Amen all right well we are in first Thessalonians chapter number five and let's start reading
in verse eight verse number eight of first Thessalonians five the Bible says but let
us who are of the day be sober and I'm taking the title of my message this evening from
this verse the title of my sermon is be sober now I'm going to give you the world's definition
of the word sober and then we'll talk about some things in the Bible but the dictionary
definition of the word sober it actually has seven different definitions from the dictionary
that I found number one it says not intoxicated or drunk number two habitually temperate number
three quiet or sedate in demeanor number four marked by seriousness gravity solemnity number
five subdued in tone number six free from excess and number seven showing self-control
and I actually like all of these definitions and I'm going to show you that the Bible
actually teaches and uses the word sober in all of these different contexts and so this
evening I want to give you six characteristics from the Bible of what a sober person looks
like number one this evening a sober person does not do drugs or alcohol does not drink
alcohol does not do drugs now look at 1st Thessalonians 5 7 it says for they that sleep sleep in the
night and they that be drunken or drunken in the night so if you notice the pronoun
there says they so it's not talking about us it says they are drunk but it says but
let us who are of the day be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for
her and helmet the hope of salvation so in this context in this chapter the Bible saying
hey they are drunk those that are of the night they're drunk but let us be sober and just
one of the meanings that the word of God uses for the word sober is that we do not drink
alcohol and we do not do drugs you know that should be our mentality as Christians now
I have an article here from Northwestern medicine it's called how alcohol impacts the
brain and let me tell you why I want to read this article because a lot of Christians get
the idea of where they'll say well you know the Bible says don't get drunk but it's okay
if we drink just a little bit right as long as we don't get drunk but notice the verses
we just read it said what it said let us not be drunk but not only that it says that we
should be sober so not just don't be drunk but be sober here's what this article says
it says alcohol affects your body quickly it is absorbed through the lining of your
stomach into your bloodstream once there it spreads into tissues throughout your body
alcohol reaches your brain in only five minutes and starts to affect you within 10 minutes
so if you start drinking alcohol right now 10 minutes from now there's going to be a
change in your body in your behavior in your attitude it says the whole body absorbs alcohol
but it really takes its toll on the brain alcohol interferes with the brain's communication
pathways it can also affect how your brain processes information Dr. Amanda Donald so
here's some MD here says there is no designated safe level of drinking so you know when you
look at the commercials especially coming from the alcohol companies what are they going
to show you they're going to show you people drinking alcohol and they have a great life
they have a great time but when you talk to someone that is actually educated and honest
about alcohol like this doctor here they will tell you there is no safe level of drinking
alcohol why because alcohol is a poison that's literally what it is alcohol is just a poison
that's all it is and for some reason man people get really defensive when you tell them the
truth about alcohol and even people that don't claim to believe the bible it is like you
are you know killing their dog by telling them hey alcohol is a poison for some reason
people get really fired up about defending alcohol but if you are just honest with yourself
bible or no bible alcohol is literally a poison it is terrible for you and there is no safe
level of drinking alcohol according to real science and real information now here it lists
the several stages of alcohol intoxication first stage is this subliminal intoxication
with a blood alcohol content between .01 so this is like a tiny amount of alcohol and
.05 this is the first stage of intoxication you may not look like you have been drinking
but your reaction time behavior and judgment may be slightly altered depending on weight
most people enter this stage after one drink so according to the doctors here if you drink
one drink you're entering a stage of intoxication where your reaction time your behavior and
your judgment are going to be lowered and altered just off drinking one drink now how
do you compare that how do you make that fit with the Bible where not only does the Bible
just teach that we shouldn't get drunk but it also says to be sober and let me just tell
you something when your actions and your judgment and your behavior is being changed by another
substance that's you not being sober you know you may not be at the blood alcohol content
that defines you as drunk by the laws but you're still not sober because your attitude
is being changed the second stage is this euphoria during the early stages of drinking
your brain releases more dopamine this chemicals linked with pleasure during euphoria you may
feel relaxed and confident but your reasoning and memory may be slightly impaired often
referred to as tipsy this stage occurs when your blood alcohol content is between point
zero three and point one two now go to Isaiah chapter number 28 Isaiah chapter number 28
so what have we learned in these first two stages of intoxication your attitude is going
to be changed your behavior your judgment your memory your reasoning all of these things
could be changed at or below the legal limit of being drunk according to the laws of the
state yet you can still be all of these things look at Isaiah 28 verse 7 it says this but
they also have aired through wine and through strong drink are out of the way the priest
and the prophet have aired through strong drink they are swallowed up of wine they are
out of the way through strong drink notice they air in vision they stumble in judgment
doesn't that sound exactly like what this article saying is going to happen to you when
you drink alcohol you know your visions gonna be being messed with here and most importantly
you're going to air in judgment and this is the most dangerous thing about drinking alcohol
is all of us right now in our sober minds we think a certain way we have a certain logic
and reasoning skills about us but as soon as a person starts drinking alcohol that goes
out the window so what happens if someone says hey I'll just have one drink you know
I got to work in the morning I'll just have one drink but then after having one drink
their judgment has now been impaired and then they say hey what's another and then their
judgments even more impaired and they say hey what's a third and then they keep going down
this road and next thing you know what are they doing they're driving home drunk they're
getting into all sorts of different areas of sin that they did not intend to go down
but because they took that first drink they started going down a road of intoxication
and they stumbled in judgment here is the fourth level of intoxication excitement at
this stage or the third I should say at this stage with a blood alcohol content from point
zero eight that's the legal driving limit to point two five you are now legally intoxicated
so never mind you've already have been tipsy you already have lost your judgment you already
have changed your behavior and your reasoning skills and your memory has already happened
before getting legally drunk now this is what's going to happen when you're legally drunk
this level of intoxication affects the occipital lobe temporal lobe and frontal lobe in your
brain drinking too much can cause side effects specific to each lobe's role including blurred
vision slurred speech and hearing and lack of control respectively the parietal lobe
which processes sensory information is also affected you may have a loss of fine motor
skills and a slower reaction time this stage is often marked by mood swings impaired judgment
and even nausea or vomiting now i read this and i just don't get why people want to do
this i don't get why people want to go out and get drunk when this is what happens to
their body you know you lose your sensory information you can't speak you can't see
you can't hear as well you lose your judgment you're vomiting you're nauseous i mean why
do people do this and why do people defend this you know at least when you tell a smoker
Hey, smoking is unhealthy.
