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Oh bear me away on your sowing wings to my eternal home Oh bear me away on your sowing wings to my eternal home Amen, wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear God, only Father, we thank you so much, Lord, your God, for just allowing us to be in your house this morning. We thank you so much, Lord God, for just again, Lord God, just bringing us here safely, Lord God, for every soul that's here today. We do pray that you would please just bless every aspect of the service and that you would please most of all be with our pastor, Lord God, as he preaches your word. I pray that you would please just fill in with your Holy Spirit. I pray that you would please just guide him to the scriptures. And I also do pray that you would please just be with us in the congregation, that we would hear your word of gladness, Lord God, and receive it, Lord God, in our hearts. And I pray that you would please help us, Lord God, to leave here changed because we apply this sermon to our lives, Lord God, now. I pray now that he sees it in Jesus' name. Amen. And can it be, song number 24, and can it be, as our second song, sing it on that first verse. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood. Die ye for me, in God's best pain. For me, who giveth to death pursue. Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? He left his father's throne above. In the night his grace emptied himself of all but love. And glad for Adam's helpless praise, Tis merciful, limited, free. Oh, my God, they found out me. Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Long my imprinted spirit lay, Fast found in sin and nature's lie. Thine I did use, and with me I pray, I hold the dungeon free. Mine, my chains fell off, my heart was free. Oh, spin forth and follow me. Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Great singing. Thank you so much for being here this morning. Just a few announcements here. Before we sing our next song, which will be song number 310, Footprints of Jesus, song number 310, if you want to get that ready in your song. If you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand. One of the ushers can get one for you. Important information on there. Of course, our services are as follows. Sunday morning is at 1030. Sunday evening at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. And then you see the fall program point system, the rewards. Of course, today is the last day of our fall program. And tonight, after the service, we'll have an apple cider fellowship. And so stick around, get yourself some apple cider. That's a better picture right there. Thanks, brother Chris. And looking forward to that tonight. And then you see the list of expecting mothers, if you can continue to pray for them. The important reminders there at the bottom, make sure you read that. And, of course, in November we have our big day there. Tuesday, November 22nd is our annual Thanksgiving banquet. You have the location there. Please make sure you RSVP at FWBCLA.org. And you're welcome to invite your family, friends, coworkers, whoever you want. It's just a time of fellowship. Of course, it's going to replace our midweek service. So our service, instead of being on Thursday, will be on Tuesday. They'll be preaching. And then we'll have some food and fellowship as well during that time. And, of course, the theme there is 1800s. So just keep that in mind. We have an immense prayer night coming up on Friday, November 25th. And then the homeschool field trip on Tuesday, November 30th. You can see my wife for more details about that. Let's go ahead and take out this wonderful piece of sheet here. And we're going to fill this out. This is the last day, okay, to fill this out here. And so, Brother Eric, if you can please, that one right there, yep. Go ahead and fill these out. Unless you're just such a person of character and discipline and it's already done. You've already filled it out. How many of you have already filled it out? You've already filled it out. How many of you are filling it out right now? How many of you are like, I'm not even going to work on it? I'm just, okay, yeah. At least you're honest. We'll give you a couple of minutes for those of character and diligence. I feel like we need a more competitive spirit in this church. Let's just collect those. And then, of course, we're going to be announcing the winners at the Thanksgiving banquet, the first, second, and third prize winners on that evening. Of course, the third place will receive a $25 gift card, second place $50, and then the first place will receive a local church publisher's leather Bible. So thank you, Brother Eric. Make sure you give those to the ushers and place those in the offering plate so we can collect the points and give you your reward. And, of course, no fruit or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for, oh, wait. I almost forgot. We've got to sing Happy Birthday to those in November. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Whose birthday is it in November? Raise your hand if you're... That one right here, one right there, one right there. Is that it? November is like the best month to have a birthday in. Come on, guys. Is that... Okay, one right there, one right over there. Anybody else? Right here? All right. All right, let's sing Happy Birthday. Are you ready? Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you. All right. Happy birthday. And I hope you enjoyed those healthy donuts. Amen. No loitering in the four-year fellowship hall during the preaching service. And of course, quiet time is from 3 p.m. to 4.15 throughout the whole building. And please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. I can't emphasize that enough. Put it on silent mode or airplane mode or just turn it off completely so it's not going off during one of my points. And then everyone just like starts looking at that one person. It's typically a lady with a purse and then the phone is like all the way at the bottom of the purse. And yeah, so they're just like going through it and just like taking out kids out of the purse and all, you know, and then they finally... By that time, like the person hangs up already. So it's just like... Anyways, so make sure you silence the phone. All right, that's pretty much it. Let's go to sing our next song. 310 Footprints of Jesus. Song number 310. Song number 310. Footprints of Jesus. Song number 310. Sweetly, Lord, have we heard the calling? Sing it on that first verse. Sweetly, Lord, have we heard the calling? Come, follow me. And we see where Thy footprints falling Lead us to Thee. Footprints of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go Though they lead o'er the cold, dark mountains Seeking His sheep Or along by Siloam's fountains Helping the weak Footprints of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go If they lead through the temple Reach out Or in homes of the poor and lowly Serving the Lord Footprints of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go Then at last when on high He sees us, our journey done We will bless the steps of Jesus And at His throne Footprints of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus Where'er they go Footprints of Jesus And side note here, you know, that's why we don't just allow anybody in our church just to teach whatever. Obviously people can believe whatever they want and even have different views regarding secondary third doctrines, but when it comes to essential doctrines such as salvation, the deity of Jesus Christ, the word of God, we don't just allow every viewpoint here. You understand? If someone's going around teaching false doctrine, you know, perverting the ways of salvation, the word of God and the deity of Jesus Christ, the doctrines of Christ, we deliver that person unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. Now you're in Isaiah 26. I'm going to read to you from Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 14. It says, I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem and a horrible thing. They commit adultery and walk in lies. Listen to this. They strengthen also the hands of evildoers that none doth return from his wickedness, the Bible says. So when a person enables another individual on their sin, what are they doing? They're strengthening their hands to continue that sin. And the Bible tells us that that individual who's strengthened by the enabler will not return from his wickedness. Because again, the natural thought process of a person who has compassion and mercy and doesn't know these things will think, well, if I just love this person, if I just show them mercy, if I just hang out with them outside of church, if I just let them know, hey, everyone feels this about you, but I don't, you know, I'm still with you on this. What are you doing? They think in their minds that's going to cause them to