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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Now, before we get too deep into that, let's read a couple verses here. Look down at verse number 14, Revelation 3, look at verse 14. So the Bible says, So if you stop right there and you think about that, we talk about this all the time. There's vast amounts of wisdom and information you can get just from this church alone, let alone all the rest of them. Let alone the whole entire word of God. But what is it about somebody who is neither hot or cold about a subject, okay? Now, one thing I'm just going to come right out and say is that people that are in this position, you guys see them on a weekly basis, okay? Especially if you go out soul winning. Now, one of the things that these people will all tell you is that they are kind, okay? And they'll say we're kind because we're not extremist, we're kind because we're not, you know, cold like the Atheists or the Satanists, things of that nature, okay? That's typically what they'll say. One of the top ten criticisms that we get on a daily basis is that we are not a kind church and that yours truly is not a kind person at all, okay? That's what people are always saying, you're not kind. You know, I get messages every single day, I'm a Christian, I go to such and such church, I go to rock church, I go to the lake church, I go to the pulpit church, whatever, you know, there's always something church and at least my pastor is kind. At least my church is kind, okay? And I always respond back like, well, what do you think about this issue? And it's always this political type answer that I'll get back in response whenever I do decide to respond to them. And you know what that is? It's being lukewarm. That's what they are. They are lukewarm. But their big claim to fame, their big, you know, work before men, if you will, is the fact that we're kind and you're not. So keep reading here. Jesus says this, so then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth because thou sayest I am rich and increase with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not thou are wretched, miserable, and poor. And here's the key word for tonight, and blind and naked. So the title of the sermon this evening is When Kindness Leads to Blindness. When kindness leads to blindness. So basically what this is about, it's about when to be kind and when to leave people behind. Now keep your place there if you would in Revelation 3. We are going to come back to it. We're going to break this down several times tonight. But go to 2 Peter. So just go back in your Bible, just a few books, go to 2 Peter chapter number 1. 2 Peter chapter number 1. And so with this topic tonight we're going to learn how being too kind can literally lead you into being spiritually blind. Which is something we don't want. We've seen this happen to people who have attended this church for a year, two years, almost three. We've seen this happen to people. And so I bring that up not to be rude or not to be unkind, but to be serious and to let you know that we have to be careful with things. We have to be careful about letting the outside world's views and their slogans rubbing off on us and having a negative effect on us. Now last week I was talking with somebody and he was telling me that he works in a liberal place with lawyers, things like that, things of that nature. He was saying that a couple of the people in there, one for example, demands that he be called they. Don't you refer to me as a he in any way? I am a they. Now my response is, well then you're a legion. And I'll get into my position on that here in a little while. And he's going on and telling me about this and he's like, you know, there's another person you would never tell by looking at him. Beard, just dresses normal, talks normal, seems to act somewhat normal. This is what this guy's telling me. And this person, you know, this guy's like trying to spit it out. He claims to be a Christian, but he's like, this person says that I have to refer to him as a she. And I'm like, at work, so I'm like, wow, okay, you know, I'm trying to change the subject, you know. I want to get into this right now because I'm going to flip out, but I was thinking about that. And I was like, it must be kind of difficult because it's hard to look at somebody who's clearly a dude and be like, oh, ma'am, could you come here? Or, oh, ma'am, miss, I have something for you, you know, or you're talking to someone else about that person and you're like, well, she, you know. Like, how do you do it? And here's what this guy said. He said, well, here's the deal, you know, I've read a lot and I've met people and I've known people of this persuasion. He's like, I don't stand for it. I don't like it. I think it's destroying society. However, they have a very high suicide rate and I don't want to be responsible for causing someone else to take their own life. And so my kindness needs to be basically over the truth in that situation, okay. And I thought about that and I was like, that's actually a very good sermon title. That's a good subject. What does the Bible have to say about that? Because, I mean, that's where we are at in life, right? Where you can't call wood, wood. If a person wants to be referred to as a cat, you need to call them a cat. If they want to be referred to as a dog, you have to call them a dog. You know, at least that's what we're told, right? Of course, if you know me and people in this church, we're not going to have any of that. So that's what we're talking about today. But anyways, okay. So the title of the sermon is When Kindness Leads to Blindness. Now there are a ton of Bible verses about being kind. We know that. I could spend a whole series talking about when to be kind. So I'm not going to spend like 30 minutes of your time just going through all the references on being kind. But one popular one obviously is Proverbs chapter 31. The Bible says that the law of kindness is in the, you know, the Proverbs 31 wife's speech. It's part of who she is. The law of kindness. She's a very kind person. There are tons of Bible verses about the Lord being kind to us. Okay. Which that's key. Kind to us. Now would you say he was kind to the whole world? I mean on some level he died for this. I mean he died for the sins of the whole world. I'd say that's a kind act. But not everybody goes to heaven. You have to be saved. You have to put your faith on Christ. We know that. We talk about that. So does that mean we have to be kind though in all situations? Do we have to be kind to the pedophile? Do we have to be kind to the person who demands that you call them by their opposite gender? I mean what does the Bible say? Because look, you're at work, you're in your family, you know, your family get togethers, whatever it is. You're at a community gathering. You're going to run into this. Especially in today's day and age. And especially if you live in another state. You're definitely going to run into this. But let's talk about kindness. Obviously kindness is a part of the Christian life. So let me just show you a couple verses of what the Bible says. 2 Peter chapter 1. Look at verse number 5. Now what we're about to read, these are the building blocks of the Christian. We're going to spend some time later on, maybe early next year, talking about these things. But if you would look down at verse number 5, it says this. So Peter says, And beside this, giving all diligence. That's all zeal, all effort, all attention, all diligence. He says this. Add to your faith. Now let's stop right there. We are saved by grace through faith. No works involved whatsoever. We all get that. We all understand that. Here's where most people fail. They get saved. They get that faith. I mean they're good to go. And then they never do anything for God. They never add on to that to become a powerhouse for God. For the kingdom of God. And Peter's saying, hey, here's some things that you have to add to your life. These are the building blocks that you're going to need to be a solid Christian. And so he says, add to your faith virtue. Well what's virtue? Virtue is basically having a good, high moral standard. Reading through the Bible and seeing what the Bible says about issues and how God feels about certain things in culture. You know, what's right, what's wrong. Drawing that line in the sand