On these notes, it is important that we go back and study. The Bible tells us to study to show ourselves approved workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Talking to my brother this weekend. Got on, I was saying what I was doing and I told him I was looking over some older sermons that I had left from what my mother, I got from my mother. I told him how many of them that was left over to her house that I didn't collect them and found some on YouTube and I sent them to him. But that has to, those sermons and what people say, what the word is, It has to get embedded into your heart and mind to do any changing, do any amount of changing. And God plants things within us. And the title of our sermon this morning is Rise and Shine. Rise and Shine is coming from the 60th chapter. the 60th chapter of the book of Isaiah, the first and fifth verses. It says, Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness to people. But the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thine light, and the kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and see all of thee that gather. Thy son shall come from afar and thy daughter shall be nourished at thine side. Then thou shalt see and flow together. Thine heart shall fear and be enlarged because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee. The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. That's a statement that he's making there. And as I told you, the Bible is a compilation of all things God had did and all that he has for us. And that scripture, rise and shine, it's metaphorical because it's about a spiritual seed that was planted. But studying the Bible, we'll see that God had did this in the beginning from the foundations of the world, even before we formed the earth. That the book of Romans say he had chosen us from the foundations of the world and created us for good works. So what God does is he brings us into a timeframe That time frame is for us in our understanding, but it's a matrix of darkness. It's a matrix of darkness. The earth, it says, was without form and it was void. And the spirit of the Lord moved upon the earth, it brooded upon the earth. And I tell you, that's similar to our lives. that we are in darkness, we are in gross darkness. As we are in the world and the world walking in darkness until God comes in our lives, awaken us, quicken us and makes us alive, we can't see, we are in darkness. It's like I was studying about glaucoma and some of the things after you were talking about you. eyesight or whatever the other day and seeing yesterday on the news or whatever where Williams and I sit what Williams and I Center had did this Got coma thing on this man to get to improve his eyesight to give clarity in his eyesight and that's one of the primary things because without sight you're limited into what you can do and And when he says sight and light, he's talking about the spiritual aspect of it. Because God is light. And as the light moves upon the earth, God says, let thou be light. And I tell you, I left a good bit of my pages out of here. But by God being light, that means he's the source of all sight. of anything that can be seen. It's like the sun. The sun is a source of heat. The sun is a source of light during the day, but it's also our source of light during the night. Because the moon is up in the sky, but what it is, it's like you ever had one of the children or whatever had one of those toys, object, what you have to do is set it before a light, set it in the presence of a lamp or a light source. And as it draw that light source from it, Then you can put it in the dark. It's called a glow-in-the-dark ball, a wand, or whatever. But it's not a source within itself. It has to be recharged up. It has to have a relationship with that light. That's what the moon is. The moon can't refract light. All it's doing is reflecting the light of the sun. It's refracted in it because of the rotation of the earth and the sun and the moon and all that at different stages It's a full moon a quarter moon or sometimes, you know, you wouldn't see it But the Sun is that consistently shining and that's how God is he's consistently shining but he's not in view of everyone at any all things at any time because it has to be according to your relationship with you before you can have that light. Psalms 119 and 130, as we read, it says, the inches of thy word give it light. It give it understanding to the simple. In other words, you don't have to be an intellectual. You don't have to be one that's full of wisdom or whatever, because if you allow God's word, if God's word is in you, God's word give you understanding and knowledge according according to your relationship or your position with him. The more that relationship is the symbioticness of that relationship, the closeness of it, the closer you are. Remember there were three disciples that was in the inner circle, Peter, James, and John. They always went with Jesus wherever he was or whatever, they had a closer relationship. A lot of times you may have a child or someone in you, a friend, that knows more about you because of your relationship, your position with him, or your fellowship with him. That's why we can't forsake the assembling together of ourselves. Throughout the Bible, light has always been a symbol of holiness. when God moved upon the earth and His holiness moved, and He tells us that we have to be lights into the world. We have to be lights. So that requires years of holiness, a holy living. And also, that symbol of light is also a symbol of God's goodness, His knowledge, wisdom, grace, and hope. It's God's revelation, and without the revelation of Jesus Christ, and that's why I tell everybody, you need to develop that relationship with Jesus Christ, because he was given to be a light unto the Gentiles. In other words, the Old Testament people had the oracles of God and they had God's preaching and teaching, But then they were the ones in darkness. That's why when we hear it talked about that he went back and