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Next service, if you could all please have a seat, grab the hymnal song number 14. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, a video at the cross. We can begin this morning's service by singing the song number 14, but it's not necessary if you're just not able, can't afford it, don't have the talent. I don't know. You know, you could always bring rolls or something, you know, be that guy, but there's nothing wrong with that either. We'll probably end up getting the rolls by the way, but we'll have, get the rolls and the salad and some of the side things. But speaking of which, I do want to kind of get an idea of who's going to be potentially joining us. So if you're planning on coming, could you just slip up your hand? Kids, everybody, just so I can kind of get a quick count. One, two, you're coming down here. Is your family coming? The whole, how many is that? At least four, possible five. Five, okay. Someone doesn't like me. No, I'm just kidding. Two, four, two, three, four, five. That's seven, 12. I'm gonna say about two to three dozen people, probably about two dozen. I know we got some folks from FirstWorks coming over. Is that right? So they're going to come and join us. Brother Bill will be here, that's the rumor. So that'd be great. So either way, if you could, again, just if you're gonna bring something, sign up back there, let us know what it is that you're planning on bringing. I'm gonna be going to Costco probably tomorrow and getting some tables set up in here. And then also as far as the Thursday service, we'll just have a very short thing there towards the end of the dinner. And people can linger as long as they want past six, but that's kind of the official times. So if you are bringing something to the dinner, please be here at three o'clock so we don't all end up filling up on one thing and then your dish shows up and we're like, ah, you know, if I had waited, you know. If we could all get here so we can all eat at the same time, that'd be really great. Also on the back, don't forget that next Sunday, we're gonna be having the portraits. So I timed this very well. Everyone's been very hard losing the weight so they can look good in the photo. And then I'm gonna feed you a bunch of food on Thursday and blow you back up. And then you're gonna take a photo of you, okay? So that's gonna be next Sunday at right after the evening, or excuse me, the morning service. So the way we do this is we'll have it set up and then we just have to kind of go through family by family, individual by individual, start with the larger families, kind of work our way down. So if you could plan on just lingering a little bit next week after the service and so we can get your photo taken and get you in the yearbook, that would be great. If you don't want to be in it, I understand. It's fine, it's not like a requirement for church membership or anything like that, but you will get a high resolution photo. These are always turn out great. Brother Ramon does a wonderful job for us. They're very professional looking and you'll get a free copy of that high res image to do with it whatsoever you wish to do, okay? And you'll be in the yearbook. You'll go down in infamy. I mean, you'll go down in eternity or I don't know. You'll be in the yearbook, whatever that means. And then we can all sign it when we get them and write mean messages and you can draw faces on everyone. But you don't have to be in the yearbook to get a yearbook, okay? But anyway, enough about that. Just remember it's next Sunday, okay? So it's coming up a week from now, right after the morning service. And then just below that very quickly, just a friendly reminder that if you're sick or feeling ill or even potentially contagious to please refrain from attending services just so we don't spread that around. Now that the weather's nice, now everyone starts getting sick, okay? So that's kind of how it works here in Arizona. But, and also especially true of the mother baby room. If your kids are exhibiting any signs of illness, please keep them out of there. And just so we don't spread that amongst the children, I work hard to sanctify, to sanitize. I guess I could say sanctify. I sanctify the mother baby room. I can't help it, folks. This biblical language just comes out, okay? But I work hard to make sure that's sanitized between every service, just so everyone knows. If nothing else gets done, that's the top of the list. Below that, also we have a list of expectant ladies. These are of course ladies that attend up in Tempe, but I'm sure they would still appreciate your prayers if you think about them throughout the week. That will do it for announcements. Does anyone have any questions about the Thanksgiving dinner that they want to express publicly? You can always just come to me privately. One back here, yes, young man. I don't know, can you give me a picture of cider? Apple cider? Is that a request? You were gonna bring apple cider? Would you prefer, we can bring apple cider. We can take that off of you guys. So yeah, we'll get apple cider. Can you help me remember that, honey? Apple cider, I'll make a note of that. All right, anything else? It's a good question, anything else? All right, that's it for announcements. We'll go ahead and sing one more song. This is song number 27, The Old Rubber Cross. ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] ["The Old Rubber Cross"] Hey, man, it's it time to pass the offering plate as the plate goes around. Let's open up our Bibles to Revelation chapter 12. That's Revelation chapter 12, as always, in the entire chapter. Please follow along silently as Brother Gabriel reads to us from Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12, verse one of the Bibles. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crowd of 12 stars, and she, being with child, cried, prevailing in birth and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven, behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and seven horns and seven crowns upon his heads, and his tail, through the third partner, a star in heaven, and it cast into the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered, and to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations, the rod of iron, and her child was caught up with a god from to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, for she hath a place to prepare her god, and they should feed her there in the thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against a dragon, and the dragon fought with his angels, and prevailed not, and there was a place found in war in heaven, and the great dragon was cast out, and that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, would deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation and strength, the kingdom of our god, and the power of his Christ. And the accuser of our brother was cast down, which accused them for our god day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testament, and they loved not their lives until the death. Therefore, rejoice in heaven, and ye that loam, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the devil has come down unto him heavy, great wrath, because he knoweth what he hath in a short time. And when the dragon saw and was cast out into the earth, he persecuted the woman, which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, and to her place, where she had nourished for a time and times an avatar from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water, as it flowed afterward, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth, not the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, who swallowed up the flood, which the dragon had cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandment of God, the apple testament of Jesus Christ. But Tom, would you pray for us? Lord, thanks for allowing us to be here today. I pray that you just help us to have a good day here, and bless the word, and soul winning later today. In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen. Amen. Amen. So we'll be back in Revelation chapter 12 a little bit later in the sermon. But if you would, just keep something there. Go back to the book of Mark chapter 1. I am going to continue on in the book of Mark. As you know, the last several weeks, we've been just going verse by verse through Mark chapter number 1, kind of slowing down and taking our time, doing things a little bit more differently than we might on a midweek service. Similar in the fact that it's a Bible study, but a little different just in the fact that we're slowing down and really looking at some of these verses a little more closely than we might otherwise. And we've unpacked a lot. There's been a lot of great doctrine, I think, thus far. And I'm getting a lot of good feedback. So unless somebody stops me, I'm just going to keep doing this. Actually, if you have anything negative to say, just keep that to yourself. The feedback has been positive. So I figured I'd just keep going through this, and we'll see what we can get into and just make an application as we go. And this morning, we'll be in verses 23 and 24. So we're halfway through the chapter. And if you remember last week, the last time we were in the book of Mark, that we saw Jesus call the sons of Zebedee. And they go into Capernaum, verse 21. And he teaches in verse 22. And then we're still in the synagogue at this point in verse 23 with Jesus. And it says in verse 23 that, and