I wrote something here. You just kind of look over the whole book of Peter. You've been studying on it. I wrote this down here. When we read all of 2 Peter, it is not about instructing us about how to be saved or how to keep our salvation, but to encourage those who have been saved to live a life of righteousness. Okay, that's what this book is about. It's not about salvation, because some people can misinterpret scriptures, you know. No, it's talking about those that are saved. And teaching is about all the warnings, okay. The warnings of a failing or Let's just look at it. Peter urges us, us believers, to be diligent. Okay? So as not to stumble and to fail or to fall. Let's just read some of the highlights on this. Look at 1 and 5. Let's see what that says. 1 and 5. He said, now for this very reason also apply all diligence in your faith. Apply moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. And in your knowledge, self-control. And in your self-control, perseverance. And in your perseverance, godliness. And in your godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly kindness, love. I always love this verse. For if these qualities, or these fruits, are yours, and are increasing, increasing, they would neither render you useless, nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind and short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his foremost sins." You practice these after-grace sins, you cannot go wrong. You cannot go wrong. This will keep you from stumbling and failing and being successful in your service to the Lord. We can fail in a lot of things, brothers. We can fail out there, we can fail in our job, just a lot of things we can fail in everyday life. But there's no reason why we should become failures in the service of the Lord when He provides everything we need. His word of instructions, teaching us what they mean, how they work, okay, all these things are given for us so that we can be successful. Okay, all these things are written for you, for you. Okay, that you won't repeat the sins that Israel did back in the Old Testament. So we have all the documentation, everything we need in order to live in a successful spiritual life that we're living here on earth. There's no reason why we're equipped. And the Bible says that something about we're equipped with all the necessary armaments in order to be a good soldier for the Lord. We're going to read a little bit about soldiering. I never was a soldier, but I'm a soldier now. Let's look at another verse here. I read 10 already. 2 and 18. Let's see what 2 and 18 say. These are all scriptures that Peter's given us so that we will not fail or fall flat on our face. What book did you say? Still 2nd Peter, chapter 2, verse 18. For speaking out arrogance, words of vanity may entice by fleshly desire, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones of those who live in error. You live in error. And how... I wrote something down here. God is not going to hold you to anything that you know nothing of. Okay? God will hold you responsible for what you do know. Not for what you don't know. That would be unfair on God's part. Okay? Now there's true people that are truly ignorant, besides the ones that are bathed in Christ, you know, they're just learning, they're just learning to walk, and they're crawling, and what have you, you know. So God's a lot more easier on these that are feasting on the milk for a moment in time. But you can't stay there. You can't stay there. And God has given us so much instruction because He knows what we're going to be up against. When He was preparing His His 12 disciples, he worked vigorously to teach them and instruct them. Then toward the end, he started really coming in a little more and telling them, look. I said, you're going to be tracked down. You're going to be killed in all kinds of different ways. You're going to be imprisoned, you know. All these things are going to come your way. Because in this life, you will have trials and tribulations. But I've been with you guys for three and a half years, working desperately to teach you, to instruct you, to be prepared for what's going to come your way. When you know, I just think about the Lord, you know, what he thought about his disciples, you know, knowing what they're going to go through. But Jesus says, there's nothing that I would allow you to go through that I am not going to go through myself. So I know the pain and suffering that you're going to go through because I know that's what I'm going to go through. I'm just giving you a heads up. This is going to come your way. But I'm going to give you and send you something that's going to help you go through all the trouble times in your life. Okay? So he really loved his disciples. He was really trying to prepare them for the things that were coming their way. Let's see where I've got this. 3.14 and 17. 3.14 and 17. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. How do we do that? How do we try to be spotless and blameless? Follow the rule book. not follow the scriptures. God had given us, what, 66 books total? How many of the New Testament, 27, I think? 39. 39 in the Old Testament and how many in the Old? 27. 