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

Together nice and strong on that first verse. Though the angry surges roll On my tempest-driven soul I am peaceful for I know Wildly though the winds may blow I'm an anchor safe and sure That can evermore endure And it holds, my anchor holds Though your wildest den of gale But my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds Mighty tides about me sweep Perils lurk within the deep Angry clouds o'ershade the sky And the tempest rises high Still I stand, the tempest shock For my anchor grips the rock And it holds, my anchor holds Though your wildest den of gale But my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds I can feel the anchor fast As I meet each sudden blast And the cable go unseen Bears the heavy strain between Through the storm I safely ride Till the turning of the tide And it holds, my anchor holds Though your wildest den of gale But my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds On the last troubles almost wound the soil Breeze like billows or before Tenders seek to lure astray Storms obscure the light of day I can be roamed I've an anchor that shall hold And it holds, my anchor holds Though your wildest den of gale But my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for giving us another day. That we can come here to your house, hear the preaching of your word, and sing these hymns unto you. We ask that you would please just bless the service, every aspect of it, that you bless the singing. And please fill Passover here with your spirit as he preaches unto us, Lord, that we may leave here changed. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Please turn your songbooks to song number 220. Song number 220, Jesus is all the world to me. Song number 220, all together on that first verse. Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all. He is my strength from day to day, Without Him I would fall. When I am sad to Him I go, No other one can cheer me so. When I am sad He makes me glad, He's my friend. Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all. I go to Him for blessings and He gives them more and more. He sends the sunshine and the rain, He sends the harvest, gold and grain, Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain, He's my friend. Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all. Oh, how could I, this friend, deny When He's so true to me? Following Him I know I'm right, He wants to follow me day and night. Following Him by day and night, He's my friend. Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all. I trust Him now, I'll trust Him when Life's fleeting days shall end. Beautiful life with such a friend, Beautiful life that has no end. Eternal life, eternal joy, He's my friend. All right, great scene. Thank you for being here this morning. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will be 148. Jesus, Only Jesus, if you want to, I'm sorry, song number 10, 148 is the last song. Song number 10, Near the Cross, if you want to get that ready. In your song books, if you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand, and one of the ushers can get one for you. Important information on there. 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, so we hope to see you tonight at 5. And of course for our midweek Bible study at 7 o'clock on Thursday. Currently going through the book of Matthew, so hope to see you there. We are a family integrated church, and so infants and children stay with their parents in the service. But for your convenience, there is a mother baby room located in the back of the building should your child need some diversion. And changing tables, screens, and speakers are available there as well. And you can use it at your discretion and bring them back in whenever you feel that they're ready. And then you see there on the left hand side, I'll go over that in just a bit, the First Works family night summer calendar. But look on the right hand side there. We have the Samaria soul winning on Monday, June 12th. Meet at the building at 1130. You can see Brother Ulysses Hernandez for more details. And then Father's Day is coming up. We'll have a Father's Day service on Sunday, June 18th. Invite your dads to come to the service. We will have a gift for all the dads that come on that day to honor them. And then we have the Fourth of July church picnic coming up on Tuesday, July 4th. And then a men's prayer night on Friday, July 7th, 7 p.m. at the church building. We will have dinner for everyone who comes on that evening. Back to the left hand side there. We're going to have family nights just coming up, something we do on an annual basis. And we're just going to have different themed weeks there. The first night is going to be carnival night. And so what we're going to do, we're actually asking the landlord if we can use the parking lot here. And we're going to have a jumper for the kids. We're going to have cotton candy. All the stuff that carnivals have except for the clowns. We're probably not going to have clowns because I don't like clowns. I've had a phobia of clowns since I was a kid. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not kidding about that actually. And there's a possibility we might even have a mechanical bull. And so I probably won't be riding it, but you guys can do it. And we'll be filming that and using it to blackmail later. No, I'm just kidding. But we're having a carnival night. It's going to be fun. We're going to have games for all the kids and just a great way to start off the summer there. And so I want to encourage you to be there. And then we're going to have an ice cream social on July 16th. Kids Olympics. How many of you remember the Kids Olympics from last year? That was intense. That was like the apex of the family nights with the tug of war and everything. So we're going to have the Kids Olympics then. And then on that same night is going to be a men's preaching night. So a couple of the men from the church are going to be preaching on that evening. And we'll possibly even have pizza thereafter. And then we'll conclude the family nights with the church bonfire on August 4th. And that will be at Newport Beach as we had it last year. We had a great time. And so we'll give you more info as we approach that date. But we're looking forward to it. Look on the right-hand side there, of course, the regular reminders there at the bottom. No food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. Please make sure you're not loitering in the foyer fellowship hall during the preaching service. And then the quiet time, of course, is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the whole building. And lastly, please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. And that is it. Let's go ahead and sing our next song, song number 10, Near the Cross. Song number 10, Near the Cross. All together on that first verse. Jesus keep me near the cross There a precious fountain Free to all a healing stream Flows from Calvary's mountain In the cross, in the cross Be my glory ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river Near the cross, a trembling soul Love and mercy found me There the bright and morning star Sheds its beams around me In the cross, in the cross Be my glory ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river Near the cross, O Lamb of God Bring its scenes before me Help me walk from day to day With its shadows o'er me In the cross, in the cross Be my glory ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river Near the cross, I'll watch and wait Hoping, trusting ever Till I reach the golden strand Just beyond the river In the cross, in the cross Be my glory ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river In the cross, I'll watch and wait Hoping, trusting ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river In the cross, I'll watch and wait Hoping, trusting ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river In the cross, I'll watch and wait Hoping, trusting ever Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river Mark chapter number 10, the Bible reads And he rose from thence, and cometh into the coast of Judea, by the farther side of Jordan. And the people resorted unto him again, and as he was wont, he taught them again. And the Pharisees came to him and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife, tempting him? And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, commiteth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she commiteth adultery. And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them. And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, and put his hands upon them, and blessed them. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good master, what shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, be fraud not, honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and one way grieved, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. The disciples were astonished at his words, but when Jesus answered again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them, saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospels. But he shall receive an hundredfold now and this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last, and the last first. And they were in the way, going up to Jerusalem. And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed, and as they followed they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered under the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him, and the third day shall rise again. And James and John the sons of Zebedee come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They say unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they say unto him, We can. Jesus saith unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized. But the sin of my right hand and of my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. When the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto you, but to minister, and to give his life of ransom for many. And he came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples, and a great number of his people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And when he charged him that he should hold his peace, but he cried the more, a great deal, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded them to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee. He, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, we thank you for your word, thank you for preserving it for us in the King James Bible. We'll just ask that you be with Pastor Mihia now as he preaches it. Please just strengthen him, and bless the preaching of your word, and give us understanding, and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen. All right, we're in Mark chapter 10 this morning, and the title of my sermon this morning is Who Then Can Be Saved? Who Then Can Be Saved? Look down at your Bibles at verse 25, it says, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And I want to talk about this subject this morning, and really break it down into three categories. Who can be saved just in general. Secondly, who's very difficult to get saved. And then the third category is like who can't be saved at all. Okay, and we're going to go over those particular categories this morning. Now let me start off by saying is that salvation is available to everyone. Okay, it's available to everyone. The Bible tells us that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The invitation to have eternal life, to go to heaven, to enter into the kingdom of God is available to every single human being at one point. Okay, and in fact, if you hold your place here in Mark chapter 10, go with me if you would to 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'm going to read to you from a couple scriptures here. Revelation 22 verse 17 to further confirm that says, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Referring to Jesus Christ, referring to salvation. The Bible says whosoever will may come. The Bible says in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse number 9, That the Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some may account for slackness, but as longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Meaning that salvation is available to all at some point or another. The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 10, you're in chapter 2, 1 Timothy 4 10 says, For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior, listen to this, of all men, especially of those that believe. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse number 3, It says, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God and our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Now why is this an important point of the sermon? Because of the fact that there's a false doctrine out there known as Calvinism, that seeks to say that salvation is only available to a certain select people, right? Or what they would refer to as the elect. And according to their theology, they believe that certain individuals are born into this world with no salvation ever available to them. They're completely damned from the very beginning. I'm talking about from birth. And essentially that God predetermined them to be eternally damned for all of eternity just at His whim. So that means that if a baby were to be born today, according to the Calvinistic theology, and let's say a child dies in that state, if they're not the elect according to what they claim to be the elect to be, they go to hell. So according to the Calvinists, there's scores and scores and scores of children in hell today who maybe died at birth, they suffered some horrible fate early on in their life, and that they're currently in hell today. But you can see how that's such a ridiculous teaching to say that babies when they're born, they're completely reprobate, that God has completely rejected them, and they're going to suffer the fate of eternal damnation because salvation is not available to them. It's completely ridiculous. It's a false doctrine, and it's wicked, to be honest with you. And if you were to confront a Calvinist with that theology and say, Is that what you believe? They'll beat around the bush, and they won't necessarily give you a clear answer because they know how bad it sounds. It's like, can you just tell me straight to my face that you believe that if there's a child who is not elect, and they die in their mother's womb, or they die soon thereafter, but they're not elect, do they go to hell? They're not going to tell you straight off the bat yes, because it just sounds really wicked. They'll just kind of give you a bunch of vainly puffed up words, and they'll skirt around the issue because they realize how evil it can sound, and how evil it is. But the reality is this, is that salvation is available to all. And let me just make something very clear. If a child dies in their mother's womb, or soon thereafter, according to the Bible, they go straight to heaven. Even if they don't understand or have the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, because of the fact that they have not reached the age of accountability, they're completely innocent in God's eyes, they have not been slain by the law, and therefore not accountable to the wages of sin. So if they were to die, they go to heaven, and the proof text is that can be found in Romans chapter 7, but also in the example of David. When David lost his child, he specifically said, I shall go to him, but he shall not return unto me. And we obviously know that David was saved, and he's basically implying, you know, I'm going to go to him because I'm saved, and I know he's saved, he's in heaven, but obviously he understood the reality of the situation living on this earth, he'll never return back to me, his child had passed away. And so a very important doctrine there, salvation is available to everyone, okay? The Bible says in 1 John 2, verse number 1, My little children, these things write unto you that ye sin not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. In other words, the blood of Jesus Christ covers all sin, okay, from every single individual, and when he says not for ours only, he's saying not for just the believers, it's for everyone, the whole world, okay? The payment for salvation has already been made for everyone. Now, here's the thing, let's talk about who can be saved then, okay? Because even though salvation is available to the whole world, we obviously realize that the whole world is not going to go to heaven. We have clear examples in the Bible, clear verses in the scriptures, that clearly tell us that there's people that are in hell today, and that are going to go to hell in the future. Hell is a real thing, it's not fake, we're not living in hell today, okay? You know, you often talk to people that are just like, why believe this is hell? Well, you know, the Bible describes hell as being you weeping and wailing and gnashing your teeth, and burning for all of eternity and having no rest day nor night, and being tormented and wanting like a drop of water on your tongue, that's not you right now. You know, we're all sitting in an air-conditioned room on cushioned seats, and we're going to eat three meals today, and you know what, you might have a hell of a day one day, a bad day, but you know, your worst day as a Christian is still someone who's not saved, someone's best day if they're not saved, because they're going to go to hell, okay? And so at the end of the day, yeah, the reality is this, salvation is available to everyone, but there's certain individuals that obviously are not going to be saved, right? But let's talk about those who still can be saved, and maybe some Christians might think, nah, salvation can't be possibly available to that person, okay? Go with me if you would to Matthew chapter 21, Matthew 21. Because obviously, you know, some Christians out there, they'll look at a certain select group of people in society, and think to themselves, well, for sure this person can't be saved, you know, they're too involved in sin, or they have a bad reputation, or they're involved in whatever, and it's for that reason, they can't be saved, but let's see if that's true. Let's talk about harlots, okay? Now, harlots isn't necessarily a term that we would use today, we would more commonly use a whore or a prostitute, right? And the Bible talks about prostitutes, talks about prostitutes, talks about whores, and the common word that we see, other than whore, obviously whore is a common word in the Bible, but we see the term harlot used as well, very commonly. And you know what, sometimes Christians have this attitude that harlots can't be saved, okay? And one of the reasons why they have that attitude is because they have a false gospel that they teach that says, well, in order for you to be saved, you have to turn from all of your sin, okay? And so if you were to look at the harlot, they would look at the harlot and say, well, you have to repent of being a prostitute, you have to repent of being a whore, and then you can be saved, but that's completely wrong. Now, we're not advocating for a woman being involved in prostitution, for being a whore, committing adultery, fornication, these particular sins, they're very wicked in God's eyes, but you know what, it's not a sin so wicked that they can't be saved from it, right? Someone who's committing those things, they can still