In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the challenges of being a school teacher and dealing with disruptive students. He emphasizes the importance of being a shining light in the world and not just preaching the gospel, but living it out in our actions. The speaker also discusses the consequences of not truly serving God and how it can lead to judgment. He encourages the audience to trust in the Lord, do good, and not be envious of the apparent success of the wicked, as their prosperity is temporary.

You tonight is with great praise and thanksgiving, Lord. The many, many times, Lord, that you have helped us and guided us and delivered us, Lord, it's just so wonderful. And we do praise you and we appreciate your goodness to us, Lord, especially in the details of our lives, the day-to-day problems, Lord, you help us. And Lord, we pray tonight for those in our church who are having problems just at this time, and Lord, we pray you will clarify, lift them up, give them wisdom and blessing and deliverance, Lord, from every problem. We just look to you. You're a great God and so very kind to us, Lord. We thank you for your goodness. Remember Ann Kena tonight especially, Lord, that you'll be with her right at this time, Lord, to give her great grace and peace and your presence, Lord, in a wonderful way. We thank you, Lord. Now help us tonight, Lord, that we'll do just what, say what we're supposed to in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, I felt tonight as I prayed we should continue in Psalm 34, where I think it's starting tonight, in verse 16 of Psalm 34. 16. I mean, these are just kind of general exhortations to righteousness, but there's promises along with them. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. We're seeing so much evil in America, so many things that think all these people are winning with their lying and their stealing and the things they're doing, but they're not. And God, you know, it comes to me more all the time that religion gets in the way of what God wants. The Jewish religion is like that. The Christian religion is like that. So we end up, instead of doing what God wants, which is to be righteous, to be truthful, to be upright, honorable, kind, and merciful, we end up with our religion. And I tell you, we've made Christ out to be a fire escape. He's a fire escape. The idea is accept Christ and you won't go to hell. That's not the gospel. That's not the gospel. In fact, of course there is a hell and there is a heaven. I understand that well. We know the rich man was in hell, but he wasn't in hell because he rejected Christ. Why was the rich man in hell? Because he was not blessed, because that's a big red door you have to keep from going. Yes, in the law under which he was living, the Old Testament law, commands people to be merciful to the poor. That's why he was in hell. He wasn't in hell because he didn't do the religion. He was in hell because he was stingy. And you know, that's one of the greatest mistakes in Christian thinking, is we think that what God is after, in other words, accept Christ and you won't go to hell. How many know that the Apostle Paul in all the epistles that he wrote never used the word hell once? I'll tell you another thing, that never in the Bible, one time, once, uno, has Christ ever presented as the escape from hell. Never. I know that's what we preach, and it's not scriptural. And I'll tell you why, because it gives people the impression that the way you get to heaven is by accepting Christ. And that's not in the Bible either. People ought to read their Bible sometimes. The hell is for the wicked, whether you're a Christian or not. Hell is for the wicked. And the purpose of accepting Christ is so he can forgive us our past sins, and then help us to live right. And if we don't live right, we're going to go to hell. The Bible says the faith of the Lord is against those who do evil. Now accepting Christ does not change that. What it does is when some guy comes to the Lord, and maybe he's lived a rotten life, he has maybe, you know, left his wife, or a younger woman, or he's been a liar, or a thief, or cruel, and to get ahead he has hurt people, and so on. He's been, he's seen the poor around him, he hasn't helped them, he's unmerciful, he maybe has employees, and he doesn't treat them right, doesn't pay them enough. These are things that God detests. Okay, so let's say there's a guy like that, and he comes to Jesus. He says, Lord, I, he gets convicted about his sin, and maybe he's got a heart attack or something, and he feels, well you know, I'm a short-term around here, and I want to make my peace with God. So, he comes to Christ, and Christ forgives his sins. He accepts the blood atonement, and Christ forgives his sins. So, it's just as though he never sinned. I mean, the Lord has that kind of power. Just as though the man never sinned. He's got that kind of power. The past is gone, it's under the blood, he doesn't have to prove anything, he casts himself on God, and says, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. That's the gospel. That's right. And the purpose is not primarily to escape hell, although that's part of it, but it's to please God. Let's please God. How to do what's right. You know you did what was wrong, and so you do this to please God. Not just to play some game so that you won't be punished for what you've done. I mean, repentance includes the idea that I really feel wrong about what I've done. I feel wrong about what I've done. And sometimes when you come to the Lord, the Lord has you do restitution. You go back and, not always, but sometimes. And by the Lord's help, you go and you make things right. Maybe you go and tell somebody you're sorry for the way you treated them. Maybe you come to your children and say, I'm sorry I let you down. You know, I left you when I ran off and left your mother and left you poor and everything, and now you're grown up, and your mother's dead, and I'm getting old, and I'm up there, and I'm sorry for what I've done. And that's why you come to God. It's because you've done the wrong thing. Not a fire escape. It's not fire insurance. It's life insurance. But it's not fire insurance. But this is where Christianity has missed the mark. They think, okay, it's what you do after that that makes the difference. Okay, you come and God washes away your sins. All men are the same size at the foot of the cross. And God washes away your sins. Well, what do you do after that? Well, you start reading your Bible and praying and finding out how you're supposed to live. You don't presume on God's goodness. And He helps you. He not only forgives you, but He helps you to be a better person, to tell the truth, to be honest, to work with your own hands, and be quiet and do your business. God helps you. He helps you to change what you're sowing so that what you reap is what you want to reap. You can't sow sin and reap life. So today, I think more often than not, people are presuming on God's goodness, on the blood of the cross. They say, well, I know I shouldn't do this, but I'll do it and then God will forgive me. Try that. You can't play games with God. He's too good. He always wins the game. God is loving. God is merciful. But you go presuming on that goodness and that mercy and on the blood of His Son and you're in trouble. I mean, make no mistake, hell is real and it's for the wicked. And God did not give us Jesus Christ as a way of living wickedly and escaping hell. And that's the impression that church people have. I know I've been around a long time and I know that's what they're thinking in their mind. Well, I know I'm not doing right, but good old Jesus. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way. These words from Psalms 34 are, the promises are good today and the stipulations are good today. You know what it's like? It's like a man, I remember when I was a boy in New Haven, in West Haven actually, and Sheriff Slavin was the high sheriff of New Haven. And he started a program called First Offender. And oh, this is many, many years ago. My goodness, we're talking 68 years ago. And he started this program called First Offender. And the idea was, let's say a young guy did something, never done anything wrong in his life, but maybe he went out and he stole a car or he did something like that. And he was caught and he was arrested, but his past had been perfect. And Sheriff Slavin wanted a program so that that guy could learn his lesson, put the fear of God in him, and go out and make the rest of his life okay. And the past would not be dragging around his neck. So everywhere he went, he had this record. It's called First Offender. It's an expunger record. Give the young fella a clean start. A wonderful, compassionate thing by Sheriff Slavin of New Haven. But you see, if you have a program, that's kind of like Christianity. That's kind of the way the gospel is. But then, let's say this boy stole a car, and the kid is 16, and he comes before the judge, and the judge has mercy on him. He turns it over to Sheriff Slavin and says, put him in the First Offender program. We'll just wipe it out. Give this boy a fresh start. Okay, wonderful. But let's say that the following week, he steals a car again. See? Now you're not talking about a First Offender. You're talking about somebody that you've got to get a little more serious. So maybe the judge says, well, he's been open up, brought up. His father left him. He's only got his mother, the poor kid. What we'll do is we'll put him on probation for two years. A son, by all that's holy, you better shave up and get him out of here, before I change my mind. Two weeks later, he steals another car. He comes before the judge. You're in county. Next person. I'm going to see what I'm saying. Well, it's that way with God. You don't figure that he's going to be a First Offender every time you come, but that's what Christian people do, and they don't shape up. And as a result, our religion, our Christian religion has got a bad name, because people say they're full of hypocrites. The churches are full of hypocrites. And we are. And actually, we're no worse than the people in the world. They're not doing any better. They're not doing any better. But you see, they expect more from us, because we go to church. They're doing the same thing. They know it. You want to find out how a Christian should live, don't ask another Christian, because they'll talk to you about grace. Ask an unsaved person. Go in a bar, go down a skid row, sit in a stool next to somebody there, and say, how do you think a Christian should live? They'll tell you. He shouldn't be here. That's right. He should be a decent person. He should tell the truth. But they're all hypocrites. I had a boss once, and he was a Christian, fine Christian. He cheated me all the time. He cheated on the job. He cheated on the inspectors around him all the time. Didn't pay the help. Who needs it? Pass the wine. Yeah. I haven't been a wino, but I've done enough with drunks to know how they do and how they think. And a skid row in LA. They know. They know what's right. And that's why Jesus said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works. And instead of that, we go out and give them the four steps of salvation. Now's the time to do that. If God gives you a ministry of personal work, and you've got that ministry, and you've got that burden, then that's the thing to do. But the world is, I mean, there's been so much gospel preached in the United States of America that man has got the world saved five times over. But the people don't serve God. They don't. It doesn't make the liar tell the truth. He goes to church and lies in church. He does the four steps of salvation and he keeps on lying. Well, that's no good. And God is through with it and he's sick of it. And our nation's ready for judgment because of it. Yes, sir. Our nation's ready of judgment because of that very thing. The Jews did the same thing. When Jesus told them about it, he says, here are your tithing on your herbs. You get all your tea leaves out and divide them up so as you can give a tenth to the church. And he says, you omit judgment, mercy, and faith. And you say to your son, if you say Korban, which means that whatever service you might have expected from me, mother and dad, I'm giving it to the temple. And he doesn't have to help his father and mother anymore because of this thing called Korban. And Jesus brought up short about it. So the Jews have substituted religion for what God wants, which is honesty and mercy. And the Christian church has done the precise same thing. So there's nothing like religion to ruin your character. The truth. Hey, Sandra, that's good preaching. Darn it. That's right. Well, we smoked out Sandra. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil and accepting Christ doesn't change that. Accepting Christ gives you the first offender program. It gives you a chance to get your act together. And then he helps you. He gives you his Holy Spirit and he helps you. Gives you the church, gives you the elders to help you to do what? To quit doing evil. What is evil? Like I said, being unmerciful, cheating the help. James talks about that. He says, woe unto you, rich man, because the cries of the laborers have come into your ears. He says, your riches are going to turn into cancer. So James said, yeah. He says, the cries of the laborers that you've defrauded have come into the ears of the Lord of hosts. I remember one time I was in a place and there was this lady. She is a school principal. And I was directing student teachers, what it was. And this lady had a beef about the Mexican laborers. You know, they're out there and they expect to get so much money. And I looked at her. I looked at that lady and I thought you never pick cucumbers in the heat. I have. I know what that's like. Nine hours a day down at Lobmeyer's farm in Chula Vista, picking green beans, picking cucumbers, hoeing corn. Man, you're back in there. Let's burn black. Then look at this thing sitting at the desk talking about the Mexicans. It's a wonder I didn't say something. But I was representing the university as a, you know, supervising student teachers. I kept my mouth shut. But I thought, lady, you ought to go out there sometime and get on your knees and go around and pick cucumbers. See how you like it in the sun all day. People don't like that. They're unmerciful. Man. But, hallelujah. There's something better. All right. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Always makes me think of Hitler, because I was a boy when he was going so strong. And I'll tell you, he had his pocket battleships and he had his Luftwaffe and he had all these things going. I swear it looked like he was going to win the war. You know, he came within an inch of conquering Britain. Britain, England, Audrey and I were over there a few months ago, as you know, and you can still see the results of the war. They're still living it. They're still living Dunkirk over there. I mean, they're still rehearsing it and rehearsing it. And they have museums where you go and you go through the castle where they commanded, where the vice admiral commanded the evacuation of Dunkirk. You know, they evacuated over 300,000 men, practically the entire British army. And they got down where there was seven days food left in England. And they were not able to defend themselves as Hitler crossed the channel. In the meanwhile, Hitler had command of the French coast because he came down on a pincer movement, wiped out the French army and nearly wiped out the English army. He did. They lost 10,000 men crossing the channel just from the mess that was there. But they saved the British expeditionary force, over 300,000 men. But they were equipped and they knew it. And Hitler was massing his forces on the French border, ready to cross the channel. And the English knew they were going to fight street