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🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 Alright everybody welcome to Steadfast Baptist Church. You survived to the final service of the Fire Breathe In Baptist Conference. Glad you could make it here tonight. Let's go ahead and take out our hymnals. It's a song 449 Dwelling in Beulah Land. Again that's song number 449 Dwelling in Beulah Land. 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 Dear Father we just thank you that we could be gathered together tonight. We just thank you for the conference. We were able to be here for. Thank you for all the things we've learned. Things we've been taught. We just pray you'd help us to apply all these things to our lives. That we could walk out of here as better Christians. We pray to go Pastor Shelley with your Holy Spirit again right now and help him to edify people here. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Next is gonna be Redeemed at 246. Song number 246. 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 Good evening. Thank you so much for coming to Steadfast Baptist Church. If you still need a bulletin or you'd like one you can slip your hand nice and high. We have our Bible memory passage. Psalm 148 verse 10 we're working on. Any child engaged 18 or under that can quote this and receive either ice cream or some candy on our midweek service. So, and anybody that can quote the entire chapter to a non-family member will receive a special prize when we finish our entire list. On the inside we have our service and soul winning times as well as church stats down below for soul winning. I'm gonna get a count for the soul winning from today. Was there, what is there to report from this afternoon as far as soul winning? All right, looks like 24 for the day so praise the Lord on that. Good job to everybody. Thank you so much for helping us. Make sure to turn in your soul winning maps either on the done or the singles map or you can give it back to brother Dylan or myself and we'll help you with that. And also on the right we have our list of expecting ladies, several ladies to be praying for. Please also be in prayer for the rest of our church family. If you have any other prayer requests you can either fill out a communication card, slip that into the offering plate or you can send us an email SteadfastBaptistKJV at gmail.com. Please just indicate if this is a public or private prayer request. Also please make sure all donations currently are just to Pure Words Baptist. On the back we have our dessert potluck. You guys made it to the dessert potluck, okay? And I know those kiddos are looking over here like all the presents out on Christmas Day morning but you have to wait until we're done, all right? So you have to be really good in the sermon and then we're gonna have a dessert potluck. You can't have a Baptist Fellowship without dessert potluck, all right? And also October 31st we have our Texas chili cook-off. November 13th we have our Oklahoma City Soul Winning Marathon. We have a baby shower for Miss Nexus Cooper on the 30th. She registered on Amazon if you'd like to get them a gift as well as you can bring a snack or dessert if you would like. Any ladies that like to help with cleaning can do so. I just want to again thank everybody for coming to our conference and participating. Thank Pastor Reyes for preaching for us this afternoon. He's preaching against the dogs and use Romans 1. So I don't know what more can you ask for, you know? And we need more Spanish sermons where we preach these good doctrines, you know? And so great sermon. Thank you so much for preaching for us and it was definitely a blessing for our Spanish ministry. Also thank you to all the other pastors and everybody that was able to participate. I hope you enjoyed yourself. We really like having this kind of a conference here. I don't know if we're gonna stay and be able to fit in this building many more times but, you know, I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna try, all right? So don't don't test me. That's pretty much all I had for announcements this evening. We'll go ahead and go to our third song for the evening. 119 till the storm passes by. Song 119. Again that's 119 till the storm passes by. And there's no hiding place, man the crash of the thunder. Precious Lord, hear my cry, keep me safe till the storm passes by. Till the storm passes over, till the thunder starts to roar. Till the clouds will crackle on the sand, only class let me stay. With the hold of my hand, keep me safe till the storm passes by. Many times, saints have whispered, there is no need to try. For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by. But I know now or quickly, let tomorrow arise. Where the storms never darken the skies. Till the storm passes over, till the thunder starts to roar. Till the clouds go forever from the sand, only class let me stay. With the hold of my hand, keep me safe till the storm passes by. When the long night has ended and the storms come to war, let me stand in my presence on that bright peaceful shore. In that land where the tempest never comes, or may I dwell with thee when the storm passes by. Till the storm passes over, till the thunder starts to roar. Till the clouds go forever from the sand, only class let me stay. With the hold of my hand, keep me safe till the storm passes by. John chapter 7, the Bible reads, After these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come, but your time is all way ready. The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast. I go not up yet unto this feast, for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words, unto them he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for some said, He is a good man, others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory, but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law? And yet none of you keepeth the law, why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil, who goest about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers, and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry at me because I have made a man every whit hole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Howbeit we know this man whence he is, but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, You both know me, and ye know whence I am, and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him, for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come, and many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while, am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me, he shall seek me, and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this, that he said, He shall seek me, and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye cannot come? In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, This is the prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, He that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look, who out of Galilee ariseth no prophet? And every man went unto his own house. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you so much for our conference and our church. Thank you for all the souls that were won throughout. I pray you would fill Pastor Shelley with your spirit. Allow him to preach boldly. Help us pay attention and to apply the message to our lives and keep us all safe as we go our separate ways. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. I want to look back at verse 45, a real famous portion of scripture. The Bible says, Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The author has answered, Never man spake like this man. And we see here that the people at this time could recognize there was something different about Jesus Christ, and they make this really profound statement, and they say, Never man spake like this man. And really, what that points to is the fact that Jesus Christ is an exception when it comes to preaching, and he's an exception in a lot of different ways in the Bible. Go if you would to 1 Peter 1, and the title of my sermon this evening is real simple. It's Be the Exception. Be the Exception. And Jesus Christ is different than all of us because for all of sin it comes short of the glory of God, right? But the Bible says, In all points he was tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus Christ is the literal exception to virtually every rule we have in the Bible. No man's perfect, Christ is perfect. Never man spake like this man. And Jesus Christ is an exception. When you look at the word exception in the dictionary, I looked at the root word and kind of a broader definition, exceptional. So like another form of the word. If you are called exceptional, this is usually considered a positive thing, right? It's called forming an exception or rare. And really when we look at Jesus Christ, the Bible describes him in similar wording. Look what it says in 1 Peter 1 