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So you're there in Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, we're continuing our study through the book of Matthew, and just a lot of different things to cover in this chapter, and a lot of these chapters are like that, so it's not just one theme or one thing being said in these chapters. He's kinda hitting a lot of things, but this is the chapter where we see the list of the 12 disciples or apostles, okay? So I kinda wanna spend some time just talking about them, and honestly, this is one of those things where it's a good thing to memorize. Memorize the 10 commandments, memorize the 12 tribes, memorize the 12 apostles. I mean, you think about this, especially as someone that's going around preaching the gospel, and obviously you don't need to know all the 12 disciples to give someone the gospel, but what if someone said, hey, can you name me the 12 disciples? Could you do it? Or could you do it really quick, and stuff like that. So there's certain things that just Bible memory that you should have down and try to work on. But in verse one there, it says, and it says, and when he had called unto him his 12 disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. So we see that, first of all, he's giving them power to do certain things, okay? And so they're gonna go around and cast out devils and all this other stuff. You can see, especially with Judas, because we know Judas was a devil, and he knew that he didn't believe from the very beginning. And you can think of Matthew 7 where it says, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils. You can see why Judas may be saying this. Not that, I don't believe that he had the power to cast out devils, because it's just like a, a reprobate can't win someone in Christ. I don't believe they're gonna actually cast out a devil when he doesn't have the Holy Spirit. So, but it may look that way, especially if you're going two by two, and he may be thinking that he's casting out somebody or casting out a devil, because his partner is actually doing it. So, but you can definitely see how that would apply. But going down into the line of just different, as far as the apostles here, notice in verse two, it says, now the names of the 12 apostles are these. And so in Luke chapter six, we're gonna see some different things. I just wanna show you the names of the apostles, and there's different names and different chapters. You can kind of see who they are, but in Luke chapter six, it says that he chose 12, whom he also, or whom also he named apostles. So you can see in some places they're called apostles, some places are called disciples. And an apostle, you know, if you think of the word post, like a postman, okay, an apostle is someone like a messenger. And in some cases, it's called a witness. So like they were called apostles because they're gonna be a witness of the resurrection. And so disciple, you can see what does disciple mean as a student, but you can see the word discipline in there. Someone that's disciplined to some type of teaching, right? Or you can even see doctrine, you know, dealing with doctrine and teachings and stuff like that. So a disciple is a student and an apostle is a messenger, right? So you can see why they're also called apostles, because they're not only students of Jesus and Jesus is the teacher, but they're also, or even followers, you wanna look at disciples as a follower because they're disciplined, right? But an apostle is kind of another aspect to it, that they're a messenger. You can think of an evangelist. What is an evangelist? Well, you can see the word angel in there. And what is an angel? A messenger. Okay, so an evangelist is a messenger of the gospel. So even the word gospel in other languages, it literally is like an evangel, like you just look at the word evangelist, how you even say gospel, okay? So anyway, all I have to say is that, you know, when they're called apostles, there's not just 12, okay? That's a whole nother term for another day, but Barnabas was an apostle, Paul's an apostle, James, the brother of Jesus is called an apostle. And so I believe there's a lot of apostles, but I do believe that they're a special group outside of disciples, meaning that there's disciples that aren't apostles, okay? I don't believe the women were apostles, okay? We don't see anywhere where a woman's called an apostle, but they are called disciples, okay? And so you can be a follower, but an apostle is a certain position of authority too in the church, first apostles, then prophets, teachers, you know, it goes down the line. So, but anyway, so we first see Simon who is called Peter. So if you'd like taking notes, you know, you could just basically put one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, and just fill these in. So Simon, which is surname Peter, and you know, and when you go to John one, it'll say your name shall be Cephas, which by interpretation is a stone. Well, a stone is, Peter is the word for stone. So Cephas is an Aramaic word, okay? And Peter comes from the Greek, okay? So meaning it's a transliteration of the Greek and Cephas is an Aramaic, so it's the same thing, okay? So Cephas, Peter, that's the same exact thing, okay? So Simon Peter, he's surname Peter, so you can kind of think, what's my surname? Robinson, right? So a lot of times you'll see Simon Peter, even how he starts off his second epistle is Simon Peter. So when you see that, that's why, you know, he's basically given him a last name, so to speak. Now, then the second one there is Andrew, his brother. So John one really shows us this, that Andrew is the one that brought Peter to Jesus, okay? And so Peter and Andrew are brothers, and so we're actually gonna see a lot of brothers in the apostles here. Then third, we see the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. So what you have is like the 12, that's basically a tight-knit group and kind of an elite group out of all of Jesus' disciples, right, he had more than 12 disciples, but the 12 were like the top group. Then even on top of that, you had the three, you know, Peter, James, and John. Peter, James, and John were those three that were at Mount of Transfiguration, and they did a lot of things with him. They went in to heal the daughter, you know, the daughter that he raised from the dead. It was only Peter, James, and John that went with him, different things like that. So James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, John, the son of Zebedee. And so they're also called Boanerges. So if you go to Mark, it'll say that, you know, he surnamed them Boanerges, which is the sons of thunder. So I guess you could say James Boanerges, you know, and John Boanerges. And so, you know, it doesn't really tell us why they're called the sons of thunder, but that's just another name for them there. Then we see Philip and Bartholomew. Now I believe, and I can't prove this unequivocally, I believe Bartholomew is Nathaniel, okay? The one reason why I believe that is because in John chapter one, we see Philip finding Nathaniel. So if you go to John chapter one, John chapter one and verse 45, a lot of times they group the disciples together and how they're kind of related. Okay, I'm not saying that Philip and Bartholomew are brothers or anything like that, but what I'm saying is that I believe what you see is throughout the gospels, we see Bartholomew, except for in John. We see Nathaniel both at the beginning of John, the gospel of John, and at the end. Okay, so it's not like Nathaniel fell off the face of the earth, but in John 1 45, it says, Philip findeth Nathaniel and saith unto him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And remember, this is the one that Jesus said, behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. Okay, so I believe Nathaniel was already saved, but I believe this is Bartholomew. Okay, it's just another name for him, because at the very end of the book of John, in John chapter 21 in verse two, we see the disciples going fishing. I go a-fishing, well, Nathaniel's one of them that goes with them in verse two of John chapter 21. It says, there were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathaniel of Cana and Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples. Okay, so I believe Nathaniel's one of the 12. I believe he's Bartholomew, okay? And so, the next we see is Thomas, which is called Didymus, okay? Now, we see Didymus in