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Thank you very much. Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to Mountain Baptist Church. Take your songbooks and turn to song number 126. Song 126 in your songbooks. We'll sing Anywhere with Jesus, and if you would stand, we'll sing song 126. Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go Anywhere he leads me in this world below Anywhere without him, dearest, joys would fade Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go Anywhere with Jesus I am not alone Other friends may fail me, he is still my own Though his hand may lead me over dreary ways Anywhere with Jesus is a house of praise Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go Anywhere with Jesus over land and sea Telling souls in darkness of salvation free Ready as he summons me to go or stay Anywhere with Jesus when he points the way Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go Anywhere with Jesus I can go to sleep When the dark new shadows round about me creep Knowing I shall wake and nevermore to roam Anywhere with Jesus will be home, sweet home Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father of the Lord, we just want to thank you, God, for another day to meet in your house. Thank you, Lord, for the souls that were saved this past week and also with the Sowing Marathon yesterday, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you would just help those people to grow and to find a good church. I pray, Lord, that you would just bless us now as we're going to sing more songs to you and hear preaching from your Word. In Jesus' name we ask all, but amen. All right, you may be seated and turn in your songbooks to song 159. Song 159. We'll sing, Blessed Be the Name, song 159. All praise to Him who reigns above In majesty supreme, Who gave His Son for man to die That He might man redeem. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. His name above all names shall stand Exalted more and more. At God the Father's own right hand Where angel hosts adore. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Redeemer, Savior, friend of man, Once ruined by the fall, Thou hast devised salvation's plan, For Thou hast died for all. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. His name shall be the Counselor, The mighty Prince of Peace, Of all Earth's kingdoms conqueror Whose reign shall never cease. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Welcome to Mountain Baptist Church on this Sunday morning. And just some general church announcements here. We have normal service times today and throughout the week. So nothing out of the ordinary there. We will have our soul winning time at 1 p.m. after the service this morning. So get some lunch and get back here before 1 o'clock. We'll get teamed up and go out soul winning. And then we have our regional soul winning times this week. And last week Wednesday got moved to Saturday. And actually the men that usually go out on that, that day went down to Princeton, West Virginia. What was it, 13 saved? So praise the Lord for that. So definitely a successful trip there. And then so this week, barring sicknesses and stuff like that, Monday and Wednesday times will be there. So just be on the WhatsApp and be on the lookout for where you'll be meeting up for that. If you want to go out on those days. And if there's any other days that you want to go, that would be better. Or you're on a Thursday and you say, hey, I want to go out soul winning. Just get on the WhatsApp and see who's available to go out. Obviously usually people are working until about 5 or something like that. So just be cognizant of that. But then our chapter memory for the month is Colossians chapter 2. And so Colossians chapter 2, and I'm about halfway or around halfway through that. I'm getting bogged down with other things. But I got to start really hitting it a little harder here. But some are still in chapter 1 and just keep chugging along through that. And so you won't regret it. Chapter 1 was a great chapter to memorize. Chapter 2 as well has been awesome. And then 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 11 is our memory verse for the week. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims. Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. And so that's our memory verse for the week. And then upcoming events, we have the men's prayer meeting at the end of the month here. We have the women's prayer meeting at the beginning of April. We have the soul winning marathon in Terra Alta. That's going to be April 9th. And so if you want to go on that, we're going to probably be meeting up at the Denny's. I think the Denny's on 68. So the first exit off 68 there. There's nothing really in Terra Alta to eat at besides Dairy Queen. So that being said, we're going to go get some Denny's and eat a Grand Slam breakfast before we go out there or something. But obviously the breakfast will be provided by us, the church. Lunch will be provided by us. We'll probably be – what did we decide on lunch? Did we say – okay. So we're either going to eat at Dairy Queen that's in Terra Alta or we're going to go down to Kingwood and get maybe Pizza Hut or something like that. I don't know. But I'd like to eat in Terra Alta because it really may just depend on how much we get done. If we get a lot done in the morning and we don't have that much more to do, we'll have more time before we can go back to Kingwood and eat. Whereas if we have a lot more to do, we'll hit up Dairy Queen and stuff like that. So that being said, put that on your calendars. I'd really like to – I know we've been kind of doing a lot of different marathons and some have been doing marathons outside of that. But I'd really like to get as many soul winners out to this as possible because I'd like to hit it – I'd like to get Terra Alta done in a day. So that's the plan. Hopefully it works out that way. And then we have the Lord's Supper on the list here for April 13th. That's actually a Wednesday. So we usually have the Lord's Supper on Sunday after the evening service. But that next Sunday is Easter, so it's actually I think will be very fitting to have the Lord's Supper on literally the day of the week that I believe the Lord was having the Lord's Supper with his disciples. So I think this will be – if there's any Lord's Supper to make it to, I believe it would be this one because this is really the time when Jesus was going to the cross and all that. And we have birthdays. Actually, James' birthday is today. But Holly hasn't been feeling well. My kids are all doing fine as far as I know. None of them are sick. At least physically they're fine mentally. That's another story. But James turned one today and so a lot of memories there in my truck and all that stuff. So we joked about having his birthday party at the University Motors parking lot. I said there's plenty of room in all these dealership parking lots because we live in Biden's America. That being said, we have some other ones here. Did we – we're saying happy birthday to Lydia, right? Okay, I'm just making sure we're not missing anybody here. And then last week did we miss – did we not get somebody? No, we got – yeah, we would have got everybody, right? So my mom's birthday is this week as well. And Lane, you're on Saturday, right? So how old are you going to be? 21. Youngins. I remember when 21 used to be like, oh, man, we're getting a little older. Happy birthday. So James, we'll sing happy birthday to him next week or maybe on Wednesday or something like that, but not that he will know anything that's going on. It's like one – you have these big birthday parties with these cakes and all this stuff for that one year and it's like that big birthday party and they'll never remember it. So we'll sing to my mom and we'll sing to Lane before we sing our last song here. Anniversaries, we got – that's – so the Fords aren't until next week. So – and then we got – we got the Crandalls, right? Or do we need to do that again? We could do it again. And then be in prayer for all the ladies on the pregnancy list there. And so – and be in prayer for all the ladies that just had little babies. And be in prayer for all our mothers, so on top of that. Anyway, someone