[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. I am so very glad to see you tonight, to be with you. This morning I was at Vision Baptist Church of Cobb County, and I'm not sure how many we had, but we had two people that don't usually come, so that was two better, two more than normal, which over there, that's 20%.
[0:21] Amen? And so we had a good increase, and that was a good time. And we were in John chapter 2, so I'm going back to the book of John, and Bo's preaching the book of John, so that's good.
[0:32] I enjoy getting to be there and preach that book again. So glad to have Jeff and Mindy Bush visiting with us. They used to be members here, but they are on the road all the time.
[0:43] So glad that they're here tonight and to have them with us. Let's have a word of prayer again, and I want to ask God to help me answer some questions, because I know the first question that they did have for me is a hard one, and I want to make sure I have God's wisdom as I answer that one, so you pray with me.
[1:00] Father, thank you for the chance to be here tonight. Thank you for the chance to be with your people. I pray you'd let us enjoy time together and time in your word. I pray, God, you'd be with us prayer time that we'll have after this, that as a church we'll gather and pray for each other.
[1:13] And God, you'd make that a special time, and I'll give you praise for it all. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Don't forget after church. It's already up there. After church at 6 o'clock, we are a little after 6.
[1:26] We will meet upstairs and pray. I won't keep you all night. My original intent was to have an all-night prayer meeting once a month. And I realized, man, y'all just couldn't handle that. And so that's better for me.
[1:38] Hey, I don't like them either. And so, hey, I don't have to feel carnal about it. I can blame it on the church. Amen. And the Peruvians love those things, man.
[1:48] They would all come to me all the time and say, Winky, we have an all-night prayer meeting. I said, I'll try to work one in. And it's just because I don't like it. But anyway, so we'll pray about 30 minutes to an hour or whatever, however long. And we'll pray together over you, over each of you, and that'll be a good time.
[2:02] All right, first question for tonight. Is Miss Betty, is somebody supposed to read them? Yep, we got it. Is Miss Betty really 60 years old? He put that word really in there.
[2:15] Mark Coffey says she's 70. I don't know how old Betty really is. I married her. I married her when she was 19. And that was over 40 years ago.
[2:28] And in August. So I think she adds up to about 60. And so all I know is I'm feeling like a young man today.
[2:39] Amen. I'm 59. I'm still in my 50s. The other day, our family got together. My mother and my wife share the same birthday.
[2:53] And so we went up and got her out of the nursing home. We went out to eat. We're sitting at the table. And we had 40-year-olds, 50-year-olds, 60-year-olds, and 70-year-olds. My mother's in the 70-year-olds.
[3:04] My wife's in the 60s. Me and a bunch of us are in the 50s. But I guess in a few days I'll break in there too. Next question. Maybe something a little more serious. In Exodus 12, 29, how could any of the firstborn cattle die if they were already dead from Exodus 9, 6 and Exodus 9, 25?
[3:22] You know, so we have some scholars in this church that are just ridiculous. Well, obviously, I'm going to leave that to John Pearson to explain at a later date.
[3:38] I am sure that John can give you all the explanations. Here's what I would say to you. They weren't all dead. Most of them were dead. Lots of them were dead. Maybe they went over and got some new cows.
[3:48] How do I know? So here's my answer. I don't know. Next question. If God is all-knowing, then can you please explain Genesis 6, 6 through 7?
[3:59] If he already knows everything, then he already knew this would happen, and it shouldn't have grieved him. He should have known it was coming. This is a very good question, and I'm glad you asked that question.
[4:10] By the way, if you have any more questions, you can add them in at any time during the night. You can text them to the guys, or you can go back and hand it to them, and we'll try to get to them. And you face a major consideration whenever you study the Bible.
[4:24] There are three major words that we know about our God that are big terms we use. He is omnipotent, all-powerful. He is omniscient, all-knowing. He's omnipresent. He's always present.
[4:36] He's always there. Those are three big words that Bible scholars have used a long time, and they're clearly shown in the Bible. So he is all-knowing. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows every time a bird falls, he knows about that.
[4:48] That's what Jesus said in Matthew 6. He did know the future before the world was ever formed, and so very true. There are two great truths in the Bible.
[5:00] This is hard for you, but I would really like you, if you'd listen to me, I really think this would help you. There are great truths in the Bible that are totally un-understandable, and no one can explain them.
[5:13] For 2,000 years, people have tried to explain them, but they only messed them up. So there are some things in the Bible you don't understand, you just accept. Let me give you the number one thing, the Trinity.
[5:25] Anybody who tells you they understand the Trinity has just admitted that they are an idiot. They don't understand the Trinity. The Trinity is God is three persons. He's not three parts.
[5:35] He's three persons. Three completely separate persons that are all the same person. They're all equal and coexistent, but all one.
[5:46] Now, how in the world can that happen? It can't. To do that, you'd have to be God. You say, how does that work? I don't know. It's not that God is like your father and your son and the husband.
[6:00] That's not the truth. That would be more like three parts or three ways of presenting himself. They are three completely distinct individuals, and yet they're one. So whenever anybody asks me about the Trinity, I simply say, I'll tell you what I know that the Bible says about the Trinity, and that's all I can do.
[6:16] I don't understand. So when you come to Genesis 6 and you want to say, how could God be grieved? I can only tell you this. God is sovereign.
[6:27] Sovereign. Some of you misused that term. Well, this is really going to get me in trouble. Sovereign is not a word that means he controls everything to the point that he makes all decisions, and you're a puppet.
