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

Through chapter 19 and honestly this chapter. It's coming straight in from Chapter 18 because the first two verses there really telling us where he's coming from. So in verse one there it says and it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings he departed from Galilee and came into the coast of Judea beyond Jordan and great multitudes followed him and he healed them there. So after he finished these sayings that's what was just said in chapter 18. So we're kind of coming right into this. So he departs from Galilee and comes into Judea. And so if you know kind of just the map of things you have Judea which is kind of like the southern portion of Judah or the southern portion of Israel which was Judah and then you had Samaria and then you had Galilee above that and so you can kind of just picture what's going on there. So he's constantly going through Samaria to get up to Galilee and then coming back down to Judea and just kind of this back and forth that he's doing. But the first thing we see here is actually dealing with divorce. So the first thing in verse three it says the Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? So first of all you gotta see that they're coming tempting him. Okay so they're trying to basically they're bringing in something that's kind of ambiguous. Okay and they're trying to see what he'll say about it. But then they're saying for every cause. Okay so they know that's not true. Even when you look at the law which we're gonna look at it obviously is not for every cause or for any situation. That's ridiculous to think so. So obviously they're tempting Christ seeing what he's gonna say here. And so what we get into is what the Bible really teaches on divorce or more so the biggest question when it comes to this is whether you can get remarried. Okay and you know this is obviously a touchy subject when it comes to anything like this because even in our church we have people that are divorced. We have people that were divorced and remarried. And you know we have people that are married. We have people that are single. We have pretty much everybody here okay. So you know I'm not against people that have been divorced. I'm not like here. I don't hate you or anything like that. But you know I'm just gonna preach to you obviously what the Bible says on this. And I've preached it before. I'm gonna preach to you what my stance is dealing with divorce and dealing with remarriage. But when you get into verse four here he's gonna answer him first of all kind of he takes the offense. That's what I love about Jesus. Okay besides other things like he saved me from my sins. But I love how he takes the offense. He doesn't just like defend what they say. He takes the offense and takes it to them. And it's kind of like when you said oh should we eat your flesh and drink your blood. He said yeah unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you. I love that. Because he just puts it straight through their teeth. And what he does here he's kind of taking the offense. So he's gonna get to the law of divorce or the bill of divorcement. But before he does that he's going to basically put down like this is the way it should be. This is the way it was established. Why are you even asking me this question? You know like it shouldn't even be asked. And so notice in verse four there it says and he answered and said unto them have you not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. So it's Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve by the way. And so that one's free. Verse five it says and said for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God had joined together let not man put asunder. And so he's basically just taking the offense and saying listen this is the way it's from the beginning is that you leave father and mother you cleave unto your wife. And obviously the opposite would apply what the wife would be cleaving to her husband. But your one flesh and he's basically saying once your one flesh don't try to part asunder what God has joined together. Okay so he's basically saying no you shouldn't get a divorce. Basically what he's saying here and he's saying from the very beginning it wasn't that way. But notice that then they're gonna pull out and they're gonna really just kind of they're like I wanna know what you have to say about this. You know the bill of divorce right. And verse seven there it says they say unto him why did Moses then command to give a riding of divorcement and to put her away. Notice the wording that they're using here. Okay just notice that their mindset they're saying should you know can we not just get a divorce for any cause? That's ridiculous first of all. But then they say didn't he command? You act like this is that commandment like we're supposed to do this. Like this is something that he wanted you to do. Did you see the language you're using? I mean he allowed it right. And he gave the you know the statute so to speak. But when you say like he commanded you do you see the language you're using there is kind of like you know he's telling us to do this. We need to do this. And obviously the Pharisees get everything wrong and they're taking everything backwards and they put the Bible on its head for their traditions and all this other stuff. But anyway they say you know in verse seven there why did Moses then command to give a riding of divorcement and to put her away? Okay so now Jesus is gonna answer this. And notice what he says first of all before he gets into the bill of divorcement. He says he saith unto them Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives but from the beginning it was not so. So I want you to see how Jesus approaches this. First of all he goes into the affirmative like the offense saying listen. You know once you become one flesh you shouldn't be trying to tear apart what God has joined us under. Then he's saying listen that precept or that commandment or you know basically you know he wrote this. He suffered you to let you do this because of the hardness of your hearts. So if you did do this that was because you had a hard heart. Now he allowed it okay but just because you take advantage of something that you can do doesn't mean that it's the most compassionate okay. And so he's basically but notice what it says but from the beginning it was not so. You know what that tells me is that there wasn't a riding of divorcement before Moses. And so that's interesting you know to think about that. But also he goes on to say in verse nine it says and I say unto you whosoever shall put away his wife excepted before fornication and shall marry another committed adultery and whosoever marries her which is put away doth commit adultery. So you can see right here there is one exception okay and people just take this and just make it say whatever they want it to say. Well he left me you know or she left me. It's like that's not what that's talking about okay. But so you got to go to what the Bible actually says on this and this is something that Jesus touched on in the Sermon on the Mount. He's kind of expounding on because they're really asking him on the Sermon on the Mount he was just preaching this. So you know he said the same thing in Matthew five and you go back to Matthew five just to see what he said about this. So Matthew five verse 31 and 32 and just two verses before he explains this. In this he was really just teaching on committing adultery and basically talking about if you were to divorce and all this other stuff. So in verse 31 it says and it has been said whosoever shall put away his wife let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication causes her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committed adultery. Okay so the same thing that he says here in Matthew 19 so it's very consistent. And you know the Bible says in Malachi, Malachi chapter two I believe it says that the Lord hateth putting away. Okay so you got to understand Jesus is the Lord and his mindset here from the very beginning when they asked this question he's saying listen made a male and female and you're supposed to be one flesh and what God had joined together let not man put asunder. And then they asked him again he's saying listen he suffered you to do this but it's because of the hardness of your hearts and it wasn't like that from the beginning. And then he said but you can write the bill of divorcement but it's only for the cause of fornication. Now the reason I believe he's clarifying this in Matthew five when he's on the Sermon on the Mount and basically here it's getting pulled out of him because you know God's plan is that you don't ever use that exception okay. But go to Deuteronomy chapter 24 because I'm gonna show you where that bill of divorcement is mentioned and you can definitely see how the Pharisees are trying to stretch this to basically say for any cause and