preached, that he preached to the spirits in darkness. When it wasn't a jail cell, the prison in darkness was those that were without light, without God's word. Now in this time, and they called it the times of the Gentiles, because we have a chance to hear God's word. the interest of that word giveth light unto the ears." Not to all of the hearers, though, because there are those, as he told Isaiah, that would be deaf and can't hear. They would have eyes to see, but they won't be able to see. They would hear, but they wouldn't have an understanding, a knowledge of God. That's very important to you in this day and time because you have to have a discernment of spirit to know who's listening at you and who's not listening at you. Well, a lot of times by their works you shall know them. Sometimes you could tell by the lifestyle of persons living his work just whether he's a child of God or not. That's the problem that we have in this nation. Now, that's why I told you to study these carefully. This has to become your life because we're in perilous times, as Paul told Timothy, that would be perilous times. My first point is reflection, but let me tell you a little bit about that light. Because we have independent people or whatever, people that are outside the church, since there's social media and all types of internet services, and people preaching from their homes, and some people that's not a church, and some people that don't have a correlation with the church that say self-taught or whatever. But these people, will like the growth of God or whatever, because God had not sent them. There's a lot of misinformation or disinformation, and that's because, you remember that cocoon I told you we was in, that matrix? The whole world is Babylon now. You remember at the Tower of Babel, that they couldn't understand one another's language. Well, the whole world right now, it says, lies in darkness and is being deceived by the devil, Satan, because he's come down to the earth. So if any light, any true light you get is coming from God, but Satan has learned that Satan knows that what he has to do is counterfeit that light so that the people will think that they're walking in light, that they have fellowship with God and that they're with God because Satan's job as a dupe is to keep us in darkness, keep us away from God. But God had chosen a few in which he gave Jesus Christ from the foundations of the world and he had given those in this latter time the issuance of his spirit, the spirit, the word of God. It's listening at the word preached, faith coming by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So it's by faith. In the Old Testament, it says that those that believe God, that's because Jesus Christ hadn't died and came and died to cover all mankind's sin, and that he hadn't resurrected or whatever. So that's why Jesus said it was necessary for him to go away. But it was also necessary for him to die because he was that kernel of wheat that would fall into the ground. And unless it died, he couldn't bring forth the harvest. That harvest is a few. It's a remnant from all nations, from all people groups. from all people groups, and I don't know if you've seen that movie, The Mummy, or some of these other pictures or whatever, where there's a forest that lies dormant for many a year or whatever, and it was how they had a scientific, this is a true story here, there was some scientific people from an archeological group that found some seeds that were stored, and what it was, what is that? things they call pyramid or whatever sarcophagus inside of those and they had some seeds that was thousands of years old and they planted those seeds and got those seeds to germinate. Well, if God had chosen us from the foundations of the world, he had placed his spirit within us, that spirit of Jesus Christ, that same spirit that we read about in the book of John, the first chapter of John, that the word was made flesh, and the word dwelt among us, and the word was the light of the world, and it lighted every man that coming into the world, that menorah. You remember I told you that sinner Candle was a in in the Jewish menorah was a symbolic of Christ of the Sabbath in that it lighted the rest of those Candles what Jesus Christ lighted all of the men anybody that coming into the world It's the light of Jesus Christ that gives you a causes you to flame from God It causes that light that we talked about in the book of Revelation. He's that similar candlestick Now, if you get some fire from somewhere else, if you get light from somewhere else, it's like Aaron's sons, they have been out of you, that you'll die because only light, only him, he's the light, he's the way, there's no other way, there's no other light, he's the light of the world. So there's a counterfeit light out there. There's another Jesus. We've seen this Jesus here in America. That's where this Jesus, I'm not going to say originates, but that's the dominating force in this nation. And we see it as we've been preaching for years of whatever the nation is about to be ripped apart. This civil war is coming because it's a religious war and people have seen this. God's people have seen this and that's why they're studying God's word and God's calling them forth today through his preachers, through the preaching of God's word. That's what makes us alive. That's why he tells us endure hardness, preach the word. Preach the word, because the word is what giveth you life. The entrance of God's word, give it light. It's a lamp unto you. But like I say, all that does, though, is that we reflect what that light, what that inner spirit, what that inner man is making us into. It's like we're looking in a mirror darkly. We can see in that mirror darkly. with the sprinkling of his word, as we walk in that word, we start to see ourselves, start to see clearly. We start to see that reflection in the mirror. Michael Jackson sung a song years ago about the man in the mirror. The man in the mirror, that's your enemy right there, you