mentioned Mother's Day. Someone posted something about Mother's Day and I'm like, is Mother's Day this Sunday? I'm like – because, you know, like my sermon has nothing to do with Mother's Day, you know? So like I'm literally like looking at Mother's Day and it's like, oh, it's May. Okay. It's Father's Day because that's always when we make hot dogs or something like that. You know, Mother's Day we'll make this gourmet stuff. Father's Day it's like you get hot dogs on the grill, you know? Anyway, but one last thing. We had a chili cook-off and, you know, I'm a prognosticator of some sorts, you know? I – well, at least I had confidence that my dad would win, you know, and all that. But I do appreciate everybody's chili that they made. I did taste most all of them except for the chicken one. Not that it wasn't good. I've heard that it was really good. I just, you know, didn't want to like – you know when you go to like these buffets and they're like there's just so much stuff and you eat everything and then you're sick by the end of it because you ate too many different things? Yeah, anyway, so that being said, my dad won and we said that he would get a pair of Duluth pants if he won and we got him. So dad, if you want to come up, we got your Duluth pants. This is what you win at Mountain Baptist Church. And actually Miss Tabby made – well, spoon trophy I guess or spoon plaque. It says Mountain Baptist Church chili cook-off. It says most savory chili award. So you even got a little plaque there. So as parents, we know what that could be used for. It may need to be a little thicker though. That might break real quick. So but we'll have to do that again next year. Next year we may have to have a competition for the cornbread. I think there was like just as much different cornbread as there was chili. So that's about all I got for announcements. Everything else is kind of just normal announcements that's going on there. Just being a prayer for those that aren't feeling well. Obviously my wife isn't feeling well and others that may not be feeling well. Do we want to announce? So we're going to have a baptism. Maybe after the evening service just because warming up water and all that stuff takes forever. But Avery is going to get baptized. So Avery got saved, Avery Gandy, and she's going to get baptized. And so that's exciting. And so stick around for that. I believe after the evening service that would be the safe bet by the time we get the water warmed up for her so we don't breathe her to death like we did by the weight. So hopefully that worked out there with that. But exciting there. But Brother Dave is going to come sing one more song. And then well we're going to sing Happy Birthday, sing another song. And then Brother Levi is going to be reading 1 Peter chapter 2 for us. All right. Take your song books and turn to song 161. Song 161. We'll sing Our Great Savior. But before we do that we need to sing Happy Birthday to Mrs. Robinson and to Lane. So if you all would stand up. Rebellious Wicked Generation. All right, all right. And so Saturday, and when is your birthday? What day? Thursday. Okay, well happy birthday to both of you. Even though you're not standing up. No, not happy birthday to you. I will sing happy birthday to both of these. Ready, here we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to both of you all. And we'll sing song 161. Jesus, what a friend for sinners. Jesus, lover of my soul. Friends may fail me, foes assail me. My Savior makes me whole. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end. Jesus, what a strength in weakness. Let me hide myself in Him. Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing. Heed my strength, my victory wins. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end. Jesus, what a help in sorrow. While the billows o'er me roll. Even when my heart is breaking. Heed my comfort, helps my soul. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end. Jesus, what a guide and keeper. While the tempest still is high. He's about me, night o'er takes me. He, my pilot, hears my cry. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end. Jesus, I do now receive Him. More than all in Him I find. He hath granted me forgiveness. I am His and He is mine. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end. All right, if you would take your Bibles and turn to 1 Peter chapter number 2. 1 Peter chapter number 2. We'll have Brother Levi read that for us. 1 Peter chapter number 2. Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom, coming as unto a living stone disallowed in deed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices accessible to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in Scripture, behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they have behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors, as to them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thank worthy, if a man for conscious toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently. But if when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin? Neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when ye was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were a sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Let's pray. God, thank you for today, God. Thank you for another time we can come together to hear your word preach. I pray that you would be faster as he preaches, and help us to learn. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. So you're there in 1 Peter chapter 2, and the name of the sermon, and I want you to look down at verse 11 there. The name of the sermon is, we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and look at verse 11 there. It says, dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in a day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king and supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing, he may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the service of God, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. So this is one of those sermons, it's probably going to be like my sluggard sermon, where there's certain things in life that just like makes you angry, okay. Now, meaning this is that this sermon is more so to give you solace and to give you, you know, a peace of mind as far as the fact that this is not our home, this world and everything that we're dealing with right now is not the end game, and so, and I'm just going to be straight up with you, when it comes to this, this is something that, that, you know, property tax, okay. Taxes in general, but this is a sermon that's going to be partially on taxes and what the Bible says about it, but this also just has the fact that we don't own anything in this world, physically. We don't own anything. And the reason we don't own anything is because if we don't pay property tax, they take it away from you, okay. The state owns it, essentially, we're renting it, we buy it with our hard-earned money, and then we pay them money on top of that just so we can keep it and they don't take it, okay. And this will be enough to make you angry, you know, make you angry to be like, well, you know what, I bought this house, I bought this vehicle, I bought whatever, you know, and I worked hard for it, but if I don't pay property tax, I can't drive it on the road, if I don't pay property tax, they just take it from me, and then they own it. Because that's the world we live in, that's, we're, we're in, we're strangers and pilgrims in this world, we're just renting, okay. Now, that's not the end game, okay, and the idea, the point of this sermon is so that you don't get angry about that type of stuff, and that you basically, because I remember I was just like, I found out what I have to pay on property tax on my new house, and I, and I found out what my property tax is, and I'm just like livid. I talked to the, I talked to the assessor's office, and I'm like, you know what, is there any way to bring this down a little bit, and he's, basically, he was stating, well, you know, you could do this, this, but, you know, with the house, it is what it is, and, and basically he said, well, you know, I'm just trying, you know, to bring this down a little bit more. Now