 Today we're in 1 Peter though. We're looking at chapter 1 verses 10 through 16 And what we're going to do is look at verses 10 through 12 together Then I'm going to take you to verses 13 through 16 and as we get into verses especially 15 and 16 as I was looking at that even even this morning. I Thought that I probably will use that as the launching point for our next week study Because it's so rich and there's so many things that are there So I'll give an exhortation out of that this morning and hopefully give a little bit more Specifically to you as we gather next week, but let's read together here in 1 Peter chapter 1 I'll read verses 10 through 12. We'll get into our study The Apostle Peter writing writes of this salvation The prophets have inquired and searched diligently Who prophesied of the grace that would come to you? Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating? When he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us They were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you By the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into To be honest with you There is so much packed into these verses that it's real difficult to give a very deep study I'll do the best that I can to give you the the basic understanding of what the Apostle Peter wants to communicate as we look today At the verses before us now We remember that in verse 5 he had made a statement and it's going to lead to verse 10 in verse 5 He had said Concerning believers who are kept he says by the power of God Through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time So he had just written that we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation In other words believers are under the continual watchful care of God and the inheritance that he has prepared for us Is actually literally being guarded for us by God himself So God's keeping powers intended to bring us to his goal for us and his goal for us as believers in Jesus Christ Is what would be called final salvation? Now when he speaks concerning the fact that we are kept by the power of God that word power is a Greek word do not make Excuse me, and it speaks of the mighty miracle working power of God And so he's saying that power is necessary to preserve under constant trial a soul from the pollution That is in the world now this keeping power of God is actually received and applied by faith To believe is what we do the exertion of the almighty power is of God So there is no persevering without power, and there's no power without faith This final salvation that he's referring to as yet to be fully realized And that is going to occur when we are with the Lord Jesus Christ now That's what he's speaking about here in verse 10 when he says of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently Who prophesied of the grace that would come to you? And so salvation through Messiah was prophesied by Old Testament prophets Now when you read in the Bible concerning prophets The prophet was one who was moved by the Holy Spirit and the prophet would declare what had been received by the Inspiration of the Spirit So when you read your Bibles, you'll see that prophets wrote and spoke over 300 specific prophecies That revealed future events concerning the kingdom of God Concerning salvation concerning Jesus's birth his ministry as well as his death and It's these same prophets who actually according to the Apostle Peter inquired and searched diligently throughout the writings of Scripture so When he speaks concerning prophets It's easy for us to begin to look in the Old Testament to see whom he might be referring to and We can easily compile a list of those who are prophets. You have Job You have David you have Isaiah you have Jeremiah you have men like Ezekiel and Daniel you have Joel and Malachi all of those Are what are referred to as as prophets? They were moved by God's Spirit and they wrote the things that God placed on their right as well as spoke for the message that God gave to them These same prophets would be the ones who would read and inquire They're the ones he's speaking of who would actually look at the word and search diligently Concerning Messiah who was to come Now they would read the scriptures and they trusted that scripture was inspired by God The prophets did not believe that the scriptures were not from God They knew that God's word was given to them and they would write it and recognize that and not only that But there were other prophets who would be raised up who would inquire of the same writings and so you'll hear of Daniel reading the book of Jeremiah and They would read and they would look at the writings and they would see the things that were written and in doing so Would be looking for ways to see when is the Messiah going to appear Now in 2nd Peter in chapter 1 verses 20 and 21 the apostle writes there above all You must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man But men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit and so they would write the words that God moved them to write and They recorded those things so that we would have the benefit of looking and seeing what they had written But not only we but fellow prophets would read also So they searched the Word of God and they wanted to find out the time of Messiah's appearance And when the Bible says that they inquired that word inquired there means to scrutinize or seek out or to investigate When it says they searched diligently that means to thoroughly investigate it speaks of ransacking They actually opened up the Word of God and thoroughly examined it looked at it Letters and and and the words and everything that was involved and they were longing to know when Messiah would arrive on the scene They had this hunger and this anticipation. They wanted Messiah to come Now Jesus in Matthew 13 verse 17 said said this he said truly I say to you