got to kill him. And that's what's not gonna be preached tomorrow. That's not gonna be preached because they don't understand the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They crowd in there. I was part of that. I was in darkness. We used to, my mother would dress us up and we'd get some clothes at Easter time or whatever, and nobody changed. You start looking at your family, and that's the thing about it. Can you critically evaluate something? Critically evaluating something is when Jesus says, you must hate mother, father, sister, brother, even your own life if you to be my disciple. Because you see, look, the only way I can get some light is to kill all of y'all off, but kill myself off. because I have to die to self and deny myself and take up my cross and follow after him because I have to be a reflection of who he is. That's why he says, let your light so shine that men would see your light. When Joseph's brother saw Joseph light, Joseph was telling them what he had dreamed and what God's gonna do in his life. But as you bring forth that word, They're not gonna like you. His brothers tried to get him. They sold him into slavery. Have you ever tried to explain to your people what was going on or whatever, and they call you weird, and you know they talking behind your back. They're telling their children, other people, or other relatives, or whatever, they're saying all these things. But God has your back, now God has your real reward. All of that takes them farther in darkness. That's why you shine your light, because you're turning them over to Satan. And hopefully, if they're motivated, if they're doing it out of love for a good purpose, they gonna have to wrestle and bring back, and as we say, repent and turn. But if not, it draws them, it casts them further into darkness. That's why Satan's ministers twist the word of God or whatever, because he don't wanna allow his people to come out of light. He know that. Now, I told you earlier about, you can see people works and doing things, and you can tell whether somebody is children of God or whatever, because it's necessary to have those works. See, but without preaching and teaching, you'll find out that those works don't save you. That's the thing about it. They don't preach and tell you that. You're not saved by works. It's by grace are you saved through faith, which cometh by the preaching of the word of God. The works are a result of faith. Because a faith without works is a dead faith. So you have to have good works. And those good works are what brings forth light. And a lot of people that are working and accomplish things, now that preacher is preaching about prosperity and all this. So they become Laodicean Christians, as in the book of Math, in the book of Revelations, where they had everything and had no need of anything. But they were poor-wretched and naked and blind. Because they wasn't spiritually awakened. See that's why I say it's a lot of counterfeits out there That's why he came and he put in the book of revelation that he was gonna fight against the church Because that's the biggest battleground The church is the biggest battleground. That's the most lucrative battleground now, and it's pivoted politically to those people that are looking at it from a political aspect. And that's why you want a match to get it into religion, because a person that's not ashamed of going around playing with God, they get the ultimate weapon. Because you know to do good, and if you know to do good and don't do it, you could be beat with many more stripes. Because you're not afraid of God, you don't, does thou not fear God? That's what, I gave my brother that sermon because you know, best God as I grew, I understand when Philip, I mean, God told me as Peter, he says, with thy strength and go back and tell your brethren. You can tell when somebody is receiving something, but you can tell when you're not quite getting through. when something is not dawning on them. And I thank God I've gotten a chance to tell all of my brethren. I tell everybody I know. And that's a line, that's why it says, arise and let your light so shine. Because there are many people in church, there are many people that are saying they're born again, but their lines don't reflect it. Remember that reflection I'm telling you about? They don't never tell anybody about Jesus. They don't tell anybody about their church. They don't try to win souls. They don't try to snatch these people out of the jaws of death. They don't try to loosen the hold because that's why God's telling them, this is what you should be doing. These are the works that you should be doing. Now, as I said, I lost the heart of this, of what I had to tell you about this morning. But if water reflects the faith, Proverbs says, so the heart of man reflects the man. So those that are not born again, you can see that they are natural men and that they're not walking in light. Now then, there's a problem also, though, because unless you are spiritual, you know not to judge by actions and everything, that you have to have it focused on the man in the mirror. And that is you. Keep the focus on you, because a light, when you light a candle, when you light a light, you don't put it under a bush. You put it where everybody can see that light. Could put it whereby first corinthians 13 and 12 says for now. We see in a mirror dimly But then face to face Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as i'm known now So what he's saying is that? He don't fully understand this But that if he apply his self and he's trying to do this through the faults and errors and the struggles and the sufferings he'll be able to see a clearer picture of what he's trying to see. See, because when you are born again, when he quickens you and he makes you alive, he gives you a hunger. And according to how you feed that hunger, that you start hungering and thirsting for righteousness. And whether you, some people say, well, blood's thicker than water. That's a good analogy. blood sticking in