Amen. Please take your Bible and turn to Psalm. We've got a lot of passages of Scripture, a number of passages of Scriptures, and a couple of them are in numbers. But we're going to go to Psalms to begin with. Psalms, this is a subject, as you can see, Ethics on And alcohol, like someone said in the prayer room, there are no ethics with alcohol. It's wrong, amen? The consumption of alcohol, and we need to take that stand and be clear about it. But we're gonna look at passages of scripture, and we're gonna look at why we take that stand. Many times, if you're like me, you've grown up in church. I was born, when Dad was going through Bible college, And so we were going to church, you know, when we moved up here, I was three years old, and church was started, and this is just the way it's been. We've grown up in church, and there are some things I just take for granted. We do them because we're Christians, but then all of a sudden you get these questions, and different people ask these different questions, and you jump in, to various topics, and then people want to know why you believe that, or why you take a certain stand. And if you do need those handout sheets, the ushers have them for you, and so they are on the ball. And so if we're not careful, we'll just spout things off, or we'll claim a position, and then when we're tried on it, or we're asked why in the world do we believe that way, We can't really give a clear answer, or we mumble through it, or I heard someone say this once, and really, we're gonna look at what the Bible says, and we're gonna try and just give clarity here. I got about... 25 minutes, and then 30 minutes if we include a bit of time for invitation. And so, I've been telling some of the staff here, I have about 10 pages of notes, eight and a half by 11 pages of notes and surveys and different statistics that we look at. And I've taught a two hour class and I've used that whole two hour class, that block of time, to cover this area of alcohol. And so we won't do that. And so that was more of the struggles, condensing everything into this study sheet. But really what I want us to see here is look at scripture and then I'll make some points and move through the different words that are used in our Bible. and the different words that, wine and strong drink, those words that we got, those phrases or those words. Oinos, meaning wine in the Greek, and then yayin in the Hebrew, and then the strong drink. There's some misunderstanding, I believe, as far as the strong drink context. We're gonna look at some of those things. But Psalm 145, in our Christian life, And in today's society, everyone wants to be the exception. There's no absolute truth. And God has absolute truth, and we need to nail it down. And one thing I would really think would settle the issue here is, like someone mentioned last week and today as well, is that do Christians really need an entire message on alcohol? And we do, and we do because there's been liberal Christianity has attacked the Bible and sought to really undermine the truthfulness of God's word. And so what's gonna help us here is I believe we need to look at the character of our God. who God is, what he has called us to do. And so in Psalm chapter 1 of 45, verse one, it says, I will extol thee, my God, O King, and I will bless thy name forever and ever. Every day will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works, and men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts. and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness and shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom and talk of thy power, to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Verse 17, the Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him. He also will hear their cry and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love Him, but all the wicked will He destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever. and ever and ever and ever. Amen. And let's go to Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah chapter six. And this is just passages of scripture that we should consider. And I want you to consider the character of God, who God is. And this will settle it for us, it should settle it for us, as we seek to live a holy and righteous life separated from the world and pleasing to the Lord. In Isaiah chapter six, verse one, it says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Verse four, or verse three, and the one cried unto another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Let's go to Philippians 4.8. Philippians 4.8. Philippians 4.8. It says, finally, brethren, Let's begin reading in verse five, amen. Let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Think on these things. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter 20, in verse one, the Bible tells us, wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." And so right there we took a hard left turn, didn't we? We saw the righteousness, the holiness of Almighty God, and then we come to a passage like Proverbs chapter 20, verse 1, and whoa. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. God wants his children to be wise, and we need to be wise, and we need to understand the righteousness and the holiness of God. And as we begin this study, if you look on your notes, and I'm gonna have to stick to the notes if we're ever gonna make it through this, but as we begin this study, we should always look to our standard, and that is Christ. That is Christ. We should always look to our standards. Sometimes we're so busy looking at what other people are thinking and what other people are doing and trying to justify what our flesh wants, and we get all bent out of shape because we need to look at our standard. We need to look at who God is, who Jesus Christ is, and really focus on Him. And so, as we begin this study, we should always look to our standard, and that is Christ. The world and Satan are constantly trying to corrupt and pervert the truth of God's Word. That is no, that is not, that isn't anything new. He has done that from the very beginning. Yea, hath God said, Genesis. He tried to get Adam and Eve to fall and he cast doubt on God's word. And he's gonna do the same with us. And I'll just give you a preamble. They're growing up. We lived in a protected environment, and that's a good thing. Amen? That's a good thing. There was never a time that I know of that there was ever any alcoholic beverage or any controlling substance in our house. And that's a blessing. I remember there were different things going on and I remember about 12, 13 years of age and my mom walked up to me and she said, promise me you'll never let alcohol touch your lips. And I said, I promise. I promise. Because I saw what it was doing. And I saw the heartache that it caused, even at that young age. And if we would just stop and we would think about, think in your mind, how alcohol has affected your life, or those around you, your family and your friends, in a negative way, all of us would have to raise our hand and say, you know what, it has had a negative effect on our lives. Just stop and go to Pima Valley online and read the police reports. I mean, it's all there. Alcohol. Highly intoxicated person was taken into, it's article, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph. And we need to start thinking right. And so the world and Satan are constantly trying to corrupt and pervert the truth of God's word. And just because we know something is sinful and the act is sinful, it doesn't mean that we have to go and try it. Fire will burn you. Don't touch it. Don't touch it. Alcohol will burn you. touch it. Don't touch it. Don't look on it. And we're going to look at these truths concerning Roman Numeral 1, two kinds of wine are mentioned in the Bible. Two kinds of wine are mentioned in the Bible. And we're going to be looking at these passages of Scripture. The wisest men, The sentence under that in Roman numeral one, the wisest man apart from Jesus Christ sounds a strong warning to his son that he should stay away from alcohol. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 23. Proverbs chapter 23 verse 29, it says, who hath woe? We were just there just a few minutes ago, but verse 29, I'll give you a chance to turn there. But it says, who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup. That gets me right there. Spirits. When it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder, thine eyes shall behold strange women and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. And so the wisest man, apart from Jesus Christ, sounds a strong warning to his son that he should stay away from alcohol. And we need to sound that warning. It doesn't matter what happens today. I find it fitting we didn't even discuss all the different aspects in our society as far as the legalization of cannabis. We didn't even discuss this when we were talking about these topics that we would be preaching on. We're a mess. We're a mess when Christians don't stand for truth and when we don't take a righteous stand and we feel like we're the bad people or we're second class citizens because we're taking a stand on the Word of God. We're not. We need to sound the warning. Our young people need to know that alcohol is wrong. God is not pleased and at the end it's going to sting them. and it's gonna cause some heartache. And it's gonna hurt not only themselves, but it is gonna hurt others around them. Because if you look at drunkenness and you look at alcohol, there's a compounding effect. That sin of drunkenness and alcohol, what happens? Other sins are attracted. and it compounds, there's immorality, there's theft, there's all sorts of different sins that that sin brings and attracts. And so the wisest man sounds the warning, we need to be wise, we need to sound the warning, and we need to take a stand. Under that you see, Letter A, you have good, good wine. There are two kinds of wine, good wine, that's the non-alcoholic, and B is for bad, the alcoholic kind. So let's go to Proverbs chapter nine, Proverbs chapter nine. And sometimes we look at, at passage of scriptures and different commentators say different things. They talk about it could be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic and they would be right. And so it's so important that we take the context into account. But Proverbs chapter nine, we're gonna look at good wine, Proverbs chapter nine. Once I get there, we'll be fine. Proverbs chapter nine. In verse 2, it says, she hath killed her beast. This is talking about wisdom. She hath killed her beast. She hath mingled her wine. She hath also furnished her table. Now, that sounds a little bit different than Proverbs chapter 20. Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Okay, let's go to Genesis chapter 9. Genesis chapter 9. Genesis nine, in verse 21. And Noah began to be in husbandmen, in verse 20, and Noah began to be in husbandmen, and he planted a vineyard, and he drank of the wine and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham and the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren without. Let's go to Genesis 14, Genesis 14. That passage of Scripture, you had Proverbs 9, verse 2 and 5 there, and then you had Genesis, you count with Noah, Genesis 9, verse 21. And then we have Genesis 14, Genesis 14, verse 18. It says, and Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God. He was the priest of the Most High God. Genesis 19, verse 35. Genesis 19, verse 35. We'll begin reading in verse 34, And it came to pass on the morrow that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesterday with my father. Let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also, the young girl rose and lay with him and he perceived not when she lay down nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father." Let's go to Ezra chapter 6. Ezra chapter 6, verse 9, and that, everyone's turning there, Ezra chapter 6 verse 9 it says, And that which they have need of, both young bullocks and rams and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, and wine and oil according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail, that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors unto the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and of his sons." Let's go to Esther chapter 1. Esther 1, verse 10, And on the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mahuman and all those other guys, amen, amen. Let's make sure I get the right passage here, all right. And verse 11, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal to show the people of the princes her beauty, for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains. Therefore was the king very wroth and his anger burned in him. So we see there that there's a difference. There is a distinct difference. Just by reading the context found in those passages of scriptures, how can one lead to worship of the Most High God, worship Melchizedek, the High Priest of God, and one be related with incest? One be related with immorality. One be related with biting like a serpent, a serpent's bite, and bringing shame. And so we look at the words and the meaning of words that society has tried to change over the decades and even centuries. And even if you just look at the word liquor, and you look at the word of different beverages have gone by, they have been reconstituted, if you will, or they have taken on a different meaning. meaning. They have taken on a different meaning. And so we're going to look at some of these generic terms. These generic terms. Number one, generic words used in the Bible. Generic words used in the Bible. And letter A is the Hebrew and there are various spellings for that, and you can do a word study on yayin, but a generic term in the Hebrew that is the Old Testament was translated, our English Bible was translated from the Old Testament Hebrew, and it's yayin, number one, yayin, In its broadest meaning designates grape juice, or the liquid which the fruit of the vine yields. This may be new or old, sweet or sour, fermented or unfermented, intoxicating or non-intoxicating. That's what that word, you study it out, you look at it, it can mean either intoxicating or non-intoxicating. Yayin is a generic word. This is important. Yayin is a generic word when not restricted in its meaning by some word or circumstance, comprehends vineous beverage of every sort. It is often restricted to the fruit of the vine in its natural non-intoxicating state. Yayin stands for the expressed juice of the grape. The context. Yayin stands for the expressed juice of the grape. The context indicating whether the juice had undergone the process of fermentation or not. So it's a generic form. It could be used. You have to take into account the context. and it's so very important. And so you look at today, the process that people go through and the breweries go through, it's a very detailed scientific process to produce their alcohol. We'll cover that in a bit. Yayin stands for the express juice of the grape, the context indicating whether the juice had undergone the process of fermentation or not. You look at various history accounts and you study them out and you see different historical sites and you'll see that they talk about wine, and you do a study on, in the Middle East, and Egypt in particular, you'll see that the servants squeezing out the fresh grape juice into the cup, straight from the grapes themselves, and they would squeeze it out, and then they would bring it to the king, because that was what people wanted. They wanted the juice, refreshing sweet drink that wasn't going to bring him heartache. And so that was the desired, and I'm skipping a lot of stuff that I have, but another word that is used in the Old Testament is shekar, or sheikar. This Hebrew word is translated into our English language as strong drink, strong drink. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging. So right there, we're talking, that verse in that context is talking about alcoholic beverage. Let's go to Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 14. Deuteronomy chapter 14. Verse 21. And I've actually had someone use this passage as a justification for Christians to partake in alcoholic beverage. And really, when you take this into context and what God is trying to teach his people, it should be the furthest thing from our mind. It should be, because as we read, this is a very holy thing that is going on. And God desired it to be a lesson for His people. In verse 21, verse 21, it says, ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself. Thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it, or thou mayest sell it unto an alien. And that's talking about someone who is not a part, amen. of their people, all right? Don't get all sci-fi on us, amen? Ah, man. Where was I? All right. For thou art, listen to this, for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not see the kid in his mother's milk. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks, that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee, verse 25, then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind upon the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, and thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth. And we know through Bible study that not all lust is wrong. That word lust there means a strong desire. A strong desire. It's not always in a sexual context. But whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth, and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice thou and thine household. And so we see there are two, there could be two meanings here because there is that word associated with strong drink as being alcoholic beverage, but if you look at the quote here from Bible Wines and the Laws of Fermentation, It says, many attach to it the idea which the English phrase now conveys among us, that of strong intoxicating drink like distilled liquors. The true original meaning of shakar is a liquor obtained from dates or other fruits or barley, millet, or other non-venous items which were dried or scorched, and a decoction of them was mixed with honey, herbs, and other aromatics." Just because it was a strong drink, it had a strong taste, it had a strong aroma, it doesn't always mean that it was an alcoholic beverage. You can stop and you can think of some strong beverages out there. I mean, just take some coffees. You'd say, whoa, that's strong coffee. Take some of those energy drinks. They're loaded with caffeine. They got tons of sugar. And I don't know how good they are for you. I don't like them. I had two sips of a Red Bull once, and that was enough. I've never had another one. I was done with it. But that wasn't alcoholic. And so somehow we think God is gonna demand, Almighty God in heaven is gonna demand of his people to come out and buy alcoholic beverages that he said stings like an adder. And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. And another portion of scripture, it talks about how God desires that the person bringing the sacrifice would buy the strong drink and pour it out as an offering unto the Lord. And so, just because it's a strong drink, that word, it doesn't always mean that it's an alcoholic. Hey, you add some herbs, you add some other aromatics, you add some other substances in there that do not alter you at all mentally. Hey, you can have a strong drink, and you can have a well-flavored drink, and you can have a well-pleasing drink, a drink that smells good. Amen, like coffee in the morning. Amen. Or a tea. What's the big thing about tea? Oh, that smells good. All right? You can have that. And so just because we look at that and automatically in our Western 2000 mindset, we say strong drink, oh, is God putting his stamp of approval on that? On alcoholic beverage? He's not. He's not. And so we need to understand that and study that term, strong drink out, Deuteronomy 14, 21. Wow, I'm done. But the Greek word, the Greek word is oinos in the New Testament. Letter B, I'm moving on, all right? The Greek word is oinos in the New Testament. And then I have Roman numeral three, we have troubled passages. Troubled passages, Matthew 11, 8-9, John 2, verses 1-11, Ephesians 5-18, many use that. But letter A, Jesus Christ eating and drinking with sinners. And I'm going to read through this because I want us to understand it, and I want you to go home and I want you to read it and listen to the argument given. John was a Nazirite and conformed rigidly to the requirements of that order. This is talking about the Pharisees and the publicans that were attacking Jesus Christ in Matthew 11. It says, when they noticed his austere abstinence, peculiar habits, rough attire, and uncompromising denunciations, they were not pleased and dismissed him with the remark, he hath the devil. That was their response. Hey, it's easy to say, oh, he's just off his rocker. He's done. When they saw Christ whose mission was different from that of John and perceived that he practiced no austerities, but lived like other men and mingled socially with even the despised of men, they were no better pleased and said, behold, a man gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. It is on such authority that the advocates of alcoholic wines claim that Christ was accustomed to use them. At best it is only inferential because he ate and drank and was a friend of publicans and sinners, that he therefore necessarily drank intoxicating wine. We notice that the same authority which said he was a wine-bibber also said he was gluttonous. And on two other occasions, John 1 verse 20 and John 8 verse 48, they said, he had a devil. If we believe the first charge on the authority of his enemies, we must also believe the second and the third, for the authority is the same. It will be borne in mind that these, his enemies, they tried to discount him, they tried to produce his character that they might destroy his influence. They judged that the charge of wine-bibbing, whether it implied drunkenness or sensuality, was the most damaging to his influence as a religious teacher and reformer. It should also be remembered that his enemies were unscrupulous, that word, amen, unscrupulous, malignant and not noted for their truthfulness. They had whatever it took to bring Jesus Christ down, they were going to do it. And so if we say, well, the Bible talks about Jesus eating and drinking and with the sinners and all that, and that's all I'm doing. They also said He was gluttonous. They also said He was a wine-bearer. They also said