verse 18. For as much as you know, that you are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The Bible says that the blood of Christ is precious. Precious means a few different things. It means high value, but it also is because of its rarity. In the sense that there is only one blood that could have been shed to atone for our sins, and that was none other than the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of bulls and goats was not going to do it. My blood, your blood, was never going to do it. It was the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Why? Because he's the exception, okay? Now, go if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter number 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. You know, when I think of something that's precious, or I think of something that's an exception, obviously Christ is our ultimate picture. It's what we look to. But the Bible also uses this type of language to describe people. It describes us in certain situations. The Bible says in Proverbs 31 verse 10, who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies? Meaning that if you could find a woman who's virtuous, if you could find a woman who fears God, if you could find a woman who cares more about the things of the Lord rather than the things of this world, that she's a very costly good. She's something that's far above any price tag that you could put on it. Why? Because she's the exception. Why? Because women today are not godly. Why? Because women today don't care about spiritual things by and large, and when you find one that does, she's exceptional, is what the Bible is describing. And when it comes to men and women today, it's kind of looked down upon a lot of the things that the Bible teaches. You know what? You should have confidence that what the Bible is teaching is the right thing, and you should just go ahead and be the exception. Now, I have five points this evening of exceptions that I believe we should all strive for and teach our children to strive for. And some of them, it's too late for us, okay? But it's not necessarily too late for your children. And my first point is this. You should be the exception by being a virgin on your wedding night. Be a virgin on your wedding night. You know, be the exception. And look, this is an exception today. I mean, this is a rarity. This is something of high value today, and you know what? We need to teach our children to be virgins on their wedding night. And people should strive to be virgins on their wedding night. And you know what? Praise the Lord for every man and boy and woman and girl that are a virgin on their wedding night. And you know what? If you're still a virgin, if you're a young child, you're a teenager, a young adult, and you're still a virgin, praise the Lord for that. You are a good exception. You're exceptional. And don't give away that price of the good that you have for some cheap, you know, fun, for just a moment's fun, and a lot of times it's not even that fun. They don't even realize it. You know, it's fun is when you're married, and you know, you're doing it in the right and proper role, the proper place, marriage is honorable and all, and the bed undefiled is what the Bible said, but adulterers and whoremongers, God will judge. And we need to get preachers back in the pulpit emphasizing the sin of fornication, saying that it's wicked, saying that it's evil, and trying to make their church be the exception to this horrible rule that most people are just not a virgin on their wedding night. Now, it's hard to get exact statistics on this. Obviously, it's going to be based on just people being honest, but one website I looked at said that only 5% of people claim to have been virgin on their wedding night. 5%. That's horrible. You know what that tells me? The people that are, they're the exception. And you know what, just because it's 5%, doesn't mean you can't be in that 5%, doesn't mean that you can't be that exception. And especially, there's a large difference between even men and women, according to another site, and this is not necessarily just limited to being a virgin, but it's just saying how many partners people have on average, and it says only 25% of women have been with one partner in their life, and only 12% of men. Wow, that's, you know, and you know what, some people look down upon that. They'll say, oh, you just want to be with the same woman for the rest of your life? And I'm like, yes. Oh, don't you feel like you're missing out? No. And you know, praise God, I've only been with one woman. You know, I'm not sitting up here feeling like, oh, man, I really missed out. You know, I'm really glad I didn't bring extra baggage with me into the relationship than I had to, okay? And anybody that has to bring extra baggage in, you know, whatever that is, even if it's not necessarily even full, going all the way of knowing someone carnally, you know, you're not proud of that. You're ashamed of that. You know, I'd rather have said that the first time I ever kissed a girl was only with my wife. You know, and some people look down upon that. They say, oh, man, you didn't kiss until you got married, and I'm thinking like, that's great, because I have daughters. And you know what, your whole perspective changes when you have a daughter, and then you have another daughter, and you're like, oh, man, you know, no guy is good enough for her, number one, okay, already. But, you know, I plan on making my daughters be a great prize unto whatever man, you know, is lucky enough to get her. You know, and he's lucky. I was lucky, and whoever gets my daughter is lucky. But we should try to teach our children that this is an important principle, and they should be an exception to the world. Now, look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 18. Flee fornication. Now, that's pretty clear, isn't it? They say it has nothing to do with it. Stay away from it. Every sin that a man doeth is out of the body, but he that committed fornication sent it against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For you are bought with the price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Notice the Bible teaches when you're saved, it's not your body to choose what you do to it. You're supposed to let the Bible tell you what you're supposed to do with your body. You know, and a lot of people don't look at it that way. Obviously, God gives you free will, and at the end of the day, from a practical perspective, you can do whatever you want, but that doesn't mean there isn't consequences to every decision you make. And if you want to be right with God, you're going to say, well, what does God want me to do with my body? Where does God want me to put my body? What does God want me to do with my body? And you know, God obviously gives us certain needs and certain things that he wants us to fulfill, like food, right? We've got to eat. We've got to drink. And obviously, it's normal for a man to be attracted to a woman and for a woman to be attracted to a man, and everything else is gross, okay? It's sick. It's filthy. It's perverted. And it's one woman. That's normal. You know, the world tries to trick you into thinking that it's normal to want to have all these women. And notice, it's a common thing. Read the Bible, okay? You know what? It's not better. Which guy do you really feel like was living it up, that had all these wives? It seems like a lot of problems if you ask me. All the girlfriends, all the concubines, all the whatever he had, it's never working out. It's never fun. You know, the best marriage is when it's just one man and one woman, and they're for life. And it's just them. This is always going to be the best. And, you know, you get no STDs, you're both virgins on your wedding night. It's guaranteed. You're locked in to be secure from getting some horrible disease. Now, you go sleep around, you're rolling the dice, my friend. You're really rolling the dice. I mean, it's really scary, the statistics that are out there. And a lot of people will think like, Well, I know some friends, they slept around a lot, they seem to be doing okay. But here's the problem. Just because the world gets away with it doesn't mean you will. Go to chapter 10 for a moment, go to chapter 10 for a moment. And this should terrify people that actually go to a good church, they go to an independent fundamental Baptist church, that if they think they can just spit in the face of God after he's clearly told them what's right and wrong, you know, they're going to be the ones that get the worst punishment. And let me prove this to you. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, look at verse 8. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed and fell in one day, three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed as serpents. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, the Bible's telling us how all those things that happened in the Old Testament were an example to us. Okay, and it basically teaches us what our lives are supposed to be like, pitfalls of our life. You know, a lot of people think like, Oh, that's back then, you've got to understand the culture. No, all of it is relevant for today. Okay, and if God is killing people for committing fornication, think about this question. Who is he killing? Is he killing the Canaanites, the Hivites, the Jebusites? Now, when we read in the books of Moses about what they're like, they're definitely committing fornication. I mean, they're committing fornication beyond normal fornication. I mean, it's crazy all the things they're doing, but they get away with it. Why? Because they're not God's children. And look, people that are not my kids get away with all kinds of stuff, because they're not my kids. You know, the neighborhood kids, they run up and down the street, and they dress however they want, and they do whatever they want, and I never punish them. And here's the thing, God often lets the wicked get away with murder, literally. Called O.J. Simpson, my friend. It's called the Clintons, my friend. Called 9-11. It's called all the wars that we have. It's called COVID. I mean, welcome to the club. Called forced vaccination. It's called SIDS. I mean, there's all kinds of murder getting away with. Called abortion. I mean, if it was you and me, realizing this abortion doctor's killing baby after baby after baby, we would have already pressed the death button. I mean, you know what I mean? But God is long suffering, and God is allowing people that are not his children to get away with murder, literally. Murder, and drugs, and fornication, and evil. They're constantly committing all manner of sin, and not having an immediate consequence. Now, don't hear me wrong. God is not mom. Or whatsoever man soweth that, she also reap. They're getting what's coming to them, eventually. But oftentimes, you can look at the world, and it seems like they're getting away with all manner of sin. Let me tell you something. God's people, they immediately get punished. God's people immediately have a real recompense to their actions. And so, you know what? It's not just important to be the exception. It's important not to get punished like all these people did. And if he killed 23,000 people, that tells me it's serious to God. I mean, I'd be afraid that if you committed fornication, or adultery, or one of these sins, you would just get AIDS. Who wants AIDS? I mean, that's horrible. Or get gonorrhea. And I remember in junior high, I wish I'd never seen it. In junior high, they show you all the pictures. And I didn't want to see it. I didn't know what I was looking at. Everybody's looking at it, and they're like, what is that? It's horrible. It's the worst things imaginable. And the places you don't want it to be. No one wants these type of things. And you say, oh, why did he preach this and make us feel uncomfortable? Well, you know what? I want no one to commit this sin. I want our whole church to be the exception. Go to Isaiah chapter 4. Go to Isaiah chapter number 4. And, you know, if you want your kids to keep serving God, you can't let them get involved in these horrible sins because it'll destroy their life. You know, they'll get hooked up with the wrong person. They'll end up having bastard children. They'll end up just having all kinds of other horrible sins and issues that result from these actions. And they'll get married to somebody they didn't want to, and then they'll leave them. And then they'll be stuck, you know, where they can't even get remarried biblically because they've already been divorced. You know, there's all kinds of people. They commit fornication, and then they just get into a quick marriage with that person. And that person doesn't even like them. And then they're gone. And then biblically they're not even supposed to get married again. And now they're not even just committing fornication. Now they have divorce. Now they have adultery on the table. Now there's all kinds of other consequences. Now they have to share custody with some other person. Or they have parental rights with this other person. Or now they have all kinds of manner of STD and all kinds of other issues that are going on. And all kinds of heartache and pain and suffering and woe because, you know what, no one just sat them down and said, be a virgin. In the public school system they hand out contraceptives. They're not saying like, be a virgin. You know, when I was young they used to teach abstinence. They used to actually teach abstinence in the public school system. And you know what, it's gone. They don't teach abstinence. And look, it's by and large just from a secular viewpoint it's infinitely better. You know what, from a biblical perspective it's really clear that you need to flee fornication. It only causes problems. It only causes issues. It's only a negative thing. No one is going to be pleased with it. And it's never satisfying either. The people that commit all kinds of fornication, notice they're never like, well, I'm glad I did that and I'm done now. It's like they can't wait to do it again. They can't wait to get on the next dating app. They can't get, they're ready to get the next Tinder profile. They're ready to get the next whatever hook up or the next relationship or the next. There's no satisfaction in that type of lifestyle. The only real satisfaction is going to be in a marriage. Okay? And obviously there's just no satisfaction in anything carnal because you constantly have to go back to it, right? It's not like you're ever going to eat a meal and be like, I'm done for the rest of my life. That was good. I mean, Heim's feels good at first. But it eventually goes away and you're like, I want Heim's again. You know? The dessert potluck is going to be great but you're like, let's eat again. You know? Let's drink again. You know? You're going to have certain carnal needs that are never going to be fully satisfied. That's why you need to have the proper vehicle in order to address those type of needs, to address that type of situation. And look, if you have a desire to be married, I believe you should seek marriage. You should seek that relationship. Because when you don't, you're going to find all other manner of avenues to satisfy that problem, to satisfy that need. And you know what? They're all unhealthy. They all cause problems. They all have consequences to them. That's why it's important if you have a desire to get married, you get married. That's why if you have a desire to eat food, you get yourself around good, healthy food. You know, when I leave Pure Words at 9.30 at night, all the good options have been taken off the table. So I find myself, it's like McDonald's or Whataburger or fast. And it's like, I don't know. You know? It's just rough. It's just like, why can't there be anything good? You know? Somewhere. So I just eat McDonald's, all right? I'll just be honest, okay? I confess my fault, all right? Hosea chapter 4, look at verse 11. Hordom and wine and new wine take away the heart. My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them. For the spirit of hordoms hath caused them to err. And they have got a whoring from under their god. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills. Under the oaks and poplars and elms is the shadow thereof is good. Therefore your daughter shall commit hordom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. Notice this verse. I will not punish your daughters when they commit hordom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery. For they, for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots. Therefore the people that do not understand shall fall. Now this is a strange verse. But what's interesting about it is when the people of God have gotten so far away from the Lord. That's what you have to understand about the context. These are people that are just so far away from the Lord, he just doesn't even regard them anymore. They're not really his people anymore. And notice what he says. Hey, when your spouse and your daughter are committing hordom, I'm not even going to punish them. Meaning what? People that are not God's people can literally commit sin and have no consequences at times. They can literally do evil and it doesn't appear like anything bad is happening to them. Again, this is a short-sighted view. I'm not saying they won't get a consequence. I'm saying that in the immediate, in the moment, God's not going to, they're not getting the STD. They're not necessarily getting pregnant out of wedlock. They're not necessarily having all the bad consequences. It looks like they're having fun. It looks like they're having a good time. It looks like it's working out for them. You know what? You are a child of God and he chasteneth and scourgeth every son in whom he receiveth. And when you decide