by street because all they had was the men that they had there that didn't have enough food, didn't have enough weapons. They had a home guard and some of them had old rifles and some of them had spikes, you know. And they're going to hold, they're going to defend England street by street. But Hitler had them. He had them. He come with an ace of wiping out England. Hitler did. He was going strong. And something happened. There wasn't anything anybody did. And it was God evidently decided to save England and give it another go around. I don't think he'd do it again now, the shape they're in now morally. But he did. And Hitler decided he was going to invade Russia. And he changed his mind. And he backed off and went off in another direction and gave England a chance to regroup. And then Hitler and then Churchill did a few little tricks and so did FDR behind the back of the American people and got America into the war on England's side. There's a lot of shenanigans went on there between Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. But anyway, it finally threw America into the war. And so then, then they managed to smash the Axis powers. I thought of that many times when I was a boy, it looked like Hitler was going to win. But it's just like it says, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. I remember after the war, they couldn't find Hitler. They couldn't even find his body. I think they finally identified somebody from dental records. But how totally, you know, one moment he's, it looks like he's going to do what Napoleon couldn't do, which was conquer the whole world, England, and then, then he'd have Europe, then eventually be after the United States. And then all of a sudden, they can't find him. So God's word holds true. And all the wicked we see today, they're boasting themselves, and they're going to do this, and they're going to do that, and China and Russia and Iraq and Iran and all the rest of them. God may use them to punish us for our sins, but the wicked will never finally win. Never. That's what it's telling us. Don't worry about the wicked, just you act righteous, and God will take care of the wicked. There's nothing going to change that. And I've lived long enough to see it. Praise the Lord. There's an old saying, maybe you've heard it, time wounds all heals. It's true. All right. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them. Now we think, well, the Lord hears us because we're nice. The Lord hears you when you're doing what you're supposed to, and I talked about that Sunday. You want God to save your family? Live righteously. Live righteously. Just being a churchy religious isn't going to do it. You live righteously, and the Lord will hear you when you pray. We've said, we've gone so overboard on the grace thing, there's a saying that no one's worthy but Christ. You know about five times in the New Testament, it commends us to be worthy. Did you know that? Walk worthy of the kingdom. Walk worthy of your calling. That you may be counted worthy of the kingdom. 2 Thessalonians the first chapter. You say, well, I'm not worthy, Christ is worthy. I know Christ is worthy, and more worthy than any of us, but he wants you, when he saves you, and heals you, and forgives your sins, then he wants you to start acting in a way that makes him proud. Oh, I'm a sinner, I can't help myself. You most certainly can't. Straighten up. That's what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15. Awake to righteousness and quit your sinning. Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's good preaching too, amen. Amen. The righteous cry out. They need to mumble something. If you want something from God, cry out. Let the Lord know what it is. Say, Lord, I need help. And he'll hear you. Come down and see what the commotion is. Blow the trumpet in his ear. You know, do a little number on your harmonica. Let God know you need help. That's persuading. And if you're living it, God will hear you, and he'll send help from the sanctuary. Boy, can he help. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them, and he delivers them from almost all their troubles. Praise the Lord. Is that right, Jonathan? What does it say up there? And he hears them and delivers them from what? What does it say? All, like the powdered soap. All. All their troubles. Larry, you got any troubles? All their troubles. Tony, you got any troubles? All their troubles. I know Brother Big doesn't have any, because he's righteous. All their troubles. Well, stand on it. It's just as true as John 3.16. You know what? The Lord loves optimism. And you know, we get banged in the head so much in life, and there's one trouble. You go from trouble to trouble, it seems, instead of from grace to grace. You go from trouble to trouble. Trouble to trouble. And it can make you pessimistic. Pretty soon you read that verse, well, he delivers you from quite a few of them. That makes you pessimistic. Listen, hang in there. When God says all, he doesn't mean pretty near all. He means all. Keep your optimism up there. The reason you're having the trouble you have is because God is shaping your personality, and if he didn't give you trouble, you wouldn't pray. You'd get so foolish nobody could stand you. You'd get giddy. And when you get trouble, the purpose of it is so God can hear your little voice chirping. It's to make you pray. But the promise is all, so you keep your optimism. Here I am, 74, and I'm optimistic. Pitiful. They wear off their shoes, kicking me in the head, and I'm still optimistic. Yes, sir, because I know eventually I'm not going to have any trouble. Wasn't today, but tomorrow. Because if it isn't true, John 3.16 isn't true, and I'm hanging in there. Yes, sir, I'm getting younger every day. The Lord, he delivers them from all their trouble. Isn't that marvelous? Whoa, what a promise. Better than money in the bank. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. There's a good verse on that in Matthew 5.4. And the archangel up there in the sound booth will get us Matthew 5.4. Maybe you never noticed this. Maybe you didn't notice this. Blessed are those who mourn. Now, isn't that interesting? That's a part of God's personality, is to bring down the high and pull up the low. He just enjoys doing that. And I think King David knew that, and that's why as rich as he was, and my goodness, the man was a billionaire, as rich as King David was, he'd come to the Lord and say, this poor man, this poor man cried. The Lord heard him. In other places it says, the rich he sent empty away. Blessed are those who mourn. And somewhere in Ecclesiastes it says it's better to be in the house of the dead than at a party. You know? It's a good idea when you see people that are mourning, then carry on worse than them. It'll make them feel better. If there's anything that kills people when they're feeling bad, it's for you to go around with a big grin on your face, telling them that if they had faith, they'd be all better. They feel like kicking you out of the house. You want to make people feel better, then get down lower than where they are. Boy, by the time you get through, they'll be so busy trying to make you feel better, they'll feel better themselves. And God will hear you when you come to God with a broken heart and a crushed spirit. He hears you and says, I don't want to like that. He'll cheer you up. Blessed are those who mourn. No other reason to be comforted other than that you're mourning. He just loves to do that. So if you're down tonight to where you have to look up to see the bottom, you're a real good candidate to be cheered up. Amen. That's the sermon on the mount. Boy, that's one of the big ones. You know, that wasn't Jesus speaking. Nobody knew that. You didn't know that, did you? That's the Father. Because Jesus said, the words that I speak unto you, I do not speak of myself. The Father who sent me, he does the works. That's the word of God Almighty. That's your Creator