[6:40] He does know everything. He is in charge. Nothing could happen without his allowing it to happen or him doing it. But some people would take sovereignty and take it to a point that it becomes fatalism, meaning that whatever is going to happen is going to happen, and we don't have any choice in the matter, and God is sovereign.
[6:57] He's just totally in control. That would mean that I hear some people, even when they talk, they'll say stuff like, well, you know, I'm just going to let God do whatever God wants to do. And it's like I won't go look for a job because if God's sovereign and he wants me to have a job, he'd give me a job.
[7:11] Well, that's just not the way it works. God never told you, sit on your rear, and I'll plant your garden for you. He said, I'm sovereign, and I'll send the sun out, and I'll send the rain, get out there and do some plowing and do some planting.
[7:24] So there's sovereignty. He is totally in charge. Salvation begins with him and ends with him. He is the God of salvation. That's true. On the other hand, man has a free will. That is completely the opposite of sovereignty.
[7:37] I mean, we're like saying man can make choices. Man can really make choices. Man can really make a difference. You say, well, how could those two things be true? I don't know, but they're both in there. So that's what we got.
[7:48] We're stuck with that. Charles Spurgeon said that sovereignty and free will, somebody asked him, how do you reconcile sovereignty and free will? He said, I don't need to. They're already good friends.
[8:01] Somebody else said that sovereignty and free will were like two railroad tracks. You know, there's two rails, and somewhere out there they get together. I don't see it, but somewhere they get together. So what happens in Genesis 6, 6 through 7?
[8:15] God knowingly made man, but you didn't please him. What man did didn't please him. God allows us to have our free will, and God knows what we're going to do, but God still feels.
[8:29] God's. So you're over here saying, well, if he already knew what was going to happen, it shouldn't have grieved him. Then you would remove all, you'd just make him into the coal.
[8:42] Mechanical, I did it. God. With no feelings in it, that's not who he presents himself as. That's not who he presents himself as. So this is really going to sound childish to you, but I think I am kind of a childish-minded person.
[8:56] And that is this. I don't understand a lot of things, and I accept that fully. I really consider myself like a flea on an elephant trying to explain to you about an elephant.
[9:07] I just don't understand an elephant. It's way bigger than me. But I am far smaller than the flea, and God is far greater than the elephant. His ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts. I don't understand God.
[9:17] The day you understand God is the day you'll be God. That's just not going to happen. So God is sovereign. God is all-powerful. God can do anything. He knows everything. He knew exactly what they were going to do, but he was still grieved.
[9:29] So there was another side that he's telling us. He said, I still feel. I still give man a chance. He knew exactly what he was going to do. Can I just tell you that I am just a peon, and I don't have a lot of influence, but I'm often teaching a church member what to do.
[9:43] Or someone, I say, don't do this. And in my mind, I know what they're going to do. I'm like, I have told them the best I can. I've explained the best I can. But I already know they're not going to do what I say, because they never do do what I say.
[9:54] I'm just, they got a good track record telling me they're not going to. Then they go do it, and I'm like, man, I'm sad they did that. But I knew they were going to do it. And I can do that on my little level. You can imagine what God can do.
[10:04] So don't take, never, let me explain some basic truths about our God. He is not the author of sin. He never does wrong. He never has done wrong.
[10:16] He never orchestrated, he never orchestrated that sin. When my daughter got raped, God did not put that in the script and say, I'd like to see a good rape today.
[10:28] God did not orchestrate that. You say, well, God could have stopped it. Yes, he could have stopped it. He allowed it. He didn't cause it. So I would just challenge you, God did not do that. God did not, God doesn't do wrong.
[10:40] God doesn't do wrong. The God you serve is a great God of love and grace and mercy. You will not understand him. So take the promises that apply to you and say, glory to God, I love what he says.
[10:51] I love how he's doing that in my life. But step short of trying to understand him. So he does know what's going to happen. I can tell you this, he already knows how you're going to die. He already knows how you're going to hurt.
[11:04] I can also tell you this, while you're hurting, he will hurt with you. Even though he'll be pleased when you die. Because the Bible says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. So the second you leave that body in your pain and you show up in glory, he'll be like, glory to God, you got home.
[11:19] I love you. I'm glad you're here. But while you're hurting, I can tell you this, when your loved one is dying, our Father loves you and he cares for you. And his heart hurts for you. He grieves for us.
[11:29] We can grieve him now. I can grieve him. I can do things that do not please him. I can make mistakes that do not please him. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that God has built all the world.
[11:41] He did not build the world, make robots out of us and fly off into eternity and leave us alone. He is involved in our lives. He cares about us. He does not cause sin. By the way, you often make the big mistake of saying, well, if God don't want me to do this, he'll stop me.
[11:56] That's just simply not true. God will let you do stuff he doesn't want you to do. And he'll know you is going to do it because he knows you're stupid. But he does not want you to do that.
[12:08] He did not want the children of Israel to do a lot of things. He did not want Moses to hit that rock the second time. There's just tons of things. He knows everything, but he doesn't cause it. That's hard to understand. That's very hard to understand.
[12:19] A young man asked me the other day, and we were at my house. Some of the young men were there, and one of the small guys was there. And he said, if God knew that Adam and Eve were going to sin, why did he ever put that tree in the garden?
[12:30] God wanted us to have free will. He wanted to work in our lives. Very deep question for a small kid. And it's a question I still ask. How does all this work together? And I don't know. So that is the best answer I can give for that.
[12:42] One more question, and maybe we'll sing a song. What happened to the dinosaurs? Because God told Noah to take one female and male of every creeping thing on the earth. Well, the same thing happened to the dinosaur that's happened to plenty of other animals.