John. So, in John when we're dealing with Thomas. Now, Thomas is usually called Thomas the doubter, doubting Thomas. That's not what Didymus means, okay? Just to give you a little key there. Okay, I thought that, okay? I'm just gonna be honest with you. I thought Didymus was referring to him doubting. Now, obviously, he doubted, okay? But, Didymus actually means twins, okay? Just literally means twins, okay? Just a Greek word for twins. I don't know why, okay? So, if you want some like, some really like, golden nugget as far as why he's called Didymus, I don't really have an answer for you. Unless he has a twin brother or maybe one of the disciples is his twin brother, doesn't say. I figured that would be some information they would usually give if it was the case. But, Didymus means twins. So, take that for what it is. Matthew is next on the list. So, we've gotten, once we got to Thomas there, we have seven disciples. Now, the eighth is Matthew. Now, go to Mark chapter two, because I want you to see, you know, we saw that Matthew's also Levi, right? But, I want you to see that, I wanna see, show you who he's the son of, because we're actually gonna see that Matthew is actually the brother of two other disciples that are in the 12th, okay? So, in Mark chapter two and verse 14, it says, and as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom and said unto him, follow me, and he arose and followed him. So, who are you dealing with? Matthew. Matthew was sitting at the receipt of custom, Matthew the publican, and so when you parallel all these things, we see that Levi is Matthew, but Matthew is the son of Alphaeus. And we see that Matthew, or I'm sorry, Matthew, and then we have James, the son of Alphaeus. So, Matthew the publican, you're there in Matthew chapter 10 and verse three, Matthew the publican, then James the son of Alphaeus. And so, I believe Matthew and James are brothers. Okay, this is in James the son of Zebedee, okay? So, there's multiple James, and there's gonna be multiple Judases. And so, we see their brothers, but then also we have this, now in this case, we see Labias, whose surname was Thaddeus. Now, his name's Labias Thaddeus. Like, if you were just to say that, Labias Thaddeus. Now, that's the way Scorby says it, but I think of Thaddeus, and I think of like some rich person, you know? You know, Thaddeus, you know, I don't know why. But anyway, that's an interesting name. So, if you want a baby name, you want a boy name, that's Thaddeus, you know? Labias Thaddeus, that is Judas, the brother of James, okay? So, when you go to Luke chapter six, I want you to see this, because in another place, it'll just say Thaddeus, so Labias Thaddeus. So, but you probably remember those passages where it says Judas said unto him, not Iscariot. And it's very obvious, like, you're just like, oh, okay, they're making a very big point to say this isn't Judas Iscariot. But it's just funny, because it's like, Judas said unto him, not Iscariot. So, it's not, but anyway, in Luke chapter six, in verse 16, we see Judas, the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. So, we see there's two different Judases. Now, Judas is just the name for Judah, okay? It's just the Greek way of saying Judah, okay? So, it's not like Judas is a different name. So, Judah, in the Old Testament, when you look at Matthew chapter one, says Judas and his brethren, okay? So, it's just the Greek, it's just like Jonah and Jonas, you know, and how it puts an S on it. And then also Jude, the book of Jude, is either Judas, this Judas right here, which I believe it is, okay, because it says the brother of James. And so, I'm gonna look at that, just make sure I'm not, but here's the thing. Here's where it can get confusing as far as which James wrote the book of James and which Judas wrote the book of Jude, because Jesus has two brothers, James and Judas. So, he has Joseph, Salome, Judas, and James, okay? So, there's a lot of James, a lot of Judases. So, they're not all bad, okay? But actually, Judas Iscariot is the only bad one, but it says Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. That's what we keep seeing over and over again is Judas, the brother of James. Judas, the brother of James. When you look at Acts chapter one, you see the same thing when you see this list of the 11, is Judas, the brother of James. So, I believe Jude was written by that Judas, by Labedus or Thaddeus. So, Labedus, Thaddeus, you know? So, I'm glad it's called Jude, you know, instead of Labedus. But anyway, so we have Matthew, who's the son of Alphaeus, James, the son of Alphaeus, and then Judas, the brother of James, which would be the son of Alphaeus. Does that make sense? And you can see usually these are linked together, meaning they're listing them in a way that you can see that they're linked, right? You see all three of these in the same line. Then we see Simon the Canaanite, and in another passage, he's called Simon called Zelotes. Okay, so Simon Zelotes. So, Simon the Canaanite. So, there's two Simons, right? Simon Peter and then Simon Zelotes. We have one John, but we have two James. James, the son of Zebedee, but then James, the son of Alphaeus. We have two Judases. So, a lot of, so if you remember those, like James, Judas, and Simon, you got a lot of them, okay? There's six of them, or yeah, yeah, that's right. Six of them already. You have half of them, you just remember three names. And so, but obviously Judas Iscariot was replaced by who? You remember who the, Matthias. Matthias was the one, so, you know, he's the one that took Judas Iscariot's place, okay? And so, those are the 12 disciples. And so, just something to remember and just kind of, but it's good to go through all these different passages to see the relationship between them all. But it's a good thing to memorize. Again, you can give the gospel without knowing all these names and without having them memorized. But I just always think of somebody asking me a simple Bible question, you know, like that a kid would know kind of thing. You know, like back in the day, I'm saying that because nowadays kids don't even know that Jesus rose from the dead. But what I'm saying is that we need to kind of know this type of stuff, these type of simple things, you know, to where if someone were to ask you that, you'd know it off the cuff and you don't lose credibility. Okay? Be like, you're the pastor, you don't know who the 12 disciples are. You know, that's what I'm talking about is like, just knowing that simple stuff, don't leave that stuff off. Now, Matthew chapter 10, verse five, we see that he's sending out the 12, okay? So, he's naming off these 12 disciples, but then he's talking about he's sending them out to preach the gospel. But notice in verse five there, it says, "'These 12 Jesus sent forth and commanded them, "'saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles "'and into any city of the Samaritans, "'and to ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep "'of the house of Israel.'" Now, this is interesting because it basically, he's saying, don't go to the Gentiles at all. And in other places, you know, there'll be a Gentile woman, you know, the Syro Foundation, you know, the Greek woman that wants him to heal her daughter. And he says, you know, should I give the meat of the children to the dogs? And obviously, she ends up having faith to where he says, you know, be it done unto you, okay? Now, what this comes down to is that Jesus' ministry, why he was here in the flesh, was to Israel. And go to Romans chapter 15. So, this doesn't mean that he doesn't want the Gentiles to get saved, but he's wanting to make it very clear that he gave Israel a chance, okay? That there's no excuse for Israel. It's not like Jesus came and just kind of made them second fiddle. No, he came to them and he gave them every opportunity to accept him, to the point where he's just focusing on them while he was there. And remember, this ministry was three and a half years, okay? So, it's not like this is just a big space of time in history where he's just focusing on Israel, okay? And it's not to say that no one else was witnessing in the world at this time, does that make sense? Because even we see in other places in the Bible where other people are preaching the gospel and they were forbidding them, but they didn't follow with Jesus. So, there's obviously people that were out preaching the gospel that weren't even in Jesus' circle, okay? So, but in