[0:00] If you would, to Psalm chapter 52. I'm going to preempt it with, How many of you love the Lord Jesus Christ more than anything else in the entire world, the entire universe, whatever?
[0:12] Do you? You do? That wasn't as hearty as I thought. I bet you gave the Dodgers a little bit more yesterday than you're giving the Lord. Watch out!
[0:22] Watch out! Come on, man. Say it! You do? You do? That wasn't as hearty as I thought. I bet you gave the Dodgers a little bit more yesterday than you're giving the Lord. Psalm chapter 52. Am I not on?
[0:33] I'm not on. Does that surprise anybody? Those of you that do hear me wherever I go? Let's see. I got it. There we go. How am I now?
[0:45] Good to go. All right. Psalm 52. Look at verse 3 with me. Thou lovest evil more than good, God.
[0:56] And lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Are there things in our lives that God would call evil that we're willing to embrace and call good?
[1:11] Certain movies we might watch. Music we might listen to. Attitudes we may have.
[1:22] Places we visit on the internet or on social media. These are, you know, I ask this question because I ask myself the same question. It's a good time. You know what companies do once a year?
[1:34] They take inventory. Yeah. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5. Let a man examine himself. See whether he be found in the faith. Except he be reprobate.
[1:45] You really love the Lord God? More than anything else? More than some of the evil that might be existing in your lives that you know about? That he knows about? And that he's already told you it's evil?
[1:57] But it's okay with you and it's okay with me if it just continues to stay there? However, this psalmist here said, Thou lovest evil more than good. It doesn't mean that they don't love good.
[2:10] It just means they love evil more. And you know, we can love the Lord. But is there anything we love more than the Lord? We know the verse when I first got saved.
[2:24] I got saved February the 12th, 1984. In Columbia, Maryland. And the verse that I was reading in my Bible shortly after I got saved was Isaiah 520.
[2:36] And we know the verse well. Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil. Put light for dark and dark for light. And sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet. And I remember reading that verse and I said, I believe the book.
[2:47] I believe the book. And that will come to pass someday. I just don't think I'll ever see it in my lifetime. But boy are we seeing it in our lifetime.
[2:59] Yes. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. And that can be a Bible believer too.
[3:10] It doesn't just mean a lost person. That can be us. And in some instances it is us. Because as long as this is around, we're going to have problems.
[3:22] Paul the Apostle didn't like his flesh. He said, you know, he was the chief of sinners he called himself. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
[3:33] Oh, wretched man that I am. Yeah. Things we used to call wicked. Somebody came up to me the other night and said, I remember that message you preached.
[3:44] Take it to the brook. He goes, man, I love that message. Take it to the brook. Oh, yeah. Oh, brick. Brook Kidron. Oh, brook. I mean, think about it though. Were there things that when you got saved, you took to the brook.
[3:58] And you threw them in. And those things may now not be as evil to you as they once were. Why?
[4:09] Because we learn just enough Bible to ruin ourselves. Yeah. Seriously. I mean, if I want to justify lying, I've got Rahab.
[4:21] I've got the Hebrew midwives. And God blessed both of them for their lies. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa. Yeah.
[4:32] And I can take you to passages that say that the aged women likewise not be given to much wine. Yeah. Much wine. But a little is okay for your stomach's sake.
[4:45] Yeah. I can justify my sin if I want to. I know just enough Bible to justify what I want to do. I could even justify murder if I wanted to. God killed people.
[4:58] Why can't I? You know, if I want to justify it, I can. But the question is whether or not we want to love evil more than good.
[5:09] Have we returned to the brook and made any withdrawals? You know, we know that's a place where we're supposed to make deposits.
[5:19] That's right. But how many of us have gone back and made some withdrawals? I remember when I first got saved, we used to like watching John Wayne movies. And my boys, when they were young, you know, we'd sit around watching John Wayne movies, and we really loved it.
[5:37] But then we started to, you know, get convicted about, you know, every once in a while there would be a cuss word. So you know what I did? And one of them, which was, you know, I forgot exactly which one it was, but it had quite a few cuss words in it.
