I'm going to be continuing today what I preached a few weeks ago about the primacy of preaching. This will be I guess part two you can call it. Primacy of preaching. And we're going to start in 2 Corinthians chapter number 3. But before we get there I just want to do a little bit of review of what I did last, a few weeks ago when I preached this first part. I talked a little bit about the very little emphasis that we see in today's modern so-called churches that's placed on preaching of God's Word. And a lot of what we are seeing today, and especially in the U.S. here, is a lot of watered down gospel preaching that really doesn't have any gospel at all. But I talked about a few things here. Number one concerning preaching, I talked about that preaching is foundational. And that we find in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10 that the Apostle Paul mentions himself as an appointed preacher by God, a quote, wise master builder who lays the foundation. The Bible says that preachers are called stewards as well. We see Jesus refer to rulers over His household as faithful and wise stewards. His household being the Church of God and the steward here being the preacher. In 1 Corinthians 4, verse 1-2 Paul names the ministers or preachers of God as stewards requiring them to be faithful. In the Bible, preachers are also called angels. In Revelation 22, verse 16, Jesus Himself says that He sent His angels to testify to His churches. We see Jesus also instructing the seven stars, or seven angels, to write to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Preachers bring sinners into the new birth. Paul, a preacher, begat sinners through the gospel of Jesus Christ by preaching as seen in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 15. We see similar language being used in Galatians 4, verse 19 when Paul, quote, begat his converts by preaching. And then lastly, preachers are laborers over God's husbandry. The apostle Paul and Apollos, who were exalted over and above that which is spiritual by the Corinth church, were simply used by God to plant and water the seed of the gospel. It was God that gave the increase, in that only God is the agent of true change and regeneration. The pastors are the laborers in charge of planting and watering God's husbandry, also known as the local church. Now I also talked about preaching is the chief duty of preachers and is the main benefit for Christians. I also talked about, further down here, that preaching is a necessity. That one forsaken brings a woe, and I quoted 1 Corinthians 9, verse 16, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. Much emphasis is given throughout the Bible on preaching God's Word. It is a part of the Great Commission. It's one of the most important parts of the Great Commission that Christ gave to His local New Testament church. So, the first point that I made in that message was that God ordained preaching. God did it. And we read 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18-21. I'm not going to go back through that now. But preaching the gospel does a few things. Preaching dooms and damns the sinners, confounds the wise, silences the disputers, and it pleases God all in the process. And then I went down to my next point and I talked about Point number two that I made, our Lord finds preaching important enough that He prays for its success. And we saw in John chapter 17, verse 19-20, Jesus Himself prayed for the preaching of His ministers. The Bible says, "...and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." You see there's preaching there that Jesus prayed for that it would be successful. So we talked about a few of those things. So today I'm going to continue with this thought on the primacy of preaching. The third point that I'd like to get started on today is God the Holy Spirit, concerning preaching, is engaged to honor sound preaching. God the Holy Spirit is engaged to honor sound preaching. Isaiah chapter 59 verse 21 the Bible says, As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed. saith the Lord from henceforth and forever. God has promised His people that His Spirit would bless and honor the preaching of God's Word forever. As God blessed Isaiah's prophesying in the days of the kings, so the Lord has blessed the preaching of His Word even today." Now, we're going to turn to, we're already here in 2 Corinthians chapter number 3. I'm going to read the first six verses. The Bible says, Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart, And such trusts have we through Christ to Godward. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to thank anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Now look at verse 6. Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." Now notice here in this passage that it is the Spirit that gives life. To the Christian today, before God saved you, it was God the Holy Spirit that reproved you of your sin through preaching. It was the Spirit that revealed Jesus Christ and Him crucified to your condemned soul, and that Jesus was and is the only way of salvation. The law of God condemns and kills every sinner, but the blessed Spirit of God breathes life into the sinful soul, quickening it unto life eternal upon repentance from dead works and faith toward Him. The Spirit of the Father speaks when we preach. I'm gonna go over here to Matthew chapter number 10. I'm gonna be turning to several verses today. Matthew chapter number 10. And we're gonna start in verse number 16. Matthew chapter number 10, verses 16 through 20. The Spirit of the Father speaks when we preach. