(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hymn number 246. Hymn number 246. Hymn number 246 redeemed. Hymn number 246. Hymn number 246 redeemed. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Hymn number 6. Can you tell me what is behind it? I can read the number on page number 130. Show me the number on page number 130. I can read the number on page 130 or on page 130. Now you know. Now you know the numbers again. I am hearing it again. Page number 130, page number 130. K'a'a'kele sa'ina kawitā. First sa'a'aputā'a. K'a'kele sa'ina kawitā. First sa'a'aputā'a. Ready, sing. K'a'kele sa'ina kawitā. K'a'an desi azaisumila. Kaalita sa'i kānyām pulu. Kaau i kā'ukaisa'u. Satsinu pūpai nāmīwa. Kātsaṁ pūla mālāhika. Kīhāyasva mālāhā. Āmeśya sa'aisumila. Kāne'lesa gawitā. Āmeśya sa'i kānuliwa. Kīhāyasva mālāhā. Kīhāyasva mālāhā. Kīhāyasva mālāhā. Kānuli sa'a'umuhaisumila. Kīhāyasva mālāhā. Kīhāyasva mālāhā. Kākṛṣaṁ bhavasādhi. Śiṁhṛṣu bhiṣṇi madhvair. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśya sa'i kānuliwa. Kālīnāṁ pāyāpā. Kāyātīma pūlihā. Kālīnāṁ pāyāpā. Śaṁhūta tīmūtu. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśta gawitā. Śaṁhāyāpā. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśta gawitā. Āmeśta saṁhūta gawitā. Amen. Everyone. And that's like twice in the last month, I forgot. Announcements, right? So, take out your bullets and we'll go through a couple more. And let's first count up salvations. Anybody have any salvations to report from this past week? Any salvations? Anybody? Three? All right. Anybody else? Any salvation? Five? Yeah. Anybody else? All right. Great work, everybody. We will have soul winning at 2.15. The first sermon was long. The second sermon, I'm going to make sure, is short. It's shorter. We're going to be able to have lunch by 1 p.m., I promise. A couple other things real quickly. We do have choir practice here today. And so that will be obviously after soul winning. Next week is our Christmas service. And so I'm still going to preach two sermons. Okay? It's only a once a year anniversary thing when I only do one sermon. Okay? Still be two sermons. I will try to get us done a little bit early so we have more time for fellowship. We're still going to have soul winning and everything, but we're going to be having a jump house for the kids. We'll bring that up again. And the pink elephant gift exchange. And so that's going to be a great time. Let me know if you have any questions. Also, we do have a couple baptisms after the service. If you're also here today and you want to get baptized, you can get, you know, men get dressed up here, women in the ladies restroom. But as the last song is going on, you can start getting prepared for baptism even before the end of the service. So I believe that's it for announcements. We'll have Brother Rafi lead us in another song. He number 237, he number 237, he number 237, the cleansing wave. He number 237, he number 237, the cleansing wave. He number 237, he number 237, the cleansing wave. He number 237, the cleansing wave. He number 237, the cleansing wave. Now we sing it again. Oh, now I see the crimson wave. Oh, now I see the crimson wave. Oh, now I see the crimson wave. The fountain deep and wide. Jesus my Lord, I do just see, going to his foot inside. The crimson stream, I see, I see I see, I see, I see, I see, Oh praise the Lord, he blesteth me, he blesteth me. I see the new creation rise, I hear the speaking God. He speaks, alluding to our sins in the cleansing blood. God blesteth me, I see, I see, I blesteth me. Oh praise the Lord, he blesteth me, he blesteth me. I rise to walk in His love of the world and sing. We rise in His name and presence would be near. God blesteth me, I see, I see, I blesteth me. Oh praise the Lord, he blesteth me, he blesteth me. Oh praise the Lord, he blesteth me, he blesteth me. God blesteth me, I see, I see, I blesteth me. Oh praise the Lord, he blesteth me, he blesteth me. Oh praise the Lord, he blesteth me, he blesteth me. Amen. Amen. For a scripture reading, please open your Bibles to the book of Psalm. Right in the middle of your Bible, Psalm 34. Psalm 34. And as our custom, we will be reading the entire chapter, Psalm 34. Please say amen if you're there. Amen. Amen. Psalm 34 verse 1. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Okay. And the best indication is that when you're boasting, it ought to be about what God has done and not about what you do, okay? Now, go to John 3, let me give you an example of what not to do, John 3. The bible says that, Let another man praise thee, not your own lips. Nobody likes to hear you if you boast about yourself. Like, look at me and look at what I've accomplished. Let's say, for example, you meet somebody and then they're like, man, you know what? I am such a smart person. I'm so successful. Do you know how much money I people like that are annoying, right? When you're just boasting about yourself and yet it's very common in Baptist churches. You say what are you talking about brother Stuckey? Well, it's common behind the pulpit with repentance preachers that boast about themselves Rather than boasting about God right and notice what it says in John 3 verse 33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true now To be saved. You've got to receive Jesus Christ as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God Even to them that believe on his name. What do you need to really receive about Jesus Christ? Well, you have to receive his testimony. What is that? Well, what's John 3 about whosoever believeth in him, right? What you need to receive is the belief that Jesus died for you and was buried and rose again And when you believe that you receive that what happens you are sealed With the Holy Spirit of truth, it says here hath set to his seal that God is true So what the Bible is showing you here is you're sealed with the Holy Spirit of truth When you receive the testimony of the Lord How do people get saved? We explained that Jesus Christ came here He lived the perfect life born of the Virgin Mary died for you paid for your sins was buried He rose again and if people receive that boom they get saved That's salvation right and yet you got a lot of repentance preachers