be saved, and no, they don't have to repent of that sin in order to be saved. Now, after they get saved, should they repent of that sin and get right and clean up their lives? Absolutely. You say, why? So that they don't suffer the punishment of God here on this earth. And other punishments like disease, rape, you know, they get murdered or whatever, you know, things of that nature, but folks, harlots can be saved, and you have pastors today that will literally get up and claim that harlots are a bunch of reprobates, that they can't be saved because they're so wicked and so evil, that's a wrong attitude. Look at what the Bible says in Matthew 21, verse 31, Whether of them twain did the will of his father, they say unto him the first, Jesus saith unto them, now the them that he's referring to are the Pharisees. These are the religious leaders of that day, the false teachers of that day. Jesus saith unto them, barely I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. So apparently, according to the Bible, more harlots are going to be in the kingdom of God than a bunch of Christ-rejecting Pharisees. And the Pharisees, they're very pious, they're very, you know, religious in a sense of, they adhere to the Judaism and Judaic teachings, not necessarily the word of God because they actually rejected the commandments of God. They're very clean, right, in the eyes of themselves or even the public that surrounded them, but at the end of the day, Jesus is saying, well the harlot who you deem to be filthy and perverse and wicked, well she's going to go into the kingdom of heaven before you do. She's actually saved, you're not even saved. So as clean as a Pharisee was, because you know they would cleanly wash their hands before they ate and they washed their pans and pots and cups and all these things, they would always make sure that those ceremonial laws were being taken care of, you know, they're more concerned about the outward appearance per se. And so they would look at a harlot and think that that's just the most disgusting thing ever. And in fact, when harlots would come to Jesus, you know, they would often criticize Jesus Christ in their heart and say, oh man, if Jesus knew what manner of woman this was and that she was a sinner, you know, he wouldn't be allowing her to wash his feet with her hair, things of that nature, but the reality is this, is that harlots are not beyond the hope of salvation. Prostitutes are not beyond the hope of salvation. People who are involved in that type of lifestyle are not beyond the hope of salvation. They can be saved, okay? And in fact, we have an example in the Bible, a woman by the name of Rahab the harlot, who gets saved in the Bible, okay? Not only that, but not only does she get saved, she's actually part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. So to add insult to injury to the Pharisees, not only does Rahab, who's a harlot, get saved, but she actually gets to be a part of the godly lineage of Jesus Christ, which is a great honor, right? And really, the reason we see that in the Bible is just to show us essentially that, you know, anybody, even though you come from a bad background, maybe you have baggage, maybe you have, you know, you've committed some things that are just wicked in times past, you know, God can still use you, right? Because not only did Rahab get saved, she was used greatly of God thereafter. Go to Hebrews chapter 11, if you would, Hebrews chapter 11. So when it comes to Rahab, you know, did she get saved because she said to the spies, you know what, I'm going to repent of me being a harlot and I'm going to get a new job, I'm going to get a new form of income, I'm not going to be involved with this anymore and hopefully that proves to God that I'm worthy of salvation. No, look what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 31. Hebrews 11 verse 31, by works, is that what it says? No, it says by faith. The harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, the Bible says, when she had received the spies with peace. Now, if you go back to the story of Rahab the harlot, when the children of Israel were going to overcome, overtake Jericho, essentially what happened was Rahab was spared from the onslaught that was going to come upon the city because of the fact that she believed. She had heard about what had taken place, she had heard about the God of the Bible and the Bible says that by faith she believed and therefore she was spared. And obviously there's a lot of symbology in that particular story that pictures salvation. We're not going to go through it this morning, it's beyond the scope of the sermon but the point that I'm trying to make here is that Rahab didn't necessarily have to repent of her sins of being a harlot to get saved, she was a harlot and she got saved in that state. And again, we're not excusing that lifestyle, being a prostitute and committing that wickedness is obviously evil, it's wicked, it's a grievous sin in the eyes of God but it doesn't mean that that person is beyond the hope of salvation. So we should never have this attitude of, oh we're out soul winning or something and we see prostitutes and we're just like, oh what a bunch of whores or something. Why don't we go witness to them? There might be a Rahab in that group there that is open to the Gospel that wants to be saved and is trapped under that system of prostitution and they need Jesus Christ, amen? Go with me if you would to Luke chapter 19, Luke chapter 19. Who else can be saved? Well how about adulterers? Adulters can be saved. You know there's even examples of saved people committing adultery unfortunately in the Bible but even then there's also examples of people who were committing adultery or were involved in some sort of affair, some sort of adulterous relationship and they got saved. You think about the woman at the well for example, she got saved. But let's talk about the publicans and I talked about the publicans on Thursday. Publicans were the tax collectors of the ancient world and these people as I mentioned on Thursday, you know if we were to relate how people were viewed or how the publicans were viewed in those days it would be like the way we viewed DMV workers. You understand? Like no one really likes any DMV workers here, you know what I mean? Unless you're a DMV worker or something. You know it's just like, to put it bluntly they were just like the scum of the earth. People just didn't like them. They didn't have a good reputation in those days because of the fact that the tax collectors were always taken a little off the top from their own people. They were working in cahoots with the Romans and so when they would collect these taxes they would make sure they charged a little extra so they could buy themselves new sandals or coats or whatever it is that they wanted. And everyone kind of knew this about the publicans and so they were very much frowned upon in that society and they were seen as just covetous people. People who were just greedy, covetous, taking advantage of their own people and so it was very surprising to the Pharisees when the publicans were getting saved. But you know what? DMV workers can get saved too. And in fact Matthew, the one who wrote the book of Matthew was a publican. He was a tax collector and he got saved and I believe he was saved even prior to him following Jesus Christ. In order for him to follow Jesus Christ he had to cease being a tax collector and be honest. But there's people in the Bible who were publicans who got saved and remained a tax collector. I don't know if you know this but you could actually do the work, these types of jobs honestly. He could just be an honest tax collector, not raw people. I don't know if it's possible today but I think it probably is possible to work for the government and not be a malicious person. I'm not saying it exists out there though. I'm just saying with God all things are possible. But here's an example of a publican who got saved and is still a publican, he's still a tax collector. Look what it says in verse number 1 of Luke 19. And Jesus answered him, Pastor Jericho, and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus which was the chief among the publicans and he was rich. Now you know if a tax collector is rich you kind of wonder, you know what I mean? Like how did that guy get his money? And he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press because he was of little stature. So this is a really small guy and he wants to see Jesus Christ, he's heard about Jesus but he can't necessarily get on his tippy toes because he's so small. And he ran before and climbed up in a sycamore tree to see him for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured saying that he was gone to be guests with a man that is a sinner. So Zacchaeus, you know, I believe he was probably saved prior to this. And you know he hears about Jesus Christ, he's really excited, he's like a celebrity. And he's just like, he's willing to climb a tree like a little kid, no pun intended, you know what I mean? And just to get a glimpse of Jesus Christ. So he goes there, Jesus looks up, he sees them, he sees them and he says, come down because I'm going to go to your house. And he's really thrilled about this, he's excited. But you know then there's these holier than thou fairs, he's really mad about this. They're like, oh look, he's going to some sinner's house. He's going to some tattoo artist's house or something. He's going to some bartender's house or something like that. He's going to this sinner's house, how can Jesus Christ claim to be he's of God when he's hanging around all these publicans or whatever. But this publican's saved. And folks, even if he was committing things that were not godly, things that were against the Bible, maybe he's a dishonest person, it has nothing to do with his salvation. It says in verse 8, And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Implying that he's probably done that before. He's basically saying, I know what you're thinking. Because he's a publican. He's like, but hey, if I've taken anything by false accusation, I make sure I restore it fourfold. Following the Levitical law, by the way. Because he's basically saying that he's stolen things and the Bible says if you steal something, you're going to return it fourfold. Of course, depending on what it is. But we see here that he's obviously making reparations for maybe some of the crimes or things that he's done. He's trying to get it right. Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation, come to this house for as much as he is also the son of Abraham. Now what he's implying here is that Jesus Christ, who is salvation, is literally physically going to his house. He says, for as much as he is also the son of Abraham, for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And so we see here that publicans can be saved. Yes, government workers can be saved. People who work for schools, governments, whatever, government institutions, don't just write them off and say, oh, but they work for the man. They work for Big Brother or something. They must be just completely wicked beyond the hope of salvation. Wrong. This guy was a chief among the publicans. So he, one of the highest tiers there of being a publican, yet he could be saved. Now, does it happen commonly? I'm not sure. I know of different churches that have people who, you know, work for the government that attend the church and they got saved. So yes, it is possible. Go back to 1 Timothy chapter 1, if you would, 1 Timothy chapter 1. How about murderers? Murderers can be saved. Murderers can be saved and yes, they can be used greatly of God. And, you know, I've run into murderers out soul-winning. People have committed murder and they've gotten saved. Let me tell you a story of one instance when this happened and it scared the fire out of me, okay? I was really young in the Lord still and I was out soul-winning. And we're in Los Angeles in a really rough area and I knock on the door and I'm just like, you know, I'm from this church. Just want to give you this invite and, you know, just want to talk to you about salvation. And, you know, they kind of opened the door and it was like a little crack, you know? And they're just like, oh, come in. You know, I don't know how old I was. I was like 21, 22 and I was just like, walk in. I walk in and there's all kinds of smoke everywhere and there's like more dudes in there, you know? And it's really dark, dingy and then the door just closes behind me. And I'm just like, this is it, you know? So then they're like, there's a guy in the back room who wants to talk to you. And I'm like, man, this is why you go soul-winning two and two. This is why you need someone, you know, this is why you need someone to go with you. And I'm just like, all right, you know, where to? And he's like, that room right over there. It's a little crack, go in there. So I walk in there and it's darker than what the living room was and there's a guy sitting on the bed. And I'm like, hey, how's it going? You know, I'm from this church or whatever. My name is Bruce and he's like, sit down next to him on the bed. And I'm like, man, this is like, I don't know about this. His name was Ralph. And, you know, I started talking to him and I started talking about salvation. And then he's just like, he stops me midway. And he's like, you know how many people I've killed? That's what he tells me. He's like, you know how many people I've killed? And I kind of just like scooted over a bit. I'm like, no, I don't know how many people I've killed. Because he was like a gang member and everything. And then he's just like, I've ruined my life. He wasn't necessarily confessing of all the murders, but he's just saying I've done some pretty bad stuff. And then obviously the fear kind of went away. Because I realized he's not telling this to intimidate me. He's telling me this because he's grieved over the life that he's lived or whatever. And I said, well, you can still be saved. And I gave him the gospel and he ended up getting saved. He came to church, he got baptized. And he even attended the church for quite some time with his family. But, you know, murderers are not beyond the hope of salvation. Now, obviously, there's a group of murderers out there known as psychopaths. That's even a different category than just regular murderers. Because look, folks, Moses committed murder in the Bible. He killed a man with his own bare hands and then buried him in the sand. And, of course, David, even though he physically did not murder a specific individual by the name of Uriah, he put a hit out on that guy. You know, for nefarious reasons, too, because he wanted his wife. And so, but both of those men were saved. Obviously, murder is a wicked sin and it's a sin in the Bible punishable by death. But still, a murderer is not beyond the hope of salvation. They can still be saved because, unfortunately, murder is a sin common to man. Okay, look at 1 Timothy chapter 1. Let's talk about persecutors, okay, those who persecute even the righteous. You know, even them, they're not beyond the hope of salvation. Now, there are some that are, and we'll get into that in just a bit. But there's certain people who just get carried away. They're brainwashed by people who hate Christians or hate God. And they kind of go along with that narrative. They're against Christians or they're against churches or against the Bible. And, you know, they persecute Christians and they can go to a pretty crazy extent. Well, you know what, some of them can still be saved. I mean, think about the people who nailed Jesus Christ to the cross and Jesus said them to them, what? Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. There's people that just ignorantly follow a multitude to do evil. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're psychopaths themselves. You know, people are just brainwashed. And here's a really good example of the Apostle Paul. Because the Apostle Paul, you know, obviously he got saved later on, but he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees and this guy was zealous for his religion. He wasn't just showing up to the synagogue to hear the reading of the scriptures from Isaiah. He was out there trying to arrest those who were part of that way referring to Christianity. I mean, he was getting letters from the chief priests and permission. He was getting deputized to go out and arrest Christians and stop them from doing the work of God. I mean, that's pretty evil, right? But even he could be saved. Look what it says in verse 12. It says, And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me, for that he counteth me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer. Now, this doesn't mean that he's blaspheming the Holy Ghost, by the way. Blaspheming simply means to speak evil of something, right? To revile something. And he's speaking evil of Christianity, of course, ignorantly. Who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I obtained mercy because I did it, listen to this, ignorantly in unbelief. By the way, let me just clarify something. The Apostle Paul never killed anybody. People want to impose that upon him. You know, people will talk about how Jeffrey Dahmer got saved. And you're like, you're saying that the Apostle Paul couldn't get saved. And like, I don't remember reading the scriptures where Paul was like eating people. Like cannibalizing people and raping people. Like that's, I miss that part of the New Testament, you know. It says here he was a blasphemer. He was definitely a persecutor and injurious, but the Bible says that he did it ignorantly in unbelief. In other words, he thought what he was doing was right. And obviously when he was confronted with the truth, he accepted the truth, and then he just became a fiery Christian, a fiery instrument for the work of God, did many great things. Kind of shows you that even if someone is on the wrong side of the fence, some of those people are just ignorant about the truth and they can still get saved. Hey, liberals can still get saved, believe it or not. Don't paint all liberals with a broad brush and say, oh, all of them are just beyond the hope of salvation or something, just because they wear a mask or something like that. Oh, they're wearing a mask, they're beyond the hope of salvation. There's no hope for them. Wrong. Wrong. That's a nonsensical thing to say. To base whether someone is qualified to get saved based upon whether they have a mask on their face or not. Oh, yeah, but they got a vaccine. So what? So what? Yeah, but they're liberal and they got purple hair. Well, obviously now we're delving into a different group of people. But you know what? Purple hair on people is just starting to get common now. Or blue hair, whatever it is. Skittles hair. But you know what? Some of those people can still get saved. Because they've just been duped by that propaganda. And you know, you spend long enough time in the public school system, you're going to think that stuff is okay. And so the Apostle Paul spent his entire life as a Pharisee, and then he's carrying out the work of Satan to a certain extent, ignorantly, of course. But then later on he gets saved and he just completely rejects being a Pharisee, even to the point where the Pharisees are persecuting him. And they're trying to kill him and all these things. And lastly, let me just say this, just any humble sinner can get saved. And