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2024-04-14- Sunday School- Hair: The Long and Short of It
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The Sunday school lesson focuses on the importance of following holiness standards, specifically regarding hair. The lesson emphasizes that these standards are based on biblical principles and not man-made inventions. The authority structure is discussed, emphasizing that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. The lesson also addresses the misconception that this authority implies inequality between men and women. The passage in 1 Corinthians 11 is examined, clarifying that the instruction to uncover the head refers to long hair rather than a hat or veil. The lesson concludes by highlighting the importance of submitting to God's authority and following His teachings. Way. Good morning, everybody. Sure, we want the Lord to have his way this morning. With all the problems going on in Jerusalem and different things, our Sunday school lesson this morning might seem just trivial or something small, but it's very important, and I hope I can get that across this morning. We do have a lot of material here to go over. I was telling Brother Tim, hopefully we can get through it. But with that being said, we'll get right into it. Page 28 in your Holiness Heritage and 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 in your King James Bible. Our title this morning is hair, the long and short of it. The theme is holiness standards are not inventions of man. They are based on the principles and precepts in scripture. This includes our beliefs about hair. Our golden text comes from 1 Corinthians 11 and 3. It says, but I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. Our introduction says, in our lesson today, we will deal with a subject that has stirred much debate in the church world. In days gone by, men having short hair and women having long hair was a common custom and practice. It was the belief and practice of people of all denominations. But in the last 75 years, things have changed drastically. We that are holiness Pentecostal believers who hold firmly to the God-given principles concerning our hair are considered odd and out of touch with the world. As a matter of fact, many people who once believed and lived these principles now have decided that they are not necessary. All of this does not change the truth of God's word. I sure believe that. As I said, turn with us to 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 and we'll get right into the word. Verse 1 says, be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I deliver them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. Our golden text again. We'll come back to verses 1 and 2 later on in the lesson, Lord willing. But let's get started here with verse 3 and break down what Paul is saying. Verse 3 might be the simplest verse, I thought, in the Bible to understand. They didn't have to write an NIV or ESV version. I'm sure they did rewrite it of some sort for that verse. But it's pretty easy to understand. But it has become a great source of contention in the world we live in today and even amongst some church denominations. Brother Quentin, the contention does not come from its difficulty of being understood, but rather man's willingness to submit to God's will and design. Paul says at this point in the letter, we're still in the letter to the first letter to the Corinthians. I want you all to know something. God has established an order of authority for mankind. The head of every man is Christ. And the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. Notice the head of the woman is the man. That's singular. I don't have authority over Sister Allie no more than Brother Quentin has authority over my wife. This is, we're talking about husband and wife at this point. To simplify the order of authority, number one is God, number two is Christ, number three is man, and four is woman. And this is not my point, but this is just one of many verses that rules out the oneness doctrine altogether. Christ is no more God in this passage than man is the woman. But God is one in essence, but three in persons. Matthew 28 and 18 says, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And that's the great commission, Brother Quentin, that Christ gave his disciples. And I'm going to try to do that this morning. It may not be popular, it may offend many, but we are to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded, Brother Joseph. This morning, we will not attempt to fit the gospel with today's culture. Many teach this passage tiptoeing around some verses or speeding through some other verses just to fit it into their church's agenda and with, I guess, wanting to make that church grow and not to offend anybody. But that's not really our desire this morning. We are gospel-like, wholeness church, and it's our desire to shed light on the gospel. So the head of or authority over, what does that mean or not mean? It simply means to rule over or make decisions, plain and simple. It has nothing to do with women being less than men in intelligence or ability. Nor does it mean that God loves men more than women. Genesis 1 and 27 says, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. We are all created in his image, and he loves us all the same. Proverbs 8 and 17 says, I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me. Men, the quickest way, and we talked about this the other day, and I won't go too far down it, the quickest way to put a stain on Christianity is to take advantage of this authority over women. It is just as much of a shame to dishonor your wife as it is to fall under subjection to her. We are to love and to honor our wives. 