and their boast is all about themselves Right, they'll stand up behind the pulpit and say well I used to be a drunk I used to be a drug addict and a drug dealer I mean I was the most rotten sinner in the world You wouldn't even believe the things I used to do, but you know what when I got saved boom I gave it all to God. I repented of all my sins and bless God now. I'm serving him and Number one that's not salvation Salvation is receiving the testimony of the Lord number two. Why are you bragging about the sins you did I? Used to be you wouldn't even believe the things I mean this is literally how some people preach They will talk about I was the worst sinner, and then I gave it all to God all they're doing though Is bragging about themselves? And look don't misunderstand me if you used to drink alcohol, and you don't anymore praise the Lord for that That's great number one that has nothing to do with salvation and Number two don't brag about the things that you've done Right make your boast in the Lord about what God has done, and who he is and not yourself Right now. I don't stand up here and just brag about myself all the time look at all the things I've accomplished and what I do if I did it would be obnoxious It would be annoying because when you're preaching a sermon you're supposed to be talking about the Lord and you know what when you're preaching the gospel You're supposed to be talking about what the Lord has done Not about you. How does that help an unsaved person? Well? You know what I used to drink and now I don't drink How does that help an unsaved person? What an unsaved person needs is the testimony of the Lord that Jesus Christ came here? He died was buried and rose again, and they received that and that is how they get saved look your personal testimony Has nothing to do with salvation, and you know what I've been at churches Ministries before when I first got saved in college, and they would have testimony time and somebody would come up here And they'd give their testimony, and so here's the typical testimony, and I'm not going to spend 15 minutes giving a stupid testimony, okay? Of the sort of testimony they give but they'd stand up here, and they'd say well You know what I was raised in church, and they're supposed to be talking about their testimony of salvation And they stand up here and not not here But at a different bad church or whatever they'd stand up, and then they'd start talking about their testimony of salvation well You know what I was raised in church. I used to go all the time I was you know part of the children's ministries, and I was trying to serve God, but I went to College, and you know I started to drink and it started to stray from God and what I came back to God And then everyone starts clapping and me and my friends used to look at each other did we miss the when he got saved Like when did he get saved? I mean did it was he already saying when's it? When's his salvation and it's like what what they're showing out of their own mouth is they believe salvation is walking with God Like if you're going to church you must be saved if you're not going to church You're not safe that has nothing to do with salvation and all it is is bragging about what you've done That is nothing to do with salvation What salvation is is receiving the testimony of the Lord and when you do that you've set to your seal that God is true You're in dwell with the Holy Spirit of truth, and you will always be in dwell with the Holy Spirit of truth Go back to Psalm 34 Psalm 34 Psalm 34 Now let me tell you what would be an acceptable thing to do not not when you're soul winning Not when you're getting people saved, but let's say somebody receives the testimony of the Lord They get saved what you could do after they get saved is say you know what you ought to come to this church It'll really help you change your life. I've made a lot of changes since I started coming here Anyway, this church and the preaching and the fellowship will help you make some changes in your life now Make sure that that is not attached at all to salvation that they're not confused about it It's after they've already gotten saved But it's good to try to motivate people to come to church and say hey this church can help you make changes Be very careful though that you're still boasting about you know the Lord and not your own self like this is how great I am but say hey, you know what this church and this preaching will help you change your life Okay, but we got to make sure that we don't try to link any of this to salvation and confuse people because salvation is about What you believe about Jesus Christ and mark my word There are people that are drug addicts and drug dealers that we're gonna see in heaven one day How can you say that brother Stuckey because salvation is what you believe? Now is that a sin absolutely do we preach against those sins absolutely But at the same time there are drunks that are gonna be right there with us in heaven You know what praise the Lord that Jesus died for everybody Not just for those that have started going to church or those that have gotten baptized or those that read the Bible But that Jesus actually died for everybody and he loves us so much that even if we don't deserve it We still get to go to heaven if we believe last I checked None of us deserve to go to heaven Now yeah, it's great if you're not a drug dealer praise the Lord for that, but does that mean that you've kept all the commandments Right And what did Bible say about lying lying is enough to send you to hell Is there anyone who wants to stand up here today and say I've never lied brother Stuckey Well, if that's what you say, there's a lie right there right Psalm 34 verse 3 Oh Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together and isn't this what we do at church? We're magnifying the Lord and his name and lifting him up and talking about how great he is Right. We're not singing songs, you know about you know Other people were praising the Lord and look there's a lot of great people throughout the Bible We're not praising these other people in the Bible were praising the Lord in the songs that we sing and we're Magnifying the Lord and whenever we might preach