saying, hey, we stand for this. We stand for the truth. We reject these lies. We reject false doctrine. We don't sacrifice the truth just to be kind. For example, okay? So again, virtue having a high moral standard. Because people would be like, well, why aren't you coming to the club? You're not going to get tossed? You're not going to get drunk with me tonight? What's going on here? You're like, no, man, I don't want no part of that. Okay? That's virtue. So Peter's saying, hey, add to your faith virtue. Learn how to be a Christian. And then he says, and to virtue knowledge. Okay? And then to virtue knowledge. And by the way, you won't get to any of these if you don't have the fear of the Lord. Because the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Okay? So obviously, you want to add to your virtue knowledge, studying the word, hearing the word. Look at verse six. And to knowledge temperance. Okay? Well, what's temperance? That's discipline. That is self-control. That's restraint. Okay? That's you getting a rain on your emotions and not flying off the handle for every little thing and just freaking out over everything. But I believe it also goes beyond that when you really get into it and you study it. Okay? For example, you know, we shouldn't be always so quick to just feed our flesh whatever it desires. I believe, and this is what I teach, and this is what I practice. I believe that every day, and I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I believe every single day you need to do something that is hard. Even if it's like I have the urge to just check my Facebook page. I believe you need to make a conscious effort to set that thing down for five minutes and just reject the flesh. Okay? I think that that's a good thing to do. And that's just one silly little example. Again, I'm not preaching a whole sermon on these. I'm just trying to give you some examples, some applications. So he says, hey, add to your faith also temperance. Look at the next word, patience. Okay? We could spend all night there. And he says, and to patience, godliness. Verse seven, and to godliness. Now don't miss this, brotherly kindness. Brotherly kindness. And then he says, and to brotherly kindness, charity. Okay? So obviously we want to develop brotherly kindness, meaning, you know, being friendly with one another, checking on one another, praying for one another, all the stuff that we always talk about. But we also want to add to that kindness things that are beyond just words, right? Charity, which is action, right? If you donate to a charity, they take supposedly those donations and actually do something with it. Well, we're supposed to do something with our resources, do something with our words. For example, if you say you're going to pray for somebody, that's a kind thing to say, but do you actually do it? Okay? That is the idea here. Okay? Now notice what he says. He doesn't say, he doesn't say, and worldly kindness. Okay? And there's a reason he puts it this way. Okay? Because we should obviously have respect. We should obviously be kind one towards another. This is very important. Look, if someone's saved, you know, I try to be kind to them, even though we may have differences on prophecy, we might have differences on certain things. You know, we might even clash a little bit. But at the end of the day, that's a brother or a sister in Christ, and if they ever need something, I'm here to help. Isn't it kind of funny how a lot of these Baptist churches in the country, you know, they'll differ on prophecy or different doctrines or whatever, and they wouldn't even let any of us step foot in their churches. Right? But we would let them come in here. You know, they showed up for soul winning, let's go. No problem. It's totally fine. Isn't it kind of weird how that works? They're like, oh, you're different on prophecy. Well, you can't come here. You had that Pastor Anderson guy preach at your church. You can't come here. It's like, who cares? Can't we all just go knock some doors, you know? What about brotherly kindness? Okay, so obviously there is a time to be kind, and the main time to be kind is obviously in church, around the church family, with the brethren. It's a commandment. It's something we ought to do. It's something we need to pay attention to specifically. Now, if you would go back to Revelation chapter number three. Revelation chapter number three. And let's talk about these verses here. Okay? So, again, look at verse number 15. Jesus says this, I know thy works. We're going to break this down again later, but he says, I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou work cold or hot. So, one more time. You know, these types of people, they can claim to be on both sides of every single issue. These are your third side of the coin type people, right? That's a doctrine going around town. The third side of the coin. You know, this is how these so-called preachers escape, you know, the hot seat. Say, well, when it comes to pride month, I'm neither for nor against them. I'm on that third side of the coin. When it comes to abortion, I'm neither for or against it. I'm on the third side of the coin. No, you're an idiot. You're lukewarm. You're weak is what you are. Your kindness has led to your blindness, sir. Don't even get me started on, man. That's a whole other issue there. Okay? So, again, someone who is neither cold nor hot literally isn't standing for anything, okay? They are standing for absolutely nothing. But the question is, what is one way that people allow kindness to lead them to blindness? And I'm going to say this. It's when people become indifferent about serious issues, okay? It's when people succumb to this cowardice type feeling and they're like, man, I really don't want to give my views on that, okay? If you come here and you ask me, what's your view on this? I'm going to tell you, you know? I mean, that's what church is for and you're going to see that as we go through this. But you might be thinking, okay, well, what's the deal with indifference? What does that mean? Well, somebody who is indifferent has no particular interest or sympathy. They don't make any kind of choice, really. They're unconcerned with the situation. Now, that's literally a lot of people today, okay? I mean, you go down to this create church down the street here. You're going to find a church full of indifferent people. You go tell them, hey, Leviticus 20, 13. Hey, Genesis 19, Judges 19. You start bringing up all these hardcore passages in the Bible. Say, hey, this is how God feels about Pride Month. Guess what they're going to say? Well, I don't know, man, because in the original languages, you don't really know if that's exactly what it said and Jesus came and he changed the whole entire law. And so we've got to be careful, right? No, that's not it. That is a lie. You have become indifferent. Your so-called claim to kindness has led you to blindness. Jesus is saying here in this passage, he's like, I would prefer you to be hot. I would prefer you to be zealous. I would prefer that your works were that of, like, maybe the church in Ephesus when they were first started, your church when they were first started, like my apostles. That's how you should be, but now you are blind and you can't even see it. God wants us to be zealous. He wants us to be fired up about the things that are going on around us. He wants us to be motivated about the fact that he is coming back, that he will rule this earth with a rod of iron. But he's saying, hey, you know, I'd rather you just were completely cold than lukewarm. Being lukewarm is the absolute worst state that a person could be in, especially a Bible believing Christian. There is literally nothing worse. Now, if you would look at verse number 16 and he's going to tell us what to do. He says this. So then, now don't miss this, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Verse 17, because thou sayest I am rich and increase with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. That, I mean, that's our country today. That's the treasure valley by and large today. That's a lot of areas around here today. I mean, you can literally fit that passage into a lot of, especially a lot of these neighborhoods around here, can't you? You go knock on the doors and they're just like, I have everything so I know that God's blessing me. And by the way, I'm kind to everyone, not