They're like, yeah, I know.
I'm addicted.
I want to quit.
It is what it is.
I'm trying my best.
But I know it's bad for you.
I've never had a smoker say like, smoking is actually
really good for you.
Having a cigarette with dinner will really help your life.
One cigarette a day is wonderful.
But yet, alcoholics, they're losing their vision.
They're hearing.
They're judgment.
They're vomiting.
They're getting cirrhosis of the liver.
They're getting a big fat nose.
They're getting a beer gut.
They're having all these negative things.
They're like, this is so great.
This is great for my health.
One beer at dinner is wonderful.
It's like, dude, you have a problem.
Why are you defending this when it's so obviously terrible?
And you know, it does seem like there is,
and I even saw an article saying this,
that there kind of is a movement coming back
of saying no to alcohol among some of the youth in America.
And if that's true, praise God.
Because it does not take a rocket scientist
to figure out that this is terrible for you,
that there's nothing good.
And here's the thing, 'cause people ask me at work,
why don't you drink?
This is one of the things I said.
There's nothing good that has ever come
from drinking alcohol.
There's nothing good that's ever happened.
You know, every single person that I know
in my personal life whose life has been destroyed,
there's always alcohol involved in some shape or fashion.
You know, every divorce I know of,
every person who's been to jail for something,
you know, alcohol was the common denominator there.
I never see people drinking alcohol
and then going out and winning someone to Christ.
You know, I never see someone drinking alcohol
and then praying for their brothers and sisters in Christ.
You know what you see?
People drinking alcohol and destroying everything
in their life and the lives of those around them.
You see them drinking alcohol, getting on the road,
and killing your family member that you'll never see again
because they were so selfish as to drink and drive.
That's what you see them doing.
You see them harming themselves and other people.
Look at Isaiah 28 verse 8.
It says, "For all tables," you're still there in Isaiah 28?
Isaiah 28 verse 8, "For all tables are full of vomit
and filthiness so that there is no place clean."
Isn't that what this article is saying is gonna happen?
Nosha, vomiting, and once again, the Bible is true.
You know, you drive past these homeless camps
where people just sleep all day
and they just drink alcohol day and do drugs all day.
You know what, it's full of vomit and filthiness.
Because let me just tell you,
and people get really upset about this,
the vast majority of homeless people in America
are homeless by choice
because they choose to be a drug addicted alcoholic.
That's why.
And look, there's a lot of drug addicted alcoholics
that go to work every single day too.
But what I'm saying is the people that are homeless,
90 plus percent of them are homeless
because they are drug addicted and drinking alcohol.
That's just the truth.
Because you could find a job in America.
If you want to work, you can.
A lot of these people, they just don't wanna work.
They've decided to go down this road.
And look, the exception proves the rule, whatever.
But just the vast majority of them, that is the case.
Because I drive past their stuff all the time.
And what do I see?
Alcohol bottles, heroin needles.
I don't see King James Bibles in their camp for some reason.
I see a bunch of alcohol and drugs is what I see.
Look at, or I'll read for you, this is the fourth stage of intoxication, confusion.
A blood alcohol content of .18 to .30 often looks like disorientation.
Your cerebellum, which helps with coordination, is impacted.
As a result, you may need help walking or standing.
Blackouts or the temporary loss of consciousness or short term memory are also likely to occur
at this stage.
This is also a result of the hippocampus, the region of the brain that's responsible
for making new memories not working well.
You may also have a higher pain threshold, which may increase your risk for injury.
So at this stage, something happens that's often referred to as blacking out.
And to me, this is just crazy that this is actually a real phenomenon.
You know, I hope people in here have never experienced this.
I've never experienced this.
So it's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that this is actually true.
But people can drink so much alcohol that they can go live their life.
They can go, you know, get in a fight with someone, go drive to a new city, do all these
weird activities and then wake up and have zero memory of it ever happening.
That's a lot of alcohol you have to drink for that to happen to you.
But the Bible does kind of talk about this to go to Proverbs 23 Proverbs 23 Proverbs
chapter 23 verse 29 it says who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who
hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes, they that tarry
long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when
it moveth itself aright, at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.
The bible is saying that at the end of alcohol it is going to harm you, it is going to hurt
you, nothing good is going to come from it.
Verse 33, thine eyes shall behold strange women.
So this I think is the part of intoxication where you are starting to lose your judgment.
Where married people will start to lose judgment in the sight of like, hey I am married to
someone and they will start lusting after other women, that is what it says thine eyes
shall behold strange women.
It is not saying you just saw a strange woman you know you are starting to lust after her
and have wicked thoughts toward her and you know people wake up sometimes in a bed with
someone that they do not know and not even remembering what happened as a result of alcohol
says thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Again you are losing your judgment, you are losing you know who you are as a person, you
are starting to just say stupid perverse things, if you have ever been around a drunk person
you know they say a lot of crude things, they say a lot of you know stupid things, it says
in verse 34, yea thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea or as he
that lieth upon the top of a mass.