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 10, verse 16, behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be you therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up into the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, Jesus says, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. You see where I get that? Why is it that so many of our Baptist forefathers of antiquity were hated and murdered by the powers that be? Why is it that prophets like Jeremiah, Elijah, and Micaiah were hated when they prophesied? because many of their listeners were in opposition against God the Father. Today, when a born-again preacher is raised up to preach the Scriptures among his own people in his own hometown, it will likely cause him problems. Now, why is that? Because it is the Father Spirit that speaks through him. When our Baptist brethren in time past were brought up before governors and judges for the unlawful deed of preaching without their permission. Oftentimes they were condemned and punished because it was the Spirit of the Father that reproved their unlawful deeds. It wasn't the men that preached that was the problem, it was God that they had a problem with. Jesus said, when we are delivered up to the judges and are betried for our testimonies in Christ, it is not us who speak, but the Father and His Spirit that does the speaking. And one day, perhaps, too, we will have the opportunity as Christians to preach to kings and princes as we're being condemned. And I'd love nothing more than to be used of the Father to preach the truth of the gospel to they who are in opposition to the truth. Who was it that said we ought to obey God rather than men? It was Peter, was it not? But was it Peter and the other apostles, or was it God the Father speaking through them? It was most assuredly the Father's Spirit which was in them. You see, another thing I want to touch on today is the fact that it is not the orator or the person preaching, but the Word of God and the Spirit that makes preaching powerful. I have a question that I want all of us to consider today. Think about this, okay? According to an online study I did recently, it is said that there are roughly 350 to 400,000 churches in the United States of America today. This number makes one congregation for every 1,000 Americans. It is also said in a similar study that there are roughly a half a million pastors in some sort of ministry serving today in the United States. Now my question is this, if God ordained preaching, if Jesus himself prays for its success, and if the Holy Spirit is engaged with preaching, why do we not see America completely turned upside down in repentance? I have an answer for that, folks. I believe the reason we have an abundance of churches on nearly every street corner and still have wickedness abounding in our surrounding communities in this country is because we have sold ourselves into believing it is about man's ability to change America and not the Spirit of God and God's Word through preaching. We have left off the pure power of a Spirit-filled, bold man of God to preach the truth. We've turned to good orators, pragmatism, and politics to attempt to change the course of this nation's evil. I'm gonna turn to 2 Timothy chapter number four. We've all heard this verse before, 2 Timothy chapter four. 2 Timothy chapter four, starting in verse one. 2 Timothy chapter four, verse number one. The Bible says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lusts shall they heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." Paul said that there would come a time when men will not endure the truth. In verse 3 Paul uses the word for. Let's read it like this, verse 2, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, because the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Why is it that Timothy was specifically charged to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine? It is because there would be a time when the people would not be able to stomach sound doctrine. Today, America's pastors are qualified based on their achievements, their speaking skills, their education. But most of them, if you ask them what the first principles of the doctrine of Christ are, they'd not know how to answer you. If you ask many of them about God's character, they'd only respond with God is love and would have no clue about many of the other characteristics of God, like His holiness, his eternal priesthood, or him being a judge. They know nothing about those things. How do these pastors find their way into America's churches today? It's because the people who cannot endure sound doctrine, which have itching ears, vote them in. Today's qualifications for a bishop are seminary school, a bachelor's degree, and good orator skills. Maybe throw in a little bit of no-nonsense preacher attributes like banging the podium and yelling. That's about it. Add that all up together and you've got yourself your average American pastor. Yet the Holy Ghost is as close to that pastor and his church as the devil is to righteousness. You want to know what makes a fake Christian upset? You make them upset when you have an unlearned and ignorant preacher filled with the Holy Ghost preach the truth raw from God's Word. That's what makes the religious zealots very upset. The educated ones, when they have someone like Peter and the apostles who were persecuted at the day of Pentecost, when the apostles were being questioned by the rulers and elders about their power and authority at Pentecost, they were found to be average, uninteresting men that had simply spent time with the Lord. Acts 4, verse 13 the Bible says, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. These men had spent some time with the Lord, more than where the religious zealots spend their time. It was these same ignorant