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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Let's turn in our hymn notes to page 409. 409, hold the fort. About to be singing a cappella tonight, hope you don't mind. Let's see if I can get us a couple of notes. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Okay, let's sing it out unto the Lord, page 409. Oh, my comrades, see the signal waving in the sky. Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh. Hold the fort, for I am coming. Jesus, signal still. Wave the answer back to heaven, by thy grace we will. On the second. See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on. Mighty men around us falling, courage almost gone. Hold the fort, for I am coming. Jesus, signal still. Wave the answer back to heaven, by thy grace we will. See the glorious banner waving, hear the trumpet blow. In our leader's name we triumph over every foe. Sing it out. Hold the fort, for I am coming. Jesus, signal still. Wave the answer back to heaven, by thy grace we will. And on the last. Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near. Onward comes our great commander cheer, my comrades cheer. Hold the fort, for I am coming. Jesus, signal still. Wave the answer back to heaven, by thy grace we will. And I think Pastor Thompson is coming. Leave us in a prayer now. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for the time we could spend together tonight in your word. We thank you for the souls that got saved today. We pray that you just bless their lives and for the seeds planted. We pray that you just bless the service now. We thank you for the visitor who has come. We pray that you just do a great work in your service tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. For the next song, I want us to turn in our King James Bibles. Nobody's got one of them NITs around here, I hope. Not entirely true. I want you to turn to Psalm chapter 19. Psalm chapter 19. And we're going to sing right out of the Psalms tonight. If you don't have a King James Bible, it won't work, though. So hopefully everybody's got the only Bible there is for English-speaking people. And that's King James Bible. So in Psalm 19 here, there's four verses. And verse number 10 is the chorus. So the four verses that are involved in this is verses 7 through 10. So 7 is a verse of the song. And then we go to verse 10, and that's a chorus. 8 is another verse. Then 10 for the chorus. Verse 9 of Psalm chapter 19, that's another verse, the third verse. And 10 is a chorus. So the common denominator there is 10 every time is a chorus. After each verse we sing. So we'll start with verse 7. And I think pretty much of our people know this song. So we'll just start right out singing it with verse 7. And don't forget, after each verse, go to 10 for the chorus. The love of the Lord is perfect. This is verse 7. Converting the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple. Verse 10. More to be desired are they than gold. Yea, then much find gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes. Verse 10. More to be desired are they than gold. Yea, then much find gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold. Yea, then much find gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. And so now we're going to have some announcements. Are these current here? All right. All right, welcome to Bible Believers Baptist Church for the midweek service. And I don't know if we have any extra bulletins or not. Does anybody know if we have an extra one? Does anybody need a bulletin? Raise your hand if you need one. All right. I think that we might need one over there. Okay. All right. On the front cover we have our verse of the week. And that is from James 1 25. It says, but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Of course, that's a great scripture there, reminding us that hearing the word of God isn't enough. We have to actually put it into practice. And so I want to thank you for being here at Bible Believers Baptist Church. And we hope that the music and the preaching of the word of God is a blessing to you. And if you're a first time guest, we're thankful that you're here. And if there's anything we can do to be of service to you, please don't hesitate to ask. We'll do it within whatever power we have. And we're independent, fundamental, King James only Baptist Church. We're soul winning, salvation by faith alone and family integrated. And if you have any questions after the service, go ahead and feel free to come talk to me after the service. If I'm not here, you can go ahead and talk to Brother Rick. He's kind of boots on the ground when I'm not here, which is most of the time. So anyway, we also have some ushers that are pretty able-bodied guys that can answer questions that you may have. Or if you need anything, they'd be happy to serve you. So let's see, we have our ties information there. As far as being a family integrated church, of course, we don't separate children from their parents for any reason. But if they become super distracting or disruptive, please just take them to the mom baby room. It's located up the stairs out the hall. There's a monitor in there where you can still watch the preaching or listen to the service. And then, of course, feel free to bring them back in once they've calmed down their clothes and their right minds again. And that's a joke, by the way. But a really bad one, apparently. Anyway, so anyhow, yeah, obviously you can use that room for feeding or changing or whatever. It's not just if they're being distracting or whatever. So sometimes, you know, kids just can't sit through a service and that's just fine. You know, we don't expect, you know, little babies to always behave in a church service. So it's something that they are trained to do. So anyhow, if you need any assistance to your vehicle after the service or just anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask. Let's see, we use WhatsApp, which is an app on your phone to coordinate our soul winning locations. We also, I think, apparently we do have some maps on the back table there. I'm not sure. Are you guys mostly using WhatsApp, though? Yeah. Okay. So WhatsApp's the main thing. So if you want to get plugged into soul winning, that's going to be an app that you might need. Obviously, we would, you know, if that's not something that is in your technological wheelhouse, then we can also help you just get to the address. And if you don't know what soul winning is, it's when we go out and knock doors. No, we're not Jehovah's Witnesses. No, we're not Mormons. But they stole that idea from the Bible, and they stole that idea, and Christians just don't do it very much. And so that's why you would think that, because they kind of stole that and hijacked it. But in reality, all Christians are supposed to be doing that. So we take soul winning very seriously. We go door to door and try to hit every house and present people with the gospel and give them a chance to accept the gospel and be saved. So we just like to take the Bible and show them what the Bible says it takes to go to heaven. We had two salvations today, so praise the Lord for that. And I heard, what was there, four salvations on Sunday. So praise God for that. And so the regular soul winning time is on Wednesday at 4 p.m. before the 6 p.m. service. And then 1030 a.m. is our Sunday morning service. Our Sunday morning service is 1030 a.m. Our Sunday p.m. service is 330 p.m. This is different than my bulletin at our other church. So sorry. But we have soul winning in between those services on Sunday. Wednesday we have a 6 p.m. service. That's our midweek Bible study. And I think Brother Rick is going through the book of Hebrews. And how do you know Moses drank coffee? Hebrews. Anyway, but tonight we're going to take a break from that. I'm going to be preaching a stand-alone sermon about dating. So anyhow, so normally we're in a Bible study, though. And 4 p.m. is our regular Bible, our regular soul winning time. So the preaching schedule is there. All the other stuff is TVA. I have the new schedule out. I'm still trying to get somebody to do the two sermons for the 19th. So other than that, we're pretty well covered for the rest of the month. And if you can't, for the guys, I just want to kind of put this out there. If you can't preach, please try to give, you know, ample notice for someone to be able to take your spot. Letting someone know right before the service is not, you know, not cool, man. Like, in my old neighborhood, you get punched for that. So I'm just. So, but it's just, it's hard enough to write a sermon, but like if someone just drops that on you at the last second, it's very difficult. So please just be respectful of other people. And, you know, let's be good stewards of the time that God has allowed us to have and the talents that he gives us and be respectful to each other when it comes to those things. So, so let's see. We also have the well, we already had the one year anniversary of Seattle. I just want to want to tell you how that went. We had a smash. We smashed the record in the morning with 65 people in attendance. Our previous attendance record was like 36. So, but Saturday we had a so many marathon. We had 18 salvations total for the day. Baptized three people at the pool. And that was cool. And then Sunday we had, so we had the 65 in attendance. Pastor Mejia preached for us. And then between the services, we had 25 salvations. So it was just like, like a really blessed weekend. And then the evening service, we had more than we had in the morning service. We had 68 people in the service, which, you know, smashed the record again. And it's, you know, if you've ever been there before, it's not a huge room. So it was like, we crammed all those people in there. But it was a great time. And so it was a great, blessed weekend. So, and let's see. Some of these things, when I put these in the bulletin for you guys, I just want to let you know that you're welcome to come to anything that we have. Obviously, you're hours away from us and stuff like that. But anybody that's ever wanted to come to anything that we're doing, you're more than welcome to come, show up for those things. Or any events that are, you know, and these main events are things that any of our church family can attend and go to. Red Hot Preaching Conference. Who else plan on going to that again? All right, lots of people. Who's going to be here to man this, to preach? The people who think the rapture happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, he's a great preacher, there's no doubt about that. So I think, is there anybody left to preach here? Okay, cool. So as long as we have somebody to cover that, then that's good. And then our Church of Vancouver anniversary is also coming up there on the notes there. And so, let's see. I think we've got all the birthdays and stuff taken care of. I don't think there's anything else to mention in the announcements, so let's go ahead and sing one last song. We'll receive the offering after that, then we'll have the Bible reading. Thank you, Pastor. Turn your handbooks to 402. 