come back to the ways of God. But it's actually the exact opposite. The Bible actually tells us they will not return from their wickedness. Because in their mind, we're like, well, I have this good Christian supporting me in my sin. Why? That means I'm not doing anything really that bad. They strengthen the hands of the evildoers that none does return from his wickedness. You say, well, you know, why shouldn't I enable people or why shouldn't I help people who are involved in wicked sin and show them love and show them compassion and be pitiful unto them? Well, look at Isaiah 26 and verse number 10. Because look, folks, don't even believe the Bible here. You know, doesn't the word of God trump our opinion? Shouldn't it trump what we opinionate and what we feel and how we think things should be? You know, one of the most irritating things for me to hear by Christians is like, well, I know that's what the Bible says, but I just feel it's like X, Y, and Z. Fill in the blank. I know the Bible says this. I get that. But I just believe, I don't care what you believe. I don't care how you feel. I don't care what you believe. You know, we need to go with what God's word says. And you know what? God's word is often very much contrary to our way of thinking. And so when your views, your opinions, and your feelings contradict the Bible, you know what that means? It means you're wrong. It means you have a flawed way of thinking and you need to correct your way of thinking. You need to correct your mindset, renew your mind, and bring it in line with God's word. Look what the Bible says in Isaiah 26 verse 10. Let favor be showed to the wicked. What does that mean? You know, strengthen the hand of the wicked. Support that person. Look what it says. Yet will he not learn righteousness. So you show favor to someone who's involved in wicked sin, who's just involved in iniquity. What does the Bible says? They're not going to learn righteousness that way. Well, I just think that I can teach them righteousness by showing them favor. Okay, but that doesn't change reality. You know, you can believe all types of things. You can believe, not believe in gravity, but go ahead and jump off this roof and we'll see if it's true or not. Right? And so let favor be showed to the wicked. Yet will he not learn righteousness. Look what it says. In the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. What does the Bible say? Don't be a partaker of other men's sins. Don't strengthen their hand in what they're in their iniquity. Why? Because it's not going to do them any good. It's not going to help them. They're not going to turn away from their wickedness. They're not going to turn to righteousness. That's not the formula that you're supposed to use to help restore someone. Ezekiel 13, you don't have to turn there. Verse 22 says, Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad, and strengthen the hands of the wicked that he should not return from his wicked way by promising him life. What does the Bible say here? You know, those individuals who are promising people, you're going to be fine. I know you're involved in the sin, but everything's going to be okay. You're going to have life. And obviously in context, it's referring to false prophets, because false prophets do this kind of stuff. But, you know, they're not going to return from the wicked way. They're going to suffer punishment because of it. Enablers, as I mentioned, disrupt the restoration process. Go to 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3, if you would. 2 Thessalonians, chapter number 3. The title of my sermon this morning is Enablers. And God doesn't want us to enable someone. Maybe you have a child who has gone astray and is involved in wicked sin. Don't enable that person. Don't enable that person by helping them financially, by just justifying their wicked sin. You know, don't compromise in that area, because in the mind of the parent, they think, well, you know, if they just know that I'm there for them, if they just know that I'm going to be there for them, that I'm going to help them, that's going to help them come back to God. Wrong! It's going to help them become hardened towards the Word of God, because they're going to believe that there's no consequence to their actions. And you know what? This country and Christians and churches need to learn that people need to suffer the consequences of their actions. And if you love your brother, if you love your sister, if you love your family, if you love your children, if you love your spouse, if you love your friends, you're going to allow them to suffer the consequences of their actions, because that's the hope. That's what they need in order to get right with God, instead of just waxing worse in that sin and becoming worse. But look at Second Thessalonians, chapter three, because I want to take this concept of enablers and I want to talk about something really specific this morning. Obviously, we could apply all across the board in our church, but I want to talk about something more in particular. Look at verse number seven. He says in verse number seven, for yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we behave not ourselves disorderly among you, neither did we eat any man's bread for not. What does that mean? You know, we didn't eat bread for nothing. In other words, he's like, we work for the food that we're eating. But rot with labor and prevail night and day that we may not be chargeable to any of you. Not because we have not power, but to make it ourselves and in samples unto you to follow us. To the apostle Paul saying, look, you know my way of life. You know that I'm not disorderly among you. And you know that I have not eaten your bread for not. Like I work night and day. I put in the hours. And it's not like I can't take from the charity of the church or get paid by the church to do this. The only reason I worked for my pay, for my food is to be an example to you so that you can work too. The apostle Paul is basically saying you need to learn how to work. Okay? He's talking about laboring, having a work ethic. He says in verse number 10, for when we were with you, this we commanded you that if any would not work, neither should he eat. What is he saying? If a person does not want to have a job, the great motivator to get a new job is hunger. When a person's hungry or if they just want things, that's like, you know, I just need to go get a job. Right? I just need to go work, get a job so I can eat, so I can pay the bills, so I can just have sustenance. Okay? But he says if no one's willing to work, don't let them eat. Because once that hunger kicks in, then it's just like, well, I'll do anything. I'll do any job. Where's Little Caesars at? I'll work there and then I'll eat the pizza afterwards or something. I'll take $5 out of my paycheck and buy a whole box for myself. And most of us can kill a whole box. Let's just be honest with you. I mean, I'll just admit that I can. I'll be the only humble one here to admit I can kill a whole box. Who can kill a whole box by themselves? Be honest. All the rest of you are liars. All liars. A bunch of holier than thou. Verse 11 says, For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all but our busy bodies. So the reason he went to the church at Thessalonica and presented himself as a person who labors, travails night and day to work for his food is because he was hearing that there's a bunch of lazy people in the church. They weren't working. They didn't have a job. And it says specifically that they're disorderly. So in other words, to be an orderly person is to have a job, right? To do things in orderly ways, to have a job, to provide for your family, to provide for yourselves. And he says that there are busy bodies. So what is the byproduct of being a lazy person who doesn't have a job? You become a busy body. In other words, you just become a gossiper. You get involved in things you're not supposed to be getting involved in. You're just kind of being lazy. And by the way, let me just say this. I don't believe he's referring to people who are like disabled in the church or something. Or you know some evils befallen them because they got injured or you know they were laid off or something like that. I think he's literally just referring to just lazy people in general. They just don't want to work. Okay. He says in verse 12, Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man, listen to this, obeyed not our word by this epistle, note that man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed. So he says if there's a lazy guy in the church, some lazy dude, okay, who just does not want to work, does not want to get a job, just lazy. He's eating bread for naught. He's just taking handouts by the church or by the compassion of others. The Bible's telling us here, note that man. What does it mean to note that? Mark that person. And it