Lord Jesus and Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for everything you've ever done for us. Thank you for the opportunity to return this evening. Please bless all those that are here and all those that wanted to be here but were unable to make it. And please help those that are out there that have not come back this evening and all those out there that really should be here but were doing something else instead, leading back into the world, getting distracted by their their problems or their concerns, please give them that burning desire to come into the house of the Lord and receive that blessing and receive that food that they need to be able to stand up and be bold Christians and be able to preach and teach the gospel as you've instructed us to. Please be with us tonight and give us exactly what you want us to receive so we can go out there and face the world. Thank you so much. As we pray in Jesus' precious holy name, Amen. With all the stuff that's going on today with politics and society and people wanting to do what they want to do instead of listening to the Lord, people that are rewriting the moral code instead of listening to the Lord, instead of basing it on what the Scripture tells us and really leads us to follow, they've come over with their own ideas, just like we preached on earlier, turning the truth into a lie, and they have made up their own new moral codes. You know, it's by the will of man, or the desire of man, or by His ideas that people are living by today, rather than looking at who we need to be following, which is Jesus Christ and His word and His commandments. And everything within our lives, every single thing we do, every day can be based on things that we can find in the Scriptures. Our attitudes, our beliefs, our speech, our work, our relationship with others, our conversations, everything that we do. If you have any question about whether you should do it this way or that way, lean on the Lord. Turn your life over to the Lord and He'll fill you with the Holy Ghost and He'll let you know what you're supposed to do and what you're not supposed to do. But yet we have these people out here that have come up with their own ideas, their own concepts, their own ways of doing things, even to the point where they've got people sitting in pulpits preaching and teaching the lies that we were speaking about earlier, and convincing people, okay, it's okay that you do that particular thing, or that activity, or that lifestyle. It's acceptable today in today's society, because we're an evolved society where we're more tolerant of everything. Well, that's a fast way to hell. The subject of tonight's sermon is, is it okay to be gay? Or, is gay okay? Gay, what is gay? If you look at the true definition of the word gay, in the 1914 dictionary that I have, I like to look back at the older dictionaries before they were so-called politically correct. The word gay means disposed to or excited with merriment or delight, demonstratively cheerful, richly dressed, adorned with fine clothing, given to pleasure, and in a bad sense, it was interesting in 1914 they put this in here, and they noted, in a bad sense, the word is used, is given to vivacious pleasure, loose and dissipated. I wonder when Satan decided to redefine the word gay and make it to what it means today in today's society, if that's the part that he chose, that they were loose and dissipated and that they were given to Vicious pleasure. Is that why this group decided to tag that onto them? Just like they're trying to hijack the rainbow. Which is so ironic. They use the rainbow. It's diversity. All the colors, they blend together. When they don't realize that that is a symbol of what God did to this planet. That is a symbol of His judgment on this planet. And yet they're doing something that they do not want accountability for, don't want God's judgment, and they choose a symbol that is God's judgment. A symbol, hey, He destroyed this entire planet with water because of sin. That symbol is a token showing us that He won't do sin again. I mean, excuse me, He won't destroy the earth again by water. The next time it's going to be fire. If you look at a rainbow, you see down at the bottom, It's usually a bluish tone to violet or so, representing water, the first judgment. And if you look at the top of the rainbow, it's a blazing red, bright red, representing the judgment to come, which is fire, on this entire planet. So it is, like I said, ironic that they would choose a symbol that actually is going to be their demise when the Lord destroys this entire planet with fire, and all those that are living in sin will be judged and cast into a lake of fire. So don't be fooled by the new definition that Satan has put on mankind about the word gay. The word gay, use it for what it truly means, not for what they've tried to turn it into. But you've got to be careful with that. If you start using that word generally today, people will think that you're talking about the lifestyle that they have chosen. It's a lifestyle that they think is okay because People in the society are accepting to it. They're accepting to it because they can convince enough people that whatever you do is fine, it's okay, you know, and have pleasure in other people's stands as well, then they feel better about themselves. People say, well, you're born that way. It's genetic. It can't help it. When they were little kids, they liked to, you know, when the boys, they wanted to