Romans chapter 15, verse eight, it says, now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, notice this, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. So, why was he focusing on the lost sheep of the house of Israel and not going into the Gentiles, not going to the Samaritans? Because he was confirming the promises unto the fathers. The other interesting thing is Samaria is the northern kingdom of Israel. You know, people that wanna be like, oh, you know, it's Israel, that Samaria is the mingled Israel. And the only ones that are left are the Jews because they're of the southern tribe of Judah. And so, it's interesting that he doesn't even consider most of the tribes of Israel, Israel anymore. You know, the Zionists, they're like, oh, you know, it's all the total tribes are still there. Most of them were disseminated into Samaria and he didn't even consider them Israel anymore. Now, obviously, you had people that came down from that northern kingdom, but most of Israel, what became Samaritans, and he's saying, don't go to them. Just go to the house of Israel, which is just what's left, okay? Now, in that same chapter there, Matthew 15, nine, it says, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is written, for this cause, I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. And again, he saith, rejoice ye Gentiles with his people. And again, praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, all ye people. And again, Isaiah saith, there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. So, does it sound like he's just leaving off the Gentiles, doesn't care about the Gentiles, or that the Gentiles are plan B? No, it's just the fact that he was focusing, he was purposely sticking in Israel, and focusing on them, why? To confirm the promises unto the fathers. He knew that they weren't gonna receive him, but he was doing it anyway, okay? He came unto his own, and his own received him not. So, don't look at this passion and be like, well, he didn't care about the Gentiles, that was just plan B. No, Romans chapter 15 is very clear that, do you see, well, since they rejected him, he went to the Gentiles. No, Gentiles were already, they were in that equation to begin with, okay? That's the New Testament. There's not a Jude nor a Greek. That's just what the New Testament is. But going back to Matthew chapter 10, Matthew chapter 10, what's interesting about this is that, when Jesus was here on his ministry, first of all, he's saying, don't go to the Gentiles. That's a stark difference than after he rose from the dead. But also, what he's telling them to do when they go is different than the way he does after he dies on the cross and raises again the third day. So, some of this stuff you need to look at and notice that this isn't something that applies to us now. Okay, notice in Matthew chapter 10, verse seven, it says, and as you go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely ye have received, freely give. Now, one thing that I see here is, as you have received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, it says in first Peter chapter four. So, freely ye have received, freely give, right? You got salvation freely, then give it out freely, okay? But notice in verse nine, it says, provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves, for the workman is worthy of his meat, and into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till you go thence. So, notice that he's saying, don't take any money with you. That's pretty much what he's saying right there. Don't take silver, gold, or brass in your purses, and a purse is just a wallet, right? Back then, they had to carry like actual money. Actually, you know, not this fiat money that doesn't, you know, have any value to it. They actually had gold, real gold, and real silver. So, they had to, a purse would be like a bag, right? You know, you had to keep it in there. No scrip for a journey. Don't take two coats, or shoes, or staves. Basically, just kind of go there with the shirt on your back and, you know, let them take care of you. So, when you go into this town, basically you're going into this town, and God's gonna provide meaning that there's going to be someone that's going to take care of you, okay? And so, they're gonna give you food to eat. They're gonna give you, you know, shelter, all this stuff. Does that make sense? Now, Luke chapter 10, the reason I say this, I'm gonna show you that this has changed when he died on the cross, because there's a verse that people are gonna go to and say, well, see, we shouldn't go house to house anymore. Okay? And they're gonna take a verse out of context. I'm gonna show you the verse, but I'm gonna show you how that would be ridiculous, okay? Meaning that when we go soul hunting, what do we do? We go from house to house, from door to door. But the reason he's saying not to do that, or basically wherever you go to dwell, he's talking about the fact that you're going into a town you don't live in, and the fact that he's gonna provide for you, and that there's gonna be people that are gonna, that lodge you, they're gonna give you food, the labor's worthy of his hire, meaning that you've earned it, right? You're working for it. So, it's not like you're just getting this for free, but notice in Luke chapter 10, verse three, it says, go your ways, behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves carrying neither purse, nor script, nor shoes, and salute no man, by the way. So, sound familiar? Same thing that he says in Matthew chapter 10, but also it says, and into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, peace be to this house, and if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall turn to you again, and in the same house remain eating and drinking such things as they give, for the labor is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. Okay, so this is where someone that's against soul hunting would just rip this out of context, and say, don't go from house to house. You know, you just need to stick in one place, have a seven week Bible study, and you know, that's it, you know, and they're against the fact of going door to door and giving the gospel, meaning like, you win someone at the door, and then you go to the next door and win someone else. And, but we can see that this is talking about the fact of where you're lodging and where you're eating, not who you're preaching the gospel to, okay? And I want to prove to you that this didn't apply after Jesus's resurrection. This doesn't apply to us now, okay? Go to Luke chapter 22. So in Luke 10, he's saying, don't take a purse, don't take script, don't take shoes, you know, don't take, you know, don't take money with you, and whatever house you go into, you know, stay there. So you're basically saying, if a house is going to give you, if they're going to take care of you, you know, basically just stick with them, right? Because it may take you a couple of days in order to preach the gospel to this town, right? So don't go from house to house, just stick with that house that's taking care of you. You know, don't just be transient on who's lodging you. Does that make sense? That's what he's saying. And so in Luke chapter 22, verse 35, it says, and he said unto them, when I sent you without purse and script and shoes, lacked ye anything, and they said nothing. So notice, what is he talking about? What we were just talking about. So he's basically saying, did you lack anything? Nothing, meaning that everything was provided to them, like he said. Then said he unto them, but now, see a difference? Then he sent them out with nothing. They didn't lack anything, but he says, but now he that hath a purse, let him take it. And likewise his script, and he hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say unto you that this, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, it is enough. So now he's saying, before he said, don't need to take a staff. Now he's take a sword. Because it's gonna be a little different now that Jesus is gonna be gone. You think about the bridegroom, right? It says when the bridegroom's with you, they cannot mourn. That's why they weren't fasting. But the time will come when the bridegroom's taken away from them where they will mourn, okay? So when Jesus was here, it's pretty much like the protection was on them. And they didn't need any, you know, they basically, everything was being provided for them and all that stuff as