to go out and be like the world, God's going to say, no son, no daughter. And he's going to spank you. And you know what? His spankings hurt. His spankings have real teeth to them. And so don't look at the world and say, I want to be like the world. No, look at the Bible and say, I want to be the exception. I want to bring that 5% up to 6%. I want to go ahead and change that statistic and be different and be the exception. And be like my Lord and Savior who is exceptional. He was an exception. He is precious. He was holy. He was righteous. And he did that which was right in the eyes of God. So I too want to be like that. Go to Revelation chapter 17. Go to Revelation chapter number 17. Point number one, be the exception. Be a virgin on your wedding night. We need to bring back virginity as a praiseworthy thing, not as a byword. Now in high school, it's like, oh, you're a virgin? You should be like, yes. Oh, you're not as cool as us. No, you're better. Your price is far above rubies. You still have some value and integrity left. Don't succumb to the pressure. Don't feel like, oh, I got to be cool like everybody else. No, say, I want to be the exception. Look at Revelation chapter 17 verse 2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Now in Revelation chapter 17, we're getting into Babylon and talking a lot about the judgment that's going to be coming upon her. And here's the reality about her is she's wicked as hell. And you know what? She commits all manner of evil. It has these basic metaphors that it's using saying like the whole world's committing fornication with her. Notice she's called a whore for a reason, right? And look, you commit a lot of fornication. Guess what people will call you? A whore. I don't want to be called a whore. Well, then don't be a whore. And you know, we should bring back whoremonger too because it seems like guys just get a free pass at this or something. No, you're a whoremonger. You know, it's the same thing. But notice what's coupled in this verse. Fornication and drunk with wine. Why? Because a lot of fornication is coupled with drinking alcohol. So not only should you be a virgin on your wedding night, you should be a teetotaler. Point number two, be a teetotaler. And you say, well, everybody else drinks. I know, be the exception. Be a teetotaler. And you say, what's a teetotaler? One who completely abstains from alcohol. Completely. Nothing to do with it. Don't even want to look at it. Go to Proverbs chapter 23. Say, ah, the Bible doesn't teach that. The Bible says, you know, alcohol is great in moderation. Liar. Said no one ever. Said the country music song. Sorry. God is great. Beer is good. People are crazy. You can sing that all day long, but guess what? Beer is not good. Beer will make you effeminate. Beer will give you a gut. What's good about that? Beer will make you do stupid things and sound stupid and look stupid and it smells like urine. Who wants to drink urine? And you know, they're like, oh, if you drink it enough, you get used to it. I don't want to get used to urine. Yeah, I've seen third world countries and they're eating like bugs and dung or whatever and it's like eventually they like it. I don't want to like it. I don't want to get used to it. I'm not interested in seeing what foul things I can put in my mouth. You know, when something smells bad, there's a reason. It's because it's bad. You know, it releases toxins in the air. You know, the bacteria or whatever's going on with the substance is smelling bad, reducing a bad odor, and that smelling bad, you're supposed to say, ugh. You know, stay away from it. That's why bars and stuff smell terrible. They smell gross. And you go, just being in the bar, you end up soaking in all those fumes and all those toxins and you walk out, you smell like smoke and you smell like beer and alcohol, even if you did nothing. You know, it's frustrating. There's all these cool events and there's all these cool, fun things you can do and you know what's ruined a lot of that? Alcohol. You want to go to a sporting event and it's a lot of fun, but guess what's everywhere? Alcohol. The whole floor is sticky and the chairs are sticky and it's gross and it smells bad and then someone spills beer on you because they're just drunk out of their mind and it just ruins everything. Alcohol is a poison, my friend. There's nothing beneficial about it. No cool discoveries have been made with beer. You know, and in high school, or maybe in junior high, they did a thing where you can put on beer goggles. Who's ever worn beer goggles maybe in school? Yeah, they used to have programs called D.A.R.E. whenever I was in school and it was like basically resisting drugs or whatever. But you could put on these beer goggles and try to walk. And you know, I'm kind of like a skeptical person by nature. So you'd watch people put it on and they're all just like, you know, whatever. And I'm just thinking like, they're just making it up. But you like put on the beer goggles and it's real. Like you can't even, you're just like, whoa. You know, you can't even walk a straight line and they're just trying to illustrate like this is what happens to you. You know, the person that's drunk doesn't even realize. The person that's drunk thinks they're walking a straight line. The person that's drunk thinks there's no problem. Or they don't even realize where they're at. They don't know their name anymore. They don't realize what's happened to them because they lose all of your judgment. You lose all the feeling. In your mind you think everything's normal. But to everybody else, you're a weirdo. That's why when we go soul winning, when we're like, this guy's not getting the gospel, it's because he's drunk. What? He can't make sense. He doesn't even realize where he's at. He gets confused. Look, what the Bible paints here is not a positive picture. Look at verse 29. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Pentecostals, but also drunkards, okay. Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, it moveth itself aright. So the Bible is painting a picture here, and it's using really good language to describe the process of fermentation. You take any kind of fruit and you squeeze it, the liquid that comes out is clear. It's relatively clear liquid. But if you want it to have a color, you know, you have to allow the elements or the sediment. This is like refining it on the leaves, okay. You have to let whatever elements are coming with the fruit sit in the fruit, and it slowly ferments, it slows the bacteria, and it decomposes and it breaks down. It's releasing its color. It's releasing all kinds of toxins, and it becomes a toxic beverage. Just like if you set bread out on the table, eventually it turns green. Imagine if the Bible is saying, hey, avoid the bread when it turns green. It's like I didn't need that instruction. But for some reason, people need the instruction when the juice turns red. Because they didn't figure it out. They didn't realize that it's poison. They didn't realize it decomposed. And as stupid as it would be to eat moldy bread as it is to drink alcohol. It ruins your life. And notice God saying, don't even look at it. Throw it out, get rid of it, pour it out. You know, they had drink offerings where they had poured out. Look, they didn't drink alcohol in the Old Testament. They weren't sitting there drinking booze, offering the sacrifice of the Lord. Those guys went in and offered strange fire and got killed. Nadab and Abihu. Offering weird offerings unto the Lord. You know, here's what's going to happen to you. Verse 32. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and it stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Now the word strange there just means someone that's unknown to you. It doesn't mean that she looks strange. But let me tell you what, when you drink alcohol, you'll lie with women that look strange. Because the beer goggles come on, and she looks like Miss Universe or whatever when you put the beer goggles on, and you take them off, you're like, ah! That's why they have mimosas in the morning. You know, just to put the goggles back on. Why do you want to lay with her? You know, men and women will commit fornication with people they would never commit fornication with in their life simply because alcohol got in the mix. Someone they never would want to, someone they don't even like at all, someone they're not even attracted to whatsoever. What a waste to lose your virginity on someone you're not even attracted to. That sounds terrible. That's a complete waste. And a lot of times they won't even remember. What a complete waste. You take such a precious gift, and you just give it away for free. And I've already preached statistics on this, but most people lose their virginity due to alcohol. I can't remember. I think it was like 90%. Again, I don't know if that's accurate, but it could be. That's horrible. It says in verse 34, Yea, thou shalt be as he that lying down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lying upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me, and I fell to naught. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. And here's what alcohol does. Basically, alcohol takes all of your physical abilities, and it just deadens them. Okay? So your sensitivities, it will deaden them. So whatever feelings you have, it just lessens them. It makes them not, you don't have them anymore. Inhibitions, weakens them. Your physical feeling, weakens them. Pain, weakens it. Your ability to think, weakens it. Speak, weakens it. It basically just makes you a worse version of yourself. In every category. In all areas. Okay? But one thing it does, since it takes the pain tolerance away, you know, when you can't feel pain, you're a very dangerous person to yourself and others. Because you could slam your hand into a car, and you don't even realize you're injuring it. You could put your hand in fire, and not realizing you're burning your skin off. You could start beating your wife, and not even realizing you're hurting her. And you want to know what happens to drunks? They beat their family, and they don't even realize it. They beat their kids, and they don't even realize it. They don't even know the damage that they're doing to their family. What kind of a wicked person is going to sit here, and literally hurt the people that love them the most, because they are so selfish to drink poison? It's sick. I'm going to give you some articles I looked up. In 2014, in Arlington, a drunk driver got 22 years for killing a family of three. Now, some people will literally drink alcohol. They'll get away with it for a decade. But then one night, they'll drink, and they'll run a red light, and they'll literally smash into someone, kill them, kill three people, and now they're in jail for 22 years. Was it worth it? And you say, who's that going to happen to? Probably the Christian. Probably the guy that God wants to bring down the hammer on. February of 2021, a drunk driver killed a Dallas police officer, and the Dallas police officer's wife was pregnant with her first child. And let me tell you something. The state of Texas, you kill a police officer, it's the death penalty for you. Because I looked up all the different statistics. I'm like, if you kitment, murder, they don't mess around with you killing cops. You kill the wrong person, it's the death penalty for you. I think that you should get it for not just a cop. I'm not a respecter of persons. Any first-degree murderer should be worthy of the death penalty. But I'm telling you, you could end up being in jail and just waiting on death row for the rest of your life for booze. And it's expensive anyways. It's stupid. October 6, 2021, that's pretty recent, isn't it? An eighth grader was killed by a drunk driver in this area. Was it worth it? I mean, not only do you have all the consequences, how about just remembering that you killed a little kid every day? Some little precious kid. In eighth grade, that was like our second group of kids doing the spelling bee. Can you imagine just one of the kids just dying because of a drunk driver? What kind of an irresponsible loser are you to drink alcohol and literally kill children? One day ago, a drunk driver killed an unborn baby in this area, smashed into a car, and immediately killed the baby in the car. And now he's facing six years in prison. Could be more. According to Texas statistics, alcohol was determined to be a factor in 987 traffic deaths, accounting for roughly 26% of all Texas traffic fatalities. That's a lot. And that's just driving. This doesn't even include all the other stupid garbage that people do getting drunk and all the injuries and the problems. Look, it's not a coincidence that he's saying, hey, you're going to be on top of a mass. You're laying down in the midst of the sea. This person has no concept of danger once you start drinking. Look, I went to college, and I was around people that drink alcohol, and they literally didn't even know where they were, what their name was. They would wake up and say, I don't even know why I got here. It happens all the time on a regular basis. And you know what? All kinds of women get abused and hurt because they're around guys drinking alcohol. The worst thing you can do is be around guys drinking alcohol. If you're a young lady, you stay far, far away from men that are drinking alcohol. We'll go to Romans chapter 13 for a moment. Romans chapter number 13. How about you just be the exception and be a teetotaler? Oh, all the other guys that work drink. Well, I don't. All the guys that work smoke, I don't. Why not? Why do I have to succumb to the pressure? It's stupid. And look, I'll admit I had drank alcohol in the past, but I'm not proud of it. There was nothing good that came of it. It was wrong. It was wicked. I want nothing to do with it now. And you know what? If you're a Baptist, we should bring back the fact that you don't drink alcohol. It used to be that if you're a Baptist, they knew they don't drink alcohol. And why do you have to have alcohol to have fun? I feel like I've had a lot of fun the last few days and I've had zero alcohol. None. And you know what? I didn't kill a whole bunch of babies driving here either on the way. I didn't cause all kinds of problems. I didn't vomit all over myself. The floor isn't, well, it could be sticky, but it's not sticky with alcohol. We haven't eaten yet, all right? But at least we have people cleaning up. You know, the bar, it's like they don't even care. Look at Romans chapter 13, verse 13. Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not rioting in drunkenness, not chambering in wantness, not in strife and envy, or envying. You know, people are always looking for something to do. They need some fun, so they think they should drink alcohol. Here's my cure. Have more kids. Go to Psalms 127. Psalms 127. 127. Be the exception. Be a virgin. Be a teetotaler. Here's my third point. Be quiverful. Say, oh, we need to have some fun. I need something to do. Have kids. That'll really bring up the fun factor, okay? Look at Psalms 127, verse 3. Low children are inherited to the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them, they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Look, you want to be around people that can't control their bowel movements and are constantly throwing up and speaking gibberish? Instead of going to the bar, have kids. And the cool thing is they're way less dangerous. Because, you know, people that are drunk are like toddlers. They pee all over themselves, and they defecate on themselves, and they vomit on themselves, and they can't control themselves, and they want you to hold them, and they're real emotional. They go from highs to lows real quick, you know. I love you, man. It's like, I'd rather have my toddler tell me that. Crying and screaming, constantly fighting kids. I'd rather have the kids, because you know what? Through the rod of correction, you can fix that. But you know what? You can't fix stupid on purpose. You can't fix the drunkard. And you know what? We should have the faith to say, I'm going to be the exception to the rule today of America's average family having 1.9 kids. The Cardonas are doing really good, okay? They're what we call the exception. But you know what? The Bible says happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. He doesn't say depressed. He doesn't say sad. You know the guy who had woe and sorrow and contentions was the guy that had 10 beers, not 10 children. He the exception. You know, we should be a church that's full. And look, it helps us grow, obviously. But at the end of the day, it makes you happier as a person. You're going to be more proud of your accomplishment of a child than how many kegs you drank one night. And how many shots you took one night. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 14. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 14. The Bible says in Exodus, Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine. Now look, I don't even have a lot of kids in my opinion. I only have five. I don't even think that's like a big number, honestly. But man, you go into the world today and everybody freaks out about me having five kids. They're just like, whoa! You know, I'm thinking like, what's it like for the Cardonas? They're just like, ah! Did they just run across the border or what? I mean, to the world, you're peculiar. But you know what? Peculiar is a good thing. Be the exception. Because you know what's also confusing to them? They see you with all these kids and happy. Because they have 1.9 and they're like depressed about it. They're sad. Their kid has a phone 24-7 in public. And he's still screaming. And he's still crying. And he still can't behave. And they're like, I don't have anything left to give them. I don't have anything left to hand over them. And it's like, you're supposed to hand them the rod of correction. That's where you're supposed to hand them, not a phone. But when they cry, instead of giving them the phone, give them a paddle. You know what cures the crying? A paddle. You know what doesn't cure the crying? Giving in to terrorist demands. And let me tell you what, never negotiate with a terrorist. And children are terrorists. They don't know what they want. You know, my policy is if you're going to scream like you got spanked, you're going to get spanked. And it fixes it. Obviously, sometimes they need more admonishments than one. And I get that. I have kids. I got it. But at the end of the day, you don't fix it by giving them what they want, by caving to their demand. You tell them what they want. And if that makes you peculiar in the world, who cares what the world thinks? I'd rather be happy and peculiar than sad and normal. Whatever that is. Sad and like everybody else. Deuteronomy 14, look at verse 2. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. And the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself above all the nations that are upon the earth. God wants you to be different. God wants you to be special. God wants you to be the exception. Be the exception. Go over to Luke chapter 9. You know, the Bible says, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Not only should you be quiverful physically, you should be quiverful spiritually. Be the exception. You know, when we read about the parable of the sower, there's not that many people that are producing fruit. Most of them are doing nothing. Most of them, you know, they just go by the wayside. They're choked of the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches. By and by they're offended. There's only a few that are doing what? Multiplying 30, 60, some 100. Who's the some 100? It's the exception. Why don't you be the exception? Oh, nobody else is doing it. You can. Who cares what anybody else is doing? You get to decide your fate. You get to decide what your family is going to do. And if everybody in this room has 1.9 children, I'm going to try and have as many as I can have. And if everybody in this room says I'm going to have 1.9 salvations a year, I'm going to try and have as many as I can. Why? Because I want to be the exception. Be the exception to the rule. 1 Peter chapter 2 says, But your chosen generation of royal priesthood and holy nation are peculiar people, that you should show forth the praise of Him who hath called you out of darkness in His marvelous light. Let's be honest. Most Christians don't get anybody saved. And you say, well, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with me? No, you're just the exception. No, you're just peculiar. No, you're just special. And you know what? Nuts to if they don't do it, because you can do it. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As for me and this church, we're going to still multiply physically and spiritually, because that's the commandments of God. And I don't care if every church quits soul winning. We'll be the exception! I'm not going to sit here and say, well, everybody else quit. Let's quit, too. No, let's keep going. And you say, oh, but it's a lot of work. Yeah, having kids is work, man. Going soul winning? Work. Hard. Not easy. Not fun. It's a constant thing. It's a constant labor. It's a constant pull and tug at your time, effort, energy, emotions, everything. And look, the devil wants nothing more than for God's people to stop multiplying physically and spiritually. That's why we have to constantly fight for both. It's a constant battle. It's a constant war. And you know what? We as God's people need to realize the devil is going to throw everything at us. You know what? Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them. Aren't you happier when you come back with a lot of people saved than when you took a nap? I never feel good after I take a nap. It always sounds good, but then I feel worse afterwards. It always sounds worse after a nap. Oh, man. After a nap, you know what I want to do? Sleep more. I don't even want to get up. And look, I'm not against taking a nap. Sometimes I take a nap. Sometimes you need to, you know, rest. Sometimes you need these moments to get better. But at the end of the day, you know what? You feel happy when you've done work for the Lord. You feel happy when you redeem the fruits of it. Here's my first point of what you should be as the exception is you should be a lifer. Now, I got this term from one of my church members, and I really like this term, but this is from Brother Samson down in Pure Words. Now, what's interesting is when I was going to start Pure Words, I hadn't gone yet, but I got a call from somebody, and it's like, Pastor Shelley. Like, is this God? I didn't know he had my number. And he was telling me he's real excited about the church, and, you know, he made this comment, and he said, well, I just want to tell you right now that we're lifers. And I was just like, okay. And I mean, you know, obviously you never know, right? No one knows. He doesn't know. But I just like his attitude. I just like the attitude of someone that says, you know what? I've already decided that serving God for me is for life. Yeah, I've already decided I'm a lifer. You know, when you're a lifer, you can go through a lot of bad issues because you've already decided you're a lifer. You know, when it comes to marriage, you're supposed to say, I'm a lifer. So then when your marriage gets bad, you're not looking at the ejection seat. You're saying, I'm a lifer, so I might as well make it work. And when you're a lifer in Christianity and things are going bad, instead of saying, where's the ejection seat, you say, well, how do I make the situation better? How do I survive this? How do I get through something that's difficult? How do I overcome? How do I deal with issues? You know, there's going to be legitimate issues in every walk towards the Lord. You know, there's going to be times when church isn't going the way you want. You have something bad happen. You disagree with the pastor about something. He steps on your toes. He calls out someone that you love. One of your friends stabs you in the back. You do something wrong and you get called out for it. Maybe you just get called out innocently. I don't know. Maybe you have something bad happen and you did everything right. You're going to have bad stuff happen to you. But you know what? When you say you're a lifer, you just keep going anyways. You just say, well, okay, sure, but I'm a lifer. I'm going to serve God. Look what it says in Luke chapter 9 verse 62. Luke chapter 9 verse 62. And Jesus said unto him, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Notice how Jesus words it. He says, hey, don't look back at your old life. Quitting is not an option here. You got your hands on the plow and there's one direction forward. Now, hey, sometimes when you get on the plow, you might hit a rough patch. It's kind of like, you know what? Instead of being like, okay, I'm done. No, you just grab the plow and you're just like, uh, uh, uh, and you just get through it. And then as soon as you get through that rock or you get through that rough patch, you just keep going. And then you're like, you hit the next rough patch, you're like, I've seen this before. Bring it on. And you're just like, bam, bam. And you just keep going. You're not like, eh, I'm done. This isn't that much fun. You know, what's the point of plowing? So when you sow that seed, it brings forth fruit. So it's not just that stony, rocky ground. And let me tell you something, plowing is hard. None of us really know. I mean, who's ever plowed actually in their real life? Anybody? Okay, we got a couple of people. All right. They know what I'm talking about. Okay, plowing is hard. And I've never used like a real plow, but I've had to do it with hand with a shovel. And I've told this a little bit before. Go to Luke chapter 14. Go to Luke chapter 14 for a moment. My dad does a lot of gardening. And he usually does around 200 plants every single year in his garden. And he grows giant plants. It's like, man, how big are you going to make these things? I mean, giant tomato plants, way bigger than a person. And whenever he's done, those roots are thick. And it'll take you like an hour just to get one of those plants out sometimes. One of those bigger tomato plants or maybe a squash plant or something like that, where it really digs in deep. It is hard work. But here's the thing. If you don't do it, no seeds will ever germinate. You're not going to be able to put seeds on that ground that's already been eaten up with all those roots. You got to plow down. You got to dig deep. And here's the reality. When you're serving God, you're not always going to have instant fruit. You sometimes have to plow