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

I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. And since he hid me, see his face, believe his word, and trust his grace. I'll cast on him my every care, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer. May I thy consolations share, till from Mount Viscos long behind, I view my home and take my flight. His robe of flesh shall drop and rise, to seize the everlasting Christ, and shout while passing through the air, farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer. Lord, thank you for this opportunity to be here tonight, and I pray that you fill Pastor Anderson with your Holy Spirit. Please help this sermon to reach a lot of people, and to touch our hearts, and please bless all aspects of their service. It's in Christ's name I pray, amen. Amen, over to hymn number 191. In my heart there rings a melody, number 191. I have a song that Jesus gave me, number 191. Sing it out on this first verse. I have a song that Jesus gave me. It was sent from heaven above. There never was a sweeter melody. Tis a melody above. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody above. I love the Christ who died on Calvary, for he washed my sins away. He looked within my heart a melody, and I know it's there to stay. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody above. Through me my endless being in glory, with the angels I will sing. Through me a song with glorious harmony, when the courts of heaven ring. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody above. All right, this time we'll go through our announcements together. If you don't have a bulletin, slip up your hand nice and high. We'll get to you with one. On the inside we have our service time. Sunday mornings at 1030 is our preaching service. Sunday nights at 6. Wednesday nights at 7 is our Bible study. Tonight we're in Psalm 69. We've got the soul-winning times listed there below, as well as salvations and baptisms. Don't forget that the Chandler soul-winning time is on pause. It has not been suspended. So he's not in detention or anything like that. But that soul-winning time is on pause, so make other plans for soul-winning. And then across the page, don't forget to congratulate the Areola family on the birth of baby Bethany, October 13th. And then the Bible memory passage. We're starting up a new one for John chapter 3 verses 5 through 8. Just a quick little easy passage to get your feet wet on Bible memory. And make sure that you get your prize if you did the last passage, Isaiah chapter 40, 21 through 31. Brothers, say, Gora's got your prize. You can even jump up right now and go get your prize. What's that? Okay, do you have them with you? All right, so hey, if you want to get your prize, you can even just get up right now and just walk right to Brother Segura and just get your prize right. Let's give them all a big hand. All right. All right. And then below that, we've got the field trip. Don't forget, Monday, October 26th. That's less than a week away. And be sure to get there on time. Realize how far it is because if you're late and you don't get in with the group, then you just don't get in. Or you have to pay your own way or something. So you've got to be there on time. It's absolutely essential. So plan to be there early. And then on the back, we've begun scheduling photos for the annual yearbook. The photos will begin this Sunday. And you don't sign up near the kitchen. You sign up in the far back, basically as far from the kitchen as you could possibly get in this building. That's where you sign up. All right. And Brother Ramon Ventura has any questions or answers for you. And then below that, the annual chili cook-off is Saturday, October 31st. If you want to enter a chili, you've got to have it here by 5 o'clock. And only the first 20 chilis will be admitted into the contest. So if it's really important to you to compete, you should probably plan on getting there closer to 4.30, get there early, because we just can't expect the judges to eat more than 20 different chilis in a row, because their taste buds are already going to be so confused by the time they get to the 17th or 18th chili. So especially because, you know, sometimes people get a little weird with their chilis, you know, so, you know, and then they could just skew everything after that. No, I'm joking. We had, you know, chili number, remember the infamous chili number five? You know, enough said. One person's laughing, because there was only one person that was there back then. All right. Inside joke. But we've got the weekly events listed there below, other upcoming events, the ladies game night on November 6th. We've got the Spanish night every second Thursday of the month. The annual church picnic. That's a really cool event that we do, November 14th. And so that's from three to six. It's at Papago Park, but don't type in Papago Park. You got to go to the southwest corner of College and Curry. We'll have a map in the bulletin once we get closer, but it's basically the same place we've always had it the last, you know, 14 times that we did it. And that's about it for announcements. Let's go ahead and count up the sole winning from the past few days. Going back to Monday. Anything from Monday? Got it. Okay. Anything else from Monday? What about Tuesday? Okay. Tuesday. And then what about today? I know we had one for the van. Anything outside the van? Got it. All right. Very good. Keep up the great work on sole winning. And with that, let's sing our next song. Come lead us. All right. We're going to sing Be Thou My Vision. You should find that incident in your hymnals. Be thou my vision. O Lord of my heart. Let's sing it on this verse. Be thou my vision. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Not be all else to be safe at thou art. Thou my guest of my day or my night. Breaking or sleeping, thy presence my light. Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word. I am her with me and thou with me, Lord. Thou my great Father, I'm thy true Son. Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one. Be thou my passion, sword for my fight. Be thou my dignity, thou my delight. Now my soul shall help live thou my high task. Praise thou me at work, O power of my power. Which is I need not, nor man's empty praise. Thou my inheritance, now and always. Thou and thou only, first in my heart. I, King of Heaven, my treasure thou art. I, King of Heaven, my victory won. May I be heaven's joy, so bright and sun. Heart of my own heart, whatever befall. Still be my vision, O ruler of all. Amen. Great singing. Let's sing the word of hymn number 190 in your hymnals. Number 190, our wonderful, wonderful Jesus, number 190. Let's sing it all at first. There is never a day so dreary, number 190. Sing it all on this verse. There is never a day so dreary. There is never a night so long. All the soul and trust in Jesus will suffer and find a song. Wonderful, wonderful Jesus, with a heart he implanted the song. A song of deliverance, of courage, of strength. In the heart of the Lord and in the soul. There is never a drop so heavy. There is never a weight of war. But that Jesus will help to carry, because he loveth so. Wonderful, wonderful Jesus, with a heart he implanted the song. A song of deliverance, of courage, of strength. In the heart of the Lord and in the soul. There is never a care of hurt. There is never a greed for loss. But that Jesus in love will lighten when carried to the cross. Wonderful, wonderful Jesus, in the heart he implanted the song. A song of deliverance, of courage, of strength. In the heart of the Lord and in the soul. There is never a guilty sinner. There is never a wandering one. But that God in mercy bought him through Jesus Christ his Son. Wonderful, wonderful Jesus, in the heart he implanted the song. A song of deliverance, of courage, of strength. In the heart he implanted the song. All right, this time we will pass offering plates as the plates go around. Let's turn our Bibles to Psalm 69. Psalm 69, as we always do, we'll read the entire chapter, beginning in verse number 1. Follow along silently with Brother Hester as he