You know you picture that you are lying down on a boat up on the crows nest and if you
have ever been in a boat in the ocean before that boat is just constantly going back and
forth back and forth and people that are drunk they are feeling that way just standing on
the ground when nothing happening the world is just spinning around them you know it doesn't
sound like fun to me verse 35 they have stricken me shalt thou say and I was not sick they
have beaten me and I felt it not so notice this person is drunk and they are waking up
from their drunkenness seeing they have all these injuries but they are like hold on a
second I wasn't sick I don't remember getting beat up how did this happen to me what happened
they literally blacked out and so many people every single day in this world get seriously
injured as a result of drinking alcohol you know the proverbial rednecks on the 4th of
July you know the EMTs and firefighters are really busy on the 4th of July why because
everyone is getting drunk and blowing off their hands and blowing off their fingers
why because they are waking up with wounds saying oh what happened here is what happened
you're an idiot is what happened you drank alcohol because you're a moron that's what
happened that's why you lost your hand that's why you crashed your car that's why you crashed
your boat and you know these type of injuries are the least of some of the things that happen
related to alcohol stage 5 is called stupor if you reach a blood alcohol content of .25
you may have concerning signs of alcohol poisoning at this time all mental physical and sensory
functions are severely impaired the risk for passing out suffocation and injury is high
stage 6 coma at a blood alcohol content of .35 you are risk at risk of going into a coma
stage 7 death a blood alcohol content over .45 may cause death due to alcohol poisoning
or failure of the brain to control the body's vital functions tell me this isn't a poison
when you just keep drinking it you know what's going to happen to you you will literally
die and when I went to high school I had classmates that died as a result of drinking alcohol
because they went out and they got drunk and they drove up to the foothills in Boise Idaho
and they drove their car off a cliff and all of them died and you know according to statistics
2,200 Americans died of alcohol poisoning that's literally just drinking yourself to
death 178,000 Americans die of alcohol related deaths every single year so you know when
I was living when I moved to Boise Idaho in like 2010 that's about the size of the entire
city of Boise Idaho every year dies from alcohol related deaths that's being drunk and playing
with a knife and cutting yourself and bleeding out that's being drunk and vomiting in your
sleep and choking yourself on your own vomit and dying that's going out on a boat and drowning
from an alcohol incident that's going in the car and getting in a head on collision and
dying you know that is a lot of the deaths every single year in America and so when it
comes to being sober man one of the most important things that we could do as Christians is set
the example of being sober when it comes to alcohol and drugs you know say no to all of
alcohol and drugs and let people make fun of you let them make fun of you who cares you know I'm
not the one that's going to be you know falling all over myself and puking all over myself or
getting in some sort of accident like that you know you should be the one that is ashamed of
yourself don't feel like you have to explain to people or like you're embarrassed that you
don't drink alcohol it's like why why do people have to feel embarrassed that they don't do this
poison it's really weird in our society it's like what if you just walked up to someone you'd be
like huh you don't do meth what's wrong with you it's like that doesn't even make any sense but people
like make fun of you for not drinking alcohol like what's wrong with you what you don't like to have
fun it's like that's like asking me why don't you do meth because both are a poison both will ruin
your life go to axe chapter 26 axe chapter 26 number one a sober person does not drink or do
drugs number two a sober person is serious about life and about serving god you know that's one of
the definitions of sober is a person that is serious a person that takes life seriously
and specifically takes serving god seriously paul is preaching here in verse 23 he says that christ
should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should show light
unto the people and to the gentiles and as he thus spake for himself festus said with a loud voice
paul thou art beside thyself much learning doth make thee mad and he said but he said i am not mad
most noble festus but speak forth the words of truth and soberness you know it's okay to joke
around every once in a while and have fun i'm not against someone having fun or anything like that
if you know me i'm a person that likes to have fun but some things in this life require seriousness
and festus thinks that paul is crazy here because paul is so you know uh earnest in what he's
preaching and he's preaching with such power and sincerity that festus is thinking like man much
learning has made you mad you're crazy but he says look i'm not crazy he says i am not mad
most noble festus but speak forth the words of truth and soberness he's saying hey what i'm telling
you right now is serious and look there's nothing more serious in the world than the gospel of jesus
christ there's nothing more serious in the world than the work of god than the house of god and
us as christians our goal is to go out and fulfill the great commission and we need to take that work
very seriously every aspect of it you know we talked a little bit this morning about
going out soul winning when we go out soul winning we should take that job that we're doing seriously
you shouldn't be messing around you shouldn't be having you know loud inappropriate conversations
you know remember that there's ring cameras everywhere these days you know one time i got
a call on the church phone from this lady just being like hey you just uh there was just these
people knocking my door and they were just like arguing about jews and i was like okay yeah like
i had a feeling who that was but it's just like look what we're doing is serious work and you need
to remember that when you're out soul winning that we're out to speak the words of truth and soberness
not it's not time to play around it's not time to talk about inappropriate things it's time to get
people saved and by the way the rest of the great commission is very important as well it's important
to get people in here and get them baptized and it's important that all things are done decently
and in order in this church why because this is a sober work that we're doing here this is a serious
institution that was purchased by the blood of jesus christ and church is not a game it's not a
social club this is a place where we come to serve god this is a place where we come to fulfill the
great commission that jesus christ gave us and many churches today they look like a complete
clown show i didn't go to church that much when i was a kid but the few times that i went i remember
walking into a building and seeing a t a line of tvs and xboxes and basketball hoops and foosball
tables and pool tables but i don't remember anything about the word of god i don't remember
anything about serving god it was just all fun and games and while i want to have fun here right
here in this institution is a place for the words of truth and soberness go to hebrews chapter 12
hebrews chapter number 12 hebrews 12 look at verse 28 wherefore we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved let us have grace whereby we may serve god acceptably with reverence
and godly fear the bible teaches that we should serve god with reverence what is reverence
reverence is a extremely high level of respect and not only an extremely high level of respect
also fear you know how much should we reverence the house of god how much should we have godly
fear when we're in the house of god you know we could show our reverence for church in a lot of
different ways one of those ways is just showing up on time and you know especially if you're
involved in any type of ministry if you are an usher if you're in the safety team if you're a
