Psalms 140. We're going to read several passages of scripture. Everybody online is good to have. Yes, sir. Huh? We got a new baby? Where at? Oh, my land. Look at here. Boy, boy, show us that new baby. Woo. My land of living. Look at that. Wow. I'll tell you what, there's so much happening around here. There's popcorn popping everywhere. They're getting married and having babies, and some of the rest of you just as well get married and get it over with back here, amen? Some of you fiddling around for three, four, five years, you just as well get in and get it over with and get in the fight, amen? Oh, goodness sakes alive. I tell you, church is a funny place. Some of the best times you've ever had in church and some of the worst times you've ever has been in church. Amen. Psalms number 140, if I can get there. I'm going to try to get to preaching. We got 1121. I'm going to do my best to have you out of here by three o'clock sharp. Amen. All righty. Here we go. Psalms 140. Is everybody there? Say amen. David said, deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent man, which imagined mischiefs in their heart. Continually are they gathered together for war. They've sharpened their tongues and I want you to pay attention to what it says here, like a serpent. Adder's poison, that's another type of a snake, is under their lips. Selah. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent man who have purposed to overthrow my goings. Take your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3, David said, God, there's some snakes out here and I'd like for you to keep me from them. Did you know that Jesus Christ called people snake, viper, serpent? He sure did. In fact, John the Baptist did in Matthew chapter three, go with me, Matthew chapter three. I mean, I'm just telling you something, just well be truthful about it. Everybody walking around, you ain't got wings on, most of them got horns. Amen. Matthew chapter three and verse number seven. Old John the Baptist popped out of the wilderness and he started off his message real good there. He said in verse number seven, but when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, oh generation of vipers. Now you know what a viper is? I want to tell you something. There's 300 American soldiers died in Vietnam of a viper snake bite that was over there in Vietnam. Do you know that? A little old green viper that would hang off the limbs and them soldiers going through the jungle all the time, boom, kill them. We had 300 and some American soldiers died of viper bites. So when John the Baptist and Jesus Christ described somebody as a viper, they're not piddling around. They're saying, you're messing with somebody that'll kill you, somebody that'll destroy you, somebody that's worthless, mean, and nasty. You can put some pictures up on the wall if you want to, boys. said there, he said there, you, he said, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Now I want to tell you something right now. This wasn't the beer joint in the bar room crowd or the, or the pot growing bus. He didn't drive down somebody's marijuana patch and say this. He was talking to the white robe Pharisees and Sadducees that came down to his baptism because they wanted to get in on the quote, the movement. And he looked up out of the water and said, who warned you guys to flee from the wrath of the coming generation of vipers? Now, I haven't put up on here. Boy, you even got a, boy, you guys are good, ain't you, my land? This is the name of the message today. I didn't, they did this all on their own. Living above the snake line. I want to preach a message today entitled Living Above the Snake Line. Take your Bible to, now you know this, don't you? Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 23. You remember back in Genesis chapter three and when the devil came, what did he come as? serpent, a snake. And the Bible is typified all the way through Satan is called a what? Serpent, that old devil, that old serpent, the devil. Oh, good land of living. Boys, I didn't mean that ugly. Mercy sakes a lot. How'd you like to have that in your mouth three feet from your face? This is what, hey, this is what John the Baptist said. Those guys were. When you're in Matthew chapter 23, Jesus does the same thing. In Matthew chapter 23, and you get over there down in verse number 33, he said to this same crowd, he said, ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Now, again, I'm going to say this to you. When God calls it, you can find also that, again, the reference to Satan as a serpent is in Revelation chapter 20, Galatians chapter 3, and the Bible said in Galatians chapter 5, verse 15, the book we're in teaching right now. He said, beware lest you bite. What's this? He's talking to the church. He said, beware lest you bite and devour one another. How many has ever been in church and got bitten? Raise your hand if you've ever been bitten in church. Well, the rest of you ain't been to church enough. I'm telling you right now, the Bible said you get wounded in the house of your friends. And then the Bible teaches us that, be careful, we don't devour ourselves. You know, there's 2,400 different kinds of snakes in this world. 