402, faith is a victory. And once again, no piano player, so I'm just going to start it out. If I'm in the wrong key, folks, that's just the way it goes. 402, faith is a victory. In camp along the hills of light Ye Christian soldiers rise And press the battle ere the night Shall veil the glowing skies Against the foe in veils below Let all our strength be hurled Faith is the victory we know That overcomes the world Faith is the victory, faith is the victory Oh, glorious victory that overcomes the world What a good biblical song on verse 2. His banner over us, his love, our sword, the word of God We tread the road, the saints above With shouts of triumph trod By faith they're like a whirlwind's breath Swept on o'er every field The faith by which they conquered death Is still our shining shield Faith is the victory, faith is the victory Oh, glorious victory that overcomes the world On the last. To him that overcomes the foe White raiment shall be given Before the angels he shall know His name confessed in heaven Then onward from the hills of light Our hearts with love aflame Will vanquish all the hosts of night In Jesus' conquering name Sing it out now. Faith is the victory, faith is the victory Oh, glorious victory that overcomes the world Okay. Here comes a masher. Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, for today, Lord, for the salvation we had, Father God. Thank you for your love, your grace and mercy that you have. God bless the preaching, Father, be it pastor, Lord, and with the Holy Spirit as he preaches the message to us, Father God. Encourage us and convict us, Lord. Bless the offering and bless those that came today, Father. In Jesus' precious mighty name, Father, I pray. Amen. Amen. Good evening, everyone. Please open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 7, 1 Corinthians chapter 7. And when you get there, if you could stand for the reading of God's word. Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence, and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband, and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one or the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again. That Satan tempt you not for your incontinency, but I speak this by permission and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself, but every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her husband, and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband, and let the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And a woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. Our brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk, and so ordain I in all churches. Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called an uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou being a servant? Care not for it. But if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's freeman. Likewise also he that is called being free is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, with every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God. Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord. Yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. But, and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned, and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time is short, it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none, and they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoice not, and they that buy as though they possess not. And they that use this world as not abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncumbly toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will. He sinneth not, let them marry. Nevertheless he that standeth steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin doeth well. So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well, but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth, but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, only in the Lord. But she is happier if she so abide after my judgment, and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for allowing us to come to your house and hear your word preached. I ask that you be with Pastor Thompson as he gives us the message that you laid on his heart. Fill him with your Holy Spirit. Convict us, encourage us. I just thank you for everything you've done, all that you do and all that you will do. I pray these in Jesus name. Amen. All right. All right, we're there in First Corinthians, chapter number seven, look at verse number one, the Bible says, Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me, it is good that a man not to touch a woman, nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. I want to go to the Lord in prayer real quick here. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, so much for the Bible. And Lord, I pray that you'd help me to expound on these principles that are found in your word, Lord. And Lord, I pray that you would just help me to preach this sermon with grace. And Lord, not in contention. And I pray that you would just fill me with your spirit as I begin to preach your word. And Lord, that all those in attendance would just be attentive to your word and filled with your spirit as well. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So I just want to start off by saying that I'm not preaching this sermon to be a whipping post on anybody or for people to go, aha, this is what Pastor Thompson thinks or believes or anything like that. And to use it as ammunition against somebody else or another pastor or anything like that. This is just what I personally believe about. And obviously this isn't all-encompassing about dating, but dating is something that happens. And some people would call it courting, but the word courting isn't in the Bible either. So don't say, well, hey, this should be courting. Well, courting isn't found in the Bible. Dating isn't found in the Bible. But people obviously get married. So there's a way that people meet each other and get married. And there's a lot of different ways that people get married in the Bible. There's just not a lot about these different things in the Bible. But here we have a couple of verses here where, and obviously before I get to these verses, there's a whole chapter, 40 verses here, where Paul is explaining things about marriage, about being a virgin, about how he feels people should serve the Lord better if they would just stay like he is. Obviously Paul's never been married. He's never had children. He doesn't have a wife. So he's saying, hey, if you want to serve the Lord the best of your ability, then be like I am. You can serve the Lord. You have no restrictions. You have no wife you need to please or anything like that. But he also is saying here at the beginning of the chapter here, now concerning the things where have you wrote unto me. So obviously they had written unto Paul and asked him a question about is it okay for men and women to touch apparently. It says it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Isn't that what it says? Now people will say, well, you know, this is talking about, you know, actually the act that people do in marriage. And it's not just talking about just touching someone like, you know, because what does touch mean? You know, it can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. But obviously what we think of when, hey, don't touch me, what are you talking about? You're talking about someone putting their hands on you or something in that manner, right? But when the Bible translates the word touch like 26 times in the New Testament, all those times they're talking about touching, like a physical touch, right? So I don't think that this is any different. I don't think it's trying to hide some kind of agenda within this touch here. It's literally talking about touching. So nevertheless, it says to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. Now, you know, I'd be stupid to believe that this touching is not some kind of romantic touching, OK? And anybody, this is what it's talking about. It's not talking about, you know, you holding hands with your mom when you walk across the street. All right? It's not saying, hey, don't give your mom a kiss on the cheek before you go to bed at night or something. This is talking about a kind of touching where romance is involved, isn't it? You know, because you're trying to, you said you're trying to avoid fornication. If you flip back to 1 Corinthians chapter 6, just look at the last three verses. Someone just read them for me because I'm not even going to flip to it. Just, Noah, stand up and read me those last three verses. What does it say? Through fornication, everything that a man needs is without the body, but through that you may have fornication in terms of his own body. What knows not that your body is the temple of the holy gift that you give me, that you have, of God, and you are not your own. And you have a body of Christ, therefore glorified God, your body, and you live to hear about God. OK, just so you know, chapter divisions didn't come until way after the Bible is already written. So if you're just like looking at, you know, the Bible without the chapter divisions, he goes right into chapter 7 verse 1 right after he says what he just read. So the content, you know, people say, well, this isn't the context of what it's talking about. Well, he is talking about fornication. He's talking about and then he's saying, hey, it's best that you just don't touch a woman. And what it's talking about is the type of touching that would lead to fornication. And nobody in this room is a dummy. You know exactly what that is talking about. Right. So and honestly, you don't have to touch much when you like somebody in that manner. It could just be like, you know, it doesn't have to be much. Right. And so, you know, any kind even just looks can, you know, be like, whoa, like I'm just you know, I really like this person. You know, you don't have it doesn't have to even be a touch necessarily. But but, you know, Paul is saying, hey, to avoid this, just don't touch them. That's just a it's just a good idea not to do this. Right. So this is you know, this is, I believe, something that the Bible is guiding us into this principle of when you're dating or, you know, because obviously this isn't talking about married people, because in this chapter, it's saying don't refrain from touching each other unless it's by permission from each other to not do that anymore. Right. Less Satan should tempt you. So it's not, you know, people say, well, this is talking about married people. Don't you know the people that I mean, I agree that you shouldn't do that either. But I'm just saying that this is this here is talking about people that aren't married because and fornication is what something you do before you're married. Right. It's not talking about that would be adultery if it's saying to avoid adultery. Right. So let's turn to Genesis. You know, we might not come back here. We might, but let's just go ahead and turn to Genesis chapter 20. And we'll look at another story where it has this same kind of touch here that it's kind of being talked about, because obviously we'll go through some examples of different types of, you know, it's