says have no company with him. Why? So that he can be ashamed of being a lazy bum. So let's take Geo, for example. Geo, you have a job. It's your fault for sitting in the front. You know, Geo is just lazy and just didn't want to work. And then he was just always asking for you to pay for his in and out when you guys went soul winning or something. And he's just, you know, just always taking these handouts, right? Because, you know, the church would help someone. Like if you were to go out and eat right now and you'd say, hey, can you spot me? Someone would spot you in the church, for sure. And not even think twice about it, right? But let's just say Geo's doing this like every week. And then one of the brothers is like, hey, have you thought about, do you have a job? And he's just like, no, I'm just working full time for the Lord, you know. I'm just a full time Christian, you know. That's what I'm doing. You know, after a while, we would tell him, like, well, you need to get a job, though, because if you're not working, you shouldn't eat. And, you know, God wants men to have diligence and to work and to labor and to provide for themselves and for their family. And he's just like, I'm good. I'm just going to, I do labor. I labor in the word. I go soul winning. I do all kinds of stuff, you know. It's like, yeah, but you also need, like, another job, though. Like, because the people in the church who soul win and labor in the word, they also have another job, you know. And he's just like, I get that, but I don't think I'm going to do it, you know. And he's just not repenting of that. The Bible says to note him. So we would say, this is Geo. He's a lazy person who does not want to get a job. Just want to let everyone know that. You're like, well, that's kind of mean. Wouldn't that make him embarrassed? Yeah. Wouldn't he be, like, ashamed? Yep. And what's the byproduct of being embarrassed and ashamed? Well, he's either going to leave the congregation or he's like, you know what, I need to go get a job because I don't want to be the only guy in our church who doesn't have a job because everyone knows I'm just a lazy bum and no girl's going to want Geo. Let me finish. Dramatic pause. If he doesn't have a job. Okay. Why did everyone laugh when I said that part? I wasn't even done yet. It's messed up. You know, because, you know, women in church, the girls in church, they're just like, they want men of character, men who have stable jobs. They can provide for them. And if Geo's not one of them, then it's just like, well, you know, they're not interested. They don't care how tall he is. They don't care if he got a new suit or a new haircut because they know someone else paid for that or something. Because the dude doesn't have a job. And I'm kidding. Geo has a job. That's why I even picked him out because I know he has a job. Okay. He's a hard worker. Right. He is. He is a hard worker. You know, but it says here, you know, if he didn't, he's just kind of whatever about it. He's just kind of, you know, not having a job. He's just a lazy person. The Bible says to note him. And you say, well, why don't you just let him be? Because then we'd be enabling him in his laziness. We would be enabling him in his slothfulness. And he's just like, well, you know, I just haven't found the right job yet. But let me explain to you what's the right job. The right job is the one that pays you. And whatever job you get, just know this. They're going to pay you more than whatever you're making now, which is zero. Right. And so get a job. And it's just like, well, yeah, but I don't want to work at some lame job. Folks, for the Christians, there's no such thing as a lame job because God and the Bible says in all labor, there's profit and God honors you in whatever job. It was like, well, what about like Little Caesars, though? That's a good job. It's a good job. You know, what about McDonald's? That's a great job. If that's what you can get, that's a great job. I'm just looking for a job that pays me this much. You need to just get a job that pays you, period. Okay. And I'm sick and tired of young people just always looking for the picture perfect job. And that's what impedes them from actually working. And they're just going from job to job to job to job. They work one week and they quit that job because it's just the boss is too mean or whatever. They don't pay them enough. They're not paying them accordingly. Well, then just stay there and make yourself valuable. Maybe you'll get a raise. But, you know, obviously the young people of this generation know a lot more than me, though. So I digress. Okay. But here we see that this is a very grievous thing, right? This is not pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. And God wants men to work. He wants men to provide for themselves and for their family and even then some to provide for others. Did you know that? Like God wants us not only for us to pay the bills and help our spouses and provide for our children. He actually wants us to go above and beyond that and be a blessing to others so that you can pay for a meal of a brother or sister in Christ so that you can have some extra to be a blessing. You know, God, that's that's what God's will is for our lives. Okay. Now, this should not only apply to our church, but also to the general public. Okay. Regarding working. And the reason I'm saying this this morning is because, you know, there's this like epidemic in our country of homelessness, homelessness in America. You know, all these poor people that are homeless in America. And that's what I want to talk about this morning. Now, let me first and foremost give you the definition of what it means to be poor. Okay. The definition of poor is essentially someone who is destitute of the basic necessities of life. Okay. Namely, housing and daily sustenance, food, clothing, raiment, shelter. If a person is destitute of those things, they don't have those things, they don't have the means to provide for those things, then that person would be considered, according to the Bible, as poor. Okay. Now, go with me, if you would. Turn to Proverbs chapter 29, if you would. And then we're going to go to Ecclesiastes chapter number 5. Ecclesiastes chapter 5. And the inspiration for this sermon is that the inspiration comes every time I get off the freeway. Every time, whatever freeway, I see this and it's like a new lesson for my children every time I get off the freeway. Because you have people, you know, on the exits of the freeway, just standing there able-bodied with a sign, and the signs just get more elaborate every single time, you know. And they're constantly asking for money, they're constantly asking for, actually they're only asking for money. Okay. And I was at this Starbucks a couple of days ago, or maybe it was last week or something, and I was leaving and there was a homeless person at the stoplight, okay, and he obviously looked homeless, and there was a line of cars, and he had a stack of money. He just had a stack of cash on him, and he's just kind of like counting his cash, he's like, my boy got more money than I do! I don't even have that much cash on me right now. And he's just kind of looking at everyone and then he kind of rolls it up, he's all, you know, and then he puts it away and I'm just like, what in the world is going on here? And you know, there's people who, they gave him that money! There's people who actually gave him that money, and they gave him those things, and you know, why? Because of the fact that they have compassion for those individuals. You know, a lot of people who give money to these individuals, these so-called homeless, it's because they have pity towards them, they have mercy upon them, they have compassion, and obviously there might be other motives, but I think in general, it's people who have compassion towards these individuals, but what they don't understand is that they're enabling them, not helping them, they're enabling them, and let me just say this, whatever money they're using, or they're getting from individuals who give them money, they're not using it just like, oh man, now I can finally have three meals a day. I can finally pay my rent or something like that. I can finally do this. More is like, it's more like now I can finally get some more fentanyl. That's what it is. But I don't want to get ahead of myself here. And so, and let me just say this, obviously our default setting as Christians, and listen to me, our default setting as Christians should always be that we love the poor. Right? We should never be hardened towards the poor, and just think, eh, no, the Bible from Genesis to Revelation teaches us the importance of being compassionate and loving and providing for the poor. And never grow cold in that area and have this attitude that you're better than everyone, we're not for the grace of God, you'd probably be there too. And