27. Oh, wait. No. 27 in the New Testament. Huh? 27 in the New Testament and 39 in the Old Testament. Yeah, it kind of sounds good. Okay. So he'd given us 30 what? 39 in the Old Testament. 39 New Testament rules of how to live a successful, righteous life. Okay? So we got plenty of instructions. Plenty of examples. Plashy incorporates a lot of Old Testament events and showing them what they did and how they messed up the consequences of their sin and their rebellion. That's why I had to bring it into the New Testament so that you may know that these are the things that are displayed into the Lord. So we got so many things to be successful. We'll make mistakes, but sometimes people will make mistakes. They should know better than that. Sometimes just good old common sense comes into play. Just common sense may save your life. People didn't use common sense. Some cases, they're dead. You have one thinking? Hmm, this area of business. Okay, let me get back here. In verse 20 is where we're going to start. I'll read it here in this one. I was going to read my Amplify. I keep forgetting to bring that Amplify up here because sometimes it reads better than that. Okay, for if after they have escaped, The defilement of the world by the knowledge of the Lord. That's how you escape. By the knowledge of the Lord. God teaches us what is truth and we live by it. We live by that truth. I remember when I was trying to understand how to be a father how to be a husband, even though I was married every eight, nine years. But what little I knew about raising kids or being a good husband, I used a little bit. I learned from my grandparents and my uncles and aunts. I did have some. But I wanted to learn more how to do – raise my kids in a way that would be right before God. But I had to educate myself. I had to learn what does it mean to live a righteous life. So I had to study and see all these examples that I've read about, many of our brothers, and how they lived. And then when I started learning church history, okay, when you read about the Puritans or the Catharis, Catharis were, what does that mean, Cathari? Oh, to clean. Yeah, purity. Purity. These people lived pure life to the best of their ability. And they were killed for it because they lived separate lives. Jesus lived, how do I put this, when he walked on this earth as a man, he walked and talked and breathed the Father through his whole life. But he did not isolate himself, okay? He did not isolate himself. He didn't exclude himself from mankind and men that he was walking among. But yet he kept himself separate of them. That's a balance. That is a balance to walk a spiritual life in a fleshly body, to live in this world. and not be of it, even though we live in it. That's a delicate balance there. It's not a difficult thing to do. Okay? Not a difficult thing to do. Okay. So, I finished reading here. Okay, that one. Okay, from here, in the book here, okay, these ones, but again, okay, back again and again and over and over, having been entangled. Okay? Entangled. Let's look at some recent scriptures on this particular word here. It has a word, it carries, that Greek word carries the idea of to be implicated. Okay? To implicate. What does implicate mean? They accuse you of being involved in a crime of some kind. You've been implicated. Okay? But that's what this Greek word is particularly meaning here. But let's look at 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. Let's see what the word is talking about in English. 2 Timothy chapter 2. in verse 4. Let's start in verse 1. This is, of course, Paul talking to Timothy. Timothy, the very young preacher here. He said, You, therefore, my son. Now we call Timothy his son. He said, Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. He says, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Well, that's one of the requirements. You are going to suffer hardship. Any soldier that knows that he's going to join the military, he knows there's going to be some hardship. Okay, it's just a hardship simply just leaving, when you leave your family behind. You leave your civilian life behind, okay? That's hardship in itself. But God, the verse that I always quote a lot of times, that if we get entangled with the affairs of everyday life, That means, you know, everything else takes precedence than Christ. If you love mother, brother, sister more than me, you're not fit to be my servant. Okay? And we're going to read some other scriptures in regards to this soldiering. But one of the first things it says, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. He said, no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life. that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." Well, isn't that real hard to understand that? I've never been in military service, okay? But when you are owned by the government, or Uncle Sam, like they say, you know, then you're no longer your own. You're not, you don't belong to yourself anymore. You have been enlisted, you're under commanders, leaders, and you do what they tell you to do. And they'll train you. And, man, the hardest drill instructor is something that everybody needs. They don't need a drill instructor who's going to be soft-shoeing around