Why Christians should stay loyal to God's Word above all else

In this podcast, Norman Goodman discusses the importance of remaining loyal to God's word in the Christian community. He highlights the difficulty many Christians face in standing firmly on God's word due to societal influences and fear of offending others. He emphasizes that being kind and loving means speaking the truth, even if it may be uncomfortable. Goodman emphasizes the importance of staying connected to God's word as the foundation of faith. He warns against being swayed by competing voices and popular cultural trends that may contradict the Bible. He references Jesus' emphasis on the importance of staying in the word and the consequences of divided loyalties. He uses examples from the Old Testament to illustrate the danger of straying from God's truth. Deviating from God's word can lead to disaster and separation from God. Hello again, this is Norman Goodman with another podcast where we are seeking to grow our faith and understanding in God's word. And I hope everyone is doing well. I know God is blessing and he is doing a marvelous work. I know in me and in you as well. Today we are going to have a discussion on a critical topic that I have noticed a lot of in the Christian community. And I have been sitting on this for a couple of days, but this was spurred on by a devotion that I read the other day about why Christians should be loyal to God's word above all else. And I find in our society today, in our Christian communities today, keep in mind we have 33 different denominations in the Christian doctrine, that a lot of people who profess to be Christian have a very difficult time standing on God's word. A very difficult time. Voddie Backham is a pastor that I have listened to quite often. He does a very good job in translating the scripture. And he says that there is no neutrality in the Christian walk. We cannot be neutral. We have to take a side. We cannot be passive. This podcast is going to pretty much piggyback off the last podcast about being a passive Christian. If this is your first time here and you haven't listened to that podcast, I would suggest you listen to it. It's a pretty good podcast about being a passive Christian. And this pretty much kind of almost piggybacks off of that because a lot of us are afraid to stand on God's word. We get confused because a lot of us have been developed in a secular world that's void of God and Jesus. They reject Him and they push Him away. And a lot of us just want to be, you know, we don't want to supposedly step on people's toes. We want to be kind and loving. In those two words, a lot of Christians get confused on what love and kind is. And as I read the scripture, a loving, kind person is a person that's truthful. When you tell the truth or you tell somebody the truth about the life that they're leading and the things that they're doing in their lives that's detrimental to their life, their community, to God, you're being kind and loving. Is it going to be painful to the other person? Yes, it may be painful to you as well to have to give, to be truthful to a person that you probably care about. That's kind. I think an unkind person will tell a person what they want to hear so they can feel good about themselves in that moment and allow that person to go off into destruction. I think that's being unkind. But let me get into this. And I want to focus on Acts 4, 6, 13, but let me talk about the foundations of our faith. You know, as Christians, our faith is built on the foundation of God's word. I think we all can agree on that. I often use the term stay plugged into the power source, which is God's word. The Bible is not just a collection of ancient texts or more guidelines. A lot of us think that's what it is. Yeah, there's lines in the sands that God does not want us to cross because he knows there are consequences in the decisions that we make. The spirit and the flesh is always worn against each other. No, we have to understand that the Bible is the living, breathing word of God. It's God himself. You know, Hebrew 4 tells us that the word of God is alive and active, sharper than a double-edged sword. It's through scripture that God reveals his character, his will, and his plan for humanity. You know, when you're plugged into the power source, God's word, you get discernment when someone is not speaking from God's word. Your ears perk up when someone is speaking, and your ears will perk up when someone is not speaking or following God's word. And that's why it's important to always be loyal to God's word because it'll be hard for you to be persuaded or coerced in actions that don't line up with God's word. Because there's a lot of charismatic individuals out there that know how to take God's word and twist it and make it sound like it's right. But yet it's going to lead you to destruction. Okay, so we have to stay plugged into that. But why is it important that we remain loyal to God's word above all voices, opinions, and influences? Okay, let's talk about this. In our world today, we have been bombarded by a ton of different voices. I mean, there's a ton of voices all over the place. Okay, let's talk about the challenges of competing loyalties and competing voices. We have over 4,000 different religions in our world today on this planet. 