[5:51] So I went through. I had a beta back then. Anybody remember a beta machines? Okay. I had a beta back then. And I went through, and every time that cuss word was coming, I was watching the counter on the reel.
[6:06] Watching the counter, and when that cuss word's coming, I hit record. So it ends up bleeping it out. Bleeps out that cuss word. So now I can watch that movie, but my boys didn't enjoy it because every other, you know, no sentence got finished.
[6:19] All these bleeps and blops and everything else. Just because I was convicted, that cussing was not what I wanted to hear. I didn't want to hear the Lord's name used in vain.
[6:32] I didn't want to hear their cussing, you know, saying, damn this or damn. I didn't want to hear that. So I blanked it out. But do I still blank them out today?
[6:47] What convicted me back then? Is it still a conviction to me today? Or have I come to the place where I love evil just a little bit more than good?
[7:03] Point number one, lovers of evil more than lovers of good. Point number two, turn your Bible to Matthew chapter 10. You know, the Bible says that we rest with the scriptures under our own destruction.
[7:23] Be careful that you don't use the Bible to justify the life you want to live. Matthew chapter 10, look at verse 37.
[7:33] Verse we know very well. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
[7:46] Again, it doesn't say we don't love the Lord. It just says we love family a little bit more. Mother or father, I love a little bit more. Son or daughter, I love a little bit more.
[7:59] And the Lord says you're not worthy of me. If that's the case. You know, this one's a lot harder than it sounds. Because if you ever got put into the position where you had to make a choice between the Lord and your mother or your father or the Lord and a son or a daughter, that's where the litmus test is.
[8:20] That's where it comes to pass right there as to whether who you love more. That's a tough one. How many of you could have done what Abraham did?
[8:33] How many of you would have done it? Oh yeah, I would have done it. Yeah, right. You'd stick a knife right through your son's heart. Yeah. He did it because he believed, Hebrews 11, that God could have raised him from the dead.
[8:48] And he was called the friend of God. You know, we make, I've heard mothers and fathers make excuses for their kids all the time when they're stinking behavior, when they're rebels, little brats.
[9:05] Oh, they're hungry. Oh, they didn't get their nap. No, they didn't get their butt whipped is what they didn't get. My kids have been tired. They're still expected to behave themselves when they're tired.
[9:16] They're still expected to behave themselves when they're hungry. And so are we. So are we. So they come out with this thing called hangry, right? Turn your Bible, if you would, to Deuteronomy 21.
[9:35] You know, Abraham wasn't the only one that gave up their child. What about Hannah with Samuel? Here's my baby boy. My only one. I've never had a baby. Here's my baby. Take them and raise them for the Lord.
[9:48] What'd she do? Get to see him once a year? Would you have done that? Who do you love more? Son or daughter? Mother or father? Oh, I love the Lord more than anything in the world.
[10:01] Really? Really? Today's a little inventory. A little self-examination. Do we really love the Lord, gentlemen? If we want to make a difference in this community, you want to make a difference in this church, you want to make a difference in your families?
[10:14] We better put the Lord where he belongs. Deuteronomy 21, verse 18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, or that when they have chastened him will not hearken unto them, then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the elders of his city and unto the gate of his place.
[10:36] And they shall say unto the elders of his city, this our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die.
[10:49] So shalt thou put evil away from among you and all Israel shall hear in fear. That was God's will. That's what he wanted to have happen. How many of you would have taken a stubborn and rebellious son, a glutton or a drunkard, said, here you go, guys.
[11:05] Here you go, elders. Take them. How many of you would have done that? Yet it's the word. It's what God wanted to have happen so that Israel would see, hear, and fear.
[11:16] That's why they used to hang horse thieves in the public square. Capital punishment was witnessed. My father wasn't even a Christian. He believed in it. He said, Paul got spanked more than the other three all put together.
[11:31] And when he used to whip me, he'd bring the other three down to watch. They didn't want what Paul got. My brother always used to say, I don't have to be good.
[11:41] I just have to be better than Paul. Wise guy. But can you imagine a mother or father turning their son over to the elders of the city to stone him to death?
[11:54] Could you have done it? Or do you love son or daughter more than him? For being stubborn and rebellious?
