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for the poor. The Lord gave the word, great was the company of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace, and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. Though ye have lean among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in salmon. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan, and high hill as the hill of Bashan. Why leap ye high hills? This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in, yet the Lord will dwell in it forever. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels the Lord is among them, as in Sinai in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation, Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation, and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea, that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. They have seen thy goings, O God, even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after, among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah, and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength, strengthen O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till everyone submit himself with pieces of silver. Scatter thou the people that delight in war. Princes shall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth, O sing praises unto the Lord, Selah, to him that writeth upon the heavens of heavens which were of old. Lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. Ascribe his strength unto God. His excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places. The God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. We'll pray. Father in heaven, thank you for the gathering of the church here today. I pray that you please bless Brother Segura as he preaches your word with the fullness and the power of the Holy Ghost. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Psalms number 68, the verse that I wanted to focus on is verse number 19, which says, Blessed be the Lord, which who daily, daily, loaded us with benefits, even the God of our salvation, Selah. And the title of my sermon is this, The Benefits of Being a Good Christian. Amen. The Benefits of Being a Good Christian. The title of my sermon is not The Benefits of Being a Christian. What I mean a Christian, I'm talking about just someone who's saved. You know, someone who has the name of the Lord. Like the Bible says, if my people, which are called by my name, which will humble themselves and pray and turn from the evil ways. So it's not necessarily someone who's living for the Lord, when I mean a Christian, but when I'm talking about a good Christian, I'm talking someone who's following Christ. You know, a disciple in a sense. Like Christ said, whosoever forsaken of all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. Being born again and being a disciple are two different things. You know, so when you see right here in this verse, where it says, blessed be the Lord, who daily, I love that, not yearly, not every 10 years, not every 50 years, but daily, loaded us with benefits. What are benefits? Benefits is just good things. Blessings you can say. Amen. And I just want to remind you guys today that look, it's always worth it to live for the Lord. Always worth it. And I'm going to talk about six benefits that we get by being good Christians. I'm going to get into detail with five and then I'm going to mention number six towards the end. You know, but if you have your Bible, go ahead and go to Exodus chapter number three. Go ahead and go to Exodus chapter number three. You know, so one of the benefits or the first benefit I want to talk about, you know, when it comes to serving the Lord, when it comes to being a good Christian, God's going to bless you, but I want to be specifically like what benefits, like in what way, what way, shape, or form am I going to be blessed by God? Because look, we can all lose faith. We can all get weak. We can all quit. It happened to the Apostles. It happened to Peter. He quit. It happened to Mark. He quit. Amen. It happened to other Apostles, other prophets in the Old Testament, and they ended up quitting. Jonah ended up quitting. You know, he did the job, but he wasn't really happy, you know, that he had to do what he did, you know. But in the end, look, we can all have these thoughts that creep in our hearts where it's like, man, Sunday again, Wednesday night, soul winning again. Oh man, I don't know if I can keep this up. There's literally people that are born again, saved, because we get them born again. We help them to get born again. You know, we witness to them. We're getting saved on a weekly basis, but they do not come. Why? Because they think I can't be a Baptist. Translation, I can't serve God, you know. I'm too sinful. I do this. I do that. I do whatever. So they stay away, and they don't show up. But the one that says, you know what, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. They're the ones that show up. Isn't that why you're here? Because you want to serve the Lord, amen. Because you probably realize really quickly, if you're not getting benefits from God, you're probably getting a beat down from God, amen. And it doesn't take a genius to realize which one's the better one, you know. Because, hey, I come to church, and one of the reasons is, I don't want to get a beat down from God. I don't want to get spanked. I don't want to get chastised, you know. I want to be right with the Lord. If I'm going to suffer, and look, the Bible promises that we're going to suffer. You know, if I'm going to suffer, I want to suffer for righteousness' sake, because then it's not in vain. I'll be rewarded in this life and the next, amen. But one of the things that God will reward you with, if you're serving Him, if you're right with Him, you know, if you're a good Christian, one of the benefits He'll give you is that He'll be with you. His presence will be with you. So you stay right there in Exodus. I just want to read a few verses, you know, Philippians 4 says this, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. This is the attitude we need to have. When things get tough, it's like, don't worry, the Lord is with us. He has not forsaken us. He's with us. Are you sure He's with us? Oh, He's with us. They just bombed our building. Are you sure He's with us? Oh, He's with us, amen. Unless you're a false prophet, in case you see the difference, you're like, oh wow, I see the hand of protection is gone. You know, you got your building blown up? Well, I guess God ain't with you, brother. No, no, no, no. Things can get tough, but always remember, if you're right with the Lord, and how do you know if you're right with the Lord? Just ask yourself, how's your heart? Do you have a clean heart? Well, as far as I can tell, well, as far as I can tell, then I guess you're right with God. You're a good Christian. Keep pushing forward, but you know when you have something in your heart, you know when you have iniquity in your heart. It's not hard when things go bad to say, oh, I know why this happened, because I'm doing X, Y, and Z, or I should be doing this, or I'm failing to do this. It's not really that difficult to figure out whether the bad that's coming to you is because it's sin, you know, but sometimes we may be confused like Job, like, what's going on? Am I doing something wrong, Lord? You know, what's the deal here? You know, but if you're like, hey, I just don't know what's going on, Lord. Hey, he revealed to me my secret faults. I already confessed everything I possibly could confess. Then you know what? If you confessed it, and you're still getting chastised, or something bad's happening, God just doesn't want you to confess things. He wants you to forsake him, amen? Because the Bible says whosoever confesses and forsakes two things. Those people will prosper. God will continue to use you and bless you and help you to prosper, amen? You know, but what it says right here, oh, let me read Matthew 28 18. The Bible says, Jesus came and spake unto them, saying all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command at you, and lo, I am with you always, and I love this part, even until the end of the world, amen? He's with you always. Even when you feel like, man, I don't know if the Lord's with me, he's with you. Are you right with him? As far as you can tell, as far as I can tell, he's with you. The Bible makes it clear over and over again. Second Chronicles 69 says this, for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him. So