here's the thing, we cannot have this hardened attitude towards poor people and just kind of turn a blind eye to them. But does this mean that we should just help every homeless person that we see and give them a buck every time a panhandler comes and asks us for a dollar or whatever? No. And I'll tell you why. Look at Proverbs 29 verse number seven. The reason why we shouldn't do this because it's actually wicked to do that. Verse number seven of Proverbs 29 says the righteous considerth the cause of the poor, listen to this, but the wicked regardeth not to know it. So what is the Bible telling us here? A righteous person will look at a poor individual, that person who's off the freeway, a homeless individual, and say why is that person in the situation that they're in? But you know these pompous, holier than thou individuals in our society will say it doesn't matter. We should just give them and help them. Well the Bible says the wicked regardeth not to know it. So the wicked is the person who says I don't care how they got into that position or to that state, into that situation, I'm just going to buy them a tent anyways. I'm just going to give them 20 bucks anyways. I'm just going to bring them food anyways. I'm just going to do this anyways. The Bible says that's actually wicked to do. Because a righteous person discerneth all things, they're able to judge situations, and God expects for us to judge the cause of the poor. Because he doesn't want us to invest his resources, our time, in enabling someone else in their vice and in their sin. Why? Because the Bible says to not be a partaker of other men's sins. So when you help a person, you give them 20 bucks, you know, and you're just like, well I'm just going to believe that they're just getting groceries with that. But you know for a fact that they're probably going to buy crack or fentanyl or whatever, oxytocin. You know, is it oxy, no, oxycotton. Oxytocin is the stuff that women produce. Sorry. They both have oxy in it. Oxycotton, I lost my train of thought. You know, you turn a blind eye that they're probably going to purchase that, you're enabling them in that vice. You're like, well how do you know? Well, come on folks, let me just... We all know a drug addict when we see one. If he's just like, you know, if he's doing a monologue in the middle of the street, he's probably not trying to get 20 bucks for groceries. He's trying to keep that monologue going. That's what he wants the 20 bucks for. We need to consider the cause of the poor. Why are they in that state? Why are they homeless? Why are they destitute? Well, let me just give you a couple reasons according to the Bible why certain individuals are poor. Because the poor, poor people do exist. And I would even say there's maybe some poor people in America. There probably is. Okay. But let me explain to you, according to the Bible, reasons for poverty. Okay. I'm going to give you a couple reasons here and I could come up with a lot more, but these ones are the most important ones. Okay. You're in Ecclesiastes chapter number five. Number one is oppression. People become poor when they are oppressed. That means that another individual, you know, based upon their own evil will is exercising that evil will upon another person oppressing them to take them of their money to rob them, whatever it may be. Now, what does this look like? Well, you know, how about just withholding wages? That's a form of oppression that can lead to poverty. Okay. Now, this isn't necessarily something that we see or is rampant here in America, although I'm sure it does exist to a certain extent. But it is an issue. Okay. When people just withhold wages and, you know, they're not being paid according to their labor. And I'll give you an extreme example of this. You know, regardless of what you think about immigrants or whether immigrants should be here. A lot of people have a lot of strong views on immigration. Just like Mexicans should not be here. And, you know, all these, you know, brown people and Mexicans should not be here. Well, let me just say this. You better be thankful these Mexicans came over because I wouldn't be the pastor here if they didn't. I was born here, by the way. So, you know, I get what you're saying. I'm not one of them. No, I'm just kidding. My parents are immigrants. And, you know, if my parents had not come over here as immigrants, I wouldn't have gotten saved. I'm thankful they came here because America is the place of the gospel where the gospel is being preached. I got saved. My mom got saved. So I don't I don't give a rip about someone's political view of immigration because at the end of the day, you know, the mission field apparently is coming over to us. You know, millions of people have been have heard the word of God. Thousands of people have gotten saved. Tens of thousands have been saved. And so, you know, the immigration problem should not be an issue that Christians are trying to fight. You're a little too Republican. OK, you need to get back in line with God's word. But, you know, there are immigrants here and they do work. And you know what? I've heard of some horror stories of people who hire immigrants to do some sort of job. And then once they're done, they're just like, oh, I'm not paying you anything. And if you say anything, I'm going to call ice on you or something. That's wicked, because from a biblical perspective, that person deserves the wages according to his labor. And when you withhold that, that's what the Bible refers to as oppression. And the Bible has strong language to use against an oppressor of the poor. Like God hates the oppressors of the poor when they withhold wages and they say, I'm not going to pay you. The Bible tells us that you shouldn't muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. OK, regardless of your political view, if that person puts in the labor, you should pay that individual and not withhold wages. OK, the Bible tells us in Leviticus 19, verse 13, Thou shalt not defraud thy brother, neither rob him. The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. So if you're a boss, he's like, you better never withhold wages from your employee and just like, well, I'm going to keep this for the rest of the week until I make sure they get the job done. If they work for what you told them to do and they completed the job, you pay them. OK, that's what the Bible tells us. But what's another form of oppression? How about excessive taxation? Taxes is basically robbery. It's theft. And we see that here. But how about communist countries? Right. Look at Ecclesiastes 6, verse 1 says, There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and is common among men, a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth. Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it. This is vanity and it is an evil disease. And you know what? Communism is an evil disease, my friend. Excessive taxation, where they rob individuals. Another form of oppression is usury, right? High interest rates. Yes, thank you. All you replacement theology lovers out there. Usury is a form of oppression as well. And of course, at its most basic level, a form of oppression is just theft. Okay? And you know, there's individuals out there who do home invasions. They'll steal your car just to get your catalytic converter. They will, you know, they'll just rob you because they want money, because they're greedy, a filthy looker, they're wicked people. And so people who fall under this canopy of being poor because of oppression, that's not their fault. Right? So, you know, if an individual in our church is here and let's say they don't have their papers or something, you know, but they're out there working and, you know, they're laboring to provide for their family, we should have no quarrels with that. And if a person falls into some ill of, you know, some boss who chooses not to pay them and they need some help, we should help that person. We should help that person because he was oppressed by an individual who chose to withhold wages. But not only that, you know, if a person is, you know, someone steals that individual's resources, takes their car, you know, breaks into their home, whatever it may be, Christians should obviously go out and try to help that person because they were a victim of someone else's oppression. You understand? They can't control those things. And so there are oppressed individuals in our society, you know, and it's not BLM, by the way, okay? We're talking about actual oppressed people who, you know, have some evil come upon them because of someone else's ill intentions. You understand? The Bible says in Proverbs 22 verse 16, you're in Ecclesiastes, go to chapter number nine if you would, chapter number nine of Ecclesiastes, I'm going to read to you from Proverbs 22 verse 16 says, He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches and he that