Furthermore, a conscience can even be overly sensitive and can even drive some people mad. Various means some look to their pastor some look to their friends and some unfortunately look to the culture a conscience that is legalistic is not a good guide a Libertarian conscience is not a good guide either Nor is a calloused conscience In order for one's conscience to be a good guide, one that the Spirit of the living God can direct, it needs to be healthy, it needs to be sensitive and capable of getting and receiving God's message and truth. Your heart must be right. If you would, please turn to Titus chapter 1 verse 7. Titus chapter 1 verse 7. We are continuing our look at the qualifications for leadership, and I must remind you again that this is not just for the leadership. If you are in Christ, this falls into your category. Verse 7, for an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard. Pause. Some of your translations may say, must not be fond of wine, must not be a heavy drinker or a hard drinker, and not present at wine. The Greek literally, it's two words, it's para and it's oinos. Para means beside and oinos is wine. It literally means that he cannot be someone whose sidekick is the bottle or somebody who is always in the presence of wine. This refers to both quantity and frequency. If you would please look at your outline that was provided for you, I'm going to make Four observations, four points. Point number one, wine. Point number two, dominion. Point number three, freedom. And point number four, conscience. Wine, dominion, freedom, and conscience. Point number one, wine. People who lived during the first century Palestine consumed wine on a regular basis. Even when they ate meals, The only people who did not drink were the Nazarites, were the Levitical priests at the temple, and the Rechabites, and we must also include, obviously, pregnant women and children. But in order to understand the culture at the time, we have to go back and embrace the fact, first and foremost, that grapes were plentiful. Grapes were plentiful. A grape, interestingly, is actually part of the berry family. It has been used for centuries for making jam, juice, jelly, raisins, vinegar, and our focal point this morning is going to be wine. We're going to focus this morning on wine. Ripe grapes are full of natural sugars and have on the skin naturally occurring yeast. When the skin of the grape is broken, sugars are released, and the sugars mix with the yeast and fermentation begins. All a winemaker has to do is collect his grapes, gently crush them, and release the natural sugars and the natural yeast, and expose them. Fermentation continues until all of the sugar has been turned into alcohol, or the alcohol in the juice reaches around 15%. Palestinians would oftentimes even boil down wine and make a paste or jam-like substance in order to prevent wine from over-fermenting and turning into what? Vinegar. That's right, which was essentially useless. They wanted to drink wine throughout the year until the next grape harvest. And the only way to make that happen was either to add water to the wine or to cool it. Now, Unfortunately, there was not a readily accessible cellar or fridge, but typically the only way to cool it would be to put it in a cellar or to put it in vats underwater where it's cooler. Unfortunately for most Palestinians, that was not easily accessible. So what did they do? Most of them added water. So once the natural sugar was used up, you had two choices, either to boil the wine into a paste-like jam or add water. Now, the juices of grapes during fermentation would typically be between 10 to 15%, similar to what we have today. What happened in many cases is that water would be diluted. Why? To slow the what? Fermentation process down. This diluted wine would be cheap wine. It would typically be around three parts water diluted to one part wine. Again, Why did they add water? To slow the fermentation process down. And the reality is that the fermentation of grapes into wine has not changed. Now, we do have a better understanding of how it works. There's sugar and there's even yeast that we can add to slow the process down today, but back then, in first century Palestine, that was not necessarily the case. The best wine would have peaked between 10 to 15%. Now, unfortunately for the majority of Palestinians, because they could not keep the wine cool and also because they tried to extend it throughout the year, they added water to slow the process down. This would be, as I mentioned earlier, two parts to one or three parts to one max. it would have been the same alcoholic volume as a beer today. Have any of you ever here had a one-to-one ratio of water to apple juice? Has anybody here ever put ice and then filled it with cranberry juice or apple juice or any type of juice, you leave the room and you come back and you taste it and you go, ugh. That's my response. It's absolutely disgusting. That's not even a one-to-one ratio, just to give you a good idea of what it would taste like. What was wine used for? Two purposes, and you'll see this in your outline. First was consumption. People consumed wine regularly. It's a fact. The wine would be consumed. Most of it would be around 5%. They would drink it at meals. Jesus ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors, which we're going to look at. Second, in terms of consuming it, they consumed it medicinally. Please turn to 1 Timothy 5, verse 23. Go back a couple pages. 