...so much good truth in these chapters, but God I just pray that you would speak to our hearts through the message this morning
and speak to us all in a special way today, dear God, and thank you for those that have made the time to come to church to be here on a Sunday morning, dear God,
and they could be out at the lake somewhere or doing something else, but dear God, they love you and they've chosen to obey you and be in church
and please bless them in a special way for that, and in Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Now my text verse this morning is in 1 Peter 2.17. There are those four short phrases.
I love these short type phrases in the Bible. I love it when God just puts something in a very clear, short way.
I love the verse John 11.35, Jesus wept, and then God says, period.
Let's move on to the next verse because that in and of itself was a profound enough thought, but I love that statement.
The second statement is the one that I'm going to be preaching on this morning, Love the Brotherhood.
That's the title of my sermon this morning, Love the Brotherhood.
There are certain verses that I have that are some of my favorite verses maybe, verses that I think about all the time,
verses that come into my mind on an almost daily basis, verses that I live my life by.
There are people that say that they have a certain life's verse. They say this is my life verse.
Well, I don't know if I have a life verse, but I have several verses that I think about constantly
that are in my mind all the time that I live by that are maybe a motto for me,
and this is one of them that I think about all the time, those three words, Love the Brotherhood.
We're living in a day where love does not abound. Let's face it.
And you may say, well, what are you talking about? Look, I'm not talking about the way the world sees love.
I'm talking about real, genuine love that people have in their hearts for one another.
We're living in an unloving time.
Well, it's no wonder the Bible says in Matthew 24, verse number 12, I'll just read this for you.
It says, and this is prophesying about the end times when it would be shortly before Jesus would come back in Matthew 24.
He said, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
That's what God said would happen. He said, look, the world's going to continue to become more and more sinful,
and as a result, the love of many shall wax cold.
Well, what does it mean to love the brotherhood? What is the brotherhood? What does that mean?
Well, I looked it up in the Bible. That word's only used twice.
And the other time, it's talking about something completely different.
It's talking about two men that are literally brothers in the Old Testament.
And so this word brotherhood, I'm going to give you a few different aspects of what this verse means to me,
what I think God is trying to express to us here.
When he gives us this command, love the brotherhood.
Well, number one, I think we ought to love the brotherhood of the local church right here, this church right here.
Faithful Word Baptist Church. This church is a brotherhood.
Now, don't ever minimize the importance of church, and don't ever misunderstand what church is.
Most people, and you say everybody knows what church is.
Look, the average person today does not know what church means.
They'll say, oh, they built a new church. That's not what church means.
I mean, that's a misuse of the word.
To say, oh, when are you going to get a church, Pastor Anderson?
When are you going to build a church?
Look, a church is not a building. Never in this book will you find a church referred to as a building.
Or they'll talk about the Catholic Church.
And they're just talking about some kind of a big organization worldwide.
Look, a church is a congregation of people.
I'm talking about a local assembly of people.
God calls it the congregation.
And he says the local church, he said in Acts 20-28,
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made you overseers,
to feed the church of God, watch this, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
That's the value that God places on the local church.
You say, I'm not sure whether church is important.
I mean, I know it's important to read the Bible.
I know it's important to love God.
I know it's important to be saved and have Jesus in your heart.
But is it important, church?
You say, well, okay, let's put a price tag on it, shall we?
Let's put a dollar amount on the local church.
And again, I'm talking about the assembling of ourselves together.
What kind of a dollar value will you put on the blood of Jesus Christ?
Because that's what he bought it with.
I mean, if you were to come to the table and say, I'd like to purchase the local church,
I'd like to buy the church, it would cost you the value of the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
Now that's pretty important.
That's huge.
That's more than all the money in the whole world.
The value of one drop of the blood of Jesus Christ.
The blood that was sprinkled on the mercy seat seven times.
The blood that is there right now, according to Hebrews chapter 12, that is speaking, the Bible says.
The blood that speaketh better things than that of Abel's.
The blood that cries out to God, being justified freely by his grace.
The blood that cries out and says, you're forgiven, you're saved eternally.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
That's what that blood is speaking today.