still touch, but it's, you know, different types of touch. Right. So Genesis chapter 20, you might be familiar with the story, but Abraham, he is pretending to be the brother of Sarah, which he actually is. So he's not really lying, but he's actually married to her. OK. And it's his half sister. So back then, it wasn't a problem. You know, it wasn't you know, it wasn't a big deal. Wasn't, you know, restricted under God's law. So so it says in verse three, it says, But God came to Abimelech. This is like the king of the Philistines. Right. In a dream by night. So he'd taken Sarah, Abraham's wife, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou has taken. For she is a man's wife, but Abimelech had not come near her. He hasn't even come near her because, you know, to lie with someone carnally or to, you know, like the you know, I don't want to get too graphic here tonight, but to do the act that you would do when you're married, don't you have to get near them? And you also have to touch them. Right. So it says, And he said, Lord, will thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me she is my sister or he unto me that she is she is my sister? And she even she herself said, He is my brother in the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands. Have I done this? And God said unto him in a dream. Yeah, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart, for I also withheld thee from sinning against me. Therefore suffered I the not to what to say there? Touch her. He wouldn't allow him to even touch her. He wouldn't even let her and get near her, because you know what happens when you get near and then you touch? Well, other things happen that shouldn't be happening. And he that was not his you know, he was not the rightful husband. And so God was just not allowing this to happen. Suffer means he was not allowing it to happen. So then God says, hey, if you don't give back his wife, I'm going to kill you and everybody that you love, basically, right? So now let's turn to Genesis chapter 26. Genesis chapter 26. So and obviously a Bim like, you know, who knows what he was actually going to do, but he really didn't know. He wasn't trying to do anything wrong. But the touching that God was saying is like he's not going to allow her to romantically touch her, which is going to lead to, you know, other things. So now Isaac, his son, he kind of does the same thing. And he's in the similar situation where he's related to Rebecca. But so he's pulling the same shenanigans with the Philistines also. This is a different of Bimilech. But Genesis chapter 26 verse six says, And Isaac dwelt in Gerar, and the men of the place asked him of his wife. And he said, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest, said he, the men of that place should kill me for Rebecca because she was fair to look upon. When men see women that are fair to look upon, they, you know, they're going to inquire. That's what normal guys do, right? They think they're beautiful. They want they're like, hey, is she married? You know, what's going on here? Well, it's time to date, right? And it came to pass when he had been there a long time, that a Bimilech, king of the Philistines, looked out at a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebecca his wife. So they're pretending like they're not married, but they're sporting. What does this mean? Well, it's like they're kind of playing around, you know, but they're, you know, they're saying they're brother and sister, but they're playing around in a way that obviously I don't think they're probably being lewd, but they're playing around in a way that the king sees how they're playing around. He's like, that's not brother and sister playing around. That's husband and wife playing around, right? And Bimilech called, it says, and Bimilech called Isaac and said, Behold of a surety, she is thy wife. And how saidst thou? She is my sister. And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, lest I die for her. And Bimilech said, What is this that thou hast done unto us? One of the people might lightly have lying with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. And Bimilech charged all his people, saying that he that toucheth this man. So you got two kinds of touching going on here. He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. So Bimilech looks like don't touch these people at all. And what would the touching be of Isaac? To kill him for Rebekah. So the touching of killing him to murder him. And then the other touching was be to do things that they shouldn't be doing, because that's his wife, right? So lying with her, right? So, I mean, both are touching, but two different types, right? So now look at Ruth Chapter 2. Ruth Chapter 2. Now one of the things about Ruth, one of the things that Boaz liked about Ruth is the fact that she behaved herself very wisely. She's a single young lady. Her husband's dead. She's probably highly sought after, especially since she's out there working hard and not just waiting for, you know, some sugar daddy to come and bring home the barley or whatever. So she's going out to collect it herself. She's gleaning the fields, right? So she's a hard worker. She's pretty. You know, she's virtuous. You know, the Bible actually, I think she's the only woman in the Bible that is actually called a virtuous woman as, you know, one of the characters in the Bible. So, but look what it says. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young man that they should not touch thee? Ruth Chapter 2, verse 9. So, he charged the young men not to touch her. So, I mean, I'm just saying that they were not supposed to touch her in any way, shape, or form is what I'm taking that as. Not just, you know, because obviously, you know, when you're out working in a field, that's not really a normal thing that would necessarily take place. So, any kind of touching is just completely forbidden, apparently, according to that verse. So, let's look at some examples of different types of touching. You're like, well, how is this a dating sermon? Well, I'm just saying that when the Bible says it's good for a man not to touch a woman, that I think that those are things that we should put into practice in our dating principles. So, when I say leave room for Jesus, if you're dating with somebody, you shouldn't be in church just snugged up on each other. I mean, you shouldn't put yourself in a position where you're going to be tempted to commit the act of fornication before you get married. Look at Genesis chapter 3 verse 3. Genesis chapter 3 verse 3, we'll just look at a few verses here. Genesis chapter 3 verse 3, the Bible says, But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, You should not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest ye die. So, she's saying that God said you can't even touch it. The Bible didn't really say that, but she's saying that, that she wasn't even allowed to touch it. But, it probably was a good idea to not touch it, wasn't it? So, but the Bible says she hadn't sinned yet, so maybe that was implied? I don't know, but if she says that God said that he didn't, you know, not to touch it, but her sin was what? Eating the fruit, wasn't it? But, don't you have to touch it to eat it? So, you know, it's a good idea not to touch it, because you're tempted to, when you touch something, you're going to do the temptation that you're not supposed to do, right? That's how it led to it. She looked at it, she saw that it was good, you know, pleasant to the eyes, and she grabbed it, and then she ate it. So, she touched it, then she ate it, right? Look at Leviticus chapter 11 verse 8. Leviticus chapter 11 verse 8. The Bible says, Of their flesh shall you not eat, and their carcass shall you not touch. They are unclean to you. So, there were certain animals in the Old Testament that you were not allowed to touch. Let's talk about the swine and different kind of animals, and you weren't allowed to touch their dead bodies. We're not allowed to touch them, because it would make you ceremoniously unclean. Now, turn to 1 Chronicles chapter 16. And, this is like basically a psalm that David had written, and it's kind of captured in this chapter here. 1 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 21, the Bible says, He suffered no man to do them wrong, yea, he reproved kings for their sakes. Now, this is speaking, I think, specifically about Abraham and Abimelech. He rebuked Abimelech, didn't he? And, saying, Touch not mine anointed, also Isaac. Remember, he wasn't supposed to touch them. Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. So, obviously, God doesn't want His men, His anointed ones, the ones that He has as prophets or preachers or whatever, to be touched. So, He reproved kings even for their sake, and continues to do so, and will continue to do so in the future. But, He's saying, Touch not, touch them not. Don't touch them, don't harm them. John chapter 20 verse 16, this is the last one I'll have you turn to, and I'll move past these specific things here. Now, of course, Jesus was touched by other women. Jesus touched other women, Jesus touched other men. Jesus, in Mark, if you just look at the word touch in, you know, like a concordance, or if you look at it in your Bible software, you're going to see in the Gospel of Mark, that word touch is there in more times in the Gospel of Mark than any of the other Gospels, because He was touching people and healing them and laying His hands upon them, right? But, look at what it says in John chapter 20 verse 6, it says, Jesus saith unto her, Mary, she turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master, this is after He's resurrected. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascended to my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. So, there was a time, you know, Jesus allowed Himself to be touched, but do you think that He was ever allowed Himself to be touched in a way that was a romantic way? Absolutely not. Of course not. That would be, that's just weird to even think that. But, this is not, also, this touch here is not a romantic touch, is it? This is a touch that is just like He is, you know, He's the sacrifice for all mankind, He's been resurrected from the dead, and He has not yet put the blood on the mercy seat. He has not yet ascended up and put His blood upon the mercy seat in heaven, and so He said, hey, don't touch me, because her touching Him would have defiled that sacrifice. Because later He allows people to touch Him, later on He allows Thomas, He's like, here, touch my hand, touch my, you know, stick your hand in my ribs and all that stuff, right? So, obviously, I think, you know, it's talking about, you know, So, okay, if you believe that this touch that it's talking about in 1 Corinthians 7 is talking about, you know, that you just translate this as touch to fornication, and just kind of, you know, this is just like, you know, God just, you know, not wanting to use language that, you know, is not proper for kids or something, but, you know, do you believe the modern versions or do you believe the King James version? Well, let me just read for you what the ESV says in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 1. Because if you think this is talking about the act of fornication, the modern Bible versions agree with you, all right? It says in the ESV, now concerning the matters which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. Is that what the King James says? No. NIV, now for the matters you wrote about, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. Okay, Bill Clinton, I mean, you want the Bill Clinton version or do you want the King James version? You know, I did not have, you know, sexual relations with that woman. I mean, that's the Bill Clinton version, right? The NIV. The CSB, now in response to the matters you wrote about, it is good for a man to not have sexual relations with a woman. NLT, now regarding the questions you asked in your letter, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. So instead of just having the Bill Clinton translation, you know, maybe you should just keep and adopt the view of the King James where touching is just touching. That's what the Bible says. Well, let's not say and make it say something it's not saying. I agree it's talking about a different type of touching, but I think it's talking about touching that's, you know, that's romantic touching, obviously. Okay, but it's not talking about the actual act itself. It's talking about the things that lead up to the act itself. Okay, so I don't think that I'm an extremist when it comes to these things. I don't think, you know, it's wrong for a woman to shake a man's hand. I don't think it's wrong for a mom to kiss their sons. I don't think it's wrong for a dad to kiss his daughters. I don't think it's wrong for a grandpa to hug his granddaughters. I think that these types of things when, you know, to try to use this to say, well, your position is too extreme, I don't hold that position. That's not the position I hold. I think that that's, you know, I don't think that. I don't think, well, I'm never supposed to touch any other woman, including my mom or grandma. I still give my mom, you know, I still give my mom hugs. I still give my mom a kiss on the cheek or whatever. Like, is that weird? No, it's a mom hug. I mean, hello. My son still gives me big old hugs. So what? Is that gay? I don't think so. It's just, it's a different type of touching. It's an affectionate thing that people do, but it can be in a different light when you're dating, right? So I saw an example recently where someone was, like, saying that holding hands in Africa or in India is acceptable. Well, you know, this is not India. This is not Africa. And if I saw two dudes walking into this church holding hands, I'd say, get out, you filthy faggot. It'd be that quick. Get out. Unless it's a father and son and he's just, like, making sure his son gets in and gets into the right seat or something. But other than that, it's not happening. And you know what? I just, you might think, well, that's an extreme position, Pastor Thompson. Well, I don't think that my position's extreme. I don't think that that's extreme at all. I don't have a problem giving affection. I don't have a problem walking around with a slap and someone, another guy on the back or something. Like, whatever. But, you know, I don't want to be put into a hole where someone's just trying to say that, like, I'm extreme when it comes to the touching doctrine or whatever. I'm just saying, doesn't it make common sense if you're dating someone and you have these really strong feelings to someone that the last thing you want to do is be alone with somebody that you have these passionate feelings about and then you're touching them? Because that touch goes further than it's supposed to. So I think that it's reasonable to have the position where men don't hug other women in our church. I mean, what if I just, and I'm sorry, Michelle, to put you on the spot here, but if I just ask Michelle to come up here and give me a hug in front of everybody, don't you think that'd be weird? So having a guy come up here and give me a hug is going to be, you know, it's already going to be like, okay, well, whatever, but like it's a big difference in an example of touching being okay. But I don't just let women walk up and hug me. You know, I don't like women or men walking up and hugging my wife. As a matter of fact, when I threw a guy out not too terribly long ago and he was like a serial hugger. He was walking around hugging people's wives. He was walking around hugging other people's kids. He was walking around, you know, he was hugging other dudes with big sweaty farmer hugs all the time. And it's just like, you know, obviously, and when I said something, he was like, I don't subscribe to all the things that the new IFB believes. I was like, well, that's not just new IFB. That's just, you know, that's just common courtesy. I said, how would you like it if the next time you and your wife came to church, I walked up and just gave your wife a full frontal hug as you walk up, would you like that? Now obviously nobody would like that. That would just be super bizarre if the pastor did that. Don't you think? But yet I'm supposed to think that it's okay for singles to be doing that at church? Or for singles to be doing it? Like where you just supposed, I mean, I just don't understand why when singles do it, it's okay. How is that okay? I just, I don't see how it is. Because there should be boundaries in place in everybody's life. And look, if you're a parent, you should have boundaries of what you allow your kids to do and not to do. There should be boundaries in place. The Bible says remove not the ancient landmark. All right, so whatever landmark dad has in place, and if you're the man trying to pursue somebody else's daughter, you better make sure that you know what dad is okay with. And if dad thinks that there's too much, and that you're trying to push too hard, then you should just defer to what dad says. But if the dad is letting too much happen, then you should have your own standard that you won't pass. And they're like, well no, my dad says it's cool. Well yeah, but I'm not going to do that. You should have your own set of standards and your own set of boundaries that you won't cross too because that protects yourself. And the reason why people have so many relationship problems and problems in church is because they refuse to set up boundaries in their life. And I'll tell you what, a lot of the problems I deal with with people are because people are too timid to just set strong boundaries. Boundaries that someone can't cross. No, this is non-negotiable. This is not happening. This is just a boundary. You're not crossing this boundary. And I think that it's very important when you're allowing your teenagers to date that there be boundaries set in place. And again, dads can have their rules arbitrated. I'm not trying to command you what you should do in your home, but I think the apostle Paul is onto something when he says, it's good for a man to not touch a woman. So I think it's like if someone's going to give you advice, don't you think the apostle Paul probably has a pretty good, you know, grasp on what advice to give and to not give? Didn't he at the end of the chapter say, and I think I also too have the Spirit of God? Because, you know, some of the things he gives in that chapter are his opinions, but he's like, but I also have the Spirit of God, you know? So some churches have a time where they stop the service and everybody shakes hands. Have you ever been to a church like that, anybody? They're like, everybody just stop. Let's shake your hand and say hi to your neighbor or whatever. And then some of the, I had a church where it was like, scratch your friends back, scratch your friends back next to you, scratch your friends back as you hum along. It's like, you know, it was just like something stupid like that. And people would scratch each other's back, okay? And you're like talking about total strangers. And then there was also, I'm sure that this is a thing, and I'm sure I've seen this before where people say, hug the friend next to you or something like that. It's just like, I mean, then you're just going too far. I went to a prayer meeting at a church, and they were praying for the pastor, and that's cool, whatever. But then everybody was supposed to circle up and hold hands. And the dude next to me is like, you know, Noah's age or something. I'm just like, I don't want to hold this guy's hand. I'm like, that's just, sorry, but I just don't roll that way, man. I know it's not really gay, but I don't want to even feel in the realm of gay at all. So I would highly recommend also men, don't let other men hug your wife. Don't let it happen. Obviously, I have my son-in-laws, they'll give my wife a hug if they haven't seen her in a while or whatever. But I'm talking about these weirdo serial huggers out there that are just trying to come and hug. We actually had a guy that came into our church, and he'd never been there before, and he's trying to hug ladies in our church. He actually did hug a lady in our church. And it was just like, what in the world is going on here? And he never came back, and I'm glad he didn't, because I would have thrown him out. And is a hug a bad thing? It's not really a bad thing, but some people have different intentions behind them. So it's just a good policy to have. And so let's turn to 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 20. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 20. So just imagine if I kind of made this, it's just okay for singles and people that are dating, hug, hold hands, kissing's fine, put your arms around each other at church, that's all just fine and good, but you're not married and you're just dating. And I just made that, that's just fine to do. Would you be okay with that? If anybody that was single and dating is just allowed to just hold hands and just kind of hold each other in service and stuff like that? Well, I'll just tell you what, I'm not okay with it anyway. Even if you would be okay with it, I'm not okay with it. I just don't think it's a good look. Why do I think that? Well, what's the Bible say in 1 Thessalonians 5? It says, despise not prophesying. Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from the appearance of evil. Look, if you're dating and you can't keep your hands off each other in a church service, then what are people going to think is going on outside the church service? Because what's done in front of people in moderation is people are going to know that there's something far more is going on where people aren't looking. And it's going to make people think that you're fornicating. And I've had people in the past where there was couples that were not married and they're doing a little bit too much PDA in the church service and I've had people come up and complain to me about it. And I don't like it. I don't like when people do that. I think that obviously if you're married, I don't have a problem with someone has their arm around their spouse or if someone gives a little kiss on the lips or something like that, you're married. We're not in a Puritan church or something where the men are on one side and the ladies are on the other or something. Let's not get too crazy with it, right? But it also is the house of God. So let's be respectful. It says, And the very God of peace sanctify you holy. I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. And they're like, oh, see? It says you're supposed to greet each other with a holy kiss. Well, I mean, what does that mean? What does that mean exactly? Do you know what the holy kiss is? Do you know what it looks like? Do you know how it was performed? The holy kiss? I mean, do you think it's a kiss like someone would kiss their wife? And I mean, I've always just imagined it like it's maybe a kiss on the cheek like the Romans do or something like, you know, or like in other countries like that. But what if it is just an air kiss? Because what does holy mean? Separated, set apart, right? It doesn't mean brought together and being separate. I don't know. So you're like, well, you're taking some big liberties in this verse, Pastor Thompson. Well, I know, but do you know what it is then? Because I've never, I don't know. I mean, obviously it says to do this, but like, I think that this is one of those things that it's just not part of our culture, never has been really, a thing in the United States. So usually if someone does this, it's a family member that would like, you know, but if, you know, I'm not saying that it was an air kiss, okay, for sure. Okay. But could it be? It could be. It could be. And even if it's not, it's not a worldly kiss. Okay. It's not, if it's an holy kiss, it's not something that's worldly. It's something that's separated, something that's set apart. It's something that's holy. So, again, I don't care what some other country does. I don't care what, you know, what men hold hands in other countries. To me, it's faggy. It's faggy in the United States, and it's going to be faggy in our church. So it's not happening. And so if I just preach that all teens in church could handhold, hug, kiss, and do all this stuff, and just because it's not fornication, because what's the sin? The sin is fornication. But what leads to it? Well, it's the touching, isn't it? Because there's, you know, let's just be honest. There's other things that happen before that act happens. And it usually involves touching. So just think about this scenario. You're dating at 16, and just you're making the rounds. You're trying out all these different people. And say you just happen to be like, none of them are just working out for you. You date 10 different people. And every one of those you kiss, you hold hands with, you put your arm around, you hug, and maybe even more. So say, I mean, obviously, this is a smaller church. So this isn't a really valid situation in this church. But what if you're in a church of 300, 400, 500, or whatever, and this one person's gotten around and they've kissed 10 different dudes? A girl that's a virgin. I mean, is it wrong for that to happen? I mean, would you want to be number 11? I mean, I'm not saying that they're like a whore, as in they're a whore because they fornicated, but they're kind of like a Baptist hoe a little bit, right? You know what I'm saying? I mean, Remy was dating this girl, and sorry, Remy, I'm telling this story. Hopefully he's not listening. But he was dating this girl, and this other guy came to visit. He was dating a girl that was a Christian. And this other guy came to visit. And she was dating Remy, and they were seriously dating. It was a distance relationship. And this guy came from another place, and she asked the guy for his number. And I'm probably not going to tell the story right, but Remy came in crying. Was he crying? Yeah, he was upset. And he was like, she cheated on me, Mom. She cheated on me. And my wife was like, what? What happened? You know, like what's going on? And then he's like, she gave her number to another guy. And it's just like, to us though, like when we think someone's cheating on somebody, we're thinking the worst possible case scenario, right? But this is like a Christian cheating. You know what I mean? So that's what I'm trying to explain to you. Just because they're not doing, you know, let me just explain this. There's some people, there are women in churches that kind of have this, you know, this might not even be a real thing, but like the Jezebel spirit. Who's ever heard of the Jezebel spirit before? Okay. And this is like women that are really promiscuous. They might not even be doing anything, but they kind of put themselves out there. They're trying to get men to look at them, even though they're not doing anything. But they could be, but they're not necessarily doing anything, but they're trying to catch other men's eyes, dressing in a way that's provocative, so that men look at them and things like that. But there's guys that like go around and like to play games and things like that too. So I'm not talking about someone that's an actual whore or an actual whore monger. I'm just talking about there's situations that could happen if you just let all the standards go and like it's just a free-for-all of hugging, kissing, touching, you know, whatever. As long as it's not actually fornicating, then everything's okay, then what do you have? You just have a lot of, you know, almosts and, you know, first, second, third base going on and what, that's just okay? I'm sorry, but I just don't agree with that. I don't think that that's right. I don't think that that's what, I don't think that that is something that any Christian, any Christian I've ever heard of believes. I just, I've never heard that before. I just, I can't understand that. I really can't. So, but in the world, they have this saying and it's kind of like, you know, people will say without being crude, they'll say did you get to first base, second base, third base? This is like a metaphor that's being used to see how did the date go? Well, they say in the world, they do things a lot, they are whoremongers. They are fornicators. That's how they test and try things out. But we as Christians shouldn't be kind of following in the footsteps and maybe you're not doing the fornicating part, but you're still test driving, right? You're like, test, how'd that kiss make me feel? Well, I mean, how did the other 10 guys, how did it feel for the other 10 guys too? It's just like, I don't know. You're like, well, you're kind of delving into things that aren't commanded in God's law. I get that, but Paul is saying in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, right after he gets done talking about fleeing fornication and then he starts talking about not touching a woman to avoid fornication. So it's like, is it a principle in God's word though? It absolutely is. So with that whole base system thing, comparing dating, how you did on your date into baseball, did you get to first base, did you get to second base, did you get to third base? You know, third base is obviously right before you get to the act of fornication. And that includes anything that would be done, and obviously I don't want to get graphic here, or did you strike out, did you get a homerun? That's actually fornicating. And then striking out, did you strike out, did you try to take someone's, you know, their purity or whatever, did you actually try to fornicate with them and they just didn't allow you to? Let me just say this. If you think that it's okay to get to third base, which is right before you're about to fornicate, you know what people in baseball, when guys round the corner and they get to third base, you know what their tendency to do is? They want to steal home. And when you get yourself to the point where you're rounding third base, they're just looking for a good opportunity to steal home. I guess that's the best way I can put it. Why put yourself in a position where you're going to get yourself all riled up and to the point where you're about to do something that the Bible calls a very wicked sin. Where God killed multiple people for it. Where God curses people's lives for these things. Where he can give you a disease that can never be cured from this. Now let me just tell you something else. If you kiss people, you can get herpes. So you think you can just run around, you can kiss whoever you want and there's no accountability? Well, there's this thing called herpes and it's something that you can never get rid of. Just so you know. So I'm not saying, again, that kissing, you can get herpes from your grandma too, I guess. But hopefully that's not really going to happen, you know. Hopefully your grandma has clean lips or whatever. All right, I'm getting into the weeds here. But the temptation is there, folks. And this thing of I think I need to try to do some romantic touching to see how much I really like them. I don't think that that's really a thing that we, that's not some advice that I would give to someone that's dating. I just wouldn't give that advice. You know, to give them a sample, to give them a text drive. It's kind of like, you know, you get into a Ferrari, right? Which I've never been in one, but I probably wouldn't even fit in one. But you get into a Ferrari and you know that they can go really fast. And someone just says, just take it easy, just keep it in first and go around the block. Any red-blooded man is going to, when they feel the power of that pedal, they're going to want to go fast. They're going to want to go to the nearest highway and hit it as hard as they can. And so it's better to just not try to test out that Ferrari than to try to, you know, get in, you know, if you're already restricted, it's like why, why tempt yourself to go further than you're supposed to go? It just isn't real smart. So any form of romantic touching can lead to fornication, period. It's just the way it is. It's just a fact. And you know, maybe you're the strongest person ever. You're stronger than the Apostle Paul. But not everybody is. And so that's why I say it's just not great advice to give to dating couples. And you know, if only fornication is off limits, that means everything else is fair game. I don't think so. I don't think that that's, I don't think that that's true at all. There's a difference between mom hugs, grandma kisses, holding hands, you know, with your sister to cross the street, shaking the hand of the opposite sex in a professional setting or as a courtesy. There's a big difference. And anyone with a brain in their head understands the difference between romantic touching and non romantic touching. At the end of the day, you know, you can make your own decisions. You know, if you think that your will is stronger, you know, you have your natural desires can be put in check because you're ultra spiritual or whatever. And you can just do all this romantic physical contact and keep your purity. You're fooling yourself. You are fooling yourself and you're setting yourself up for a major failure. Now turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. Look at Hebrews 13 and verse number 17, the Bible says, Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls, as they must give account that they may do with joy and not with grief. For that is unprofitable for you. You're like, what does this