4,000. Only one out of that 4,000 relies, talks about, and breathes about the son of God, which is Jesus Christ. Only one. And that's the one, that's the doctrine that all of us are following today. The other 3,999, they don't. Right? There's one that recognizes Jesus Christ as a great disciple or a great speaker, but they don't recognize him as the son of God, and that's Islam. Okay. In our world today, we're bombarded with messages from all directions. Right? Social media, news outlets, entertainment, even a well-meaning friend and family member. Okay. These voices can be persuasive, and it's easy to find ourselves swayed by popular cultural trends. However, as believers, our ultimate loyalty must be to the Lord. Today, we have a lot of popular things going on. Right? The LGBTQ, abortions, transgenderism, critical race theory, Black Lives Matter, diversity, equity, and inclusion. All these little things that sound good in rhetoric, right, on paper, right, but in essence, they're all destructive. None of them, when you go to filter these things down through the Word of God, none of them fit. Right? None of them. But unfortunately, as Christians, we have fallen victims, or we have been under hypnosis and believing that if we go along to get along, then it's going to be okay. And it doesn't line up with Scripture. It's not what the Word of God is telling us. Now, keep this in mind. Jesus himself emphasized the importance of this by staying in the Word. Matthew 4.4, where he says, man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. What is the mouth of God? It's the Scripture. It's the same Scripture that God had developed his son, Jesus Christ, on and then sent him to earth. Right? Put him in Mary's belly with the Scripture embedded in him for him to come and teach man what he had taught his son. This is what Jesus came to do. The means that our, I mean, think about this for a second. This means that our spiritual sustenance, our food, our spiritual food, our very life as Christians depend on our adherence to the Scripture. If we're not following the Scripture, if we're not loyal to the Scripture, then how can we minister to other people? How can we be the example in the Great Commission to other people? You know, I've said, I've often said that once we have taken a stand for God and we've accepted his son, Jesus Christ, we have a large bullseye on our backs. A large bullseye. And we have to be steady and consistent because the world is looking at us, looking to take us down because Jesus' name is the most hated name on the planet. Right? You could talk about God. You could talk about Allah. You could talk about a Hindu God, Buddhism, Hinduism, tree hugger-ism, and nobody will flinch. But when you say that name, Jesus Christ, then the principality start going crazy. Okay? And a lot of Christians are afraid to stand on that. They're afraid to confess that. They're afraid to say I am a Christian and my core beliefs is what's written in the Scripture, God's word. Let's talk about the consequences of divided loyalties. Keep in mind a double-minded man is unbalanced in all his ways. Right? What happens when we allow our loyalties, when Christians allow their loyalties to God's word to be divided? Keep in mind, guys, the enemy, my mom and I were talking about this yesterday. And we were talking about the Scripture in Acts when it says that even when an angel, if an angel from heaven comes and starts teaching something that's not of God and of the Scripture, you ought to reject it, even if an angel did that. Well, my mom said, well, the prince, the third of the stars in the principality are still angels. They're not in heaven. They got cast out, but they never stopped being angels. They are different angels now. They're dark angels. They're evil and deceitful angels. Okay? And those angels use the word of God for deceit and lies. I've often said that the enemy knows how to take the dark and the light and cause confusion. And in our Christian world today, a lot of Christians are very confused. They want to just get along. The Bible gives us clear examples of the danger of straying from God's truth. In the Old Testament, the Israelites often wavered in their loyalty. And you read it all through the Old Covenant, all through the Old Covenant. Even when Moses went to the mountain and the Israelites were complaining and they had Aaron to do what? Build a golden calf, an idol, so they can worship. When the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, right, they end up practicing the Babylonians' practices and serving their gods. When the Persians, when the Greeks, and when the Romans, they all practiced all of these people's religion. Right? God gave specific instructions to Joshua when the Israelites were going into Canaan. He said, do not practice or sacrifice your children to the Canaanite gods. Right? Because he knew that the Israelites were very susceptible and easily persuaded and coerced to worship other gods. In Deuteronomy, Moses said, I know when I'm gone, you're going to return to your evil ways. So, when you look at the Israelites and you look at how they wavered, their loyalties turning to idols and adopting the practices of the surrounding nations, the result was always the