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I hope that others look forward to church as much as I do. And Father, I just pray that you would speak to our hearts this morning for the message. Such a great passage in the Word of God that we read this morning, Proverbs chapter 30. But God, I just pray that you would speak to us this morning and stir us up, motivate us, dear God, for the great battle that's before us, and in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Now the verse that I want to focus on in this magnificent chapter in the Word of God, one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. So many great sermons were popping into my mind as we just read the chapter together. But if you would look at verse number 12, this is the verse that I want to focus on. The Bible reads in Proverbs 30, 12, There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. Now flip over, if you would, in your Bible to 2 Kings. Go backward toward the beginning of your Bible to 2 Kings chapter number 22. 2 Kings chapter 22. Think about those words. There's a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. I mean, think about the antithesis there between something that's pure, I mean, something that's filthy. I mean, that's a very strong word. You know, the word filthy, if you think about it, I remember when I went to Germany, if you look up in the dictionary, the word filthy in German, I mean, is a cuss word, isn't that right? If you look at the word that would be the equivalent of the English word, I mean, it's a very strong word that people use. Look at 2 Kings 22, 1, and I want to show you how can a generation be pure in their own eyes, and yet not be washed from their filthiness. Look at verse number 1, Josiah. We're going to look at Josiah's story in the Bible. Josiah was 8 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 30 and 1 years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Ediah of Boscath, and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left, and it came to pass in the 18th year of King Josiah that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Misholim, the scribe to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people, and let them deliver it unto the hand of the doers of the work that have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the doers of the work, which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breeches of the house, and to carpenters and builders and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand because they dealt faithfully. And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, watch this, they're repairing the house of God, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, and Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought the king word again, and said that the servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it unto the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord. And Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest had delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king, and it came to pass when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Hicum the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Azahiah the servant of the king, saying, Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according to all which is written concerning it. You see, here's a group of people who thought that they were doing what was right. I mean, they thought that they were serving God. I mean, they thought that they were seeking the Lord. They thought that everything was fine. They were excited about being in church. They were excited about Christianity. But what happened, they found the Bible. They found God's word. They found the book of the law of God, Genesis through Deuteronomy is what's being spoken of there, those five books of the Bible. And when they found the Bible, and when they opened and read the Bible, they said, Whoa, wait a minute. We have not been doing everything that God wants us to do. Our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book. And although I thought I was right with God, he said, I know that God's wrath is kindled against me. I'm scared to death because I see the standard that God has in the Bible. You see, when there's a lack of knowledge of what the Bible says, it's very easy for any of us to become very pure in our own eyes because we seem righteous, maybe compared to the world around us. Maybe we seem righteous compared to what our standard is in our mind, but when you open the Bible and begin to read it, you'll realize that God's standards are so much higher than the standards of any man. You say, Pastor Aniston, I can't believe you're so strict. Try reading the Bible. Open the Bible. You'll see standards that are stricter than I live by. I mean, I'm always trying to, you know, pressing on the upward way, new heights I'm gaining every day. Hey, but I'm going to tell you something. The standards that I live by and the standards that I preach are never going to excel the standards in the Holy Bible that says, be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. And so we live in a generation that is pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness because they're not judging themselves by the standard of God's Word. See, it's so easy for us as Christians to look at a very ungodly world, a very ungodly nation, and be lifted up and proud in our own minds and say, look how much more righteous we are than so-and-so at work. Boy, I am so much more godly than these people at my work. Wow, our church is so much more righteous than this church down the street. Hey, I'm going to tell you something. That's not the standard. That's not the comparison at all. You say, well, Pastor Aniston, come on. I live so much more clean and holy than anybody I know. It's not good enough because God is saying this is the standard, this is the rule that we're all to walk by, this is what we're to be pressing toward. So don't ever get a proud attitude where you say, well, I've arrived. I'm as good as the pastor is or I'm as good as Brother so-and-so is or Sister so-and-so. Hey, no, be as good as Jesus Christ is and none of us are ever going to get there. And that's why we all need to humble ourselves and say I must search the Scriptures as Josiah did and find out the things that I still need to correct. Now, we do live in a generation that's pure in their own eyes, but it's not washed from their filthiness. Why? Because they have not studied and read the Bible to know what God really expects, which is a lot higher than what they seem to think. But look at Revelation