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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Just sit down on the staircase of the love bicycles with something if you want to sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down and sit down and sit down. Sit down and sit down. Sit down on the Hey men, good morning to Sati Naha, and welcome to American Baptist Church, Manila. We're going to start our second service, and let's get this hymnbook. You're the guy who put a hymnbook. Let's turn to page number eight. Let's sing the song, I Belong to the King. This hymnbook book, you'll have your hymnbook. Page number eight. Let's sing the song, I Belong to the King. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. On a very sweet evening, I belong to the King. I'm the God of His love. I now dwell in His palace so fair. For He tells of His peace in heaven above. And His truth and its splendor shall share. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. And He evermore seeketh His own. He will go thee some day to His palace above. I shall dwell by His glory my throne. I Belong to the King, and He loves me I know. For He serves me and I can so be. I am succinctly fine, wheresoever I go. And my refuge not failing is He. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. And He evermore seeketh His own. He will go thee some day to His palace above. I shall dwell by His glory my throne. I Belong to the King, and His promise is sure. Let me hold of the gathered at last. In His kingdom above, life is water so pure. And the life in His trials is vast. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. And He evermore seeketh His own. He will go thee some day to His palace above. I shall dwell by His glory my throne. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. I Belong to the King, I'm the God of His love. This is a slow song, so it may not be on the mountainside. On the first ready, page number nine. I go where you want me to go, page number nine. On the first ready, sing. It may not be on the mountainside. Nor will the storm be seen. It may not be on the battleside. My Lord will have me, my King. I'll give Christ to you, small voice he calls. To pass I do not know. I'll answer you, Lord, with my hand in mine. I'll go where you want me to go. I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord. Lord, bow in your place, your seat. I'll sing what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be. Perhaps today there are a loving word. Which Jesus would have me speak. Where maybe now in the paths of sin, Some on earth would I should see. Oh, sing, my God. The bargain broken away. My voice shall echo the message sweet. I'll sing what you want me to sing. I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord. Our mountain, our plain, our sea. I'll sing what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be. I'll sing what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll sing what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll sing what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll sing my love to thy dear. I know thou lovest me. I too, I will become more sincere. I'll be what you want me to be. I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord. Our mountain, our plain, our sea. I'll sing what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be, dear Lord. There's my proof, right? Because it's not like kids are very respectful in today's world, okay? But the question is not what is my opinion or my logic, but what does the Bible say, okay? Point number one, why is it people do not spank their children? Ignorance. They are ignorant of what the Bible says. Notice what it says in Proverbs 22, verse 15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Look, this verse does not say foolishness is bound in the heart of some children, or the rod of correction drives it away if you happen to have foolishness in your child. No, it just states every child is foolish. And look, when us that are adults, when we were kids, we were also foolish. We also did a lot of things that were wrong, and we deserve punishments and spankings as well. The Bible says foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. What is that referring to? It is referring to a spanking, okay? Now it says rod, and many people when they spank, they use a literal object. For example, my wife uses a stick. So if the kids are acting up, she'll say, you're going to get the stick, and then all of a sudden they straighten up and act right. For me, I just use my hand because it's a lot quicker, and as a guy I don't have any problems having enough strength to spank my kids or whatever. But the Bible says the rod of correction because it was a literal object that was used to spank children when they acted up. Now turn in your Bible to Proverbs 19. Proverbs 19. When I was a kid, the object I got when I got spanked was a very old-fashioned type of hairbrush that was as hard as a rock, and that was the object that I got spanked. So whether or not it's a rod, a stick, a hand, a hairbrush, the idea is spanking. You say, Brother Stuckey, I don't agree with you. I don't think that you should spank your children. Well, you're ignorant. Brother Stuckey, that's rude. I just read you what the Bible said. And yeah, that's not the nicest way to say it, but I'm not really trying to say it in the nicest way. I mean, that's the first point ignorance. It's kind of hard to bounce around that and say, well, you're ignorant, but not really. No, no, no, you're ignorant on what the Bible says if you would say, well, you know what, I don't believe in spanking. And here's the thing, you might disagree on the exact methods and things such as that, on the proper age and things like that, and people can have different opinions. But to suggest that spanking is not what the Bible teaches, you are ignorant of what the Bible says to them. Because the Bible is very, very clear, the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Proverbs 19, verse 18. Chasing thy son while there is hope. And let me just say this, by the way, it says son, but it's also referring to daughters, too. It's not like just boys are not released, okay? Girls also need the spanking, okay, when they act up. But chasing thy son while there is hope. Why does it say while there is hope? Because here's the thing, at a young age, you can discipline your kids. But if you wait too long and they're a lot older, they're not going to listen to you. The discipline's not going to do any good. Right, a lot of people are just like, well, you know what, I'm okay with spanking, I just think that you should start when they're like eight years old. It's like, are you crazy? It's like, here's the reality, if you start spanking when you're eight, I'll be done spanking my kids by the time they're eight. You say, why? Because they'll already be obedient. They're already going to be listening to me by the time that they're eight years old because they had spankings from when they were acting up at a young age. And I'm going to say this, I mean, if you make that statement, don't start spanking until they're five or six, most likely you do not have kids. Because kids by the age of five, if they never get any discipline, will be bad kids. It's a fact. I'm sorry, but it doesn't take that long for kids to realize to do bad things. I mean, they start at a young age, and if you don't provide any discipline until they're five or six years old, good luck fixing it from there on out. You'd be a lot smarter just starting at a young age and doing it, and then by the time they're four, five, six, seven years old, they'll be pretty obedient already. Okay? You start at eight, I'll already be done. It says, chasing thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crime. What does it mean, let not thy soul spare for his crime? It means when you spank your kids, they cry. They're not happy to be spanked. I mean, they'll fight against it. Sometimes you go to spank them, they'll fight against it. They don't want that spanking, you know, and it hurts them, and they'll cry. You realize this, that you know what, we're not talking about injuring a child. I'm not talking about punching your child or kicking your child or some sort of abuse. There's a specific place in the body that I think we're all aware of where it really hurts, and it causes no injury whatsoever. And it leaves a red mark for a little while, and then it's gone, and it's no big deal, right? We're not talking about injuring your child, but we are talking about inflicting pain as a deterrent from doing bad. Go to Proverbs 29. Proverbs 29. Proverbs 29. A lot of parents are, and I was the same way when I first became a parent, you know, you're really concerned when