let me give you an idea of what the property tax is used for in the, in the counties in West Virginia. Public schools, which I don't go to. I'm gonna pay my fair share so other people can go to public school when I'm homeschooling my children and have to pay for the curriculums and everything else. Can you see why I'm a little, that can make you a little angry? And, you know, it's one of those things where I'm just like, livid, I'm not in a good mood, and, so, it was one of those things where I was like, you know, you have Bible time with your kids, and they're like, what am I gonna read? You know, what story am I gonna read? So I decided to read John 14, and where, you know, basically it talks about the fact that I go to prepare a place for you and in my father's house are many mansions, and I'm like, ah, yes. You know, like it's just, the word of God always comforts you because what you have to, what you have to realize is that I'm focusing on things that are in this world, and I'm like looking at that, getting angry about that type of stuff, because you work hard, you try to, you try to, you know, purchase things, all this stuff so that you can, you know, live your life, and in the end, they'll take it from you. You die, they take half. Okay? And, now this isn't a sermon just to make you angry, okay, because I think most everybody knows this, and I knew this. I knew this before this, you know, all this stuff was going down. I knew how property tax worked. I knew how, you know, I've been paying property tax and taxes and sales tax and all that stuff, you know, all my life as far as, especially after, you know, working a job and all that stuff, but it makes you angry. Now, what the Bible says here, though, in 1 Peter chapter 2, is that Peter's beseeching them, and here's the thing, he's talking to Gentiles that got saved, but I don't believe he's calling them strangers and pilgrims because they're Gentiles, okay? I believe he's saying strangers and pilgrims because he's talking about being on this earth and having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, so he's not calling them Gentiles. He's saying we're strangers and pilgrims and we're in a wicked heathen world and, you know what, in that world you need to shine his lights, and also the fact is, he gets into the fact that we need to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man. Now, in this, this is a caveat, people take this way too far because it says that governors and all these things are for the punishment of evildoers, okay? So if someone is punishing and they're wicked rulers as far as punishing righteousness and they're telling you to go murder somebody, that's not what it's saying to submit yourself to, okay? But, I hate to say this, but the speed limit, that's something that's not wicked and, you know, something that is murdering babies or something like that, okay? And there's stupid ordinances out there and there's stupid things that we have, you know, there's taxes, all these different things, and what I'm going to be getting into is that in the end, we have liberty in Christ, but, you know what, we need to just, if at all possible, live peaceably with all men, and taxes are not my fight, okay? Okay, I can get angry about it and I can, you know, obviously, I think rightfully so, not be happy about it, but at the same time, it's not my fight and I can't change it and if I can't, and this is a rule I have, if I can't change something, I don't worry about it. If I can't control it, if there's nothing I can do to change it, then I don't worry about it. Why worry about something you can't control and can't change, right? So, Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrew chapter 11, I want to show you another place where it uses this term, strangers and pilgrims. Now, we usually think of pilgrims, you think of like the pilgrims that came across on the Mayflower and all that, okay? The idea here is that we're just kind of passing through, we don't really have a dwelling place, we're just, you know, strangers would be like foreigner, right? That term is used a lot in the Bible when it talks about foreigner or aliens, not the ones with big heads that ride on spaceships, but aliens like, we would say like an illegal alien, you know, as far as like someone that comes into the country illegally, they're a foreigner, they're a stranger, they're not a citizen, right? Now, in Hebrew chapter 11, verse 13, it says, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now, they desire a better country, that is, in heavenly. Wherefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. Okay? Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to build a house and, you know, have nice things and work hard in this world for things that you need to use and all that stuff, okay? I'm, you know, I'm not against that. But here's the thing, don't get attached to those things. And ultimately, you know, I put a lot of work into this stupid house that I'm building right now, and, you know, a lot of time and all this stuff that's going in there, but you know what? The government could take that away any time they want if they really wanted to do it. Right? The wicked world that we live in, the IRS, all this crap that's out there that's trying to basically take everything that you have, they could do it if they wanted to, and you know what? Let them do it then! Because this isn't my home, okay? And I'm not going to get, you know, worry about it and worry about things that I have or whatever, because you know what? If they took it all, it'd be less stress on me anyway. Okay? And in the end, all of this is going to be gone. Everything's going to be gone. But, and you know, you say, who's the sermon for? For me, one, because, you know, it's one of those things that makes you angry in the world and you're just like, well, I need some Bible to just make, you know, calm me down, be like, all right, you know, not worry about this type of stuff. But also, you know, you may get upset about this stuff. Okay? I know people deal with taxes. I know what you, when you see, when you get your paycheck, how much is taken out, and then you realize you'll never see it again. Right? I mean, who here thinks that they're going to actually see Social Security? Okay? That are my age. Right? I don't think I'll ever see it. But yeah, we pay into it. And I've been paying into it ever since I started working. Okay? And those that are, maybe have Social Security, I'm not against you. I think, great, finally, you know, finally you're getting something for what you put in for it for years on end. I'm not against people that are pulling out from Social Security. They should. Because that's their money. And actually, you know, it's less than what they put in, and I almost guarantee it. But that type of stuff will make you angry. You know, when you see, like, all the stuff you're putting your money into, and all this stuff, and then just, people just steal it from you. And go to Matthew, chapter 6. Matthew, chapter 6. Matthew, chapter 6, and verse 19. And this isn't a sermon to say, like, you should never buy anything, right? I mean, I think about the church building. I mean, if we find a building that makes sense, we'll buy it. Because what's the difference between having a mortgage and paying, you know, having a contract to pay rent? I'll rent till Jesus comes if it makes sense. But if you live in this wicked world, and they're going to kick you out of the church building, and they're going to kick you out of the church building, and they're going to kick you out of the church building, and they're going to kick you out of a building, and breach your contract unlawfully, then, you know what? Maybe that is the route to go, to just buy. And what I'm saying with that is that, in the end, paying a mortgage, you're still renting. Okay? So, you're locked into a 30-year loan, or into a 3-year lease. In the end, they can take it either way, apparently. So, the idea here is that, you know, we should have this mentality across the board that, no matter if you're going to buy a mortgage, or on the board that, no matter if we're buying something, we're renting something, whatever, you know what? In the end, we're just using it for