you. He ain't going to do you no good. Okay? Not going to do you any good. But the guy that's going to drill you okay, and drill you. And you get to thinking that this guy doesn't like you. No, it's the opposite. This man loves you to death. He wants you to be able to go out there and survive, not only for yourself, but for your fellow comrades. Because they're going to depend on you, okay, and you're going to depend on them. If they drop the bomb, you're dead. If you don't take care of your partner's back, he's dead. So you have to work together, be trained, and be prepared. You know, we are all soldiers in the Lord's army, okay? And we take care of one another. God says, bear one another's burdens, okay? Don't bear the burden, no. Participate in the bearing of that burden. Do whatever you can. to keep a brother or a sister, to keep them afloat. Keep them moving forward. When they're down, encourage them. I remember I used to say before, the Foreign Legion, the French Foreign Legion, they had a motto. He said, how did it go? I can't remember now. If I fall, pick me up. What was the other one? Oh, but if I retreat, kill me. That was a French 4th Legion motto. They didn't believe in cowards. If I turn my back and run, shoot me. But if I fall, pick me up. That was their motto. Okay. Well, we have the same thing. You know, A lot of God's people fall flat on their face sometimes. You know, they go astray. And so we try to encourage them, strengthen them, pump them up a little bit, okay? And try to get them back and strengthen them up through the Word. That's when I was talking to Stolito, you know, I said, you know, hey, just get in there and serve the Lord. If that's what you want to do, do it. Okay? because you don't go in this battle by yourself. There's other soldiers there, okay, to help you succeed. And don't fear that you're going to fail, okay, or you're not going to be able to be a good church member. It's not like Moses. Moses, I can't speak well. I've got a certain problem. We're full of excuses. We have it all, yeah. Yeah, we're full of excuses. I don't know, I always look at it at a point where we might have a problem with a church member, but then what problem do we have with God? We come here to serve God, you know, so we're going to kick God to the curb because we have a problem with a church member? He died for us, that's what I'm saying. It's like we go there to serve God and not to serve others. Of course, serve others to be helping one another, but bottom line, we serve the God, you know. What does Hebrews 12 and 1 say? I beseech you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God. That's Romans 12 and 1. Oh, shoot. I knew it was there, 12 and 1. I was real impressed there. It was going good until I was in the wrong book. It was 12 and 1. And exactly what he's saying, that's the verse right there. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. Now, what verse is that? 12 and 1. Is it? Hebrews. I got the right one. I'm pretty sure it was 12. It says something to the effect of setting your eyes on Jesus, the author, the perfecter of your faith. Q. Yeah, and everything that hinders, okay. Let us throw off everything that hinders. A. Oh, okay. Yeah, you read verse 1. Okay, yeah, go ahead. Read verse 1 and 2. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw up everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Verse 2. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. There it is. Stay focused on the author and the perfecter of your faith, which is Jesus Christ. And not the church members. It's not God's fault. I guess it upsets me. It's like we blame God, you know. We're going to take it out on God because we have a problem with it. God didn't do nothing to us. He did everything for us, but... You love God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your might. The rest will fall into place. If we truly, truly, bountifully, righteously love God as we say we do. You cannot be offended. We're humans. We're going to get offended. But when you get to the point that you cannot be touched, virtually untouched, but have your feelings hurt or anything like that, it's not possible. Not possible. That's why we, like he's saying, we're supposed to be living a kingdom life. You know, everybody in heaven, there's no offending going on there. You know, it just doesn't happen anymore. So let thy will be done on earth as it's being done in heaven. Okay? I told them, when you love God's people, that you're going to succeed because you're not going to take into account any wrongdoing. And you were not slander. or be slandered, because you cannot be slandered and you're not going to have your feelings heard. But you got church members all the time, I don't care where you go, you got them. They're walking around with a chip on their shoulder just waiting for somebody to offend them, when they have a reason not to do. They don't have no business being church members. No. Many a times, you know, certain families, not just these people here, but they, one day they're slamming you one down the side of the other. They have no reason for saying those things. But it never held nothing. Next day, they'll call, and I just act cordial and