the water, which you physical. So that's not true in the spiritual, because Jesus says, who's my mother, father, sister, brother, but those that do the will of my father, because suppose your mother may not exist in the next life as your mother, because you remember all those brothers and sisters, he said that we won't, Mary given in marriage in the resurrection So everything is spiritual because that was given to you foot, but now you can see in light That's why people wonder what happens when people how you can kill their parents how they can kill their children or whatever demonic possession In other words, Satan comes in, and now Satan's controlling them, and they see that we're not attached, that you're just another soul like I am. You're an entity that's trying to kill me, or might cause me harm. In the law of the jungle, the law of darkness is the strongest survive. And that's why we do evil and wickedness, because Jesus says, if a man do good, it's contributed to God. Only God is good. So without God, you can do no good. Without me, he says, you can do nothing. So can't you just see, that's why I say, if you homing in on God, you start seeing these things and you start going to the scripture and praying to God and see your worthlessness, your depravity, and now you realize, I have to be dependent upon God because that's those of us that he's, planted that kernel, that seed in us that's growing, that's trying to get light to grow. You struggle to hear the word. You remember, Sister Harris used to say, well, she had to get here that morning. You have to get to church. I asked my wife this morning, I said, she'd been having a headache all through the night and all yesterday or whatever. I said, do you think you could make it this morning? She said, I'm gonna try to pull it together or whatever. Because without this necessary food, you die. You spiritually die. Adam was alive for some 800 years or so after he ate of the fruit of the tree, but God had told him the day you eat of it, you shall totally die. He was spiritually detached. In other words, he died in that day, you just hadn't fell down yet, you, night of the living dead, you a zombie, what they call that, the walking dead or whatever, they have a show about that now. You're dead, you don't realize it, but you're dead. Unless God quickens you and makes you alive. So what happens is, as these people are walking around dead, is because they can't see the living among them, and that light is not shining, and that's why God says, rise up and cause your light to shine. In other words, the word starts reflecting yourself into your life, and that's when you start cleaning yourself up. If you're not taking heed to the word of God, you won't be able to clean yourself up because We have to come to a consciousness or awareness, and that first part of that awareness is seeing ourselves. We don't judge, but after Matthew 7, 8 says, you hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eyes, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eyes. So now you looking at the mirror and you cleaning yourself up, But now you see, man, not my brother, not the rest of these, I got to save myself. If his ship sink, his ship sink. I can't save him. You realize you can't save anybody. God is the only one that can save himself. And he tells you that in his word, save yourself from this untoward generation. So no matter what people thinking about you, or he ain't here, he not gonna come around for Christmas, or he don't do Easter, he don't do these things. Because the focus can't be on me, it can't be on what I want. Tell people, Christmas, that's a self-centered holiday, because it focuses up on the birth of Jesus Christ, and God didn't tell us to celebrate his birthday, he didn't give us that. He didn't tell you what day he was born, you can't figure that out. So if we don't figure his birthday out, do we figure ours out? Because if he say you was born, you remember Jesus wasn't born, it says the son will give it. So now that's the light to realize that Jesus Christ have always been here. He was in the beginning and he was the one made flesh. That's why the Jews took up stones to stone him to death. It's because as he grew, his mother says, why have you dealt this way with us? He said, didn't you know I had to be about my father's business? Now he is coming alive. He's being quickened. He has to follow his father. And that work was to come preaching the kingdom of God. That's what strengthens you. He was the light, but there had sent a light before him. John the Baptist was the only man. He was born full of the Holy Ghost. And that was to prepare the light. Everybody thought he was the light. He said, I'm not that light, but I come to prepare a way for that light. Are we preparing a way for Jesus Christ's second coming? That sudden coming because, you know, in that fear and trembling trying to save yourself, don't it cause you to pray for your people all the time? I pray for all my children this morning, name by name. I pray for those in the church, name by name. And I start praying for other people, because we realize they're in blindness, they're in darkness. Now that I see this person is walking around here, he can't see. I got to try to help him around. Physically you trying to help someone that's groping in darkness, but it's up to God to make them see So now that burdens lifted up on you He says let cast all your cares and burdens up on me because if you hadn't did that Your hearts could go out to people You can start pitying people they can invite you to their pity parties and you will go around there and both of y'all gonna be laying in the ditch pity and He then took your joy and happiness away. He then took your peace with God away. Because why? That's darkness. You're fellowshipping in darkness. That's what the world does. It pulls you in darkness. But if you this light, a city set on a hill, Cannot be hit and that's what we are the church is a city sit on here So it's corporate light all our lights gathered