there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, let us alone. What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, hold thy peace and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, what thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. Now, I intended this morning to try to get through verses 23 through 26. But really, 23 and 24 is really just the two verses I'm going to focus on there, where the unclean spirit cries out. And he says, let us alone. What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? And I want to draw attention to, first of all, their statement here, where he says, art thou come to destroy us? I know who thou art, the Holy One of God. So they're saying, are you come to destroy us? That's one of the things that these unclean spirits are asking Jesus. They say, are you going to come and destroy us? Because Satan and the devil know that Jesus is Lord and that he has all power over them. And what we also learn from this is that Satan and the devils are not currently in hell. Probably a lot of people here understand that and know that just simply because they've received that teaching. But that's not really something you learn outside of the church. In fact, if you've watched too many Looney Tunes, you probably think that Satan's down there dressed like Porky Pig or something with a pitchfork running around. And they kind of mock hell. And we get the impression through different things and culture and things like that that somehow Satan is ruling and reigning in hell. But what we have to remember is that hell is actually a place that was prepared as punishment for Satan and his angels. He is not currently in hell. Satan has not stepped one foot. Or should I say hoof? I don't know. I don't think he actually has a hoof. Hasn't stepped into hell at all. He has never been there. That's something that's going to happen in the future. And you'll even hear people say things where they have this misconception. They'll express this. They'll say things like, oh, it's going to be better to reign with Satan in hell than to serve in heaven. Or I'm going to go to hell because that's where all my buddies are, and we're just going to have a party. Somehow hell is just not going to be as good as heaven. Or it's just a different take on eternity or something. Hell is a place of torment. It's a place of punishment. It's a place of darkness and literal fire. And it's a place that was prepared to punish Satan and the devils. And that's why they're crying out here and saying, art thou come to destroy us? Meaning, are you going to come and send us to that place of destruction, which is called hell? And that is a reference to hell because hell is known as a place of everlasting destruction. Now, that seems contrary. It seems paradoxical to say that something is a place of everlasting destruction because we think once you destroy something, it's gone forever. But the Bible is real clear that it's a place of everlasting destruction and meaning it's an ongoing place of torment and ongoing place of destruction. It's a horrible place, and it's a foolish thing to suggest that it could be tolerated at all. People say things, as I mentioned earlier, it's going to be all my buddies are there. Well, your buddies might be there, but you're not going to be glad to see them. It's a terrible place. The Satan and the devil, they know this. They're fearful of being cast into hell. They do not want to go there. They want to continue to rule and reign on the Earth. I won't go into all of it. I feel like I pointed this out recently in another sermon. But Satan is called the prince of the power of the air, the god of this present world. This is the realm in which he reigns. In fact, we looked at that earlier in the chapter, where he comes and tempts Christ and says that he would give him all the kingdoms of the Earth if he would bow down and worship him. He wasn't lying. It's given unto him to impart that power to him so every well because he is the god of this present world. He's not ruling in hell. He's actually ruling here as much as God allows him. Now, if you would, keep something there and mark, if you'd like, maybe a bulletin or something just to refer back to it if you need to. But we'll be back in Revelation a minute. If you go back to Matthew chapter number 8, we'll look at not a parallel passage, but another instance in which Jesus was casting out devils. And they made a similar statement as we see them making in the synagogue in Mark chapter 1, where they're saying, are you coming to destroy us? You see the same kind of language in Matthew chapter 8, verse 28, it says, when he was come to the other side in the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils coming out of the tombs exceeding fierce that no man might pass by that way. So these two guys are possessed, and they have this great strength. You won't get into all that. They're exceeding fierce, as it says. And verse 29, it says, and behold, they cried out, meaning the devils that were in them, what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God? Thou art come hither to torment us before the time. They're asking, are you coming to torment us? Are you coming to punish us before the time? So Satan and the devil, they know that there is a time appointed in which they will be cast in to hell. And that is something that is going to happen in the future. If you would go back to Revelation chapter number 12, they say, are you coming to torment us before the time? They're saying, is this the moment in which we're finally going to be punished and cast into hell? They understand this. They know this is something that is going to happen. Jesus, in Luke chapter 10, said, I beheld Satan as lightning cast from heaven, or excuse me, fall from heaven. Or if you remember in Luke 10, that's when the disciples had come back, the 70, saying, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And Jesus said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. I believe that's a reference to Revelation chapter 12. It's an approved text of Christ's omnipotence, the fact that he's present everywhere at all times. He's omnipresent. He's saying, I beheld Satan falling from heaven. You say, well, that must have already happened. No, it's because God is omniscient, and God knows all things. Jesus is saying, I've already seen Satan cast from heaven. And what he's doing in the context of Luke chapter 10, I know I'm just referencing kind of off the cuff here there, but what he's doing there is he's kind of bringing the disciples down a notch because they're coming back, hey, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he's saying, well, you know, I saw Satan fall from heaven. Saying, don't get too puffed up. Don't think too highly. I'm the one that's going to cast him out of heaven eventually. So we see in Revelation chapter 12 without unpacking a bunch of the chronology here that Satan is going to be cast out of heaven during the events of the end times. It says in Revelation chapter 12, verse 7, and there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not. Neither was their place found any more in heaven. Meaning they still have access to that place. We'll look at that here in a minute. Heaven is still a place where Satan's angels can actually go to because that's what it's saying here. This is future tense. Jesus in Luke 10, he's saying, I beheld. He's referring to something that's going to happen in the future. The devils are saying, are you coming to punish us before the time? So what we see is that this event is going to take place in the future, therefore, being cast out of heaven, being forbidden from heaven is something that's going to happen in the future. Therefore, they still have access to that. That's what I'm trying to say. We see here that they still have access to heaven. Why? Because it says, neither was their place found any more in heaven. This is Revelation 12. This is in the events of the end times. That hasn't happened yet. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and I believe that's what Jesus was referring to in Luke chapter 10, and his angels were cast out with him. So that's something that's going to happen in the future where they're no longer permitted to come into heaven. They're cast down to earth, and the Bible says Satan was cast down with having great wrath for he knoweth yet but a short time. Because eventually, he's going to be on his way to the bottomless pit and to hell. If you would, go over to Job chapter number 1. Job chapter number 1. Keep something in Revelation, sorry, but go to Job chapter number 1. If you look at Job chapter 1 and verse 6, it says, now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. So I believe this is describing events that are taking place in heaven. The sons of God being the saints that are in heaven at that time. They're coming to present themselves before the Lord. They're coming before God's throne in heaven, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, from hell, where I live. Because everyone knows that I'm in hell. That's my kingdom. That's a common teaching that's out there. No, that's not the answer. He said, from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. So he's saying, well, I was walking about the earth. I was moving up and down in the earth. So we see that until Revelation chapter 12, Satan has access both to heaven and earth. And it's not until Revelation 12 where he's finally barred from heaven and has only access