the time being. Okay? That's what you need to think about. We're using this building for the time being. We're using, you know, your vehicle for the time being. You're using your house for the time being. It's for a time, you know, this short space that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. It's for a little time. Don't get attached to it, because it's going to all go away. Ultimately, we're just working to get those things so that we can serve the Lord. That's what our purpose should be, is that we're getting certain items, we're working hard, and you know what? Money answers all things, and I'm not saying that you don't need to work and get money, but you should never love money, and you should never be covetous, and you know what? Getting attached to these things in the world is foolishness. It's foolishness, because, one, it's not going to last. Second of all, they can just take it all away, and then, you know, if you worry about it, then now you're just stressed out and fretting over things that you can't control. So, in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19, Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19, it says, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. I know this is a very famous passage, and I've hit on this before, as far as where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, and the idea that you set your treasure first, and then your heart will follow that and go towards that. So set your treasure to the things of God. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. You know, that idea of what are you looking at? What are you seeking? And it should be on things that are going to be for eternal value. And when it comes to the things that are laid up on the earth, moth and rust are going to corrupt them. Those vehicles out there, they'll break. They'll fall apart. They'll rust. You know, all the different items that you have, they're going to fall apart. If you don't maintain them, they will fall apart. I don't care how new your house is. I don't care how new your car is. I don't care what whatever item, you know, I'm just thinking of things that most people have, right? Something to live in and something to drive in. And those things will fall apart. And don't get attached to them. And you have to have this mindset that if everything, if every material thing was taken away from you, you'd be fine. You'd be okay with it. And my thing is that in my mindset, even though you work hard for those things and it's like all that toil and everything that they would just take away, in my mind, the way I think about it is like, well, less to worry about. And it's a hard thing because it's one of those things that, and I talked to a passion friend of mine when he was going through some hard tribulation dealing with the alphabet community. And he was talking about how they were like basically trying to take away everything that he has, you know, like when it comes to, you know, house, all this stuff. And he's just like, he's like, I'm just not gonna, I'm just gonna run up my credit card bill. I'm gonna run up everything that I have and then when they try to take away everything, I'll just hand him the debt. And you can understand where he's coming from. I won't say who the pastor is. I don't know if he wants everybody to know that's what he said. But you can understand where he's coming from, right? Just have this outlandish debt. I mean, our country does and they're fine with it, right? Our country runs up trillions of dollars of debt. They don't care. They just print off money. So, you know, in your mindset, you're like, well, you know what, if everybody's coming at me and they want to take everything that I have, why don't I just give them a big debt to take over? You know, and that, I can understand that mentality. But in the end, I'm not saying to do that. I'm not saying to go get some credit cards and run those things up and then declare bankruptcy, okay? The idea here that I'm getting at is that don't get attached to the things that you have. You know, think about things that don't rust, things that, that not gonna be corrupted. And ultimately, that's why, you know, we obviously come to church and we serve the Lord because we love Him, right? But God doesn't just, He'll never let us pay back salvation. So anything we do for Him, He's going to reward us for and He's going to pay us for. And ultimately, that stuff will be stored up in Heaven and that stuff, no one can take. Listen, the state won't take that from you. The king won't take that from you. The president won't take that from you. He can't tax that away from you. Actually, most of those people will be in Hell anyway, so they're not gonna be able to do anything. So, you know, we're, you know, set your treasure on the things of God and then, you know what, just know that everything that you have right now is gonna be burned up. And the most important thing, you know, when it comes to what you should be worried about is your family. You know, those eternal souls that are in your family and make sure that they're taken care of, that they get saved, they love the Lord, that they serve the Lord, and let them know that these material things don't matter, okay? And that that's all gonna be burned up. Now, go to Matthew chapter 17. Let's get into taxes here and what the Bible teaches about that. Listen, I pay my taxes. I will pay my taxes, and it is what it is. And I'm just gonna, you know, that's not my fight. I'm not gonna fight the government over taxes. You know what? Whatever the tax rate is is what it's gonna be, okay? And let's see what Jesus has to say about this, okay? So, Matthew 17 and verse 24. It says, And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? Now, tribute is another synonymous term for tax, okay? Tribute, tax, fees, whatever, you know. Tribute, they are basically going around collecting, you know, taxes, if you will. And it says in verse 25, it says, He saith, Yes. So, Peter's saying, Yeah, he pays his taxes, you know? And then it says, And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? So, before Peter even comes in and says anything to him, he's basically, prevent means like before he can do that. He asks Peter a question, or Simon a question. It says, Of whom do the kings of the earth take customer tribute? Of their own children or of strangers? Okay? So, that's a good question. And that's a question that our country should be asking. Who do we take tribute? Who do we take taxes from? Do we take it from our own people or from strangers? And what's Peter say in verse 26? Peter saith unto him, of strangers. Okay? So, that's the natural answer, right? That tribute is to be given by strangers, not by those that are children of the country, right? Or those that are citizens. That'd be another way of saying that, right? And then it says, Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free? Now, I want that to sink in real quick. What's he saying then? They're not free. You want to say that you're in the land, you know, the land of the free, home of the brave? How free are we? You say, well, you know, it's always been, has it always been that way? Did you know that income tax didn't even start until 1913? Oh, and that's interesting that the Fed was started up around that time too, right? And they just start printing off money with this fiat currency. And then in the 70s, they went straight to fiat currency and took away the gold. And now we just have this fake money, this monopoly money. That's going to be probably turned into a digital currency and then go into the, you know, mark of the beast and all that stuff. That's going to start another day. But that being said is that I want this to sink in. What is Jesus saying here? They're not free. You know, people have heard, you've heard the term taxation is theft. That's true. But you know what taxation really is? Bondage. And every American right now is in bondage. Actually, the strangers, the illegal aliens, they're actually freer than we are. You know, put that in your political pipe and smoke it. But that's just facts. And you say, are you angry at them? I wish we were like that. I mean, they're living their best life now. You know, they've