(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

I recently made a video about the fires here in California. And it was a video called, is God judging California? Or something along those lines. Are the fires here in California the judgment of God? And I got some questions and some feedback about that video. And I want to address those questions. And it's interesting because it kind of goes with the context what we're talking about here, the judgment of God. I want to make sure that people don't misunderstand what I'm saying. And I feel like if I need to address it to one person, then I should probably address it publicly. Because there may be other people that are thinking the same thing. So I want to begin by just kind of making some statements in regard to that video. And then we're going to apply it here in this chapter as well. If you watch that video, you heard me say several things about these fires and our attitude and my attitude towards the judgment of God. But I want to make sure that people understand what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that God cannot use natural disasters or fires like the one in Paradise to bring his judgments. I really want to make sure that people don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not saying that it can't be that God uses a natural disaster or that God uses a fire. And I'm not saying that God would never use those things in order to bring his judgment upon a city or a nation or a state or whatever it might be. I'm also not saying that God isn't judging California. I'm not going to stand up here and dogmatically say, God is judging California. And I'm not going to stand up here and dogmatically say, God is not judging California. I don't know if he is or he isn't, so I'm not going to make those statements. But I want to make sure people understand. I'm definitely not saying God isn't judging California. And I want to say this. I'm definitely not saying that God shouldn't judge California. Because I don't want people to take that video and say, oh, Pastor Jimenez is defending California and trying to make it out that California is some righteous state. Look, we live in one of the, if not the, most wicked states in this country. And if God decided to burn down the entire state of California, he'd be justified in doing so. So I am not saying that God isn't or shouldn't or wouldn't judge California. And God would be totally justified to destroy whatever city or nation he decides to. Because God is just, and his ways are good. So I want to make sure that people understand that. I'm not saying, because I don't want people to think, oh, whenever there's some natural disaster, I can't say it's the judgment of God because some video you watched me make or something like that. I never said that in those videos. And I want to make sure people understand that. I'm not saying that God couldn't use a natural disaster. I'm not saying that God isn't using a natural disaster. And I'm not saying that God, that it'd be wrong for God to do that. Here's what I am saying. And this is where it kind of ties in with the Book of Jonah. The Bible tells us, and specifically the Book of Jonah teaches us, how we as believers can withhold the judgment of God upon the area that we live in, or the area where God intends to judge. You're there in Jonah chapter 3. Look at verse number 5. And I want you to notice, what is it that Jonah did to cause God's judgment to not come upon the nation of Nineveh? And keep in mind that Jonah wasn't even from Nineveh or didn't even care about Nineveh. Jonah's backslided, and yet this formula worked for him. The first thing that Jonah did is he got these people saved. Notice Jonah chapter 3 and verse 5. And we talked about this several weeks ago when we were in Jonah 3, but I just want to refresh your memory. Jonah chapter 3 and verse 5, the Bible says this, so the people of Nineveh believed God. The Bible says that the people of Nineveh believed God. I believe that statement is showing that these people got saved. And you don't have to turn there, but here's a cross reference for you. Romans 4, 3 says this, for what saith the scripture? This is about Abraham, who's also an Old Testament saint. And it says Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. So the Bible says when Abraham believed God, that's when Abraham got saved. Well, here we're told that the people of Nineveh believed God. So what is it that Jonah did for these people that caused God to not bring his judgment? Well, the first thing he did, and the first place he started, and the place we should always start, is of course with preaching the gospel and getting people saved. But he did more than that. Notice verse number 10. The Bible says this, and God saw their works that they turned from their evil way. And I preach the whole thing about repentance and all that, I'm not going to go into all of that this morning, but I want you to notice that Jonah did not just preach the gospel and got these people saved. Jonah also preached other sections of God's word and got these people to turn from their evil way. He got them to repent of their sins. Now, he did not get them to repent of their sins in order to be saved, but once they were saved, he taught them other things from the word of God, and they turned from their evil way. And as a result of that, when God saw their works that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that he had said unto them, excuse me, that he said that he would do unto them, and he did it not. So how is it that Jonah got God to basically spare Nineveh? Well, he got these people saved, and then he taught them to observe the rest of scripture. He got them to repent of their sins, to turn away from their wickedness, and that was the formula that Jonah used in order to keep the judgment of God of coming upon Nineveh. Go to Matthew 28 just real quickly. Keep your place there in Jonah. Here's what's interesting about that formula, that that is the exact formula that is found in the Great Commission. That is exactly what God and what Jesus told us to be doing as New Testament believers anyway. Matthew 28 and verse 19 says this, "'Go ye therefore and teach all nations.'" That's talking about preaching the gospel, preaching the gospel to every creature. So as part of the Great Commission, which is the work that we've been given as New Testament believers, what are we supposed to be doing? We're supposed to be going out and getting people saved. "'Go ye therefore and teach all nations.'" Then what? Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and then what? Notice verse 20. "'Teaching them to observe all things "'whatsoever I have commanded you, "'and lo, I am with you always, "'even unto the end of the world. "'Amen.'" We have never stood up here, I've never stood up here at Bay Area Baptist Church, and said, you know what? We need to go out soul-winning, and that's it. In fact, if there's anyone who's adamantly preached against that, it's this guy. You know, the Great Commission is that we go out and get people saved, but you know what? That's not enough. Let's get them baptized, and let's teach them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. What does that mean? Let's teach them the Word of God. Let's teach them to get sin out of their life. Let's teach them to get right with God. You say, well, what will that do? Well, one thing that'll do is it'll keep God from judging us because what did Jonah do? He got them saved, they believed God, and then he taught them to repent of their evil way. So here's all I'm saying, and I wanna make sure that people understand and that I'm not misleading anybody, I am not saying that God can't or shouldn't judge the state of California, but here's what I am saying. If you or anyone else wants to say, well, this is the judgment of God, and we should be getting people saved, and we should be teaching the wicked people of California to repent of their sins, you know what I'm gonna say to that? Amen. Because we should be in God's wrath and God's judgment mode all of the time. You say, Pastor Mendez, what do you think you should do when California begins to burn down? I think we should get people saved, and I think we should teach them to observe all things, and I think we should teach them to repent of their sins. Pastor Mendez, what do you think we should be doing when God is prospering the area you live in and there's nothing bad going on? I think we should be getting people saved. I think we should be teaching people to observe all things. I think we should be teaching people to repent of their sins after salvation. We should be in that mode all the time. That's what God has called us to do. So I wanna make sure that people don't misunderstand what I'm saying and think that I'm saying something that I'm not. We live in a wicked state. That's why churches like Very Baptist Church are needed up and down the state, because we live in a state where wickedness abounds, where liberalism abounds, and I'm not talking politically. I'm talking about just liberalism of spirituality, lacking the word of God, lacking the things of God, and we need to stand up and get people saved and teach them to observe all things.