same. Disaster, captivity, and separation from God. Always. Whenever you deviate from the word of God, there's going to be separation from God. God cannot dwell in an unclean body. He will not dwell with an unclean spirit. It's just, he won't do it. In the New Testament, Paul warns the churches of Galatia about turning to different gospels, which is really no gospel at all. Galatians 1, 6-7. He reminds them that even if an angel, and I'm sorry, I said Acts, but this is Galatians. Even when an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one that they receive, they should reject it. This is a strong reminder that our loyalty to God's word must be unwavering, even in the face of compelling alternatives. Right? I said Acts. I meant Galatians. I'm stuck on Acts right now. I'm stuck on it. We have to be sensitive to God's word. We have to be sensitive. Because there's a lot of pastors on the pulpit that are saying things that are not scriptural. They're talking politics that's not biblical. Right? They're talking civil rights that's not biblical. They're talking division and being fragmented from other groups of people that's not scriptural. We have people on the pulpit that should not be on the pulpit because that's not their role that God had described for them. Okay? And that causes us to shrink. It causes us to go in the wrong directions. I gave an example before about the Judas goat. And I'm going to give it again because I think this is very important. You know, a Judas goat, if you don't know what it is, a Judas goat is an animal that is put at the head of a herd. Okay? When the herd, the babies are born, let's say for sheep, for instance, there could be a goat, a cow, or whatever is put as the leader. So those sheep will follow that leader until they get to maturity. Now, that goat or that leader of the herd has a specific duty is to lead the other flock in the direction that the farmer wants that flock to go into. As that Judas goat gets to, let's say, the slaughter gate, he is removed out of the way and the rest of the herd is led into that area for slaughter. All right? And then the Judas goat is protected. His life is protected. Then you wash, rinse, and repeat. Right? So if we're not sensitive to God's word, we're all going to be led by a Judas goat. Okay? A false prophet. A false preacher. Okay? A false somebody who's not teaching from the scripture and will lead you in the wrong direction. So it's up to you to make sure you are plugged into the power source of God's word. It's your responsibility. Because when you stand in front of God, it's not going to be anybody else there but you. And Jesus is your mediator. So it's up to you to get in there and get next to God and understand and stand on his word. Okay? Let's talk about how to cultivate loyalty in God's word. I just said it. Right? So how do we ensure our loyalty remains rooted in God's word? I'm going to give you a few examples. Okay? Daily engagement. You have to have a relationship with God. You have to engage with him daily. How do you engage with him? You engage with him through prayer and you engage with him in reading his word. Right? I mean, you have to make a habit to read and meditate on scripture. Psalms 1, 2 speaks of the blessed person who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his word day and night. We all have heard that, meditate on the word day and night. But as Christians, a lot of us aren't doing that. And that's why we compromise our stance when it comes to God because we're not meditating on it day and night. You know? And I just talked about prayer for study. Approach the Bible. Approach your Bible study with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in all truth. John 16, 13. Okay? When you go to study your Bible, pray. Meditate on it. Get the Holy Spirit to guide you. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you and give you that understanding. All right? Get part of a community. Right? A community accountability is very important. Surround yourself with fellow believers who are committed to living out God's word. Proverbs 27, 17 says, as iron sharpens iron. So one person sharpens another. I can tell you right now, I am a person that believes in that wholeheartedly. I didn't used to before. But, man, I really enjoy my brothers in the men's Sunday school class. The evangelism class. I enjoy being in the church. I enjoy being around because I learn so much. You know? Iron is sharpening iron. We're holding each other accountable. You know? I've been accepted on the deacon's board. You know, that puts more responsibility on my plate. That puts more pressure that I'm happy to have to be consistent in my walk. So I will not be a stumbling block to someone else. Okay? And you want to get to that point. You want God to use you as a tool for his kingdom. But in order for him to use you for that, you have to have a relationship with him. He has to be able to have confidence in you, even though he already has a plan for you already. But he needs you to come to him and spend time with him and be happy to do that. Okay? Be obedient. Okay? Finally, doers of the word. Not just hearers. James 1.22. Okay? Obedience to God's command solidifies our loyalty and deepens our relationship with him. Okay? Don't just read the word. Be a