2,400 different kinds of snakes. Good land, that nasty looking thing, ain't he? Where's me an axe and a shotgun, amen? The shotgun to kill him and the axe to cut his head off. And that is 2,400 different kinds of snakes. There's 192 snakes that are poisonous out of that 2,400. Snakes reproduce on the average 10 new snakes per year on the average. So there's no lack of supply. Now, I want to say, first of all, what's the ways that a snake can kill you? Now, that's the bad one right there. Now, I want you to never forget that picture right there, because they put up exactly one of the things about a snake that you need to know. They're often camouflaged. You can't spot them until it's too late. Well, one of the ways a snake can kill you is like a pit viper. They'll bite you, and they inject poison in you. There's a man sitting over here. Troy, would you raise that bent hand up please? Boy, it looks pretty good now. How big did he get? I bet you're about wanting to leave church, ain't you? That man was putting a chain under the log, right? Or he was fixing a skid of log out here a while back and put his hand underneath there to put that thing in a copperhead latched on to you, right? And when you pulled your hand out, he come out with it, right? put you in the hospital for how many days? Huh? Two days. That's just because you're so mean and tough. They can't keep you there. But it swelled up bad, didn't it? Don't tell you that guy's tough. I mean, he ain't no sissy right there. That's a man sitting over there. And I'm telling you right now, snakes is mean. They can inject you. Thankfully, a lot of snakes maybe a lot of times don't have enough poison to get you, to kill you. But some of them do. There are certain snakes that'll kill you within just a few minutes if you get bitten by them. Another way a snake can kill you is like the coral snake, they bite and chew and swallow. They may not be able to poison you, but they'll bite you and chew on you and swallow you up. The other day I saw a video of a deer now that had been caught by a python, I guess down in Florida somewhere, in the roadway, wrapped itself around that deer and would have crushed it to death and swallowed it, but a guy came by and seen it and he took a stick and beat the snake off of him and the deer jumped off and ran. There's a lady in Vietnam here last year that got, she was walking out in her garden and one of them big old swallowing snakes grabbed hold of her and swallowed her up. They found her in the snake. That's kind of your python. They'll encircle you and encircle you and squeeze you and then they'll devour you and crush you. Then the main way that a snake kills people is just scare you to death if nothing else works. That's all they need from me is just to see him, amen. I mean, I about jumped out of my skin and the other morning I was in the bathroom, you know, of all places and I hear my wife, Reggie, Reggie, Reggie. Yes, yes, yes, what? There's a snake out here. And sure enough, out on our patio, we'd left the cover to the barbecue grill on the patio and a sorry, low down, out of hell snake crawled in that thing. And so anyway, I handed her the hole and I said, now get him, he's right over there. And so I said, yeah, you're getting close. But you know, me and Karen, we could hear him messing around inside there. And we finally jerked that thing out there. And we, boy, I mean to tell you, I took him to town. I sent him to hell and back three times. Amen. And I took him when I threw him over the fence, there wasn't enough left of him for a coon deed. Amen. But there's something about snakes you need to know today that'll help you in a spiritual walk. Yeah, right there it is. You see that mountain? There is an invisible line in a mountain where snakes do not live. I don't understand all about it, but there is a certain point of height where a snake will not go. And you can go up there and walk barefoot and you'll never see a snake. And the analogy that God has for you and I is that he wants you and I to live above the snake line. You folks have been out all week long. You've been on your jobs. You've been trying to make a living. You've dealt with this and dealt with that. And somebody told you you ought to have a mask on and somebody told you to stay away from them and no telling what's all happened to you this week. And you've had somebody cheated you and somebody lied to you and somebody backstabbed you. And if you're not careful, you was right down there in the pit with them. And God wants you and I to live above the snake line. He wants you and I to get to a place. where the snakes are. Now that doesn't mean you can live up there all the time. Nobody can live up on the mountaintop all the time, but God wants you to be able to run there once in a while and get away there if you can. Above that line, snakes cannot live. Snakes will not stay, and they must turn back. I think it has something to do with the oxygen level. I'm not sure. I can't seem to find out much about it, but that's just the way it is. God made it so, and it's a lesson for us in our spirit and our faith. Security from snakes in the spiritual realm is dependent upon you and I getting to high ground. I'm pressing on the upward way, new heights I'm gaining every day. Still praying as I underhand, foreground my feet on higher ground. Let me stand by faith on heaven's stable land. A higher claim may I have found, nor plant my feet on high earth. You ever had a week when you just feel like you've just been down in a snake pit? You ever have one of them weeks where every time you turn around, there's this, this, and this, that, and pretty soon you just feel like, I'm just, oh Lord, get me out of here. Well, where do you find, let me ask you a few things. Where do you find snakes at? Well, low ground usually, they'll hang in the low ground, dark places, crevices, rocks and logs, and sometimes on the patio, and sometimes in the house. I was milking cows one time, and I know you got 42 snake stories, too. But I was milking cows, and the phone rung, and it was Karen. And I was up, and my mom and dad was milking, and she said, Reggie, would you get down here? There's a snake in the basement, and it looks like a bad one. And I got