you first start spanking your children. Because, you know, you're afraid that, you know, they're going to get really mad at you, and you want to make sure you're doing things right, but you know what you find out? When you spank your children, they do not stay mad at you. They're upset for two minutes, and it is over. Right? When I spank my kids 98% of the time within two or three minutes, they're already over it. They're hugging me. I'm sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have done that. I mean, they're already over it. I mean, the quick punishment, and they are over it very, very quickly. They don't stay mad at you. It's not like you spank your kids and they're going to hate you for a week. That's not the way it takes place. You spank your kids, and then you hug them afterwards, and you say you love them, and this is why you got the spanking, and they're usually already sorry, and they're not mad at you. That is the way it almost always works. And if they do get mad at you, they still are not going to stay mad that long. I can only remember one time that one of my children went to bed mad at me because of a spanking. Because the spanking took place, like, 15 minutes before they went to bed, and they were really upset for whatever reason. I guess they didn't think they were acting bad. But they were over it the next day. It's not like they stayed mad for days and days. They're over it. Look, you don't have to worry about it. I spanked my kid. He's going to hate me. That's not the way it takes place. You spank your kids, and they realize that you actually love them. Proverbs 20, verse 30. The blueness of a wound cleanses the way evil, so do stripes the inward parts of the belly. The idea is that punishment is going to fix the inside. You look on the inside of children, they are foolish. Children are naturally rebellious. You do not have to teach your children how to lie. It comes pretty naturally to that. Right? I mean, kids, they get in trouble, their natural reaction is to lie. I mean, every single kid, if another kid has the toy that they want, they're going to whine about it. They're going to cry about it. What's that called? It's called being foolish. I mean, if you were an adult, and somebody sat in your seat at church, and you're like, I'm so upset. That's my seat. And you cried about it, I'd say, you're a fool. What's wrong with you? And guess what? Kids act foolish. For kids, it's like, no, that's my seat. That's my toy. What's really interesting is when they have a piece of candy, and then their brother or sister gets it, or somebody else gets it, and they get really upset, you give them the exact same type of candy, same wrapper, same color, everything, and they're still crying, and now they refuse the candy. What's that called? It's called being foolish. But isn't that the way that every single child is from time to time? Every single child acts up from time to time. It's not just my kids, it's not just your kids. Every single child acts up, and that's what God teaches. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child. Go to Deuteronomy 21. Deuteronomy 21. Now, you don't have to take my word for it or listen to everything I'm saying, and you're welcome to have your opinion. As I said, if you don't believe in spanking or punishment at all, then that's just called being ignorant of what the Bible says. We're not believing what the Bible says. And I'm not stating that spanking is the only form of punishment you can ever do. It is the primary form mentioned in the Bible for parenting your kids of punishment, but it's not necessarily the only one, and as they get older, then that punishment could change to something more long-term to prepare them for what it's like when you're actually 18 and you do something, and you go to jail or get in trouble. It's not just a spank on the butt, right? But it is the primary form. Now, in my opinion, when it comes to spanking children, we started with our kids before the age of one. Now, a lot of people hear that, and they think, before the age of what? Here's the thing. I'm a very logical person. I'm a math guy. What's the reason for spanking? It's when they disobey. That's the reason why. If my child accidentally spills milk on the ground, they don't get a spanking for that. Why? It's an accident. They didn't intentionally do something bad. I spill stuff sometimes, right? It's when they disobey. It's when they understand the word no and they do not listen, and they choose to disobey. Here's the thing. My kids understood the word no before the age of one. So when did I start spanking? Before the age of one. Because I'm spanking them because they're disobeying them. I teach them, if Daddy says something, you listen, even if you don't understand. Because this is what every kid starts to do once they learn to crawl. Every single child, I'll give you a demonstration, but not too closely. Every single child, wow, I see a hole here. I wonder what will happen if I jam this in? Every single child does that. And guess what? You can't watch your kids 24-7. I mean, sometimes you're doing something in the other room. It's like they get in trouble pretty quickly once they start learning to crawl. It's easy at the beginning. They don't really move. Then they start to roll over, and then they're going to roll off the bed at some point. They're like, man. It happens to every child, and they're fine. Once they start to crawl, good luck. It's like you need to start your discipline once they really understand because they'll start doing things they don't know. And my kids, at the age of one, I would see them go for the electricity or for the fan because they're curious, and you'd tell them no. And then they look at you, and they don't listen because they're curious. Well, here's the thing. I'm a logical person. That's when spanking starts because they're disobeying. Once they're old enough to understand what they disobey. Here's the thing. If you say you should start spanking at the age of five, why is five a magic number? What's your reason for the age of five? And you might disagree with me. Kids are different. It's not the same age for every kid. You might wait a little longer, but let me just say something. If you wait too long, you're going to have a very rebellious child on your hands. It does not take them long to become like that. For me, our kids, we started before the age of one. You might say, well, it's farther, but I'm just saying, you know what? I believe you're probably going to regret it if you wait and start having more and more problems on your hands. You start the discipline when they're young. Here's the thing. You start spanking your kids when they're six. I'll be giving my kid the gospel when they're six. I'm going to be done spanking and giving them the gospel at that point because they're going to obey 99% of the time at that point. I spank my daughter more than my son's at. You say, why, brother Stuckey? Is it because you're sexist? It wasn't because she's younger. It's because she has more foolishness inside of her because she's younger. My wife spanks our daughter more than our son Zeph. You say, why? Because Zeph is older, and he obeys better than my daughter because more foolishness is at the age of two and a half than four and a half. That's just the way it works. You can disagree with me if you want, and that's fine. You don't have to agree with every single point. But to state that no spanking whatsoever, that's just not biblical. And you are brainwashed by what the world is telling you. That's a fact. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 21, what's the danger of not spanking your child? Deuteronomy 21, verse 18. Deuteronomy 21, verse 18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother and when they have chastened him will not hearken unto him. Now, why would a son not listen to their parents? Jason, my son, wow, there is hope. Right? It uses the same word. And what you're seeing here is they waited too long and now the child will not obey at all. Look, it's your job as a mom and dad to teach your kids about authority. It's your job. And let me tell you something. We believe in a God that is a loving God that also punishes wrongdoing. And you want to help your kid understand that kind of God and believe on that God? Here's the thing. Be a loving parent that also will discipline when necessary because that's the same God that we worship. Right. God loves us but He also disciplines us when we do wrong. And it says, Jason, thy son, wow, there is hope. Verse 19. Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the elders of the city and out of the gate of his place. They shall say unto the elders of the city, this our son is stubborn and rebellious who will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of the city shall stone him with stones that he dies so thou shalt put away evil from among you and all Israel shall hear and hear. What you're seeing is they raised a reprobate as a child. You say, why? Because they didn't chasten or discipline their child while there was hope. They didn't do it at a young age. I mean, we're going to see later on the Bible speaks about spanking, helping someone getting saved because it helps you understand who God is. But you know what? If you don't do any punishment, what you're basically teaching your kids is you can do whatever you want and never get in trouble for it. Is that the way the world works? Is that the way it is when you're 18 years old and you steal from a store? They're not just going to say, okay, you said you're sorry, we forgive you. I mean, you're going to spend time in jail for doing something. Turn your Bible to Proverbs 23. Proverbs 23. Proverbs 23. Look, there's a couple things to keep in mind. As I said, and I want to be very clear, we're not talking about injuring your child. There's a specific part of the body where you smack your child. I mean, if you lose your temper and smack your child in your face, you need to get control of your emotions, okay? But there is a specific part of the body that is given where basically it leaves a mark for a little while but doesn't cause any injury. And as I said, you know what? If you don't have young kids, you might not be aware of this, but you know what? The kids don't stay mad. I mean, my daughter makes jokes about it. She'll be like, yo, my butt's really red, right? Just five minutes after she got a spanking. And it's just like, you know, not a big deal to her at all. It's like she's upset. Oh, she's crying, crying. She gets a spanking. She's over it a couple minutes later. I mean, she gets over it very, very quickly. Here's the thing. At a young age, if you try to give your kids a long-term punishment, they will not understand it. I mean, if you tell your kid at the age of three or four years old, if you do that again, you're not going to get any candy for the rest of the month. You know, that's not very effective or wise because they're not going to remember it. You need to have the good punishment, and then you're not holding it over their head. Here's the thing. In my personal opinion, though, with my children, as they start to get older and become closer to adults, if we're having real problems with them, it's going to be more of a long-term punishment. You say, why? Because that's the way the world is. I mean, if you break the law when you're 18, 19 years old, whatever, you're going to spend time in jail. And so for me, if I'm having real problems with my children, when they're teenagers, for one, I probably did something wrong, but for two, they're going to get a long-term punishment because that's the way the world is. Now, here's the thing, though. If you discipline your kids when they're young and also provide love and nurture and admonition, the balance of Ephesians 6 and more, you know what? Your kids are going to love you, and they're going to be pretty obedient. I was a very obedient child compared to other kids. And he'd say, why? Because I was afraid of getting his baggy. And I learned to respect my parents at a young age, and I learned what would happen if I didn't. Before I got home schooled in middle school, in first through fifth grade, I was in public school. And in America, at least where I went to school, when you got in trouble, they'd write your name on the board, and you'd get a checkmark. In five years of school, I got one checkmark. One checkmark. And the reason why I got a checkmark is this kid was trying to cut my hair with a pair of scissors. I stopped him. He stabbed me with a pencil. I still have the lead mark. And the teacher turns around, and it's like in basketball where there's a fight. Both players get a technical even. It's like, I get stabbed. It's like he had a pair of scissors out of my head, and I got stabbed in the arm, and I got a checkmark for that. And the teacher would not listen to my explanation. That's the reason why I got a checkmark. But he said for the second, why is it you never got any checkmarks? Because I was afraid of my parents finding out that they did something. Because they had parent-teacher conferences, and if I got in trouble, it's like if I did something wrong, I would have been in big trouble with my parents. That's the reason why I was obedient. And here's the thing. At a young age, you teach them to be obedient even if they don't understand. What happens is they learn to actually love their parents, and they want to do that. I wanted to please my parents because my parents were good parents. They provided nurture and admonition. But here's the thing. There's a lot of kids that got a lot of checkmarks in school. I mean, kids I knew got checkmarks several a day. You say, why is that? Because their parents didn't discipline them. Their parents didn't spend time with them. Their parents didn't provide what they were supposed to according to the Bible. What takes place? Well, the kids become rebellious. That is the result. That's what's going to take place. I mean, it's not that complicated. But if you do your job as a parent, your kids are going to love you and respect you. Where are we at? We're in... Where did I tell you to turn? Turn to Proverbs 23. Proverbs 23. Let me say a couple of the other things. I went on some rabbit trails. Obviously when we're spanking our kids, we're not trying to embarrass them. If my child acts up and he needs the spanking, I don't pull down his pants in front of everybody and just spank him. I mean, what would be the purpose of that? I go to a private place, a quiet place, and deal with it. And he gets the spanking. And I hug him. I tell him I love him. And I explain why. Let me just say this, that you know what? It's easy to preach things. And it doesn't necessarily mean you always let things out. But many people in this room would know and be able to say this. They'd say, yeah, I've seen Brother Stuckey go to that back room. He spanked his child in a quiet way and explained to him. You say, why? Because I believe in spanking. It's what the Bible teaches. I don't want to spank my child five minutes before I preach, but I've done it before. When it was necessary, here's the thing. I don't really have to do that with my son now. You say, why? Because he obeys. He does what I say. He's not perfect. I'm not stating that. I'm not stating he never gets spanking. But I would say our son very rarely gets spanking because he very rarely just openly or gracefully disobeys what we say as parents. One reason people do not spank kids is difference. They're brainwashed by the world. They don't even know what the Bible says. Either from the verses I showed you, even if you don't create exactly all the methods or the timing and things like that, there's no doubt the Bible teaches spanking. Another reason why people don't spank their kids is idleness or laziness. It's not simply a matter of do I believe in it or not. That's not the only reason why people don't spank their kids. That's one of the reasons. But another reason is just laziness, idleness, where people just don't want to put in the time to discipline their kids. Proverbs 23, verse 13. Withhold not correction from the child. What that's stating is basically there's something that's proper for the child, but somebody withholding it. And why would you do that? Because of the fact you don't want to put in the time. It takes effort to actually do it. For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. You say, what does that mean, Brother Stuckey? It means that when you spank your kids, they don't die. Not that complicated. The Bible is very plain in what it's saying. It doesn't injure them at all, either. A kid can get a lot of spankings on the butt, and they have no injuries as a result of that. If you spank them, they're not going to die. It's like, oh, I would never do that to my child. You're not going to kill them. I'm not saying shoot them with a gun. I'm not saying stab them. We're talking about something that causes no injury at all. They're not going to die. It's not the end of the world. I had to spank my child. Verse 14, thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. People get offended by this, beat him with the rod. But number one, it's a specific part of the body we're talking about. We're not saying you smack him on the face. And it says, shalt deliver his soul from hell. What does that mean? It means spanking will help your kids get saved. You say, why? Because we worship a God that loves us but also punishes us. And if you teach their kids that