 Well, here we are in chapter 9. We're continuing and concluding chapter 9 by looking at verses 13 through 21 here in Revelation Chapter 9 and so let's begin reading at verse 13 I'll read to verse 21. We're getting to our study revelation chapter 9 beginning at verse 13 reading to verse 21 then the sixth angel sounded and And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God saying To the sixth angel who had the trumpet Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates so the four angels who had been prepared for the hour and day and Month and year were released to kill a third of mankind Now the number of the army of the horseman was 200 million I Heard the number of them and Thus I saw the horses in the vision those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red Hyacinth blue and sulfur yellow the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions and Out of their mouths came fire smoke and brimstone By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths for their power is in their mouth and In their tails for their tails are like serpents having heads and with them They do harm but the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues Did not repent of the works of their hands that they should not worship demons and idols of gold silver Brass stone and wood which can neither see nor hear nor walk and they did not repent of their murders or their sorcery or their sexual immorality or their thefts and So we continue this cherry chapter chapter 9 Now we left off here in chapter 9 with the sounding of what is called the fifth trumpet judgment and We saw that demons have left this place. It's called the abyss. It's also The abuso is what it literally is which is a place of confinement and And we saw how they have begun to torment man on earth it describes them as having stings like scorpions and They're inflicting unbearable pain on the unsaved people now We've been looking at this and and I mentioned to you that you might want to imagine for just a moment That those who have been stung by these demons have a tremendous desire to die But they cannot and they're going to be suffering in agony For five months. It said in verse 6 in those days men will seek death and will not find it They're going to want to die the pain and the agony will be so intense, but they're going to linger. They're going to continue I don't know how to describe that In a way that would make sense to you. I just can't because it's difficult for me to really In any way and I have to be honest To get my mind wrapped around such a concept that somebody wants to die longs to die but cannot die You know in a manner they're in such tremendous pain But they're not dying During this time 144,000 evangelists we were introduced to these 144,000 in chapter seven These 144,000 are protected by the Lord It would seem that not only are the 144,000 protected but it would seem to be consistent with the way the Lord works That the others who have been saved would also be protected the psalmist in psalm 34 verse 7 writes the angel of the lord encamps round about those who fear him and delivers them So it makes biblical sense to to assume at least that The 144,000 who had been sealed by the father and therefore are protected during this time Well, naturally they would not be harmed, but there would be others Who have come to faith In christ at that time who are also being preserved and that's what's taking place So when it says in verse 13 the sixth angel Sounded and he says and I heard a voice From the four horns of the golden altar at this point Judgment comes and it comes partially in response to the prayers of the saints Now if you want to just turn your bible very very quickly to chapter six for a moment, let me remind you of chapter six verse 10 About those who are under the altar and how it says in verse 10 They cried with a loud voice saying How long oh lord holy and true until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth So it would seem that at this time There are those who are having their prayers answered And they have been crying out and so judgment comes partially in response to the prayers of the saints Again, we looked in chapter eight at verse three He had said another angel who had a golden censor came and stood at the altar He had he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne And so It would seem that god is is actually answering the prayers as he is bringing judgment on those Who have uh, so evenly been in opposition to him And so that's what's taking place We see in verse 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet released the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates So we'll look at that for just a moment These four angels I want you to notice something about it when you see these four angels Note with me that it refers to them as four angels who are noticed who are bound That gives us some insight They're bound These four angels would be fallen angels Because scripture never refers to the holy angels as being bound Anywhere, so this gives to us a clue These are Unholy these are fallen if you will fallen angels and where's the location euphrates the euphrates When you look at a map the euphrates is located in babelon It's interesting because the bible refers to the euphrates as one of the four rivers that that in the early in early early time of man Actually came out of the garden of eden you see that in genesis 2 verses 11 through 14 Where these rivers are being named and the name of the first is the pichon It winds through the entire land of havila where there's gold The gold of that land is good Aromatic resin and onyx are also there the name of the second river is gion It winds through the entire land of kush the name of the third river is the tigris It runs along the east side of asher and the fourth river is the euphrates And so this is an ancient river But it's being referred