giveth to the rich shall surely come to want. Ecclesiastes chapter number five, you're in chapter nine, I'm going to read to you from chapter five verse eight says, If thou sees the oppression of the poor and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter for he that is higher than the highest regardeth it and there be higher than they. So what is he saying? You know, God takes notice when people are being oppressed, even in the United States or in other countries. And let me just say this, obviously we live on a greatest nation on the face of the planet. America is the greatest nation on the face of the planet. And obviously we know that it's wicked, but it's like better a hundred times better, a bajillion times better than everywhere else. Okay. We have it made in the shade in America because there's parts all around the world where some stupid ancestor of, you know, a hundred years ago rejected the gospel, hated the Lord Jesus Christ, embraced Hinduism, embraced Buddhism and made that law and made that the common religion of the land. And now the people, generations thereafter are suffering the consequences of their ancestors' rejection of Jesus Christ. And that's why they're in the state that they're in. Oh, there's poor people in India. Yeah, well, duh, because they're not eating the cows that are just walking right in front of them. They're like, we're not going to eat this cow because it's our ancestor. So it's like their false religion has taught them that this four by four, pre pre four by four is their ancestor and therefore they starve. So they're suffering the consequences of their ancestors' rejection of the Bible, their ancestors' rejection of the gospel. And now they've embraced this doctrine and this false religion that has placed them in the state that they're in. That's why they're poor. Okay. You know, America, we don't necessarily have that issue. Now, obviously we have people in America who are trying to turn people vegan, but no one's buying into that nonsense. It's just like try the meatless burger, you know, try the meatless burger. It's like if veganism is so great, why do you have to make your food taste like meat? And you know what? When people, when they try to just shove veganism and vegetarianism down my throat, it makes me want to be just more aggressive in my eating habits and just kind of show off that I just eat meat and kill animals and just eat them for pleasure. Thanksgiving's coming, my friends. You know, when brother Chevy brought that pig and he was just chilling, you know, just fried right there in the fellowship hall. This is a beautiful sight. I don't remember where I was going with it, but countries like that are vegan and vegetarian. And you know what? You know, there's poor people in Southeast Asia. Yes, but you have to understand that that nation is in that condition because they're praying to a false god. So we've got to help them. I get we should bring them the gospel, but let me just say this. You're not going to change that nation because that nation is suffering the consequences of hating the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't be an enabler and try to think, well, you know, we can just reform this nation. No, you can save the individuals in that nation for sure. But that nation is not going to be changed into, it's not going to be Christianized because they have all altars on every corner. You pray to false gods. That's what they love. That's what they embrace. And America is not like that. In general, America would be considered like a Christian nation. And it's far more Christian than other nations in the world. So we have so many churches here. We're preaching God's word. So many things done, you know, in great numbers throughout the country. People are getting saved every single week, not just in our church, but in fundamental Baptist churches that are not new IFB or new evangelical churches. There's churches that are out there preaching the gospel, you know, and it's because the decisions that people who came before us made to not be like the unto the heathen. So what are some reasons why poverty comes upon people? Well, as I mentioned, oppression, but also, let me say this, time and chance. OK, look at chapter nine, verse 11. It says, I returned and saw unto the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, yet neither yet bred to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill. But time and chance happeneth to them all. You know, sometimes people are poor only because of the fact maybe they're born with disabilities. Right. They're born with some disabilities. They're born blind or born deaf. They're born without their legs. They have some ill that came upon them they have no control over. OK, natural disasters. How about that? Acts of God or just comes and just destroys their home, destroys everything that they have. They can't control that. Some disease comes upon them. They can't control that. You know, some disease comes upon a husband. He dies. And now the widow is left to bear the responsibility of the family. And now they're barely making ends meet. They can't control that. OK, injuries, unexpected medical bills. Right. Unplanned expenses. These are the ills of life that we have no control over. You know, it's just like I snap my arm or something. I break my leg. You know, that's a medical expense. And it's not because I'm like a wicked person or something like that. It's just this is the way life is. There's injuries, there's things that come upon a person. Time and chance happening to them all. OK, let me read to you from Leviticus 25 verse 35 says, And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shall relieve him. Yea, thou though he be a stranger or sojourner that he may live with thee, take down no usury of him or increase. But fear thy God that thy brother may live with thee. So the Bible is telling us here that, you know, if a person has time and chance happened to them, where they have some sort of disease, they're disabled in certain ways and they're struggling to make ends meet, we should help that person. We should relieve that individual, you know, buy them groceries. They're just like, you know, I just need to get back on my feet. It's like, well, let's help them pay the bills. Let's help that family with the groceries. Let's help that person with gas money until they can get back on their feet and start working again or do whatever they need to do. OK. Because that's not their fault. And in fact, James chapter two, very famous passage of scripture tells us, If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you saying to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, notwithstanding you give them not those things which are evil to the body, what does the profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone. God's saying, if you see your brother and sister in Christ and they're needing something and you're just like, well, God bless you, brother. God's going to take care of you or something. That's not right. If you see the need, take the lead. Amen. And you say, well, you know, yeah, but I'm I'm barely making it to I will say this. You know, you can never outgive God. And when the Bible tells us that when we give to the poor, it's like we're lending unto the Lord. And God is not a delinquent derelict or something that won't pay you back. And in fact, he gives you abundantly above all that we can ask or think. You know, one of the greatest formulas to having God provide for you is that you bless others. And it's always like this competition with God sometimes. You bless others and God just blesses you. And you're just like, well, I'm just going to keep giving more and God just gives you more because he realizes that whatever resources he's given to you, you're you're using it as a funnel to be a blessing to another person. Okay. Bible says in Matthew 542, Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow thee, turn not thou away. Go to Genesis chapter number four, if you will, Genesis chapter four. So what are the reasons for poverty? Number one is oppression. Number two is just time and chance. But here's the last reason, and I think is the biggest reason why there's so much poverty in the United States. Self-inflicted wounds. So what are you talking about? These homeless people out here are not homeless because they're oppressed. They're not homeless because time and chance happened to them. They're homeless because they want to be homeless. That's not right. Well, you know, one out of every 200 people of Californians are homeless. So approximately 195,000 people in California in California are homeless. And in fact, it's said that California actually has 50 percent of all homeless people in America. 