Look, that's valuable commodity.
And that's the blood that paid for us to have the opportunity to attend a local church this morning.
So I'm talking about, number one, I'm talking about loving the brotherhood of the local church.
See, the Bible says in 1 John 3, 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
I'm God's son, and if you're born again saved this morning, then you're God's son or daughter, whatever the case may be.
And so, look, that makes us brothers and sisters.
That means that I'm your brother.
That means that you're my brother. That means you're my sister.
And so that's what God's talking about here when he says to love the brother.
The Bible says in the book of John chapter 12, he said,
Hereby shall all men know that you're my disciples, that you love one another.
That's what he said.
He said the way that people are going to tell that you're following Jesus Christ is when you have love one for another.
When you love the brotherhood.
You say, well, don't you love everybody?
There's a difference between the love that I have for everybody and the difference between the love that I have for the brethren.
I'll face it. I mean, I'll just be honest with you.
That I love the brotherhood more than I love to say anybody.
That's the truth.
Now, if you look, if you would, at Matthew chapter 12.
We were here not too long ago, but as always is the case on our Wednesday night Bible studies.
Whenever we get to the end of the chapter, I'm just kind of blowing through it just to get done.
And so I don't always have enough time to preach what I want to preach from the end of some of the chapters.
So look at Matthew chapter 12. Look at verse number 46.
Matthew 12, 46. I want to show you this great chapter in the Bible.
Matthew 12, 46. I'll read this for you.
The Bible reads in Matthew 12, 46,
While he yet talked to the people, speaking of Jesus Christ, of course,
While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee.
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother and who are my brethren?
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren,
for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same as my brother and sister and mother.
You see what he's saying here? He's saying, look, yes, I know that you have family.
I know that you have relationships with your family.
And I don't think he's minimizing here his mother and his brethren.
I don't think he's criticizing his mother at all.
I mean, his mother was outside, his brethren.
Did you know that Jesus had four half-brothers while he was on this earth?
Their names were James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
He also had at least three sisters because the Bible says, and his sisters, are they not all with us?
The word all means three or more. Couldn't be two there.
So he came from a family of eight.
And so here's the thing. He's not saying here, I don't care about my mom.
Nuts to my mom. That's not what he's saying.
He's not saying, my brother, tell him to go stick it.
He doesn't believe on me. That's not what he's saying.
He's using his mother and his brethren as the measuring stick
by which to say, this is how much I love my disciples.
This is how much I love the brotherhood.
Because the brotherhood here is just as important to me.
I mean, I love these people that are listening to me preach right now.
He's saying, just like I love my own mother.
Just like I love my brother that's out there waiting for me.
This is my mother. These are my sisters.
These are my brethren that do the will of my father, which is in heaven, is what he's saying.
He's saying, look, this is the kind of love that I have for my fellow Christian.
This is the kind of love that I have for the local church here.
It's like my family.
And see, you won't find the word family used ever in relationship to the church.
You'll find it called the brethren. You'll find it called brotherhood.
Because, you know, I'm not daddy up here preaching.
This isn't daddy preaching to the kids. I'm just your brother.
And see, daddy's up in heaven.
That's why I'm not going to be called father.
That's why my call is not turned around backwards right now.
Because I'm not anybody's father. I'm just one of the brotherhood.
I'm one of the brethren of this church.
God is the father up in heaven.
And so, it's not a family. It's a brotherhood.
That's what it is. And let me tell you something.
God commands you to love the brotherhood.
So number one, I'm talking about the brotherhood of the local church.
How much do I love Faithful Word Baptist Church like it's my own family?
Like it's my own brothers and sisters?
How much do I love you that have been with me, that have been coming, that have been coming to meet with me?
Pretty much a lot of people that are here have been here since almost day one.
And how much do I love you? Like you're my own mother.
Like you're my own sister. Like you're my own brother. And I mean that.
Because I love the brotherhood. I love this local church.
I love Faithful Word Baptist Church. Let me ask you something.
Do you love Faithful Word Baptist Church? Or do you just show up here every once in a while?
