of God's Word, and I thank the Lord for that. In 1 Kings chapter 21, I want to look at these verses again, and then we're going to pray and get into the message. In verse 1, it came to pass after these things that Naboth, the Jezreelite, had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. I know we read it a moment ago, but I'm going to stop in a minute here. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs. because it is near unto my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. Now, most of you probably already know the story, and up to this point, this is a very fair proposal. And I'm not here to defend Ahab, don't get nervous, okay? I know my Bible a little bit, okay? But this is a very, very fair proposal. He said in verse 2 there, he said to Naboth, he said, I'll give you a better vineyard than it. Or, if you don't want a vineyard, I'll give you whatever it's worth in money, I'll give you that. This would seem a very fair proposal. Would you agree with that? It's not a trick question. Would you agree with that? Now, I don't have my glasses on, so I take it off for reading, and I put them back on to see people. So if you're not with me, I wouldn't even know it. If you left already, then we're in trouble. But it seems like a very, very fair proposal. But when you look at verse three, you find out that Naboth said there is a huge problem with this proposition. I mean, this is really, really big, because Naboth responds, and I want you to get this as we get into the message after prayer in a moment, Naboth responds with some very, very strong words. The term the Lord forbid, or God forbid, is a very, very strong statement in the Bible. Now, what I read one time in a book I read years ago is that, and this is what I read, I'm not just saying this to emphasize this, but when the scribes or the early writers would write those words, I read in a book one time years ago that they would take a separate writing utensil. to write those words. Those are very, very strong words in the Bible. We shouldn't use those words flippantly, God forbid. We shouldn't just use them flippantly or haphazardly. But I think they're found 15 or 16 times in the Bible. Look it up later. Don't look it up while I'm preaching, all right? But I think the statement is found about 15 or 16 different times. What I'm trying to say to you tonight as we get into the message in a moment is that Naboth responds with a very strong, not happening, buddy, No way, Jose. Not on my watch. Naboth responds in verse three, and he said to Ahab, and he's talking to the king here, the Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. Naboth knew exactly how to respond to this proposition. I mean, there's no doubt about it. He didn't have to, you know, give me a couple days to pray about it. He didn't have to say, you know what, let me talk to my wife. Sometimes it's a good idea for us to do that. Can I get a witness? Amen. You know, how many of you men have learned, 99.9% of the time she's right, right? Okay, let me put my glasses on. Okay. I don't want to keep my glasses on. I don't want to see you. But he didn't say, let me check with my wife. He didn't say, let me think about it, buddy. You're not sure. He said, no way, man. He said, the Lord forbid it me. You know why? Because Naboth was a man that lived by principle. Ahab lived by feelings. Naboth lived by principle. I make this statement so often at teen camp to the young people, and I made this many times in Bible class at the Christian School at Victory, and I don't remember where I first heard it. I have nothing new to say to you. It's the same old truth, just a heap more of it. But I used to say so often to young people, establish Bible principles and let your Bible principles make your decisions for you. Establish Bible principles and let your Bible principles make your decisions for you. We bring a lot of frustration upon ourselves. Sometimes we're praying for wisdom with specificity about a decision. But we bring a lot of frustration upon ourselves because we're wrestling with the decision and many times, it's not always the case, but many times God's word is very clear about something and there's no debate about that. Oh, my prayer is that God will encourage you tonight to continue to live your life by principle, not by feelings. We are driven in our flesh, hear me well church, we are absolutely driven to make decisions on what we feel like we want to do. Now, we don't verbalize that. We've found some Christian terminology that we wax eloquent with. I believe this is God's will for my life. And I'm not thinking of anything in particular. I'm not thinking about something I heard somebody say before service this morning. Okay, everybody's all right, right? You're not building a wall, are you? Everybody's okay. But seriously, we've found some Christian cliches and statements that help us to justify because, listen, if you're flesh, every one of us in this room, your flesh wants to do what you want to do. Every one of us. We're all robed in this thing. None of us can get a pass on being robed in flesh. We all want to do what we want to do. And can I just tell you, and then we're gonna pray and we're gonna get right into it, can I tell you how dangerous that is? When the Bible says in the book of Isaiah, all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his, oh, you