chapter 3, last book in the Bible, Revelation chapter 3. And not only do we live in a generation in the world around us that's pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness, but this can also be the situation in many churches, a church that's pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness. Look at verse 14 and I'll show you this. The Bible reads in Revelation 3, 14, And under the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou work cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, watch what they say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. God says you don't even know your condition. He says you're lukewarm. You're half in, half out. He says you're not 100% on board with the things of God. He says you're worldly and spiritual. You're trying to have both at the same time. And he says the worst part about it is that you're not even aware of your condition. He says the thing that makes me so sick, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth, is that you say I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Now think about this list here that he gives that they don't even know. They don't even realize that this is their condition. He says knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable. Now those two words are almost the same word. A lot of times God will put two words next to each other that mean almost, just to kind of show you what they mean, wretched and miserable are almost the same word. So did you know that it's a miserable life being half in, half out? I mean being worldly, being a worldly Christian? Now I'll tell you this right now. I think that people who are unsaved, who live just a worldly, ungodly life, I think some of them are pretty happy. I think they're just having a good time. I mean they're just, they're happy. You know, you ever walk to the door and knock on the door? I was soul winning. I think somebody told us this probably last week. Knock on the door and what do they say? We're fine. They're all right. They are all right. They're fine. Everything's great. The problem is that one day they're going to wake up in hell. But many of the unsaved, ungodly people in this world are prospering. They're having fun. You say, oh, everybody in this world who's unsaved is longing for a relationship with God. You know, that's just not true. There are a lot of people who could care less about God, okay? And people who are totally unsaved and totally ungodly and totally worldly, some of them are having the time of their life, man. They're living it up. But you know who's not having fun? It's the person who's trying to be half in and half, you know, half worldly and half right with God. You know, the people that are right with God are having a great time also. But the people who are half in and half out, they're wretched. They're miserable. I mean, miserable is talking about the condition that you feel. I mean, if I said to you, if you walked up to me and said, how are you doing, Pastor Anderson, this morning? I said, you know what? I'm miserable, okay? I am just miserable. I am just feeling wretched. That's not the kind of language that we used in 2007, but you'd understand what I meant by that. I'm unhappy. I'm sad. I'm despondent. I'm disappointed with my life. I'm just miserable. I hate my life. He's saying, don't you know? And he's saying, they don't even realize that that's their condition. Hey, don't you know, Laodicean church, that there's a better life out there? Hey, don't you know that there's enjoyment that you can have? In thy presence is joys evermore, the Bible says. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Hey, taste and see that the life living for God is an exciting, blessed, tasteful life and that being half in, half out, being a liberal Christian, is wretched and miserable. He says, but you don't know that. You don't understand that. You see, churches that are half in, half out, that are lukewarm, that are neither cold nor hot, you know, kids go up in these churches, they don't know that the exciting, enjoyable life is winning somebody to Christ. They don't know that that's where the real fun is, you know. They don't know that the fun is, you know, having children and raising them for God. Boy, that's an exciting and enjoyable thing to do. Hey, they don't know that having somebody that you brought to church with you, your convert that you won to the Lord and sitting next to them in church and helping them find a place in their Bible, hey, they don't know that that's exciting, that that's fun, that that's enjoyable because they're neither cold nor hot. They've never even been exposed to real Christianity. Hey, they don't know the joy of being filled with the Spirit of God. Hey, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, right? That's the second thing mentioned. He said when you're filled with the Spirit, then you'll experience joy. Then you'll have the real enjoyment. The fruit of the Spirit is love, yes, joy, is the next thing mentioned there. And so the person who grows up in this kind of a church, and he's a liberal church, hey, they don't even know what real enjoyment is. So where are they going to get their enjoyment? Well, they're going to go home and flip on the TV and get their enjoyment. Hey, they're going to turn on their headset in their Walkman and get their enjoyment from listening to a bunch of worldly garbage music. Hey, they're going to get their enjoyment from sin, from the pleasures of sin for a season, temporary, when they could have in thy presence, David said about God, there are pleasures forevermore. So you can have the eternal pleasure of living for God or the temporal pleasure of sin, but to the person who's never even been exposed to it, to the person who's never even tasted and seen that the Lord is good, the only pleasure that they know is to do wrong, to go to the movies, to watch television, to listen to rock music, to go out and fornicate with their girlfriend. That's all they understand. That's all the kind of pleasure that they've ever been exposed to. They see it all day on the TV. It's on every billboard. No one's advertising the fun that it is to live for God. Nobody's advertising the excitement of living a life of a sold-out Christian. And so they don't even know what it's like to be filled with the Spirit, speaking to themselves in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their heart to the Lord. They don't know the enjoyment of going through the day singing, This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. They probably don't even know that song as it's said. They know