[12:57] God did. If there were dinosaurs alive by the time Noah takes the ark, which I can't tell you if they had already disappeared, already been hunted down, already been killed, I don't know the answer to that.
[13:07] We know that Job saw dinosaurs, and Job saw Leviathan, and Job saw great things. But there are constantly things becoming extinct, aren't they? So it is nothing unusual for something to become extinct.
[13:21] At one time, supposedly on the United States or what was North America, buffalo roamed and heard so big you couldn't see across them. And then they got to the point there were almost no buffalo, and now they've done what they can to save those buffalo.
[13:34] So what happened was the dinosaur and the man did not inhabit the same piece of ground too well. And so the majority of those dinosaurs died off.
[13:45] They died off from lack of food. They died off from whatever else was going on. Died off because man killed them. And so what you think of as great dinosaurs, I think they did exist. I think that they could not cohabitate with man, and they were eventually taken out because of that.
[14:01] And so let me say this. I believe that every animal, two of every kind were put on that ark that were alive during that day and time. Every kind. So they were all put on there and put on the ark.
[14:14] So you're right. And your next question might be, how can they get a humongous dinosaur on the ark? That's not a really hard question. You take a little one. You take a baby.
[14:25] So there's not a hard, it's not hard. You know, I weigh 255, 260 pounds. But if we're going to put, if we're going to put, the best way to put me on there is put me as a baby. I used to weigh eight pounds. I've been trying to get back to my original weight.
[14:36] I just don't think I've got a chance. And so, but dinosaurs became extinct just like things have become extinct. And you hear about that all the time.
[14:46] And we're always trying to save, and we try to save little fish and little bugs and little everything. We're always trying to save them because they rapidly become extinct for the same reason. You know, I think it was just recently that Kyle and Hannah Shreve saw an eagle.
[15:03] Unless that was a fake picture. But they sent out a picture. It was a real picture. How do you know? You can't trust them. You can't trust them. I know Hannah's dad. But there was a bald eagle sitting there.
[15:16] Well, when I was a kid, you didn't see that happen. So they made a great comeback. And so things go extinct. All right. Andrew, hit me with a question. How did the first church in the New Testament love one another?
[15:30] So how should we love people in our church? Please be practical. I thought I was always practical. I have always been accused of being too practical. Well, I think that that, first, I think that's a great question.
[15:44] So let me, there are a ton of one another's in the Bible. And all of you can get on the Internet easily and look up a Bible program and just look up one another and put quotations on both sides of it.
[15:55] It'll go through the Bible and find you all the one another's. We are to love one another, pray for one another, serve one another, esteem one another. So there's all these one another's. That's where I would start at being practical.
[16:06] I would say I want to look for the motivate or provoke. We're to exhort one another. I don't remember how many one another's there are, but there are dozens of one another's in the Bible. And I would go look at those, and I think that would be a good place to start.
[16:19] It would be good just to be open and listen and hear what the other people have to say. People come into our church, and they need somebody they can talk to.
[16:31] They need to be able to say, hey, I've got problems. I'm hurting. Would you just listen to me? And so be a friend to somebody. Be willing to go out to eat with somebody.
[16:44] Have them over to your house to eat. There are certain people in a church that are always, I don't mean this in any way rude or ugly or anything, but they're hurting more than others.
[16:56] Maybe they've had a death in the family. They obviously need lots of sweet, kind love exhibited to them. Maybe they've been through a divorce. Churches are notorious for being mean to those people when we ought to be super kind to them.
[17:10] They're hurting, and it would be sweet if somebody just said, hey, I love you. Why don't you come, let's go get a bite to eat or whatever. Let's spend some time together. Let's be friends. Kids out of split homes, they have issues because they don't know mom and dad are fighting, and they're in all that, and it would be good if at church they felt like, man, there's some stability in my life.
[17:35] There's some people that love me and care about me at my church and are interested in me. There are people that could use financial help. I think we ought to come to church and look around, and I think if we see one of our brothers, and we know he works and we know he's trying to do the best he can, or maybe a single mom.
[17:55] Single moms, good night. That's a big one right there. So, hey, it wouldn't hurt to every now and then buy some groceries. You say, well, they didn't ask for anything. And if they have to ask, you ought to be proactive, not reactive.
[18:09] And so we ought to be looking at what we can do to help each other. I think every little thing you do, I think that everybody who's helping, I think the guys sitting back there in the nerd boat are loving all of us by the work they do.
[18:24] I think the guys that came here and did the work getting the screen set up, I think these music people over here, they're loving us. I think the choir people are loving us. I think the Sunday school teachers are loving us.
[18:35] All those are practical ways. I think discipleship is a loving thing because you're helping somebody grow in the Lord. And so if you get involved in discipleship and you love them, if you discipled somebody, if you would get involved in foundations, you would really practice a lot of love because you'd be with them.
[18:52] And being with somebody, that's a sign of love. You would teach them. You'd share it with them. You wouldn't be cocky or arrogant, but you'd share it with them. That's a sign of love. You'd pray with them. That's a sign of love. All that would go into it.
[19:04] So I think that over the years, and Trent Cornwell and I have discussed this on numerous occasions, it's rare the person who has a large funeral who didn't have a church.
[19:19] We'll go to funerals sometimes because we're supposed to, and we'll show up. Some have pretty large funerals, but the majority, almost nobody's there. But if they come out of the church, you can always tell. You come in there, and number one, there's food, and churches will pour the food on them.