have to do with anything? Well, because as the pastor of the church, it's my job to rule over you in this church. My rules go and whatever rules you have outside of this place is not my business. But in this house, you know, PDA in this church when it comes to singles and dating people is like, no, I don't want it going on. I don't want it going on. It appears to other people. It's a bad look. It's a bad look for you in the dating game. It just is not. I just don't want it happening. The Bible says, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word of doctrine. You're like, well, who died and left you to be the ruler? Well, the Bible did. The Bible says that the pastor is the ruler and I make the rules. So if you don't like that, then, you know, you can find someplace else to go. Other people have. So I'm not letting this church or any other church that I pastor turn to someplace where a bunch of singles, you know, get to hold hands and be all over each other in the house of the Lord. I'll be graceful to the unlearned. Of course, people that just don't know any better. But if you know my expectations, still continue to do it, you're going to just become the sermon at that point. OK, and that is a promise. And it's you know, it's funny that if we wouldn't allow our wives to hug other men, nor do we hug other ladies in a way that's not even romantic. You know, just a loving or friendly gesture, because, you know, not all those types of hugs are bad, are they? It's like some people, some old ladies just, you know, hug. You know, it's it's not bad. Not even saying this bad, but if we don't even allow for that in most cases, then why would we allow it to be romantic and take place in God's house? It just doesn't make sense, folks. Yet, you know, you just be OK with teens and singles, you know, to just, you know, do their little thing inside of our church and just nobody says anything. It's not happening. All right. If you if that's something you want to do, then just do it somewhere else. So number three. So the PDA of the church was number two. Number three, men supporting wives monetarily and spiritually. OK, this is something also that I think is important. So as far as men having to be able to support a bride. Now, obviously, there's cases where this isn't always possible. I understand that, but I believe that there should be some hope that the man can show that he is not some kind of bum that's just not going to take care of his wife. So if you think you're going to leave mommy's basement, roll off your couch from playing Elder Scrolls or Fortnite with no employment history, and I'm going to just give you my daughter to wife. You are crazy. It's just not going to happen, you know, and I understand that when you're 18 or whatever and you're young and you might not be the CEO of some Fortune 500 company, but I at least want to know that the person can work and hold down a steady job and, you know, that they're not going to be trying to move back in with me like three weeks later after they get married or something. And, you know, so I believe that a man should support his wife monetarily and spiritually. I believe a man should be at least her spiritual equal and in reality more spiritual so he can lead. You know, because when it says if you have any questions, ask your husband at home, and if you're not as spiritual as her, how is she going to ask you if you don't even know the answer? And my son-in-law Dylan and my son-in-law Brandon wanted to date my daughters. They, number one, asked for my permission. That's a good thing to do if you're going to be dating somebody else, especially if it's somebody in your church. Obviously not all situations are perfect and not possible, but look, if the dad of the girl you want to date is in your church, you should probably go up and talk to the dad first. That's probably, that's step one. And if he says beat it punk, then you might want to just try to find somebody else or just grovel before him and, you know, buy him a Pepsi or something or, you know, bring his favorite dish or something. You know, like you might have to like give him a yak or you might have to like, you know, trade him, you know, give him a gun or something. You know, I don't know, do something, but woo him so you can get permission to talk. But they both asked me for permission. And, you know, I know that Remy asked permission to date Kylie. So that's just how, that's how it should work, okay? In a perfect world, obviously. And if not everybody's raised the same, I get that. I'm not like trying to batter and beat up everybody else that didn't do it the way it happened. But I just, I would like to just say that that is a good thing to do is to ask the dad. And, you know, I requested, so both of them lived out of state, and I requested that they move to where we live so I could get to know them. And you're like, well, that's kind of a weird request. Well, it was a request. They didn't have to. They just would have been a long time before I would have known them enough to trust them to marry my daughter. Now, I don't think that's always the best scenario or the case that always is going to happen, but that's what I required. And as the covering for my daughters, that's what I requested. And they could have just picked somebody else if you want to have, you know, but how am I going to know that they're my daughter's spiritual equal or more spiritual than them? I mean, I went soul winning with Brandon and Dylan. I knew that they could win people to Christ. I, you know, I watched them preach sermons at our church. I watched them lead soul winning times. I knew that they were spiritual men, and they both held down jobs. They both had money in their bank accounts. They both had apartments to move into when they got married and had money in the bank and had good jobs. And were they like Fortune 500 companies? No, but, you know, just laboring jobs where you can afford to live. Ramey had money saved up. He had a job. He had an apartment. You know, it's kind of hard to leave and cleave if you don't have any place to leave to, right? Doesn't the Bible say, you know, that you should leave mother and father and cleave unto your wife? Well, it's kind of hard. It's like, you know, hey, you know, you're like you leave and then you're just like, hey, mom and dad, I'm back. I don't have any place to go. I don't have a job. I don't have any money. You know, or you move in with a bunch of other people as roommates. That's not really the way you really want to start something if you don't have to. And, again, I know there's other situations, but the Bible says in Genesis 2, 24, therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. So, yeah, I mean, it's a good question, right? How can you leave and cleave if you don't have the ability to do so? You know what? All my children are married. I didn't make it so weird and so restrictive that they couldn't date. Of course they could date. I did have some strict rules. Here's a rule that, you know, Remy thought was really strict. That they weren't allowed to ride in a van together, sitting in the same seat. They had to sit, one had to sit in one seat and one had to sit in a different row of seating. And you think, well, that is kind of weird, Pastor Thompson. Well, you know, I just don't want to give provision to the flesh, you know? Are you more tempted to touch if you're sitting right next to each other in a dark car? You probably are, you know, because cars aren't usually lit up so everybody can see what's going on in them, right? So I just, I don't, is that a weird rule? I don't think so. Remy thought it was. But then later on, you know what? Remy thanked me for all the rules that I put in place for him and thanked me that when he went to the altar that he, you know, had his first kiss with the wife that he's married to. Everything he did was with her. And he's thankful for that. And I'm not ashamed of that at all. And I never will be. So if that makes me weird or overprotective, whatever, but all my kids are married and, you know, they're doing well. So are they perfect? No. I never said they were, but I'm just saying that they're all married and I did my best to guide them the best I could and showed my boys how to provide and I showed my boys how to lead, you know, that I took my family to church and we made it a priority. We made soul winning a priority. They became soul owners because they came with us. It wasn't optional. It wasn't like, oh, we're teenagers now. We're just going to sit at home. My mom and dad go do their church thing. No, it was you're coming with us and, you know, you're going to go soul winning. You're going to stand there and if you don't want to learn how to do it, then you're just going to stand there and look stupid, you know. But what did they do? They just got on board. They got with the program. They went with us. And you know what? They're all soul winners today. They all can win souls. They all go to church. They all are involved in church. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all, letting your children be involved in church. I mean, I just, there's nothing wrong with that. So, turn to Proverbs chapter 12. Actually, turn to Romans chapter 12. So, you know, one of my expectations as, you know, my son's dating was that they should leave in the financial department and also in the spiritual department. The Bible says in Psalm, excuse me, Romans 12, 11 says, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. So, I mean, you got both those things in the same verse there. Not only are you supposed to be not slothful, not a lazy person in your business, but also fervent in your spirit, serving God. And that's what I want. You know, that's what I think you should want is someone that's going to be, you know, not slothful in business, both men and women, and both of you serving the Lord, being fervent in spirit. Fervent means like you got a fire. You got like a passion in your life to serve the Lord. It says in Hebrews 6-12, go ahead and turn to Proverbs 26, it says in Hebrews 6-12 that you be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. So, we shouldn't be slothful to follow those that through faith and patience inherit the promises. We got to follow those people that did great things before us. Proverbs 26, the slothful man sayeth there's a lion in the way. A lion is in the streets. We don't want to be a man with excuses. Proverbs 26-14, as the door turneth upon his hinges, so does the slothful upon his bed. You don't want to love sleep. Proverbs 26 verse 15, the sloth will hide his hands in his bosom and grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. Physically lazy. I mean, if you can't even just move your hand in your mouth, that's pretty dang lazy, isn't it? The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. You know, we don't want to be a sluggard or slothful or anything like that. And you know, if you're a man, this is how you should be. You want to get a wife? Be like this. Don't be a sluggard. Be fervent in business. I mean, don't be slothful in business. Be fervent in your spirit, serving the Lord. You know, be spiritual and, you know, God will bring