Genesis: Early World, Judgment, and the Nations

God's Special Manifest Mercy

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2001-04-08

Synopsis: John Weaver addresses the tough decision of whether Christians can biblically turn away those who ask for help during a time of calamity. He argues that Scripture supports discretion in giving, preparation for one's own household, and community-based defense, using examples from Noah, the wise virgins, Joseph, Ezra, and the unjust steward. The message emphasizes that orthopraxy (practice) must align with orthodoxy (belief), and that making hard decisions now—such as preparing, linking with other families, and establishing community law—will make future crises more manageable.

[John Weaver] It's a pleasure to be with you guys today. And our conference theme is making the tough decisions. And so I want to, in our first general session today, talk about some tough decisions that we need to make now to make decisions that we make later actually easier. I've never given a message like this before and I've never heard a message like this. So it may be new to you because it's certainly new to me.

[John Weaver] But we have been considering, as a church body, we've been discussing, what about, you know, in difficult times, people coming to you and, you know, they're wanting what you have. Maybe they're going to try and take what you have, what you've labored to do, and put away. And do we have a biblical, the concept would be, the question would be, do we have a biblical basis to turn people away?

[John Weaver] Because what, like Steve was talking about here, our technical terms here now, our orthodoxy, our orthopraxy should meet our orthodoxy. So let me define that for you. Orthodoxy is the sound doctrine that we all hold. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is born of a virgin. He rose again the third day when we sing the Apostles' Creed, or we recite the Apostles' Creed. This is our orthodoxy. And many Christians that you know that are in the corporate church world, they have pretty good orthodoxy. In other words, their teaching is pretty sound by and large.

[John Weaver] We have little differences within Christianity, and we understand those differences. But their orthopraxy is how they practice what they believe.

[John Weaver] Now what you guys are doing today by coming to this conference, you are putting feet to your orthopraxy. You have a belief in God, and I'm speaking to Christians here today, so we're going under the the bedrock that the Word of God is our rule for faith and practice. So when we want to know, can we turn people away that ask of food from us? Is there a biblical position to do so? This is our rule of faith and practice, the Word of God. So our orthopraxy, how we practice what we believe. One thing, we have a smaller conference this year. That's because when the rubber tends to meet the road, Christians and their orthopraxy, their practice does not meet their doctrinal stance.

[John Weaver] Let me give you an example of that. We produced a DVD here a few years ago. Many of you have seen it called To Teach Them War. Brother Weaver's in it. And we present historical and biblical evidence why Christians should train militarily and militantly. And for the average common man that has seen it, they really enjoy it and they really appreciate it. But the theologians, or the preachers that we've sent it to, tend to try and stay away from it and run from it like a scalded dog. And I sent it to preachers who basically would agree theologically with all the premises in that little DVD. But if they make their practice, if they recommend that DVD, if they try and give it to someone, now their practice would have to match their confessional statement, and that's where we have a problem.

[John Weaver] Some of you that know you're training this weekend with firearms, your practice is matching your confession. Do you follow that? So that's an important aspect of what we're doing this weekend is our practice should match our confession and too often in the church world Especially within Reformed Patriot circles, it's Second Amendment, rah, rah, rah. But how many times do they get out and actually do something about preserving those liberties and rights? And so that's where their orthodoxy does not match their orthopraxy.

[John Weaver] Now open your Bibles, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 11. Again, this is our rule of faith and practice. So we're talking about making tough decisions, and we're going to use the Bible here in doing so. So Hebrews chapter 11. beginning in verse 7. By faith Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness which is by faith. Moved by fear, moved by the fear of God that had called him to preach for a hundred years, to prepare this giant ark for the saving of his family, and anybody else that would accept the message had an opportunity. That's why he's known as the preacher of righteousness, right? Peter tells us Noah's the preacher of righteousness. So for a hundred years he's preaching. He's trying to get people to come aboard find the ark of safety, and they rejected it. And so, we find that there'll come a point when God shuts the door, and no matter how much the people cried and whimpered, and the woman said, save my child, save my baby.

[John Weaver] Damn, I was preaching to you for a hundred years. The day of salvation was there, it was extended. God's mercy was extended for a hundred years, while Noah preached to those people. But he prepared an ark for the saving of his family. I'm making the assumption that the people I'm speaking to, you folks today, you're preppers. You're preparing an ark for the saving of your family. You're already about doing that, okay? And so that's why you're here, or you're here because you want to begin the process of preparing an ark, something for the saving of your family, the protection of your family.

[John Weaver] 1 Timothy 5.8 tells us that If any man provide not for his own house, he's worse than an infidel, and he's denied the faith." Wow, those are powerful words from Paul and Timothy.

[John Weaver] Now, we're going to assume that now the day of calamity has come. And people are asking, nay, they're pleading for help. Can you scripturally turn someone away?

[John Weaver] Now, that's a hard question. That's a good question, isn't it? And I hope that I will lay a scriptural foundation today. So now the day of calamity has come. Ministers of God. John Weaver preaches all across the country. They've been preaching, teaching, flee the wrath to come, prepare for the wrath to come. And now people have come to you and said, they're pleading, help me, help me, help me.

[John Weaver] Can you scripturally turn them away? And so that's what we're going to look at today. What about Jesus teaching in Matthew 5.42 which says, give to them that ask of thee. We've got to make scripture dovetail together here now. Jesus said, Give to them that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow, turn thou not away. Okay? So as Christians, it's our desire to give in the name of the Lord. You already have, as a born-again Christian, you have a desire to minister and reach out in the name of the Lord and give.

[John Weaver] Most of you should be tithing, you should be giving offerings, and you should be giving alms. That's just part of Christian obedience and giving. We are to have willing, generous hearts, but we're also to be discerning in our giving. Open your Bibles to Psalms 112 and verse 5. Let's look at Psalms 112 and verse 5. Note what the Word of God says in Psalms 112 and verse 5.

[John Weaver] A good man showeth favor and lendeth. He will guide his affairs with discretion. Our giving and lending should be with discretion. Should have a mind of the Lord behind us in these things. We just don't give willy-nilly to anyone and everyone. I'll show you that a little bit more. Up in Fresno, which is the city nearby us, there was a mother and a son. They had a sign out. Mother and son needs help. And so I try to be led in my giving, you know, I don't particularly care for panhandlers, but I do give from time to time to a panhandler. I don't do to everyone that goes by, but sometimes I do give. And so, you know, that was a new one for me. Mother and son need, you know, hard times, need help.

[John Weaver] And they had their basket. So I was at the stoplight and I watched the mother and son. And first of all, when a panhandler comes, I want to find out if they're smoking. If they're smoking, I'm not going to give to them. They can quit that nasty habit, as far as I'm concerned, and then save some money, especially when packs are $4 or whatever they are, a pack of cigarettes. That's a good way of saving some money real quick. So if they're smoking, I'm not likely to share a blessing with them. But then I watched this mother and son in action, and they were physically doing things that, and this was on the street, so it was nothing inappropriate, but mothers and sons don't act that way. So basically, you had an older cougar woman and a young man and they were going under the facade of a mother and son because it touches our heartstrings.

[John Weaver] See, my heartstring was touched. Oh, mother and son, maybe I want to help them. So, because it was a long stoplight, I had the opportunity to watch them and then the burden on my heart was lifted. It's not a mother and son because mother and sons don't, you know, do that. So, we don't have to give to everyone that asks. How about, this is a kind of fun one. If Jesus meant in every single time, no matter what giving to Him that asks, none of us here could ever watch Christian television or Christian radio because all they do is ask. And every time you turn on the Christian television, you'd have to give to obey Jesus. You'd have to give and shout out to those guys. Every time you listen to Christian radio, you'd have to give because that's all they do is ask, ask, ask. So we need to have discretion discernment even in our giving.

[John Weaver] Open your Bibles now, if you would, please, to Matthew, chapter 25. Matthew, chapter 25. Certainly, we have generous hearts and hearts that want to give in the name of the Lord. And I trust most of you out there, and I teach our people here at the Church at Coahuila, they know they give to the Church at Coahuila, but we as a family have missionaries that we help support. And you probably have missionaries that you help support. And the various alms-giving and offerings-giving that you do, we have generous hearts. But we want to be discerning in that which we do. So in Matthew chapter 25, we have here the parable of the virgins.

[John Weaver] So in verse 1, Jesus says, Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. We've got a lot of foolish people in America today. We've got some that are wise, praise God. I trust that some of you here. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. No extra. extra on the shelf, right? No stockpiling. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Note that. Here's preppers here. They're stockpilers. They took their lamps. The foolish virgins had lamps too with oil in it. But the preppers took an extra cruise of oil with them, carried it in their pack or whatever they did, or in their arms, whatever the brides did, they carried extra oil, not knowing what circumstances might meet them in the future. Verse 4, So the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps, while the bridegroom tarried.

[John Weaver] They all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go you out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.

[John Weaver] Now note, this is Jesus teaching. What do the five wise virgins say? So have this down in your Bibles. Verse 9, But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there not be enough for us and you. So the five wise virgins turn away and say to the five foolish, If we give you what we have, there won't be enough for us either. Isn't that interesting that Jesus would teach this?

[John Weaver] But go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. So here's one of the things we can do. Say, go to those that sell and buy for yourselves. DJ, could you do me a favor? I forgot to get in the emergency preparedness room. There should be that little carafe of what we're going to give to people on one of the shelves there. If not, it's not a big deal. You've got time. So, go to the city and buy.

[John Weaver] I don't have for you. Your day of mercy in that area People reached out. How many of you have friends? You've reached out. You've reached out. You've tried. You've tried. You've tried. You give them an article here. You give them an article there. You give them a CD here. You give them a tape there. We don't want any of that fanaticism or whatever the case may be. And so God's mercy has been reaching them.

[John Weaver] It's like the old joke. I don't have it down real well, but you know the point. Some guy's up on a rooftop and he's praying for the Lord to save him, right? In a big flood. And so a guy comes in a boat, and the guy says, you know, I'm not going to go with you, I'm waiting for the Lord to save me. Then somebody else comes, and three different people come, and he keeps saying, I'm waiting for God to save him, and so he drowns. He gets up to heaven, and he says, God, why didn't you save me? He says, I sent three people right by you, and you didn't take the help. He was waiting for some great divine intervention or whatever. So what we tell them is, I don't have for you.

[John Weaver] I only have for my family and for those that are in my association. We'll talk about that in just a minute. Go to the city and get it. Now open your Bibles. This is a fascinating verse to Genesis 47, if you would please. Open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 47.

[John Weaver] This is, as you know, the story. This is where Joseph has taken, Pharaoh has taken him under his arm and he's prepared for the seven years of famine. Everybody knows the story really well. And I want to share with you just a little tidbit here that I think is really fascinating. And Joseph's a good man. They've stockpiled, you know, in all the treasure cities, they've got all these grains and all these granaries. Thank you, DJ. I appreciate that. And let me just, so this is what we give.

[John Weaver] We have, right now we have 50 of these printed up. that we made when somebody comes in the day of calamity and they're not going to be allowed to come into this property, these premises, but we can give this to them. It's got a gospel tract. It's got, you know, a wire. It's got a Vienna sausage, some aspirin and, you know, sinkers and hooks and anything that we could think of.

[John Weaver] By the way, this is how you make a martini. But we could get these for a dollar at the dollar store. So we bought up all 50. See, our heart is a heart to give. If we had the money, I'd have bought 250 of these and stockpiled them. In the church, we all got together and had this big hands-on day where we filled all these things. So I got 50 of these to pass out to those that asked. And when that runs out, I've got to say, go to them in the city that have and buy from them.

[John Weaver] We don't have any more for you. So in Genesis 47, There they are in there, the wieners, the Vienna sausages are in there. Some have them, some don't. So whatever we can do to try and help someone. See, your heart, as a Christian, is a heart that wants to help. We can't help it if people have hard, implacable hearts out there in Christianity. I just can't help that.

[John Weaver] So, that's why we're looking at the Scriptures here. So Joseph has prepared. The people come and now they're starving. It's interesting. Joseph, all these granaries, but why weren't the people, while Joseph, all these granaries are being built around them. Everybody knows in the kingdom there's seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. What about those homeowners that should have been preparing right along with Joseph? I mean, business was good. Granaries were being built. Everybody was employed.

[John Weaver] They had money for a change. Even the poor people, because all these things were being built and commerce was going on in the seven years of plenty. So when we get to verse 18 of chapter 47, verse 18, And when the year was ended, they came unto him the second year, this is Joseph, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my Lord, how that our money is spent. My Lord also hath herds of cattle. There is not aught left in the sight of my Lord, but our bodies and our lands.

[John Weaver] Wherefore, Shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live and not die, that the land be not desolate." So they're selling everything they can. They've already lost all their gold. They bought their gold for food. Now they'll sell their land, their animals, for food to eat. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them, so the land became Pharaoh's."

[John Weaver] By the way, you should have some precious metals. It may be that even in the state of California, with prices as crazy as they are in California, which I hate the fact that our land prices and home prices are so high here, it may be for a few pieces of gold you could get a nice piece of land. So just keep that in mind. You may be a little bit just like Joseph did.

[John Weaver] And as for the people he... Okay, look at verse 21. This is it. As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof. What did he do? He brought them to the city.

[John Weaver] Now, Joseph wasn't a bad guy. He's a great man. It's easier to take care of the people in the cities. It's easier to get the bread lines going. You're not going to have a bread line up in three rivers. You've got to go to Visalia if you're going to want your bread, right? Get in a bread line. So they move them into the cities where it's easy to stand in line and get your bread and whatever and get some grain. But precisely what Joseph has done here, in a good way, is exactly what, for me in my house, we want to avoid. I don't want to go to the cities and stand in line and beg for bread, folks. I don't want to do that. I don't want to take my five-year-old son and have to play along with the federal government or the county government or the state's government game in order to get some food and then educate my son in their humanistic ways. You see that?

[John Weaver] So if we don't prepare for the day of calamity, we'll end up having to go like the five foolish virgins and be admonished, go into the city and buy from them. or go into the city and stand in line. And that's why I wanted to share this message with you. Do your preparations now. We'll be looking at that a little bit more tomorrow. This is exactly, and I think most of you, I don't want to go into the city and have to stand in line, huh? Amen?

[John Weaver] Control of my wife, my children then? No thank you. As for me and my house, this is precisely what we try to avoid is going into the city and standing in line for government dole. We may have to tell people to go to the cities and wait for the civil government to feed them. By the way, haven't they been relying upon the civil government for 20, 30 years anyway? Feasting from the big teat of a pig of civil government, the federal government?

[John Weaver] While you've been doing your best to make a living for your family and not rely upon them? Civil government? We've become religio-statists in America. That is, we're state worshipers.