[12:06] For being a glutton? You guys remember that when you go through the line later. Amen? But you know, truth be known, if we were to implement this today, children would be on the endangered species list.
[12:28] Turn your Bible to 1 Corinthians 5. Who do you love more? 1 Corinthians 5.
[12:43] This one's going to hurt. Verse 1. It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you. And such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father's wife.
[12:56] And you are puffed up. And if not rather mourned. That he had done this deed might be taken away from among you. Hmm. Verse 9.
[13:07] I wrote unto you in an epistle not to keep company with fornicators. Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters. For then must ye needs go out of the world.
[13:20] But now I have written unto you not to keep company. If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such a one know not to eat.
[13:39] Amen. You know, I know preachers that are loosey-goosey on this one. Yeah. From the standpoint, they say, well, this is in reference to the church. Really?
[13:50] How do you define not to keep company? Yeah. If I sit down at a table with a fornicator, a man that calls himself a brother, it doesn't say he had to be a brother.
[14:03] It just said he had to call himself one. Because some people try and judge whether or not the person is saved. Oh, he's not saved. That doesn't apply. He's not. I don't really believe he's saved.
[14:14] Yeah, he made a profession of faith. And I know, you know, he calls himself a brother. But he's not really saved. So they try and justify it that way. I've known preachers whose grandkids are sleeping.
[14:30] They've moved out. They're living with a guy. They're saved. They're born again. They were members of the church. They're living with a guy committing fornication. And they're still allowed to come back in the church.
[14:42] They're still allowed to come over to his house to have supper. Who do you love more? Who do you love more? I know it's hard.
[14:53] I've got a wayward son. My son ran away at 17 years old. Shacked up with his girlfriend. I didn't even know where they were. I disfellowshipped myself from them.
[15:06] I broke communication with him. He was not allowed back in the house. He was not allowed to call us. It was broken. He was kicked out of the church. I disfellowshipped him from the church.
[15:18] And his girlfriend. About a month later. I got a phone call. Dad, I want to get right. I know I was wrong.
[15:30] I know I've sinned. I just want to get right. Number one. Is the apology. Is the acknowledgement that you have sinned. To acknowledge it.
[15:42] Yep. That's right. It is me, Lord. I'm the man. Then he had to come before the church. Yep. Both of them.
[15:52] Mm-hmm. Stand right behind this pulpit. And address the entire church body. Confess their sin. And beg for their forgiveness. And if they wanted to be reinstated into the fellowship of the church.
[16:04] They had to ask for it. Amen. And commit. No more. No more. They did everything they were supposed to do.
[16:14] Everything I asked them to do. Then the next week I married them. Amen. So they could be right before God's eyes. Amen. I wonder if they would have done that.
[16:27] Had I not been extreme. Some people say, that's not love. That's not the love of God. God would have embraced them.
[16:37] Really? My God doesn't tell me to embrace them. That's right. My God tells me to shun them. Mm-hmm. So that they may be ashamed. That's right.
[16:48] Second Thessalonians chapter three. Same thing with a man that won't work. Amen. Neither should he eat. That's right. Withdraw yourself from that man. That he might be ashamed.
[16:58] No. I wanted my son to be ashamed of himself. And that's what brought him to repentance. But what would have happened had I said, I could never do that to my son.
[17:12] I cannot shun my son. I cannot allow, not just, you know, disapprove of my son coming into my home. He's my son. You know, all I'd be saying by doing that was, Lord, I love him more than you.
[17:26] That's it. And that wouldn't have been good for my son. You know, I said last night about the Holy Spirit. You know, I killed a lot of sheep when I was young in the Lord.
[17:40] I didn't have, I didn't go to Bible school. I didn't really have a mentor. So, you know, my son today who pastors the church, he just basically does whatever I didn't do. You know, and then he's good.
[17:51] You know, so. He learned from his dad. But, you know, I didn't have a mentor. So I did kill a lot of sheep. But I learned one thing. Do it God's way.
[18:02] Do it God's way. It'll all be okay. You got to do it God's way, though. You got to be willing to do the hard thing. Love must be tough. How many of you keep company and eat with brothers and sisters in Christ that are fornicating?