there's no punishment for doing wrong, good luck explaining what hell is. Isn't hell a permanent punishment for those, for all the bad things they've done, people that never believed on Jesus? Well, here's the thing. That's kind of the first step when you explain the gospel. Right? When people go to hell, they pay for all their sins. How are you going to explain the gospel to your child and explain who the true God is if you never believe in any punishment whatsoever? It's not going to make any sense. If you want it to make sense to your child, you need to replicate that by showing love but also disciplining your child. And the Bible says it's going to deliver their soul from hell. It's going to help them get saved. That's what the Bible's saying. Go to Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22. Now, as I said, when my kids get older, I don't expect to have to spank them really a whole lot as they get older. And here, let me help you out with people that are newly parents who are going to be. One thing I was told a long time ago is that you put in the time and effort with the first child, the oldest child, then you won't have to put as much effort in in the future. You say, why? Well, I heard that. I applied it. But you know what? It actually makes a lot of sense to me. You say, why? Because my son, Zeph, teaches my daughter, Christabel. And he basically tells her, don't do that, Christabel. And many times, she listens to her kumia. That's what takes place. And if you put in the time and effort on the first child, it filters down. But if you don't put in time and effort on the first child, then you're going to have a disaster on your hand once you start having several kids. Put in the time and effort on the first child, and it's going to filter down to the rest of the children. But when they're getting older, I think probably the last spanking I ever got was probably when I was like 10 years old or something like that. I didn't really do anything that was really worthy of spanking, at least not very often. But if I did something wrong, I had more of a long-term punishment, like being grounded from soccer for a week was a punishment I would get or something like that. And honestly, as a parent, I would say it makes a lot of sense to me, because it's going to replicate what happens when you're an adult. And the reality is, a young child really needs a spanking. But look, if you robbed a store and they said your punishment was a really big spanking on your butt, you'd be very happy for such a small punishment. Because you're old enough to realize, you know what? This only lasts for like five minutes, and the pain's gone. It's not that big of a deal. Right? I mean, when you get older, it's like, you know what? I don't really believe a spanking really does as much, because of the fact you're like, well, this is very light compared to other things. And so that would be my opinion on that. But here's the thing. You start at a young age, and as they get older, the amount of spanking that you have to do is going to be going down. OK? It says in Proverbs 22, verse 6, train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Training up a child is implying work. And what the Bible says is, if you put in time with your kids, when they get old, they're not going to depart from the things that you taught them. Now, no, spanking is not the only form of training your kids. But discipline is part of it. If you divide it in half, nurture admonition is how the Bible divides it in Ephesians 6, verse 4. You provide love and discipline, friend and father, friend and lover. I would love to just be friends with my kids all the time, and usually I am. But there's also called a time where it's like, you know what? I'm not just your friend. I'm your authority. And it's like, they need to realize that line where, yes, my daddy will play with you, but he loves you. But he's also your authority, and you must obey what he says. OK? Turn your Bible to Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13. Why is it people don't spank your kids? Well, one reason is idleness. Because it takes work. It takes time. It takes effort. Do you realize it's really easy to just yell at your kids? I mean, all the parents that are against spanking their kids, they're not against yelling at their kids. They scream at their kids all the time. You say, why? Because they're trying to do something to deter their kids from acting up. And they figure out, well, the candy doesn't always work. I always give them chocolate, and it's not working. You know what you find? Kids that never get any discipline, they end up hating their parents. Is that not true? Kids that have no punishment and just get everything they want, they hate their parents. You know, kids that actually get discipline from their parents, those kids actually love their parents. Look, spanking your child does not cause them to hate you. But if you never spend any time with them and just, say, just yell at them when they do wrong or whatever, that will actually cause them to hate you. But actually, spanking does not cause your kids to end up hating you. One reason people do not spank their kids is ignorance. They are just unaware of what the Bible says. You say, Brother Stuckey, I don't agree. I don't agree with spanking. Well, you're ignorant. That's what the Bible says. Number two, idleness. Not only ignorance, but idleness. People are lazy. They're too lazy to spank their kids. It's a lot easier to yell at your child. Why is that foolish? Because if you put in the time at a young age, you'll spend a lot less time when you add it all up through the years dealing with your kids. But if you never spank your kids at a young age, you're going to have a disaster on your hands. I mean, you're always going to be frustrated. You're going to be at restaurants and out in public, and it's going to be a disaster. You're going to be screaming. It's going to be an embarrassment. If you just discipline them at a young age and put in the time, it's going to save you a lot of time in the long run. Number one is ignorance. Number two is idleness. Number three is infatuation with yourself. Turn to Proverbs 13. Infatuation with yourself. Basically, caring more about yourself than your child. Proverbs 13, verse 24. He that spared his rod hated his son, but he that loved with him chastened it and paid time. Now, this is interesting, because a lot of people are going to say, I just love my child too much to punish them. I love them too much to discipline them. Well, that's cute, but is that what the Bible says? Because my Bible says, if you don't spank your child, it's because you hate your child. It's because you care more about yourself. You're infatuated with yourself. It's because you're too lazy to spank your child. You care more about yourself rather than what's for the good of that child. Because, look, you run into lots of people that do not believe in spanking, and yet when you're around them, their kids, you can tell they actually on the inside know that they're wrong. Because they get frustrated figuring out, how can I stop my child from acting up? Because you can only make excuses for your child for so long. It's like, oh, my child's just tired. It's like, yeah, everybody's tired. I'm tired every single day. What are you talking about? Yeah, children are tired every single day. You can't just make those excuses forever. Eventually it's kind of like, yeah, we've heard that excuse 50 times. Eventually it's kind of like they're just embarrassing you. You make all these excuses. It's just like, quit being stubborn and just spank your child and do what the Bible says. But you're too infatuated with yourself. You're too lazy to spank them. You don't want to put in the time and effort, and then you're going to end up regretting it. Turn to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. The Bible says if you spare your rod, if you don't spank your child, it's because you hate them. You don't love them. You hate them. Look, nobody likes spanking their kids. I do not like spanking my children. I don't enjoy it. I do not enjoy having to spank my children because, look, number one, it takes time and effort. I mean, we live busy lives. The last thing you want to do is stop what you're doing and then deal with your child and spank them. It's a lot easier to yell than I get it. It's a lot easier to just do whatever they say and let the child ruin the home or whatever. And, see, what that's called is caring more about yourself than your child. But, see, here's the thing. The Bible says that, you know, especially as parents, you're supposed to lay down your lives for the sake of your family and for your kids. You should care more about them than you do about