all the worldly, liberal, Bill Gaither, Southern Gospel garbage music. They don't even know the old hymns. Hey, you know what they know? They used to know songs like Springs of Living Water. You know what they know now? They know Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. That's where they get their enjoyment. Hey, they used to know songs like Whiter Than Snow. Now they watch that 70s show. That's where they get their enjoyment now. They used to know Hold the Fort. Now they know Divorce Court. They used to know Blessed Be the Tie that Binds. Now they know Forensic Files and Masterminds. They used to know I'm on the Winning Side. Now they know Cribs and Pimp My Ride. Hey, they used to know He Heighteth My Soul. Now their fun is to watch the beer commercials during the Super Bowl. They used to know Bring Them In. Now they know Two and a Half Men. They used to know The Banner of the Cross. Now they know Fear Factor and Lost. They used to know Where Could I Go? Now they know The Dan Ho Show. They used to know Whosoever Will. Now they know King of the Hill. They used to know And Can It Be? Now they know Grey's Anatomy. They used to know Oh That Would Be Glory. Now they know E-True Hollywood Story. They used to know The Solid Rock. Now they know Trading Spouses and a Life Swap. They used to know, can you imagine if there's a TV show? I mean I just got these from the TV guy. Can you imagine if there's a show called Wife Swap? Did you know that? Who knew that? Put up your hand. There's a TV, I don't even know what it's about, but I can only imagine. Wife Swap. Isn't that a wonderful program? Isn't that darling? Isn't that sweet? Isn't that great? And you say, well I just don't think, I think you're a little over the top, Pastor Anderson, in the being against the television. Hey, I'm hot. You're lukewarm. Translation. I think you're just a little bit over the top being against the television. You know what? Go ahead and have a television in your house and then you go ahead and leave and run up to the store and who knows what your kids are watching on the thing. You say, I don't watch Wife Swap. What do your kids watch on TV though? I mean think about it. It's just dangerous just to have this stupid thing around. You fall asleep watching TV, next thing you know you wake up in the middle of Wife Swap or whatever stupid shows are on. I'm telling you, it's something that I don't even want to bring into my house. I don't even want it anywhere near me. I haven't watched TV in years, praise God. And you know what? I never, I don't miss it. I don't miss that garbage. Once I got it out of my system, once the withdrawals were over. Hey, I'm never looking back to that stupid thing. So they used to know The Solid Rock. Now they're watching Trading Spouses and Wife Swap. Trading Spouses, that sounds like another wonderful show. Hey, they used to know Follow On. Now they know The Bachelor and Date My Mom. They used to know Holy Bible Book Divine. Now they know Ice Age and Land Before Time. They used to know I Love to Tell the Story. Now they watch paternity testing on Maury. They used to know My Sins Are Gone. Now they know Tarzan and Mulan. They used to know Does Jesus Care. Now they watch some Sodomite. Tell them what not to wear. Hey, there's a generation that we're living in, it's pure in their own eyes, and yet it's not washed from their filthiness. You say, Pastor Anderson, I don't think we live in a filthy generation. Then this verse is talking about you, okay? If you don't think that we live in a filthy generation, if you can go to the grocery store and stand in line at the checkout and not know that we're living in a filthy generation, then this verse is talking to you. If you can flip on a television and say, I don't think we're living in a filthy generation, then let's just write your name, get out a pen and write your name next to this verse. Put your name and say, this verse is about me. Because you don't understand the filthiness of our generation. But look at that list. Are you still in Revelation chapter 3? Look at that list. He says, And know it's not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor. Now, they thought they were rich. Now, I think that what this is talking about is that they probably had a lot of money financially. And so they said, boy, we're rich. We're increased with goods. We have need of nothing. God says, no, you're not rich, you're poor. I thought of this verse that we were just reading last Sunday morning, Luke 16, where Jesus said, No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, they were all about money, you know, they loved money. That's what covetous means. They wanted everyone else's stuff. They were trying to keep up with the Joneses. The Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Did you hear that? That which is highly esteemed among men, pure in their own eyes, he said, it's an abomination to God. He said, you think that you're so wonderful because everybody praises you, and the Bible says men will speak well of thee when thou do as good as I know and so. If I went out and bought myself the biggest, fanciest house and devoted my life to making money and I had a four-wheel drive in the driveway with all the toys and the boats and the RVs and the vacation houses and I wore the fancy clothes and I did that, you know, people would speak well of me if I did that. People would think, oh, that's great. You have made it in life. You have succeeded. Because people will always speak well of you when you do good to yourself, the Bible says. But God says, no, God knows your heart. And he says, being physically rich is not the real riches, my friend. In fact, Jesus said, woe unto you that are rich in Luke 6, for you've received your consolation. The Bible talks about in Luke 12, 21, so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. What does he mean by being rich toward God? Well, think about this verse, James 2, 5. Hearken, my beloved brethren, Had not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he had promised them to love him? Or how about 1 Timothy 6, Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who given us richly all things to enjoy, that they do good, that they be rich in good works. He says, riches are not the financial riches. Riches are not a boat and an RV and a vacation home. He says, be rich in faith in James chapter 2. He said, be rich in good works in 1 Timothy chapter 6. He says, are you still in Revelation? Flip back to chapter 2. I just thought of this. Look at Revelation 2 when he talks to the church of Smyrna. He says in verse 9, I know thy works in