doer of the word. I believe that's important. I believe that's important because a lot of us know how to sing the hymns. We know how to dance in the church. We know how to speak in tongues. We know how to recite scriptures. But when the rubber meets the road, we have a hard time putting that in. We have a hard time putting that in play. Okay? We will watch programs that we're not supposed to watch. We'll hang with people that we should not be hanging with. We'll use language that's inappropriate. We react to situations with hostility instead of with compassion and patience. We have to be a doer of the words. And people, like I said, you have a bullseye. People are watching you. So if you put that cross on or you have a fish connected to your car or you say, I'm a Christian, you better believe you are going to be watched very carefully. And your walk may get someone else curious and convert someone else. Because you're putting yourself under the authority of man that you might gain a few. And everything is about pleasing God. So whatever pleases God, that's what you should be doing. Jesus Christ said that's what he does. Everything he does is to please his Father. Are you doing everything to please God, our Father, as a Christian? Only you can answer that question. Okay? Encouragement. Stay loyal. Now, there's a couple more things I want to talk about. But in this part right here, I want to encourage you to stay rooted in God's word and a world full of shifting sands. The Bible is our rock, our sure foundation. Let your loyalty to it guide your decisions, shape your character, and direct your path. The closer you get to God and the more you stay in the word, I often use this saying, if you change the way you think, the things you look at will change. If you change the way you think, your actions will change. Your walk will change. The clothes you put on will change. The music will change. The TV programs you watch will change. The people you associate will change. Your house will change. See, this is your conversion. This is your walk. This is your journey. This is your development. The more you stay connected and plugged into the word, you're going to start to change in ways that you would have never imagined. You would have never imagined. God is working his wonderful works through you because you spend time with him. And then you're standing on his word. Remember the words of Psalms 119, 105. A word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Let God's word illuminate your ways as you navigate the complexity of your life. I mean, that's beautiful right there. His word is going to be a light. Imagine walking in the darkness and you can't see anything. And all of a sudden you have this light in front of you showing you the way. Showing you the way. That's God's word. Now you're not confused on which way you need to go because you're standing close to him. So, professing to be a Christian, you have to understand you have to stay on God's word. You can't be afraid to talk about God. You can't. You can't go into an environment that's highly progressive and self-censor yourself. Okay? I had an interview here recently and just waiting on the background check to come back. And they offered me the position. Already just waiting on the background check to come back. And it's an environment that's very progressive. Okay? They believe in the, you know, LGBTQ and all the diversity, equity, inclusion stuff. And I went in and I asked the Lord before the interview, I said, speak through me. And immediately I started talking about my walk with God. The bishop and the deacons seeing something in me and asking me to be a deacon on the deacon board. I started talking about God sent me here. At first, I was apprehensive about coming to that place. But God said, I need you there. And I'm following his path. I'm following his instructions. That's the way I spoke in the interview, all right, to a person that is in a same-sex relationship that's going to be my superior. Okay? The first in line and the second in line are in same-sex relationships. And I spoke the way God had intended me to spoke. I stood on his word and my core beliefs. And I wasn't shy about it and I didn't deviate from it. I said, God led me here and I'm following his instructions. Okay? When you go into a situation like that automatically, the environment changes. They understand, okay, this is who this person is. So they understand that as you look at things, it's going to be from a biblical worldview. So they know certain things that you're not going to go along with because of your biblical worldview. I look at it as I'm there to sow seeds and many seeds. And my stay there might be temporarily. It might be long-term. But I'm there because this glorified God's kingdom and it makes him happy. And if all Christians can get to that point and not be afraid to stand on God's word, in any environment, you're doing exactly what God requires you to do. You're doing exactly what he's requiring you to do. Okay? I mean, I'm just thinking about, you know, I'm thinking about Peter and John. When they healed the lame man and a man that was lame for 40 years. And when they were told, when they were put in jail overnight and were asked by whose name have you done this? And they said, by the name of Jesus Christ. The guy you crucified. 