scolding with the sermon this morning. It's one thing ministers hate to do. It's like one of the duties of with children, raising children or whatever. Part of parenting is the necessary discipline that comes along with parenting, which is hard. But if you want to keep scripturally sound, the proper authority in your household, discipline must be practiced. The scripture was read in the opening scripture that he chastens every child that he receives. The scripture's coming from, well, the text scripture is Isaiah 28, chapter 7, through the 8th verse. We're looking at various numbers of topical things in the scriptures. One of them is going to be Hannah, the lady that prayed for a son, Samuel's mother. The job of a mother is an authoritative job that if you listen at a mother, a true mother of God, because they are those mothers of God that's a curse to the children. That's a curse to the family. Even in Proverbs, when it's talking about the virtuous woman, the majority of the book of Proverbs is about the torturous woman, the fornicating woman, or the woman that's not right. And if you marry the wrong woman, if you wedded to the wrong woman, you have hell here on earth. they don't give example in scripture of taking the child out to be stoned. But it's Deuteronomy, I think, the 20th chapter, the 21st chapter, where the parents are to bring a disobedient child to the gates of the city and to the elders of the city to be examined. And they did tell that this is a disobedient child and drunkard. And that's what we're looking at today is drunkard is because Drunkenness is meaning something else has influence over this person. With drunkenness being drunken, it's something that influences you, that inhibits your behavior, your attitude, your disposition, or whatever. And that when the parents do that, their hands are the first ones on that should be on the child and they should, the whole community comes together and they stone that child to death. That's why a lot of people don't like the whole test for God, it seems as harsh punishment or whatever. But don't you think it'll be much better punishment, it'll be much better on the families and all of them if maybe the lady that was on the news this week, if they'd have stoned her children to death before they came of age. I think the boy that did the shooting was maybe 15 years old or whatever. And he killed several people, including one-year-old or one-and-a-half-year-old toddler, a baby. Just think of what happened with that, but with a mother that would assist in that. The police would say, that's really not caring for the people around you because the people in Texas or wherever where she sent her sons to or whatever, allowed them to go and whatever, instead of turning the children over to be disciplined by the authorities for what they did, she became complicit in that. Now she'll face charges and things, and that's one thing about rearing our children. We have to bring discipline and chastening in their lives. We can't do these things alone with them. So, Ephesians said, the reading of scripture was, do not get drunk with wine for there is wickedness and corruption, but fill with the Holy Spirit and constantly be guided by Him. At every moment you want to be able to do what you're supposed to do. And drunkenness is a term that the Bible uses to describe someone who has consumed too much alcoholic beverage, wine, or strong drink, and therefore exhibits loss of control his or her senses or actions. But I tell you also when we have to look at, when we look at something in the physical, we have to look at it in the spiritual, in the spiritual implications behind that. Whether it be prayer, eating, drinking, whatever it be, because what's manifest in the physical, there's things going on behind that in the spiritual world, because that's the real world, that's what's real, the spiritual world. Many times, not only is the drinker suffering from the effects of drunkenness, but the consequences of their poor choices affect many of their loved ones, as I just told you about the lady that had made bad choices that was to be for the rest of her family, that affected everybody that crossed the path of her sons or whatever, and the results of their drinking or whatever. Same thing with drunken drivers. domestic abuse thing when you start drinking. We often see that drinking leads to physical and verbal abuse. A lot of times men can't compete or women or whatever, they lose employment by being drunk or being drunk on the job or not being able to function. You have an inability to hold on to a job. end up incarcerated for drunken driving or something or whatever it leads to. A lot of times being placed in jail for domestic abuse or other things. The Bible speaks of drunkenness and it's full of exhortations against it as well as examples of what results from drunkenness. See, that's what I was telling you the other day about drinking and the Bible not prohibiting something, because it doesn't prohibit alcohol. The Bible doesn't prohibit wine. And you end up people being intoxicated or drunken or poisoned by wrong doctrine or wrong teaching. And I think that's one of the things we have to look at is the leaven of the Pharisees that he told the disciples. He says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Now, he told them to do what the Pharisees say do, but don't do as they do. In other words, they were hypocritical with their doctrine. He says, for their doctrine contains leaven. And we know that's one of the results of false prophets or false teachers. Sometimes they say things that's not correct biblically. Wrong teaching or wrong doctrine, wrong instruction. And that's what killed, that's the poison. That's toxic. The word toxic means poison. If you see a bottle with a skull and bone on it, you wouldn't drink of that bottle with you. Well, that alcohol is toxic. It's poison in that bottle. It could be very lethal. That's why you see a lot of college students and a lot of people that binge drink or drink a lot. You could die from drinking too much alcohol at one time or whatever. It'll do something to your kidneys or your internal functions or whatever. Plus it builds up addiction and that's why they measure your intoxication. They called it toxicity. whether you use .01, .05, and there's a legal limit. And the government puts a legal limit on it, but who's to know when, since it's a personal thing, who's to know when, how much is too much? Whether it's one drink of alcohol, or one beer, or one sip of wine, or whatever, how much is too much? That's a judgmental decision. So the caution of warning about drunkenness, drinking wine in moderation is not considered drunkenness. And the Bible has guidelines for this as well. And here are some good Bible verses to study regarding drunken, drinking and drunkenness. And that's why I say the people that had been converted, that come into the church of the people that's fighting for the drinking or whatever, had repentant and that loved the drink or whatever, they could tell you the scriptures and things about God allowed wine or allowed drinking, even though sometimes they dragged those scriptures screaming and hollering out of their proper context or whatever. It's the same thing with sex, and people say, well, that's my soulmate, and the reason I'm divorcing this other person or whatever, God told me that wasn't my soulmate or whatever. But see, that's why we have to be wise. That's why, you know, as I said, being filled with the Spirit, you