why Jesus is basically putting a more specific and when you're going through the Sermon on the Mount what do you see? You know you've heard it and said thou shall not commit adultery but I say unto you whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already in his heart. What's he doing? He's magnifying it and he's giving you more detail. Does that make sense? So he's not destroying the law but he's basically just saying hey you've heard this, you've heard thou shall not kill. Well if you're angry with your brother without a cause you commit a murder already in your heart. So he's basically magnifying it and kind of honing in on it and saying here's exactly and here's even more detail to that commandment. And so with this he's doing that because notice in Deuteronomy 24 in verse one it says and when a man hath taken a wife and married her and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes. Now that's what they want to just read and stop. Okay you know they basically don't like her anymore. They don't find favor in her eyes anymore but notice it says because. Okay so this is why she finds no favor in his eyes. He hath found some uncleanness in her. Now I'm not gonna be graphic or anything like that but when you're dealing with fornication, fornication is something dealing with you know an act that married people would do. Now my understanding of fornication is not just when you're not married. Okay meaning that when you look at the works of the flesh in Galatians chapter five it says that the works of the flesh are uncleanness, fornication or an adultery. And what you see here is uncleanness right. Now fornication is definitely unclean. But not taking a shower is also unclean. Okay so what the Pharisees are doing here is what they're doing is saying well you know she doesn't shower therefore I should be able to put her away. Right she's unclean. She found some uncleanness in her right you know whatever. She didn't wash her hair you know whatever you know. She just uses dry shampoo, no I'm just kidding. But the thing is is that uncleanness can be very broad term right. You can say unclean for a lot of things. There's unclean animals, there's unclean, there's a lot of things that are unclean. But fornication is more specific. It's dealing with basically a sexual sin which is obviously unclean. Okay so obviously married couples that's not unclean. Okay because that's between you know two married couples. But adultery is even more specific right. Because adultery is that act that's done where one or both are married to someone else okay. And so you know people can commit fornication and not be an adulterer. But I believe that every adulterer is a fornicator. Does that make sense? And every adulterer is unclean. Does that make sense? So see how it goes back but it doesn't always go forward. You can be unclean because you don't shower but it doesn't mean you're a fornicator and an adulterer. Right but if you've committed fornication then you're unclean. So the reason I say that is because, now I just want to read the rest of this you know just so you can see this and then we'll get into what I believe this is exactly talking about at a time frame that this would be talking about. It says then let him write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house she may go and be another man's wife. So clearly with this that remarriage is applied right. And that's why Jesus is saying except be for the cause of fornication you can't get remarried. And it says in verse three it says and if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement must be a common denominator if this is the case but it says and give it in her hand and send her out of his house or if the latter husband die which took her to be his wife her former husband which sent her away may not take her again to be his wife. After that she is defiled for that is abomination before the Lord and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. So basically what this is saying is that if let's say a couple was married and then they got a divorce and one of the spouses got remarried it doesn't matter if that spouse dies or she gets a divorce and the spouse is still alive she cannot come back to that same husband. Okay and a lot of people do this where they'll reconcile. Now if they divorce and then neither of them remarry and then they reconcile that's what should happen. Okay so they got divorced in the begin with but in reality that's what you should be reconciled unto your spouse. That's what first Corinthians seven says and so that's what you should be doing and you should be remaining unmarried and so you do that. Now the question with this is when does this apply? Does this mean that you commit fornication at any point? You've been married for 20 years and that person commits fornication and therefore they can get remarried because of that. Okay I don't believe so. Okay I believe the time frame on this go to Matthew chapter one. Now you say well you put fornication as a broad spectrum therefore it kind of will defeat this. It doesn't defeat it. It just takes maybe a little bit of the teeth out of it because the argument is that fornication is only between unmarried people therefore this has to happen before they consummate the marriage. Which I believe that's what this precept is talking about. Basically you're married, you're a spouse but you haven't consummated or it's at the very beginning to where you find out that your spouse has like some kind of let's just say STD or something like that because that's uncleanness. Found some uncleanness right? And that's when you would basically have that right to do the bill of divorcement. And so but here's the thing. Think about this scenario. What I'm gonna show you is Joseph and Mary. This is the only case in the Bible that I can find where it was righteous or it was right for someone to put someone away. Okay? And so you can believe all you want that this can apply later on. You know this except for fornication. But my stance is I take the hard stance that this is only at the very beginning. It's kind of like an annulment if you want to look at it that way. And I also kind of look at this as far as when a woman would take an oath but then her father or husband doesn't either holds his peace or he hears it or whatever and then basically he can annul it. Does that make sense? But it has to be at the beginning. He can't like annul it later on. Be like, oh, you know that. Excuse me. She didn't drink coffee. You need to stick with the water. But you can't do it later on. It's got to be at the very beginning. There's got to be right at the very beginning. When he hears her say that. But Matthew chapter one, Matthew chapter one obviously is the story of Joseph and Mary. And Mary is with child with the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 18, it says now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together. So notice they were espoused before they came together. So their husband and wife technically, right, they said the vows, but they haven't come together yet. She was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privily. So obviously we know the story. The angel comes to him, tells him, no, this is what's going on. And he stays with her, but they don't come together until after Jesus is born. Obviously for the purposes of her being the virgin and all this other stuff, right? And so we see that the one case, and is that interesting? I mean, I guess I don't think it's a coincidence that the only place where it mentions that there's an exception in the New Testament is in Matthew. Matthew five and Matthew 19. And you start off with Matthew one dealing with that exception. Does that make sense? And all the other gospels, they won't say that exception. They'll just say, if you marry another, you commit adultery. And you say, well, 1 Corinthians seven, abam, it never says you can get remarried. It says you can leave, or they can leave. The question, and the biggest question with this is can you get remarried? Now, notice in, go to Romans chapter seven, because I tend to look at clear statements when it says, except for the cause of fornication, I look back at the law, and I see, well, okay, he found some uncleanness in her. The question is, when did that happen? The only case I see is in Matthew one, where it's actually a literal case where this is called just. Because you can find other places where people put away their wives, but it never says that God commanded that, or that God was happy with that, right? Because people will point to Ezra. They'll be like, see, they put a wall their way, Ezra told them to put away their wives. It never said God said that. It never said God was happy with that. And so, all I have to say is that in Romans seven and verse two, it says, for the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then, if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she is