reads Psalm 69, beginning in verse number 1. Psalm 69, the Bible reads, Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried, my eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then I restored that which I took not away. O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because for thy sake I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children, for the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment, and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me, and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time. O God, in the multitude of thy mercy, hear me in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink, let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving kindness is good. Turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, and hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble. Hear me speedily, draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it. Deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none. And for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them. And that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate, and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him who thou hast smitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not come unto thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But I am poor and sorrowful. Let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock, or that hath horns and hooves. The humble shall see this and be glad, and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein, for God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it, and they that love his name shall dwell therein. Amen. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this chance to be in your house, Lord, and thank you for the book of Psalms that your servant David wrote, that we get to learn more of you, Jesus Christ, and I hope that you anoint Pastor Anderson as he preaches your word, and let us all be edified. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. Amen. Psalm 69 is one of the most famous psalms in the book of Psalms. It's a big messianic psalm, and it is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament. As you're reading through this, there are just so many quotes that are probably jumping out at you from all over the New Testament, from John, from Acts, from Romans. This is a big one, and not only that, it's one of the big imprecatory psalms, meaning that it's a prayer of curses upon enemies. So let's jump into this. It says in verse number one, Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there's no standing. I'm come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. So again, this is like a lot of other psalms where David is just at the end of his rope. He's saying, look, the waters have come in even to the soul. He's basically saying he's drowning, and he just feels overwhelmed. He's sinking in the mud. He can't get a foothold. He's dying. He says in verse three, I'm weary of my crying. My throat is dried. Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. This is one of the many psalms where David is talking like he just can't go any further. We've all felt that way at times in our life where we can relate to this. I believe that these scriptures exist in the Bible, so when we feel that way, we don't feel like it's just us. Sometimes we might just think everybody else is just going through life, and they're going to church, and they're happy, and everything's going smooth. Am I the only one that sometimes just feels at the end of my rope? I don't even think I can go another day or whatever. God puts these things here so you can understand that lots of other people have gone through the same thing, and that even if you're going through something like that, don't despair, don't give up. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. Now, when we talk about a messianic psalm, what we need to understand is that whenever we have something in the Old Testament that's pointing us to Jesus in the New Testament, it's never going to be a perfect picture because anytime you have a sinful man representing Jesus, obviously he's not going to be a perfect representation. As we go through the Bible, we could think of Adam picturing Jesus, Abel pictures Jesus, you know Joseph at the end of the book of Genesis is a big picture of Jesus. Obviously that doesn't mean that these people are perfect. David pictures Jesus. David wasn't perfect. We could point out all the mistakes and wrong things that he did. Even Samson pictures Jesus. And when we go through the Bible, and when we see these pictures in the Old Testament of Jesus, we have to understand that they're showing us through a glass darkly, and so we need to understand that they're never going to be a perfect picture, but they still are pointing us to Christ. For example, in this passage, if you jump down a little bit to verse number five, it says, O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee. Obviously that's not going to apply to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ doesn't have any foolishness or any sins, because the Bible says he who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus Christ was totally without sin. But that doesn't mean that you could look at this and say, oh, well, this isn't about Jesus then. Well, we have to understand that there are a couple layers of meaning here. Layer number one is just the literal surface meaning where David is talking about himself, and David is going through a hard time. David is overwhelmed. David feels like he's drowning and sinking in the mire. David's crying out to God for help. So that's the surface meaning. And then we have the deeper meaning, which is a prophecy about Jesus Christ. That's what it means when we say it's a messianic Psalm. It's prophesying of the Messiah that will one day come, who is, of course, the son of David, Jesus Christ. Same thing in Jonah. You know, when you're reading in Jonah chapter two, some of the things there in Jonah two are about Jonah right then and there, where he's talking about the weeds wrapped around his head and going down in the water and, you know, he's swallowed by a well. But then other things are clearly about Jesus, because as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And so when we look at this, we need to understand that their Psalm is going to be a little back and forth, two layers of meaning. So don't let that bother you. Don't let that take away from the Psalm. Be sure that you apply it to Jesus Christ. And almost every single Psalm can be pretty easily applied to Jesus. When you look at it, it's pretty easy to find the tie-ins, even Psalm one, two, three, all the way through. But this is one of the big ones, like I said, that's often quoted in the New Testament about Jesus. So he says in verse four, they that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. So this is one of the first really explicit quotes that's quoted in the New Testament. And it's really interesting if you look up this quote, I believe it's John 15, if you want to flip over there. Keep your finger in Psalm 69, because obviously we're going to be back here. But flip over, if you would, to John chapter number 15. I didn't I didn't have this one planned, but I actually do want to show it to you because it says something so interesting. It says in John 15, 25. This is what I want to point out. John 15, 25. But this cometh the pass that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause. And if you study the scripture in the Old Testament, you'll find that Psalm 69 is where that statement is made. You know, there's not anything in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers or Deuteronomy that's going to say they hated me without a cause. But when we're in Psalm 69, which we already know is quoted many other places about Jesus, it says they that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. And what I want to point out is that this is referred to as their law. So Jesus says it's written in their law. They hated me without a cause. And the thing I want to point out is that God's law is something that