musician you know if the service starts at 4 30 start that sucker at 4 30 not at 4 32 not at 4 33
why because this is a serious work that we're doing this is not a game and hey we're here to
serve god with reverence and godly fear and you know we could show reverence in a lot of different
ways how about just the way that we dress you know i believe that church is a place where we
should show reverence and godly fear and look there's no verse in the bible that says thou
shalt wear a shirt and tie but i for myself have put the standard on myself that i will wear a
suit and tie every time i'm in church why because i want to show the work of god reverence and if
you're a part of this ministry if you want to serve in some way in the ministry i do want you
to wear a shirt and tie because we want to show that this is a serious work that we're doing here
and you know i'm not just saying this because i'm a preacher because i've always had this mentality
ever since i first started going to church that i will take the house of god seriously
you know like we talked a little bit about this morning during service it wouldn't be appropriate
it wouldn't be respectful to just spend the entire service just scrolling on your phone doing nothing
and you know i've mentioned it before i've been in churches all over this country where i've walked
by and someone's on ebay and another person's checking their stocks and another person's on
facebook and it's like hey you're not taking life very seriously you're not being sober you're not
showing respect and reverence to the house of god bible says to serve god with reverence and godly
fear go to second corinthians chapter 5 second corinthians chapter number five you know i've not
been perfect throughout the years but like when i worked for pastor shelly i remember in the wataga
building i had a little office and i would work from there all day at the church so on a wednesday
i'd be there from the morning till the church started and there was i had a lot of time obviously
in that amount of time and one thing i would do is like i would go around all the uh rows and i would
make sure that all the hymnals are put correctly facing the same direction looking nice why because
you know anyone really cares maybe maybe not but i just want to take the house of god seriously
i want to do things decently and in order and show reverence to the house of god look at second
corinthians 5 9 it says wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of
him verse 10 this is a really important verse right here for we must all appear before the judgment
seat of christ that everyone may receive and the things done in his body according to that he
hath done whether it be good or bad you know one of the things that motivates me in life is that
i know that this life is just a little vapor it's just here and gone but one day i will literally
stand before the lord jesus christ and i will give an account for my life and he will judge me
according to my works and here's the thing he will judge you according to your works as well
you as well if you're saved will stand before the lord jesus christ and that day is a real day that
is coming for all of us and this life doesn't matter where you lived doesn't matter what kind
of car you drove doesn't matter you know how much money you had doesn't matter all you're going to
be thinking about during that time is you'd wish you had done more for christ you'd wish that you
had been a more sober person and actually took the work of god seriously you actually you know
lived your life to the point where you wake up in the morning and you read your bible why because
you're serious about the work of god and because someday you know you'll stand before him look at
verse number 12 says for we commend not ourselves again unto you but give you an occasion to glory
on our behalf that you may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance and not in heart
for whether we be beside ourselves it is to god so notice some people are saying like paul you're
crazy you're beside yourself and he's saying look if me and the apostles are beside ourselves
you know what that level of zeal that we have it's just directed towards god it's not that they're
actually crazy it's just that they're working like crazy why because they're sober they're serious
look what it says or whether we be sober it is for your cause you know i just picture people
going up to paul and be like don't you think you're taking this christianity thing a little
too seriously paul it almost seems like you're a little too sober but he says it's for your cause
why because paul's a minister and just like paul knows that he himself will stand before jesus
christ someday he also knows that the people he's ministering to will also stand before jesus christ
so he says yeah if i seem a little serious if i seem a little sober if it seems like i'm taking
church a little seriously it's for you that i'm doing that why because i and you will both stand
before jesus christ go to first timothy 3 let's look at some other verses about being sober
first timothy 3 is a famous passage regarding the qualifications of a bishop it says in verse 11
even so must their wives be grave not slanderers sober faithful in all things so notice not only
should a pastor be sober be serious but even the pastor's wife should be taking the work of god
very seriously because you know a pastor is not a one-man show you know he's got to rely on his
wife a lot and she herself has to be a spiritual woman to be a pastor part of the qualifications
of that is having a spiritual wife and part of her qualifications is that she's sober and you know
the young ladies of our culture today are not very serious about life it makes me think of the bible
verse where talks about silly women laden with sins i mean that is our culture right now for
a lot of young women and you know we need to raise a generation of ladies that actually take the work
of god seriously that serving god is not just something for men soul winning is not just
something for men but that serving god is something for men women and children go to titus flip over
a couple pages to titus chapter two titus chapter number two verse one says but speak thou the things
which become sound doctrine that the aged men be sober and then it's going to explain what that
means grave that means serious temperate sound and faith in charity and patience so notice the aged
men men they're a little little older they should be setting the example in this area of someone that
is living a serious life someone that is dedicated to the lord and you know we need in every church
needs young people children teenagers you know young adults middle-aged people and elderly people
that is an important part of a church why because one of the things that elderly people can do the
age and men they could do is they could set an example for the next generation and say hey you
see me as an older guy you see how what i've done in my life notice how i'm not spending my entire
life on tiktok notice how i am not smoking pot notice how i am not spending every night playing
video games notice how i'm sober and then the young men could say like hey i want to grow up
to be like that person and then they could follow their example look at titus 24 that they may teach
the young women to be sober so also young women should be sober let's go to titus 26 says young
men likewise exhort to be sober minded so really god just wants everyone to be serious
okay have you noticed that the young women the older men the elder women the young men god just
wants us to be serious why because outside of serving god this life is completely meaningless
so you might as well get get uh dedicated to serving god verse seven in all things showing
thyself a pattern of good works in doctrine showing uncorruptness gravity sincerity you say you know
oh i'm a young man i'm a young person and i want to be taken seriously how can you do that by showing
a pattern of good works showing that you know you're not spotty in your attendance to church
or in your attendance to uh bible reading or in attendance to your volunteer capacities at
church that you're faithful that's going to show people that you're serious and we need some sober
young men in our world today you know i talked about this before the bar is so low right now