[18:22] I had one pastor say to me, well, read the rest of the scripture, brother. It says, covetous, idolater, railer, drunkard, and extortioner. One pastor said to me, who of us, of all of us, hasn't been a railer before?
[18:38] A railer is, you know, the definition is a person who uses insulting, reproachful language or engages in abusive, scornful speech against others. Yeah, we have been railers before.
[18:50] That does not give me the right to ignore a fornicator. Yeah, and if I'm a railer and I'm constantly railing and I'm not getting the thing right, yeah, you should withdraw from me.
[19:02] Have nothing to do with an angry man, the Bible says. Lest thou be like him. I don't want to be an angry man. Only when I'm preaching. Amen. But the bottom line, we must do our best, gentlemen, to show the Lord that we love him above our friends and family.
[19:20] We must show our friends and family that we love the Lord above them as well. Point number three, turn to Romans chapter one.
[19:34] And in verse 25, the Bible says, Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever.
[19:58] Amen. You notice all of these verses that I'm using say more than. Not that they didn't, you know, worship the creator. They just worshiped the creatures more than. It's not that they didn't love the Lord.
[20:10] It's just they loved mom and dad and son and daughter more than. It's not that they didn't love good. It's just they loved evil more than. And that's the examination I want all of us to take today.
[20:23] Where is your love for the Lord? And is there anything that you love more than him? God wants us to love his creation.
[20:35] He wants us to. But not more than him. Not more than the creator. Save the brown owl. Save the whale. You know, but yet if you want to go hunting, you need permits, tags, and licenses to hunt creatures.
[20:50] But yet it's open game time for abortions year round. Without any license or tag or fee. You know, I learned when I was just preaching over in Arizona.
[21:08] And I learned that you can get fined for cutting down certain cactus. Seriously. For cutting down a plant. You know, and that's where we are.
[21:19] That's where we are as a society. We worship the creature more than the creator. Get the Bible out of the government. Get the Bible out of the schools.
[21:30] Get the Bible out of the churches. Get the Bible out of the homes. And get the Bible out of our lives. They don't want that Bible anywhere near you. You know, I feel really sorry for my, I have 18 grandchildren.
[21:43] And I feel sorry for those kids. Should the Lord tarry his coming? Can you imagine what this world is going to be like when they grow up? I mean, I was just driving over to the gym today just to catch a little workout.
[21:57] And they got all these protesters out there. We don't need a king and all the rest of this garbage going on. What do you think that's going to be like in 20 years? I truly believe that if something doesn't happen, either the Lord comes back or something.
[22:15] What we're doing right now is going to be called hate speech. We're going to get arrested for talking about stoning a rebellious son or daughter. That's what's coming.
[22:31] And I just want the Lord to know that no matter what comes, I want him to know I love him more than anything. More than all these things.
[22:42] Don't you think there's an agenda? Don't you think there's an agenda, folks? Do you think it's all happenstance? All of this is designed. There's a design to it all.
[22:55] There are actually people in our government that hate the United States of America. Hate what we stand for. Would love to see it abolished and gone.
[23:07] We know that. Look at verse 23. Think about it.
[23:20] Man? How about Santa Claus? Thanksgiving? For birds? Easter bunny? For four-footed beasts? Halloween? For creeping things?
[23:31] All of our major holiday type things have a different focal point. It's not, I don't want you to not talk about Jesus at Christmas.
[23:42] Just talk about ho, ho, ho a little bit more. No, I don't want you to ignore the resurrection. But let's just talk about Easter bunnies and eggs and Easter egg hunts and chocolate.
[23:56] Let's just talk about that a little bit more. These are the things, the very foundations. Thanksgiving? That's what this nation was founded on. That was our holiday.
[24:08] And what's it now? What's it all about now? How much you can fill your belly with. It's not about thankfulness. Just get your eyes off of the real reason.
[24:22] Listen, I'm not telling you to go 180 degrees. I'm not telling you to go to here. I just want you to get your eyes off of Jesus and put it on that man in the red suit.