have to be filled with the Spirit and God gives you a certain amount of discernment or rationale, whether something what someone is telling you is right or wrong or whatever. That's the way you can not imbibe of the false doctrine or the false instructions of the false teachers and prophets, because a lot of people not go listen at the pastor or whatever, not go listen at the teachers or whatever. and they will sit there at home. It's easy to turn on that television and watch a lot of these mega pastors, these popular preachers and teachers and everything. And it sounds good, it seems good, not knowing that that little leaven that they put in there, it's mixed up really good. They go put it, make it just like they make the beer commercials and everything. They go show you a sexy woman or something happens, drinking this thing, and they go show you beauty and whatever. But even television starts showing you the results of drunken driving or people smoking or whatever and they got the woman that her throat been taken out and the results of vaping and smoking and some of these other things. But for years they've been trying to beautify what drinking and these other things does. So what happens is we take sex and different things that God gave us, but notice that God placed that in a context. So sex outside of marriage is a sin. It's just like drunkenness outside of the proper context. It's just like eating. There's nothing wrong with eating, but gluttony is a sin. Gluttony is a sin. The body is a temple of God and if you have diabetes or something Did you know that you wouldn't be taking proper care of your body if you're doing things or drinking alcohol? that's contribute to increasing or making your diabetes worse because you're destroying the temple of God and you have willful knowledge of this and You know, alcohol, they tell you if you are diabetic, you shouldn't have alcohol. You shouldn't drink because it changes your glucose level and the sugar rushing. It's just like Leaven a little living lemon lemon to hold that lump living is a type of sin But we know living in bread. What does living in bread does it causes bread to rise it? Ferments the bread there's a fermentation Process the yeast of the living in the dough causes it to rise in alcohol and toxins It calls it false courage, or courage in a bottle. A lot of people, when they drink alcohol, they get puffed up. They say things that they shouldn't say. They start being under the influence of the beverage of the wine. That's why the Bible tells you to look not on the wine, when it's red, when it's red in the cluster in the grapes or whatever because that's when they take the fermented wine, the most potent portion of it. And nowadays you notice there's a certain percentage of different alcohols and they're even making it where there's wine coolers and different alcoholic drinks that doesn't contain a whole lot of alcohol. But drinking enough of them and you build up an addiction to those things or whatever, you're no longer drinking for pleasure for the wrong reasons. And remember, I tell you, the point of anything is what's motivating you to do that. What's the motivation? Why are you doing that? So we have to have that in mind about drinking. just like sex, just like eating, or anything else that God gives us that's good that we can overdo. It's just like religion. Because if you to the point where you take care of the church more than you do your home or whatever. He said he that does not take care of his own home is less than infidel. And that's one of the arguments he was having with the Pharisees, not arguments that he was telling them. He says, through your traditions you have made void the commandments of God. It tells you to honor your parents. But they had said all of their money or their proceedings and these things was dedicated to God. It was co-banned. In other words, carbon. They had set it aside for religious purposes or not. And he says, thus through your traditions you have made void the commandments of God. See, because back then the government didn't take care of the older relatives and the widows and the homeless and everything. That's why they had provisions for taking widows in the church, and that's why they had provisions of who would you take care of or whatever. The government didn't do that. But the people, instead of helping the elderly or helping their family members or whatever, They say, well, no, this is dedicated to God. This is for this purpose or that purpose. Now you, through your traditions or helping others or trying to use the Word of God, you've made the commandments of God of none effect. You have to watch with religion. Sometimes your holiness or your interpretation, that's a dangerous thing to interpret the Word of God wrongly. That's why James said we shouldn't be many masters or many teachers. Psalms 104 tells us about the works of God, and it's only talking about the works of God. If you read that whole psalm, don't just drag the 10th verse out of its context, but it's telling you as God has created and created everything in the universe and everything in the world says, so that he may bring forth from the earth and wine, which makes the heart of man glad so that he may make his face glisten with oil and bread to sustain and strengthen man's heart. So God did provide these things for us. They are to make man's heart glad. And I read to you Wednesday night from the book of Judges about what wine does and it makes the joy man. And that's what God had created these things for. And it's created about. But anything that you can't control, you need to leave alone. And I was telling you about the spirit of the prophet is subject unto the prophet, about some people acting like they're too far gone, that this thing is controlling them. And speaking of tongues and all this, and that's why Paul was telling them the order and how tongues should be did in the church and prophesied So the first point is God has warnings on anything he do. Notice that even with government, if there's a warning label on something, if you're taking a certain medication or drug, they always put the side effects of the warnings on there, what to do and what not to do. Don't drink grapefruit juice or don't drink this along with while taking this medication. Don't drive, or don't do these things. Here are some of the side effects that causes this. That's what the Bible tells us. There's a lot of biblical exhortations against drunkenness. So that that you are imbibing of, the book of Luke, the 21st chapter and the 34th verse says, and take heed to yourself lest at any time your heart be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. and cares of this life so that they come upon you unawares. Surfeiting, in other words, partying, get-togethers, family get-togethers and family reunions and employee parties, just anything, football games, tailgating and all these things that in and within themselves. No, it's nothing wrong with those things, but is God the motivating factor? Is this to glorify God? Is this done to glorify God or whatever? And you be overcoming those things. That's why we have to be aware because if Jesus come back and catch us doing those things and we end up drunken doing those things, we've sinned against God. say that drinking no longer becomes a weight, then it has become a sin that's besetting us. Remember I told you out of Hebrews it says, lay aside every weight and sin that's besetting you. So if you can't drink without knowing about being