[John Weaver] Now, we don't have that confession. Here again, we go back to our orthodoxy, our sound doctrine. Jesus Christ is Lord. He'll protect us. He'll provide for us. But our orthopraxy, our practice is, as soon as we have a problem, let's go to the feds for extra money. Let's go to the feds to bail us out here. We have a flood or whatever. Let's get some government loans. So our practice does not match what we're preaching too often times with the Christians. Prepare, yeah. So we may have to tell people to go to the cities and wait for the civil government to feed them.

[John Weaver] Remember, this was a choice they made a long time ago. You have to be blind not to see what's happening to our economy in America. You just have to be blind. And Pastor Tom McConnell does a great job of teaching on the fact that we need to repent in America for our economic system that is contrary to the Word of God. And more Christians need to understand that our fiat currency is actually an abomination on the side of God. We use unjust weights and measures in America. And it's an abomination. And we need to repent as Christians from that.

[John Weaver] So that's an aspect that is out there. So we have things that we want to give in the name of the Lord. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. So we have prepared a paper at the church at Cahuilla, that when people come and they would ask, because, I'll come back to that in just a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself. Luke chapter 16.

[John Weaver] This is the parable of the unjust steward. The unjust steward. And Jesus said unto his disciples, there was a certain rich man, which was a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. So this guy was actually not a, you know, he wasn't a good steward in helping this rich man take care of his possessions. And he called him and said unto him, How is it I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer a steward. So this guy, he was, you know, siphoning off some of his master's money, and he wasn't investing it wisely and things like that.

[John Weaver] And so the master says, I need to talk to you about this. You're gonna have to give an account because I found out, man, you've been you've been chiseling on me. Then the steward said within himself, what shall I do? For my lord taketh away from me the stewardship. He says, I cannot dig. He says, you know, I'm a guy that deals with money. I'm not going to go out with a shovel. I'm not a man you'll labor. And to beg, he says, I'm ashamed. I'm not going to go out begging for my food. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, he knows he's been a bad egg, and he knows he's going to lose his job.

[John Weaver] So what does he say? I am resolved that when I'm put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. This is the key to understanding why Jesus would commend an unjust steward in this particular case, is because he's thinking about his future. He knows he's going to lose his job, and so he's preparing for his future, and this is what he does. So he called every man of his Lord's debtors, verse 5, unto him and said, Unto the first, how much owest thou my Lord?

[John Weaver] And he said, a hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, sit down quickly and write fifty. So he says, look, we'll just get, what we're going to do is, this is your lucky day. Give me fifty measures of oil. We'll call the whole thing even. And the guy says, wow. All right, let's do that. That's great. I mean, if I don't have to pay a hundred, I'll give you fifty. All right.

[John Weaver] Verse 7, and he said to another, and how much o'st thou? And he said, a hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, take thy bill and write four score. So he says here, I tell you, if you give me 80 measures of wheat right now, we'll take care of this thing and it'll be a done deal. So what he's doing is he's thinking about these guys. When he loses his job, he's going to go back to them and say, didn't I treat you right?

[John Weaver] Now help me out here a little bit. Didn't I make your bill and work it out for you? I need some help here. Verse 8, And the LORD commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. For the children of this world and their generation are wiser than the children of life. And don't we see that all around us in some cases? The children of this world are wiser than the children of life. I think of the verse where the prophet laments and he says, Who is so blind as my servant Jacob? Doesn't it make us tremble sometimes That our Christian brothers and sisters are so blind. Who is so blind as my servant Jacob? And you see the heart of God going out of that. And the heart of God was there until the door of the ark was shut.

[John Weaver] And then now all of a sudden things changed. They couldn't get in when that door was shut. No matter how much the ladies screamed, no matter how much Noah heard the cries of the children, help us, help us, we're drowning. Nope, the door was shut. The day of opportunity. Mercy had been extended. Mercy is extended to America every day. The mercy of God is out here reaching a game-saying people, reaching out to a people.

[John Weaver] So, the unjust steward, he's commended Because he thought about and made plans for his future. Now Jesus in the primary context, obviously, he's teaching about that we better make plans for our eternal future. And so I'm speaking to Christians here today, and I trust you that you've made your future plans in eternity to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy Him forevermore. That's primary. We understand that. But Jesus is also teaching here the secondary application. We need to be aware of the future events in our future because Paul says parents are to lay up for the children in 1 Corinthians, not children for the parents. So inheritances and laying up for children is a scriptural thing that we can do. And so preparing and laying up in store is also a scriptural thing that we should, and it would be good that we participate in. So we need to make plans. I'm encouraging you today, if you haven't, make plans. If you've already made plans, make more plans.

[John Weaver] The stock market began to crash here about a month ago or a month and a half ago. You might remember when it dropped like 500 points in a couple of days. I sat down with my mom and with Jill and we talked about, and we've been prepping for a long time, Alright? What do we need? Is there something else we need to get? So we went and did a few more things.

[John Weaver] Made plans for our future! So we don't have to go beg to the civil government for what we might need. Open your Bibles, if you would please, to Ezra chapter 8.

[John Weaver] This is at the rebuilding of Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes, his heart's been touched by the Lord, as was Cyrus, to rebuild the house of God. God has put it on their heart. And so, King Artaxerxes loves Ezra. He's well-respected. And he says, Ezra, you take whatever you need. Basically, he's got carte blanche to go help in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. And whatever needs to be done, you've got my backing. Here's the head of the then-known world saying to Ezra, whatever you need for Jerusalem, he's got the total blessing of King Artaxerxes. Now, Ezra is leaving with a whole big group of people, women, children, a giant caravan to go to Jerusalem to take the post of danger and begin to rebuild the walls and so forth. And so, he's got a whole bunch of people with him. It's a big crowd. It's a huge crowd with women and children, but it's not big enough to be a military force with all the women and children. But it's big enough as to where they would be a major target for the Bragands that are in the area and the Midianites that are out there running around.

[John Weaver] And so he realizes that they're a prey. And he knows that he can ask King Artaxerxes, whatever King Artaxerxes, you know, within reason, King Artaxerxes, hey, could I have a couple of legions or could I have a couple hundred troops or whatever to help us? He knows he can get that. He has the total blessing of King Artaxerxes. But look what he says. Verse 21,"...then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, for our little ones, and for all our substance." That's a great prayer to pray, by the way. Pray for your little ones, and for our substance, that God would lead us in what we're to do and the way that we should go. Now, I love this.

[John Weaver] You guys underline this now, because this is not normal Christianity in 21st century America. Wood to God, the pastors of America knew this verse. Verse 22, For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way. I was ashamed to ask the king for some help from the federal government. I didn't want to do it because I had been witnessing and testifying that those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He takes care of them. He watches over them. And so, I didn't want to ask Him for help. He says, I was ashamed to ask the king, the civil magistrate for help because I said, note what Ezra says here. He says, because I've witnessed to him that the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him.

[John Weaver] But His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him. So we fasted and besought our God for this, and He was entreated of us. He heard us. And He answered our prayer. So they go on this big, arduous journey through the desert to get to Jerusalem, and they make it safely. But notice what He says. And haven't we proclaimed, don't we as Christians proclaim the kingship of Jesus Christ? Don't we all echo with the words of David?

[John Weaver] I was young, and for some of us, now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread. What have I need of the big cheat of civil government in my life? Jesus Christ will supply my need. I tell you what, it's ABCs of Christianity. But how many don't get it anymore in America? And so when George Bush has his religious thing, what do they call that? The faith-based initiatives?

[John Weaver] The pastors line up to the syllabus. Give me, give me, give me of this money. The faith-based initiatives. So we can build a new gymnasium for our youth group. So we can do this and we can do that. My, my, my, my. I don't want to be in a position. My hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Some trust in chariots. Some in horses. But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

[John Weaver] And He really is our source of supply. And He's given us the opportunity to be prepares and preppers right now. This is the day of mercy. We can do this. Now listen to this. Most Christians who are going to come to you in a short while if things go down further, most Christians today support seeker-friendly, name-it-and-claim-it, blab-it-and-grab-it churches, or just plain society-wise, largely irrelevant churches. All their ties, their offerings are going to churches that don't matter a hill of beans in society.

[John Weaver] They're not reaching their community. They're not standing up. They're not setting their voices a trumpet and calling out to the civil magistrate like we do here when they get out of line. We have people that go to the local meetings here. We go every month. And I'm the only pastor that ever goes. Okay, Tim Orman. Thank you, brother. And I'm the only pastor that goes. Why? Because when I take a stand in a local town hall meeting, I may get on the wrong side of someone, and they're not going to give me five bucks, they're going to quit the church, and they're not going to put something on the offering plate. So pastors don't get involved because it costs them in the pew. It costs them in the pew. That's why they don't get involved. So now these Christians are going to come to you, and their needs are genuine, folks, and they're going to be heartfelt. And you're going to be looking and going, and their kids are hungry!

[John Weaver] And they supported seeker-friendly, name-it-and-claim-it, or just plain society-wise irrelevant churches all these years, and they knew better. Mark Twain, I love to quote this quote from Mark Twain. He says, a patriot is a scarce man and scorned. You who are patriots today, you know how the church world thinks of you as an idiot, and even some of the worldly people. A patriot is a scarce man and scorned. But when his cause succeeds, then the timid join, because then it costs nothing to be a patriot. Right now it costs you.

[John Weaver] They think you're a nut. They think you're a fanatic. It costs to live for the Lord Jesus Christ today and to prepare against the rainy day and the evil day approaching, the day of calamity. And by the way, just as a side note, as I preach this message, I am not I am a post-millennial theonomist. And that is, I see the Kingdom of God advancing through time and eternity. So we're not up here in a retreat to just sit out until Jesus Christ comes back tomorrow at 12 o'clock. Not at all. It's a strategic withdrawal. If we make a withdrawal, it's a strategic withdrawal. so that we can be stronger later on to press the crown rites of King Jesus into every area of life that God calls us into. So this is not a message on retreatism at all in that sense. But it's to be strong so that we can press the crown rites of King Jesus. So when we do give out food or whatever it is that we're doing, we give a gospel tract.

[John Weaver] We continue to minister. How is it that you guys prepare? Well, this is the wisdom of God's Word. We explain to them what we did, especially to the unsaved. So many of us are making real sacrifices to have extra oil for our lamps. And you're warning people, get extra oil for your lamps. If they're foolish, they don't do it and they don't go to the marriage feast. Let me just say a word here on the lone wolf survivalist.

[John Weaver] We'll be looking at this a little bit tomorrow morning. You're kidding yourself, folks, if you think that you as an individual can take care of your land by yourself, whether you're in the city or in the country, and you're not going to be harmed. You can't stay awake 24 hours a day. It's going to take a minimum of four families. So we're encouraging you to get together.

[John Weaver] They call it doubling up. Read the book Patriots. Highly recommended by Pastor Weaver and myself. Read the book Patriot. You're not going to make it out there by yourself. You should have at least three, four, five, six families together to pull through, pull your resources together. And you know why we don't really do this? Because we're so self-centered in Christianity today that we can't live together with other people because we're so stinking self-centered.

[John Weaver] Now, when my father passed away three years ago, We moved up to my parents' house, and so we live with my mom. It's a four-bedroom house. It would be stupid for us to pay two electric bills on two houses, heat two houses in the summertime with two fireplaces and all the wood that that entails. So now we pull our resources. Sure, it's not always easy. My mom's back there right now.

[John Weaver] So we've invaded her home with our little five-year-old boy running around everywhere, and she's up in years. But I tell you what, folks, it's the right thing to do. John's been taking care of folks for a long time, he and Alice. It's the right thing to do. For years at this church, I would see a widow woman come, and we would try and help take care of them. And there would be half a dozen widow ladies through the years.

[John Weaver] We say, why don't you two sisters pool your sources together? You can watch out for one another, take each other to the doctor. Oh no, we would never do that. It's selfish Christianity. Don't want to be bothered. Don't want to be bothered. So you need to begin the concept of doubling up and pooling resources and being close to families because we need the body of Christ. If you don't think so, you may think so six months from now. And then it's going to be tough to find someone.

[John Weaver] So I encourage you to seek out and do that. Prior to Y2K, DJ, let me know when I've gone, what, 50 minutes? Is that what you're going to do? Prior to Y2K, people would say to me, now this is very practical, are you really going to shoot me or stop me from taking some of your food? We were known as a survivalist church back 10 years ago, 15 years ago. And so they would say to me, you're not going to shoot me. You've known me for years in the community. Well, that's, you know, you're right. That's going to be kind of tough just because I'm taking some food for my family. But watch this.

[John Weaver] I would tell them that the decision was not mine alone, but the law of the community, because we had already had law and preparation in place so that the decision, if you violated the sanctity of this property, wasn't a decision that I made alone, but the community had made that decision. If trespassers will be shot or not. You see, that relieves you from an individual because you're linked up and what you actually have here is you have biblical law in the city gates, just like in the Old Testament time, that's being executed. For many reasons, everyone should be linked up with three or four families at a minimum so that the tough decisions can be made.

[John Weaver] In the multitude of counselors, folks, there's safety. So in the city gates, when you've got an area, you've got your four or five families together, you get together, the brothers and sisters you work with, this is the law of our community, this is how we operate under the laws of God. So if somebody violates those laws, this is how we're going to deal with it. So you as an individual don't have to make that decision alone about that person that comes on and you catch them stealing from your larder.

[John Weaver] So for example, at church at Cahuilla, I won't be down monitoring the gates at the road because I know too many people and I'm too much of a softy. I may be preaching a little hard here this morning, but those that know me know I'm a little too soft. So I won't be down there. But there will be people that will be there. And who would we let in?

[John Weaver] Those that have financially been helping us. There's a family here that's been helping us for 15 years. Got a couple other guys that have just joined the last year sharing a little bit. They would certainly be welcome because they shared in the reproach and shared in the blessings. And this is not a... I'm not trying to hit anybody up. You know what I mean? You understand what I'm trying to say here. I'm just giving you an example.

[John Weaver] Those that have supported us, who also we might let in? Those who are RNs, registered nurses, doctors, machinists. Hey, if you're a machinist in a hard time, you can write your own ticket probably. You say, I'm a journeyman welder and blah, blah, blah. Oh, come on in, brother. We can use you. That's just being practical. That's just being practical.

[John Weaver] Now, let me close with a couple more thoughts. Go with me to Luke chapter 16. I'll just read the main verse here for the sake of time. Luke 16. This is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. And I'm going to make the assumption here that you guys know that story. And so the rich man is in hell and he's suffering. But notice here in verse 25, But Abraham said, Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things."

[John Weaver] You had it made, buddy. You were rich. And likewise, Lazarus' evil things. Remember, he was the beggar that had all these sores at the rich man's gate day by day so that he could maybe get some crumbs from the rich man's table. But now, watch it, now he is comforted and you are tormented. There could be a reversal of roles here pretty quick in America. I don't know, but it could be. So that those who have prepared and are learning to live off the land may be comforted. And those who invested all their money in the latest plasma screen TV and the latest wave runner and didn't get some things up and get their heirloom seeds, now they're tormented and it's a reversal of roles. And notice Abraham just says here, you had your good things. Now, Lazarus is comforted. So we may have an experience of comfort at some time, knowing that we have prepared and we have these things to make it a little bit easier in life, and they had all their great things and all the things that they did, and now they're being tormented.