down there, Danny, and I drove my truck down there to the house, about a mile or two down there to Bill Prairie Place. And she said, it's right in back there where Nathan, he was about a year and a half old, walking around everywhere in the house, you know. And that snake was right back underneath her. She had some jars put down, and there's a copper head all coiled up back there. And I sent him to snake hell, amen. And I'm going to tell you something right now. Snakes can sometimes get in your house. But I'm going to tell you something further. Sometimes snakes can get in your workplace. And I hate to tell you this, but sometimes snakes can get in your family. Oh, believe it or not, sometimes snakes will hang around church. Did you know everybody that comes to church ain't saved? You say, what are you talking about? Some people are serpents, not saints. And I want to tell you a great mystery about snakes. There are both male and female snakes. Are you listening to me? And if you look at the Bible, serpents and vipers are most of the time religious, and they hang around religious places. And they're camouflaged kind of like that was right there. You say, Reggie, what will snakes do? Well, as I said earlier, they'll bite you, poison you, crush you, devour you, put you in fear, take over an area. They'll hide themselves and they're often aggressive like a cottonmouth. Boy, I hate a cottonmouth. I hate a cottonmouth. You're trying to have a nice float down the river and here comes a cottonmouth. swimming across the water at you, you know. Get out of here. Another thing about them is they live off the unclean. They eat mites and rats. That's one way I'm telling you right now. Snakes will beguile you. That's what Eve said about the serpents. He beguiled me. They'll beguile you. And in Numbers chapter 21, God sent fiery serpents in among the people when they spake against God and they spake against Moses. There's an unseen line, as I said spiritually, for the child of God where the spiritual snakes cannot come up any higher. And that line is where you and I can have victory in our lives. It's a line that separates us. I want you to listen to me carefully right now. There is a line between the flesh and your spirit. There's a line between the old man and the new man. There's a line between the devil and God. There's a line between the world and the church. There's a line between hatred and love. There's a line between greed and contentment. There's a line between anger and meekness. There's a line between pride and humility. There's a line between foolishness and wisdom. There's a line between presumption and wisdom and faith. There's a line between immorality and virtue. There's a line between hypocrisy and sincerity. There's a line between rebellion and disobedience. There's a line between indulgence and temperance. There's a line between worry and trust. There's a line between complaining and being grateful. There's a line between being harsh and being gentle. There's a line between grudges and forgiveness. There's a line between backbiting and giving a good report. There's a line between lying and telling the truth. There's a line between a sharp tongue and kind words. There's a line between gossip and there's a line between, and quietness. And there's a line between slavery and there's a line between freedom. A line between fear and courage. And I want to live above the world. Those Satan's darts at me are hurled. And I want for this church, listen to me close this morning. If I could do one thing and I could say, God, just do one thing for these people helping to live above the snake line. The trouble with America right now, we're not living above the snake line. We're biting and devouring one another in this country. I know we have to go out in the world, I know we have to go down below the snake line and work and try to make a living and all that kind of stuff and work among people. The Bible said in Colossians 3, 1 and 2, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Set your affections on things above and not on things of the earth. The Bible said that there is a higher life. George Washington Carver said this, listen to what George Washington Carver said, I will allow no man to lower my soul into hatred. That's a man who says, I'm going to live by the snake line. Ain't nobody in this world going to put me down where I'm living in a snake pit of hatred. What was he saying? I'm going to live above the snake line. Ephesians 2, 6 says, He raised up together and made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The world is a snake pit. Man is a sinner. Now I know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but people can be snake like as Jesus spoke of. You say, Reggie, who are some snake vipers and serpents in our current time? Let me just tell you something this morning. If you want to walk out of this service, you just feel free at any time. Anybody who kneels when the national anthem is going on is a snake. I said, you're a snake. You're a viper. You ought to be treated like one. You can't say amen to that. I'll give you my phone number. I'll give you my address. It makes my blood boil and makes me sick. That flag over there, you say, I'll tell you what, America's got all kinds of problems. Well, I'll tell you what you do. Go to Russia and enjoy your problems over there. Go to Venezuela and enjoy your problems over there. Hey, I got something to tell them little penny-ante, I'm sorry, low-down protesters that are not protesters, but they're rioters and looters and anarchists. Let me just tell you something about you guys. You tried that with Castro, he'll line you up and shot you. The very ideology that you claim you want in this