tribulation. He's talking about the fact they're being persecuted. I know thy works in tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. You see that? He says, I know you're living in financial poverty, but you are rich in faith. You're rich in good works. You've laid up in store for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come. Hey, your treasures are in heaven, he said. And then later on, in the same letter, he says to the Laodiceans, you think you're rich. The Smyrna people, they think they're poor. They're really rich. He says, you're the exact opposite. He says, people speak well of you. In Smyrna, they're being persecuted. He says, you think you've got it all together. You think you're so comfortable. You are pure in your own eyes. But he said, I'm going to tell you something. You're wretched and miserable, and you're poor. You say, but look at my bank statement. Hey, you're poor. Hey, look at my RV. Look at my fancy car in the driveway. You're poor. You live in a spiritual ghetto, he says. Now, you don't understand. I live in a fancy area. I live down in Awatukee. He said, hey, you live in a slum. You live in a dime. Because you live in the world of selfishness and covetousness and self-righteous arrogancy, he says. Go to now, you rich men. Weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your garments are corrupted. And he says, your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rest of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You've heaped treasure together for the last days. He says, at the end of the world, it's all going to be burned up anyway. You've built up your big kingdom of treasures. It's worthless. But we have in heaven a better and an enduring substance, the Bible says, which fadeth not away, an inheritance incorruptible in the heavens. Glory to God. So he says, you're wretched. You're miserable. He says, you're poor. And you don't know any of these things. See, you're pure in your own eyes, but you're not washed from your filthiness. He says, you're wretched, miserable, you're poor. He says, you're also blind. Look at 2 Peter, chapter number 1, and we'll see this. What did he mean by that? When he said, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Look at verse number 9 of 2 Peter, chapter 1. The Bible reads, but he that lacketh these things is blind. And he's talking about Christians because he says, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. So he's talking to a believer saying, you, if you lack these things that I mentioned, and we're going to go back and see those, he says, you're blind. Look back at verse number 1. We'll start at the beginning of the chapter. The Bible reads, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, and them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power. And you'll notice how many times knowledge is mentioned here. Remember why people get so pure in their own eyes and not wash their fields? And it's the lack of knowledge of the Bible. That's what Josiah's case was in that day. The Bible says, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Now, look at that verse. How did God give us all things that pertain unto life and godliness? He said because he gave us the knowledge of the Lord. When he gave us the Bible is what he's saying. When he gave us the word of God, when he gave us the knowledge that's in the page, this is the sum of all human knowledge, by the way. Thy word is truth, the Bible says. And so when he gave us the Bible, God says, he gave us all things that pertain to life and godliness. He gave us everything we need. Hey, grace and peace, look at verse 2, are going to be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God. But he says, who hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, talking about the promises that are found throughout the Bible, that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge. Again, knowledge. I mean, see how many times it's being mentioned? It's very important. And to knowledge, temperance. And to temperance, patience. And to patience, godliness. And to godliness, brotherly kindness. And to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind. So who's blind? Well, the person who's blind is the person in the verse before that, because he had the opposite ear. The person who's blind is the person who's barren and unfruitful. So the non-soul winner's blind, we see right away. The person who doesn't bring forth fruit, the Christian who does not bring forth fruit is blind. They can't see it far off. They can't see far enough down the road. You ever go out soul winning and people say, well, I just don't think that all these people that you get saved out of soul winning are really saved, because we went out of soul winning on Saturday, and somebody said, I'm going to come to church. I got saved. I'm going to come to church tomorrow and get baptized. And they didn't show up. They must have never really been saved. Well, the problem with that person is that they're blind. They can't see it far off. See, when I win somebody to the Lord and I walk away from that door, I can see something that they can't see, because I can see that person in heaven. I can see myself not walking into the door of Faithful Word Baptist Church and sitting down with that person and shaking their hand and saying, good to see you. I see it way far off when I walk into the gates of heaven and sit down next to that person and shake their hand and say, hey, it's good to see you here in heaven. Hey, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're saved and born again, child of God. But see, the person who is not a soul winner, the person who does not bring forth fruit, why don't they bring forth fruit, Pastor Anderson? Well, because they lack charity. You see that? That's the last thing he said. He said, you've got to have that if you want to be neither barren nor unfruitful. If you want to produce fruit, he says, you've got to have charity. I've had people accuse me of being unloving throughout my life many times. I'm a loving guy. I've had people accuse me throughout my life of being unloving. And they say, well, you know, it doesn't matter how much you know about the Bible. It doesn't matter how much you go soul winning and all that stuff. They say, you know what? If you don't have love, it's all worthless. That's what 1 Corinthians 13 says. And I say to that person, well, did you know that the word love is not found in 1 Corinthians 13? You've been reading the NIV. Ah, we got you, because the NIV says love about 20 times in 1 Corinthians 13. So we just nailed you as reading the NIV or