to the earth. We see this morning also that in Matthew 28 that there is going to be a time when Jesus torments or destroys them in hell. That's their ultimate end. So you can imagine when Satan's being cast out of heaven in Revelation chapter 12, it's beginning to really dawn on them. OK, now we're really are going to be cast into hell. And again, if you would go back to, I guess, go to Matthew chapter number 25, Matthew chapter 25. We have to again remember that hell is a punishment for Satan and the devils. That's what it was initially prepared for. In Matthew chapter number 25, if you look at verse 41, it says, then shall he say unto them on the left hand. Again, this is a future prophecy when Christ is going to divide the nations. He said, Depart from me. He cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. So that's what hell was initially created for, to punish the devil and his angels. It's not a place to just, well, we've got to do something with Satan. Let's give him some real estate in hell and let him kind of, that's going to be his dominion. That's a place where he's actually going to go and be cursed. That's a place where he's going to go and be punished. It's not a place that he is yet. This is, again, future events that Christ is describing here. When he's going to tell them to depart and go into the everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. If you would go back to Revelation, go to Revelation chapter number 14. As you're going to Revelation 14, I'll read to you from Isaiah chapter number 30, which we hear some descriptions of hell. Often hell is referred to by other names in the Old Testament than hell. One of them being Tophet. In Isaiah chapter 30, verse 33, it says, For Tophet is ordained of old, yea, for the king it is prepared. He hath made it deep and large. The pile thereof is fire and much wood. The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. So when the Bible says that hell has been prepared for the devil, who is it that has prepared it? It's the Lord. And the Bible's showing us in Isaiah 30 that it is the breath of the Lord that, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle the fires of hell. It's, of course, allegorical here. Tophet was likely a literal place, but it's speaking of hell without diving into all of that as well. There's something else I want to pull out of this passage in Mark. But just very quickly, what we have to understand what we're seeing here in Mark is that Satan is not ruling and reigning in hell. He has dominion on the earth. His punishment is yet to come. That's what hell is. It's a place that's prepared for the devil. It's God's breath that kindles those fires. God is the one who created it. He's the one that keeps that furnace burning. If you look in Revelation chapter 14, verse 9, and the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark and his foreword or his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. So this is another great verse for proving what we call the reprobate doctrine, that there are some people that it's too late to be saved for, that they cross a line. And this is one particular group. There are others that we could talk about. But here, it's anyone that worships the beast and his image. Again, end times events. Those that receive the mark of his mark in his forehead or in his hand. If you receive the mark of the beast, you're done. That's it. You're reprobate. You're rejected of God. Because it says in verse 10, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. Does it say they might? Well, there's still opportunity. Like some false prophets would teach, I don't know which one it was, that even if you receive the mark as long in your hand, you could cut it off and still be saved. Well, what if you get it in your forehead? You're going to decapitate yourself? How are you going to pull that off? So it's foolishness. It's nonsense. The Bible says here that they shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. Not they might. There's still a chance. No, once you receive that mark, you're done. And it's just so funny. And I know I'm kind of going off here when people resist this doctrine that there's some people that it's too late for, even in this life. Like, oh, God, there's always a second chance. Really? What about the people in hell? Is there a second chance for them? There isn't. Now, the Mormons will teach you that there is. But you know, the Bible is real clear that the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. They have no rest day or night, that there's no getting out of hell. We don't believe in purgatory. That's unbiblical. So that's one thing. But notice also in verse 10, it says, they shall drink of the cup of his indignation and he should be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of who? The presence of Satan, the presence of the devil, the presence of those fallen angels, the devils? Is that who they're going to be tormented in the presence of? Like Satan's down there just, ha, ha, ha, ha, poking him with his little pitchfork and tormenting them. And look, this is the kind of teaching that's out there. That's how I know all these books, I constantly hear it from time to time about the guy who spent five minutes in hell. People, have you heard about this book where this guy went to hell? And I remember flipping through one of these in a bookstore once, like, what's this all about? And the guy starts describing how he was put into a jail cell in hell and it was hot. He could hear the screams of people being tortured. And eventually, this demonic being came and it took him out and it tortured him. It's unbiblical. Satan and his angels are there to be tormented. That's their punishment. That's what hell was prepared for. Who is going to be in hell? It says there that they shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. You can say, how is that possible? How can Jesus be, the lamb, be in heaven and hell? Well, again, he's everywhere. He's omnipresent. He can be in all places at all times. That's why he could say, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. That's why people can be tormented in his presence both in heaven and in hell. But that's who's going to be there. It's not going to be Satan. It's not going to be the devils laughing at the unsaved. It's going to be God and his holy angels there and they're going to see him. Obviously, we see through a glass darkly. We can't understand all things that wait on the other side of eternity. But we do get a glimpse from time to time of what things might be like. And this is one of them. So that's the first thing I want to point out from Mark chapter number one this morning, verse 23 and 24, is that they're saying, art thou come to destroy us? We saw in Matthew that it was before the time, meaning Satan and his angels are going to be punished at a certain point in time in a very particular place called hell. That's not something that is just meant for unbelievers. Now, the other thing I want to point out here is the fact that they call him a particular name. You can turn back there if you want, but in Mark chapter one, it says in verse 24, what have we to do with thee? Thou Jesus of Nazareth. Now, obviously, in Matthew, they called him the son of God. We know who thou art, the son of God. But here they call him by a very particular name. They say Jesus of Nazareth. And that's a very interesting phrase that you find used often in the scripture to describe the Lord. I think sometimes it's just used to describe where he's from geographically. But also, it's a negative epithet. It's something that is said in derision to be called that you are Jesus of Nazareth. It was kind of a knock. It was an insult to some degree. And let me prove that from the Bible, if you would. If I had you keep something in Matthew, I don't know. But go back to Matthew chapter number two, I've got a lot of scripture to look at this morning. So I'm trying to keep you in the right place and trying to make it flow for you. But you might end up with a paper cut by the time we're done here. In Matthew chapter number two, it says in verse 19, where does Jesus get this name of Jesus of Nazareth? If you remember, this is, of course, regarding the events around the birth of Christ. It says in verse 19, when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appearth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Remember that he was told to flee into Egypt initially. While he's down there, Herod who sought to kill the child is dead. It says in verse, or excuse me, dies. And it's the angel comes to Joseph in Egypt and says in verse 20, arise, take the young child of his mother and go in the land of Israel for they are dead which sought the young child's life. Verse 21, and he arose and took the young child and his mother and came into the land of Israel. And when he had heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go hither. Notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream, he had turned aside in the parts of Galilee, so that region in Israel called Galilee, and he came to dwelt and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. So that's why he's Jesus of Galilee. That's the region that he came from or that it was thought that he's come from and specifically in Nazareth which was a city in that region. He turned aside in the parts of Galilee, he dwelt in a city called Nazareth which might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene. Now, I need you to pay attention