we would actually extend to the whole Old Testament. You can't just consider only Genesis through Deuteronomy to be the law of God. Actually, other scriptures in the Old Testament could also be called the law of God. That's sometimes just a general term for God's word in the Old Testament. And it would even include the book of Psalms. Even though technically, you know, we would break it up into the law, the historical books, the poetic books. But here he says it's written in their law. And it's a quote from Psalm 69 that they hated me without a cause. He said they that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. And it's not that he's going bald or something. It's that he just really has that many enemies. And I can relate to this, you know, just having a lot of people hate you, a lot of enemies. And he says that they hated me without a cause. You know, if people hate us, it shouldn't be because we deserve to be hated. It shouldn't be because we are a busybody in other men's matters or a thief or a murderer. You know the Bible tells us in 1 Peter, don't suffer because you're a murderer, a thief, a drunk, whatever. Hey, if you suffer as a Christian, that is acceptable before God. That's thank worthy if a man endure wrong because he's doing right. And so, if you're going to be hated, be hated without a cause. And look, the Bible says, Marvel not my brother and if the world hates you. Jesus said, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. It ought to be that people hate us because of their hatred for the Lord or the word of God or Jesus. Not because of our faults or crimes or harming of other people. So he says, they that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. We're in verse 4 of Psalm 69. They that would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then I restored that which I took not away. He's saying, look, people hate me for no reason. They're my enemies wrongfully. He's saying, I even restored stuff that I didn't take away. He's saying, you know what, I'm going the extra mile for people. I'm even making reconciliation for things that weren't even my fault. And by the way, in the Christian life, sometimes this is the approach we need to take. Sometimes even when you're the one in the right, sometimes you can still just apologize and just say, oh, hey, I'm sorry. Here, you go first or whatever. Don't have this big ego where you're just never willing to just take the blame or just make something right or just kind of take the high road. And you don't always have to prove that you're right all the time. You don't always have to argue and right every wrong. Sometimes it's better just to let things go even if you're in the right. And so he says, I restored that which I took not away. Oh God, thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee. We talked about that. It's just David is obviously human. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. He's saying, look, if people see me who they know is a serious Christian, they know that I love the Lord, that I serve God, and then if they see me crash and burn, we don't want them to think, oh man, is God going to come through for me? So he's saying, let not those that trust in the Lord be ashamed for my sake because of me when they see me being let down. He's saying, look, step in and help me, not only because I want you to step in and help me, but also for your reputation's sake. And this is similar to how Moses prayed when he talks about how, well, if you wipe out the children of Israel, what are the Egyptians going to say? What are they going to say about your great name? They're going to say that you couldn't bring them into the promised land. That's why you brought them out to die in the wilderness. So basically having an attitude of thinking about what's best for the kingdom of God and what's best for God's reputation and putting that even before your own reputation is something that men of God in the Bible do. They think about how he must increase and we must decrease. That's the attitude that David's expressing here when he says, well, don't let other people who rely on you to be ashamed for my sake. We want them to keep trusting in you so we don't want them to see me crash and burn when they know that I'm serious about the things of God. Because for thy sake, verse 7, I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face. I have become a stranger unto my brother and an alien unto my mother's children. Now again, this is David talking literally about himself, but this is also a prophecy about Jesus Christ because we know that Jesus Christ bore reproach. And what does reproach mean? What does that word mean, reproach? Because I don't want to just take for granted that everybody knows the word reproach because of the fact that in 2020, this is a word that we would probably never use. You know, kids who grow up in church with the King James, they talk this way sometimes. You know, why reproaches thou me? But the average person out there in 2020 is probably never going to use this word. But reproach is basically people pointing the finger at you, either mocking and ridiculing you or blaming you. But basically you're being the object of ridicule and scorn or people are talking bad about you. That's what it means to be reproached. People talk bad about you, whether it's to make fun of you or just to slander you or whatever. And so here it says, I have borne reproach for thy sake. And wouldn't that be true of Jesus Christ? I mean, he went on the cross, not for his own sake, he didn't deserve any of that, but he's bearing reproach because it pleased the Lord to bruise him. You know, it was God's plan that he die on the cross for our sins and he was filled full of reproach and there were people mocking him and ridiculing him while he was on the cross, for example, and even earlier in his life because it says he's filled full with reproach, but then also in verse eight it says, I am become a stranger unto my brethren and an alien unto my mother's children. And if we study the book of John, we know that his own brethren didn't believe in him while he was alive. You know, before he died and was buried and rose again while he was living with them, they didn't believe in him. And they're making fun of him and saying, oh, hey, why don't you go down to Jerusalem and do some miracles and whatever. And it says that his brethren believed not on him. And when we say brethren, of course we're talking about his half brothers and there were four of them listed, his half brothers, and also Jesus had sisters. His sisters, are they not all with us? So we need to understand that Jesus is not an only child, Catholics. You know, they believe that Mary remained a virgin, but actually Mary ended up after Jesus was born, her and Joseph had a normal marital relationship and they produce at least seven other children because you have the four sons mentioned and then you have the sisters, are they not all with us? Which would imply three or more because otherwise they would say, hey, they're both with us. All right. So we're talking a minimum of seven half siblings, including the author of the book of James. That's Jesus half brother James. And then we have the author of the book of Jude. That's Jesus half brother Jude. So they mocked him, made fun of him, and didn't believe in him. They ended up getting saved later after the resurrection, they ended up getting saved. But while Jesus Christ was living out his life before his death on the cross, they didn't believe in him. So he was a stranger unto them and an alien unto his mother's children. And then it says in verse nine, for the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me. Now this is one that is explicitly quoted in John chapter two, 17. When Jesus Christ goes into the temple in John chapter two, and this is where he throws out the money changers and he makes a whip of cords and he chases them out with a whip and he flips over the tables, dumps out the money. When the disciples see that, when they see him do that, this verse pops into their mind. And they remembered where it was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. So