country will cut your heads off. Amen. Little punks. All the Marxist professors and teachers in this land, starting from the Norwood High School to Missouri University to Cornell to I don't care where, that teach kids against our Constitution and against to Christianity are snakes. Our government school system, we are paying to have our own faith destroyed and paying to have our own children poisoned by the socialist snakes. Our public schools have become breeding grounds for socialism. You tell me where all them kids learned that garbage at. Tell me where they learned to burn that flag. Tell me where they learned to burn them Bibles this week. Do you know what the honest truth about public schools are, government schools? They're little socialist systems within themselves. Show me the school that produces goods or services. Show me the school that couldn't live off a taxpayer's funds. And them little embedded professors sat in there, and teachers sat in there. I'm going to tell you right now, don't talk to me about your teachers retiring. I want to tell you right now, every Christian teacher in this country that's teaching at a government school ought to be ashamed of themselves. You want me to tell you why? Because you won't admit it. You won't be honest about it. But that's where all this garbage is coming from. That's where all the snakes are coming from that's teaching our children to hate America. You say, I don't like that. Well, I'll just tell you something. You know what your problem is? Your teacher's retirement money. You'd rather have your retirement money than somebody stand up and tell the truth about it. That's all I, I'm sick of hearing about it. A man this week told me if they raised their, the teachers union raised the percentage from 10% to 14%. Yeah. Some teacher gets up there and tells your child that he came from a monkey, he's a snake. I'm going to tell you, I ain't in no mood to mess with nobody. I ain't no mood for garbage, half-truth, sidewinding snake stuff. I'm sick of it, tired of it, done with it. I'm going to tell you something about these little stooge school board members. They think they're some impressive something in the community. They don't do squat except say yes, yes to the superintendent when the state education and the national education tells them what to do or you won't get your money. They get down on their knees and they lick the NEA's boots. That's what school board members do, is boot lickers. You can tell them I said so. Your trouble with me is you ain't got the guts to tell it. Or you don't believe right. I'm sick of it. We're paying for our own destruction in this country. Let me tell you what goes on. Teaching sex education, all that sex education class does is promote pleasure without responsibility to God Almighty. and makes perverts out of everybody. You're sweats running down your armpits. I can see the sweat running down some of your armpits. You're so nervous in here. Anybody that supports Antifa and BLM or participates in it is a snake. All pedophiles and child molesters are snakes. They camouflage themselves as Boy Scout leaders. Amen. Oh, we got a children's ministry here. I want to tell you something right now. Anybody that would abuse a child, you ought to be hung from a tree. I am sick to death of this pedophile garbage in this country. We have got to stop. We've got to stand up. We've got to say no more. I don't hear it. Where are the political leaders? Never saying anything about these children being abducted and used as sex slaves across this country. From Bill Clinton down. Perverts. That's why Jesus called them snakes and vipers. Let me tell you something about them Pharisees and Sadducees. They were the same people abusing children while they walked around in their robes. God knew what they were. Anybody that'll vote for a Democrat party platform's a snake. Oh. You say, well, I don't think a preacher ought to say that. That's why God ain't going to call you to preach, because he knows you ain't got no guts. Hey, tell me about it. They're for sodomy. They're for transgenders. They're for butchering babies. They're Marxists now. They're snakes. They're vipers. You vote for them, you're a baby viper. That's it. Hey, Harry Truman wouldn't no more be a Democrat today. John F. Kennedy wouldn't be a Democrat today. We're in perilous times. We're going to lose our nation if we don't start telling the truth and standing up to it. They hate the First Amendment. They don't want you to be able to say what you want to say. Hey, let me tell you something. I would fight for you to be able to have the right to say your viewpoint. I would. not agree with you, but I want that right. I'm not afraid of free exchange of ideas, Facebook, Twitter. I'm not afraid to hear somebody's other opinion. I've got God's opinion and it'll stand. Amen. The truth will stand. Throw me your junk. I'll throw you God's truth. The truth will stand. Americans were not afraid of dialogue, but now all these antithon BLM, they want everybody shut up and statues torn down here, statues torn down there. Burn the flag, burn the Bible. Snakes. They're vipers. I've got them pegged. That's what they are. You just will start calling that too. I wish they'd call me for an interview on Fox news. Amen. Mail-in voter. What do you think that's about? Hey, if mail-in voting's okay, let's just have mail-in hospital. Mail-in voting, are you kidding me? Everywhere it's been tried and done, it's been a cheat. Can I tell you something? I love everybody. I don't want nobody to go to hell. I preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He died for your sins, rose from the dead. His blood will save you if you repent and believe. I got to tell