like you. When we were getting protested out here, there was this person who had a sign that said, at least reptiles have compassion. You know, and reptiles are kind. It's like, really? Okay, then why don't you go down to the zoo and stand in front of an alligator? Okay, and let's see what happens. So show me the compassion that those things actually have, okay? You have to be blind to say something like that. To actually stand on the street for an hour in the blaring sun with a sign saying, at least reptiles have compassion. At least reptiles are kind. I mean, are you talking about cartoons? I mean, what is your point today? But I also think it's interesting, and I brought this up on Sunday, you know, that Matthew 24, 12 talks about how in the last days the love of many shall wax cold, okay? So you definitely see that going on today. There's not a lot of love left, not a lot of honesty and integrity and things like that left in the world today. And if you don't believe me, just go around in some of these restaurants, you know, and just go try to order something from someone, go try to return something. You know, a lot of these people that are working these jobs today are absolutely terrible. They're absolutely horrible employees, horrible workers. A lot of customers are the same. I mean, why do you think you have videos like people of Walmart? You know, things like that. Why do you think we have videos today about all these Karens and people flipping out, right? Because everyone's selfish today. I mean, no one's going to deny the fact that we live in a world void of love by and large. So if we live in a world where love is wax cold, why is the main message today, be kind, okay? I mean, think about it. Who here has seen those signs out in people's yard that says, I'm going to get this wrong, but it's like, it says Black Lives Matter. And by the way, you know, we're not racist. The Bible says that God hath made all the nations of the earth of one blood, okay? That's what the Bible says, but they say Black Lives Matter, okay? It's a little news flash. Black Lives Matter, the organization, is a communist ideology, okay? That's what that is. We've talked about that before. It's all about communism, okay? It's garbage. It's not about black lives, okay? Because think about it. Black people that come here, brown people that come here, what are they accused of? Being white supremacists. Okay, I'll never forget the day that a white guy walked up to Brother Kevin and said, you are a Ku Klux Klan member. That's what you are. I'm never going to forget that, and I'm always going to bring that up when I need a story, okay? It's not a fable. It's true. A lot of you guys, I think we even have it on videotape, okay? But anyways, like, you should be kind, right? Anyways, back to that sign, right? Everything on that sign is a lie, okay? It says Black Lives Matter. They don't care about black lives. Women's rights are human's rights, okay? They don't care about women's rights. What about the woman's right to stay home and raise her family and not have to work, right? They don't like that, do they? No, they hate that. Oh, you need to get your butt to work. You need to show these men up. That's the ideology of the world. So again, that part of the sign is a lie. What else does it say? Science is real, okay? Look, I could spend all night on that, okay? We're not denying science, but we're denying science falsely so-called like Paul talked about, okay? And then what else? I mean, that's just a slam on God is what that is. And then it's love is love. And then what it says, I think it's like second or third from the bottom. I almost have it memorized just from going into people's yards. But it says kindness is everything. Kindness is everything, okay? If you could put on your truth glasses and look at that, it would say blindness is everywhere, okay? Instead of be kind, what they're saying is be blind. Because if you go to the website that sells those signs, you know what it says? It says our goal by giving people and selling these signs is to promote, what does it say? A tolerance, equality, and I think I wrote it down here. What else is it? Oh yeah, diversity, okay? And they're not talking about skin color. They're not talking about male and female because they reject both. And they say it's fluid, you can change it. So you know, like how are women's rights, human's rights if you can't define what a woman is? How are you going to tell me what kindness is if you can't even describe what a woman is? Makes zero sense. So again, your kindness is blindness, okay? So, back to these two verses. Revelation 3, 16. You see there what Jesus says. He says then, so then because thou art lukewarm, okay? So because you're lukewarm, you're not hot, you're not cold, you don't stand for anything, you think you're kind, you think you're cool. He says I'm going to spew thee out of my mouth. So there's two things that I want you to really understand here about these two verses. And number one is that Jesus hates it, okay? People say show me in the Bible where Jesus talked about hate. Well I can show you several places where he even uses that word to hate your mom, hate your dad, hate your brothers, hate your sisters, okay? And we've talked about the hate spectrum, we've broken that down in the past, I'm not going to take the time to do it tonight. But he says hey, if you're lukewarm I'm going to spew thee out of my mouth. I'm no longer going to help you, I'm going to lead you into chastening, I am going to discipline you, okay? He hates the lukewarm attitude. So if somebody comes up to you and says hey, we ought to sacrifice reality, we ought to sacrifice truth so that we can be kind to people, so that we can help their feelings and so they won't feel bad. You need to understand that Jesus hates that, that's what he's saying here. Verse 17, he says because thou sayest 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. So number two, you need to understand that this type of kindness or this lukewarmness, it results in situational blindness, it leads to one area. And you say why are you bringing this up? Because this is to help you identify where someone's at, okay? Because when you're talking with people and they don't really seem to be hot or cold on an issue, that might be a good opportunity for you to try to fire them up, try to light that fire underneath them to get them motivated, to get them zealous. Now you can leave your place there, we'll come back later on, but go to John chapter number 19, John chapter number 19. I think a lot of people today, you know, you can go down to your new evangelical church and you can bring this up and there's a chance that somebody may be, oh yeah, the Laodiceans, yeah, they were lukewarm, right? And they'll tell you the story, they'll say yeah, you know, Jesus really wished and was really kind to them to get them to try to be on fire. Well where's the Laodicean church at today? Man, it's gone. So obviously at some point they rejected this knowledge, they rejected this wisdom here, but it's kind of funny that those people will tell you they're familiar with the story, but they can't even see themselves that they are the Laodiceans, they are the same people. You know, I was driving the other day down Eagle Road and I was looking over, it was about seven o'clock in the morning, I was looking at Tree City Church. That big brick building and I'm like wow, every time I drive by I'm like man, that is a big church building, what in the world? All kinds of people out there, they must have a school or something and I'm just thinking to myself like, look at all those people, what a waste. Every single week, what a waste. What a waste of space. Give that to us, man. We'll make it into a serious, I mean, battle station, you know, a powerhouse. It's like you just got a building that can fit like, I don't know, it looks like it can fit at least a thousand or maybe even two thousand people or something like that in there, but all of them are lukewarm, doing absolutely zero for Christ. You know, and some of us, just for fun, not too long ago we were clicking around on the channels just looking at liberal preachers around here and you know, they've got the little music sheet stand, we don't have one, but you know, as a little podium, they're just like, I know what the Supreme Court did, guys. You know, and we're glad because