1 Timothy 5, verse 23. Paul is writing to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, and this is what he says. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your, what? Stomach. And your frequent ailments. The reality is that we don't know what exactly was wrong with Timothy, but we do know that Paul did command Timothy consume and to drink wine for the purpose of medication. The second reason it was used for was worship. We're not going to turn to it, but there was a drink offering and people brought wine when offering. Wine was also used in celebrating the Passover and the Lord's Supper as well. If you would, please turn to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. We are going to be going to different places in Scripture, not all of them on your outline, but we do need to see what Scripture has to say about wine and then submit ourselves to Scripture alone. Luke chapter 22, verse 20. Familiar text. And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." This wine cup. Depending on the translations, was it wine? Yours may say cup, a different translation may say wine cup. What was it? Well, the Greek literally is poterion. It is poterion. And that is literally a wine cup or a wine drink. Now, I'm not sure why they would call it a wine cup if it didn't have wine. Some of you are saying, I'm not really convinced that Jesus and his disciples consumed wine in the upper room. Well, let's turn to 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11. Verse 21. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, one goes hungry and another, what? Gets drunk. Okay. Many of them got sick and many of them died because of irreverence. Now, here's the question. Why would the early church in Corinth have wine during their corporate worship service? Could it be that the disciples in the upper room continued the tradition? We have two ordinances. What are they? Baptism and what? The Lord's Supper. I don't find it unreasonable to see that, yes, the early church consumed wine when they took of the Lord's Supper. Now I want to make some clarifications. Am I a proponent for us having wine at 9.30 in the morning, the first Sunday of the month? Absolutely not. I am not going there. But I think scripture is clear that Jesus did drink wine with his disciples in the upper room and also the early church consumed wine during the Lord's Supper. Now, if you're still not convinced, please turn to Luke chapter seven, Luke chapter seven. Luke chapter 7, verses 33 through 35. Again, we're going to allow Scripture to speak for itself. This is not my opinion. This is the Word of God and we must submit to it. Verse 33, For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say he has a demon. Verse 34, the son of man has come eating and drinking, and you say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Now, did Jesus spend time with sinners and tax collectors? Yes or no? Yes. Did Jesus eat with sinners and tax collectors? Yes. They called him a glutton. Was it true? No. Jesus drank with tax collectors and sinners, true or false? True. Now, what did they call him? A what? Drunkard, which assumes that he was what? Drinking wine. Now let's be honest with each other. Why is it okay for him to eat food and they call them call him a a glutton, but then when the issue of wine, we say, no, it was Kool-Aid or grape juice. I find that very inconsistent. Yes, Jesus did drink wine with sinners and tax collectors. Point number two, dominion. Dominion. If I was to ask you, what does it mean to be made in the image of God, what would you say? Some of you would say it means to have a relationship with God. Everybody on the planet has a relationship with God. Most of them, it's not a very good one. The devil has a relationship with God, and it is not a good one. Some of you may say the enjoyment of God. Some would say being a moral or conscious creature. Some would say eternal, like at the moment of conception and moving forward. There's another aspect of being made in the image of God that I think oftentimes we overlook. and it is found in Genesis chapter 1. So please, let us turn to Genesis chapter 1. Verse 28, Genesis chapter 1 verse 28. And God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all of the earth and every tree with seed and its fruit. You shall have them for food. Part of being made in the image of God means that we are to have dominion over the earth. Being made in the image of God means that we are endowed in strength and mental capacities to have dominion over this earth. You'll notice, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. God is commanding Adam and Eve and us to impose our will on the earth and bring it under submission and under our bondage. being made in the image of God means that we are vassals and kings and queens on this earth over God's creation. But not only are you to bring it under dominion, but you are also to explore it and to cultivate it as well. Now I want you to notice the three categories that God commands Adam and Eve and us to have dominion over. You'll notice in verse 28, part B and C, you'll see over fish of the sea, birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. What's left? What about plants? What about plants yielding seed and fruit? Verse 29, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all of the earth and every