That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them And to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them There were righteous men who came before you who desired to see the things that are being revealed right before your very eyes and They were writing and realizing that it wasn't to themselves, but to others that were being written to But they longed to see Messiah because they knew that the Word of God was indeed true and it is the Word of God and it's alive So this reveals the utmost trust that they had in God's Word And it also reveals that they had a belief in its revelation as well as its accuracy Now we sang a song today The word is alive and in that song There's somebody in the back who's reading in the background who's reading and he reads these words He says the Bible was inscribed over a period of 1500 years in times of war and in days of peace By kings physicians tax collectors Farmers fishermen singers and shepherds The marvel is that a library so perfectly cohesive could have been produced by such a diverse crowd Over a period of time which staggers the imagination Jesus is its grand subject our good is designed and the glory of God is its end And so you have a variety of individuals who had been inspired by the Spirit of God to write these words down And it was pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ So as believers the prophets made the study of God's Word their highest priority These prophets long for the appearing of Messiah. They knew the scriptures would direct them as they searched the scriptures and Their diligence in seeking Jesus is really something that should provoke those who know him to diligence in study even today We're not Old Testament prophets We're not constantly ransacking the Bible But it is our joy to have the scriptures available and we do seek God through his word in 1st Peter we'll see later in chapter 2 verse 2 that the Apostle says his newborn babes desire That sincere milk of the word that you may grow there by If we have life in Christ Even as a baby desires mother's milk if we have life in Jesus Christ We who are believers ought to have a hunger and a thirst for the word of God as a matter of fact It's an evidence that we have life when you're hungry every mother in this room knows that When your baby is born and in their early infancy especially it becomes obvious that They let you know when they're hungry babies will Make it know they can't speak to you so they basically just cry You know and you know that they're crying means that there's something wrong either they're in pain. They're afraid or they're hungry normally they're hungry and They desire mother's milk They desire to have mother's milk because mother's milk is what builds them up It's what fills them up is what strengthens them and and what the Apostle is simply saying is look you've seen babies And how hungry they are how they demand to be fed because they know that it brings them life and it gives to them Health even so as a newborn baby desire the sincere milk of the word that you may be Built up that you may be edified that you may have a strength in the Lord Jesus Christ in order that you may grow thereby My encouragement to you in these last days, and I'm going to be sharing my heart a little bit with you throughout this study And here's the first point that I want to share a little bit my encouragement to you And I realize that I'm speaking to a diverse group of people I understand that we have some people here who have been walking with the Lord a long time And we have others who have just recently come to Christ And we may have some in this room right now who have who haven't ever really committed yourself to Jesus Christ This may be one of the first few times that you've been in church in a long time or ever And so this message that I'm giving may not seem to apply to you But as I share this I want to share with those who have been walking with the Lord for a while And I want to speak to those who are believers in Jesus Christ and I want to be an exhorted today I want to encourage you in this and that is to be hungry for God's word and these last days There's a famine. There's a famine for the word of God and these last days There seems to be a plethora of churches that are basically willing to do or say anything to get somebody into the four walls But somehow have forgotten that the reason that we actually have people come to churches so that we can give them the word of God and Unfortunately, it seems to me that there are quite a number of people today who are professing Christians Who really aren't students of God's word who really don't read the word of God who really don't have time in the word and and perhaps for Them the only time they open the word of God is as when they go to church when somebody says let's open the Bible to this Passage and and that's basically the first time this week that they've even opened the word of God Very often they're the ones who speak to me after services are the ones who ask for prayer very often They're the ones who are needing help They're the ones who don't understand what's going on in the life and the reason they don't is because they're not looking To God for help. They're not in the word. They want some man to tell him what to do My encouragement to you is to get up in the morning and read your Bibles to start doing your devotions I know that it could be an embarrassment if I were to do this and I won't but if I were to say how many of you have Morning devotions on a daily basis the overwhelming majority of believers do not They don't get up in the morning. They don't read their Bible. They don't have devotional material They don't devote themselves to the things of God and a lot of times what we do is we actually are In a hunger state. We're actually in a starvation mode because our spirit isn't being fed We need to get into the word of God and the word of God needs to