talking to you. Blessed are those who mourn, says the Father, for they shall be comforted. Wow. And back in Psalm 34, the Lord is close to the broken heart. Saves those who are crushed in spirit. It kind of reminds you of the 99, doesn't it? Here you've got 99 little woolies grazing, and you've got one that's out hanging over the cliff, and the shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after the one that's just ready. That's God's way. The rich he sends empty away. If you don't need anything, God says, well, I'll go pay attention to somebody who does. A righteous man may have many troubles, amen? Being righteous doesn't mean you won't have trouble. I'm here to tell you. You'll have trouble. Many of the afflictions of the righteous, the King James says, the same verse. But again we have it, the Lord delivers him from them all. We had a situation that arose this afternoon, a telephone call from a relative, and it seemed like just another mess. I said, oh Lord, I just praised you. I know you're going to bring this out. Why an hour later it was all solved. That's amazing. It's a way, if instead of getting frantic and cursing people, you just go to the Lord, he's got ways of working these things out. Yeah, where's the problem? What's the problem? I don't know. It's gone. So don't forget to pray. He protects all his bones. Not one of them will be broken. And I want to show you a peculiar thing here that gives you some real insight into the Bible. If you look at, where is it? Where is that one? It was here. Yes, it's John 19.36. John 19.36. I want to show you something unusual here. And to give you insight into something that went on in the life of Jesus. Now here's a verse in Psalms, 34 Psalm, verse 20. He protects all his bones. Not one of them will be broken. Now look up here, in verse 36. These things happen. Now what it's talking about is that Christ died before the other two men. There's a thief on each side. And he died quickly. He wasn't worn out. He'd been up all night in Pilate's hall. He was exhausted, beat down. He died. The two thieves lived. And so it was the eve of the Sabbath, Friday night. So they wanted to take down the crosses because they didn't want them up on the Sabbath day. So what the soldiers did, they came along and they broke the legs of one thief and they broke the legs of the other because they were going to take them down. They didn't want to take them and run off. So they broke their legs. I mean, things were rough in those days. When they came to Jesus, he was already dead. And Pilate marveled. He's already dead? He already died. And so these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled. The scripture in the 34 Psalm. Not one of his bones would be broken. Now what does that tell us? We know that many a righteous person, good Christian, has got a broken leg skating or something. Colleen isn't here, so I can't say that. It tells us that the scripture is written first to Christ. It's written first to him. The promises in Psalms and other places are first to Jesus. And they're to us only as we are co-heirs with Christ. They're written about Jesus. And when Jesus was a boy, you remember he was in the temple. He was 12 years old. And he was reasoning with the doctors of the law. And some of them, 60 years old, studied the Bible all their life. And here's a 12 year old boy in there asking them questions and teaching them from the scripture. And the reason is because the scripture is written about him. And that's why they couldn't break his legs on the cross. Because of the 34 Psalm. Because Christ is righteous. And so it had to be fulfilled. Isn't that something? Do you ever think of Jesus reading the scripture and it burning in him as he realized and then reading about that he was going to be crucified for our sins and beaten for our healing and so on. And realizing that's going to happen to me. That's going to happen to me. That's the way that man lived. He was a hero. He was strong. Courageous. Okay. Are we with us? Evil will slay the wicked. The things they do will kill them. You think about homosexuality. These gay people are no worse than anybody else. You know, it's a sin. It's condemned in the Old Testament. It's condemned in the New. Both of them say that homosexuality is worthy of death. Both the Romans, the first chapter, and then in the law in Leviticus, homosexual man lies with man as with a woman. You just don't need to put him to death. In the New Testament, Romans chapter 1, Paul says that speaking of homosexuality and other things, those who do such things are worthy of death. Well, we know they're sinners just like anybody else. No better and no worse. They're not any worse than some of the gossips about his brother. It says in Romans 1, the gossip is worthy of death. So, we're not singling out homosexuals for judgment because they're no worse, no better than any other sinner. But their sin destroys them. Their sin destroys them. You know, you hate to see a poor devil, he's 35 years old, dying of age. You know, that's not a good way to go. And the same thing is true of any sexual promiscuity. It used to be herpes, general herpes, and before that it was gonorrhea and a whole bunch of other syphilis was the big one. I mean, people went blind from syphilis before they had penicillin. People went insane from syphilis. One of the great composers, I can't remember his name, but he went blind from it. It wasn't the one you know, he was a composer of symphonies, but not as well known as most of them. I can't recall his name. But he contracted syphilis. It was common before they were able to treat it. It did in a lot of men in the English Navy. I mean, they didn't have much they could do about it. They'd pick it up when they visited the islands of Polynesia and so on. It's a terrible thing. Terrible price to pay for a few moments of passion. Now, with modern medicine, they've got them almost all controlled. Herpes can be controlled. It cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. Some of them can be cured, except AIDS. And AIDS keeps mutating and mutating and mutating. And now we've got another one. We've got, what's this liver one? Hepatitis B, and so on. It's transmitted through bodily fluids, and it's supposed to be fatal if you don't catch it. And it's common. I mean, this is wounds. Discourage. But AIDS is wiping out people in Africa by the millions, by the millions. Well, even abusing your body by smoking. You pay the price. Pipe smoking, cancer of the lip, cancer of the tongue. Cancer of the tongue, that's something to avoid at all costs, because your tongue swells up in your mouth, and then you can't talk. Terrible thing. You know, if you've ever had a canker sore on your tongue, how worrisome it is. Imagine cancer, you'd get that from pipe smoking. So God is smoking all of them. They used to say, if God wanted you to smoke, he'd create a chimney in your head. You can't picture Jesus Christ smoking, you know? And it defiles the temple, but it's like it says, evil slays the wicked. I mean, you die from this. It's so big, a killer. Smoking is, we've got all this suing tobacco companies, all because of the disease. It's a killer. Booze. How many people have died from booze or killed others with it? So anytime you're off on these, and doing things like this, the evil itself, the evil has the potential to harm you, to harm you. Evil slays the wicked. The foes of the righteous will be condemned. When you are living a righteous life, people will attack you, but they will be condemned. One way or another, judgment will come down on them, either from God or from other people. Now, they will attack the righteous. Now, there's a famous Foursquare evangelist, Leslie Kegel. Well, he's a big wheel over in Sri Lanka, and he has a gift of miracles and healing and so on, and we've heard Leslie preach. Well, we just got an email. Foursquare got an email from him. A Buddhist lady came to him with cancer of the urethra, and he