and put on your thinking caps this morning, okay? We're gonna go a little bit deeper this morning. But if you look for that phrase, because it says that he shall be called a Nazarene, that's not a phrase you find in the Old Testament where it just flat out says, he shall be called a Nazarene, okay? So what is meant by that? Well, you have to remember, again, what that is meant is that he's going to be, it's not Isaiah 53, just to turn there and explain it is the easiest way to do it. Being called Jesus of Nazarene is a negative epithet. It's something that was ascribed to him in derision, okay? Because Nazareth is a place that if you were from there, people thought lo of you. It was kind of an insult. In fact, we'll look at several passages here where people are kind of being insulted by saying, oh, art thou also from Nazareth? We'll look at several instances when the enemies of Christ ascribed this term to him, that he's of Nazareth. It's something that's being said in derision, right? And even we could think of places today where we would say something similar, right? I'll let you decide what you would say. What would be a negative epithet that you would say to somebody, right? An epithet just being a descriptive phrase that's expressing a quality or characteristic of the person or thing mentioned, right? A negative epithet would be like, oh, you know, this guy's from Texas. Amen? No, I'm just kidding. Why do we never get visitors to Texas? I have no idea. Because we don't want, no, I'm just kidding. We love Texas, we love our brother in Texas. I don't know if we love Texas, but we love the people that are there, okay? You know, they're from El Paso, okay? To me, that's a negative epithet. You know, it's like, oh, so and so from El Paso, right? Now, some people would say that about Tucsonians. You know, sometimes people will say, oh, you know how it is down in Tucson, right? Obviously, it's people who don't live here because they don't know what they're missing out on, okay? But anyways, you know, before I get myself into too hot a water with all that, you know, I'm just trying to express that as that's how Jesus of Nazareth is being used, that he was a Nazarene, okay? When it says there that he shall be called a Nazarene, what I believe it's referring back to is Isaiah chapter 53, where it's talking about the fact in verse three that he is despised and rejected of men. He's despised of men, right? He was acquainted with grief. We hid our, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not, meaning we had no respect for him. In fact, we despised him. That's what's being meant that he was, shall be called a Nazarene, meaning he shall be despised because to say, oh, he's from Nazareth, he's a Nazarene is a negative thing to be called, okay? It's a knock, all right? Let me prove that from the scripture. Go to John chapter one, John chapter one. Out of one of the disciples' own mouths, they use Nazareth as an epithet. They say, oh, you know, Nazareth, whatever, right? Like somebody will say, hey, you gotta go to such and such a place. You're like, oh, I'm never gonna go there, right? And people have different negative connotations about different regions, right? For example, one that I've observed is that it seems to me everybody that's from the West Coast, this region has a very negative outlook on people from the mid, well, not people, but the region of the Midwest, right? They'll say the Midwest, bleh, right? They'll say, or how about like Detroit, okay? This is one that I'm familiar with, right? Right, and people say, you know, well, not Detroit, like can any good thing come from Detroit? Well, my wife was born in Dearborn so yeah, a very good thing can come from Detroit, you know? The best thing I know comes from Detroit, okay? I'm just trying to earn some brownie points while I'm up here, right? You know, but people will say things, they'll have a knock in a certain place, right? Because one, they've never been there or they only know the negative things about it, okay? A lot of West Coasters have a negative perception of the Midwest and vice versa. A lot of people say, oh, California, you know, is the land of fruit and flakes, right? They'll say, oh, it's so liberal. It's like, well, everywhere's liberal. It is, you know, every major metro has a large liberal population. Have you noticed that? It's the rural areas. You know, the reason California's liberal is because they have, you know, Los Angeles, which is like a huge metro. I think it's the second largest in the United States, right, behind New York. New York being another very liberal place by it because that's where people go. It's the conservatives that live out in the rural areas and some states have more of that than others. Anyways, I'm not trying to discuss geopolitics this morning, but, you know, that's just explaining that. People from the Midwest are gonna say, oh, California is such and such. It's like this, it's liberal, right? And it's kind of a, it's a misconception, right? But that's how people are. They'll just look at geography and say, oh, you're from there? Well, you must be this way and have a negative perception about certain areas. Now, he's being called a Nazarene, right? He shall be called a Nazarene. I believe what it means, what's saying there in Matthew chapter two is the fact that, they're referring to the fact that in Isaiah 53, he's going to be despised and rejected. He's not going to be esteemed, right? He's gonna be, not get the respect that he deserves. Look at John chapter one, verse 45. It says, Philip, and findeth Nathanael and saith unto him, we have found him of whom Moses and the prophets did write, you know, people like, did they know about Jesus in the Old Testament? I can't get over it. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, and Nathanael said unto him, can there any good thing come of Nazareth, right? Can any good thing come of Nazareth? That's his response. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth, can any good thing come of Nazareth, right? What is he saying? Nothing good comes out of Nazareth. So you can see how being from Nazareth would be a knock. If you were from Nazareth, you would be despised, you would be rejected, you would not be esteemed, right? So that's how Isaiah 53 is being tied in there, I believe, with Matthew chapter two, verse 23, right? He shall be called Nazarene, why? Because he's going to be, not be esteemed, he's going to be rejected and despised. And this is a term being from Nazareth or Nazarene that is used as a knock often. If you would go to John chapter 18, you're right there in John anyway, in Acts 24, where we read about when Tertulles was addressing Felix on behalf of the Jews, if you were here that just a few weeks ago, speaking of Paul, they said, we have found this man, Paul, a pestilent fellow. You know, that's not something, you know, being a pest, right, you're a bothersome, you're an annoyance, you're a trouble, you're a source of vexation, right? It's not a good thing to be a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, right? That's how the Jews referred to the Christians back then, right, well, they're of the Nazarenes. So it would have this negative connotation, well, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? So you can see how that term is being used when they say he's of Nazareth or he's a Nazarene. John 18, where you are, right? Verse four, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him went forth and said unto them, whom seek ye? Right, and this is when he's being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. And Judas and the Jews, the scribes and the elders and the Pharisees have come out with, you know, staves and torches and they're arresting Jesus to go interrogate him and eventually crucify him. So they come to the garden and Jesus says, whom seek ye? And they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, right? So this is how he was known by his enemies. Those that despise and rejected him called him a Nazarene, that he was of Nazareth. That's how they often describe him. Jesus saith unto him, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with him. And as soon as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. I'm just reading this because that's cool, right? When he says, I am he, they all just fell down backward. They didn't fall forward as you wouldn't worship because they don't worship him as God. They don't acknowledge him as God, but they fall on their backs, right? Now, if that happened, you think you would probably rethink what you're doing. Like maybe we shouldn't be arresting this guy. You know, he just knocked us all down with a phrase or they'll just, you know, they all fall down, this throng of men, right? And him and his disciples are still standing. Like that would have been a clue, okay? But you know, these people are reprobate, okay? Again, they are implacable. They hate God and they're gonna arrest him anyway. It says in verse seven, when they asked him again, whom seek ye, he asked them again, they said, Jesus of Nazareth? And now they're like, we're still seeking him. And he's like, well, we know you're him, okay? So you don't need to say that again. But again, that's how they refer to him. That's what I'm going here for. I know I'm kind of going off a little bit, but they're referring to him as Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Because he is despised and rejected of men. He's not esteemed. Go to John 19, just one chapter over. John 