you what I saw this day. I saw the biggest picture of stupid, ungodly repentance I've ever seen in my life. This kid comes in, it must've been a bad part of town because they already had bars over the window, you know? And there's a lady in there eating and another lady over here and another lady behind the counter. And this dude walks in, he's got his hood on, you know, he walks in. He don't say hi bye or nothing. I'm gonna rob you. He just walks around walks for any cash register and just start stealing stuff But daylight Well, of course this is the store camera and The lady that was running the store. She's smart She just kind of got them the other two ladies out and when she got outside the door, she locked it. I And that dude's doing this for a little bit. He's trying to steal this bit, and all he looks at, see that? And he starts cussing. That's a BLM antiphon for you. They've got to cuss a lot to show they're something. Anyway, he runs around, the deal runs over. He starts cussing God now. And he starts shaking on the door. Then he pulls his gun out and boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom at the door, but it don't do nothing to that door. And then the lady walks back around when he's emptied his gun. I don't know for sure, but I think she did something like this. I don't know for sure. And then he starts watching it. I could not believe my eyes. He said, I ain't taking nothing. I haven't taken anything. Let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. No joke. He falls on his knees before. He says, please let me out. I don't want to go to jail. Please let me out. I ain't took nothing. I didn't mean to. I didn't have any ill intent when I come in here. I said, it reminds me a lot of folks who come to y'all churches. Oh God, I got in trouble. I've got my life in a mess. Oh God, get me out of this mess. I'll serve you forever. Lion dog. Lion dog. Let me say another thing. Any candidate who lies to get elected is a snake. Snakes are liars. The devil was a liar from the beginning, God said. Let me just tell you something. Can I just tell you something? You mess around with liquor and pot and drugs long enough, there'll be a lion spirit come into your body. You'll be demon possessed and you'll pop lies out so fast, make your head swim and you'll just start lying because there's a lion spirit in you. Oh, now, I ain't made some of you mad enough yet. You're still here. Obama's a snake. Hillary is a snake. Mitt Romney is a combination of a snake and a viper. Kasich is a snake. Newsom's a snake. Cuomo's a snake. Fossey's a snake. CNN is a snake pit. MSNBC is a snake den. And two thirds of Fox is a snake pit. You say, Reggie, is there any other kind of snakes running around? Yeah, there's some folks that stab you in the back and defile you and lie on you and then see you at a funeral or a wedding and go, well, hi. How are you, Josh? Ah! Don't you just love it when somebody's just towed all kinds of garbage on you? They go to church. They lie on you, distort everything that's ever happened, ever said, and then they camouflage. Well, hello. How are you doing? Good to see you. That's a snake. That's a snake. You think Judas was a snake? The devil entered into him, the Bible said. He's down there. He's up there at the Last Supper. That's good. That's good juice, Lord. That's good. Good wine. Pretty good bread there. Most trusted member. Talking about, oh, he just walking with Jesus and the disciples, but he's a snake. Jesus let that snake kiss him. Let me just tell you, somebody tries to bust your marriage up, it's a snake, get away from them. Somebody tries to subvert your children from the authority of the parents, it's a snake, get away from them. A man told me this week, he said, Reggie was having a little party and said, and there wasn't nobody here in this church, so he said, want to have a party." And he said, I didn't want my child to go. And he said, now I'm the bad dog. I'm too good for them all. But he said, Reggie, I just, something ain't right about this situation. And he said, I don't want my girl there. I'm going to tell you something, you girls will understand something. If your daddy says something, he may not even understand himself, but God Almighty is going to work straight through your daddy. If he's in any way, he may not even be saved in God's story. I mean, I just wonder about these folks who come into a church and a ministry and they hang around and make friends and then leave mad at the preacher because he wouldn't bow and kiss their feet over their sin. Then they leave and influence everybody they can to leave and lie about what happened and hurt the church. That just sounds an awful lot like a snake to me. It just sure sounds like it, Danny. I got news for stupid snakes. They're not fighting. They're trying to fight maybe and hurt, they're trying to fight and hurt the bride of Christ. But I wanna tell you about the church, but I wanna tell you about the bride's husband's gonna make them wish they'd never been born. And a decent man in this church house tonight, or this morning, if I walked up to your wife, slapped her like that, what would you do? I wouldn't get far away from that bench, and I deserve to have the snot beat out of me. I want you to think, people that hurt the church, what do you think the church's husband's going to do to them? I can promise you something, you better be really thoughtful about what you're doing. I want to live above the snake line though, and I have a hard time about it. This week, I just feel like I've been in a snake pit. It reminded me of this message. I preached this message about 25, 30 years ago. People lie, betray, condemn, criticize, cheat, hook and crook, deceive, defile, sow