that kind of helps us to understand how this ties in. The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me. What is it that really gets us mad? What is it that really eats us up? Because that's what this is talking about here, right? The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, because how is that applied to Jesus when he got so mad that he's flipping over tables and chasing them out with a whip? What was it that got Jesus so mad? What is it that should get us so mad? You know, we should get mad about people reproaching the Lord or blaspheming the Lord or lying about the gospel or lying about who God is or lying about what the Bible says. That's what should really get us mad and really grind our gears, not just because someone cut us off in traffic or not even because someone said something bad about us. You know, I mean, the other day, I just, I got so mad the other day, I just blew up because somebody was just talking bad about the New Testament that it was a poor piece of literature or something. They were like making fun of the Bible that it wasn't written in proper Greek or something. It was probably some idiot who can't even hardly read Greek. But they were trying to say that and it just, it made me so mad that I just was angrily defending the word of God because, you know, it just, it really eats me up when you see people lying about Christ and blaspheming Christ and mocking God's word. I mean, it makes me more mad than if they just made fun of me or attacked me. Sometimes if they make fun of me or attack me, I can laugh at it except that usually their meme skills are so subpar that I can't even get a laugh out of it. You know, I like a good meme that's directed at me if it's actually funny. But anyway, the reproaches of them that reproach thee are falling upon me. Another thing I want to point out is that as a result of being a Christian, you may experience this where you're a stranger under your brethren or you're an alien under your mother's children where maybe you have siblings that don't want anything to do with you not because of you being a rotten person or anything but I'm saying just because of the fact that you believe the Bible or because you go to a Baptist church or because you are a soul winner or whatever, you could have people that just want nothing to do with you or maybe because you stand against the homos and they are pro-homo or whatever. But what you have to understand is that if you're in that situation where they truly hate you without a cause and it's not your fault, if you're in that situation where you're a stranger under your brethren, it is often because the reproaches of them that reproached God are falling upon you. So here's the moral of the story. Don't take it personally. Don't take it personally because if it's really Leviticus 20-13 that they're mad at or if it's really Acts 5-42 that they're mad at or if it's really John 3-16 that they're mad at, then should you really take it personally or is it just that the reproaches of them that reproached God are falling on you? You know, when I go out soul winning and somebody slams the door in my face when I've barely even said hello and cusses me out because I'm there with the gospel of Christ, I don't take that personally because I could have been anybody. I could have been anybody and showed up at that door and said, hey, I'm here to invite you to a Baptist church. Do you know for sure if you die today you go to heaven? And I would have got the exact same reaction. So it's not logical to take it personally even when people get mad at me if I preach something that I know for sure is biblical. Now if I preach something that's just my own opinion or if I just say something that's not backed up by scripture, then yeah, maybe they're just mad at me. But if I get up and just read a scripture like Leviticus 20-13 or Romans chapter 1 or the book of Jude or other teachings that could be offensive to people from Ephesians 5 or whatever rubs people the wrong way in 2020, it'd be stupid for me to get all hurt and like, oh, I can't believe people don't accept me. They don't like me. Why won't they just accept me as one of them? It's not me. It's the reproaches of them that reproached him fell on me. And part of being a Christian is that you are a reproach absorber for people's just hatred for God. I mean, here's the thing. People can't see God. There's no place where they can go and confront God and yell at him and just lash out at him. So basically when you knock on their door, sometimes they've just been building up what they want to say to God. You know, they're really mad at God. They're angry at God. They hate God. And it's like, okay, you're his ambassador. I'm just going to unload on you. Think about that because you're representing the Lord and you're showing up at their door. So it's like everything they've wanted to say, they just sometimes, because otherwise explain to me how someone can get so mad at me in like 10 seconds. I just walk up. I barely even say, you stupid blankety blank. Obviously that, that was already there. It's not like they're just this doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. You know, obviously that was already there. That pressure was already built up. And then it's just like the release valve is just open. You know, all their bitterness and anger toward God. And so it doesn't make any sense to get hurt by that or, you know, you just shake it off. You shake the dust off your feet. And why did God tell us to shake the dust off our feet? I think he literally wants us to just forget about it and move on. He's saying, don't even let the dust cleave to your feet. I think what he's saying is like, just, just shake it off and don't even think about it. Don't even remember it. Just five minutes later, it's not even on your mind. Right? Because why dwell? Oh, I can't believe that. Can you believe that guy? It's just, I mean, yeah, we say that as we're walking away sometimes, but then we shake off the dust of our feet and let it go. Don't let it bother you. And some people quit soloing from getting treated that way. They get yelled at a couple of times. They get cussed out a couple of times and then they just quit. You know what? It's not worth it to quit over that because the joy of getting someone saved is worse. It's worth getting through all the rough doors when you get that one person saved. Getting one person out of hell should be worth going through a little bit of reproach. Jesus hung on the cross and he was mocked and made fun of. So how can we follow Christ if we're not willing to be made fun of? You want to go through the Christian life, you're going to be the cool Christian that never gets made fun of. You know what? If you're going to follow Christ, someone's going to mock you at some point because they mocked him. Someone's going to hate you at some point because they hated him. Family is going to get mad at you. His family got mad at him. So why would you be shocked if the same thing happened to you? If they called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? So be expecting to be called something worse than the devil. Beelzebub's the devil. So if someone calls you the devil, that's just, that's a start. You should be called something worse than that eventually if you're actually following Christ. When I wept, verse 10, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. And you know, we could also apply that to Jesus. We know Jesus wept, Jesus fasted, and so forth. I made sackcloth also my garment and I became a proverb to them. But always remember, there's two layers of meaning here. This all applies to David primarily. David's the author. He's talking about his own situation. Right now in 1000 BC, this is what he's going through, literally a thousand years before Christ. But then there's also, you're looking for the other layer, prophecies about Jesus, understanding what Jesus went through. Because Jesus went through the human experience. So Psalm 69 is a chapter about the human experience, David's experiences, and then Jesus going through a lot of the same things and so these things are