of it. You're going to glory in tribulations because it'll work in patience. And patience works in experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed. That's why you'll go into winter and be like, alright, you know what? It was kind of nice weather but you know what? I just need to endure a little bit of hardness. I need to endure a little bit of physical pain so that it'll make me stronger. You know, imagine going to the gym and working out and thinking, man, I don't want to feel any, I don't want to have to like work. I don't want it to actually hurt. I don't want it to actually be painful. Now obviously you don't want to be painful to where you're hurting yourself. But you know what I'm saying is that, you know what? When I'm sore, I'm like, man, I must have done something right. But if I work out and I'm not sore, I'd be like, I must not push it. I must have been dogging it. And by the way, doing these 200 push-ups this month, I don't feel like I'm dogging it. So, you know, I'm a little sore. But you know what? It's a good thing. And you need to endure some hardness. Keep reading there. It says in verse 14, Notice that, why are we rejoicing in tribulations? Because we know that we have a reward. Why do we glory in tribulations? Why are we happy? Because we know that the Spirit of God rested upon us. That's why. Because when we're going through tribulations, you're never closer to God than when you're going through tribulations. And the problem is a lot of people don't go through tribulations and that's why they're even more distant from God. When you have trials and tribulations, you know what? There's going to be more unity in the church. You're going to be closer to God than you ever were before. And every year, this is why I love winter. Because every year is just another reminder of that. You're just going through hardness, you come out of it. Go through hardness, come out of it. And it's a seasonal thing that happens every year where you're just not getting comfortable with the weather that you have. It's just not daisies and roses all year long. And just awesome weather all year long. Now this isn't a sermon to preach and be like, alright, we're more spiritual in West Virginia because we have winter. This is not a sermon like that. But this is a sermon to say, listen, you know what? You shouldn't be the Debbie Downer and be like, oh, winter. I can't take winter and just complain about it the whole time. You know what? You should embrace it. Be like, bring it on. I'm ready to endure this. Because you know what? Spring cometh. And go to 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3, just kind of want to show you some other verses here of why you should be happy. Or the fact of being happy in tribulations. Because it seems like a weird concept that when you're being persecuted or going through trials and tribulations that you're just like, woo, this is awesome. Because if you're just saying it because it's hard, then that's weird. But you're not happy and leaping for joy because of the hardness of it. It's because of what's going to come out of it. What are you going to gain from it? What's the reward from going through that? And in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 13 it says, Who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good? But, and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, and neither be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you the reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. And so it's basically saying, hey listen, if you suffer for righteousness' sake, then you should be happy. Now why? Well go to Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter 6, and I'm going to read to you Matthew 5. Matthew 5 is the famous Sermon on the Mount, or the beginning of it, where you have the so-called Beatitudes, right? Where it's talking about blessed are they, blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek. But it says in Matthew 5, 11, it says, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted today the prophets which were before you. And in Luke chapter 6 it says something very, basically the similar thing that's being said here, and I want you to see this, is that when people are persecuting and charging you falsely and doing this, you should be rejoicing. That's a hard thing to do, right? If someone's just like falsely accusing you of something, and people are persecuting you, to just be like, woo, this is awesome, this is great. Because, you know, that's a hardship, that's not fun, okay? But the reason for that is because the reward in heaven is great. Now in Luke chapter 6 and verse 20 it says, And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy. Behold your reward is great in heaven, for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. So it's basically saying, hey listen, you should be leaping for joy when that happens. You know what, that takes faith. That when all that stuff's going down, you'll be like, I have a reward for this. And that's the light at the end of the tunnel, right? When you're going through winter, what's the light at the end of the tunnel? It's not going to be winter forever, okay? It's going to end. And if you live in an area where it never ends, then I don't know what to tell you. You must really like winter or something like that. But when it comes to just the typical four seasons, you know, that the