5,000 people, men, saw Peter and John heal a lame man that's been lame all of his life for 40 years. That man is standing beside Peter and John as they're being confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducees. So they could no longer, they couldn't deny that a miracle had happened. And then they were threatened and told, well, you know what? We can't deny what happened. And plus everybody in Jerusalem saw it. So they threatened him and said, okay, just don't use Jesus' name. You can do your business, but just don't use his name. And Peter and John was like, are you serious? You think I'm going to listen to you over God? You do whatever you got to do, bro. But I'm going to use the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and that's what we're going to do. And they sent him away, but in the midst of this, in the midst of all that hostility, they're in Jerusalem. They got the Pharisees and the Sadducees been thrown into the jail, probably flogged and beaten, right? And Steele came out and said, no, I'm sorry, man. I got to talk about what I've seen. No, no, I got to use the name of Jesus Christ. That's how this man was healed. It was by Jesus, by the blood of Jesus. That's how we have to be as Christians. We have to be like Peter and John. These weren't illiterate men. See, they thought these men, they used the term, they weren't learned men. What do they mean by that? That meant that they weren't following the culture. Here are two men that wrote two great books in the Bible for us to this day that we're studying. These weren't illiterate men. They just weren't following the culture. What the culture said was acceptable. They followed a different narrative. See, and that's how we have to be as Christians. You know, just because the culture says it's okay that two men marry each other doesn't mean we as Christians should capitulate to that and acquiesce to that. We say, no, no, no, no, no. That's not what my, that's not what scripture tells us. No, no, no, no, no. See, that's you being kind and loving by telling the truth because you're standing on the word. You're being loyal to the word. And when you're loyal to the word, you're going to be blessed by that. So today I was reading, and like I said, I was holding on to this for a while, for a couple of days. And I don't know why I was holding on to it. I had time to do it, but I held on to it. And the Lord moves in his own way. And I want to give you an example of a person who claims to be a Christian but at the same time doesn't, is, is, is confused and afraid to stand on the word. And he's looking at people as good people and hoping that God will compromise his own word to let good people into heaven. Which the Bible is totally, there's a lot of good people right now sitting in heaven. Right? There's a lot of good people. See, it's not about being good. But unfortunately for a lot of Christians, they can't wrap their head around it. They see these good people and they're saying, well, they're not evil. They haven't killed anybody. They don't steal from people. They give to charity. Why should these people go to hell? Because the scripture says in 1st John, 2nd John, those who do not recognize the Messiahship of Jesus Christ are anti-Christ. That's why. Okay? So that makes it, if an anti-Christ is what? Anti-Jesus, anti-anointed, anti-Messiah. That means what? They hate Jesus Christ. And if they hate Jesus, they hate God. Even though those people never said they hated him, but they don't accept him. Right? So I'm going to read this devotion to you. Bear with me. And it's the Bible app. You know, I go to the Bible app every day. I look through the Bible app. They do a very good job. I don't agree with everything. But for the most part, they do a very good job. And I share a lot of this with people every day. But on this particular one right here, it kind of lines up for what I'm talking about with standing on being Lord to God's word. And I feel that this young man is not being Lord to God's word. And the devotion, it comes out of what he put, it comes out of 1st Peter 2, 1925. And what he has up here is the shackles of the wickedness. You know, although all beliefs, although our beliefs may sometimes seem a hindrance, the wicked will miss out on the rewards of eternal life. And you probably, if you have the Bible app, you probably read this this morning. If not, I'm going to share my perspective on it. I'm just going to read his story. And the young man's name is David Jacobs, you know. And he contributes to the Bible app every day in devotion. And he normally does a pretty good job. But let me read his story, what he's talking about here. He says, my wife's family is not Christian. So it makes me think that did he marry somebody that wasn't Christian? Let me go further. He says, they are Buddhists. And it has been a challenge for me to accept this. Her family are nice people, good people, caring people, but have been brought up with different traditions and a different religion from my family. It is a debate that I have struggled with in my head. Would Jesus allow these good people to go to heaven? What scripture tells us, and I just explained to you, it's not about you being good and nice. The scripture is dogmatic