for young men like just have a job and you'll find a girl pretty much just just show up and obey the
boss and your boss will just love you like it's really not that hard right now if you could just
get some sobriety in your life if you could just be serious and take your life seriously you know
you will stand out notice verse 8 here's the big one for young men sound speech that cannot be
condemned that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed having no evil thing to say of you
that's a common mistake that young men make is just blowing off their mouth and saying a lot of
stupid things if you want to be taken seriously you need to have sound speech that cannot be
condemned go to roman chapter number 12 number three this evening a sober person does not think too
highly of themselves a sober person is not prideful look at romans 12 3 for i say through the grace
given unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think notice but to think soberly according as god hath dealt to every man the measure of faith one of
the aspects of being sober in the bible is that you don't view yourself higher than you should and
this is just man's human nature is to think i'm great why hasn't everyone else gotten on my level
yet this is just how men are this is just how human beings are and you know we need to take
captive those thoughts and think of ourselves soberly go to matthew chapter number 23 matthew
chapter number 23 the bible says that every man will proclaim his own goodness if you want to know
if someone's great just ask them they'll tell you how great they are right i mean don't ask other
people just go to them and be like are you a great person of course i am do you have any problems no
what are you talking about but that's not really thinking soberly of yourself is it no a sober
thought would be like hey i'm not great hey in fact i'm actually a sinner that deserves hell
and the only thing that's good about me is the grace bestowed by jesus christ look at matthew 23
verse 12 it says and whosoever excuse me and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased
so you know you want to end up in a place in your life where you're low where people think very
lowly of you you know they despise you they make fun of you they think your life is a joke well all
you have to do is exalt yourself and that's exactly what will happen and it's just so funny
because people that exalt themselves even if they are skilled in a certain area even if they are
talented or they're beautiful or they have some sort of great achievement i don't know about you
but when i hear someone exalting themselves i immediately dislike them and isn't that funny how
that works how that person they want to be liked because they're prideful right so they tell you
man i'm so great man these these people don't understand anything i'm the one with the
intelligence look at how much money i have man these people suck at every athletic event look
at me though look how good i am when someone does that it doesn't even matter if what they're saying
is kind of true i just immediately like i just don't like you and it's just funny because they're
actually getting the exact opposite of what they want meanwhile a lot of the people that are truly
the best in this world are oftentimes pretty humble people and i'm thinking this is not even
going to be a reference you're going to understand i'm a baseball guy okay i'm thinking of a catcher
named buster posey does anyone know who this guy is of course okay well he had three world series
titles he was one of the best baseball players in every interview with him he's very humble very
meek he's always elevating his coaches and his team and he's passing the credit onto them meanwhile
he's like one of the best catchers that's ever played the game of baseball and you look at him
and you're like this guy's awesome this guy actually is the real deal and when he talks about
himself he's not boasting himself and so you actually like him on top of it and so he humbles
himself and what happens he's exalted but people that are prideful and saying i'm the best you
immediately just despise them let me give you another example you're not going to understand
who knows who mike trout is dang okay all right we got one guy mike trout is another really famous
baseball player and his career he's been plagued with injuries he's had a lot of injuries and he
was interviewed and this lady said hey what do you think would have happened if you didn't get
injured he's like man i just hate that i've had all these injuries because i know that if i wasn't
injured i would have been like the best baseball player to ever live it's just like you hear that
he's like oh it's just cringy to hear right and it doesn't matter that he's a good baseball player
when someone exalts themselves you immediately view them much lower doesn't matter if they're
cool or not and so you want to be liked by other people you want to get along with other people
you want to fit in in the house of god don't be prideful don't think of yourself more highly
than you ought to think i'm sorry i had you leave romans 12 go back there really quick
romans chapter number 12 i gotta come up with some new references for you guys what oklahomans like
no it's good matthew or uh romans chapter 12 verse 4 for as we have many members in one body
and all members have not the same office so he's saying you know we have a body we have all these
different body parts and our body parts don't have all the same function right you know my mouth
doesn't have the same function as my toes right look at verse number six five so we so likewise
being many are one body in christ and everyone members one of another just like the human body
this church is a body and we all have different offices we all have different roles to play
verse six having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us whether prophecy
let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith or ministry let us wait on our ministering
or he that teacheth on teaching or he that exhorteth on exhortation he that giveth let
him do it with simplicity he that ruleeth with diligence he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness
so notice in the body of christ we all have different roles to play some people are going
to be preachers some people are going to be really hospitable some people are going to
be great givers they have more to give some people are very good at ministering some people are going
to be ruling things but whatever your role is whatever body part you are you know you play an
important role in this body and it would make no sense to brag about being the hand because it's
like okay cool you're the hand but we also need feet you know we also need legs we also need ears
you're like well i'm the eyes i mean i'm i'm obviously the best it's like eyes are good so is
a mouth so is every body part so it just does not make sense to get prideful and think well because
i am so and so because i do something i'm better than other people that's like saying that your
hand is better than your foot you know both are important and whatever god has given us to do in
this life just be content with it and stay humble in doing so otherwise god will abase you first
corinthians eight flip over to first corinthians eight you say well here's the thing i actually am
really smart though i actually am really great you just don't understand brother dylan i actually am
the strongest person in this room or you don't understand i actually am the most attractive
person in here i actually have read the most i understand the most in here okay we'll look at
first christians 8 2 and if any man think that he knoweth anything he knoweth nothing yet as he
ought to know so here's the thing let's just say you're the most educated person in here let's just
say you know you're the best in a certain area you know what the attitude you should have is is okay
i'm educated to this level but you know what i don't know as much as i ought to know yet i still
have a lot of growing left to do because you know god has blessed us all in different ways there's
some people let's just face it that are going to be smarter than other people and that's okay
there's some people that are going to be taller than other people there are some people that are
going to be able to dunk and jump higher okay just look at the nba you don't see a lot of guys that
