Mans Relation to Animals - Pastor Bruce Mejia

Verse 19, this is for that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts, even one

thing befalleth them, as the one dieth, so dieth the other, yea, they have all one breath,

so that a man, that hath no preeminence above a beast, for all is vanity.

All go into one place, all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Who knoweth the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that

goes downward to the earth? And the time of my sermon this morning is man's

relation to animals, man's relation to animals. Animals play a very significant

role in the Bible. And this morning I want to preach a topical sermon on the

subject of animals, and how we as mankind are to relate to them. Now hold

your place there in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and go to Genesis chapter 1 if

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention Genesis 1 · chapter mention

you will. Genesis chapter 1, what does the Bible say about animals? You know

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

we're going to go through a lot of scripture today, so make sure you

have your Bibles open, go to every reference that we talk about today, and

we're going to demonstrate the purpose of animals, their end, the role that they

play in reprobation, and God's judgment as well. Man's relation to animals. The

first point I want to make this morning is that animals are not an

afterthought in the mind of God, believe it or not. Animals are not an

afterthought. In other words, animals are actually very important to God.

They're very important to God, and this is an important point because of the fact

that society today really exalts animals even above human life sometimes, right?

And sometimes people can have this attitude that animals are way more

important than children, than people, than human life, and this can really

cause Christians to despise animals, and despise animal protection, and

despise talking about or having animals, or even the life of an

animal. But that's not a right attitude either because the Bible actually

teaches us that animals are important to God. Look at Genesis chapter 1 if you

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

wouldn't. In verse 20 it says,

And God said,

And God blessed them, and said,

And God said,

And let fowl multiply in the earth,

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day,

And God said,

And God said,

And we see here that God made animals on the fifth and sixth day prior to

creating man, showing us that animals are not an afterthought in the mind of God.

They actually had a priority even in the creation period. Now, this doesn't mean

that they're superior to man, right? Because of the fact that we see

subsequently they're placed under man's dominion thereafter, but it does

show that they do play an essential part in God's original,

sinless creation. Okay? Animals are not a created being that are insignificant to God.

They're actually very much important to him. They were deliberately created in a

sinless fashion in order to beautify the world, to beautify creation, so that

we would honor and glorify God based upon what we're looking at. You look at

the octopus, you look at the platypus, you look at the lion, you look at all

of creation, and it should cause us to be in awe of the creator, the fact

that he made all of these creatures, okay? They were included in this world that

God pronounced to be very good, right? Demonstrating that God esteems the animal kingdom.

Go to Psalms 104, Psalm 104 if you would. Animals are not an afterthought

in the mind of God. They're very much important to God, not just in the

creation period, but even today they're very much important to God, okay?

Now as you turn into Psalm 104, I'm going to read to you from Psalm 50, verse 10,

Psalms 50:10

it says, for every beast of the forest is mine. Of course, this is God speaking.

The Psalmist is writing on God's behalf and he's saying, and the cattle upon

a thousand hills. Listen to this, I know all the fowls of the mountains and

the wild beasts of the field are mine. So this is showing us that there's

not a single creature on this planet, there's not a single animal, a single

insect, not a single ant. Think about that that God doesn't know about.

He keeps track of every single creature that exists in this world.

Let me read to you from Matthew chapter 10, verse 29. Listen to this, it says,

Matthew 10:29

are not two sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not

fall to the ground without your father. This is showing us that even when

birds fall to the ground and die, when an animal dies, it doesn't matter

how small and insignificant they may mean to us. God knows of that death.

God knows of that animal falling to the ground. He keeps track of all the

creatures of the world. He knows every single bird that hatches,

every single reptile, every single ant, every single insect that exists.

God knows about it. In other words, he essentially keeps a catalogue

of all of these creatures showing us that animals are very much

important to God, right? Not only that, but we also see that he takes care

of all these creatures as well. Look at Psalm 104 in verse number 10,

if you wouldn't. Verse 10 of Psalm 104 says,

he sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field, the wild asses quench

their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their

habitation which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills

from his chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service

of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth.

And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, oil to make his face

to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon

which he hath planted, where the birds make their nests,

as for the storks, the fir trees are her house,

the high hills are a refuge for wild goats,

and the rocks for the conies.

Showing us that God not only esteems animals,

he takes it upon himself to take care of them every single day.

All of the ecosystems of this world are set forth by God

in order to take care of these creatures.

Go to Deuteronomy 22, if you would.

Deuteronomy 22, we're going to be all over the place

in the Bible today, so make sure you have a piece of paper

or a pen handy to mark some areas.

Deuteronomy 22, I'm going to keep reading in Psalm 147,

Psalms 147:9

verse 9 says, he giveth the beast his food

and to the young ravens which cry.

So when the ravens and the birds are crying out for food,

who feeds them?

God is the one who's feeding them.

God is the one who sets forth the systems in place

in order to take care of all of these creatures.

Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26, you're in Deuteronomy 22,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Matthew 626 says, behold, the fowls of the air,

for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns.

Yet your heavenly Father, listen to this, feedeth them.

Are ye not much better than they?

Now, this also demonstrates that in my opinion,

mankind should avoid involving themselves

in the preservation of animals,

making sure they don't go extinct or something like that.

It's just like, oh, save the whales or whatever.

Save this particular bird or whatever.

But you know what?

If it's God's will for that bird to go extinct,

then so be it.

We shouldn't worry that a certain animal's going to go extinct

or we're going to miss out on having these types of creatures

or whatever.

If God wanted to preserve that animal, he would.

The only time we should really concern ourselves

whether an animal goes extinct or not

is if it affects our well-being.

If it affects our food source,

our well-being because of the fact that God prioritizes humanity

over the animal kingdom.

Yeah, they're important to him.

Yes, he feeds them, but we are superior to these animals

and God takes care of them in order to take care of us.

Now, look at Deuteronomy 22, verse 6.

Deuteronomy 22:6

It says here,

If a bird's nest chance to be before thee

in the way in any tree or on the ground,

whether they be young ones or eggs

and the dam sitting upon the young

or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young,

but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go

and take the young to thee that it may be well with thee

and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

In other words, don't mess with the birds,

don't mess with the ecosystem

so that it can continue to produce more eggs,

more birds for us.

He said, for thee to prolong thy days.

For your protein, for your food, right?

For your well-being, this is why the creation

and the animals are set in place.

Go to Romans chapter 8, if you would.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Romans chapter number 8.

And so, you know, don't waste your time

worrying about the extinction of this animal.

Who cares about the dodo bird?

Who cares?