dress up. I saw on TV the other day there was this woman that was being praised and honored for writing a book, My Princess Son. or My Son Princess or something, I don't know the exact title of it. But she was on a national show, and it had her little boy there, and he was all dressed up like a little girl, showing him at home, picking out the little dresses that he liked, and the dolls that he liked to play with. And this kid was like four or five years old. You know, where was her parents? Where was her parents' discipline in that child, showing that child the way he's supposed to act, and be a man instead of being a little girl? You know, it's amazing how early Satan can influence our children. We as parents are responsible to lead them and direct them into the right path. And we're not supposed to let a little boy grow up to be a girl or want to be a girl or a little girl to grow up to be a boy or want to be a boy. There's nothing wrong with them having any kind of activities as far as sports and games or whatever that they want to have, but you need to control and direct that individual and let them know what is expected of them in society as well as what is expected of them by God. and direct them in the right way. Why should a child raise himself up and decide whatever he thinks is good? Okay, that's what little junior wants to do. Let him do what he wants to do. He writes his own moral code. Let him decide what's right and wrong. And that's what we've developed into in this society. Whatever goes. And this whole movement about gays, it's getting totally out of control. When our president, who merely, I mean, I might get in trouble for getting into politics, but so be it. Presidents today are nothing like they used to be. In my personal opinion, Ronald Reagan was our last real president. Since him, they have been puppets that are controlled by people in the background. They are mouthpieces. They read their little monitors. They say what you're supposed to say, when you're supposed to say it, and they get their big check. And they keep getting their big check even when they're out of the job. But, that's a whole different message, but what I'm saying is, the one who recently changed his opinion, because when he was running for President, President Obama, when he was running, he was against gay marriage. He said, in my Christian beliefs, which that's doubtful to begin with, since he's a Muslim, in my Christian beliefs, you should be male with male and female with female. He ran on that. Now that he's in office, he's running again. Second time around, he's decided to change his mind because maybe the people that are pulling his strings told him to say, it's okay. So now he's saying and broadcasting to the world, it's okay. You know, same sex marriage is fine. Where do they base marriage? Where do they even find the whole concept of marriage? The whole concept of marriage, the whole practice of marriage all comes from the scriptures. And the scriptures tell you it is not okay to marry like-sex individuals. So how can they say that? Why would they want to attack the sanctity of marriage? Because that's one more area that this society is still hanging on to that's based in the Scriptures. So if Satan can destroy that as well, every place that he can, he's attacking God-based foundations. He's blasting away at the things that are holding the church together, that is holding the faith in God, that is holding the faith in the Scriptures. If they can dilute everything, if they can, as it says, loose and dissipated or bled out or diluted, the true definition of gay there. And that may be what they're up to. They can attack the system. You know, because now, obviously we can talk about it on the way here, you have couples that are very comfortable, couples as being a male and female couple, that are very comfortable with living together. Living together and not being married for years and years. And they're very comfortable with that. They have no conviction whatsoever in that. But yet you have this so-called gay community out here that are eager and wanting to be married so that they can flaunt it in the public. Why? Because that's one more attack they can make on Christian fundamental beliefs. And that's the motivation behind it. Oh, it's because we get better tax advantages. Oh, it's because of this or that. No, it ain't. It's because Satan is behind it and he wants to attack anything that's got to do with God. And that's what it's all about. I mean, it all boils down to that. It's all an attack on Christian fundamental beliefs. And anybody who wants to go along with it, say, well, it's genetic. They were born that way. They can't help it. You know, it's society. Be accepting to it. Be willing to be open. Be diversified. You know, well, the pathway to hell is broad. The pathway to heaven is narrow. Don't be so diversified, you'll wind up in hell for eternity. But we've got to remember, in the beginning, God created man and woman, male and female, Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. It didn't start with two men. He, right from the very beginning, set up. So, as always, or as usually I should say, let's turn to the book of Genesis. Genesis 1, verse 26-28. And God said, let us make man in our image and our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. right from the very first chapter of Genesis. Male and female. And he put them together. If you flip over to chapter 2, verse 24, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. That is marriage. Getting out of the household. You don't live with your mama until you're 40 years old. Get out of the household. Just have a husband and wife. Come together. Have kids. Be fruitful and multiply, he tells us over and over in the book of Genesis there. So we can base that all the way back there to what happened in the beginning with the creation. That's how it was established. That's where marriage began. That's where the relationship between man and woman began. Today, they have distorted it, they have twisted it around. But let's look in the Mosaic Law of Leviticus. Granted, we are no longer under the Mosaic Law, but there are guidelines to us today in behavior and attitude and how we're supposed to live our lives. And we can take examples from it. We no longer have to follow it to the T because Jesus Christ came and totally fulfilled the law. But let's look at the Mosaic Law and how things were back then and how it applied. We can learn how to behave today. The guidelines that are in there given to the children of Israel include everything from what they're supposed to eat, to what they're supposed to do, not do, how they're supposed to behave. And this is one of them that you find in Leviticus chapter 18, in verse 22. Clear, simple words anybody can understand. Which really irks me when you see somebody who has proclaimed broadly and openly, and I saw it on TV the other day, even, they were zooming in and getting the reaction of this individual over what Obama had said. You know, how do you feel about this? Oh, I'm just great. I really love it. And there he is sitting there with a priest outfit on, with his little white collar there in the middle, and he's a priest, and he's got a congregation, and he's got a man that he's living with, and they've got a little kid. And thinking there's not a thing in the world wrong with that lifestyle. Has he even read the Scriptures? I doubt it. And then you've got even here in this valley, there's a church downtown. I know it was for a couple of years ago. We actually went to a funeral or a wedding or something. We wound up going to that church. they came to speak or something, I don't know what it was, but I found out that there's a church downtown that has a woman as the pastor and she's a lesbian, so it's a lesbian church. You know, they just flock into there. Because they feel comfortable in their sins if they can sit in a pulpit, I mean, sit in the congregation and listen to somebody behind a pulpit, encouraging them in their demented lifestyle, and letting them feel like they're okay in their sins. Just continue in it, you're fine, you know. That's Satan working from within, trying to destroy the foundation beliefs of the Christian. Fundamentals that are found in the Scriptures. And this one is just as clear as can be. You can't dispute what it says. Leviticus chapter 18 verse 22 reads, Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination. I mean, that's about as sickening as you can get in the opinion of it makes God sick. It's sickening to God for a man to lie with a man. Or a woman to lie with a woman. Let's look in Leviticus chapter 20. Flip over another page there in verse 13. It even clarifies it even a little bit more. In Leviticus 20, verse 13, it reads, If a man also lieth with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, not leaving any doubt there, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death, their blood shall be upon them. So one time, under Levitical law, it was a crime punishable by death. I am not in no way endorsing anybody to go out here and start killing homosexuals and lesbians. That's not what it's about today. But we've got to understand that it is clearly an abomination of God. He is very tolerant today of sin that He was not so tolerant of prior to the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. We are under grace now. They were under law and it was far more severe. But we've got to look at the law and understand that that is our guideline. That is our rule. That's what we're supposed to follow. That's what we're supposed to be behaving in accordance to the moral code that is within here. That's why we depend so much on the Ten Commandments. They are clear moral codes. The book of Romans sums it up so well. Over and over, we can go back to Romans in today's society and find out why they're behaving like they are, find out the way they're behaving, find out the mindset they have, and find out how mankind can do something so blatantly against God and not have any notion of it bothering them. They just don't care. And they'll have pleasure in others as well. Let's look over in Romans chapter 1. Of course, we'll pick it up in verse 18 here and read through this whole section. We've got a little bit of time here. Romans chapter 1 verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them." Like we said earlier, God has revealed Himself, His law, His rules, His ordinances to every mankind. Whether we go out there and tell them or not, God has revealed Himself to them. For the invisible things of Him, which is God Almighty, from the creation of the world are clearly seen. Everybody on this planet can clearly see the things that God created, being understood by the things that are made, His creation, including us, even His eternal power and Godhead, which is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, so that they are without excuse. People that come up in this