free from that law. So that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Till death do us part, right? I think both those things are usually said at weddings. What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder, now you may kiss the bride. And it says, until death do us part. All that's even said in the ceremony. And here's the thing, because this is going to happen, people are gonna have divorces. We may have to deal with this one day. Here's my stance on church discipline. If someone were to be divorced and get remarried. Church discipline, as far as kicking someone out of the church, is dealing with something that is a continual sin that's basically going on and they won't stop. Does that make sense? If someone got remarried, I do not believe they're in a continual state of adultery. But I do believe that when they get married and they consummate that marriage, they have committed adultery. And so it's a one-time kind of sin. It's not good and I don't recommend it. Obviously I'm preaching against it, right? That you shouldn't do that. But my stance on that is that if someone were to do that or something like that, obviously we'd have to condemn it. Does that make sense? I would condemn it publicly. I'd say I'm not for it. But if that person or people or whoever, if this ever happened, if they were to say, you know what, I know I was wrong, but I'm weak in the flesh, all that stuff, and they repent, then I believe we should take them back. Does that make sense? And so the whole point of church discipline is for reconciliation. And if someone does that, it's not like they're still in it. But that's my stance on it. I don't believe that, so if you're divorced and remarried, I don't believe that you're still committing adultery. So that means that if you're divorced and remarried, you need to stay with your spouse. You know, don't make the same mistake again, right? So stay with your spouse, put it under the blood, forget about it, okay? And sometimes I don't even know. I'm just gonna be honest with you. I don't pry into everybody's lives as far as who's been divorced or who's been remarried or whatever, so you may have been, and I have no idea. Okay, so you say, oh, you're preaching against me. I'm in Matthew 19, this is what it says. I have preached on this before, okay? I preached a whole sermon on divorce and remarriage. But that's our stance here as far as that. I don't believe that you should get a divorce. And the only case that would be right for you to get remarried if you got a divorce is in this strange case of kind of an annulment, okay? And even in the United States, we still had that. I think of Vegas, okay, when I think of this, because I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people that have gotten married at Vegas, and then they got an annulment the next day, okay? I'm not condoning that, okay? What I'm saying, though, is that even in the US, there is annulments, meaning that it's not technically a divorce. It's basically kind of this didn't really happen. It wasn't official, whatever, right? And so, but Jesus is putting a hard line on this, but he is also accepting that, hey, this law was put into place, but it was for the hardness of your heart. So you gotta understand that that precept was not there, because that's what we should be doing. It was there kind of like a relief, or basically just a way out for this one circumstance. Now, going on in verse 10 there of Matthew 19, notice his disciples, they are really seeing the gravity of the situation, okay? Because notice what they say here in verse 10. His disciples saying to him, if the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. So they understand the gravity of the situation, because everybody's saying it's not good to marry then. Now, that's a weird attitude, okay? Because it's like, what are you saying? Like, I can't get a divorce for any cause, therefore it's not good for me to marry. You know what I mean? So, what they're saying is that that is a very kind of stringent, strict rule, and basically you need to be willing to heed that. Notice what Jesus says, it says, but he said unto them, all men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. Okay, so it's obviously a hard saying, even back then. Okay, so there's nothing new under the sun. It's not like today, it's like, oh, we're dealing with this, and no one ever wanted to get a divorce back then. I mean, this was in Jesus' day that they were talking about divorce. How about the woman at the well? She was on her fifth husband, that wasn't even her husband, right? Thou hast had five husbands, and the one that you're with is not even your husband. Okay, so this is obviously a problem, and it's always been a problem since the very beginning. And so you gotta take heed to this, especially those that haven't been married yet, okay? And if this sermon's pertinent for anybody, it's for the married not to get a divorce, because there's no way out, okay? That's the way you have to look at it. And I think if spouses realized, hey, I can't be with anybody else if I'm not with my husband or my wife or whatever, then I think they would be like, yeah, we need to work this out, because I don't want to be single. I don't want to be celibate, right? But notice what it says here, because think about this, if you were in this situation, notice what it says in verse 12, okay? It says, for there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb, and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Now, there's some weird doctrine out there with this verse. You know, when I've read this, I never thought of this at all, but this is not talking about faggots, okay? I'm just gonna say that. It's not talking about queers. To get that weird perverted view is ridiculous, okay? Johnny Nixon, you know, this Born That Way Ministries. And for those that maybe don't know what I'm talking about, there's a guy named Johnny Nixon that wrote a whole book tailored around these verses right here saying, well, you know these little fairies that like men? They're actually eunuchs, and God made them that way for the glory of God, okay? And so, that's kind of the abridged version. I honestly didn't even read his book, but I saw the excerpts, and you know, other people did kind of excerpts and showed all the stuff that he believed that, and I heard him out of his own mouth say it. So, now, what's interesting about this is that, I guess the thing that you were wondering is that they made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. Now, what you have to understand in context what's being talked about, marriage. So, what's the opposite of marriage? It's not being married, not having children, okay? Now, a eunuch in the strict sense of what we would think of, we would think of someone that was castrated, right? And is not married and doesn't have children, right? But when you think about eunuch, what does that mean? That you're not married and you don't have children, okay? So, when I look at this passage here, the opposite of what's being said is, they were talking about being married, and he's saying, listen, you know, it's not good to be married then. If it's to be so with your wife, it's good not to, it is not good to marry. So, what's the opposite of that? Or what is it implying? That you don't marry and you stay single, okay? So, what it's saying at the beginning here is that, in verse 12, it says, there are some eunuchs that were born eunuchs, okay? So, basically, there's people that are born with birth defects, okay? And back in the Bible days, it even talks about that, like that they couldn't be priests, that they had certain infirmities or things like that, you know, any blemishes, because, obviously, they were representing Christ who had no blemish, okay? So, there are people that are born with infirmities. There are those that were made eunuchs by men, meaning that wasn't their choice. But when it's talking about those that have made themselves eunuchs, in this, I believe, what's being said is that they're not married and they don't have any children, okay? And in other passages in the Bible, and for the sake of time, I'm not going to, it talks about the eunuchs not saying that they're a dry tree, okay? Meaning that they're, what's a dry tree? An unfruitful tree. And what is the fruit of the womb? His reward, right? We're dealing with children, right? We're dealing with progenitors. And so, the idea is that you don't have progenitors because you're not married and you don't have children, right? I think the prime example of a person that made themselves a eunuch for the kingdom of God, or for the kingdom of heaven's sake, is Paul. And I'm going to show you that. So go to 1 Corinthians chapter seven. Because 1 Corinthians chapter seven is all about marriage. It's all about marriage. It's all about the case of your spouse departing from you or in the case of widows and all these other different