they were going out soul winning. And they didn't even need to take a sword with them. But then he says, hey, listen, I'm going to the cross. You need to take a sword and you take money. You need to take your script. You need to take your shoes and you take everything with you. And now it's not just the Israel that they're going to because in Mark 16, 15, it says, and he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. So you see the difference before, you know, in his three and a half year ministry or however long it was from when he was baptized to when he was crucified, that was the time where he was going through the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They weren't going into Samaria or into the Gentiles, but they also were going out soul winning without anything. They were just going on the shirt on their back and they were just basically, you know, people were going to take care of them. They weren't going to have to deal with, you know, they didn't even need a sword, okay? But after the resurrection, after he died and was resurrected, now it's different, okay? So to take that, go not from house to house and say, well, that means that we shouldn't go from house to house. That's clearly applying to the apostles and even to the 70, right? That he sent out, but that was during his ministry. That was while he was here in the flesh. The things concerning me have an end. That's when that ended, okay? But also in Acts chapter 20, dealing with Paul, just to give you a verse to show you that we should go from house to house, okay? In Acts chapter 20 and verse 20, so this is a great chapter on soul winning. You know, the fact that we get two by two, right? There's 12 apostles, so what do you have? Six groups of two. You have 70 others that he sent out. What do you have? 35 groups of two and he sent them two by two. That's where it says that he sent them two by two is in Luke chapter 10. So it's very biblical and I'm not saying that if you go more than two or if I forbid you had to go by yourself that it would be wrong. I'm not saying that, but the ideal situation is two by two. You can kind of think about why that would be, right? You're not overpowering by having like, you don't want like five people going up to the door and like some meek little ladies, like you're trying to get rid of gospel and you got like five men hawking over. But then you also don't want to go by yourself and be discouraged. You need someone there to kind of pick you up and it looks better when you have more than one person with you anyway. But in Acts chapter 20 and verse 20 it says, and he kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. I'm sorry, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So you can definitely see how it's changed, right? Because not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles and from house to house, he's testifying what? Salvation, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And so don't let people get you sucked into that. You know, like take you to a verse where it says, because there's many places, you know, and in the temple and in every house, we cease not to preach Jesus Christ, right? So there's so many verses on that. So don't get, you know, I'm probably gonna preach a whole sermon eventually on just soul winning and just the biblical aspect to that as far as why we go, why we knock every door, you know, why we're knocking doors, why we're going house to house and why we go two by two. And the reason we do it and the structure that we do it and all that stuff. But the Bible also says though, that if you go to a house or you go to a city and they don't receive you, they shake the dust off your feet, okay? Notice in verse 12. So Matthew chapter 10, verse 12. Matthew 10, verse 12, it says, and when you come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. For verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. This is some really strong language. But think about how harsh God thinks about people that reject his soul winners. You know, when you get the door slammed in your face or like, you know, they throw you out of an apartment complex or out of a city, let's say, you know, think about this verse. What does God think about that? And so you don't need to curse them or anything like that. And we were with Brother Eric, I remember when I threw you to the wolf, you know, one of God's elect, you know. Some woman that claimed to be a Jew that was like cussing and like blaspheming God, probably a reverend, I don't know. But after, you know, like she basically just told him to go pound salt and said some other words in there. He basically just took his shoe and just wiped off the dust, you know. And listen, it's gonna be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that woman's house, period. And you know what, sometimes when people do that, I honestly, I'm just like, God, you know, forgive them. You know, because I want people to get saved. You know what I mean? And it's kind of like when Jesus said, forgive them for they know not what they do. You can imagine how much wrath God the Father has for the people that are nailing his sons of the cross and just the destruction that will come upon them. And you think about the nation of the Jews and just Israel in general, how they got completely decimated. But at the same time, you know, when someone rejects it, you know, now there are times where I've done the same thing that Brother Eric did, where we went to this one, it was a trailer park. This place would reprobate, man. I'm just telling you. The cops called on us twice before we got done with it. And I think the cops eventually came, but we were done. Like we were driving out, the cops were coming in, so it just worked out. But all that to say is that I literally was just like wiping that dust off, you know, like just in front of the guy that, this guy wanted to beat me up or something like that. You know, it's like some old guy that was shorter than me that was gonna try to fight me. But anyway, all that to say is that, you know, what does the Bible say about that? So think about that when people are speaking against you and persecuting you for the gospel's sake. And especially as you're going out soul winning, God, you know, these people, they need to read this verse. They need to read this verse and get the fear of God in them because they are putting the wrath of God upon their own head when they don't receive a true soul winner. Now obviously Jehovah Witnesses Mormons, you know, kick them out. You know, like as far as, I believe they should have the liberty, meaning like in America to do whatever they're doing, you know what I mean? At the same time, I'm gonna kick them out and not bat an eye about it, okay? They're a false prophet. But at the same time, you know, a true prophet, these people need to beware. What kind of condemnation they're putting on their house, what kind of condemnation they're putting on their city. So any city that won't allow the gospel to be preached woe unto that city because it's gonna be worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, you know, in the day of judgment. So by going back to Matthew chapter 10 and verse 16, we're gonna see this, what's being almost, it's parallel to end times, okay? So this passage could be a little confusing, but what this really goes down to is that we're gonna have persecution, okay? You're gonna have persecution as believers. And I believe this is more so talking about after Jesus raises from the dead, but it's also coupled into, it's kind of like a parallel as far as what's going on at that moment, okay? So, you know, you think of 2 Timothy 3, 12, where it says, yay, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So if you go soul winning, you're going to have persecution. Point blank, it's going to happen. If you haven't had it yet, just wait for it, it's happening. But I think most everybody in here has suffered some kind of little persecution here and there from someone cussing you out, you know, getting called on you, the manager called on you, or just someone just being belligerent, whatever. I think we've all dealt with that. But so you're gonna, you're going to have persecution, but looking at Matthew chapter 10 and verse 16, our attitude should be this way when we're out soul winning, okay? So when you hear me preach and just like, just rip face from the pulpit, that's not the way we're supposed to be when we're out soul