1 Peter 3 and 7 says, Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. God has complete authority over the son, but he loved him. Does anybody doubt that this morning? Isaiah 42 and 1 speaks of this when it says, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Jesus is the word. Don't forget that. Do you think Jesus turned around and said, Dad, don't write that. I'm not your servant. Just call me your son or a helper or some type of assistant. Don't say servant. No, he submitted to his father's will. Luke 22 and 42 says, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. And Philippians 2 and 5 says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Why did he do that? Because he wasn't willing that any should perish, Brother Austin. Any of who? A bunch of people that want to fight over who gets to be the boss or how we get to fix our hair. You have to be kidding me. Have we forgotten that Christ suffered for us? I thought 110 years ago tomorrow, the RMS Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. I wonder how many of those women were preaching equality when they were ushering women and children first onto that grossly insufficient amount of lifeboats. They probably wasn't. This was in 1912, but I find it humorous to think of a woman that identifies as a man wishing they'd packed a dress and regretting that last haircut as the water climbs above those feminine ankles of them. Aren't you glad that we have a Savior that did not oppose the authority of the Father? Without Jesus' obedience to the Father, there would be no salvation. There would be no reason for us to be here this morning. And like manner of men, we should submit to the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord. James 4 and 7, Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts. Ye double-minded, be afflicted, and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Moving on to 1 Corinthians 11 and 4, Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. There's no evidence that Paul is speaking about a head covering in this passage as our Holiness Heritage points out. And I'll admit, they did much of the heavy lifting for this portion, and I simply just went back through and checked the references for myself, because like I said, this is not infallible. This is not the infallible Word of God. I do trust them, but we need to know it for ourselves. So I did check it, but I will lean on a lot of what they say here. So turn with me, with that being said, to the B, the covering of the head, on page 29 in your book, the second column. It says instructions for the man. We'll read that this morning. Man is instructed that his head is to be uncovered because he is the image and glory of God. Does this refer to the wearing of a hat or a turban or to man's hair? The word covered is a verb in the Greek, not a noun. Some teach that this refers to an artificial veil, but this is simply not the case. There are other places in the Bible where this same word is used. In Luke 23 and 30, they say to the mountains, fall on us and cover us. Matthew 8 and 24 says the ship was covered with the waves. Luke 8 and 16, no man when he hath lighted a candle covereth it. In none of these places does the word cover refer to an artificial covering as a veil. In the first case, the covering was mountains. In the second, water. In the third, a vessel or bushel. It is seen then that we cannot determine what the covering was simply by the word covered. The context, however, lets us know that the covering was referring to hair. Since the Christian man reflects the glory of Christ, if he has long hair covering his head, he robs his own head of its chief function of this reflection of the glory of Christ. See, 1 Corinthians 11 and 5. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered disowneth her head. For that is even all one as if she were shaven. So now let's look at the instructions to the woman. A, head is to be covered. That, do you all see that? The woman is not to have her head uncovered. If she does so, she dishonors her head, her husband. We should ask ourselves what is meant by the praying and prophesying in this verse. Is this something that takes place only at church? We all know that the most of our praying does not take place in church, or it shouldn't be. We're only there for six to 10 hours in the whole week. Prophesying here is not just a public utterance in the church, but also refers to teaching or declaration of the truth. The sphere of a woman's teaching is her everyday life. She is the superintendent of the home and teaches her children to be pure, industrious, clean, respectful, et cetera. Therefore, the woman must be properly covered, not only in the church, but everywhere. And in 1 Corinthians 11 and 6, it says, for if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. The Greek translation for covered here is kata kaloupto, kata kaloupto. It's a verb, not a noun. It means to cover wholly. Keep in mind, it's a verb, to cover, and it does not specify just yet what the woman is to cover with. We have to rightly divide this passage and not take it out of context, Brother Austin. That's why it's important to study. We've got to study it. That is the key to not being misled or having confusion amongst the brethren. And ladies, this is your head. Remember, this is your glory. I live with three ladies. I know how much time goes in the hair. Not mine, but theirs. Let's give some time to know what God has to say about it. This should interest you greatly. Don't just take this 45-minute lesson and not read it for yourself. We have to pair this verb, kata kaloupto, with verse 15 to see what is being said here. So 1 Corinthians 11 and 15. We'll move forward for just a second. But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for covering. Covering in this verse translates to periobleion. I may be saying it wrong, but it's a veil. It actually means a veil. So is Paul telling women to wear a veil or second covering? No. We can read this verse and not take it out of context by saying, but if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her in place of a veil. That's what it's saying. The Corinthians, full of sexual immorality, was flooded with prostitution. We've talked about that extensively. Apparently, a woman that was for sale would like to show her face and not be covered. It's kind of like, hey, look at me. I'm not owned by any man. You know, Paul is telling these women, hey, your hair is your glory. It's your covering. Don't cut it. So we have no need for a second covering. That's not what this is about. It's about the hair. Now, if someone comes in our midst with a second covering, do we look down on them? Do we turn our nose up to them? No. I'll point you to Sunday School's lesson last Sunday. Don't be a stumbling block to those that have not come to this knowledge. 