and unlearned men who were used to convert about 3,000 souls. Now why is that? Because it's God's power in His word through preaching that pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow. It is God's power in His word that through preaching that discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is God's power in His word through preaching that changes entire cities and turns them upside down. Another reason America is so far into wickedness with yet so many churches abounding on every corner is because preaching has been confined to the four walls of a building for so long. I want to address the duty and the power of public preaching, but I will save that for another message at another time. The fourth point that I want to get to today So we covered the third point, which is God the Holy Spirit is engaged to honor sound preaching. The fourth point that I wanna talk about today is pastors and teachers are the gift to the church. Pastors and teachers are the gift to the church. Pastors and teachers are for our benefit, church. I'm gonna turn to Ephesians chapter number four. Ephesians chapter number 4, and we're going to look in verse 11-16. Ephesians chapter number 4, verses 11-16. The Bible says this, And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the effectual working and the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Now notice here God's intended benefit of pastors and teachers. They are given to quote, perfect the saints, the work of the ministry, and the edification of the church. Now why? so that we all come into perfect unity and knowledge of the Son of God until we are made complete in His likeness. Pastors are given to warn us of false doctrine. Unfortunately, as we've seen much in America and even our own local community, false doctrine and false teachers are everywhere because pastors have forsaken the duty to teach sound doctrine and to warn of false doctrine. A pastor is given to the church to guide God's people to the truth. When pastors neglect the teaching and preaching of the truth, it leads to error and heresies. Pastors are to provide knowledge and understanding to the church. Jeremiah chapter number 3, verse 14, the Bible says, Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you, and I will make you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion, verse 15 says, and I will give you pastors, according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. You see the purpose there that God gave pastors. It is the pastor that is given as a gift to the church to feed the flock of God this knowledge and understanding. God's gift is the pastor in the office of a bishop. The Bible says it's a good work as well. 1 Timothy 3, verse 1, this is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. Pastors are called to labor in word and doctrine. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 17, the Bible says, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. Now, make sure you note that, that they have to rule well. There's some that don't rule very well. 1 Timothy 5, 17 continues on and it says, Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. Pastors are called to labor in the word and doctrine. They are given the responsibility to study, serve, and give their lives for the work of the ministry as worthy vessels, full of meekness and long-suffering toward the flock. Much more can be said about the pastor in the office of a bishop, but the point is that God's gift is to the church. God's gift to the church is the pastor who will instruct in wisdom the congregation of God into the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now, we read where God's blessing to His people are His pastors. But how can you tell if a nation is cursed? That's the question I'd like to ask today. How can you tell if a nation is cursed? I believe that God will remove His preachers, one method, He will remove His preachers. God removed Elijah to live with a widow for a time if you recall. The Bible says in Luke chapter 4 verse 25, but I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land, but unto none of them was Elias sent. save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow." God even leads His preachers in the land. He leaves them in the land, but He can even silence them. That's how you know a nation can be cursed. I'm going to turn to Jeremiah 7, verse 13. Jeremiah 7, verse 13. The Bible says, And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I have spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye have heard not, and I called you, but ye answered not. Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave you, to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. and I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray, talking to Jeremiah here, therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me, for I will not hear thee." Very strong language that God has for a nation that's cursed who refuses to hear the words of God. God did not permit Jeremiah to even pray for them, because they would not listen to the Lord's commandments. Jeremiah wanted to pray and intercede for his people, but God said again to not lift up so much as a prayer to them again in Jeremiah 11, 14. Again, God tells Jeremiah, Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. Judah and Jerusalem were so inundated with idolatry, God said to go cry to their gods and offer incense to them because He would not hear them when they cried unto Him. Now why is that so? Because His people would not hearken to His voice, aka the preaching. Israel would not listen to God's words. Now let's go back to Jeremiah 7. The Bible says in verse 13, and now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not, and