winning, okay? Meaning that there's a time to rip face and there's a time to be gentle, okay? And in verse 16, it says, behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. So it's not saying be an idiot or be, you know, just someone that's just gonna fall into traps or anything like that, be wise, be very wise, but be harmless at the same time. Meaning that when we go out soul winning, if someone just is belligerent and doesn't wanna talk to us, you know, see you later, don't wanna talk to you either. You know, like we're not out there to get into a fight with somebody. We're just out there to find someone, find the people that do wanna listen, okay? So when we go out, we need to be gentle, instructing those that impose themselves. But we're also, you know, a man that is in heretic after first and second admonition, reject, knowing that he that is such is sinneth and subverted and is condemned of himself. So, you know, we're not out there to just fight with heretics and, you know, have a screaming match with anybody. We need to be harmless, okay? And we're not out there to get into a fight, okay? Meaning that if you're getting into fistfights when you go out soul winning, you're doing it wrong, okay? I have yet to really, no, really, I have yet to be in a fistfight or get into an actual altercation. Obviously, if someone just is belligerent, is coming after you, you gotta do what you gotta do. You gotta protect yourself, you gotta protect your family, right? But I haven't got into that case. That's why you need to buy a sword, right? So buying a sword implies that there would be a case where you need to defend yourself, but you need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. So you're not going out there just swinging swords, you know, trying to get into fights, trying to pick fights with people, okay? Now in verse 17, it says, "'But beware of men, for they will deliver you up "'to the councils, and they will scourge you "'in their synagogues, and ye shall be brought "'before governors and kings for my sake "'for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. "'But when they deliver you up, take no thought how "'or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you "'in that same hour what ye shall speak. "'For it is not ye that speak, "'but the spirit of your father which speaketh in you, "'and the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, "'and the father to the child, and the children "'shall rise up against their parents, "'and cause them to be put to death, "'and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, "'but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.'" Now, what's interesting about this is that phrase is in Matthew chapter 24 and Mark chapter 13, so you can definitely see the end times. This is actually, all this stuff that I'm reading here is stuff that's in all of the discourse that we would call in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. This is where it kind of, because you can see, well, this is just future, but then it says in verse 23, it says, but when they persecute you in this city, so I believe he's switching gears. So all this that I believe we're dealing with here is something that they're not going to deal with, right? We don't see where the disciples, while Jesus was in his ministry, being caught before the judgment seats. We see all that after in Acts. Does that make sense? And all this stuff. So what I see in chapter 17 down to verse 22 is what's going to happen after his resurrection. And also it's going to apply in the end times, obviously, too, meaning that there's going to be persecutions. You're going to have to deal with all that. At the end, it's going to even be more amplified. But in verse 23, notice what it says. It says, but when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another, for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man become. So I believe he's talking to them directly right now, like as he's in his ministry, meaning that he's sending them into a city and he's saying, if they start persecuting you here, flee to another one. And he's saying that I'll become, I'm going to come to you before you go over all the cities of Israel. Okay, so he's basically sending them out and then he's going to meet them by the time they get done with all the cities. Does that make sense? So he's kind of showing the physical application. But you could also see how this would apply to end times. Think about this. When the abomination desolation happens and you deal with this aspect of Christians being killed and brought before the judgment seats, you're not dealing with a lot of time, right? If our timeline is correct, as far as when the rapture would happen, you're dealing with 75 days or two and a half months, okay? So it's basically giving you a timeline. Basically, you're not going to be able to get done with all the cities of Israel as far as preaching the gospel by the time I get here. So you can kind of see how that would apply with the great tribulation and how it's kind of a short period. And he's kind of saying, listen, I'm going to be there. And you can even see that in Matthew, go to Mark chapter 13. I want to show you, you know, but Mark chapter 13, Matthew 24, it does talk about the fact that when you see these things begin to come past, you know, know that it's not even at the doors. You know, when you see the abomination desolation and you see all this stuff, there's not that much time left, okay? So I believe verse 23 in Matthew 10 is dealing with them at that specific moment, but I do believe it's a dual application, okay? So he's saying to them, hey, if they persecute you in this city, now it doesn't say that they're going to be taken to a council or be discouraged or killed, okay? In verse 23. So I think he's basically saying, hey, this is what's going to be happening to you in the future. But even now, as you go into the city, because remember when he sends them in the city, he sends them without sword, without anything, right? So it's a little different before the resurrection than after, but he's kind of giving them a little, you know, in the future, here's what you're going to be dealing with. And the spirit of the father is going to be with you. So he's going to tell you what to say. That's dealing with the comforter, right? Which happens after the resurrection. But in Mark chapter 13, verse nine, notice the similarities to what's being said as far as, you know, you're going to be hated of all nations, you know, fathers, you know, daughters are going to deliver you up, all that stuff. Notice in Mark chapter 13, verse nine, it says, but take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to the two councils and then the synagogues, you shall be beaten and you shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. Notice how that would tie into what's dealing with in Matthew chapter 10. What are you dealing with? Preaching the gospel. In verse 11, it says, but when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand, neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye, for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death and the father of the son and children shall rise up against their parents and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved. So it's literally quoting. I mean, it's just the same thing that's being said in Matthew chapter 10. But then, you know, we see, people could go to Matthew chapter 10 and say, see, you know, you have to endure unto the end to be saved. But we know from context, and especially since this is just a complete quotation from Matthew chapter 10, when we go to Matthew 24 and Mark 13, same thing, but in Mark chapter 13, verse 20, it says, and except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved, but for the elect's sake, whom he had chosen, he has shortened the days. So when you look at Matthew chapter 23, yeah, I believe he's talking about his disciples at that time in the cities that they're going across in Israel, but notice that he's basically saying, listen, it's not gonna be long by the time I come to you. Meaning that by the time you get done with this, I'll be there. So you can kind of see the shortened aspect of the timeframe as far as when they're fleeing to these different cities and how he's gonna come to them by the time they get done with the cities. By the time they hop to each city from persecution, he's gonna meet them there. And what do you