that's the first question. Ask yourself, bad things happen. Well, how's your heart? Well, it's filled with iniquity, you know. I've just been doing X Y & Z so much, you know, I've been poisoning my heart. Well, get it right. Clean your hearts, you know. Draw an eye to God, he'll draw an eye to you, amen? Another verse, Proverbs 15 3, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. So he's there. He's there with you, and of course we know the Holy Spirit indwells in us, but you know that God's power is not upon the soul winner that's in fornication, amen? God's power is not, you know, with the Christian that's committing adultery. It's just not. You know, those people are going to receive chastisement really bad, and of course, when you know you're doing wrong, just do what David did. Lord, restore to me the joy of my salvation, and that's the thing. If you're obviously, you know, going through tribulations or trials and temptations or whatever the case may be, you know, those things, bad things should still happen, but you can still have peace. You can still have joy throughout those things, but you know what? When you're miserable, bad things are happening. You're just super miserable. You're just not happy. You could be like David, or you might have some sin in your life, and you need to just come to God, confess and say, I'm sorry, and have God restore the joy back of your salvation, give it back to you, amen? But here's an example how God is there even when you don't think he's there. Sometimes you may wonder, is God really going to come through? Is God really going to make things happen? You know, perfect example is the story of Shaddai, Michech, and Abednego. I'm just going to quickly read it. You guys stay right there in Exodus 3, you know, but this is a great story or a great example of what I'm talking about, that God's presence is there when you're right with him. God's presence is there when you're a good Christian. God's presence is there when you're following him, even when you don't think he is, because remember what happened. He says, hey, is your God able to deliver you? That's what every conditioner said, and they said, oh yeah, our God is able to deliver us, but if not, so they're kind of saying, but we don't know if he's going to, you know, we're still not going to worship your golden image, amen? But let's just, let's just open up your ears and just quickly read it, because I love this story, and I'll pick it up in verse number 23, where it says, and these three men, Shadrach, Michigan, and Abednego fell down bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? The answer said unto the king, true, O king. He answered and said, lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt in the form of the first. It's like the Son of God. So if your church is going through persecution, unless you can clearly tell, hey, our church has major sin going on, take it to the bank, God is with you, no matter how ugly it looks. I mean, look how ugly it got to the point where they got cast into the fire. I mean, once they saw the flames, I wonder what they were thinking. This is it, boys. Hey, we're about to go. It was a great run. Oh well, seems like you aren't going to get delivered, and as soon as the soldiers grab Shadrach, Michigan and Abednego, they're probably thinking, we're doomed, we're done, it's over. I guess the Lord's not going to deliver us out of this one. Then they get tossed into the fire, miracle happens. Sure enough, hey, it's clear that his presence was with them in the fire, amen, and that's how God is. He sees things even when you think he's not. You're like wondering, where are you, God? You know, these wicked people are rising against me, these wicked pastors are speaking against me, lying against me, railing against me, you know, where are you? Do something, help! But you know what, just remember, he's there. He's there if you're a good Christian, amen, and if not, he may just pull away from you and allow you to come home a little early like King Saul, amen. You know, but you're right there in Exodus chapter 3. I'll just read one verse just to add, add more evidence to what I'm talking about. This is when God appears on to Moses and he tells him, hey, I've seen the affliction, I've heard the cry. Let's read it together. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Hey, this is for us in 2021. He knows our sorrows. We're gonna go through things, things are gonna happen, financial, physical, you name it, you could be the next person that gets hit by corona, hopefully nobody ends up in the hospital, but to my knowledge, we've had at least two people from our church end up in a hospital. It's not fun. The bills rack up, they won't let you out, you know, they start to threaten you. Well, you can't leave if you do, you know, whatever's gonna happen, it's not enjoyable whatsoever. And so keep praying for each other, keep praying that, hey, nobody gets that bad if you end up getting it by all means. Hopefully worst case scenario, you lose your sense of smell, I guess, but I hope nobody ends up in a hospital on a respirator, you know, fighting for their lives because that's not, that's not good, you know, that's not fun, especially when the bills start coming in, it's crazy, it's crazy, amen. But remember, a good Christian can always take it to the bank, God is with me, even when people start doubting you. Are you sure, Joe, the guy's with you? Look, I don't know what I've done wrong, you know, but even if he slays me, hey, I'm still gonna worship him, I'm still gonna trust him, amen. Just a few more verses, you know, Psalms 34 15 says, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry. He's watching, he's looking at you, you're righteous, hey, you're a delight to his soul, he loves us when we do right. You know what, even if you're doing wrong, he still loves you, but the difference is he's gonna chastise you, so let's know, what if it ourselves to do right, amen. Psalms 34, Psalms 46 one says this, God is our riches and strength, a very present help in trouble, a very present help. It actually gives you some hope that you're doing everything you possibly can, you're keeping the basics. I always ask people, are you keeping the basics? You know, I get hit up with questions, brother, well, you know, things are going bad. I'm like, hey, just make sure you're keeping the basics, what are the basics? Bible reading, prayers, soul winning, church, Bible meditation, I'm doing those things. Well, how's your heart as far as you can tell? I don't know, I mean, I think I'm good. Then take it to the bank, God's just testing you, because God tries our hearts, amen, to see what you're made of, to see what missions he can use you for. It's going to happen, you know, so when bad, hey, just take to the bank. If it's bad, bad things happen, sicknesses, you name it, hey, just remember, Joe, before you start getting a little carried away, Lord, Lord, please, you know, I'm sorry, because, hey, we're trying. Everybody here is here because you want to serve the Lord, you want to do right, you don't want to waste your life, you don't want to live a life of vainglory, you know, you want to do something big for God, you want to be used by God, and by all means, you know what, we're all going to have moments of weaknesses, but if you're doing right, when you look at the world and it seems like they're enjoying life like nothing, you know, they're enjoying everything, it seems like, oh, wow, man, these people are, are you sure that, you know, they're, they're, you know, basically, uh, uh, like really as happy as they look? The answer is always no, but they try to make it seem like the answer is yeah, you know, or try to give it away like sometimes, you know, but when they're in the public eye, you know, the world, the Hollywood celebrities, I mean, you name it, politicians, you name it, you know, false prophets, you name it, sometimes I wonder, what's up with these guys, you know, are they ever going to get chastised? Oh, it's coming, you know, it's coming, you can take that to the bank and we'll cover that in a second, you know, but I'll just go through Hebrews 13 5, and while I'm reading Hebrews 13 5, go ahead and go to Acts 12, go to Acts 12, chapter number 1, you know, over chapter number 12, meet me in verse 1, please, so the first benefit of being a good Christian, and look, we all need this type of sermon because it's hard, you know, to serve the Lord, the Bible says endure hardness, amen, we