prayed for her, and she was healed. And now her husband's getting out of contract on his life, and her husband has contact with the underworld, and he knows it. So, the Foursquare is asking prayer for him. But you see, what he did was a righteous thing. I mean, he healed this lady. Imagine the joy of the lady, cancer of the uterus. Imagine her joy. Her husband's response is to try to kill this guy. But he'll be condemned. You go after the righteous, and eventually it will catch up with you, one way or another. It will catch up with you. You live a righteous life. You can be religious until you're carrying around a cassette in every pocket, and you won't be bothered too much. But you turn away from evil, and you'll be persecuted, either on the job or by church people or by your relatives because you're not carousing like them. You turn away from evil, and you will be persecuted. The Bible says, he that departs from evil makes himself a prey. That is P-R-E-Y. A prey of the vicious. So, don't expect people to love it. When you turn away from evil, you torment people. They can't get you to sin with them. It's a torment to them. I don't care if you go to church, but you start laying on the lawn saying, I don't drink, and I don't smoke, and I don't play chicken in cars, and I don't do drugs, and a few other things, and you make yourself unpopular. You talk about being a Christian all you want, but you start walking the talk, and your friends, even Christian friends, will turn against you because you put them in a bad light. Your example puts them in a bad light. That's what this is talking about. The prose of the righteous, of the righteous now, don't equate that to just accepting Christ. That's important. Necessary. But we're talking tonight not about accepting Christ, but we're talking about righteous behavior. The foes of the righteous. These promises will only apply to you if you're living a righteous life. They apply to you because you're under grace. They apply to you only when you're doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. The Lord redeems His servants. He buys them back from the hand of the enemy. He pleads your case. His eyes are on you. He watches out for you if you're righteous. The Lord loves the righteous. He loves righteous. God loves righteous behavior. He doesn't give a snort for religion. He's not religious. He loves righteous behavior. He doesn't care diddly about all our beliefs and actions. It's where the rubber hits the road. Are you being honest and upright and compassionate and merciful and faithful with people, especially those who trust in you, or not? That's what God is looking for. He loves it. He loves it. He loves the righteous. Cultivate that. It says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Filled. You know, fill up the tank. Well now, the thing is, the blessed are those who hunger and thirst. The blessing is the hunger and the thirst. Because if you don't hunger and thirst after righteousness, you're not going to get it. So, the hunger and the thirst are the blessing. Because once you get that, the word of God kicks in and He fills up your tank with a love for righteousness. So, if you don't have it, ask God to give you a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. Be the best prayer you ever prayed. God will be so proud of you, you won't know what to do. He loves it. He loves righteous. He's looking for it. You know, the Bible says one time, he went through Jerusalem. He went through Jerusalem looking for an honest man. You know what it says? He found none. In the entire religious city of Jerusalem, he didn't find one righteous person. Now, can you believe that? It's in the Bible. I don't know where offhand it is, but it's in there. I'll tell you that. It's in there, somewhere it says. He went through, and probably some of you have read it. How many have read that? Yeah, three people. Yes, I'll tell you the truth. It's in there. He went through Jerusalem. Another place, he says, I looked for a man to make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, and I found none. That one was quoted to me by Dr. Byron when I was first saved. He said, will you stand in the hedge? Will you make up the gap before the Lord? And he showed me that scripture. I looked for a man among them, stand in the gap, make up the hedge before me, and I found none. And then you remember, Sunday, we were talking about Abraham saying, if you find 50 in Sodom, if you find 40 in Sodom, I finally got down to 10. And God said, if I find 10, 10 righteous people in Sodom, I will not destroy the city for their sake. So you see, when you live, Jesus said, you're the salt of the earth, meaning a preservative, because in those days, they didn't have refrigeration. You use salt to preserve things. You salted it. And Jesus said, you're the salt of the earth. And we salt the earth by being righteous when all around us is unrighteousness. Because God said, if there's 10 people in Sodom, and Sodom was full of homosexuals, full of them, he said, if I find 10 righteous people, I'll save the city for the 10 righteous. Now that tells us something about America. If God's people in America would turn, you know, my people shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. Instead, what we do is talk about religion, and then want President Clinton to straighten up. If Clinton would only straighten up. If the Secretary of State would only straighten up. If all those liberals in Washington would straighten up. If all those people in San Francisco, that's what they say in Wisconsin, if all those people in San Francisco would straighten up. Or if California would break off and they'd all drown. One time I was preaching to Wisconsin, and somebody said to me, well, all the fruits and nuts come from California. And I said, that's true, I cannot deny it, but I said, right now, California is preaching to you here in Wisconsin. So, there's more than fruits and nuts come out of California, but that's what, that's what we say. If those people out there would straighten up. If all those cigar smokers in Florida would straighten up. Get off the beach and get dressed, instead of running around half naked. That's what God said. If all those people in San Francisco would straighten up. Or if the liberals would straighten up. Or the Democrats would straighten up. And what'd he say? What'd he say? If my people, see, but it's a lot easier to do your religious number and say, my mother was a Methodist, and I'm a Methodist, and I'll be a Methodist until I die eating Methodist pie. You know, and go on with the bitterness, and the backsliding, and the backstabbing, and everything else that goes on in churches. That's why they're prisms of demons, is what they are, is what this in Revelation 18, Babylon's become a hole of every unclean spirit. That's what happens in churches. Because religion does that. Religion does that. Instead of pushing righteousness, it gets into this religious thing. Singing hymns and doing all this stuff. All of which is necessary. All of which is part of our church life. But the purpose of it all, and the purpose of getting saved, and the purpose of singing hymns, and the purpose of coming to church is what? You know, so we'll be righteous. And if we're not, the whole thing is a religious mess. And then it stinks. And it gets corrupt. It does. It surely does. If my people will humble themselves, which they're wicked ways, my people, well, what do we say about grace? Grace mace. Grace is the first offender program. Then will I hear from heaven. Well, anyway, I thought you'd enjoy that. The Lord redeems his servants. No one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. Now, taking refuge in him is the same thing as the 91st Psalm, where it says he did dwell in the secret place in the most high. It's the same thing as John 15, where it talks about abiding in Christ. Now, to abide in Christ, you have to first receive him. And then every day, you have