babies' lives are going to be saved, but you know what, there's a lot of hurt feelings out there, you know, and we've got to just comfort them and welcome those people into our church. Look, if you're for abortion, you're not going to last here two seconds, you know what I mean? Like, get out of here. I mean, look, I'm not opposed to trying to get somebody on the right side, whatever, that's fine, but if somebody wants to come in here and like, hey, you know, and try to argue for abortion and stuff like that, I'm like, get out of here, man. There's no place for you and don't try, oh, well, at least we're kind, because it's like, no, you're not. You are blind. That big building down there, that's one of hundreds of churches filled with people that have zero zeal, but they'll tell you all day long how kind they are. At least I'm not like you, seeing you on the news, at least I'm kind, at least my preacher's kind, blah, blah, blah. No, he's blind and so are you. So again, the first point that I wanted to bring up is that when people become indifferent about serious issues, this is a problem and this leads people down this blind road. Here's a good example of this in John chapter number 19. Look at verse 23 and look and just think about what's going on here. Think about that word indifferent, neither hot nor cold, no empathy, no sympathy, no concern for what's going on here. Look what it says in verse 23. It says, then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to every soldier apart and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam woven from the top throughout. And so here you have a situation where someone who they know darn well was innocent. I believe that they understood that to some degree. They just didn't care. And honestly, that's what the military will do to you. The military will kind of make you like that and it's something you have to overcome. It's something that you have to fight. But you kind of wonder like, what's going on here? Why are they like this? Well, part of the reason is because they don't care. They don't understand the situation. Circumstances throughout their lives have made them indifferent. They don't really, it's probably something that they do all the time. But I often wonder, you know, if they heard of the story about how the woman touched the hem of the garment of the Lord and was healed. And they're like, man, maybe we can get some powers or we can just get some money from this. I don't know. It doesn't say that, but I've always wondered that. Look at verse 24. It says this, they said, therefore, so the soldiers, they said, therefore, among themselves, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it whose it shall be. And then that's where they stopped talking. Remember, John is writing this under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. And then he tells us this, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, they parted my raiment among them. And for my vesture, they did cast lots. These things, therefore, the soldiers did. Go to John chapter number eight. And so I think that's a good example there. I mean, these people don't understand what just happened. That the Son of God, someone who never sinned, who helped countless people, has just been crucified. And they're just like, well, let's sell us clothes. We don't care. I mean, think about it. That's the world that we are living in today. That attitude is prevailing today. And guess what? It's our job to try and be a light in this world, to try to be some salt and shed some light on these issues that's going on today and get people to hopefully wake up and actually say, whoa, wait a second. That's not kindness. That's blindness. Wait a second. BLM, they don't care about black people. Right? That's communist. Wait a minute. That's science. That's not science. You mean to tell me that a virus that has a 99 percent survival rate is worth people losing their homes and their businesses and their jobs and their rights over? Trust the science. No, I don't think so. I don't think so. So, again, I just think that that is a good example there. And so let's talk about this now. When to be kind and when to leave people behind. Because people will say, you know, Jesus never said the things that you said, which is a lie because he's the Word of God. So whether I turn to Genesis 19, I turn to Revelation, it doesn't matter. He's the Word of God. He said it. He endorsed it. He said it. We talk about that all the time. So when to be kind and when to leave people behind. Was Jesus kind to everyone all the time? That's the question that often gets asked to me and oftentimes to you guys. And let's take a look here. There are several examples. We're just going to look at two tonight. But John chapter 8, look at verse 32. So in this passage, I've broken this down before. Jesus is preaching to a multitude of people. He's teaching to a lot of people here. And we don't have time to really get into it. But what you have to understand is that some of them believe what he's saying that are in this crowd and some of them don't. So look at verse 32. So Jesus is finishing talking about the gospel. He says this. Verse 32 says, And he shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Verse 33. They answered him, We beat Abraham's seed and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou, ye shall be made free? Now stop right there and think about something. Jesus just got done telling them the truth. Hey, you guys are lost. The Son of God is here to save that which is lost. Some people, they accept that. They understand that. And then here pipes up some of these Jews and they're like, hey, we're the children of Abraham. We were never lost. Don't say that we need to be saved. What are you talking about? See, do you see what's going on here? They want to be identified contrary to the truth. They don't want to be referred to as lost. They do not like that. And so they're saying, hey, don't talk to us like that. Don't bring that up. Now, let's see what the response is here. Jump down to verse 44. I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on here before you get to verse 44. You have to go back and read it for your own time. But look what Jesus says here. Because remember, we're answering this question. When to be kind and when to leave people behind. Okay, look at verse 44. Ye are of your father the devil. Stop right there. Okay. Who here has been in a discussion with somebody, talking about the gospel, maybe somebody comes and rudely interrupts. And they're like, you know, just being rude. And you say something like, you know what, you're a devil. Right? I mean, Paul did it. I mean, sometimes it gets nasty. Not too often. But sometimes you have to be brutally honest with people. You know, and it's like you're trying to take someone away from hearing the truth. I mean, Paul caused someone to go blind because of that. It's a very serious matter. It's a matter that you should be zealous about. It's a matter that you should not be like, oh, I just want to be kind to both of you so that your feelings don't get hurt. Okay. No. Someone's soul is on the line here. Okay. And Jesus says the same thing. He basically says this. You're of your father the devil. You're a reprobate. You're a devil. Okay. That's what he's saying. Now, if you were to say that to somebody and then go tell just your average Christian that you said that to someone, they'd say you're not being kind. Jesus would never say that. John 844. These are the words of Christ. Ye are of your father the devil. So again, this group of people that says, hey, we don't need that salvation message. We were never lost. We want to be identified as being saved from birth because we're Jewish. Jesus says, no, I'm not going to play your game. You're lost. In fact, you're not only lost, but you're a devil. Ye are of your father the devil, meaning they're not born again. They're born underneath. You're of your father the devil and look, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it. Go to Matthew chapter number 15. So again, notice here as we read those verses that they wanted to be accepted by their own personal truth, which was what? It was a lie. They weren't saved. Jesus is telling them they're not saved. They didn't like it. And what does he do? Is he like, okay, okay, okay. Hey, let's just calm down. Maybe we'll try this another day. I'll