50 percent. And the only one who's who runs like second to us is Texas. So like they're next in line. Okay. Why are they in that situation? Well, the Bible actually refers to them. Listen to this. And we need to bring this word back. Vagabonds. Vagabonds is what they are. Look at Genesis four, verse number nine. The Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood quieted unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive that brother's blood from thy hand? When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. What is a vagabond? Someone who just wanders around. And this is a particular specific curse that God placed on Cain for his iniquity. So part of his curse was that he was going to be homeless, wandering about, not having a permanent habitation. This is actually a curse from God. So, hey, young people, don't envy those people just because they got tents out there. Oh, man, it would be so cool to just have a tent out there living among the rats and the roaches and diseases. No, that's actually considered a curse because God's intention for us is to have homes, to have shelter, is to have food, is to have consistency in our life and not be dependent upon others for our provisions. OK, the Bible says in Proverbs 26, verse 2, As snow in the summer and as rain in the harvest, so honours not seemly for a fool as the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. Their curse, and it's not like for just no reason. They're in that situation for a particular reason, OK? Let's talk about panhandlers for a minute. These people make a lot of money. You can't call these people poor. Now, the definition of poor is that they don't have a home, but here's the thing, they actually don't want a home. Definition of being poor is that they don't have the daily sustenance, but they actually do have that. Panhandlers make about $10 per hour on average. This varies greatly depending on what state the panhandler is in. In California, panhandlers reportedly made anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour. In some cases, panhandlers were receiving food, beverages, clothing and other supplies in addition to cash. So aside from the fact that they're getting all this money, they have other people who just buy them food. And I know this for a fact because I too fell into this trap of providing for them. And then when I bought them food, it was just like, oh, can I just get this meal instead? And I think to myself, is this guy really hungry? Like if I was broke, and I was homeless, and I was destitute of food, I would take Del Taco. To the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. I would not complain about Del Taco. I would take it. But these guys are like picky though. So they're getting supplies, they're getting beverages, they're getting food, they're getting clothing along with money. And here's the thing is that you also have, let me explain something. Is that in our nation, there's actually no reason why anybody should be homeless. Because of the fact that the structure of our government, whether we agree with it or not, is structured in such a way that people can literally have housing for free if they want to. I mean with Section 8, you pay 30% of your gross income for rent, but if you just have no money to pay, they'll just pay 100%. What does the government provide? Well, they'll give you $250 for food, CalFresh food stamps, and then they'll just give you $619 cash. Just to, you know, do whatever you want. So they'll give you up to $800 just to have food, and then to just have fun money. And this doesn't include the money that they make out panhandling. They'll give you mental health services, free healthcare, medical, some dental. They'll give you temporary housing, they'll give you a free cell phone, they'll give you an Obama phone. Permanent housing through Section 8 housing, vouchers, free or severely discounted. I mean this is like, this is what our country has. So that's why it's just like, there's really no such thing as like a homeless person in America who is just forced into that position of being homeless. Because of the fact that our government is structured in such a way that if that person really wanted help, they can get help abundantly above what they want. You say, why do they do it up to a year of free housing? The government does it so that you can get on your feet in a year's time and actually get a job and whatever and do that and pay for your necessities. But let me read this article to you because this article blew my mind. And after this you'll realize there's no such thing as homeless people in our country. I'm not going to give to these derelicts. I'm not going to give to these people. This is a guy who was interviewed. He's a homeless person who was interviewed regarding homelessness. Let me just read this, okay? I get paid to be homeless in San Francisco, he says. He literally said like, I don't want to have a home. I don't want to have a job because I actually get paid by the government to be homeless. He says it takes only one phone call. Old school junkie says he moved to Woke City because he gets paid $620 a month that pays for his Amazon Prime and Netflix. So, you know, he gets $600, he's like, I'm going to go big five, get me a nice big tent, get all the stuff that I need, takes it to the river bed, gets his Obama phone, downloads Netflix and Disney Plus. There you go. James, a self-proclaimed junkie, lives in San Francisco. Says the city's soft on crime policies and government assistance makes it easy to be homeless. He shared how he received $620 in cash, $200 for food stamps each month while he sells Narcon to addicts and enjoys streaming services on his phone. So this guy, they came to him and they're like, why are you homeless? He's like, well, I get paid to be homeless here. And he says, this is what they do. One phone call away, they'll give me all this money. And then also, on top of that, he sells Narcon, which is basically the antidote if someone overdoses on fentanyl. So he sells Narcon to individuals. So, like, you know, if someone comes to him, because he even describes how someone came to him asking for OxyContin, he's like, look, I'm going to take you, just give me your money, I'm going to take you to get fentanyl instead. And then take this, and I'm going to show both of you guys, these 15-year-olds, by the way, I'm going to show you guys how to do this drug properly so you don't kill yourselves. And if your friend starts dying because of this drug, you put this into their body, you inject this into them, and then you guys will be just fine. So he gives them a tutorial on how to do drugs. He provides the antidote. So he's making money off the government, 600 bucks. He gets the food stamps, and I'm sure he's panhandling as well. And then he's also getting money for selling, you know, Narcon or whatever, the antidote to fentanyl, and he's also making money off of fentanyl. And then he talks about how the police are like his neighbors. He goes to the police and he's just like, hey, why don't you arrest some of these drug dealers? And you're like, for what? Because he's like, he tells them, this guy's dealing drugs, would you be willing to arrest him? Would you be willing to arrest him? He's just like, the police is like, no, before. He's like, this is a sanctuary for homeless people. They want to kind of just keep them there and make like a safe space for drug addicts. And then he talks about like people die all the time. He's like, this is a dead dude right over there. He's been dead for like four days. No one cares. This is not poverty, my friends. It's crazy. He says he also blames the cops for failing to arrest foreign-born dealers, alleging the police are getting paid with fentanyl. He said, well, I thought you said it's not bad for these immigrants to come over. No, you know what's bad is when the government doesn't institute rightful punishments for wicked doers. You can't just say, all Mexicans are rapists. All Mexicans are just drug dealers. Because that's not true. Then what are we going to do about, you know, all the rape and the pedophilia that comes from different countries? You put them to death. Like you do with anybody who commits those wicked crimes. Hello? It's like, what are we supposed to do? We can't, we got to build this wall and allow these immigrants to come in because then they're going to commit all these crimes. Then issue the rightful punishment for those individuals. And you're not going to have those problems. And in fact, it'll fix all problems of all races. If you just institute biblical punishments for these crimes, okay? He says, I've talked to the cops here. I'm literally 10 feet away from the drug dealers talking to you guys. Why don't you go arrest them right now? And they're like, arrest them for what? San Francisco is a sanctuary city. We arrest the Hondurans and we put them in jail. They're out in two days. If they're letting the Hondurans deal on the corner every day, somebody's getting paid with fentanyl. He's implying that some of these police