[John Weaver] It's a reversal of roles, and that's just the way it is sometimes. That's just life. And so we need to be aware of these verses when people come to us, so that we do have a biblical reason why we may say, I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you. Or, here, this is what I have. Please go and don't come back. If you do, you'll be considered a trespasser and you don't want to go there. Whatever the case may be. Now here's one. What about those who come to you and say, this especially applies to some of you in the church world who have been in church a long time.

[John Weaver] Hey, I helped you years ago. Hey, you remember me, Pastor Warnmark? I came to your conference back in 1997. I'm at the gate. I need help. I came to your conference in 98. Do you remember me? Hey, I helped you years ago, and they try to put a guilt trip on you. Maybe they were a prepper with you 10 years ago, and they said, after Y2K, they sold all their generators, and they sold everything.

[John Weaver] It's a bunch of nonsense. Don't worry about it. And now they come. You say, remember me 10 years ago, Y2K? We worked together. Open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5. This is the answer, your scripture answer. Because that puts a real guilt trip, boy. Hey, didn't we do this five years ago? Didn't we work together? And boy, yeah, yeah, you were a good man. Galatians 5 and verse 7. Paul says to the Galatians, you did run well. You did start out good. Yeah, we were linked up years ago. You did run well. Who did hinder you?

[John Weaver] that you should not obey the truth. Now, I know the primary context here is they've gone back into Judaism and into legalism. They started out in the kingdom of God in faith, and now their walk is one of works and not by faith anymore. And so he says, you started out well in the liberty that we have in Christ Jesus. Who did hinder you? Why did you turn away? And I would ask the same person that would come to me and say, remember, Pastor Mark, we used to go to your church back in the 90s. We used to come to your dad's church back in the 80s. Oh yeah, you did. Why did you quit? What was it about Dad's message in the 80s that turned you away? Who did hinder you? It wasn't Dad, it wasn't me that you should turn away.

[John Weaver] And now you're asking for help. Some may say this message is too hard. I don't want to think about it. Making the decision as to who in your family eats or doesn't eat because you didn't prepare will be even a much harder decision. So we're going through hard decisions. This is our orthopraxy. This is the practice of how we believe and act upon what we believe. These are tough decisions. I'm not kidding. I can talk tough because I'm preaching to the choir here today, up here from the pulpit. But certainly they're tough, gut-wrenching decisions. But remember, if you have a group of people that you're in nucleus with, those decisions will be easier because you're not making it alone. Making the decision as to who in your family eats or doesn't eat because you didn't prepare, those people are going to have some really tough decisions. Some really tough decisions.

[John Weaver] Let me close this illustration of the Vilna Ghetto. Everybody's heard of the Warsaw Ghetto. I didn't realize until just recently, there was ghettos all over the big cities. Well, there's a movie, it's a documentary, you can get it on the Vilna Ghetto up there and up above the Belarus region from where you guys saw that movie. and so the Jews and World War II, they always had a tough time. I don't know why.

[John Weaver] This whole book is a book of theology of resistance. And of course, they don't really reject the teachings of Jesus. And so they got the Old Testament. And why they didn't fight more, it just blows my mind when they've got, you know, all the stories of David and Goliath and, you know, Ehud and on and on and on with all the great prophets and, you know, that led them in battle and all that. But so they got to build this big ghetto. And after a while, the Jews said, you know what?

[John Weaver] We're tired of being systematically picked out one by one, here or there. Some of us are going to fight. And the leaders are saying, oh, no, no, no, don't do that. Don't do that. It's going to get us all in trouble. And so some of them said, OK, we're going over here and we're going to fight. We're just not going to lay and play dead and be cowards any longer. They couldn't take it. So they get this one section of the city, of the ghetto, and they're saying this is a resistance, partisan warfare.

[John Weaver] And by the way, we may talk about this a little bit more tomorrow. Those of you that are now in groups that are too small to be a full-fledged or official militia, DJ and I are hoping to produce a new video of the church here on partisan warfare. That will change that complexion a little bit, so you need to understand partisan warfare. Tremendous history on partisan warfare.

[John Weaver] Alright, but in the Vilna Ghetto, so some of the Jews and the smaller said, we're going to fight. So this guy, he's watching the gate. True story.

[John Weaver] Now this is a documentary. True story. You can see his heart when he's talking about it. They've been interviewing him throughout the story and the narration. He says, one day, he says, my mother came to me and says, son, what can I do? What should I do? She didn't make the decision to go in with the resistors. She's starving. She needs help. And this son with a broken heart says, mom, I can't let you in. I have other mothers. to protect. Watch the documentary, Vilna Ghetto. Can you imagine that? His old mom, no, she wouldn't be a pacifist.

[John Weaver] No, no, we'll just wait it out. She wouldn't go. She wouldn't be the scorned patriot or put her life on the line, on the front lines with the other families.

[John Weaver] Now he has a different mother to protect. How about that, folks? He has other mothers now. Praise God. Do you understand the power of that? Not just bloodline, I always say, blood is thicker than water. But in the Kingdom of God, it should not be so. It should not be so in the Kingdom of God. Your brothers and sisters, if your parents do not know the Lord, there should be a strong tie to that brother or sister because they're your brother or sister or mother of Israel. As Deborah was called a mother in Israel, the old term, mother of Israel. So he said to his own mother, no, you can't come in now because I have other mothers to protect. Making the tough decisions, folks.

[John Weaver] People have, and I'm closing, people have made agonizing decisions in the past because it was the right and charitable thing to do. If you have any questions about today's message, feel free to ask me about it. May God have mercy, and I end it. May God have mercy on us all. I don't want to be cocky up here. I don't want to be arrogant. But we have to make difficult decisions sometimes, and they could be facing us very shortly.

[John Weaver] Father in Heaven, we thank You for these folks that have listened so intently, Lord. Lord, I did my best to share your word and the fact that we can biblically turn people away. So, Father, may these things sink deep down into our ears. Thank you for your blessings thus far in the conference. God, continue. We need an outpouring of your spirit. Give these folks a restful lunch, Lord, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

God's Special Manifest Mercy

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	816078203110
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Genesis: Early World, Judgment, and the Nations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2001-04-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 075: Genesis — Chapter 28
Source Timed Segments	90

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy

Weaver introduces the conference theme of making tough decisions and frames the question: can we biblically turn people away? He defines orthodoxy (sound doctrine) and orthopraxy (practice), noting that many Christians fail to align the two, especially in areas like self-defense and preparation.

It's a pleasure to be with you guys today. Our conference theme is making the tough decisions, and so I want to, in our first general session today, talk about some tough decisions that we need to make now to make decisions that we make later actually easier. I've never given a message like this before, and I've never heard a message like this, so it may be new to you because it's certainly new to me. But we have been considering, as a church body, we've been discussing: what about, you know, in difficult times, people coming to you and, you know, they're wanting what you have? Maybe they're going to try and take what you have, what you've labored to do and put away. And do we have a biblical—the concept would be, the question would be—do we have a biblical basis to turn people away?

Because what, like Steve was talking about here, our technical terms here now, our orthopraxy should meet our orthodoxy. So let me define that for you. Orthodoxy is the sound doctrine that we all hold: Jesus Christ is Lord, Jesus Christ is born of a virgin, He rose again the third day. When we sing the Apostles' Creed, or we recite the Apostles' Creed, this is our orthodoxy. And many Christians that you know that are in the corporate church world, they have pretty good orthodoxy. In other words, their teaching is pretty sound by and large. We have little differences within Christianity, and we understand those differences. But their orthopraxy is how they practice what they believe.

Now what you guys are doing today by coming to this conference, you are putting feet to your orthopraxy. You have a belief in God, and I'm speaking to Christians here today, so we're going under the bedrock that the Word of God is our rule for faith and practice. So when we want to know, can we turn people away that ask of food from us? Is there a biblical position to do so? This is our rule of faith and practice, the Word of God. So our orthopraxy, how we practice what we believe. One thing, we have a smaller conference this year. That's because when the rubber tends to meet the road, Christians and their orthopraxy, their practice does not meet their doctrinal stance.

Let me give you an example of that. We produced a DVD here a few years ago—many of you have seen it—called "To Teach Them War." Brother Weaver's in it. And we present historical and biblical evidence why Christians should train militarily and militantly. And for the average common man that has seen it, they really enjoy it and they really appreciate it. But the theologians, or the preachers that we've sent it to, tend to try and stay away from it and run from it like a scalded dog. And I sent it to preachers who basically would agree theologically with all the premises in that little DVD. But if they make their practice, if they recommend that DVD, if they try and give it to someone, now their practice would have to match their confessional statement, and that's where we have a problem.

Some of you that know you're training this weekend with firearms, your practice is matching your confession. Do you follow that? So that's an important aspect of what we're doing this weekend: our practice should match our confession. And too often in the church world, especially within Reformed Patriot circles, it's Second Amendment, rah, rah, rah. But how many times do they get out and actually do something about preserving those liberties and rights? And so that's where their orthodoxy does not match their orthopraxy.

Noah: Preparing an Ark for Your Family

Using Hebrews 11:7, Weaver highlights Noah's preparation for his household and the limited window of mercy. He draws a parallel to modern preppers preparing for their families, emphasizing 1 Timothy 5:8 on providing for one's own.

Now open your Bibles, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 11. Again, this is our rule of faith and practice. So we're talking about making tough decisions, and we're going to use the Bible here in doing so. So Hebrews chapter 11, beginning in verse 7:

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 11:7

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

Moved by fear—moved by the fear of God that had called him to preach for a hundred years, to prepare this giant ark for the saving of his family, and anybody else that would accept the message had an opportunity. That's why he's known as the preacher of righteousness, right? Peter tells us Noah's the preacher of righteousness. So for a hundred years he's preaching, he's trying to get people to come aboard, find the ark of safety, and they rejected it. And so we find that there'll come a point when God shuts the door, and no matter how much the people cried and whimpered, and the woman said, "Save my child, save my baby."

Man, I was preaching to you for a hundred years. The day of salvation was there, it was extended. God's mercy was extended for a hundred years while Noah preached to those people. But he prepared an ark for the saving of his family. I'm making the assumption that the people I'm speaking to, you folks today, you're preppers. You're preparing an ark for the saving of your family. You're already about doing that, okay? And so that's why you're here, or you're here because you want to begin the process of preparing an ark, something for the saving of your family, the protection of your family.

1 Timothy 5:8 tells us that "if any man provide not for his own house, he's worse than an infidel, and he's denied the faith." Wow, those are powerful words from Paul to Timothy. Now, we're going to assume that now the day of calamity has come, and people are asking—nay, they're pleading—for help. Can you scripturally turn someone away? Now, that's a hard question. That's a good question, isn't it? And I hope that I will lay a scriptural foundation today. So now the day of calamity has come. Ministers of God—John Weaver preaches all across the country—they've been preaching, teaching, "Flee the wrath to come, prepare for the wrath to come." And now people have come to you and said, they're pleading, "Help me, help me, help me."

The Wise and Foolish Virgins: Discretion in Giving

Weaver examines Matthew 25:1-9, where the wise virgins refuse to share their oil, saying there may not be enough for both. He argues this teaches that it is biblically permissible to turn away those who ask, directing them instead to 'go to them that sell.'

Open your Bibles now, if you would, please, to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. Certainly, we have generous hearts and hearts that want to give in the name of the Lord. And I trust most of you out there, and I teach our people here at the Church at Cahuilla, they know they give to the Church at Cahuilla, but we as a family have missionaries that we help support. And you probably have missionaries that you help support. And the various alms-giving and offerings-giving that you do, we have generous hearts. But we want to be discerning in that which we do. So in Matthew chapter 25, we have here the parable of the virgins.

So in verse 1, Jesus says, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish." We've got a lot of foolish people in America today. We've got some that are wise, praise God. I trust that some of you here. "They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them." No extra, extra on the shelf, right? No stockpiling. "But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Note that. Here's preppers here. They're stockpilers. They took their lamps. The foolish virgins had lamps too with oil in it. But the preppers took an extra cruise of oil with them, carried it in their pack or whatever they did, or in their arms, whatever the brides did, they carried extra oil, not knowing what circumstances might meet them in the future. Verse 4, "So the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps, while the bridegroom tarried."

"They all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out."

Now note, this is Jesus teaching. What do the five wise virgins say? So have this down in your Bibles. Verse 9, "But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you." So the five wise virgins turn away and say to the five foolish, "If we give you what we have, there won't be enough for us either." Isn't that interesting that Jesus would teach this? "But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." So here's one of the things we can do. Say, "Go to those that sell and buy for yourselves." DJ, could you do me a favor? I forgot to get in the emergency preparedness room—there should be that little carafe of what we're going to give to people on one of the shelves there. If not, it's not a big deal. You've got time. So, "Go to the city and buy."

"I don't have for you." Your day of mercy in that area—people reached out. How many of you have friends? You've reached out. You've reached out. You've tried. You've tried. You've tried. You give them an article here. You give them an article there. You give them a CD here. You give them a tape there. We don't want any of that fanaticism or whatever the case may be. And so God's mercy has been reaching them.

It's like the old joke. I don't have it down real well, but you know the point. Some guy's up on a rooftop and he's praying for the Lord to save him, right? In a big flood. And so a guy comes in a boat, and the guy says, you know, "I'm not going to go with you, I'm waiting for the Lord to save me." Then somebody else comes, and three different people come, and he keeps saying, "I'm waiting for God to save him," and so he drowns. He gets up to heaven, and he says, "God, why didn't you save me?" He says, "I sent three people right by you, and you didn't take the help." He was waiting for some great divine intervention or whatever. So what we tell them is, "I don't have for you."

"I only have for my family and for those that are in my association." We'll talk about that in just a minute. "Go to the city and get it." Now open your Bibles. This is a fascinating verse—to Genesis 47, if you would please. Open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 47.

Joseph in Egypt: Avoiding the City and Government Dole

From Genesis 47, Weaver shows how Joseph moved people into cities for easier distribution, but notes that preppers want to avoid being forced into city bread lines. He warns against reliance on civil government and encourages preparation to maintain independence.

This is, as you know, the story. This is where Joseph has taken—Pharaoh has taken him under his arm and he's prepared for the seven years of famine. Everybody knows the story really well. And I want to share with you just a little tidbit here that I think is really fascinating. And Joseph's a good man. They've stockpiled, you know, in all the treasure cities, they've got all these grains and all these granaries. Thank you, DJ. I appreciate that. And let me just—so this is what we give.