constantly need to be reminded it'll be worth it, the suffering will be worth it, the pain will be worth it, you know, all the crap you're taking from your family and friends and neighbors in the world, it's all going to be rewarded one day, just keep coming to church, don't worry about what anybody else is saying, just keep coming, keep doing what's right, hey, at the bare minimum, God says you're getting benefits daily, you know, I don't know if anybody here suffering majorly with health problems, but I think we're all doing pretty decent, amen, nobody's gonna have perfect health, I know I don't have perfect health, if you do, great, but we'll see you in 20 years, amen, you know, but Hebrews 13 5 says this, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he has said, talking about the Lord, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, he's there, his presence is there, you're living a good life, you're a good Christian in God's eyes, guess what, he's there, he's with you, he's happy with you, you bring the light to his soul, hey, and for his pleasure we were created, amen, you know, so that's God's will for your life, it's not just to go so windy, not just abstain from fornication, but to bring pleasure to the Lord, to please the Lord, and you know what, whatever good thing you do, God's gonna just bring you right back to you, what you do to other people, you do things unto the Lord, Bible says whatever good thing you do, the same should you receive, not from the people of the Lord, but from the Lord, it'll come directly from him, he'll make sure that you'll get rewarded for the good that you do in this life and the next, so keep struggling, keep doing right, keep getting right with God, or die trying, amen, so I'll just read from Isaiah 54 4, says this, fear not, for thou shall not be ashamed, neither be thou confounded, you know, for thou shall not be put to shame, for thou shall, for thou shall forget the shame of thy youth, and shall not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore, for thy maker is thy husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth, shall he be called, no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment, thou shall condemn, this is the heritage of the service of the Lord, and the righteousnesses of me, saith the Lord, so the first benefit that we get by being good Christians, is that God is with us 24 7 7 days a week, you can go to him anytime you want, doesn't matter, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, driving to work, coming back from work, walk into the park, taking a little walk to get your exercise for the day, whatever the case may be, he's there anytime, and don't take that for granted, think about it, you can go to the God of the universe anytime you want, and he will hear you, unless you have iniquity in your heart, because the Bible says if I have iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me, but think about it, the most powerful person on the planet, anytime you want, you can just come to him, come to him, anytime, anywhere, it doesn't matter, you know, why, because that's the benefit you get, direct to him, for being good, for living a good life, for being righteous, for continuing to struggle, continuing to fight, continuing to endure harness, God says, you know what, I'll let you come to me anytime you want, anytime, anytime, doesn't matter, if you're like, oh, my husband doesn't have time for me, God has time for you, man, my wife doesn't have time for me, well God has time for you, my parents don't have time for me, kids, God has time for you, seriously, you know, growing up, I always wanted like a superhero dad, you know, I always wanted a superhero dad that was muscular, you know, would never yell at me, would be like my bodyguard, you know what I'm talking about, never got it, but I got something better than that, I got God, seriously, you know, my dad was very skinny, you know, he was like me, a fat skinny guy, got a big belly, skinny arms, you know, he wasn't a Christian whatsoever, he was Catholic, you know, I love my dad, it's weird, even though my dad treated my mom not perfect, I still love them, it's just how children are, they love their dad, they love their parents, you know, even though mom did more than anything for some reason, you know, I tend to kind of like honor and love my dad more, it's just one of those things you do, you know, so if you have a dad, praise the Lord, but here's the thing though, you know, even if I didn't, let's just say there is children out there, parents have just abandoned them or whatever, you know, happens a lot in the Philippines from what I hear, even happens in the streets, you know, kids are born out of wedlock, dad is gone, you hear about it all the time, especially with these NFL players, you know, this NFL player didn't have a right, his dad just left them, you know, left them hanging with his mom or whatever, and somehow they get the motivation to become NFL players, but they become rotten people once they get money, because the prosperity of fools shall destroy them, you know, and that's what tends to happen, but you know what, for the kids that we get saved, make sure you tell them, look, hey, you can come to God anytime you want, he's your friend, you know, but he wants you to do right, you know, if he had the right, he'll bless you, if you don't, he won't, and tell them, look, you should do what's right when you get older, you know, God wants to use you, not just save you, but it's only going to happen if you live a good Christian life and these gangs and these drugs and what you see on TV, don't get into that, you know, because God's pleasure is better than the world's pleasure, and we'll get into that, that's another benefit, we'll get his pleasure, not the world's pleasure, but I read Isaiah, no weapon shall be formed against thee, so the second benefit is that we'll have his protection, and I'm just throwing in there as a bonus, and we'll have his vengeance, amen, because guess what, you know, people are gonna talk trash about good churches until Christ returns, but he's gonna shut all their mouths, he's gonna rebuke them to their face, and even before he returns, he will pour out his vengeance, you know, if he sees that is what needs to get done, amen, and we don't have to worry about people hurting us, because in reality, hey, everything that happens in your life is a reflection of what you do or you fail to do, you fail to pray, well guess what, bad things happen, it's because you fail to pray and nobody blame but yourself, you're living a righteous life, bad things happen, well guess what, that's a good thing, but in the end, just remember, there's no one to blame but yourself, because what happens in your life is a reflection of what you're doing or you're failing to do, fail to live right, bad things will happen, do what's right, hey, God will bless you, I'm not saying it's gonna be perfect, because the Bible never says that he that lives a perfect good Christian life is not gonna suffer, no, those that live godly in Christ will suffer, but we're gonna suffer persecution and we're gonna get rewarded in this life and the next, but the second point is, we will have his protection and we will have his vengeance, are you guys right there in Acts 12, well let me just read a few verses, Psalm 34 7, the angel of the Lord and kept us round about them that fear him and deliver them, brothers of God, do you really believe in angels, you know what, this is what Hebrews says, let brother the love continue, be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for they by some have entertained angels unawares, I wonder how many of us have entertained angels unawares, so the other verse says, hey, the angel of the Lord is gonna protect you, if you fear him, what does that mean, if you're a good Christian, if you're doing what's right, and sometimes, you know, we we live life and we forget that angels are real, they do protect and who knows, maybe some of us have come across angels, but they're real, they're legit, but right there in Hebrews or in the book of Acts, perfect example, our God will protect you and he'll give you his vengeance, take a look right there in Acts chapter 12 verse 1, we're gonna read about Herod and it says this, now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vexed children of the church and he killed who? James, James, the brother of John with the sword, so I'm not saying that you're not gonna, you know, suffer and I'm not saying that you