[19:34] And then number two, there are tons of people that are there. And so I don't think you need to wait until they die before you show them you love them, but I think we connect. I think we connect. I think when you see somebody, I think when you see somebody in our church, and they don't seem to have anybody to talk to, you can love them by going and talking to them.
[19:50] You see them, they come in, they go out real quickly, and they've not connected with anybody. Connect with them. Get with them. One couple, get with another couple. I think that there's a ton of ways.
[20:01] I think cards and kindness and notes and phone calls and texts, I think that people want to be missed.
[20:12] I think that people want to be missed. My dad's in heaven now, but my daddy would have to work, and it was always so funny. We would come home from church, and daddy would always say, who asked about me?
[20:28] And if we said, nobody asked, he didn't feel like they was judging me. He was like, they better ask about me. They better want to know where I am. And, of course, I'm nervous now. As a pastor, you're always like, don't ask.
[20:38] If you ask, they think you're checking up on them. But daddy always wanted to know. Did anybody miss me? Did anybody miss me? I remember a lady in our second church who actually died in her home, and she didn't show up for church on Sunday, so people were worried about her.
[20:52] I went to see her, and she was dead. But the only people who would have checked on her was her family. I know my brother is a financial advisor, and so he works with mostly old people.
[21:03] And more than one time, he has gotten a phone call from some family members and said, we haven't heard from dad in a while. Do you mind going over and see if he's okay? And my brother went and found out they were dead. I'm like, well, where was their church?
[21:15] Where was their family? Why did you call the financial advisor to go check on her? I mean, I'm like, something wrong there somewhere. So I think that the one another is the best place to start.
[21:26] And if I can really just be blunt, I think if you're involved in discipleship and you're doing it at all like you should, you will be doing so much loving. You'll be getting together for breakfast or lunch or supper or another time together.
[21:42] You'll read the Bible together. You'll share the Word of God with them. You'll answer their questions. You'll be their friend. Again, discipleship is not about teaching a series of lessons. Discipleship is about loving somebody.
[21:55] Real discipleship is simply loving somebody. Some of you are not involved in discipleship because you think, I need to know so much more Bible. Not really. We can help you on that end. We can help you on that.
[22:07] Because you'll go through discipleship yourself first, which will join you with somebody else. You'll be joined up with somebody else that will help teach you the Bible. And they'll help you so that when you're teaching and you say, I've got to teach them on this and I'm not sure I understand it.
[22:19] No problem. Go to the guy that helped you. He'll help you again. Or she'll help you again. And then when you meet with somebody, you're loving them. I hope that vision has not been in any way a critical, mean-spirited, ugly church to you ever about anything.
[22:40] And I deal often with people that are burnt by churches and they call me and they want to know, where can I go to a church that's not going to be mean? And so on. And so you're loving each other is a great way.
[22:53] Discipleship, in my opinion, would be one of the best ways you could do that. I really, really, really, really encourage you to get involved in discipleship. You know by now that I have an extremely close relationship with all the missionaries, the ones out of our church.
[23:12] I have a father-son relationship that starts with discipleship. Jeff Bush and I are very close. But Jeff Bush was like a son to me in 1999 when I first met him.
[23:24] And we have been working together all these years since then. So his wife is special to me. His children are special to me. His hurts are special to me. I know when he's hurting. I can look at him and know. I have been here and there with him.
[23:36] So it's a friendship thing. And so I would challenge you to do that with people and you would be loving each other. And you'd be a blessing to people. And you would grow. And you know, if you want to grow in the Lord, you may be thinking, I don't know that I'm ready to disciple.
[23:49] Man, if you start discipling, you're going to grow like crazy yourself. And just let me say this. Man, don't make discipleship. Please, if you're going to do it, don't say, we'll meet at the church and we'll go over a Bible lesson for 45 minutes.
[24:02] Don't do that. Don't do that. You can do some of that, but man, more than that. Go get coffee together. Go do stuff together. Spend time together. Because what I would try to teach you is life on life discipleship.
[24:16] Watch me. Live with me. Walk with me. Learn how I do things. And let's get involved. And I think that would be a practical way to love people. Next question. Do you plan on starting another church after Vision Baptist Cobb County?
[24:30] If so, where? Man, who knows me? Yes, I would like to see about 100. 100. So 100 times yes. I am hoping I don't have to do so much of the work the next time.
[24:44] But I would like to see a bunch of churches started inside of 285. That's really where I want to go. I believe that the inner city of Atlanta is almost completely un-evangelized.
[24:56] There are churches down there, but there are tons of people that don't go to church. And I would like to see us start churches. We didn't start there because the Lord opened a door for us. That's really where I wanted to go to begin with.
[25:08] And there were several things that happened. If you kept up with what was going on, if you were in men's meetings or you talked to me about it. We had a church inside 285 that told me if I would wait this long, they would give me that building and we could work there.
[25:22] And then he backed out after he gave me his word. And that's all fine and dandy. But that ended up pushing me away from there. You have to have a place to meet. You have to have some people.
[25:32] And so God gave us the Boris family and now the Schwartz family. And now we have Josh and Jonah, which is a fantastic new couple that go to church there. They're faithful to all the services.
[25:43] They're already attending church well. Then Matt and Juliana Smith no longer attend here because they're down there. And I guess that's in Bo.
[25:53] And that's it. But I would like to start a church anywhere that needs a church. It does two things. I believe there are enough churches. I think there are plenty of good churches. I think this will blow your mind, but I think there are plenty of very good Southern Baptist churches.
[26:08] I think there are plenty of a good Bible church, maybe called a Bible church. I think there are plenty of good churches that preach the gospel in plenty of places. What I don't think they do is train leaders and support missionaries and send missionaries.