to now this euphrates was connected with the original fall And it's possible that the the demons are kept there and are serving as a reminder of god's judgment the euphrates is also connected with babelon And babelon will be referred in chapter 17 verse 5 as the mother of harlots We'll look at that in some detail when we get there So the location that we're given here gives us insight into an army that is of invading the earth from the east and so notice verse 15 the four angels Who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year? Were released to kill a third of mankind a third of mankind Now one quarter had already died in a single judgment Many others have died as we've been reading through revelation up to this point But now another one third die So when you begin to combine the judgments that have fallen through the The quarter of the population the third of the population And what you see now is over half of the earth's population has been wiped out Can you imagine that for just a moment? It's it's too hard to grasp I can't I can't imagine that but the bible is saying this is what's going to take place Over half of the earth's population has been wiped out Interestingly in verse 16 the number of the army of the horsemen is given here Now I I'm not one who's given to Hypotheticals I just if the scripture is not plain then it's very careful for me not to begin to To add to it or give my perspective on it But allow me to give you one thought about it because I find this a fascinating thought knowing That this is coming from the east this is coming from Generally what would be referred to as the orient And there are those who who have really looked at this more carefully than that I must confess I have But it's interesting to note the number of soldiers military personnel 200 million The united states has roughly 360 million imagine if half of the united states was military personnel And that'll give you an insight Into the amazing number that are going to be involved. I think our military stands somewhere in the 6 million plus range You're looking at 200 million And that's an interesting number when you take some things into consideration When he says the army of the horsemen was 200 million All the way back in may of 1965 before many of you were born And some of you were alive then you just don't admit it But back in in may of 1965 time magazine said something that that's worthy of Repeating here. I would say one of the few things that is But they were reporting reporting back in may and if you wanted to look it up may 21st 1965 time magazine China has a combined militia of 200 million Now isn't that interesting that the number scripture gives to us of this armed force is 200 million And the direction they're coming For their battle is from the east And I just find that to be fascinating especially As we who are alive in this time Are seeing something you guys are seeing something in your lifetime That to me, I you know, I have to be careful not to start talking a lot about this because it does Blow my mind to be alive at this moment in history To see these kinds of things that are actually taking place now one again reminding you all the way back in 65 They reported they had this size army But for a long time and and here we go. I'll say a couple of things that kind of Might might give you some insight into why this is Fascinatingly true in our age and it's one of the reasons why We know that that we're living into time just prior to the return of christ, but I'll start out by saying this and and this is for you oldsters who will get it and the young ones Please bear witness with this relic who's up here sharing a few things I grew up in the 50s We used to have a sane in the 50s Some of you may remember this and here's your saying made in japan Made in japan anybody here every hear that please raise your hand. Okay, you know what that meant, right? What did it mean? It was cheap That's what it meant remember And that baseball glove made in japan That baseball that we're playing with made in japan And when they said made in japan that was not a compliment because the united states had been victorious in world war two And japan was just beginning to once again Rise to some kind of normal or normality This is something we older people remember and some of some who are older than me remember much better than I But I remember made in japan was a slur It wasn't it was not something now if you say today Where'd you get your car? I got not well. I got whatever. Oh made in japan. That is not a slur That's like you got a good car Right right you got an infinity. That's a good car. You got an actor. That's a good car Yeah, honda. That's a good car Because it's changed. Why did it change? I could see I have to be careful because I could go into all kinds of things with you About this that doesn't pertain to revelation nine serious Okay, what do we have today? Where's everything made? Made in china Made in china In my lifetime You would never have told me That the united states would owe china the amount of money we owe you would never have told me that I would not have believed you Are you kidding me? That we will be a deader nation to china and if china wants to pull the plug on our economy It will go belly up instantly Are you kidding me? Well for you today That may not seem to be anything for somebody my age Who i've seen these things now i've lived long enough to see certain things blows my mind blows my mind Made in china made in china and so As we're looking at the passage Was there a time when we would have considered china and and and i'll go this i'll i'll go a step further to try and develop this a little bit with you The great wall of china So one thing you can be an outer space look down and see that's how huge it is The great wall of china. Why was it built lots of reasons one of them being to keep outsiders out To keep the