will never get killed by the wicked, but all I know is that, hey, if you're doing what's right, God is with you, God is well pleased and precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, so if this does happen to you, I don't know why it happened to James, all I can tell you is this, I'm pretty sure he didn't cover down, I'm pretty sure he was like Shadrach, Michigan, Abednego, where it's like, hey King Herod, you want to kill me, go ahead, but I'm still not gonna stop preaching Jesus Christ, he's not gonna do it and because of his death, we read it today and it helps us to get ready for what could come, so that way if we do end up being part of the tribulation generation, which I think is our kids, but we might be a part of it as well, once some of y'all start getting put to death, hey, this verse is gonna keep you from being offended, you're gonna realize, hey, we're living the book of Acts, but as a girl just got killed by King Herod, you know what, I know he's happy and I will be too, but here's what happens, skip to verse number 21, let's go to verse 21, so verse 1, what do we see, Herod kills James, but not all of them got killed by Herod, God protected Peter, but he did take in Peter, but then of course they escape, but we're gonna pick it up in verse 21 to see what happened to this wonderful King Herod, and upon a set day, verse 21, and upon a set day Herod arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them and the people gave a shout saying, it is the voice of a God and not of man, because he sounded like Obama, you know, they're like, oh man, he speaks so well, but he's a wicked person, it's just another Herod with a voice like God, and immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, he killed him, because he gave not God the glory, good tip, right, give God the glory every chance you can, and he was eating of worms and gave up the ghost, but the Word of God grew and multiplied and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they have fulfilled their ministry and took with them John whose surname was Mark, so what do we see, we see God's protection on Peter and his vengeance getting poured out, and let's read a few verses about vengeance, you guys could just listen up, I'll quickly read them, or you can meet me in Proverbs 6 12, I'll get to that to that verse pretty soon, actually you know what, go to Luke 18, go to Luke 18, I forgot to highlight and have you guys turn there, Luke 18, meet me in verse number one, while you go to verse 18 verse 1, I'm just going to read from Romans 12 19, that says, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, not on my repay, I will repay, I will repay, saith the Lord, therefore that enemy hunger feed him, if he thirsts give him drink, for in so doing, thou shall heap coals of fire on his head, and be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good, now I feel sorry for the Christians that are truly saved and they try to take vengeance into their own hands, and try to, you know, whatever, in order to feel better, because you know what, that's not what God tells us to do, you know, you're not going to feel better, God's going to take away your joy, make sure you get locked up, if you end up taking vengeance, it's the government's job to take vengeance, you know, so we're not, we're not people that believe and be vigilantes going out there and, and, you know, avenging ourselves, you know, but if you're in Luke 18, here's a great parable, here's a great parable to put our minds at ease, knowing that God will, whoever our enemies of our church are, whoever attacks you personally for doing what's right, because you're serving God, your fear of the Lord, you're a righteous individual, because the wicked hate the upright, here's what God has promised us, look at verse 18, in chapter, in the book of Luke, verse 1, says that he spake us a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint, says obviously God tells us not to take vengeance upon ourselves, you know, we should just pray and take it to God, you know, let God, you know, deal with it. Verse number 2, saying there was in a city a judge, which fear not God, neither regarded man, and there was a widow in that city, and she came out to him, saying, avenge me of my adversaries, and he will not for a while, but afterwards he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her. Lest by her continual coming she worry me, and the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his only leg, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Now to us it may not seem like it's quick, when we're like, Lord, this person's attacking me, you know what, do something about this, this wicked individual, you know, and then a month goes by, you're like, Lord, three months goes by, you're like, Lord, but don't worry, if it's the right thing to do, God will avenge, not just protect you from this person, but avenge them, make sure that they get what's coming to them, amen. In verse number 8, it says, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily, nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth. You know, so you have your Bibles, go to Acts 17, you know, Proverbs 6-12 says this, I'm not a person, a wicked man, and man, there are plenty of those people, if you live right for the Lord, I'm not a person, a wicked man, walking with a forward mouth, he winked with his eyes, he's speaking with his feet, he teaches with his fingers, forwardness is in his heart, he devises mischief continually, he soweth discord. Sounds like these YouTubers that just attacked Pastor Anderson, attacked our church, attacked Pastor Mihia, attacked all these other great men of God, why? Because they're forward, they're just like sowing discord, oh no, I just want to show people the truth, no you don't, you just want to sow discord, you want to just make good men of God look bad, you want to cast doubt in people's hearts about the men of God that they're following, that's all these wicked YouTubers that attack us are doing, you know, and at the end of the day, it seems like it's always about the money, they always have like a Patreon, support me on Patreon, you know, I just saw some young idiot who ended up attacking Pastor Anderson on YouTube, and sure enough, he has like maybe 300 subscribers, but he's like, hey, support me on Patreon, you know, he wants money, and it's like, who are you? It's like, you look like you're 21, he's like, you're attacking a great man of God, you're an idiot, you know, but why is he on YouTube, why is he like, you know, what's wrong with Pastor Anderson, he has like a stupid smile, if you want, if you want me to show it to you later, I'll show it to you, but he has like a picture, he has a stupid smile, what's wrong with Steven Anderson, why Steven Anderson is wrong? And then he goes in there, and he's not even using the King James, big shocker, right, not even using the King James, you know, who knows what he believes about salvation, but oh yeah, support me on Patreon, you know, if you like this truth, if you like these type of things, support me on Patreon, you know, it's like he sold his soul for a few bucks just to attack a man of God that's doing a lot, you know, why he's a froward individual, but don't worry, God will avenge, God will avenge that idiot, unless, unless obviously he gets right with the Lord, but look, these people will suffer that attack us, these people will be punished, you know, God will protect you, they're trying to harm you, they're trying to destroy you, but like, hey man, they're gonna get hanged with their own gallows, amen, how though, by continuing to do it right, remember what's the title of the sermon, the benefits of being a Christian, no, the benefits of being a what, good Christian, good Christian, keep doing good, keep doing right, and look, I know I'm starting with the least, but you know what, typical tip I'm preaching, save your best for last, so it'll get better, but we all know, hey, his protection and his vengeance, and I had to throw this verse in there, because somebody texted to me a couple days ago, it says very quickly, therefore shall his calamity come suddenly, suddenly shall he be broken without remedy, nothing can stop, you know, God's vengeance when it comes, no remedy, nothing, no pleading, no begging, it's over, you know, God gives people some space to repent and get right, Bible says that God is long-suffering towards us, not willing that any shall perish, but that all shall come to repentance, so we know that God