Bible talks about, well, the idea is that, hey, spring is coming. Spring is coming and winter will be over. But you have to have that hope or you're not going to be happy, you're not going to be rejoicing. You've got to have some hope that, hey, this is going to end. And that's why it's good to go through it. Like I said, if you're going through winter and this is your first winter, it might be a hard one for you, okay? Because you don't know what to expect, you've never been in that much cold before, you've never dealt with that before, so it's a lot of unknowns. But if you grew up in it, right? I think we have one from New York, a couple from New York. Brother Dave, you're from Michigan, you know what? And all of us that lived in West Virginia for so long and just other places, you know what? We know what the cold is like. You're not going into winter and being like, I don't know how I'm going to deal with this. You're just like, yeah, not a winter. It's just nothing. You don't think about it. Are you really that worried about winter coming? Is anybody here worried about winter coming and just what that's going to do to you and just how that's going to affect you? And so why? Because you have experience. Because you've already endured it many times over. You've endured it many times over and it's not that big of a deal anymore. Now, go to James Chapter 5. I'll show you one last one here dealing with being happy, you know, when you endure. Because you have to have obviously something that you're shooting for. And when it comes to working out, you know that pain, the pain that you go through there, you're not like, man, this pain is awesome. I just love being in pain. I love when my joints hurt. I love when my back just feels like I can't lift anything anymore. No one says that, okay? But the idea is that when you're in pain and when you're sore and you're trying to like get your muscles back to where they should be as far as like stretching them out and all that stuff, you know, hey, I'm getting stronger. I'm getting stronger. And that's something that you just look at as like, oh, that's hope. And by the way, going through that makes the resting so much more sweet. You know, working a hard day where you're just doing manual labor the whole day, nothing feels better than that bed. You know what I mean? And you know what, some people don't know what that feels like. People that don't work that are lazy and slothful, they're like, I can't sleep. You can't do this or can't do that. You know what, go out and work in the field or work lifting things all day long and then tell me that that does not feel comfortable after that. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet. But you have to have the labor first before you're going to have that sweet rest or that sweet consolation, okay? And listen, the harder that work is, the harder the endurance that you're going through, the sweeter the rest. And that's the way it is when it comes to spiritual, right? The harder you work in this life for Christ, the sweeter the rest will be. And that's why we work till the night is coming. You know, the night cometh when no man can work. We're going to work till Jesus comes and we're going to work hard until Jesus comes because we can rest when we die and when we're with Christ for all eternity and that rest will be sweeter if we do it that way. Now, will we still have rest? Of course. No matter if you work or not. Because all that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall have everlasting life and nothing can change that. But do you want that eternity to be... How sweet do you want that eternity to be? How good do you want that resurrection to be? I don't know about you, but I want the better resurrection. I want the sweeter rest. Now, go to James 5, verse 10 there. It says, who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience, behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job. Now, would you look at Job's life when he's going through that and be just like, man, that guy is just living the dream. You know, just, man, he should just be thrilled. Now, as he's going through that, and let's keep reading there. It says, That's why. That's why he's happy that he endured because of the end result. The end result, everything was doubled for Job. And he lived a long life and lived a prosperous life in the Lord. But no one through that enduring process would be like, man, I want to be Job. Think about it at the end of the other prophets where you're just like, man, I want to be Ezekiel. I want to be Jeremiah. I want to be stuck in that pit where I'm sunk into the mire. You know, think about any of those prophets that had to go through some hardships and all that, or you're fleeing for your life like Elijah in the wilderness and just all the stuff that's going on there. But we count them happy that endure. Why? Because the Lord is pitiful and of tender mercy. He's very pitiful and of tender mercy, meaning that He will reward you for that. That's why we're happy. And the reason that winner is a good thing is because, you know what, it reminds us that, hey, we need to go through some hardships. And as a Christian, and you say, well, you know, is that something that's going to have to be there for all eternity? Listen, we go through hardships because we have a flesh, okay? And the flesh needs to be put under, okay? Meaning that the flesh wants