look like me am i mad about that no i'm not i don't want to i have no desire to play basketball i'm
sorry for you basketball fans in here you know i don't have that desire but here's the thing you
know something you're good at something well you're not as good as you should be that's the attitude
that you should have i don't know as much as i should know i haven't done enough in my life i
haven't done as much in my life as i should have done oh you're a good parent okay well you're not
as good of a parent as you should be yet i'm a great wife you're not as good as a wife as you
should be yet and none of us have arrived and we need to think of ourselves soberly not above that
which we ought to think go to galatian six now here's the thing about pride in the bible the
prideful person is often compared to the drunk person and i kind of connect these two people in
my mind because there actually is a lot of similarities between someone who's drunk and
someone who's prideful look at galatian six verse three it says this for if a man if for if a man
think himself to be something when he is nothing he deceiveth himself so notice this person he thinks
i'm great but in reality he's not what happens he deceiveth himself and excuse me it's not that the
bible compares these two it's that when i read these verse this verse i think of a drunk person
because what does a drunk person do think about this if a man think himself to be something
when he is nothing he deceiveth himself what is a drunk person like they think that they're faster
bigger stronger a better fighter than they actually are and this is what a prideful person is like
a prideful person is like a drunk person which is why the bible calls people that are not doing
alcohol sober and people who are not prideful sober because pride has the same intoxicating
effect on your brain where you think bigger of yourself than you actually are and this is how
people get hurt this is how people get abased in real life you know they drink alcohol and they say
oh yeah i could take that six foot eight guy no problem and then they just get their teeth knocked
out because they thought they were something when they're nothing and let me tell you in life you
think you're something when you're nothing the only person you're deceiving is yourself
and god will make sure to abase you go to first peter chapter five first peter chapter number five
number four a sober person is on the lookout for danger this is another attribute of a sober
person in the bible yes they're not drinking yes they're taking life seriously they're not prideful
but they're also on the lookout for danger first peter five eight be sober and it's going to define
what that means be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking
whom he may devour the bible tells us to be sober to be vigilant someone who is vigilant means that
they're taking their job as a watchman very seriously you know they're staying on the lookout
you know picture a guy that's on a watchtower he's got binoculars and he's scanning the ridge line
seeing if enemies are coming you know he's looking at the bushes see if he could see movement or a
rifle sticking out from something you know he's looking for danger that's what someone who is
vigilant is doing and you know us as Christians we live in a world where we need to be on the
lookout for danger the bible says this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come
and we are living in some perilous days right now we are living in a time where violence is on the
rise there's a lot of literal physical carnal danger in this world you know we live in a world
not like that of our grandparents where they you know were out riding their bikes all over the town
and they just were out at all hours of the night no one knew where they are those days are long
gone no one's out just letting their kids do whatever unless you're in like a section eight
housing area for some reason i wouldn't recommend doing that why because we're living in a dangerous
time and we need to be vigilant we need to be sober and us as men you know we've been tasked
by god to defend our families and it's very serious that us as men take this task very seriously
and you know in the united states of america we've been afforded certain rights like the second
amendment that that you know enshrines our right to keep and to bear arms and i think that if you
are a man in this room you should take advantage of that i think that you should be very sober
and say hey i'm going to take this seriously i'm going to get a gun i'm going to get some training
and not just that but that you're going to carry that thing all the time as much as you possibly
can why because hey we're living in a perilous time and us as men it's our job to be the protectors
in this world and you don't want to just rely on the police that's a bad idea because their response
time could be 12 minutes down the road you know us as christians they a lot of times christians
they get this mentality that men christian men should be like soft and just gentle and here's
the time there's a there's a time and a place to be soft and gentle and loving and caring but you
know christian men should also be able to snap something inside of them and be able to kill a
defend uh intruder into their home right like us as men you know we should be soft with our wife and
our kids and hey we'll preach you the gospel and we're harmless as a dove we're not going to hurt
anyone we're not going to assault anyone we're not going to violate anyone but we should be ready
and be able to step up that if violence comes to us if someone wants to hurt our family our church
our wife that something can snap inside of us and we can be the most dangerous deadly men in the
society people look at being like having the capacity to harm someone or to hurt someone as
a bad thing that is a very good thing every single man should be really good at harming other people
but you would only want to use that when it's necessary to do so to defend other people right
because here's the thing when there's when there's someone shooting up a school what are you going to
do you're going to call people that are really good at hurting other people and really good at
killing other people and that's a good thing to have police but you know what you shouldn't rely
on the police to take care of your wife and kids you should rely on yourself and someone's breaking
into your home it wants to hurt you and your family the police aren't going to get there in time so you
better be sober men and be ready to take care of the problem yourself i'm not saying that you know
you should become addicted to this and this is your main focus in life some people they take this
way too far and just like prepping and and all this stuff becomes their life you want to make sure
that serving god is your life but you also don't want to neglect this area of your life and you
know men if you are not in shape and you don't know how to fight and you don't know how to shoot
there is a serious hole in your life i'm just telling you right now there is a serious lacking
of your life as a man that you need to fix because the bible says to be sober be vigilant because
your adversary the devil is as a roaring lion walk at the bow of course that's true spiritually
but that's also true physically now also let's talk about that spiritually for a second go to
genesis chapter three genesis chapter number three we should be vigilant as men to the dangers of this
world be ready to fight but the most important thing is being vigilant spiritually and looking
out for danger and harm and evil spiritually and a good story to illustrate this is in the garden
look at genesis three one it says uh let's start reading in verse two it says and the woman said
unto the serpent we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden god has said you shall not eat of it neither shall you touch it
lest you die and the serpent said unto the woman ye shall not surely die for god doth know that in
the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be open and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil
and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes
and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also
unto her husband with her and he did eat you know adam here failed being sober in the sense that