to, throughout the day, keep looking to Christ for the decisions that you make. You have to be interacting with him in a dialogue. It may seem impossible. It's not impossible at all. When it becomes a habit, it breaks some old habits, like chewing out everything in your circumstances every day, and being bitter and crabby, and turning on the television, and looking at all those young punks. We had older relatives sit in front of the television, turning on, look at the youngsters, you know, all those young punks. I mean, they didn't have to turn on the television, you know, but they just wanted an excuse to take their bone out and chew on it for a while. You don't have to live like that. You die like Jesus wouldn't do. He wouldn't say that. He'd never say that. He'd send somebody out there with the gospel, a young punk just like the rest of the young punks, only preaching the gospel. That's what he does. That's the way the Lord does. He's got all kinds of people, including young punks in his kingdom. That's right. He does. They're not all nice religious people. I was preaching one time, teaching on a regular basis, some hippies, about 60 hippies, and they used to come every once a week for a Bible study in their Indian headbands and sandals and the rest. Boy, they were a sight for sore eyes. But I tell you, they were some smart young people. Boy, they were smart as whips. And I'd say something, they'd say, where's that in the Bible? And they go looking through the Bible, you know, which is a lot more than church people do. They just go, oh wait, let's be over, so I can go out and stuff myself and sleep and then stuff myself again and then come to church and hope it's over so I can go out and stuff myself again. These were people that had turned off and tuned out and they'd done their thing from San Diego up to Big Sur and they'd had it and God touched them and blessed them. And they said, well, we got rid of our sex and we got rid of our drugs and we got rid of our music. And they were up there near where I was preaching somewhere, how they heard about the Bible study and here they come down. Well, God didn't restore sex and he didn't restore drugs, but he did restore their music. And boy, they had guitars and the music God gave them was strong. I mean, it was strong stuff. A lot of Grey Poupon on sauerkraut. Boy, it was strong. And you could feel it. You know, being a musician, I could feel the strength of that music. And God gave them that music. And I mean, they were down there and they meant business. They meant business. I told you about the time we had communion. Boy, that's the time I had to put up or shut up because they had all the wine and grape juice. I don't know what to this day is wine and grape juice, but they had something in a jug and they passed it around. And I mean, these people had hepatitis and everything else and they didn't have nice little cups, you know, and everything was all like this. I mean, they passed the jug around. And I thought, Thompson, you better put up. Man, oh man, what a situation that was. But at the time, Audrey and I were attending a very nice charismatic church, large and nice and good strong message and everything. I knew better than to bring those young people over there. I knew better than that. I could sense it. I knew they come down the aisle in their moccasins and their Indian headbands and the rest of the way they were dressed. And that would be the end of them as far as that church, you know. What is this, you know? And I didn't want to put them through that. Because they had just, they had turned off and turned out because their parents were hypocrites, you know, yelling at them about drugs and drinking highballs. They couldn't see any difference. And there is no difference, of course. Either one will blow your mind. Alcohol, alcohol kills brain cells, you know. Alcohol kills brain cells. Same with the way the drug screws up your mind, so does alcohol. And so they couldn't see it. And these kids were bright, you know, a bright generation. So they turned off. They didn't want anything to do with their parents. Some of them had been dorky kids, you know. And when they came back to God, they were looking for authority, they were looking for structure, they were looking for meaning in life. And I wasn't about to bring them to that church. Very nice, lovely, charismatic church. Thank you very much. But these kids were too sincere for that. Oh yeah. Well, I'm not going to keep you much longer. I want to end on a good note here. I'm going to turn to the 37th Psalm, if you will be so kind. And don't faint. And if you're about petrified, stand up, take a deep breath, and sit down again. I'm not finished. Thank you very much. If you have to leave, leave. God bless you. It happens all the time. Psalm 37. Look at Jonathan. He's just sitting up there like a chipmunk on a fence. I mean, he's ready to go. The Lord talks to Jonathan. I think he's going to be a preacher, yeah. Now here's one of the big commands for Y2K. Y2K is year 2000. K stands for thousand. Y2K, year 2000. Here's a commandment. Do not fret. And that's the time to hit the cymbals. I'm going to hear a fretted today. You fretted over your wife. You fretted over your husband. You fretted over the evil all around you. Fretted over your boss. Fretted over your employees. You fretted over something. And they went out beginning with the elders. Do not fret. Because, I got news for you, you're not going to be treated justly in this world. And the sooner you accept that, the happier a clam you'll be. You're not, this world is not just. The smart, the crafty, the arrogant, and the covetous make off with all your money. They've learned how to extract it from you. By telling you, you need this and you need that, and what a buy this is, you can't live without it. Do this and this, do that, and they're so nice. And there's nobody on God's earth nicer and more polite than bankers. And I seriously doubt the credibility of all bankers per se. And I'm sure there is such a thing as an honest banker. But, I'm not sure I've ever found one. And there are other professions, and maybe some people feel that way about preachers, and then they may very well be true, I don't know. But I swear, when you get into the money people, but the thing about banks that gets me is they act so refined. And you would think, these are gracious people, and they are interested in your welfare. You can certainly trust them. Well, think again. They have one goal in mind, bankers do, and that's to separate you and your money. And you better know it. And I could say the same thing for a few other professions, but I won't. Hey, when you go to buy a car, and you're looking at this shiny 99 model, and you're a young couple just getting out, you know, and you've got the plastic card, and that salesman says to you, kids, you don't need that. I've got something, just came in, and we're going to wholesale it out. I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal. For 150 bucks, you've got a car, it'll run. If not, bring it back, and we'll fix it for nothing. Merry Christmas. Oh, I believe in such things. I know car salesmen have to make a living just like everybody else. But I'm telling you, there's an old saying, a fool and his money are soon parted. I bet it was a Greek thought that up. They'd come out with all those wide saves. A fool and his money are soon parted. Well, that's the way the world is. And you better keep your eyes open. They're the first thing you know you'll have a lot to fret about, because somebody skinned you proper. Jonathan, that's an expression that means they cheated you. You have to remember, when you're talking to children, they're very visual, you know. Like this, I was home, and I was all tied up, you know, and everybody knows what you mean, but to a child, they said, you figure you're in a chair, you're all tied up with ropes. That's how a child is thinking. Adults know, you know, what all