intoxicated or saying of the drink consuming or overtaking you, maybe you ought to be like some people and just be a teetotaler because Alcoholic can't just have that one drink because then he goes on a binge. So Lott maybe should have abstained from drinking at all, let alone not drinking with his daughters. He may have been one to avoid the fruit of the vine. Noah should have been one to avoid the fruit of the vine. Because through his actions, he caused a ramification to come upon his grandchildren. because it had to do with his son and his grandson. Notice Cainan had did something and the curse fell on Cainan. Now what mockery Cainan did to Noah if we read in Genesis because it says Ham seeing this, Ham knew what his son Cainan had did. But when Noah rose up and seen, and you have to read that text, I don't want to get stumped down into that. But it wasn't the son Ham that Noah placed a curse on, it was Cainan. Cainan had seen him and done something. And Ham and the other two brothers, Shem and Japheth, Shem and Japheth came in and they covered Noah. But the other brother didn't do anything that was Canaan's father, Am. So we don't know what happened, but Noah did rise up to Christ. Cainan and I've been listening to a lot of, like I said, I listen to a lot of different preachers throughout lifetime and throughout a ton. And a lot of preachers look at Noah and point the fang at Noah because it was, he shouldn't have got dropped. He caused that. He caused his brothers to stumble. As a parent, as a pastor, as a leader, you have to be careful of what you're doing or you'll cause others to stumble. That's what happened with this nation. The leadership has caused it to stumble. Isaiah 28, chapter 7-8, that's why we're looking at this about drunkenness, because the whole nation has stumbled and been brought about condemnation on the nation because of the leaders And during these last four years, the priest and the prophet has got politically charged and calls it to come into the church and to bring this curse, this fighting of the church, the division in the church. It says, but they also, it says, verse six says, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sit in judgment and for strength to them that turn the bow to the gate. But they also have erred through wine and through strong drink and are out of the way. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink. They are swallowed up of wine. They are out of the way through strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean." And I don't know how many of y'all that went on to the 29th verse, but it's the leadership that's caused this problem. It's the leaders. And you always look at the leaders. God came and looked at Adam for what had happened. He blamed Adam. He says, you're the one listening to your wife. He had told Adam. Adam wasn't deceived. Romans 13 and 13 says, let us walk honestly. as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envious. So here again, drunkenness is strictly forbidden by the Bible. It's commanded not to be drunk. In other words, let us walk, let us live in such a way that we're not drunk, that we're not carousing and living a riotous life. Don't spend your time in wild parties, getting drunk, or in adultery, lust, or family get-togethers or whatever. You know that uncle or that person that after he had a few drinks and everything, he started talking a lot of craziness going on in a lot of these places. People start eyeing one another. and adultery or fornication, in other words, lust commanded. Here's a cousin or a relative of somebody, you shouldn't be lusting after, you shouldn't be bothering or whatever, and it end up, most of the family get-togethers and a lot of these parties and things, you see shooting and things involved. How many times, here on the news, seen where some nightclub or some place where drugs or alcohol is, there's a shooting that breaks out, a killing or whatever. But we're talking to the spirit field people. That's why I say I attend weddings I attend these things, but I leave as soon as I make appearance and say okay here I am this is what I stand for but the reason I'm leaving is because I I can't associate with this that's going on here. Not that I have to be a part of it. Jesus didn't leave the wedding feast. As a matter of fact, he made wine at the wedding feast. So there is a thought and other people will tell you that. The drinkers in the churches and the drinkers in the world will tell you about Jesus made wine. But like I say, it's not for us to argue, it's for us to be filled with the spirit. And there's sometimes we don't argue about anything, but we don't lie and try to justify things either. So you have a lot of holiness people or whatever trying to justify and say that we should be told that this is evil or wicked. No, food is neutral. Food doesn't condemn you to hell or whatever. Paul was telling them, because of the culture he came in, about that some people recognize days or whatever. He says, I'm afraid of y'all. Y'all observe days and times, and food doesn't commend you to heaven or hell or whatever. You're setting people apart for the wrong reasons. You're not spirit-filled. If you're spirit-filled, you can see these things. Jesus said, John the Baptist came neither eating or drinking with y'all, and y'all said he was a demon, he was a separatist or whatever. I came eating and drinking, and you say I'm a glutton and a wine-bibber. Come on, make up your mind. You don't see a balance in life. God hadn't created you that you see. See, you're not spirit-filled. You have a spirit of hatred, a spirit of resentment and bitterness, and you look at everything through one optic. You myopic? What else I said it was my optic Way off my point here in other words I Some things people do, you already have a spirit of judgment on there, and that's where we're going the next week, is judgment. But judgment is reserved for God, and if we're spiritual and we judge everything, we'd better know the word of God and know how to judge, because with what judgment we render unto someone else, that same judgment is meted back unto us. So those preachers that's preaching and teaching that, Remember, it's a double-edged sword, it cuts both ways now. 1 Corinthians 6, chapter 9-11, verse 6, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceit, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor infeminate. Are we coming to the girly mans? No. We're coming to men not acting like men. Not taking an authoritative role in a position in life. The naive or passive man. Because that's not part of who God created men as being upright. You will lack authority and you will lack establishing and steadfastness there. When he says, no abusers of themselves with mankind, no thieves, no covetousness, no drunkards, there we go again, no drunkards, or revilers, those revilers are those that love to argue, love to speak back, love to pop off. And that's why as we get older, we learn not to strive or argue with somebody. You can tell somebody something, and in a minute they say, well, you do this and this and that. Okay, well, let's just not forget it. You remember I told you, some people you stop saying something to because you're saying something to help them. And you might be able to pick that moat out of their eye because you don't have that beam. But what they're seeing, they think is a beam. They don't have an understanding of what's going on there. Don't have a clear understanding. It's like and what he drank. Yeah, well, he