know the verse, don't you? His own way. You know, the devil's not, he's just as happy, not if you go his way, but if you go your own way. Y'all with me? That's not the message. We call that, that's for free. Okay. And this is not going to be a 21 minute message. Okay. And, uh, so don't place bets with somebody next to you. All right. You'll lose a lot of money. All right. But, um, maybe 22 minutes. All right. I don't even see a clock anymore. Praise God. I love this church. Amen. And one of the churches I go to, they say, there's the clock, you know, there's the trap door. Okay. I don't see any of those. I feel really good tonight. You know, I want us to look tonight at the lives of Naboth and Ahab and consider the contrast, the contrast in making our decisions based on principle and making our decisions based on feelings. Let's pray. Father, we do love you. Thank you, Lord, for a great day. Oh, thank you for the preacher preaching the word this morning. It's not popular. And he decided a long time ago, Lord, you called him here. He pitched a tent and they've stayed and they've been faithful. And Lord, we're not here to make people mad or to be arrogant or condescending, but we must preach the truth. And thank you for the preacher sharing. the truth in love this morning. Thank you for a sweet response during the invitation. What a joy to see many of us, Lord, whether it's at an altar or bowing our heads and saying, Lord, I needed that and I need your help, Lord. I've got some things, I've got some blind spots that I've been neglecting. Thank you, God, for how you spoke to my heart this morning. And we're asking for the same tonight, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for this great church. We're so humbled, Lord. The preachers said several times how they want to come alongside and serve us. And we're here because we want to serve them. And Lord, may that continue to be my and my wife, our desire, Lord, to come alongside and serve this great church. I've been so refreshed, Lord, to see so many people that have expressed their love and their prayers for us, how encouraging that is. And again, we the same, Lord, for this church. Lord, we pray you bless this hour, this time in your word. Lord, may you, may the Holy Spirit be the master teacher. May the Holy Spirit have free liberty in each of our hearts and minds. And Lord, may each of us take the truths we heard this morning and tonight, Lord, and be more faithful to you this week. Jesus, if you tell your coming, may we be more like you. May we shine, Jesus. May the people that cross our path see very clearly the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. And again, thank you, Lord, may this story, may it resonate, may it remind us, Lord, my prayer is that your church will be encouraged and reminded tonight, Lord, to continue to make decisions based on principle. I don't know how any individual in this room needs this, Lord. There's a warning here. It's your word, it's the Holy Spirit, it's not my message. There's a warning. Help us, Lord, to listen and help us to heed it. In Jesus' name, amen. Again, I know it's a familiar story to many, the story of Naboth and Ahab. The story of a man that lives by principle and a man that lived by feelings. And I want us to consider three contrasts tonight, three contrasts in these men, totally different men. And again, we see what seemed, appeared to be an honest proposal. And can I say to you, be very careful because the devil's counterfeits look so much like the real thing. I remember when I was in ministry in New York and Brother Ray Young called me and asked me to go to Manhattan to go get two Rolex watches. How many of you know what a Rolex watch is? Okay. I do not own one. Okay. And well, actually I do. I have two of them, but I'll tell you how I got them. So I went to canal street and I went for my friend's bidding. He was getting them as a joke for another preacher friend of his in Texas. He wanted to give him a Rolex watch, but how many of you understand if you buy a Rolex watch for about 30 bucks in Manhattan, it's not the real thing. How many understand that right there? Well, it happened. I went to Canal Street. I grew up in New York, so I've been many times in New York City. And I went to a couple places, and they didn't know. We don't have those. And one guy finally pulled back a little book covering a phone number, and he called this phone number. And he said, meet this lady in a back alley. Well, I was starting to get a little bit nervous. I'm practicing my karate skills, just in case I had to defend myself. I was all alone. My wife wasn't there to defend me. And so he said, meet this lady in the alley back here. And sure enough, there was a lady there with a baby carriage and looked like a baby in the baby carriage. I don't think it was a real one because she had that thing all shook up, you know? And anyway, and so sure enough, she shows me a couple Rolex watches. Now, I'm telling you something. I still have two. Matter of fact, I bought them for 35 each after service. I'll show it to you for 50 bucks, all right? If you behave well, I'll let you look at it, all right? But no, I don't have them with me, actually. They're packed in a box somewhere. But this lady, she did. She said, I'll give you two or three. And she had her prices, you know, and I was