Test, are you going to reconnect? Yeah. Boom. Cool.
The distance won't be an issue? Even it being Bluetooth?
No. From here, no. No way.
Do you like that mic?
Well, we're testing it out.
Alright folks, welcome back to Steadfast Baptist Church.
We're going to go ahead and get started this evening.
If you would find a seat and grab a hymnal,
turn to our first hymn, which will be number 454.
He will hold me fast.
Hymn number 454.
454.
He will hold me fast.
Sing there, starting on the 1st.
When I hear my name,
will this will hold me?
Center would bring love.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day,
to be able to freely gather again this evening,
and to sing praises in your name,
and to hear good preaching in your name, Lord.
I pray that you just be with those seeds that were planted,
and the three salvations that we had this afternoon.
Lord, that you would just stir up their spirit
to get in a good church and to serve you.
Lord, as always, I just do pray that you'd incline
your ear to us as we sing praises for you,
and that everything here would be done decently and in order.
These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
For our next hymn, turn, if you would, to hymn number two.
Glory to his name.
Hymn number two.
There on the first.
[music]
If you need a bulletin, please raise your hand.
We'll come around and get that to you.
We do, again, have our verse for the week here on the front.
If you are memorizing that chapter, I encourage you guys to keep up the hard work there.
And also for you kiddos, I know you get ice cream tonight.
But if you want ice cream next week, you want to memorize that verse.
So I encourage you guys to do that.
We have service times and sowning times listed there on the left-hand side.
And I've got to get used to the new pulpit here.
We had a total of three salvations this afternoon.
So we'll get that added to our totals for the week and the month.
And I encourage you guys to keep up the hard work there.
We do have sowning again Thursday before the evening service at 5.30.
If you can meet here, we'll send you out and do some sowning before that service.
So I encourage you guys to participate if you can.
Continue to be in prayer for our expecting lady, Ms. Ferb.
Our next Fifth Sunday Fellowship is this coming Sunday.
And that theme for that is foods that start with C.
So it is a potluck style fellowship.
And of course we'll do crowd pick hymns and then fellowship afterwards.
So I encourage you guys to be there for that.
And then as I mentioned this morning, we had a great turnout for our marathon in Stillwater.
17 total salvations for the day.
So praise the Lord for that.
And of course we've had Brother Oz preach for us this morning.
He's going to be preaching for us again this evening.
I'm excited to hear the sermon that he's got prepared for us.
And also if you have not taken your pictures, please stick around for that, to do that directly after the service.
I think everyone got taken care of this afternoon, but just in case, please let me know.
So that way I can inform our photographer and help him with that.
But I'm pretty sure we're good to go there.
And then also stick around, after the service we are going to have Sunday floats, root beer floats.
So definitely stick around for that.
June 29th is our baby shower for my wife here at the church.
That's going to be at 2 p.m. And then July 5th we have a baseball game scheduled to go to at Bricktown.
And that starts at 7 p.m.
We'll get some of the information there in the next week on where to park at and what to expect for that.
And I'm really looking forward to that. It's going to be a fun time.
Also, please invite anybody you would like.
So if you have anybody that you want to bring along with you, feel free to do that.
August 15th through the 17th is our men's conference, and that's in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
It's about a five hour drive, four and a half hour drive from Oklahoma City.
And it's a Thursday through Saturday event.
And I encourage you guys, for you men, if you're able to get off work, you won't be disappointed.
We usually have great preaching for that.
Do we know who the guest preacher is going to be yet, Brother Elvis?
Okay, so a guest preacher will usually come in. Pastor Shelley, he'll preach Thursday.
Friday is the guest preacher, and then Saturday is men's preaching in the morning.
And we typically get back into town about 5 p.m. for us guys in Oklahoma City on that Saturday.
So I encourage you guys to put that on your calendar. If you can make it, it'll be a blessing to you.
That's all the announcements, so we'll go right to our next song, hymn number 13, "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone," hymn number 13.
Alright, hymn number 13, "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone." We'll sing there starting on the 1st.
"Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone."
Singing this evening, as the offering plates are being passed around, turn if you would to Proverbs chapter number 14.
Proverbs chapter 14.
Verse number 1, the Bible reads, "Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
He that walketh in his uprightness fearth the Lord, but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increases by the strength of the ox.
A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness will utter lies.
A scorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not, but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
Go from the presence of a foolish man when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.
Fools making mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favor.
The heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
A wise man feareth and departeth from evil, but the fool rageth and is confident.
He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly, and a man of wicked devices is hated.
The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
The poor is hated even of his own neighbor, but the rich hath many friends.
He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth, but he that hath mercy on the poor happiest he.
Do they not err that devise evil? But mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.
In all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
The crown of the wise is their riches, but the foolishness of fools is folly.
A true witness delivereth souls, but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
In the multitude of people is the king's honor, but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
He that is slow to wrath is of good understanding, but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones.
He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his maker, but he that honoreth him hath mercy on the poor.
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death.
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding, but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Righteousness exalteth the nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
The king's favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.
Let's pray.
Definitely, Father, Lord, pray now that you would just fill Brother Oz with your Holy Spirit, Lord, help him to preach unto us your word.
God, I pray that we would be attentive and that we would have an open heart to receive the things that he's prepared for us
and that we would apply these truths to our lives.
We pray these things in your son's name. Amen.
Amen. Good evening.
Thank you all for being here.
I just want to say thank you for the great hospitality that's been shown to us this weekend.
I really have enjoyed this weekend.
The soul winning marathon in Stillwater was great. It was a great area.
And soul winning today was great. Everything's just been awesome.
I really appreciate the hospitality.
My wife and I and our children are definitely looking forward to coming here soon.
I've got a couple job interviews lined up.
So as soon as I get a start date, I'm moving here.
So be in prayer for me for that if you would. Amen.
It's good to be here as always.
So we're in Proverbs chapter number 14 and I want to read to you this evening verse number 15.
The Bible says, "The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going."
So here we get a description of a simple person in the Bible.
Now, what is someone that's simple?
Let me just give you the dictionary definition of the word simple.
Simple is someone who's unlearned, ignorant, stupid, or untutored.
Here are some synonyms.
Gullible, naive, trusting, susceptible, or unguarded.
This is obviously, no one in here wants to be someone that's simple.
No one wants to be stupid or gullible or just overly trusting.
This is obviously something we want to avoid.
And God gives us here one of the characteristics of a simple person, of a stupid person,
is someone that just believes everything they hear.
Now, there's only one thing in this whole world that you could just believe every word of,
and it's the King James Bible.
But everything else in life, you need to take what's being said with caution.
You need to do your own research.