let me say this, humility is the key for salvation. Humility. Why? Because humility says, I can't save myself. I need salvation. I can't get myself to heaven based upon my own works, my own merits. I need a savior. I mean, that's the only way someone can get saved. Go to Matthew chapter 18, if you would, Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. And by the way, back to that original point, you know, the Apostle Paul was somewhat of a false teacher, right? We don't necessarily have examples of him preaching extensively, but he was a Pharisee, so he did teach the law. And he says that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. So you can see why he would say he was like a chief sinner, because he's like essentially doing the work of a false prophet. And look, there are false prophets out there that maybe are ignorant in what they're doing, and they can get saved. But let me say this, if they're presented with the truth, and they still reject the truth, then they're done for. Okay. Now look at Matthew 18, verse number one, talking about humility here. It says, At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him and said to him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You know, kids are very humble in the sense that, you know, they don't have all these preconceived ideas of thinking that they're righteous, or, you know, that their religion is right, or their system of beliefs is correct. You give them the truth, a lot of them will just be humble about salvation and just want to accept it. So he's saying, you have to be humble in order to be saved. Prideful people can't be saved. It doesn't matter what category you're in, if you're prideful, you cannot be saved. I thought you said salvation is available to everyone. It is, as long as they're humble about it. Yeah, but, you know, didn't you say that salvation is whosoever will? Yeah, but in order for you to have the will to be saved, you have to, like, not have pride. You have to be humble enough to recognize your condition before God, that you deserve hell and that you're a sinner, and that Jesus Christ is the only person who can save you by faith in Him alone, and come to that conclusion to be saved. But if you don't believe those truths, then you cannot be saved. Okay? Now, let's talk about those who are difficult to be saved, okay? Because there are those who, salvation is available to anybody. Salvation is available to anybody. There's these people who can be saved, but then, you know, there's a certain group of people that are just more difficult to get saved. Go back to Mark chapter 10, if you would. What are some things that make it difficult to get saved? Well, how about being rich? Believe it or not. Because that's what we're looking at in Mark chapter 10. Look at verse 17. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one that is God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud not. Honor thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed for my youth up. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said unto him, One thing thou lackest, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Notice he doesn't say, and thou shalt be saved. Thou shalt have treasure in heaven. And come and take up thy cross and follow me. And he was sad at saying and went away grieved for he had great possessions. So this guy's rich. And the thing that's standing in the way from him and getting saved is the fact that he has possessions. He has monetary gain. He has resources. Verse 23 says, And Jesus looked round about and saved them to his disciples. How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven? And the disciples were astonished at his words, but Jesus answered again and saved them to them. Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? So what is he saying? People who are rich, it's not that they can't be saved. It's just that if you have a lot of money, the propensity is that you place your faith in your riches rather than on Jesus Christ, rather than on the eternal, because you feel as though money can just get you anything. People who have money, a lot of money, have a false sense of power. Have a false sense of security. A false sense of authority. Okay. That's why when we go to these rich neighborhoods to go preach the gospel, it's like really unreceptive. They want nothing to do with the gospel. Why? Because they have everything that they need. Not realizing that they're actually spiritually broke. They're spiritually bankrupt. They have all this money in the account, but it's not going to account for nothing on the day of judgment. Because what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? I guarantee you every rich person who died without crisis and is in hell today is not thinking one little bit about their riches. 210 Common is not thinking about, hey, where's all that gold that they buried me with? That's the reality of it. And we're not saying that Christians can't be rich because sometimes people just come for money, right? People just come for money or they just have, you know, they're very intelligent, they're entrepreneurs, they make money. But hold on a second. Sometimes it is difficult for people who are not saved to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ if they already have a lot of money. It's not to say that they can't get saved. It's just that it can be very difficult for them to get saved because they begin to put their faith and trust in their riches. They think that they're better, they're superior, okay? And in fact, the Bible says in Psalm 49 verse 6, it says, They that trust in their wealth and boast of themselves in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him. You know, they think they're so powerful, they have so much authority, they can just do anything with their money. But you know what, they can never buy salvation for anyone. It doesn't matter what the Catholic Church used to teach, by the way, okay? They can't buy salvation for anyone. No amount of money they can put into the offering plate to purchase salvation for their dead loved one. Because it doesn't work that way. Salvation is only bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Proverbs 11, 28, He that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the branch. Proverbs 11 verse 4 says, Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death. In other words, when a person dies without Christ, and when they stand at the judgment seat at the end of days, they're not going to be like, well, God, look at my bank account, though. Doesn't that discount for anything? Look at all these millions of dollars. Look at my yacht. Look at my helipad. Look at my mansion. Look at, you know, my jewels and all these things. It's going to count for nothing because God is richer than you anyways. You can't buy off God. God owns the cattle on the Thousand Hill, all the silver and gold. It doesn't impress him. Riches do not impress God. Doesn't profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death, the Bible says. Righteousness is so expensive that it costs the blood of Jesus Christ for us to obtain it. So no amount of money could ever purchase you the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You have to accept it as a free gift, and it's already been paid for by his death. What's another group of people that's difficult to get saved? Well, rich people. Or how about just individuals who live in countries where paganism is just prevalent, right? Sometimes geographical locations can impede someone from getting saved. So what do you mean? Well, you know, if you're in the United States of America, there's a likelihood that you're going to hear the gospel preached unto you. Whether by someone knocking on your door, by social media, there's churches around. Obviously, some states are better than others when it comes to that. But in general, the United States of America is known as a Christian nation. So more people are going to get saved here than, let's say, Cambodia. Because Cambodia is not a Christian nation. Cambodia is a pagan nation. Cambodia worships, you know, they have the religion of Buddhism there. They worship false gods, okay? And so the likelihood of people getting saved there is smaller. It doesn't mean they can't get saved. It means the likelihood of them getting saved is a lot smaller than in other areas of the world. Why? Because paganism is prevalent there, you understand? The gospel is not being preached there frequently as in the United States and places where Christianity is very much prevalent, okay? How about communist China? That's a hard place for people to get saved. Atheistic country, okay? Now, let me say this is that even though the percentage of people getting saved is a lot smaller in those areas, it doesn't mean that they don't have the gospel. Because we don't want to get this attitude that a lot of churches have where it's just like, well, they've never heard the name of Jesus ever. Because that's false. Every country in this world has heard the name of Jesus. The Bible specifically says that in Romans chapter 10. And in Isaiah and in Jeremiah and different portions of the Bible, that the prophets have gone out into the ends of the earth to go preach the word of God. Now again, is there areas in the world that it's more frequently spoken about? Yes, but that doesn't mean that these areas such as communist China, Cambodia, Laos, areas where communism is very much a thing, it doesn't mean they haven't heard the name of Jesus. I guarantee you they have, okay? Never get this attitude, they never heard the name of Jesus. Well, if they have Muslims there, they've heard the name of Jesus. Like how so? Because Muslims talk about Jesus. They obviously don't view