on a character in the Bible You know We're still directing it toward the Lord and not that one person as if he's some sort of like Superhero or something because we're not gonna worship any man Okay, a lot of great people have existed in this world We're still directing those sermons to the Lord and what he has done verse 4 I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears They looked unto him and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles now in verse 6 I believe he's being a bit You know Symbolic here or metaphorical when he says this poor man because what I think he's he's trying to help describe to us is You know picture somebody who's very poor. He has no money Maybe he's in great debt and he's in trouble and he has no money to deliver himself or save himself from his troubles And problems because you know, if you have a lot of money in life It can help you get out of various problems, right? You know, if you have money people give you whatever you want, right? Well, here's some money and they'll give you something right? But what he's saying is that in a spiritual sense we really don't have anything to offer to God That we deserve it or that we could deliver ourselves I mean if we could deliver ourselves, we would do that, but we can't right what he's saying Is this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles So all God requires to deliver us is that we cry out to him That we just cry out to God for help now. I don't really believe this is linked to salvation I don't think that's what it means saved him out of all of his troubles because of course you could make that application Because hell is a big trouble, right? It's a terrible thing. I don't really think that's the point though I for sake of time, but if you remember the story of Elisha and his servants They basically wake up in the morning and I've mentioned this recently like what I personally believe even though the Bible doesn't directly say it I think Elisha Elisha Woke up early and probably had his morning time with God. I think he was reading the scriptures He was praying and he got in the right mindset and the servant There's kind of this picture that he wakes up and he sees all these problems He sees the enemy trying to destroy them. He comes to Elisha It doesn't say he woke Elisha out of sleep because great men in the Bible They always wake up early great men great women. They rise up early in the morning So I believe Elisha was already way awake and had done his morning time with God and the servant comes to Elisha Alas my master. What shall we do? And then what Elisha says? It's it's the the song in our hymnal, you know open mine eyes that I may see he says basically You know open his eyes and he can see that you know what we have God's help to deliver us It doesn't say that God's gonna provide some help but the help is actually already there and see what the Bible says is the angel of the Lord and Campeth round about them that fear him and Deliver them now I do believe My personal opinion the Bible actually teaches that as a saved person you do have one guardian angel I think the book of Luke teaches that and if you're you know, the Bible says that for everybody But then after you're saved, I believe you retain that angel that is like actually there, you know to help you But not only just that one angel But I do believe that God is here to help us in our lives if you're serving God and doing right You know what if something tragically happens, it's not like it was a fluke accident It's because God obviously allowed it for some reason because God is there to actually protect you and help you out Now if you're not fearing God because you can be saved and not fear God The Bible does not say that every saved person fears God and you know We also have an unsaved person in the Bible that does fear God Cornelius Cornelius in all of his house feared God as unsaved people you can be saved and not fear God You say how could you be saved and not fear God when you're breaking God's commandments you don't fear God right When we're doing wrong, we're obviously not fearing God and all of us from time to time We make commit sins and do wrong We're not fearing God at that moment because we think we're gonna get away with our sin or whatever Right, but if you're living a life of sin, you're obviously not fearing God because you're thinking wait nothing's gonna happen to me right, but the Bible says the angel encamps round about those that fear him and Deliver them and God is there to help you and protect you and deliver you when you run into difficult situations Bible says at the end of the day safety is of the Lord And you know what? I found is as a saved person when I'm right with God and I'm serving God and doing right I really don't have a lot of fear in my life I live a life of confidence and faith and I'm not afraid of something that might happen to me But you know if you're not serving God and you're kind of backslidden a little bit Which all of us are from time to time all of us walk in the flesh from time to time Then all of a sudden you start getting afraid of everything And you know what honestly there's there's good reason for it because if you're serving God God is going to be there to protect you if you're not serving God Who knows what's gonna happen? Right, you know probably many of us in this room can probably point to times in our lives where God protected us and helped us In a difficult situation. I remember being going home from church in West Virginia and you know many years ago and I was driving on the highway and when you're driving on the highway in the US you're going very very fast Okay, I'm trying to convert. I don't naturally convert to miles and kilometers You know per hour, but I think it's basically you know you're going like 75 miles per hour, so it's like a hundred twenty kilometers per hour which is pretty fast right if you get an accident boom You know you could die when you're going that speed and my back tire my back left tire just blew immediately It's not that I got a flat and my car started to slow down It just it sounded like a gunshot and my car swerving all over the highway But you know what I got to the side of the road in a