get into us You need to get up in the morning. You need to read the word You need to when you're driving to work wherever you're going You need to spend some time opening up that radio that you have there Turn the station to a Christian place and listen to Christian music and Christian teaching you need to do that It's something that you ought to do because this world is a hundred percent anti-christ this world is against the things that you believe and So very often what we've done is we've actually handed our spiritual life over to the world and we said to the world make me feel good and make Me feel better If people listen to the Bible the way they listen to Oprah their lives would change But they don't What they end up doing is they end up not they don't even they don't even look at their their their Bible as being as Necessary as their iPhone They don't see the Bible as being as necessary as the things that they actually have placed in front of it And don't even realize that they've done that So I have a great desire to see this fellowship at least this church Growing our understanding and love for God if you have an opportunity to be in a Bible study May I speak as a pastor to you if I'm your pastor? I'm speaking to you if I'm not then you know Listen to your own pastor, but let me speak to you now as a pastor If this is your fellowship do everything you can to get into the word daily If this is your fellowship when you have opportunity to come on Wednesday And yes, I realize that a lot of people are working and they drive in from LA or Orange County. I know that I've done that It is hard. I understand that But if you have the opportunity to be in the word during the week You need to be if you can't come here tune us on we have a web page You could open our page you can be with us in Bible study Because the world is after you and parent the world is after your children The world is after your children and we'll destroy your kids. There's no doubt about that. They're after you We need to be aware of that somebody says well the problem with you Christians is your brainwashed That's what it is you in that Bible your brainwashed and and I have to answer yes I am I am brainwashed my my brains are dirty and they've been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ Yeah, I've been I'm brainwashed. I needed my brain's wash And I need I need to be set apart by the spirit and I need to know God's will and I want to live in such a way that Pleases him and that's what the Apostle is saying. He's saying these people ransacked the Bible. They wanted to know Messiah They wanted to know Jesus Christ We need to have that hunger. We need to have that thirst Listen, my kids are not kids really I speak of them as my kids. They're all adults But you know what when they were small from the time they were small They had devotions five out of seven days out of the week five out of seven their whole lifetime There were two times that they didn't have night devotions, you know when that was Wednesday night and Sunday night I would bring them to church on Wednesday night and Sunday night My wife Marie had four small children that she would get ready and bring to church That was a habit and a discipline of her life when this church first began I had three children my Joseph at that time. He's 31 now my Joseph at that time was three months old Marie had a baby that was six a baby that was four and a baby that was three months old Actually, David wasn't four David was around three and Coriney was around five Four she was four. I should have written that down in my notes. So I'd be accurate Joseph was three months that for a fact Marie on Sundays Had to get three small babies under five ready to go to church Marie attended Wednesday night Bible studies and when we started Sunday nights, Marie was there The babies were raised in the church. They were raised with Bible studies Their father taught them the word of God every day of their young lives Until they were in high school and I still had a tough time with them. I still had a difficult time with them You know, I I gave them the word I prayed I did everything I could and the world still got hold of my children and Still ran rough shot over their spiritual lives and I held on and re held on in prayer and faith to the Lord We said your word tells us if we train up a child in the way he should go when he is old He will not depart from it Lord in Jesus name. They're not doing well right now I'm not even sure that the evidence that they're even saved but Lord in your name I'm asking you be with my kids and bring them to faith in Christ and I prayed that and still pray that for my children God be with my children and Yet I got a letter just as last week saying you say you pray for our family You ought to pray for your own well, I do and I have for all the years of their life All the years of their life and we've done the best that we can and we still had a difficult time But parent if you're not doing that, what are you going to end up with if? You're not raising your children right now in the word of God who's raising them I'll tell you who's raising them forgive me if it comes off harsh But I'll tell you who's raising them those who don't love them The opinions of their friends the opinions of their friends parents The schools that they go to if they aren't blessed with a godly Christian teacher and by the way Christian teacher I want to say this to you. I love you and thank God for you. I thank God for you being in the I do thank you so much because of your heart But we don't have every classroom filled with a Christian teacher who understands Jesus in his word So our kids come out with things that you've been teaching them not to believe and they begin to look at you as if you're kind of like an Intellectual hillbilly you really are not really all there your thoughts and your beliefs are kind of ancient