[24:33] I just want you to get your eyes off of Jesus and put it on that little hippity hop. I just want you to get your eyes off Jesus and put it on that turkey that's on the table. Oh.
[24:44] Amen. Because if I can just get you one degree off the mark in about ten years, you'll be this far away. Amen. Amen.
[24:54] More than. More than. You know, God has made some beautiful things. We got to go to the Grand Canyon.
[25:07] I grew up near Niagara Falls. Just the mountains that you have around here, they're so majestic and beautiful in the oceans. God created all that. But we better remember when we're looking at those things and saying how beautiful they are.
[25:19] That we give credit to the Creator. How beautiful He is. That's right. Amen. How beautiful He is. Point number four. Turn your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 3.
[25:41] 2 Timothy chapter 3. And in verse 1. This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[25:51] Here it is.
[26:11] Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. More than. Doesn't mean you can't love your pleasures. But how in the world are we loving pleasure more than God?
[26:25] How do we do that? You know, the Bible even says in Hebrews chapter 11 about Moses choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
[26:37] But you know, not all pleasure is sin. You know, you want to go golfing? That's not sin. That's not sin. You want to go out swimming in the ocean?
[26:50] That's not sin. But these things, if you remember again, take it to the brook. Weights and sins. Let us lay aside the weights and the sins which does so easily beset us.
[27:03] Weights are not sins and sins are not weights. But a weight can become a sin. An affection to the heart when it's not kept in its proper balance.
[27:18] Some things that we just enjoy doing. How many pleasures keep us from faithfully attending church when the doors are open? For me, back when I was a young Christian, it was the Buffalo Bills.
[27:33] They played at 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. My wife wanted to go back to church. So I said, you go ahead. I'm not really feeling all that good right now. My stomach's a little upset.
[27:45] And she'd say, why? Because Buffalo's losing? No. No! And she'd go back to church and I'd sit there on the couch. Hated. Oh, man.
[27:56] It used to bug me so much when she'd come back. Because I would always say to myself, I should have gone. I should have gone. I should have gone. But I proved to God that the Buffalo Bills were more important to me than Him. How many things do we put before Him?
[28:10] You know, again, there's nothing wrong with affections. You know, the Bible says, They that are Christ have crucified the flesh with affections and lusts.
[28:23] We know that the lust is sin, but an affection is a weight. An affection. What God wants us to do is to keep our affections under control, in balance, and never to allow them to be higher in our hearts than He is.
[28:39] It's an affection. It's a weight. But don't let it keep you from running your race. The Bible says even to lay it aside. You know what? When I was down in Arizona, we went outside of our RV one night and looked up, and I just could not believe the stars.
[28:57] I could not believe. Just, wow! Unbelievable! But, you know, when I was in downtown Los Angeles and I looked up, I didn't see any of those stars. Only Hollywood stars.
[29:10] But, uh, that's being, and there's nothing wrong with the lights in Los Angeles. It's just that they interfere. From what I'm really trying to see.
[29:21] And when affections and weights interfere with what you're really trying to see, they should be laid aside. Take them to the brook. Turn your Bible, if you would, to John chapter 21.
[29:38] Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Now, we remember here in John chapter 21, this is where Peter said, I go a-fishing.
[29:58] After he had denied the Lord three times. I go a-fishing. Now, you guys, remember this too, and this is a good portion of Scripture to bring that up. Don't think you're not being watched.
[30:11] Don't think you're not being observed by others. Peter went, but so did the other disciples go with him. And one of them was the beloved, John, who went with Peter.
[30:23] All right, I'll go with you. You know, you're going to affect somebody. If you're increasing in your love of God, you're going to affect somebody. If you're decreasing in your love of God, you're going to affect somebody.
[30:37] I would rather be a positive influence than a negative one. But Peter's saying, I'm going fishing. Why? It was familiar to him. It was a place of comfort to him.
[30:47] He just needed something that he could relate to, something that he knew he loved. He was feeling terrible, I'm sure, about having denied the Lord. But then the Lord comes to him.
[31:00] And what's Peter on the boat? He's naked, man. You know, you can usually tell when your heart's not right. You know, you find yourself naked on the boat with a bunch of guys. I mean, sir.