on who's going to get in and who's not going to get in. When he says he's having this debate in his mind, it makes me think that he may have married a girl that wasn't a Christian. Now, he doesn't say that. She was a Buddhist. And the Bible talks about marrying not being equally yoked, right? So if he married somebody that wasn't equally yoked, then that could be part of his problem right now. Let me read on. The lives of nonbelievers and other religions may seem easier and less strict than the lives of a Christian, all right? Now, I can't speak to that, okay, because I've never practiced Buddhism, Hinduism, the Muslim faith or whatever. But I know as a Christian and following this life, and I've said it before to many people, this is not a walk for the faint of heart. This is going to be a very challenging walk because the spirit and the flesh is always warring against each other. There's a lot of things and a lot of people you're going to have to give up in order to follow Jesus Christ and God's word. Okay, let's continue. What are the core beliefs of our religion? More than anything, we are to believe that Jesus Christ's teachings are the way, the truth, and the life. We must hold these teachings close, cling to the goodness that they exude, and push away the wickedness of nonbelief. Although it may sound blasphemous, okay, listen to this. Although it may sound blasphemous, much of the principle tenets, beliefs of Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism are similar to ours. I totally reject that 100% because none of these religions believe in the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, that he's the son of God. So they're not like ours. They're not even close to ours, okay? You can't say, well, they do certain things that resemble Christianity and say that they're like ours. They're not. Christianity is different than any other religion because of what? Because of the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, because he died on the cross for our sins. And through faith, we get grace. Through his sacrifice, we actually have access to God, the Father. So I reject that. And it sounds like he's a double-minded person. That means he's unbalanced. So he goes on in Hinduism, and similar to ours, it is wickedness and apathy that God will judge. Apathy may seem free, but it is an apparition without any guidance. It is the equivalent to being lost at sea. I cannot answer whether or not my wife's family will be permitted to join us in heaven. See, he's a double-minded man because he doesn't look at her family as wicked because, hey, they haven't killed anybody. They haven't stolen anything, you know. But there's a lot of people that were nice that are in hell right now sitting beside Hitler, Pol Pox, Mao Zedong, Mussolini, Franco, Idi Amin, Stalin, Lenin, and a whole litany of people that were anti-God and anti-Jesus. Okay? Then he continues on. However, I think that Christ's teachings are more about attempting to create a kingdom of heaven here on earth. And again, I reject that because, again, Jesus came to get us to the Father and follow his commandments. All right? Sometimes I think I have even said his kingdom here on earth. Right? We're trying to attempt to make a kingdom here on earth. The kingdom is in heaven. And that kingdom will come out of heaven. What we're trying to do is get people to get to know Jesus Christ and live a Christ-like lifestyle that's pleasing to God. Okay? And he says this. That is why we must follow the word. Follow the word. My wife's family may not be able to go to the heavenly kingdom. I'm not sure. Well, as a Christian man, he should be sure. Because Scripture tells us what? If you don't accept the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, you're not going to be heirs with Jesus and you're not going to inherit the kingdom of God. And he says, he goes on and says, I am sure that evil, apathetic, and lost souls will not be permitted unless they are redeemed. And here's the thing. He doesn't see his wife's family as those evil, apathetic people that must be redeemed. Because they're nice people. And good people. And this is why I say that it's very important to stay on God's word. Because instead of him trying to take the position that, you know, maybe if we build some type of utopia on earth that God can be pleased with, then maybe he will allow my wife's family to backdoor their way in to heaven even though they don't accept the Messiahship of Jesus Christ and they don't follow his commandments. See, he's confused about who God is. Even though he's been to seminary school, even though he can articulate the Bible, he's confused in his mind. Because he's looking at it from an emotional standpoint and not a biblical standpoint. Yes, it may hurt your feelings that the friend that you've loved all your life may never enter into heaven. Because what? They're a nice person. They're great. There's a lot of people that's in the LGBTQ community that I've worked with and been around that would give you a shirt off their back. The nicest people in the world. But until they accept the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, until they start following the commandment of God, their place is assured in heaven, in hell. It's assured. And I don't want to see