They're really not you know up to up to today's standards and that's what we end up with we end up with 14 15 16 year olds Who want to instruct us on life because what do we know after all? We're so sheltered my kids thought I was born with a pulpit and a Bible in my hand And I never went through anything in life in my life My kids don't know my testimony only the things that I'm willing to share They don't know what I've gone through they don't know what I've experienced because I kept it from them I didn't want them to know it But I did want them to know this that I was a sinner saved by the grace of God and he transforms lives They do know that I was an alcoholic. They do know that I did drugs They do know that I had that kind of lifestyle, but they don't know what I really was like because I won't share with them Exactly what I was really like But I can tell you this my kids were raised in the word of God and they still gave us a run for our money They gave us a run for our money parent if you are not making devotions a priority with your kids lives You're losing them to the enemy right now If you're not bringing them to Bible studies in midweek or in Sunday night because you just don't feel like going or because they're gonna complain On Thursday morning because they're tired. You're making a mistake You're making a mistake and I'm telling you the truth not so I can fill up an auditorium But I can fill up your life for the things of Jesus Christ. We're living in the last days We have to be ready for these things You have to be prepared The word is alive and it cuts and it works in us And it removes the things from us that the Lord is not pleased with and it replaces those things in us that he is pleased with and These these prophets would read the word of God with this this desire this this willingness to see what God wanted to do We ought to read the word like that too They prophesied according to verse 10 of the grace that would come Many were under the law a law that demanded strict obedience and ultimately condemned But they prophesied of the grace that would be revealed through Jesus Christ and it's the grace of God That when applied to our lives transforms us from the inside John MacArthur says reform is no answer for a culture like ours Redemption is what is needed and That occurs at the individual not societal level The church needs to get back to the real task to which we are called evangelizing the lost Only when multitudes of individuals in our society turn to Christ will society itself experience any significant transformation It is the change of the human heart that changes the society that we live in And the prophets saw that it was grace that the grace through Messiah was better than anything exhibited under the law In Galatians 3 verse 10 it says for as many as are under the works of the law are under the curse For it is written curse it is everyone who continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law To do them so if you didn't obey the law if you weren't able to follow it perfectly Then the law actually produced a curse and not a blessing in your life But in John 1 17 it says the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ And so grace came by the Lord and they began to search and as they were searching according to verse 11 They were searching what manner of time the spirit of Christ was in them And I want to look at that for a second Jesus is the one enabling them to write upcoming Messiah and That reveals that Jesus worked from within the Old Testament writer to record God's revelation Which is what it means in Revelation 1910 when it says the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy Well the spirit of Christ testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow So it wrote concerning the the incarnation the suffering and redemption obtained by him That was made known in a general way to the prophets, but they didn't know the time when these things were to take place All of the things that they had though were prophetically given through inspiration Well, it says in verse 12 to them it was revealed that not to themselves But to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you By the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into Spiritual truth is not received in the ordinary way that we gain information You don't go to school to receive spiritual truth We can think well if we just listen to something said or read something Spiritual truth comes through the revelation of the spirit of God That's how spiritual truth is given to us and so it was revealed to them that it wasn't to themselves But to us that they were ministering So the writings were ministering to the new community a community that would be called the church and as he is saying in many Cases of prophets didn't even understand the meaning of their own predictions These were those who lived in hope. They didn't receive the fulfillment of the prophecies in their lifetime But they lived in hope that they might It says in verse 12 they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you So the apostles and all Christians have had the privilege of preaching the gospel that was once hidden And the gospel is preached by the spirit of God is actually the one who enables us to take that gospel and preach it to the world Jesus said you shall receive power after that the the Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem Judea Samaria unto the utmost parts of the earth the Holy Spirit will come upon you and empower you We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in in our days I was 20 years old when I gave my heart to Jesus Christ a long time ago now in The midst of a revival called the Jesus movement Alcoholic drunk Fornicator you name it. That's what I was and the Lord Jesus Christ of the power of the gospel transformed my life and then empowered me by the Holy Spirit and I have