come back and we'll set up the teacups and I'll just accept. Okay, you're saved. I've been with soul owners that have gone down that road in other churches. They'll be like, okay, you're saved. You just said the word Christ. You must be saved. Oh, you have a Bible. You must be saved. Can you tell if someone's saved just because they have a Bible or because of how they live their life? No, it's based off the answer they give you. What do they believe? Do you believe in works? Do you believe your works are saving you? Well, if that's what you believe and that's what you tell me, then guess what? I can tell you're not saved because we're not saved by works. So again, Jesus is confronted with a similar situation. People want to be identified one certain way and he's not having it. He says, you know what? I'm not going to sacrifice the truth just to be kind, just to be pleasant to you, how you feel and how you want to be perceived. Now, I've told this story before. I don't know how long ago, but it fits. When I was in California training for the ministry, I worked at Geek Squad and I went into a house to install a dishwasher. Two dudes in there, clearly two guys. And of course they got their pedophile flag on the wall. I'm like, great. I wonder how fast I can get this job done. So I'm in there working and I run into a problem to where I need to talk to the landlord. Remember, there's two dudes in this house. So I call the guy up and I'm like, hey, I need your permission to cut something. I had to cut a pipe or something like that. And he's like, yeah, that's no problem, man. I'll pay the extra fee, whatever. Just go ahead and get it done. I want you to take care of my girls. I'm thinking, oh, there must be four people that live here. Maybe they both have, I was wrong. They just have the flag, whatever. All right, cool. He's like, hey, can you put her on the phone? I said, all right. So I say, he wants to talk to some female. And this dude's like, oh, that's me. I was like, no, no, no, dude, a female, a girl. And what I didn't tell you is that my district manager was standing there. And he's like, you know, he's like trying to nudge me. I'm like, no, I'm like, dude, there's no girls here. And I can hear the guy on the phone. He's kind of getting like upset. And the guy's like, no, it's me. And I'm like, oh, you know where she's at? And then gets on the phone and says his name's Alexis or something like that, okay, and I'm not trying to make fun of people with that name. That's just what he said. And it finally clicked what was going on. They wanted me to play along. They wanted me to play that game. Now, you do whatever you want. I'm not going to get up here and tell you what to do. I'm not going to lord over God's heritage. But my personal rule is I will not play your sick game. You will not molest my mind. Okay, if you're a dude, guess what? I'm going to refer to you as a dude. If you're a female, I'm going to refer to you as a female. You know, if you want to be treated as a cat or whatever, I don't care. It doesn't matter. I'm not playing your game. Okay, look, at some point, we've got to draw the line here, okay? Because if I sacrifice the truth, then what's going to eventually happen is I will become indifferent and I would be useless as a preacher, useless in the kingdom of God. We need people with the courage that Christ had and said, hey, no, I'm not going to play your game. Now, that's obviously, you know, quite different, a little bit different than what we're dealing with today. But the concept's the same. What do you do in a situation where people say, I want you to be on my side. I want you to be, to play pretend with me like forever. Look, it's cute when you're like two. Look, I'm a puppy. Oh, okay, whatever. That's fine, little kids, you know, but about the time you start getting older and growing up and you kind of know what truth is, I'm not playing along. Okay, again, you do whatever you want. I'm not playing your game. It's not happening. You will not molest my mind. You will not violate my mind and say, no, you have to play along with the reality that I have created. Otherwise, you're not kind. Otherwise, you're not tolerant. So be it then. But at least I'm not blind. How about that? So, when to be kind and when to leave them behind. Number one is when the truth is at stake. We are called to be ambassadors for truth. John the Baptist lost his head because of the truth. Right? And the craziest thing of all, I mean, he was all about the gospel, all about preparing the way for the Lord. Right? Getting people back on the right track, getting people away from the religion of human achievement and back on God's plan, which was from day one, salvation through God. Okay? And he lost his life over a truth, over the matter of adultery. Think about that for a second. So the next time someone's, well, if it's not about directly about the gospel, then you shouldn't take a stand on it. You should just be kind and just act. No, it's not what the Bible teaches. We stand for truth, just like our church fathers did. So number two, when to be kind and when to leave them behind. Look at Matthew chapter 15, give you an example here. So look at verse number 10. This is another example of basically the first point. It says, This defileth a man. Okay? So let's stop right there. Kind of got mixed up. The first point was when, when do we, uh, when do we have to leave the kindness behind? That's when people are becoming indifferent. Okay? About serious issues. Number two is about the truth. When the truth is under attack. And we just saw an example of that. That's when we need to put kindness aside and say, Hey, this is what it is. This is truth. This must be taught that we have to stand here. Okay? And now in this story, here's another example of that truth. Matthew 15, Jesus gets done teaching a parable and the disciples are like, man, what in the world's going on with this? And so he's going to expound on it. Look at verse 12. Then came his disciples and said unto him, knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard the same? Because if you remember the Pharisees, they were all about the carnal ordinances. Look at me, look at how long my flowy garment is. I tithe off of mint, anise, I mean, any little gift. You give me a gift card, I tithe off that. You fill my tankard with gas, I tithe off that. You know, hey, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Okay. I don't even want to get off on that. Okay? But their problem was neglecting the weightier matters of the law. Right? That was their big problem. So here, Jesus gives them a big blast and says, hey, it's not about the physical food. Okay? That's not what's defiling you. I'm not talking about a physical defilement, like you ate a gallon of aspartame or something. Okay? What I'm talking about is spiritual defilement. And these guys are like, wait a minute. Are you saying that our works, our abstinence from pork and shellfish doesn't mean anything? And so they were offended. Their feelings are hurt. How does Jesus respond? Does he go back and say, hey guys, look, I am sorry that you're offended. I don't want you to do anything to yourselves. I don't want you to be hurt. I don't want to cause any unnecessary stress, which could lead to high blood pressure, which could lead to all these medications you have to take and so on and so forth. What does Jesus say? Look at verse 13, but he answered and said, so get this, get the picture here. They're offended, but, but he answered and said, every plant, which my heavenly father, you don't miss this, hath not planted, shall be rooted up. So what is he saying? These people are not saved, right? He backs up what he just got done telling them in the parable, right? He doubles down on the truth. He doesn't sacrifice truth just to be kind, just to be nice. Look at verse 14. He says, let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in to the ditch. Go to second Timothy chapter number four. So again, that's what you're seeing today. Okay. I go into people's houses all the time. We knock on doors all the time that people, you know, they have that sign. Kindness is everywhere. We're everywhere. Kindness is everything, whatever it says. And you know what? A lot of times those people are very nice to us. You know, to my surprise, sometimes I'll even listen to the gospel. I think some of you have probably