I called you, but ye answered not. Now, this is God talking here, okay? Question, how is it that God says, quote, I spake unto you? How is it that God said that he, quote, rose up early and spoke? God's talking about himself. He said he spoke. He rose up early, and he spoke. How did God do speaking, and how did God rise up early? It's kind of strange that the Bible would say something like that, but let's read here. Jeremiah 7, 23. But this thing commanded I them, saying, obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people. And walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you. that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward, since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day. I have even sent unto you all my servants, how did God speak to them? I have even sent unto you all my servants, the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. God spoke through the prophets. Jeremiah 26, 5, To hearken to the words of My servants, the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them. Jeremiah 29, 19, Again, My servants, the prophets, rising up early and sending them. Jeremiah 35, 15, again, I have sent also unto you all My servants, the prophets, rising up early and sending them. God spoke to His people through His prophets. He said, I spoke to them, and I did it through My prophets. But they would not hearken unto the prophets today, back then, and they don't do today either. It is evidently clear that God speaks to men by His preachers. God's curse is upon a nation who refuses to hear from God's Word, which Word is manifested through the preaching from a preacher. Titus 1, verse 3, But hath in due time manifested His Word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior. Preachers are the mouthpiece by which God's words are heard. Romans 10, verse 8, the Bible says, But what sayeth that the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart? That is, the word of faith, which we preach, So that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Now, how will anyone hear the word of God without a preacher? The Bible says in Romans 10, 14, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Now, we've heard this verse many times, and I wanna talk about this just for a moment. Just a quick note on this verse. Those who call on the Lord already believe. They do not call on Him to believe. You notice that the phrase here is saying that how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? The, quote, calling on the Lord is the fruit of a believer. The belief is not the fruit of the calling. Unbelievers don't call on the Lord. Notice also that believing is the result of hearing, and hearing is the result of preaching from a preacher. Romans 10, 17, So then faith cometh by hearing, because why? Because they heard the word of God, and hearing the word of God, they hear it from a preacher. The question I have for you today, church, is do you want your family members and friends to be saved? How is it that they will be saved if you don't open your mouth and tell them the truth of the gospel? Notice that Paul doesn't prescribe silence or letting others see our actions as the avenue by which sinners receive saving faith. He never mentions anything about just live a good life. It is by preaching, opening our mouths and telling. Asking for prayer for someone to be saved without telling them how to be saved. It's completely pointless. If God is not willing that any should perish, according to 2 Peter 3, 9, praying for them to be saved isn't enough. We know God wants to save them. Speaking the truth to them is God's chosen method of reaching their heart. You must tell them. And we have the responsibility as Christians, not just pastor, not just the teacher in the church, but all men who are saved, you have the responsibility upon you to tell men the truth of the word of God. Point number six I'm gonna make today. It is through God's preachers, interesting, it is through God's preachers that Christ preaches himself. 2 Corinthians chapter five. I'm gonna go there. 2 Corinthians chapter five, verse 20. It is through God's preachers that Christ preaches himself. 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 20. The Bible says, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. Look at Paul's words here. We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Notice how Paul says he and the other apostles are Christ's representatives, aka ambassadors, that pray for the church at Corinth, quote, in Christ's stead or in his place, much like on the behalf of or for someone who would ordinarily do it. Because Christ ascended on high and is no longer here among us, he led captivity captive and did what? Gave gifts. also known as preaching to men. He gave gifts to the church to preach. We find that in Ephesians 4.8. Now I'm gonna turn to read Ephesians chapter number two real quick. Ephesians chapter number two. I told you I was gonna be going to a lot of places here. Ephesians chapter number two, verse 13. The Bible says in verse 13, That's between Jew and Gentile. having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace." By the way, let me stop right there. Anybody that tells you they observed the Sabbath day or they observed the feasts, you go right here to this verse and show them that those ordinances are the enmity. You show them that verse there. Verse 16, the Bible says, And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you. Listen to this, folks. And came and preached peace to you, which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. Wait a minute. Did you hear what Paul just said there? Let me read it again. And came and preached peace to