you the right girl. And ladies, you know, whoever's listening in any of our churches or whatever, hey, if you're looking for Prince Charming to come, why don't you get spiritual? And maybe God will send Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet and take you to your picket fence or whatever else dreams you have in your head. But if you're just going to be lazy and not go to church and you don't care about the spiritual things, then, you know, maybe you're going to just be waiting for a long time. Or you're going to be waiting for some bad, the evil prince is going to come. I don't know. But it's not just men that need to be hard workers in the relationship. Wives need to work hard too. And men, you know, don't just look for the pretty wife. Look for the spiritual woman. Look for the hard working woman. And, you know, me and my wife joke around about this, but sometimes I'll say, you know, I married Sherry because she's a hard worker. You know, because she used to work at this Chinese restaurant. And the guy that owned the business, he would say, I married her because she's a hard worker. That's why he married his wife. His wife was pretty too, but he married her because she was a hard worker. And she was a hard worker. But, you know, being pretty and a hard worker, that's a good combination. You don't want to be just some pretty girl that's always getting her nails done and she can't pick up the baby because, you know, she might break her nails or something. Like, you know, you want to find a virtuous woman. You want to find a Ruth type woman that you can safely trust. And the Bible says who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies. You know, that's what your goal should be. Don't just settle for anything. And this new thing where men stay home with their kids and, you know, the man stays home and raises his kids. And, you know, that's just a recipe for 100 percent chance of divorce. OK, don't be a clown. Go out and work. And have number four, have a witness for dating, have a witness for dating. Second Corinthians Chapter 13, one says, this is the third time I'm coming to you. The mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. So Paul said, hey, I'm going to come to you. And when I'm speaking, I'm going to have two or three witnesses. Every word needs to be established. OK, this is obviously an important thing. First Timothy 5 19 says against an elder received not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. That's an important thing. You don't just accuse pastors of stuff without having some kind of a witness. Don't just take what some bozo says on the Internet and some liar says and just take their word for it. You know, the Bible says you're not supposed to even receive an accusation against an elder except for they have two or three witnesses. And even then, if the two or three witnesses don't agree, like the ones that accused Jesus, then you have to dismiss what they say outright. Mark 6 7 says, and he called unto them the twelve and began to send them forth two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. Why did he do that? So there would be a witness. That's why we don't go door to door solely with just one person. That way every word can be established because it wouldn't be hard for someone to just say, hey, you know, that person came to my door and they sexually assaulted me. Would it be that hard? Do you think it would be, you know, out of bounds for some of these demonic people that we knock on their door sometimes to do that? Look, God put this in place to protect us. So he put this in place to protect pastors. He put this in place to protect, you know, the integrity of church so that people can't just accuse people of anything and then they get thrown out or whatever. You can't put someone to death without two or three witnesses. Under Moses' law, they had to have two or three witnesses to put someone to death every time. It wasn't, if there wasn't two or three witnesses, it just didn't happen. Now, so but in dating it's just fine though. Just don't have two or three witnesses. What? So when people talk about courting, I do believe that people that are dating should not be by themselves or nobody's there to hold them accountable. You shouldn't be off by yourself in some dark place on a couch with a blanket on your laps, in the back of a minivan or wherever you're at and you're alone and there's no accountability. I just don't agree with that and people can just say I'm wrong all they want but to not, I mean, what happens if that person accuses you? Oh, I don't like you anymore. Well, guess what that person did? They went too far with me one time. And where's, you know, what does it take to get someone thrown in jail these days? Not much. You can just say someone did something and they're in jail. So maybe you might want to protect yourself. If you need all this protection, all these other situations, you don't think it's important to have yourself protected in a situation where your reputation as a church member is at stake? Your reputation as a man is at stake? Because, look, all it takes is someone to just say something that's not true about a man and people just believe it no matter what. And then their reputation's ruined forever. Because in the back of someone's mind, they're like, I'm going to wonder if that's true. And that's just why it's so dangerous. And that's why I won't even take an accusation unless someone has absolute evidence about something. So, sorry, but that's just the way the, that's what the Bible says. But when it comes to dating, you know, obviously we had our other kids that would go along with our kids and, you know, they would rat each other out in a heartbeat, so I just didn't really worry about it. But you should have accountability. And look, I'm not saying don't spend any time alone together, but that time alone could be in a restaurant where you're talking and someone else is at another table. But hold yourself accountable. And I'm talking about adults too. Because I think that people get this idea when they're adults and they're dating and it's like, oh, we can control ourselves. Well, why don't you put some boundaries in place so that you make sure that doesn't happen. Because I'm sure fornication happens a lot because people don't put boundaries in place. People don't put themselves in accountable positions. You know, it's just like people just forgot what it's like to be a Christian sometimes and they just don't think about it. Next thing you know, they're in all kinds of trouble. So, think about Joseph. I'm not going to go through the whole passage here, but what happened with Joseph? He was in charge of his whole master's house, but Potiphar's wife was a whore. And she was just trying to lie with Joseph day by day. She's just like, lie with me, lie with me. And this kid's a virgin. He's 17 years old, hormones raging, and this woman's throwing herself at him. And every day he's like, no, I cannot do this thing in sin against the Lord. I cannot do this wickedness. So, he's the master of the house. He writes the schedule. He knows where the guys are supposed to be and where they're at. And he gets himself in a spot where nobody else is in the house with him. And what happens? She tries to go for him. And then she grabs his garment. He literally runs out of the house. But because what? What happened there? There was no other witnesses. So, she has his garment in her hand. And she's like, you sent this Hebrew here to mock me. And then she gets him thrown in prison. And so he goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit because she had his garment in the hand. There's no cameras back then, so you can't look at the cameras. But what happened? He put himself in a position where he was alone with a woman that wasn't his wife. So, that's a lot. I mean, obviously, Joseph was a great man. I don't think he did anything wrong specifically, but it's a lesson to us. You know, because if Joseph was in charge, he could have made sure there was a guy next to him at all times. He just probably let it slip. And obviously, God had his own plan for things to happen, for Pharaoh to rescue him out of jail and for him to tell the dream and all that stuff. Now, look at Genesis 34. Genesis chapter 34. Genesis chapter 34, verse 1, the Bible says, And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her and defiled her. So, what happens here? Well, Dinah just goes out by herself to go see the daughters of the land. And you know what? If you just let your daughter just go wherever she wants and just go out to the heathen and go hang out with the daughters of the land, this is the kind of thing that's going to happen. And she was defiled. And then obviously, all this other stuff happened because of that, which wasn't right, but it wasn't right for him to lie with, you know, Jacob should have been watching out for his daughter. That's the moral of that story. But this leads into point five is that we need to respect father's boundaries. Okay, and I kind of already brought this up a little bit, but turn back to Genesis chapter 20, verse 14. And remember the Abimelech story, but here's the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would always say. Let's hear the rest of the story. But you have Abimelech here, and he has returned Sarah. It says, Now pay attention to this. He is to thee a covering of the eyes unto all that are with thee and with all other. Thus she was reproved. So, you know that term, like, have you heard that where it says the husband is the covering for his wife? That's where that comes from. And he's right. Abimelech was right. He should have been watching out for her. He should have been protecting her. And, you know, she should understand this concept also. That, and we often understand this also as husbands. It's our job to protect our wives and to be a covering to them so that, you know, if they're not dressed right, going out of the house or whatever it is, we just have to make sure that we're protecting them. We're covering them with the power that we have as men. And, you know, in Numbers 30, it kind of talks about how women who make a vow, a man can disallow that vow. And also if a daughter in her father's house makes a vow, that father can disallow that vow also. And what is this teaching? The principle it's teaching, if you want to write this down, Numbers 30 verse 3 through 8, the principle it's teaching, I don't have time to go there because I've got to hurry up, but the principle it's teaching is this, is that you're under, as a daughter, you're under your father's authority until the day that you're given away at the marriage altar. And at that point, like every marriage that I do, you know, the dad that gives her away or whoever gives her away, you know, there's a symbolic thing that happens where they shake hands and they trade places. And then the husband, the new husband, is now the covering and now the protector and she comes under the authority of that man. So women really essentially are under the authority of their father and their father's house, and when they leave their father's house, they're under the authority of the husband. So