outsiders out the invaders and everything so they built this i've been at the great wall of china I've stood on it and have looked over it. It's it's huge It's huge, but china Did not want Did not want foreigners They went so far as to build this huge huge Wall to keep people out and so again i'm raised in a generation that has seen a nation That went under mao went into communism And now it's when a place where gm and various other They looked at china to buy their their automobiles And are wanted to make millions of dollars because of the potential of such an incredible population In my lifetime so when i was 20 I saw the scripture and i said 200 million Hal Lindsay starts speaking says you realize of course That china has a militia of 200 million and so It would seem that prophecy is being revealed Right in front of us Even as we're alive right now Because i'm serious and i don't know how to be more serious when i say You would never have convinced me Even just a few years ago that the united states would be in the position we are in now Where our money that we owe a nation Is being used to develop military powers that will one day be used against the world They say that you build up an army So that you never have to go to war There's truth to that You also build up an army so that you can And so what we're looking at here in revelation chapter nine is speaking about a judgment that will come and there are those Who would say that the 200 million could very well be Armies that are unleashed that may even be Quote unquote quote unquote energized demonic energized armies possibly and so Release them We're bound there the euphrates again located in babelon And so what happens Well, one third of mankind is killed as mentioned one quarters already died in a single judgment Many others have died up to this point and now another one third die As i said a moment ago over the half the earth's population has been wiped out You have this huge army that's coming verse 17 Continuing and thus i saw the horses in the vision those who sat on them had breast plates of fiery red hyacinth blue Sulphur yellow the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions Out of their mouths came fire smoke and brimstone By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone Which came out of their mouths And so he describes something here and again you can take these literally if you'd like But there are others who would say that this is a description of a war machine And it sounds pretty much like it would be a description of a war machine There are those who would say this could very well be what we would today call mobile ballistic launchers Whatever it is these plagues bring death to one third of the earth's population And what is fascinating when you're reading this even under these incredible events people are remaining Hardened to the things of god They're not repenting and they're not seeking god. You don't see any repentance and so in verse 20 he says The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands That they should not worship demons idols of gold silver brass stone in wood Which can neither see nor hear nor walk and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts And so these people are not repenting the rest of mankind who were killed these plagues did not repent So in spite of severe judgment and death everywhere They don't repent does that sound In plausibility does that oh, are you kidding me? Look at FAC all these people dying the first thing I do is repent some people would say And I would say that that makes sense to me, but is that true and the answer to that is no You have been before you got saved possibly in a situation where you could have been injured severely or died If if we were to sit down and begin to match stories of times that we almost died being crazy and stupid I bet you I could write a book With what you would have to say. Oh, I remember when I this and I remember when I that My friend bill and I made his dear friend of mine. We meet once a month and bill still remembers that when we were in our early 13 12 13, you know in our early years because I've known bill since I was I think around five years old It's amazing how old he's gotten but I've known him for a long time And he he still teases me. I mean to this day. He's still teased. He'll still say this on occasion He says you remember when we were riding our bikes, which we did quite often together He didn't want me to buy a motorcycle when I was buying one because he remembered how many times I fell off my bicycle And I can still remember don't buy a bike man. You'll get killed. You'll get killed He says Dave you remember that time that you were you and I were riding our bikes and you turned in front of a car And the bike slid out from underneath you And you hit the ground And that car came speeding towards you And and as it was coming towards you do you remember how you laid down and you yelled out time out I still remember that. Yeah. Yeah, I laid there and the car's coming. I go time out And she this woman, you know, I still remember that her white knuckles and her eyes as big as saucers As she hit the brakes and that bumper just right next to me just going like this I still remember how many times did you almost die? How many times when you were being stupid? How many times, you know, I can drink a little bit more. You know, I actually drive better when I'm a little drunk I'll just drop a little bit more of this or drink a little bit more of that I can tell you stories that you don't want to hear About times that I did that Thinking I'm fine. I'm smooth. I'm good. I'm all right. I can do this And I'm driving with my hand literally over one eye because I am cross-eyed drunk And I got to figure out which eye is the best one for me to get home So story after story, right story after story Did I repent? I'm glad I'm alive still. Wow. Did I say thank