matter of a couple seconds my car didn't flip even Though you know it felt like it was going to and it's like you know what I was okay Right now. I'm not saying that God wouldn't have protected me if I was was not doing right But what I'm saying is I was doing right and serving God at that time I mean you know what God protected me And I do believe that if you're serving God and doing right you can have that confidence that God is there for you And he's there to protect you verse 8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good Blessed is the man that trusteth in him now to be saved. You've got to put your trust on Jesus Christ Right we say money walla or magti walla long caje su Christo, but it doesn't mean you're trusting God with every moment of your life Right because you obviously put all your trust on Jesus to be saved if you're saved You've got to put 100% you know many times There's certain things in the Bible where God says you know what do this and we're just like you know what I like Like what I'm doing I feel like this is going to work out better for me And we trust in man's wisdom or what other people tell us rather than trusting what God says Well the Bible says the person that puts this as their trust and lets the Bible guide their life That person is going to have a blessed life You know there's benefits to serving God It's not just that you're obeying God, but it's going to be miserable. It's going to be terrible You're missing out on so much actually if you do what God says it's going to be a blessed life It's going to be a happy life. You're going to be great joy. There's many benefits to serving God and doing right It says in verse 9 oh fear the Lord ye his saints for there's no one to them that fear him now You say brother Stuckey. What is a saint? Well, I'll tell you what a saint is not a Saint is not somebody that died 500 years ago that you know Pope devil Francis just Determined is a saint Okay, a saint according the Bible is someone that believes someone that's saved And this is given all the way back in the Old Testament So it's true back then as well because they got saved they put their trust in the future coming of the Lord We put our trust in the Lord that already came and died for us But the Bible says here that you know, oh fear the Lord ye his saints So once again if God's commanding us to fear God, it's not automatic Right because many people preach. Well, if you're really saved you're gonna start walking the walk Well, why does God have to always command you to walk the walk then if fearing God is automatic Why would God have to command you and say hey fear the Lord? He says that because we have free will to make our own choices and Just simply being saved does not mean you're gonna fear God and I would say that if we were to make an accurate determination of people that actually fear God of saved people I would say it's the minority of people in 2021 that are saved that actually fear God Right because people live their lives and they don't even care what God says They don't even strive to do what God says that shows a lack of fear of God One of the benefits of fearing God though according to verse 9 is this for there is no want to them that fear him There's no want to them that fear him now What is something that you desire now? What does that mean? Well go to Philippians chapter 4 Philippians 4 Philippians 4 And this is actually described, you know a couple times we'll see this here in the Bible But really the main reference is in terms of your financial provision Although I do believe you could apply it to other things But notice what it says in Philippians 4 verse 11 Philippians chapter 4 And you know, there's a famous passage of Scripture we often turn here but notice what it says in Philippians 4 verse 11, not that I speak in respect of Once right he uses the same terminology For I have learned in whatsoever state. I am there with to be content I know both how to be a base and I know how to bound everywhere and in all things I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry Both to abound and to suffer need now when he talks about one here in Philippians 4 verse 11 He's applying this to his financial provision and he says I know how to abound and have basically everything and not have any Concerns financially and I know how to be a based or be humbled and he said, you know what? I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need Now what's interesting is Paul says I have learned to be content And what Paul is stating is it did not come naturally for him Anyway, honestly when we think about it It makes sense because Paul was pretty successful before he was saved in a financial sense, right? No, we don't know, you know, I whether you know how much money he had or whatever But he was very high up in his religion. He was successful He had all of his needs what he's stating though is this I used to have all my needs But now I'm traveling around and starting churches and sometimes I'm like, alright. Well, I guess I'm sleeping on a rock tonight, right? I'm trying to figure out and he said, you know what I learned to be a based He's like I used to have a lot of stuff and now that I don't have it You know what? I had to learn that because it didn't come naturally Now one application I make is you know when I move from the United States to the Philippines because there's a lot of differences But one of the major differences is the size of the place you live Like what's considered a small house in the u.s. Is considered a very large house here And so for example, you know my wife and I we bought a house in Sacramento, California And by American standards, it was very small. It was Smaller than anybody I knew and it was like I think was around 700 square feet It was just under you know, 70 square meters, which is very small in America Now some of you are like that that doesn't sound so small, right? But in America, that's very small and so I remember, you know We moved in there and you know Then our son was born and I remember just thinking inside my mind like man I wish our place is a little bit better. We have so much stuff And you know what the reason why you feel that way is because you know Your