say, how you doing, sis? And the day before, he just cuts me down one side or the other. And that's how I combat that many times. That's the only way we can live in this world, because there's always going to be somebody that just doesn't like us. destroy us. We wouldn't make it if we take all that into account, man. It just we got to be careful for sure, you know. Be smart. Be wise. And that's all you do. And let God take care of the rest. Yeah. Okay. Let's go back to Timothy here. I went and lost my place there. Back to Timothy. First Timothy or second Timothy? For no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may be pleased to the one who enlisted him." Okay? I also want to read in 1 Corinthians 9, 25 and 26 and see what Paul says about this business here. 1 Corinthians 9, 25. 1 Corinthians 9, I don't sound like it. Let me look at it. Well, the idea is the same thing. Yeah. We'll read that, too. I think it might have that one also. Let me look at Hmm. Well, let's read that one. He said, not concerning... No, that's not right. Where am I at? First Corinthians 9. Oh, I'm in... Gosh almighty. I was in 5 and 9. That's why it didn't make no sense to me then. Okay, yeah. Verse 24, 25, and 26. She said, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win. But there's a manner in how we run. There's rules and regulations to how we run. Okay, Paul talks a lot about the gladiators, the games, and all that, you know. And I brought a lesson on that a while back on on the way that works, you know. But in verse 25, everyone who competes in the games, exercises first self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable wreath. Okay? He said, therefore, I run in such a way as not without aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air. And this is how he does it. But I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. So it takes a daily beating of the whole flesh to keep you from going out of bounds, so to speak. So it's all about disciplining. self-control. Well, we have a great example of Jesus Christ. He exercised every bit of what we're reading here. Every bit of it. I'm trying to remember, I wrote a little field as part of the tabernacle that we need to remember that the perfection of God within human form It's an amazing thing. We saw all the perfection of God in human form. And he didn't waver or deviate from it. I mean, you talk about towing the line. And he did not misstep anywhere. Okay. But he was successful. Because I've been studying on the curtains. And he's talking about all these curtains. Okay. I learned something about the curtains of the Cherubims. That's the first curtain. But then you got the badger skin on the top. Well, the curtains on the bottom, those rings and hooks are made out of gold. But the badger skin, the rings and the hooks are made out of brass. But the whole thought of hooking together, it's talking about unification. Okay. Jesus was in, in, in, in, in unison with his father all through his ministry. Okay. That's what that's typifying. And then these go alongside, not from side to side, not from end to end, side by side. Okay. That is typical of the Lord and the Father working side by side in unison. A lot of little things, you keep reading on that, it's amazing how it portrayed Christ. But I found that interesting when it says, the perfection, remember the perfection, everything was culminated in human flesh, in the person of Christ. Okay? So we know that man can live in the flesh, okay, and succeed. But what makes Paul, what makes Jesus so different than ourselves today? What makes us so different? To be able to accomplish what they did. Paul accomplished quite a bit. He turned the whole known world, the Middle East, upside down during this period of time. And Jesus himself. Dedication, commitment, loyalty, and primarily of all, the love for the Father, for what He has done. That was their motivating factor. That's what drove them, people, and they seeing the purpose and reason why they're going to live the way they live. Jesus didn't look to the right nor to the left. He stayed focused on His mission and His purpose here. didn't allow anything to detract him, nothing, nothing to detract him. Okay. Therefore, I run in such a way as not without aim, and I box in such a way without beating the wind. That's crazy. I can see a guy. You know, they have shadow boxing. So when you've got a component in front of you, you better be hitting your target, man, otherwise you're out. I remember I took boxing in high school. And I went up against a senior. And I was a freshman. Only because he'd seen what I was able to do the first two guys that I went up against. So he put a senior on me. And I found out about it. I said, why are you setting me up? This guy is a four-year veteran here in boxing. I'm a street fighter, but I can't do that here in the ring. You know, I've got to fight fair here. So anyhow, I said, you're going to be fine. I'll tell you what, Ray. I said, I'll give you an A for the class. That's the only A I ever got in my whole life. Ain't that neat? Should have bought that and framed it. But it took a beating to get it. If I went in in the first year round, he was just toying with me. And I would give