friends that all of you know that God did the same thing to Men like Steve Mays men like Mike McIntosh men like Greg Laurie And they're all Reese and so many others That God by the power of the Holy Spirit Transformed took the angry man took the drug at it took the alcoholic Took that violent man and transformed him into a soul winning machine Why how that happened it came through the power of the Holy Spirit and that's what we need right now When you get so filled to the Holy Spirit the problem or the fact is it's when you're filled with the Holy Spirit You don't have room for anything else. So do you have a desire for anything else? It's not that you live a boring life. No amusement. It's not that you don't enjoy certain things Of course you do baseball games a great game, especially if the Dodgers are playing I mean it's a great thing to do It's great But that isn't your whole life Your life is on a deeper level. Your life goes something deeper. It means more It it means more it actually has more value because you have a message that transforms humanity You have the gospel of Jesus Christ that can actually save people from hell and put them on the path They have it that is a great and powerful message and God gave it to us And we can talk about the God who loves us the God who loved us so much He sent his son Jesus Christ to die in a cross for us a God who cares so much about us that he couldn't bear to see us Go to hell so he did something to rescue us He sent his son and he said go and tell him this and die for them so that they might have relationship with me We don't understand it But we are given the power to proclaim it and when you receive it your life is transformed and look what God does and that comes through a walk with Jesus Christ And that's what I desire for all of us and when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and the Holy Spirit becomes a word working within us Our lives are transformed That's what he's saying when he says in verse 13 gird up the loins of your mind be sober Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children not conforming yourselves to the former lust as in in your ignorance, but as he called you's holy You also be holy in all of your conduct because it is written be holy for I am holy Gird up the loins of your mind be sober rest Your hope fully upon the grace that will be revealed Gird up the loins of your mind when he says that it's another way of simply saying be prepared for action Get serious Be ready Look at the world for what it is the world is not your home. You're just passing through Look at the world for what it is It is working overtime in its cultural influence to cause you to have a stagnated walk with Jesus Christ and to make you impotent in your ability to communicate this life-changing message Look at what the world is doing and be sober minded gird up the loins of your mind be prepared for action and Make sure that you do these things with with an eye on the future and an attitude that heaven is your home In first Corinthians 924 it says do you not know that those who run in a race all run? But one receives the prize Run in such a way that you may obtain it He says be sober when he speaks of being sober that speaks of being self-controlled He's saying you sound judgment in all areas of your life In Romans 13 13 Paul said because we belong to the day we must live decent lives for all to see Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity or immoral living or in quarreling and jealousy Be self-controlled and he says rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ In faith trust the Lord rest in his grace wait expectantly for one day you will see Jesus Christ And he says in verse 14 as obedient children not conforming yourselves to the former losses in your ignorance No longer let your flesh dominate your life That used to happen before you were saved Now you have the power of God's spirit. You can become obedient children Don't conform yourself to the former losses in the days of your ignorance Don't live like you used to before you got saved Colossians 3 5 through 7 says therefore put to death your members which are on the earth Fornication uncleanness passion evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience Which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them You see it in verses 15 and 16 as our father in heaven is holy in purity and character So are his children That word holy means to be separated from what is profaned It means to be dedicated to God it speaks of conforming to God's commandments Holiness holiness It's not some old-fashioned concept of being proud of what you don't do There's some people around like they had an IV of lemon juice. They have no joy. They're Just sour disposition, you know, that's not you know It's that attitude I don't drink and I don't chew and I don't go with girls that do you know that old attitude that they used to have It's this thing like I don't do that and therefore I'm better than you there's this mentality that some have Where for them to come to church even a church like this and to have music that is upbeat They say oh, that's so carnal. I've had people write me letters You're not really a church because you don't have stained glass or you're not really a church because you don't have a pipe organ You know and and I just like trip on that. That's an old hippie word. I I really am amazed when they write that Going back to the old days. I got to come back reel it in Edwin Lutzer said something that I really appreciated. He said within evangelicalism is a distressing drift towards accepting a Christianity That doesn't demand a life-changing walk with God Many evangelicals today do not realize that the church has always been an island of righteousness in a sea of paganism But as a result they turned the world upside down an island of righteousness in a sea of paganism holiness Before I