will suffer a long time with our, with our, with our sins, and even an unbeliever, I'm sure he suffers a long time with them, wanting them to get right, but if they don't, if they continue to get worse like Pharaoh, he's just gonna destroy them, it just was gonna happen, but another benefit that we get, and this is something we take for granted, I believe, is that we will have, if we're good with the Lord, we will have his full power, we will have his full power, what are you talking about, if you have your Bibles, go to, oh, you guys are there in Acts 17, I just quickly read from Matthew, I want to make sure I don't go too long, all right, I'm 30 minutes into the sermon, I got 30 more, amen, Matthew 28, ready, ready, you know, all power is given out to him, then he says, hey, go and teach, all nations baptized in him, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, what power is this, the gospel, the power of the gospel, we literally have the power, unsaved people don't have it, even if they're false prophets, they cannot save, we have the power of the gospel, think about it, everybody grows up wanting to have cool superpowers, but do you know, we actually do have power, let me just read some verses, first Corinthians 1 18, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the what, power, power of God unto salvation, let the world doubt, let your friends doubt, let your unbelieving family doubt, but we got power when we go out, we never go in vain, if you're saved, you're born again, you go and knock doors, like me and brother Nate did last night, we thought we're gonna get somebody saved, and they didn't get saved at the end, they thought they were saved, but we know what, it is what it is, we got there and at least they changed some things that they believed wrong when we got there, how did it happen, through the power of God, through the gospel, and we have that power, and don't forget, don't take that for granted, you have God's power, the same power that he said, hey, all power is given unto me, the power he used to get people saved, the power that he used to get a lot of people to believe on him, guess what, you have that too, if you're a good Christian, but don't get me wrong, if you're like, well I'm backslidden, I might as well not waste my time with soul winning, no, at least you can be like the woman in John 4, you know, that was, that had like five husbands, hey, she's still got people saved, a little backslidden, you know, living with somebody who's not your wife or husband, hey, come out soul winning, you know, we'll clean you up, she's still got people saved, she went out there and had the sloppiest soul winning presentation, come and see a man that told me everything I've ever done, he didn't tell everything he ever did, the woman in John 4, you guys following me, they didn't do that, but guess what, they did come and because of her own words, they believe on Christ, but not everybody believed, so let's just do our best to have a clean name, a good name is tried to be chosen in great riches, so we can get more people saved, because let's face it, if somebody goes out there, at least they're obeying, God's gonna bless that, but let's just say they have a lot of sin in their life, compared to somebody who has less sin, who's cleaning up their life, who's gonna be more effective, the guy with all the sin or the soul winner that's right with the Lord, clean heart, doing his best, we all know you'll get more people saved, God will use you more, God is looking for that clean vessel, you know, he's using him to use him for something big, so let's just face it, when you clean up your life, when you're a good Christian, you're gonna have tremendous power to get things done, God's gonna make sure you have it, listen to this verse, 2 Timothy 1-8, be not thou therefore ashamed by the testimony of the Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be thou partakers of the afflictions of the Gospel, according to the power of God, amen? You guys are familiar with this one, Romans 1-16, for I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone to believe it, to the Jew first and also to the great, Jew 1-23, and others saved with fear, how? With the power of the Gospel, that's how you're saving, you're literally pulling people out of the fire, guess what, Superman doesn't have this power, you know, the latest and greatest Marvel superhero doesn't have this power, you, I, save people, hey, benefit of being a good Christian, we have power that will give us just tremendous, you know, tremendous ability to get things done for the Lord, to do big things for the Lord, but you have to be a good Christian, God is looking for that individual that he can use to do big things, and that can be you, man, woman, or child, it doesn't matter, say, hey, I want to be used by the Lord, hey, keep being a good Christian, you will be, you will be, it's gonna happen, amen, but you guys are right there in Acts 17, Acts 17, we'll start in verse number 5, it says this, if you're right there in Acts 17, but the Jews which believed not, moved with Enby, took on them certain lewd fellows of the baser sword, and gathered a company and said all the city on an uproar, and assaulted a house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people, and when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, these that have turned the world, the world upside down, up come hither also, how did they do it? With the power of God, they were preaching the gospel, they turned the world upside down, not necessarily literally, but obviously they were ripping it, they were taking care of business, they were making things happen, and same thing like says in Romans 10 16, but they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord who has believed the report, so then faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God, but I say, have they not heard? Yes, barely, their sound went into all the earth, all the earth, God used people to praise throughout the entire earth, and that can be you, that can be me, that can be anybody, but what's the key ingredient? You have to be good, so God can order your steps, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and even if your backs didn't come out so many, that's one good step to get right with the Lord and start fixing your life, you know when the guy that had all these demons and God cast them all out, he wanted to follow Jesus, Jesus didn't tell him okay let's go, he said you know what go, go and tell everybody the good things the Lord has done to you, what was he telling him to do? Go witness for me, that's the first thing he told him to do, hey you want to do something for me, go witness, I know that nobody likes you, I know you've been a crazy, devil-possessed individual probably for the last few years, you know but here's the good thing, hey I want you to do something, I want you to go tell people the good things that I've done for you, so if you just recently got saved, if you're like man I don't know how to get my life cleaned up, come out soul winning, that's a great start, it helped the guy that was you know demon possessed, so it'll help us all, man, soul winning always helps, amen, all right you guys are there in Acts, where did I tell you to go? Acts 16, Acts 17, looks like I'm ahead of the game, but that's all right Acts 17, I already read that though, thank you for helping me out, so the first thing is we got his presence, we have his protection and his vengeance, that's two things of course, but let's just keep it for the sake of you know the sermon, we'll keep it going, we have his power and of course who doesn't want peace, we'll have his peace, go to Acts 6, go to Acts chapter 6, I'll read from Colossians 3, it says this, and above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness and let the peace of God roll in your hearts to the which also you are called in one body and be ye thankful, be ye thankful, you know so peace is a big thing, peace is something that people are struggling to have in their lives, the unsaved is struggling with peace, especially in a time where people don't know what's going on, you know Republicans, they don't know what's going to happen, they're freaking out, you know all these Trump supporters, they don't know what's going to happen, Trump is gone, they're happy he didn't get impeached, at least that's what my wife told me, you know but in the end, hey we rely on God, we put confidence as God, not in man, you know but you know when I read Acts 