we have to understand, guys, and men that are, or young men that are going to be trying to date, that you are, you know, you're trying to date someone that's under the authority of somebody else. You know, if the father's present is what I'm saying. So you need to respect that. And if they have a rule that you don't like, tough, it's tough. You know, if you don't like it, then find someone else. There's like, how many billion people are there in the world? Anybody know? There's eight billion. Half those are probably women, right? So if there's half, if there's four billion women, and you don't like that dad's rules, well then find somebody else, a dad that you do like the rules. But don't undermine some other dad's rules. And some dads have some really stupid rules. I've seen it, but you know, if they're their authority, then they're their authority. It's not you. You're not the authority until that, she says I do, you say I do, then you give that kiss. And you exchange rings. So let's, let's see. Okay, let's finish this off with the fornication verses. All right, First Thessalonians chapter four, verse two. And I kind of, this is where I wanted to culminate everything and just show you just how important it is that you do not fornicate. And if you have, obviously, you know, God forgives you. When you get things right, He can forgive you for anything that you've done, obviously. And I'm not trying to hold anything over anybody's head. But I'm trying to warn those that have never made this mistake to not do this. Because it is a wicked sin, it is something God will punish you for, undoubtedly if you are saved. It says in First Thessalonians chapter four, verse two, it says, For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus, so it says commandments, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication. So stay away from it, don't do it. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel and sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. He's saying this to believers, you have no excuse, you know what you're supposed to do, stay away from it. Ephesians chapter five, I'm not going to wait for people to turn, but Ephesians chapter five, verse three, But fornication and uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becometh saints. It's not something that should be named among us or our churches. First Corinthians 10, verse eight says, Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed and fell in one day, three and twenty thousand. God killed 23,000 people in the Old Testament just to show how wicked that sin was. First Corinthians chapter six, I would turn here if I was you, because Noah already read three of these verses, but verse 15 through verse 20, I want to read them again, says, Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid. What, know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body, or two, saith he, shall be one flesh? But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Just like Joseph, he ran out the door, didn't he? Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body. This isn't just a normal sin, this is a sin that's against your own body. What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. Your, look, your body belongs to God. So whatever you're doing in it is filled with the Holy Ghost. You're filled with the Holy Ghost, and so you kind of have to make that decision for yourself, and obviously other people might be making those decisions for you in those dating standards, but I'm just telling you this, you should respect what the dad says when it comes to daughters, obviously you should have your own standards, men, and even if your parents have lesser standards than you, you need to make up your standards based upon what the word of God says, and you know, do what the Bible says. Don't point yourself in these positions, because it's not a light thing. 1 Corinthians 5-11 says, But now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man is called a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, for with such an one know not to eat, we're not even supposed to eat with people. For what have I do to judge them that are without? Do not you judge them that are within? But then that are without, God judges, therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. People that commit fornication have to be thrown out of the church if they do not repent, okay? Obviously I'm not going to throw somebody out that wants to get things right and do what's right, okay? I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about unrepentant people that just refuse to get things right. The Bible says they're a wicked person, okay? And they're to be cast out of the church. Isn't that what the Bible says? So you're like, well Pastor Thompson, you're so mean, I'm never coming back. Well, you know, the Bible's mean, and you're saying God's mean, okay? And then, you know, why don't you say that to him? And see what happens. I mean, I don't want you to tempt the Lord, but I mean, it would be dumb to say that. So 2 Corinthians 6.14 says, Be not unequally yoked together, so don't get together with unbelievers. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. So let's just bring this back around to where we first started. When you're touching something that you're not supposed to be touching, you might as well just say, well, that's the unclean thing. That's something I shouldn't be doing. Why? Well, because, you know, where that's going to lead is to the other verses that I just got done reading to you. Fornication. And, you know, God is going to punish you. It's just plain and you're like, well, I'll take the punishment. Okay, well, I mean, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. The punishment could be severe. So if fornication is as bad as the Bible is making it out to be, don't you think we should take every precaution to make sure that, you know, that sin is not committed? Don't you think we should take those precautions? I think so. As parents, protect your children's purity. As single teens, protect your own purity. As adult singles, protect yourself from committing fornication. And that act starts with romantic touching. Don't let anybody tell you anything different because it's just not true. Nobody is able to just fend off every single feeling from, you know, touching like that. Okay? You're like, well, what about holding hands, Pastor Thompson? Well, you just want to play with fire, you're going to get burned. You know, because holding hands can lead to other things, too. You know, because eventually your hands get so sweaty, you're like, ugh. You know, you just want to wipe your hand off or whatever, and then like, well, where's your hand going to go next? You know? It's just not a good idea. Not a good idea. Romans 13. The Bible says that you put on the Lord Jesus Christ. So here's a good idea. When you're thinking, you know, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're dating and you have the Lord Jesus Christ, you put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. So if you don't put, you know, it's like a horse. You know, you give it provender. You give it like hay so that it'll, you know, it'll eat. Who's ever fed a horse here before? Or gave it some hay or something or a carrot? Right? That's what you call provender. So when you're saying make not provision for the flesh, you don't want to feed what your flesh wants. So that pre-touching, that's feeding it. Looking at things you ought not to, that's feeding it. And then, you know, one thing leads to another. Next thing you know, you're in deep trouble. So last, I'm going to have you turn to Ecclesiastes 3.5. It'll be the last verse. I'm going to read 1 Timothy 5.2, 5.1 actually. Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father and the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters with all purity. It's supposed to be, our relationships at church are supposed to be pure, right? It says in Ecclesiastes 3.5, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace, a time to refrain from embracing. There's a time that it's okay to hug. You know, that's what embracing is, right? But there's also a time to not, isn't there? So that's all I'm saying. There's a time not to, there's a time to. And obviously I didn't cover probably every dating question that you have or whatever, but I just think that we need to be, we need to have a realistic view of what touching can turn into and just be very careful what kind of philosophy you have when it comes to dating and make sure you always have a witness. What's wrong with that? Make sure that you're accountable. That's what you want. You want accountability, and you want to be able to say that, hey, I did the best I could before I got married. And if you can live with that, then you've done well. Men, be ready to, if you want to get married, be ready. Be spiritual. Have a good job. Get a place to live. God's going to bless you, and He's going to help you with these things. All right, that's all I got. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for this great passage, these great passages in the Bible. Lord, I pray that like our people in our churches would grab a hold of this concept and just understand just how important it is to have good standards when it comes to dating and picking spouses and these types of things. I pray, Lord, that you'd help. Lord, just help people as they choose spouses, and Lord, they would be wise in their behavior, and Lord, I pray that you'd help us as parents to not just go over the top with a bunch of crazy rules, but also not be too lenient and allow things to happen that shouldn't. I pray that you would just, Lord, help our churches to be pure as possible, and I pray that you would help this generation of Christians to be effective for the next generation. The next generation wouldn't look on our generation in shame but they would say, hey, this generation now showed us a great example. I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I think I need to turn this off first. Three ninety-five. Three hundred and ninety-five. Three ninety-five. Page three ninety-five, only one life to offer. So once again, without the piano, we'll just do the best we can, all right? Only one life to offer, Jesus my Lord and King. Only one tongue to praise thee, and of thy mercy sing. Only one heart's devotion, Savior oh may it be, consecrated alone to thy matchless glory, yielded fully to thee. And on the last. Only one life to offer, take it, dear Lord, I pray. Nothing from thee withholding, thine will I now obey. Thou who hast freely given, thine all in all for me, claim this life for thine own to be used, my Savior, every moment for thee. And let's be dismissed in prayer. Lord, we thank you so much for that great sermon by Pastor Thompson. Lord, help us to take it to heart. Help us to review it even, Lord. And what a great sermon on dating and purity and chastity. And Lord, I pray you'd help all the young people here especially, specifically to keep that in mind, the young men and the young women. And a much needed sermon and topic. So thank you so much for that great preach by Pastor Thompson. In Jesus' name, amen.