might be able to drink but you can't drink It says none none of these shall inherit the kingdom of god Listen to what paul goes on to say he says and such were some of you You were like this he says but you are washed But you are sanctified, you are set apart, but you are justified in the name of our Lord and of Jesus and by the Spirit of God. So he was talking to some of them among the people, he wasn't talking to all of them. What goes on in this church and what's going on just because we preach and teach this, this don't apply to everybody in the church, you might be a loser. You say, well, we preach all and we do that. Yeah, but you might not follow it. You might not live it, or you live it. It only might be a few. God says there's a remnant that's living this way. Everybody in the church is not living this way. And that's why I say you have a component with the megachurches that 80% of them are not living that way. And so you have a rebellion against God that's growing and festering, you have a cancer that Jesus has to exorcise or cut out of the church. They're not walking uprightly according to the gospel. Paul called them carnal. And so the false teachers and false preachers started using that word, carnal Christians, but there's no such thing. Either you're born again or you're not born again. Either you love God or you don't love God. So we see this in the last few years or whatever. These people are not carnal. It's just that they had never been converted. They hadn't repented. They're not walking upright. That's why he's fighting against the church. That's why he says there's a vomit all over the tape. It's filth and there's this uncleanliness. You hadn't been washed. That church at Corinth, I think it may have went out. He's not worth talking to it. I don't see in the book of Revelations, the seven churches in Asia. You see, you do have people in the church where the whole thing is wiped out. Because then God has sent someone else to another church. No, you can't get rid of the church when we're talking about the people in the church. We're not talking about the building. Buildings come and go. That's why Jesus said, not a stone will be left up on a stone in that beautiful temple you're talking about. Because why? The preachers and the Pharisees, all those people in there was unright. They wasn't right. And so Jesus had to make it right, and he tore it down, because a spirit of judgment comes in. In the book of Ephesians, fifth chapter, 15th to the 18th verse, he says, see that you walk circumspectively and not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit. Be continually being filled with the Spirit. Don't quench the Spirit. So that means you pushing any area of wine out of you. You preaching any area of leaven out of you. He told the Corinthians, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Purge the leaven out. That fermentation process begins with those little bitterness, that little destruction. The little foxes destroy the vines. Don't allow it to remain. We have to nip this out, cut it out at the root. Don't allow it to bud, cut it out at the root. Exercise this. The warning comes in Proverbs 21. It says, wine is a marker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever deceive, thereby is not wise. The living version says, wine gives false courage, hard liquor leads to brawls, and what fools men are who let it master them, making them real and drunk, real drunkenly down the street. The Amplified version says, wine is a marker, strong drink is riotous, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. Because inhibition comes up, and it starts to loosen repressed desires in things that a rational mind, when you're in your right mind, when you're sober and vigilant, some things you may not see, say. Some things may not come out. And some things you have to learn to keep to yourself. But you know what this nation, the reason they say they voted for the last president and they really love him? He was one that would speak what was on his mind. He wouldn't hold anything back. He would speak things. That's a dangerous thing to speak anything that come into your mind. That's a very dangerous thing. Do you realize the thoughts and the things that come into your mind? That's why it says break every thought into the captivity and obedience of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, pulling down the strongholds in your life. Because if you looked at pornography, if you looked at some of these shows and heard different things and music and things, these thoughts and things that come rushing back in there while you're praying, while you're talking to somebody, all these images or visions of what was said, all this comes rushing back in there, but you have to be able to bring that thought in the captivity and obedience of Jesus Christ. Because you can't just let anything fly out of your mouth. Preachers can't just get up there and preach and let things... You have to be controlled. You remember I said drunkenness? You have to be controlled by the Spirit of God. That tongue is a ruler and a member that sets the course of nature. It sets fire to everything. You couldn't say things that'll have people hating you the rest of your life or whatever. You couldn't say things, get up there and preach and teach things that turn the whole tide of life. But also you could sit there and be thinking things or whatever and dwell upon things. And that's why Peter says, whatever is lovely, whatever is pure, dwell on these things. But some things come into your mind, you can't think on those things or dwell on them. Sometimes you'd be sitting there, man, I want to punch him upside his head or whatever. You better stop thinking about that. You better stop having that run through your mind or whatever. Because a mind is a wealth of things in there. And if you have those things repressed in there, those thoughts and things, you just don't commit adultery overnight. And that's why Jesus said, even the thought who had looked at a woman lusted after her. See, a lot of these people that end up married to these women or men or whatever, they ain't just moved in after the wife or the husband was separated or divorced or whatever. They've been playing around with this thing for years and had a long time. This thing with Sam, what his name was, David Basheba, it didn't just happen overnight. A lot of preachers preach about that. She just wasn't bathing up there. She just wasn't up there by mistake or whatever. You know, a lot of people scheming and you looking and lusting. You better stop looking at that. Instead of Eve going about her business working and everything, maybe she shouldn't have been sitting there looking at that tree and thinking about that tree and why God said this. A lot of people say, I'm just a free thinker and I sit here and think. Well, you better watch what you're sitting there thinking about or whatever. You look your way on out of here. That's one of the portals of your evilness or weakness. pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes. He said, look at that tree. Doesn't it look like one of the Zod that made one of the wines? Look at it. And you start looking, and you start seeing it in the wrong sight. Loose lips shrink ships. Be careful. Wine made Noah the laughing stock and the object of ridicule by getting drunk or whatever. And that's what I think that what I said his name was, Ham's son, Cainan. Ham's son, Cainan did. Noah, look at that. It says, the curse, he says