got all the benefits and no taxes. Obviously, they're paying sales tax and all that too, so you can't get away from it. But notice what it says here in verse 27. Did Jesus say, well, you know, then are the children free. Therefore, we're not paying taxes because we're free. You know, Jesus didn't say that he's a free-born son of liberty here. And he's just like, you know what? I was born free, and therefore I'm not going to pay any taxes. What does he say here? He says, notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea and cast and hook and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money and take it and give it unto them for me and thee. Okay? So he's going to pay this tribute for both him and Peter, and you say, well, that's convenient that it came out of the fish's mouth. But what I want to say here is that, you know what? They're taxing us into the ground right now, but I don't worry about it because I believe God will provide. Meaning this is that if he has to, like I said, there's a pond out there, and he'll fill up that pond with fish with gold in its mouth and let us pay our taxes, you know, and be able to pay that. Okay? But the idea that I want to get across here is that, what does the Bible say? We're strangers and pilgrims. Who are they then? What would they be likened to in their own country? Strangers. Because strangers pay tribute. Strangers pay taxes. So anybody says, well, you know, as Christians, we shouldn't pay taxes because, you know, it goes off to this. Listen, I understand that taxes go to pay wicked things. But again, if someone stole $100 from me and then went and bought drugs with it, it's not my fault, and it's not my, it's not like, oh, you know, I just enabled someone to buy, you know, meth or something like that. No, they stole it from me. Once they steal it from you, it's no longer yours, you're not liable for what's done with that money. Does that make sense? So, yes, it goes to pay taxes, and our country's gonna be judged for that. But in the end, we're gonna not offend them. So does it look like Jesus is trying to fight the tax system here? No. But he does recognize you're not free if you're paying it. So, you know, we don't have an American flag in this church. And listen, I'm an American citizen, and I'll say this, out of all the countries, we are the best, but that's not saying much when you think about, like, what our country is right now. But when it comes to freedoms, we do have more freedoms than anybody else, but we will not apply an American flag until they stop murdering babies, until they stop with pushing this alphabet LGBT queer agenda throughout the world and on our children, and until that stuff stops, and until they stop taxing us to death, then I'm not gonna raise a flag saying that, you know what, we're free. You say, well, why do you have 4th of July just for fun? You know, why do we do fireworks? So we can hang out and see some cool fireworks, to be honest with you. But we can't celebrate the few freedoms that we have, but I'm not pledging allegiance to the flag up here. And you're not, you know, I'm patriotic to the point that I love the fact that we have the freedoms that we have and what our country used to stand for, but what it stands for now is wickedness. And it's only getting worse with the taxes. It's only getting worse with the tribute that has to be paid. But ultimately, I don't worry about it, you know, because I believe that God will provide, and He knows the things that we have need of, and He knows the things that we have need of, and I'm not gonna worry about, first of all, that I can't control it. Go to Genesis Chapter 47. Genesis Chapter 47. I wanna give you some perspective here. You say, well, you know, I still think we're pretty free. I love when people are just like, we don't really have to pay that, you know, that, well, you know, that social security, that's not really a tax. What if I don't pay it? That FICA, you know, that's in your, that's taken out of your paycheck, that's not really taxes. What if I don't pay it? What then? They'll take you off in cuffs and put you in jail for years on end. Now, Genesis Chapter 47, in Verse 23 here, this is a story where Joseph, obviously, you know, he stores up a whole bunch of food and corn and everything in that seven plenteous years for the seven years of famine. And basically, they keep coming back to him and they keep giving him more stuff, right? They pay him, they're out of money, okay? And ultimately, they sell themselves to Pharaoh and to Joseph, you know, as far as, and here's what it's gonna come down to. Notice what it says here in Verse 23. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day, and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. Now, it's gonna explain what that means. You bought them and their land. Okay? This hits home, okay? Because, like I said, property tax, and I remember talking to some state government officials and they said, they were talking about raising the sales tax up, like, because it's 6%, but they're like, well, you know, we're thinking about raising it up to seven. I said, talk to me about raising the sales tax when you get rid of the property tax. I'm not talking about income tax. I'm not talking about federal income tax, state income tax. I'm talking about property tax, and we're in this big room of people from all different types of professional, you know, you know, jobs or whatever, and I said, I said, because the property tax, I said, we don't own anything. I said, if I don't pay my property tax on my land, you take it. If I don't pay property tax on my house, you take it. If I don't pay property tax on my car, because then I can't have a registration to go drive on the road or I'll get pulled over and get tickets and then they can end up taking it, you know, and it was like this epiphany that came across everybody like, you're right. It's like no one really realized that, okay? So, you have a lot of people that don't really realize that, hey, you know, property tax, they own your property. You're renting it, okay? Even if it's paid off, you're renting it because if you don't pay property tax, they take it. Now, that's why it says, I bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Notice what it says in verse 24. And it shall come to pass in the increase that you shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh and four parts shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for them of your household and for food for your little ones. Now, what does that mean? What's the fifth part? 20%. So, that means 80, it says 20% comes, goes to Pharaoh. 80% is yours. Oh, thank you for giving me something, right? Let me ask you a question. How much percentage do you think comes out of your paycheck? More than 20%. That's just in taxes, you know? And, you know, you think about all the other stuff, think about how much you pay in taxes for gas. Because in West Virginia, that's a huge hike. You're paying sales tax on gas, you're paying sales tax on all their food, you're paying sales, now in some states it's different, right? You know, but in West Virginia, you're paying sales tax on everything. If you own a business, you know what, you have to pay taxes on the money that's coming in, you pay taxes for your employees, and they pay taxes on that, you sell something, you gotta have taxes on that, even though you just pay taxes on that, they're gonna tax the person that's going to buy that item. Just this vicious circle of taxes upon taxes upon taxes upon taxes, and you know what that is? Bondage. But, here's the solace. We're just passing through, my friends. We're strangers and pilgrims, and they can tax us to death with the stuff that's here on this earth, and you know what, let their money perish with them. But to think that we're free, that's, I mean, he said, I bought you. Joseph said, I bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Pharaoh owns them and their land, and it's 20%, which is less than what we pay now, so how are we the land of the free? Right? I mean, who here's gotten a bonus and then 50% of that is taken in taxes and everything else? And then, you make more, they take more because the percentage of your taxes increases by the more