you? God saved me a sinner. No I was in the army. I was I was with the 82nd Airborne We were at a drop drop zone We were watching a We were watching an exhibition jump And this exhibition team jumps and that's it's in competition And for those of you who are familiar with parachutes and all he had a malfunction Your malfunction, you know, you have to it has to I'll use terminology I used to use then your shoot has to pop properly if it doesn't Then you can die and when you're coming down You don't have that much time to make a correction of error And sometimes you'll have to pop your reserve Or you will die If you're just doing a regular jump What they call a static line jump if you're just doing a static line jump a regular jump Jumping from 1250 or 1500 feet depending if you're in a an airplane or a helicopter You only have matter of seconds To pull your reserve if you have a malfunction because if you do not you will hit the ground within eight seconds nine seconds You're dead. That's how fast it happened Because when you're jumping you're not that high You're only 120 stories up It's not it does not take that long to hit the ground When you're doing exhibitions, you'll be up higher and you'll be using different kinds of shoots And this guy was doing an exhibition I was there on the ground because I was the one who was had the detail of picking up the jumpers and bringing them back to certain places Right, so I was there for this competition watching it when I saw a guy dropping with a Malfunction and his shoot and he was he has had like a parafforal kind of thing They had a line that had gone over the shoot and so the shoot was not catching air What it did is it bowed like this and it's not catching it now. It's catching some air But in a normal jump you hit the ground two thirds the speed Of gravity So if you think that you're just kind of floating you're not When you hit the ground when you're doing a parachute just a regular t10 parachute When you're landing in that fashion It's equivalent to running from the top. You're on the roof of your house Running and jumping and then you hit that heart. It is not uh, it is not something that is just like oh, you know whip cream You're coming down fast But when you have a malfunction and that shoot is not gathering air You're going to hit and you're going to die Very quickly and severely. Well, that's Obvious I'm watching this guy And I see him spinning They call that corkscrewing And I see him spinning And he's coming down fast He he hits the trees And his shoot Catches some branches And he comes down and springs back up Like a yo-yo That kind of thing I I'm there he hits And you know what he did he started using god's name in vain Because he blew it because he wasn't going to win the competition because of listen That is not unusual That's not You can be so close to dying And you'll curse god People do that now Keep that in mind Keep that in mind when you're reading your bible and it says they will not repent Because our hearts are hard That you see that now That guy was so mad because he lost the competition And I'm looking at him because I was the one who was detailed to pick him up and bring him back to the zone And he was swearing and he was mad and I'm thinking within myself You don't say anything at a time like that because they'll probably choke you with the parachute He's that angry and I and I've remembered all these years all these years So just because you get close to death does not mean that you'll come to faith in christ Keep that in mind because there are some people say well, you know if I ever get to that situation where I'm close to dying I'll turn to god That's not true at all. That's not true at all And so this is what we're seeing here right now. We're seeing these things taking place in this severe judgment. There's death everywhere They do not repent and here's something for us He actually lists five sins that they will not turn away from five sins and we'll look at them one at a time One he says they did not repent of the sin of idolatry He's speaking of the works of their hands And what he's saying when he speaks concerning the works of their hands the bottom line of what he speaks about related to this Is that these are things they manufactured their idols? That's what he's referring to they did not repent of the works of their hands That they should not worship demons and idols of gold So it's speaking of idolatry one they do not repent of the sin of idolatry That they should not he said in verse 20 that they should not worship demons and idols of gold silver brass and stone Now in idolatry demons are actually being worshiped Not the god of the universe. We know that first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 20 the things which the Gentiles sacrifice They sacrifice to demons and not to god And I do not want you to have fellowship. He says with demons In Deuteronomy 32 16 and 17 they provoked god. They provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods With abominations. They provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons not to god to gods They did not know to new gods new arrivals That your fathers did not fear when you study your old and your new testaments In both the old and new god strictly forbids idolatry In the book of exodus in chapter 20 verses 2 through 6 I am the lord your god who brought you out of the land of egypt Out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above Or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth You shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I the lord your god. I'm a jealous god Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me But showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments Old testament new testament first john 5 21 little children keep yourselves from idols Idols they would not repent their idolatry I don't know how to put this