things. So it's dealing with this subject. It starts off in 1 Corinthians chapter seven, verse one. It says, now concerning the things where you wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. So he's basically saying, listen, it's not good for a man to touch a woman because that's going to lead to fornication, right? Basically, you need to have a spouse so that you can avoid fornication, okay? And then he goes on in verse seven and eight to talk about himself a little bit. So in verse seven, it says, for I would, that all men were even as I myself, but every man hath this proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that, I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. Now, I don't believe that Paul was castrated or mutilated, and I do not believe the Bible's telling you to do that, okay? Now, Paul the apostle was not an elder. He was not a pastor, right? Never says that he is. He says, I'm doing the work of an evangelist. He calls himself an apostle, but Peter calls himself an elder, and John calls himself an elder, but guess what? Peter and John were married, because we know that Peter was married, and even in 1 Peter chapter five, I believe he's talking about Marcus, my son. I believe that's his actual son, okay? So going on there, he explains why. So he's basically saying, listen, I'm writing this saying, hey, to avoid fornication, marry, but I would or I wish, you can't think of it that way, I wish that you would all be like myself, which is unmarried, because then he says, unto the unmarried and widows, I write, it is good for them if they abide even as I, okay? And later on in this, it tells us that, hey, he's basically a virgin, and he's not committing fornication, okay? So he's basically celibate and all that. Now, I'll say this, this is not for most people, okay? Let's just be honest, most people should marry. Now, the reason he's saying that I wish you would abide like me is notice in verse 32, he's gonna give his reasoning, but he said it's better to marry than to burn. Now, he's not talking about burning in hell, it's talking about offending, okay? Because he says, are you offended and I burn not? He says in 2 Corinthians, so basically offend, burn, you know, you kind of think of how that would work together. So it's basically better for you to marry than not offend or burn, you know, kind of, you know, to transgress. But in verse 32, it says, but I would have you without carefulness. So this is why, this is why he's saying I wish you were like me because I would that you were without carefulness, okay? And it says, he that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. So this is why he's saying, hey, you know, it's better for you to be unmarried if you can abide even as I. So he's giving that caveat, he's like, if you're gonna abide like me, and you can keep your virginity and you can keep, you know, from committing fornication, it's better for you because you can, you know, you're gonna care for the things of the Lord. And notice it says in verse 33, but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. Then he goes on the flip side saying the same thing with the wife and the husband, it says, there is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy, both in body and in spirit, but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction. So the reason he's saying this, he's saying, listen, I can attend upon the Lord without any distraction, I don't have to worry about anybody else. Does that make sense? He doesn't have to worry about children or his wife or anything like that, therefore he can basically just do whatever he has to do, whenever he wants to do it, and he doesn't have to worry about taking care of his family or whatever. And so he's stating that basically this is profitable in that aspect, and the reason I bring this up is because those that are single or those that, you know, have been divorced or anything like that, and you're like, oh, you know, I shouldn't get remarried. Well, then be the Apostle Paul. You say, well, I can't be a pastor because I've been divorced, or I can't be a deacon, I can't do that. Well, be the Apostle Paul. I'm pretty sure he's one of the greatest Christians that ever lived, and he wasn't a pastor, and he wasn't a deacon, okay? So a lot of people get into this aspect of like, man, you know, I can't do this or that. Why don't you look at the things you can do? Because most people aren't pastors, and most people aren't deacons anyway, okay? Most those, and especially even in churches that are great, soul-winning, thriving churches, most of them are not pastors and deacons. Therefore, you can do pretty much everything else, okay? And so I want you to see that, hey, it's not hopeless. Actually, in Paul's eyes, it's better. Not to get divorced, but what I'm saying is better to actually be single, to be able to do things for the Lord without distraction, okay? So obviously, when I'm talking to you younger crowds that have never been married, verse one and two apply to you, okay? Meaning that most of the time, unless you're kind of a special case, kind of like Paul, where you can kind of hold in that desire, and you don't really have that great desire, most people have that desire to be married. Most of that, you know, they just, they wouldn't be able to abstain, and therefore, it's better to marry than to burn, and to offend in the law and to commit fornication, okay? And so I want you to see that, you know, just because you make a mistake in life doesn't mean that you can't do great things for God. Because there's many that have been divorced, there's many that have been divorced and remarried that are doing great things for God, and you gotta look at, in any case, you need to look at not what you can't do, but what you can do. And people are way too focused on, well, I can't do this. You know, why don't you look on what you can do? You can still go soul winning, right? And isn't that the main reason why we come to church anyway? You know, if for some reason I couldn't pastor, I'm still gonna go to church, I'm still gonna go soul winning, I'm gonna still do what I need to do, I just actually have less responsibility, it's actually gonna be easier now, you know? So all I have to say is that it's not, you gotta look at it in the positive, saying, listen, I'm gonna put myself all into the Lord and just, you know, win a whole bunch of crowns, do everything that I can do, and so you need to have that attitude as far as what Paul is saying here. And so, anyway, so going on into Matthew, go back to Matthew chapter 19. So, and if you wanna really, you know, you can go back to my sermon on marriage and divorce, I go in a lot greater detail on all the different aspects, all the so-called areas where it says you can get remarried and stuff like that, the only case is what Jesus said, okay? And if you say, well, I have a different interpretation, that's fine, okay? But, you know, my interpretation, I'm gonna take the strict sense on it, and, you know, if I'm too strict on that, I'd rather be too strict and too soft, right? I'd rather be telling someone that they can't get remarried when they can than tell someone that they get remarried and I'm actually causing them to commit adultery. That's my stance on that, and so until you can convince me otherwise, then I'm gonna take that hard stance, I'm gonna take that stance that it's talking about like what Joseph and Mary were dealing with. And so, you know, moral story, don't get divorced, right? Stay married, there's no way out, that's the way I look at it. So, in verse 13 of Matthew chapter 19, in verse, yeah, verse 13, it says, Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray, and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer, little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and departed thence. It's interesting, you know, because in chapter 18, he just got done taking a little child and using that little child as an example of how they need to be like this little child, that the kingdom of heaven is such as little children, and going on and on about, you know, and he's talking about how their angels always do behold the face of my father, then they're like, we don't want these children around, okay? So, obviously, and I preached on this before, this is why, this is one of the big reasons why we have the children in the church service, why we have a family-integrated church. We don't separate the children from the adults because the children need to hear this more than the adults. Okay, so the children need to be here, and so we need to suffer them, not to forbid them to come unto Jesus, okay? And so, we need to, and why does it say suffer, okay? Because suffer is also, you ever heard the term, obviously, in the Bible, long-suffering? What is that dealing with? Patience. And if anything has taught me patience in life, it's my children, okay? My children, if there's one thing that I've been