prophetic of his experience as a human being. You know, Jesus could have just come to this earth and lived like a really easy life for 33 years and then died on the cross. But he ended up, you know, going through all the types of things that we go through in order to get the full experience so that basically we would have a high priest that can be touched with our infirmities. Because he was tempted at all points like as we are, yet without sin. So he wasn't born into some rich family where everything went well and he's a star athlete at school and you know, he's just great looking and successful and everything he touches turns to gold. You know, he went through a lot of pain and suffering, weeping, friends turning on him, going through pain and hardship to get the full experience. To get the full experience that all of us go through. He said, I became a proverb to them at the end of verse 11. Basically, becoming a proverb to them means that you're a bad example that's brought up all the time. And you know, don't we do this where we pick a person and that person just becomes an emblem of something? Like for example, we say hey, if I said, don't be a Benedict Arnold. Everybody would know exactly what you meant by that. Someone who's a traitor. And you could name people whose names are just associated with something. And then even just on a more local level, kind of inside jokes, like I remember I worked with this guy Tom and he made this mistake one time where we were soldering microphone jacks and he soldered it before he put the cap on or something. And then it was like hey, don't pull a Tom. Years later, hey I need you to solder these five microphone jacks and don't pull a Tom. And it's like oh man, am I ever gonna live that down? And there are all kinds of things you could probably think of, people that you know where it's pulling a so-and-so or whatever. So nobody wants to be that guy. Nobody wants to become a proverb. Hey, don't be a Steve Anderson. Don't pull a Corbin Russell on us, all right? It's just like oh man. But he's saying hey, I went through that. So yeah, he was a proverb. David said I'm a proverb. He said they that sit in the gate speak against me. You know who those that sit in the gate are? They're the people who are basically an authority. If you study the Bible, those who sit in the gate are the elders of the land. They're the ones who would be like legislators or judges. I mean these are people that are important people and he's saying they're talking bad about me. So not only are they that sitting in the gate against me, which are the high society and people that have power if you study scripture, but also he says I was the song of the drunkards. So basically he's giving the two extremes of society here and saying on the one hand, those that sit in the gate are speaking against me and then the drunkard, when he gets drunk and he's singing a song, he's singing a song making fun of me. Again, similar to being a proverb. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time, O God, in the multitude of thy mercy, hear me in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire and let me not sink. Back to that picture from verse number one and two. Let me not sink. Let me be delivered from them that hate me and out of the deep waters. Let not the water flood overflow me. Neither let the deep swallow me up and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me, which again, that could be prophetic as well of Jesus Christ being in the literal pit. Jesus is in hell for three days and three nights, but his soul was not left in hell. Neither did his flesh seek corruption. So the pit didn't shut her mouth on him in that sense. He got out of it for three days. Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving kindness is good. Turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies and hide not thy face from thy servant. For I'm in trouble. Hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul and redeem it. Deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou has known my reproach and my shame and my dishonor. Mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart. And again, what does reproach mean? People talking bad about him. They're slandering him. They're mocking him. They're bringing him up negatively. And my shame and my dishonor mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart. Verse 20. And I'm full of heaviness. We would use the word depression, but it comes from the same root because what does depression mean? What does it mean to be depressed? What if I depress a button? It means to push down. And what does heaviness do? It pulls us down, right? So he says, I'm full of heaviness. So we would say in our modern vernacular, I'm depressed. And I looked for some to take pity but there was none. And for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Does that sound familiar? Jesus on the cross was given gall to drink. He was given vinegar. Let their table become a snare before them and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not and make their loins continually to shake. This is the imprecatory part of the psalm where he's cursing his enemies. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not and make their loins continually to shake. Verse 24, pour out thine indignation upon them and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate and let none dwell in their tents. Now let's go ahead and apply some of these from their New Testament quotes because we just went through a string of New Testament quotes there. So let's stop and look at these, okay? Now the one that you're probably the most familiar with, the one that's probably the most famous is verse 25. Let their habitation be desolate and let none dwell in their tents. This is from Acts chapter one. It's pretty famous because it's about Judas Iscariot and about replacing him. And it says, let their habitation be desolate, but it says, let his habitation be desolate in the quote in Acts one. It makes it singular. Let his habitation be desolate and let no man dwell therein and his bishopric let another take. And then they say, okay, so we're gonna pick another guy, let another man take his office, okay? That's from a different quote, Psalm 109. Let his days be few and let another take his office. His bishopric let another take, let his days be few, Psalm 109. So that's a mixing in Acts one of Psalm 69 and Psalm 109. But let's just look at this part in Psalm 69. Let their habitation be desolate and let none dwell in their tents. This is quoted about Judas, but this is plural, right? Now obviously, okay, it's plural, you know, because David is talking about a plurality, whereas with Jesus, it's one guy. But hold on a second. Go if you would to Romans 11. Keep your finger here and go to Romans 11. This is the important tie-in here. Romans chapter 11 quotes this as well. So like I said, the more famous quotation is gonna be Acts one. But we don't wanna forget about Romans chapter 11 because if we tie these together, it's very interesting what we find by letting the New Testament interpret this for us. So look at Romans chapter 11, verse nine. Romans 11, nine says, and David saith, so we don't have any doubt about the authorship of Psalm 69, it's written by David. And David saith, let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see and bow down their back alway. So here we're quoting Psalm 69, verses 22 and 23. Because look at verse 22 in Psalm 69, let their eyes be darkened that they see not, make their loins continually to shake, let their table become a snare. It's the same thing, right? So if we compare these two, we'll see that it's very clear that Romans 11, nine and 10 is quoting Psalm 69. But what is Romans 11 about? Who is Romans 11 about? Romans 11 is about the Jews. It's talking about Israel because if you're there in Romans 11, it says in verse seven, Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded. Let's stop right there. What's all this talk about Israel being the elect? What's all this talk about, oh, Israel, that's the chosen people. Cause you know what elect means? What does it mean when we elect the president? We choose one. So what's all this talk about? Oh, Israel, they're the elect. They're the chosen. No, no, no. We're the chosen. We're the elect. Because the Bible says who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Those who are elect, those who are chosen are those who are justified by Jesus Christ. Those who are saved. If you're saved, you're the elect. That's why the Bible says it doesn't matter whether we're Jew, Greek, Scythian, barbarian, bond free, put on as the elect of God. And he tells us what to put on. Put on the new man, put on bowels of mercies and so forth. The point is that we are the elect. And for someone to say, oh, the Jews, they're elect, folks, if they're not saved, they're not elect because what does the Bible say right in front of your face there in Romans 11, 7? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest replied it. Israel equals elect. That doesn't make any sense. It's crazy. Look what it says. How can Israel and the elect be the same thing in this verse? They can't. The chosen people are the saved people, the Christians, those who've been justified by faith in Christ. Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Now, the election could also be a subset of Israel because there were those among Israel that did receive Christ, and they're saved, they're elect. So an Israeli could be elect if he believes in Jesus, but the elect goes beyond just Israel because it's anyone who's saved, anyone who's justified is elect. We are the chosen people. So it says that the rest were blinded. So the rest of what were blinded? The rest of the Israelites, right? So the rest of Israel that are not elect, that are not saved, they're blinded, and then see the parenthesis? What does that mean when you see a parenthesis? Yeah, he's gonna explain something, right? It's an explanation about what we just saw. According as it is written. So basically, they were blinded. I don't want you to miss this, pay close attention. The rest were blinded. The thought's not over. I'm looking down at my Bible, I don't even see any punctuation after blinded. It's just the rest were blinded according as it is written. God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day. Now why would God do that? Why would God give them ears not to hear? Why would God blind them? Well, David's gonna explain that in verse nine. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. Now let me ask you this. Does that sound like he's blessing Israel there? Is that a blessing? Well, let me just give you a little blessing tonight. May your back be bowed down alway. Let your table be made a snare. Let your days be few. Be thou blinded, and deaf, and dumb. That's a curse. That is the very definition of what it means to curse. It's an imprecation or curse. So here we see that David says that. Now, why would David say that? Why is David praying that? And by extension, it's really Jesus that's praying that. Because of the fact that Jesus, of course, is the ultimate author of the entire scripture. Genesis to Revelation number one. You know, the Catholics will tell you like, Well, I know that's what Paul said, but what did Jesus say? Jesus is the Word. And it's all the Word of God. It's not like Jesus is only responsible for these red letters in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John. No, no, no. All of the Word of God ultimately is coming from the Word. It's coming from Jesus. Okay. But not only that, but we know it's a messianic psalm, so this is also even more directly coming from Jesus in that sense. Now let's look at Psalm 69 with that in mind. Go back to Psalm 69 with that in mind, and let's read the quote. Verse 21, They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. So what are we talking about? We're talking about the people who crucified him. Am I right? Let their table become a snare before them, and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not. And by the way, what should have been their welfare that became a trap? How about Jesus coming and dying on the cross for them, right? I mean, that should have been for their welfare, right? I mean, that should have been a blessing to them. The Messiah's coming. He rides in on a donkey. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. But in the end, the Bible says that Jesus is that stone where he's that cornerstone that he could be that great foundation, or he can be a stone that just lands on you and grinds you to powder. That's what the Bible describes Christ as. So he's either going to be your salvation, or he's going to be your destruction, your undoing. So it says here, let their eyes be darkened that they see not, make their loins continuing to shake. Verse 24, pour out that indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitations be desolate, and let none dwell in their tents. Now you can see why this would apply to Judas because Judas is also responsible for crucifying Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus. The Jews are screaming, crucify him. So there are multiple parties involved in actually doing this to him. And it says in verse 26 the reason, because we look at Romans 11 and say, why? Why are they blinded? Why are they cursed? Because, verse 26, for they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded, add iniquity unto their iniquity, and let them not come into thy righteousness, let them be blotted out of the book of living, and not be written with the righteous. So he says here that it's because they are persecuting Christ that these things will come upon them. They persecute him whom thou hast smitten, because of course it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief. The Lord made his soul an offering for sin, the Bible says, in Isaiah 53. Now I want to really dwell on verse 25, because remember, verse 25 is directly applied to Judas by the apostles in Acts chapter 1. But, in the greater context here, it's about the Jews in general, because it's, because of the Romans 11 quote, which is applied to the Jews in general, and it says, let their habitation be desolate. Not only that, what did Jesus say right before Jesus Christ goes to the cross, less than a week before he's crucified, what does he say? Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, how many times would I have gathered you unto me? Remember? But then he says, behold, your house is left unto you desolate. And he said, you shall not see me again, until you say blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. So what does Jesus say right before he goes to the cross? Jesus predicts this, and he says, your house is left unto you desolate. What is the curse here? Upon those who crucify and kill Christ, let their habitation be desolate. But he doesn't stop there. He doesn't just say let their habitation be desolate, he says let none dwell in their tents. And that was fulfilled, my friend, because of the fact that of course in 70 AD, the Romans came in, they destroyed the temple, they destroyed the nation of the Jews there, but they didn't 100% destroy it. I mean, they pretty much decimated it. Like I said, the temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was burned. It all happened within a generation of Christ predicting it. You know, it was about approximately, you know, a little less than 40 years later, it was fulfilled. But when we get to AD 135, there's another rebellion by the Jews in AD 135, so 65 years after what happened in 70 AD. And at that point, whatever was left of the Jews in Jerusalem were completely destroyed or expelled. And actually, that's when in 135 AD, it became against the law for any Jew to set foot in Jerusalem. Not only were they not allowed to live there, they weren't even allowed to visit for a long, for many, many years. I mean, they were wiped out. I mean, talk about prophecy being fulfilled. I mean, Jesus, and this was for sure written. I mean, the four gospels are written in the first century AD, okay, predicting, and Jesus said those things. You know, while he's on this earth, we're talking like around approximately 33 AD, right? Jesus is saying these things. He's saying you're gonna be