together We need to rise and realize this consciousness first Thessalonians 5 and 5 says for you are all sons of light and sons of the day We do not belong to the dark. So why would you exist in the dark? My mother used to put that cigarette down. You look stupid smoking it because that wasn't who I was. That wasn't what I did. That's why a lot of people in the church, you can tell they don't belong in the church. They don't belong with this group. You see, that's why you could start sorting out. That's why you can start judging because you find out that judging is critical. If you don't know how to judge, and then some unchristian person, when the Bible says don't judge, that's the devil right there. That's why he's telling you because he loved darkness rather than light and that's why that this week when one of the former president was starting to sell Bibles and a lot of people came out about him selling Bibles or whatever because Everybody knows that it says Satan ministers are transformed in the angels of the light Because that's the oldest trick in the book. The devil always go hide up in the church. He always in the Bible. Come and quote the scriptures. Jesus coming out of the wilderness, who did he meet? Satan. Well, God said, hadn't God said this? Now he's telling Jesus what God had said. He's the son of God and he's trying to tell, you know, I love people be telling me what's in the Bible and this and that. That's when you know you got a big fish on your line. You got to, either you gut this fish or you put this, let God gut this fish. But you got to get this fish off of you or he gonna do nothing but waste your time. There's a lot of times people just waste your time. Quoting scriptures and everything you do stay away from Complaining and arguing so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. So I'm not gonna argue with you by this I'm not going to even try to get you to see this because God must didn't give it to you to see I can't open your eyes And you've desperately closed your eyes because you're full of wickedness. Did Paul argue with Simon? He said that he was gonna be destroyed because of his love of money. That's where the word simony come from. He was wanting to buy the Holy Ghost. You can't buy this. You can't buy this. Money can't buy this. It's like the Beatles. Money can't buy your love. Money can't buy God. Because it all belongs to him anyhow. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked, stubborn, and you need to shine out among them as light. So when everybody goes this way, all the Joseph brothers went that way, which way Joseph went? That way. He went to Egypt and he was a shining light in Egypt. And all of Egypt came to Joseph's feet and kneel before him. Because why? He kept the word of God. Along that road, he could have slept with this nice looking woman, Potiphar's wife. Which says, how can I do this sin and sin against God? You have to be able to forsake all. Leave it all, do like Moses. He left the riches of Egypt, but he was in darkness because he tried to do God's will without God's word. Without the spirit of God, he took it up on himself to do it. And there's a lot of people out there, the weight of the world is on them, and there's some sinister people because they're tired of carrying this load. instead of letting Christ bear the load and you wouldn't be mad at other people. You see people go around mad all the time and frustrated. I can't sit in those places. I don't go around those places. I don't even go around those people. Okay. And concluding of this, walk in the light as he's in the light. 2 Peter, this is a 30 minute conclusion here now. As you remember, I told you my part that I left out here. Second Peter says, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust until the day of punishment. God knows those of us that are his. And he's the keeper. So we have to stay in fellowship with God, stay connected to him. And he knows how to shake those off of you and that you praying to God Pray for those he says that despitefully use you pray for those that persecute you and say all band of evil against you It is obvious that those who do not walk in God's way that is that are not living God's way and according his law Will be judged they fall further in the ditch They seem to ask what's wrong with them They may be in church, they may be out of church or whatever, but some people, it has a tendency to keep falling, but you're trying to help. As Jeremiah says, he wouldn't stop praying for them or whatever, but it seems like their lives are entwined in going backwards or going further in the darkness. Why I keep using these analogies is because I came out of the world So that's some of the things that helped me is to remember because the Holy Spirit says Jesus says the Holy Spirit will bring all things to your remembrance And it was war that said That they were slipping in the darkness father in the darkness when he heard his mother say Pretty soon you're gonna stay In other words, all of this dipping in and out, all of this going into the darkness, pretty soon you're going to lose your way and you're not going to be able to come out of that darkness. I don't know if they took that from Sampson. He kept playing around with sin and women and wine and drinking and everything. Pretty soon Sampson was running around there bald, blind, bald-headed and blind, and he flew around there and committed suicide. Because why? He was devoted to God as a Nazirite from birth, but he left the words of God. He left from walking in light. The interests of God's word give it light. He says meditate on the word day and night. And those of us that are not meditating on God's word and know what the word has said and been told this. When that hammer drops, judgment begins at the house of God. You have to begin the house of God as tomorrow with all of these mega buildings filled with all of the world full with Christians, that's where judgment begins because also now all of y'all that go into these churches tomorrow, whether