taught by having children, it's patience, long-suffering. And so, what's that mean? It's meaning have patience with the children and don't forbid them to come. And so, yes, children can be loud, but so what? You know, they need to hear it, and we don't need to be like a mausoleum in here when it comes to sound, you know? I got a big enough voice when I can breathe and I'm not like choking on an ad or something like that that I can project past the children and through the cries and all that other stuff. And if we can't, I'll get a microphone and we'll make sure you can hear me, you know? We'll find some way that the children can be in here. And so, there's obviously other reasons for safety purposes, obviously, too, that they're around their families and stuff like that. But going on here, we get into the story of the rich young man. And I feel like I preached on this enough. Like, as far as like I preached, I think I preached on this when I was preaching on the importance of eternal security and other times, too. But you know what? We're gonna make sure it sticks. So, meaning that this story is taken out of context from all kinds of heretics. It's taken out of context dealing with even Baptists. Like I said, when I preached on this dealing with eternal security, I've heard Baptist preachers that believe like us on salvation say this is why they don't need to understand eternal security. Because the apostles were confused about salvation because of this story and all that stuff. So, I just wanna really, I just wanna break down this story and just see what's going on. And this is actually one of the best examples of how to go soul winning from our Savior. Meaning that Jesus is the best soul winner to ever walk the face of the earth. And this is a great example of how to deal with somebody, let's say at the door, okay? And notice He didn't just leave them with sweetness and light, okay? That's why sometimes I'll just leave someone with condemnation, okay? Which is what He really kinda does here. He just lets them go away sorrowful. That's some of the best medicine sometimes. And so, in Matthew 19, verse 16, it says, And behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal light? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. So, notice what Jesus is doing here. This is why the disciples, they're gonna be astonished. What's going on? Because Jesus is saying, keep the commandments, okay? That's why they're saying that. So, anybody that believes in salvation by grace through faith and then they hear, well, you need to keep the commandments, you're gonna be like, wait a minute, what are you talking about? Who could be saved then? Because that's where they're gonna get later on. I would be more worried if they're like, yeah, that's the way it should be done. I'd be actually more worried if they were just like, yeah, we're right on with what you said to Him. You'd be like, you need to get saved because if you think that's the way it takes. Now, notice what He's doing here. This young man comes up and says, I'm a good master, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? Jesus takes what He says. So, notice that a good soul winner can a lot of times take what the person that's talking to them, what they say, and turn that into something, okay? This takes discernment, this takes experience, but sometimes they'll say something to you and you say, yeah, that's interesting, but then you turn it on and say, but the Bible says this, isn't that interesting? And so, He takes what He says and He says, why callest thou me good? There's none good but one that is God. He's doing two things there. First of all, He's pointing out that you're not good because no one's good. But then He said, you called me good master, why did you do that? Only God is good. So, what's He doing? He's saying, I'm God. I'm God, you're not good. That's what He's saying just in one sentence, okay? Now, you say, well, the people will say, well, this proves that Jesus isn't God. He didn't say that He wasn't God and He didn't say He wasn't good. He just said, why callest thou me good? Do you see what He's doing there? He's asking Him why He's calling Him good. He is good, but the reason He's good is because He is God. And in John 10 and 11, you don't have to turn there, go to Romans chapter three, but John 10 and 11, it says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. So, is there any doubt that Jesus is good? The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trusteth in Him? And so, it's obvious that God is good. It's obvious that Jesus is good. He's the good shepherd. In Him is no sin, neither was gall found in His mouth. He was righteous, just, good, all of that. But He's getting him the question, why are you calling me good? Do you know that I'm not a sinner, right? Do you see what He's trying to get Him to realize, that if I'm really good, like you said I am, that means I'm God. And He's saying there's none good, no, not one, right? None good but one, that is God. And in Romans chapter three, we use this all the time, out soul winning. So, you say, why do you start off with getting them to admit that they're a sinner? Because that's the way Jesus started off. So, that's the way I'm gonna start off. In verse nine, it says, what then? Are we better than they? No and no wise, for we have before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. And it says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth, there's none that seeketh after God, they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no, not one. So, this young man, he's not admitting that, okay? That's what it comes down to is, he's not admitting that he's a sinner. Because Jesus just got done saying, there's none good. So, he's saying, what good thing can I do? He said, there's none good, but one, that is God. And why are you calling me a good master? Do you understand that I'm God? Do you understand that you're a sinner? That's what he's trying to flip on him there, in his own words. But in Romans 2, now this is what, this is where the disciples are getting confused, because Jesus is saying, if you want eternal life, you need to keep the commandments. Now, that is true, but no one can keep the commandments. That's the problem, okay? So, what he's giving him is an impossibility. It's true that if you never sinned, and you kept all of God's commandments, that you would live forever. Because why would you die? The wages of sin is death. So, there would be no reason to die. When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Well, if you never lusted, and you never sinned, then there's no death, okay? Now, Romans chapter two, Romans chapter two is an interesting chapter, because Romans chapter two is really showing that no matter if you're a Jew or a Gentile, if you do evil, you're gonna be punished for it. You're gonna have wrath if you do sin. And in Romans chapter two, in verse seven there, Romans two and verse seven, it says, to them who by patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteous indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile, but glory, honor, and peace to every man that doeth good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, that there is no respect of persons with God. So he basically is saying, if you do good, you have this. If you do evil, you have this. And then he goes on to say, hey, you're a Jew that resteth in the law, but you don't keep the law. And he goes through this whole list saying, you know, thou preacheth, thou shall not commit adultery to this, thou commit adultery. And he goes through this whole list as far as, you preach not to do this, but you do it. And so he's basically, what's Paul showing there? Hey, you're a sinner. And then he goes into chapter three saying, we have concluded that all men are under sin, whether Jew or Gentile. So he's making a point in chapter two saying, yeah, if you just kept the law and never sinned, you'd have eternal life, you'd have glory, you'd have everything, right? But the truth of the matter is, there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. If we go to Isaiah chapter 64, Isaiah chapter 64, and I'm gonna read Deuteronomy 6 25, it says, and it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. So yeah, if we keep his laws, it's our righteousness. And if we never sinned, yeah, we'd have eternal life because there's no death to someone that doesn't sin. But the question is, does anyone ever keep the commandments? Does anyone ever keep the whole law? Well, Isaiah, thinking about our righteousness, it says in verse, so Isaiah 64 and verse six, it says, but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. So to God, our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Why, because we've already sinned. For all of us sinning comes short of the glory of God, and this rich young man is not getting that. It's not resonating. And so this is why, a lot of times when