got saved I had people telling me you shouldn't smoke pot and I would look at them with their mixed drink Seriously, I would you know what I'm talking about. I have some ex-pot heads in here And I would look at them and And it made no sense to me Why because your alcohol is legal? It's okay, and marijuana is not therefore. It's bad You're drinking to get drunk, but because you're over 21. It's okay But I smoke to get high But it's not okay. So would you prefer me getting drunk over smoking pot? I never understood that and it wasn't like I was some intellectual, you know, it was just like That doesn't make any sense So if you're gonna preach to me that I ought to live in a certain way Don't you think it would be good if you lived in the way that you think I should live? Now if you don't live like you think I should live then what gives you the right to tell me how to live when you yourself Violate your own standards. So I at the age of 18 19 and 20 when somebody would say that to me I'd look at them, and I think you know what you're ridiculous This doesn't make any sense Well, guess what even to this day when a believer is sitting there acting like the world telling somebody else that they need Jesus That person in the world is looking at that believer saying what do you really believe in because if you have somebody that's supposed To transform your life, but your life isn't transformed. What do you got to say to me? Why should I be like you you want me to be miserable like you you want me to be like you? Why why do you want me like the bottom line is is what God hold to me? Wasn't a lot of people telling me this is what you got to do. This is what you shouldn't do it was them loving me and Telling me about the one who really does love me and who changed their life and what brought me to Christ Was when I saw friends that I used to get loaded with no longer needing to drop acid No longer needing to get drunk no longer needed to smoke pot. So let's take psilocybin or whatever it was that we used to take at that time I Saw people who were happy and laughing and they weren't gonna regret the next day for what they had been doing that day Me I would wake up the next morning thinking. What did I do last night? Is there anybody I need to apologize to or stay away from for a while? What did I steal last night? What did I and that's the truth? I'm not lying to you. That's how I woke up many a morning. What did I do last night? And who do I have to stay away from today? Because of the things that I was doing in the life that I was living and so it wasn't somebody walking up saying you shouldn't smoke pot It was somebody walking up saying I got something better than pot. I Got something better because what you're looking for to fulfill you you'll never find fulfillment in that drug or in that drink in that Relationship it'll never happen. What you really need is to deal with your soul and your soul is evil Your soul is dark your soul is filled with sin and the loneliness that you feel is called separation You're separated from God because of the life that you're living and my friends would tell me then they say you know Dave what you really need is you need to just give up and get right with God and And I'd say you know what man? I was raised in the church man. I already know what you're talking about They say you may know in your head, but you don't know in your heart You may be able to talk about the Bible and you can talk about Jesus because I was trained to do that But the bottom line is you don't have a relationship with God and if you died right now you wouldn't go to heaven and you know that So why should I know that how can you know that you can know that because Jesus Christ said if you believe in him You will have eternal life. You can trust his word and see that's what transforms lives guys the word of God and Holiness is the result of loving Jesus Christ and spending time with them. It's the desire of the heart to please him Ephesians 4 22 through 24 says it like this put off concerning your former conduct the old man Which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man Which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness He was 1214 says pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord It's my desire to please God. It's my desire To please the Lord and to see him and it's because of that desire to please God That I don't change my mind on popular social issues That's why I'll stand up and say living together is still called fornication I don't care if you want to color your fiance is still fornication and That's why I'll stand up and say same-sex marriage is still contrary to God's design And I don't care if the president of the United States disagrees. It is still contrary to God's design I was listening to some speaker who people who are speaking theologians and pastors who are arguing that this evolution That supposedly took place recently Was actually something they could live with one pastor was saying that he Felt a certain way, but his constituents spoke to him and so he's had a reverse his position I don't know how to say this other than to just say it I don't care what man says what matters is what God says and I don't care who says don't preach against it I'll preach against it. It's wrong It's wrong It's wrong And I don't do this to be a gay basher Yeah, I know the people if you say something, you know, I'll be honest with you guys And I'm gonna kind of let my guard down and speak to you honestly in a way that that I would speak to my friends and my family Anybody who knows David Rosales knows that I care about people. They know that And if you don't think I do I'm sorry that you think that way But my sister Rebecca lived a lesbian lifestyle for almost 30 years almost 30 years and I spoke to her when she came out and I said to her Rebecca This is what the word of the Lord says concerning your life