even gotten some of them saved. But look, when people subscribe to that, that comes from blind people. It comes from supposed kind people, but they're really blind people. When you subscribe to that, when you yoke up to that, you're going to fall into the ditch with the world. Okay. That is the application. I mean, you know, the Pharisees and Sadducees, they had their differences. The Pharisees were better in a way, a lot of ways than the Sadducees because the Sadducees were like, we don't believe in the resurrection. We don't believe in angels. You know, they were like your original manuscript only as today. Right? Your guy who gets up and is like, well, the original languages didn't say that. Okay. That was a Sadducee. But the Pharisees were often seen fellowshipping and talking with Sadducees because they were both in leadership. They were both teachers. They were both philosophical or what have you. Okay. Whereas the Pharisees, what should they have done? Said, oh, wait, this guy spake like no man has ever spake. We're just going to follow him and just cut ties with you, you know, and just be all about the truth. Okay. So 2 Timothy chapter number four, again, proving the point here. Kindness needs to be held back when the truth is under attack. Okay. That is what I'm talking about here. Kindness needs to be held back when the truth is under attack. That's exactly what Jesus does in John chapter eight. That's exactly what he does here in Matthew 15. It's what he does in Matthew 23. It's what he's always done. It's what he is about. He is about the truth. He is sharper than any two-edged sword and we talk about that all the time. But again, here's some application for you. 2 Timothy chapter four, look at verse number two. So again, this is the apostle Paul here. He's writing to Timothy, the preacher, the pastor, and he says this, preach the word. Everybody see that? Preach the word. Okay. Don't miss this next part. Be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke. Okay. Now what does it mean to reprove or to rebuke? Yeah. You got to correct people. Sometimes you have to correct. We have to correct behavior through preaching the word, which makes people paranoid sometimes, but that's the way it's supposed to be. Preach the word. Now don't miss this. Be instant in season. What does it mean to be instant? It means you're not like, okay, hold on, man. Why did I decide to go teach through the book of Judges? Tomorrow's chapter 19. You don't want to be like that. It's like, oh, we're in Judges 19. Bam. You know, it just comes out. Hey, what are your thoughts on pride month? Well, boom, here's my thoughts. You know, here's our church. Here's our YouTube channel. Just be instant. This is what I believe. This is what the Bible says. That's what Paul's saying. Hey, if you want to be a preacher, this is how you gotta be instant in season. So in season, meaning when these things are by and large accepted in culture, but notice what he says next out of season. So even when these things are not popular, when people are hating them like today, Hey, you be instant. You don't give it a second thought. This is the word of God. It is what it is. We do not care whatsoever. He says, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. That is what we are here for, to do all of that, to teach doctrine, to correct ourselves. Look at verse three. He says this, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Now think about this. Paul is telling Timothy this. So that means Timothy went through this at some point. Timothy had to learn this and he had to just realize, hey, you're going to have people in your congregation that are going to give up. They're going to be like, man, another sermon about this. Oh man. And they're just going to get weary. They're going to get tired. They're going to give up and they're going to go after fables. But Paul said, hey, don't worry about it. You preach the word, whether it be popular or unpopular, whether it be in season or out of season, because guess what? A lot of people who've left here, he's not kind. I can't tell you, and you know how many people have said that, who have left this church. He is not kind. What do you mean I'm not kind? I'm pretty kind. It's that word of God that cuts you that isn't kind. It's the fact that I stand with the word of God that cuts you that isn't kind. But you know what? I'd rather be not kind than be blind. Verse 3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound auction, but after their own lusts shall they heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears. Boy, if there's ever been a time to make that come alive, it is today. People can just go to the internet and just, oh, did you hear what Stephen Furtick said? Did you hear how Andy Stanley put that? Did you see how T.D. Jakes wore that leather dress? I've got a picture. Remind me after the service. I'll show you. But that's where we're at today. Verse 4, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. Very interesting. What's a fable? If you look at the definition of fable, like on Google, it'll tell you like, they're like short stories where typically animals are the characters and it teaches a moral lesson. Like the sick lion and the weary fox. Who's ever heard that? Just me? Go look it up. You get the point, right? But you know, who's ever been to church where the preacher gets up and reads like a verse or two and is like, okay, back in the day, there was a lion, okay, and a tin man, and a guy made from straw. And it's like, isn't that the Wizard of Oz? And they're trying to teach a whole sermon based off that. Now I'm not against like maybe using a short story like that just for a quick teaching point or something. But man, where's the meat? Where's the word of God, you know? But this is where people are at today. They want that stuff. They want those fables. Look, if I changed the way I preach and I just started preaching fables, we'd pack this house, man. People would be like, it's about time you came to your senses. You adopted kindness. Now we support you. And I'd be able to buy that yacht. The heck with all that. Go to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter number 12. But hey, think about all that that we just read there. Those are part of your qualifications to lead a church, to run a church, to be an evangelist, to be a missionary, to preach. Okay? Is to be somebody who says, I'm not backing down from anyone under any circumstances, man. It is what it is. Whatever this book says, that's what we believe. And we're going to hammer down on it. We're going to double down on it because that's what Christ did. Okay? We will not sacrifice the truth for quote unquote kindness. Because we don't want to be blind. So how do we implement this? Romans 12, look at verse 19. So look what Paul tells the Romans here. Okay? Because obviously we live in a world today where, you know, we can't turn people over to the judges. You know, we can't go to the Levites and be like, hey, look at what we got these guys doing. Okay? We live in a crooked and perverse nation, crooked and perverse world really. But there is something we can do with our enemies. Okay? And it does involve kindness. Romans 12, look at verse number 19. So Paul says this, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves. Now I'll be the first one to tell you that is hard. Okay? And you saw that last month. And if you listen to the church voicemail, which Google changed on me, whatever. But anyways, that's another subject. You'll know this is hard. Okay? Like I was telling you guys, like be quiet. Like I'm on the phone with the cops, you know, when these guys were going crazy out there. And the next thing you know, I'm like, hey, I'm human. You know, I've got the flesh too. I'm not perfect. But anyways, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. Boy, this, look, I'll be the first to tell you, man, this is hard to do. This is very hard to do, but it's what we're called to do. It says, for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Now, obviously I don't have, you know, too much problem with some verbal confrontation. It is what it is. In fact, in the end, you know, what we ultimately did to those people worked. Okay? But what we didn't do is what they wanted us to do. They wanted us to go physically fight them so that they could call the cops and file a lawsuit. We're not