he cursed Cainan, cursed be Cainan. And they said, why did he curse the younger son? But if you look at the reading of it and through the thing, it separates, it says that that was his grandson, Cainan. Cainan had caused something to cause them to be a mockery, a laughingstock. And like I said, that's why I wanted to do some teaching because the word Mark comes, laughing stock is a synonym of that word Mark. In some places they tell you about drinking, it's debauchery, it leads to debauchery and degradation and things because of what it brings about. But in the latter days, he says there'll be eating and drinking as in the days of Noah. But I think the eating and drinking was that they'll be partaking of doctrine, they'll be drinking of that cup. And as I said, we're partaking of the Lord's Supper today. But you can't drink out of both cups. And people are drinking out of both cups now. They're listening at some preachers and teachers, but they'll go over here and listen at that other preaching and teaching or whatever. So you're eating and fellowshipping, partaking of this table and another table. Now you're confused and you don't know who to believe or what your reasoning or rationale is. And the second point is judgment. When being drunk or dull of spirit, you reason wrong. It takes away your understanding. And that's what he told Isaiah. The people wasn't going to be able to hear, see, nor understand. Wine takes away your understanding. Jesus had to open up the disciples' understanding so that they could understand the Scriptures. So if the Scriptures are closed to a priest or prophet, he's going to cause you to err because he has erred from the truth. And if the blind lead the blind, they both will fall into the ditch. He can't give you an understanding or enlightenment if he don't have it. 1 Samuel 10 and 11 says, And it came to pass, as she continued to praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth and says to Hannah, now Hannah, she spoke in her heart, only her lips moved. He says, now what's going on here? But her voice was not heard, therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. We can't, remember I told you, God sometimes brings in our lives and shows that we can't judge by the outward man how somebody look, how they're dressed, or what's going on. We know Eli wasn't a real spiritual priest. Eli had fallen, his sons had fallen, and God was removed. That's where Ichabod came in from. The Lord had taken the glory because of Eli not making his sons, disciplining his sons, not Eli being a faithful priest. And you remember, it was Samuel that came on the scene. Well, it was Samuel's mother that was being mocked and hurt and tormented. right here. You can turn it back on, Sister Jackson. So he thought she was drunk. But see, when you feel with the Spirit, people will think different things because you're not going to go through the natural route. And that's why I say we can tell when we're not going on a natural route. The third point is being filled with the Spirit. This is one prime example of being filled with the Spirit. That's the prayer we were talking about in 1 Samuel 10-18 where she was effectual. What do you mean she was effectual, Pastor? That's why he thought she was drunk. She wouldn't know. It says, James says, therefore confess your sins to one another. In other words, She came in and was telling God how she felt about this woman doing her this and how she really felt. And that's what I say. Your wife and her children, your husband, your brothers and sisters, somebody that hurt you during that week of what's going on. If you're telling God about it, tell him how you actually feel about it. Don't come there trying to be composed and say all kinds of natural words and all dictum. Tell God that this has ripped your heart out and you want to do this and do that. Hannah went so far as to tell him, said, Lord, if you give me a son, I'll give him back to you. When he's a child, I'll give him back to you. See, she was willing, she just wanted to see herself as a woman and she gave Samuel back to God. He says the factual prayer, pray ye one another. That's why I say, come before the church, Lord, I wanna see again. Will y'all pray for me that I could see again, that God would heal me, the Lord would get this out of my house, the Lord would do this, and the Lord would do, you can't be shamed. You have to come out here and do these things before God if you feel with the spirit You will come and petition God. The throne of grace is open for you to come boldly before the throne of grace and petition Him in prayer. It's a heartfelt, persistent prayer. And it says the heartfelt, persistent prayer, the effectual prayer of a righteous man availed it much. He wanted it. not to rain. He prayed that it wouldn't rain for all year. I pray for this nation. I pray and mourn for the things that's going on in this nation, and that Jesus Christ would come back, wipe out all evil, and establish that kingdom upon this earth. Now that's gonna cause wiping out a lot of people that I love truly. It's gonna cause a lot of hardship and everything. But so be it, we're looking for the soon coming kingdom of God. That's what Hannah was looking for. Eli knew what had, didn't know what had happened because he was drunk. He was in the darkness. When Samuel was born and God came and spoke to Samuel, he say, God has spoke to him. And that's why you can't tell your wife, you can't tell your husband sometimes, you can't tell other people. And you notice the word of God says, keep it to yourself what God is saying. Samuel didn't want to tell Eli that God had spoke to him. You remember that next morning after God had spoke to him, Samuel kept it to himself and Eli said, don't hide from me what God has said. What God has said, what he said is good. Because Samuel was told that he was gonna wipe Eli and his whole family out. See, you run in and let your spouse know what God's gonna do. You let your relatives or somebody know what God's gonna do. They're gonna do just like Sarah did Abraham. They're gonna get in with their suggestions and saying this and knock you off course or whatever. That's what happened to Rebecca. She tried to get the blessing. God had already told her he was going to bless the younger son, but she stole the blessing. It caused her not to see Jacob the rest of her life because Jacob got together and stole it. If God had already promised he was going to do it, he was going to do it. See, you go tell her to lay it in your bosom, everything. That's why a lot of times you don't tell other people. Isn't it people that you don't tell some things because you know they talk too much? They got loose lips. You have to hold some things. And she was effectual in her prayer. And she was filled with the spirit. That's why he said, be filled with the spirit. When we pray, and you might tell you corporate prayer, and a lot of times corporate prayer when the church come together, it says they were in the upper room praying. And I can imagine the prayer meeting they had then. The book of Romans says, and in the same way by our faith the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don't even know what we should pray for or how to pray as we should. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feelings that cannot be expressed in words. She couldn't say what she wanted or how God she wanted God to do it, but she knew this in her heart. She was expressed. So that's why the words didn't come out because sometimes, you know, people go to God and they tell God what kind of car they want, this and that, instead of telling him they want a car. Or they tell God that he want them to do something and they want to tell God how to do it. You know a lot of times, that's why I get upset, you get messed up with people that you're helping because when you're helping other people sometimes, they try to tell you how to help them. Or what to do, how to manage your money or something, and you're helping them. If I'm gonna help you, you just stay back, I'll help you. But that's why you're in the mess you're in and asking me to help you is because you can't help yourself. Stop trying to run things. Stop trying to be in charge. Your father, who knows our hearts, of course, what the spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God's own will. And we know that all happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plan. So she prayed according to what was in her heart. God knew what she was looking for. Did you know God gave us several children after Samuel? Samuel wasn't her only child. To fulfill that prayer, she gave Samuel to the Lord. But Samuel had other brothers and sisters he opened up for wounds. Because he's seen sometimes God is waiting for us to tell him the problem. That's why it says confess your faults. That's why you have to come to the church. That's why it says, let your prayer, let your request be known to God. But sometimes those prayers are open. And then when she said that Hannah was obedient, this man, he'd a preaching, he didn't come up there and say you drunk or whatever, but she was obedient and respectful. And that's what I was just saying that you, you've always been respectful to me as a pastor. We grew up together as friends. And sometime I would be not so good a friend, because I wasn't the best person growing up with. I know my faults and failures. But as a pastor relationship, brother did, I knew him before we got into the church also. But they've always called me pastor or respect in a certain way. You remember, Brad did stop coming or whatever because one time I told him something while we were eating or whatever, but he didn't agree with it. Certain men, if you're a strong enough man, sometimes you just have to part ways or whatever, because you're not going to fight in no confusion, but you know a man doesn't yield ground unless God causes him to yield ground. And that's one of the reasons when I preached at his funeral, I said it was something, and I didn't know until these last few months why God made me say something offensive. to the people that was there is because they had broken a good man by their actions and he had stopped coming to church or whatever, but the people that had crossed him and his queen was warned that they should repent and turn around from their unfaithfulness. He was faithful to God in what he was doing or whatever, but some actions can break a man. Some actions can break an individual. These things was breaking Hannah She pleaded to God, and after he called her drunk, said, woman, you're drunk. And listen to what she says. And Eli said, how long will thou be drunk? And put away thine wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, no, my lord, I'm a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have neither drunk wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul unto the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, a evil woman. For out of the abundance of my complaint and grief, I've spoken thereto. I was praying out of this, and that's what I tell you about my mother. It's through the words of my mother thing, I said a lot of things and did a lot of things. After an obedient and a respectful way to the preacher, because it says rebuke not an elder, but you have some people want to preach us something, say something to them. The people retort and tell the preacher, well, you do this, or you do that. And that's why a lot of times preachers don't say much to their wives or want their wives in different churches or whatever, because they see the field as being level or whatever. But the field is never level. It happens with my brother and brothers, and that's why I say I stay away from around them, because the field is never level. I am their brother. I am her husband. I am my children's father, whatever, but I would stay shy of them instead of trying to put them in a position where they provoke and say something to me that's offensive to God because I'm saying this in the office of God. He was saying that in the office of God and he was wrong, but she was still respectful unto him or whatever, and listen what he said because he knew he was wrong. That rebuke, that soft answer, that turning away wrath, when she said that, then Eli answered and said, go in peace and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou have asked him. May God bless you or whatever, grant you, may God give you what you asked him for. And she said, let that handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way and did eat, and her contents was no more sad. You remember Peter, when Peter says to Lord, Lord does not be unto you. Jesus turned to him and says, get behind me, Satan, for thou slaver's not the thing of God. Did Peter say something to Jesus or get in an argument with Jesus? As many times as Jesus came down on Peter hard, notice that Peter never reverberated back with Jesus. He was obedient to Jesus. See, that's why it says, rebuke not an elder. And that's one thing about my sister, my mother, that told me. She never argued or fussed at or cursed my mother or anything. She'll just say, she got a pot on the stove, I'll leave away from around her. I have a son, a daughter. sometimes they'll say things and certain things I don't say to them or whatever because they have parts of me in them that would say something or get smart or whatever. So I just know what happens and I leave that in the Lord's hand and I tell the Lord about it. I have two other sons, an elder son and a younger son that I say thanks to. and they're, yeah, they're this and that, but they're not going, and I can tell them something so I know the difference in my sons and daughters or whatever. We have to have a discerning, a learning of people because sometimes you can say things to people and they recall, now you didn't cause them a stumbling block because now God's gonna punish them for disrespecting you or saying or doing what they did. Notice that every sin and transgression receive is just reward. That's why we go to the church. The fourth point is being prepared. God is preparing the church. So without understanding these scriptures and things, people pull these scriptures out of context and hadn't walked there yet. That's why it says, walk there. In other words, live within these scriptures. Live this way, and you'll get an understanding, and you'll grasp that, and you can become this. But just hearing it, or hearing what some preachers say over here, and then bringing it back, trying to put it in context, you might not be that smart. You might not put the precept upon precept. line up online. So you might just stay in this one church. You notice some people, they say, well, why you don't listen to that other thing or whatever? Well, they're wise enough to know that they can't learn it all or whatever. But if I'm listening to too many voices, you will get me confused. You know, some people don't, they've never strayed out of their church or whatever. And that's sometime they get my optic, they