seed with its fruit. Rule the earth, bring it under submission and have dominion over it. That is part of what it means to be made in the image of God. Now there's a problem. Problem is that man has sinned. In Adam, all have sinned. Unfortunately, we are born in sin. And in Genesis 3, verse 18, we see one of the curses of the fall for man is that thorns and thistles will grow in its place. The ground is going to fight against you and against me. Not only will the ground fight, but you and I will fight against each other. You only have to go to the next chapter, Genesis chapter 4, where you see the first murder of a human being in the Bible when Cain kills his brother Abel. The image of God is marred and scarred post-fall. Everybody in Adam including you and me, actually have a distorted view on creation. Not only is there a distorted view in terms of the mind, but the heart is desperately wicked as well. We have a distorted view on money. We have a distorted view on the opposite sex. We have a distorted view on the same sex. We have a distorted view on animals. Unfortunately, we have a distorted view on clothing. Our hearts are wicked. We have a distorted view on wheat, and barley, and corn, and rye, and hops, and oats, and even grapes. We have a distorted view on wine and alcohol, and we will continue until our hearts are renewed and changed. Even though we are in Christ, and even though we are given a new nature, the old man still lingers, doesn't it? The old man, even after regeneration, still pops its ugly head. But you must understand God has given you dominion over the earth. And meanwhile, we must embrace the fact that everything is given to us, but not everything is profitable for continual and habitual consumption. Point number three, freedom. And no, I am not talking about Mel Gibson's chant from Braveheart. I'm talking about Christian liberty. There is something that happens at regeneration when you're born again that you do not have prior to regeneration. You're given a new heart, and with a new heart you have new desires and new joys. And really, when God saves you, He sets you in on reality. The reality is this, you and I are sinners pursuing hell. And we desired that, and in His grace and mercy, He has lavished forgiveness on us. And with the new heart now and new mind, we can now truly understand and pursue the things of God. You have freedom to consume alcohol. There is no prohibition for you to consume alcohol. And there is no command to drink alcohol either. It is your right by dominion. The problem is that after the fall, unfortunately, creation sometimes has dominion over us. Doesn't it? Is there anything in your life that has dominion over you this morning? Does your phone have dominion over you when it calls and it summons you? Does your work and your job have dominion over you? Do you really need all that stuff that you're working towards, even at that large expense? Does this culture have dominion over you? Do your friends and your co-workers have dominion over you, always trying to please them? Parents. Your children have dominion over you, or do you have dominion over them? Whose house is it? Does food have dominion over you, or do you have dominion over food? Can you say no to food? Do you see the reversal after the fall? What we were designed to make, to cultivate, and to use for our advantage Creation now has control in many categories over us. The problem is not with wine. The problem is not with food. The problem is not with medication. The problem is not your spouse. The problem is not your husband or your wife. The problem is your heart. The heart is the issue. Jesus is most concerned with this. This is what he is after, your heart. What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of his heart, comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from within and they defile a person. Now I would like us to turn to John chapter two. John chapter two. Because I suppose that some of you, some of your minds are gravitating towards that. We're not gonna read all of it. Many of you are familiar with the story, especially if you are someone who does consume wine or consumes alcohol, that's your first argument. Look at verse four. Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not come yet. Mary comes to Jesus. Running out of wine. You need to ask the question, why? Why is Mary dealing with this? Most likely, Joseph would have been dead. She needed help. She goes to Jesus. We don't know Mary's involvement with the bride or with the groom. All we know is that Mary is saying, hey, we're running out of wine. And she goes to Jesus. Now here's the question. Why does she go to Jesus? Did Jesus do any miracles beforehand? No. Maybe in the back of her mind, she remembers when the angel Gabriel visited her. Maybe she heard of rumors when Jesus was baptized, the spirit descended on him like a dove. And I want you to notice, he doesn't call her mom. What does he call her? Woman. Kids. Okay, we don't need to address this. So the question is, why does Jesus call her woman? Well, he's essentially saying, you want to go there. She is going outside of the familial mother-son relationship and asking for Jesus to carry out what she had heard 30 years earlier. Woman, you want to do this? Okay. I'll do that. Up to this point, Jesus had done no miracles. Jesus, prior to this, was still operating under the authority of his biological