1 Corinthians 11 and 7, for a man indeed ought not to cover his head for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. So speaking of a veil, Matthew 27 and 50 says, Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, and behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake and the rocks rent. When Jesus died on the cross, brother Ronnie, the temple veil which kept the sinful man from approaching the glory of God was ripped from top to the bottom. No man or woman would ever again have to go through another man to get to God. For Jesus is our Passover. We talked about that Easter. Our great mediator. 1 Timothy 2 and 5 says, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. But as our holiness heritage writes, the woman's long hair is her authority to pray to and worship God since it shows her in submission to her husband. Sisters, you do not have to go to your husband to get to God, but you will have to show that you honor God's principle of authority. It's good to see you, Sister Glenda. Just as us men have to be under submission to Christ by following his ordinances. 1 Corinthians 11 and 8, For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. I have to say that this is one of the most intriguing and mysterious parts of this passage for me. I like what the holiness heritage has to say on it. We'll look at that. I think it's page 31 in yours. I'll say that and then I'll lose it on mine. The woman's long hair shows submission to her husband and God and is a glory unto her. The second paragraph is what I want to read where it starts out, even the angels. They say even the angels are involved in this matter. The woman is to have power on her head because of the angels. Angels are considered to be the guardians of the order of creation and present in the worship service. Therefore, the woman ought to have long hair out of a reverence for the holy angels who are invisibly present in the assembly. Also, as the angels are related to God, so the woman is to the man. God's face is uncovered. Angels in his presence are covered. Man's head is uncovered. The woman's is to be covered. For her not to be covered would be seen as rebellion by the angels, and therefore, it would be offensive. I find that awesome this morning, and I'd like to make my own point here. Ephesians 3 and 10, what I've seen out of this verse, and like I said, I don't understand it completely, I'll just be honest, but I think that's a pretty good description of what it means. But in Ephesians 3 and 10, it says to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. If you're trying to turn with me, I'll read it one more time. Ephesians 3 and 10, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. I find this super interesting, and this is what I get out of this verse here. The wisdom of God is known unto the angels by the church. That's awesome, ain't it? Some of my favorite church memories are the times, Brother Ronnie, that there was a demonstration of the Holy Ghost power amongst us. We've had it happen here at highway different places. We've all been in church services, and we have great memories of being in a church service where there was a demonstration of the Holy Ghost, and He moved in a mighty way and done things that we've needed in our lives forever. And He done things that we just probably didn't even understand, but we needed it. And there was things done that was just mysterious and awesome and just this power of God, and it overtook everybody, and there wasn't people watching and other peoples getting in. And I love those church services. And then the power of God just kind of saturates everybody, and you just feel that Holy Ghost presence, that heaviness. And it's a beautiful thing, and things are being done. And that's what the Holiness Church is all about for me. Every once in a while, when something like that happens, somebody out of the congregation or at the piano will start singing, we are standing on holy ground. And I believe there are angels all around. So let us praise Christ Jesus now, for we are standing in His presence on holy ground. Wouldn't you love to be a part of something like that this morning? I believe it can happen. I believe there are angels all around here this morning. Heavenly, eternal beings dispatched by God to be amongst us in our services, learning about God from us. That's amazing. Let us be good hosts and keep in God's ordinances, not being an offense. And what I like about this verse 10, for this cause of the women to have power on her head because of the angels, it lets us know that this scripture does not have an expiration date, nor does it have a geographical or cultural boundary. Angels are not given to the pressures of trends and shifting social norms like we might be. There's a push for us to be more like the world and we feel this temptation. The angels are not given that. They are timeless beings, heavenly beings. What was an offense to the angels in Corinth in 50 AD is an offense to the angels at this very moment. They do not change. They are not progressive. They do not, they don't feel the pressures of this world to accept and tolerate different things. So this passage was for them and it's for us. And the ordinances that were placed for them, it wasn't just for them, it was for us. What Paul was writing to them stands this very moment. And we can tell that because it's related to the angels of God, the angels of heaven. Those are heavenly, timeless beings, eternal, eternal things. So we know that that is, that passage is for us. We're not given to the new trends of this world. It's not okay