anything that takes your attention and Begins to offer your worship Your worship to that which is not god constitutes idolatry some of us Were raised in an atmosphere and I want to be gentle as I say this and that's why I'm taking my time trying to say it properly We were raised in an environment where We never considered the activities to be idolatrous But in reality We were taking That which belonged to god and we were giving it to someone else And forgive me if this sounds offensive. I'm trying to be biblically accurate with you and encourage you through illustration I can only draw on my own experience. My experience was always raised in the roman catholic church And we had little statues and things Many of you were raised in the same way as I was I didn't think a whole lot about it to be honest with you And I was trained in catholic Therefore I could debate with you and argue with you concerning that And I could teach you how proper it is to have an image of some sort. No, I'm not praying to or worshiping I knew the arguments and I gave them more than once I didn't realize that anything that takes my true devotion from god Is forbidden strictly by him. I didn't realize that Then I got saved And I began to worship the invisible god The way the children of israel did Remember with me that the nation of israel Is a nation that was drawn out of pagans in idolatry abraham Was a man who was from a family of idolaters And god pulled him out And god taught him to worship the true god god gives to moses His commandments you're not to make an image anything above the earth You're not to do that The nation's surrounding israel Were nations known for their idolatry the small idols that they would construct with their own hands And the worship that they would give to them that belonged to the invisible god It's a question had to be asked. How can the invisible god be seen? See the nations all construct gods They want a god. I mean even when god delivered the children of israel from from egyptian bondage Almost immediately the children of israel is saying we want you to build us a calf like the ones that we had in egypt And when moses is up there getting the law of god You've got erin taking the gold from the people forming a brass calf And then when when moses comes and sees what they're doing he says what are you doing? And erin so bravely says well, you know these You know we put some gold in fire and this calf came out What did god intend to do god intended to reveal the invisible god? In a way that was not fashioned by man's hands How does he do that today? through the church of jesus christ You are the temple of the spirit of god and the spirit of god dwells in you the invisible god That has no one forming any idols with hands Has chosen to create his own temple to dwell in and you and i the church Are designed specifically by god to reveal the invisible god Through human lives He made us his temple therefore we create nothing for him No idols of any form we just live for him now That's what the church is intended to do and that's why john would say Little children keep yourself from idols Don't allow anything to replace god in your life Marie my precious girlfriend at that time Being raised in the same fashion that i was Had a little statue on her car It was on the dashboard It was st. Joseph Joseph when he would be facing Traffic always had his hands over his eyes because of the way she drove He had this horrified look in his face Actually, she had left her car in the sun and the sun melted st. Joseph. So he was And she had to remove him When marie and i began to date marie used to carry things that she was given in her wallet She carried a scapular a brown scapular various things that she was given And i still remember Going through her wallet And i said I thought you're my girlfriend And she said i am I said then how come you got another boyfriend? She goes what are you talking about? I said you're going out with joe She says joe I said you got a picture of him She goes what are you talking about? And i opened up her wallet. There was a picture of st. Joseph I said you're going out with joe You know you're going out with joe. Oh, I didn't even know i had that and and and when we first were Growing together she was growing and i was ministering to her That's that was one of the earliest lessons together. We were we i was encouraging her in marie It's jesus and jesus alone We worship him. We don't worship. I said we respect And honor the reality of marie. Thank god for such a virtuous young woman We respect and honor her We do not worship her. She is not the queen of heaven. She is not co-mediatrics She is The mother of jesus not the mother of god And i said She was a sinner Hey when she gave her her words. She said that Her soul blessed god. She says this i bless god my what my savior who needs saviors sinners And so that was in a early marie's early walk with jesus. Was i being mean to her? No, i was loving her i was telling her the truth Let's keep our eyes on jesus christ My brother i might as well take it a step further my One of my brothers-in-law is talking to me and he says to me that he believes you know that marie Was sinless and i said to him is that true you think she was sinless because we were taught them Yes, she was sinless. I said may i ask you a question Sure, why didn't they crucify her? Because that's what god requires right a perfect sacrifice Jesus didn't have to die. Why didn't they kill marie? Because my soul rejoices in god my savior And so I i i have to be honest with you if this is offensive to some forgive me for telling you the truth in such a way that it bothers you But it's still the truth It's the truth There's only one savior jesus christ That's the truth I'm sorry to bother you But it's the truth And they would not repent of their idolatry He says in verse 20 that they should not worship demons idols of gold