desolate. Not one stone's gonna be left upon another. But this was so well fulfilled that literally not even one single Jew was left living in Jerusalem, not even one. So when he says, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, your house was left unto you desolate, it got desolated in AD 70. That was fulfilled. It's desolate. But you can say, well, there's a little remnant. Maybe we can come back. Maybe we can spring back. You know, we're knocked down, but we're not knocked out. 135 AD is just like, no, you're done. Every, down to a man. Down to the last person. And they were only allowed to come to Jerusalem for many, many years after that. The Jews were only allowed to visit Jerusalem once a year on the ninth of Av, so they could cry about it once a year. Seriously. And they're still crying about it. You know, they're still going, oh. You know, why? Why? Because God said, bow down their back all the way. Let their loins continually shake. Isn't that what it says? You say, I don't understand, because Psalm 69 says, let their loins continually shake at the end of verse 23. Do you see that? Make their loins continually shake. But then when this is quoted in Romans, everything else is the same, but he replaces let their loins continually shake with bow down their back all way. How is that the same thing? Right? Bow down their back all way. Let their loins continually shake. Oh, I'm sure that's just coincidence. Because God doesn't know the end from the beginning. He doesn't know that there's going to be a religion with millions of people, a Christ-hating religion, where they do, yi, yi, yao, wa, oo-ee. That's not normal. You know, if my kids were doing that, I'd see a doctor. They have a behavioral disorder. They're on the spectrum. You know, something's wrong. I would say there's a developmental issue going on. You know, when you see these kids, they're like, ah, ah, ah. You know, and seriously, I'm not joking. I know this sounds like I'm joking, right? Ha ha. You know, this is not a joke. I'm going to tell you the truth right now. This is not a joke. When we went to Jordan, in our film, Beyond Jordan, and, you know, you'll see there's a little b-roll of a guy with, like, where he's wrapping those black cords around his arm and stuff. You kind of remember that scene in Beyond Jordan where we showed that guy on the airplane? That guy, we literally spent hours, I kid you not, this is no joke. Don't laugh. We spent hours trying to figure out whether the guy was mentally disabled or just Jewish. Was he handicapped? You can laugh, it's okay. Like, is this guy handicapped? Is he mentally ill? Because we, like, tried to talk to the guy a couple times. He was so weird. And he was, like, rocking. And he had this little book with just the tiniest ever print of Hebrew. And I'm just like, dude, have you ever heard of giant print? Have you ever heard of, you know, a magnifying glass? This guy's just, like, he's always, like, he was acting so weird. He was acting like a freak. I'm not kidding. We were just like, what is wrong with this guy? Like, is he crazy? And we had to, like, tell him, like, no, we're getting on the plane. We had to, like, shepherd this guy onto the plane because he was just, like, he couldn't even, he was, like, barely even a functioning adult it seemed like. But then a minute later he just got all lucid and then all of a sudden he just seemed like a normal guy. We're just like, what is with this? He was one of the weirdest people I've ever seen. I don't know what that has to do with the sermon, but I just wanted to tell that story. But here's the thing, though. But you know what? This number, that's not normal. Why would God want you to do that? Why would God want you to be like, that doesn't make any sense? Have you ever noticed that false religions just get you to do weird stuff for no reason? They make you put on funny clothes and do funny things. It's just weird. But I, you know, I'm sorry, but I'm just kind of combining the loins shaking, the bowing down their back continually. Their house was left completely desolate, completely empty to where none is dwelling in their tents. Where literally there's no inhabitant down to a man. That's how well this was fulfilled. Pretty interesting. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, it says in verse 28. This is reference to being made a reprobate. You know, when you're blotted out, when your name's removed, that's a reprobate. And the thing is that the children of Israel as a whole are cursed by God for rejecting Christ, and they even said, his blood be on us and on our children. That's what they said, you know, because Pilate said, well, I'm free from the blood of this just person. His blood be on us and on our children. Now here's what's funny about that. You don't, you say, well these poor people, it's not their fault. Yeah it is, because here's the thing, you don't have to be their children. You do not have to be those people. Well, you know, I was born Jewish. You don't have to be one of their children. First of all, the vast majority of so-called Jews today are barely even descended from those people. They're just white people who've converted to Judaism. You remember the rabbi that we talked to in marching to Zion, who's like, you know, there's another place in the book of John where he says that the Jews are the sons of the devil. Remember that guy? You know what, he's French. His ancestors are French, and he said that his ancestors were just French people that converted to Judaism. That's what he said. So he's not even ethnically primarily related with the people that we would consider Jews. He just said it's just white people who converted, and he said that's why his last name was Abrami, because basically if you don't have a real Jewish last name, they'll often just give you Abrami because you're just like, well, you know, here's my genealogy, Abraham. You know what I mean? Because I'm just kind of just getting in on the whole shebang. But here's the thing about that. If we see a bunch of white people with red hair and freckles and blonde hair and blue eyes, like, we're Jewish. They're basically choosing to be adopted by the people who killed Christ and screamed, his blood be on us and on our children. They're like, will you foster me? Will you adopt me? Can I get in on that? Like, would you want to be fostered or adopted by people who are like, Christ's blood be on us and on our children? It's like, well, we're looking to adopt. You'd be like, I don't want to get adopted into that house. You know, it's just like, we worship Satan in this house and we want our children to be as cursed as we are, so can we adopt you? And you're just like, yeah, I mean, I'm white, but can I do it? And it's just like, yeah, sure, no problem. We'll just call you Abrami. Folks, any time, first of all, these people have had 2,000 years to get off this ship. They've literally had, they've had 2,000 years to bail. If they really are the descendants, if they really are the physical descendants of these people, they've had 2,000 years to just kind of bail out and change their name from Goldberg to just like Johnson. You know what I mean? They could have done that at any time. Because guess what? Throughout history, you know what has happened? Millions of Jews throughout history have done what? They converted to Christianity, left that religion, changed their name, and after a couple of generations, nobody's even going to remember. You know? Like what if I had some ancestor eight generations ago who was Jewish? Would I even know that? How would I even know that? You'd never know. I mean, who here even knows who your great-great-grandparents were? I mean, virtually no one could give the names. Like, who could actually name your great-great-grandparents? I mean, virtually none of us could. Some people can't even name their great-grandparents. Pretty much everybody can name their grandparents. Some people can't even name all their great-grandparents. All eight of them? I mean, a lot of people don't know. I'm missing at least one name that I couldn't name. So, the point is that these people have had 2,000 