You know, obviously, I care a little bit about the Saber II Tiger

that went extinct a while back

because I wanted to see it in real life.

But you know what? Who cares?

Who cares if the T-Rex went extinct,

went extinct, the Velociraptor?

Who cares if there's an animal going extinct?

Now, if God wanted to preserve that animal, he would.

What about the condor?

We should save the condor.

I don't eat condor so it can go extinct.

Don't really bother me.

If God wants to do away with the condor,

then so be it.

That's his agenda.

That's what he wants.

If he wanted to preserve that animal, he would.

You're in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

The fact is that God esteems animals to the point

that we see here that they get provided

for by God.

God takes care of them.

He creates an ecosystem that's conducive to their health,

to their food, but at the end of the day,

it's for our well-being.

Let me also say this.

God does esteem animals not only to the point

that he feeds them, but he also allows them,

listen to this, to participate in the regeneration,

referring to the resurrection,

referring to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ,

referring to the new heaven and the new earth,

believe it or not.

Now look at Romans chapter 8, if you would.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

You're like, what?

Is that true?

Do all dogs go to heaven?

Is that really true?

Because everyone wants to believe that their little dog

or little cat that passed away is going to be in heaven.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but no,

that's not going to happen.

Your animal, just silence now.

Your animal does not go to heaven when it dies.

It does not have a spirit that can be redeemed.

Just as we have spirits that can be redeemed by salvation.

But here's the thing though, is that there are animals in heaven.

It's not because they got there through salvation.

It's because of the fact that in heaven,

you have these creatures known as cherubim,

which we would classify as being what?

An angel.

And these angels, which are called cherubim,

they're basically these anthropomorphic creatures

that have four faces of an animal.

It has one face of a lion, another face of an eagle,

another face of an ox.

And then it does have the face of a man,

but it doesn't mean that that is an actual man

because there's a lot of creatures that God creates

that have humanly features.

Think of monkeys and chimpanzees and apes.

There's even fish out there that have human features.

There's a blobfish.

If you look up blobfish, you're like,

this looks like a miserable person.

I'm not kidding you, it looks like an actual miserable person.

And it has these features.

It doesn't mean it's a human, it's a fish,

but it's just created by the same person.

So in heaven, you have these creatures.

They're called beasts, and so they can be classified as animals.

They're just simply a celestial beast

known as cherubim that we would classify as angels.

Now look at verse 19.

So let's talk about the fact that animals will be in the millennial reign.

They will benefit from the resurrection.

Look at verse 19.

It says,

What does that mean?

It means that all of creation,

dogs, lions, monkeys, all types of creatures,

they're all anticipating the resurrection.

When it says the manifestation of the sons of God,

that's referring to the resurrection.

That's when the sons of God,

which are those who believe on Jesus Christ,

are fully redeemed, right?

And they are anticipating that moment.

Why?

Look what it says in verse 20.

So in other words, creatures live and die.

They eat each other.

Super violent, right?

And it says here that they are subject to vanity,

meaning that like, you know, animals,

they don't really have any significant eternal purpose.

They did in the Garden of Eden, right?

But they don't really serve any eternal significance right now.

So they just have a vain life.

You and I, we have purpose, right?

We have a purpose.

The Bible tells us,

For we are as workmanship created in Christ Jesus,

unto good works which God has before ordained

that we should walk in them.

God has a purpose for us to be conformed

to the image of Jesus Christ.

Animals do not.

They are subject to vanity after the fall, okay?

He says they're subject to vanity,

not willingly.

In other words, they didn't choose that.

They're subject to that because of Adam's transgression.

Verse 21 says,

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered

from the bondage of corruption

into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

So that's showing us that in the millennial reign,

in the new heaven and new earth,

there will be everlasting animals as well.

Creatures will not die in the new heaven,

in the new earth.

And so, you know, that's one part

that the Jehovah's Witness got right

on their little pictures.

You know, they always have these pictures

where people are like walking in a forest

with all types of animals

and they're hugging, you know, the bears or whatever.

That's true.

They're not going to see that,

but it is a real thing, though.

And so, good job on the illustration there.

But it says here that they will be delivered

from the bondage of corruption,

meaning that they're not going to die anymore.

They will live.

They will benefit from the liberty

of the children of God, okay?

The residual blessings of the resurrection

even affects all of creation and animals as well.

Look at verse 22.

For we know that the whole creation

groaneth and travaileth in pain together

until now.

It's basically stating that all of creation,

the animal kingdom, they are groaning.

They're almost just awaiting.

They're anticipating.

They're in pain.

They're complaining.

Why?

Because they just live and die,

live and die with absolutely no purpose behind it.

It says in verse 23,

and not only they, but we ourselves also,

which have the first fruits of the Spirit,

even we ourselves groan within ourselves

waiting for the adoption to with the redemption of our body.

So obviously the purpose of the text here

is to demonstrate that we groan within ourselves as well,

meaning that, you know,

oh wretched man that I am,

who shall deliver me from this body of death?

You know, we struggle with sin.

We are tempted to sin.

We have this corruptible flesh that is constantly

just fighting against us.

We got to walk in the Spirit, intentionally live for God.

And so I was just like, man, I hate my flesh.

I hate the fact that I'm tempted.

We groan within ourselves.

And God is trying to communicate here

that to a lesser extent,

the animal kingdom does the same thing.

Because they're subject to vanity,

not willingly, but because of Adam, right?

Just as we kind of complain

over the fact that we live and die,

we're tempted in like manner the animal kingdom does the same.

So, you know, your dog does not go to heaven.

He will not meet you there in heaven.

I'm sorry to break that to you.

But, you know, there are creatures in heaven

and animals in general will inherit the kingdom of God.

Okay, there will be animals in the millennial reign.

Now, go back to Genesis chapter one again.

Genesis chapter one.

Let me read you from Isaiah chapter 11

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

in verse number six.

This is a picture of the millennial reign.

Some can say it's also possibly talking

about the new heaven and the new earth.

But it says in Isaiah chapter 11 verse six,

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid

and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together

and the little child shall lead them.

So this is showing us that there is going to come a time

where the spiritual atmosphere is completely transfigured

to the point where a wolf that would typically consume a lamb

will actually dwell together.

They'll be friends again, okay?

You know, the fox and the hound, right?

You know, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the young lion

and to just add to the extreme, you know, transformation here.

It says that a little child will lead them.

You'll play follow the leader with the wolf and the lamb,

the leopard and so forth, the lion.

It goes on to say in verse seven,

and the cow and the bear shall feed.