to not go by these guidelines anymore that God has placed. We do not want to offend these heavenly beings. They watch over us. They watch over our little ones. Spurgeon spoke about angels. How angels, he says, how angels thus keep us, we cannot tell whether they repel demons, counteract spiritual plots, or even ward off the suppler physical forces of disease. We do not know. Perhaps we shall one day stand amazed at the multiplied services which the unseen bands have rendered to us. That's a glorious thought. Matthew 18 and 10 says, take heed that you despise not one of these little ones. For I say unto you that in heaven, their angels do always behold the face of my Father, which is in heaven. We are in the presence of angels this morning. Psalms 91 and 11 says, for He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. You might look around and say, well, there's just a few of us. But there's more here than you actually think. There are angels all around this morning. Yeah, you might see empty pews, but there's angels over here and over there. I believe that this morning. And I want to be a good host to those angels. I want to be hospitable. Isn't that exciting this morning? Verse 11 says, Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. A husband and wife is a partnership. Yes, God has designed levels of subordination in the home, but it is also that there will be harmony in the home. He does this for our good. We lean on His understanding. His design. We trust Him with every aspect of our lives. We should trust Him on this as well, Brother Ronnie. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Paul is stating a fact from the beginning of time, Sister Allie. Genesis 2 and 22 says, And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called a woman because she was taken out of a man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. And then after the fall in Genesis 3 and 16, it says unto the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth the children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee. I know this is kind of elementary, but this world is getting it confused. The first woman came from the rib of the first man. But after that, the woman shall bring forth children. If there's anybody in this class that finds that confusing, there's a classroom right over there. You might need to go over there. Verse 13 says, Judge in yourselves, it is comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered. Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her. For her hair is given for her covering. Nature itself teaches us these things. People that have never had Sunday school in their lives can plainly see that naturally a man should have short hair. A woman should have long hair. You don't have to have Sunday school. You don't have to be raised up in a homeless church to understand that. There's some that claim that they don't get that, that it's not that way. But it is. And I said that we'd revisit the first two verses of this chapter. Let's do that now. First Corinthians 11 and one. Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now, I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. Paul is essentially saying, do what I do because I keep the ordinances of God. I am an example of Christ. There are several reasons to believe that Paul might have, Brother Quentin, might have seen Jesus, you know, that he was alive at the same time that he may have seen him before the resurrection, before the crucifixion. We won't go into those points. It doesn't really matter. The Bible doesn't plainly say, but we do know that he's seen him on the road to Damascus. There is no way that the Apostle Paul would have seen a long hair Jesus and tell the Corinthians that it is a shame to have long hair. He just would not. Long or short hair is not a matter of inches, but uncut versus cut. The holiness heritage states long hair is hair that is allowed to grow. Every Greek lexicon consulted stated this clearly. For a woman's hair to be considered long, it must be uncut for it is impossible to cut it and allow it to grow at the same time. I thought I've been given 45 to 50 minutes to teach Sunday school. If I talk for 15 minutes in front of a crowd for me, to be honest, in any other scenario or occasion, it would be a long time. That's just not me. For me to talk 10 minutes for y'all might seem like a long time. It may very well, but I've been given 45 minutes to teach the Word of God. It really doesn't matter if you feel like that's a long time or if I feel like it's a long time. If I stop at 40 minutes, I've cut it short. Ladies, no matter if you trim your hair or have a buzz cut, you've cut it short of its full glory. You did not allow it to grow to its fullness. Again, it's not about the length. It's cut or uncut. How unfair would God be if he said women's hair has to be 36 inches long? God gives measurements for the tabernacle, for the ark. He can very well give measurements to the T. If you don't know that, you need to read the Old Testament. But he didn't give a length. It's cut or uncut. Some women couldn't make it to 36 inches if that's what it had to be. Their hair doesn't just do that. Think of African American women. Their hair will grow out like this. It don't grow down. That would be unfair of God. It would be impossible for some to make it if that was the case. And men, how short is short? Are we the type of men that want to push the envelope? See what we can get away with? Like when Jesus gave the commandment, love thy neighbor as thyself. Will we be like that certain lawyer that asks, and who exactly is my neighbor? Who are we talking about? Do I have to love my neighbor two houses down the road? Is it three houses? Is it the community over? Who do I have to love? Willing to justify himself. The holiness heritage points out that nature has provided a natural hairline. And if we let our hair grow long past those natural guidelines, it needs to be cut. There are some that would say, well, if God had a problem with long hair, he wouldn't give men the ability to