6, this is what reminds me of a great example of having peace, let's just look at it, go to verse number 7, this is the story of Stephen, it says in the Word of God increased and a number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith and Stephen, here's a great benefit of being a good Christian, Stephen was full of faith and what? Power, power, that's what I want for you, that's what I want for everybody in this room, men, women, and children, I want you to be full, full of faith, full of power, and what did he do? He did great wonders, miracles among the people, then there arose certain of the synagogue which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, Arinians, Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit of which is fake, then they, suburban men, which said we have heard and speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God and assert the people and the elders and scribes and came upon him and caught him and brought him to the council and set up false witnesses which said this man ceased not to speak blasphemous words against God this holy place in the law for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change this customs which Moses delivered us, I mean it's not looking good for Stephen, it's looking bad, false people are rising up, you know they're basically arrested him, it looks, it looks bad for the guy, you know, it doesn't look good, put yourself in the situation, all these people are angry at you, all these people are lying against you, they all basically brought you before a bunch of individuals and you know you pretty much don't have a chance whatsoever, but look at verse 15, and all that sat in the council looked steadfastly on him and saw his face as he had been the face of an angel, so these people are angry, they all hate him, they want to destroy him, and he's just they're like, you guys are done, can I start now, can I talk, you know, is it my turn now, and if you read chapter 7, boy did he talk, boy did he talk, but man he's not, he's not scared at all, he's standing strong, he's standing firm, they're looking at him and he doesn't have a fearful face, just a face like an angel, I don't know what an angel looks like, but I'm telling you it was a positive look, where he's just there, just nice and happy I'm assuming, but why is he standing there with no fear, because he's full of peace, he's full of peace, and you already know that he had the fullness of the Holy Ghost, and he had power, that's what God's gonna do to you, if you continue to live right, if you continue to say to yourself, you know what, if life gets hard, I'm still gonna keep going, I'm not gonna quit, I'm not gonna get like these people that we get saved, oh I don't want to go to Baptist Church, you guys are too strict, I don't know, but I don't think we're too strict at all, I don't really think that at all, you know, we just follow the Bible, there's enough commandments in the Bible, we don't want to add extra commandments to the Bible as a church, so we just do our best to follow the Bible, teach the Bible, and let people live the Bible, and you'll be fine, and I don't, I don't think there's anything in the Bible that I believe is messed up, too strict, I don't read the Bible, and I'm like, man, I don't know, this one just seems off, all the commandments are awesome, all God's law is awesome, great peace out there, they love the law, and nothing shall offend them, meaning that whatever you read, nothing's gonna offend you if you love God's law, everything you read, you name it, it's gonna be like, great, it's gonna be phenomenal, it's gonna be awesome, if you have a Bible, you know, go to Acts 16, go back to Acts 16, I'll just read a few verses from Philippians 4, 6, when it comes to having his peace, it says, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ, that's what happened to Stephen, he had the peace of God, and he'll give it to you as well, God will give you his peace, Psalms 119, 162 says this, I rejoice at thy word as one to find if grace spoil, I hate in of her line, but thy law do I love, I don't know if I'm a good Christian, brother girl, well do you love God's law, do you have whore line, you know, do you hate wickedness, he says seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgment, great peace have they wish love thy law and nothing shall offend them, Psalms 4 8, I will both, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety, that's not saying that bad things are not gonna happen to you, but it's saying look, I can sleep like a baby tonight knowing that you have my back, Lord, and that only happens when you're a good Christian, if you're a Christian in sin, guess what, there's no peace to the wicked, you're not gonna have it, God will take it away, there's no joy to the wicked, talk to David when you get to heaven, saw how to feel after he committed adultery, I'll tell you right now the Bible tells us he had no joy, he became wicked, prideful, and he murdered a man, he murdered a man, that's not a good Christian, you know, but in his eyes he thought he was doing alright, and we get like that sometimes, you know, we're in sin, but then we're doing so great, and then you read God's Word, and you're like, oh man, he's like, I need to get this right, you know, it's like, oh man, I need to wash my mouth, oh man, I need to wash my thoughts, oh man, you know what, I'm not doing as good as I thought I was, because that's what we need, we need preachers to remind us, hey, this is sin, oh man, you know, I forgot about that, God's Word to remind you as well, and that's how you keep your heart clean by taking heat according to God's Word, so the more you hear it, the more you listen to preaching, you know, you'll be right with the Lord, and he'll give you that peace, he'll give you that protection, and also, he'll give you his pleasure, and who doesn't like joy? Pleasure, joy, same thing, gladness, same thing, go to, oh, you guys are in Acts 16, you know, I'll just read from Psalms 4 says, thou has put gladness in my heart, who put it there? Who put it there? God, you're like, I'm a miserable person, I don't know what to tell you, pray for joy, pray that God will restore the joy of your salvation, I'm like, you're saved, you're coming to church, I see you're going soul winning, I guess you just got to either pray, and God will, he'll answer eventually, he's there, you know, but it says, thou has put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that the corn and the wine increase. Let's look at Acts 16 21, verse 21 says this, and teach custom which are not lawful for us to receive, not to observe, being Romans, and a multitude rolls up together against them. This is about Paul and Silas, you know, when they're preaching about Christ, they get arrested, we're picking up the story, and it says, the master just ran off their clothes and commanded to beat them, so Paul and Silas are getting beat, they're getting a beat down here in Acts 16, and when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, now they're locked up, and prison is no joke, prison is not fun, being locked up in a room for 24 hours, I mean you have to have a strong mind to survive that and come out normal, but these guys did, how they do it? God gave them, God gave them joy, we know that because look what it says in verse 24, who having received such a charge thrust them into the inner prison and made their feast fast in the stocks, and on midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. They were singing praises, they were happy, they were rejoicing, and it just got a beat down earlier. I mean that is some serious power right there, that is a serious benefit that I want if I ever get locked up, because being in a room, I thought about it many times, I'm like man it's gonna be horrible, right? You know what I'm talking about, because people think, oh if I get locked up I'm fine as long as I have a Bible, did you have a Bible? They took your Bible, what did you have? Nothing, just a wall, and you were there for what, four or five hours? Let's just say two hours, imagine 24 hours of just staring at the wall, oh man, I think I could handle if I had a Bible, but this is why it's important to hide God's Word in your heart, because when the tribulation generation gets hit, kids you may not have a Bible when they when they lock you up. In fact, I almost feel like they won't give it to you, you know, they're just gonna take your stuff and lock you up, and if you're a Christian and you're getting