[31:14] It is rough. But look at verse 15. So when they had dined, Jesus saith unto Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?
[31:29] More than? More than what, Lord? Well, maybe more than the boat. Maybe more than the nets. Maybe more than all the fish. You said, I go fishing.
[31:40] You obviously have a love for all this. You love me more than these? You may have them on the net. Oh, Lord, you know I love you. That's not what I asked you. I know you love me.
[31:52] I just asked you if you love me more than these. You do. You do. You do. That's right. You do. I'm home. That's right. That's right. That's it. You have it.
[32:04] The last point I want to bring up. Turn to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. How's the examination going? How's the inventory doing?
[32:20] John chapter 12. Look at verse 42 with me. Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.
[32:33] For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. I mean, examine yourself right now. How many of your coworkers don't know that you're a Christian?
[32:47] How many of your neighbors? Do you even know your neighbors? How many of your relatives know that you're a Christian? How many of them have gotten a clear presentation of the gospel?
[33:03] We're so concerned with what other people think. It makes me sick as a preacher. Because, I mean, I don't know. Maybe it was just me. Whenever I was sitting out there, I felt like every message was just for me.
[33:17] And I beelined myself up to the altar. God probably got sick and tired of seeing me up here. He probably did. He said, Paul, you're up here saying the same things you said last week. I know, Lord.
[33:29] I'm still trying, though. I'm not done trying. You know, I'm a work in progress. Work with me, Lord. Because I really want to change. I really do want to change.
[33:39] But so many people, they just sit there with their arms crossed. Impress me with your preaching. And then the Holy Spirit of God comes down and touches your heart about something. He says, that was for you.
[33:50] And we just sit there and we say, I'm not going to make a stinking decision. What are they going to think? Pastor just got done preaching for two hours on drinking. And you think I'm going to go up to the altar? Well, you don't drink anymore.
[34:01] Yeah, but they don't know that. I was going to go to the altar. I would probably go to the altar just to say, thank you, Lord, for having delivered me from drinking. But what will they think?
[34:13] Who the stink cares? We care way too much about what everyone else thinks over what the Lord thinks. It's one of the main reasons that people sit in their own pews.
[34:32] That was a message I preached sitting in your own pew. But I wonder what God thinks while we prefer man's praise over his praise.
[34:44] Well, remember Nicodemus? He came to Jesus by night. Why? He was afraid. Are you kidding me? They'll throw him out.
[34:55] Get rid of him. But you remember Jairus? Jairus? Yeah. Whose daughter lay dying? Yeah. Yeah. And he came to Jesus by day. Jesus was thronged with people.
[35:07] They were all around him. Yeah. And he came by day and fell at his feet. Yeah. Yeah. Knowing that he could have lost his position in the synagogue. Yeah. No money.
[35:18] Now lose his income. His employment. What are all his friends going to do? What is all his family going to do? He'll be an outcast in the city. Yeah. He said, I don't care.
[35:29] Why? My daughter lay dying. I love my daughter. Yeah. I love my daughter more than my job. I love my daughter more than the synagogue. I love my daughter more than the money.
[35:40] I love my daughter more than my fame. I love the daughter more than my, you know, the rest of the family who may disown me. I love my daughter more than my friends. I love my daughter. Just imagine what you would do for the Lord Jesus Christ if you truly did love him more than anything else.
[35:59] Than anything else. I shared this testimony with some other churches, but you've never heard it, so you need to. The Lord tested me on this one day.
[36:13] I was an engineering, I was a vice president of an engineering firm in Rochester when I was living up there. And we were hiring, I was hiring people out of our church.
[36:24] We had 20 people working for us in our church, from our church. And I was hiring, we were, sales guys were getting saved all the time. Customer service people were getting saved. Engineers were getting saved.
[36:34] It was like revival every time we went to work. It was so great. And got a call from a guy from Los Angeles, as a matter of fact. He was a Jewish man.
[36:44] He wanted to apply for an engineering sales position that we had open. And I was talking to him on the phone. Everything seemed great. And I had him fly into Rochester, come into the company.