have dealing with the fact that when Jesus comes, what happens? The days are shortened, why? Because technically we were supposed to be under persecution of the Antichrist for 42 months. What's it shortened to? Two and a half. So you can see that shortening of days and you know, the coming of Christ. So you had the coming of Christ physically when they were preaching the gospel to the cities and then he came to them. And you can see in other passages when you come to them, they're all excited. You know, we've cast out devils and all this stuff and they're kind of, they're talking about how they're excited about all that. But the same would apply at the end times. Well, we're preaching the gospel. We're preaching the gospel. We're being persecuted and it's not gonna be long before we're gonna lift up our heads and our redemption draweth nigh because Jesus is coming in the clouds, okay? So I know that can kind of be confusing with Matthew chapter 10 because it's kind of showing you the future aspect and melding it with what's going on at that moment in time. But in Matthew chapter 10, verse 24, it says, the disciples not above his master, neither the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his Lord, for they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? This is always funny to me how people are just, the world hates you, doesn't that bother you? They killed Jesus, my friends. These people are so moronic. They really are that out of touch of what Christianity really is and what the Bible teaches, that they think that the world loved Jesus. I mean, how many times did Jesus say the world hates me? The world is gonna call me Beelzebub. How much more are they gonna call you that? Right, because Jesus was the son of God. He was sinless, right? He had no wrong, no guile, nothing. They had nothing on him, nothing. They couldn't accuse him. They couldn't catch him in his words. Listen, they could probably catch me in my words and they can find something they accuse me of. So how much more are they gonna call me a devil when they call Jesus Christ a devil, right? So it's always funny because these verses are all throughout the Bible and people are like, the world hates you and people are against you and all this stuff. What do you think about that? I think I'm in good company. That's what I think. I'm with Jesus and if I don't suffer persecution, you know what that means? I'm not godly. Yea, and all that will of godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And if all men speak well of you, what does that say? You're a false prophet. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. So did the fathers unto the false prophets. So yeah, I don't want everybody to speak well of me. He wants everybody to speak well of you, then you're just looking to be a false prophet. Look at the majority. When it says when all men shall speak well of you, what you're dealing with is the majority of the world. Because obviously there's gonna be the remnants that's not gonna speak well of the false prophet. There's always gonna be somebody that's not speaking well of the false prophet. But think of Joel Osteen. Wouldn't most of the world speak good of him? Say, oh, you know, he's a nice guy, he's good. What is he? He's a false prophet. Anybody, if most of the world likes you, you're not a true prophet, period. Most of the world will never, until the new heaven, new earth, you know, that most of the world will never be on the side of the Lord. Now, going on from Matthew chapter 10 there in verse 26, Matthew chapter 10 verse 26, what we see here too is the fact that we need to preach upon the housetops, but also we need to not fear man. So we're dealing with persecution and we're dealing with the fact that we're gonna be taken to synagogues and, you know, before rulers, and we're gonna have to, you know, deal with all this persecution. And he's basically saying, don't fear what people are gonna do and don't trim the message, okay? This is what he's saying right here in verse 26. It says, fear them not therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid that shall not be known. So basically, you know, everything that they do, all the weaknesses they do is gonna be revealed. But it says in verse 27, but what I tell you in darkness that speak ye in light and what ye hear in the ear that preach ye upon the housetops and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body and hell. So what is he saying? You're gonna deal with persecution, but don't fear them and don't trim the message. What I've told you in the ear and what you hear in darkness that speak ye in light, what I told you in the ear that preach ye upon the housetops and what most preachers do is they get a little bit of persecution and then they just trim the message. You're like, well, I better not speak on that. You know, the fags might come after me. And so don't fear them. They can just kill the body. Fear the one that can both destroy soul and body and hell. And so it's not saying fear him because he could cast you in the hell. Notice he's just giving you, hey, man can only kill your body. They can't touch your soul. Fear the one that's able to destroy both soul and body. It is showing you that, hey, God has more power. God is more powerful than any man, any government, anything that's out there. Fear him, not man. And don't trim the message. That's what I see from this passage. And I also see, don't be a cult, like the Masons and all this other stuff that you keep everything secret. But in context, what are you dealing with? The fact that you would be tempted to keep it secret. You'd be tempted to say, well, you know, we're not gonna live, we're not gonna put this out there. We're just gonna keep it in our group right here. And I'm not saying, listen, you know, YouTube and you know, social media and all that stuff wasn't always around, okay. But listen, if we didn't have that, they'd still hear it somehow. The message would get out there. Listen, they were hating churches and what people have been preaching for millennia. It's always been that way. You didn't need YouTube for that to happen. But if you think that I'm gonna trim the message because some faggot, some sexual deviant, some reprobate hates what I have to say, you got another thing coming. Because I'd rather just close up doors than be some soft-soaked preacher, you know. But also Jesus says, don't fear them. And preach it from the housetops. Listen, there's not one thing in this book that I will not preach from the housetops. I don't care what it is. Any chapter in Leviticus, listen, you get into the purification of women after they have children. I'll preach that from the housetops. That may not be a pleasant subject, but that's something that's in the Bible. And I'll preach on all the counsel of God. And so we need to just remember that. Don't be worried about that. You say, well, is there something that I shouldn't teach my children? No, every word about it is pure. These are wholesome words, okay. And even the things that are dealing with things that you need to be discreet about, it says it in a discreet manner, okay. So don't ever look at the Bible, well, that's too crass, it says piss. The Bible says some harsh things every once in a while, but you got to get used to it. It says bastard too. And people are always just like, oh, that's a bad word, you know. But it's not a bad word, okay. Listen, if it's in the Bible, it's right. Now obviously we need to use it in the right context. You don't just go around just saying, like calling everybody a bastard if it's not in context. But all that to say is that we need to preach from the housetops, don't fear what man's gonna do unto you. The Bible also says in Matthew chapter 10, showing us, listen, when you're going through persecution, what you need to realize is that God cares about you, okay. Not only is he putting a curse on a whole city and house and town or whatever, because they're rejecting you, but he's also, he's showing you that, hey, you have a lot of value to him. And in Matthew chapter 10 verse 29, it says, are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father. So he cares even for the sparrows. It says, it says in verse 30, it says, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows. Listen, God knows you, you know. When you knew God or rather are known of God, the Bible says, I know my sheep and they hear my voice. He knows it so well that he has every single one