[26:26] Send missionaries. Not just support them. Anybody could give some money to missionaries. So, yeah, I would like to see something started in downtown Atlanta. If I had my way, if I had my way, we would have the largest African-American church in Georgia inside of the 285.
[26:44] Man, that would just thrill me to death because there's so many people I think need a church that's not a prosperity church. There are good people and they're hungry and they want the gospel. Downtown, there are Muslims, there are Hindus, there are just everything down there.
[26:59] And so I desperately want to see some things done there. I want a multicultural church. I want this church to have many more black people than it does, many more brown people, many more red people, green people, purple people, white people, redneck people, blueneck people, whatever.
[27:17] I just want a bunch of people. I like people. And so, yes, I would like to see more churches started. So pray that God would send us men. And what happened was it is one of my ministry philosophies that you don't start a ministry without a man to run the ministry.
[27:34] And so I wanted to start a church. I wanted a man. I just wanted to help him. I wanted us to go visiting with him, knock on doors with him. I did not want to be preaching there all the time, not because I don't like preaching, but I just didn't.
[27:47] I really wanted to help somebody, but God didn't give it. Every man who comes here comes to go somewhere else. So, yes, I want to start more. I hope you'll pray about that, and I hope you'll pray that God will help us start churches. I do not want to be an egomaniac that tries to build one church big where I get to do all the preaching.
[28:03] I'd like to see a whole lot of churches started. Next question. Why are Baptists so against dancing at weddings? What's wrong with some modest conservative dancing at a wedding, such as a father-daughter dance?
[28:14] Many Baptists watch So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent, American Idol, cheerleaders at sporting events, et cetera, but yet they get all in an uproar if, heaven forbid, someone wants a few dances at a wedding reception.
[28:31] Maybe we might have turned the camera off. All my independent brethren are going to think y'all are liberals. What are you doing watching? Why do you think you can dance? Please, that's an answer. Can we just change the question and ask Austin what Austin thinks and we'll just leave Baptists alone?
[28:57] I would say that historically, dancing has been what you do at wild parties.
[29:13] It's been two bodies rubbing together, grinding together, playing together, foreplay together, stuff in a public position, a public place.
[29:30] And so we would say that's not good. So I know that we all watch things on TV that, honestly, I don't know if we'd all watch it if Jesus were sitting there with us.
[29:48] I mean, if the Apostle Paul was in the room, I don't know if we'd say, hey, Paul, you want to check out America's Got Talent with me? We might all be like, let's watch Noah. I don't know what we'd do if the Apostle Paul was sitting there.
[30:05] Or Jesus said, hey, Jesus, check this out. Watch who can dance. So when I was a boy, they said, pray a knee and a dancing foot don't grow on the same leg.
[30:20] I heard that all the time when I was a kid. I would say that my answer would be that anything that could be, I need to be careful about things that could be construed or that have very bad associations.
[30:37] I have been asked the question on many occasions about social drinking. And I would say to you, you know, you'll say, well, there's not a verse that says I can't have a drink. And I would say, well, things lead.
[30:49] So I would be very careful about that. So I really don't think that you could say that a conservative dance at a wedding between a father and a daughter would be wrong.
[31:00] I think that would probably fall under your Christian liberty to do what you want to do. You're watching so you think you can dance. America's Got Talent. American Idol is a, I think that probably falls in your Christian liberty.
[31:15] And you're going to have to decide when you cross the line. There are things I watch that Betty says, I don't think you ought to be watching that. And so sometimes I want to take my liberty further than my wife is comfortable with.
[31:27] And so maybe you should think that. Watching cheerleaders at sporting events. You know, I mean, it depends on how well dressed they are. I think most of our wives aren't all that keen on us having the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in our home.
[31:45] Most of our wives are probably a tad uncomfortable with that. The fact is, when Sports Illustrated started it, they sent out a thing and said, if you do not want the swimsuit edition, we'll give you two free months free.
[31:57] You say, how do you know that? Because I read on the Internet. I've never taken sports. Me, sports, they don't go together. But I read about what goes on. So I would say, I would just say to you, be careful what you do and how it might influence somebody else.
[32:14] I think a dad and his daughter having a little dance, I'm just not going to say that I don't think that's wicked. Of course, if my daughter wanted to dance with me, since I don't ever dance, that would probably be a very scary thing.
[32:31] I think I would step on her toe, kick her, knock her down, fall down, and y'all would all be laughing your heads off before it was over. So I probably won't ever be dancing. Thank God they're married.
[32:42] And I don't plan on dancing with my daughter-in-laws or my granddaughters is a better word than my granddaughters either. So why Baptists are against dancing?
[32:53] I'll give you the answer, I think, why Baptists are against dancing at weddings because they're against dancing. Because dancing typically, you know, believe me, I know you love the skating, figure skating and ballet and all of those things.
[33:09] So let me just give you my guidelines, Austin's guidelines. Don't ever be involved in anything that shows off your daughter's body and your feminine body.
[33:24] We're to be modest people. We're to be modest people. And of all people who need to be modest, it's more ladies. Us men, no woman's ever looked at me and said, man, what a hunk, a hunk of burning love.
[33:36] Nobody looks at me and thinks that. But they look at me and say, what a hunk, a hunk of burning fat. That's what they look at me and think. So, but women, I mean, men, what's that TV program where they say, where they ask questions and they say, what do men want to see on a woman?
[33:54] Well, the number one answer, I don't need to tell you all. What do men want to see on a woman's body? Number one answer was, you know. They even have restaurants with that name. And so that was the number one answer.