You need to not be someone that just believes everything that they hear.
And this is all the more important in 2024 America with things like AI,
with things like social media and just the internet and just our technology getting so advanced.
You must have your mind guarded in this world right now.
You cannot just believe everything you hear.
Oftentimes, you can't even believe everything that you see.
I mean, this AI technology is crazy.
I mean, some of this technology is at the point where you could get a FaceTime call
and it has my voice and has my face.
And it's like, "Hey, I just got in a car crash. I need to, you know, get some new tires.
Can you send me some money?" And it's not even me.
It's like some dude in the Middle East just ripping you off.
Like, it's getting crazy in this world.
And you have to make sure that you're not being a simple person that just believes everything you hear
or even believes everything that you see.
And when I think about two groups of people that really typify this mentality,
first I think of just the far left.
I mean, just the crazy communist weirdos.
I mean, they believe everything that they hear.
Anything that's on CNN, they believe it.
Anything that the government says, they believe it.
Anything that's in any textbook, they believe it.
Anything that's in academia, they believe it.
I mean, Joe Biden is the most popular president that has ever existed in American history.
That's what a lot of leftists believe today.
He had the most votes of anyone in American history, right?
I mean, the mRNA injection is so safe and effective, it's not hurting anyone because CNN told me that.
Also, did you know that Vladimir Putin is just like the worst person that's ever lived on the face of the earth?
Right? This is what leftists would say.
And obviously I don't endorse Vladimir Putin, but just the things that they say about him often are lies.
The far left, they just believe everything that they hear.
But here's the thing, there's also a group on the right that is just like this.
And often these people would call themselves part of the "truther" movement.
Now, I don't know what has happened to this movement.
I don't know if it's just changed in the last 10 years or if I've always been naive of what it truly is.
But the thing is, I actually got saved by being a part of that movement.
I wanted to know the truth.
I actually found Pastor Anderson on Alex Jones, on the Alex Jones show.
And you know, it used to be if someone says like, "Hey, I think 9/11 was an inside job."
I used to think about that person like, "Man, here's a person that's really smart.
Here's a person that's actually paying attention to the world and they're realizing that they're being lied to."
But now I feel like conspiracy theorists have gone so far that when someone tells me that they believe 9/11 is an inside job,
I'm like, "Okay, good. What shape is the Earth, though?"
Are you one of these QAnon people? Are you about to tell me that Joe Biden's a hologram?
Like, what other stupid stuff is about to come out of your mouth?
And so many of these people on the far right, who even call themselves Christians, are nothing more than simple, stupid people.
Because they're exactly the same mentality as the left.
The left, they just believe everything CNN says, everything academia says, and nothing that the Bible says, nothing that a conspiracy theorist will say.
But here on the other side, you have like the QAnon people, the people in the truth movement, and they believe nothing that the government says, nothing the government ever says can be true.
They believe nothing that a book in a college has ever said. It's all lies, right?
The government's never done anything true, but they will believe anything that any YouTube video says.
You are an idiot, okay? And the title of the sermon is "Stop Being Simple." Stop being simple.
Look, just because you're someone that's a conservative, just because you're awake on a lot of issues,
doesn't actually mean you're smart, because it could be you just happened to watch a video that told you the truth and you got lucky and believed it.
But you'll watch another video about a different stupid conspiracy theory, and you'll immediately believe that, too.
You have no clue what you're talking about. You did zero research. You know nothing about the topic.
But you will say, "Oh, this is a conspiracy. The government's lying about this."
I mean, let's think of some examples here. Here's some stupid, stupid conspiracies, okay?
How about that the global flood caused the craters on the moon? You are an idiot if you think that.
That's not really a conspiracy theory, but that's just something stupid that you can hear on the internet.
And you know what? The simple believe every word. Okay, let's think about another one.
Here's something I've heard. Joe Biden is a hologram. Space isn't real. Who's heard someone say space isn't real?
I know multiple people who have said this. My dad has worked with people that say this.
And what's funny is my dad worked with this guy that said space isn't real, but yet he couldn't get around town without a GPS.
It's like, I wonder how that GPS works. Oh yeah, satellites in space. You moron.
Okay, here's some other ones. Mein Kampf was written by Jews, not Adolf Hitler.
Okay, sure. There are secret civilizations beyond Antarctica.
Aliens built the pyramids. Rockets don't go to space, they all go to the Bermuda Triangle.
Rockets have never left our atmosphere. That's the Bermuda Triangle, man. They all go there.
Elon Musk's in on it. NASA's in on it. All of these stupid conspiracy theories.
Ancient civilizations built the U.S. Capitol buildings. The U.S. Capitol building was built by an ancient civilization called Tartardia thousands of years ago, yes.
Also, nukes don't exist. That's another stupid conspiracy theory I've heard.
You know, the U.S. sent paratroopers into Japan in 1945 and just planted a bunch of TNT throughout all their cities because nukes don't exist.
I mean, wow. It's ridiculous. I believe that we went to the moon, I think there's a lot of evidence, and I'm not saying someone's stupid if they deny the moon landing,
but what does bother me is when someone's done zero research on it and they're like, "Oh yeah, that's fake, man. Oh yeah, the Van Allen radiation belt."
Oh, the Van Allen radiation belt? You mean the one that was discovered by an astrophysicist?
You mean the belt that you wouldn't even know anything about if it wasn't for an astrophysicist telling you about it?
Okay, yeah, that's not really a good example there to defend your theory.
But look, that's really not the main issue. The issue is, the point of the sermon is don't be simple.
Don't just believe everything you hear. Don't just believe every official story you ever hear.
Don't believe every conspiracy theory you've ever heard, okay?
And I want to give you a few principles tonight that can safeguard you from being a simple person, okay?
Number one, you need to commit to lifelong learning.
Go to Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one.
If you want to be someone that is not gullible, that is not tricked, that is not just falling for everything that you hear,
you need to commit to being a lifelong learner.
It doesn't stop when you graduate high school. It doesn't stop when you graduate college.
Us as Christians, we need to be people that learn our entire lives.
Look at Proverbs 1 verse 7, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
You say, "I want to be wise. I want to have knowledge."
Well, the very first step in that is that you must fear the Lord.
You can't go anywhere else until you have feared God in your life.
So you want to be someone that's not simple. You want to be someone that's wise.
You must fear the Lord.
And we are living in a time where so many people are departing from knowledge,
so many people are departing from wisdom and are departing from instruction.
Why is it? It's because they don't want to fear the Lord.
I mean the public school system in America now has just become a joke.
And it's really sad to see. It's really sad to see the reading level comprehension of a lot of people.
It's sad to see Americans just test scores in general.