that He had a devil. B, Jesus turned the water into wine at Cana. John chapter two, verse one through 11. I encourage you to read that. The moral influence of the miracle will be determined by the character of the wine. It is pertinent to ask, is it not derogatory to the character of Christ? Psalm 145, Isaiah chapter six, Philippians four, eight. Is it not derogatory to the character of Christ and the teachings of the Bible to suppose that he exerted his miraculous power to produce between 60 and 126 gallons of intoxicating wine? Wine which inspiration has denounced as a mocker, as biting like a serpent, and stinging like an adder. Is it probable that he gave that to the guests after they had used the wine provided by the host, and which it is claimed was intoxicating? Yeah, Jesus turned the water into wine. Huh. We hear that all the time. Letter C, in the alcohol there is excess. Ephesians 5 verse 18, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit. Where is the excess? Where in the wine there is a lack of control and riotous living, and riotous living. And I have a page here with the different, they say progressive effects of alcohol, but blood alcohol concentration, 0.1, 0.01 to 0.05, the changes in feelings and personality is relaxation, the senses of well-being, the loss of inhibition. Impaired activities, just by that small amount, you can still drive at this amount, but just at that small amount, the impaired activities are alertness and judgment. Alertness and judgment. That doesn't sound like be sober, be vigilant. That doesn't sound like guard your heart with all diligence. And for the Christian, the last page here, as children of God, believers are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God so that we can fulfill His will for our lives and lead others into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Sadly, it is liberal Christianity that pushes for the acceptance of alcoholic beverage. Hey, if I drink alcohol, my mind is affected. That means my actions are affected. And we can sit here all day and recount story after story after story about people who made foolish decisions and had ruined their lives and ruined the lives of their family and those that they love because alcohol affected them. Alcohol, God is not for the consumption of alcohol or anything that will alter our state of control and being able to submit to the Holy Spirit of God, being filled with the Holy Spirit of God so that we can fulfill His will for our lives. And so Ephesians chapter five is not a discourse on why wine is okay in the Bible. Ephesians chapter five is a command for believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God so that we can do His will for our lives. In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31 and 33, it says, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offense neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles nor to the church of God, nor to the church of God. You ask the unbeliever, you ask the person who doesn't care about church, doesn't care about God, doesn't care about the things of God, you ask them, what should a Christian not do? And they'll tell you two things, they ought not smoke and they ought not drink. They ought not smoke and they ought not drink. That's the world, the lost looking and saying that. And so give none offense, and that brings a reproach when we have God's people out there trying to justify alcohol, and trying to justify drugs, and being a part of all those things, and we're being an offense to God's church, and God help us. Going on, verse 33, it says, even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. That should be our goal. It shouldn't, as a Christian, our goal should be to be filled, submitting to the Holy Spirit of God. That doesn't mean He's gonna take me as a robot and He's gonna supersede all my feelings and superside my, superside, amen, supersize. Hopefully He doesn't do that either. But He's not gonna supersede my will. Hey, being filled with the Holy Spirit is a consciousness of who God is, knowing what His Word says, and saying, I'm gonna submit myself to walk in His way. Two passages of Scriptures, I know we're running out of time. Proverbs chapter 31, Proverbs chapter 31. Let's compare it. Proverbs chapter 31, verse 4, it says, it is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Let's go to Revelation 1. Revelation 1 verse 5 it says, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, verse 6, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Hey, are we pleasing God? Alcoholic beverage, I trust we zip through things real quick, but I trust it's settled in your life. I trust that there's no questions. And if you do have questions about it, hey, we can talk about it. We can discuss it. But for us as believers, those of us who know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, it's not about what we can get by with. It's about being filled with the Holy Spirit of God and doing what God wants us to do so that others will get saved. Amen? Amen. Let's all stand up. and let's bow our heads and close our eyes. I know we went through it real quick, but maybe the Lord spoke to you in this area of alcohol, how it does not please Him. It could be that you've been living a life seeing what you could get by with, and you don't care what God thinks of your life. God does care. And the best thing you can do is submit yourself to God's Word, God's will, and live a life according to the Word of God. And please your heavenly Father so that others see your testimony, others see your righteous life, and they're drawn to Jesus Christ. People need to see Jesus.