We have, right now we have 50 of these printed up that we made when somebody comes in the day of calamity and they're not going to be allowed to come into this property, these premises, but we can give this to them. It's got a gospel tract. It's got, you know, a wire. It's got a Vienna sausage, some aspirin and, you know, sinkers and hooks and anything that we could think of. By the way, this is how you make a martini. But we could get these for a dollar at the dollar store. So we bought up all 50. See, our heart is a heart to give. If we had the money, I'd have bought 250 of these and stockpiled them. In the church, we all got together and had this big hands-on day where we filled all these things. So I got 50 of these to pass out to those that asked. And when that runs out, I've got to say, "Go to them in the city that have and buy from them."

"We don't have any more for you." So in Genesis 47, there they are in there, the wieners, the Vienna sausages are in there. Some have them, some don't. So whatever we can do to try and help someone. See, your heart, as a Christian, is a heart that wants to help. We can't help it if people have hard, implacable hearts out there in Christianity. I just can't help that.

So, that's why we're looking at the Scriptures here. So Joseph has prepared. The people come and now they're starving. It's interesting. Joseph, all these granaries, but why weren't the people—while Joseph, all these granaries are being built around them. Everybody knows in the kingdom there's seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. What about those homeowners that should have been preparing right along with Joseph? I mean, business was good. Granaries were being built. Everybody was employed.

They had money for a change. Even the poor people, because all these things were being built and commerce was going on in the seven years of plenty. So when we get to verse 18 of chapter 47, verse 18,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 47:18-21

"And when the year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands." "Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate."

So they're selling everything they can. They've already lost all their gold. They bought their gold for food. Now they'll sell their land, their animals, for food to eat.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 47:18-21

"And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's."

By the way, you should have some precious metals. It may be that even in the state of California, with prices as crazy as they are in California, which I hate the fact that our land prices and home prices are so high here, it may be for a few pieces of gold you could get a nice piece of land. So just keep that in mind. You may be a little bit just like Joseph did. And as for the people he... Okay, look at verse 21. This is it. "As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof." What did he do? He brought them to the city.

Now, Joseph wasn't a bad guy. He's a great man. It's easier to take care of the people in the cities. It's easier to get the bread lines going. You're not going to have a bread line up in Three Rivers. You've got to go to Visalia if you're going to want your bread, right? Get in a bread line. So they move them into the cities where it's easy to stand in line and get your bread and whatever and get some grain. But precisely what Joseph has done here, in a good way, is exactly what, for me in my house, we want to avoid. I don't want to go to the cities and stand in line and beg for bread, folks. I don't want to do that. I don't want to take my five-year-old son and have to play along with the federal government or the county government or the state's government game in order to get some food and then educate my son in their humanistic ways. You see that?

So if we don't prepare for the day of calamity, we'll end up having to go like the five foolish virgins and be admonished, "Go into the city and buy from them," or go into the city and stand in line. And that's why I wanted to share this message with you. Do your preparations now. We'll be looking at that a little bit more tomorrow. This is exactly—and I think most of you—I don't want to go into the city and have to stand in line, huh? Amen? Control of my wife, my children then? No thank you. As for me and my house, this is precisely what we try to avoid: going into the city and standing in line for government dole. We may have to tell people to go to the cities and wait for the civil government to feed them. By the way, haven't they been relying upon the civil government for 20, 30 years anyway? Feasting from the big teat of a pig of civil government, the federal government?

While you've been doing your best to make a living for your family and not rely upon them? Civil government? We've become religio-statists in America. That is, we're state worshipers.

Now, we don't have that confession. Here again, we go back to our orthodoxy, our sound doctrine: Jesus Christ is Lord. He'll protect us. He'll provide for us. But our orthopraxy, our practice is, as soon as we have a problem, let's go to the feds for extra money. Let's go to the feds to bail us out here. We have a flood or whatever. Let's get some government loans. So our practice does not match what we're preaching too often times with the Christians. Prepare, yeah. So we may have to tell people to go to the cities and wait for the civil government to feed them.

The Unjust Steward: Planning for the Future

In Luke 16, the unjust steward is commended for wisely planning for his future. Weaver applies this to Christians making practical preparations now, including financial and material stockpiling, to avoid future dependence on the state.

So that's an aspect that is out there. So we have things that we want to give in the name of the Lord. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. So we have prepared a paper at the church at Cahuilla, that when people come and they would ask—because, I'll come back to that in just a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself. Luke chapter 16. This is the parable of the unjust steward. The unjust steward. "And Jesus said unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which was a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods." So this guy was actually not a, you know, he wasn't a good steward in helping this rich man take care of his possessions. "And he called him and said unto him, How is it I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer a steward." So this guy, he was, you know, siphoning off some of his master's money, and he wasn't investing it wisely and things like that.

And so the master says, "I need to talk to you about this. You're gonna have to give an account because I found out, man, you've been chiseling on me." "Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For my lord taketh away from me the stewardship." He says, "I cannot dig." He says, you know, "I'm a guy that deals with money. I'm not going to go out with a shovel. I'm not a man you'll labor. And to beg," he says, "I'm ashamed. I'm not going to go out begging for my food. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship," he knows he's been a bad egg, and he knows he's going to lose his job.

So what does he say? "I am resolved that when I'm put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses." This is the key to understanding why Jesus would commend an unjust steward in this particular case, is because he's thinking about his future. He knows he's going to lose his job, and so he's preparing for his future, and this is what he does. "So he called every man of his lord's debtors," verse 5, "unto him and said, Unto the first, How much owest thou my lord?" "And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, sit down quickly and write fifty." So he says, "Look, we'll just get—what we're going to do is, this is your lucky day. Give me fifty measures of oil. We'll call the whole thing even." And the guy says, "Wow. All right, let's do that. That's great. I mean, if I don't have to pay a hundred, I'll give you fifty. All right."

Verse 7, "And he said to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill and write fourscore." So he says here, "I tell you, if you give me 80 measures of wheat right now, we'll take care of this thing and it'll be a done deal." So what he's doing is he's thinking about these guys. When he loses his job, he's going to go back to them and say, "Didn't I treat you right?" "Now help me out here a little bit. Didn't I make your bill and work it out for you? I need some help here." Verse 8, "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." And don't we see that all around us in some cases? The children of this world are wiser than the children of light. I think of the verse where the prophet laments and he says, "Who is so blind as my servant Jacob?" Doesn't it make us tremble sometimes that our Christian brothers and sisters are so blind? "Who is so blind as my servant Jacob?" And you see the heart of God going out of that. And the heart of God was there until the door of the ark was shut.

And then now all of a sudden things changed. They couldn't get in when that door was shut. No matter how much the ladies screamed, no matter how much Noah heard the cries of the children, "Help us, help us, we're drowning." Nope, the door was shut. The day of opportunity. Mercy had been extended. Mercy is extended to America every day. The mercy of God is out here reaching a gainsaying people, reaching out to a people.

So, the unjust steward, he's commended because he thought about and made plans for his future. Now Jesus in the primary context, obviously, he's teaching about that we better make plans for our eternal future. And so I'm speaking to Christians here today, and I trust you that you've made your future plans in eternity to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy Him forevermore. That's primary. We understand that. But Jesus is also teaching here the secondary application. We need to be aware of the future events in our future because Paul says parents are to lay up for the children in 1 Corinthians, not children for the parents. So inheritances and laying up for children is a scriptural thing that we can do. And so preparing and laying up in store is also a scriptural thing that we should, and it would be good that we participate in. So we need to make plans. I'm encouraging you today, if you haven't, make plans. If you've already made plans, make more plans.

The stock market began to crash here about a month ago or a month and a half ago. You might remember when it dropped like 500 points in a couple of days. I sat down with my mom and with Jill and we talked about—and we've been prepping for a long time, alright?—what do we need? Is there something else we need to get? So we went and did a few more things. Made plans for our future! So we don't have to go beg to the civil government for what we might need. Open your Bibles, if you would please, to Ezra chapter 8.

Ezra: Ashamed to Ask the King for Help

Ezra 8:21-22 shows Ezra refusing military aid from the pagan king because he had testified that God protects those who seek Him. Weaver uses this to argue that Christians should not rely on civil government but trust God and prepare accordingly.

This is at the rebuilding of Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes, his heart's been touched by the Lord, as was Cyrus, to rebuild the house of God. God has put it on their heart. And so, King Artaxerxes loves Ezra. He's well-respected. And he says, "Ezra, you take whatever you need." Basically, he's got carte blanche to go help in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. And whatever needs to be done, you've got my backing. Here's the head of the then-known world saying to Ezra, "Whatever you need for Jerusalem," he's got the total blessing of King Artaxerxes. Now, Ezra is leaving with a whole big group of people, women, children, a giant caravan to go to Jerusalem to take the post of danger and begin to rebuild the walls and so forth. And so, he's got a whole bunch of people with him. It's a big crowd. It's a huge crowd with women and children, but it's not big enough to be a military force with all the women and children. But it's big enough as to where they would be a major target for the brigands that are in the area and the Midianites that are out there running around.

And so he realizes that they're a prey. And he knows that he can ask King Artaxerxes—whatever King Artaxerxes, you know, within reason, King Artaxerxes, "Hey, could I have a couple of legions or could I have a couple hundred troops or whatever to help us?" He knows he can get that. He has the total blessing of King Artaxerxes. But look what he says. Verse 21, "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." That's a great prayer to pray, by the way. Pray for your little ones, and for our substance, that God would lead us in what we're to do and the way that we should go. Now, I love this.

You guys underline this now, because this is not normal Christianity in 21st century America. Would to God the pastors of America knew this verse. Verse 22,

Scripture Reading — Ezra 8:21-22

"For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way."

I was ashamed to ask the king for some help from the federal government. I didn't want to do it because I had been witnessing and testifying that those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He takes care of them. He watches over them. And so, I didn't want to ask him for help. He says,

Scripture Reading — Ezra 8:21-22

"I was ashamed to ask the king, the civil magistrate for help because I said,"

note what Ezra says here, he says,

Scripture Reading — Ezra 8:21-22

"because I've witnessed to him that the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him."

"But his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us." He heard us. And He answered our prayer. So they go on this big, arduous journey through the desert to get to Jerusalem, and they make it safely. But notice what he says. And haven't we proclaimed—don't we as Christians proclaim the kingship of Jesus Christ? Don't we all echo with the words of David?

"I was young, and for some of us, now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread." What have I need of the big teat of civil government in my life? Jesus Christ will supply my need. I tell you what, it's ABCs of Christianity. But how many don't get it anymore in America? And so when George Bush has his religious thing, what do they call that? The faith-based initiatives?

Community and the Law of the Gates

Weaver stresses the necessity of linking with multiple families for security and shared resources. He explains that tough decisions about trespassers and resource allocation are easier when made as a community under biblical law, rather than individually.

We continue to minister. How is it that you guys prepare? Well, this is the wisdom of God's Word. We explain to them what we did, especially to the unsaved. So many of us are making real sacrifices to have extra oil for our lamps. And you're warning people, "Get extra oil for your lamps." If they're foolish, they don't do it and they don't go to the marriage feast. Let me just say a word here on the lone wolf survivalist.

We'll be looking at this a little bit tomorrow morning. You're kidding yourself, folks, if you think that you as an individual can take care of your land by yourself, whether you're in the city or in the country, and you're not going to be harmed. You can't stay awake 24 hours a day. It's going to take a minimum of four families. So we're encouraging you to get together. They call it doubling up. Read the book "Patriots." Highly recommended by Pastor Weaver and myself. Read the book "Patriots." You're not going to make it out there by yourself. You should have at least three, four, five, six families together to pull through, pull your resources together. And you know why we don't really do this? Because we're so self-centered in Christianity today that we can't live together with other people because we're so stinking self-centered.

Now, when my father passed away three years ago, we moved up to my parents' house, and so we live with my mom. It's a four-bedroom house. It would be stupid for us to pay two electric bills on two houses, heat two houses in the summertime with two fireplaces and all the wood that that entails. So now we pull our resources. Sure, it's not always easy. My mom's back there right now.

So we've invaded her home with our little five-year-old boy running around everywhere, and she's up in years. But I tell you what, folks, it's the right thing to do. John's been taking care of folks for a long time, he and Alice. It's the right thing to do. For years at this church, I would see a widow woman come, and we would try and help take care of them. And there would be half a dozen widow ladies through the years. We say, "Why don't you two sisters pool your sources together? You can watch out for one another, take each other to the doctor." "Oh no, we would never do that." It's selfish Christianity. Don't want to be bothered. Don't want to be bothered. So you need to begin the concept of doubling up and pooling resources and being close to families because we need the body of Christ. If you don't think so, you may think so six months from now. And then it's going to be tough to find someone.

So I encourage you to seek out and do that. Prior to Y2K—DJ, let me know when I've gone, what, 50 minutes? Is that what you're going to do? Prior to Y2K, people would say to me, now this is very practical, "Are you really going to shoot me or stop me from taking some of your food?" We were known as a survivalist church back 10 years ago, 15 years ago. And so they would say to me, "You're not going to shoot me. You've known me for years in the community." Well, that's, you know, you're right. That's going to be kind of tough just because I'm taking some food for my family. But watch this.

I would tell them that the decision was not mine alone, but the law of the community, because we had already had law and preparation in place so that the decision, if you violated the sanctity of this property, wasn't a decision that I made alone, but the community had made that decision. If trespassers will be shot or not. You see, that relieves you from an individual because you're linked up and what you actually have here is you have biblical law in the city gates, just like in the Old Testament time, that's being executed. For many reasons, everyone should be linked up with three or four families at a minimum so that the tough decisions can be made. In the multitude of counselors, folks, there's safety. So in the city gates, when you've got an area, you've got your four or five families together, you get together, the brothers and sisters you work with, "This is the law of our community, this is how we operate under the laws of God. So if somebody violates those laws, this is how we're going to deal with it." So you as an individual don't have to make that decision alone about that person that comes on and you catch them stealing from your larder.

So for example, at church at Cahuilla, I won't be down monitoring the gates at the road because I know too many people and I'm too much of a softy. I may be preaching a little hard here this morning, but those that know me know I'm a little too soft. So I won't be down there. But there will be people that will be there. And who would we let in? Those that have financially been helping us. There's a family here that's been helping us for 15 years. Got a couple other guys that have just joined the last year sharing a little bit. They would certainly be welcome because they shared in the reproach and shared in the blessings. And this is not a—I'm not trying to hit anybody up. You know what I mean? You understand what I'm trying to say here. I'm just giving you an example.

Those that have supported us, who also we might let in? Those who are RNs, registered nurses, doctors, machinists. Hey, if you're a machinist in a hard time, you can write your own ticket probably. You say, "I'm a journeyman welder and blah, blah, blah." "Oh, come on in, brother. We can use you." That's just being practical. That's just being practical.