grow it. He didn't give me the ability to grow it. Well, I could probably grow four or five long hairs. He also gave us common sense and a nature to look to. How many men would go to work every day, letting their fingernails and toenails just naturally grow and never cut them? I mean, we just wouldn't. We have common sense. We have nature to look at. Just because we can grow it don't mean God gave us the permission to grow it. I think the problem is obvious. There's so much controversy around this. But so why does God really care about our hair length? There's, you know, what's going on in Jerusalem right now has already been brought up. Does God really care about hair length? There's mass shootings in schools. There's abortions. There's all kinds of terrible things. Does God really care about our hair? I think that he does. And I think the problem at a closer look is obvious. There is an attack on God's design of man and woman. First Corinthians six and nine. First Corinthians six and nine says, Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. Effeminate is listed among the idolaters and the thieves. The definition of effeminate, Brother Tim, is to be soft or having characteristics and ways of behaving traditionally associated with women and regarded as inappropriate for a man. But that seems a little bit harsh. I mean, we all know men like this. I probably don't even have to describe them. We know men that kind of are a little soft and they speak a little soft and sometimes they'll dress a little inappropriate. We just know them, don't we? I'm picturing one right now and it's hard for me not to say the name, but it wouldn't be appropriate. But we know people like this. And is it really? I mean, they're not going to inherit the kingdom of God. They don't hurt nobody. They're actually very kind people. And so what's the big problem here? To kick them out of the kingdom of God for just being soft? So what is the harm? It's outside the realm of God's ordinances. It's not pleasing to God. Yes, you may know some guy with long hair that is not a homosexual or seems to rebel against a man, but it's not pleasing to God. It's, in fact, blurring the lines. Satan is very cunning. We know that. He does not want a world where it's Christians obeying God's command over here and then flamboyant homosexuals leading the gay parade with rainbow flags over here. That's not the plan for him. But if he can put a whole lot of people in between the lines, those lines will be blurred. Social norms are pushed to the left. Standing for God is not only... Social norms are pushed to the left until standing for God is not only socially unacceptable, but I believe one day will be illegal. The effeminate is part of that whole movement. And like it or not, long hair on men and short hair on women are part of that blurring of the lines between man and woman and genders and how they look. It's all a plan of Satan. It's up to the church to drive a hard line and show that separation between a godly man and what this world accepts. With love, not acceptance, not tolerance, but with love. There should be a larger gap than ever between this world's trends and the child of God. But what we have is a sliding to the left. Not a larger gap, but a progressively moving slower than this world. That's not of God. That's Satan's planet. As Paul tells the Corinthians in his second letter, 11 and 3, but I fear less by any means as a serpent beguiled Eve through his... I can never say that word. Subtlety? So your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. There's a push for tolerance woven throughout society that we must be aware of. The National Library of Medicine states that gender reassignment patients are 20 times more likely to commit suicide. The end goal for Satan is not, I want to get the women to have short hair and the men to have long hair. That's not his end goal. The end goal for Satan is not to get people, just some people to act effeminate. The end goal is not even homosexuality. I don't believe it is. I see the end goal for Satan is to make this Bible labeled as hate speech, to have so many transgenders and transgender supporters that the Bible is obsolete in this world's eyes. And not just obsolete, but a crime. I mean, when this is labeled hate speech, when we start telling people, it's an abomination. Homosexuality is an abomination. There's coming a day that that's not going to be allowed in America. I mean, that's the way we're moving. Genesis 1 and 27. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, created he him. Male and female, created he them. Not male, transgenders and females. Male and female. So where is transgenders in the Bible? Man and woman. What about the transgenders? What about the he-she's or the they's or the non-binary or whatever they're called? We can't have this outdated book going around saying only men and women are created by God. Someday that'll exclude a third of Americans. Homosexuals are an abomination to God. Am I being far-fetched? Brother Austin said it the other day. The president of the United States declared Easter Sunday a transgender visibility day. Go back 20 years and claim that that would happen. Brother Rodney teaching 20 years ago and saying someday the president's going to stand up on Easter Sunday and said this is transgender visibility day. We would look at him and be like, well, he's been a little far-fetched. But he wouldn't have been. There was a time that women wearing pants was just as shocking as gender reassignment surgery. Look it up. The first woman in history to wear trousers was Elizabeth Smith Miller, known as Libby, in 1851. The female outfit with trousers became famous thanks to the American activist Amelia Bloomers who published it in her magazine The Lily in 1855. Why can't we Google that fact? Who was the first woman to wear pants? Because it was shocking. It was notable. I mean, it's part of history. Just like gender reassignment surgery. One of these days, we're going to 100 years from now, Bruce Jenner or Caitlyn or whatever you're going to