it all I had. Third round, boom, boom, boom. my headgear went this way. I got one eye over here, and I'm still trying to fight with one eye. But anyhow, I gave it all I got. He says, he said, well, Ray, I'll tell you one thing. You really entertained the people out there, and a little comic involved. And I was trying to put my deal back. I'll never forget that, man. That was hilarious, man. He said, but I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I would not be found disqualified. Yeah. You don't want to be disqualified, brother. Okay. Under this Matthew 16, 24. Matthew 16, 24. See what we got there. Entangled. That's the idea we're talking about. He said that Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake we'll find it. Okay. That's one of them. But there was another one that I wanted to read. Which one was it? It was a � I think it was a parable, but I thought I wrote it down here. It was a parable. Remember the seed that fell along the � what was that at, the 13th? The solar? The solar. parable. Where are you, you sower? No, it's the beginning of 13. Fifteen? Beginning of 13. Thirteen. Yeah, I knew it was the 13th chapter. Okay. Okay. Let's read down verse 18. You hear there the parable of the sower When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one to whom the seed was sown beside the road, the one of whom the seed was sown on the rocky places. This is the man who hears the word and immediately received it with joy. Yet he has no firm root. in himself, but is only temporary. And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. Okay? Scared him. But that's what we need to expect, living and serving the Lord. This is what's going to come from time to time. You've been there. I've been there. And my whole family's been there. But we didn't run. We stayed put. We stayed put. And the one whom the seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who heard the word, okay? And the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choked the word and it became unfruitful, okay? And the one whom the seed was sowed on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth some a hundred, and some sixty, and some thirtyfold." So there's a difference where this one is making a profit. He did not get entangled with the affairs of everyday life. He stayed focused on the author and the perfecter of his faith. Okay. In spite of all the problems that came around. But sometimes it seems easier to go the way of the world. No persecution, no trials, no nothing. You just get caught up and just go. And that's not good. That's not good. Okay. Philippians 3. 17 and 18. Philippians 3. Somewhere in the New Testament. Philippians chapter 3. see what that says. 317. Is that the one I want? Yes, that is. I'll read it. However, let us keep living by that same standard of which we have attained. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern that you have in us. For many walk of whom I often told you and now tell you, weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ." Can you believe that? Church members that are enemies of the cross of Christ from within. Yeah. Some people are members of our churches. They say that these were cut out, condemned men, for this very purpose. So in our churches, a lot of times, you have ungenerated people. OK? But we know in 2 Peter, that's not the case there, because of what 1 Peter 1 and 1 says. Because he called them all brethrens. OK? But you had a lot of people in there disrupting and diverting even denying the Lord Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ as God in the flesh. Okay, they go that far to deny it. And some of them have gone to the point where they have forgotten that they have been purged and they have been bought. That's how perverted and how bad they've gone off track. And these were the existing problems in our churches back in the first hundred years. And we know that this is a It's going to happen because Peter says it would. Not only in my days, but in your days. But he uses the word in times to come. Okay? That this is going to be again. That's always been a problem within our churches. Because Satan is relentless in trying to destroy those churches. So he's going to infiltrate one way or the other. Okay? But what does he use in order to infiltrate? Human instrumentality. He's going to use man. Okay? Judas, he was never saved, but he used him. Okay? He used him. Satan came into him, and he did what he did. So Satan is our archenemy, we know that. Okay, there are these ones, but again, having been entangled, okay, the things last worse than the things in the last thing. Okay? I think Matthews 43, 1243, I think that's the one I was thinking about. Let me see what that had. Matthews 1243. 1243. What is Matthews 1243? Did I say? He said, now when the unclean spirits go out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking, seeking rest, and does not find it. What kind of angels are these? Fallen. Fallen, but what type? We have angels that are half-formed, and then we have spirits that are no form. Evil spirits? Evil spirits that don't have no form. That's these guys. Unclothed? Unclothed. These are these guys here. Seeking rest somewhere, to go somewhere, to kind of find nothing. Okay? And does not find it. Then he, it says, and I will return to my house from which I came. And when I come, when it comes, it finds it. unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with its seven other spirits, more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last stage of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it is. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation. You know, you can clean up your act religiously, Sweep it up, clean it up. You're still undone before Christ. Okay, you're still undone. This is talking about Israel. Israel tried to clean up their act a little bit. They didn't do nothing. They just brought more demons. And then they had major problems. Because by them rejecting their King and Savior, I mean, Israel was in bad trouble. So clean it up. We're supposed to be washing ourselves daily in the Word. So we can live a life righteous and pleasing to the Lord. So we need a good washing from time to time. And when it talks about here in verse 21, let's go to 21. It says, for better You've always got to read back with them, Jim. Write this stuff down. For better it turned for them to continue to be them not to have fully known. Let's read it in the regular Bible here. Let's get back to 2 Timothy 21. 2 Timothy. I mean, 1 Peter. 2 Peter. He says, For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, and to turn away from that holy commandment handed down to them. Sometimes it's best that you never come to a certain amount of truth, because you're going to be held responsible. This verse here, I wrote on here, for what you have been allowed to know and understand. Okay? Not for what you don't understand. You're not going to be held accountable. But we're all responsible. Study to show thyself approved. Okay? Study to show thyself approved in rightly dividing the Word of God. Okay? That's our responsibility. To learn what the truth is. Okay? But this verse here is talking about accountability. better for it continues to be for them not righteousness than having to have the full knowledge and to turn away from, I can't see that word, away from the deliverer to them holy and the commandments to drift away from the truth Do not, how would I say it, do not turn your back on the commandments that God has set down for us. The commandments is what he has given us to command us to learn how to live a life worthy, to be able to distinguish the firing missiles of Satan. Okay, we cannot see those if we're not studying, if we don't learn. How are you going to detect Satan and how he's attacking us that we don't study. Sometimes you walk into something you should have known. This is something you should have known a long time ago. I said, man, that's Satan's playground, my friend. But if you're not able to detect the flaming missiles of Satan, then you're in trouble. You're in trouble. Okay? Keep the commandments without staining or reproach. That's the command in 2 Peter 6 and 14. Okay? Keep the commandments without staining or reproach. And he's not talking about perfection here, brother. He's not talking about perfection. Okay? I think we'll go to stop there. What time is it? Okay, we'll go ahead and stop there. I have 46 minutes on the counter. 46 minutes? Okay. Well, let's look at a few other scriptures in verse 21. Ezekiel 18, 24. Ezekiel 18, 24. Where are you at, Mr. Ezekiel? We normally get out of the troops at seven, right? At seven? Normally? Yeah, we got out of the troops at seven. That's a jump of the year, man. Ezekiel what? 1824, Ezekiel. He said, But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and does, according to all the abomination, that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds, which he has done, will not be remembered. For his treachery, which he has committed, and his sin, which he has committed, for them he will die." So what kind of a legacy are we going to leave? Are you going to go on in a blaze of glory? But a lot of people fall short of that race. They fall short. And look at the legacy they left. Then, what verse were you reading from? Ezekiel 18 and verse 24. Oh, 18. Because that part where it says that because of all this you died? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, but when a righteous man turns away from the righteousness, commits iniquity, and does according to all The abomination that a wicked man does, will he live? When you live a life of wickedness, man, they kill you. Either physically or mentally. One way or the other. I've seen some of God's people go mentally mad because of the things they did. Because of the things they did. It's hard for me to understand how God's people can even go in that direction to that degree. To that degree. Where did they lose sight? Where did they lose sight? And these people are saying you're contending for the faith? No. I've learned over the years that you contend for the faith, but not contentiously. Not contentiously. Contending for the faith is a whole different thing. Yeah, that's a whole different ballgame. Okay, we got here Hebrews 6 and 4. Okay, here's another one. They should have never come to the point of acknowledging truth that God has invested in them. And for them to