19, this is of course, Christ has now been crucified. And Pilate, it says in verse 19, wrote a title and put it on the cross where Jesus was crucified, right? And the writing was Jesus, and he could have put anything else. You don't have to put anything else. He could have just put Jesus, you know, King of the Jews, right? But he put Jesus of Nazareth. Now maybe Pilate, you know, just put that on there because he's saying, this is where this guy's from. To distinguish him from anybody else that might have had that name. This is Jesus of Nazareth. But it's interesting that when you're often seeing Jesus be referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, it's coming out of the mouth of devils. It's coming out of those that sought to kill him. It's coming out of, you know, the mouth of those that did crucify him in Pilate. It's a phrase that's being used often in derision. Why? Because he is a man that is despised and rejected. And he says, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, this title then read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. And when the chief priests saw, excuse me, and it said, first 21, first 21, then said the chief priests to the Jews of Pilate, write not King of the Jews. Did they have a problem with the fact they called him Jesus of Nazareth? No, because that's what they called him. Keep that part about Nazareth up there. We don't have a problem with that because no good thing come from Nazareth because there's this negative connotation about that city. And anybody comes from there is just an ignorant, unlearned fool. Whatever it was, whatever bias they had towards those people they were fine ascribing that to Jesus because he was despised, he was rejected. You keep seeing this being used in a negative way, this title. And they say, write not King of the Jews, but keep the part about Nazareth up there. We like that. We just don't want him as king. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. Now the interesting thing about this is that Jesus has wrongly assumed to be a Nazarene. That's where he was from, that's where he grew up, but that's not where he was born. I know we all know this, but go to John chapter seven. John chapter seven. He was wrongly assumed to be a Nazareth. And what you'll notice is that Jesus never corrects anybody on that. Because you could say, well, they're just referring to the geographic location that he was living in before he got a mystery. Yeah, but if he's of a place, that's meaning like where he's born, right? Where were you born? Where are you of? Where did you come from, right? I could say, hey, I'm from Traverse City, Michigan because that's where I lived before I moved here. But where I'm of is Rapid City, South Dakota because that's where I was born. Now, Jesus never corrects anybody when he says that he's of Nazareth, and we'll get into why that is, okay? But understand this, when he's being called Jesus of Nazareth, or he's the Nazarene, they're wrongly assuming his origins. They've got it wrong, okay? It says in verse 40 of John chapter seven, many of the people therefore, when they heard the saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, this is the prophet. Some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee, which is where Nazareth was, right? We saw that earlier. You're telling me the Messiah is gonna come out of Galilee? Don't you think he should come out of Jerusalem or some other more notable, more noble city that has a better reputation than Galilee or Nazareth, right? The only reason they're dismissing him is because of the fact of where he came from. You know, and this is just something that's in human nature where people just have these prejudices and these bias towards people, simply based on where they came from. You know, where they're from, it's foolish. Verse 42, hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh at the seat of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? Yes. So there was a division among the people because of him, and some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Now, again, this might just be they're disputing his origins. You know, they're not necessarily giving a negative connotation of the fact that Jesus is of Galilee, okay? The doubt that these people have, the source of this division is that they're saying, well, the scripture says Bethlehem, but we know that he's from Galilee, but they didn't know the backstory, right? With Joseph and him fleeing in Egypt and then coming back. But the point I wanna make, and let me make application in closing here, is that Jesus never corrects anybody. He never takes the time to explain, hey, you know what, I'm actually, I know I grew up in Nazareth, but I'm not actually from there, you know? And we might be tempted to do that. Like if we came from some place that maybe had a really bad reputation, and rightfully so, maybe we really did come from a place where if you were from there, it was just kind of assume some things because that's just the way it was, you know, we might be more tempted to defend ourselves. Well, hey, you know, I'm not like that. You know, I don't come from that place or I come from that place, but I'm not like those people there. You know, I've changed or I've grown, okay? We might be tempted to defend ourselves in that way, right? But Jesus never does that. He just takes it. They're saying when we see the devil's calling him a Nazarene, when we see his enemies calling him a Nazarene, saying that he's from Nazareth and he's being ascribed this negative connotation, he never bothers to correct anybody. I believe that's because Jesus willingly bore that reproach, why? To be an example to us, okay? If you're still in John, go to John chapter seven, John chapter number seven. In Psalm 69, the Bible says, verse seven, because for thy sake I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face. This is prophetic of Christ. I am become a stranger unto my brethren. The Bible tells us in John that he came unto his own and his own received him not, right? He became a stranger unto his brethren and an alien unto my mother's children. Now alien doesn't mean he's from outer space. It means he's a foreigner, right, a foreign alien. Verse nine, for the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me, right? I'm trying to do, I'm zealous for thy sake. Jesus is casting the people out of the temple, right? The disciples recalled this scripture when he did that, when he drove the money changers out of the temple, right? He's saying the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up and when Jesus drove those people out, the Jews said, what authority do you have to do this, right? He's saying, look, thy zeal hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproach thee, right? The things that they were doing in the temple, turning it into a den of thieves was a reproach unto God. And he said, that reproach that they, those reproaches fell upon me. They said, who are you to do this, okay? The reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me, right? I've become their source of derision. I'm the object of their scorn is what he's saying. And Jesus, in his ministry, as we're seeing here in just a few of these passages in the New Testament and the gospels is being referred to as a Nazarene. And it's a negative thing and he never corrects anybody because he's willing to take that reproach. He's allowing that reproach to fall upon him. He's allowing, he's bearing that reproach. He's allowing that shame to cover his face, okay? And what I want us to understand this morning is that if you associate with Jesus, it will bring reproach upon you to some degree or another. I don't think everybody's gonna go through the same amount of persecution as other people. But if you associate with the Bible, if you associate with the word of God, if you associate with Bible preaching, if you associate with certain men of God, if you associate with certain churches that preach the word of God, if you associate with Jesus in some way, shape or form, it very well may bring a reproach upon you among the world. All they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you look at John chapter seven, look at verse 45. Then came the officers to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they said to them, why have you not brought him, right? So they sent their guys to go and get Jesus and bring him back. The officers answered, never man spake like this man. They're saying, well, we were gonna go get him, but then he started talking, we were just in awe. We were just, we forgot what we were doing. Then answered the Pharisees, are you also deceived? So he's saying, are you one of these people that follow him? Are you deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people that knoweth not the law are cursed. He's saying, we're the intelligent ones, we're the learned ones here, we're the ones that know the scriptures. These people don't understand the word of God and they're cursed, they're ignorant and unlearned. We are the Pharisees, are you like them? Are you deceived? Nicodemus, which is one of the Pharisees, saideth unto them, he that came to Jesus by night being one of them, doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth? So he's kind of trying to plead the case for Jesus, right? Saying, well, you know, let's not jump to conclusions here because doesn't the law teach that we should judge them before we hear them and know what he doeth? Let's find out