obviously are corrupt. No big surprise, right? So he's helping them with all these things and I mean, I can keep going on with this article. But he's just exposing, and by the way, this guy's from Texas. Hey, you know what I hear a lot? It's like, don't California my Texas. Well, stop Texas-ing our California. So the worst possible derelict, homeless, drug addict guy comes to California from Texas. And then Texas gets all the best people of California basically. So it's like, he's from, that's where he's from. You know, he talks about how people use out there, they overdose all the time. And how he just deals drugs and he's just kind of living the life. Living the life that he wants to live. He says, you know, he just makes money, has no problem with money. He doesn't want a home. He has a nice little tent on the street. No one's bothering him. The police are not going to bother him. You know, no one's bothering him. They're just doing all types of drugs, getting involved in all types of filth and perversion out there. And, you know, nothing's going to happen. Nothing's going to take place. And obviously this is in San Francisco. And so, you know, you kind of wonder, why is this happening in San Francisco? Oh, because it's a fag city, that's why. So this is part of God's judgment upon that city. Okay, so what about Hollywood? Hollywood's like that, yeah. It's a fag city as well. When you have sodomy rampant like that, then God just brings some of the worst judgment upon that city. Okay, and he just allows them to just destroy themselves. Because a lot of these people are sodomites too. Okay, not all of them, but I'm sure many of them are. Anyways, this guy basically is just telling everyone, like, there's no reason to have a home, there's no reason. What I'm trying to get at here is that people allow their compassion and their pity to get the best of them when looking at these people. Like, we've got to get this guy a new sleeping bag. They're struggling. They need, you know, blankets. They can get all that stuff. They probably have more money than you. Our government is situated in such a way that it just enables these people not only to have all the basic necessities, but even to just be completely entangled into their vice and just destroyed. And obviously, maybe that's what the government wants. But let me just explain something real quick before we finish up. Because at the time of the sermon as enaglers, we shouldn't enable these people. We shouldn't enable anybody who's involved in vice. You know, it's not considered enabling if a person is oppressed and they need help, okay. And let me just say this, like, you know, these programs that the government has obviously could be beneficial to someone who actually needs it for a temporary time. Some lady who lost her husband and is struggling, you know, can easily use that to get back on their feet, get a job, and then just, you know. But here's the thing, people of integrity never go to the government. People of like discipline and character typically never go to the government for help. They typically never do. Because of the fact, like, my wife just told me someone about a person who attends another church who's actually homeless right now. He attends that church and he's homeless and he owned a business and it just fell apart and all his money went away. And then he's just like, I'm not taking any government assistance. He goes, I live in my car, I'm rebuilding my business, and I'll be back on my feet, up on my feet in a couple months. Because he's just a person of character and discipline. But, you know, we would say to that person, like, there's nothing wrong with you actually getting some assistance from the government for a temporary time until you get on your feet. But because he's such a person of discipline and character, he's like, I don't want that. You know what I mean, like, I know how to make money, I just, evil fell upon him, so he just wants to rebuild again. So the thing is, is that it's often the derelicts, the people with no character, the people with no discipline, receiving government aid when they could be doing something like working. Let me just say this, no young man in our church better be on that government aid stuff. Better not be walking around with no Obama phone either. If you're a young man, you're able-bodied, go get a job. Shameful if some young man in our church who's able-bodied and is in church and knows what God's word says would be willing to do something like that. But the Bible lays out tiers of assistance. Because I'm not saying the government can't or shouldn't help people because in the Bible, this is the way it's actually supposed to work. If someone falls ill into some financial woe or some difficulty in their life where they become destitute of the necessities of life, the Bible actually lays out that the immediate family should help that person. The children should help that person, their immediate family should take care of them. The Bible specifically talks about that. But if they have no immediate family, then the general public or even churches should help that individual. But in order for churches to help that individual, that individual has to be in church. And the reason I say this is because sometimes people look at the Simon First Works Baptist Church and they pronounce it differently. They pronounce it A-T-M. It's weird. They see a church and they're like, oh, that must be a place where I can just take advantage of people and take people's money or whatever and just get handouts. But I learned a long time ago never to do that. I remember years ago when we started our church plant back in 2009, I was there at the church and it was like a Wednesday night. We just finished the service and this lady walks in and she's like, I need some help. And I'm like, what's wrong? I just need some money. And she started talking about the issues that she's experiencing and how evil befell her or whatever. And I was like, you know what? I barely have any cash on me. What I'll do is just wait here. I'm going to go talk to some of the people in the church and see what we can collect to just give you some money so you can at least buy dinner, I said. So a lot of people had already left. So there's only a couple of people and we scrounged up like 25 bucks, which 25 bucks back in 2019 can get you a lot of double cheeseburgers and McDonald's. I know this. I know this. So I came and I had those $25 and I gave it to her and she says, that's it? And she's all and she just like walked out and as she walked out, my compassion walked out with her. And I realized, like, oh, I see how it is. This person doesn't need money. This person is not struggling. It was a humbling experience for me because I felt like ashamed. I felt embarrassed that I would even go out to help someone like that. Now, look, we're going to go Lord, when will we be in Belize next week? There are actually poor people there. Poor individuals in Belize for sure. And I guarantee if I gave that person some poor individual in Belize 25 bucks to them, it's just like the Lord just opened the gates of heaven. The windows of heaven just dropped them a blessing. They would not complain about that. Other countries are just a lot different, my friends. And so, yes, churches should help, but they obviously should be involved in church in order for us to help them. It's not like we're just going to help every Tom, Dick, and Harriet that comes to our church. Now, if an individual comes in, has a seat, comes and talks and just says, I'm hungry, you know what? I will buy that person a meal, of course. But any assistance other than that, any benevolence that we want to show to people other than that, they would have to be members of our church. Understand? Now, immediate family, general public, and then the government should step in if those things are not available. And the way the government should assist, according to the Bible, is that instead of overreaching like they typically do, like they always do, they should basically enforce vineyards and owners of fields not to glean the corners of the field and allow these poor people to go and pick up that little strawberries or whatever and the fruits of the fields or whatever so they can have sustenance of some sort. And obviously, that's never going to happen this side of eternity. And the government has already instituted a system that's actually very detrimental and is destroying people's lives. But I want to preach this just to show people. Go with me to, go to Mark chapter 14, if you will, Mark chapter 14. This is the last portion of scripture. I want to preach this to make sure that our compassion and our pity is in the right place. Okay? We need to pity and have compassion and have mercy towards the right type of people. We should have it towards everyone. Not necessarily. Because there's actually verses in the Bible where