Their young ones shall lie down together

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

So obviously the biology has also changed

within that millennial reign and the new heaven and new earth

among the animal kingdom to the point where the Bible says

that the lion who once previously ate, you know,

meat and killed and drank blood

and all that is now eating straw like an ox.

It says the sucking child shall play on the whole of the asp

and the wean child shall put his hand in the cockatrice's den.

In other words, you know, this is going to be

such an extraordinary transformation

that babies can stick their hands

inside of a hole of a rattlesnake,

of a cobra, a den of some sort of venomous viper

and it's not going to bite them.

It poses no threat, no harm.

This is the transfiguration that's going to take place.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

What is the same?

It's showing us that though we get to benefit from

the millennial reign, the new heaven and new earth,

guess what the animal kingdom does as well, okay?

Now a lot of times people ask me,

so do you think a T-rex will be there?

Are we going to be able to see the pterodactyl?

Are we going to see?

I don't know, I hope so, you know,

but the text doesn't really explicitly say it,

and so maybe animals who have already gone extinct

are just extinct forever.

We don't know, okay?

But something can change, I don't know.

So the point that I'm making here is that

animals are not an afterthought in the mind of God.

They actually have some importance in the eyes of God, okay?

Point number two is that animals,

and I mentioned this a little bit in the first point,

animals are inferior to mankind

and should be dominated by man, okay?

They are inferior.

It doesn't mean they're not important,

but they're not as important as us.

So stop calling your animal, your little pet,

more important, stop calling them a child, okay?

It's not right, it's not biblical,

it's nonsense, it's foolish

because animals are animals,

and in God's eyes they are inferior to man, okay?

Never put an animal on the same pedestal

as a human being, especially a child.

So the Bible tells us that it teaches us

that animals are inferior to mankind

and should be dominated by mankind as well.

Look at Genesis 1 again in verse 26.

It says in God said,

let us make man in our image after our likeness

and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

over the fowl of the air,

over the cattle and over all the earth

and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God created he him,

male and female created he them, verse 28,

and God blessed him and said unto them,

be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.

Listen to this, and subdue it, okay?

And have dominion over the fish of the sea

and over the fowl of the air

and over every living thing that moveeth upon the earth.

Go to Genesis chapter 9, Genesis chapter 9.

Genesis 9 · chapter mention Genesis 9 · chapter mention

So we see explicitly in the very first chapter of the Bible,

God says, he creates man, he says,

you are the ruler of this world, okay?

Over the creation you're supposed to dominate

the birds, the fish, the beast of the field,

everything that creepeth,

you are at the top of the food chain, okay?

You are essentially the one who dominates the entire world

and that's how it should operate, okay?

Now obviously this doesn't mean that creatures are,

you know, some creatures in this world are, you know,

they were stronger than them or something like that,

but obviously we have the spirit of God

and we have a mind that is able to subdue animals, okay?

We have a mind that's able to hunt animals

and subdue them and use them for our benefit and so forth.

Look at Genesis chapter 9 and verse number 2,

Genesis 9 · chapter mention

it says, the fear of you and the dread of you

shall be upon every beast of the earth

and upon every fowl of the air,

upon all that moveeth upon the earth

and upon all the fishes of the sea

into your hand are they delivered.

So when it says that the fear of you

and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth,

this doesn't mean that all creatures will fear you

to the point where they will flee from you, okay?

This basically means that creatures will view you as a threat.

Because they're afraid of you, they will view you as a threat, okay?

You know, this is why, for example,

sometimes people will go hiking, especially now,

a lot of this is going on,

and they will accidentally step on a rattlesnake

and a rattlesnake will strike them, right?

Or they'll just, you know, walk near a bush

and a rattlesnake will come out and strike them

because they either view them as a threat

or they view them as food.

So this should not be used as a text to say,

oh man, animals are just afraid of us, period,

and therefore we can play these psychological games with them

or whatnot.

Obviously this is simply referring to the fact

that there's a major distinction between us

and we can't necessarily abide together in harmony, okay?

They view us as a threat, they are afraid of us

and they will strike, of course, and attack if need be.

Go to Exodus chapter 21, Exodus chapter 21.

Exodus 21 · chapter mention Exodus 21 · chapter mention

Psalm chapter 8 and verse 6 says this,

Psalms 8 · chapter mention

as you're turning to Exodus 21,

thou madeest him, referring to mankind,

to have dominion over the works of thy hands.

Thou hast put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen yea the beasts of the field,

the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea,

and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas, okay?

And we started off in Ecclesiastes chapter 3

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

talking about the fact that, you know,

the Bible tells us that the spirit of man

goeth upward and the spirit of the beast

goeth downward to the earth.

What does that mean?

It's referring to the fact that the breath,

the spirit, man is made with the spirit

but it's a living spirit that can be redeemed

and it can go to heaven.

Whereas animals, once they die,

they just stay in the earth.

They go back to the dirt.

That's their end.

They don't have a spirit or a soul

the way we would communicate to be

an actual spirit or soul that is able to worship God

and desire salvation and so forth, okay?

So animals are inferior to us

and we're to dominate them according to the Bible.

Now this means a few things, okay?

Number one is that the life of an animal

should never be prioritized over the life of a human, okay?

So that means if some dumb idiot

climbs over the fence into some lion's den, okay?

And you know, his life is in danger

and people kill the lion,

no one should mourn over the death of the lion.

Now I'll be it, the guy's an idiot for climbing over

but it's still, he's still more important than the lion.

But they're endangered.

Yeah, we're about to make them more endangered, okay?

Because the life of a human

is far more important than the life of a lion.

Now obviously, you know, people have done this

throughout the years where they,

a child falls over or something like that.

You know, people are still mourning,

what's that stupid ape's name?

Maranbe, right?

Oh, Haranbe, whatever, you know?

It's an ape.

I'll call him Maranbe, okay, just to spite him.

You know?

Oh man, I can't believe that.

And you know what, you'd be surprised,

you go on the comment section of these videos

and how much people are like condemning

the fact that he died

and they wish the person who shot them

would have died instead

and they prefer the life of the beast

over the life of the animal,

excuse me, over the life of the human being

and that's godless, okay?

Humans have a priority over the animals

and they should never be prioritized

as being, you know, oh, they're far more important,

you know, you're the one who caged them,

a free willy or whatever,

and you know, SeaWorld,

and look folks,

SeaWorld is a godless organization

that wants to make money

and look, if you've seen Blackfish,

you know what I'm talking about, okay?

You know, they capture these killer whales,

okay?

Which I think is the right thing to do,

it's okay to do that.