Do you just come here when it's convenient for you because it's just something that you do?
You go to church because you're a Christian. Or do you come here because you love Faithful Word Baptist Church?
And you say, well, Faithful Word Baptist Church is not huge.
Well, let me tell you something. It is huge.
And let me tell you something. You ought to have a vision for the future of this church.
You ought to have a vision for what this church could be.
You ought to have a vision for what God's going to do in this church.
You ought to love Faithful Word Baptist Church.
See, Faithful Word Baptist Church is not Stephen L. Anderson.
Faithful Word Baptist Church is the brotherhood of me and you and everybody.
And we're all with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
That's what Faithful Word Baptist Church is.
Do you love to be a part of this church?
Do you love to come here and be with people that are like-minded believers in the things of God that love Jesus Christ?
Do you love to come here and be with your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Do you love the people that are in this room right now like you love your own family?
Do you love the people that are not here but that have been with us?
That have been a part of this church? That are not here for whatever reason?
I was thinking about Virginia. She couldn't be here this morning. She called me.
Hey, do you notice that when you get here? Do you notice and see, hey, she's always here. Where is she?
Are you going to pray for her this afternoon and say, God, I don't know why she wasn't here,
but I'm going to pray that she'll be back tonight and we'll be with her again?
Hey, everybody who's ever come to this church has a special place in my heart.
Every visitor. I sat down this week. I got out the visitor cards.
And I was just going through the visitor cards.
I mean, even just people passing through that are from out of town.
They're probably never going to be back here.
They're probably never going to come back through here.
They may never be in town again. They're never going to join this church, perhaps.
But I still have a special place in my heart for everybody who's ever been with us here in this church.
And see, you ought to love the people in this church.
Hey, you ought to pray for the people in this church that are under attack.
The devil's attacking them. The devil wants them out of church.
The devil wants them to ruin their life.
The devil wants them to think that, oh, what's the use anyway? I can't serve God anyway.
I think I'll just throw in the towel. I think I'll just get out of church.
And God says, are you praying for them? Are you on your knees begging God?
Oh, God, don't let them be a casualty, God. Oh, God, bring them back with us to the brotherhood here.
Love the brotherhood is what God's saying.
Now, how do we express our love in the local church?
And look, I put this point in here just because it's a Sunday morning,
and I don't want you to think I'm going soft on you like I'm just, you know, preaching out in love or something, okay?
Hey, you know what? I'm not one of these pastors that's for everybody hugging each other in church, you hear me?
I'm talking about men and women hugging each other. Yeah, this is more like, you're like, Pastor Anderson's back.
Hey, look, I hug my wife, and you know what? When a woman comes up to me and wants to hug me, I always do the same thing.
I just go like this. I take a step back and I put my hand out and say, hey, put her there, pal.
And I say, look, I only hug my wife, thank you.
You say, well, I was thinking about just growing up, it just makes me laugh because I've been in so many churches,
and I'm still the hugger, you know, that comes, okay?
There's always that guy who just wants to hug everybody. He wants to hug everybody else's wife.
He wants to hug the teenage girls. He wants to hug all the kids and everything.
And I've even seen pastors who will hug their church members' wives.
They'll hug the teenage girls in their youth group.
And you're thinking, oh, that's so sweet, you know, what's wrong with that?
I mean, he just loves them. He just wants to hug.
Hey, look, I'll tell you something. Any man knows exactly what's wrong with them.
They're naive about these things, and they just say, oh, well, you know, he's sweet or whatever.
Hey, look, I'm going to tell you something. I happen to be a man,
and I know that men don't just hug teenage girls because they're filled with the love of God,
and they don't hug other people's wives because they're filled with the love of God.
There's no reason for a man to be placing his hands on my wife,
and if he does, I'm going to break his hand or I'm going to kill him or whatever the case may be,
because, look, I don't want somebody touching my wife.
The Bible says it's good for a man not to touch a woman.
The Bible says, so is he to go within unto his brother's wife.
Whosoever touches her shall not be guiltless.
This is my wife, and I don't want anybody to have their hands on my wife.
