You know, the Bible has several standards for clothing, for hair, for music, the men and the women's roles, the place of a child (a child should not be ruling the house), for pastors. You know, pastors have a requirement. You know, there's a bunch of churches around here like that one I was talking about where they get divorced, and the wife stays, and she says, "We'll, I'll just become the pastor. I've been here since the beginning." Uh, OK, we'll the Bible's very clear that a woman should not usurp authority over a man. A woman should not be preaching across the pulpit. Ladies can teach children. Ladies can teach other ladies, and we'll look at that. But ladies don't teach men. Men need to teach in the church.
And there's a requirement to be a pastor of the church. You can't be divorced. You have to have multiple children. And the fake churches will not obey God's standard. No divorced pastor is blameless. The husband of one wife. The husband of one wife. "So, Brother Fannin, I'm divorced, does that mean I can't preach?" No, it doesn't. It means you can't be the shepherd. It means you can't be the pastor. It means you can't hold the office of a deacon. But everything else in here is something you can do. There are things in here you can do, and the pastor's not the only position. There's a lot of work to be done here. There's a lot of people that need help with things. There's men jumping up to get the door. "Oh hey, somebody needs a Bible. Hey, somebody needs to start printing a bulletin in here." [Gesturing to someone in the congregation] This man has a full plate. He needs some help. Some people need to stand up and say, "I'll help. What can I do to help? I want this church to last, and I don't want you to get burned out." He is here in Pastor Romero's stead right now, and he is doing everything he can to make sure this church works, but you guys need to get in on it also. He needs some help; he needs some support; his family needs some prayer. It's up to you guys whether this church makes it or not. It really is; it's up to the people, and we're old-fashioned, and we're gonna do it God's way. Blameless, husband of one wife.
Vigilant! "Oh, you're a homo? Sorry, not welcome here. Take a hike."
Sober! Sober! No drunkenness in the church! Church correction! The bible says if somebody's in drunkenness, they should be kicked out of the church. The bible says if somebody's in fornication, they should be kicked out of the church. We're gonna do it God's way. Don't just justify drunkenness like all the other fake churches, and woe unto them for doing that. Woe unto them for doing that.
It says one that ruleth well his own house having his children in subjection with all gravity. He's saying you must have children to be a pastor. There's that other big church in town here. "Well, it's all right. He's done the work for years. He can just be a pastor." Uh, but what about what God said? Are you trying to bring the curse of God on this church? There's believers in the church! And they're gonna elevate a man that doesn't meet the requirements of a pastor? God's not gonna bless that. And of course, what's he gonna do? "Well, maybe the King James isn't so important. It's OK if the dykes come in and the homos come in. We're gonna have a little rock and roll. Let's get more buses, you know, and less hard preaching. No more soul-winning; that doesn't work." Yeah, the guy's probably not even saved. For if a man not know how to rule his own house, how should he take care of the church of God?
You know, the hair standards in I Corinthians chapter 11; it says a man ought to have short hair, and a woman ought to have long hair. That's God's standard. You tell that to somebody, "Oh, you're being hateful." Well, I'm just telling you what God said. I'm just telling you what God said. And you shouldn't hate me for saying it, but unfortunately, the world doesn't understand that. We in here are without excuse. We in here are without excuse. Honestly, if there were a man in here that understood these principles and he had his hair down to his butt, I'd say, "Dude, why are you living in sin?" If there was a woman in here that said, "Well, I can do whatever... all my friends, they chopped it up to here [gesturing to the top of his head], and they made it this purple-silverish color. I'm gonna do that." I'd say, "Why are you in rebellion? You know what God's commanded! I Corinthians 11, read it!"
The clothing! You know, the Bible says that your thigh is your nakedness. The Bible also says your chest is your nakedness. The Bible's teaching that from your neck to your knee should be covered up, and only shared with your husband or wife. That goes for men too. Men, you shouldn't be swimming with your shirt off. Ladies, you need to cover your nakedness. That's God's commandment. Don't break his commandment! That's the way it oughta be. "Well, that's old-fashioned". Hey, amen! Yeah it is! It's a sin to show it off; it doesn't belong to anybody else but your husband. And men, it's the same way. Don't wear shorts that show your thigh. That's wicked. That's not right with God.
Look here in Deuteronomy 22. Look at verse number 5. "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." Do you hear what that says? Listen, I bring this up for a reason, because I grew up IFB, and I rarely heard this verse. I grew up IFB, seeing families that grew up conservative, and the ladies dress like ladies, and the men dress like gentlemen, and then, they got tired of church, and they fell out of church, and they started dressing like the world. And they didn't know this verse. Their principle, their foundation, was not on the word of God. We're reading this verse because we're gonna have a foundation based on the word of God. God says here that if a man comes walking in in a skirt, that's an abomination. "What are you wearing? That's disgusting!" "Well, what about the Irish?" Let's not talk about that. Let's not go... what the kilts and all, I mean there was some bad things there anyway. Go to Titus chapter 2. But he says, "A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man." "Are you telling me that my wife needs to wear skirts all the time?" No, I'm not. God is! God is! God says a woman oughta dress like a woman, and she ought to be a lady. And if she has a problem in her heart with that, that is rebellion against God's commandment. "Boy, that's so old-fashioned; you're not gonna get people around here." Well, I'm not trying to get people. I'm trying to lay a foundation that will last forever. And it's not pretty sometimes. Dresses and skirts on ladies please God. But rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. "Well, what about all my friends? They all wear yoga pants all the time." That's wicked as hell! You oughta tell them it's wicked! You oughta tell them it's obscene! "What if my family thinks I'm weird because now I just wear dresses and skirts?" Hey, dresses and skirts are classy. That makes a lady look classy. Don't look trashy, like you just came from the yoga gym. "What if my family thinks I'm weird?" Hey, what about the father in heaven that commanded you; don't you wanna please him? Don't you wanna do what he said? Don't think about your family; don't think about your friends; don't think about your investment in your closet. Think about breaking God's law. Think about having a rebellious heart against what God has said. Get your heart right. That's God's commandments. He gave it to you for a reason. Do not disobey.
God wants the gender roles to be separated. God wants it to be distinguishable what a lady is and what a man is. He wants it to be clear. He came to bring division for our own good, and we don't get that some time. He's commanded men to work. In I Timothy 5, he says, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Worse than an infidel! Dad, if you sit at home, and you don't work, and you send mom off, you're a bum! You're a deadbeat! Your worse than an infidel! You act worse than the heathen! You're breaking God's law! He's not happy with that. The flipside of the coin, here in Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. Look at verse number 4: "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children," verse 5, "To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good," listen to this, "obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Mom, if you're rebellious, you might as well cuss at the Bible, because God said for you to obey your husband. God said, "Mom, you should stay home and take care of the kids. Dad, you need to go to work." That's his perfect plan. Dad, don't act like an infidel. Mom, don't make the word of God blasphemed by being disobedient.
[All throughout this talk, members (mostly male) of the congregation can be heard voicing their agreement.]