According to the Bible,

you can capture animals

and use them for your entertainment and amusement,

yes, we're going to get into that just a bit.

And I could see people getting all mad

as though I don't think that's right, you know?

That's because you don't really have

the biblical perspective here

that humans are more important

and God literally made a zoo for Adam, okay?

You're just like, name him what you want, you know?

It's just like Maranbe, it sounds good.

You know, who cares, right?

But you know, you have Blackfish

that capture these animals for entertainment,

but here's where they went wrong,

is they allowed people to get in the water

with these killer whales.

You know, they're called killer whales, okay?

And so they're getting in the water

with these killer whales

and these animals are literally killing a ton of people.

I mean, as far as I know,

what's the...

Tilikum was the name of the major culprit.

He killed like five people, including one of the trainers.

He mutilated its trainer.

And I'm talking about like mutilated and paraded.

A homeless man, like prior to that,

had climbed into SeaWorld that night

and went into the water

and Tilikum like mutilated him

and paraded him on his back, okay?

I mean, talk about a killer, a murderer, a murderer as well, right?

But what do you expect, okay?

It's a massive creature

and you know, just enjoy it through the other side of the glass.

You don't got to get in there with him, okay?

You know, I'm all for enjoying animals and such,

but you know, I'm not for sticking my hand

inside an alligator's mouth

to show you how fast it can snap down

before I can take away my hand or something like that.

Now, I'll gladly enjoy people who make those videos though.

Right?

The Yoink guy on Instagram.

I love watching his stuff, right?

You know, I'm in the Florida Everglades

and he's like yoinking alligators

and yoinking, you know, rattlesnakes or whatever,

cotton mouths and he's just grabbing poison, venomous things.

I mean, I'm all for watching,

but everyone says in the comment section,

like one day we're going to stop seeing videos

and we're going to know why.

It's true because it's just, you know,

it's not safe to do, right?

But you know, when Tilikum,

this great whale, this killer whale,

he killed its trainer.

You know, this is what should have happened.

It should have been put down.

It should have been put down long ago

when it killed the first person.

But you know, after that,

but this is what the people say,

they're like that whale is worth a lot of money

that trainer had to go.

You know?

And obviously now, you know,

they had some new things or whatever,

where they're not allowing people to get in the water

or whatever, that's a smart move.

But here's the thing,

is according to the biblical standard,

any animal that injures a person,

bites a person, gores a person,

causes any bodily injury to a person,

needs to be killed.

Look at Exodus 21, verse 28.

Exodus 21:28

If an ox gore a man or a woman that they die,

then the ox shall be surely stoned

and its flesh shall not be eaten,

but the owner of the ox shall be quiet,

the Bible says.

But if the ox were want to push

with its horns in times past,

then it has been testified to its owner

and he has not kept a man,

but that he had killed a man or a woman,

the ox shall be stoned

and his owner also shall be put to death.

The Bible is saying here,

if your pit bull has attacked someone,

has bitten the child,

that dog should be put down.

Now, if the pit bull has attacked someone

and then you find out its history,

that it's accustomed to attacking people,

it's bitten other people in times past,

the biblical standard is not only that

the animal should be put to death,

the owner is also put to death.

That's what the Bible teaches.

You say, oh, it says ox.

Well, you can apply this all across the board.

You can apply this to a cat if you want.

You can apply this to any animal.

Any animal that causes any type of injury,

what is it showing us?

It's showing us that God prioritizes

the life of a human over the animal.

Put down the pit bull.

Put down the rottweiler.

Put down the chihuahua.

Now, I'm just kidding.

I don't know how much bodily harm

a chihuahua can cause.

Little ankle biters.

But put down the animal

that actually harms another human being.

They're like, well, it grew up with us.

It's like our family.

Yeah, but according to biblical standards,

the Bible teaches that

things should be put to death.

And if you don't, in God's eyes,

you should be put to death

if that thing attacks another person again.

And look, this is why I can't understand

when owners of dogs,

let me just vent real quick.

You want to have a dog?

More power to you.

Keep that thing on a leash.

When you're out in public,

keep that thing on a leash.

One of the things that just boils my blood

is when we're at a park

that's made for children.

There's like a playground.

And then they just let their dog

run without a leash.

And it's just like,

you know, oh, no, it's friendly.

Don't worry, it's never been in the soul.

Yeah, but it might see the color purple

on my kid's shirt and just flip

and then just go bite him or something.

You know, a couple months ago,

maybe it was like a year ago or something,

my wife had taken my kids to a particular park.

I think it was in Corona.

Is that right?

It was in Corona.

And my wife was in the van

and I don't know who else was in the van,

but like four of my kids

were out playing on the playground.

And this person comes

with pit bulls off the leash

just running in the playground, right?

And so it spots my kids

and it just starts charging after my kids, you know?

And Quicksilver over here, as I is,

you know, everyone just books it,

you know, right?

They all start, obviously they say

you shouldn't run,

but what do you expect the kids to do, though?

I say that you shouldn't run.

I'll probably run if a pit bull came out.

I mean, you know, it's just a natural thing.

But, you know, they start running

and Helen was the only one who literally

just stood her ground and just stood there

and just like looked at it.

But once Isaias ran, like it ran after them

and Isaias ran so fast towards the van

that he like dove through the window.

He was like...

He just dove through the window, you know?

And he was screaming.

I mean, he's like...

You know?

And the dog didn't end up doing anything.

He's probably tripping out like,

damn, that kid can jump, you know?

I've never seen that.

But, you know, the owner comes or whatever

and grabs the dogs or whatnot

and is just like, have some common sense.

You know, if you're going to have an animal,

be responsible, keep that thing on a leash.

Oh, it's never bitten anybody.

So do you want to try,

do you want to like change that?

You know, because it could potentially change

now that you have them off of a leash

and it sees someone and it bites them.

That happens all the time.

Just look up stories about pit bulls

killing children.

It happens a lot, okay?

And we as Christians need to recognize,

go to Matthew chapter 10,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

if you would, in Matthew chapter 10,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

need to recognize that animals

should not be prioritized over humans.

If they injure a child, a human,

they should be put to death, okay?

You know, I remember when we were living

in Huntington Beach, one of our neighbors

had one of those small dogs,

not a Chihuahua, but like a little bigger

than a Chihuahua.

It's one of those annoying, expensive dogs, okay?

You know?

And my wife was walking with my kids

and they see the neighbor

and they had this dog

and you know, if you have a dog

like that, just don't tell me.

But you know, the dog was right there

and the dog just bit my wife's ankle

and my wife was pregnant at the time, okay?