discord, only can see what's bad in anybody or anything, gripe, groan, complain, murmuring. That's what got the snake sin in on that Mount Jordan Israel, Numbers 21. But I want to say this to you today. When you go to your home today after church here today, it ought to be above the snake line. Your home ought not be a snake pit. But it can become that if we're not careful. When you come to this church, I mean, I know I've said some rough things today, but I'm bothered. And I'm just pointing out, I don't want no halfway garbage. But I'm going to tell you the truth. It's like this morning at Sunday school. We come to this church. We need to come out. This don't need to be no snake pit. This, when you walk in this church, you drive in that driveway, you need to feel like you're hitting higher ground. Amen. Hey, you've been out there already all week long. You've been bitten and chewed on and cussed out and this, that and the other. That's the last thing you need when you come to church. Amen. You know what the 11th commandment is in this church? How many knows what it is? What is it? Don't talk about your junk here. This is above the snake line. You know what? Most of the time, if you won't talk about your junk here, you won't talk about it period. Maybe at the house a little bit, but by the time you get to where you could, you forgot about it. And it ain't near as bad or God's got a hold of you and give you a little knocking on the head, wake up stupid. Well, it'd be a place at church where we can pray and praise and sing and preach the word and shout the victory of God. It's not an accident that God sent Moses up to the mountain. It's not an accident that Jesus on the Mount Beatitudes, it's not an accident that Jesus left out of Mount Olives, but mountains in the Bible are not an accident. And I want to encourage you and I, all of us to come to higher ground, closer to God, set our affections on things above, lay our treasures up in heaven. The children of Israel, I said, doubted God. And you know what? They sent 12 spies in there and 10 snakes came back and turned the whole crowd out, 40 years wandering in the wilderness. Because they wouldn't believe God. You say, Reggie, what are some snake pits to stay away from? Well, TV's an obvious snake pit. Facebook can be a snake pit. Come on. Don't sit out there. Come on. Yeah, some of you won't squeak an amen if the angel Gabriel was sitting beside you. Washington is a snake pit. The sad part about it is our own minds can become snake pits. I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not worried so much about Washington and Jeff City and the workplace as I am my own mind. And as I've been fighting the snake pit this week, I thought about you people. I said, Lord God, if they're having half a hard time as I am, I feel sorry for them. God help those people to head to higher ground, to live on higher ground. Lord, help me as a pastor to help lead them to higher ground, get them above the snake line. Sometimes you can get in the snake pit of discouragement. So what they did in Numbers chapter 21, it said they were discouraged in the way. Sometimes it's a snake pit of jealousy and envy and self-righteousness. All self-righteousness is such a snake pit. Sometimes it's defilement or a pit of discord, a pit of greed, a pit of lust. Maybe it's a pit of laziness and thievery, a pit of bitterness, a pit of unforgiveness. Let me just tell you something where I have trouble, and that's that snake pit of unforgiveness. If you ain't got nobody else to pray for about that, you pray for me, because sometimes I wrestle between, have I forgiven? And if I have, why would I feel the way I feel? Why would I think the way I think if I have truly forgiven? The pit of anger, the pit of snake pit of pride, the snake pit of rebellion, witchcraft, the snake pit of worry and doubt and fear. snake pit of depression. I think that's what they're trying to do right now is drive this country not only to the economic, but into an absolute emotional financial depression. 88 people committed suicide one day in New York during the depression, 1930s. I want to tell you people something this morning. I don't want you getting in the pit of worry. I don't want you getting in a pit of fear. You have nothing to fear. I want you to have good courage no matter what happens, how things turn out, what things look like, because God is on our side. If God be for us, who can be against us? Let me tell you right now, if God's with us and God's for us, we're going to win this thing. And if it has to be coming back on a white horse, we're going to win. Stay out of that pit of unbelief. Stay out of that pit of complaining. Stay out of that pit of critical spirit and cynical spirit and sour spirit. Stay out of that theological arguments pit. and a church fighting pit. As I said earlier, a pit can be in your marriage, it can be in your home, it could be at work, it could be relatives, neighbors, friends, ministry, church, and political world. Now I'm gonna say this this morning, it's just the flat truth. Daniel, are you still here somewhere? Is Daniel still here? Daniel wanted to talk to y'all after church today a little bit about working, if somebody wanted to work at polls and so forth, and if you do, you get ahold of Daniel, okay? Now, I know I'm his brother. Boy, Van Politics is a snake pit, ain't it? I want to tell you behind this puppet, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you not crawling down the pit with him. honest raw truth, if he'd been 10 times a Christian, I'll ever dream about being. And when I hear them lie on him and say he's for the murder of babies, it bothers my soul. When they tell me he's not for the second