we got soul winning, if I go to somebody and they say, you know what, and usually we get someone to agree they're a sinner. I've run into people that don't want to admit that, but you really can't go that far with them after that, right? I mean, they won't admit they're a sinner. I mean, where are you gonna go? Usually, you can't get them to admit that there's a punishment for that sin. And many of you have dealt with that, where you say, well, the Bible says that all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And they're like, well, I don't think that I would deserve hell. Well, if there's no damnation, there's no salvation. So if you don't realize that you are damned, or the wrath of God abideth on you, then how can you get saved? What are you getting saved from? And so, a lot of times, I'll leave someone there. If they won't admit that, I'll just be like, well, the Bible says that you would go to hell, and you need to think about that, and then just leave them at that. And I've had stories, I remember my younger brother gave the gospel to this lady, and he left her like that. I wasn't there, but I heard this story. He left her like that as far as just left her with condemnation, like you're going to hell. And I'm sure he said it in a nice manner, but when you say that you're going to hell, I don't care how nice you say it, it's still not gonna feel good, you know, getting that said to you. But weeks later, another one of my friends came by, knocked the same door, and that lady was distraught. And she was angry. She's like, there's another guy that came here. He told me I was going to hell. I couldn't sleep these last two weeks. She ended up getting saved. Why, because it resonated, because it became something that she was actually worried about, something that, you know, was a big deal. You say, well, you know, you want to leave someone sleepless for weeks? Yeah, if it'll get them saved. I'd rather be sleepless for a couple weeks than be in hell for all eternity. And so Jesus here is leaving this young man in condemnation. And notice that the young man says in verse 18, so in Matthew 19, in verse 18, it says, he saith unto him, which? So he's saying, keep the commandments. Jesus said, keep the commandments. And then this young man is saying, which ones? So he's missing the whole point. If you're going to get to heaven by your good works, you got to keep them all. So then he lists off, it says, Jesus said, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now, if you remember, basically, loving your neighbor as thyself is the fulfilling. The law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. That fulfills it all, meaning that if you keep that, you're keeping all the commandments. In turn, you're going to be having no other gods before me, you're not going to be killing somebody, you're not going to be committing adultery, you're not going to be doing any of this stuff. And so he's basically, in short, at the end, he's saying, it's all, the law. And think of James chapter two, it says, for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend him one point, he is guilty of all. And so what's that mean? It doesn't matter where you break it, you broke the law. Whether it's covetousness, whether it's lust, which is covetousness, or whether it's adultery, whether it's murder, whether it's taking the Lord's name in vain, it doesn't matter what you did, whosoever commits a sin would be worthy of death, would be worthy of hell, and it doesn't matter which one you do, unless you haven't ever broken the commandment. But that would make Jesus a liar then. If this man would say, I never sinned, that means that he's saying Jesus just told him a lie then. Because he said there's none good but one, that is God. Do you see how Jesus basically set him up to fail? The only way that he can get out of this and say, yeah, I'm going to make it by keeping the commandments is to say that Jesus just lied at the very beginning. And so I love how he sets it up. Notice how he sets this up to where this young man's going to have to think about this later as far as what was just said and how he answered him. And then it says, the young man saith unto him, all these things have I kept for my youth up, what lack I yet? So I think of 1 John where it says, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sin, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. So this young man is saying, I've done it all. You know, I haven't sinned, I'm good. And so he's basically saying, you know, yeah, I'm good. I know you said there's none good but one, that's God. So I guess he's saying he's God, you know, that's basically where you have to go with that because there's only one person that's good. But anyway, in Matthew chapter 19 verse 21, notice what Jesus says. So this is his response to the young man. It says, Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. Now in Mark chapter 10, so Mark chapter 10 is the parallel to this. And there's obviously in Luke, it also talks about it. But in Mark chapter 10, I want you to go there and kind of keep your finger there because we may be going back to that too. But, Mark chapter 10. So in Matthew 19, he's saying, if thou wilt be perfect. So notice what he's saying. It's okay, okay, if you're perfect, meaning that you've never broken any commandments. So he's kind of going along with them. Does that make sense? This guy's saying, I've kept it all. He's like, okay, well, if you're perfect then, then you need to sell all you have, sell to the poor and then you'll have treasure in heaven. So he doesn't say like, you'll have eternal life. So that's where people are saying, you need to sell all you have to go to heaven. No, he doesn't say that. You want treasure in heaven, which applies to any of us. Meaning that if we want to have treasures in heaven, that means we have to give up things in this life, okay. But in Mark 10, verse 21, same story. But notice it says, then Jesus beholding him, loved him. So notice Jesus' heart here. He loves this guy, he wants him to get saved. It's not that he hates him or that he's just basically, making an example out of him. He loves him, he's trying to win him, okay. And so when he says, if thou will be perfect, it's kind of a cue card like, think about that. Are you perfect? You know what I mean? So, and then it says, 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. Okay, so after we get saved by faith, that's what we're supposed to do. Take up the cross and follow him. That's after salvation. So he's basically saying, okay, well, if you're perfect, if you're already good to go on that front, you don't have any sin, then come and follow me and you have treasure in heaven. So then he leaves sorrowful because in verse 22 of chapter 19, so Matthew 19, verse 22 says, but when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. Now people take this and rip this stuff out of context, being they're like, well, see, he couldn't go to heaven because he wasn't willing to give up his riches. That's all this young man was getting out of this though. Okay, so that's not, it's not saying, well, he couldn't give up his riches. That's why he didn't get saved. This is where he basically just, you know, I can't handle it anymore. You know, like I was up to you when I was about keeping the whole law, even though that's ridiculous, right? But when it came to selling all the things that I have, I can't do that. Okay, so that was like the breaking point where he's just like, I can't do that, right? And so then he's gonna have, Jesus is gonna have this discourse with his disciples because he's gonna explain, you know, why this was such a hard case. So he's talking to this rich man and obviously he didn't get saved. It didn't go well. So he's like winning multitudes of Christ, other places, right? They're just like touching his garment. He's healing them. They're believing on him and all this stuff. And then there's this guy that's just this really hard case. So like I said, you know, going in with, he doesn't say to give up all your possessions so that you'll have eternal life. In Matthew 6, dealing with the Sermon on the Mount, it talks about laying not up treasures, laying up for yourselves treasure upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. So obviously that applies to Christians. But in verse 23 of Matthew 19, it says, Then said Jesus unto his disciples, verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say unto you, 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. Okay? And so this is where people are saying, well, it's hard, you know, they'll say, well, it's difficult to go to heaven. No, it's not difficult, but it's hard for a rich man. Now there's a reason why it's hard for a rich man. Okay? Go to Mark chapter 10, if you still have your finger there. And I just kind of want to state this too. I don't know if you've ever heard this. This is really weird. Sometimes I