Which actually can cause a lot of problems

for the pregnancy if that happens.

And then the owner's like,

did my dog just bite you?

And my wife was like, yeah,

he's like, okay, I gotta go now

and she just takes the dog,

she just walks away.

You know, no sorry, no no.

It's just like, sometimes dog owners

are just loony, okay?

Don't be a loony dog owner, okay?

The point being here is that

animals should be put to death

if they attack people, okay?

Tillicum should have died a long time ago.

Harambe, you know,

if it poses a threat to a person,

you know, good that it died.

Just go get another ape.

It's not hard, bro.

Just a ton of them all over the world.

Just go get it.

Name a Harambe.

It's not not hard at all, okay?

You know, what's Tillicum's stage name?

Shamu.

You know, just kill Tillicum,

get another whale, call it Shamu.

No one's gonna know the difference, okay?

It's real simple.

You're in Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

I'm gonna read you from

Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

And you say, well, is this really like

a legitimate position?

Well, think about this.

You know, in Matthew chapter 8,

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

God delivers a man

from an evil spirit known as

legion.

And these demons

petition the Lord

to go into the swine, okay?

And then they are drowned

in the sea.

So in order to spare

one man's life, an entire legion

of demons go into

the swine, the

ton of swine, and they just run off

to cliff and drown in the sea.

And the Lord wasn't like,

man, what a waste.

Oh, man, you know, this is sad.

You know, let's mourn for the pigs or whatever.

You know, he's just like,

see, the man's life is more important than that.

Okay?

So man is more important

than animals.

Look at Matthew chapter 10, verse 30.

Matthew 10:30

It says,

but the very hairs of your head

are all numbered.

Fear you not therefore.

Listen to this.

Ye are of more value

than many sparrows.

So even though he feeds the sparrows,

he provides for the sparrows,

he creates the perfect atmosphere

for the sparrow to replenish, to multiply,

to be fed, to live its life cycle.

The Bible says here that we

as humans are of more value

than many sparrows.

Look at chapter 12, if you would.

Matthew chapter 12, verse 11,

Matthew 12:11

says this.

And he said unto them, verse 11,

he said unto them,

what man shall there be among you

that shall have one sheep

and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day,

will you not lay hold on it

and lift it out?

How much then is a man better

than sheep?

Wherefore, it is lawful to do well

on the Sabbath days.

What is Jesus doing?

He's prioritizing the life of a human

over the life of an animal.

Let's go back to the Old Testament,

Deuteronomy chapter 12.

Deuteronomy 12 · chapter mention

Deuteronomy chapter 12.

Deuteronomy 12 · chapter mention

The point being here is that

man is far more important

than animals.

Animals are not an afterthought.

They are valuable in the eyes of God.

However, they are inferior.

The life of an animal should never be prioritized

over the life of a human.

Number two is that animals are to improve.

Listen to this.

Animals are to improve

man's quality of life

through food,

entertainment, and companionship.

This is the purpose of

animals in this world.

They are to improve our quality of life

through food, entertainment,

and companionship.

Think about this.

From the beginning it was so.

In Genesis 3, after the fall,

what does God do to

clothe Adam and Eve

and protect them from the elements?

He kills an animal

and clothes them with skins.

We see in Exodus chapter 12,

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

the Passover lamb being instituted.

We have in Exodus 29

animals that are repeatedly

every single day

being sacrificed.

Every single

morning and night

animals are continuously

sacrificed in Israel.

The smell would have been delicious.

Burn offerings,

barbecue every single day.

And this is from God's command.

He's slaughtered these animals

every single day to atone for the sins

and eat their off.

We're not going to let it all go to waste.

You have numbers

29 to 29, where you have

the regular feast day sacrifices

and so forth.

They're improved the quality of life through food,

entertainment, and companionship.

You're in Deuteronomy 12.

Let me reach you from Genesis 9 verse 3.

Genesis 9:3

Every moving thing that liveth

shall be meat for you.

Even as the green herb,

have I given you all things?

Look at Deuteronomy 12 verse 15.

Deuteronomy 12:15

Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh

in all thy gates. This is referring to animals.

Whatsoever thy soul lusteth after,

according to the blessing

of the Lord thy God,

which he hath given thee, the unclean

and the clean may eat thereof

as of the robe buck and as

of the heart. So we're saying here,

you know, eat the food

and it's a signal that God is blessing

you with flesh to eat.

Look at verse 20.

Deuteronomy 12 verse 20 says,

Deuteronomy 12:20

when the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border

as he hath promised thee

and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh

because thy soul longeth to eat flesh.

Thou mayest eat flesh.

Whatsoever thy soul lusteth

after, the Bible says. Go to Job chapter

Job 41 · chapter mention

41.

So this is showing us

that the Bible does not promote

a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Now initially,

during the

creation period prior

to the fall, believe it or not,

everyone was vegetarian.

And when I say everyone,

I mean just Adam and Eve.

Not even their kids, just them.

Obviously,

the eating of flesh was introduced

after the fall because after the fall

animals are being killed, they're being

offered in sacrifices and so forth.

And this is a point that vegans and vegetarians

would try to make from a biblical perspective.

Like, well, you know, Adam and Eve,

they didn't eat flesh

and so eating flesh

is a sign of the fall. Yes, of course.

We agree with that 100%.

The problem is this is that trying to go back

to the garden of

Eden atmosphere without

Christ. You cannot become

a vegan or vegetarian and use the

Bible to substantiate that position

because according to the Bible, we're not going to be

vegetarians until the millennial

reign. When Christ returns,

it begins to transfigure the world once

again and our diets

are changed. Now, even then, in the millennial

reign people are still eating meat.

The new heaven and new earth is where

meat is completely removed and

we're just eating fruits and vegetables

or whatever. And so,

you know, eat up now because there's going to

come a time when we're not going to be able to do that anymore.

The point being here is that

you know, just because

they were vegetarians in the garden of Eden

doesn't mean that's what we're supposed to do

now because obviously there's

a major change that has taken place

between the garden of Eden and the fall.

Look at Job chapter 41. Let me

Job 41 · chapter mention

read to you from

1 Timothy chapter 4.

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

You say, well, you know, okay, I get

it, but

you know, I think there's only certain meats

you're supposed to eat. I think we should

hold to Old Testament dietary

laws, no shrimp,

no catfish,

no pork or whatever.

That sounds like a miserable existence, okay?

You know, no bacon,

no sausage,

but the Bible actually teaches us in the New Testament

that these things are permissible.