go astray, well, because of this verse here, in Hebrews 6. I've read that many times before. In 6 and verses 4 through 6. He said, For in the case of those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the power of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucified to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. That's what some of these people were doing here in the book of Peter. Okay. But primarily this is talking about them reverting back to the Mosaic law. Okay. But we have this monstrosity that came out of that right here. This is what came out of this. The Church of Rome was a local New Testament church. And we have a letter written to the Church of Rome. But they went haywire. They went south, bad. They got into paganism, worshiping idols, you name it. And they went south. And they lost their candlestick. They lost their candlestick. Now once you lose that candlestick, that leadership of the Holy Spirit, that church can go into anything they want to believe in and they're okay with it. The Bible says that they're seared in their minds. Seared. You cannot, almost virtually cannot turn a person that's already been seared in their mind. They're convinced. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were seared in their minds. In spite of Jesus being one of the best teachers that ever walked on the face of the earth, he could not get many of those people to see the truth of the matter. He could not get them to understand that he was Jesus and the I Am of the Old Testament. And he had all the proofs and the credentials to prove that he is the God of heaven. And they seen it plainly and they would not accept it. That's seared, brother. Why can't you hardly get a Jehovah's Witness to get them out? A Mormon. And all these major false religions, why can't you get them out of there? Because they're seared in their minds. The God of this world is blind to the minds of these individuals. They're convinced beyond measure. All I've got to say about these people, they've got a good program in how to, that's literally brainwashing them. They'll accuse us of brainwashing our people. No. We educate our people. You're brain dirty. We're brainwashed. We educate our people. And our people have brains that they can check it out for themselves, like the good old Berean brothers. We're going to check you out, Mr. Paul. I love them guys. If you can only get people to just check out what I just told you, that's all I'm asking you. When I don't believe anything you say, I go, oh, well. You're not exactly a Berean. Okay? The Bereans, they were going to check it out and confirm everything that Paul talked to them about. People ought to give themselves that opportunity. They ought to give themselves that much to see just maybe you're in the wrong place. Okay? But they wouldn't even do that. What is 10, 26, and 27 Hebrews? 10, 26. Okay. Let's go fast. I want to see how far back I want to go. He says, verse 24, and let us consider how to stimulate one another in love and good deeds. not forsaking our assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. For if we go on sinning willfully, after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin." See? These are some serious charges here. but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fears of a fire which will consume the adversary. Anyone, listen to this, anyone who has set aside the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. See, no testament. You do not do what you're supposed to by attending the temple services. the tabernacle and doing all them things, it was punishable by death. God doesn't per se do that anymore, but he's showing you the severity of what it is when you don't assemble yourself together. At one time, I would kill you, okay, because of your lack of commitment, your lack of promising that you would do these things. At one time, it was punishable by death. And he goes on in verse 28, anyone who has set aside the law of Moses died without mercy and the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severe punishment do you think he would deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace? You do not want to get on God's bad side. God doesn't keep us, how would I say it, like a tyrant, you know. No. He wants to keep you alive for your sake. But you will not be devoured by the God of this world. But you will stay within the bounds of his protection, his edge. That's what God does when he does to try to divert us back to the foe. Sometimes, you know, I thought about Felix. All this come down the pike on him. Maybe God is trying to get him to realize that you have ignored me, you have disregarded me. Maybe this is one way God's going to get his attention. So he's got his attention all right, you know. So see what happens, that he learned why all this happened to him. Besides just being reckless and not taking care of when you get pneumonia, you know. But this goes farther, further back than that for sure. But God uses these things to get us to see the errors of our way. Only because he loves us and trying to bring it back into the fold. Remember, I don't know if it was a parable where he said there was one, the 99, remember the 99? One ran off and