yourself. Look, here's the reality you learn when you're a parent. You know, your life is not about you. It's about your kids. That's the truth. If God blesses you with children, then that means you need to invest your time and effort into those kids and care more about their future than your own future and what you want. And, you know, spanking takes time. It takes effort. It's not fun. I'm very happy on days where I don't have to spank my kids. They go back pretty well. I don't have to deal with any spankings. I mean, it's great. But, you know what? There are days when I do have to spank my children. And, you know what? If you love your child, you'll say, you know, even though I don't want to do this, I'm going to do it anyway because it's for the betterment of my children. We're in Hebrews 12. Notice what it says in verse 5. And he had forgotten the exhortation that speaketh on you as are the children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of him. Now, in a spiritual sense, as a safe person, you are a son or a daughter of God. And you have a loving father that will discipline you when you back up. And what the Bible says is, don't get mad at God's discipline in your life. We ought to be happy that God will discipline us and help us because if he doesn't discipline us, we can get into major problems in our lives. And so the Bible says, despise not the chastening of the Lord, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. You see, a lot of unsaved people in this world, they get away with sin in this life. You don't see them getting a repercussion. I mean, it seems unfair if you feel like Asaph in Psalm 73 where it's like, I saw the wicked prospering. It's not fair. They're not getting away with it because at the great white throne judgment, they're going to get their just reward for the wickedness that they did. But here's the thing. They don't necessarily get that while they're alive here on earth. Many times they do because the wicked should not live out half their days. But yeah, you know what? Unsaved people sometimes get away with stuff. Here's the thing. It's not for their benefit because they actually need that discipline to correct their problems. But sometimes they seem to get away with stuff and you say, well, it wasn't legal. Why is it I get punished? Because God loves you. Look, my parents would discipline me when I was a kid. The worst spanking I ever got was the one time I acted up at church when I was a kid. I still remember that. Now, in my defense, I'm still giving my defense after 30 years, I grew up in a Protestant church who was very boring. I was bored. I hated church when I was a kid because I was in a Protestant church and it's just like Catholic. It's very boring. That's my defense after all these years. But I was acting pretty bad that day. I don't even remember what I did if I remember getting a spanking. My dad in the church service, he took me outside of the car. I got the worst spanking I've ever gotten because here's the thing. I know as a parent, the last thing you want is your kids to embarrass you in public. Right? It's one thing at home. It's another thing in public. And you know what? What kids will do sometimes is kind of test their parents because they know they might be able to get away with something in public because it's a lot harder. I did not get away with this. Right? My parents, they took me outside. The worst spanking I ever got. You know, I never acted up in church ever again after that. You say, why? Because I remember that spanking. Imagine that spanking is a deterrent from doing bad. Even though the world is against spanking, they actually understand this comment because if you take a criminology class in school or something like that, they will talk about that it's proven that a tough punishment is a deterrent from doing a crime. I mean, in studies where the death penalty is highly being basically talked about in the media, the amount of murders drastically decreases during that time period. I learned that in college. You say, why? A tough punishment is a deterrent from a crime. I mean, look, if the punishment for robbing a store if you got caught is one hour of community service, do you know what? The amount of thefts would skyrocket. Is that not true? Because that's not a very big punishment for doing that crime. Look, if the punishment on being a pedophile was the death penalty, you know what? They'd be a lot more cautious about what they were doing. Right? I mean, it's just like, you know what? A tough punishment is a deterrent from a crime. You'd have to be a fool not to realize that. It's common sense. Look, what is the spanking? It's a deterrent from your kids acting up, where they might want to act up but they don't. Why? They're afraid. That's the reason why. The Bible says in Hebrews 12, verse 7, And he endured chastening God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chastened and died? Now, I find this verse funny because when this was written, it's kind of like, what child would have a parent that does not discipline them? What child would have a parent that does not discipline them? What child would have a parent that does not discipline them? 36% of children in today's world does this verse even apply in 2022? What child is it whose what son is he whom the father chastened and died? A lot of kids. A lot of sons. A lot of daughters in 2022 where their parents don't discipline them. They don't chasten them at all. Not a single bit at all. No punishment or very, very light punishment for what they do that's bad. But if you be without chastisement where of all our partakers then are ye bastards and not sons. It's as if you don't even have a father is what the Bible is saying. It's as if you don't have any parents raising you if they're not disciplining you because that is part of the job of a parent is to discipline their kids. And look, I'm not cursing because that's a Bible word that I just read from our Bible. We're here more specifically to a parent this child I would say in the context here probably. But the idea is that look, a parent is obviously going to discipline their kids but in 2022 that's not necessarily the case. Why do I need to preach a sermon like this? Because this is not necessarily the case right? This is this is never the case now here's the thing when I was a kid it's not like I was the only kid who ever acted up in church right? In the church that I went to I think all the kids acted up not all the kids got a punishment in fact I don't think And of course, you know, oftentimes with kids, they're thinking, it's not fair. That other kid got to do this, it's like, well, they have different parents. They can do what they want. Here's the thing. My dad, if I acted up what spanked me, you know what he never did? He never took somebody else's child and started spanking them. Why? It's not his child. See what I'm saying? It's not fair that wicked people get away with their sin. They're not God's children. Not all God's children. So yeah, God might not necessarily spank other kids or other people because they're not his kids. But as a saved person, God will discipline you if you act up. That's what Hebrews 12 is about. And I can say that as an adult, I am very thankful that my parents disciplined me when I was a kid. I'm not upset about it. You're upset for a couple minutes, and that's it. It's not like you load a grudge for years and years. It's like, you know, my parents didn't know. It's like, I'm thankful that my parents disciplined me because it taught me to respect and obey my parents. And here's the thing. Other kids still acted up in church. I didn't act up in church anymore. As I said, I was Protestant. I was still bored out of my mind. But I didn't act up. I would just look at my watch, you know, like 55 times over the course of an hour like, oh, 37 minutes to go. 34 minutes to go, right? But I would not do anything bad because I was afraid of that spanking that my parents would get me. Point number one, why is it that people do not spank? The kids you say, brother, say, yeah, I don't agree with your sermon. Well, it's your ignorance. That's point number one. Maybe you missed it. Point number one, ignorance on what the Bible says. The Bible's very clear that spanking is a form of discipline. The Bible misses. Point two, idleness. We're lazy. Point three, infatuation with yourself. Point four, intimidation. One reason people do not spank their kids is not because they're ignorant because they know what the Bible says. They know it's correct. It's not because they're idle or lazy. It's not because they're infatuated with themselves and care about themselves, but intimidation from other people. Peer pressure can sometimes cause people not to discipline their kids like they know that they should. The Bible says in Matthew 26, verse 69, Now Peter sat without in the palace, and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. Matthew 26, verse 70. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. Obviously, this is a very famous story. Peter denies Jesus three times. Why did he do that? Intimidation. He was worried about what others thought. He knew what was true. He knew what was right. And why did he do it? Because of other people. Because of intimidation. Because of fear. You know, one major reason people do not spank their kids? They're afraid or intimidated by what other people think about them. And this is especially true in 2022. Because many people in this room, probably most people in this room, say, Brother Stocky, I don't agree you started spanking before your kids were at the age of one. I don't really care what you think. They're my kids through age. I'm not intimidated by you. I know why I'm doing it. I know what the Bible says. It's logical. I'm not putting emotion into it. I'm trying to do my job as a parent. I'm not going to be intimidated by somebody else. I'm not worried. It's like, I can't believe Brother Stocky's spanking his kid. It's like, I'll do what I need to do. And that's the attitude you need to have as a parent. And not be worried about what other people think. And here's the thing. That's easy to preach. It's hard to do. Because you go out in public and the world looks down on spanking. I can't believe that that person spanked a child. I can't believe your child slapped you in the face. It's like, you've got to be kidding me. In public, you allowed your child to slap you in the face and did nothing about it? It's like, the first thing I do is grab that hand and boom, smack it. And it's like, you don't ever do that again. But yet, parents let their kids do anything. And then they look down on you for spanking your child. It's like, well, I don't want to have to deal with those problems. I mean, I've been in public before where you feel... And look, I'm not angry at other parents. I feel bad for parents sometimes when their kid is just embarrassing them in public. I remember specifically a time in Sacramento, California, where this child literally swung at her mom. This child's like four or five years old. Go ahead and wait until they're seven or eight. Good luck. Four or five years old, and then the child just ran away from her mom in the middle of the hospital. I mean, there's several floors and everything, just running away. Her mom's waiting for an appointment. Her mom's running down the hall after. I mean, I felt bad for the woman. And it's like, how do you stop that? Spanking. It's called foolishness. It's called the rod of correction. Now, of course, some kids need more or less spanking than other kids. Spanking is due to their disobeying and use spanking when necessary. I was a very obedient kid, but I was not as obedient as my sister. Because you don't generally get spanked for reading books for ten hours a day, like my sister. I didn't read books for ten hours a day. I did a lot of reading when I was a kid, but I played a lot of sports in the living room during the wintertime. And when you accidentally kick soccer balls off the window, your parents are not happy. It just is what it is, right? But my point is this, that you need not to be intimidated by other people. Now, turn to Jonah 2. Jonah chapter 2. Jonah 2 in your Old Testament. Now, here's the thing. I cannot change what the world is going to do. The world is going to look down on you for spanking your kids. That's just the way it is. Now, of course, I believe as much as is possible, you go to a quiet and private place to deal with your kids. Here's the thing. Sometimes it's very hard to do. You're at a crowded place, it's really hard sometimes to go to a quiet place. As much as possible, that's what you should do. Now, that's even more reason to make sure you discipline your kids at home, because if you deal with it at home, you don't have to deal with it in public as much. So here's the thing. For those that say, I would never do this, well, here's the thing. You're going to be dealing with a lot of embarrassing situations in public. Well, you don't have to deal with that. It's better to deal with it at home versus one-on-one, very easy to do. I cannot affect the fact that the world is going to look down on you. Let me say this at Verity Baptist Church. Don't ever look down on any parents of this church for how they discipline their kids. It's one thing if they're abusing them, like they smack them on the face, but look, if they're just properly disciplining their kids or they're spanking their kids, don't look down on a parent for doing their job. It's hard to raise kids. It takes time. It takes effort. You know, the parents at our church are doing the best they can. It's not easy. It's really easy if you don't have kids to look down on other people and say, I can't believe your child did that. Well, wait until you have kids. Because Moses is battling the heart of every child. I mean, none of the parents in this room, not myself, none of us are doing a perfect job. You know, we're trying. We're trying to raise our kids for the glory of God. Don't look down on someone who's disciplining their kids because, and here's the thing, as I said, I don't agree with everybody's opinions on how they raise their kids or medicines or things that they let their kids watch, but here's the thing, those aren't my kids. I won't tell you what to do. I won't gossip about you or criticize you because your kids are not my kids. All parents make their own choices. I don't step outside the pulpit and criticize and gossip other people for how they raise their kids. It seems very basic, but there are people that will criticize how other people parent. It's not right. They're not your kids. We used to have someone who came to our church and she would always make comments about the parents and the kids. And here's the thing, as the leader of this church, I really am not allowed to get very angry at people, even if I am, or at least I'm not allowed to show it. And this person would always make very rude comments. And it would include me and my wife and our kids as well. And they'd see kids acting foolish. I remember one time a bunch of the kids, including my kids, were drawing with a crayon on the wall. That's something that every child has done, drawn with a crayon or a marker on the wall. Every child has done something like that or drawn on the couch or drawn on a chair. Every child has done something like that. Is it wrong? Yeah, it's wrong. Do they know it's wrong? Yeah, they know it's wrong. But foolishness is found in the heart of the child. But then just listening to her make these comments about how, like, our kids never did this. We never had that problem when they were kids. Same person made comments like, we never had to spank our kids. Well, here's the thing, I'm not trying to raise a kid that's going to be a predator to young little girls. I can tell you didn't spank your kids. It's like you're proving my sermon right. My kids aren't going to get kicked out of the church one day. It's like you're proving my sermon when you make a point. We never spanked our kids. We never had to spank our kids. I can tell you never spanked your kids. It's like you look at the problems you have to deal with. That's one point. If you spank your kids, it deals with the problems. Because foolishness is not found in the heart of some children. It is every child. Don't ever intimidate other parents at this church from doing their job as a mom or as a dad. One thing you have to realize is you listen to various pastors online. Some of them are online now, you know. But you listen to the pastors, you listen to their sermons. Let me help explain to you the difference between our church and their church. Because it's a lot harder at our church. You say, why? Because they have lots of mother baby rooms, lots of father baby rooms, lots of things that make it a lot more convenient. Lots of couches, lots of space. Very Baptist Church in Sacramento, the building is like ten times their size. Ten times their size. They don't have ten times the amount of people at their church. Honestly, commercial real estate is more expensive here in Sacramento than it is in the United States in most places. It makes it very difficult. We've got a nice building here. I'm happy for the building to happen. But it is more difficult. There are a lot of churches that have a lot of conveniences. It makes it easier. But what happens is, if a child is acting up, you just go to the quiet room and you deal with the problem. No big deal. For us, even if someone is in the mother baby room, if a