them go, and God doesn't want to see them go, but God has given them a choice. Every knee shall bow. Every knee shall bow. Okay? In heaven and in hell. And so if they're not bowing to the Messiahship of Jesus Christ and following God's word, they're not going to go. They're not going to get there. And unfortunately for a lot of Christians, this is the case for a lot of Christians. A lot of Christians will try to put a square peg into a round hole because of a family or a friend or somebody they like that they think is a good person that affects them emotionally. Instead of evangelizing to them and ministering to them and trying to get them to accept the Messiahship of Jesus Christ. And as Christians, we are called for the great commission. We must stand on God's word. We must be loyal to his word. We must not deviate from his word. There is no compromising. There is no neutrality when it comes to God's word. There isn't any. And I know for a lot of people that may listen to this podcast, they got a lot of soul searching to do. God has already given you the instructions, so don't sit around and think God's going to all of a sudden press something on you that he hasn't already given you. All right? He's already given you the instructions. Spend time with him. And then learn his ways and learn how to apply his ways to your life. And then you will be an influence to somebody. I can assure you that you will be an influence to somebody, whether it's inside of your four walls or outside of your four walls. Do everything that's going to please God. That is your ultimate goal. Do everything that's going to please him like his son Jesus Christ. He did everything that pleased his father. That was his purpose, to get the rest of us to his father. So I wanted to touch on that. I probably missed some things that I wanted to talk about, but I've already carried this on a little bit longer than I wanted. But I want to encourage you to just be loyal to God's word. Yeah, I know it's difficult at times because we live in a secular world. We've all been developed in institutions that are all secular from a very young age. Think about this for a second. I'm reading this book called Children at Risk. And the author's writing a book and he's talking about daycares. And it says children that go to government-funded daycares from the age of six months to six years spend approximately 8,000 hours with strangers, with people that are not biologically connected to them. Mommy's out working a job. Dad's out working a job. And now you've outsourced your children to the Canaanite gods. Moloch, what do you think that they're being taught right now? What do you think they're being taught? They're not being taught God's words. They're not being taught that. They're being developed on a secular worldview that will make them compromise their moral values for it to fit into a secular world that rejects God. So I just want you to keep that in mind. 8,000 hours from six months to six years, and then you go to kindergarten, from kindergarten all the way to the 12th grade. Imagine how many hours you're spending in secular institutions that reject God and Jesus. And then to add insult to injury, you send them off to the universities. I mean, I just want you to think about that for a second. It's very difficult to stay loyal to God's word when you've been indoctrinated in secular institutions from six months to probably whenever, if you got a PhD, what is that, in your mid-20s? Think about that. That foundation has been inside, and now you're going to say, I want to be a child of God, and I want to serve Jesus. Now you got two competing worldviews, and one, you spent an enormous amount of hours under that doctrine. This is the reason why a lot of people that call themselves Christians compromise their walk and are not loyal to God's word. So I just want you to keep that in mind, okay, as you're on your journey, all right? Let's end this with a prayer, okay? Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for the word today. I want to thank you for the knowledge that you've given us. I want to thank you for the love that you've bestowed on us. I want to thank you for your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, give us the courage to continue to spend time with you and to learn your ways and to learn your truth and apply those to our lives and not compromise and be neutral when it comes to you and your word. I know there's a lot of people out there that are struggling in their walk right now, even though they spent many years in church, and they're probably on different positions in church and whatever, but they're struggling to lean on your word because it's in contradiction to the world that we live in today. Give them courage. Give them courage, all right? And I love you, Lord, and I know you're working a wonderful thing through all of us, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Stay plugged into the power source, which is God's word, and be encouraged to stand on his word and spend time with the Lord. I thank you for joining this podcast, and again, let's continue to stand firm on the loyalty of God's word, encouraging one another to live out our faith boldly, okay? Until the next time, stay anchored in truth. This is Norman Goodman signing out.