happiness is oftentimes determined based on who you're around and since other people had nicer houses You know, we'd have dinner over at some one of the church families houses. They have all these nice things You're like man. I wish I could have that their cars nicer than mine their house is nicer than mine look if we're honest all of us can be covetous or envious, you know from time to time and It's just like, you know being around that I was like man, you know, but then when we moved here You know, especially when we're living here in passing It's just like our place was like less than half that and then we ended up having two kids instead of just having one And it's just like our place that we live now and on place is bigger than where we lived in passing But I remember just you know, it's not bigger than where we lived in Sacramento But I'm just like I'm very content now because we had a smaller place and now it's bigger But you know, it's interesting that when I lived in the US because you compare yourself to other people You're just like man. I wish I could have the place that they had right and what Paul's saying is this, you know what I used to have a nicer life in terms of my physical provision and financial provision and he's like, you know what I ended up kind of giving that away and You know what? I had to learn to be content And you know what? Honestly, it's you know, I I like seeing you know when godly people in the Bible show Character flaws or where they where they show that they're not super human Because you see them do some amazing things and you you sort of feel like man This is like Superman or something right like a like a great example is Elijah in first Kings 18, I mean he tears down those false prophets of Baal You're like man, nothing could ever depress this person then in the next chapter Jezebel threatens him and he's like, oh, I don't even want to live anymore Just let me die God and he's miserable and it's like honestly though That's encouraging because all of us have moments where we backside we mess up We have areas where we're striving to do better and it's like it's encouraging to me when you see those problems Because it makes me feel like well if they could learn to get past their problems then I can too Right, I think of Joseph in the Old Testament now when you read the book of Genesis like Joseph, you know when he first sees his brothers again, I don't believe he just immediately forgives them personally I don't see that when I'm reading the story I think that he has some you know bitterness toward them But at the end he certainly forgives them right he fully forgives them and you know, he's weeping at that moment and everything like that I mean he fully forgives them and it's just like that's encouraging because you see someone who yeah, it was difficult But he ever overcame it right. I mean other than the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nobody who's perfect You might have a character like Daniel that it doesn't mention them sinning But obviously he did sin because there is none righteous No, not one and sometimes you see these frailties in these these people their weaknesses their problems and it encourages you that you know What if they were just a man and they could do something mighty for God? I'm just a man I'm just a woman I can do something great for God in 2021 Right. It's not like God uses people that are perfect. We're all sinners We make mistakes, but if you really want to serve God God can use you in a big way Now we're go back to Psalm 34 Psalm 34 So here's the thing if you're not content right now in 2021 learn to be content I Mean An easy way to apply this to think about this obviously for lions their food is their sustenance and their financial provision so to speak For us what it's saying is this if we fear God and are doing what's right? There's not gonna be anything that we want that we desire that we feel like we need because when you're fearing God You're not focused on the things that you don't have I Mean any one of us if we can just think about the things we don't have and just meditate upon that we would be miserable Right. None of us are Bill Gates Right. None of us are that rich There are things we probably want that we do not have Right and you know Obviously all of us from time to time. We might have this attitude. I wish I could have that I Wish I could have that but we don't have it And the secret is just quit meditating upon it And if you fear God and you're serving him you end up being content. Just the fact that you're obeying God Okay Psalm 34 verse 11 Come eat children harken unto me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord What man is he that desireth life and love with many days that he may see good now in verse 12? What he's basically saying is, you know who desires to have a long life in a good life Right wouldn't everybody say I want to live a long life. I want to have a good life I want to be blessed and have nice things and and be happy. I want to have joy I want you know, my kids to grow up and serve God and do right. I want to have a good life Well, what does the Bible say is the secret verse 13 keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile Now, I don't think verse 13 is really what you'd expect the Bible to say Right in verse 12 it says, you know who desires You know life and loving many days and that he's gonna see good and have a good life You wouldn't expect the answer to be, you know, keep your tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile You know, there's many ways that we can apply this when it comes to our tongue many sins that we can fall into Okay now quickly turn with me go to James chapter 3 James 3 But There are many sins of the tongue and honestly, you know what someone could preach a sermon series on that You know, I don't have that on my list coming up So one of you guys that preach on Wednesday if you want to go for the sins of the tongue Part one part two part three or whatever, but there's many sins of the tongue that we can fall into one is Gossip, right? That's a major sin of the tongue right Another thing is complaining. That's something that makes God pretty angry in the Old Testament right complaining