he went and looked for it. brought him back on his shoulder to bring him back home. That's the agape love God has for his people. The prodigal son, look what he had to go through. Okay. He got entangled with the affairs of everyday life. He got entangled in that, and what did he end up becoming? A pauper. Slopping hogs. I did that, but that's because I was locked up in Rokanville, my job. I wouldn't exactly come from a wealthy family. But yeah, so he went out and squandered it. He got entangled with the affairs of everyday life, and look what it did to him. But look where it got him. God brought him down so low that he looked up, and he's saying, I have a father. I have a home. I have a place to go to, and I'm over here working for somebody else, for pennies, working and swapping hogs, you know. Well, sometimes it takes that to get people to realize where in the heck they ended up at. Okay, James 4, 17. And we'll call it a day on that verse. I worked for Penny Slough in August. Well, I remember when you first came out, you were doing about everything. My first job. Yeah. Cleaning up after thieves. Well, under a certain time, they didn't apply. James 4 and 17, what does that say? 4 and 17? It says, therefore to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. You know that word sin is amartya? That's the word amartya, going outside the path. He that knoweth to do the right thing and does not do it, it is sin unto him. Okay? To sin unknowingly is worse. But the sin of ignorance, God's a little more easy on that. But when you go on, like you said in Hebrews, go on sinning willfully? That's rebellion, brother. That's arrogance. Thinking that you're not going to be... God's not going to do nothing about it? No? Well, we read about it in Peter. that these people they were floundering themselves and feasting among you people and they didn't have no sense of reprisal. They were worried. Did you guys want to do nothing? Anyhow, so they kept doing what they were doing. That angers me. We have a responsibility to keep the leaven out of this church to the best of our ability because this is the Lord's house. This is not our house. This is not your house. This is the Lord's house. And he has given this specific instruction as to how this house is supposed to be ran. Stewardship means what? What's the definition of stewardship? You're in charge, but somebody else owns it. Stewardship means house manager. House manager, that's what it literally means. So we're house managers of the Lord's house. He entrusted us with his treasure, brother. So when you get these kind of people that are coming to run your ranch shack on these brothers here, doing their thing, and just with no fear of reprisal from the church members, they're not doing their job. I was talking to Helen the other day. She was talking about passing, this and that. She lied to me. She said she was going to come back. She was going to do this and this and that. I'll tell you something. Okay. You guys have done pretty much what you guys are supposed to according to the 18th chapter. Okay. Carrie has gone several times with her. Okay. And you have talked to her a few times. So your next step is you need to go with the brother and confirm what her intentions are. You got to give her that. She's going to stay out as long as you guys don't do nothing about it. But you're not doing her justice by just letting her go by herself. Because she has no fear of you people. You know, she can hear you guys talk all day long. No problem. As far as she's concerned, she's still in good with the Lord. In her mind, she needs to be confronted and say, hey, what is your intention? But the church is going to make a motion in a second to exclude you from this church. Okay, then you can go about your business because that's what God says to do. Deliver this one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. Why? Because God wants to get him back in. But God's going to have to work him over a little bit. Look what he did to Peter. What did he do to Peter? Sifted him. Oh God, the devil sifted him. That word scares me, sis. Yeah, that's a fine thing to say. Oh, man, that is, you better. Jesus said, Peter, he had God, Jehovah God, praying for him specifically, that you will endure. And after you get through, because he knew it was going to come out okay, but it tore him up. Well, why? Because God wanted Peter, because he was going to need him. You're going to need him mightily. So he had to set satan on him. And that's how God uses satan, because he's going to do what he knows best. And that's attack and destroy and devour. If God allows it, he'll kill you. He would love to kill you. But God only gives you so much space, and that's as far as you're going. But he did it because he loved Peter. He loved Peter. And he came out like a mighty, warrior in the second chapter of the Book of Acts, you can see. And then when you read Peter, in 2 Peter, you can read about the word agape. He learned it. He learned it with that little discourse that he had. Peter, do you love me? You remember that one? The only thing Peter had at that time, he had a philo love. That was it. Not an agape love. Do you even like me, Peter? Okay, brothers. Thank you.