I mean our nation right now, educationally speaking, is a nation in decline.
And in a lot of ways is a nation in decline.
And it's directly related to the fact that we as Americans are deciding no longer to fear God.
And if we want to bring back wisdom, knowledge, education in our country, we need to bring back the fear of God.
Go to Hebrews chapter 5, Hebrews chapter 5.
Commit to lifelong learning.
You know it makes sense for a baby to be ignorant.
It makes sense for a child even to be ignorant of a lot of things.
You know there should come a point in your life where you're no longer ignorant.
Where you're an educated person.
And it's the same thing spiritually.
Look at Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12.
It says, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
ye have need that one teach you again,
which be the first principles of the oracles of God,
and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat."
So look, this group of Christians here,
these aren't the ones that are really mature.
These aren't the ones that are really learned and educated and mature in a spiritual sense.
No, they're actually ones that need milk.
They should have been using strong meat by this point.
Look at verse 13, it says,
"For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe."
So what's the point? Commit to lifelong learning.
You say, "I want to learn the Bible.
I want to be someone that has a lot of Bible knowledge.
I want to be someone that's wise concerning the Scriptures."
How do you do it? Well, you have to do it by reason of use.
If you want to be someone that's educated in the Bible,
it means you have to use the Bible.
What does that look like?
Well, of course, one way it looks like is soul winning.
You're going out and you're flipping to tons of verses,
week after week after week.
And when you've gone soul winning for years and years,
you've done it hundreds of times.
And you've heard all the different false ideas that are out there.
And when you're confronted with those ideas,
you go home and you study and you think,
"How can I, what verse could I show to help this person learn?"
And that's going to cause you to become wise in the Scriptures.
Why? Because you're using it.
When you put the Bible into practice,
you will become wise in the Scriptures.
So, hey, commit to being a lifelong learner
when it comes to the Bible.
What does that mean?
Use the Bible your whole life.
Be a soul winner.
Apply the things that you hear.
Go to Proverbs chapter number four.
Proverbs chapter number four.
Look at what it says in Proverbs 4.13.
It says, "Take fast hold of," notice this word,
"instruction. Let her not go.
Keep her, for she is thy life."
I love that word, "instruction."
You know, us as God's people, we should desire someone
to instruct us, someone to teach us.
And this does not only apply spiritually.
This should apply to your job.
You know, you should want to be better at your job,
and you should want someone to tell you how to get better.
But we live in a time right now where a lot of people,
they don't want to be told anything.
They don't want to be told that they're not doing a good job.
They don't want to be told how they can improve.
So many people are just so prideful, they think,
"I've already arrived. I'm already a smart person.
I'm already a wise person."
And people do this spiritually, too.
A lot of people, they don't think that they need church.
In fact, out-soul-winning, just today,
I ran into a woman that says, "Oh, yeah, we don't got to go to church.
Church is in the heart."
This is someone that is simple.
This is someone that doesn't know the Bible very well,
who is not educated regarding the scriptures.
Why? Because she doesn't even realize the importance of church.
You know, that's the mentality that a lot of people have spiritually and carnally today.
But look, us as God's people, both spiritually and carnally,
we should commit to being lifelong learners.
I hate this anti-education attitude that I see some people having,
or this attitude where Christians are just dumb country bumpkins.
You know, Florida man who says that he can't read half the words on the page,
but he just believes it by faith.
"Oh, I'm so stupid I could barely put a puzzle together,
but I believe the Bible. What a shame."
That's a stupid attitude.
I don't want us having that type of attitude.
It's just ridiculous.
Go to Psalm 119, and I'll read for you Proverbs 9.9.
It says, "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser.
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning."
Notice how the Bible connects being wise with being just.
You say, "Oh, I want to be a Christian. I'm just not really into learning."
You're an unjust Christian.
You say, "Oh, yeah, I want to be a good Christian. I just don't really care about education."
You're a bad Christian because the Bible connects these ideas.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be wiser.
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
You show me someone that doesn't care about challenging their mind.
You show me someone that doesn't care to research anything.
They just believe what they hear. I'll show you an unjust person.
And you know what I've noticed about a lot of people who just believe everything they hear?
They are super, super lazy.
They're lazy. Why? Because they don't want to actually look into anything.
They don't want to actually do the hard study and find out the truth for themselves.
They just want someone to tell them, "Hey, this is true." And they're just like, "Okay, I believe that."
But that's a lazy attitude. And of course, it just shows that the Bible is true.
That wisdom is connected with being just.
And if someone's unwise, they're very often unjust. They're very often a bad Christian.
Where do we learn about doing right? Go to Psalm 119 verse 9.
It says, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word."
And that's the best education anyone could get, is reading the Bible, taking heed to what it says.
Look at verse 128 of the same chapter, Psalm 119, 128.
The Bible says, "Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way."
You know, the great thing about the Bible is you can just immediately trust everything it says.
And everything that the Bible says, we esteem to be right, and we hate every false way.
And I think this is the mentality that God wants us to have as Christians, is that we should want to know what's right.
We should want to know what's true.
And of course, the first way to find what's right is to find it in the Bible.
But I think even carnally speaking, I think God pairs that we want to know the truth about something, that we're not just so flippant with our facts or these conspiracy theories,
but that we actually want to look into what is right.
You know, I don't think it's right for Christians to go around and just blow their mouth off about things that they have no idea what they're talking about, even if it's not spiritual matters.
I just don't think it's the attitude God wants us to have.
I think he wants us to care about what's right and investigate what's right and then believe what's right and then say what's right.
Go to Proverbs 16, Proverbs 16, Proverbs chapter 16.
Look at verse 16. It says, "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?"
You know, the Bible says that it's better to get wisdom than gold.
But how many people in this world actually believe that today?
Virtually none. Virtually none.
When we look at our country today, when we look at the men of our country,
when we look at the fathers of our country, what are they spending their lives doing?
Seeking wisdom or seeking gold? Seeking gold, obviously.
You know, and we have to be the exception as Christians and realize that,
hey, we should be seeking wisdom with our life.
The same amount of energy that the Jewish banker wants to put into committing usury
and running all of his businesses and making tons of money
is the same type of energy and effort we should be putting into becoming wise,
into becoming educated.
Why? Because that's way more powerful than money.
You know, the Word of God, the truth on your side, being someone that's wise,
you actually end up having more power in society than just someone with money.
Because someone who's unwise and has money can lose it like that.
But someone that's wise, they actually understand how things work.
They actually know stuff, okay?
Someone that's wise actually understands things.
Proverbs 18, 15, "The heart of the prudent geteth knowledge."
The heart of the prudent geteth knowledge.