I don't think anybody should have their... I'm not going to have my hands on somebody else's wife.
Hey, that's just Christianity. That's just the Bible. That's just the things of God.
And you say, well, but I know this pastor, and it's just a southern thing.
It's just down in the south people touch each other, right? You know what I'm talking about?
Down in the south, well, that's just the way we are.
Down in the south, we just want to hug everybody.
Hey, look, pastor. Hey, preacher, don't tell me that you're not getting a kick out of that,
or else don't shake my hand, because I'm worried about you if you're not.
You say, well, that doesn't bother me. I just don't feel anything.
Well, then, you know what? Get away from me, pervert.
Because, hey, a man should not be touching a woman in that way,
because I'm going to tell you something.
You better be careful.
You better be careful when you start getting around other people too much
and hugging and everything like that.
I've seen the people fall into adultery. I've seen the people fall into sin.
I've seen it all the time.
And so I'm going to walk guard around myself.
And the reason that I'm bringing this into the sermon right now
is because I want to say this.
That's what love has been reduced to.
Like, if you love somebody, you must be just having your hands all over them.
I mean, that's what it's been reduced to, let's face it.
I'm trying to explain to you this morning what love really is.
Look, love does not mean, well, I just have to hug and kiss all over everybody.
Look, that's what the television has reduced love to.
That's what Hollywood has reduced love to.
It's just a physical act. That's what love is.
Right? You know, I'll tell you something.
There are men, many times, frequently, that I've said to a man,
I love you. Okay?
And you say, well, that's goofy.
Look, that's because you don't understand what love is.
You think love is just some physical thing.
I've said many times to another man, I love you.
Because I was expressing my love to another man
because it's just the godly, brotherly love of the brotherhood that I'm talking about.
Look, love doesn't mean that you have to be all physical with everybody.
Love means, I'll show you what it means.
Look, if you would, to 1 John, chapter number 3.
And, you know, there is a physical aspect of love that's between a man and a woman in a marriage.
And it's commanded by God, it's ordained by God.
But that's not all there is to love.
There's a lot more to it than love.
My wife is not the only person that I love.
There's other people that I love in another way.
Let me show you this in 1 John, chapter 3.
Let me turn there myself, 1 John, chapter number 3.
And look at verse number 16.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us,
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need,
and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
See, how do you love another person?
How do you love the brotherhood of this local church on the first point here?
Well, do you pray for the people in this church?
I mean, do you think about the people in this church, maybe what they're going through,
and pray for them that God would bless them?
Pray for them that God would help them?
Pray for them that the devil would not attack them, that they could grow and be strong in the Lord?
Do you help people out when they need a hand with something?
You know, I mean, would you help your mother out?
Would you help your sister out?
Would you help your brother out?
Hey, do you help people when they have need?
And I'm not talking about some kind of an involuntary thing where these idiots call me on the phone every week,
you know, expecting me to pay their rent literally every week.
You know, calling me up, wanting a handout, that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm not talking about somebody asking for something.
I'm talking about somebody giving something.
You see the difference there? It's totally the opposite.
I'm talking about you out of the goodness of your heart saying,
I want to help my brother out.
I want to help my sister out.
I want to show some love to the brotherhood here.
I want to love the brotherhood, not in word.
I don't just go around, oh, I love you, I love you, I love you.
Not in tongue, where it's just flapping your tongue about love,
but why don't you love in deed and in truth?
You see that?
Deed is when you do something for somebody else.
Deed is when you do something to express your love.
Truth is when it's true that you really love them
and that you're loving them in sincerity out of a pure heart before God.
Look, if you would, let me turn the page here and get to my next scripture.
Look, if you would, at 1 John chapter 4. This is on the next page.
1 John chapter 4, verse number 7, the Bible says,
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God,
and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.
And this was manifested, the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten son into the world
that we might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
You see, the way that God loved us, when it says God so loved us,
it means he loved us in this way.
He loved us in this quantity.
He loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son.
He loved us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for his friends, he said.
And that is, he said, greater love hath no man than this,
than that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Let me read this verse for you, 1 Peter 1.22, you don't have to turn there.