[36:55] We'll continue the interview and see if we have a good fit. So I said, I'll pick you up at the airport, or at the hotel by the airport. And we'll go grab some breakfast and I'll bring you to the office. He said, okay, that'd be great.
[37:08] I go to pick him up. We go to breakfast. And the waitress comes, delivers our food, lays it down in front of me. And I bow my head to thank the Lord for my food. When I lift my head, he says, what are you doing?
[37:21] I said, I'm thanking the Lord Jesus Christ for my food. Remember, he's a Jewish man. And one thing led to another. He kept asking this question and this question and this question. Well, you've got to know that he got both barrels of the shotgun.
[37:34] He knew that by the end of that breakfast, if he died without Jesus Christ, he was going to die and split hell wide open. He knew it. Everything was fine, though. We went to the office, did the interview.
[37:46] We hired him. Everything was great. He flew back the next day to Los Angeles, and he was going to be our salesman out here on the West Coast. Two weeks later, my partner, he was the president of the company.
[37:58] I was the vice president. He walks into my office and says, here, read this. I said, what's that? I open it up. We're being sued for religious persecution and harassment from this Jewish man because I shared the gospel with him and told him he was going to go to hell if he didn't get saved.
[38:16] Being sued for religious persecution and harassment. My partner, who was not saved, and I'd witnessed to him many times, and he loved all the Christians that we had in our company because they had great work ethic.
[38:31] And they were great people. He loved that, but he himself didn't get saved. And he said to me that day, he said, Paul, from now on, from this point forward, you're never to witness and talk about Jesus Christ with any employee in this company again.
[38:50] I said, that was on my own time. That was breakfast. He goes, I know. No more. Done. I said, yeah, you're right. I'm right what? I said, yeah, I'm done.
[39:01] I'm gone. I was making six figures of income. That was back in the mid-80s. That was a lot of money back then. And I had 450,000 shares of that company's stock.
[39:16] And I turned and walked away from all of it. But I didn't realize, you see, I had had a dream.
[39:26] I had had a dream that my mom was in hell after I got saved. And my mom was trying to climb out of hell. She was trying to scale the walls.
[39:37] Her arms were on fire. There were burns and scabs all over her and on her face. And she was crying out to me because I was standing on the edge of hell looking down in. And she's saying, Paul, help me.
[39:49] Paul, help me. Paul, help me. You ever have a dream that was so real when you woke up, you thought it actually happened? And I remember telling the Lord after that, I said, Lord, whatever it takes, I don't care.
[40:05] Whatever it takes, I don't want to see my mom dying to go to hell. Well, guess what? The day that my partner came in and I told him I am done.
[40:16] I am leaving the company. You can keep your money. You can keep everything. I'm out of here. I'm walking with Jesus and I'm going out the door. My mom was my secretary.
[40:28] And my office door was open. She heard the entire conversation. She heard what I was willing to give up for Jesus Christ. And it was just a few months after that that she bowed the knee in our kitchen.
[40:45] And said, Lord Jesus, you saved my soul. I promise never to pray to Mary again. But that's not. You know how God says that he's willing to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think?
[41:01] He said, I'm not done. I said, what do you mean you're not done, God? What? He goes, well, shortly thereafter, my mom passed away. I was allowed to preach her funeral in the Catholic church that I grew up in.
[41:13] The priest that was over me when I was in grammar school, they brought him out of retirement to do that funeral. He was sitting right behind me while I preached the gospel to not just my brothers and sisters and my dad, but to every cousin, every aunt, every neighbor, every co-worker, every friend.
[41:33] They had over 300 people there. And God said, go ahead, let her rip. Come on. And then a few years after that, my dad died and he said, go ahead, do the whole thing again. Some of them didn't get it the first time.
[41:46] And I did it again. We got to preach at my dad's funeral in the Catholic church. But you know what God wanted to see? He just wanted to see that I loved his praise more than the praise of men.
[42:02] It's a good time today in this meeting to do some examination. I say I love them most of all, but do I really?
[42:14] Or are there some things that I love more than? More than. Love us thou me more than these?
[42:29] It's a good time for reflection, examination. Preacher, I'll turn it over to you.