God's word says that you will not inherit the kingdom of God It's not because homosexuality is worse than being a drunk or worse than being violent We're not placing that sin in a special category It is part of the the works of the flesh It's part of the sinful human nature Jesus Christ said that he came to die on the cross to set you free from the impulses of the flesh and Paul promised that if anyone was in Christ, he'd be a new creation all things would be passed away and behold all things would become new So Becky I Could never accept your homosexuality as being from God normal or natural. I Will always love you because you're my sister and I'll always be here for you because you're my baby sister But I will never agree with you that it's okay because it's not God's word says it's not and therefore I have to take his word over man's word and Just because people today say I was born this way Well, in a sense, I'd have to agree. Yes, I Was born with a sin nature and my sin nature causes me to act out in various ways So one person sin nature Causes them to act out with violence and anger towards everybody Another sin nature is one that causes them to when they're going through a mood to get drunk And another person sin nature is is to chase down every woman or sleep with every guy that they can That's part of the product of the flesh. That is the sin nature But to sit down and say that people are born homosexual And it's a natural inclination for people to begin to say that it's okay in the opt to marry. That's not what God's word says That's not how the Lord speaks God's word makes it very clear That this is Aberrational and those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God So it's the love that we as believers have for others that we want them to go to heaven that we're willing to tell Them the truth and that's why I told my sister the truth Thirty years ago And she'd already been living in that way for years, but we never compromised We never stopped loving and never stopped telling her the truth She listened to me on the radio. She lives in New Mexico and she would listen to me She was very proud of her brother who's a pastor, but she was living this homosexual life stop And we prayed for her and we lifted her up my mom my dad and those who loved her because she's our blood We love her and We never compromised we always loved her We love the sinner, but we hate the sin because we know what's going to happen to that person when they stand before Jesus Christ and we told her the truth and Then one day I gave an invitation on an Easter service over 10 years ago now an Easter Sunday and The last three people came walking forward at that invitation As my mom my dad and my sister Rebecca as they were holding her walking forward as my sister Becky gave her heart to Jesus Christ over 10 years ago now and she walks with the Lord to this day completely Transformed loves and serves Jesus Christ because that's what the truth does it sets you free It sets you free Somebody says I was born that way. There's no genetic evidence whatsoever There's no scientific evidence whatsoever that there's such a thing as a homosexual gene You see if you were to do a genetic sampling of my blood or Saliva or whatever. I don't know you take it You'd you discover that That I am Hispanic. I don't like to use that term, but that's what they would say today. I'm Hispanic I'm a Mexican Mexican American That's what I am tomorrow I'm gonna wake up the same. I've been doing this for 61 years. I think tomorrow still be But tonight I can't go to bed saying and I wish I was Swedish and then I wake up and I'm Bjorn Jensen, you know, I've been Bjorn again, you know, that doesn't happen That can't happen I'm gonna wake up tomorrow. I can dye my hair blonde and I can run around eating raw fish, but I'm still gonna be What I am see by genetics, that's what I am, but I know more than one person who got sick of a lifestyle and sick of the sin and Sick of the pain and the depravity and hurt and everything and they came forward in invitations and They gave their heart to Jesus Christ and they follow him because the word of God is alive and it transforms people's lives That's how it works and that's why we preach that you can be a new creation in Christ Jesus all things are passed away behold all things become new it comes through faith in Christ and the power of God and He can redeem and change you and that's what we're called to do And that's why we hunger and thirst after the word of God and righteousness That's why as a newborn baby we desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow there by that's how it works and That's why we need to hold fast to what God's word says and I don't care if the president of the United States Wants to cater to votes and that's what I believe he's doing and And and and get some finances for it What we need to do is we need to say you know that God be true and every man a liar God's word speaks the truth and that's what we give out. That's what we live out That's what we hunger for and that's what Christianity was built on Believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what it's all about So my pledge to you as this as a pastor of this church as long as God gives me breath is I will not Compromise my faith. I will tell you the truth the truth is Jesus Christ is Lord and he can transform you He will if you give your heart to him. That's the truth and as I divide the word I promise you I will do it rightly and I'll do the best that I can by his spirit You will not come here for compromise. You will come here to hear Jesus Christ's word That is my solemn pledge to you that you may know Jesus Christ. That's what God has called me to do That's what I promise you. I will do it every time I open the word of God You will not get compromised from this pulpit. You get the truth of Jesus Christ. That's the way it's supposed to be