of your hairs numbered. That's intense, okay. That's intense on how well he knows you. And it's showing you that he cares. Listen, you know, fear ye not, for ye are of more value than many sparrows, meaning that he takes care of the sparrows, how much more would you take care of you? And especially as you're going out soul winning and you're doing the work of God, he's going to take care of his soldiers. He's going to take care of his children. And so don't fear what man's gonna do unto you. Listen, he can do exactly what he did with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He could still do it today. And so don't fear what they're able to do. And listen, they aren't just able to kill the body. All they're gonna do is give me a reward in heaven for all eternity. So, but also there's a passage here that people get caught up in. Verse 32 there. Matthew 10, verse 32, it says, whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him also, or him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. Now I've heard people take this and say, well, usually people that don't believe, okay, that are believers, they'll say, well, if you deny God, then you're gonna lose your salvation, okay? And no, of course not. The Bible says we can't lose our salvation. And so you could look at this and say, well, this is dealing with someone getting saved or not getting saved. Like meaning like an unbeliever, if they deny me now, then I'll deny them later. And I can see where you're coming from. I can see where someone can come from with that. That's true, right? If you deny the gospel, then he's gonna deny you. But I think what you're dealing with here is you're dealing with, he's talking to believers here. And he's basically saying, hey, listen, you're gonna deal with persecution. You're gonna do this. You're gonna have persecution. Just follow me, take up your cross. But he's basically saying, listen, if you don't confess me now, I'm not gonna confess you before my Father. And if you deny me now, I'm gonna deny you before my Father. So go to 2 Timothy 2, because I wanna show you what I believe this is talking about. I believe this is talking to Christians. And what you're dealing with is, if you're denying Jesus now as a believer, then don't expect him to answer your prayers. Don't expect him to be there when you need him or to help you out or to be basically interceding. Listen, if you wanna have good fellowship with the Father and for him to do things for you, then you need to be following Jesus. You need to have that fellowship. Now, in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9, it says, Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. So that's what we're dealing with here. Now, this has nothing to do with eternal salvation. So we understand that we're saved. We have that foundation, which is Jesus Christ. But being accepted of him, whether we're present or absent. What's it talking about being absent? Absent from the Lord and present in the body. And it talks about that we were rather to be absent or the body and present with the Lord. So it's talking about being either present with him in heaven or absence from him and being in the body. That either in heaven or earth. And basically we're talking about being accepted. And that's why we labor. This whole chapter is talking about laboring in the Lord. In Matthew chapter 10. You're dealing with soul winning. You're dealing with helping people out, laboring, healing the sick, raising the dead. And obviously we're not raising dead right now. But what I'm saying is that's what the whole chapter is about in second Timothy chapter two in verse 11. Notice what it says. Second Timothy chapter two in verse 11. It says, it is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. Notice how it's we, we, we, we. Notice Paul is saying, if we deny him. He's putting himself in that equation. So what we're dealing with is denying him in this world or not confessing him in this world. We can't expect him to reciprocate in a different manner. Meaning God is not mocked for what so man soweth that shall also reap, right? Meaning that if you're gonna sow to the flesh, you're gonna reap in the flesh. So if you deny him, he's gonna deny you when you ask him for something, right? And so why do we receive those things that we asked for? Because we do those things that are pleasing in his sight. But also go to John chapter 12. I'm gonna give you a physical example of a believer doing this, where they're not confessing Jesus, okay? And I believe they're as saved as you and me, okay? But obviously, if they don't confess him before men, while they're here in the flesh, and this also really just applies to in the resurrection. Meaning that, think about the judgment seat of Christ. And what is, second Corinthians chapter five is dealing with the judgment seat of Christ and the fact that we labor, that whether present or absent, we're accepted with him for we should all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And we're gonna be judged on the things that we've done, whether they be good or bad. So we're dealing with what? When at his coming, we don't wanna be ashamed. And we may have confidence and not be ashamed at his coming. And I'll show you another place where we talked about it. It rephrases that confessing and denying to if we're ashamed of him now, he'll be ashamed of us, right? So in John chapter 12, verse 42, it says, "'Nevertheless, among the chief rulers, "'also many believed on him.'" So are they saved? This is the narrator speaking. They believed on him, so they're saved. And then it says, "'But because of the Pharisees, "'they did not confess him, "'lest they should be put out of the synagogue, "'for they loved the praise of men "'more than the praise of God.'" Listen, there's many, listen, the majority of Christians love the praise of men more than the praise of God. So that is why, you know, when we're talking about confessing him before men, or denying him before men, we're talking about Christians that aren't doing what they should be doing. That's most Christians, okay? So most Christians are going to be weeping when they're at the judgment seat of Christ because they didn't do anything for the Lord. They're gonna be ashamed. They're gonna suffer loss. They're gonna be saved, yet so as by fire, right? So they're not unsaved. At the same time, they're gonna suffer loss. They're going to be ashamed. In Matthew chapter, I'm sorry, I thought I had a place where it talked about, I must have not wrote it down. But another place it talks about, same parallel passage you can look at a bit later, where it talks about if you're ashamed of me before men, I'll be ashamed of you. And you can kind of link that with being ashamed at his coming and all that stuff. So a lot of this has to do with at his coming and not denying him now and stuff like that. So again, when you see the word deny, know that that's not always talking about denying the gospel, okay? You can deny Christ. You can recant Christ and still be saved, meaning like, let's say you're about to get killed, which is what are we talking about? Persecution, being brought before judgment seats, being killed for the cause of Christ. If you're saved right now and you went up there and you said, you know, I don't believe, I don't believe, you know, to save your own skin, that's obviously full, you know, like the Bible's not, it's telling you not to do that, right? You need to confess him and not deny him. But if you did that, would you still be saved? Yeah, of course, because you have eternal life, okay? And it's not that you really even believe that, right? It's not like you're truly denying it, you really don't believe that anymore. No, you're just doing it, you're saying it, but you don't really believe that, right? You're just saying, oh, I don't believe in Christ, you know, so that you won't kill me, right? And so, but in Matthew chapter 10, I don't have my watch, let's see what time it is. It's about time, right? What time is it? Yeah, yeah, it's about time to wrap up here. So, basically, the Bible says in Matthew chapter 10, I'm gonna try to blow through this really quick. Matthew chapter 10, verse 34, it says, think not that I have come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword, right? I come to set a man of variance against his father and daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. So it's basically saying, listen, you know, the gospel's