bring up stuff to you and you're like, I haven't heard that in my life. I've actually heard people say, well, you know, when it says that a camel going through the eye of a needle, that's not talking about an actual camel and like the eye of an actual needle. There's actually this gate, okay? There's this gate in Jerusalem that was called the eye of a needle, okay? And why it was called that is because it was a really small gate and they'd have to like bend down and crawl through this gate and the camels would have to like, you know, kind of struggle and get through the gate and all this stuff. I mean, weird, crazy stuff, okay? And so it's like, you can't just take what Jesus says, you know, talk about straining at a net and swallowing a camel, right? Because they make up this weird stuff because like, well, it's not possible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Well, with God it's possible, right? With men it's impossible. That's what he says later on. But he's showing you that this is how hard it is for a rich man to get saved, okay? It's like a camel shoving it through the eye of a needle. And I don't know about you, and I know those that sew in here, you're probably really good at this. So maybe it's not hard for you, but it's really hard to get that thread through that needle, the eye of that needle. I'm always just like, it's never getting in there, you know? And it's just horrible. So, you know, those that are good at sewing and doing that, you know, God bless you. And listen, I only had to do this when I was single, meaning I had to sew buttons onto my shirt, and they all had different like types of thread. So one of my shirts, I'm not gonna tell you which one, because now you're gonna be looking at me, has like all kinds of different colors when it comes to my buttons because I did that myself. Anyway, so in Mark chapter 10 and verse 24, it gives us a lot more light on what he's saying here, okay? Because he's saying it's hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Mark 10, verse 24, it says, And the disciples were astonished at his words, but Jesus answereth again and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? That's exactly what you're dealing with there. It's not just because they have money that it's difficult for, the reason it's hard for them to get in heaven is because they're not humble, right? They are not dependent on anybody else. Those that are dependent on someone else, and that's why children are the best people to get saved because they're the most dependent people in the world, right, they're dependent on their parents at all times for everything. But rich people, they're not depending on anybody, right? They have money, they don't need anybody's help. Does that make sense? And so that's why, and I preach a whole sermon on the welfare state of West Virginia, because West Virginia should be one of the most soul wanting receptive places in all of America, but it's not. And that's because of the welfare state because yes, they're poor in the eyes of like income, but everything's handed to them by the government, which means they're dependent on the government and not on God. But people that are actually poor, meaning that they're working hard and they're not getting handouts, but they're poor, meaning that they don't have a lot of money, those people tend to be the easiest people to get saved because they're constantly having to depend on God. They're constantly have to basically be struggling to get what they have and therefore when they hear the gospel, they're like, yeah, I need that. Just like I need everything else from God, right? And so when it's talking about trusting in riches, it's not saying, it's not saying this, it's not saying that they have a lot of money and they think that's what's getting, they're buying their way into heaven, okay? What it means is that they're depending on their riches, therefore they don't need to depend on God, right? They're relying on their riches to get them through life. They don't need God, therefore why would they need them to go to heaven? Why would they even need to get saved, right? They don't see the need for salvation. And so James chapter two touches on this. You wonder, why do you guys go to the ghettos? They're not gonna bring in all the money into the church house, right? We go to the poor places because that's who's gonna be most receptive, okay? Our obligation, and listen, I'm not saying I don't wanna preach to the rich people, but they're not number one on the priority list. The poor are number one, okay? And so in James chapter two and verse five, it says, harken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him. But ye have despised the poor, do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? So notice how the poor are rich in faith, what would that make the rich? Poor in faith. Do you see the opposite, the pendulum? You're poor in the things of this world, you're rich in faith. You're rich in the things of the world, you're poor in faith. Okay, so that's why it's hard for a rich man. That's why you're not gonna probably win Bill Gates to the Lord, because he's a devil, first of all. But second of all, you know, these billionaires, you're not gonna win them to the Lord. And listen, I'm not saying it's not possible to ever win anybody that's rich, but a lot of times, the way that these people got super rich like that, they pretty much had to become a child of the devil to do it. But all I have to say is that they're gonna be the hardest. Let's say they aren't reprobate. Let's say Bill Gates isn't reprobate. Let's say, you know, and I can't even think of all the major rich people or the billionaires out there, but let's say all the Rothschilds, all the bankers. Let's say that all of them are not reprobate, just for sake of argument, okay? Hypothetical, okay? Bear with me, come on this journey with me. I know it's not likely, but let's say it's true. Then they would be the hardest people to win. It's technically possible, but it would be the hardest person to ever win. So all I have to say is that that's what he's saying there with that, and that's why he's saying that. But then, you know, you gotta think about this in Matthew chapter 19, verse 25. They bring up this valid question. This is where I've had old IFB preachers tell me, well, this is why you don't need to preach eternal security. This is why someone can believe they have to get saved over and over again, and they're still saved because the disciples didn't even understand salvation. And they point to this story, and notice it says in verse 25, it says, when his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, who then can be saved? Now, as a saved person, let's say you're reading this honestly, and you don't understand any interpretation of it, but someone comes up to Jesus and says, hey, you know, good master, what good thing do I do in eternal life? And he says, keep the commandments. Wouldn't you be like, whoa, what's going on? Because I've been hearing, you know, that is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. I've been hearing, you know, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And just constantly thinking about the book of John, just go down the list. And now you're saying, keep the commandments? And he's saying, you know, it's as hard as a camel going through the eye of a needle, and he's going through this whole thing, and he's like, who can be saved then? So they're astonished at this, but then he clarifies it, okay? Because then he says in verse 26, but Jesus beheld them and said unto them, with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So he's basically saying, what that rich young man's trying to do, it's impossible. It's impossible for him to get eternal life that way. So yeah, that's why you're amazed. That's why they're astonished. That's why they're saying, who then can be saved? No one can be saved. He's answering that. He's saying, no one can be saved that way. It's impossible. But with God, all things are possible. You were in Mark 10, go to Mark 9. So, you know, I think Mark, the book of Mark is the best place to look at it, interpreting this passage, because Mark 10 goes into the trusting in riches, so you kind of see what he's meaning by that. But also in Mark 9, before you get to Mark 10, you see this phrase that he says to this other man. In Mark 9, verse 23, it says, Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. So what's the answer? The answer is, he says, with men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Why? Because it's all things are possible to him that believeth. And you think about, well, he's talking about the rich man and all that stuff. Yeah, but the poor are rich in faith. So it's all about faith. The only thing that, listen, you know, Paul says that I may know him and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God by faith. So Paul is saying, listen, everything