for a while. You sometimes have to dig up a lot of roots. And whenever you weren't saved for a long time in your life, you're going to have some deep roots. You're going to have some big issues that you have to sit there and work on and try to dig out and try to get rid of so that whenever you have the seed planted, you're bringing forth the fruit. You know what? After you get all that hard work out, a lot of times you get to read the benefits. Everything, and I'm talking in a lot of these situations, a lot of it is front-loaded when it comes to labor. Your life is front-loaded. God did that on purpose. Why? Because you're the strongest, the smartest, the quickest when you're younger. You get to reap the benefits later in life. Raising little kids, hard work. Enjoying grandkids later, easy. You know, it's way easier. It's way more fun. But in order to enjoy the grandkids, you've got to plow the other kids. You've got to beat them with the rod of correction. You've got to drive the foolishness out of them. You know, it takes a lot, a lot of hard work, a lot of heartache, a lot of effort, a lot of energy. And let me tell you something. The Christian life's kind of the same way. You were in the world getting in a new church at the beginning, it probably hurt. Like, oh, I can't drink, I can't smoke, I can't chew, I can't go with girls that do. I mean, what can I do here, you know? The singles event's like 35 guys and two girls. It's like, no, I'm just kidding. It was a little better ratio than that. You're like, what am I supposed to, you know, it's hard work. Finding a wife is hard work. Raising godly children is hard work. You know, you know when you're a lifer and you put in all that effort and energy at the beginning, you get to reap all the benefits later. You get to enjoy the fruit of your labor later. You know what? If you're a lazy person that does nothing and you quit on God, you'll have nothing to reap later. So what's the benefit in that? Luke 14, look at verse 28. For which of you intending to build a tower siteth not down first and counteth the cost whether you have sufficient to finish it? Thus, happily, after you've laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. What's that? Well, you get saved, you laid down that foundation of Jesus Christ, and then you got into church and you started making some changes, then you quit. You know what's going to happen? All your friends are going to make fun of you. When you go back to them, they're going to be like, you're such a loser. You did that Christian thing. We knew it wasn't real. We knew it was fake. Look, you might as well just count the cost and say, I want to build the tower. But you know what? If you're going to build a tower, there's going to be a cost to pay. And you say, well, how am I going to get the tower built? Hey, you're a lifer. Be a lifer. Some buildings took years, decades in the Bible to build. It took a lifetime in order to build a project. And you look at this church like ours, I believe building a great church again is going to be a lifelong project. It's not a one-time thing. We don't just press a button and get an instant great church. No, we plow and we do a lot of the hard work and we put a lot of labor. We have to fight a lot of enemies. And over time, what's going to end up happening, it's eventually going to turn into a big tower, a great big building with all kinds of fruit. You know what? It takes a lot of effort, labor, and energy to start over. And you know what? Christianity has to start over every once in a while. And our nation, it needs to start over. There are people that are dragging the plow around here. And you know what it takes? It takes some lifers to stick it out so that we can get the project done. Go if you would to 2 Timothy 4. Go to 2 Timothy 4. Romans 12 says this, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is a reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You know, the Bible says your life is supposed to be a living sacrifice. You're supposed to be a lifer. That's what God's called you to do and called you to be. He wants you to dedicate your entire life to Him. And you say, oh, what am I going to get out of the end? You're going to reap everlasting life and all the rewards of heaven. You say, well, how am I going to see that? Through faith? You live a life of faith, serving God, not knowing exactly what's going on. You're building a spiritual building. It's a spiritual temple that we're building up with the souls of men today. And you know what? You're going to reap a great benefit in heaven, if not even just in this life. You know what? You have to be a lifer. And I'll be honest with you. Most people are not. You look at people, and I told the men this a few years ago when I took over the church. But I said, you know, after about five years, 90% of the church is gone. Whatever you had in the first five years, 90% of those people are just gone in five years. Just done. And you just keep seeing that cycle, just over and over and over again. But you have 10% for the exception. Why don't you be the exception? And you know what? I hope that the statistic's wrong. I'm preaching this sermon so that the statistic will turn into 80 or 70 or 50 or zero. I mean, would to God it'd be zero. But that's just not realistic. You know what's realistic? Is you have the choice for yourself to say, I'm going to stick around. I'm going to be a lifer. Look at 2 Timothy 4, verse 7. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Would to God we could all say at the end of our life to our grandchildren or our great-grandchildren, we can look them in the eyes and say, little Johnny, I've kept the faith. What a joyful moment. I mean, to be at the end and know that you're going to go into heaven and say, man, I fought a good fight. I finished my course. And I mean, think about how many cool stories you'd have. I already preached a sermon called Never a Dull Moment. If that continues, I mean, you're going to have so many stories. They won't even believe you. They'll be like, how in the world did you have a church that all this happened to? And they'll be like, what happened to Seth Lookout? He died a long time ago and is in hell. He died in prison with Gallagher, with Galligator, just like Judas. Maybe we'll even have a story where they killed themselves. I mean, Judas killed himself. And these people like the virtue signal about how much they love the Lord, but they're just liars. You know? Oh, I care so much about the building code. He doesn't care about building code. He doesn't care about soul winning. Why would he steal all the money from a church of soul winning if he cares about soul winning? Oh, I care so much about souls. I care so much about people. This is like Judas when he says, why was this ointment not sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? Not that he cared for the poor, but that he was a thief. And he had the bag, and he bare was put there in. That's what the Bible actually says. Oh, I care so much about people, so I steal all of their money. That doesn't seem like you care very much then, does it? You lying Judas? Why don't you just kill yourself? Now, go to 1 John chapter 3, and I'm almost finished. I have one more quick point, all right? And I know you're really thinking about that dessert, OK? Let me recap. Be the exception. Be a virgin. Be a teetotaler. Be quiverful. Be a lifer. And here's the last point. Be steadfast. You know, if you're going to have to serve God for the rest of your life, you might as well do it somewhere where it's fun. And whether that's Pure Words Baptist Church or Steadfast Baptist Church, just being steadfast in your heart. Or First Works, or Verity, or wherever, it doesn't matter. You know what? Just get in a good church. And if I have to serve God for the rest of my life, I'd rather do it in a place where I can do it the best. You know, I always had this thought, like, if I could go back into the Bible and follow somebody, where would I go? And mine's always just to be with the disciples and following Christ. Why not? And I remember thinking back in my life, and I thought, you know what? I don't feel like I'm being honest with myself because I'm not following anybody. I'm not plugged into church anywhere. And so I said, you know what? I'm going to find the guy that I think is serving Christ the best, and I'm going to follow him. I moved my whole family out to Tempe, Phoenix, Arizona to go to Faith Board Baptist Church. And I was told by family members, it's the worst decision I've ever made in my entire life. And I would say it's in the top five best decisions I've ever made in my entire life. Number one is getting saved. Number two is getting married to my wife. That was a big blessing. But it's somewhere in that top five. It was great. And you know, I loved it. And it was never a dull moment was there either. They were getting thrown out. Pastor angels were standing on the pulpit screaming at people. Pastor angels were standing on the chair screaming at people. I mean, it was never a dull moment. Maybe I'm, I don't know, I guess they had problems later, but maybe I was a problem. I don't know. But look, if you serve God, you're going to have the whole world hate you. 1 John chapter 3, look at verse 13. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you. But you know what? Be the exception. Just say like, I know the whole world hates me, but I'm going to be steadfast. I don't care. You know, how many people are ashamed of the church that they go to in some form or fashion? The world hates you. Just get used to it. It's interesting how many other false religions don't have a problem with that. I mean, being a Muslim in America is not the most popular religion, my friend, yet they're all proud about it. They'll wear their burka and everything. They're going around advertising, I worship, and follow a pedophile. A literal pedophile. They literally wear an outfit saying, I follow a cult-leading pedophile. And then Christians will be like, they go to serve the church? Where'd you go? This is bad, this church. Oh yeah? What's the name of it? Serve the church. Don't worry about it. Don't Google it. How many people have said, like, don't Google my church? Rather than be like, Google it. Hey. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 1 for a moment. You know, I'm sick and tired of people being ashamed of serving God. You know, hey, going around telling people that you're with Jesus wasn't popular back when Peter was warming his hands around the fire, but you know what? What an embarrassment and a shame to be the guy that says, I don't know Jesus. Why wouldn't you want to walk around and be like, I'm with Jesus. I'm with the Son of God. Hey, I'm with the creator of the universe. Hey, I'm with the word of life. Hey, I'm with the guy that, read your thoughts. Hey, I'm with the guy that walks on water. Hey, I'm with the guy that performs miracles. Hey, I'm with the guy that you're going to kill and he's going to raise three days later. Hey, I'm with the precious blood of Jesus Christ here. Oh, I'm so ashamed. You know, why would you be ashamed of a church that's soul winning and preaching the gospel and taking hard stands against the world? You know what? Why can't you just claim the name and say, you know what? I'm steadfast. Hey, what church do you go to? Steadfast Baptist Church. That's the church I go to. And they say, how do you spell it? Let me show you. Let me pull it up on Google for you. And look, there's almost like no other churches with our name. They can spell it that way. It's like virtually none. Virtually none. They all change that. No, I'm just kidding. They probably want to change. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be the partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Stop cowering in fear. Say, you know what? I am with Steadfast Baptist Church. Don't be ashamed of it. Don't be afraid of it. Don't be like, oh, I don't want anybody to know. Look down to verse 16. The Lord give mercy to the house of Onosiphorus, free oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. He wore the sodomite deception t-shirt. He wore the fire breathing Baptist Fellowship t-shirt. He wore the Steadfast t-shirt. He said, you know what? I'm not ashamed of Paul. I know Paul. Paul's my guy. I like Paul. And you know what? What do God church members would rally behind their pastor today in 2021 and not be ashamed and not be afraid and not cower and say, I know the world hates me, but you know what? I'm not ashamed. I'm the exception. I love Steadfast Baptist Church. I love Pure Words Baptist Church. I love Faithful Word Baptist Church. I love Verity Baptist Church. I love Stronghold Baptist Church. I love all of these churches. I mean, if that's how you fill in your heart, why don't you let everybody know? You know, it's kind of embarrassing if you walked up to somebody and say, is this your wife? And you're like, I don't know. How would that make her feel? Say, yeah, that's my wife. Look at the ring, buddy. Right. It's mine. Be proud of your spouse. Be proud of your husband. Be proud of your wife. Be proud of your church. Be the exception. How many doors do you knock on? How many doors do you knock on? What church do you go to? I don't know. That's not very proud, is it? Go to 1 Peter 4, the last place I'll have your turn. Now, the Bible says, Blessed is a man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. The Bible says, Through desire, a man having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. The Bible emphasizes being an exception, being exceptional. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Be therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. You know, stand out. Be different. Be someone that reads the Bible. Be someone that cares about the things of God. Be someone that's proud of their church. Be someone that goes to church every time the doors are open. Be someone that never gives up on church. Be someone that's always going to do that which is right. Teach your children to be virgins on their wedding night. Have a trillion kids. I love it. I think it's great. Ah, you don't drink poison? No, I don't. I don't drink rat poison. I don't punch myself in the face. I don't vomit all over myself either. Or you do. And, hey, be a Christian. Be a steadfast Baptist church Christian. Isn't it interesting that atheists have no problem telling everybody they're an atheist? What an embarrassing thing to tell someone. The fool has said in his heart there is no God. Flat earthers will admit that they're flat earthers. How? You can't even admit you go to a steadfast Baptist church and people are admitting they're a flat earther? You should be embarrassed. Faggots will tell everybody they're a faggot. They'll dress like a faggot. They'll stand out in public with a sign saying they're a disgusting, filthy faggot. Faggot! And then people won't, oh, I go to steadfast. Who should be ashamed? The disgusting, filthy, dung-eating AIDS dispenser? Or a Bible-believing son of God? I mean, it's sick today. Muslims, Mormons wear a name badge just to let you know the cult that they're in. Do I need to get you a name badge? Stop being so ashamed of being a Christian. Be the exception and say, like, I'm steadfast. Be a virgin on your wedding night. Be a teetotaler. Be quiverful. Be a lifer. Be steadfast. Let's close in prayer. Thank you, Father, so much for showing us the way through your son's example. That as he was an exception, that as he was a bright and shining light, as he was someone who endured all manner of temptation and suffering and ridicule and mocking or being exceptional, I pray that we would use that as a model for ourselves to realize that we, too, should follow in his steps and not succumb to the pressures of this world, but rather strive to be like Christ who is exceptional. And I pray that you would bless all the families in this room, that you would encourage them through the next year, that they would strive to be exceptional according to the Word of God rather than succumbing to the pressures of this world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. With that, let's close it out with another song and then we'll pray for the food. We've got some desserts after the service. You should have these white handouts in your bulletin, How Great Thou Art, a very famous song. I'm sure most of you are very familiar with it. If you don't have one of these, raise up your hand and one of the ushers will try and bring one to you. We should have enough, but if you don't end up getting one, just share with your neighbor. Again, we'll give it a second so you can get some more handouts out. We want to hear your voice. All right, in your white handouts, How Great Thou Art. Oh, Lord my God, may I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. I bow throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Then through the woods and forest glades I wander, And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down the lofty mountain lander, And hear the flood and feel the gentle breeze. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. And when I think that God is son not sparing, Save him to die, I swear I can forgive. That on the cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. When Christ shall come, when shout of admiration, Then take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow in humble adoration, And then proclaim my God, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Thank y'all so much for coming to our conference. If y'all want to form two lines on this side, on both sides, you can go down. Get some dessert, hang out, and fellowship. And God bless you. Be safe going home. Guard dismissed. Copyright © 2020 Mooji Media Ltd. 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