the words preached correctly or not, you're responsible for what you've heard. So if you wanna wear that cloak that says that Jesus died in the resurrection, what comes after the resurrection? Death to self. Remember I said it's just not the life, the death of Jesus Christ and that resurrection. When you rise up to newness of life, You have to walk, rise up with death to self. And I didn't, like I said, I don't have to give it to you. I had it in the living version. It's in your notes in the living version. But in the King James Version, this is what happens after the resurrection. This is what happens when you leave out of church tomorrow. Because if it ain't changed you, and you're not repenting, you just must have not heard it because, well, it's gonna be a load of heavier bricks on you because now you've heard it. It says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Who shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? No, he not that so many of us that were baptized in the Jesus Christ was baptized into his death So we're not talking water baptism. We talking spiritual baptism But we didn't heard the word preached and that's all he told us to do. We the mailman we deliver the mail and the message is turn from your sin and Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. Now that baptism is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And if you don't have that baptism, you won't go. Because he says, you must be born again. And that is born from above. One faith, one Lord, and one baptism. So after this resurrection that we're preaching tomorrow, but I'll be having Bible study tomorrow at three, not preaching. He said, therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also walk in the newness of life. So that's death itself. Now you have to die. You have to wake up and start denying yourself all of those pleasures. You remember I told you, you can't have self-pleasure. That's the sin there. He says, where does sin come from? the desires that lie within your members. So now we have to die to self. He says, for we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him and that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we shall no longer serve sin. So you can't fornicate anymore. You can't live the life you live. You can't do the things you used to do. You know they are wrong, and you know that Christ says that you can't yield your member unto unrighteousness. knowing this that the old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we don't serve sin for he that is dead is free from sin that's if you're dead but if you're not dead you running around here living and riotous living and partying and doing all these things the rest of the world loves he says when i come and i catch that man doing that He's going to be beaten with many more stripes because he's supposed to be set apart. He's supposed to be sanctified. So what happens is, are you sanctified? He says, because they're going to think it's strange that you don't do what they're doing, that you don't live the way they used to live. That you don't rely upon self-pleasure and says, Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we should also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more. So, I don't want to continue along those lines and dive too much further, but that we have to die to self. All of the things that we used to be. It's like my son, after he had this treatment, this cancer treatment or whatever. I think that she went with him to New Orleans the other day. They go start over. with all of his immunity shots. In other words, all of the inoculations and things that you took as a child, now they introduced those back into your body so that you'll be vaccinated against that. So a few religious groups that arose in Florida and different places that was against vaccines and different things. Now you have a measle outbreak in Florida and it's slowly going across the United States. See, because like I said, sometime with religious zealots, you become over-religious because God had also put man here to help you. That's man's job to have dominion and serve on the earth. So like I say, one thing you can glorify God in preaching to God, tell people about God. God had to be in this thing with the vaccines and we were alive and this could be written in history books if history lasts, if the world lasts that long, that there was a pandemic, worse than the Blue Bonnet Plague that we've seen in New York City and other places where they burning bodies and stacking them in 18 wheels and everything that they were dying faster than you can bury them. This plague was worldwide and they come up with a vaccine in a few short months. I'm glad because I was wearing the mask and hiding in the house during that time. Them cats out there talking about God's gonna protect you and God's gonna do all these things and dying by the boatloads, going to the films and everything. I attended a film with a mask on of somebody that died from COVID. I don't wanna be insensitive about this or whatever. But a lot of us lost relatives and people because of this COVID. God is a knowing and loving God. And he put man here and he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. But the knowledge and the understanding that we get from God, it can't make us holier than thou. It can't make us Pharisees. I got some things in your further reading. That we were created for good works and that was a good work that they did to come up with the vaccine and they help mankind and the things that they do. We have to prove the world wrong on these things. We have to have our light so shining that men would see Christ in us. That's one thing that they action about some of these religious parties that's going about with no mercy and that's going against some of the immigrants. I'm not saying that laws are to be broken. There are some things with this immigration and some things, but that's what Satan does. Sometime he convolutes an issue. He conflates an issue. But he did tell us