that you make. Actually, there's years where I made less when I actually made more and worked more, just because they take more when they do that. So, you can understand the frustration as far as why you, you know, someone would be upset about it, but go to 2 Peter 3, 2 Peter chapter 3. Every once in a while, I just get angry about it, okay? But you know what? There's rights in the nation. I don't think there's anything wrong with being angry about getting stolen from or, you know, being in bondage and being angry about that. The thing, though, is that you've got to have it in perspective and, you know, the Bible says, be ye angry and sin not and let not the sun go down upon your wrath, okay? You're just like fuming about taxes. You're just like, oh, government, and then you go to bed, and then you wonder why you have these weird dreams, you know? You're like, I was in jail and... But the idea here is that this sermon is to give you perspective that, hey, we're just strangers and pilgrims, and even Jesus said himself that those that are strangers pay tribute. So, Jesus paid tribute. We're going to pay tribute. I'm going to pay tribute. And you know what? It is what it is. And, yeah, it's not fun. That's not the way it always used to be. You say, well, it's just the way it's always been. No, it hasn't. Property tax and federal income tax and state income tax, that's all a pretty new thing when it comes to America. You say, well, 1913's not that new. Well, granted, our country's pretty young as it is, but, you know, it wasn't always like that, and it's only getting worse. Now, in 2 Peter 3 and verse 8, and another reason to preach this sermon is that, you know what? The cost of everything is going up. We have inflation through the roof, which, I mean, when you print money, like, on a copy machine, and then you're just throwing that money out there, I mean, I remember the day when they said money doesn't grow on trees, and that it was a felony and all that stuff to print money and have counterfeit money. You know, I remember watching TV shows where people would go to jail for printing money, or money laundering, right? And they would, like, put it, they would, like, they'd make it, but then they'd do all this stuff to make sure it looked real, but then they went to prison, you know, for decades because they were printing off money, but, yeah, our government can do it all day long, or the Fed can do it, and they just give them permission to do it. So, it says, Now, that's hitting the fact that, you know, he's wanting many people to get saved and as many people to get saved, so if you think, well, man, it's been almost 2,000 years, to him it's a couple days, and there's a reason why he's waiting, there's a reason why he's tarrying, okay? In verse 10, But the day the Lord will come as a thief in the night, and the which, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. So the idea here is that seeing that all these things are going to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all manner of holy conversation and righteousness and all that and godliness? The idea is that all this stuff is going to be burned up, everything is going to be dissolved, and so look to the things of the new heaven, the new earth. Go to John 14. John 14. John 14. This really, you know, you think about the book of Ecclesiastes, it really just hits on this hard, okay? I could just read to you the book of Ecclesiastes and we could read that and close our Bibles and go home because that's essentially what you're dealing with is that anything that's done under the sun, things that are in this world and on this earth are all vanity and vexation of spirit. And so the idea is that anything that's done under the sun, things that are in this world are all vanity and vexation of spirit. Okay? Not saying that you don't need a house, not saying you don't need to work for things, but in the end, that's all going to be burned up. In the end, that's all going to go to someone else and you can't take that with you. And, you know, it's things like that that you need to keep in mind. And like I said when I was like getting, you know, fuming about, you know, just the idea of how much they take from us, how much the government takes from us, in verse one here, it says, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go, you know, in the way you know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. And so he's saying, the way you know because I am the way. That's what he's talking about. He's like, you know, believe on me. That's the way. You have life. And if you're saved, this promise is to you, is that in his Father's house there are many mansions and he goes to prepare a place for us. And, you know, we can get upset about the taxes and we can get upset about the fact that, you know, everything costs a million dollars. And we can just, you know, be fuming about that. But in the end, we're strangers and pilgrims. We're just passing through. We're just using what we got to use to get by. And in the end, what we're going to have prepared for us is going to be above and beyond anything that's in this world. Okay. Go to 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. I know with my kids and stuff like that, there are certain foods they like or certain things they like and they're like, man, I hope this is in heaven. And I say the same thing. It's like Reese's, you know. Like, I hope that's in heaven. And jokingly, obviously, because I'm not saying there's going to be a Reese's cup in heaven, right? Like they're just producing Reese's cups up in heaven. But I said this, that I said, well, anything that tastes good down here, anything that you like down here, it's only going to be like even better there. Okay. And I want to give you a verse on that. Notice what it says in verse 9. But as it is written, eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God had prepared for them that love him. Meaning that no one has even thought of it or heard it or seen it. And you think about when Paul said that he knew a man that was caught up into the third heaven or into paradise, he said that he saw things that were not lawful for him to utter. Right? That he could not, it wasn't lawful. And I believe, not lawful, not, not, I don't necessarily think that that means that he wasn't allowed to say it. I believe it was almost like you wouldn't even be able to describe it. Okay. I mean think about all the visions and stuff that Ezekiel had and John had and he's describing it but you're still kind of like, okay. You know, you're kind of trying to visualize it but it's still kind of hard to visualize. And when you think about things that, that you don't have here on earth or things that we don't have, it's hard to describe it. It'd be kind of like trying to describe a new color. How would you describe a new color? You know, I mean, wrap your mind around that. Or, you know, they're just, they're just things that you would see it and you know, okay, that's a, that's a different color. But how would you describe it? And then there's other things you can get into with that but I'm going to read the, where this is being quoted from is in Isaiah 64. And Isaiah 64, 4, it says, For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath, hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waited for him. And when we're talking about, you know, obviously those that love him, if you love me, keep my commandments, you know, but also the idea of waiting for him is talking about the coming of the Lord. Talking about the fact that we're waiting for the coming of the Lord and, you know, with long suffering, all this stuff that, that God has for the saved, but he's going to come and all the elements of heaven and earth are going to melt as fervent heat and they're all going to be dissolved and then there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth that we're going to be inheriting, okay? Now, I had some other verses here dealing with this but I kind of already hit these as it is. Colossians 3, 2 says, set your affection on things above and not on things on the earth. It says in Romans 8, 18, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, 17 says, for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen but the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal. And so the idea here is that all that stuff that we have today, all these physical items, all the stuff that you need to live in or even clothing, whatever the case may be, even Duluth pants, okay? Those are temporal, right? And those things will eventually deteriorate. I know it's hard to believe but they will fall apart, they will be dissolved, okay? And that being said is that all that stuff is going to fade away but things that are eternal will not. You know, moth and rust will not corrupt it, it will not be cankered and it will endure forever. Go to Leviticus chapter 25. Leviticus chapter 25. You're like, where are you going with this sermon? Well, Leviticus chapter 25, it actually deals with the year of Jubilee, okay? So you have the Feast of the Lord. Well, you have the Day of Atonement and every 50 years there'll be the year of Jubilee and on the Day of Atonement they blow this trumpet, okay? Now this obviously represents I believe the rapture and when Jesus comes in the clouds, all that. But I want you to think about this because when you're living in a world where they take everything from you, they take all your possessions, I want you to think about this. When Jesus comes back, He's taken over the whole earth, okay? And the kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, okay? And we're going to rule and reign with Him for a thousand years. This is before the new heavens, new earth, okay? I want you to think about this for a second. Verse 25, verse 9 says, Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month and the Day of Atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land and ye shall howl the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a Jubilee unto you and ye shall return every man unto his possession and ye shall return every man unto his family. So not only, you know, this is obviously, you think about the rapture, it says, you know, to not sorrow for those without hope, you know, those that have died in Christ because He's going to bring them with you, with them, right? So you can think about how you're going to be back with your family, any family members that have died and gone to heaven, we're going to be back with them but it even talks about possessions being brought back to you, okay? And I believe that we're going to inherit this earth before even the new heaven, new earth and we're going to be ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years and, you know, basically, you think about how everything is being taken from you, it's being sold off to other people, all this stuff. There's going to, you hear this term the great reset, okay? When Jesus comes back and rules for a thousand years, there's going to be a great reset, okay? That's going to be the reset, if you will, and every 50 years, this is the reset button, okay? Now, something to think about with this as well is that, notice in verse 23, notice in verse 23, it says, the land shall not be sold forever for the land is mine for ye are strangers and sojourners with me, okay? So we're strangers and sojourners with God but the land is His but He says it's not going to be sold forever. Now, I know this is hard to think about but I want you to, you know, or hard to grasp or maybe you don't want to grasp this but basically, if you bought land from somebody in Israel, that can only be yours for 50 years and then it has to be given back to that family that sold it, okay? And you say, well, that doesn't seem right. You know, in the libertarian mind state of your mind, you know, you think, oh, you know, that can't be right. Well, think about this. In a libertarian world, somebody can make a lot of money and just buy up all the land and now they're literally like a government and they can levy taxes on you and they can do all this stuff on you but in God's system, there's a reset button where that person can't own everything, okay? And you can like that or lump it but in the world that we live in, that happens a lot, right? Where people just buy up everything and then they put all these fees and all this stuff and they're the ones doing that. Now, government is, you know, basically set up and it does that all the time. It's called a monopoly, right? Government by definition is a monopoly, right? When they start doing other things than what they're intended to do which is the punishment of evildoers and the praise of them to do well. That's their job but then they get into property and they get into all these other things that they shouldn't be getting into and it turns into a monopoly but that can happen with an individual person as well. And so even in this world, you know what the Bible is saying here is that we're strangers and sojourners and that we're not meant to just own property for hundreds of years and just, you know, go down the line, okay? Now, that lot was given to a certain family, okay? That means that on the flip side of that, if God gave you that land and then you sold part of it because of debt or whatever or the government took part of it or whatever the case may be, every 50 years they got to give that back to you. So there's like the good and bad side to that, that if you're coming from the outside buying property, then, you know, you can't have it forever. So foreigners can't come into our country and buy property. The idea would be foreigners can't come in and buy our property and then basically tax us the debt from a foreign entity. Now, that's another summer for another day dealing with the year of Jubilee and the idea of how God deals with property. But that being said, go to Revelation chapter 21, Revelation chapter 21, and the new heaven, new earth, you know, that's what the Bible says we're looking for. And notice what it says in verse 1 here. Revelation 21 and verse 1, it says, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new, and he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. We're going to inherit all things. You know when Jesus said that I go, you know, basically in my father's house or many mansions, and I go to prepare a place for you, we're going to inherit all those things. And if you suffer with Christ, you'll not only be heir, you'll be joint heirs with Christ. If you suffer with him and you do the works and all that, but ultimately, he that overcometh, who is he that overcometh but he either believe that Jesus is the son of God. He that overcometh is just someone that believes on Christ. That could be the person at the doorstep that believes on Christ and never does anything for the Lord after that. They're going to inherit all the things that he's preparing, but those that love God and wait for him, there's going to be things even on top of that that we're going to inherit and that he's going to give us and that we're going to be enjoying for all eternity. So in this world, we are strangers and pilgrims and ultimately, the Bible talks against about working to be rich in this world. I don't believe it's wrong to work hard and that you get paid for what you work hard for and then you buy items. I don't think it's wrong to be rich. It's wrong to basically work to be rich. That's your mission. Your modus operandi in life is to be rich. I don't believe that's right. I believe that you should just work hard and if you end up having more money than maybe others, it is what it is. God blessed you. The thing is that Solomon, I don't think he was wrong to have all those riches. God blessed him and he got all those riches. I don't believe it's wrong that he blessed other people that had a lot of abundance of riches. But ultimately, you shouldn't be striving for that and be like, you know what, I'm going to go get on, be an investor and I'm going to do all these other things to be rich. Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to invest and I'm not saying it's wrong to do any of those things but if that's your life goal and that's what you are working to do and that's what you're all about, I don't believe that's right. I think that you're going to end up having sorrow and all that stuff that's going to come with it and that will lead into loving money, okay? But, you know what, the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 13, go to Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 7. The last thing I'll show you here. Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 7. Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 7 it says, There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. And the Bible says about those that are in Smyrna, he says, I know that poverty but thou art rich. And what's he talking about there? He's talking about basically you put yourself, you know, you made yourself poor so that you could be rich spiritually, okay? And Jesus, the Bible talks about how he became poor to make many rich. And when it comes to what we do in life here, especially at our church and, you know, all that stuff, going out soul winning, you're not going to make money doing that. Right, taking time out of your day to go out soul winning, taking your time out of your day to come to church, taking your time out of your day to read the Bible, all that stuff is not going to, it just basically, you're not on the clock making money for a business, right? And, but, in turn, you may be a little poorer because you have, you're spending more time doing things for the Lord, but in turn, you're richer than anybody else because those riches are going to be eternal riches. Obviously God, I believe, listen, God is a gracious God because the Bible talks about, you know, if you've left, we've left all to follow, you know, Peter talks about that and he talks about how you'll have a hundred fold even in his life, right? Now this isn't a Joel Osteen sermon here. I mean, it was like, well, you know, you're going to live your best life now, but it says with persecutions. That's something you've got to realize, okay? But I believe God blesses those that serve Him even in this life and with, you know, even material things and all that stuff, but ultimately, that shouldn't be what we're focused on. We should be focused on, okay, I don't care if I never see it in this life. I don't see anything that God has blessed me for my hard work or whatever we're doing, the goal should be I'm looking at the things which are not seen and know those promises and hold on to those promises that, hey, He's preparing a place for me that if I serve Him and love Him, I could have a better resurrection. I can have things that are above and beyond just what any normal Christian would get in heaven for all eternity and that's the stuff you should be laying up and not get, I guess, worried or fretting over things in this life, okay? And it can happen to any of us. Like I said, you know, it's one of those things where it just seems like you get bad news after bad news after bad news and then you're just like, ah, you know, when it comes to the things in this life, you know, either people are incompetent and that's, you know, see my slugger sermon for that. People don't want to work, they don't want to do anything, but then you get bad news after bad news after bad news after how much things cost, how much money they take from you, and it's just over and over again I'm like, I basically take my wallet out and I just throw it at whatever I got to pay for. It's like, here's my blood. You know, my dad used to joke about going to plasma tech and like donating blood, plasma to make money to pay for things and you know what? It's just facts of life. It's nothing new. There's nothing new under the sun, okay? You know, my parents had to deal with this. Their parents had to deal with this. You know, like all of this has been going on and there's been different circumstances as far as what they're dealing with, but at the same time we've all had to deal with having to get through life and have people just steal from you, have people take from you, have things taken away that you work hard for and things, you know, not work that you work hard for and it's just the way of life and you know, it's just the reality. At least if you know that's true, you won't get blindsided by it and I try to tell my kids that, you know, because I want them to know like, hey, you know what? Don't get attached to anything. Don't get super attached to stuff, like physical stuff, that is. It's okay to be attached to your family, okay, and loved ones and people and loving, you know, brethren and sisters in Christ, but don't get super attached to the physical things to this world. Actually, we need to let go of all that stuff, but like I said, I'm not against having those things, but you know what? Those type of things can end up, you know, causing you to, you know, fret over things or be worried about things or be angry about things. In the end, you know, we have a place that's being prepared for us, so if you're looking for a house, you want to build a house, I recommend not doing it. No, I'm just kidding. No, but if you're, when you're dealing with those type of things, what you have to understand is that you may be going through that and trying to find a place, trying to do whatever, buying a car, you know, waiting five months until you can actually get that vehicle, you know, like all the things that you're dealing with right now, those are all physical things, but just remember this, that if you serve the Lord and you love the Lord, there's a place that's being prepared for you right now, and no one can mess that up, okay? No one's going to be able to take that away. No government's going to be able to claim eminent domain. You know, all those things that would just make you livid about what goes on down here, that won't happen up there. That won't happen for all eternity. New Jerusalem's going to come down here on the new earth, and we're going to dwell with the Lord, and all those things that God promises us are going to happen, and it takes faith, you know, to hang on to that type of stuff, but ultimately, that's the sauce. You know, I got angry for a quick minute, and I'm just like, ah, and then, you know, I went through the Bible, and I'm just like, yeah, that's right, and it's just this calm, this peace of God that passes all understanding, where you're just like, who cares? You know, you just don't care anymore. You're just like, whatever. Take half what I made. Take 75%. God will provide. You know, He'll give me some money in a fish's mouth. He'll bring ravens to feed me. He'll bring that black angus cow right up to my property, so I can butcher that thing during the tribulation or whatever. Those things, you just got to really lean on God's word and say, you know what? So be it. So be it with, you know, money, material things, so be it. If it all disappeared, so be it, and just have that attitude because it'll make your life a lot easier and a lot better, so let's end with a word prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you today. Thank you for your word, and thank you for these passages in the Bible to just give us peace to not worry about things in this life and not get upset or angry at just the injustices that go on in the world, but Lord, we just thank you and praise you for your graciousness and that not only do you save us from hell and save us from eternity of punishment, but also you bless us beyond measure in the next life, but yay in this life as well with the things that we have, and we have way more than we ever need, and Lord, we just thank you for that and just pray that you continue to bless and be gracious to us, and Lord, we love you and pray also in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So by the day, we'll come and sing one more song, and that will be dismissed. All right. Take your song books and turn to song 170. Song 170, and if you would stand, we'll sing Hallelujah, what a Savior song, 170. Men of sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah, what a Savior bearing shame and scoffing rude. In my place condemned, He stood, sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah, what a Savior, guilty, vile, and helpless we. Spotless Lamb of God, was He. Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah, what a Savior. Lifted up, was He to die. It was finished, was His cry. Now and have exalted high. Hallelujah, what a Savior. When He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring. Then anew, this song we'll sing. Hallelujah, what a Savior.