mother, Mary. But this is the turning point of his public ministry. This is when the bloodline of Mary and Jesus is superseded by Savior-Servant. Now what's up with these jars? Well these jars, and you won't find this in scripture, but these jars were used for ceremonial purposes. These jars would be filled and it was the tradition of the elders and the Pharisees and the religious leaders for the people to wash their hands before they ate. You'll remember in Mark chapter seven, you remember when Jesus' disciples were eating and the Pharisees and they said, they didn't what? Wash their hands. And so this continued tradition. And that's when Jesus said, it's not what man consumes that makes him dirty or filthy, but it is what comes out of his heart. Now, this is, this water in these containers, in these vats, These were the ones who were filled with wine. It said that the water saw its maker and blushed. He gave the best wine, though through a miracle. Now, follow along with me. Some people will say, Jesus changing the water into wine is symbolic for the future because he'll give himself for his bride. It won't be by the wine though, it'll be by the blood. And the wine and the blood are the same color and so that's the same. I think that's great, but there's nothing in the text prior to or after that affirms it. Now, Jesus turning Water into wine was for the very purpose of verse 11. This is the first of the signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory. It was a sign. It was proof of his divine authority. Now, track. In John chapter 6, Jesus fed the multitudes and then pointed to a greater spiritual reality by saying, I am the what? The bread of life. Very good. You'll remember in John chapter 8, Jesus said, I am the light of the world. And then in John chapter 9, he healed a man born what? Blind. Makes sense. In John chapter 11, Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. And who did he resurrect? Lazarus. Good. So now we're asking ourselves, all right, John, is there any type of theme that you're trying to kind of take us through in John chapter 2? The answer is no. When Jesus turns water into wine, there is nothing before that or nothing after that. That points to anything that is some type of spiritualization or allegorize it. Listen, don't allegorize this, don't spiritualize it, don't say it was Kool-Aid. Just do justice to the text and say, Jesus made water into wine. Not the cheap 3 to 1 ratio, the good stuff. The Creator made wine at a wedding. How much wine? 180 gallons worth of wine. This is not cheap wine. This is the best wine Must have been some good wine. I'm just saying I'm not a drinker, but if I was there Well, Jesus apparently makes some good wine Now you'll see the master of the feast or the host tasted it verse 9 the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine and and didn't know where it came from, though the servants had drawn it from the water, the master of the feast called a braggart and said, Everybody serves the good wine first when the people have drunk freely the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now. This is not grape juice. Don't ever let anybody tell you, this is grape juice. It is wine. Do you think this wine connoisseur who tasted it would say, this is the best tasting wine, though it's grape juice? This is not grape juice. This is wine. You have to embrace it. You have to accept it. This is the word of God. Jesus made 180 gallons of water into 180 gallons of wine at a wedding for people's enjoyment. This is vintage wine. This is the best wine. Now, think about it. The creator, the creator, who both wrote all of the molecular designs and intricacies between sugar and yeast, knows what the best wine really is. You can be sure that this wine is good vintage wine. I had to look up the most expensive bottle of wine. I had to do it this week after studying. I'm not even going to try to pronounce it because it's French, and I'm not going to try to sound French by pronouncing it, but I'm just going to tell you it costs over $350,000. They don't understand The way molecules and atoms between sugar and yeast interact like Jesus does, you can be rest assured this was a full vintage wine that these people at this wedding got to enjoy. Now what do we learn from Jesus' first miracle? You see that he turned water into wine for his guests' enjoyment. Now you may say, well, Jesus and his disciples didn't drink. We already disproved that in the Lord's Supper in Luke chapter 22, but let's follow that train of thought. You may say, Jesus and his disciples did not drink. How do you know that? We don't know if they drank or if they didn't drink. And on what principle are you coming to that conclusion on? Maybe it's because you think that wine is evil, which you may be alluding to. And here's the question. Why would Jesus, if he thought wine was evil and didn't give it to his disciples, would make 180 gallons worth of wine and give it to the people at the wedding? I think that's a little inconsistent. Now, next time you take a bath or you go into a shower, just remember the amount of wine that he made was almost five bathtubs full of wine. That's how much wine he made for the wedding. We don't know how many people attended the wedding, but he made a lot of wine. Beloved, listen, this is the point. The heart is the issue. There's nothing wrong with Jesus making wine, the best wine, the top shelf. Let's