trying to get it down another five bucks or whatever. Man, I was such a cheapskate, you know? But I looked at it, and I still have two of them. And you know what? It says Rolex on it. R-O-L-E-X. It says Rolex on it. And it looks shiny. It looks nice. But you know what? It's not the real thing. And there's about, you can do a Google search on it, there's about 10 or different things you can look for. The second hand, a real Rolex is just smooth as butter, you know, and the cheapies like tick, tick, you know, like it's about to stop any second, you know, just a piece of junk, you know. And hey, but it said Rolex. And can I just say to you, boy, you better be careful, because the devil's counterfeits look so much like the real thing. Yeah, I don't know why I'm thinking of this, and I need to get to the message, it's obvious. But somebody called me for counsel, you know, about a job interview, a job prospect that they had, and they asked my advice. And I was just talking to somebody else about this story, a relative here recently, and a good friend of mine, a real good friend of mine, he said, I have this opportunity, I can make a lot more money. This was several years ago. And I said, well, what church are you gonna go there? He said, well, I don't know, I haven't found one yet. I said to him, I said, look, I said, look at me, let me tell you something, I would never move somewhere just because you can make more money. Now, I don't know who needs that tonight, but I'm just gonna, not that I don't want you to leave, but I said to him, and he said, wow, I never thought about that. You know what he did? He decided not to take that job. He took a trip down there a couple months later, found a good, this is a great illustration, found a really good solid church. And then next time when the time was right, guess what? Who defunct? Another job opportunity just like that opened up for him. But you know what? He's serving the Lord first. Y'all see the difference right there? You see the difference? And he's still serving the Lord because he decided to make decisions based on principles, not just, oh, well, principle is I need to make a lot of money. Well, you'd have a hard time showing me that in the Bible, by the way. Hello. I'm trying to get to the message, but y'all aren't praying for me, I can tell, all right? But, you know, see, it's easy for us to justify. Well, I believe this is the will of God. Well, my hope and prayer is that you would know by way of conviction from God's word, not just because it's what you want to do, You know it to be the will of God. Let me see, let's look at three contrasts here. Number one, there's a contrast in the ruling motivation. a contrast in the ruling motivation. You see, Naboth lived by principle. If you look at verse three there, the reason why Naboth was so strong in what he said was because they were taught, you'd go back to the Pentateuch, and you would see that they were taught that, listen, we're not selling out our stuff to the heathen. I'm just generalizing here an explanation, but they said, we're not doing it. I like this. This is a similar illustration, not apples from apples. It's similar, but I love when Moses, when the plagues and Pharaoh said, leave this, this, and this. I love what Moses said. I love what Moses said. He said, let me tell you something, pal. You got to look that up in the Hebrew. Do y'all see that, the buddy and the pal? He said, let me tell you something. We're not going to leave a hoof behind. Y'all got to look that up. Now, that's in the Bible. He said, listen, hound dog, you ain't getting nothing. We're not leaving a hoof behind. I love that. And, you know, Naboth responded to the proposition by principle. You see, those that live by principle obey an authority that is greater than themselves. The Bible trumps any other authority that you come to in your life. Always does. Peter made it very clear. We ought to obey God rather than man. Well, my boss said I had to do this, and I've been told I'm supposed to obey my boss. You're always supposed to obey God first. Always, always. Y'all with me? We're okay, right? We're just getting started. We're getting the plane up. Snacks and drinks are gonna come in a little while, okay? Just soda and water. We don't have anything else on this airplane, okay? How many of y'all fly? How many of you fly? All right, we're gonna be okay, all right? A little turbulence, but we're gonna make it through it, okay? They obey an authority that is greater than themselves. Those that live by principle decide that the Bible is the final authority. I said to the young people at teen camp this summer, I said, listen, instead of you saying to me, show me a chapter and verse where God says I can't do this, why don't you show me a chapter and verse where God approves what you want to do? Come y'all with me. And by the way, I'm not mad for them to ask me that. I want to be able to back up what I say always with the Word of God, preacher. I'm not mad. Don't you ask me that question. I'm not offended by that. Do y'all understand that? You know what they say, what's so big about this? And we can go on and on with illustrations tonight. It's amazing, in the last five to 10 years, it seems like so many young people feel like they've been liberated from what they would consider all these things that they've been told