listening to preachers who use the NIV. So that's number 1. But number 2, God says that the evidence of having charity in your life. See, whenever God lists a list, usually he's leading up to the most important thing last. Because remember, he said you start with faith in this list, and he says you add to your faith virtue. Okay? So that's more basic. Virtue is more basic than charity. You understand that? Because he's giving a progression here of what you add this, you add this. You start out with faith. You add virtue. You add knowledge. You add temperance. You add patience. And by the way, notice, there's so much to preach out of this pass. I love these verses. It's one of my favorite chapters. But look, first you get the virtue. First faith, then virtue, then knowledge. Okay? So you may not know everything of why you're supposed to live a clean, you know, virtue means you live a right life. Okay? You may not really understand all that. You get the knowledge after you get the virtue. Okay? Through desire, man having separated himself, seeking the inner mettle of all wisdom. And then you get the knowledge, and then to knowledge you add temperance. Temperance means you can control yourself. Okay? You know somebody who has a temper is somebody who gets out of control. And temperance is the opposite of that. And to temperance, patience. That means you're in it for the long haul. You're going to stay with it. You're going to keep going even when things are bad. And to patience, godliness. And to godliness, brotherly kindness. And the final step is when you reach the ultimate and to brotherly kindness, charity. That's what 1 Corinthians 13 is all about. Study it another time. The charity, not the love chapter. Not the love chapter. Okay? The charity chapter. And you know what? If God wanted to say love, did you know he could have written the word love in there? Did you know that? Did you know that? Okay. And you say, well, you go back to the Greek, though. It's love. I don't buy that for a second. I don't buy any of that garbage about the Greek. You know, have you ever heard this term? Have you ever heard this term, unconditional love? Put up your hand if you've heard that term before. Every church I've ever been to, whole sermons, whole Sunday school lessons about agape. Agape means unconditional love. Unconditional love. Oh, really? Well, I got out my Greek New Testament one time, which I don't have one anymore, thank god. I have the English New Testament, okay? But I got out of the Greek New Testament one time and I was looking up agape. And did you know that the Pharisees agapeed the uppermost rooms at feasts? I guess they just had unconditional love for that chair right at the front, right at the front of where the food was. They loved that chair right next to the buffet. Hey, I love it too. When I go to a buffet, when I walk in, I always try to sit as close to the buffet as possible because I know I'm going to be getting up and sitting down many times, okay? Unconditional love for this chair. It's so stupid. But you know what? That's the biggest thing I've ever heard of anybody go back to the Greek is agape versus phileo. Phileo is this kind of love. And the Bible says that Jesus loved the Father with phileo. That's supposedly the lesser love, okay? Yeah, I mean, if you study, if you just look up in Greek, and I don't even suggest you do it, it wouldn't even waste your time, but every time it says phileo and every time it says agape, did you know that there's no rhyme or reason because they're both the exact same word? They both mean love, period, okay? And so you could go back and look at them and see that they're used interchangeably. Interchangeably. The same quote in the book of Mark, Jesus will say the same thing in the book of Luke. One will say agape, one will say phileo. It's the same statement. The Pharisees love a chair with unconditional love. Hey, the word unconditional love is not in the Bible. It's just false. It doesn't even make sense. And so charity is the, not love here. We're talking about charity. Charity is the culmination of this, of Christian growth. The Bible says that charity is the bond of perfectness. That's the ultimate. And he says if you have these things in you and they abound in you, that's when you'll bring forth fruit. That's when you'll be neither barren nor unfruitful. If you look at somebody who brings forth fruit, you can know that they have these things in them. Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. You can tell whether somebody's righteous by what they do. Oh, what about the motive? You know what? That's so overrated. Did you know that the word motive's not in the Bible? Yeah, it's not, is it? No, it's not. Think about it. Hey, the Bible says that if you do righteousness, you're righteous. Yeah, I want to be righteous, then do some righteousness. I want to have charity, then be a soul winner. And why don't you start out before you're so worried about charity? Get some knowledge. Don't talk to me about charity until you've read 1 Corinthians 13 in the King James Bible. Because you need to get knowledge. Knowledge is step three, okay? You're trying to jump all the way up to the final step of charity. Hey, you forgot all about knowledge. So get the knowledge first. Then learn to control yourself. Then be patient. That means be in it for the long haul. Then that means be willing to wait to get to heaven to see some of your converts after you warn the Lord. Hey, then get brotherly kindness and then add to brotherly kindness charity. And if you have these things, then you'll be neither barren nor unfruitful. But if you don't have them, you're blind, is what God says. And the sad thing about being blind as a Christian is that you don't know that you're blind. It's that you're pure in your own eyes and you look down on everybody else, but you're not washed from your filthiness. That's what the Bible says. That's why he says, he, the lack of these things, look at verse 9, is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. See, he doesn't even realize the condition that he's in. He doesn't even realize that he used to be living a less sinful life than he is right now, is what he's saying. The person who doesn't have these things, the person who's not growing and adding on in their Christian life the next step, he says they don't even know that they were purged from some of the things that they're doing right now. They used to not do some of the things that they do right now. They don't realize that they're backslidden, that they're moving backwards in the Christian life. If you're not moving