persecuted, you know you know that the Antichrist, the devil's gonna raise war against us, and who knows what's gonna happen, but the more Bible you have, the easier it's gonna be, amen? Good motivation to memorize scripture, correct? Hey, I don't know if you've ever been in a room, but when I was quarantined for like 14 days, I was trying to stay in my son's room the entire time doing work, and I was just like, man, I need some fresh air, I'm like, man, this isn't even prison, and I'm just there working on a computer, my mind is occupied with different things, but the thought would eventually creep in, it's like, man, this is a tiny room, people in prison, I know why they go crazy, I know why they're going nuts, especially if they're not saved and they don't have Bible, or even if you are saved with no Bible, would you be able to sing praises at midnight? You know, you will, if you're right with the Lord, he'll give you his joy, no matter what you're going through, you'll have his pleasure. Galatians 5 22, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Psalm 16 11, thou wilt show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness of joy, having God on your side, he'll give you the joy to make it. Now I'm not saying that the Christian life is full of joy every day, 24-7, seven days a week, no, because we know in Ecclesiastics, I'll just read it, it says to everything, there's a season, a time to repurpose unto the heaven, a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck up that which is planted, a time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up, and a time to weep. So there is times where we need to weep, you know, when bad things happen, we are supposed to, obviously if people are going through hard times, you know, rejoice with them to do rejoice, and weep with them to do weep, but never forget that, it's never worth it to continue in sin, because there is pleasure in sin, Hebrews 11 says it, that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing to suffer affliction when people got to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, because you know what, the pleasures of sin for a season, it's not worth it. God's pleasure is definitely worth it, all day, 24-7, seven days a week. So the benefits that I'm talking about, hey, if you're struggling to stay in church, if you're struggling to keep up with the fight, hey, just motivate yourself somehow, some way, think of these things, look, if you stop coming to church, you're going to lose peace, if you stop coming to church, you're going to lose his protection, if you stop coming to church, you're going to lose his pleasure, you know, if you stop coming to church, you're going to get a beat down from God, because you're commanded, if you start going back to the world, you're not going to have, you know, his pleasure, you're going to have the pleasures of sin, and it will hit you, you won't be tempted to go back to the world, but that's why you need to get here, you need to listen to God's Word, build your faith, and live by faith, amen, because that's what God's impressed by more than anything, you know, the Apostles, they believe because they have seen, but Jesus said, hey, blessed are they who have not seen, yet they believe, that's us, I wasn't there when Jesus died, I wasn't there when he arose, but I believe it, I was there when he saved my soul, you know, so goes the song, but still, just remember these things, so in conclusion, you know, all these things are great, all these businesses are great, but remember, what's the catch, you cannot get these things if you're in sin, you cannot have his joy if you're in sin, you want to have his peace if you're in sin, you know, the title of the message is simply that, you know, the benefits, you know, of a good, of being a good Christian, to keep you motivated, keep doing right, and I could have just covered three things, let me read from Ecclesiastes 2 26, it says, for God give it to a man that is good, not in your sight, not in the world's sight, and a lot of times people are like, hey, this guy's a good person, you know, and he's a drunkard, you know, doesn't treat his family well, you know, but God doesn't care about what people say, it's what he says, and if he says you're good, you're good, if he says you're not good, you're not good, you need to get right, but for God give it to a man that is good in his sight, it could have just been three points, you know, this morning, it says wisdom, who doesn't want wisdom, come on, we all want wisdom, we all want to be smart people, and the world, even if, even if they're not saved, they tend to just, you know, give people that are smart a break because they need you, you know, that's just how the world is, even if you're the ugliest, fattest dude on the planet, if you're smart, people are like, yo, man, can you be my friend, you know, it's true, you know, it's true, it's like, man, I got a question for you, oh, that's an awesome answer, why, because they're helping you out, you know, they're fixing you, they're taking care of you, they're giving you stuff that makes you a better person, and that helps you to be grateful towards that individual, but sometimes you even take a bullet for them, you know, when I used to be part of the, who's ever heard of the RUI, reformers, it's like a Christian addiction program, the main guy that started it, you know, had a meeting with the guy, his name is Steve Currington, and he said, look, you know, don't get weirded out when a lot of these guys, they have addictions, they start coming to the program, and you start helping them out, you start helping them grow, you know, you start teaching them how to live right, you start teaching them some wisdom from the Bible, don't be surprised if they're just teary-eyed, and they hug you, and some of them would even tell you, hey, you know what, thanks for helping me, get off heroin, get off this, get off that, get off whatever, you know, it's like, I will take a bullet for you for what you've done, in other words, think about how much Pastor Anderson has helped you guys out, and when people attack him, doesn't it make you angry, when people attack him, it's like, man, Lord, let me be the one to execute vengeance upon this wicked person, isn't that how we think, because it's true, it's like, man, I'm not trying to, he's my boss, yeah, and he's watching, but you know what, this isn't to earn cool points, I mean, what am I trying to earn, you know, a spot, you know, to work for him, I already work for him, but I'm just, but I'm just saying that some of us probably have that, you know, that love, where it's like, you know what, you know, if it weren't for him, my life would be destroyed right now, I wouldn't have a life right now, you know, I'm so grateful that he made a decision to be a good man, and be used by God heavily, where God gave him, like it says right here, wisdom, knowledge, and joy, he gave him that, and he was able to use the wisdom and the knowledge, and everything else, to be the person that he is, to help us, to feed us, you know, to keep us, you know, from being blinded by the devil, and helping us to realize, hey, we need to change, we're not doing as good as we thought we were, we're not, you know, the Christians that we thought we were, when we started to listen to heart preaching, you know, but that's what he gives, that's what God gives to those that are good in the sight, so I could have just had three points, look, first point, wisdom, second point, knowledge, and the other point is joy, and who doesn't want those things, who doesn't want to be a smart, happy individual, we all do, well, here's the secret, you gotta be good, you gotta be the good Christian, not just a Christian, a good Christian, and if you don't want to, well, the Bible says also this, and that's in that same verse, but to the sinner, he giveth travail, so you got two options, you can be the good Christian, well, you'll get wisdom, you'll get joy, you'll get knowledge, or you got your other option, you can go ahead and send it up, and God's gonna give you travail, misery, punishment, hey, it's your choice tonight, Isaiah 48 22, there is no peace, saith the Lord unto the wicked, Romans 6 1, 6 1, shall we say, what should we say then, shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound, God forbid, 1st Timothy 6 6, but godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out, and having food and raiment, let us be there with content, you're like I am a miserable person, I'm