that I did, I count it but dung. And he's saying that it's all about the fact that I have his righteousness by faith. I have the righteousness of God imputed on me by faith. But if you want your own righteousness by keeping the commandments, that's impossible. That's what he's saying in this passage. And so people try to rip this stuff out of context and say something that it isn't saying. And it really is just, actually, it's a great soul winning tool. Because Jesus is saying, what's the priority? What's he trying to tell this young man? Jesus is the son of God. He's God. He's the Christ. That's what he's getting to him at the very beginning, saying there's none, why are you calling me good? There's none good but one that's God. So he's trying to get him to realize, hey, I am God. But then he's saying, there's none good. And isn't that how we start every single soul winning presentation? There's none righteous, no, not one, for all of sin and come short of the glory of God. And so that's the way Jesus did it. And then he goes into explaining to him what you would have to keep if you were gonna try to do it by the commandments. He's kinda showing him, hey, you're gonna have to be perfect then. So if anybody thinks that, well, you know, I can get there by, well, then you need to be perfect. Don't ever mess up. Don't ever offend him one point. And he just leaves him sorrowful. And I don't know if that young man got saved. But I'd say this, he had the best chance. He had the best soul winner talking to him. He had the Lord Jesus Christ giving him the gospel. If Jesus can't win him, no one can. Okay, now, going on to finish up the chapter here, in verse 27, Peter's asking this question. So now, I believe at this point, they understand what happened. He explained it to me, saying this is impossible with men. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And so it's really showing you, hey, the law can't save you. It's only gonna condemn you. You're never gonna be able to keep that. That's through men. It'll never work. But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace is the only way we're gonna get saved. Grace is the only way any of us are gonna get eternal life. But then he asks this question in verse 27. Then answered Peter and said unto him, behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee. What shall we have therefore? So he's basically saying, hey, we're forsaking all. What are we gonna have? What's there gonna be our reward? And Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. It's interesting what he says here. And so I believe he's talking about the 12 apostles. I believe this is why it was important that they picked another apostle, meaning that in Acts 1, it says that it must needs that we basically pick another one. And I'm rarely paraphrasing that, but basically they picked Matthias to be the 12th because there's going to be these 12 thrones that the 12 apostles are gonna sit on. But I don't believe it's just that. I'm not saying that there's only 12 thrones that are judging here. Go to Revelation chapter 20, because Revelation 20, I believe this helps you understand a little bit about what's being said in Revelation 20, honestly, because we see that in the regeneration, what's that talking about? It's talking about the resurrection. And the way we understand Revelation is the fact that Jesus is gonna come in the clouds, and those days have been cut short as far as that seven year period. We're gonna be raptured. We're gonna be caught up together with him in the clouds. But right before the 1,000 year reign, I believe is when the judgment seat of Christ happens. And then we go into that 1,000 year reign after we've already received all the rewards. And basically we're gonna rule and reign with him forever. So if you think about it, we're gonna rule and reign when you have to have thrones in order to do that. Now, in Revelation 20, verse one, just to get some context, it says, and I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid a hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him 1,000 years, and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the 1,000 years should be fulfilled. And after that, he must be loosed a little season. So we get context, right? We're gonna be going into this 1,000 years, okay? Notice in verse four, and I saw thrones and they sat upon them. Have you ever wondered what that meant? Right, I saw thrones and they sat upon them. Well, I'd say this, there's at least 12 that the 12 apostles are sitting on and judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Does that make sense? So I say at the very least, this is talking about that, you know, where he says in the regeneration, you should sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. But what about all the other nations? Okay, so that's why I think there will be other thrones for other nations, okay? And so we're gonna be ruling and reigning over the whole earth for that time, out of Jerusalem. But, and it says, and judgment was given unto them. And so I believe also what we're dealing with here is the judgment seat of Christ. So judgment was given unto them because we're all gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And it says, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, in which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such that the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. So what it's saying here is that that first resurrection, which is gonna be everybody up to this point that has died, right, that's in Christ, is gonna rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. And so when he's saying in regeneration, that's when we're given authority, right? You think about well done, thou good and faithful servant, you've been faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over many things. And we're gonna go into that thousand year reign rolling and reigning with him. Specifically, the 12 apostles will be reigning over the 12 tribes, but is that the only people that are gonna be there, right? There's gonna be other people there. Now, there's a lot to get into this if you really wanted to as far as what's all being said here. The dead shall not live again. This is clearly talking about saved people, okay? Because the dead that are in hell, it never calls them, they never live again, okay? So what it's stating here is that for that thousand year reign, there's not gonna be resurrections. It's not like someone dies and then they're resurrected. Physically, right? That doesn't happen until a thousand years have expired. Okay, so what it's stating, if there's a first resurrection, you know what that means? There's a second one, okay? It wouldn't make any sense to call it the first resurrection. It's just like Jesus is the first begotten of the dead. Why? Because we're also gonna be begotten from the dead at the resurrection, okay? So I hope that makes sense. Dealing with that regeneration, just to kind of give you some insight on when that happens, okay? And you have the rapture, and listen, this goes into some details as far as is this talking, what about people that die before that seventh trumpet sounds, right? That let's say they get saved, or even the two witnesses that die right before that seventh trumpet sounds. I personally believe that that first resurrection covers everybody up to this point where that seventh trumpet sounds, and then all those, everybody that dies after that has to wait until the next resurrection. Okay, that's what I believe is being said there, but all that for another day and another sermon. But the chapter ends basically talking about if you give up lands, and we've covered this before about you give up the things of this life, and it'll be given back to you 100 fold, but then it says, but many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. This is often mentioned dealing with the regeneration, with the restitution of times, with the rapture, with the day of the Lord, with the resurrection, okay? That that's when everything's gonna be given to you, and if you're last in this life, you'll be first there. But if you're first in this life, meaning you put everything in this life first, you'll be last there. You'll still be there, okay? But you'll be last in line, so to speak. So I'd rather be first there than here, because we're gonna be there a lot longer, okay? So Matthew chapter 19, a lot of interesting stuff, obviously some important doctrine, but that's Matthew chapter 19. Let's end with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening, and pray that you be with us throughout the rest of this evening, but also as we go back to work and throughout the week, we just pray that you give us safe travels, help us with our jobs, and pray that you be with those that maybe aren't feeling well, and we'll just pray that you'd keep us safe, and help us to bring glory to your name, in Jesus Christ's name, amen.