Now, let me close with a couple more thoughts. Go with me to Luke chapter 16. I'll just read the main verse here for the sake of time. Luke 16. This is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. And I'm going to make the assumption here that you guys know that story. And so the rich man is in hell and he's suffering. But notice here in verse 25, "But Abraham said, Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things."

The Rich Man and Lazarus: Reversal of Roles

From Luke 16:25, Weaver suggests a possible future reversal where prepared believers are comforted while the unprepared suffer. He warns that those who invested in luxuries instead of preparation may face torment.

"You had it made, buddy. You were rich. And likewise, Lazarus' evil things." Remember, he was the beggar that had all these sores at the rich man's gate day by day so that he could maybe get some crumbs from the rich man's table. "But now, watch it, now he is comforted and you are tormented." There could be a reversal of roles here pretty quick in America. I don't know, but it could be. So that those who have prepared and are learning to live off the land may be comforted. And those who invested all their money in the latest plasma screen TV and the latest wave runner and didn't get some things up and get their heirloom seeds, now they're tormented and it's a reversal of roles. And notice Abraham just says here, "You had your good things. Now, Lazarus is comforted." So we may have an experience of comfort at some time, knowing that we have prepared and we have these things to make it a little bit easier in life, and they had all their great things and all the things that they did, and now they're being tormented.

It's a reversal of roles, and that's just the way it is sometimes. That's just life. And so we need to be aware of these verses when people come to us, so that we do have a biblical reason why we may say, "I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you." Or, "Here, this is what I have. Please go and don't come back. If you do, you'll be considered a trespasser and you don't want to go there." Whatever the case may be. Now here's one. What about those who come to you and say—this especially applies to some of you in the church world who have been in church a long time.

Answering Those Who Once Ran Well

Using Galatians 5:7, Weaver addresses those who might claim past association to guilt believers into sharing. He argues that those who turned away from the truth have no claim on the community's resources.

"Hey, I helped you years ago. Hey, you remember me, Pastor Warnmark? I came to your conference back in 1997. I'm at the gate. I need help. I came to your conference in '98. Do you remember me? Hey, I helped you years ago," and they try to put a guilt trip on you. Maybe they were a prepper with you 10 years ago, and they said, after Y2K, they sold all their generators, and they sold everything.

"It's a bunch of nonsense. Don't worry about it." And now they come. You say, "Remember me 10 years ago, Y2K? We worked together." Open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5. This is the answer, your Scripture answer. Because that puts a real guilt trip, boy. "Hey, didn't we do this five years ago? Didn't we work together?" And boy, "Yeah, yeah, you were a good man." Galatians 5 and verse 7. Paul says to the Galatians, "You did run well. You did start out good. Yeah, we were linked up years ago. You did run well. Who did hinder you?"

"that you should not obey the truth." Now, I know the primary context here is they've gone back into Judaism and into legalism. They started out in the kingdom of God in faith, and now their walk is one of works and not by faith anymore. And so he says, "You started out well in the liberty that we have in Christ Jesus. Who did hinder you? Why did you turn away?" And I would ask the same person that would come to me and say, "Remember, Pastor Mark, we used to go to your church back in the 90s. We used to come to your dad's church back in the 80s." "Oh yeah, you did. Why did you quit? What was it about Dad's message in the 80s that turned you away? Who did hinder you? It wasn't Dad, it wasn't me that you should turn away."

And now you're asking for help. Some may say this message is too hard. I don't want to think about it. Making the decision as to who in your family eats or doesn't eat because you didn't prepare will be even a much harder decision. So we're going through hard decisions. This is our orthopraxy. This is the practice of how we believe and act upon what we believe. These are tough decisions. I'm not kidding. I can talk tough because I'm preaching to the choir here today, up here from the pulpit. But certainly they're tough, gut-wrenching decisions. But remember, if you have a group of people that you're in nucleus with, those decisions will be easier because you're not making it alone. Making the decision as to who in your family eats or doesn't eat because you didn't prepare, those people are going to have some really tough decisions. Some really tough decisions.

The Vilna Ghetto: A Son's Agonizing Decision

Weaver closes with a true story from the Vilna Ghetto where a Jewish resistor refused entry to his own mother because he had other mothers to protect. This illustrates the extreme tough decisions that may be required.

Let me close this illustration of the Vilna Ghetto. Everybody's heard of the Warsaw Ghetto. I didn't realize until just recently, there was ghettos all over the big cities. Well, there's a movie, it's a documentary, you can get it on the Vilna Ghetto up there and up above the Belarus region from where you guys saw that movie. And so the Jews in World War II, they always had a tough time. I don't know why. This whole book is a book of theology of resistance. And of course, they don't really reject the teachings of Jesus. And so they got the Old Testament. And why they didn't fight more, it just blows my mind when they've got, you know, all the stories of David and Goliath and, you know, Ehud and on and on and on with all the great prophets and, you know, that led them in battle and all that. But so they got to build this big ghetto. And after a while, the Jews said, "You know what?"

"We're tired of being systematically picked out one by one, here or there. Some of us are going to fight." And the leaders are saying, "Oh, no, no, no, don't do that. Don't do that. It's going to get us all in trouble." And so some of them said, "OK, we're going over here and we're going to fight. We're just not going to lay and play dead and be cowards any longer." They couldn't take it. So they get this one section of the city, of the ghetto, and they're saying this is a resistance, partisan warfare. And by the way, we may talk about this a little bit more tomorrow. Those of you that are now in groups that are too small to be a full-fledged or official militia, DJ and I are hoping to produce a new video of the church here on partisan warfare. That will change that complexion a little bit, so you need to understand partisan warfare. Tremendous history on partisan warfare.

Alright, but in the Vilna Ghetto, so some of the Jews and the smaller said, "We're going to fight." So this guy, he's watching the gate. True story. Now this is a documentary. True story. You can see his heart when he's talking about it. They've been interviewing him throughout the story and the narration. He says, "One day," he says, "my mother came to me and says, 'Son, what can I do? What should I do?'" She didn't make the decision to go in with the resistors. She's starving. She needs help. And this son with a broken heart says, "Mom, I can't let you in. I have other mothers to protect." Watch the documentary, Vilna Ghetto. Can you imagine that? His old mom, no, she wouldn't be a pacifist.

"No, no, we'll just wait it out." She wouldn't go. She wouldn't be the scorned patriot or put her life on the line, on the front lines with the other families. Now he has a different mother to protect. How about that, folks? He has other mothers now. Praise God. Do you understand the power of that? Not just bloodline—I always say, "Blood is thicker than water." But in the Kingdom of God, it should not be so. It should not be so in the Kingdom of God. Your brothers and sisters, if your parents do not know the Lord, there should be a strong tie to that brother or sister because they're your brother or sister or mother of Israel. As Deborah was called a mother in Israel, the old term, mother of Israel. So he said to his own mother, "No, you can't come in now because I have other mothers to protect." Making the tough decisions, folks.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Orthopraxy must match orthodoxy

Summary: Christians must practice what they believe, especially in areas of preparation, self-defense, and reliance on God rather than civil government.

Evidence: Weaver defines orthodoxy and orthopraxy and gives examples of Christians who fail to align them, such as those who affirm the Second Amendment but do not train.

Biblical basis for turning people away

Summary: Scripture provides examples where it is permissible to refuse help to those who ask, particularly when giving would endanger one's own household.

Evidence: Weaver cites the wise virgins (Matthew 25), Joseph (Genesis 47), and Ezra (Ezra 8) to show that discretion and prior preparation justify refusal.

Preparation as a spiritual duty

Summary: Preparing for future calamity is a biblical mandate, modeled by Noah, Joseph, and the wise virgins, and is part of providing for one's family.

Evidence: Weaver references 1 Timothy 5:8 and the examples of Noah and Joseph to argue that stockpiling and planning are acts of faith and obedience.

Rejection of reliance on civil government

Summary: Christians should not depend on the state for provision or protection, as this contradicts their confession of God's sovereignty and provision.

Evidence: Weaver points to Ezra's refusal to ask the king for soldiers and criticizes churches that seek government funding through faith-based initiatives.

Community and mutual defense

Summary: Survival requires linking with multiple families to share resources, provide security, and make difficult decisions corporately under biblical law.

Evidence: Weaver argues that lone wolf survivalism is impractical and that community law relieves individuals of sole responsibility for hard choices.

The cost of discipleship and preparation

Summary: Being a prepared patriot often brings scorn from other Christians and the world, but it is the right and necessary path.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Mark Twain and describes how preppers are viewed as fanatics, yet their cause will be vindicated when crisis comes.

Key Arguments

Discretion in giving is biblical

Summary: Jesus' command to 'give to him that asketh' does not require indiscriminate giving; Scripture teaches discretion and discernment in charity.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 112:5 ('guide his affairs with discretion') and the example of the wise virgins who refused to share oil.

Preparation is a form of providing for one's household

Summary: 1 Timothy 5:8 condemns those who do not provide for their own; preparing for future needs is a fulfillment of this command.

Evidence: Weaver directly quotes 1 Timothy 5:8 and ties it to Noah's preparation of the ark for his family.

Refusing help can be an act of faithfulness

Summary: Ezra's refusal to ask the king for military aid was based on his testimony that God protects His people; similarly, Christians should not compromise their witness by seeking state help.

Evidence: Weaver reads Ezra 8:22 and emphasizes Ezra's shame at asking the king after proclaiming God's protection.

Community law mitigates individual guilt

Summary: When a community establishes rules for defense and resource allocation, individuals are not solely responsible for turning away the needy or using force.

Evidence: Weaver explains that at his church, the community has pre-agreed rules, so he personally does not have to make the decision to shoot a trespasser.

Past association does not obligate present help

Summary: Those who once walked with the faithful but later turned away have no claim on the community's resources, as Paul's words in Galatians 5:7 indicate.

Evidence: Weaver applies Galatians 5:7 to hypothetical former associates who abandoned preparation and now seek help.

Scripture References

Hebrews 11:7

Context: Noah's preparation of the ark for the saving of his household, used as a model for modern preppers.

1 Timothy 5:8

Context: The command to provide for one's own household, cited as a mandate for preparation.

Matthew 5:42

Context: Jesus' teaching to give to those who ask, which Weaver argues must be balanced with other Scriptures.

Psalm 112:5

Context: A good man guides his affairs with discretion, used to support discerning giving.

Matthew 25:1-9

Context: The parable of the wise and foolish virgins; the wise refuse to share oil, saying there may not be enough.

Genesis 47:18-21

Context: Joseph moves the people into cities during famine; Weaver uses this to warn against ending up in government bread lines.

Luke 16:1-8

Context: The unjust steward is commended for planning for his future; applied to making practical preparations.

Ezra 8:21-22

Context: Ezra refuses to ask the king for military help because he had testified of God's protection.

Luke 16:25

Context: The rich man is tormented while Lazarus is comforted; a possible reversal of roles for the unprepared.

Galatians 5:7

Context: Paul asks who hindered the Galatians from obeying the truth; applied to those who once prepared but turned away.

Historical References

Vilna Ghetto (World War II)

Context: A Jewish resistor refused entry to his own mother because he had other mothers to protect, illustrating tough decisions.

Mark Twain quote on patriots

Context: A patriot is scorned until his cause succeeds; applied to preppers who are mocked until crisis proves them right.

Y2K preparations

Context: Weaver references the Y2K scare as a time when people prepared and then sold off supplies, only to potentially need them later.

Faith-based initiatives under George Bush

Context: Weaver criticizes churches that sought government funding, contrasting it with Ezra's refusal of state help.

Important Quotes

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Significance: Weaver uses this verse to establish Noah as a model prepper who prepared for his family's salvation.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you.

Significance: This is the key verse from the parable of the virgins that Weaver uses to justify refusing to share limited resources.

A patriot is a scarce man and scorned. But when his cause succeeds, then the timid join, because then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

Significance: Weaver quotes Mark Twain to encourage preppers who face ridicule for their preparations.

Mom, I can't let you in. I have other mothers to protect.

Significance: The climactic illustration from the Vilna Ghetto showing the extreme nature of tough decisions.

Discussion Questions

In what areas of your life does your orthopraxy (practice) fail to match your orthodoxy (belief)?

Context: Weaver introduces the concept of orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy and challenges believers to align their actions with their stated beliefs.

How do you balance Jesus' command to 'give to him that asketh' with the need for discretion and provision for your own family?

Context: Weaver addresses the tension between Matthew 5:42 and the examples of the wise virgins and Joseph.

What practical steps can you take now to avoid having to rely on civil government in a future crisis?

Context: Weaver uses Ezra's example to encourage independence from state provision and emphasizes preparation.

Why is it important to link up with other families for survival, and what obstacles might prevent Christians from doing so?

Context: Weaver argues that lone wolf survivalism is impractical and that community is essential for security and decision-making.

How should a Christian community decide who to admit or exclude during a crisis, and what biblical principles should guide those decisions?

Context: Weaver discusses the law of the community and the criteria for letting people in, such as prior support or needed skills.

How would you respond to someone who claims past association with you as a reason for receiving help, even though they abandoned preparation?

Context: Weaver uses Galatians 5:7 to address guilt trips from former associates.

Applications

Evaluate your orthopraxy

Summary: Examine areas where your practice does not match your doctrinal beliefs, particularly in preparation and self-defense, and take steps to align them.

Evidence: Weaver challenges attendees to put feet to their orthopraxy, noting that many Christians fail to act on their beliefs.

Prepare materially for your household

Summary: Stockpile food, supplies, and resources as an act of biblical provision for your family, following the examples of Noah and Joseph.

Evidence: Weaver repeatedly urges preparation, citing 1 Timothy 5:8 and the examples of preppers in Scripture.

Give with discretion

Summary: Do not give indiscriminately to every asker; use discernment and prioritize the needs of your own household and community.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 112:5 and the wise virgins to support discretionary giving.

Reject reliance on civil government

Summary: Avoid seeking government aid or protection, trusting God and your own preparations instead, as Ezra did.

Evidence: Weaver points to Ezra 8:22 and criticizes churches that accept faith-based initiative funds.

Form a community of like-minded families

Summary: Link up with at least three or four other families to share resources, provide security, and make corporate decisions under biblical law.

Evidence: Weaver argues that lone wolf survivalism is futile and that community law eases individual decision-making.

Prepare gospel tracts and aid packets

Summary: Assemble small aid packages with gospel tracts to give to those you must turn away, showing compassion while maintaining boundaries.