what's really going on here, right? So, because he's already, remember in John three, he's already talked to Jesus. He came to Jesus by night, right? And that's where you get the whole thing about being born again. That's what Jesus told him. You know, he must be born again. So this is that same Nicodemus. So he's already had associated with Jesus. He's already kind of looking into Jesus and believing on Jesus. And he's kind of sticking up for him here. But notice how they respond to Nicodemus. What is the Pharisee's response? When he's kind of sticking up and saying, well, let's not jump to conclusions. Doesn't the law teach that we ought to hear him first and know what he's doing? Let's not be too hasty here. They answered him and said, art thou also of Galilee? Art thou also, now do we know if he's from Galilee or not? We don't. A lot of people just say, oh, well, he's from Galilee. He should have known. Like that's what they're saying here. But you know, when you kind of read, when you kind of get the context of what it means to be from Nazareth, to be from that region, it's kind of an insult. And they're saying, you know, these are you, that's what they're saying to the officers. Are you also deceived? Are you like them? They're just insulting them. Then they're insulting the people that are their listing of Jesus. This people that know not the law are cursed. And then Nicodemus sticks up and they turn to him and they insult him by saying, oh, art thou also of Galilee? Search and look out for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went to his own house. And all I'm saying is this, you know, if you're gonna be like Nicodemus and stick up for Jesus, you're gonna stick your head out a little bit for Jesus. You're gonna stretch your neck out for Jesus. You're probably gonna have to bear some reproach. There's probably gonna be some people in your life that scoff at that, that mock that, that ridicule that, that actually are going to reproach you for Jesus' sake. And the reproach of Christ is going to fall upon you just like the reproach of the Lord fell upon Jesus. You know, I remember this is something that I've experienced in my life and I'm sure others in this room have. I remember when, you know, certain sermons went red hot and viral that, and people in my family found out that I went to Faithful Word Baptist Church and that my pastor was Pastor Stephen Anderson. And he preached some sermons that were controversial and people that took issues with and certain family members found out that this is, you know, that that was my pastor. And I didn't say, I don't apologize for it. I believe what he believes because it's what the Bible says. And the response was this, is that what Jesus means to you? As if it's up for interpretation. As if who Jesus is can just be manipulated like that. Well, to me, Jesus means this. Well, Jesus isn't a philosophy, okay? Jesus is an approach to life. Jesus is just a way of living. Jesus Christ is a person. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty and He's not up for debate. And the Bible teaches what it teaches and you can like it or lump it. You know, but if you take the position of, well, I'm just gonna be associated with Jesus, you know, be prepared to have some approach brought upon you where people are gonna question, you know, what you believe, question why you believe it. Go to 1 Peter chapter number four, 1 Peter chapter number four. Look, people can be ashamed of the church they attend. People can be ashamed of and ashamed of following, you know, a certain preacher, of being a member of a certain church. You know, I hope that's not the case in this, with anyone in the room this morning. That, you know, people say, well, I like going to that church and I appreciate the preaching and, you know, but, you know, I don't wanna be really associated too much. I don't want people in my secular life to know, you know, I don't want people at work or my friends or wherever to know that that's where I go. And I'm sure not gonna invite anybody to church because you never know what the deacon's gonna preach. You never know what son he's gonna get up and just start going off on this or going off on that. And we all know how he is and how he's just so unpredictable. Well, I'm kind of making it easy for you going through Mark verse by verse, okay? Maybe if that's you, you can kind of go, well, I see he's coming up on these verses in Mark and it doesn't seem like anything. Don't put it past me, okay? Because I know how to reach. You know, I can get there. We're only a hop, skip, and a jump away from Leviticus, okay? And we can make it happen, right? But what I'm getting at is that hopefully no one in here even thinks that way. You know, hopefully people will be like, hey, I want people to hear the preaching of the word of God. I want people to know the truth of God's word. I want people to come and hear the preaching of the Bible because I love the Bible, the good, the bad, and the ugly. You know, and this is something that maybe I should just say to kind of get off my chest too, okay? Is that, you know, and I'm not insinuating this is the case with anybody. But I'm not also saying or to think that it's not beyond the scope of possibility. That there's people that are in this church simply because of what we're not, okay? Let me explain what I mean by that. You know, some people might want to come to church here just simply because we're not like another IFB church. They might really like the fact that we don't, you know, have, you know, altar calls or that we don't have an hour long song service before a 30 or 45 minute sermon. You know, some people want it that way. That's fine. I'm not knocking people that have those things, okay? But I'm saying that I know people have preferences and some people might appreciate the fact that we're not this and we're not that, that we don't run, that I'm not inviting vagrants in off the street, okay? To sit down next to your kids and that we're, you know, that we're not doing all these other things, whatever it is. And a lot of, there might, you know, it's possible, I'm not saying this is the case, but I know it's possible that there could be people that come to this church simply for what we're not. And you know, and that's fine, but if that's you, you need to do a little soul searching and maybe come to a place you started appreciating this church for what it is. I go to this church because the Bible is preached, because we have a man of God that isn't afraid to preach the whole counsel of the word of God. And look, I'll say this publicly too, if I ever get to the place where I start compromising the preaching of God's word, I will quit. If I ever find myself saying, well, if I preach that, people are gonna get upset. Or if I preach that, it might get out there and it might cost me something in my personal life. You know what, I'm just gonna step down at that point. Because the last thing we need is another Baptist preacher with a big yellow stripe down his back to get up behind a pulpit and be too afraid to preach the whole counsel of the word of God. So, you know, that's what I endeavor to do in this ministry. And hopefully people can learn to appreciate that for what it is, okay? I'm glad we're not doing all these other things, okay? I'm glad that that's an option for people who prefer this brand of Baptist church, okay? And I'm glad there's other options out there for people that wanna go and have the song services and all the programs and all that stuff that we don't do here. I'm glad they have those options, okay? But let's make sure we're in this church for the right reason, that we're here for what it is, okay? And be willing to bear the reproach that comes with that. Look, there's a lot of other churches, if you went outside and said, I go to such and such a church, people wouldn't bat an eye. You know, there could be a lot of churches that I could say, well, I've been on staff at such and such a church. I could put that on a resume somewhere and nobody would care. And if they Googled it, nothing, all they're gonna find is a map, okay? You know, but if I put it, oh, I've been working at Faithful Word Baptist Church for five years, put that on a resume. I know, because I've done it. Right, that, you know, that's the real possibility when you come to this church, I'm just saying. You know, and maybe you're not gonna ever pop up on Google, this church will. You know, and we should never get to the place where we're ashamed to say, well, I do go to Faithful Word. You know, why? Well, I like it there, because they don't do this and they don't do that and they don't do this and they don't do that. That's great that you appreciate that, that you appreciate our approach to how we do things. But what about all the things that we do? How does that make you feel? How does the preaching of the Word of God feel? Does it make you squeamish and say, well, you know, I know it's what the Bible says, but I don't know if I really want other people to know that I actually agree with him. That I actually go home and look in the Bible and go, yeah, that is what it says. You know, Christ didn't correct anybody when they said, oh, he's Jesus of Nazareth. You know, he's a Nazarene. He's from the parts of Galilee. He's from, you know where he's from. He's from that place. He said, fine, go ahead and assume that. We see his enemies calling him that. We see the devil's calling him that. And he just takes it. Why? Because bearing the approach