Now obviously these things were not

permissible in the Old Testament under

the mosaic dietary laws,

but not because it posed a moral

problem, but because

it was proposing just

disobedience to God's

command to not eat of these animals because it

pictured sin,

a picture being a participant in

other peoples, other nations' transgressions

and cultures and beliefs.

But that was just a short window

of time where that was imposed.

In fact, the Bible literally says

that meat, drinks, and diverse

washings, carnal ordinances

were imposed upon them

until the time

of Reformation.

Referring to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross,

he's the culmination of all those Old Testament

pictures, and now he says,

rise, kill, and eat.

Says that in Acts chapter 10, right?

Acts 10 · chapter mention

Rise, kill, and eat, clean, and unclean.

And look folks, if you run into

a person that tells you, oh,

the Bible teaches that you

can't eat pork, and so therefore

you're sinning. According to the Bible,

they're teaching a doctrine of devils.

If they have

that preference for themselves,

it's different. If they say

the Bible does not prohibit

this, but I just feel like I shouldn't

eat pork, I'm not going to eat shellfish,

I'm not going to eat shrimp, I'm not

going to eat whatever, you know, that's

okay. But when they begin to teach

it as a commandment of God,

now it's a transgression.

Because the Bible says that the

Spirit speaketh expressly, then in

the latter times some shall depart

from the faith, giving heed to seducing

spirits and doctrines of devils,

speaking lies and hypocrisy,

having their conscience seared with the hot iron.

Listen to this, forbidding to marry

and commanding to abstain from

meats.

And then it says this, which God

has commanded to be received

with Thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

And then he says, for every

creature of God is good

and nothing to be refused

if it be received with Thanksgiving.

So look, obviously this is

giving us permission to eat any type of animal,

it doesn't mean you should though.

Like, bats

you know.

You know, dogs

not interested.

But you know, there's countries out there

that do that stuff, you know.

Southeast Asia is one of them.

Well, they'll eat dogs, okay.

And some of you might have participated

in such, I'm not going to look at anybody right now

but I'm trying not to,

you know.

But it is true, Asians often,

I know Asians

that have eaten dog, okay.

But I can't say they're sinning by doing that

because every creature of God is good

and nothing to be refused, okay.

And so, you know

they are meant for our food.

But as I mentioned, they're also meant

to entertain us

and provide amusement for us.

Okay.

And this is why zoos

are biblical.

Wild Animal Park,

Sea World,

the Los Angeles Zoo,

all these things are appropriate to have.

There's nothing wrong with having zoos

and in fact, Solomon was so rich

that he imported

all types of exotic animals.

Barbara literally says

that he imported gold and silver

apes and peacocks.

He's not eating them.

He just wants to look at them.

He just got animals

just so he could look at, right.

And so, you know, oh man

but it's so wrong to keep these animals

in cage. No, it's not.

No, it's not.

But that's being cruel. Well, cruelty

is forbidden in the Bible for sure.

But cruelty means like not feeding them.

Cruelty means like

you are like, you know

physically being abusive to them. You're

beating them. You're maiming them, right.

You're mistreating them.

Putting them in a cage

according to the biblical standard is not mistreatment.

It's not. Because it's for our

amusement. If they're getting food, you know

they don't have to go out and kill

some sort of animal to get it. We're just

bringing it to them. There's actually nothing wrong with that.

The Bible does not condemn it.

All you animal lovers are out there

all mad or whatever. That's what the Bible says.

James 3.7 tells us

for every kind of beast and of birds

and of serpents and of things in the sea

is tamed and

has been tamed of mankind.

You know what that means? Like there are instances

throughout history where people have taken a lion

and they muzzled it

and they have a chain on it and it's been

tamed of it. Oh, that's wrong too.

No, it's not. God says we have dominion over

these things and we should have

the privileges to be able to tame

them and use them for

amusement.

Solomon did it. James 3 talks

about taming animals. Look at Job 41

in verse number 5.

It says,

in Job 41

we have a description

of Leviathan.

Leviathan is this

monstrous sea creature

that no longer exists today.

And based upon

the description, it's actually

depicting a dragon.

So dragons were real.

We have it described here

in Job 41 and it actually

breathes fire.

You can look at all of the details it gives

is pretty much an actual literal dragon.

You're like, do you believe in dragons?

I mean the Bible talks about dragons.

You know

here's the thing folks, you have all these cultures

all around the world that depict an actual

dragon. Somehow that's like a mythical creature.

You think someone just made amongst all these other

you know the Chinese calendar has all these

real animals and then just this fake animal

or something like that. No, it's probably a real creature

that exists at one point.

And the Bible refers to him as Leviathan.

Now why does it exist?

Why did God create it?

Or why is it being spoken of? Well, Leviathan is

actually a picture of Satan.

Because he's the dragon.

And you look at all the parallels between

what the Bible says in Job 41

and Satan that kind of match up

and in other passages that talk about Leviathan.

Now, Leviathan is actually

the

exception to the rule of Taming.

Because

the Bible says we can have dominion over all animals

but Job 41 along with

other passages that talk about Leviathan

seem to indicate that no man

could tame Leviathan. It was too large.

Okay?

They couldn't even pierce its heart with spears.

They couldn't fight against it.

They couldn't do anything. So the way

it had to be killed was through God.

God specifically takes credit

for breaking the heads

of Leviathan and giving

the meats of that creature

to the people, to the inhabitants

of the land. This is what it says in the book of Psalms.

Okay?

And so, you know, here in Job 41

he's describing this large

sea creature and he's saying

are you going to play with them as with the bird?

Is this like any other creature that you contain?

And he says, are you going to bind him

for your maidens?

What does that mean? Well, he's basically saying

you know how you take a monkey and you bind

the monkey and you're kind of showing it off to the ladies?

Right? You got a little monkey

and you're showing it off. You got a little alligator

and you're showing it off to the girls.

You're kind of, you know, you're over here

trying to oar a farm or whatever

and you're showing off these animals.

You're like, ah, look what I've done. I've tamed this thing, you know.

And the ladies are like, ah, you know.

He's saying that you can't do this

with Leviathan. Leviathan cannot be tamed.

So this is the exception to the rule.

And the spiritual application there obviously

is that we cannot tame Satan.

Right? We are

to flee Satan, right?

Resist the devil and then he will flee from you.

You know, flee from the temptations

of Satan and so forth. The point that I'm making here

is that the Bible obviously

tells us that there are instances

where people have bound and tamed animals

for the entertainment even of the

maidens. I'm telling you right now

Solomon probably got the apes and the peacocks

in order to show him off to his 700 concubines

or whatever. You know, give him

something to do.