to be kind to strangers and the foreigners among us. But there are immigration laws and things, and if this was a truly honest and an open society where the truth would prevail, we'll see that President Obama was the best president and he deported more immigrants. He was on top of immigration, but because of politics. Because of religion and things, the truth is where men love darkness rather than light. That's what Thessalonians says. But you have to choose a side. You can't remain neutral. There are many passive people in the churches, so we have to realize this, that the recompense is coming from God, and God knows all that you're doing, but if you don't let that light shine, he takes that light away. I taught on that in Bible study, that that candlestick He comes and takes your light away. Whether you're in the church or wherever you are, he takes that light and give it to another because you went and buried that talent that he gave you. You remember he gave Psalm 2, Psalm 5. It was two different parables where there was varying amounts of talent. Talents that they gave to the recipients, but the one with the one talent God had showed him goodness and had blessed him But he was like the five wise in the five foolish That's a parable also of virgins that had the Word of God Had an instance of it, but they didn't trim their lamps. They didn't continue to put oil in their lamps and and the light lamp went out. We have to continually be filled with the spirit. There's no such thing as being saved in just a few seconds. No matter the age, and our president is an example of that. I keep telling you about that old fellow, 80 years old, stepped up there and knocked it out of the park. And a lot of people saying they would rather vote for him at his age than someone with a character, a nature of this other person. And a lot of people say, well, big as America is, are these our two choices? Doesn't this look like something that's set up of God? Whoever wins, that's who God wants to win because God's running the area. So buckle in, no matter who win, buckle in. Because what's God's people doing? They're looking up, they're rising up, because the call is out there. It says arise and let your light shine. Somebody is looking all over the nation and we're doing our job. Those of you that are contributing to us on Sermon Audio and everything, we're reaching out there. Look at some of the countries that we are reaching that hear this word. Bangladesh, all over, I mean, countless places I've never heard before. How many times we get things from Singapore, Australia, all over the place. God's word has gone out there, and like I said, this word heard, when it fell on the right ears, they will come forward. So don't think just because we don't have a lot of people here that we're not doing the work of God. Don't think that because you're not doing these other things that God's not seeing you. Listen to what he says to the church at Ephesus. He says, these are the words of the one who holds firmly until the angels are the messengers of the church. Let me read that in a living faith. He says, I write to the leader of the church at Ephesus to inform him of the message from him who walks among the churches and hold their leaders in his right hand. He's got control of the leaders, he says. He says to you, I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work and your patience. I know you don't tolerate sin among your members, and you have carefully examined those who say they are apostles but are not. In other words, someone was asking me the other day, and I was telling them what I believed in and what I didn't. And you know, you should know me or whatever. And they say, well, how about one of the members of your church? They asked me about you. And they asked me about, I said, I can't tell you what they believe. I don't know what my wife believe. I can tell you what she say she believe, but when she leave here, I don't know what she's doing. A lot of people in the family saying, well, we believe in this and we, okay, you saying you believe in these things, but when you go into that election booth, do you know how your wife or husband is voting? Only God knows. I remember this guy that died, one of the ones that was running around in that COVID outbreak, talking about this and that. He was at a Donald Trump rally, raised his hands and going on in that arena without a mask on Herman Cain, and he died a little bit later. Now, like I said, we're gonna die now, watch it. I'm not saying, and speaking ill of the dead or whatever. He was against a bombing, all these things. He was against COVID saying it was a hoax and all that. Well, hoax or not, I understand that. But he was going with this woman, and the woman told his wife, this is a woman now that's his mistress, telling the woman that's been married to him for 20 or 30 years, you don't know her in the way I know her. Do I know what you're doing when you leave here? No. See, but Jesus knew Peter. Peter said, I'll die. I'll die for you, master. I'm willing to fight and die for you. But he said, you know, Peter, before this night, oh, which you could deny me three times, you could deny me thrice. In other words, he still cursed like a seal. At the end, he cursed and swore because he hadn't received the power of the Holy Spirit. We don't know what each other doing when we leave. I can't give account for you. Like I said, what it says, save yourself. I can't give account for my wife. We're not gonna have to give. Each man is responsible for his own soul. So don't stand up before the church and a lot of time the preacher or somebody will fool you, the middle man in the church, I wouldn't have believed that brother did that. That's because it wasn't for you to believe. It's for you to walk circumspectly yourself. He says, I know you have found out that others are liars. A lot of liars in the church is liars in the world. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. Yet there's one thing wrong, now he's preaching to the church, he says, you don't love me as you first did. Think about those times of your first love, how different now. In other words, you're not zealous about it, you know. We'd been married so long, you used to would cook me anything or do anything, now you say go in there and fix it yourself, not even just fix it yourself, go in there and cook it yourself if you want it. She's saying, you used to open the door for me or whatever. Now I'm the last person out. You don't even look behind me. Sometime you close the door in my face. Sometime you have children and they're your darlings and all of these things, but now you done throwed them out there and abandoned them and left them at the fire station or something. You know, sometimes we have a new car and we treat it like and we wash it and wax it or whatever. But after a while, that old thing, Well, you couldn't get it. And then when you got it, now you call it an old thing. It was a blessing from God that you was able to get this, and God bless you. Now, trying to collect on the bill, and they can't even collect from you that blessing that God had gave you, now you're throwing it aside. God had told you to do these things, and now you don't love me. You're not zealous. You're not on fire for me. You hadn't went deeper. Since we've been together longer, you've taken me for granted. A lot of people take Jesus for granted. And he says, rise up, O weak, and let your light so shine that men would see your light, he says. Now, if you don't think differently and turn back again and work as you did before, I'm going to remove your candlestick from among the place in the churches. I'm going to remove you. I'm going to take your light away. because you used to go out witnessing all these things for me. And that light has become dull. Through exercise of use, it done grown old and you got home and you can't hardly see. But he says, ask of me, seek unto me and I'll restore your eyesight. I'll take these laser surgeries and do like he did with the Williams and Arson and make you see again clearly. He says, those that wait upon the Lord, they shall renew their strength. They shall run and not faint. They shall walk and not be weary. They shall rise up with wings of an eagle. 70 and 80 years old, they're delivering speeches and they say, we should move up to retirement age. 60, 70, 80, that's not old. But why are you becoming more decrepit in things going with? Maybe God's trying to tell you something. Maybe you like Balaam, you're running headlong in this direction and you're not letting your light so shine that men would see that light and give you the glory. It should make them shame that you doing what you did. That's why Cain destroyed Abel because Abel's works was of one that shined a light on him. That's why your brothers and sisters don't like you because you are straight shooter. So why are you worried about what people say? Please the Lord, walk in his light. Have a relationship with him. Don't be alone. Let that light so shine. You keep driving them nails deeper and deeper. It's gonna draw them a driver. The light expels darkness. Either they gonna get right or they gonna get lost. Either they gonna join or they're not gonna join. But it's all in God's hands. Stop letting people decide for you. When he says, arise and let your light so shine, a lot of us running around here sitting on our hands. A lot of us, that's why I said what you used to tell me, because I'm tired of trying to jump your call. You know when your car killing, your battery getting low, you don't wanna keep grinding and grinding. It ain't gonna start, it ain't gonna stop. Get you another one if you can. If not, Lord help me to get this thing started and get it going or whatever, but I have to change the crowd I'm with. I have to change the crowd. And because if you get stink on you, the only thing that's gonna wash that stink off is the word of God. It's gonna wash you. It's gonna cause you to look at the man in the mirror. The man in the mirror is the problem. Keep looking at it until that reflection reflects Jesus Christ. Until you start seeing that you created in His image and His likeness. You remember I said, we were created in God's image and likeness, but a lot of us going around here in God's likeness, but not in His image. It's a marred image. It is self-centered. It is deceitful. And God see it. I don't have to see it. God sees it. And he said, if I allow my light to so shine, I'm going to be able to repel that. I'm going to be able to walk around here in the midst of darkness. He prepared a table for me in the midst of my enemies. I'm walking around here. And you know what? They're going to be scared to confront you to your face. They may tell you behind your back or tell somebody else behind. But you always got that one, that leader of the crowd, that's gonna try to confront you and take you down. You keep, do just like God did Satan. You keep that one around because you want him to pull them weak ones out, the ones that's stabbing behind your back. You want his demons first. So you don't get rid of the Judas goat. You need to get the followers first, or they gonna stay here. If it wasn't for his election, if it wasn't for this, we wouldn't know how racially divided this nation is. We wouldn't know. The light shined in darkness. You let your light so shine, God's gonna take care of the darkness. But don't wear yourself down to where you are bleeding heart and pity and sympathy. God gives you empathy, and God gives you compassion, but you remember, there are those that are walking around in sheep's clothing because they've skinned some weak sheep somewhere. The reason that wolf has sheep's clothing on, he's done got some lame disobedient sheep and skinned him. There are those out there that will skin you now. Be careful. If that light is so shiny that men would see that light, God's gonna make you a warrior. Now we're gonna have some that lose this battle. That doesn't mean they wasn't in the Lord, but you need to fight the battle. Heavenly Father.