silver brass and stone So in idolatry again demons are actually being worshiped not the god of the universe You see one of the reasons is because what you worship you become like how do we know that? Psalm 115 verses 4 through 9 speaking of pagans Their idols are silver and gold The work of men's hands They have mouths, but they do not speak eyes they have but they do not see they have ears But they do not hear noses they have but they do not smell they have hands But they do not handle Feet they have but they do not walk nor do they mutter through their throat Those who make them are like them So is everyone who trusts in them. Oh israel trust in the lord. He is their help and their shield Eyes ears noses mouths feet Isaiah is even more direct Man goes to a forest cuts down a tree divides the wood in half Wood half of it. He makes kindling uses as a fire cooks his meal The other half he takes fashions it into an idol Puts a plating around it places it on a stand and says you are my god with the same tree He cooks one meal and he worships and the problem is is these little things cannot help you And what happens is idols are dead And when you have a relationship with simply an idol you remain dead too Those who make them are like them So one they don't repent of their idolatry too. They would not repent of their murders We're murder speaking of the violence We don't have to speak much about that We have so much today We have violence killing of people Including the killing of innocent children even within the womb The bible says in exodus 2013 You shall not murder Isaiah 59 8 says The way of peace they have not known. There's no justice in their ways They have made themselves quick at paths Whoever takes that way shall not know peace They will not repent of their violence of their murders Third they would not repent of their sorceries interesting the root word for sorcery Is where we get the word today pharmacy Pharmacaia Pharmaceuticals Drugs were used to induce a state suitable for religious experiences They were associated this drug taking was associated with witchcraft and mediums as well as seances Sorcery is a sin that keeps you from the kingdom And sorcery is a work of the flesh In galatians chapter 5 verses 19 and 20 when the works of the flesh are listed He says the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery Fornication uncleanness lewdness idolatry sorcery So i've had people in the past say Well, what about recreational drug use pastor david? Do you think that's okay? Well, obviously the answer would be no The bible speaks of it as a work of the flesh and the bible speaks of it as As as being something that will keep you from the kingdom of god I've had people in this church. Perhaps you know some who approached you and spoken to you about it Where they have said, you know, I I'm in a physical condition that the doctor has prescribed You know marijuana Should I smoke it and my my answer has always been the same Um, if there's anything that you can take That can do the job for you That you need Please go that route first Now me I'll I'll say this up front. I say it before witnesses. It's gonna be on cd dvd, whatever You can remember this night someday If I ever and this is me. I'm just saying this honestly to you if I ever got to the point where the doctor said to me You know, you need to smoke some pot because it's going to help you I say before you all I won't do it I won't I will not go back to what I've been cleansed from I will not I I personally will never smoke another joint in my life I never will I can't I just can't I can't I and I don't say that to be noble. I'm just telling you the truth. That's just the fact Years ago. I was driving to the office. I got a call from my father Dad said son, can you stop by for a moment? I have something I have to ask you And I said of course dad because I was on the way and my dad's House was by the office at that time where we were So I swing by his house and I walk into the house and my dad says son, I need your help on something I said sure. What can I do? He said well, I found this outside. I don't know what it is, but I think you will He had a shopping bag With a kilo Yeah A kilo And I I opened the bag We used to use the term primo whoa Yeah, dad, I know what that is. Let me go take care of it for you I said it's pot daddy That's what I thought it was probably But I didn't know but I knew you would I said well, I I'm sorry dad. I do. I know exactly what that is marijuana So what did I do with it? Well, I saw the police they burn it No, I'm just kidding It stood down wind we turned it in Obviously took it in When I smelled that pot And I'm talking to you 20 years ago The devil instantly reminded me of all kinds of times instantly. It was amazing Just smelling it and bang And forgive me this. Oh, maybe I shouldn't say this Okay Seeing that you insist I smoked and I don't I don't want it to sound like I'm bragging and or being weird. I'm I'm trying to illustrate something Please understand that context I'm trying to illustrate something. I smoked so much pot just smelling it I could tell you all kinds of things about it. That's going to burn hot I I could tell you this just from the smell. I smoked pot all the time I had a kilo up in my in my room in my bedroom And in the morning, I would just roll two or three joints actually three joints I'd smoke one when I first got up. I'd put one behind my ear I'd have one in my shirt And I'd go visit friends smoking pot all day. That's what I did I and I don't forgive me if it sounds weird to you I loved it I I loved it That's the truth I loved it Line up your pockets with joints. Are you kidding me? I loved it Which gives you insight into why when December 27th 1970 came And my friends received a kilo of tie sticks tie grass tie grass Now it makes it sound like I'm making that a big deal, huh? Some of you know exactly what I'm saying