Evidence: Weaver describes the church's preparation of 50 aid packets with tracts and supplies for those who come asking.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:00:07Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:14:07Z

Clean Transcript

God's Special Manifest Mercy

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

It's a pleasure to be with you guys today. Our conference theme is making the tough decisions, and so I want to, in our first general session today, talk about some tough decisions that we need to make now to make decisions that we make later actually easier. I've never given a message like this before, and I've never heard a message like this, so it may be new to you because it's certainly new to me.
#1 | 0:00 to 0:27 | cleaned
But we have been considering, as a church body, we've been discussing: what about, you know, in difficult times, people coming to you and, you know, they're wanting what you have? Maybe they're going to try and take what you have, what you've labored to do and put away. And do we have a biblical—the concept would be, the question would be—do we have a biblical basis to turn people away?
#2 | 0:28 to 0:51 | cleaned
Because what, like Steve was talking about here, our technical terms here now, our orthopraxy should meet our orthodoxy. So let me define that for you. Orthodoxy is the sound doctrine that we all hold: Jesus Christ is Lord, Jesus Christ is born of a virgin, He rose again the third day. When we sing the Apostles' Creed, or we recite the Apostles' Creed, this is our orthodoxy. And many Christians that you know that are in the corporate church world, they have pretty good orthodoxy. In other words, their teaching is pretty sound by and large.
#3 | 0:51 to 1:25 | cleaned
We have little differences within Christianity, and we understand those differences. But their orthopraxy is how they practice what they believe.
#4 | 1:25 to 1:34 | cleaned
Now what you guys are doing today by coming to this conference, you are putting feet to your orthopraxy. You have a belief in God, and I'm speaking to Christians here today, so we're going under the bedrock that the Word of God is our rule for faith and practice. So when we want to know, can we turn people away that ask of food from us? Is there a biblical position to do so? This is our rule of faith and practice, the Word of God. So our orthopraxy, how we practice what we believe. One thing, we have a smaller conference this year. That's because when the rubber tends to meet the road, Christians and their orthopraxy, their practice does not meet their doctrinal stance.
#5 | 1:34 to 2:16 | cleaned
Let me give you an example of that. We produced a DVD here a few years ago—many of you have seen it—called "To Teach Them War." Brother Weaver's in it. And we present historical and biblical evidence why Christians should train militarily and militantly. And for the average common man that has seen it, they really enjoy it and they really appreciate it. But the theologians, or the preachers that we've sent it to, tend to try and stay away from it and run from it like a scalded dog. And I sent it to preachers who basically would agree theologically with all the premises in that little DVD. But if they make their practice, if they recommend that DVD, if they try and give it to someone, now their practice would have to match their confessional statement, and that's where we have a problem.
#6 | 2:17 to 3:08 | cleaned
Some of you that know you're training this weekend with firearms, your practice is matching your confession. Do you follow that? So that's an important aspect of what we're doing this weekend: our practice should match our confession. And too often in the church world, especially within Reformed Patriot circles, it's Second Amendment, rah, rah, rah. But how many times do they get out and actually do something about preserving those liberties and rights? And so that's where their orthodoxy does not match their orthopraxy.
#7 | 3:08 to 3:37 | cleaned
Now open your Bibles, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 11. Again, this is our rule of faith and practice. So we're talking about making tough decisions, and we're going to use the Bible here in doing so. So Hebrews chapter 11, beginning in verse 7: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Moved by fear—moved by the fear of God that had called him to preach for a hundred years, to prepare this giant ark for the saving of his family, and anybody else that would accept the message had an opportunity. That's why he's known as the preacher of righteousness, right? Peter tells us Noah's the preacher of righteousness. So for a hundred years he's preaching, he's trying to get people to come aboard, find the ark of safety, and they rejected it. And so we find that there'll come a point when God shuts the door, and no matter how much the people cried and whimpered, and the woman said, "Save my child, save my baby."
#8 | 3:37 to 4:56 | cleaned
Man, I was preaching to you for a hundred years. The day of salvation was there, it was extended. God's mercy was extended for a hundred years while Noah preached to those people. But he prepared an ark for the saving of his family. I'm making the assumption that the people I'm speaking to, you folks today, you're preppers. You're preparing an ark for the saving of your family. You're already about doing that, okay? And so that's why you're here, or you're here because you want to begin the process of preparing an ark, something for the saving of your family, the protection of your family.
#9 | 4:57 to 5:31 | cleaned
1 Timothy 5:8 tells us that "if any man provide not for his own house, he's worse than an infidel, and he's denied the faith." Wow, those are powerful words from Paul to Timothy.
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Now, we're going to assume that now the day of calamity has come, and people are asking—nay, they're pleading—for help. Can you scripturally turn someone away?
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Now, that's a hard question. That's a good question, isn't it? And I hope that I will lay a scriptural foundation today. So now the day of calamity has come. Ministers of God—John Weaver preaches all across the country—they've been preaching, teaching, "Flee the wrath to come, prepare for the wrath to come." And now people have come to you and said, they're pleading, "Help me, help me, help me."
#12 | 5:55 to 6:16 | cleaned
Can you scripturally turn them away? And so that's what we're going to look at today. What about Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:42 which says, "Give to them that ask of thee." We've got to make Scripture dovetail together here now. Jesus said, "Give to them that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow, turn thou not away." Okay? So as Christians, it's our desire to give in the name of the Lord. You already have, as a born-again Christian, you have a desire to minister and reach out in the name of the Lord and give.
#13 | 6:17 to 6:49 | cleaned
Most of you should be tithing, you should be giving offerings, and you should be giving alms. That's just part of Christian obedience and giving. We are to have willing, generous hearts, but we're also to be discerning in our giving. Open your Bibles to Psalm 112 and verse 5. Let's look at Psalm 112 and verse 5. Note what the Word of God says in Psalm 112 and verse 5.
#14 | 6:49 to 7:24 | cleaned
"A good man showeth favor and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion." Our giving and lending should be with discretion, should have a mind of the Lord behind us in these things. We just don't give willy-nilly to anyone and everyone. I'll show you that a little bit more. Up in Fresno, which is the city nearby us, there was a mother and a son. They had a sign out: "Mother and son needs help." And so I try to be led in my giving, you know, I don't particularly care for panhandlers, but I do give from time to time to a panhandler. I don't do to everyone that goes by, but sometimes I do give. And so, you know, that was a new one for me: mother and son need, you know, hard times, need help.
#15 | 7:24 to 8:04 | cleaned
And they had their basket. So I was at the stoplight and I watched the mother and son. And first of all, when a panhandler comes, I want to find out if they're smoking. If they're smoking, I'm not going to give to them. They can quit that nasty habit, as far as I'm concerned, and then save some money, especially when packs are $4 or whatever they are, a pack of cigarettes. That's a good way of saving some money real quick. So if they're smoking, I'm not likely to share a blessing with them. But then I watched this mother and son in action, and they were physically doing things that—and this was on the street, so it was nothing inappropriate—but mothers and sons don't act that way. So basically, you had an older cougar woman and a young man, and they were going under the facade of a mother and son because it touches our heartstrings.
#16 | 8:04 to 8:50 | cleaned
See, my heartstring was touched. "Oh, mother and son, maybe I want to help them." So, because it was a long stoplight, I had the opportunity to watch them, and then the burden on my heart was lifted. It's not a mother and son because mother and sons don't, you know, do that. So, we don't have to give to everyone that asks. How about—this is a kind of fun one—if Jesus meant in every single time, no matter what, giving to him that asks, none of us here could ever watch Christian television or Christian radio because all they do is ask. And every time you turn on the Christian television, you'd have to give to obey Jesus. You'd have to give and shout out to those guys. Every time you listen to Christian radio, you'd have to give because that's all they do is ask, ask, ask. So we need to have discretion, discernment even in our giving.
#17 | 8:51 to 9:39 | cleaned
Open your Bibles now, if you would, please, to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. Certainly, we have generous hearts and hearts that want to give in the name of the Lord. And I trust most of you out there, and I teach our people here at the Church at Cahuilla, they know they give to the Church at Cahuilla, but we as a family have missionaries that we help support. And you probably have missionaries that you help support. And the various alms-giving and offerings-giving that you do, we have generous hearts. But we want to be discerning in that which we do. So in Matthew chapter 25, we have here the parable of the virgins.
#18 | 9:41 to 10:16 | cleaned
So in verse 1, Jesus says, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish." We've got a lot of foolish people in America today. We've got some that are wise, praise God. I trust that some of you here. "They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them." No extra, extra on the shelf, right? No stockpiling. "But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Note that. Here's preppers here. They're stockpilers. They took their lamps. The foolish virgins had lamps too with oil in it. But the preppers took an extra cruise of oil with them, carried it in their pack or whatever they did, or in their arms, whatever the brides did, they carried extra oil, not knowing what circumstances might meet them in the future. Verse 4, "So the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps, while the bridegroom tarried."
#19 | 10:16 to 11:18 | cleaned
"They all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out."
#20 | 11:19 to 11:33 | cleaned
Now note, this is Jesus teaching. What do the five wise virgins say? So have this down in your Bibles. Verse 9, "But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you." So the five wise virgins turn away and say to the five foolish, "If we give you what we have, there won't be enough for us either." Isn't that interesting that Jesus would teach this?
#21 | 11:34 to 12:02 | cleaned
"But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." So here's one of the things we can do. Say, "Go to those that sell and buy for yourselves." DJ, could you do me a favor? I forgot to get in the emergency preparedness room—there should be that little carafe of what we're going to give to people on one of the shelves there. If not, it's not a big deal. You've got time. So, "Go to the city and buy."
#22 | 12:04 to 12:32 | cleaned
"I don't have for you." Your day of mercy in that area—people reached out. How many of you have friends? You've reached out. You've reached out. You've tried. You've tried. You've tried. You give them an article here. You give them an article there. You give them a CD here. You give them a tape there. We don't want any of that fanaticism or whatever the case may be. And so God's mercy has been reaching them.
#23 | 12:32 to 12:57 | cleaned
It's like the old joke. I don't have it down real well, but you know the point. Some guy's up on a rooftop and he's praying for the Lord to save him, right? In a big flood. And so a guy comes in a boat, and the guy says, you know, "I'm not going to go with you, I'm waiting for the Lord to save me." Then somebody else comes, and three different people come, and he keeps saying, "I'm waiting for God to save him," and so he drowns. He gets up to heaven, and he says, "God, why didn't you save me?" He says, "I sent three people right by you, and you didn't take the help." He was waiting for some great divine intervention or whatever. So what we tell them is, "I don't have for you."
#24 | 12:57 to 13:29 | cleaned
"I only have for my family and for those that are in my association." We'll talk about that in just a minute. "Go to the city and get it." Now open your Bibles. This is a fascinating verse—to Genesis 47, if you would please. Open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 47.
#25 | 13:29 to 13:45 | cleaned
This is, as you know, the story. This is where Joseph has taken—Pharaoh has taken him under his arm and he's prepared for the seven years of famine. Everybody knows the story really well. And I want to share with you just a little tidbit here that I think is really fascinating. And Joseph's a good man. They've stockpiled, you know, in all the treasure cities, they've got all these grains and all these granaries. Thank you, DJ. I appreciate that. And let me just—so this is what we give.
#26 | 13:56 to 14:22 | cleaned
We have, right now we have 50 of these printed up that we made when somebody comes in the day of calamity and they're not going to be allowed to come into this property, these premises, but we can give this to them. It's got a gospel tract. It's got, you know, a wire. It's got a Vienna sausage, some aspirin and, you know, sinkers and hooks and anything that we could think of.
#27 | 14:22 to 14:44 | cleaned
By the way, this is how you make a martini. But we could get these for a dollar at the dollar store. So we bought up all 50. See, our heart is a heart to give. If we had the money, I'd have bought 250 of these and stockpiled them. In the church, we all got together and had this big hands-on day where we filled all these things. So I got 50 of these to pass out to those that asked. And when that runs out, I've got to say, "Go to them in the city that have and buy from them."
#28 | 14:44 to 15:11 | cleaned
"We don't have any more for you." So in Genesis 47, there they are in there, the wieners, the Vienna sausages are in there. Some have them, some don't. So whatever we can do to try and help someone. See, your heart, as a Christian, is a heart that wants to help. We can't help it if people have hard, implacable hearts out there in Christianity. I just can't help that.
#29 | 15:11 to 15:34 | cleaned
So, that's why we're looking at the Scriptures here. So Joseph has prepared. The people come and now they're starving. It's interesting. Joseph, all these granaries, but why weren't the people—while Joseph, all these granaries are being built around them. Everybody knows in the kingdom there's seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. What about those homeowners that should have been preparing right along with Joseph? I mean, business was good. Granaries were being built. Everybody was employed.
#30 | 15:34 to 16:03 | cleaned
They had money for a change. Even the poor people, because all these things were being built and commerce was going on in the seven years of plenty. So when we get to verse 18 of chapter 47, verse 18, "And when the year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands."
#31 | 16:04 to 16:33 | cleaned
"Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate." So they're selling everything they can. They've already lost all their gold. They bought their gold for food. Now they'll sell their land, their animals, for food to eat. "And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's."
#32 | 16:34 to 17:05 | cleaned
By the way, you should have some precious metals. It may be that even in the state of California, with prices as crazy as they are in California, which I hate the fact that our land prices and home prices are so high here, it may be for a few pieces of gold you could get a nice piece of land. So just keep that in mind. You may be a little bit just like Joseph did.
#33 | 17:05 to 17:26 | cleaned
And as for the people he... Okay, look at verse 21. This is it. "As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof." What did he do? He brought them to the city.
#34 | 17:26 to 17:40 | cleaned
Now, Joseph wasn't a bad guy. He's a great man. It's easier to take care of the people in the cities. It's easier to get the bread lines going. You're not going to have a bread line up in Three Rivers. You've got to go to Visalia if you're going to want your bread, right? Get in a bread line. So they move them into the cities where it's easy to stand in line and get your bread and whatever and get some grain. But precisely what Joseph has done here, in a good way, is exactly what, for me in my house, we want to avoid. I don't want to go to the cities and stand in line and beg for bread, folks. I don't want to do that. I don't want to take my five-year-old son and have to play along with the federal government or the county government or the state's government game in order to get some food and then educate my son in their humanistic ways. You see that?
#35 | 17:40 to 18:32 | cleaned
So if we don't prepare for the day of calamity, we'll end up having to go like the five foolish virgins and be admonished, "Go into the city and buy from them," or go into the city and stand in line. And that's why I wanted to share this message with you. Do your preparations now. We'll be looking at that a little bit more tomorrow. This is exactly—and I think most of you—I don't want to go into the city and have to stand in line, huh? Amen?
#36 | 18:33 to 18:57 | cleaned
Control of my wife, my children then? No thank you. As for me and my house, this is precisely what we try to avoid: going into the city and standing in line for government dole. We may have to tell people to go to the cities and wait for the civil government to feed them. By the way, haven't they been relying upon the civil government for 20, 30 years anyway? Feasting from the big teat of a pig of civil government, the federal government?
#37 | 18:59 to 19:27 | cleaned
While you've been doing your best to make a living for your family and not rely upon them? Civil government? We've become religio-statists in America. That is, we're state worshipers.
#38 | 19:28 to 19:39 | cleaned
Now, we don't have that confession. Here again, we go back to our orthodoxy, our sound doctrine: Jesus Christ is Lord. He'll protect us. He'll provide for us. But our orthopraxy, our practice is, as soon as we have a problem, let's go to the feds for extra money. Let's go to the feds to bail us out here. We have a flood or whatever. Let's get some government loans. So our practice does not match what we're preaching too often times with the Christians. Prepare, yeah. So we may have to tell people to go to the cities and wait for the civil government to feed them.
#39 | 19:39 to 20:15 | cleaned
Remember, this was a choice they made a long time ago. You have to be blind not to see what's happening to our economy in America. You just have to be blind. And Pastor Tom McConnell does a great job of teaching on the fact that we need to repent in America for our economic system that is contrary to the Word of God. And more Christians need to understand that our fiat currency is actually an abomination on the side of God. We use unjust weights and measures in America, and it's an abomination. And we need to repent as Christians from that.
#40 | 20:15 to 20:48 | cleaned
So that's an aspect that is out there. So we have things that we want to give in the name of the Lord. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. So we have prepared a paper at the church at Cahuilla, that when people come and they would ask—because, I'll come back to that in just a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself. Luke chapter 16.
#41 | 20:49 to 21:17 | cleaned
This is the parable of the unjust steward. The unjust steward. "And Jesus said unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which was a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods." So this guy was actually not a, you know, he wasn't a good steward in helping this rich man take care of his possessions. "And he called him and said unto him, How is it I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer a steward." So this guy, he was, you know, siphoning off some of his master's money, and he wasn't investing it wisely and things like that.
#42 | 21:17 to 21:52 | cleaned
And so the master says, "I need to talk to you about this. You're gonna have to give an account because I found out, man, you've been chiseling on me." "Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For my lord taketh away from me the stewardship." He says, "I cannot dig." He says, you know, "I'm a guy that deals with money. I'm not going to go out with a shovel. I'm not a man you'll labor. And to beg," he says, "I'm ashamed. I'm not going to go out begging for my food. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship," he knows he's been a bad egg, and he knows he's going to lose his job.
#43 | 21:52 to 22:22 | cleaned
So what does he say? "I am resolved that when I'm put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses." This is the key to understanding why Jesus would commend an unjust steward in this particular case, is because he's thinking about his future. He knows he's going to lose his job, and so he's preparing for his future, and this is what he does. "So he called every man of his lord's debtors," verse 5, "unto him and said, Unto the first, How much owest thou my lord?"
#44 | 22:22 to 22:50 | cleaned
"And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, sit down quickly and write fifty." So he says, "Look, we'll just get—what we're going to do is, this is your lucky day. Give me fifty measures of oil. We'll call the whole thing even." And the guy says, "Wow. All right, let's do that. That's great. I mean, if I don't have to pay a hundred, I'll give you fifty. All right."
#45 | 22:52 to 23:08 | cleaned
Verse 7, "And he said to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill and write fourscore." So he says here, "I tell you, if you give me 80 measures of wheat right now, we'll take care of this thing and it'll be a done deal." So what he's doing is he's thinking about these guys. When he loses his job, he's going to go back to them and say, "Didn't I treat you right?"
#46 | 23:09 to 23:30 | cleaned
"Now help me out here a little bit. Didn't I make your bill and work it out for you? I need some help here." Verse 8, "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." And don't we see that all around us in some cases? The children of this world are wiser than the children of light. I think of the verse where the prophet laments and he says, "Who is so blind as my servant Jacob?" Doesn't it make us tremble sometimes that our Christian brothers and sisters are so blind? "Who is so blind as my servant Jacob?" And you see the heart of God going out of that. And the heart of God was there until the door of the ark was shut.
#47 | 23:30 to 24:17 | cleaned