Right?

You guys bored? I just brought some peacocks.

You guys want to go look at the apes and the peacocks

or whatever? So that's what it's for.

Okay? Go to Genesis chapter 2.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

So, you know, it's not wrong

to trap animals

and have them for your entertainment.

Obviously the Bible expects us to

be kind to animals

and not to be cruel.

And you know what? I'm not going to take my definition

of cruel from animal lovers who hate God.

Yeah, you said not cruel, but putting them in a cage

is cruel. You don't know what you're talking about.

You're an unsafe person. I'm talking

about from a biblical perspective,

a biblical standard

and I don't take my philosophies

and my ideologies from Christ's

rejecters. Okay?

You're in Genesis too. So

animals are created

for our food. Every creature of God

is good. They're created

for our entertainment. Go to Sea World.

Go to Wild Animal Park.

Go look at the giraffes

and the lions and be entertained by

go knock on the glass or whatever.

You don't like it.

You can go somewhere else, amen.

We have dominion over them. This is what the Bible teaches.

But they're also made for our companionship

as well. Okay?

Here's for you softies out there.

You're bleeding hearts now. Here's the part

that you like. Okay? It's true.

They are made for companionship.

It's a biblical thing.

I mean, think about this in 2 Samuel.

When Nathan is

confronting David,

he uses the illustration of a man

who had one U-lam.

And he says, in that story

the U-lam was like raised

with them and it became like a daughter unto them.

Right? It was just like a part of their family.

It just kind of grew up with them.

Their hearts were endeared

to the U-lam. And obviously

the illustration was used to demonstrate

that David was an adulterer. Okay?

But the point being here is that

this is a legitimate thing where

you have animals for companionship.

Look at Genesis 2. This is the original

purpose of animals.

Genesis 2 verse 18 says the Lord God

Genesis 2:18

said, it is not good

that man should be alone.

I will make him and help meet for him.

So what does he do?

And out of the ground the Lord God formed

every beast of the field,

every fowl of the air,

and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them.

And whatsoever Adam called

every living creature, that was the name

they're of. So the solution

to Adam being alone

was God said, let's give him a zoo.

Now keep in mind, the animals

had already existed at this point.

They were created on the fifth and the sixth day, right?

They're the beast of the land

and so forth were already created.

These animals that he's bringing to Adam

were like new animals that got

formed in the Garden of Eden

specifically for Adam.

Understand? So he's just like, well

I don't want Adam to be alone.

I want him to have some companionship.

I want him to interact.

Let's give him a bunch of animals and have them

name him. So he brings this animal

out and he's just like

long neck, yellow thing.

Long horse, yellow neck

or whatever. You know, gray fat

whatever for the elephant. And he's just naming

all these animals. But here's the

problem. Verse 20

Adam gave names to all the cattle

and to all the fowl of the air to every beast of the field

but for Adam there was not found and helped me

for him. What does that tell us?

It tells us that animals provide

great companionship but

it's insufficient.

Meaning that

you're a little doggy

okay, is a great companion

to you but you know what? You also need to

talk to people.

You need to interact with human

beings. I just relate

better to animals.

Okay cat lady.

You know, uh, no that's not

God created us to be social creatures

with other people.

And to supplement that

companionship yeah, you can have a dog

a cat, an iguana

you know, or whatever

something that can actually like interact with you

okay, not a scorpion

or a spider or something like that. You know

uh, have some sort of creature

that will provide some sort of companionship

entertainment and so forth

and yeah, you can love that thing for sure

okay. There's nothing wrong

with loving your dog, loving your cat

your bird or whatever it may be

but just know that it is subject to vanity

it's gonna die okay. And also

understand

that that is not a substitute for real

people.

Okay, that's an important point

and I know I'm offending people right now

because you know, your little teacup

dog is like means the world to you

and you'd rather be with that dog than anybody

else or whatever. I'm just giving you the

biblical perspective on this

that God wants you to interact with

people. He wants you

to socialize with actual

human beings, okay

animals can't talk

what is it boy?

Timmy fell down the well? No, he just

he just

crapped all over your floor is what he's saying

this is like oh man, you know

I know what he meant by that, this is what he means

it can't talk

all dolphins

are just so intelligent

no, they're dolphins

but their brains are so big

yet they get eaten up all the time

by killer whales, not that smart

they're animals

I just wish I could be on an island with all these

animals, you'd be on the top of the food

chain or you'd be at the bottom of the food chain

they would just eat you

okay

animals are great, you know

when I was a kid, every kid wants an animal

they want a little dog

I had a dog

I had a scorpion

I had an iguana

what else, I had a bird at one point

but you know what, at the end

of the day it gets boring

and I want to go talk to actual people

okay, I want someone to be able to interact

with and you know what, an animal

does not have a

soul in the sense that it can

feel and communicate

you know, spiritual things

right, that's what we need people

for, okay

and so that's important to know, I'm breaking everyone's heart

here, but I'm just

you know, you gotta hear it

man is superior to animals, God also requires

man to treat animals properly

look at Proverbs chapter 12, if you would

Proverbs 12 · chapter mention

Proverbs chapter 12

Proverbs 12 · chapter mention

Proverbs chapter 12

Proverbs 12 · chapter mention

and look, we do live in a

society that kind of

esteems animals to the point

where it's just beyond reason

and people can become rude about it

okay, you're like, well you're being rude

about it, well why don't you listen to everything else

that animal lovers say

okay, you know animal lovers

they can get extreme

cat lovers can get extreme

cat lovers can get very extreme

dog lovers can get very extreme

they just become so obsessed

with their animal

that to a point where it's just like

you know, they prefer animals over

human beings, that's not right

but at the same time folks, you know

this doesn't mean we should be cruel to animals either

okay, look at Proverbs 12 verse 10

Proverbs 12:10

this is a righteous man

regarded the life of his beast

but the tender mercies of the wicked

are cruel

so what this means is that if you're gonna have an animal

make sure you take care of it, amen

take care of it, feed it

you know, give it the proper shelter

you know, don't be mean

to the animal, if you're being mean to the animal

just give it to someone else

because God commands you not to be cruel

he wants you to be a good steward of the creation

that he's provided, okay

you know, I think about my mom, my mom had

like these Maltese dogs

you know, these, it was like three or four

of them that just yapped all the time

you know, all they're good for is just yapping

okay, they're just like

like shut up, you know

and they just bark all the time

but she loved those dogs and she took care

of those dogs like really well

like, I'm talking about like

I'm like dang, these dogs eat better than I do

so I'm talking about the world, you know

just giving them good food

and taking it to the vet or whatever

one of them lived to like 17 years of age or something

which is like beyond its life expectancy

and so, you know, my mom took care of it

she walked it, she fed it

I think that's proper to do

I don't think it's right to be cruel to animals

I don't think, you know, people should be killing animals

and killing cats

and just abusing them

and putting them into a sack

and throwing them into a river or whatever

these are things that people used to do back in the day

you know, I don't think it's right to just intentionally run them over

or something like that

10 points, you know

I do think that, you know, if you run into

like for example

if I run into a rattlesnake in my backyard

I am going to kill it

I'm not going to try to release it carefully

because I got six kids

I'm going to grab a shovel and just chop its head off

you know what I mean?