just not happy, brothers and girl, you have food, yeah, clothing, yeah, that's it, you're good, start with that, if you don't have clothing, get some clothing, if you don't have food, talk to brother raiment, he'll hook you up, right, you got all that donation stuff, and if nothing in there is that healthy, come talk to me, we'll go to Chipotle or something, I'll hook you up, but that's a great verse, learn to be content, learn to be happy, it says hey if you have clothing and food, you should be happy, and you know what this verse reminded me of my son, where's he at, Steve, raise your hand, that little guy over there, you know what I'm saying, hey I learned from him this week or last week, here's what happened, we have to go do some drone footage, who knows about that that YouTube channel that we started Landmarks, who knows about it, just a few people, if you don't know about it, hey it's a great a great channel that pastor started, he's teaching basic lessons, so we go to different places, you know, to shoot episodes, and we do drone footage, and so we first do the interviews, we get as much drone footage as we can, but we can't do two interviews in one day and get a ton of drone footage, so I told pastor, hey I got to go back to finish up this episode with pastor Mejia, I got to go get some drone footage, he's like okay no problem, and sure enough it's a three and a half hour drive, so I was tired, I was up all night working on the episode, getting it all whatever, my wife's like hey I'll drive you, I'm like are you sure it's three and a half hours there, three and a half hours back, and I'm basically gonna be working the whole time, this isn't gonna be a pleasure trip, and she's like no problem, I'm like kids, the older kids like I don't know, you know, because we're taking the church van, and my little guy, I'll go daddy, I'll go, you know, it's like you know what you're getting yourself into, it's like long trip daddy, a long trip, I'm like that's what you're getting yourself into Stephen, as long as you know, so we drove three and a half hours, stopped for some bathroom breaks, so it turned into a four hour drive, or a four hour little episode, I get there, and you can talk to my family, I was non-stop trying to drone things, waiting for, we went to the dunes, so I was waiting for motorcycle riders to show up, I'm like where are all the motorcycle riders, what are they showing up at night, so I didn't leave, I'm like I'm getting some motorcycle riders, so I was there just kind of trying to drone, waiting, kind of like fishing, hour goes by, two hours go by, three hours goes by, guess where my family's at, inside the church van, inside the church van, you know, so I'm there for three, four hours, you're like oh you're punishing them, well I gave them some tablets to play with, yeah, they weren't suffering too hard, you know, but obviously they were in the van, first of all they're in the van for three and a half hours to four hours, then they're in the van waiting on me for another three to four hours, then once I'm done droning the place, getting enough footage to make sure I add it to the episode, then we have to drive home, but before we drive home, you know, they want it, round table pizza, which is an hour the opposite direction, so now we're driving an hour the opposite direction, which I misunderstood, I told Redman I'll be back by 10, 10 p.m., I'm like yeah, you know, three and a half hours we're gonna stop to get some round table, we're not even gonna stop to eat it inside, because we didn't want to be selfish, because they were waiting on us to take the church van to wherever, so we called today and said look, we're just gonna pick the thing up and just eat it on a drive back, I didn't realize there was an hour the opposite direction, so I told them hey, we'll be back at 10, no big deal, and we left at what time did we leave, 9 in the morning, so we started driving 9 in the morning, we didn't get back till 1230 at night, they were in the van 95% of the time, that little guy was in the van 95%, and when we got home tired, miss when the kids are fighting for the front seat, and I gave it to him, I'm like go to the front seat, you know, because it hurts your back being in that van for so long, you know, the older kids I'm like oh my back, it's like my turn to sit in the front, get a little bit of relief from their back pain, my son he's not getting no relief, he's just in the back, sitting down, we finished the trip, and sure enough, he gets out of that and he hops out, I was like huh, that was the best long trip ever daddy, that is having the humility of a child, now when Christ says unless you be, you know, you be converted like this little child, you will no way enter the kingdom of heaven, you know, because he just believed it was the coolest trip on the planet, but my wife and me, my wife only had like an hour and a half of sleep, you know, because I don't know, I just kept waking her up, working back and forth, so she drove and I don't know how she did it, I told her, hey let me take over, she decided just muscle her way through and drive all the way back, but that boy was not even joking around, he literally thought it was the best trip ever, four hours there, four hours in the car, four hours back, a little breaks here and there, going to the bathroom, no time to really spread your leg, or didn't even have time to enjoy the dunes, I wasn't like oh we walked around the dunes, I had a little bit, no they were in the van the whole time, the whole time he sit in the van, who knows what, what did you do in the van, literally, but he came back and he was a happy camper, happy camper, he was content, why, because he had clothing and I fed him, that's why, so having food and raiment, let us there be content, and he had a good attitude, and it made me want to bless him even more, you know, so what am I getting at, I'm getting at this, hey God is happy, when you're doing what's right, when you have a good attitude, you're living a good life, it's gonna be hard, if it's not hard, you're lying to yourself, you must be doing something wrong, come tell me your secret, if life ain't hard, because Christ said it was gonna be hard, but the benefits are definitely worth it, for being a good Christian, amen, let's pray, dear God, we thank you so much for all that you've done, thanks for giving us a great church, thanks for giving us a great leader, thank you for giving us, you know, just so much Lord, just so much, we literally have no reason to complain, if you're truly saved, and you know you're going to heaven, and and the Lord is your God, Jesus is your God, we literally have nothing to complain about, and Lord, when times get tough, because Mark quit, you know, Peter quit Lord, other other people in the Bible, great men of God, ended up quitting, it can happen to us as well, but the only way we're going to keep ourselves from quitting, is just to remember your goodness, is the goodness of God that leads us to repent, so help us to remember your goodness, you said that you give us daily, daily benefits, every single day you give us benefits, Lord, help us to not become ungrateful, help us to be content, help us to love you, Lord, by keeping your commandments, and help us to never quit, and we ask you in Jesus name, amen. Amen, take your hymnals please, and turn to him number 324, hymn number 324, draw me nearer, number 324, I am thine O Lord, number 324, let's sing it out on that first verse, all together, number three, two, four, I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told thy love to me, but I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to thy precious feet inside, consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine, let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and I will be lost in thine, draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to thy precious feet inside, all the purity light of a single hour, that before thy throne I spent. When I kneel in prayer with thee, my God, I come new, next friend, with prayer, draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to thy precious feet inside, there are depths of love that I cannot know, till I cross the narrow sea. There are heights of joy that I may not reach, till I rest in peace with thee. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to thy precious feet inside. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died, draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, to the cross where thou hast died .