him as a savior, they view him as a prophet, but they've heard the name of Jesus, okay? And I would even say this, in 2023, the year in which we are in, people in those countries have heard about Jesus more now than ever before. Why? Because of the internet. Because you know what? You can go to some third world country where people are living in huts, dirt floors, and they've still got an iPhone. They've got YouTube. They just killed their animal to eat it or something. They're watching YouTube right then and there. They've got Facebook, they've got YouTube, they've got Instagram, they've got WhatsApp. They know about all that stuff. Internet is available everywhere in this world. So you can't say, well, they never heard the name of Jesus. Well, actually, they probably heard it more now than ever before. Because technology is allowing information to permeate all over the world without obstruction. It doesn't matter where you're at. Everyone in the world has heard this. But again, does it mean that someone in Cambodia is going to have a soul winner come to their door today? Probably not. Not the way our church does it, other churches in America have done it. And so that means that it's probably harder for them to get saved. Hey, false Christians are also, it's difficult for them to get saved too. Christians who think that they're saved, but they're actually not. It doesn't mean they can't get saved. It means it's harder for them to get saved because they think they know the truth and they're not humble enough to receive it to recognize that they need salvation. The Bible says in John 8 32, And he shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Then answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou, You shall be made free? So the Pharisees can be seen as like the fake Christians of that day. Because they thought, well, we're Abraham's seed. What are you talking about? We're not going to, you know, we're never in bondage to any man. We're Abraham's seed. Well, you know what John the Baptist said, Think not to say within yourselves that we have Abraham to our father. For God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. What's another couple of things? Bitter people. They can often have a hard time getting saved. And those who are just simply have, those who simply have the wisdom of this world. It's hard for them to get saved. When they believe in science, philosophy, so called, they're evolutionists, humanists, things of that nature. They've gotten the public education school system knowledge. It could be hard for them to get saved. Because then they begin to criticize and become critical towards the word of God. And it's just like, yeah, but you know, people, those people are smarter than Christians. If you believe that we came from a rock, you're not smarter. Yeah, that's right. I don't know what definition you're coming at me with. But if someone tell, people are like, you believe that God created everything and all the universe. Yeah, but you're like, you believe in like the Big Bang though. You believe like literally we came from a rock. I believe we came from like a man. Which is, we're seeing that today. You believe we came from primordial soup. From a rock that evolved into an alligator and somehow became a monkey and now here we are. And so that's not true science, my friends. Evolution is stupid. It's nonsensical. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. All right, here's the last group here that I want to talk about. And that is the individuals that cannot get saved. Now keep in mind, whosoever will may come, right? Salvation is available to everyone. Let me ask you a question. What if someone doesn't want it? Then they can't get saved. Right? So if salvation is available to you, Jesus Christ has already died. He resurrected. He's offered you the gospel. It's completely free. If you don't want it, then you're not going to get it. It's pretty simple, right? Well, the Bible talks about a group of people that have rejected the gospel so much that basically God says, okay, I'm going to give you what's called a reprobate mind where you're no longer capable of believing the gospel because you don't want to believe it in the first place anyways. You understand? It's like this. Let's say there's some sort of store out there that requires a membership to get in and to shop at. Let's say it's like a Costco. You have this membership card and then you just never go there. Just don't go there. Have no interest in going there. And then you just revoke your membership. Now them revoking your membership, let's say they do it based upon the fact that you just don't go. It's like we're revoking your membership because you just don't come. You think that person is really going to get offended at that? The business is simply doing what they've been doing this entire time. It's just like, well, if you're not going to come, we're just going to remove your membership then because obviously you don't want to come to our store, our business. Does that make sense to everyone? Well, salvation is kind of like that where there's a group of people in this world that they've rejected the gospel to the point where God says, okay, I'll just make sure that you never get it. And that's not something that's mean that he's doing. He's simply doing what they want. Because the Bible says that they don't want to retain God on their knowledge. You say, well, who are you talking about? I'm talking about the sodomites of this world. Homosexuals and the sodomites, what's known as the LGBTQ. And I know we've got visitors here this morning, but hear me out though. Because any normal person is just sick of sodomites and sick of this garbage being pushed down our throats. And even if you don't agree with me, at this point you're probably like, yeah, I'm kind of sick of it too. I'm sick of seeing the rainbow flags. I'm sick of them constantly going after the kids, sick and tired of them pushing that stuff on us, seeing trannies on social media, like wanting to throw up every time I open social media. It's like, man, why is this always on here? I mean, I don't like Bud Light. I don't drink Bud Light, but I still don't want to see a tranny on a Bud Light, even though I don't drink Bud Light. I don't drink alcohol, period. I'm just tired of it. And you know what? Any normal person could say, I'm sick of it too. I'm sick of the drag queen story hour, all these transvestites walking around. It's gross. And if you want to be nice about it and be like, yeah, but we shouldn't say that, you be honest. You're grossed out too. You're grossed out too. If we were to put a tranny in front of you to have an hour-long conversation with you, you would not last for 15 minutes. Let's just be honest. You'd be grossed out as well. Okay? So I'm not saying anything that you probably wouldn't already agree with. However, what I am saying is that the reason they are like that is because they've actually rejected the gospel. You say, well, hold on a second. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You just got finished talking about all these people that can be saved. Right? The adulterers, the murderers, you know, all these wicked people, the harlots. But now you're saying that sodomites can't be saved? Isn't that a contradiction? And here's where people get confused. Because they think we're saying, well, they can't be saved because they're committing these acts. And that's not what we're saying. Because Jesus Christ did die, yes, even for sodomy. Do you know why? Because there's people in this world who have been sodomized. There's people in this world who have been raped. People who have been sodomized. People who have been violated and it's not their fault. And you know what? They carry that with them throughout their lives. They have that guilt and the shame and they become confused later on in life. And it messes them up psychologically. And you know when they get saved, they can be forgiven of that and work with the clean slate they're after. So that's not what we're saying. What the Bible's teaching is that the person who commits sodomy, the person who what the Bible referred to as a sodomite, what people commonly say today, homosexuals, the reason they are homosexuals is because they've rejected the truth so much that the Bible says that they don't want to retain God in their knowledge, therefore God gives them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Now go to Romans 1. And let me just be honest with you. The reason I even want to preach this sermon is because I want to talk about this. I just have to fill in the blanks so I added all that stuff in the beginning. Because we're in June right now. And you need to hear the truth when it comes to this in June. You need to be in a church where they're actually talking about this and showing you what the Bible says about this, and not sugar coated, you know, you need to hear what the word of God says about this. This is not my opinion, this is what the Bible says. Look at Romans 1, verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. For God has showed it unto them. So this is saying that pretty much everyone knows a measure of truth. Everyone's been given a measure of truth, even as an unsafe person. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. This is saying that there came a point in a person's life where they knew about God, they heard the truth, and the Bible says they basically rejected God. They want nothing to do with Him. And then their imaginations became vain. Their heart became darkened. Verse 22, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like an uncorruptible man, and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. What does that mean? They basically begin to worship the creature, worship animals more than God. They hold animals almost at the same platform as human beings. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. What does it mean to dishonor your own body between themselves? It's referring to the act of homosexuality, sodomy. When a dude does other things with another dude, the Bible considers that to be a dishonoring towards your own body. You're not made for that stuff. Who changed the truth of God into a lie. You know, they'll say that God is gay. They'll say that God is a woman. And they'll always pose this really stupid meme where Jesus is washing the feet of some LGBTQ antifa dude or whatever. That's turning the truth of God into a lie. I thought he said he came to pay for all sinners. He did, but you know what? I just missed that verse in the Bible where he did that to a sodomite. He reached the harlots. He reached the publicans. He reached the persecutors. He reached all these different individuals that have a bad background, but you just never see him reaching a sodomite. Isn't that interesting? He says, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause, God gave them up to vile affections. What is a vile affection? Vile affection is, for example, when a dude goes after a child. That's called pedophilia. That's disgusting. A vile affection is when someone goes after an animal. And I'll just leave it at that. And it exists, my friends. Bestiality. It's called a vile affection. For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. This is the Bible's way of sparing us the details of lesbianism. It says their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. Why? Because it's natural for a man and a woman to be together. It's not natural for two dudes to be together and for two women to be together. It says in verse 27, And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error, which is mean. So what is this referring to? It's referring to the fact that there's individuals in this world who literally desire the same sex. And it's just like, well, they were born that way. It doesn't exist, my friends. No one is born a sodomite. No one is born wanting to commit pedophilia, wanting to commit bestiality. It doesn't exist. It has to be programmed in them in order for them to even be open to such a thing. And then eventually they hate God and they become a reprobate. And here's the thing, folks. It says here that they receive in themselves that recompense of their error, which is mean. What is that referring to? Disease. A recompense is like a consequence. Did you know that a couple can become physical with one another for years on end and they'll never get diseases? Never get diseases. Look up on AIDS.gov and you'll see where AIDS is prevalent in a society in the United States of America. It's always amongst the sodomites. Because there's no such thing as a monogamous relationship with sodomites. It's like, oh, I thought they wanted to get married. No, they wanted to get married to normalize marriage among sodomites so that they could come after your children. And then they want to come after your children so they can normalize bestiality. And it just goes on from there. And so what are we looking at here? And then of course it says that he gives them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. And he goes through the list there of all the type of unrighteousness they're capable of. So according to the Bible, when we look at someone like a sodomite, you know, a dude or a dyke or something like that, and they're just completely giving themselves over to those acts, it's not like, oh, they can't be saved because they're committing those acts. Because that's not what the Bible is teaching. We look at them and say, oh, they're sodomites and that's because they've been given over to a reprobate mind, which is an indication that they rejected the Bible long ago. Like, yeah, but we should give them the gospel. But let me ask you, how can a person receive the gospel if they don't want it? They don't want it. You're saying it's too late for certain people? Yes, it's too late for certain people. And look, wouldn't you say that the people who are in hell today, it's too late for them? We can't get those people saved anymore. They're done, right? Well, the Bible teaches there are certain individuals in this world who it's too late for as well. And that is the reprobate. Now, let me make myself very clear because sometimes people get confused about this. I'm not saying that some teenager who's confused because they've been programmed, they've been molested, and they're just like struggling, they don't know what they're doing, and maybe they might think that they're like a sodomite or something like that because they've been molested. I'm not talking about that person. Because I run into individuals like that all the time. As a pastor, I deal with people like that. As a pastor, I work with people like that on social media where people contact me and they said I was raped, I was violated, and I struggle. I wonder like am I beyond the hope of salvation or whatever, and it's sad. And I tell them, no, you're not beyond the hope of salvation. You can be saved, you know, and salvation is available to you. But let me say this. The guy who's pushing for pedophilia, that guy is done for. Anybody who pushes for pedophilia is a reprobate, and they're doomed. Anybody who pushes for bestiality and sodomy, and they want to enforce that on you, and they burn in their lust one toward another, they're done for. It's done with. And here's the major indicator. Do they burn in their lust one toward another? And sometimes people, you know, they get a little upset when you're like, well, you're relating homosexuality to pedophilia. It's the same thing according to the Bible. And in fact, statistically, homosexuals are the ones responsible for the majority of the pedophilia, and the small percentage of those who are not are those who haven't gotten caught yet. That's what it is. And 50 years ago, people understood homosexuality and pedophilia were one and the same. Because if you're willing to do what the dude, you're willing to just go after anything. They said, you don't think Christians struggle with those things? No, they don't. Because God has given us a boundary in our mind that we cannot surpass. There's certain things, a certain boundary, it's called the conscience, that we cannot go beyond that. Can Christians commit adultery? Yes. Can Christians commit fornication? Yes. Can they commit murder? Absolutely. Can they do a lot of these evil and wicked things in this world? Yes, absolutely, except for that which is against nature. That which is against nature, the Bible says a man is not capable of doing those things. And when you see an individual committing those things, it's an indication this person rejected Jesus Christ and became adversarial towards God long ago. So don't get it mistaken, don't get it twisted, what I'm saying here. And look, if the sodomite ever came and said, I want to be saved sincerely, they could be saved, but you know what, they will never do that though. They will never do that. Because they've rejected it to the point where God says, okay, you can't believe anymore. Because think about this, can someone get saved if they don't believe? No. No. And the Bible says now, as Janus and Jamborees whistled Moses, so did these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, listen to this, reprobate concerning the faith. And here's, I mean, listen to my sermon from last week. But think about this, you know, isn't it interesting that we have all these examples of all these bad people getting saved in the Bible? I mean, doing some pretty gnarly stuff. I mean, David is just like, man, David, David, you bad, David. It's like committing adultery, you're like putting a hit out on your buddy and like doing all these things. It's like, man, you bad. And you see there, it's just like, whoa, it's crazy how far Christians can go, right? But you have all these examples of Christians and people just doing bad things, but they still get saved. But there's not one example. Listen to me, there's not one, not even a smidge of an example of a sodomite getting saved. There's not even a smidge of evidence in the Bible. And it's just like, well, the evidence is that all men can be saved. Wrong, because the Bible talks about sodomites a lot. Throughout the Word of God, you hear the term sodomites. You hear it in Genesis 19, Judges 19, or you don't hear the sodomites, but you hear the acts of the sodomites in Judges 19. You hear it in the historical books. You hear it in the Levitical law. I mean, it's constantly in the Bible, in the New Testament, you hear about it. And not once, listen to me, not once do you ever see an example of a sodomite getting saved. And I don't think it's a coincidence that God displays the salvation of some of the worst people in this world, except for them. Except for them. And think about this, folks. You know, the last time I checked, July, August, September, they're not months to celebrate murder. Right? Like, I want to celebrate murder, you know? Have an entire murder pride. Right? It's just like, thief pride! Adultery pride! Let us commit adultery! Right? It's just like, there's no other month dedicated to celebrating sin, because most people are just ashamed of those things. But yay, we have this one month called Pride Month, where literally it's an entire month celebrating the abominable, detestable act of sodomy. And they want you to celebrate it with them. They want to impose it upon you. But in the Bible, it's never seen that a sodomite has ever gotten saved. Never. It's seen that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and