adam failed to look out for spiritual evil in his family you know adam should have been being
vigilant and being like hmm why is my wife talking to a serpent maybe this is a bad idea right and
and we apply this men women we need to be on the lookout for our families that wicked influences
are not reaching our homes and this is super super hard in this day and age that we're living in
when every kids show it seems has some sort of propaganda has some sort of satanic message
that wants to be shown to your children you know we need to make sure that we're being vigilant
that we're taking care of the books of the podcasts the videos the movies the shows that
are getting into our homes that we're paying attention and making sure that we're being
vigilant and watching out for evil and for harm because there's a lot of people jews that work in
these industries that they make this material simply to attack christianity you know the
pornography industry that stuff is created to destroy families to harm individuals to ruin
marriages to ruin children you know that's why that stuff is even created wicked people you know
devising mischief they can't sleep until they've figured out a way to harm someone there's people
like that there's people like that coming after your kids today it's called the lgbt community
you need to be vigilant that you know if your kids go to public school that they're going to
be around a bunch of queers and freaks and sodomites and this is constantly going to be
being pushed on them from every direction i went to public school in idaho which is one of the
most conservative states in america i graduated in 2015 and in my high school in idaho a very
conservative area there was the lgbt alliance club and every single morning our school had
announcements where they rolled in a tv and they had announcements for the day and every single
day in my high school the lgbt club had a little message had a little play had a little dance where
they're dressing up in drag dressing up as the opposite gender and pumping that message to us
let me just tell you if that's happening in idaho it's happening in oklahoma if it's happening in
oklahoma it's happening everywhere else in america and so just realize that there are people that are
coming for your children today and by the way they even sing songs admitting that there's videos of
these pride parades where they're running up and down the street saying we're coming for your
children i mean if you would have played this video back to me 10 years ago i wouldn't even
believe what i just said like i always knew sodomites were bad but the fact that they're
saying we're coming for your children the fact that the you know san francisco gay men's choir
singing songs about how they're coming for your children and yet we have parents today that are
completely asleep we have parents and grandparents today that are not vigilant they're not sober
they're not looking out for the evils in this life and let me tell you what moms and dads need to be
sober they need to be vigilant it's not enough for some preacher to get up and yell and scream about
it you know your kids probably don't care but they'll care more about what you say so you need to be
vigilant i'll skip some of this for sake of time let's go to titus chapter one actually before that
first timothy three it's right next door first timothy three one more verse on on this point here
says in first timothy three two a bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife notice
vigilant sober of good behavior given to hospitality apt to teach one of the qualifications
of a bishop is to be sober and right before sober you see that word vigilant meaning that
they're looking out for problems and one of the jobs of a preacher of any preacher and of a pastor
is to be looking out into this world you know spending your time in the word of god
knowing what the bible says knowing what the right attitudes actions behaviors are
and then looking out into the world and seeing where bad attitudes pop up or bad philosophies
pop up or bad doctrine pops up and in order to do that you're gonna have to be what vigilant
sober i saw this stupid comment today on a pastor sermon saying like oh here comes the the passive
aggressive preaching because you know people sometimes perceive that a sermon is about them
or about a situation that they know of and it's like let me just explain to you what the job of
a preacher is and especially of a pastor it's to identify bad attitudes and behaviors and uh
doctrines that creep up and to squash those things so yeah the preaching sometimes will be about you
and guess what when i was in the pew the preaching sometimes was about me because that's literally
the job of a preacher is to be on the lookout for bad ideas and to correct those bad ideas it's
like oh this is passive aggressive because he's preaching about a situation that i'm aware of it's
like that's his job people have this unbelievably stupid idea that pastors and preachers should
never preach against individuals and i'm just thinking have you ever read the bible the bible
is just full of individuals names being called out what sense would it make that a preacher can't get
up and preach about individuals how stupid is that like here's an example and i'm just gonna use a
really silly example that i don't think will ever happen okay let's say two men in here you know
every single day before church they're out in the parking lot and they're getting in fist fights
every day i mean they're just really pissing each other off and they just you know descend into chaos
every single time before church they're just having fist fights right it just happens over and over and
over and over again like i said silly example because i don't think this will ever happen
would it be then inappropriate for me to get up and preach a sermon about i don't know loving
your brothers in christ or like like having unity in church or like not being violent or not being a
striker it's like yeah but i i know who you're talking about who cares and here's the thing
oftentimes these types of things are preached where it's like yeah you may know the situation
that the preacher is talking about because your privity is certain information but if a random
person listening online listened to that sermon they wouldn't necessarily know but yet people are
so offended and so just weak-minded on this issue to think you know preachers can't ever preach
against individuals you're insane you're supposed to be sober you're supposed to be vigilant meaning
you're looking out for danger you're looking out for bad ideas and you're correcting those issues
number five turn to titus chapter number one my lungs are almost giving out here i just won number
five a sober person lives a separated life so i just one eight says but a lover of hospitality
a lover of good men sober then it's going to define that just holy temperate you know a sober
person takes their life seriously like we talked about before and part of that is that they take
sin very seriously that they're striving their best to live a godly separated life and of course
we know that no one's going to be perfect but jesus christ said be ye holy for i am holy you know
jesus christ is perfect and the the standard that jesus demands is perfection that's what he demands
now of course he has grace and knows that we won't reach that but god wants us to be holy just
temperate you know separate he wants us to live a separated life and part of this is taking sin
seriously you know the bible says this i'll read proverbs 14 9 says this fools make a mock at sin
and so this would be an example of someone not being sober someone that's making light of sin
someone that's making fun of sin you know that's a really bad attitude that's someone that's not
being sober i remember when my wife and i were dating someone made a joke to us they're like oh
you guys are gonna have a sleepover tonight and they're just like making light of fornication
they're joking about fornication there's nothing funny about fornication we've talked about that
in the previous weeks how it destroys people's lives how it's a sin that god literally killed
thousands of people for that is it's a sin that actually gets you kicked out of church
and that you know prevents you from having fellowship with god's people that's not something