God says, don't pity. So that means if you were to pity, you would be disobeying God. Well, I know that's what the Bible says, I just feel. Take your feelings to the freaking homeless shelter or to the riverbed and you leave it right there. Okay? And by the way, let me share another story since Brother Albert's here. I remember Brother Albert and I, because of our compassion and our pity, we're like, let's go to the riverbed. This is years ago. And let's go preach the gospel, you know, to the people who are in the riverbed. And I said, you know, I don't know, how many hot dogs did we make? We made a lot of hot dogs. We made all these hot dogs, we wrapped them up, we had bottled water. And we're like, we'll take them food and they'd be willing to listen to the gospel. And we went there and, you know, I think like maybe two people got saved. But the majority of them didn't even care for the hot dog. They're just kind of like, hot dog? They're just kind of like, they can have something better, you know? But I remember one person in particular that I will never forget and Brother Albert will never forget, his name was John. We went into the depths of the riverbed, under the bridge. And I'm telling you, there's like a city down there. The way it's even laid out with the tents and everything, like opening doors, it's just like, it's crazy. And it was dark, for some reason we went at night. I'm not even sure why we did that. God bless us, you know, it's just like... So we go there at night and, you know, we took someone with us who used to be homeless who kind of fixed up his life. And he would say like, hey, you got to be careful when you climb down these rocks because these homeless people will actually stick hyperdermal needles up so that you can slip and fall. You know, they're like booby traps and stuff. And it was just like, oh man, what are we doing? So we go to this area under the bridge and, you know, we're going into the tents and we're trying to preach the gospel to these people. And we go into this one particular tent and we give him an invite and he's just like, oh, I'm already saved. And this guy looked like trash. I mean, he just looked like trash. I'm like, really? And he's just like, yeah, in fact, I used to be a missionary. And we're like, oh, like you're called to be a missionary? He goes, no, I was on the mission field. And he had the right gospel. He used to be, I mean, he used to be a Baptist. He was a PK, pastor's kid. He was a missionary who was on the field. And you know what? In my mind, I'm like, I believe you. I believe you. You say, why? Because look where he's at. It's like he's there because he's disobeying God. He's living. He's like a lot living amongst all these reprobates. And the guy next to him was just like on a trip or something. He was just kind of like. And I'm like, let's focus on you. You know what I mean? Like, this guy is not here. He's not here. You know, he was like tripping out or something. And John was there. And John just like, I'm saved. I'm just backslidden. I'm like, really? I didn't notice that, you know? Like, I don't even know if that could even be considered just backslidden because it's like he reached the back already. Like he slid back so bad, it just already hit the wall. It's like no one's ever been there before. You're like the only one who's there, you know? But he was there living among. You think that's God's blessing on him? Absolutely not. He's in there doing drugs and he's miserable. And he knew, he's like, I'm far away from him. I'm far from God. I'm so far from God. I backslidden. And he's like, but I'm just not willing to come back. And you know what? I guarantee you that guy's probably dead right now. Probably dead. Now, let me just address this real quick and I'm done. You say, well, you said we should be a blessing to the poor. So how do we do that? Because sometimes there's these social gospel preachers out there that try to say like, we always got to be feeding the poor. Why don't you guys have a food drive? Why don't you guys give out clothes? Why don't you guys try to provide for the poor? Because that's not our main responsibility, that's why. And you know what? These people who just want to feed the poor and not preach the gospel unto them, you know, all they're doing is making them comfortable until they go to hell. Because what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? That's what the Bible says. And although giving to the poor and being kind to the poor and not oppressing the poor is God's will for the Christian, it's not the priority, my friends. You say, well, how do you know that? Look at Mark chapter 14 and verse number 7. Jesus speaking here says in verse number 7, For ye have the poor with you always. What does that mean? Poor people are always going to be around. They're always going to be around. They're around in Jesus' day. They're around today. They're always going to be here. You're never going to run out of an opportunity to meet a poor person. For ye have the poor with you always, and listen to this, and when so ever ye will, ye may do them good, but me ye have not always. What is he saying? You have poor people always with you, and whenever you want, you can do good unto them. Doesn't sound like he just wants us to have a ministry towards the poor. He says, look, you're always going to have them here, so just make sure that whenever you will, at your discretion, whenever you want, you can do good unto them. You know what that tells me? That these preachers need to shut up and stop trying to push their social gospel on us and try to say we're not good Christians if we're not giving to the poor. When so ever I will, I may do good unto the poor. That's what the Bible says. You say, why? Because of the fact that when he says, me ye have not always, we can interpret that also as saying people will die, right? Because he's saying, I'm going to die. You're not going to have an opportunity to be a blessing to me. Well, you know, there's people out there who are going to die without Christ, and that's far more important than clothing and feeding them is giving them the gospel, getting them saved because once they die, you know what? When they're in hell, they're not thinking about EBT. They're not thinking about what kind of food. The only food that they're thinking about is that cool water to dip on their tongue that it may cool them because they're tormented in that flame. That's all they're thinking about. And so the message today is do good unto all men, but especially of those in the household of faith, and the Bible says, when you have that opportunity, as we therefore have opportunity. We don't go out and look for the opportunity. Just as we're serving God, preaching the gospel, if the opportunity presents itself, you can do good into the poor. If you choose not to, nothing wrong with that. But for sure, don't oppress the poor. Do not oppress the poor. Do not despise the poor. And if you choose to do good into them, you better make sure you're not enabling some derelict out there who's hooked on fentanyl and they're doing crack and they're just disobeying the Lord. You better make sure that that person is legitimately a poor individual because if not, you're just enabling them. Let's not be a church of enablers of wicked devices. Let's judge righteously. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word and Lord, thank you for providing for us. And I pray that we take and give heed unto the Bible and to consider the cause of the poor, Lord. And Lord, give us opportunities to be a blessing to the poor when it comes. But more than that, of course, help us to keep preaching the gospel on the forefront of our minds, Lord. And I pray that you'd help us to do so, Lord. We love you so much and we thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Yonder on Calvary's melt out poured There where the blood of the Lamb was filled Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin Sin and despair like the sea waves pull Threaten the soul with infinite loss Grace, grace, God's grace Grace untold points to the refuse of mighty cross Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin Dark is a stain that we cannot hide What can avail to watch it all wait? Look, there is slowly a crimson tide Wider than so you may be today Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace Freely bestowed on all who believe You that are longing to see His face Grace, grace, God's grace Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin Amen, wonderful singing, but before we dismiss We're going to sing happy birthday to our pastor It's not today, but it's going to be on Tuesday So make sure to remember that We're going to sing happy birthday to Pastor Medea Ready, sing it out Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear pastor Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, Pastor Happy birthday, Pastor