think of it another way. When Jesus fed the 5,000, there was what left over? Food. Track it. There was food left over. And we don't know if there was any wine left over, but I would assume so. Now, here's the question. Were there any drunkards at the wedding? Maybe. Were there any gluttons who were following Jesus who ate more than whatever the portion was? Yes. If that's the case, that Jesus or God is to blame, then follow my thought process. There'd be no marrying because people marry and get divorces for the wrong reasons. There'd be no sex because people abuse sex through prostitution. There'd be no food because people overeat and are gluttons. There'd be no tongue because people use their tongue to tear down God and their fellow man. There'd be no hands because people use their hands for all kinds of evil. There would be no feet because feet are very quick to rush into evil. There'd be no Tylenol or there'd be no medication because people abuse it and die of overdoses all of the time. There'd be no money because money is the root of all kinds of evil. We'd have no eyes because we look at stuff that we shouldn't. So if we were to go with that whole train of thought, Where God's to blame, there'd be no marriage, no sex, no food, no medication, no hands, no feet, no eyes, and no mind and no tongue. What are we left with? Alcohol is not evil. People are evil. Like many other things, it can be abused and it can be an accessory to evil behavior and corrupting thoughts. Listen, the problem is not with God. The problem was not with Jesus. The problem is the heart of people in light of creation. In your freedom as a Christian, you have right to consume alcohol or not to consume alcohol, but your heart has to be in the right place. Although I will say that kings are warned not to consume strong drink. Why? Because alcohol impairs decision-making. God wants to use sober people for his kingdom, right? God wants to use people who are clear-minded, who are there, who are following Him in obedience, and you can't when you were drunk, hungover. And you can't as well when you're angry in your sin. Listen to what Paul says, you don't have to turn to it, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, I want to read it to you. For I fear that perhaps when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish, that perhaps there may be quarreling, or jealousy, or anger, or hostility, or slander, or gossip, conceit, and disorder." Listen, we must be filled by the Spirit. Now, here's the question. How are you filled with the Spirit? It's very, very simple. This is how you're filled with the Spirit. You let the Word of God dwell in you richly. You cannot be filled by the Spirit if you do not regularly are reading Scripture, meditating it, letting it saturate your every fiber and bone and faculty and mind. Listen to what it was said of John Bunyan. It was said of John Bunyan, prick him and he bleeds Bible. The very essence of the Bible flows from Him. And I have to ask the question, can the same thing be said of you? Your freedom in Christ only comes as you're filled with the things of God. It is not something abstract where the Spirit of God will come upon you. God has given us all things that concern the life and godliness. Can I get an amen? You and I are given the word of God. Dwell on that and allow it to meditate and saturate your mind. Point number four, conscience. Point number four, conscience. Now all of us have a conscience, as we already saw. And unfortunately, alcohol has been made really big of an issue that shouldn't. And there are other scenarios where alcohol is a big issue that really isn't addressed. Now, Scripture, as already mentioned, does not prohibit the consumption of alcohol. If it did, the spirit in Titus chapter 1 verse 7 would have been very clear regarding leadership, correct? It says, must not be a what? Drunkard. I think if the Spirit was very specific, the Spirit would have said, cannot consume strong drink or cannot consume wine. For some of you who are paying attention, you'd say, well, how about the 3 to 1 ratio? Whatever, you guys understand. But the Spirit is very clear. He cannot be a man whose sidekick is the bottle. Now, we saw in our scripture reading that although you do have freedom to consume alcohol, there is a prohibition. in that freedom, and it is this. You cannot cause a brother or a sister to stumble. Please turn to Romans chapter 14. Romans chapter 14. Verse 1, it's for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not quarrel over opinions. Verse 2, one person believes he can eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Vegetarian? That's completely fine. Verse 3, let the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Look at verse 5. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all day alike. What does this have to do with? This has to do with the Sabbath. So we've got three categories here. We have food, we have wine, and we have the Sabbath. Food, wine, Sabbath. The weaker brother has to do with a conscience. See, this is what we have to understand. In this first century, as the gospel is going out to both the Jew and the Gentile, they're all one in Christ, right? They're all adopted into the family of Christ. But there's a problem because both of them have baggage. When you get married to your spouse, you inherit their great things and you inherit the not great things, and it's both ways. You inherit traditions, you inherit their past. This is exactly what happened at the early church. You have Jew and you have Gentile now all trying to have dinner together. Now, we have to ask the question, Gentiles see no problem with eating meat with blood in it. Some Jews do. There are some Jews who now look at the Mosaic system and say, I could eat shrimp and bacon all I want. And another Jew says, oh, I can't. I just can't. I've grown up in the system long enough. I can't. I know I'm free to do it. I just can't. Another is the Sabbath. Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday? Well, we here acknowledge and recognize the Sabbath on a Sunday. It was the first day of the week. The early church met on the first day. It would be Sunday. Or how about work? Can you work on the Sabbath? Can you do yard work on the Sabbath? Can your son or daughter who has a job on Sunday work? Is that violating the Sabbath? There's some people who would say, yes, we have to not do anything, not even do any work. There's someone who would say, I work six days a week and Sunday is my day to clean and to do yard work and that's what I have to do. That's completely fine. It has to do with an issue of conscience. You just make sure you're here Sunday morning. And also Greeks that were saved as well, as they would go in the marketplace, there would be all types of meat that was offered to an idol. Most likely, most of the meat that would be sold in the marketplace was offered to one of the thousand idols and false gods. And here's the question. Can I buy that meat? I mean, that looks like a really, really good piece of meat. Paul says, yeah, because the idol's nothing. Eat. Buy it. Enjoy it. Cook it however you want. Another Gentile or Roman might say, I can't. That was offered to an idol. Looks like he's not buying that. The issue is the same regarding wine. The Romans also used wine in worship as well. The issue here is the conscience. I want to give you a practical example. What would that look like today? If two messianic Jews went out to eat and one of them, when ordering a cheeseburger, asked for a triple order of bacon on top, with an appetizer of fried shrimp and lobster bisque, was with his friend, who could not go anywhere near it, who could not touch it, he would be causing his brother or his sister to stumble because of the weak conscience. The weak conscience has nothing to do with strength. It has to do with convictions. You must make sure in your Christian freedom you do not cause others to stumble. Your liberty must not cause a brother or sister to stumble. If you hold weight in this room, which is everybody here, you are influencing people, and you better not set a bad example. You may say, it's not my fault that I can have seconds or thirds or fourths, or it's not my fault that I can drink wine and the other person can't stop. You are not responsible for their actions, but you are responsible for the example. If you notice your choices and your liberty are causing a weaker brother or sister to stumble, you need to stop because your Christian liberty and my Christian liberty is intended to help other Christians in their edification and their walk with the Lord. Beloved, it really boils down to the issue of love and preference. That's it. You and I want to build and encourage one another, correct or not? I want you to enjoy your Christian freedom but I don't want you to violate your conscience or someone else because love builds up and we're told that by this manner all men will know that you are my disciples and that you have love for one another. Love prefers. Points of application, there's five of them and then our time will be done. First point of application, you must exercise dominion over creation and not allow what is created to have dominion over you. There are multiple categories of that. Point number two, we will by nature oftentimes use creation as an accessory to sin. Be sober minded and be filled with the spirit. Point number three, do not pass judgment on any brother or sister who chooses to exercise their Christian liberty of drinking. Point number four, do not pass judgment on any brother or sister who chooses not to exercise their Christian freedom. And point number five, if your decision making, your clarity of thought, or your usefulness as a servant of the Lord is compromised, you must cease from whatever that is and kill it. We've seen this morning what scripture has to say generally about wine, and we pray that we would be servants of the Lord, right? Faithful in all categories, in all manner. May we fill our hearts with the right stuff so that our conscience can be clear, and let us love one another in preference so the world will know that we belong to Jesus. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful for your word, which gives clarity, which is very clear, we're thankful as well, Lord, that we can look at Scripture alone and then submit to it. I ask, Lord, that in light of our study and looking to your Word here, that that we would be reminded that we belong to you, that we have been purchased by you, Lord. And so we ask that your spirit would be the means to bring us about into the conformity of Christ, and we'd be filled by your spirit by letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly. We confess, Lord, we need your help. And so we will thank you for any good that comes from us. In Jesus' name, amen.