years to get off that train that's like, choo-choo, heading straight to hell. Chugga-chugga-chugga. Just right into hell. They could have gotten off. There were all these stops along the way. It's just like, stop, after stop, after stop, after stop, after stop. Every century, every decade, every soul winner that talked to them, every time they heard about Christ, and they just won't get off the train, and then eventually the train's just gonna go off the cliff. So, you know, anybody who's choosing to follow this Christ-hating religion, Christ-rejecting religion, Christ-denying religion, the Bible literally calls Antichrist. The Bible literally calls it the synagogue of Satan. Folks, these people need to make a choice to get out. To get out of it. Because if they continue in it, and look, don't say that I said that Jews are reprobates, because I don't believe that. I've actually personally out-soul winning won two Jews to the Lord in my soul winning. It's very rare, but it can happen. So I don't believe Jews are reprobates, so don't say that I hate Jews, because I don't hate Jews, and I don't believe that Jews are reprobate. Now, if there's a Jew who's a reprobate, I'll hate him. But here's the thing, I don't just hate Joe Jew, which would probably be more like Joe Shmo. You know. I don't hate Jews in general, or think that all Jews are reprobate, but I do believe that as a nation, as a nation they're under the curse of God. Sort of like in the Old Testament, you have the Canaanites that were cursed by God, right? God cursed Ham, and God cursed Canaan, and so that's a rough nation, but Simon the Canaanite could still get saved, and still follow Christ, and even be one of the top 12 guys. Simon the Canaanite. Israel, in general, rejected Christ, and is under a curse, and people who choose to identify with Judaism are basically putting themselves under that curse that's here. They're basically being adopted into this Psalm 69 curse. And they did it to themselves. His blood be on us and on our children, they said. So that's why. Why do they get these curses? It's because they crucified Christ. If you read this context, they crucified Christ, they're under a curse. And obviously, even those who didn't crucify Christ, if we reject the Lord Jesus Christ, we're going to be cursed as well. And someone who continually keeps on rejecting Christ, what are they in danger of becoming if they just keep rejecting Christ over and over again? They're in danger of becoming a reprobate. What is a reprobate? For those who don't know, a reprobate is a reject. A reprobate is just a fancy word for reject, and a reprobate is someone who has rejected God so much that God has now rejected them. And it's impossible for them to get saved now because they are a reject, they're a reprobate. Now it doesn't mean that if they believe in Christ they won't be saved, because anyone who believes in Christ will be saved, period. But it's the reprobate, his mind has been darkened, his eyes have been blinded, just like we saw in the passage, right? His eyes have been darkened and blinded to where he cannot believe. The Bible says in John 1239, therefore they could not believe because God blinded their eyes. They could not believe. Folks, take this to the bank. Anyone who believes on Christ is saved, period. Anyone, there's not a person on this planet who truly believes on Christ who's not saved. Because the Bible says that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. I witnessed to a guy on Monday, I witnessed to a guy on Monday and I quoted him John 3 16 and here's what he said. He said, yeah, he said, I just wish that God would have put a part on the end of that verse saying that you have to do more than that. And I'm thinking like wouldn't that kind of just ruin the verse at that point? Whosoever believeth. Okay, now let me just undo what I just said. Yeah, but you got to do more than that. You got to do the worst. The guy was a Roman Catholic. But it was just funny the way he worded that. Man, I just wish he would have added something on the end there to say that you got to do worse. It's like why would anyone wish that? Man, I wish God would just make it harder to get to heaven. It's too easy. And then too many people end up going. It's going to be too packed. I wanted to be part of something elite. I wanted to be part... Folks, it doesn't make any logical sense why people would want to make salvation hard. Oh, I can't believe these people that are going to go to heaven and they do all these bad things. Oh, you mean like you? Cause guess what? We've all sinned and come to the glory of God. If it weren't for God's grace, none of us would be going. We'd all be on that train. Right? We'd all be heading toward hell on a fast track. But it's by the grace of God that we're saved. And you know what? What kind of a weird attitude is it? Well, I'm glad I'm saved by grace, but get to work, buddy. And so thank God for His grace and salvation. And here's the thing. All you have to do to be saved is just believe on Jesus Christ. Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That's what the Bible says. But here's the thing. People who don't believe in Christ, if they keep rejecting Christ too much and they keep rejecting and rejecting and rejecting, they can get to a point where their heart gets so hardened and they get so blinded that they can't get saved anymore. So a lot of people think, well, as long as you're breathing air, there's still hope. Nope. Not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches there are people who've crossed the line. They will never be saved. And when we say the word reprobate, that's what we mean. When we say that person is a reprobate, we're basically saying we believe that that person has crossed the line. And that's a whole sermon in and of itself, all the evidence for that and who we would say that about. Who the Bible would say that about. But the thing is what we're describing in Psalm 69, people being blotted out of the book of life and things like that. You know, everybody starts out in the book of life. It's just you're removed when you either die without Christ or become a reprobate or whatever. And again, that's a whole other sermon. It's easy to prove that. You study the whole Bible, you'll never find anyone's name being added. But you'll find lots of people being removed. So that makes sense. But the point is that in Psalm 69 we're dealing with people who are reprobates because of the fact that they've hated Christ, crucified Christ. And so you've got to be saved before it's eternally too late. If you die without Christ, it's too late. And it can even become too late for you on this earth if you become a reprobate. So obviously I'm preaching to people that are already saved. But we need to go out and reach the lost before it's too late for them. Let's bow your heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord. And we thank you especially for this great Psalm 69. What a powerful psalm. It's hard to do it justice in just an hour's time, Lord. But I just pray that your word would stir in the hearts of your people and move us to greater love for Christ. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Please grab your hymnals and turn to number 407. faith of our fathers, number 407. number 407 Let's sing it on that verse, number 407. our hearts be high with joy whenever we hear that glorious word faith of our fathers holy faith we will be true to thee our fathers chained in prison star were still in heart and conscience free how sweet would be their children's faith if they like them to be faith of our fathers holy faith we will be true to thee till death faith of our fathers we still strive to win all guns unto thee and through the truth that comes from God mankind shall then indeed be free faith of our fathers holy faith we will be true to thee till death faith of our fathers we will love old friend and foe in all our strife and preach to as love knows how my kindly words and virtue aside faith of our fathers holy faith we will be true to thee till death great singing tonight you are dismissed the the the the the the the the the the the