And then now all of a sudden things changed. They couldn't get in when that door was shut. No matter how much the ladies screamed, no matter how much Noah heard the cries of the children, "Help us, help us, we're drowning." Nope, the door was shut. The day of opportunity. Mercy had been extended. Mercy is extended to America every day. The mercy of God is out here reaching a gainsaying people, reaching out to a people.
#48 | 24:19 to 24:41 | cleaned
So, the unjust steward, he's commended because he thought about and made plans for his future. Now Jesus in the primary context, obviously, he's teaching about that we better make plans for our eternal future. And so I'm speaking to Christians here today, and I trust you that you've made your future plans in eternity to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy Him forevermore. That's primary. We understand that. But Jesus is also teaching here the secondary application. We need to be aware of the future events in our future because Paul says parents are to lay up for the children in 1 Corinthians, not children for the parents. So inheritances and laying up for children is a scriptural thing that we can do. And so preparing and laying up in store is also a scriptural thing that we should, and it would be good that we participate in. So we need to make plans. I'm encouraging you today, if you haven't, make plans. If you've already made plans, make more plans.
#49 | 24:42 to 25:41 | cleaned
The stock market began to crash here about a month ago or a month and a half ago. You might remember when it dropped like 500 points in a couple of days. I sat down with my mom and with Jill and we talked about—and we've been prepping for a long time, alright?—what do we need? Is there something else we need to get? So we went and did a few more things.
#50 | 25:42 to 26:00 | cleaned
Made plans for our future! So we don't have to go beg to the civil government for what we might need. Open your Bibles, if you would please, to Ezra chapter 8.
#51 | 26:01 to 26:12 | cleaned
This is at the rebuilding of Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes, his heart's been touched by the Lord, as was Cyrus, to rebuild the house of God. God has put it on their heart. And so, King Artaxerxes loves Ezra. He's well-respected. And he says, "Ezra, you take whatever you need." Basically, he's got carte blanche to go help in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. And whatever needs to be done, you've got my backing. Here's the head of the then-known world saying to Ezra, "Whatever you need for Jerusalem," he's got the total blessing of King Artaxerxes. Now, Ezra is leaving with a whole big group of people, women, children, a giant caravan to go to Jerusalem to take the post of danger and begin to rebuild the walls and so forth. And so, he's got a whole bunch of people with him. It's a big crowd. It's a huge crowd with women and children, but it's not big enough to be a military force with all the women and children. But it's big enough as to where they would be a major target for the brigands that are in the area and the Midianites that are out there running around.
#52 | 26:20 to 27:27 | cleaned
And so he realizes that they're a prey. And he knows that he can ask King Artaxerxes—whatever King Artaxerxes, you know, within reason, King Artaxerxes, "Hey, could I have a couple of legions or could I have a couple hundred troops or whatever to help us?" He knows he can get that. He has the total blessing of King Artaxerxes. But look what he says. Verse 21, "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." That's a great prayer to pray, by the way. Pray for your little ones, and for our substance, that God would lead us in what we're to do and the way that we should go. Now, I love this.
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You guys underline this now, because this is not normal Christianity in 21st century America. Would to God the pastors of America knew this verse. Verse 22, "For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way." I was ashamed to ask the king for some help from the federal government. I didn't want to do it because I had been witnessing and testifying that those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He takes care of them. He watches over them. And so, I didn't want to ask him for help. He says, "I was ashamed to ask the king, the civil magistrate for help because I said," note what Ezra says here, he says, "because I've witnessed to him that the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him."
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"But his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us." He heard us. And He answered our prayer. So they go on this big, arduous journey through the desert to get to Jerusalem, and they make it safely. But notice what he says. And haven't we proclaimed—don't we as Christians proclaim the kingship of Jesus Christ? Don't we all echo with the words of David?
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"I was young, and for some of us, now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread." What have I need of the big teat of civil government in my life? Jesus Christ will supply my need. I tell you what, it's ABCs of Christianity. But how many don't get it anymore in America? And so when George Bush has his religious thing, what do they call that? The faith-based initiatives?
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The pastors line up to the syllabus. "Give me, give me, give me of this money. The faith-based initiatives. So we can build a new gymnasium for our youth group. So we can do this and we can do that." My, my, my, my. I don't want to be in a position. My hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Some trust in chariots, some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
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And He really is our source of supply. And He's given us the opportunity to be preparers and preppers right now. This is the day of mercy. We can do this. Now listen to this. Most Christians who are going to come to you in a short while if things go down further, most Christians today support seeker-friendly, name-it-and-claim-it, blab-it-and-grab-it churches, or just plain society-wise, largely irrelevant churches. All their tithes, their offerings are going to churches that don't matter a hill of beans in society.
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They're not reaching their community. They're not standing up. They're not setting their voices a trumpet and calling out to the civil magistrate like we do here when they get out of line. We have people that go to the local meetings here. We go every month. And I'm the only pastor that ever goes. Okay, Tim Orman. Thank you, brother. And I'm the only pastor that goes. Why? Because when I take a stand in a local town hall meeting, I may get on the wrong side of someone, and they're not going to give me five bucks, they're going to quit the church, and they're not going to put something on the offering plate. So pastors don't get involved because it costs them in the pew. It costs them in the pew. That's why they don't get involved. So now these Christians are going to come to you, and their needs are genuine, folks, and they're going to be heartfelt. And you're going to be looking and going, and their kids are hungry!
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And they supported seeker-friendly, name-it-and-claim-it, or just plain society-wise irrelevant churches all these years, and they knew better. Mark Twain, I love to quote this quote from Mark Twain. He says, "A patriot is a scarce man and scorned." You who are patriots today, you know how the church world thinks of you as an idiot, and even some of the worldly people. "A patriot is a scarce man and scorned. But when his cause succeeds, then the timid join, because then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Right now it costs you.
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They think you're a nut. They think you're a fanatic. It costs to live for the Lord Jesus Christ today and to prepare against the rainy day and the evil day approaching, the day of calamity. And by the way, just as a side note, as I preach this message, I am not—I am a post-millennial theonomist. And that is, I see the Kingdom of God advancing through time and eternity. So we're not up here in a retreat to just sit out until Jesus Christ comes back tomorrow at 12 o'clock. Not at all. It's a strategic withdrawal. If we make a withdrawal, it's a strategic withdrawal, so that we can be stronger later on to press the crown rights of King Jesus into every area of life that God calls us into. So this is not a message on retreatism at all in that sense. But it's to be strong so that we can press the crown rights of King Jesus. So when we do give out food or whatever it is that we're doing, we give a gospel tract.
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We continue to minister. How is it that you guys prepare? Well, this is the wisdom of God's Word. We explain to them what we did, especially to the unsaved. So many of us are making real sacrifices to have extra oil for our lamps. And you're warning people, "Get extra oil for your lamps." If they're foolish, they don't do it and they don't go to the marriage feast. Let me just say a word here on the lone wolf survivalist.
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We'll be looking at this a little bit tomorrow morning. You're kidding yourself, folks, if you think that you as an individual can take care of your land by yourself, whether you're in the city or in the country, and you're not going to be harmed. You can't stay awake 24 hours a day. It's going to take a minimum of four families. So we're encouraging you to get together.
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They call it doubling up. Read the book "Patriots." Highly recommended by Pastor Weaver and myself. Read the book "Patriots." You're not going to make it out there by yourself. You should have at least three, four, five, six families together to pull through, pull your resources together. And you know why we don't really do this? Because we're so self-centered in Christianity today that we can't live together with other people because we're so stinking self-centered.
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Now, when my father passed away three years ago, we moved up to my parents' house, and so we live with my mom. It's a four-bedroom house. It would be stupid for us to pay two electric bills on two houses, heat two houses in the summertime with two fireplaces and all the wood that that entails. So now we pull our resources. Sure, it's not always easy. My mom's back there right now.
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So we've invaded her home with our little five-year-old boy running around everywhere, and she's up in years. But I tell you what, folks, it's the right thing to do. John's been taking care of folks for a long time, he and Alice. It's the right thing to do. For years at this church, I would see a widow woman come, and we would try and help take care of them. And there would be half a dozen widow ladies through the years.
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We say, "Why don't you two sisters pool your sources together? You can watch out for one another, take each other to the doctor." "Oh no, we would never do that." It's selfish Christianity. Don't want to be bothered. Don't want to be bothered. So you need to begin the concept of doubling up and pooling resources and being close to families because we need the body of Christ. If you don't think so, you may think so six months from now. And then it's going to be tough to find someone.
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So I encourage you to seek out and do that. Prior to Y2K—DJ, let me know when I've gone, what, 50 minutes? Is that what you're going to do? Prior to Y2K, people would say to me, now this is very practical, "Are you really going to shoot me or stop me from taking some of your food?" We were known as a survivalist church back 10 years ago, 15 years ago. And so they would say to me, "You're not going to shoot me. You've known me for years in the community." Well, that's, you know, you're right. That's going to be kind of tough just because I'm taking some food for my family. But watch this.
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I would tell them that the decision was not mine alone, but the law of the community, because we had already had law and preparation in place so that the decision, if you violated the sanctity of this property, wasn't a decision that I made alone, but the community had made that decision. If trespassers will be shot or not. You see, that relieves you from an individual because you're linked up and what you actually have here is you have biblical law in the city gates, just like in the Old Testament time, that's being executed. For many reasons, everyone should be linked up with three or four families at a minimum so that the tough decisions can be made.
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In the multitude of counselors, folks, there's safety. So in the city gates, when you've got an area, you've got your four or five families together, you get together, the brothers and sisters you work with, "This is the law of our community, this is how we operate under the laws of God. So if somebody violates those laws, this is how we're going to deal with it." So you as an individual don't have to make that decision alone about that person that comes on and you catch them stealing from your larder.
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So for example, at church at Cahuilla, I won't be down monitoring the gates at the road because I know too many people and I'm too much of a softy. I may be preaching a little hard here this morning, but those that know me know I'm a little too soft. So I won't be down there. But there will be people that will be there. And who would we let in?
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Those that have financially been helping us. There's a family here that's been helping us for 15 years. Got a couple other guys that have just joined the last year sharing a little bit. They would certainly be welcome because they shared in the reproach and shared in the blessings. And this is not a—I'm not trying to hit anybody up. You know what I mean? You understand what I'm trying to say here. I'm just giving you an example.
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Those that have supported us, who also we might let in? Those who are RNs, registered nurses, doctors, machinists. Hey, if you're a machinist in a hard time, you can write your own ticket probably. You say, "I'm a journeyman welder and blah, blah, blah." "Oh, come on in, brother. We can use you." That's just being practical. That's just being practical.
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Now, let me close with a couple more thoughts. Go with me to Luke chapter 16. I'll just read the main verse here for the sake of time. Luke 16. This is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. And I'm going to make the assumption here that you guys know that story. And so the rich man is in hell and he's suffering. But notice here in verse 25, "But Abraham said, Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things."
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"You had it made, buddy. You were rich. And likewise, Lazarus' evil things." Remember, he was the beggar that had all these sores at the rich man's gate day by day so that he could maybe get some crumbs from the rich man's table. "But now, watch it, now he is comforted and you are tormented." There could be a reversal of roles here pretty quick in America. I don't know, but it could be. So that those who have prepared and are learning to live off the land may be comforted. And those who invested all their money in the latest plasma screen TV and the latest wave runner and didn't get some things up and get their heirloom seeds, now they're tormented and it's a reversal of roles. And notice Abraham just says here, "You had your good things. Now, Lazarus is comforted." So we may have an experience of comfort at some time, knowing that we have prepared and we have these things to make it a little bit easier in life, and they had all their great things and all the things that they did, and now they're being tormented.
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It's a reversal of roles, and that's just the way it is sometimes. That's just life. And so we need to be aware of these verses when people come to us, so that we do have a biblical reason why we may say, "I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you." Or, "Here, this is what I have. Please go and don't come back. If you do, you'll be considered a trespasser and you don't want to go there." Whatever the case may be. Now here's one. What about those who come to you and say—this especially applies to some of you in the church world who have been in church a long time.
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"Hey, I helped you years ago. Hey, you remember me, Pastor Warnmark? I came to your conference back in 1997. I'm at the gate. I need help. I came to your conference in '98. Do you remember me? Hey, I helped you years ago," and they try to put a guilt trip on you. Maybe they were a prepper with you 10 years ago, and they said, after Y2K, they sold all their generators, and they sold everything.
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"It's a bunch of nonsense. Don't worry about it." And now they come. You say, "Remember me 10 years ago, Y2K? We worked together." Open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5. This is the answer, your Scripture answer. Because that puts a real guilt trip, boy. "Hey, didn't we do this five years ago? Didn't we work together?" And boy, "Yeah, yeah, you were a good man." Galatians 5 and verse 7. Paul says to the Galatians, "You did run well. You did start out good. Yeah, we were linked up years ago. You did run well. Who did hinder you?"
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"that you should not obey the truth." Now, I know the primary context here is they've gone back into Judaism and into legalism. They started out in the kingdom of God in faith, and now their walk is one of works and not by faith anymore. And so he says, "You started out well in the liberty that we have in Christ Jesus. Who did hinder you? Why did you turn away?" And I would ask the same person that would come to me and say, "Remember, Pastor Mark, we used to go to your church back in the 90s. We used to come to your dad's church back in the 80s." "Oh yeah, you did. Why did you quit? What was it about Dad's message in the 80s that turned you away? Who did hinder you? It wasn't Dad, it wasn't me that you should turn away."
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And now you're asking for help. Some may say this message is too hard. I don't want to think about it. Making the decision as to who in your family eats or doesn't eat because you didn't prepare will be even a much harder decision. So we're going through hard decisions. This is our orthopraxy. This is the practice of how we believe and act upon what we believe. These are tough decisions. I'm not kidding. I can talk tough because I'm preaching to the choir here today, up here from the pulpit. But certainly they're tough, gut-wrenching decisions. But remember, if you have a group of people that you're in nucleus with, those decisions will be easier because you're not making it alone. Making the decision as to who in your family eats or doesn't eat because you didn't prepare, those people are going to have some really tough decisions. Some really tough decisions.
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Let me close this illustration of the Vilna Ghetto. Everybody's heard of the Warsaw Ghetto. I didn't realize until just recently, there was ghettos all over the big cities. Well, there's a movie, it's a documentary, you can get it on the Vilna Ghetto up there and up above the Belarus region from where you guys saw that movie. And so the Jews in World War II, they always had a tough time. I don't know why.
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This whole book is a book of theology of resistance. And of course, they don't really reject the teachings of Jesus. And so they got the Old Testament. And why they didn't fight more, it just blows my mind when they've got, you know, all the stories of David and Goliath and, you know, Ehud and on and on and on with all the great prophets and, you know, that led them in battle and all that. But so they got to build this big ghetto. And after a while, the Jews said, "You know what?"
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"We're tired of being systematically picked out one by one, here or there. Some of us are going to fight." And the leaders are saying, "Oh, no, no, no, don't do that. Don't do that. It's going to get us all in trouble." And so some of them said, "OK, we're going over here and we're going to fight. We're just not going to lay and play dead and be cowards any longer." They couldn't take it. So they get this one section of the city, of the ghetto, and they're saying this is a resistance, partisan warfare.
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And by the way, we may talk about this a little bit more tomorrow. Those of you that are now in groups that are too small to be a full-fledged or official militia, DJ and I are hoping to produce a new video of the church here on partisan warfare. That will change that complexion a little bit, so you need to understand partisan warfare. Tremendous history on partisan warfare.
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Alright, but in the Vilna Ghetto, so some of the Jews and the smaller said, "We're going to fight." So this guy, he's watching the gate. True story.
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Now this is a documentary. True story. You can see his heart when he's talking about it. They've been interviewing him throughout the story and the narration. He says, "One day," he says, "my mother came to me and says, 'Son, what can I do? What should I do?'" She didn't make the decision to go in with the resistors. She's starving. She needs help. And this son with a broken heart says, "Mom, I can't let you in. I have other mothers to protect." Watch the documentary, Vilna Ghetto. Can you imagine that? His old mom, no, she wouldn't be a pacifist.
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"No, no, we'll just wait it out." She wouldn't go. She wouldn't be the scorned patriot or put her life on the line, on the front lines with the other families.
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Now he has a different mother to protect. How about that, folks? He has other mothers now. Praise God. Do you understand the power of that? Not just bloodline—I always say, "Blood is thicker than water." But in the Kingdom of God, it should not be so. It should not be so in the Kingdom of God. Your brothers and sisters, if your parents do not know the Lord, there should be a strong tie to that brother or sister because they're your brother or sister or mother of Israel. As Deborah was called a mother in Israel, the old term, mother of Israel. So he said to his own mother, "No, you can't come in now because I have other mothers to protect." Making the tough decisions, folks.
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People have—and I'm closing—people have made agonizing decisions in the past because it was the right and charitable thing to do. If you have any questions about today's message, feel free to ask me about it. May God have mercy—and I end it—may God have mercy on us all. I don't want to be cocky up here. I don't want to be arrogant. But we have to make difficult decisions sometimes, and they could be facing us very shortly.
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Father in Heaven, we thank You for these folks that have listened so intently, Lord. Lord, I did my best to share Your word and the fact that we can biblically turn people away. So, Father, may these things sink deep down into our ears. Thank You for Your blessings thus far in the conference. God, continue. We need an outpouring of Your Spirit. Give these folks a restful lunch, Lord, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:00:07Z