And the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
So remember, in our sermon text here, the simple is contrasted against the prudent.
And the simple, he believes every single word, but notice what the prudent does?
He gets knowledge.
It doesn't sound to me like God believes in this country bumpkin attitude
where he's against education.
It sounds to me like he really cares about us getting knowledge,
really cares about us getting wisdom, okay?
Go to Daniel chapter number one, Daniel chapter number one,
Daniel chapter number one, verse three, the Bible says,
"And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs,
that he should bring certain of the children of Israel,
and of the king's seed, and of the princes,
children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored,"
and notice, "skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge,
and understanding science, and such as had ability in them
to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach
the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans."
Notice when it comes to Nebuchadnezzar and the type of people
that he's looking to serve his kingdom.
Is he looking for people who have watched
a lot of TikTok conspiracy videos?
Is he looking for someone that's played a lot of video games,
or who's smoked a lot of pot, or has stared up in the space
looking for aliens all night, or anything like that?
No, it's actually children that are wise,
that are full of knowledge, that understand science.
You don't have an anti-science attitude as a Christian.
Just because there's a lot of science falsely so-called out there.
Look, I love science.
And here's the thing about science.
Science is just knowledge.
And the Bible constantly uses carnal truths to illustrate spiritual truths.
But you realize that you can't understand the spiritual truth
unless you understand the carnal truth.
If you don't understand the carnal truth,
how are you going to understand the spiritual truth?
You've got a subject like physics.
What is physics?
It's just like the study of physical reality.
That's all it is.
And some Christians will be like, "Oh, that's terrifying.
That's satanic. That's witchcraft."
Stay far away from that.
It's like, no, what's wrong with physics?
Physics is great.
I hope people learn physics.
I'm not afraid as a preacher of Christians learning physics
because science is not a bad thing.
Don't get this stupid holier-than-thou mentality.
All I ever read is the Word of God.
You read anything else, you are not spiritual.
You are vain.
You are wasting your time.
Wow, that's a foolish attitude to have.
Seriously, it doesn't impress me.
It doesn't make me think you're cool.
It makes me think you're simple.
It makes me think you're lazy.
It makes me think you're unjust.
But you just convince yourself of that.
Go right ahead.
Look at verse number five and it says,
"And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat
and of the wine which he drank.
So, nursing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
Now among these were of the children of Judah,
known as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah."
Hey, these four guys, these four children are a great example to us.
I mean, do you think we could find just tons of children like this
in the United States of America today?
Probably not.
I'm sure there's exceptions out there.
But look, I went to public school,
and so I feel like I have to be neurotic about learning
because I feel like the government just failed me so much.
And I'm just like trying to catch up,
I'm trying to read a ton, I'm trying to learn a ton.
But so many people, they're just complacent
with their level of knowledge, their level of wisdom,
their Bible knowledge, they're just complacent about it.
I mean, these guys had to have worked hard
to get to the level of wisdom that they were at.
And God doesn't, you know, look down upon these children
for being wise.
Actually, these are really favored people on the side of God.
Go to 1 Kings chapter number 20, or sorry, 1 Kings chapter 4,
1 Kings chapter 4.
And it's funny because many prideful people, we think,
well, us in 2024 America, we're just so much smarter
than all the generations that came before us.
We're just so much better.
We have so much more understanding than them.
And of course, there are individual people
who are smarter today than individual people back then.
But I mean, in general, if you read 17th, 18th century literature,
it's immediately obvious how much better educated they are than us.
I mean, probably my favorite fiction book ever is Uncle Tom's Cabin,
written by a woman, Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, I think, is her name.
And her writing is just beautiful.
I mean, it's magnificent.
You have to really pay attention to understand what she's saying,
because her pen is just awesome.
But how many people could write like that today?
Everyone has TikTok brain today.
I mean, you can hardly get someone's attention for 10 or 15 minutes out soulening
for them to pay attention to the gospel,
not to mention people writing down and creating beautiful works of literature
like Uncle Tom's Cabin.
And so we don't need to have this actually like, oh, we're so much more smart.
No, a lot of us are way dumber than previous generations.
And some of us need to wake up and say like, wow, I need to spend more time learning.
I need to spend less time on my phone.
I need to commit to being a lifelong learner.
I need to stop wasting so much time.
Look at 1 Kings 4, 29, "And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much and
largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the shore."
So look, Solomon was someone that was very wise and had great understanding.
And remember, why is that?
It's because he asked God.
And so you want to be someone that's smart, you want to be someone that's educated, ask God to help you.
Ask God to give you wisdom.
Ask God to give you understanding.
And then, as you ask, put in the work and actually try to learn things.
And then you might wake up one day realizing that you actually are educated, or you're actually a lot more educated than a lot of people in this society.
Verse 31, "For he was wiser than all men."
That's an extreme statement right there.
"Then Ethan the Ezraite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahal, and his fame was in all nations round about.
And he spake three thousand Proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five."
Notice that his fame was in all nations round about.
It doesn't sound to me like because Solomon was educated that that somehow hindered the kingdom of God.
Oh, Solomon, you should have just been so much more spiritual, just only focusing on reading the Bible.
No, actually, he was famous in all nations because he was smart.
And notice, did he only read the Bible?
Well, look at Verse 33, "And he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall.
He spake also of beasts and of fowl and of creeping things and of fishes."
So notice, Solomon put in some serious study about a wide variety of topics.
It's not like Solomon's only reading the Bible.
No, this guy could tell you everything about zoology.
This guy could tell you everything about trees.
This guy could tell you everything about birds.
This guy could tell you everything about bugs.
I mean, that's pretty cool, right?
This is a smart guy.
This guy actually did some real reading.
He's not just only reading the Bible.
This guy just knows a lot about a lot.
And that didn't hinder the kingdom of God.
That didn't make him less spiritual.
In fact, the nation under Solomon was the best it ever was.
Under someone who was what?
Wiser than all men.
Doesn't sound to me like God's against education.
Doesn't sound to me like God wants us to be stupid,
like God wants us to be fools.
And so, when it comes to committing to being a lifelong learner,
you want to know what this looks like in reality.
It does not look like watching documentaries, okay?
Look, there could be some great documentaries.
Steadfast Baptist Church has produced some great documentaries.
But you want to know the primary way to learn stuff?
Ready? This is going to be a painful word for some of you.
Read books! Read books!
Let me tell you something.
If you go through an entire calendar year and you don't read a book,
you need to change your life. You need to change your life.
If right now the only thing you read is the Bible,
you need to change your life.
You need to dedicate yourself to becoming more educated.
And look, I hope you read the Bible a ton.
I hope you read it through cover to cover every year.