tie grass powerful potent stuff that I didn't pay a dime for And I was going to be smoking all day And my friends want me to go to church. Are you kidding me? And that's when I got saved And so in the back of my mind when I smelled this marijuana The enemy uses that And I told my dad no temptation to no, I don't want it But he is definitely Definitely trying to get me back No doubt stay away from it Don't get near it If you have friends who are smoking don't go over If you want to witness to them wait until they're through doing all that stuff And they share the love of price take them to a restaurant a cafe if they don't want to go to church Don't go near it. The enemy will use it He will use it To draw you back. I am I'm not kidding He wants you back Understand where I'm going with that And they would not repent of their sorceries They would not repent of their drug use They would not repent of those things that God has forbidden. It's a work of the flesh and it's wrong So again, if ever get to the place and I make this promise before the lord And my wife and my dearest friends I will not smoke pot for any reason ever again I've been set free and I'm going to stay free and it's just something I'm very strong about Very strong And so this is what's taking place here They would not repent They continued in it. They would not repent of their sorceries forth. They would not repent of their fornication The word fornication is a word that is actually a greek word pornea and it speaks of all forms of sexual sinfulness The bible in exodus chapter 20 verse 14 says you shall not commit adultery And so the word Pornea is where we get obviously the word pornography so the word Fornication pornea would speak of all forms of sexual sin pornography and obviously included Pedophilia homosexuality adultery living together bestiality every form of forbidden relationships Now I need to say this very quickly sexual intercourse is not forbidden in scripture My mother when I grew up taught me this and this Mama mama wouldn't have a problem where she's here right now. She wouldn't have a problem with me saying this Mama taught me When I was growing up that the sin of adam and eve was sexual intercourse That's what my mom taught me mama didn't know any better. She didn't read the bible But mom had this attitude As I grew up that that's wrong. It's just not it's not a healthy thing God created it And it is lawful within the confines of marriage And he intends it to be a pleasurable experience But you'll never have a truly pleasurable sexual experience outside of marriage Because you don't love that person with the depth of commitment that a married person has Which means the sexual pleasure is what you're really after You're not after the love that takes place between two adults who love each other enough to marry them The bible teaches that very very clearly in Hebrews 13 verse 4 Marriage is honorable among all the bed undefiled But fornicators and adulterers God will judge And it says they would not repent of their thefts They were motivated by greed their lust to gain And this reveals A lack of trust for the lord to provide their daily bread They would not repent of their thefts Exodus 20 verse 15 You shall not steal Ephesians 4 28 let him who stole steal no longer Let him labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give to him who has need Their hearts severely calloused They have no desire to repent And because of this God's wrath continues to fall On them In first Corinthians Paul said it like this. Do you not know in verse 9 through 11 of chapter 6 do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of god? Do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers Nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers Nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of god Such were some of you, but you were washed you were sanctified You were justified in the name of the lord jesus and by the spirit of our god Listen, we have no right To judge other people And I don't Sometimes people get mad. They say all That pastor is judgmental I heard something recently and I'm thinking if it's wise to share this with you Go ahead. Okay. I just don't I just I I really do want to be careful about this, but but it illustrates what I'm trying to say police department received received a briefing special interest By the police was going to be shown to a pastor in the area because the one doing the briefing said Because he's guilty of spreading hate in the community Because he speaks against other religions And is guilty of hate speech Guess who that pastor is guilty so the police Were assigned to follow me around Because they were afraid that someone was going to kill me Because I'm a purveyor of hate Because I teach the truth I don't hate anybody I love people Enough to tell them the truth You are hating them When you let them go to hell That's hate hate speech is not telling the truth Gospel preaching as hurtful as it can be Is what sets you free listen I never told you this where I haven't in a long time. Some of you heard me I was a kid And I don't know how to put this because Well, I'll just say it. Um My mom was there When that guy had that That sharp blade And my mom Gave him permission She gave him permission To stab me In the stomach She gave him permission to I was 14 years old And she said, yeah Stab him And he did And he took out an appendix That was going to burst That could have killed me Gotcha You're all haters aren't you you're hating my mommy Love allowed The removal Of that which was going to kill me Love does that when I preach And teach you to love Jesus And avoid sin And I named the sins It isn't because I hate you It's because I love you And I want you to be free And that's what the lord does But sadly they would not repent They would not And they get judgment Because they will not repent God's wrath continues to fall On them