to be comfortable. But you know one way to starve the flesh is to put it through hardship, you know, to put it through some pain. That's how you're going to, you know, take care of the flesh there. Now, go to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Because the light at the end of the tunnel is why we do what we do, okay? Because we walk by faith, not by sight, okay? We are looking for things that are eternal, not things that are temporal, okay? So when we're looking, going through hardships, people may look at it and be like, why would you want to endure all that? Why would you want to take all that heat? Why would you want to take all that backlash? Because there's something at the end of the tunnel there. First of all, the souls of men, you know, is why we do what we do. Because we care about people and we don't want people to go to hell and we want to win them to Christ. But you know what? There's also the reward in heaven to serve God with our lives. And that is the light at the end of the tunnel. I want God to say to me, I want Jesus to say to me, well done, thou good and faithful servant. That's what I want to hear, okay? I don't want to be like, get in here, son. You know? Or that he had to take me home, right? You know? It's kind of like the old thing where, you know, I'm going to turn this car around, you know? And the idea of like, you know, being punished to the point of being taken home early. No, I want it to be, you fought a good fight, you kept the faith, well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord. That's what I want to hear. And you know what? I will work and endure to hear that. And Lord willing, I'll hear that. Hopefully, you know, and listen, we're not here to judge anything before the time. You know, I'm not here to judge what anybody's rewards are going to be or anything like that. But I think it's better that way because we don't know what it's going to be. In Romans chapter 8, I just want to give you a little bit of hope on that though. As far as you don't see it, you don't know what you're going to get, but listen, it's going to be greater than what you could ever imagine it would be. Whatever you can imagine that reward would be, it's going to be better than that, okay? In verse 15 it says, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Ah, but Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. So notice that we're heirs of God, but we're only joint-heirs with Christ if we suffer with Him. Do you see that? That's why it says in 2 Timothy, and actually I'm going to get to that later, but I'll just go ahead. It says, if we suffer, we should also reign with Him, okay? Now we're all going to rule and reign with Christ, but not everybody's going to be ruling over the same thing, okay? Some are going to be over 10 cities, some are going to be over 50 cities, right? Some are going to be higher up than others, okay? You say, well, what about the lowest person on the totem pole? Who are they going to roll over? Angels. Because it says we're going to judge angels. So guess what? I don't care how low on the totem pole you are, you're going to be higher than the angels as a saved person. But if you work and live for Christ, you'll be rolling over and reigning over other believers and other brethren, okay? And you know what? That's the goal to look to. Now look at verse 18 of chapter 8, so Romans chapter 8 and verse 18, it says, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. So the suffering that you're going through, listen, at the present time, it's not, you can't even compare it to what is going to come out on the other end, okay? So you've got to look at winter that way. You've got to look at winter and be like, hey, listen, I'm enduring this, but listen, that's not going to compare to what spring and summer is going to be like when it comes to the weather, you know? And go to 2 Timothy chapter 2 just to deal with the dealing with hardness. We are called to endure hardness, and I'm here to defend West Virginia. No, I'm just kidding. All I'm saying is that we're going into winter, okay? And you have to look at it as this is an opportunity. This is an opportunity to get stronger, to get some thicker skin, to endure some hardness physically because that'll help you as a Christian. If you endure some physical hardness, then that'll help you deal with the spiritual hardness as well. You know, bodily exercise profits little, but it's still profit. And when it comes to enduring hardness physically, that's still profits. It builds character, it builds integrity, and you need integrity if you're going to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And in verse 3 there it says, So the idea that if you're going to endure hardness as a soldier, that soldier is fighting battles. If you were to pick a soldier, do you want a soldier that's never fought a battle, never had to go through hardness, or do you want the one that's gone through a whole bunch of hardness? You want that proven soldier, right? So when it comes to Christianity or even in life, you want to be able to endure hardness. You want someone that has experience with hardness, experience going through hard times, and you want to latch onto that person and say, you know what, he made it through, I'm going to make it through too. And you've got to look at winter as just a little test every single year, a little trial every single year. Are