to joke about hey drinking alcohol hey man you want to get some beers tonight just kidding
shut up that's not a funny joke you know let us in this church have fun joke around sure
but you know where it crosses the line for sure is when you're joking about committing sin
and sometimes even very wicked people they do this to test you oftentimes sodomites will do this
to test you they'll make a joke with you they'll say something super filthy to see how you react
to know okay this is a person that i could target this is a person that i can you know target to do
something wicked too and so we're not going to play around with that whatsoever we shouldn't be
joking around about sin go to titus 2 titus chapter 2 verse 11 it says this for the notice
grace of god that bring us salvation hath appeared unto all men so what are we talking about
god's grace it says in verse 12 teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should
live soberly righteously and godly in this present world you know you have a lot of churches today
that say well we're in the new testament we're under grace so we don't have to really take the
commandments of god that seriously we don't really have to worry about living a separated life but
notice what your bible said it says that grace teaches us that we should deny ungodliness it
doesn't say you know god's anger teaches us god's disciplinary hand teaches us it says that the grace
of god is what teaches us that we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present
world so if anything because we're in the new testament we should take living a separated life
even more seriously be even more sober about living a separated life let's go to first peter one
first peter chapter number one first peter one verse 13 says wherefore gird up the loins of your
mind be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation
of jesus christ as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust in your
ignorance but as he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation
because it is written be ye holy for i am holy so you know the bible says that being sober one of the
characteristics of sobriety is being holy and you know that is going to be the goal of this church
the goal of this church is going to be preaching holiness preaching godly standards preaching the
bible's commandments and it doesn't matter if that's going to fill our church with a lot of people
it doesn't matter if that's going to make us you know popular with the mayor here or the police
chief here or it doesn't matter that type of preaching is going to get us the big beautiful
facilities you know what i'm just interested in doing what god told us to do i'm interested in
striving to be holy because he's holy i'm interested in knowing that the grace of god teaches us to
deny ungodliness and to live soberly holy and righteously in this present world go to first
peter four this will be the last point we're wrapping up here first peter four the last
characteristic of sobriety number six a sober person has a consistent prayer life look at first
peter four seven but the end of all things is at hand be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer
you know a sober person a person that takes life seriously a person that's not drunk a person that
doesn't think too highly of themselves you know a person that cares about the things of god
they're going to know that they cannot do this life on their own that they're going to know that
they can't accomplish the things that they want to accomplish in this life on their own and they know
that there's a lot of danger out there they know that they have to be vigilant and so what a sober
person does is lives their life watching unto prayer and look that is just the attitude that
we need to have is a sober attitude that says god i can't do my finances on my own god i can't
succeed in my job on my own i can't raise kids in 2024 america on my own you know i can't you know
have the best marriage possible just on my own power i need you god i need you to help me and
you know what that's watching unto prayer look at hebrews chapter number four hebrews chapter number
four you know every single person in this room needs help from god and i hope you're at a place
in your life where you at least realize that my wife hears me say this all the time i need god to
help me today i said that a lot today as i'm waking up this morning coughing my lungs out being like
how am i going to preach today is like i really need god today but here's the thing we all need
god all the time and i hope you're at the point in your life where you at least realize that
but let me tell you every person will realize that someday because life is going to hit you
like a ton of bricks you know if you're living at home life is just easy and you may not even
realize this right now but you'll know in a few years like you do need god god knows we need help
and we have help look at hebrews 414 seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed
into the heavens jesus the son of god let us hold fast our profession for we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as
we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need you know jesus knows our sorrows our weaknesses and our
temptations we don't have a high priest that has not been touched with the feelings of our infirmities
what does that mean we have a high priest that has been touched with those things we have jesus
christ who yes he's 100 god but he was also 100 man meanings that he he knows what it feels like
the human emotion of being rejected of being hated of being made fun of of being belittled
of being hungry he knows what it's like to be forsaken he knows what it's like not to be
appreciated he knows every single human emotion that is to be known he knows it not just a head
knowledge he's experienced it himself and here's the thing i would love to help you and i hope that
you guys all want to help each other and that you guys can help me but here's the thing if i'm going
through something you can only really be touched with the feeling of my infirmity if you've been
exactly through the same thing that i've been through and i want to help you but here's the
thing i can only really fully understand the feeling of your infirmity if i've been through
exactly the same thing that you're going through but jesus our great high priest has been touched
with every single infirmity that you feel every single one so he knows what you're feeling he
cares about what you're feeling he cares about what you're going through and when you come to him he's
ready to help he's ready to give grace in time of need so come before him boldly you know that's
what a sober person does is they are watching unto prayer that's what the bible says go to first
peter five this will be the last verse we go to first peter chapter number five first peter five
verse eight says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh
about seeking whom he may devour whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing that the same
afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world but the god of all grace who have
called us unto his eternal glory by jesus christ after that you have suffered a while make you
perfect establish strengthen settle you to him be glory and dominion forever and ever amen you know
the bible says to be sober to be vigilant and in doing that that we should resist the devil stead
vastly and you know we need to remember that our christian life is a fight it's a battle and we need
to be taking this seriously we need to be sober people as christians how are we going to do that
number one don't drink alcohol or do drugs that's step one that's the easy one okay number two take
the work of god seriously take church seriously take soul winning seriously number three don't
be prideful don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think number four be on the
lookout for danger you know us as men be ready to defend physically and spiritually in our homes
and number five be watching unto let's have a word of prayer lord thank you for this day thank you
for your word and i just pray that you would help all of us to live our lives soberly and that all
the characteristics of soberness in the bible would be characteristics of our lives as individuals
as well pray that you bless this evening help us to get home safely we love you in Jesus name we pray
amen