I hope you read it cover to cover more than that.
Go as hard as you want in reading the Bible.
I'm not telling you read the Bible less. Read the Bible more.
But I'm telling you, read other stuff too.
Because sometimes you can get unbalanced.
You know, God wants us to not just be so spiritually minded
that we're no carnal good, right?
We need to be educated people and what that looks like is reading books.
I've talked a lot about this recently.
This has kind of become something I'm really passionate of
because I'm just sickened and horrified by the direction our country is going
and by how stupid people are becoming
and by how little people know about history or really anything.
And so look, please read books.
This is something I hear a lot. I just don't know what to read.
Okay, well I'm going to recommend one social media app that is actually good, okay?
It's called Goodreads.
Goodreads is a great app and you can connect with your friends on there
and you can see what they're reading.
You could share what you're reading
and I have a whole list of books I've read on there.
If you want to add me on there, you could get a lot of reading recommendations.
I've tried to review a bunch of them so you know, oh, don't waste your time with that one.
You know, Frankenstein was like the worst book ever written.
It's terrible. Don't ever read it.
It's a complete waste of time.
But look, there's other things to be like, oh yeah, I never thought about reading that.
That might be interesting.
So yeah, just get the app Goodreads and get some dang books.
Where do you buy books?
thriftbooks.com.
Cheap. Super cheap.
you homeschool you could register as a teacher and you get extra discounts I
mean I got like like 15 books one time for like $50 on thrift books so it can be
done you know what you just need to stop making excuses though stop making
excuses oh I don't know what to read look just pick up a book and read it we
need to not be idiots as Christians so number one if you want to be simple you
need to commit to lifelong learning number two you need to approach claims
with caution you need to approach claims with caution go to Proverbs or I'm sorry
go to Deuteronomy 19 you know Proverbs 14 15 says the simple believeth every
word but the prudent man looketh well to his going you know apply this to
conspiracies please just because you hear of a conspiracy you need to
approach that with caution and look I believe that conspiracy theories are real
the Bible is actually full of conspiracies if you actually look for it
I've preached a whole sermon called conspiracy theory or coincidence theory
I believe in conspiracies but that does not mean that every conspiracy theory is
real and when you hear a claim you should approach that with caution and
not just instantly believe it no you should actually actually do your own
research but think about this mentality some people have of just believing
everything they hear they don't approach claims with caution what if we just took
that same mentality and applied it to steadfast Baptist Church what if you
just typed in steadfast Baptist Church into Google and just believed everything
you read and believed everything you hear you want to know here's some claims
made about steadfast Baptist Church there's a video online of this black guy
pulling up to steadfast Baptist Church back when we were in Hearst and this
little skinny little white kid comes up to his window and the black guy asks him
hey what are they doing in there and the little white kid says oh yeah they said
that they'll steadfast steadfast said that they'll allow black people to go to
heaven if they promise to be their slave these are the types of claims that are
online about our church just absolute fabricated out of nowhere complete and
utter lies but you want to know what an idiot stupid person would do they see
that video and they go whoa what a terrible church it's like hey moron
it's a lie let me explain you something about the internet not everything on the
internet is true not everything you hear is true not everything you see is true
and so realize that if if there's videos about steadfast you know we're gonna
have slaves in heaven someday maybe your weird Joe Biden hologram theory is also
a lie do you ever think about that you know maybe you just look up and you see
outer space at night and then you go on your inner your internet says oh space
isn't real maybe it's lying to you maybe you should actually approach claims with
caution and not be a complete idiot here's another claim about said fast
Baptist Church our protesters claimed that I pointed an AR-15 rifle at the
protesters during church and they would they would repeat this over and over and
over they made videos about it I'd walk out of the church like hey Dylan why'd
you point a rifle at us it's like look what kind of an idiot would believe
something like that but people do people see that video and they believe it not
realizing that if I had pointed a rifle at protesters in church that I would be
in jail right now I would be in jail but the simple believeth every word they
hear a claim oh Dylan pointed AR-15 at protesters must be true why because I
heard on the internet here's another great claim about us on the internet
pastor Shelley wants video gamers to be murdered I mean our protesters literally
had signs pastor Shelley wants to kill all video gamers it's like we have tons
of video gamers in our church why isn't he killing all of them because it's a
lie but we're so full of idiots in our society that just believe everything
they heard pastor Shelley wants disobedient children to be murdered Wow
here's one here's a video I saw some faggot protester claimed to have
infiltrated one of our services they said that oh I went in I attended one
of their services and as soon as I got in the service all the ushers quartered
off the building and locked all the doors and locked everyone in during the
service it's just like unbelievable but people are gonna watch that video and
they're going to believe it why because they're stupid and you think you're so
much better than them but hold on do you believe everything that you hear do you
approach claims with caution or do you just believe every single stupid
tik-tok video that you see you believe any conspiracy video that you see on
Instagram you might be guilty the same stuff don't fall into that trap don't
just hear a claim and believe it no approach claims with caution you know
let's apply this to people because oftentimes accusations are made against
other individuals we should not just believe accusations made against
individuals with no evidence by the way I even apply this to people I don't
don't like in fact I even apply this to people that I hate just because someone
is a sodomite does not give you the right to lie about them it does not give
anyone the right to lie about them and it does not give you the right to
exaggerate about them and if someone is saying something about a sodomite that
is false you should be rebuked for doing so when someone says something false
about anyone you should be rebuked for doing so you know Greg Locke I'm
paraphrasing him here but unfortunately I listened to one of his sermons and he
got up he's being all charismatic and he was saying who's the two guys he called
out he's like he's like Kenneth Copeland is a pedophile Joel Osteen is a
pedophile yeah why don't you sue me Joel Osteen why don't you sue me Kenneth
Copeland and I'm just thinking like okay you know maybe Kenneth Copeland is a
pedophile maybe Joel Osteen is a pedophile but do you have any evidence for
that do you have any evidence for making a claim against someone that is a crime
being worthy of putting to death because look I don't care how much I hate
Kenneth Copeland I don't care how much I hate Joel Osteen if that's not true then
Greg Locke is guilty of railing and according to the Bible should be
literally thrown out of church he should be thrown out of church for a lot of
reasons actually but look just because you don't like someone just because
even someone's a false prophet don't get up and just lie about them and when you
hear claims about someone realize that you should approach that claim with
caution even if you hear a claim about someone you don't like someone says
something bad about a false prophet make sure it's true someone says something
bad about the Jews make sure it's true why because I think God cares that we
care about truth not just confirmation bias I hate the Jews a lot of people in
the new life we have this attitude where they hate all Jews which by the way I
don't hate all Jews I don't think you should hate all Jews I think you should
hate the religion of Judaism but there's people who call themselves Jews
that can get saved but don't just turn off your brain and turn on your little
confirmation bias and you hear something negative about the Jews and you just
automatically believe it you know you could be guilty of being simple being
stupid someone that just believes everything that they hear I'm sick and
tired of hearing this go to Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 says one witness shall not
rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin in any sin that he sinned
so if one person comes up to you and makes a claim about another person don't
even listen to it don't even give it credence in your mind for one single
second someone makes a claim about someone to me and there's one witness
I'm just gonna pretend like I heard nothing I'm gonna change the way I think
about that person zero and and stuff like this has happened and you know what
not understanding this actually causes people harm because there's been people
in the past that have made false accusations against pastors one witness
and I hear people their heart and their attitude has been changed towards that
person because they're wondering in that mind in their mind could it be true but
you know what you're just a fool if you do that because the Bible says one
witness shall not rise up and so when one witness comes to you just immediately
let it go out of your mind approach claims with caution it says that the
mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be
established so look you need to have two or three witnesses even to open up a
investigation that doesn't mean that two or three witnesses just automatically
automatically convicts that just opens up an investigation you know let's just
use a theoretical example let's say you have video evidence of brother so-and-so
inside of a bar now the simple-minded person would say oh yeah for sure this
proves beyond any shadow of a doubt this guy's a drunk you know who what was he
doing there blah blah blah that video just shows that that person was in the
bar right but you know there could be other logical explanations for things
that you need to investigate before you just jump to a claim that someone's
guilty like for example what if someone was doing door - and was just delivering
food or picking up food from that restaurant and leaving if you're door
- driver don't pick up from bars I'm not saying to do that but what I'm just
showing you is you need to realize that sometimes there's more to the story and
you can't just run with something right off the bat right two or three
witnesses that just opens up an investigation then you need to make
diligent inquisition look at verse 16 it says if a false witness rise up against
any man to testify against him that which is wrong then both the men between
whom the controversy is shall stand before the Lord before the priest and
the judges which shall be in those days and the judges shall notice shall make
diligent inquisition and behold if the witness be a false witness and have
testified falsely against his brother before I get on the next verse I want
to point out that phrase diligent inquisition what is this this is a fact
finding investigation a fact-finding mission this means your emotions are put
aside or put aside your prejudices prejudices are put aside your feelings
and dispositions about the person based on their religion or if they are whatever
to you those are put aside and you're gonna look into the facts okay I don't
like Joe Biden either but saying he's a hologram where's the facts man I don't
like him either but he's a real person he exists okay look NASA has done some
weird things but space exists my friend okay the the rockets don't just go into
the Bermuda Triangle if you actually did some diligent inquisition you'd find
really fast that a lot of those I mean how about the flat earth good night you
don't even need diligent inquisition for that you just need to like open your
eyes and look outside okay the earth is not flat please don't ever try to
convince me the flatter I don't want to hear it okay verse 19 then shall you do
unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother so shalt thou put away
evil from among you look God hates false witnesses so bad he says if you if you
accuse someone of something that's worthy being put to death and it comes
out that you actually are false witness then whatever the punishment for the
person you are accusing would have been should now become your punishment you
know we live in a society today where people are not afraid at all to falsely
accuse individuals, as I showed you with the examples of steadfast. I mean, people are
just ready to falsely accuse each other. Why? Because we don't have God's law. Look, false
accusations would be a lot less common if women who claimed to be raped by a man and
were lying about it were actually put to death. You know, we have this believe all women movement.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't just believe all women. You don't believe all men.
You follow the facts. You find two or three witnesses. You do a diligent inquisition.
Every woman has the right to be believed. No, she doesn't. You don't have the right
to be believed either. I don't have the right to be believed either. None of us do. You
know, we have to have facts because I had, I had someone tell me this that works in this
part of the world, that a lot of times women will either fornicate or commit adultery and
in order to cover it up, they will go get a rape test kit from the police. And so the
physical evidence often shows, oh yeah, it does show that you have just lying with someone.
But does that prove that she was raped? No, it doesn't. Because sometimes women are doing
this to avoid consequences of embarrassment, of discipline from their parents, or of their
spouse finding out that they committed adultery. So believe all women? No. Do diligent inquisition.
And by the way, if a man rapes a woman, he should be lined up against the wall and shot
in the back of the head. Rape is a disgusting sin and a woman who is a victim of rape should
have justice and the perpetrators of that crime should be dealt with by the government
legally and lawfully. But you know what, if a woman claims to have been raped and she's
lying, then she should be put to death after diligent inquisition, after facts are presented.
Why? Because we shouldn't just have this culture where people are just falsely accusing people
all the time. But here we are. So what should we do? We should approach claims with caution
and realize just because something says something does not make it so. Go to Exodus chapter
18, Exodus chapter 18. But, you know, at least in the house of God, we are not going
to tolerate railing and false accusations. You know, the government may not do anything
about it, but if you think that you could just rail against your brothers and sisters
in Christ, if you think you could just falsely accuse your brothers and sisters in Christ
and not have any punishment for that, you have another thing coming. That's not how
a real church works. Exodus 18 21. Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able
men such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness and place such over them to be
rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens. You know, when
it comes to the qualification for someone to judge in any matter, it's important to
have quality men of integrity in the position of a judge. Why? Because if they're not,
well then they might just believe everything they hear. If they're just a simple person,
they're just going to believe everything they hear or they're going to be led by their
emotions. By the way, I'm sorry, we shouldn't have women judges in our nation because women
are more emotional than men and sometimes it takes a man to say, you know what, take
the emotion out, take your presuppositions out or what you think this evidence tells
you and we're just going to look at the plain, cold facts regardless of where it leads us.
That's the type of men that we need as judges in our nation. That's the type of men we
need as pastors. That's the type of men we need as police officers, as presidents and
any type of position of power. We need men of truth. Why? Because we should be people
that approach claims with caution. I want to read to you, this is some commentary from
the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. And it goes over this idea
of being innocent until proven guilty. See, our legal system, it doesn't just hear a claim
and just believe it and you're just guilty because Kim Jong Un said so. Now a lot of
communists in our nation want to turn it into that way, but let me read you some commentary
from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. It says this, "Presumption
of innocence, proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It is a cardinal principle of our system of
justice that every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until
his or her guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. The presumption is not a mere formality.
It is a matter of the most important substance." So the Massachusetts District Court here
saying, "You want to know what the bedrock of our legal system is? It's that a person
that's accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt." And you know what? That is how we should treat people in church. That's how
we should treat people in our daily lives. We should give people the benefit of the doubt.