[34:04] So anything you do that calls attention to your body, the Lord would say to you, no, you ought not be showing your breast, your backside, your belly. You need to be very careful.
[34:15] And I'm not trying to be judgmental here. Let's just be honest. The Bible's clear on modesty. The Bible's clear you to be modest. And the Bible's clear that you ought not be calling attention to your body. And so America's got talent, American Idol, or any of that.
[34:32] Often, often dancing can be quite lewd. But you said conservative dancing at a wedding. So I would just say this. I think that all falls on the side of your Christian liberty.
[34:44] And so if you were going to do that at your wedding, I don't think you would be sinning. I don't think God's going to love you less. I'm not saying that at all.
[34:57] The question was, why are Baptists against dancing? The reason is, typically, I'm going to be dancing with your wife. You're going to be dancing with my wife. You're going to put your hands on my wife.
[35:07] I'm going to put my hands on your wife. And probably we're all going to be like, would you keep your hands off my wife? And I think that there's probably, you know, we've all watched it on TV and everybody's dancing.
[35:18] And I would say to you that years ago, Betty and I were dating. And a friend of ours, whose name was Mel, gave her a hug. And he was just giving her one of them goodbye hugs.
[35:29] Betty hugs everybody. She always has hugged everybody. And she told me, I don't like the way he hugged me. That's the only time I think I've heard her say that in all these years. And I said, well, you hug everybody, what's the problem?
[35:40] She said, oh, there's hugs and then there's hugs. And so that guy was, he was doing some other kind of hug. So I would just say to you, be careful about modesty because the Bible is clear that we're to be modest.
[35:56] Be careful about influence. I think that television is probably doing us much more harm than we think it is just because we do watch that.
[36:07] We watch America's Got Talent. We watch any of those programs. And so we want to imitate them. And I would just say we've got to be careful because you need to look at your daughter.
[36:18] If I were you, man, I would step back and I'd look at my daughter and I'd say, I know what a man thinks. I know what a man looks at. And if you're a man and don't know what a man looks at, there was a guy in Peru, one of the young men, Delbert was his name.
[36:33] And he was a real Delbert. His name fit him. And he told me, he said, I love going to the swimming pool and I just float down on the bottom while the girls go across the top. I said, what you looking at? He said, you don't really want me to tell you.
[36:45] I said, I already know what you look at, you little pervert. And so just remember that that's your daughter. That's your daughter. And be careful. That's your wife. Be careful. So I think if you hug your daughter and you dance with your daughter.
[36:58] You know, I walked with my girls. I walked fingers and fingers like that. It was more like a daddy. It was more like I walked with Betty. My daughter stood by me, walked with me, hugged me, put their arm around me and put their hand into my belt because they couldn't get all the way around my big belly.
[37:13] And, you know, we had a very sweet and special relationship. And I think that's great. You just have to be careful. That would be my best answer. So things fall in Christian liberty.
[37:24] Things fall in Christian liberty. But be careful not to put things in liberty that would jeopardize your family and the relationship. Be careful that, you know, little boys quickly learn.
[37:42] I can tell you that I had young boys that had problems with the Sears and Roebuck catalog. They liked looking at the underwear section. So just be careful. I just say that to you.
[37:53] Just be careful. You ask the Lord. Heaven forbid if someone wants a few dances at a wedding reception. You know, I wouldn't want anybody dancing here at the church. You go somewhere else, what you do is your business.
[38:05] I mean, here at the church, I definitely would ask you not to do that. And so I would just say to you, be careful. You're a dad. Next question. What are some things we can do as Yoke Fellows to help our missionaries still on deputation?
[38:20] Well, I'll answer that about deputation and the ones that are on the field. So as a missionary, I felt totally divorced from my home church.
[38:36] Not because they were bad or I was good, and I could have done better on my end. But what happens is there's a simple rule of life, out of sight, out of mind.
[38:51] And since that's true about all of us, our missionaries are already on the field. Some of them don't even have Yoke Fellows yet. They need a Yoke Fellow. So some of you are not.
[39:03] We don't have Yoke Fellows. And you could get with Robert. There's like five or six families that still don't have Yoke Fellows. Ed will be leaving soon to start deputation within the month. Ed will no longer be here. He'll be starting deputation.
[39:14] So we need Yoke Fellows. There's the ones that don't have it. David Velasquez, Tyler Masters, Jeff Bush, Jonathan Marks, Kevin White. And then you can add to that. So what happened is I wanted to know all this stuff.
[39:28] Some of it is easy now with this church because of the Internet. And also I'm in constant touch with all the missionaries. But that won't always happen.
[39:39] You know, I'm going to get old, and I'm going to be out of here, and they need you as Yoke Fellows. It may be midnight where they are.
[40:14] They're watching. They're asking questions. If Chuck Littlefield stays in touch with Kyle and Hannah, that is not Vision Baptist Church.
[40:25] That's mom and dad, mother-in-law and father-in-law. So it's totally not saying that the Johnsons stay in touch with the Johnsons. That's different because family is going to stay in touch. So somebody needs to be in touch with them and to talk to them.
[40:38] So call them, write them, read their mail, communicate with the church. The last time we had the goer-sender relationship, a meeting and a fellowship, and some of the men came up here and some of the waities came up here and told about their missionary.
[40:54] That meant a lot to the missionaries. Some of the missionaries told me, I couldn't believe it, man. They wanted to know what was going on with me. They wanted to tell the church about it. They were excited that you were interested in them.