kind of lifestyle, people that come up in any kind of sinful lifestyle, are without excuse. They can't say, oh, because I never did go to church, my mama didn't go. We go to church, so I didn't go to church. Nobody gave me a Bible track. Nobody come knocking on my door and preaching to me. Therefore, I got an excuse. They don't have any excuse because all of creation proclaims God and the Godhead, which is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. So everyone is without excuse. They can't say on Judgment Day, hey, nobody told me about you, so give me a free pass. Hey, I was born this way. This is the activity that I follow because that's genetically instilled in me. No. That sin is genetically instilled in you because we are all the sons of Adam. Get over that sin. Get over that activity. Follow the straight and narrow that the Lord has directed for us. Ask the Lord to forgive you. He'll cleanse you of all that activity. Get you washed in the blood. And live a Christian life. Verse 21 reads, Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts." The lusts of their own hearts. Just like that definition of gay there. That lustful desires of their own hearts. to dishonor their own bodies. People do that so much. Between themselves. Lustful sexual activity. We who change the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections. Now he gets into the details that people don't like to even talk about, don't preach. I haven't heard anybody preach about this. But you're hearing it now. This is clearly a description of lesbianism and homosexual coming up here in Romans chapter 1 verse 26. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections. For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lusts one toward another, men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meat." Because of their constant rejection of the influence of God on them through the power of the Holy Ghost trying to draw them in, Through all of creation proclaiming the Godhead, through all the Christian witnesses and testimonies, through all that they are exposed to in this world today, rejecting that over and over, God gave them over to their lustful ways, let them wallow in as much sin as they wanted to, and then they get right into that homosexual activity, that lesbian activity. And let's continue on verse 28, you'll see other activities. Because don't think it just applies to homosexuals and lesbians, verse 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, people don't want to think about God. You got to think about God, then you got to think about accountability. God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Once they receive a reprobate mind, that means God is no longer dealing with that mind. If you study that word, you find out that's exactly what it means. When they get a reprobate mind, the Holy Ghost is no longer calling them in. That door of salvation is closed to that kind of individual. And once there is no more influence of God on a person, there is no moral value there, they can go out here and do the most awful sin that you can comprehend and have no remorse whatsoever for it. You look at our history and you see men that have done that, women that have done that, and you wonder how could anybody that's a human being Where's their humanity? They try to tag it as being something that we're born with, the humanity and all. It's not that. It's the influence of God on us. The influence of God in us. But once we fight against that influence enough, God will finally take that influence away. That door is closed. That individual is fully indwelt with Satan, and they are one of His, and they will do what He wants them to do with no remorse whatsoever. Verse 29, "...being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignantly, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters and inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful." That wraps it all up. All sinful behavior falls into this. Not just the gays as they title it today. All sinful behavior. who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, they know their sinful activities, whichever one of these might apply, their sin is worthy of death. They know that. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, as the Scripture tells us. They, continuing in verse 32, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. They not only love their sinful behavior and activities, they want to get as many others into it as they possibly can and enjoy that. When they see that, hey, more and more people are joining me in my sinful behavior, therefore it makes them feel like, Hey, maybe it's okay to be this way because there's so many more people that are joining me in this behavior. Maybe it's alright to do it. Society is acceptable to it. Now the president is acceptable to it. You know, the military has become acceptable to it. What's this country coming to? What's this world coming to? They're totally turning over to sin and enjoying it and wallowing in it. But, this comes with caution in chapter 2 here. Therefore thou, Us Christians that might be looking at this, therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges. We cannot say that we are any better than anybody else that might be in this behavior or this lifestyle. We have to be very cautious about that. This caution goes to us. We are without excuse. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judgeth doeth the same things." We are sinful, all of us, all mankind is born into sin. Even us so-called Christians that want to live and think that we're perfect and don't do anything wrong, don't you be judging somebody else, because that's going to come back on you. We have not been put into the point of being a judge, looking down our nose at anybody's activities. This entire sermon goes out to all those that are involved in that kind of sermon, letting them know that it is wrong. Not me trying to judge them for their behavior. Not you trying to judge them for their behavior. This is knowledge that we've been given through the scriptures so that we can share that knowledge with them. Let them know that, hey, you are off track. It is not acceptable to God. Because you can give them an example, give them the witness that, hey, I've been in sin as well. And all sin can send us to hell. Any sin can send us to hell. And you're in a particular sin. It's a different kind of sin that you might be in yourself, or maybe you have been, and you've been forgiven from that. If you have that kind of testimony, you can share that. But let them know that that kind of lifestyle is not okay. Gay is not okay in the Scriptures, in the Word of God. But don't you look down your nose as the judge and lift yourself up above anybody else, because it's a different kind of sin that you're into. Don't think that you're any better than anybody else. Continuing in verse 2 here, chapter 1 verse 2, but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. It's God's judgment, not ours. We haven't been put in a position of judge, so be careful with that when you start looking down your nose at anybody else's behavior, because the thing that went out to all mankind is salvation. If you look in 1 John chapter 1 verse 8 through 10, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. You can't go looking down your nose at somebody else's activity just because it might be a controversial one or one that's in the news today and try to be a judge and lift yourself up above them. It says if we, all of us, all mankind, confess our sins, which is Jesus Christ, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, which includes these lifestyles that we've been talking about. If we say that we have not sinned and start lifting ourselves up, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. So I caution you. The subject that we've covered here is controversial. It is running rampant throughout the country today. Something Satan's gotten a hold of and being able to use in society. But don't lift ourselves up, those that aren't in that lifestyle, and start looking down our nose at others and saying, oh, that's a horrible, filthy sin there. It's worthy of death in the book of Leviticus. You should be stoned to death. That's the way they used to do it. Don't be doing that, because all of us are worthy of eternity in hell, but by the blood of Jesus Christ. We've been given an opportunity, salvation, to be cleansed of all that unrighteousness. And that is just another one of the types of unrighteousness. Help them, lead them in, love one another, love them as well, draw them to the Lord so that they can get washed in the blood, so that they can start living a Christian life and be the kind of fruitful Christian that the Lord wants them to be. Awesome testimony that somebody could have that's been in that lifestyle. I actually heard a preacher preach that and he was talking about it. I mean, we didn't know that he was like that until the end of the sermon and he started talking about his past. He's got an awesome testimony now to have been in that kind of lifestyle, and now he's away from that. He's serving the Lord, walking the straight and narrow, and able to reach people that those of us who haven't gotten into a particular sin can't reach. I mean, if you've never been addicted to drugs or you've never been addicted to alcohol, how can you relate or talk to somebody who's been into that if you've been through it? You can relate that much more to them. The same thing with this homosexual attitude or lesbian attitude. If they've been through that, the Lord washed them of that, now they've got a testimony they can go out and preach, teach the gospel, help others get washed in the blood and come into the straight and narrow and know they have an eternity in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ. But as it says in there, and caution in there, don't us, who are Christians, look down our nose at anybody's activity, whatever it might be, any of those that was listed in the Book of Romans, and think that we're any better than anybody else. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for Your Word. It tells us so much. It gives us the guidelines. No matter how long it's been since it was written, it applies to us today and will apply to us tomorrow. Help us to always realize that, that anything that's going on in our lives, anything that's going on in our society, we can always go back to the Scriptures and find the knowledge that we need to be able to stand boldly as Christians and proclaim Your Word and help all those that are out there. And if it would be anybody listening to this that is into any of those sinful lifestyles that has not yet turned their life over to you, please help them turn their life over to you. Get that washed in the blood. Come away from that lifestyle and get back into straight and narrow. Thank you so much for this opportunity as we pray in Jesus' precious holy name. Amen.