then he didn't send people to go preach the gospel there. It wasn't just like, let's give them one last chance. You know, Lot preached to Abraham, and look, Abraham knew the gospel too. Like, he was like the best soul owner of that day. Father of faith, amen? You know, he could have gone over there and just like, you know, knock on doors or whatever, but God didn't commission to go do that, now did he? Is it because God just hates sinners? No, he doesn't. He loves those who want the truth and have been deceived, but there's a group of people that obviously, according to the Bible, he just eradicated them all. Just removed them from off the face of the earth so that sodomy would not permeate society, children would not be raped, children would not be molested, and it would not continue to go forward. You don't have that example, my friends. So that should tell you something. Go to the book of Jude, and we're done here. Now, if you walk away from the sermon and you're like, I still think gay people can be saved. I would agree with you and say, yeah, happy people can be saved, amen? Some of those people, you know, some happy people are just, they're happy and they're willing to get saved. But you're like, no, I'm talking about homosexuals, I think homosexuals can be saved. Okay, you can believe that all you want, that's fine, because everyone, we're not a church that's like, you have to believe like this. I'm just preaching to you the truth, okay? You have every right to be wrong, amen? But here's the thing, is that we have a policy at our church, no sodomites are ever welcome in here. No sodomites are ever welcome here. Why? Because churches are often targeted by sodomites. They target churches because they see that there's innocent people there that can be taken advantage of. It's fact. And it happens a lot. Where sodomites go into churches, they want to get involved in the children's ministry, they see a single woman with a child and they go after them in order to rape, molest and violate their psychopaths. So they're not welcome here, okay? You're like, oh man, that sounds cultish. No, the cult is the church that welcomes sodomites and just kind of just gives them over to the children. That's cultish. Forces the congregants to be around rapists and child molesters. Folks, it's out there. Look at Jude in verse 7, it says, Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh. You know what strange flesh means? It means queer. Like you shouldn't call them that, that's what they call themselves. I mean, isn't it like LGBTQ? Now it's like AI plus or whatever, they have a bunch of names. But the Q is queer. So it's just like, why are you guys getting mad when we call you queers? That's what you call yourselves. Now they also get mad when we call them fags, but you know, it is what it is. Going after strange flesh or set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Okay? So here we clearly see, you're like, oh man, I don't like that you used the word fag. Hey, I'm old school. I come from the 80s and 90s and early 2000s, when that word was an appropriate word to use to diss your homie. You really want to make your friend mad? You know, if he's throwing a fake, you're like, hey, stop being a little faggot. It's just like, well, bro, those are fighting words right there. 80s and 90s children know what I'm talking about. Okay? And we didn't use LGBTQ. We didn't use their terminology. We just call them fags. Okay? And so, like, oh man, that's offensive. Go back to the 80s. The 90s was like the best day. I'm just saying. Anyways. Says in verse 8, likewise also these filthy dreamers defiled the flesh, despised the minions, speak evil of dignities. So obviously here in Jude we see is like they're suffering the vengeance of eternal fire because they're to be examples to everyone else. So Christians need to read Jude 1.7. It's like, what's the fate of the sodomite? Jude 1.7. Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Doesn't say eternal life. Doesn't say everlasting life. It says eternal fire, referring to hell. And why? Because they went after strange flesh. Because they wanted to rape. They wanted to rape and murder Lot. They wanted to rape angels. It's ridiculous. And so, you know, yes, salvation was available to them at one point. Did you know that? Salvation was available to the sodomite at one point. But there came a point that they rejected the gospel to the point where they actually became adversarial towards God. The Bible says in Romans 1 they became haters of God. It's different from a person you knock on the door and they're like, I don't want that, I don't like Christians. They're not reprobate. It's when a person says, well, not only do I not want God, I hate God. I hate the Bible. I hate Jesus. I blaspheme him. They're going down a dark path and eventually, you know what God does? He just removes their ability to believe. He sears their conscience. And folks, the reason why sodomy is linked to a reprobate mind is because of the fact that a conscience is directly tied to our morality. So when a conscience is seared, it's just like, no more boundaries. No more boundaries. And so, you say, well, can you leave off on a good note? You know, such a sad sermon. Well, here's the thing. Here's the good note. Let's get people saved before they ever reach that point. Because look, if we get people saved, they can't become a reprobate. Now, can they be duped and even like, you know, become soft and lenient towards the propaganda? Yes. I mean, there's like pastors who are like that, you know what I mean? Because they're so scared of the sodomites. They're afraid of them or whatever. They're afraid that they're going to come and protest them or whatever. They're afraid that sodomites are going to email them and threaten them or whatever. It's like, dude, what are they going to do, hit you with their purse or something or what? They're going to throw their steroid vials at you, you know what I mean? Hormone blockers or whatever. You know, preach the truth. Preach the truth. Get the kids saved before they ever reach that point. It's sad, my friends. It's sad that these sodomites, at one point, they were a child. And no one, either someone didn't give them the gospel or they rejected the gospel, whatever it is. You know, we wish we were to reach them before they got to that point. But we have an opportunity today to do that, though. To get people saved as much as we possibly can so they don't reach that state. Who then can be saved? Well, there's a lot of people that can be saved. Some people are difficult to get saved, but let's just be realistic here. There's certain people in this world that can never be saved. Now, don't mourn over that. Let's focus on the people that we can get saved. Pray for those who it's difficult to get saved, but let's get as many people saved as we possibly can. And that's it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, be with us as your people and help us to raise a godly heritage, Lord. And to fight the tide of perversion that's permeating our society, Lord. I pray that you'd help us as Christians to continue to preach the gospel to every creature, to every man, woman, boy and girl, Lord, so they can avoid that awful fate. And I pray that you'd bless us as we go on our way. We love you. We thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please tune your songbooks to song number 148. Song number 148, Jesus only, Jesus. Song number 148 all together on that first verse. I walk the path of pleasure, I toil for earthly treasure, But peace beyond all measure, I found in only Jesus. My sins are all forgiven, The chains of sin are riven, And all my heart is given, To Jesus, only Jesus. My boasted goodness failed me, No cure for sin that ailed me, God's Spirit then prevailed me, To leave my sins on Jesus. My sins are all forgiven, The chains of sin are riven, And all my heart is given, To Jesus, only Jesus. God's Word I long resisted, His Spirit called, insisted, Repenting, I enlisted, With Jesus, only Jesus. My sins are all forgiven, The chains of sin are riven, And all my heart is given, To Jesus, only Jesus. O Christ, for love unceasing, For blessings ere increasing, For all my fears releasing, I praise and love my Jesus. My sins are all forgiven, The chains of sin are riven, And all my heart is given, To Jesus, only Jesus. Amen. Wonderful singing. We do have a baptism. Please turn your song books to song number one. Song number one, the first song there in your hymnals, Jesus, I, my cross have taken. Song number five. Song number five, When I survey the wondrous cross. All together on that first verse. When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the prince of glory died. My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Safe in the death of Christ my God. All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love, Flamingo down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? On the last were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my own. Okay, we have a baptism here, so what's your name? Kobe, have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? Okay, upon your public profession I may now baptize you. Son, and of the Holy Spirit going to cross your arms over your chest, Buried in the likeness of His death, raised to walk in the witness of life. Congratulations. Let's pray and we'll be dismissed. Father, we thank you again for this day. Thank you for our salvation. We're so thankful that it was available to us and that a faithful soul winner came to give us the gospel so that we can be saved. I pray that you bless us as we go on our way. Lord, may many souls be saved this afternoon. Bless all the congregants, Lord, and may you be with us now. We love you.