doing that. We're not that stupid. Okay? We understand that's their goal. And that's even what the police said when they showed up. They're like, they're trying to get you to swing on them so that way they got you. Okay? Again, God's going to repay. All those people who sent us that filth, that vile, pedophile, just garbage, they're going to burn in hell. Okay? Those people are going to pay the ultimate price for that. Those people that stood out there with the signs and, you know, trying to say these filthy things in front of our women and children. Look, how do you think God feels about that? You think God's going to be very kind to them? Well, I know you were just upset and that's why you did it. It's okay. No, no, no, no. You got another thing coming. Look at verse 20. It says this. So because we know that vengeance ultimately belongs to God, he will repay, verse 20, therefore if thine enemy, okay, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Okay? Let's stop right there. I don't have time to get into it, but I want to bring this up just very quickly. Okay? It says thine enemy. Okay? Now, God's enemies, people that hate God, okay? Psalm 139. Go look it up. We're allowed to hate them. I can prove that to you beyond the shadow of a doubt. We have sermons about that. That is true. But our personal enemies, you know, those people at work that just, they're not devils. They're just people we just don't get along with, you know? You know, someone becomes your enemy like that or, you know, you got some beef with somebody in the church. You're just a different, you know. Sometimes you have to implement this. Okay? Look at verse 20 again. It says, therefore if thine enemy, so your personal enemy, okay? That's what thine means. Thine is singular. Okay? Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. So when you do something nice for that person that's just always on you, always trying to set you up, always trying to get you in trouble or whatever does that work, guess what? You're literally heaping coals of fire on his head. That's a euphemism. That's a metaphor for saying now you are literally inside of his head. You are living rent free inside of that person's head. Now this mental game has shifted. You are in control, not them. See, that is how you take control in a crooked and perverse workforce world nation where the law is against you, where you can't turn that person in. Because a lot of times, you know, when people find out what you believe, they find out you're sold out for God or they find out that you come to this church, they're going to become your enemy. And you know what? The world will always take care of the world. They will always have their back. And sometimes they will turn a blind eye to what they're doing to you. But the solution for you and what you have to do actually does boil down to kindness. Right? Your act of kindness is this. Do nice things for them. Show them it doesn't bother you and you will be that coal of fire inside of their mind. And you know what? It's going to do something. They're either going to request a transfer, they're going to want to get away from you or you're going to win their hearts. You're going to turn them around. You're going to turn that person around. They're going to be like, okay, I'm done. And we've seen that. We've seen that. We've seen that several times in this church. I have story after story of how this has worked and actually turned people around to where they got saved. Look at verse 21. Be not overcome with evil because that's the other option. You know? And this is why we have to check ourselves. You know? Because if we're just like, man, I got to do something to get them. You know, man, I got to get that person. And please understand, okay, what I'm not talking about here. I'm not talking about if someone's trying to physically hurt you or someone's trying to follow you home. You follow me home, I will kill you. Plain and simple. You will lose your life. You're coming on my property. And I feel like you're going to try to hurt me. I will take you down. I will fight with everything I've got. Okay? I've never gone back on that for a second. But that's not what this is talking about. It's just talking about your daily enemy. The people we just don't get along with. It says be not overcome with evil because that's what happens when we don't do this wisdom. You see? We just start thinking, man, I got to do something. Man, I'm going to glue his chair. I'm going to put some spikes under his tire, fill his gas tank up with sugar. You know, that's going too far. Okay? It's going too far. Not good. But he says be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. Okay? And that good is a kindness. And it's either going to leave people behind or just cause them to stay blind. But either way, it works in your favor. It's hard though. It's hard because we all have this thing called pride. Everybody. All of us do. We all have this thing called pride. It's like, you can't disrespect me like that. I'm not. I've got to get my back. Man, you can't do that. Go back to Revelation chapter 3. We're almost done. Okay? And again, it doesn't say overcome evil by ignorance. And it doesn't say overcome evil by just giving in to their every request. Okay? So again, if your enemy steps it up to where it's like, now he's your reprobate. Okay? That's a different sermon. That's a different story. I've already talked about how to deal with that. Okay? No. People that are just like on you, they're like sandpaper. They're like that 10 grit sandpaper. That's how you treat them. Be kind to them. Do acts of kindness to them and just watch how you become that coalifier in that person's head, on that person's head. Who's ever heard the preacher that says, no, in the original languages, this was actually talking about people who carried cauldrons on their head. And people would come around and dump hot coal. Get out of here with that junk, man. That's not what he's talking about. Okay? He's talking about how to win the mental war that we all deal with on a daily basis. Okay? So, let's finish this off here. Okay? Works of being lukewarm, kindness, things of that nature. So, we talked about when people become indifferent about serious issues, what happens? They become lukewarm eventually. Okay? Which is our job. Our job is to keep people fired up, keep ourselves fired up, keep that motivation high. You know, tell people, hey, here's what the light, here's what the word of God says about these issues. So, hopefully they'll be like, oh, I didn't know that. You know, I didn't know that. You know, I got a guy saved several years ago at work. And I mean, I think I may have told this story. This guy was somebody I never thought would get saved. You know, finally, it was just the right man. Can you tell me some Bible stuff? Because he was going through a rough time. You know, got him saved. A few weeks later, he's talking about, like, here, they're trying to, like, make abortion illegal in this state. This was a while back because of Washington and something like that. You know, and I shed the light on that issue. He's like, oh, I didn't know. You received it. It was cool. Right? That's our job. That is what we were supposed to do. But I could have been like, oh, I want to be kind and gentle. No, I would have just led that man to remain blind. You see what I'm saying? You know, when you're too kind to people and you sacrifice the truth, it leads to blindness. And guess what? Then you're lukewarm and God looks down and says, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth. I hate that. That's what Jesus says. I hate that. But have you ever thought, back to Revelation 3, have you ever thought, you know, when Jesus says, you know, you're either cold or hot. Cold or hot for what? What exactly is he talking about here? Well, let's highlight that because this is very important for our application tonight. Revelation 3, 15, one more time, he says this. Jesus says, I know thy works that thou are neither cold nor hot. I would doubt we're cold or hot. So again, the question is, what exactly were they cold about? Because he says, I know that works. They had something, quote unquote, called works, but they were lukewarm. So what's the solution here? What are they supposed to do? Because whatever it is, is what we need to make sure we're doing. And I think you already know the