God's Special Manifest Mercy

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver addresses the tough decision of whether Christians can biblically turn away those who ask for help during a time of calamity. He argues that Scripture supports discretion in giving, preparation for one's own household, and community-based defense, using examples from Noah, the wise virgins, Joseph, Ezra, and the unjust steward. The message emphasizes that orthopraxy (practice) must align with orthodoxy (belief), and that making hard decisions now—such as preparing, linking with other families, and establishing community law—will make future crises more manageable.

Introduction: Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy

Noah: Preparing an Ark for Your Family

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 11:7

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

The Wise and Foolish Virgins: Discretion in Giving

Joseph in Egypt: Avoiding the City and Government Dole

Scripture Reading — Genesis 47:18-21

"And when the year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands." "Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate."

So they're selling everything they can. They've already lost all their gold. They bought their gold for food. Now they'll sell their land, their animals, for food to eat.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 47:18-21

"And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's."

While you've been doing your best to make a living for your family and not rely upon them? Civil government? We've become religio-statists in America. That is, we're state worshipers.

The Unjust Steward: Planning for the Future

Ezra: Ashamed to Ask the King for Help

You guys underline this now, because this is not normal Christianity in 21st century America. Would to God the pastors of America knew this verse. Verse 22,

Scripture Reading — Ezra 8:21-22

"For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way."

Scripture Reading — Ezra 8:21-22

"I was ashamed to ask the king, the civil magistrate for help because I said,"

note what Ezra says here, he says,

Scripture Reading — Ezra 8:21-22

"because I've witnessed to him that the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him."

Community and the Law of the Gates

The Rich Man and Lazarus: Reversal of Roles

Answering Those Who Once Ran Well

The Vilna Ghetto: A Son's Agonizing Decision

God's Special Manifest Mercy

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	816078203110
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Genesis: Early World, Judgment, and the Nations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2001-04-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 075: Genesis — Chapter 28
Source Timed Segments	90

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy: Weaver introduces the conference theme of making tough decisions and frames the question: can we biblically turn people away? He defines orthodoxy (sound doctrine) and orthopraxy (practice), noting that many Christians fail to align the two, especially in areas like self-defense and preparation.
Noah: Preparing an Ark for Your Family: Using Hebrews 11:7, Weaver highlights Noah's preparation for his household and the limited window of mercy. He draws a parallel to modern preppers preparing for their families, emphasizing 1 Timothy 5:8 on providing for one's own.
The Wise and Foolish Virgins: Discretion in Giving: Weaver examines Matthew 25:1-9, where the wise virgins refuse to share their oil, saying there may not be enough for both. He argues this teaches that it is biblically permissible to turn away those who ask, directing them instead to 'go to them that sell.'
Joseph in Egypt: Avoiding the City and Government Dole: From Genesis 47, Weaver shows how Joseph moved people into cities for easier distribution, but notes that preppers want to avoid being forced into city bread lines. He warns against reliance on civil government and encourages preparation to maintain independence.
The Unjust Steward: Planning for the Future: In Luke 16, the unjust steward is commended for wisely planning for his future. Weaver applies this to Christians making practical preparations now, including financial and material stockpiling, to avoid future dependence on the state.
Ezra: Ashamed to Ask the King for Help: Ezra 8:21-22 shows Ezra refusing military aid from the pagan king because he had testified that God protects those who seek Him. Weaver uses this to argue that Christians should not rely on civil government but trust God and prepare accordingly.
Community and the Law of the Gates: Weaver stresses the necessity of linking with multiple families for security and shared resources. He explains that tough decisions about trespassers and resource allocation are easier when made as a community under biblical law, rather than individually.
The Rich Man and Lazarus: Reversal of Roles: From Luke 16:25, Weaver suggests a possible future reversal where prepared believers are comforted while the unprepared suffer. He warns that those who invested in luxuries instead of preparation may face torment.
Answering Those Who Once Ran Well: Using Galatians 5:7, Weaver addresses those who might claim past association to guilt believers into sharing. He argues that those who turned away from the truth have no claim on the community's resources.
The Vilna Ghetto: A Son's Agonizing Decision: Weaver closes with a true story from the Vilna Ghetto where a Jewish resistor refused entry to his own mother because he had other mothers to protect. This illustrates the extreme tough decisions that may be required.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Discretion in giving is biblical

Jesus' command to 'give to him that asketh' does not require indiscriminate giving; Scripture teaches discretion and discernment in charity.

Weaver cites Psalm 112:5 ('guide his affairs with discretion') and the example of the wise virgins who refused to share oil.

Preparation is a form of providing for one's household

1 Timothy 5:8 condemns those who do not provide for their own; preparing for future needs is a fulfillment of this command.

Weaver directly quotes 1 Timothy 5:8 and ties it to Noah's preparation of the ark for his family.

Refusing help can be an act of faithfulness

Ezra's refusal to ask the king for military aid was based on his testimony that God protects His people; similarly, Christians should not compromise their witness by seeking state help.

Weaver reads Ezra 8:22 and emphasizes Ezra's shame at asking the king after proclaiming God's protection.

Community law mitigates individual guilt

When a community establishes rules for defense and resource allocation, individuals are not solely responsible for turning away the needy or using force.

Weaver explains that at his church, the community has pre-agreed rules, so he personally does not have to make the decision to shoot a trespasser.

Past association does not obligate present help

Those who once walked with the faithful but later turned away have no claim on the community's resources, as Paul's words in Galatians 5:7 indicate.

Weaver applies Galatians 5:7 to hypothetical former associates who abandoned preparation and now seek help.

Scripture References

Hebrews 11:7: Noah's preparation of the ark for the saving of his household, used as a model for modern preppers.
1 Timothy 5:8: The command to provide for one's own household, cited as a mandate for preparation.
Matthew 5:42: Jesus' teaching to give to those who ask, which Weaver argues must be balanced with other Scriptures.
Psalm 112:5: A good man guides his affairs with discretion, used to support discerning giving.
Matthew 25:1-9: The parable of the wise and foolish virgins; the wise refuse to share oil, saying there may not be enough.
Genesis 47:18-21: Joseph moves the people into cities during famine; Weaver uses this to warn against ending up in government bread lines.
Luke 16:1-8: The unjust steward is commended for planning for his future; applied to making practical preparations.
Ezra 8:21-22: Ezra refuses to ask the king for military help because he had testified of God's protection.
Luke 16:25: The rich man is tormented while Lazarus is comforted; a possible reversal of roles for the unprepared.
Galatians 5:7: Paul asks who hindered the Galatians from obeying the truth; applied to those who once prepared but turned away.

Historical References

Vilna Ghetto (World War II): A Jewish resistor refused entry to his own mother because he had other mothers to protect, illustrating tough decisions.
Mark Twain quote on patriots: A patriot is scorned until his cause succeeds; applied to preppers who are mocked until crisis proves them right.
Y2K preparations: Weaver references the Y2K scare as a time when people prepared and then sold off supplies, only to potentially need them later.
Faith-based initiatives under George Bush: Weaver criticizes churches that sought government funding, contrasting it with Ezra's refusal of state help.

Important Quotes

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Weaver uses this verse to establish Noah as a model prepper who prepared for his family's salvation.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you.

This is the key verse from the parable of the virgins that Weaver uses to justify refusing to share limited resources.

A patriot is a scarce man and scorned. But when his cause succeeds, then the timid join, because then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

Weaver quotes Mark Twain to encourage preppers who face ridicule for their preparations.

Mom, I can't let you in. I have other mothers to protect.

The climactic illustration from the Vilna Ghetto showing the extreme nature of tough decisions.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what areas of your life does your orthopraxy (practice) fail to match your orthodoxy (belief)?

[Context]

Weaver introduces the concept of orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy and challenges believers to align their actions with their stated beliefs.

[Question]

How do you balance Jesus' command to 'give to him that asketh' with the need for discretion and provision for your own family?

[Context]

Weaver addresses the tension between Matthew 5:42 and the examples of the wise virgins and Joseph.

[Question]

What practical steps can you take now to avoid having to rely on civil government in a future crisis?

[Context]

Weaver uses Ezra's example to encourage independence from state provision and emphasizes preparation.

[Question]

Why is it important to link up with other families for survival, and what obstacles might prevent Christians from doing so?

[Context]

Weaver argues that lone wolf survivalism is impractical and that community is essential for security and decision-making.

[Question]

How should a Christian community decide who to admit or exclude during a crisis, and what biblical principles should guide those decisions?

[Context]

Weaver discusses the law of the community and the criteria for letting people in, such as prior support or needed skills.

[Question]

How would you respond to someone who claims past association with you as a reason for receiving help, even though they abandoned preparation?

[Context]

Weaver uses Galatians 5:7 to address guilt trips from former associates.

Applications

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