amendment, I think I hear a snake hissing somewhere. I was there when they brought him home. He is an ugly baby. No, I'll be honest with you. He's a good looking baby and he's a good looking guy. But I tell you where his greatest beauty is, is in his soul. This isn't some political ad. I'm just giving you my heart. I thought this week what a snake pit he's been in. I just want you to know something. Win, lose, or draw, you won because you stayed out of the snake pit. And I'm proud of you. I want you to know I appreciate you. And would you all just, those that don't care, would you give him a hand of appreciation for just staying out of the snake pit? country kid. You don't pick on my brother. I know that's not godly and spiritual and all that, but that's just the way we were. Amen. Now me and him may fight, but you don't mess with us. But then I just want you to know we love you and I have never in my life seen anything like what I've witnessed here in the last two or three weeks. and there was no reason for it, but God is in control. And I just want you to know one thing, we're going to love you no matter how it all turns out. And I can just tell you right now, if God wants you in there, 42 devils out of hell can't keep you. And if God don't want you in there, that's not his best for you. And you don't want to miss his best. Anyway, did I say everything I was supposed to say? approve that message. No, I'm going to tell you the truth. This, this folks is what I'm talking about. We are right now sitting at almost a million dollars of political action money that has been spent on a 33rd district campaign from people that do not live here. And Ben, if I want to, and Hannah, I'm going to hit something to you. If you get up there, I think you ought to introduce legislation that no money can be spent outside of a district or state for any race, except money from within that district. Let me ask you a question. How many thinks that the foreigners ought not influence our national election? Right? Okay. Well, how many thinks that New York ought to affect Missouri state election? Well, then why are we letting outside influences spend a million dollars in our little district down here? There's no other reason in the world than they want them office holders bought and paid for and licking their boots the whole time they're there and saluting them. And when they call them on the phone and tell them how to vote, that's all it's about. It's about nothing else. Can't be about nothing else. Well, glory, we're having a wonderful time in the house of God. Amen. You say, Reggie, how can I have victory over the snakes and the snake pits? Well, folks, let me just tell you this. Let's try to live high. You can't have too high biblical standards. None of us measure up. And let me say to us all, we're all growing. We're dealing in different stages of life if you're saved. Don't slap a hand that's reaching up. Reach down and take it and try to help lift them up. Let me just tell you, if you want to keep things out of snake pit, keep things clean. I tell you, them snakes will get under boards and trash and junk. And if you want to stay out of the snake pit and keep being bit by the devil snake, you keep a clean life. You confess your sins and turn from them. Amen. You just get honest. Behold, that is our truth in the inward parts. I tell you what, I've been dealing with places this summer and man, I look at it and I guarantee you, Lord, there's a snake in there somewhere. It just looks that bad. And I want to tell you something, get the clutter picked up, you know, get the clutter picked up and so forth. And then the second thing is get away from some people. Ain't going to do you no good. All they're going to do is bite and devour and poison you. So you just need to stay away from them. I don't go hunting snakes. Now I've wanted to, I have if they got close and seen one, but I don't go out in the woods saying, here rattlesnake, here copperhead. I just, leave me alone. Stay where you are. You get in my way, I'm killing you. And then sometimes though, you got to hunt out and destroy a snake. And that means you got to go get the hoe or the shotgun. I hate to tell you this, but Karen, I thought she was a nice lady. The other day, some of you ain't going to like this, and I don't care, but she, she's in the side beside, she went to get some gas. She got up there and turned around, come back and there's a snake laying there. caught her instrument and just beat it to death. Had no mercy on the snake and then had the audacity to send me a text with a picture of it. No, I'm going to tell you about her. You know what she figured? If I don't get him now, he'll be down to house. Sometimes you've got to get the hoe out and destroy him while you've got a chance to. Don't give him no place to hide. Can I say something? Keep your lawn mowed and the leaves raked up and you won't have as many snakes. And you keep the lawn mowed in your soul and keep the leaves raked up in your heart, you won't have near as many snakes swirling around. And then another thing is don't play with snakes. I don't like seeing nobody play with a snake. Now you may, I don't, you're odd then to me, you're weird. I don't want, don's in, where you at? I'm tell you right that guy right him in him out men him about the closest we ever come to splitting friendships is over a stupid snake But I don't like nobody playing with snakes you play with a snake you're gonna bite you you've seen them guys in their churches back east. Whoa, mercy, say it so loud. I get tickled at them. They'll get them boxes up there and they're honky-tonking their music and they're reaching, pull that rattlesnake out and they like it. And that one preacher back