answer. Jump down to verse 22. So he clues us in on this and says this. He that hath an ear. What does that mean? Anybody out there that has the capability to just listen, not just listen to the words coming out of my mouth, but to actually understand what is being said here. He that hath an ear, let him hear, and this is very important, what the Spirit saith unto the churches. The Word of God, the written Word of God. Go to John chapter number four. John chapter number four. We're getting very close to being done. We're going to come back to Revelation chapter one, but I just want to finish off here with a couple of Bible verses. So John chapter number four. So again, Jesus says he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. That is the work. Okay, that's part of the work, but that's like the main thing. Because how else are you going to do the first words? We're sure to go out and tell people about the glorious gift of salvation. If you don't have the Word of God, it's not going to happen, right? So he says he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Do we hear an audible spirit today? Is he just like, hey, guess what? You got to do this. You know, does God call me up on the phone and say, hey, you know, go do this? No, I get it from the Bible, just like you can, right? That's how we learn. That's how we have our ear. We listen to what this book says to the churches and we apply it. Very simple. The Laodiceans weren't doing that. They figured they were on the right path because they had wealth. They had resources. They had that big building like a lot of these churches have. They had quote unquote money. They didn't have to worry about anything. So in their eyes, they're like, wow, we must be doing great. But God says, absolutely not. You were blind. You were miserable. You guys are wretched. I'm going to spew thee out of my mouth. So this all goes back to the Bible. It all goes back to the word of God. What the spirit, capital S, saith unto the churches, John chapter four, look at verse twenty four. So the Bible says this is what Jesus says. He says, God is a spirit and they that worship him must, must worship him in spirit and in truth. How do you worship him in spirit and in truth? Truth as opposed to falsehood. The word of God, the Bible, which obviously proves that he's preserved his word throughout all generations like this book says. So is it possible for a preacher to get up and say, guess what, you know, back in the old days or in the original languages or in the dirt, you know, it could have said this, could have said that. It should. This passage shouldn't read like that. It wasn't translated right. Blah, blah, blah. Can that person literally say, I'm worshiping God in spirit and in truth? Absolutely not. You say, what does this have to do with being kindness? Because they're blind. They think they're kind because they, well, we have all Bible versions. We just have them all. They all say different things. That's the problem. They all say different things. So which one is it? Look, I mean, we could really break it down and pit the NIV against the ESV. They say different things. The NIV says that Elhanan killed Goliath. Is that true? Is that what the King James says? No. Guess what? The Amplified Bible doesn't say that. So which one's right? We have to worship God in spirit and in truth. And we ought not to be so loving, tolerant and kind and just suppress that because the result is blindness. The result is being lukewarm. Go to John chapter six. John chapter six and pretty far down there in John chapter six. Look at verse 63. Jesus says this. It is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The what? The words that I speak unto you. They are spirit and they are life. Again, this is what the Laodiceans were missing. They neglected the truth. They neglected the word of God for kindness, for tolerance. Now, last but not least, one more verse. Go to Revelation chapter number one. Revelation chapter number one. So he wants that church. He says, hey, the solution for you guys to no longer be miserable, to no longer be blind, to no longer be poor, because that's really what they were is poor, is to get back to the word of God, to get back to what the spirit sayeth unto the churches. And again, when you see Christians, when you see churches pull away from this book, the only result is blindness. The only result is to be lukewarm. Revelation one one. Look at what this says. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to what? To show unto his servants. Look, if you're saved in here today, you're a servant. OK, these are for you. Unto his servants things which must shortly come to past and sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant, John. OK, does anybody in here think that John, the apostle John, we already know John the Baptist wouldn't do this. Do you think that, you know, the apostle John would be like, I don't really want to offend anybody, so I'm not going to go soul in today. I'm not going to, you know, I'm not going to respond to these attacks. I'm not going to do anything like that. I'm just going to kind of hide out. Of course not. He would never do that because we're not called to do that. Sacrificing truth for kindness leads to blindness. OK, that's the moral of the story. That's the lesson for today. Look, I'm all about being kind, you know, but there's a community out there that literally believes that they're kind because they're not like us. But the reality is that they are blind. They can't see truth. They can't see it at all. And it's our job to learn it. It's our job to, first of all, be hot, to be zealous. Right. Because that's contagious. People pick up on that and they're like, hey, we've gotten this from time to time. People are like, look, I'm not sure if I agree with those people, but they definitely knew what they were talking about. You know, people will call a church phone like someone stopped at my door today from your church and they really knew what they were talking about. You know, they answered every question and I just want to thank you for that, you know, and they don't even always say that they agree. But they're just thankful that someone's zealous, that someone's just like stood up and said, hey, this is wrong. You know, we've gotten tons of comments since we were in the news. People just like, hey, I don't go to church, I don't believe in God, but keep doing what you're doing. You know what I mean? Just keep, keep it on, you know. Hey, in the future, those types of people, man, we may encounter them and be able to help them and say, hey, here's a little bit of light for this issue. Don't let the world bog you down with this. You've got to be kind all the time. Jesus wasn't kind all the time to everyone. We are kind to each other. We try to be kind out in the world, but when the truth is under attack, that's when we leave that kind behind. All right, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, again, for this truth. Just pray that you would help us all to remember this, Lord, and to apply this to our lives that we definitely want to practice kindness as much as possible. But we also want to understand that when the truth is under attack, Lord, we have to speak the truth, even if it's not received as kindness. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. All right, please grab your red songbooks one more time this evening and turn to song 162. 162, To God be the glory. On the first. To God be the glory, great things He hath done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, who yielded His life in atonement for sin, and opened the life in that all may go in. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God, the vilest offender who truly believes. A pardon receives. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done. Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done. When great are rejoicing through Jesus the Son, who buffer and higher and greater will be our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done. Amen. Brother Victor, would you close the service in a word of purpose? Praise the Lord for this God-fearing Bible-believing Church Lord. I just pray that He will continue to be the light out of this dark world, Lord. I just pray that He will serve His fellowship, His soul, and His people. Amen. Praise the Lord. 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