you, Ephesus, church at Ephesus. and to them that were nigh." See, Ephesus was a far off. Now, wait a minute. How did Jesus Christ, Paul's talking about Christ here, how did Jesus Christ, who we don't see in scripture ever leaving Palestine during His earthly ministry, preach to the people of Ephesus, who was an Asia Minor? Ephesus is an Asia Minor, folks. So how on earth did Jesus preach peace to the people in Ephesus if they were indeed a far off? And I submit to you today that Jesus preached by the preaching of Paul and the other apostles. He himself, Paul said he did, Jesus did to Ephesus through Paul and the apostles. Isn't that amazing? Ephesus was a way up there toward Greece. But Paul said that Jesus was preached to them. Jesus himself preached to them. Amazing. Jesus preaches through his ministers. Now, I'm gonna read 1 Peter chapter number three, another instance where Jesus preaches through his ministers. 1 Peter chapter number three. 1 Peter chapter number three. And I'm gonna read starting in verse number 18. The Bible says, "...for Christ also hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By which also He went and preached," talking about Jesus, "...unto the spirits in prison." Now there's a semicolon there. The statement continues, "...which sometimes were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing wherein few, that is eight souls, are saved by water." What? Jesus preached in the days of Noah? How is that possible? Exactly. It was through Noah. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Jesus himself preached through Noah to repent. And people will say, well, how can you prove that? We just did right here. That Jesus himself preached through Noah before the ark was taken up by water. Jesus Himself preached to the lost before the flood by His Spirit through Noah. The Bible says in 1 Peter 1, chapter 1, verse 10, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of the time the Spirit of Christ, there it is, which was in them, talking about the prophets, did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. The Lord Jesus Himself preached through His prophets in the Old Testament and today also through His Spirit-led preachers." I believe the clearest of passages on this subject of Christ preaching through His ministers is found in 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. The Bible says, For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. The church at Thessalonica, similar to those of Berea who believed the Scriptures and searched them well, believed that they had heard God speaking when Paul and the other apostles were delivering the truth of the Scriptures to them. Unlike today, and even during Israel's kings and Babylonian captivity, where many hard-hearted people see God's preachers as despicable and detestable, these Thessalonians received a preaching and preachers as though they were of God, because they were. In Acts chapter 8 we find the account of the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah 53, yet still questioned whom the scripture in Isaiah 53 was referring to. He still needed guidance from a preacher to be converted. The Bible says in Acts 8, verse 30, And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. You see the need for preachers to expound and explain the word of God more thoroughly. Now I have a question. Can you despise the gift of preaching without despising the one who exercises the gift. Can you despise the gift of preaching without despising the one who exercises the gift of preaching? You remember the 42 children that were ripped up by the two she-bears after they mocked Elisha. And they said, go up thou bald head, go up thou bald head. What did Elisha do? He turned to them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. The Bible says the two Shebares came and ripped up 42 of them, because they mocked the messenger of God. Interesting. After reading 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, where we see the church considered the apostles as men of God with God's message, is it true that you can get away with mocking the minister without also mocking God? I personally believe it depends on the person being mocked as to whether or not they are the true prophet or preacher, because we see Elijah mocking Jezebel's 450 prophets at Baal before killing all of them at the Brook Kishon. So, we have to discern who is true preachers and who is not. I don't think that still warrants us mocking them, but generally speaking, I don't believe you can mock or despise the messenger of God without mocking and despising God Himself. Oh, that's just Sam Adams, you know. He's just full of opinions, you know. He's got his views. I disagree. I think he needs to calm down a little bit on the conspiracies and the war against the state. You know, Jay, he's just going on and on about his opinions and what he thinks. Think about that, folks. Consider the gift that God's given to this church. In a church like what we have here today, unlike many of the social clubs in our area, where that believe and preach sound doctrine and desire to live the truth, it's good to carefully consider what happened. In 2 Chronicles 36, verse 15, the Bible says, And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up at times and sending because He had compassion on His people. That's why God gave the gift. He's got compassion on us. He wants us to hear His word. says, and on his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy." Don't make the mistake of considering Bible-believing preachers as bigoted, opinionated, and unjudgmental, when truly they are the manifestation of God's compassion on your sinful and wayward condition. That's all I have for today.