there last year, he'd been bit two or three times already and he was bragging about we wouldn't kill him. And that dude bit him right on the jaw and he died. Yeah, that's it. Don't play with snakes. God never told you play with them. He said, Well, I don't know if he said killer or not, but anyway, don't play with snakes. Now I mean by that, don't play where snakes hang out. And then get up to the mountain, go to Calvary, get out of the snake pit, get your Bible, pray, start singing, praising the Lord, thanking God, speaking the truth in your heart and your mind, casting out imaginations, and just trust and obey God. I'm going to give you something. We're going to get out of here. I'm going to give you some of the people in the Bible who lived above the snake line. Number one is a man by the name of Joseph. They literally put him in a pit. Did you know that man lived above the snake line? I doubt there's anybody in this church that's been treated as dirty as Joseph has been. But he didn't live in the snake pit. In fact, he was down in prison. What'd they do? There's all the frowning. He said, why are you so sad? Everywhere he went, because he didn't live in a snake pit, God raised him up. Boy, Danny, I'm going to tell you something. This preacher right here, I don't care how hard I have to fight it, I don't want to live in no snake pit. I want to hit higher ground. Joseph was thrown in there by his brothers. Separation from his family, rejected, but he didn't let them take him down. Daniel, Daniel purposed in his heart. He was put in the pit of lions, but he lived above the snake line. Noah lived in a pit of wickedness, but he lived above the snake line. The Hebrew children were being forced by society to cave into the cultural norms, but they lived above the snake line. John the Baptist grew up in the midst of a ministry in the midst of a religious snake pit, but he stayed above the snake line. Hannah in the Old Testament experienced disappointment and grief. But she prayed and lived above the snake line, the disappointments of life. Ruth experienced hopelessness and destitution, but Ruth lived above the snake line. God blessed her. John the Revelator was placed on the Isle of Patmos, but he lived above the snake line. And because he lived above the snake line, God used him to give you the greatest book in the Bible on what's coming in the future. Job. Lost everything he had, but he lived above the snake line. Jonah, self-pity, but God got him out of the snake line. Our Lord Jesus had to deal with snakes. Our Lord Jesus worked and walked among vipers and serpents, but he lived above the snake line. He spake truth to them, and he went on and did his father's business. He died to take us out of the snake pit of hell. I'm so glad this morning that love lifted me out of the snake pit of sin, death, and hell. Young people, I want to say to you this morning, I love you. I want you to learn to live by the snake pit. Some of you are just hitting that stride in life. You're going to find out it ain't all Legos and basketball. You're going to get out there and you're going to find out there's something else going on, and the snakes are biting. I want you to always remember somehow or another that one Sunday you were sitting in church and the preacher said, live above the snake line. Live above the snake line. Somebody turned to the page Higher Ground. We're going to stand and sing ourselves out of here with it today. What page is it? 374, somebody? Anybody know? Higher Ground. 397. Let's hit that second verse or whatever it is there and we'll go home. I know it's, I know it's hot. I know you're tired. If you're not saved, get out of the snake pit, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay. Though some may dwell where peace abounds, my prayer, my aim is higher. Verse three. I want to live above the world. Though Satan's darts at me are hurled, for faith has caught the joyful sound, the song of saints on high. I want you to listen to me for just a moment. We're going to sing the last verse, and when we sing it, I want to invite you to come today. You say, Reggie, I tell you what, I've been in a snake pit, and I just feel like I've been bitten, and I'm swollen, and I'm poisoned, and I want to live above the snake line. And I want to ask God for some help this morning. Don't be too proud to come. If you're here today and lost, you're in a snake pit. I'm telling you, the only thing that can ever get you out of it is Jesus Christ's blood, his death, his burial, his resurrection for you. And I invite you, whether you're listening online or whether you're here in this building, If you're lost, ask him to save you and place your faith in Jesus Christ. If you're a Christian today and you just, I tell you, you've been fighting the snake pit this week, I want you to feel, let me tell you something, God will hear the prayer of the humble and the broken and the contrite. I probably have no idea what some of you have been through this week, honest to goodness. If I knew, I'd shake my head and say, oh God, have mercy upon them. I invite you to come on this fourth verse as we sing. I want to scale the utmost high. and catch a gleam of glory bright. But still I'll pray till heaven I've found. Lord, lead me on to higher. Lift it up to the Lord today. You come. God, help you, amen. God, help you. Life can be a snake pit, amen. You come on, let God do business with you. Somebody cheated you out of money. Somebody lied on you. Somebody backstabbed you. Sing the first verse. I'm pressing on. Some friend forsook you. A spouse left you. Your mom and daddy hurt you. God, help us to live above the snake line. A higher plane that I have found, Lord, when my feet on higher ground.