[41:06] So calling them, contacting them, asking them questions, and developing a relationship with them will go a long ways. Now, a guy on deputation. Deputation is a very strange time in a missionary's life.
[41:22] You have no roots. So you were somewhere this morning. Maybe you drove there last night. You got there last night. You spent the night in a motel. You hope you might have got stuck in somebody's home.
[41:34] And being stuck in somebody's home is always fun. I mean, because, I mean, people are different. But what's really fun is when you have to share the bathroom with the kids or whoever.
[41:47] And they got small kids that aren't careful in the bathroom and so on. And the bathroom's not in the best of shape and so on. And so then they got up, they went to church this morning.
[41:58] They got in their car. They drove four or five hours. They went to church tonight. They were tired. They had to really be happy. You don't want to have an all-night prayer meeting. But yet they were on the road today and preaching maybe for, between preaching and everything.
[42:09] They easily had a 10, 12, 14-hour day. And so if you were in touch with them, if you found out what their needs were, if you just communicated with them, Facebook gives you a false feeling of being in contact.
[42:25] We all know what everybody does because everybody's got Facebook except for John Pearson and Jeff Mize. They don't have it. They got their own thing. They call it the Mize book or something. I don't know.
[42:35] But anyway, everybody knows what's going on, but you're not talking to me. How did it go in church this morning? Anybody new join the church? Anything happening?
[42:47] How did your deputation go? How did the offering go? How are things happening for you? All of those things would be a big deal. So if you contacted him and you stay in touch with him, he knows you love him.
[42:59] Brother Paul used to call me. Brother Paul was the best pastor that ever supported me. And he didn't give me but like $40 a month. But every month Brother Paul called me and he'd say, hey, hey, buddy, how you doing?
[43:13] And then he would talk to me an hour. And sometimes I'd be discouraged. The first handful of times he talked to me, probably five or six months, him calling me. I didn't even want him to call me. I didn't know him to speak of.
[43:25] I wasn't that interested in him. But he wouldn't quit. And so we slowly became friends. He always knew what was going on in my ministry. He read my prayer letters. He deciphered things. He'd write me and say, I noticed you kind of seem to be dodging something you should have been saying.
[43:41] And he said, I saw that in your letter. I said, what are you talking about? He said, it seems to me you've got a little problem and you just kind of glossed over it. There's something going on. I'd say, I know there is. He said, yeah, there is.
[43:51] I'd say, okay, I'll tell you what it is. And then he would be like, I knew it. Why don't you just be honest? You'd be honest with me. And so we became friends. He used to come see me every year. He loved dog fights.
[44:03] In Peru, there's hundreds of dogs on the street. Hundreds. And so you'd be driving down the road and two dogs would just be going at it. He would scream, stop the car! And I'd slide to a side.
[44:14] What? He said, they're fighting. I'm pulling for the little one. What are you pulling for? Man, if anybody in America knew you were like this. So it's not about money.
[44:25] It's about friendship. It's about friendship. Brother Paul did give money, but it was about friendship. It's about the phone call. It's about the interest. It's about little things.
[44:38] There's a lady named Martha who writes me every week. I can't pronounce her last name. I think she was in Tucson. She's now in New Hampshire or something.
[44:50] She writes me every week. She does it to a whole bunch of guys. I mean, she's an older lady, probably 75. And every week she says, dear pastor, I just want you to know I'm praying for you. A lot of times they are.
[45:01] It's a bulk letter. And it's obvious it's a bulk letter. But then she'll write me a personal one. Not a Sunday goes by that Jim Roberts doesn't text me and say, I'm praying for you today.
[45:13] I was in a meeting Friday night with the missionaries. I made the comment that there's some things you don't pray about. For example, you should not pray that God would help you lose weight. Because you don't really, I mean, God ain't involved in that.
[45:26] I'm the one that controls the fork. So I never pray God help me lose weight. I just know it ain't God's fault. I'm fat because I'm fat because I like to eat. And it ain't like God's going to, I'm starting to fork to my mouth and God's going to grab my hand and say, stop!
[45:37] That's not what happens. I said, don't pray about that. So it's like standing on Interstate 75 dressed in all black. And here comes a Mack truck at 100 miles an hour. And you're standing there and saying, pray, God, I'm praying that truck don't hit me.
[45:48] I said, get off the stake in Interstate. Don't pray about it. Just get off the Interstate. And so he told me today, he said, I'm praying for you to stay off 75 before you're at it. Little things, little things. So I think that you can do that with these guys.
[46:00] They just need a friend. The nature of the beast is so much easier. When I was a missionary, it was hard to get in touch with somebody. $3 a minute when I started, $4 a minute to talk to somebody.
[46:11] Today it's free. If you just call them, text them, Facebook them, private message them, whatever, they'll have a blast.
[46:25] There's an article I just got sent to me by one of the missionaries today about how bad deputation is. And, you know, we work with the system, but deputation is a trying time for a missionary.
[46:36] Next question. Can you explain what circumcision is? Who is to be circumcised and what does it have to do with us? Circumcision was a sign.
[46:49] Ooh, is it after 6? I'm getting overtime now, guys. I just want you to know I'm on time and a half. Hey, I'm staying here. I'm not going down to Cobb County or everything.
[47:01] Is this our last question? Okay. It wasn't what it was going to be anyway. All right. Circumcision was a physical operation. It was taking place among Jewish men as a sign that they were Jewish.
[47:13] It was part of their covenant. God said, mark yourselves as my people by being circumcised. And so it was a sign of them throwing off the old life of them being marked for God.