something that's annoying It's obnoxious. People don't like to hear it, but people oftentimes fall into the pattern of complaining and everything like that You know people could talk. I mean it says speaking no guile people could speak about sinful things, right? People oftentimes they talk about all the worldliness and the sin that's out there in the world and you know Basically, you know praise it and things like that I mean there's many ways you could use your tongue for bad and you say well How does how does that affect all of you though? How does that affect you from living a good life? Well, because what the Bible teaches is the tongue is like a fire and It will spread to your entire body So if you cannot control your tongue What's going to end up happening is your whole body is going to be filled full of sin and problems It says in James 3 go to verse 6 for sake of time actually verse 5 verse 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth The tongue is a little member a little body part, right? It's not a big body part Who would think that this tongue could do so much damage and yet our tongues cause a lot of damage they cause a lot of problems right and Boasteth great things. I mean, isn't it true that most people every man praises himself, right? Everybody talks about how great they are Right and then it says in verse 5 behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth So it Lincoln's the tongue to basically like a fire. Okay. What's the Bible trying to say? Well think about a wildfire Every major fire that's out there. It started with something very small There's it's always in California, you know where Verdi Baptist is in Sacramento There's always wildfires throughout the year, especially these last several years. There's been a lot of wildfires But you know those wildfires started with something small Oftentimes with these wildfires, they'll trace it back and they'll say well somebody smoked a cigarette and threw it out and ended up being like Right, and it's just like sometimes something very small can end up causing so much problems But all of those fires started with just a very little flame And what the Bible says in verse 6 is this and the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity so it so is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and Seteth on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell What the Bible says is this tongue defiles the entire body? So look if you just say whatever comes out in your head. Just let it come out of your mouth everything you're thinking about Everything that's inside of there. You're gonna end up living a life full of sin. It's gonna destroy yourself Because pretty soon once you can just say whatever you want and not feel bad about it pretty soon You're gonna start to do the things that you think as well and not think anything of it go back to Psalm 34 Psalm 34 Psalm 34 The sad thing is the tongue is it's small but it's very dangerous but it's very hard to control We tend to just say what we're thinking out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak it That's just kind of what happens Right. So really if you really want to get control your tongue You got to get down to the root of the problem will get to your heart Change your heart because you know when you think stuff it eventually is gonna come out of your mouth That's just the way it works, right? Psalm 34 verse 14 Depart from evil and do good seek peace and pursue it The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open onto their cry The face of the Lord is against them that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth So the Bible makes a comparison between those that are saved and those that are the evildoers and you want God's ears So to speak are open on to our cry Meaning when we cry out to God God is ready and willing to listen to what we have to say If we cry out to God because what the Bible also teaches in the book of James is one of the big reasons We don't have things in life It's because we don't ask for them It's really that simple. I Mean it seems so stupid when I'm preaching this and when you're hearing this doesn't it seem don't we seem so silly and Yet many times you just don't ask for stuff because we're just too lazy or like wow Does it really make a difference and stuff like that? It's like brother Stuckey. Why are the lights out? Well, we didn't turn them on. It's that simple Brother Stuckey my computer. It's it's yet. Just hit the power button. It's gonna be okay, right? It's really that simple when it comes to getting our prayers answered number one We need to pray to God. We need to cry out to God and God is ready and willing to listen to us it says in in verse 17 The righteous cry and the Lord hearth and deliver them out of all their troubles the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saith such as be of a such as be of a Contrite spirit so it mentions a broken heart and it mentions a contrite spirit now when it says He saved as such as be of a contrite spirit These are people that are already spiritually saved and what he's stating is the spiritually saved person that is willing to humble themselves God will physically save them from various problems and dangers in their life Okay, but it mentions a broken heart in a contrite spirit now go to Isaiah 57 let me show you another verse Now I would say that most people when they get saved probably do feel pretty bad and feel very guilty But we need to be very careful that just because we Experience something does not mean this is universal across the board with people to get saved There could be people in this room that when you got saved you cried. I didn't cry when I got saved Well, I don't know if you're saved brother Stuckey because you didn't shed any tears and See sometimes we feel like well, this is how I got saved So everybody like when I got saved I literally went down on my knees and prayed and asked Jesus Christ to save me But you don't have to do that to be saved You don't have to go down to your knees and pray and ask Jesus to save you. It's just what I did Right, we need to be very careful because sometimes people just kind of assume that what took place with them is just