because that thing can kill someone

it can kill my children, okay

and so, you know, I don't believe that's cruelty

that's me putting my children above the creature

but in general

we are not to be cruel to animals

treat them right, feed them correctly and so forth, okay

now go to Job chapter 12

Job 12 · chapter mention

Job chapter 12

Job 12 · chapter mention

Job chapter 12, if you would

Job 12 · chapter mention

I'm going to give one last point

in this regard

because I'm going to

this is going to pour into my Sunday night sermon

and on Sunday night

we're going to talk about this same subject

but we're going to get into the uncomfortable subject

of bestiality, okay

and reprobation and so

don't miss out on that

make sure you're here for that, you'll learn a lot

point number three regarding man's relation

to animals is that animals are

meant to illustrate spiritual truths

and provide practical applications to man

Proverbs chapter 12 verse 7 says this

Proverbs 12:7

but ask now the beast

and they shall teach thee

and the fowls of the air

and they shall tell thee

or speak to the earth and it shall teach thee

and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee

who knoweth not in all these things

that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this

so what's the purpose of animals

well according to the Bible we're to actually learn from them

okay

there's actually a lot of lessons

that we can learn from animals

go to Proverbs chapter 6

Proverbs 6 · chapter mention

so God says you know

they're not just there for our entertainment

for our food, for our companionship

if we observe animals

they can actually teach us

a lot of spiritual truths

you say what can we

possibly learn

from any animal

what is it that we could possibly learn

well look at Proverbs 6 verse 6

Proverbs 6:6

says here in Proverbs 6 verse 6

Proverbs 6:6

go to the end

thou sluggard

now what is the sluggard

it means it's referring to a lazy person

a person who does not want to work

they don't want to get up in the morning

they just doom scroll all day

they don't have a job

they don't lift, they don't work out

they don't do anything with their lives

the Bible says here that that is a sluggard

he says go to the end thou sluggard

consider her ways

and be wise

so it's like to the lazy person

he says I have

homework for you

go outside and look how

the ant operates

verse 7 which having no guide

overseer or ruler

provided her meat in the summer

and gathered her food

in the harvest

what is he saying he's saying if you go to the ant

you'll realize that the ant is a very diligent insect

meaning that right now

in the summer it's working

it's saving up food

it's providing food

because he knows that the harvest is coming

he says in verse 9

how long will thou sleep oh sluggard

when thou will arise out of thy sleep

yet a little sleep a little slumber

a little folding of the hands to sleep

so shall thy poverty come

as one that traveleth and they want

as an armed man

so you know animals can

provide a lot of wisdom

it can teach you how not to be a lazy bum

you know

it can teach a person who lacks character

and doesn't want to get a job

and just sleeps around

and each chips off his stomach

and just plays video games

and doom scrolls all day

God says man the ant is more diligent

than you are

the ant will accomplish more

in its tiny life cycle

than most people today

so he says hey you need to go to the ant

and actually observe and realize hey

I'm a lazy bum

I'm a sluggard I'm a slothful person

than I need to be

diligent I need to work

I need to plan and not sleep

in all the time

by the way sleep is good

the Bible tells us that he giveth his beloved sleep

and God provides sleep

for us he wants us to get the rest that we need

what this is talking about

is someone who's a sluggard

who just constantly sleeps in

it's sleeping until

you know afternoon

even though he doesn't have a job

okay

and then he struggles to get a church on Sunday

or he's just playing video games

he's just living off

he's 30 years old living with his parents

not having a job or whatever

this is a sluggardly person

and God says it sounds like you need to take lessons

from the creatures of this world

in order to teach you some character

and diligence

so animals are meant to illustrate spiritual truths

go to 1 Corinthians chapter 9

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

1 Corinthians chapter 9

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

and I'm going to stop right there

actually I'm going to stop right there

so what's the lesson from this morning sermon

here's the lesson is that

take care of animals

appreciate animals

but never hold them

as being far more important

in value than humanity

okay

I'm not saying be cold hearted

if your dog dies

okay

but I'm also not saying

that you should be shedding a tear

if that animal died

instead of a person though

okay

it's just like well you know I just think that

you know I remember years ago

I think it was like 2020

during the whole COVID thing there's so much chaos

that a person in New York

had stolen

a police

horse right because they have

horses out there they don't have cars

they have horses

and he had stolen the police horse

and he was like filming himself

and then someone had made a comment to me like

oh man that guy should be put to death

and I was like why

and they're like because

that police horse is basically

like a police officer

and I'm like no that's a horse

that's glue

okay

okay

that's a horse

and it's just like yeah but it's not right

to do yeah I agree

you know being a thief is not right

okay but the Bible never prescribes

the death penalty for stealing

unless you're stealing a man

unless you're kidnapping someone

you know that doesn't prescribe the death penalty

it just prescribes you know

restitution

but this is the mentality and this came from a Christian

they're just like oh

that person should be put to death

it's just like you

are you worshiping the creature more than the creator or something like that

how are you gonna say that this person's life

is less valuable than a horse

it's absolutely nonsensical

you know and at the end of the day

we have to understand that we cannot allow ourselves

to become so enamored with the

creation that we begin to

violate biblical principles

of human life

okay and so very important let's pray

Father we thank you so much for your word

and thank you for the creation Lord

thank you for animals

we're thankful for their existence

because it provides not just

educational knowledge that we can learn

but just we can be entertained

by them we can glorify you on their behalf

on their behalf and also

they are food for us

we're thankful that you provided for us whether it's

meat it's chicken it's the eggs

it's all types of sustenance

that animals can provide today

and I pray that you give us a proper biblical perspective

of how animals

should operate in our personal lives

help us never to esteem an animal

above the life of a human being

and I pray that you bless us as we go on our way

we love you we thank you

pray this things in Jesus name amen