child is really acting up, we still hear it. It is what it is. My kids have been that child before. All of the kids have done that before. It is what it is. Realize, you know what, suffer the little children. It's like, look, if you were raising young kids, you'd be dealing with a lot of the same problems. Don't guard the moms and the dads. Don't embarrass the mom and dad for trying to do the best they're doing. Sometimes kids are acting up, and it just is what it is. You just have to learn to deal with it and be patient and realize it is what it is. I love the fact that the kids get to be in the room with us for the preaching. It's going to teach them. It's going to help them. You'd be surprised. Even when your kids are acting kind of rowdy, you'd be surprised at the things that they learn during church services. Sometimes when my son talks to me at night about things that I preach, it's like, man, you really were paying attention. I remember he was talking to me about my sermon on alcohol a while back. He's explaining in detail how alcohol is bad. It's like, he's paying attention. He's learning things. He's painting things up. Sometimes those kids are going to act up as well, but we just have to deal with it. We're in Jonah 2, point number one. You say, why is it people do not spank their children in 2022? Well, they're ignorant. Just not aware of what the Bible says. You say, Brother Succy, that offends me. Well, I don't know if you haven't been paying attention to what I've preached. I don't know if you have offended me, because I don't just preach my opinion. I use a lot of Bible verses in my searches. I'm pretty sure I use a lot of Bible verses to talk about spanking. You might not agree with all of the methods or the exact age. You might disagree with me on that. Hey, that's fine. But to sit here and suggest there is no spanking whatsoever that the Bible talks about, I don't know what Bible you read. I don't even think the NIV goes that far. Point number one, ignorance. Point two, idleness, laziness. Point three, infatuation with yourself. You only care about yourself. Point four, intimidation. People that know what's right and they want to do what's right, but they're intimidated. Point five, being inflexible. Inflexible or stubborn. Jonah 2, verse 8. Jonah said, they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Jonah was in the middle of a whale's belly because he had rebelled against God. And he wanted to have mercy. And he makes a very profound statement that they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. What are we talking about? We're talking about people that make excuses. Basically, you hear something preached and you say, well, yeah, I know that's what the Bible says, but here's the reason. I know the Bible says read the Bible every day, but here's the reason why I'm innocent even though I don't read the Bible every day. It's like, Jonah said, you know what, I'm in the middle of a whale's belly and I deserve it. But I want mercy. And if I observe a lying vanity and I'm not willing to admit the truth, I won't get mercy from God. But Jonah was willing to admit, you know what, I deserve this. I deserve to be in the whale's belly. I messed up. You know, a lot of people, they hear the preaching of the word of God and they're inflexible. They're stubborn. It's like they hear what the Bible says, it's clear what the Bible says, but they just refuse to change. They're inflexible. They're stubborn. What a foolish thing to do when your children's future is at stake. To be stubborn and inflexible and say, well, you know, I don't care what was preached, I don't care what the Bible says, I'm going to do what I've been taught my whole life. Look, if you were taught faith was wrong, you were taught wrong. And I don't care who taught you that, it's wrong. It's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches disciplining your children. And if you can listen to this sermon and say, well, I don't agree with you brother Stuckey, you're just inflexible. You're being stubborn. Because I gave you way too much Bible for you to still be ignorant on what the Bible says. You're just being very stubborn with what the Bible says. James 3, we'll close out James 3. James chapter 3. Do you know it's okay to be wrong sometimes? Do you know that's not the end of the world to be wrong about something? Did you know that every single person in this world has been in church before and they hear something preached and they realize, I'm wrong. This is not what I thought. This is not what I believed. Do you really believe that when I got saved at the age of 18 years old, half my life ago, that I believed every single thing I do today on all topics? Not at all. Do you realize that, you know what, there's a lot of topics where I change my mind through the years? I've said this before in sermons that, you know, a famous iathic preacher from the past by the name of Jack Hyles, the first sermon of his I ever heard. I was looking for a list of like a thousand sermons and I was just looking for a catchy title. And I saw a sermon title, Many Spirits in Light of the Bible. I was like, many spirits in light of the Bible? It's like, why would a preacher ever preach on a quote? Right? Because I was ignorant. Right? Because doesn't the Bible speak about, you know, not just the inward, but also the outward. More about the inward, but also the outward. Right? It does talk about quote but it talks about all topics. But at the time I didn't realize that. And I was just thinking, you know, why would a preacher say, what a weird sermon title. I listened to the sermon and, you know, and he didn't really use a lot of Bible. I mean, what he said was correct, but he didn't use a lot of Bible. And, you know, I was just like, I don't know, I think he's over with. I don't agree with that. He said, why did you have that opinion? Because I went to college. How was everybody dressed? Well, not exactly. And, you know, long flowing dresses or skirts that followed perfectly with what the Bible said. Right? I mean, I was in college and people were dressed. And look, West Virginia University is always voted the number one drinking school in the United States. So guess how people are dressed on the weekends? They're dressed apart. Tears, bears, and mountaineers. Right? Is the quote in West Virginia University. Guess how people are dressed? Not exactly like Bible-believing Christians. Not exactly as the Bible would say. So here's the thing. I heard a sermon that went against all the things that I was being taught by what I saw. And when I heard it, I was just like, yeah, you know, that just doesn't sound right. I said, what did you do, Brother Stuckey? I kept the matter in my heart. And as I read the Bible, I thought about it, and it's just like, I'm actually completely wrong. I had no idea the Bible spoke about banquets. I had no idea. Right? I mean, I would have been saved for a short time. And here's the thing. What I realized was I was completely wrong about that. You can apply this to anything. Isn't it true there's a lot of people going back to the last sermon or thinking about it where they're preaching it. They do not know why. They don't have any proof for it. You clearly show them the post-trib rapture, but they don't change their minds. Simply because they're inflexible. Simply because they're being stubborn. And look, as a priest, and there are probably many people in this room, when I first heard the post-trib rapture, I'll admit I was stubborn about it. I didn't want to switch. I thought, no, no, no, they don't know what they're talking about or whatever. As I look, I know many people that have told me, it's like, yeah, you know what, I was trying to disprove that document or disprove, and then all of a sudden I realize, man, I'm wrong. Well, here's the thing, it's okay to be wrong. Just change. I mean, wouldn't it be foolish to be wrong about something and just never change and just be wrong your whole life? Isn't it okay just to be like, here's the thing, there are people, we preach the gospel to them, and they don't get saved simply because they're stubborn and inflexible. It's like we give the gospel, and they just try to resist what we're saying. They're like, I don't want to talk about this, because they realize they're getting disproved. They can't prove anything they believe. They tell you how their works are going to save them, and you show them what the Bible says to them. They refuse to change. But they're inflexible. They're stubborn. Look, when the Word of God is preached, don't be stubborn. You say, Brother Sucky, I came into this sermon, we preached on spanking, and I didn't realize I was supposed to start spanking my kids. It's like, but that's what the Bible