they have to do. They weren't biblical things, they were preferences. The issue, it's not that it's a preference, it's if you really believe God wants you to do something, show me where God approves it in the word of God. Now we're going somewhere. If you've got backing in God's word, and we can look at so many examples, so many different examples. So then what people do is they say, well, but Jesus turned water into wine. Y'all know what I'm talking about? And many different illustrations. All of a sudden, we feel like we've been liberated from making any decision based on principle. What's the big deal? The big deal is, where can you show me in God's Word where God says, I approve that? Does that make sense? Those that live by principle obey an authority greater than themselves. They establish their principles before they are tested. Daniel chapter 3 and verse 16, Chadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Y'all remember that statement? We're not careful to answer thee in this matter. King, we're gonna tell you because we already decided what we're gonna do about this. Now I'm gonna tell you something that'll help you a lot is when you're not even sure, step back. Don't make that decision. You make it when you know it is clear in the word of God. Are y'all with me? They said we are not careful to answer thee on this matter. It's not like they're saying we're being disrespectful to you. We don't care what you think. But we've already thought this thing through, pal. And we know, we are not gonna bow. We are not gonna cave in, we are gonna obey God, and we're gonna do what God tells us to do. Establish your principles before you're tested. So many times young people ask, they say, you know, it's like they ask their parents and they, when can I start dating? You know, there's no age in the Bible. But I tell young people often, listen, show me some pages of notes you've taken on how you're gonna conduct yourself in relationships that you have in your life. Show me how your personal walk with God is doing on a daily basis. Y'all with me? Did you leave, are you still here? Oh, praise God, you're still here, amen. I wanna date, I wanna get married. What's your principles? Not about what you want, but about what you're supposed to be. See the difference? I want this and this and this and this and this and this. And God says, I want you to come to the place where you know what you believe, Hey, guess what? Then when you go to Bible college, you don't need to just follow a handbook or a rule book for the college. You already have developed standards in your life. Does that make sense? Okay, three of us. Okay, let's start all over again. Turn your Bibles. You get it, right? Those that live by feelings, they are controlled by their desires. In verse two, Ahab really wanted this vineyard. And we're going to see that because he's going to go in his bedroom and cry like a little baby in a few minutes because he's not getting what he wants. They're controlled by their desires. I want it. I want it. I want it. I've got to have it. I've got to have it. I've got to have it. How does that fall in line with Matthew 633? But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. That's God's promise. God is always faithful. Now, we know that by way of principle, but it's another thing when our feelings say, I want this right now. So we'll put on a credit card and spend $1,000 on a phone that we cannot afford, but I'll pay for it later. Yeah, you're gonna pay for it, all right. Hello. You're gonna pay for it, all right. They're controlled by their desires. I have to have it. New phone, new this, new that, I have to have it. New sneakers, I have to have it, whatever it may be. They're unaffected by the Bible. Those that live by feelings are captivated by what is pleasant to them. Genesis 3, 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise. Desires. Those that live by feelings are captivated by what is pleasant to them. So number one, we see a contrast in the ruling motivation. Naboth was ruled by an authority greater than himself. Ahab said, I'm the king. Well, his wife said, you're the king. We're gonna look at that here in a minute. You get what you want. You want it, it's yours, you're the king. You get whatever you want. By the way, Christians can get like that too. Pastors can get like that. I'm the pastor. We do things the way I want. Well, you understand that's not the way things operate here. Pastor is the under shepherd, we understand that. He understands he's under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, right? Amen. So there's a contrast in the ruling motivation. Number two, there's a contrast in the resulting disposition. Look at this, look at Naboth. Naboth had confidence through a clear conscience. Now I'm gonna give you a New Testament verse, but what we do know is that Naboth stood his ground. And Paul said in Acts 24, 16, and herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men. Those that live by principle have a confidence through a clear conscience. Now they may not know what the end result is gonna be from an authority, secularly. For example, many people may lose their job because they stand for what they believe is right. They say, this is my conviction, it's my belief, I cannot do that. And the employer says, okay, then you can no longer work here. I'm