Seeing ye have purified your souls,
that's talking about salvation,
in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren.
See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently.
See, unfeigned love of the brethren,
that's talking about you don't have some ulterior motive.
It means you're not a fake and a phony and a fraud
who comes to church and puts on a show,
but that you in your heart have unfeigned love of the brethren fervently, he says.
Fervently, the word fervent means it's like a fire.
That's where it comes from, F-E-R at the beginning there.
Fervent, like the Bible talks about them heating up the furnace in Daniel chapter 3.
It says the elements would melt with a fervent heat in 2 Peter chapter 3.
The Bible says here, they're to love one another fervently, unfeigned.
It's not fake, it's real.
Look, only you know whether the love that you have for somebody else is real
or whether you're just in it for yourself,
or whether you just care about yourself,
whether you just love yourself or whether you love the brotherhood
as if it's your own mother, as if it's your own brother, as if it's your own sister.
If you've purified your soul, if you've obeyed the truth through the Spirit,
if you've been saved, if you've perceived the love of God,
that means you understand what Jesus Christ did for you,
and you perceive the love of God, then you'll love your brethren.
Look at the next chapter. This whole book of 1 John is filled with this theme.
But look at 1 John chapter 5.
Whosoever believeth...
Man, I love the first two words of that chapter. Isn't that great?
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,
and everyone that loveth him that beget loveth him also that is begotten of him.
Now, do you see what that's saying?
He's saying here, everybody who loves God, that's him that beget,
loveth him also that is begotten of him.
You say, well, that's Jesus. No, look at the next verse.
By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments.
He's saying, look, if you love God, then you must love those whom God has begotten.
You must love the children of God.
He says, look, no, no, no. You hate your brother?
He says you don't love God. You hate the brethren?
You hate the brotherhood? You don't love God.
Because, he says, everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments.
He says, look, loving God and loving the brotherhood is like one and the same.
It's like two peas in a pod. You can't have one without the other.
He says, look, if you're having trouble loving the brotherhood,
then he says, love me and keep my commandments and you'll begin to love the brotherhood.
He says, wait a minute, you don't love the brotherhood at all?
You don't love me then.
See, you work on both of them because you can't have the one without the other.
Don't tell me you love God when you don't love the brotherhood.
Don't tell me you love God when you don't love the brotherhood with an unfeigned love that's not in it for yourself.
There's nothing that you have to gain from it. It's not an ulterior motive.
But it's a genuine, sincere love that just says, you're more important than I am.
What can I do for you?
I'm willing to sacrifice myself for you.
I'm willing to lay down my life for you, my friends.
That's what love is. That's what real love is.
I'm not talking about what Hollywood thinks love is.
I'm talking about what the Bible thinks love is.
And you know what? The world does not understand what love is.
And I'll tell you why. We just read it.
Everyone that loveth God, I'm sorry, and everyone that loveth, the Bible says,
everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
Can an unsaved person truly love another human being? No.
Because they're not born of God. They don't know God.
God is love. And everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.
That's what the Bible says.
See, love comes from being saved.
Love comes from having Jesus Christ in your heart, loving God,
keeping his commandments, and you'll begin to love the brotherhood.
So number one, there's the brotherhood of the local church,
but number two, there's the brotherhood of God's people everywhere.
I'm talking about people that are not necessarily a member of this church,
but they're born again. They're saved.
I'm not talking about the Assemblies of God church across the street,
because let's face it, they're not saved.
And if you think they're saved, get the Sermon on Internal Security
and put that in your pipe and smoke it, because I'm not buying this stuff.
Oh, yeah, they're saved. They just roll on the ground and stuff.
Hey, look, they don't believe that you're once saved, always saved.
They believe, now I'm saved, now I'm not.
Now I'm saved, now I'm not.
Now I'm saved, now I'm not, because they think it's by works,
and they don't give God the glory for their salvation.
To God be the glory, great things he hath done.
And so I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about truly born-again people.
I'm talking about born-again Christians,
and even if they're not fundamentalists like we are.
