Proverbs 20 verse 1 says, wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. There are some who take exception to the fact that we will not add to God's word and say that it's a sin to drink wine or drink strong drink in moderation. And all I can say is that I'll just have to learn to live with that. And so will you if you feel that way, because I have no desire to stand before the Lord on judgment day and answer for adding to God's word and claiming that it says such a thing when it does not. I also am not going to change the word wine to grape juice, as some do, when it's necessary in order for them to teach their own convictions, as though it is Bible fact. And some of those folks will quote this proverb at me personally over the years, not because I drink, because I haven't drank anything in years, but because I won't teach their opinion. They say that I am personally deceived and not wise. It's been a few years since anyone has said that to me, but I want to make something clear. Number one, I'm not a drinker, but if I did drink a glass of wine or this or that and didn't drink to excess, I do not believe it would be a sin. Number two, I don't encourage anyone to drink. I have shared the facts about alcohol with literally thousands of people over the years, and many of them have told me that because of what they learned, they were going to cut out alcohol. Or in some cases, they began only drinking at special occasions like weddings and such. And number three, I have no problem with anyone, including preachers, preaching against drinking because I do, or saying that they do not believe Christians should drink alcohol. Listen closely. I only have a problem with a preacher or Christian claiming that the Bible teaches that it's a sin to drink alcohol. I'm not interested in promoting alcohol consumption, and I actively discourage such things. But I believe that when a Christian or preacher begins changing God's words to fit their own convictions on alcohol or whatever, it leads to them changing God's word elsewhere anytime they feel the need to do so, and it's wickedness. I'm not deceived about alcohol. It's like a gun or knife or any other dangerous object. In the hands of the wrong person or when handled carelessly, a gun, a knife, or a bottle of booze can be dangerous and even deadly. And what is interesting is that with few exceptions, the only preachers I know who had a drinking problem were actually men who preached that it was a sin to drink alcohol, and yet they were doing so secretly. The churches with the worst problems with alcohol abuse in their membership, almost always I've seen it over the years, were those who added to God's word and told folks that it was a sin to ever touch it. Instead, I stick to the words that God has written. And I preach hard against drunkenness and alcohol abuse. I preach against violating the law with underage drinking or driving while drinking. And I've never had anyone who agreed with our position who had a problem with alcohol. Isn't it funny when you do things God's way, it just seems to work better? But there seems to be a lot of people who think that they can improve on God's word. So they change words and add things that aren't there. Only a couple of rebellious people over the years that I've pastored, but they weren't really following my counsel because I told them, you know, if they got drunk, They were sinning and they just around said that they didn't care and they weren't going to stop. Well, there's nothing I can do about that. And I told others that same thing while, you know, not telling me personally, but I, you know, they would come to me and say, you know, they claim that you're wrong. And it's, there's nothing wrong with getting drunk once in a while. Well, those are the only people who've ever had an issue with alcohol in our congregational family. What's the lesson? God's way is the best way. God's word is true and perfect. We don't need to fix it. We don't need to change it. We don't need to dress it up. Read and believe God's word as written. Follow God's wisdom faithfully. And then in the end, we'll see how true his word is and say with Jude in Jude 25, to the only wise God, our savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power both now and forever. Amen.