forward in the Christian life, you're moving backwards. And so God says in Revelation 3, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind, and then he said, and naked. He says you don't know, you don't realize, back to Revelation chapter 3, he says you don't realize that you're naked. You see, that's kind of odd. You'd think if somebody was naked, they'd realize it, wouldn't you? I mean, think about this. Can you imagine somebody being naked and not realizing it? I mean, can you imagine that? And you say, that sounds like a recurring bad dream I keep having. People always joke about it. You leave the house. I remember one of my earliest childhood memories are dreams that I had as a kid. You have a real vivid dream that sticks out in your mind. If I think back to my three or four earliest memories, they're dreams that I had, believe it or not. And I remember having this dream. I got to church on a Sunday night. This is one of my first dreams that I can ever remember. Got to church on a Sunday night. I look down, and I have no shoes and no socks on, just barefoot. And I was mortified. Here I am in church, and I have no shoes on. I guess the place where all I stood was holy grounds. I got no shoes on. I'm trying to hide it throughout the dream. I'm trying to stand up next to something. I'm kind of trying to sit Indian style and put my feet on it. I was embarrassed. And people always joke about having dreams like that where they forget some article of clothing. Mine was a little milder. I forgot my shoes and socks. But how can you not realize that you're naked? Good night, man. Hello? You're naked, okay? But think about it. What did the Bible say nakedness is? Well, the Bible says in Exodus 28, 42, Thou shall make linen breeches or pants to cover their nakedness from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. So God says in order to have your nakedness covered, your thigh must be covered. In Isaiah 47, 3, he says the same thing. He says about this woman, he says, Uncover the thigh. And then in the next verse, he says, Thy nakedness shall be uncovered. Basically saying that the thigh is nakedness again, this time talking about a female. In Exodus 28, he was talking about a male. Excuse me. I know this isn't very professional, but I'm cold. And so I submit to you that there are all kinds of Christians that don't realize that they're walking around naked. They're walking around with their shorts on, their short shorts. I'm talking about above the knee shorts. They're walking around with a miniskirt on. Hey, they're going swimming in a bathing suit at the water park with all kinds of people around. Everybody's looking. Hey, somebody needs to tell you that you're naked. You need to put some clothes on, you half in, half out Christian. You lukewarm Christian. Why don't you decide you're going to obey God and be clothed? He says in the next verse, you're looking at Revelation there, Know it's not that thou are wretched and miserable. Don't you know there's a better life out there so that you can have more joy living for God? You're poor. Your finances mean nothing. He says you're blind. You don't even realize that you need like ten things that are listed in 2 Peter 1. You need to be bringing forth fruit. You don't even know that. You need to be a soul winner. You don't even realize that. He says you're naked. Hey, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich. See, the true riches come from God up in heaven. And why, raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with thyself that thou mayest see. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. You say, why do you rebuke me so much past time? I say, that's just my way of saying I love you. You always tell me I'm wrong. Just consider it as I love you. No, I'm just kidding. I don't do that either, and you know that I don't tell you you're wrong. I just preach about it next time I have a service. If I think you're wrong, I just say, oh, okay, and then the next service, you know, the sin of, you know, fill in the blank is the ninth subject. Just kidding, of course. You know I would never do that. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him. Jesus is saying, hey, I want to have fellowship with you. I want to sit down and have some enjoyable time with you, but I just find it hard to get along with people that are half in, half out. I find it hard to get along with people that are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed with their filthiness. You know, just in my life, there's one type of person that I can't get along with. I get along with most everybody, believe it or not. I get along with all kinds of people. In my job, you know, I deal with people constantly, and I can get along with people. The one type of person that I really don't like to get along with, though, is the person who's pure in their own eyes. You know what I'm talking about? People who are really arrogant and high and mighty, and they think that they're just all that and a bag of chips. Hey, look, I don't like those kind of people. Those are probably the only kind of people I don't like is the proud boasters. And it's irritating to me. And Jesus says, I can't really be around that kind of person. He says, if you're going to be pure in your own eyes, if you're going to be pure in your own eyes when I know you're not washed from your filthiness, he says, I just can't be around you. The Bible says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Iniquity is when you think that you're right when you're living in sin and you think it's okay. It's a wrong judgment about what right and wrong is. He says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. God says, I'm not going to listen to you. I'm not going to listen to this self-justifying, self-righteous kind of an attitude. Look what he said. You say, I don't believe that, Pastor Anderson. I think God will hear anybody. Any Christian who prays to them, I think God will just hear every prayer. Look, this is what God said to Job. He said to Job's three friends who were self-righteous. Remember, they thought they were wonderful and they wanted to tear down Job and say, you're not right with God, we're righteous, we're good, we're holy. You know what God said to them at the end of the book of Job? He says, ask Job to pray for you because I listen to him. I don't even listen to you. I don't listen to you bunch of windbags, you bunch of self-righteous, pompous, arrogant jerks. He said, have Job pray for you because I'll listen to him because he's humble, because he's little in his own sight, because he is the one who justified