That's even a legal principle in our own nation. It says this. So then it's going
to quote the directions that a judge would give to the jury. It says this, "The presumption
of innocence alone may be sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt and to require the acquittal
of a defendant. The defendant before you, John Doe, has the benefit of that presumption
throughout the trial and you are not to convict him of a particular charge unless you are
persuaded of his guilt of that charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The presumption of innocence
until proven guilty means that the burden of proof is always on the government to satisfy
you that a defendant is guilty of the crime with which he has been charged beyond a reasonable
doubt. The law does not require that the government prove guilt beyond all possible doubt. Proof
beyond a reasonable doubt is sufficient to convict. This burden never shifts to the defendant.
It is always the government's burden to prove each of the elements of the crimes charged
beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence and the reasonable inferences to be drawn
from that evidence. The defendant has the right to rely upon the failure or inability
of the government to establish beyond a reasonable doubt any essential element of a crime charged
against him. If, after fair and impartial consideration of all the evidence, you have
a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt, it is your duty to acquit him of that crime.
On the other hand, if after fair and impartial consideration of all the evidence you are
satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of a defendant's guilt, you should vote to convict.
So notice, judges tell juries today, if there's any reasonable doubt in your mind, any reasonable
doubt in your mind that someone is innocent of the crime they're being charged with, that
you should then vote for them to be innocent.
That is the mentality of even our system of law, and you want to know where this mentality
came from?
It comes from the Bible.
It comes from the word of God.
That's what our country was founded on, and our country knows that the Bible says that
you're not supposed to just believe one witness, that you're not supposed to just hear a claim
and run with it, that you're supposed to make diligent inquisition to a matter, and that
there has to be proof of that guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Otherwise, don't listen to it.
Otherwise, we're not throwing the person in jail.
Otherwise, you shouldn't listen to that gossip, to that false accusation, to that railing
by someone about any individual, whether they're your friend, whether they're your foe.
You should treat everyone the same when it comes to judgment.
Everyone the same.
Let's look at 1 Timothy chapter number 5, and it gives some instructions to both congregation
and pastor here.
1 Timothy chapter number 5 verse 19, specifically when it comes to accusations made against
a pastor.
This is what the Bible says in 1 Timothy 5 19.
It says, "Against an elder, receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses."
So notice, for you to even hear an accusation against a pastor, there must be two or three
witnesses.
Not to say that the pastor's for sure wrong, but to even listen to it.
There has to be two or three.
Then it says, "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
I charge thee, the pastor, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels
that thou observe these things, notice, without preferring one before another, doing nothing
by partiality."
Notice, when it comes to judgment, God wants the pastor, God wants judges of this land
to judge everyone equally, to not be a respecter of persons, to not think, "Well, I like this
person, so I'm going to assume their innocence," or "I dislike this person, so I'm going to
assume their guilt."
No, rather, both parties are given the presumption of innocence, no matter what, and there has
to be proof to convict.
There has to be multiple witnesses, and if there's not that, you know what, just approach
that claim with caution, say, "I'm not going to listen to this," and just let it go.
Don't treat anyone any differently for hearing it, and notice how it says there, "Them that
sin rebuke before all."
We need to bring back a culture in America where people are called out for lying about
other people.
I mean, that is one of the worst things about politics, which politics is just terrible.
It sucks, okay?
But one of the worst things about it is how people are just allowed to lie about each
other just nonstop.
I mean, I even had a teacher in my high school that ran for a local low position.
He ran for coroner, and just even in a little tiny county election, I actually followed
that election and I was just blown away at how bloody and nasty and how many lies were
involved in that campaign.
I mean, our nation today is full of liars and lies.
And look, if someone lies about someone else in this church, they need to be rebuked.
They need to be called out.
And if they don't apologize, they want to dig in.
First Corinthians chapter five says that they should actually be removed from the congregation.
And so don't think that because out in the world, women can go around accusing any man
of rape and nothing happens to her.
Look, if a woman decided to do that in this church, she'd be thrown out immediately.
I mean, that's garbage.
If it was false, of course.
Now, if it's real and you better believe we're calling the police, we're like, obviously
we're getting police involved when it comes to crimes, but you get what I'm saying.
Approach claims with caution for the sake of time here.
Let's go to go to Proverbs or sorry, let's go to first Corinthians chapter number 14,
first Corinthians chapter number 14.
So number one, you don't want to be simple.
Commit to lifelong learning.
Number two, you don't want to be simple.
Coach claims with caution.
Number three, you need to verify preaching with scripture.
You need to verify preaching with scripture.
The Bible says that the simple believeth every word and absolutely you can believe every
word that's in this book.
And look, I think you should come to church with an attitude, wanting to learn, receptive
to the preacher, wanting to hear what he has to say, wanting to learn from him.
But at the end of the day, you still need to verify what is being said with scripture.
First Corinthians 14 verse 29 says this, it says, let the prophets speak two or three
and let the other what?
Judge.
That's a scary word today in our culture.
But the Bible's saying when you're listening to preaching, you know what you should be
doing?
Judge.
You should be judging.
Hey, I'm not afraid of that word.
Number one, because if I'm wrong about something, I actually want to know what's right.
Because I actually think that we should have the attitude where we should learn and be
educated and get wisdom.
And if I'm wrong about something, I actually want to change.
I actually want to learn.
Okay?
And number two, I'm not afraid of it because I got this book right here and everything
in it is true.
But you know what you should be doing no matter who's preaching?
You should be judging.
You should be listening.
You should be verifying what's being preached with Scripture.
Acts chapter number 17, I'll read for you in verse 10, it says, "And the brethren immediately
sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who coming thither went into the synagogue
of the Jews.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness
of mind," so they wanted to learn, "and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things
were so."
So the Christians in Berea, they're a great example.
They showed up to church with a receptive heart, with ears ready to listen, ready to
be attentive to God's word, but still at the end of the day they checked everything that
was preached with the word of God.
And you want to know why we have such terrible churches just exploding all over the nation?
It's because people are sitting in the pews that are simple, that believe every word
they hear, and they don't verify what's being preached with the Scriptures.
Because if people just read their Bibles, they would know how fake a lot of the things
that pastors are preaching today.
And I want to show you a few principles about this.
Go to Ezekiel chapter 14, I want to read for you Hosea 4.9.
Hosea 4.9 says this, "And there shall be like people, like priests, and I will punish them
for their ways and reward them for their doings."
Oftentimes leadership is just a reflection of the people.
If someone is given a very bad leader, it's often because the people themselves are very
wicked.
If someone's given a good leader, it's often because the people themselves have turned
their hearts to God and are seeking the truth and are wanting to know the truth.