you going to have some integrity? Are you going to make it to church? Are you going to go out soul winning when it's still cold? Are you going to still do everything that you should be doing when it's still cold? Are you going to go to work when it's still cold? Are you going to work out when it's still cold? Or are you just going to like bunker down and just like get in the fetal position and just cry about winter all the whole season, okay? Or you know what you could do is look at the bright side and say, you know what, I'm going to go sled riding, I'm going to build snowman, I'm going to eat some snow, and I'm going to have a good time in the snow, right? And just enjoy it. So the idea is that instead of whining about it and crying about it, you'd be like, you know what, I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to have fun with it. And other people will look at you like you're nuts and be like, I can't believe you like the snow. What are you doing out there rolling around in it making snow angels? And you know what, I learned a little bit from my, you know, because when I get home from work I'm not like, man, let's go out and play in the snow. I've kind of gone past the kid stage of really enjoying like playing in the snow. But Clara loves it. And as soon as I get home from work she's like, can we go outside? Can we go outside and play in the snow? And we've got to like get all, you know, like in our snow outfits and get out there and all that stuff. But you know what, that's someone that looks at me like this is fun. And not looking at me like, oh man, I wish it was warm. I wish I could go swimming. So, but going on, go to Mark Chapter 10, Mark Chapter 10. Like I said, Biden said that a cold winter's coming. And, you know, if Trump wins or whatever, and he may still win. So, you know what, part of me, so I'm split on who I want to win, okay. So I'm just going to be right here with you, okay. I kind of want Biden to win because our country needs a wake-up call. And it needs a wake-up call and be like, what are we doing? And it needs a spiritual wake-up call. I kind of want Trump to win just because I love seeing these liberals cry. So I think one's more of a fleshly desire, okay, that I just, I would love for him to win. So then all this stuff about him making an acceptance speech and like everybody just getting all excited about it and they just, their dreams are crushed. So, you know, I'm torn. Either way, I'm going to have fun with it and just enjoy it. So, you know, like you are crazy. Listen, we can't control it anyway, okay. So don't worry about things you can't control. And you know what we need to do? We need to live for God. And if God before us, who can be against us? And I don't care who's president. Listen, if the best person in the world became president today, that doesn't change the spiritual degradation of our country today. And the only thing that's going to change that is the pillar and ground of the truth, which is the church of the living God and preaching the gospel to every creature and seeing that they get in this book and see that that's the way that you should be living. That's the moral compass that you should have. And until people do that, you know what, I don't care who becomes president. I don't care who's the justices. I don't care who's in the legislation because the laws are going to be made by the people that are in this country. And if our people are wicked, the laws are going to be wicked. So, you know what, I have a better plan. Okay, I sound like a politician. I've got a better plan for you. Hope and change, my friends. No. But the hope is in Christ. And I know I've preached a whole sermon on the hope is in Christ, but you know what, that's what it needs to be and not in men. Now, Mark chapter 10, verse 23 here, notice what it says. And I want you to see this is that when people are in prosperity, they are less receptive to the gospel. Point blank, they are less receptive to the gospel. This is why we go to the poor. This is why we find the places where people are not rich. We don't go find the gated community and be like, man, I want to go knock that. That is last on the list. And I almost don't want to do it. But you know what, every door needs to be knocked and we'll try to do every door whether they're rich or poor, right? But you know what, I'm going to remember the poor first because the poor are rich in faith. And the rich are the ones that blaspheme our Savior's name. So, you know what, but notice what Jesus says here in Mark chapter 10, verse 23. It says, And Jesus looked round about and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words because Jesus answereth again and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Now he answers the question as far as why it's hard for a rich man to go to heaven because he's trusting in his riches. Because he has need of nothing. He doesn't need God. But the poor people that are living paycheck to paycheck and just trying to get ends meet, they need God. And they're praying to God. They know they need help. But the rich, they don't need anybody. They've made it. They have everything they need. So they're not worried about death until it comes, obviously. But in Psalm 49, Psalm 49 kind of says the same thing. So you know what? Spiritually speaking, if our country economically takes a downturn because of taxes and regulations and just all the