be able to look that up. He was woman of the year after his reassignment surgery. It's notable. I mean, and it's shocking. But there's a push for that not to be shocking anymore, that that's part of a social norm. And for us Christians, it's hate speech if we talk against it. We have to be ready for those things. And that's Satan's plan. That's why it's so important for us to drive a hard line, for us to show the image of God, what a woman is supposed to look like, what a man is supposed to look like and not let those not be progressive with this world. We don't want the lines to be blurred. Stand up for God and what is right. At Central Hardin, I would say without even exaggerating, one out of three, one out of five girls are wearing leggings that are skin tight with nothing over them, which is a problem itself. But skin tight leggings and either that or they have shorts on where their thighs are showing all the way up and even midriff shirts where their whole stomach and navel is showing. Now, probably one out of five students, we're talking about what, 13, 14, 15 year olds. And one of the lunch ladies asked the principal about it, what, you know, is there something needs to be said, something needs to be done. He said, well, we choose our battles around here. So they're letting it, you know. Second Corinthians 6 and 17, wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Canada passed the Bill C-4 in January, 2022, banning conversion therapy to any homosexuals and punishable up to five years in prison. I don't always agree with John MacArthur, but he made the point that conversion therapy is the church's main goal. It's just a matter of time before it's illegal for us to talk against homosexuality and try to help those people. Homosexual or transgender people that had this dysphoria that they call it now. I should have, I did look it up, but I didn't write it down. But not too many years ago, it was looked at as a medical condition. That there was something medically wrong when somebody said, I feel like I should be a man or I feel like I should be a woman. And they would treat those people because it was a problem. It was a medical condition. Now it's wrong for us to even act like that there's something wrong with that. It's not looked at as a condition anymore. It's God got it wrong. As a child of God, and especially in the Holist movement, you will be asked the question sometime, why don't you cut your hair? And that can be an opportunity to tell an individual about God. That's not really, ideally, that's not how we want to witness to somebody, but people are curious. And we can use that as an opportunity to tell someone about God and why we live the way we do and why we uphold God's standard. Or we can say, oh, well, that's how our church believes. Brothers and sisters, that's why we get labeled as a cult because we got a lot of young people or even older people that get asked these questions and they don't even know why. And they're like, well, my pastor, you know, tells us that we shouldn't cut our hair. I mean, that does sound like a cult. You know, it sounds like legalism, but it's not. It's in the Bible. And we should be able to answer why. I'm not going to put anybody on the spot. But if I asked people in here, why do you not cut your hair? Could you put me right to the scripture? Or why do you cut your hair? Could you point me to the scripture this morning? We need to be able to do that. We have a bunch of people live wholeness, which is great, but they just do things because they're a pastor. They might be living wholeness because they're told to live wholeness, live the wholeness standard. They need to have it in their heart. It'll mean way more to you if you know why you're doing what you do. And it's important. Verse 16 says, but if any man seemed to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither churches of God. Finally, Paul is saying here, if anyone still wants to argue about this, God's people have always done it this way. Have you ever been in an argument with someone that just is being flat out unreasonable? You've stated the case. The facts are in black and white, but they just won't listen to reason. Paul is referring to these type of people. I don't want to be that way, Brother Joseph. If God said it, I want to do it. And I want to know why I'm supposed to do it. And I want to do it to the best of my ability. This body is his anyways. I think about Brother Earl Vogts. You know, we think, well, this is my body. I'll do what I want with it. This is, you know, I control my body. But when you need God for your body, how important is your hair length or, you know, what I look like or how beautiful my hair is? Or, you know, this is God's body for his use. It's not for our adorning. It's not for us to attract people to us. And I told my children this morning when we're here, I'd like for them to listen to the Sunday school lesson. And I'm sure Brother Anthony's is going to be good. But if you get anything out of it, know why God, know how God wants you to fix your hair. Don't spend an hour in the bathroom looking all beautiful and fixing up your glory to attract someone else. And I'm not saying they're doing that. But, you know, just know what your motive is. God gave us our bodies and he tells us how to dress. He tells us how to cut our hair. And we're not to use, women are not to use their hair to attract men. It's their glory. And it should be for the glory of God. It's not to attract someone else. It's kind of like if I was telling them that like if a musician or there's great singers out there and they use their voice for this world and to bring attention to themselves. God didn't give them that talent to bring attention to themselves. God gave it to them to give the glory to God. And my daughters have beautiful hair and I want it to be for the glory of God. Not to attract the opposite sex or to this world. We'll close this morning. Romans 12 and 1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Thank you.
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