gonna divide people, and anybody that's saved knows this to be true, meaning like, if you really grasp the fact that, hey, we believe in eternal security, and everybody else that doesn't is not saved, what's that gonna cause? Division, it's gonna cause variance. Because in another place, it talks about, he came not to send peace, but division, okay? And it's talking about taking up your cross and following him, so being a disciple. And it says, if you don't do this, and it even says, you know, he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And remember, I did a whole sermon on this about being the disciple of Christ, and the fact that the other passage says, he that hateth, he that hateth not father or mother is not worthy of me? Because we were talking about how, what if your father or mother was a reprobate? What if your daughter or your son was a reprobate? The Bible says you shouldn't love those that hate the Lord. Therefore, this case right here in Matthew 10 is every case, does that make sense? Meaning that I don't care if they're saved or lost or whatever, you need to love God more than them. Doesn't mean you shouldn't love them, right? Luke, when you're dealing with hating, is the only fact of kind of like the Abigail situation, where her husband was the son of Belial, okay? And it's basically saying, if you're not willing to hate them, or in the most cases, you know, love God more than them, then you're not worthy of them. You can't be a disciple, because they're gonna hold you back. They're gonna cause you to where you're not gonna go so well. You're not gonna go to church. You're not gonna do what you need to be doing, right? And it says, he that findeth his life shall lose it, in verse 39, and he that loses his life, for my sake shall keep it. What is this talking about? This is talking about as a disciple, if you forsake all. Now, people take this too far and say, well, the Bible teaches that you need to leave your family. The Bible, yeah, right. The Bible says, if you don't provide for your own, especially for those of your own house, you have denied the faith, and you're worse than an infidel, okay? So the Bible's not saying to leave your family. What it's saying is that if your family is causing you to not walk or follow Christ, then you need to forsake it. Meaning, now, a man, listen, listen, men. You know, if you're like, oh, my wife's, you know, I can't follow Christ with my wife, you need to man up. You know, gird up your loins like a man, take that bull by the horns, do what you need to do, okay? And so don't give me that excuse when it comes to that. Now, when it comes to the fact that in Mark chapter 10, it talks about we have left all, you know, Simon Peter's saying, you know, we have left all, we have followed thee. What is he talking about? He's like, we're your disciples, we have left all. That doesn't mean that he forsook his wife and children, but would he be willing to forsake his children if they wouldn't follow him? Yeah, or if his wife wouldn't follow him, he's still gonna follow Christ. Does that make sense? And, but then it talks about how Jesus said, verily I say to you, there is no man that hath left house, and it goes through this whole list of brethren, sisters, for my sake in the gospels, but he shall receive in a hundredfold now at this time, and it goes through the house, brethren, all that stuff, and in the world to come, eternal life. And it talks about the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Because what it comes down to is that all those that believe on Christ are gonna be saved, but not everybody's gonna be first in the kingdom of God. Listen, those that break the least commandments and teach others to do so are gonna be the least in the kingdom of God. But also when it comes to soul winning and following Christ, if you're not following Christ, if you're not his disciple, if you don't take up his cross daily, you're gonna be last in the kingdom of heaven. You're still gonna be there. So it's not like you lost your salvation, but you need to do the work. And this ties into, you know, if you save your life, you shall lose it. Meaning that if you save your life, meaning you do the things of this life now, you're gonna lose what would become in the future, meaning all the rewards, all the stuff that you would have, and the life to come based off the work you do now. And so I have other things. Yeah, in Luke nine is where I was gonna show you, because it talks about what does a man advantage if he gained the whole world and lose himself, or be cast away. So that phrase of losing your life to gain it, it's not talking about eternal life, it's not talking about getting saved. Because that phrase cast away, go to 1 Corinthians chapter nine, and also in that passage where it says, of him shall the son of man be ashamed. It says, for whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words of him, shall the son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and his father's, and of the holy angel. So like I was saying before, you know, that's what it's talking about, about confessing him, not confessing him or denying him in this life. We're talking about the judgment seat of Christ. We're talking about when he comes in the clouds and all that, so. But it talks about losing yourself, you know, what shall man gain, or if he gained the whole world, lose his own soul, right? But then it says, you know, or be a cast away. Well, Paul says, at the very last verse of 1 Corinthians nine, verse 27 says, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away. So Paul the apostle was saying that he could be a cast away, it's not talking about being a cast away like you lost your salvation, it's just talking about the fact that you're preaching the gospel and you can end up being cast away from that. And so, whole another sermon on that whole topic there. The last portion of this chapter here is just talking about the fact of helping out others, helping out a righteous man, helping out a prophet, and if you receive a prophet, you're receiving Christ. So basically, helping out the brethren, helping out those that are doing the work, okay? The one thing I do want to say is the last verse there, Scorby says this wrong, or he reads it a little wrong, meaning that it can be kind of confusing, at least I think so, okay? In verse 42, it says, and whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water, and he'll say a cup of cold water only, meaning like that's all he gave him was a cup of cold water. I don't believe that's what's being saying, I believe what's being saying is that they're giving him a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, okay? Meaning that if you say, I give you this cup in the name of Brother Jason, he's saying you won't lose your reward. So notice that God's not that meticulous on the fact that you're saying, I give you this in the name of Jesus Christ, you know? You know how people get over spiritual and they're just like, in the name of Jesus Christ, I bestow this upon you and all this stuff? Listen, he's just saying, listen, if you give them a cup of cold water, and you're like, I'm giving it to you, you know, like so-and-so got this for you, you know? You know what I mean? Like if one of the brothers said, hey, I wanna give, you know, Miss Paula something, you know, and I hand it to him and say, hey, this is from Brother Jason. He's not gonna lose his reward. Does that make sense? So God's not meticulous in this fact of like, you gotta say it's in Jesus' name. You know, you gotta say like, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, I give you this gift, you know? And meaning, just do good, you know, help him out. And it's not that meticulous in like, whose name you're saying it in, and all this other stuff, okay? And so, but we'll end with that. I know a lot of stuff to hit on that chapter, for sure. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for this evening, and pray that you be with us throughout the rest of this week. Such a great chapter, a soul-winning chapter, and just how to follow you. And Lord, we could get into so many different sermons in that passage, but Lord, we just pray that you'd help us to use it, help us to apply it to our lives as we go soul-winning, but also as we just live our lives as Christians. Help us to never trim the message, to not be afraid of man, but to fear you. And Lord, we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.