says. Well, that's the right attitude. There's nothing to be ashamed about to realize you were wrong and then make the change. Let me say this. You might say, Brother Sucky, I think you should start at the age of three or four or five. Well, here's the thing. With your kids, you can do whatever you want. I'm just trying to give you some good wisdom, because you're going to really regret that one day. If you start when your kids are three, you're going to have a rebellious child on your hand. Here's the thing. I've never spanked my youngest son because he's too young. He doesn't understand things. I play with my son, and sometimes he gets me, right? And here's the thing. It's like, he's just playing. He doesn't really know what he's doing. He's just having fun. But there's going to reach an age where he's like, you know, it's like a magnet. I must electrocute myself. What will happen? Right? And he's going to hear the word no. Now, the minute that we have is we trained our oldest kids. So Zeph and Krista Bell are going to go, don't do that, Ezra. And it's going to help the prophet. It's not going to make it perfect, because, yeah, he's still going to get spanked sometimes. And you say, for a second, I disagree. Well, let me just say this, that before I had kids, you know what? My attitude was this. You know what? I have not been a parent before. Why not just get some wisdom from people that know what you're talking about that are godly people? Because it was completely new to me. And look, literally, I didn't know. It's like, what do you do after you spank your child? And then, you know, I was just told, this is what you do. You spank your child. Then you hug them right afterwards. You say, I love you. This is why you got the spanking. And you know what? I heard that advice, and I took it to heart, and that's still the way that I spanked my kids. It's like, you know, why don't you do it in a private place, a quiet place? Well, here's the thing. Before you're a parent, you don't necessarily know these things. Get some wisdom from people that know what you're talking about. Okay? James 3, verse 14. We'll close up here. But if you have bitter ending and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. And the Bible speaks of this verse about people that, inside their heart, they know something, but they just lie against the truth. They just refuse to admit it. They know they're wrong on the inside, but they just will not admit it. And this was really a phenomenon I didn't really realize when I first got saved, but literally, it's not simply about the truth and what's true and what's false. I mean, people literally lie to themselves. It's like, you know, in the world, this abortion debate, it's like a 50-50 split. It's like pro-choice. Do you have to write as a mom to kill the baby inside you, or pro-life? You know what? Here's the reality. Down on the inside of those pro-choice people, they know that they're killing the baby. They just don't want to admit it, because they don't want to have any actions for their sins. It's not a matter of the truth, because they know they're wrong. I mean, everything would say they're wrong. They know that on the inside, but they refuse to admit it. They say, what? They're lying against the truth. People do this. Even us that are saved, we do this sometimes. And sometimes we hear to the servants, we just don't want to change, so we get stuck with it. Here's the thing. You know what? If you would actually do what the Bible says, you know what? Your kids, when they grow up, they're going to give you the rest of what the Bible says. If you don't, they're going to embarrass you as they grow up. Look, I'm not preaching this sermon to claim my kids are perfect. Obviously, my kids are relatively still young, but let me just give you an example of what I'm talking about. I used this example yesterday. You know, sometimes in Pampanga, we go to parks to do soul-winning, and we go to seats in parks sometimes in Pampanga. And they have playgrounds and stuff like that. We do soul-winning and also family time and things like that. And it's like, you know, our kids are around other kids. And I'm not against that because we can't completely distance ourselves from the world. It is what it is. Right? And they're around other kids. But it's just like, you know what? There's a clear difference between, I said this yesterday at church, the kids at our church in Pampanga or Manila and the average kid out there. There is a clear difference. Now, is foolishness bound in the heart of our children? Yes, it is. But there's a clear difference between the way my kids act and the way your kids act and the way the average kid acts. I mean, you see the way the average kid acts. I'm just like, it's horrible in today's world. It's so disrespectful. And it's like, man, they should have taught their kids at a young age, honor thy father and thy mother. Children, obey your parents in the Lord that this is right. And yet you see the way kids act in public. They're just rude and obnoxious. They never get in trouble. As a parent, sometimes it's frustrating. I mean, literally a parent will be there and their child will be doing something horrible to your child and they do nothing about it. It's just like, you know, it's kind of like they'll steal something from your child and then it's like it won't give back and their parent won't even... It's like, hey, we're leaving now. Can I please have that back and let you play with it for now or whatever? And it's like their parents don't deal with any problems. And let me just say this. You say, why is that, Brother Stuck? Is it because that if your parents are saved, the children are automatically born righteous? No, no, that's not the reason why. It's because the parents are actually providing discipline to their kids. So if you're doing your job as a parent, you're providing discipline and love, nurture and admonition, you're trying to rest, don't let people intimidate you from doing what you're supposed to do. Trust in the Bible, do what the Bible says, the Word of God is correct. And let me just say one last thing in closing, because one other thing I've noticed, which is a phenomenon which I do not understand, every single person, and I'm sure I will be the same way, when they become a grandparent, magically they think they never spanked their kids when they were young. Is that not true? Is that what I'm saying? I mean, I don't understand it. It's like, Mom, Dad, you spank me all the time. What are you talking about? It's like the same thing that people were saying yesterday about having young kids. It's like, yeah, I don't get it. My parents are like, we never spanked your kids. What are you talking about? It's like, you spanked me like 20 times a day! I mean, I have spanked all the time as a kid, but obviously once they become grandparents, they want to just play with the kids, give them candy, have fun. They don't have to provide the discipline. Look, the reality is that every child needs spanking when they're young. And children, when they are spanked, they end up correct. And as that poll said, people that are older than the age of 16, only 6%, one out of 17, roughly, would say that they were never spanked. One out of 17. In today's world, 36%, which would be four out of 11. Four out of every 11 children would say that they have never been spanked. It's like, I hope they're polling kids that are like four months old. Because it's like, you know what, you need to spank your kid once they're doing things that are bad. The schools will work better. Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today. You can see your work at the top. We ask you to help all of the parents in this room and all the future parents in this room. Help all of us to do a good job training our kids, not just with discipline, also loving our kids God. Help us not to be intimidated by what the world would say, what the government would say, or society, or what other people say. And help everybody in this room to be long-suffering with the parents that are trying their best to raise their kids God. It's a difficult job. All of us are struggling with trying our best, God. We're just ready to eat and stand together. Whatever. Page number one and fourteen. Page number one and fourteen. Who here knows the song Very Slow in Serving Jesus? So, if you would like to sing it, you can sing it in the tune of Very Slow in Serving Jesus. On the first, ready, sing. Very slow in serving Jesus. Very slow in serving Jesus. On the third. Very slow in serving Jesus. the chorus without the instruments. Ready? On the chorus, mai ga la. Ready, sing. mai ga la ka mami kotka iti so anpo soinak pukuri ba wa to rasat arau ai shaankalaka san mai ga la dulainai bhi mapa kawi Amen.