start seeing through that one lens or whatever. And they don't foresight it, they just nearsighted that which is around them. They don't know what the rest of the world has, what the rest of what the teaching is. That's dangerous, but God protects those people. Like I say, we have to see that God's church is the people. And that's what God's working all things together for good. So that's why he says, save yourself. Don't try to be like everybody else. Don't get this from YouTube or here somewhere else and then come in and try to use that. You trying to use another man's weapon. You trying to use another man's artillery. When Saul gave David all his armor to fight with and everything, David's, the sword was too big, the other stuff that he had, Saul had the best armor, he had the armor of a king. But David gave it back to him and said, I can't fight with this, I'm not used to using this. So he just took and got five stones with his slingshot, which he was accustomed to use. If you're not accustomed to the Word of God, you might not be an evangelist or do these other things. You only know you're part of the Word of God. Don't get in a word fight or argument with the devil, because he will win. because it's the wrong reason you veered out of your area. So some people might not be to go around witnessing and a teacher or preaching or whatever because they will get it wrong and they realize in themselves, I'm not that quick, but they can pray and they do know what the word of God says. Like old man, Mr. Brown used to tell him, I do have hard sense, I can't understand a little bit. But when we venture outside of our goal, Only those servants who continue to trim their lamps, looking and expecting for the Lord's return will be rewarded. It says, but if that servant is evil and says in his heart, my master has taken his time coming or delaying his return and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect it and an hour in which he's not aware and will cut him asunder And cut him in two and appoint him a portion with the hypocrites in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth because You're associating with these people for the wrong reasons. You're going there to show people how spiritual you are, or what you are, and you shouldn't associate with these people. Maybe the Spirit has led you away from that, but your personal feelings, your personal self, have put you in the company of these people, or whatever. And you didn't, you, what is happening, you're violating 1 Corinthians 5 and 11. Jesus did eat and drink with the winebibbers. But you are no Jesus. You don't have the understanding. You don't have the mastery or fullness of his word. That's why he told his apostles, he said, I have many a thing to tell you, but some of it you're not ready to receive. So there are preachers that come up and preach to the world, that can preach to hundreds of thousands. There are a lot of teachings that women preachers and teachers that can teach that are very strong, and it's been doing it a long time. But what I'm saying, the structure is wrong, the authoritarian thing is wrong. So, but it's not, the spirit of judgment shows me what's wrong there and just says stay away from it, but don't judge it. It's there for a reason. God has a lot of things in this world for reasons. But the associations with, is what's the problem. You're violating the associations by being in the midst of these people. He allowed Balaam to go with Balak. But he told him, you got to say what I say. But he still killed Balaam for going with Balaam, because he shouldn't have been associated with that type of person. Even though God said you can go with them, you shouldn't have been amongst them even to do such things, because scripture prohibited us to be what he would do. So in the church, in 1 Corinthians 5 and 11, he says, but I have written unto you, not to keep company. If a man be called a brother, be a fornicator, covetous, an idolater, a realer, a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one know not to eat. So if people in your church you know live certain lifestyles, you have to stay away from those people. So thus, the separation that I tell you, me and some people, even though, like I said, I still talk with them over there, but it wasn't an association. It was different because of this division here, because of God's says to divide, not be yoked up with this. We must be continually being filled by the Spirit. Ephesians 5, therefore you must walk carefully. living with honor, purpose, and courage, shunning those who tolerate and enable evil. Not as the unwise, so that's why I say I shun a lot of the things in the world and the people in the United States and the government and in the priesthood and everything because they tolerated evil. We had a wicked and evil leader and the churches tolerated this and they went along, they enable it. A lot of them, their votes and their presence enable evilness. You sitting in a wicked man's church or his congregation or at his meetings or at his rallies in places, you enabling that, you giving power to that. Just by watching it, just by being in league with that, you giving power to that. First Thessalonians says, but you believers, all you who believe in Christ as Savior and acknowledge Him as God's Son are not in spiritual darkness. You're in the light. You're not held by its powers. So if you're sober and vigilant, don't go back in this. That day of judgment won't overtake you by surprise or like a thief in the night. because you are sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness, so then let us not sleep in spiritual indifference." Spiritual indifference is not caring, say, we're all going to Jesus, we're all going to heaven, we're all children of God. No, we're not either. It's not all the same. There's a big difference and the variance of differences should make hair rise upon your back. That's why we should be praying for the Lord's coming over because we're sober and we're vigilant and we see the apostasy of the church and people that are leading these apostasies. That's why we can't be passive about this. As the rest of the world does, but let us keep wide alert and cautious, and let us be sober. That is self-control, calm, and wise. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. They're walking in the darkness for their own reasons and purposes. Let me try to start winding this thing down. It went a little bit longer than I wanted it to go. Proper use and instructions for drinking. wine is given as a blessing what now see this is for the churches that's teaching against these things because when you start preaching titola and this is the devil and god did this okay let me see how you explain your way out of genesis 14 and 8 I mean 14 and 18. It says in Melchizedek, king of Salem brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God, and he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand, and he hath gave him tithes of all." Abraham paid tithes to this God that come here with wine and bread. This is the priest. This is the type of Christ. This is the shadow of Christ. It's Bethesda now. Well, a celebration of the yearly feast. You go God, this is God. Deuteronomy 14 chapter 26 to the 27 verse, he says, and thou shall, he's talking about the feast, this yearly feast, and you remember the different feasts of tabernacles of harvest and things that God instituted. He says, and thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. Just take this tithe of this offering, this money for this offering, for this feast, whatever your soul desires, for oxen, for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or whatever your soul desires, for watermelon, for chicken, whatever you want. He says, and thou shalt eat it there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household, and the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him. Call the preacher in, let him eat some, and say, thank God for watermelon. Thank God for giving us all these things. Didn't he list wine in there? Now we want to try to explain these things the way God put everything for good. But what's at the center of this feast of this harvest? The motivation is God, giving glory to God for it. Only God could have thought of something sweet and juicy like that. Abstentions best if it is not a stumbling block, okay? Listen to what Paul says in the New Testament. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother's stomach is offended or is made weak. You remember he says if meat made my brother weak, I wouldn't eat meat. There's nothing wrong with meat, he says, but you got a weak conscience. I'm not gonna do it in front of you. You may not understand this. See, that's why I say, we bring our weaknesses and infirmities in, in traditions, and now we're making void the Word of God for what God has said, because why did Jesus have wine at the Last Supper? when he says he wasn't gonna drink up the vine again, but then he did say though that he would drink it new in the kingdom. He said he was gonna drink it in the kingdom. So if he gives you a future hope of this, what happens? Didn't he say he wouldn't taste of the fruit of the vine until he drank it new in the kingdom? Okay. First Corinthians 8 and 9 says, but take heed by any means that the liberty of yours become a stumbling block unto the weak. That's why a lot of times the parents of people hail things back from children or whatever. Nothing wrong with evil with coffee. But my grandfather and my father, you can't have no coffee, boy, make your heart eat it. Make your heart eat it. The cafe would make you jumpy or whatever, it does things, but they didn't want to give the children these things. So, I couldn't understand these things. A lot of times you don't understand about why they make you eat your vegetables. You don't understand a lot of different things. But I don't do this in front of you because it might make you stomach. You might not understand why I'm doing this or what am I doing. Jesus drank wine, Matthew 11 and 9. The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, Behold, this man is gluttonous and a wine-bibber. a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom is justified by our church. So what was he drinking when they called him a wine-beggar? Why would they, if they didn't see him drinking wine? Or they didn't see him eating? Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding supper, right? Wine is good as a medicine. Wine is used for medicinal purposes. The book of Luke, the 10th chapter and the 34th verse says, And about this Samaritan that was laying down on the side, the good Samaritan that came down and found this man wounded on the side of the road, and the priest and the Levite crossed over on the other side. But the good Samaritan went in to him, he bound up his wound and he poured in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to the inn and took care of him. First Timothy, Paul told Timothy, he was a preacher and he had a weak stomach or whatever, but his mother and grandparents might have been a little stricter than some are or whatever. And he was abstaining from wine or whatever, but Paul told him drink no longer water, but use a little wine for that stomach sake and that often infirmities. He was telling him, you don't have to drink a lot of wine. And because Timothy, he had given the command to Timothy that the bishop shouldn't be given no wine. When they say given no wine, it means a manner of usual habitual practice of drinking wine or whatever. Or why would the New Testament say that the deacon could drink wine or the other people could drink some wine? I'm just trying to give you some scriptures that you can run across that people say that are in the Bible, but we know they're there, but I don't drink because I don't drink and I don't need to drink. I'm not saying it's evil or whatever, but I stay clear-headed. I stay full of the Spirit, so I don't have a reason to be boosted up with joy. A lot of people say, how is the weekend? Well, every day is the same to me. Every day is the weekend to me. You know, so I don't look forward to Friday or Saturday or whatever, but I do have those days in mind that on Saturday, I do preach. On Sunday, I do have Bible study. On Wednesday, I do have Bible studies or whatever. So knowing what day it is, is good. But so for people, oh, it's Christmas, it's Easter coming, and, and, and, you know, in hospice care, You hear people dying at the butterfly wing at the Baton Rouge jungle or somewhere. In hospice care, they give you this drugs that they're not able to give you at home to keep you comfortable or whatever. They didn't have cocaine and opioids in those days or whatever. The book of Proverbs 31st chapter and the sixth verse, it says, I wrote the whole thing down because I wanted to talk about my mother in there, but I don't have enough. room of time here. But it says the sixth verse of Proverbs, the 31st chapter, give strong drinker to them that are ready to perish, and wine unto those that are heavy heart. Let him drink to forget his problems or whatever. And I have on your notes, I'll have it in the further sayings there. The King James version renders that, give wine to those that are about to perish or whatever, because... if you're dying or whatever, to relieve some of the things. People didn't die just the way you see it in the Bible, that he laid down and he died or whatever. Sometimes you die just like you do nowadays, a long and protracted death or whatever. If it's cancer or something, you're in a lot of pain, a lot of hurt and suffering. There are a lot of deaths people die of, and they said give alcohol to those that are perishing. The wine sedates, you remember I told you it does different inhibitions or whatever. So you have a whole lot of holistic doctors and things tell you against these things or whatever. But the word of God, we have people with a wrong idea, a concept of God. The Bible is clear that we should never drink wine or strong drink to the point of drunkenness. But we see that the lesson for us is spiritual, that we shouldn't do anything that inhibits our thought processes. Not even a little bit, that's why it says a little bit. 11 is the whole lump. So if you didn't have God give or receive God's peace and joy or whatever, I don't know much more that the drinking would do to you or do for you. But if you just like the taste of wine or whatever, I don't think it's wickedness or evilness from the way the Bible speaks of it, that if you imbibe a head of drink of wine, that doesn't sentence you to hell or whatever. But if you drink it to a point where it's intoxicating and you commit some sin or you are drunk or whatever, you have sinned. It's the same thing with anything else and everything else God gives us. It must be used and instructed in the manner in which God gave it to us or tells us to use it. That's why we must be full of the spirit, using and pursuing things in the way of God. Heavenly Fathers, we come before you.