Yes, we're fundamentalists, but there are other people that are saved,
but they're not necessarily just like we are, a fundamentalist.
They're not necessarily somebody that I would even hang around with.
But I still love the brotherhood everywhere.
But isn't it great?
Have you ever been in an experience where you're out and about somewhere,
you're at work somewhere, and you run into somebody,
and you find out that they're saved?
And you actually find out, man, maybe they even are a soul winner.
And maybe they're even an independent, Bible-believing, fundamental Baptist.
And boy, it takes about 30 seconds before you and that person,
it's like you're brothers.
I mean, it's like you grew up together.
It's like you're best friends in the world.
Because why?
Because you're brothers.
Because you love the brotherhood.
Look, I don't want to love the world's crowd.
I want to love God's people.
That's where the special place is in my heart.
That's who I love the most today is God's people.
That's why I'm talking about the visitors that just come through.
Hey, if a visitor comes through here, they're from out of town,
I'm not going to give them the cold shoulder.
Oh, there's nothing like, they can't do anything for me.
I'm never going to see them again.
They're not going to be a part of my church.
Nuts to them.
Hey, no, I'm going to shake their hand.
I'm going to spend time with them.
I'm going to take them out to eat if I can.
I'm going to show them some love.
Why?
Because they're part of the brotherhood.
They're part of the family.
I'm going to spend eternity with them in heaven.
They're my brother.
And you know what?
I get out those prayer cards.
I'm sorry, the visitor card.
I get it out and look through them.
I pray for them.
God, would you bless these people?
These people were brought into my life here for a service.
They partook with me of a service, of preaching, of the Holy Spirit.
God, there's a special place in my heart for this person
because they've been to Faithful Word Baptist Church.
That's why I'm talking about the greater brotherhood
besides just our local church here, which I think is more important,
but then the greater brotherhood of those that are saved.
You know, it's funny.
A lady called me a couple of days ago from Michigan.
That's what she said to me.
She said, in the last month I downloaded, you know, what did she say,
she said, author at 73 sermons.
I downloaded all of them and listened to them.
She's like, you're my long-lost brother.
And I'm thinking to myself, you're right.
I am your long-lost brother.
Because we're saved.
Wow.
She's saying it's amazing how much we think alike.
It's amazing how much of what you preach is what I believe.
Hey, that's because we're reading the same book.
Hey, that's because we've got the same Holy Spirit living inside of us.
Hey, that's because we both love God and we both love the brotherhood.
Then you say, you're my long-lost brother.
Hey, you're right.
I am your long-lost brother.
Because I'm your brother and sister in Christ because of God being our Father.
Just thinking about the magazine that I hate more than any other magazine.
I fly on planes every week, and what do people do on a plane?
I mean, they read magazines.
I was flying on a plane this week,
and the lady next to me had the magazine that I hate more than any other.
Now, I hate all magazines.
I'll say that right now.
I've seen about, I can count on one hand the magazines that I've seen
that weren't filthy and perverted.
It's all filth and garbage.
I don't care if it's a motorcycle magazine.
I don't care if it's a car magazine.
They just put some girl in a bikini next to a motorcycle and next to a car.
Ladies' magazines are the worst ones.
It's all about the bedroom and stuff that should not be talked about
outside the home four walls of your bedroom.
But the magazine that I hate more than any other magazine, People Magazine.
People Magazine is the worst magazine.
It's so stupid.
Because you know what the whole magazine is about?
I don't know if you, hopefully, I hope you don't know what it's about.
I see it all the time because people always sit next to me
and leave them through their People Magazine.
And I'll see somebody and think, oh, that's a nice person.
They get out of People Magazine, I'm just like...
I just don't get it.
Because People Magazine is where you read about the personal lives
of all the whores and whoremongers of Hollywood.
It's where you read about their breaking up with so-and-so,
and that's what People Magazine is.
It's just where you enter into the lives of all your favorite stars,
and we've got pictures of them on this beach here
with their cheating on so-and-so, and they're pregnant with so-and-so,
and they're divorced for the fifth and sixth time.
I hate that magazine.