stuff that goes on corruptly if Biden gets in the presidency, spiritually speaking it's better for our country. And that may be a hard pill to swallow. Because everybody wants to be prosperous. Everybody likes the gas prices to be at like $180, $190. I never thought I'd ever see it go down below $2 again. And you know what? I like it. I'm not going to lie. You think, I don't know, I want to pay more for gas. Of course, everybody likes things to be cheaper and everything likes everything to be prosperous. But spiritually speaking, it's better if our economy crashes and people are humbled in a time of economic decay. That is better spiritually for our country. So that's why I'm torn. Liberals crying or spiritual revival. And I'm being a little facetious there. But obviously the idea is that you can see the good in both sides there as far as that goes. Now in Psalm 49 verse 6 it says, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him. For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever that he should still live forever and not see corruption. So it's basically saying all this wealth that they have, they can't save their brother. They can't save the soul of anybody. They can't save someone's life. You know what? These rich people, they have all the money in the world. But you know what? What's his name? Not Bill Gates, but Steve Jobs. You know, all that money he had, he still died. He still died. I bet he had the best doctors in the world. Bet he had the best medicine in the world that money can buy, but he still died. And all these people that have all the money in the world, they will still die and nothing can change that and they cannot redeem their soul with that money. So as much as they can boast in their wealth and boast in their riches and trust in their riches, they're still going to die. And if they don't trust Christ, they're going to die and go to hell. But that's why it's hard for them to get saved. So what if we made a lot more people un-rich? Guess what that's going to do for the spiritual aspect of our country. It's going to boost it. Because now more people are going to be more prone to hear the gospel. That's a hard pill to swallow. And I'm sorry I'm not your Fox News Baptist preacher this morning, but you know what? Sometimes that's just what needs to happen. And you know what? Jeremiah got thrown into a pit for saying it, that you should just go into captivity and enjoy yourself while you're there. They didn't like that. They wanted to kill him for that. But you know what? They were like, America is the best nation. Okay, yeah, it has more freedom than any other nation, but it's also killing more babies than any other nation. Ouch. And it also promotes sodomy and queers more than any other nation. So don't give me this pill of America being this great, righteous nation that I should just be trying to lift up and just praying that God blesses it. Get rid of killing babies and get rid of the sodomite agenda and then talk to me about it. But until then, you know what? God curse America for the wickedness that it does, and hopefully that will get back down on its knees and serve God and maybe we'll have a righteous nation again. Instead of making America great again, make America righteous again. Make America humble again before God. Make America fear God again. But until then, you can take your economic upturn and put it in your pipe and just do whatever you want with it because I don't really care about your economic just everybody's working and everybody's making money. A lot of people are going to hell so they can have a bunch more money before they die and go to hell. It's like these soup kitchens. I'm going to give them a meal, but I'm not going to give them the gospel. It's like, all right, you gave them their last meal before they die and go to hell. Now, where did I have you turn? I didn't have you turn anywhere, did I? So go to Revelation 3. Revelation 3, the idea of Christians. So the unsaved, they need some hardship. They need a winter. They need a winter when it comes to hardships in their life because they need to realize they need something, they need God. But today we have a bunch of lukewarm Christians. A bunch of lukewarm Christians that say, I have need of nothing. And that's what happened in the church of Laodicea. And listen, this is not the Laodicean age, by the way. That's a bunch of hogwash. No, this is an actual church that had lukewarm Christians in it. And notice what it says here in Revelation 3 and verse 14, it says, And unto the angel of the church in Laodicea write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou art cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. And it's going to explain, what does it mean by being lukewarm? Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. That's the way, that's most Christians right now. Most Christians say, I have goods, I have need of nothing. But what does the Bible say? God says, I want to spew you out of my mouth because of that. So look at that, what's the reasoning why they're lukewarm? I am rich and I am increased with goods. You know what that looks like to me? Economic, you know, upturn. You know, just a good economic status. A good financial status. You have a lot of money. You're rich and you have goods and you don't need anything. I'm not the rich man that doesn't want to get saved. We're talking about Christians here. And it's not saying that they're not saved because later on it says, whom I love, I chasten, repent therefore. Right? So he's talking to saved people and he's saying, listen, because you're rich and you have all these goods, that's why you're lukewarm. That's why I want to spew you out of my mouth because you don't think you need anything. And that's Christianity today. They're too prosperous. You know what? Spiritually speaking, you know what our country needs? A little less prosperity. You'd be like, man, you really took it to the other end on the prosperity preaching, didn't you? I'm anti-prosperity. No. But obviously I'm not against having money and I'm not against having goods. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but the love and money is the root of all evil. And you know what? This may be a hard pill to swallow, but President Trump even admits he loves money. And everybody that is backing him, they'll admit, I know he loves money, but that's why we want him in there for economic stimulus. So you want somebody that is the root of all evil because he loves money. Now you'd be like, well, that's why we got Joe Biden in there. Oh, okay. Let's talk about Joe Biden and his $35 million that his son got from Russia or from wherever he got it from, right? Let's talk about that. A career politician that's been there for 47 years that just makes bank. Yeah. So I'm not saying either one, but at the same time, you know what? We need someone that's humble, righteous, and that is not someone that's like, I don't need anything. Now go to Song of Solomon, Chapter 2. And the last thing I want to hit on here, and I'll close it up here, is the idea that the nice thing about winter is that spring comes. And isn't spring that much sweeter because of winter? Think about this. When you get sick, isn't being well that much sweeter after you're sick? After you get well, you're like, man, this is awesome. I feel so fantastic. But you felt that same way before you got sick, but you didn't feel that way internally, right? You were like, well, you were fine. Then you got sick, and you're like, this sucks, you know? And you're just down and out, and you're dealing with it. But then when you get well, you're like, man, I feel like running a marathon. I feel like doing something. Let's go do something, right? You know what that is? It's a revival. Every year, physically speaking, is a rebirth. Because think about it. If you think about winter, winter is kind of like death, right? Spring is like the regeneration, you know, like rebirth. Summer is like the living period. And then fall is where you're getting back into death, right? I know fall is beautiful, but the reason those leaves are changing is because they're dying. And I love fall, okay? But all I have to say is that, you know what? Every year, it's sweeter. Now, think about this. Go to Song of Solomon chapter 2 and verse 11. Now, the idea, obviously, of Song of Solomon is it's a love song between a husband and wife. But notice what it says here in verse 11. It says, for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the springing of the birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs in the vines with the tender grape, give a good smell. Surprise, my love, my fair one, and come away. So we're talking about wintering, you know, and just kind of lodging in. And the idea here is that, hey, spring's here, we can go now. You know, we can move. And all the goodness that comes with that, right? You hear the singing of the birds and you hear the voice of the turtle is talking about turtle dove, okay? So it's just a shortening of turtle dove. And I always remember reading this. I'm like, they make some weird noises. You know, if you've ever been in a pond, you hear this, like, weird ball sound or something like that, and it's like this turtle. I'm like, that's weird. Like, you're going to be, like, really, like, excited about that sound. But it's a turtle dove, okay? So it's just a shortening of turtle dove. But that being said is that, listen, without winter coming, you don't have that great joy of spring, okay, where you see, and you're like, oh, it's getting green. And now you could be a Debbie Downer in that, too, and be like, oh, the allergies are coming, you know? Because every season you could probably say, like, I've heard people say, oh, the leaves are falling, the winter's coming. It's like, enjoy the fall. Enjoy it. Be like, it only lasts a week. And then it's gone and dead. It's like, you just need to, like, be a little more optimistic, you know? My wife, I always call her Negative Nancy, you know, because we were talking about the weather for the trip or whatever. She's like, it's going to rain. I'm like, I don't know. I said it'll probably clear it off. She's like, you're always so optimistic, and I'm like, you know, so I made up the term, I don't know if anybody's ever said it, but Positive Paul. So you need to be a Positive Paul, not a Negative Nancy, or a Debbie Downer, okay? And so the idea is that, you know what, in any season you can be like, oh, summer's going to be 90 and it's going to be humid and I can't breathe. Like, any season you could be like that. And it seems like there's people that just complain on every single season, okay? So after the sermon, I hope you're, I'm not saying that you need to be like, winter's now my favorite season. I don't think anybody's going to come out of