[47:27] So it was for Jewish men, Jewish males. Girls, obviously, were not circumcised. What does it have to do with us? Nothing. You do not have to be, men do not need to be circumcised.
[47:37] Many American men are circumcised. Probably the majority of American men are circumcised. We're circumcised because, we are circumcised because the founders of our country thought they were Israel.
[47:50] They really got mixed up on covenant theology. And so they thought that this was the new promised land and that they were the lost tribes of Israel. There's a lot of dumb stuff being said. And so we're all circumcised because of that.
[48:03] And so we've all been given 50 reasons why you ought to be circumcised. And some of that may be true and some of that may not be true. It may be clear, it may not be. The truth of the matter is that we were never told to be circumcised in the New Testament.
[48:15] In the New Testament, Paul takes Timothy and he goes up to a meeting with Timothy. And Timothy's daddy was a Greek, so he wasn't circumcised. And on the way to the meeting, on the way to the meeting, Paul says, I really need to circumcise you so those Jews won't get offended.
[48:29] That's kind of that dancing thing. He said, I'm going to circumcise you so those Jews don't get offended. And you can imagine Timothy is a grown man. He's probably 30 years old. Paul says, we're going to have surgery right here on the side of the road.
[48:40] There was no painkillers really. I mean, they didn't put him out. I mean, he got circumcised. And Paul did it. That's really funny. I mean, me and my disciples, no relationship like that.
[48:51] It never happened. And so he circumcised him and then he took him on to the meeting. Well, a little later, he's going to take Titus. And Titus is also not circumcised. And Titus was not asked to be circumcised.
[49:03] I have often wondered if Titus and Timothy had to talk about that. And Titus said, praise Jesus. Grace was more understood by my time. And I can only imagine Timothy being bitter.
[49:15] I was back under the fundamental time. And I had to get circumcised. So, but let me tell you what it has to do with us today. In the New Testament, in the book of Colossians, there's a circumcision of the heart.
[49:27] Not a circumcision of the heart. And what it was is a cutting away of that unnecessary stuff. Cutting away of the law. Cutting away of all the rules. Cutting away of what I do.
[49:39] Cutting away of me and letting it be Jesus. So it's not a physical thing. But it is me realizing, man, it is Jesus who died on a cross that paid my sin debt. It is Jesus who saves me.
[49:50] And it is not me. It is a coming clean and realizing. And in our situation, in a lot of ways, we would picture that. We would picture that by standing and saying, I have trusted Jesus and I'm on my way to heaven.
[50:04] And we would get baptized. But don't take that the next step. So you've got Protestant churches that baptize babies because they compare it to circumcision. And so they baptize babies because you circumcised a baby.
[50:18] But never in the New Testament is that ever told to be done. And so I went to Peru. And in Peru, almost no one, no baby that I would know of would ever be circumcised.
[50:29] No boy baby. It would be totally foreign to them. How many lessons did I give on circumcision? None. How many times did I tell them they ought to get circumcised? None.
[50:40] How many times did I give them a lesson on how they would be cleaner if they would be like Americans who get circumcised? Never mention that. Because the Bible never says that in the New Testament. That was a Jewish thing and you're not a Jew.
[50:51] You're not a Jew and you're not under the law. You're under grace. So tons of things they did you don't do. You can eat bacon. Praise Jesus. You don't have to get circumcised.
[51:02] Praise Jesus. You can have bacon wrapped around shrimp. Both of which you couldn't have under the law. Praise Jesus. I had that for lunch.
[51:12] And I had it yesterday. My daughter-in-law fixed it for Betty's, her birthday, her health. Shrimp wrapped in bacon. We had green beans wrapped in bacon.
[51:25] Man, that is sinful, isn't it? And I enjoyed every bit of it. So circumcision is not for you. Circumcision is the picture of us being cut away from Adam and the old man and being the new man, which is Jesus.
[51:39] All right, thank you so very much for coming tonight. I always enjoy the question answer time because you get to ask anything you want. I hope you'll plan what you would ask for next month. Go ahead and ask questions.
[51:52] I mean, I don't think you, I think you can see, I knew the dancing question was coming. Nothing's off limit. I didn't say don't ask that question. I knew Betty was, I was going to be asking if Betty was over, Betty was over 60.
[52:02] She's over 60 now. I mean, she was 60 a week ago. Now she's over 60. And so I knew that question was coming. So feel free to ask any question you want. I love you.
[52:13] And I'm so honored that I get to be a pastor of this church and get to work with you. And I am blessed. I am blessed that you love Jesus and you keep loving him. And you're helping start churches and you're supporting so many missionaries.
[52:25] I'm just, I'm excited. $34,000, not a million, are in the Nehemiah Fund already. I will tell you that I'm asking God in prayer privately already that we would up our missionary support from that deputation issue.
[52:40] That we would learn, that we'd go ahead and start bumping it up and start maybe a bump up every year to give more money to our missionaries. And I'm excited about what God's doing. I'm excited about all the plans that are made for this coming year.
[52:52] And so thank you so very much for all that you're doing. Let's have a word of prayer. And Cannon's going to come with some announcements. Father, I love you. And I thank you so much for the chance to meet with your people.
[53:03] I pray your richest blessings on them. I pray you bless our prayer time. I pray you bless them as they go home. I pray you give them a good week. I pray, God, you'd help them just to relax and enjoy you. The person that you are.
[53:15] The way that you work in our lives. The great salvation we have. The great grace that we have. The love and mercy and long-suffering that you show towards us. Help us to enjoy that this week.
[53:25] And be proud that we know you and are blessed by you. In Jesus' name, amen. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.