It's everything that I hate is wrapped up in one magazine, People Magazine.
And I sing about it.
That's not who I love.
I don't love Brad Pitt.
I don't love Angelina Jolie or these...
I don't love them.
I love the brotherhood.
I love God's people.
I don't delight in those people.
I don't have anything in common with those people.
Hey, those people are part of a different family.
I'll tell you that right now.
I don't want to go watch their movie.
I don't want to listen to their music.
That's not who I am.
That's not who I love.
That's not who I want to be around.
I love the brotherhood.
Hey, do you love Britney Spears or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Tom Cruise or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Sarah Jessica Parker or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Brad Pitt or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Angelina Jolie or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love David Letterman or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Johnny Depp or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Tom Hanks or do you love this brotherhood right here?
Do you love Jennifer Lopez and Adam Sandler or do you love this brotherhood right here?
Do you love Jennifer Aniston or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Jerry Seinfeld or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Kiefer Sutherland or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Jim Carrey or do you love this brotherhood?
Do you love Jodie Foster or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love Will Smith and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or do you love the brotherhood?
Do you love the Horns and Hornbarkers of Hollywood?
They're destroying America!
Or do you love the brotherhood is what I'm asking you today.
Where's your love today?
If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.
Choose who this day whom you will serve.
Hey, get the love right in your heart.
You say, Pastor Anderson, preach on love.
Okay, love God, love the brotherhood, and don't love the world.
This is my sermon on love.
Love, not the world.
I'm preaching on love today. Love, not the world.
This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
That's my sermon on love.
Galatians chapter 6, verse 10, I love this verse.
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men.
But then I love, this is my favorite part of the verse.
As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
You see that?
He says, look, give preferential treatment to the people that are of the household of faith.
Hey, do good to everybody, but wait a minute.
Those that are of the household of faith, that's your brother.
That's who you ought to take care of.
Look, we want to go out.
Why do we go out and win souls?
Why do we get people saved?
Why do we talk to our relatives and friends and family?
Because we're trying to expand the brotherhood.
You see, we're not on spiritual birth control in this church.
We're not popping a spiritual birth control pill
so that we can just keep it.
This is our little group here.
This is our little club.
This is our little group.
This is our little clique.
No, look, we want to expand the size of the brotherhood.
We want to include more people into the brotherhood.
We want to get more people into this family of God.
We want more people to be in the brotherhood.
But let me tell you something.
Don't ever forget, no matter how big this church gets or how small it is,
don't ever forget, no matter how many people come in here or come and go,
don't ever forget to love the people that come to this church,
to love all of them, to love the brotherhood.
Don't ever forget it.
Don't let it just become some crowd.
Don't ever just let it just become just people, just faces.
No, it's individual people. It's souls.
It's human beings.
It's people that are our brothers and our sisters.
We have to love them.
Don't stop loving the brotherhood ever.
And love one another in this church.
Don't stop loving me.
Don't stop loving my family.
Don't stop loving my children.
Pray for my children.
You say, well, they're not my kids.
Hey, look, pray for them like they're your kids.
Look, if these were your three boys, would you want them to turn out right?
Then pray for my three boys as they turn out right,
and then maybe God will help you and yours to turn out right.
And so that's the way it is.
We ought to love one another, love me, love my family,
love each other, love God, love the brotherhood.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, I thank you so much for the Bible.
I thank you so much for the local church.
And God, I thank you most of all for the brotherhood.
I love the brotherhood.
I love coming to church and being with people that believe like I do.
I love going abroad and meeting people in distant cities and places
that believe like I do, that are part of the brotherhood.
I love to meet people here, in town perhaps, that love the Lord.
When I'm out sowing, they say I'm saved, I have eternal life,
I love God, I love the King James Bible,
and boy, I feel like I'm just running into my brother.
I feel like I'm running into my best friend.
And God, I thank you so much for that bond that you've given us
between each other as born-again Christians, dear God.
Help us not to just come to church saying,
What can I get?
What's the pastor going to give me to encourage me?
What's the pastor going to do for me
so that I can feel better and get through the week, God?
No, but help us to come to church and say,