universal across the board Well when I got saved I felt really bad and wanted to give up all my sin That's great that you did but that doesn't mean that the Bible says you have to be willing to give up all your sin to be Saved that could be your experience when you got saved For me. I was perfectly willing to hold on to my rock music and movies when I got saved, right? I was I mean if I was told well You know what? You got to be willing to give this up and this is like now I probably I'm like man It's been a lot of money on that stuff, right? God doesn't require that though. What are your cars is for us to believe on Jesus Christ? So don't let anybody take you to a to tell you all in my testimony This is what I did that doesn't mean that everybody did that though or that it's required What's required is to put all your trust on Jesus Christ now as a 57 verse 15 notice this for thus saith the high and lofty one Isaiah 57 verse 50 15 For thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a Contrite and humble spirit So here mentions a contrite spirit in a humble spirit other places not just in Psalm 34, but other places we see a Contrite in a broken spirit and so what the Bible is trying to show us is that broken is is very similar To being humble because when you think of being broken, it's basically when you're being humbled where it's like God Please help me because you're asking God to deliver you and help you Well, that's a humble thing you're doing because you're admitting that you can't help yourself or you can't save yourself and so Bob says God wants to save those that are of a contrite and broken or contrite and Humble spirit and of course when we pray to God One of the major things we're doing is humbling herself Because if we feel like we can do it on our own there's no need to pray But obviously we're going to God we realize you know what I need God's help in order to fix these problems in my life It's a very, you know humble thing that you're doing go back to Psalm 34. We'll close up some 34 So spiritually what saves us is putting our trust putting our belief on Jesus Christ We believe on Jesus Christ we get saved. It's eternal life. It's forever. It's that simple But The determination of whether or not we're blessed in this life Under the blessing or cursing of God. What's not whether or not you're saved It's whether or not you obey Right that has nothing to do with getting to heaven and see many times people try to merge all this stuff together It's like in terms of going to heaven or hell. It's as simple as believe on Jesus But in terms of God blessing you in this life It's called you got to do what he says Anyway, that makes perfect sense because if you have children in this room What's the determination of whether or not you're gonna bless them especially when they're young are they obeying you? Right. I mean if my son, you know throws a big fit and yells at me and everything like that And then he's like daddy. I want ice cream. No Not gonna happen son Right. It's like you better be right with me if you're gonna ask for ice cream. Otherwise, I'm not gonna give it Same way with God. I mean you better be obeying what he says and doing right and when you do mess up What do you need to do? You need to come to God with a broken and humble and contrite spirit and say God I messed up Forgive me. Give me another chance cleanse me help me or whatever. Okay Psalm 34 verse 19 many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord deliver them out of them all He keepeth all his bones not one of them is broken Evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous shall be Desolate and those people that you know are wicked people they hate the righteous Right the Bible says and they that hate the righteous You know what? If you're serving God if you're saved there are gonna be people that hate you People that are reprobates and children of the devil they will hate you and if you're serving God You're definitely gonna have enemies. They're gonna be people that do not like you They do not like what you stand for you say why is that brother Stuckey? Well, most people aren't saved most people don't have their belief on Jesus Christ and You know what in the Philippines in 2021? I've asked recently we were talking about this in Pampanga I was I asked the question, you know, what percentage of people here and in you know The Philippines do you think are homeless what percentage of guys and their percentage? I was the most optimistic I had the optimistic outlook of only 10% Right in terms of Metro Manila and Anjali City because I live in Anjali City our churches in Anjali City But met and mine was the low one, right? But the range from people was 10 to 40% and I thought 40 was a little bit high. I Hope that's not true, right? But I could certainly believe it's more than 10% I mean honestly when I said 10% and I was like, but then when I really thought about I was like Yeah, you know what? Honestly, it's probably probably more than that I mean, how many times do you start preaching the gospel to a group of people this happened to me yesterday? I walked up to a group of five people and then I realized oh man all three of these guys are Homos all three of them and then of course you're in the difficult situation Well, there's two girls here that I don't think you know, or I mean, maybe they'll be willing to listen and get saved But it's like at the same time, you know, you got these, you know homos that are just you know Being obnoxious and everything like that. It's just like puts you in a difficult situation But that happens a lot you go to a group of people and then all of a sudden It's like there's a lot of people that are homos and I would say that in Metro Manila Maybe not in every province, but I would say Metro Manila and in Anhale City. I think it's more than 10% I think I was honestly I had the most optimistic outlook. I had the low end Honestly, I think I was wrong. All right, I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong. Okay, I think it is probably higher that's a scary thing and People like that, you know what they don't like us They don't like us Say why don't they like you? Well, they don't like God they hate God and When