So the Bible says, "Like people, like priests."
Look at Ezekiel chapter 14 verse 1, it says, "Then came certain of the elders of Israel
unto me and sat before me.
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, these men have set up their
idols in their heart and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face.
Should I be inquired of it all by them?
Therefore speak unto them and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord, every man of the house
of Israel that seteth up his idols in his heart and puteth the stumbling block of his
iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh
according to the multitude of his idols, that I may take the house of Israel in their
own heart.
Because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 'Thus saith the Lord, repent and turn yourselves
from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel,
which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth a stumbling
block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning
me, I the Lord will answer him by myself.
And I will set my face against that man, and I will make him a sign and a proverb, and
I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
And if a prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, notice, I the Lord have deceived
that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst
of my people Israel.
And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity.
The punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto
him.
You have a situation where you have a bunch of ignorant people seeking unto a bunch of
ignorant pastors that are lying and deceiving and preaching lies in the name of the Lord.
And God says, "You know what?
You show me a prophet that's deceived.
You show me a prophet that's lying to a bunch of gullible idiots and I'll show you someone
who I myself has deceived as a punishment upon those very people."
Why?
Because like prophets, like priests.
You want to know why our nation is full of a bunch of false prophets today?
You want to know why there's a bunch of garbage churches everywhere you look?
It's because our nation is full of a bunch of simple, stupid people that believe everything
they hear, and they don't check what's preached with the scripture.
You want to know why the preacher rapture is being preached today?
It's because people don't read the Bible.
Because Matthew 24 is abundantly clear that it's after the tribulation.
But why are all these pastors succeeding?
Why are their churches full today?
Because the people filling them are stupid, that's why.
You say, "That's mean."
Well, you know what I think is mean?
I think lying to people is mean.
Someone needs to wake people up and say, "Hey, you're being simple.
You're believing everything you hear.
Read the Bible and check it for yourself.
Don't just believe everything you hear."
Why is it today that so many churches are celebrating Pride Month, are standing up in
defense of the sodomites, are saying they're welcome to come to Christ?
Why is it happening?
It's because a bunch of people in the pews are stupid fools that don't read the Bible.
They didn't read Romans chapter 1.
They didn't read 2 Peter chapter 2.
They didn't read Jude.
They didn't read Leviticus.
They didn't read 1 Kings.
They read nothing.
They watch TikTok.
They watch movies all day.
They rot their brain out and they're too lazy to read the scripture.
Why are we full of churches like this?
Because they're stupid people in those churches.
Because they're not verifying what the Bible says with what their preacher is saying.
Why are so many Christians today drinking alcohol?
Why are so many pastors standing up and saying that it's okay to drink alcohol?
Or Christians like John Lovell standing up and saying that Jesus Christ commanded his
disciples to drink alcohol.
That it's actually command of Jesus Christ because of ignorant fools that don't read
their Bible.
And they just hear something and they just believe it.
Why are so many people today told by pastors that divorce and remarriage is okay as long
as there was sexual immorality in the marriage?
Because people didn't read the Gospel of Matthew.
Because people didn't read Deuteronomy.
Because people didn't read the words of Jesus Christ.
And so they're just simple and so they just believe everything they hear.
Why is it today that Zionism is so rampant in America when the Bible teaches against
this concept seemingly on every page?
I mean once you learn the truth about this doctrine it just pops out all over the place.
Why is it today that Christian men are being told that it's okay to grow their hair out
long and to dress effeminate?
Why is it today that women think it's okay to put on a pair of pants and to act like
a man and to rise up in the workplace?
Why do women think that's okay because people aren't reading the Bible?
Why is it today in the state of Oklahoma there's a dispensary, there's a pot shop in every
corner?
Why?
It's because they're not reading the Bible.
It's because they're simple.
It's because they believe every single thing that they hear.
But let me warn you tonight.
You must verify what's being preached with the scripture and it doesn't matter that
right now we have great preachers in the new IFB because what about in 30 years from now?
Because I could show you First Baptist Church of Hammon, Indiana, where Pastor Jack Hiles
is preaching super hard against sin, he's calling out the sodomites, and did the people
that follow him follow in his footsteps?
Is the old IFB all just like Jack Hiles today?
Or have they gotten way more liberal?
Have they watered down the doctrine?
Have they stopped preaching on sin?
Have they rolled back the soul winning?
No, that's what's happened.
And why is that?
Well, because people just got too comfortable.
They just wanted to believe everything they hear.
And here's the thing about listening and just believing everything you hear.
That works out when you're listening to a good person.
That works out for you when you're listening to a godly person.
But as soon as that changes, then your trajectory now changes.
Whereas if you listen to this no matter what, it doesn't matter who tries to lead you astray,
you will always be on the right path by following this.
So look, it's funny how people, they call the new IFB a cult.
What's the sermon tonight?
Don't be simple.
What am I saying?
Go learn stuff, go read stuff, go investigate, go research, and go check everything that
is preached with the Bible.
That doesn't sound like a cult to me.
That sounds like we're trying to empower people with education.
That's why we're trying to empower people to become the best Christians they could possibly
be.
I don't want you to be limited by your preacher, whoever that is.
Hey, I want you to be the best Christian you can be.
I want you to know as much Bible as you could possibly know, but if you're only just listening
to the preacher, then you could only hope to know as much as him.
But if you always check with the scripture, whatever's being said behind the pulpit, then
the sky's the limit for you.
So let us not be simple people.
Let us stop being simple.
Let us do research.
Let us check everything we believe with the word of God.
Let's have a prayer.
Lord, thank you so much for this day and thank you for your word that always will lead us
in the right direction.
I just pray that the people of this state and people of this nation would humble themselves
and would once again seek to follow your word.
And I pray that you just give us the boldness to preach it no matter how popular it is or
unpopular it is.
We love you, Lord Jesus and we pray, amen.
This time we'll turn to our last hymn for the evening.
Go ahead and grab your hymnal.
Turn to hymn number 21.
What a wonderful Savior.
Hymn number 21.
What a wonderful Savior.
And we'll sing there starting on that first verse.
Christ has for sin a tone bed made.
What a wonderful Savior.
We are redeemed, the price is paid.
What a wonderful Savior.
What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Jesus.
What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord.
I praise Him for the cleansing blood.
What a wonderful Savior that reconciled my soul to God.
What a wonderful Savior.
What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Jesus.
What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord.
He cleansed my heart from all its sin.
What a wonderful Savior.
And now reigns and rules therein.
What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Jesus.
What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord.
With that you are dismissed.
Don't forget about the Father's Day Floats to follow the service.
But other than that, we'll see you for the next service.