of Christ is the example that's been set to us by Jesus himself. The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me. Okay. Did I have you go to 1 Peter? Chapter number four. He says in verse three, for the time past of our life may have suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. You know, we used to be like this, like the rest of the world, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excesses of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. Wherein they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. So he's preaching to these Gentiles, saying, this is what you were like in time past. You were like the rest of the world, what, in lasciviousness, just an overabundance of sin where you're just given over to the lust of the flesh. In the times past, people were given over to excess of wine, what, being a drunk. In times past, people were given over to revelings, the partings, the banquetings, the abominable idolatries. And then people get saved, these people are getting saved out of that, and they're cleaning up their lives. And they're saying, well, I'm not doing that anymore. And then he says in verse four, wherein they, those, the Gentiles that do do these things, think it's strange they find it odd that you don't do it anymore, that you run not with the same excess of riot. And riotous living is all those things that he just described. He's not talking about burning and looting, right? Riotous living in the Bible is living for the flesh, right? Living a sinful life with fornication and drunkenness. And he's saying, look, you used to do those things. In times past, you wrought the will of Gentiles, but now that you're not doing it, those people that still do that, they think it's strange that you don't run to the same excess of riot. They say, what do you mean you're not coming out to the bar? It's Friday night, we always go to the bar. What do you mean you're not gonna come to the party and get drunk? That's what we always did. What do you mean you're not coming to my Super Bowl party and drinking all the booze with us? What do you mean you're not gonna run to this excess of riot and that excess of riot, okay? You stop doing that stuff, you know what you're gonna have doing, you're gonna have bearing the approach of Christ. Because we're commanded not to do those things, folks. And what happens? They think it's strange that you run out to the same excess of riot, but they don't stop there speaking evil of you. I remember being told after I got saved and got in church, someone said to me, you know, they called me CJ back then. The CJ of two years ago would laugh at the CJ that you are today. He would make fun of the person that you are. And I said, yep. And they thought that's strange. And when they found out it wasn't just a kick, that I wasn't on just some bandwagon, that these were real permanent changes that I'd made in my life, you know what they began to do? Speak evil. And they thought it's strange. And I'm not trying to get a pity party. I'm not saying that to, oh, woe is me, okay? That's just the Christian life, okay? Many of us are in a similar situation. The same thing will happen to any one of us that goes ahead and allows people to just reproach us. And if we associate with Christ, if we live the Christian life, we will bear reproach. Look at verse 12. Beloved, think it not strange. Don't think it odd. Don't find it foreign, considering the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. You say, don't think it's strange that you're gonna be persecuted. This is the Christian life. Yea, all they that live godly in Christ, you just shall serve for persecution. And if you're not suffering for it, are you living godly? Are you willing to be associated with Christ? Are you being willing to take that reproach upon you? It says in verse 13, but rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, he may be glad also with exceeding joy. What's he saying in verse 14? There's a big, fat, I told you so coming. All those people that wanna speak evil and think it's strange, obviously we're not saying that now. We want those people to get saved. We're trying to be a good testimony to them. But you know what? Let them speak evil. Let them call you names. Let them say, oh of Nazareth, oh of faithful word Baptist Church. Let the enemies say whatever they want. Let them call us whatever they want because if we're willing to suffer that reproach, if we're willing to be partakers of Christ's suffering, when his glory shall be revealed, we also are going to what? Be glad with exceeding joy. And I'm willing to suffer all the reproach that comes with being a Baptist preacher. I'm willing to suffer all the reproach that comes with preaching the counsel of God. I'm willing to suffer the reproach that comes with being a Christian, being associate of the church because when his glory shall be revealed, it's not just some made up thing. It's not some fairytale. Christ is coming. He will rule and reign on this earth. That's what we believe here. That's what the Bible teaches. And when that happens, I'm gonna have exceeding joy. It's all gonna be worth it. And you know, I'm gonna laugh at the persecution. It's gonna be laughable to think back the things we suffered when the glory in us is going to be revealed. It's gonna be exceeding joy. And I just might, I don't know, maybe I won't be able to help myself in that day. I might just find myself in heaven yelling back at all those same people and say, I told you so. And hopefully I did tell them. Hopefully I did say, hey, you need to get saved. Hey, hell is real. Hey, Jesus loves you. It'd be very spiritual I told you so, okay? But look at verse 14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ. Big if. If ye be reproached. Means you could live your whole Christian life and never be reproached for his name. You could be the Secret Service Christian, right? You're undercover for Christ, right? You won't just come out and preach the gospel. You'll just kind of make little subtle comments and people are like, what are you talking about? Oh, nothing. We're not gonna actually just boldly proclaim the name of Christ. Well, you know, if you don't boldly proclaim the name of Christ, if you don't wanna be associated with God and with his people, then you won't be reproached. Okay? But if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. Happy. Jesus said, rejoice when all men shall speak evil of you. Leap with exceeding joy. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say, all men are evil against you falsely for my sake, for so said they of the prophets. But woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. Or so the Father said of what? The false prophets. You wanna know a false prophet? Look at the guy who's sitting on Larry King Live. I know that's not even a thing anymore. The guy who the world just throws their arms around. Oh, Billy Graham. Oh, Joel Osteen. You know, oh, Kenneth Copeland. All these people that are out there. The world just throws their arms around them, embraces them and lifts them up and their books are all national bestsellers and everybody has nothing but nice things to say about them. Woe unto them. That's what they said about the false prophets and that's what those people are. They're in it for filthy, lucre's sake. They're never going to get down to the nitty gritty of this book because they know that's not gonna make you popular. It's gonna make you very unpopular and might even bring reproach upon you. But you know, if we are reproached, happy are ye where the spirit of the glory and of God resteth upon you. You're happy because you're just so popular. No, you're happy because you're like Christ. The spirit of God resteth, the glory of God resteth upon you. On their part, he is evil spoken of but on your part, he is glorified. You know, when God looks down and sees his people willing to take a stand and suffer their approach that comes with believing in or preaching the word of God, God is pleased with that. He is glorified. Look at verse 15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a bitty-buzzy in another man's matters. I mean, have a good testimony. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on his behalf. Go to 1 Peter chapter number two. 2 Corinthians says in chapter 12 verse 10, therefore I take pleasure and infirmities in reproaches. Paul says, I take pleasure in reproaches. I like being reproached from the name of Christ. In necessities and persecutions. He's saying, I pleasure in these things. You know, we shouldn't live our Christian life trying to skirt these things, to get as far away from them as possible. We shouldn't take pleasure in these things. I'm not saying we need to go out of our way, necessarily, to bring them upon us. But if you just live the Christian life, and you're just open about your Christianity, if you're not trying to hide your light under a bushel, but let it shine, if you're like that city that is set on a hill, that you're going to suffer approach. And we should be able to live our Christian life You're going to suffer approach. And we should take pleasure in that. Not like, oh, man. Man, the church has two and a half stars on Google, guys. Used to be down to one and a quarter. And then I bragged about it on Facebook, and everyone took it the wrong way. And said, oh, let's go over there and give them a positive view. I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing? I was bragging. You know, I was trying to get a raise. Pastor comes down here, and he looks at the Google reviews, and says, five stars? What are you doing, man? Listen, were you trimming the message up there, or what? You know, but hey, what am I supposed to feel bad that we got a low Google rating? Oh, my family, you know, they're mocking the fact that I go to the church there. They don't want me at Thanksgiving dinner now. They want me to compromise. I'm being reproached for Christ. Whatever way, shape, or form that happens in your life, if you'd be reproached for Christ. If that's happening to you, oh, well, you know, it's just this part of living the Christian life. It's just a burden that must be borne. It's just something I have to go through. You know, happy are ye. Paul said, I rejoice in these things. I take pleasure in them. For when I am weak, then am I strong. Then is the power of Christ made perfect in my weakness? God is glorified. The times you'll be closest to Lord is when you're being persecuted for His sake, when you're being reproached for His sake. You'll be able to go before the throne of God and say, Lord, you hear what they're saying, you hear their mockings, you see what's happening, and you'll know that God sees it, and that His Spirit rests upon you, and that He is glorified in that. And that eventually, one day, when He shall be revealed in glory, we will rejoice with exceeding great joy. You know, the people that don't suffer for Christ in this life, the people that don't wanna bear the reproach of Christ, when Christ comes, yeah, they'll still be there, but are they gonna be able to, you know, what's there to rejoice over? Life was pretty, you know, life went off without a hitch. Like, my life was smooth sailing. I never suffered any reproach for Christ. When He comes, they're just like, oh, oh, good. I'm glad He's here. Or maybe it'll be like, well, it's about time. You know, but people that actually suffer reproach, the people that actually suffer for Christ's sake, you know, they're gonna see Him and rejoice with exceeding great joy. Why? Because of the fact that they suffered in this life. It's proportionate. What else would cause Paul to say, I rejoice in these things? I take pleasure in infirmities and persecutions and reproaches. Why would you take pleasure in that? Because of the eternal weight of glory that it works in heaven. Are you still in 1 Peter? Go to chapter two. I think I had you go there. And this is the example that we see, okay? I know I'm kind of extrapolating this out of the passage this morning in Mark, right? But it's interesting that the devil calls him Jesus of Nazareth. And it's an interesting phrase when you look into it. And Jesus suffered that reproach of being known as somebody that was from Nazareth. He didn't go, thanks, Joseph. Why'd you have to turn aside in the parts of Galilee? Couldn't you have gone somewhere nicer? He wasn't bitter about it. Oh, thanks, pastor. Thanks for preaching that sermon. Did you really have to say that? Did you really have to preach that? Hey, bear the reproach that comes with being associated with this church. Don't be, I'm not saying you have to go and broadcast it everywhere. But when someone asks you, where do you go to your church? F-W-B-C. What's that stand for? Faithful Word Baptist Church. Oh, really? And then they think it's strange that you never invite them. And let me just say this, that's how churches grow. You know the number one way to make a church grow is for people that go there to invite others. Statistically, if you look in the stats, that's the best way to grow a church is for the people that go there to invite somebody else. I mean, just think about it. If everyone in this room invited one person and those people showed up one Sunday, we just doubled the size of the church. And all you had to do was invite one person. If everybody just agreed, hey, I'm just gonna invite one person, we'd literally double in size. And I'm not saying that, obviously, that they'd all stick around or that everyone's gonna come. But even think about, let's say everybody invited somebody and only half those people that showed up. You know? We're growing. So don't be afraid to be associated with this church. Don't be associated that you're from somewhere or you go somewhere. That's what Jesus did. That was what was stapled above his head. Jesus of Nazareth in his death. Look at verse 21 of 1 Peter 2. For even hereunto were you called. This is what you're called to in the Christian life. It's not optional. I mean, you can choose not to do it. What's God's will for my life? Here you go. If you choose, this is what you're called to, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. What's Christ calling us to? Excuse me. Is to follow his example and to do what? To suffer for his sake. Who did no sin. Is it fair to suffer for Christ? Is it fair to be persecuted because you believe this book, where you go to a church where this book is preached? Is that fair? No. It's not a sin. But that's the example of Jesus. Was it fair that he suffered the way he did? No, he did no sin. But notice also neither was guile found in his mouth. You know, he wasn't speaking evil, right? He didn't lash out at the people that were persecuting him. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth. Hey, Bethlehem, buddy, get it right. No, he reviled not again. Oh, by the, you know, he cast out devils by the, by the, you know, the, by Beelzebub, by the prince of devils. He reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not. He didn't look over at the Roman soldier that was driving that nail through his hand and say, you got it coming, buddy. He didn't look down on all those people from the cross that were wagging their heads and mocking him and saying, come down if thou be the son of God. Save thyself. You saved others. If you be the Christ, come down and we'll believe. You know, what did he say? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He reviled not again. He threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. That's what we're called to in this life, to suffer that reproach. And it's not something you just have to grin and bear in the Christian life. It's something you can actually embrace. It's something you can actually be happy about. It's something you can actually rejoice in because we are committing ourselves to him that judges righteously. Like, I know God's gonna straighten it all out one day. You know, why, are you upset about what people say about you online with some troll channel on YouTube, you know, the way they mock you? Are you concerned about what some raging atheist, what some unfriendly atheist, the articles they write, are you upset about the fact that you're on the ADL's website as a hate preacher? No, it doesn't upset me. I didn't go looking for it, it came my way. All I did was, I didn't sin, I preached this book. That's all I did. I decided, you know, I'm just gonna get up behind that pulpit, just whatever does say it the Lord. And I'm not gonna shy away from any of it. And if that's too much for you in this church, there's plenty of other churches where you won't have to worry about that. But you know, I'm not called to be a compromiser, I'm called to preach all this word of God, and if it brings reproach, so be it. And I'll rejoice in that because, why, because I'll just commit myself to him that judges righteously. You know, and unless those people get saved, you know, there's gonna come a day where God judges them. And my attitude ought to be, God, you know, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. So, that's the message this morning. You know, Christ was reproached. They said, we know who thou art. You're Jesus of Nazareth. That's what his enemies called him. William Seakey, Jesus of Nazareth. What did the inscription say? Jesus of Nazareth. No good thing comes out of Nazareth. Art thou also of Galilee? That was reproach. He bore it. He was despised and rejected. He was not esteemed. But was it because he did something wrong? No, it's because we're living in a fallen world full of sinful and ignorant people who need to be shown the truth, who need to be told the truth. But if we're too afraid to tell people the truth, we're too afraid to preach to them the gospel, to preach the word of God, how are they gonna know? They're not gonna find it on their own. We have to be willing to bear that reproach if we're gonna reach this world with the message of the gospel. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the great opportunity that we have to preach and to suffer, Lord, in this life on your behalf, Lord, to be people that can, Lord, be reproach for the name of Christ, Lord. It's a great privilege, Lord. It's something we should be glad for. It's something that we should never shy away from, Lord. And I pray you'd help us to follow your example, Lord, even though we've done nothing wrong, that there's no sin in our mouths, there's no guile in our mouths, Lord, even if we're persecuted for the things that we say, so long as we suffer as a Christian, Lord, help us to be willing to do that, Lord, so that we can rejoice in that great day when you do appear, we ask in Christ's name, amen. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song. And then, let's open up our hymnals to song number 12. Song number 12, what's the beauty? What's the beauty? What's the beauty? What's the beauty? What's the beauty? What's the beauty? What's the beauty? What's the beauty? 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