you state what God says they don't like you either and honestly, even if you don't state it Just the fact that you go to church. I mean you go out soul winning later today You know what those sorts of people they're gonna hate you just seeing you they can't stand the Word of God I mean have you ever had this you go soul winning and then all of a sudden, you know You talk to someone they're not interested you knock the next door. Oh, nobody's home there, right? Nobody's home And it's just like you know what many times those people are just lying. They just don't want you to knock those next doors It's like what's your problem? I mean if you're not interested, that's fine, but they hate what we're doing Now what I often do in those situations not all not always it depends on the situation But what I often do because you're trying to avoid fights Even if they're not receptive you don't want to get into a fight because that could prevent any opportunities I say oh, well, thank you. Let me just double-check it for myself I just say something like that and it's like you know What I found is that sometimes you say that and then the person's like arguing with you and yelling at you And it's just like, you know, what's that person's problem? And then of course somebody opens the door Imagine that somebody's home Wow, and I remember one time I did this and then that person wasn't interested But then afterwards, you know, they closed the door I walk away and I told you not to open that door. It's like you told me nobody was home It's just like, you know, what in the world you say what is that? Well, they hate what we're doing They hate what we're doing. I Mean, I mean do you do you think and look I'm not I'm not just talking to the home about the homos I mean do you think that Muslims are happy when we're going out preaching the gospel? Because when I run into them, they're usually very anti Bible now, there are some exceptions but many times they're just angry Right. You're just trying to invite him to church and they just ignore you right? I've seen that many times especially when we went to resolve park you walk up. They just ignore you Right, no matter what you say. They're just ignoring you and and if they do say something oftentimes We're Muslims and they're really mad right now. There's exceptions. I'm not saying it's always like that, but it's it's it's very common Well, they don't like us spreading the message that Jesus is a son of God do they? Right, but it's not just when we're going soul winning It's also the things that we promote and you know, what most people do not agree with what we promote They don't like what we have to say they don't agree with our stands. They don't agree with these sermons. They don't agree with this Now correct me if I'm wrong. I mean I do have my contacts and I can see right now There's a lot of people in this room Right. I mean there's plenty of people here. It seems like a lot of people like this type of preaching I mean 2021 is a pretty crazy place in Metro Manila, but it seems like a lot of people like this preaching Right, but there's a lot of people that hate this preaching They hate what we stand for they hate what we believe and you simply going to this church could cause you to have enemies with your Catholic relatives They could be mad. I mean you could you could have a lot of enemies with Baptists as well a lot of Baptists hate our church It's like I I mean it's it's like but it's just the way it is a lot of Baptist churches We're like the biggest enemy, you know with Baptist churches here in Metro, Manila. They hate our church And it's like they don't agree with the things that we stand for and you know The big issue that we disagree with them on is usually over repentance of sins Well, we're never taking a gray area on that situation Never a gray area whatsoever brother segue. We're ever gonna do a joint evangelism thing with some other church Well, not if they're preaching repentance of sins And It's a big issue Work salvation versus faith alone. That's the difference whether they see it or not And it's just like you know what it's a big issue in 2021 and you know The vast majority of Baptist churches preach Calvinism and repentance of sins in 2021. Guess what? They don't like our church They don't like what I have to say about Calvinism Now, I love what I have to say about Calvinism. It's always my longest sermon It's like oh wow, the first sermons on Calvinism. All right, we're gonna have lunch at 2 p.m. Here today, right? That's the way it works. But anyways verse 22. Let's close up here The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate and the Bible says that The the wicked those that hate us are gonna be desolate when you think of desolate, you know Oftentimes you say desolate wilderness. You could think of a desert where there's basically no life to it Okay, but the Bible says that for us that trust in him, you know, we're not gonna be desolate Okay, when you're serving God and doing right God's gonna provide your needs. He's gonna bless you He's gonna help you doesn't mean your life's gonna be perfect It doesn't mean that you're not gonna have any problems But absolutely walking in the path of God and trying to serve God is gonna bless you in many ways in life So what's the message here fear the Lord? What does it mean to fear the Lord? Well fear God and keep his commandments For this is the whole duty of man. Let's close in order prayer dear Heavenly Father Thank you for allowing us to be here today And I just ask you to help us to apply this sermon to our lives including myself Help me to do a better job fearing you and help all of us to fear you Keep your commandments and do right. We ask you to continue to bless our church. We just pray this in Jesus name Amen, and so if you're here to be baptized today you can get ready now ladies back in that room and men up here in the front Even type in marine home a wit when you put nothing to go look nothing in there Oh, it put a Molina Tagalog. What the puta is a heme number 131 Heme number 131 Heme number 131 We He a peach number 131 peach number 131 a wheat and shot First has a puta again last answer honey, not for sons already saying Oh Ah Oh Oh See Oh