these sayings mean, but not children. They say you've got skin, a child's thinking, boy, somebody came after you with a razor and left you all corpuscles, so you've got to be careful. But you will have ample room to fret yourself if you don't keep your eyes open and think. And when you're young, ask your mother or dad to look over anything, anything before you sign it. Don't sign anything, whatever you do, because then this nice person will turn on you like the phantasmagoria, and you'll wish you had asked your mother or father or grandfather to read the contract before you signed it. Does that sound like good preaching? It is. Do not fret yourself. Keep your eyes open and ask your parents. Don't fret. Pray. You're going to be surrounded with evil men all your life. Evil people that do evil things. Don't fret about it. Praise the Lord. He'll keep you from them, keep you out of their hand. We're going to see a lot of things come down in America, a lot of things wrong. God doesn't want you to start fretting about it. The newspaper bothers you, don't read it. Television bothers you, don't watch it. Keep your eyes on Jesus, you'll be a happy camper, and God will be happy, and you'll be healthy and everything. But you go considering our nation and the things that go on. Boy, you're going to be a sick turkey. Yes, Jonathan, that just means a person who doesn't feel well. Alright. Or be envious of those who do wrong. I'll tell you something about sin. When we see it, the guy that comes down real hard on drunks is usually the guy that wishes he could drink. That's so often the way it is. When you find somebody that's real hard on sinners, it's because they resent the fact that they're not able to sin because they're a Christian. And the Bible says, don't envy those who do wrong. Because it says the way of the transgressor is hard. It doesn't say the way of the Christian is hard. You say, well, I'm a Christian, my way's been hard. Hey, the way of the transgressor is much harder than your way. And they experience unrelieved pain. Your pain is accomplishing character change in you. But for the sinner, it isn't accomplishing a thing. It's just judgment on him, and it's destructive. It isn't doing a thing for him. So the way of the transgressor is very hard. We have, at my age, I find myself down at the Kaiser Hospital now and then. In fact, we were down there today. Nothing serious. But you see, when you get my age, it's just like an old car. The brakes go, and then this goes, and that goes, and the first thing you know, the headlining's all hanging down like stalactites, and everything else that can go wrong with it goes wrong, and the paint's faded, and everything else. That's what it is when you get old. So you find yourself down going through, what do they call these things? Detailing. You have to get detailed every once in a while to keep going. So I study the people down there, and Lord, they are in bad shape. I mean, and I've never been down there that you could find a parking place right off. I mean, you have to go all over the place. Talk about a land office business that hospitals do them. That's because the way of the transgressor is hard, and they're down there for drinking, or doing drugs, or doing something else that causes sickness of one kind or another. Sure, they're not down there because they lived a healthy, disciplined life. They're down there because they led an undisciplined life, and that's why they're there. God help them, they're down there. Pretty sad people. And that's not always the case. Sometimes disease hits very virtuous people. I'm not saying they're down there because they're sinners. I'm just saying the way of the transgressor is hard. It's not like we think, oh boy, if I wasn't a Christian, think what I could do. Oh wow, I could go to Las Vegas and have such a wonderful time. I could do this, and I could do that if I were not a Christian. Listen, I spent 19 years not being a Christian, and I wouldn't go back there for all the tea in China. Forget it. Living without hope, and death is the end of everything? No, thank you, kind sir. Not me. I don't want any part of that. At my age, I'm glad I know where I'm going. I've learned about Jesus in the last 54 years. Nobody can tell me he doesn't live. I know he lives, and so I'm not afraid of death. Death come, praise the Lord, that's like Christmas. If I have to stay here to help others, fine, that's wonderful, that's fruitful, that's good. But to go is like Christmas, you can't lose. It's a win-win situation. But to live as an unsaved person, always being afraid of death, if I die, what am I going to face? Supposing the is a God, supposing there is a Christ, and I didn't do what I was supposed to, now where am I? Mother! Where are you, mother? No mother. No godly grandmother with her Bible. Just you, and your maker, and him asking you some very serious questions, like what did you do with your life? No, thank you, very much. I prefer not. I'll bet on Jesus on the nose, because everything in my life tells me he's very much alive. Otherwise I wouldn't be here preaching. I've got other things to do than preach. I do this for my friend. I wasn't born a preacher. I don't know how I ever became one. I must have been the Lord. Or be envious of those who do wrong. For like the grass, they will soon wither, and they do. You see that over the course of your life. You see the wicked come up, and then they wither. They come up, and it's a big thing, and then they wither. The world comes up, and there's this and that 23 skidoo, and then it's all gone. Yes, we'll take, you know, don't take any wooden nickels, and then it's gone. These are big things in their day, and I can remember when the hit song, the top thing, I mean it swept the nation. The music goes round and round, and it comes out here. That's right. You ever heard that Carol? Oh, you're young. Did you ever hear that picture? Do you remember the music goes round and round, and it comes out here? Whoa, and it comes out here. And it was big. Talk about grass. I know because I taught high school the first year, and I taught music in Globe High School, and the big thing was, you ain't nothing but a hound dog. Everywhere you went, that blaring, you went, deathless music, and I tried to tell those high school kids, it will pass away. I just said, Bach and Beethoven and Brahms are still with us. Very much going, but you ain't nothing but a hound dog. It's going to pass away. There'll be a day when people don't even remember it. Oh, no. You ain't nothing but a hound dog. Oh, Lord. How many sung that today? Well, maybe somebody in here did sing it. I don't know. All right. But people are still singing Hamilton's Messiah. Oh, yeah. For like green plants, they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good. Find something good to do. Just make up your mind. I'm going to do good today. Do good to somebody. Just make up your mind. You know, I've been a pain to so many people. I'm just going to go out and do good to somebody today. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land. And enjoy a safe pasture. You know, when we don't do good, you know what we do? We think, boy, I wish I could move. We don't dwell in the land. I think, no, if I was living back in the Midwest somewhere, in about 15 acres with a horse and a cow and maybe a goat and some chickens, how happy I would be. And the nearest neighbor half a mile away, oh, I would be so happy. Get up in the morning and you look out and the sun comes up and you hear the birds and everything. Chipmunks are running around and squirrels and everything. Oh, if I could just live there. You know something? When you move, the angels would pack up your curriculum and move with you. And you would find the same problems there. How could I find it back in the Midwest? There's nothing wrong there. Don't worry. Somebody would move next door to you. You get up in the morning and there were the surveyors staking out right next to your property. And then someone would move in. They'd love to play their hi-fi 200 decibels all day and half the night. And you'd have to learn there how not to fret. So you can learn it here. You can learn it there. It's nothing to the angels. They'll just pack up. But then you've got to find a new place to get a haircut, a new place that you've got to find an honest car repairman, got to find out where to go get stuff when you need it. All those things you've got to learn all over again. But you've got your same problems. So the thing to do is to dwell in the land. Enjoy yourself. Trust in the Lord and do good. How many know why the grass in the next pasture looks greener? Why? Why does the grass in the next field look greener? Huh? Well, that's the truth. Yes? That's also true. Anything else? Sten does. My favorite answer. Because you're looking at it sideways. You can take this gronius old pasture full of broom corn with a little bit of green on it. Look at it sideways. It looks like a great piece of turf. Yeah. Try it sometime. Try looking at your own lawn sideways and see how it looks. The grass in the next field looks greener, but when you get there, it isn't the greatest. And sure, from a distance it looks swell. And because it's somebody else's, it looks great. But when you get there. You know, I taught school for a number of years. I guess, well, quite over 20 years, I guess. And you see pictures of a school teacher. All the kids are sitting there like this. And she's at her desk. And she's got a book open. One of the kids is reading. And over here, she's got her Hawaii travel folders that she's looking at. She's waiting for spring to come. Does anybody think you'd like to be a school teacher? Well, you better think again. Because you talk about a zoo. You just go to say something. Children, now I want... And two kids are talking over here. Will you please be quiet? And then they start over here. Will you please... I want... I'm trying to teach the class. Will you be quiet? And then they start over here. And you're trying to teach. And then you get four or five kids with attention deficit disorder. And they are absolutely out of their league. They can't control themselves. And they're up on their feet. And they're jumping. And you can feel the nervousness coming off. And you can just feel it. And here, you're trying to be a nice school teacher. And the first day of school, you come in. And I know. I've supervised student teachers. And I know how it goes. You come in. And you look at your class. Of course, you're a scared witness that you won't make your tenure and everything. You've never been there before. And you look at the children. All these kids in there looking at you and figuring, well, she's new. She's new. Don't worry about her. And then she says, boys and girls, my name is... My name is... And you're done right there. Because you couldn't even remember your own name. You were so nervous. No, you don't want to be a school teacher unless you've got an awful desire. Now, my daughter-in-law there, Carol, she's a school teacher. She's a born school teacher. She loves kids. And she's all over the place. And she gets around faster than they do. So they don't dare do much. What I did, my first day of teaching school, I was a music teacher. I transferred over in the grades. And my handwriting, I couldn't read myself, let alone anybody else. You're supposed to teach fifth graders handwriting, cursive writing. You know why they call it cursive writing, don't you? It's because that's what people do and they can't read it. That's why they call it cursive writing. So I'd always learned to print. But I was supposed to teach cursive writing. And I didn't know what else I was supposed to teach because I was new. They transferred me over in the Rochester Public Schools. And here I am in an urban, one of these where it was half urban and half old Rochester people. So it was a real mixture of Puerto Ricans and then old Rochester families and everything, a real spread of culture. And I didn't know what I was doing. And I looked at them and I thought, well, what am I supposed to do first? So I just said, well, kids, what am I supposed to do first? And I got a report card and I scotch taped it on my desk. I figured this will cue me in what I'm supposed to be teaching. And so I said, so I was honest. I said, what am I supposed to do first? And they said, we'll read you. I said, well, how do they do that? And I said, and they said, well, in groups. And I said, well, show me how you do that. So they arranged themselves in groups. Home free. I didn't get on that stand. I'm supposed to be talking about dwell in the land and wherever you are, you will enjoy safe pasture and you won't find it somewhere else. And didn't we all learn that from Dorothy? Didn't we learn that from Dorothy? Remember what she learned? What did Dorothy learn about her trip? If you can't find it in your own backyard, it isn't there. Where have you been so good? I won't pester you much more. But my favorite verse, one of my favorite of all verses. And here's, and I'll conclude with this. Cut it out. Not out of your Bible. I mean, type it out and then paste it on the refrigerator right next to where you've got a clip that says feed the dog right next to that one. We've got a thing, a bone in the refrigerator says feed the dog. It's on there with a magnet right next to that. Put this verse. You want to know how to get what you want. And this isn't talking about supplying your needs. This is what you want. W-A-N-T. So how do you get what you want? You light yourself in the Lord. Don't go around like a sourpuss saying I hate this Christian life. And if I wasn't so scared of hell, I'd get out of it. Say, Lord, this is the most wonderful trip. This is the greatest Lord. I'm so glad I'm a Christian. I can hardly stand it. Delight yourself in the Lord. And what's going to happen? He will give you the desires of your heart. If it isn't true, John 3.16 isn't true. Delight yourself in the Lord and he'll give you what you want. See, I delighted myself yesterday. I didn't get it today. Give us some time. Shall we stand? Oh, hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Oh, hallelujah. You are worthy, Lord, and we give praise unto you. You are righteous, wonderful Jesus. And we bless your name, Lord. We give thanks unto you. We give glory unto your name, Lord. We praise you and we thank you. You are a great God. Hallelujah, Lord. We're not afraid of what the future brings, Lord. We know your promises, Lord. There's money in the bank. They're better than money in the bank. They're secure. By the God of heaven is the cosigner. Hallelujah. They're there to stay. You will take care of us. Hallelujah. God, we pray for every one of us. You'll give us such a hunger and thirst after righteousness, Lord. We just hunger and thirst after it all. He sure does, Lord. Oh, we thank you, Lord. We praise your holy name. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for the answer to prayer. Give us all a hunger and a thirst. Change us, Lord. Change us from what we are and cause us, Lord, to do your righteous holy will. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, Father, tonight I pray for these dear ones that have come. Give them a good night's sleep. Rest, Lord. You said you'd give your beloved sleep. And we need it, Lord. Good, healthy, sound sleep, Lord, that we'll be safe going home, safe in the morning, safe on the highway, healthy when we wake up, ready to do a number for you, Lord, ready to walk in righteousness and not fret ourselves about anything but just praise you endlessly for your constancy and faithfulness on us and our families. And help us, Lord, to live righteously because we know then you hear our prayers for our families and for so many others and for our nation. We ask it, Lord, and thank you for the answer and for the word tonight in Jesus' name. And everyone said, Amen. You've all got A+.