the sermon thinking that, but I want you to look at winter as an opportunity. Winter is something that basically, instead of crying about it, embrace it and endure it. Look at it as an endurance. Be like, you know what, because I go through winter every single year, I'm a little stronger. I'm a stronger human being. I'm stronger physically because I go through winter, okay, every single year, because I endure that cold, harsh weather, and every morning I got to get up and go to work. I got to get up and do this in the midst of the cold and it's going to give you character. It's going to give you integrity. And don't be this Goldilocks. Everything's got to be exactly the way you want it at all times. I wish it was fall year round too. You know, it's the perfect weather, no humidity, smells great, the bugs are going, dying and going somewhere else. You know, I love fall, but it's not always going to be that way. It's not always going to be spring. It's not always going to be summer. It's not always going to be winter. Now, when we die and we're with Christ forever, then listen, the sun's not going to light upon you, meaning that you're not going to be weary because of the sun. It's going to be perfect weather then. But you know what, we're no longer in the flesh, so we don't have to worry about fighting with the flesh all the time. But you know what, since we have the flesh, you know what you need to do? You need to endure hardness. You need to put it through some rigor, hardness, so that you'll be close to God. That'll give you experience and that'll give you hope. Because anybody goes through winter year-round, the next time it's not something you're worried about. How about that be with your Christian life when it comes to persecutions? What if we had persecutions every year at our church? Okay, it's possible. It's possible it would give you more than that. But if we had persecutions every year, like this one big persecution every single year, you know what, eventually he's going to be like, it's time to do it again. It's like putting on your winter coat. You're like, all right, time to go to work. Time to endure it. And you're not like, man, is this ever going to end? Are we going to be constantly under persecution? Are they just going to constantly be coming at us? Are we never going to get out of this? And it's going to be, you know, the first time maybe you have that thought process. The next time, not as much. The next time you're like, pfft. The next time you're just like, all right, it's just winter again. Winter again, time to get out the scraper. Time to get on the winter gloves. Time to get on the winter coat. And you're just putting it on like a garment. And you're just like, all right, let's do it. And you're not even thinking about it. It's like going to the gym and you're like, the gym hurts, you know. Lifting hurts. But I don't think about it. I'm not like, am I going to go to the gym this morning? No, I just go. I just go. And you know what? A lot of times I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. But I do it anyway. You know when it comes to you reading your Bible? There's going to be a lot of times you're like, I don't feel like doing it. You know what you need to do? You need to pick it up and force yourself to read it even if it hurts. Read it, memorize it, and be with God every single day in your Bible. And you know what? Eventually it will get easier. Eventually you're just in, oh, that's second nature. That's what I do. Soul winning is the same way. You go soul winning every week. Guess what? Just what we do. It's how we roll. You get out of it, then it gets harder and harder as you go to get back into it. Okay. So I hope this sermon helps. There's obviously a spiritual aspect. But coming in the winter, and listen, if you guys are like, oh, it's so cold out there, I'm not going to come down. You'll be like, listen, you heard my sermon. You need to embrace it. Okay. But I want you to have a good aspect, a biblical aspect of why winter is a good thing. Why was there glory in it? Because you needed glory in persecutions and tribulation. You needed glory in hardness because of what comes out of it, because of what that helps you become going through it. And you know what? I like winter. And I'm going to glory in it every single season until I die. And you know, one day there won't be a winter. Okay. When we're all in heaven and we're enjoying the fruits of our labor, but we're not there yet. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word. And I pray that you'll be with us throughout the rest of the day. And Lord, as we go out soul winning as well, Lord, I just pray that you'd open the hearts of the people that we talk to. Lord, we pray that you would help us to endure hardness, endure the winter, and endure just the spiritual winters that may be coming, or that we know will be coming eventually. And Lord, we just pray that you'd just prepare us for that, make us strong in maybe little winters as we go on to the bigger ones. And Lord, we just love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So one day we'll come, sing one more song, and that will be dismissed. All right. Song 126 in your song books, song 126. And if you would stand. We will sing. Anywhere with Jesus, song 126. Anywhere with Jesus, I can safely go. Anywhere he leads me in this world below. Anywhere without him, dearest joys would fail.