not saying this to divide our church here, but I know of dear people that worked in the medical field for many years. And when the requirement was put on to have the vaccination, maybe you may know some, there may be somebody here tonight. They said, I'm not going to get that vaccination. And many people lost their jobs. We're not here to discuss whether you think they're right or they're wrong, but what I am telling you is those that live by principle have a clear conscience. They have confidence through a clear conscience. Oh, what am I gonna do? How am I gonna pay my bills? Seek ye first the kingdom of God, his righteousness, and all these things shall be. It's easy for you to say, you're not going to take the bill collector phone calls. Well, do like one of my friends did. When they call you, just say, Jesus paid it all. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. And don't do that. Well, he did pay it all. That is a true statement, pastor, preacher, biblically. That's a true statement. Jesus paid it all. But I don't think the bill collector is going to be real impressed with that, right? See, you never tried that one, because you laughed. And you're like, wow, I need to try that one. But you do, you have a confidence. You have a confidence, you know what? I don't know what the end result's gonna be here, but the best thing you do is have a clear conscience with God. And say, I am doing what God in his word has told me I should do, and herein, herein, herein, herein I stand. Why is the world full of bold sinners and fearful saints? We're afraid we're gonna get written up or lose our job. And listen, you say, it's easy for you to say. It's not, I don't, you may be surprised, but suffice it to say, when you live by principle, church, when you continue to live by principle, you can lay your head on your pillow at night and say, God, you're in control. You're gonna take care of this. I gotta get some sleep tonight so that I can do your will tomorrow. You're the one that's gonna be up all night tonight. So help me get a little bit of sleep so I can know and do your will tomorrow. Those that live by principle have a confidence or a clear conscience. They find peace in righteousness. Hebrews 12, 11, now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. You find peace in righteousness. Nobody is peaceful that is being dishonest. You're living a lie. Oh, you can try to convince yourself. You can try to be a counterfeit. You can cheat the work, and you can do this, and you can do that, and you can cut corners and do whatever. But if you're saved, and by the way, even if you're not saved, people even have consciences, for crying out loud. But there is a peace of just doing the best you can. We're not talking about, we're not perfect, we're not looking down on everybody else, but there is a peacefulness in righteousness. That's what Hebrews 12, 11 tells us. There's no contentment in godliness. 1 Timothy 6.6, but godliness with contentment is great gain. We're talking tonight about living by principle or living by feelings. There's a contrast in the ruling motivation. There's a contrast in the resulting disposition. Those that live by principle have confidence, peace, contentment. Those that live by feelings are miserable when denied. Look at verse four, please. And Ahab came into his house, heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth, the Jesuit, had spoken to him. For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread. Wham, wham, wham, called the whambulance. What a wuss. He laid on his bed and turned his head and said, I'm not eating, I'm really sad. Verse five. Oh, but he had a wife. Oh boy, did he have a wife. But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? And he told his little story. And he said unto her, because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. This is like a kindergarten conversation here. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. See, those that live by feeling are miserable when they're denied. They give in to wicked friends. Look, there will come times in your life where you're going to have people that are going to think they have good intentions and can give you good advice. There's a man in the Bible named Job. You ever heard of him? He had friends named Bildad, Zophar, Ahimeet, no, no, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. First of all, I would never even pick friends with those names. Job, I don't mean to be unkind. I'll see you in heaven one day, and my little pup tent will be next to your big mansion. But nonetheless, those were his friends. Eliphaz, and then there was the other guy, Elihu. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. And they all had good intentions, but they didn't know why Job was going through what he was going through. But you know what, those that live by feelings, they give in to their wicked friends. Amnon had a friend. His name was Jonadad. He was a subtle man. He gave Amnon, helped Amnon craft a scheme that caused great destruction to David's family. A friend. And many times, those that live by feelings develop a callous conscience. You know, it's always a process. They don't even wanna go to church. All they're gonna do is yell at me, tell me how rotten I am. Now we might get passionate when we preach, but we're not here to tell people we're rotten, we're here to share the love of the word of God, amen. And believe that we can, it's excuses. A callous conscience. It's not that big a deal. Look at verses 15 and 16 of chapter 21 there. And it came to pass when, and I'm going ahead here, I understand that, but when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead. Jezebel said, Ahab, arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth is dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it. Wow, he won. We talked about that in the last point here. He thinks he won. But he didn't care. He didn't care that Naboth lost his life because he stood by conviction. See, there's a contrast, contrast in a ruling motivation, contrast in resulting disposition. Number three, there's a contrast, a big contrast in the unyielding conclusion. The Bible says in Mark 8.35, whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. I just want to remind you tonight, when you live by principle, You triumph in persecution. Now stay with me, because this is the big leagues. You triumph. Jesus said, what think of you? Somebody does this or does that. But what about when the tough times come? If you live by principle, you triumph in persecution. Well, if you read the rest of the story, you'll have to go back and look at it sometime. Of course, she wrote the letters. In verse 13, Naboth is there, and there came two men, children of Belial, and sat before him. And the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth, the blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones that he died. You know, some people would say that Naboth, I'm telling you, if people were honest, some people would say, Naboth really didn't have to do that. It's not that big a deal. I'm telling you, if they know the Bible, people wouldn't say that out loud. But there are people in their hearts that would say, it really isn't that big a deal. I mean, look, you can get money, buy another vineyard. What's the big deal? And the reality is, is when you live by principle, you learn that you, the persecution in our lives. Preacher talked about trials this morning. The trying of your faith, work with patience and let patience have her perfect work. You cannot grow as a Christian without trials. You can't do it. You cannot grow as a Christian without them. You have to, you have to. You say, why? Why does it have to be that way? And I'm not being sarcastic. You'll have to take that up with God when you get to heaven one day, okay? That's the way God fashioned it. But what I'm saying is, people would say Naboth really didn't win. But the reality is, is Naboth was a winner. People would say that about Stephen. Look, people would say, if they were honest, they'd say, listen, all you had to do, Stephen, was cut the sermon right there. Come back tomorrow and preach again. Oh, so when people get mad at you and they don't wanna hear it, so every time you're gonna kowtow and you're gonna pack your duds because somebody doesn't like it. Listen, folks, we are living in a day and time. We are on the fastest train we have ever been on, hear me well, in America, the fastest train we've ever been on. It's moving faster than it ever has. Are you not blown away? Are you absolutely, are you not blown away that the majority of America would actually endorse the nonsense and will have drank the Kool-Aid that they've been drinking and the news that they've been watching and listening to all the nonsense? It's absolutely crazy. I'm not getting on a political rant now. It's not about politics, but it is a mess. And that day will come when the young man, the next pastor, 20 or 30 years from now, well, as young and vibrant as our pastor is, maybe 40 years from now, and that pastor comes, and it will happen in America, where they're gonna say, you cannot say men and women. You cannot speak that way. You cannot preach against the sodomite crowd out there. You cannot do it. That day is going to come. We don't really know much about persecution in America. We really don't. But we know trials. We know trials. And can I just remind you that for as long as we are here, Jesus did not tell us while we're here, just remember this this week, he did not tell us to take up our crown. He told us to take up our what? Do you understand that Jesus has a cross for you? All around this room, every one of you, you, you, you, you, everybody. He has a cross for you. Now, wait a minute. No, you told me when I got saved, I'm going to heaven. That's because God said that, and it's true. And it's going to be awesome-saucing. Woo, doggy. It's going to be better than I can find the words to tell you. It's better than I can imagine. But he said, hey, while you're here, I took up my cross. I want you to take up your cross. and we're not here to polish our crown. Look at me. What are you, crazy? There's a big difference between a crown and a cross. And there will be one day when he, even though we don't even deserve it, sweet Jesus will reward us for what we've done, our works that have been faithful and pleased him. And that will be most wonderful. But those, we're not there yet. We're not there yet, y'all okay? We're not there yet. Those that live by principle triumph in persecution. Years ago, I've got to wrap this up. Years ago, somebody encouraged me to read a book called Tortured for Christ, Richard Warmbrand. How many of you