me and said, he said, I abhor myself and repent and sackcloth and ashes. He said, you're God, I'm nobody. And he said, I like that attitude. That's the kind of person that I listen to. Hey, that's why you get on your knees when you pray. God listens better when you're on your knees. And I'm not talking about just physically on your knees, but that is a symbol of the attitude that you're supposed to have when you come to God. You come to God on your knees and say, God, I'm nobody compared to you. But if you come to God like the Pharisee who stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I'm not his other man. Remember he prayed thus with himself, the Pharisee? He justified himself. God wasn't listening to them. The Bible says he prayed thus with himself. He was praying to himself. God said, I'm not, he's praying with himself. That's what he said. He said, I'm not listening. He's praying to himself. But then the publican, he bowed his head. He wouldn't even so much as look up to heaven and beat upon his breast and said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Okay, that's the right attitude that we should have when we come to God. The Bible says that he's near to them that are of a meek and contrite spirit. But let's just finish this out. It says, behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne. Even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Listen to this verse, Deuteronomy 12.8 on the same subject. Deuteronomy 12.8, the Bible says, you shall not do after all the things that we do here this day every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. He said, no, don't do what's right in your eyes, do what's right in God's eyes. The Bible says in the next chapter, when thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God to keep all the commandments that I command thee this day to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God. Remember in the book of Judges, twice it says this? In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Now were the people in the book of Judges just going out and saying, I don't care what God says, I'm going to do whatever I want. No, they said, I'm going to do what's right. I want to live right. I want my church to be right. I want to believe right, but it's going to be right in my eyes. You see that? You say, well, how am I going to know what's right in God's eyes? Well, that's the beginning of the sermon. You've got to find the book. You've got to be like them. They dug it out. They couldn't even find it in church, not until they had a building program. Churches who aren't very focused on the Bible, they're all about building programs. They're having a building program every five minutes, and so they're having a big building program, and all of a sudden, out of some rubble somewhere, they tear down some wall somewhere, oh, man, alive, there's the Bible. We found a book. They read the book, and they got on their knees and said, oh, God, we have been pure in our own eyes, but we are not washed from our filthiness. I'm scared to death of what you're going to do to us, God. And of course, God was merciful to them, because he said to Josiah, basically what he said to him, just to paraphrase, is that your heart was right. You were trying to do what was right. You were doing the best you can, and now that you know what the Bible says, you're doing it, and so I'm going to show mercy on you. But he said, this country is going to be destroyed, because your fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book. And when Josiah's sons, Jeconiah and his brethren, when they came into power, they were judged, and they were taken to Babylon after Josiah died. God withheld his hand of judgment for Josiah's sake. Again, in Judges it says, in those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. On and on throughout the books of Kings and Chronicles, you'll see this pattern. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. We get such definite ideas in our mind about what's right and wrong. Well, I just think that such and such isn't right. Well, you have a Bible verse on that? Don't tell me what's not right unless you've got the Bible to back it up. Well, I just know that such and such is right. Well, how do you know that? Was it the spirit of knowledge under the fear of the Lord, or was it just something that you sucked out of your thumb somewhere? Because you must understand that being pure, being right, being holy, is always in the sight of the Lord, not in your own eyes. 2 Chronicles, I'm sorry, we already talked about that one, but Proverbs 12.15, listen to this. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. Go ask the fool, go ask the idiot if he thinks he's right about just about anything. He'll tell you, of course I'm right. Hey, do you think that you're living right? Do you think you have a good life? Yeah, sure, of course. And you know what the Bible says? The way of transgressors is hard. You don't want to change places with these foolish people, but if you ask them, they think that they're just living the life, man. And every way of a man is right in his own eyes, the Bible says. But the Lord pondereth the hearts. The Bible says every way of a man is right in his own eyes. Hey, if they didn't think it was right, they probably wouldn't be doing it. But it's right in their eyes. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And again, he says the exact same thing in Proverbs 16.25. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. You know, a lot of religions in this world seem right. A lot of things that preachers teach and preach, they seem right. A lot of things that you believe seem right, but if they're not in the Bible, they're not right. And the Bible's always right. One last place and we'll close. Look at Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter number 1. Isaiah chapter 1, verse number 10, the Bible says, Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom. And he's talking to the Jews in Jerusalem. He's comparing them to Sodom because they've become so wicked because homosexuality is becoming the norm in their city like it is in our city and in our nation. He's calling them Sodom. He's talking to the Jews in the land of Judah, actually, the southern kingdom, which was the more righteous kingdom. But now they've gone in the way of their sister, Samaria, and he says, Give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. Again, an emphasis on the Bible, the word of God, knowledge. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? What's your point, is what he's saying. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he-goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand? Who asked you to bring me this stuff, is what he's saying. To tread my courts. No more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto me. The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with it, it is iniquity. Even the solemn meeting, he says, even your church service is a sin. Quit even having it if you're not going to be right, is what he's saying. Don't even have church if it's not going to be right. Your new moons and your appointed feasts are religious gatherings. My soul hateth. They're a trouble unto me. I'm weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. When you make many prayers, I will not hear. Boy, isn't that kind of what we were talking about earlier? There it is again. When you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood, that's why he's saying. Wash you and make you clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn. Notice that word learn. Learn to do well. Seek judgment. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together. Say, if the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. How has the faithful city become a harlot? It was full of judgment. Righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. You see, God is saying, I'm not interested in a church service. I'm not interested in a religious gathering or assembly. He says, I'm not interested in you making many prayers to me. I'm not interested in your sacrificial financial gift to me. He says, what do I want you to do? I want you to cleanse your hands from wickedness. He said, I want you to learn what the Bible says is right. I want you to learn to do well. I want you to seek judgment. I want you to cease to do evil. He says, I want you to be willing and obedient. He says, I want you to cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Draw an eye to God, and he'll draw an eye to you, it says in the book of James. God says, what I want is for you to be cleansed from your filthiness. You're pure in your own eyes. You don't mind walking into a church. You don't mind getting on your knees and praying and putting on a big show because you're so pure in your own eyes. But he says, you need to learn what the Bible says. You'll see that you need to be washed from your filthiness, is what he says. Murderers, I don't think that, you know, who knows a murderer? Look, there are so many murderers in this world. There are so many murderers in this country. You know abortion is murder, did you know that? Did you know that IVF, this in vitro fertilization, the stem cell research, did you know that it's murder? And did you know that there are thousands upon thousands of people involved in it? Did you know that there are Christians who are involved in those things? Did you know that hormonal birth control pills are murder? If you don't know that, get on my website and then you can see the scientific data is there talking about how they cause early abortions. Hey, murder abounds in this country. But you walk up to somebody and ask them about it, they won't know because they're blind and because they're pure in their own eyes. Because they haven't studied the Bible to see what the Bible says right and wrong is. And so in closing I want to say this. Part of the reason that you read the Bible and say, this is what I want you to really understand from this morning's sermon, it's what I want you to dwell on as we leave today. Part of the reason, there are so many reasons why you read the Bible, okay. It's not just to give you strength. And that is part of why you read it, it gives you strength. It's not just so that you can be filled with the Spirit of the Lord and that is part of the reason why you read the Bible. It's not just so that you cannot sin that day, you know, my word have I hidden my heart that I might not sin against thee. But you know what, the Bible is a book of knowledge. And there's such a lack of emphasis on the word knowledge in our day. There's such a lack of emphasis in knowing the truth of what the Bible says. But you know what, we saw throughout our study this morning, many times God talked about knowledge, many times God talked about learning, many times God talked about searching the Scriptures to see what right and wrong is. When you read the Bible, you are not just reading a spiritual book, being stirred up, being strengthened, being filled with the fullness of God, but you're also studying to know what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. You're studying to know the facts of what God says is right or wrong so that when you come to a circumstance or a situation in your life, when you're on the job and somebody asks you to do something that may be dishonest, when you come to a crossroads in your life where you need to make a decision about what is right and what is wrong, hey, you better know what's right and wrong. That's why you're studying this book every day. That's why you're searching this book every day to know, K-N-O-W, to know what is right and wrong. And if you study this Bible and see what the Bible says is right and wrong about soul winning, see what the Bible says is right and wrong about the way you dress and the way you act and the way you talk and the way you live, the way I dress and talk and act and do my business, hey, it will put us all to our knees and say, God, I'm sorry that I am not up to par. Please help me to grow and to be better. But if you get away from studying the Bible in that way to learn the truth about what's right and wrong, walk away and you'll be pure in your own eyes and you'll not be washed from your filthiness and you'll become prideful and arrogant and think that because you crossed the T and dot the I of what an independent fundamental Baptist is supposed to be, your skirt's the right length or something, you've arrived. Hey, there's a lot more to it than that, my friend. There's a whole lot more. There's a lot more to it. Read this Bible cover to cover, searching for new ways to obey God and new ways to cleanse your heart from the unrighteousness that has plagued all of us since we were born. And let's draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to us and let's cleanse our hands from the sin that our fathers have passed down to us and the sins that maybe our fathers justified and the churches that I grew up in justified. Hey, let's search the Scriptures and see whether those things are really right or whether they're really wrong. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. God, I thank you so much for dying on the cross for our sins.