ever heard that story before? It's amazing. And Richard Warmbrand was, of course, suffered incredibly for the cause for Christ. And he was sitting in his prison cell and it was awful. It was nothing like some kind of a plush Taj Mahal or whatever. It was awful, it was terrible, just absolutely horrible. And his prison guard had a coat on and he was, he had his coat and he was all dressed in his military whatever. And Richard Wernbeck had hardly anything on and the prison guard was getting cold. Some of you probably, if you read the book, read this story. The prison guard had like a whole bunch more clothes on than Richard Wurmbrand did and the Holy Spirit said to him, I want you to give him your shirt. All he had on was a shirt and his pants, I would guess, and this prison guard had all these coats on and he was getting cold. And so the Holy Spirit said, I want you to give him your shirt. And he gave him his shirt. And you know, we are so far removed from being willing to respond to friction. with more kindness, with the love of Christ. People can hardly wait in a Dunkin Donuts line for more than five minutes and absolutely roll their eyes at the person at the window because they made them late, as if it's their fault because you got there late in the first place. Y'all okay? Okay, I'm getting back to the message. I can tell you that wasn't appreciated. All right, let's move on. Be seen to live by principle, you triumph in persecution. Here's what Paul said. Paul said, I'm not there yet, but this is what Paul said. Most gladly, these are the words in the precious holy Bible. Most gladly were I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. You know what that word glory means? That means boast for. That means wish for. Most glad are the glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ merits upon me. That's big leagues right there. Y'all understand that? That's big leagues. Living by principle, you triumph in persecution. You live by feelings, you face God's judgment. In verses 17 through 29 of 1 Kings chapter 21, as much as Ahab and wicked Jezebel thought that they won, they really ended up being great losers. But as God said, you're gonna pay. You're gonna pay. I would rather triumph in my persecution than face God's judgment because I play God like a puppet. You know, that's very strong terminology in the Bible, in the book of Ezekiel, when the Bible says, God said to the people, you play me like a harlot. That's strong terminology in the Bible. And God does not appreciate it. when his children think that they can straddle some kind of a fence. Oh, it's hard. Listen, it is, it is, it is. I tell this story a lot at teen camp. I feel like I'm at teen camp tonight, thanks. We usually go to midnight, so I got a little bit more time here, praise God. But our son, Joel, our youngest son, Joel, he was working at Dunkin' Donuts. I tell this story occasionally there to the young people. And he did the best he could to let people know he was a Christian. You know, he didn't carry a big old sign around and hand flowers out and whatever. But he let people know he was a Christian. And his new kids started working there. And one night, he came up to Joel and he showed him his phone. He said, hey, Joel, look at this picture. It was an inappropriate picture of a woman. And Joel's mouth started quivering and his hands started shaking. Of course, he does that a lot anyways. But he said, He said to that guy, he said, don't you ever show me something like that again. I picked him up from that work that night and he told me that story. Man, I wept like a little baby when I got home that my boy had enough courage to stand when many adult men don't even have the courage to stand and say, don't you ever show me something like that again. I have made a covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think upon a maid? It's hard sometimes, isn't it? We've got to come to the place, we've got to be reminded tonight, we've got to live our lives by principle. By principle. We all want to live our lives by our feelings. We all do, it's our flesh. I'm not making excuses for it, it's our flesh. Why do I feel this way? It's our flesh. It's not okay. Well, okay, it's okay then. No, it's not okay. But you're going to be robed in it till you check out. Till one day we've got a, don't feel morbid about this, till one day we've got a casket up here. And you're already gone. You've been sweet Jesus. You are fine and dandy like a piece of rock candy. Like one of my friends from St. Louis Mo used to say. When I was in Babacar, I'd say, how you doing brother? Richard Hicks was his name. I said, how you doing buddy? He said, I'm fine and dandy like a piece of rock candy. I didn't know what that meant, but I thought, well, I tried rock candy once and I went to the dentist for a month, you know, but, but you know, one of these days we're going to be there. While we're here, we have an opportunity to live our lives by principle. Herein, I stand. And Lord, help me to deal with a whole bunch of love and kindness and graciousness and mercy. There are non-negotiables, there are non-negotiables, non-negotiables, things that are not for sale. You'd learn what those are, learn them in the Bible, learn what those are. And may God help us. to live this week by principle and not by feeling. How many of y'all got the message?