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You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You But we are gonna get started for this evening So go ahead and find your seats welcome to pure word Baptist Church and pull out your hymnals I will open up to our first song. He's song number 65 Song number 65 just over in the gloryland song number 65 Song number 65 just over in the gloryland Wouldn't let you find your place there You Start there on the first. I have a home prepared where the saints of I just over in the gloryland And I long to be by my Savior's side just over in the glory land just The glory Oh On my way to the mansion just over in the glory There to see God's praise and his glory Just over in the glory There with the mighty host and just over in the glory land What a joyful thought that my lord I'll see just over in the glory land In print safe there forever be just over in the glory land just Oh Oh Last with the blood wash wrong. I will shout and sing just over in the glory Land Laddows and us to Christ the Lord Just over in the glory land just In the glory There The mighty host Man brother mo you want to open this up with the word of prayer? Amen All right, so go ahead and flip to song number three in your hymnal song number three Jesus paid it all Song number three in your hymnal Jesus paid it all First I hear the Savior say thy strength Indeed is small child of weakness watching Finding me Jesus paid it all All to him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white as snow We need I find Oh Jesus paid it all all to him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain He Watched it Nothing good Where by thy grace to claim Wash my garments white in the blood of Calvary's Jesus paid it all all to him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white as snow from last and when Before the throne I stand in him complete Jesus died my soul to save my lips shall still repeat Jesus Paid it all all to him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain he Great singing so at this time We'll go ahead and go over the announcements for the evenings to go ahead and pull out your bulletins From the morning if you didn't receive a bulletin or if you don't have one it's going to raise your hand But brother Brandon bring them around to you In the top left we have our service times listed. We have our Sunday morning service at 10 30 a.m. The evening service is at 5 30 p.m And we do have that midweek Bible study on Thursday at 7 p.m. We have our soul winning times listed underneath that with the respective leaders for the regional soul winning times And our stats are listed underneath that and as of right now we have our Salvations at 304 so we broke that 300 mark so great job soul winning We went out today, and we have some more added. We have six from this morning that we took we had In six more from from this afternoon, so we had 12 Salvations to add that bumps up to 316 all right It's a great number right there 316 so keep up the good job the good work soul winning For our Bible memory passage. We are still in Romans chapter number 8. We're in verse number 14 Verse 14 is a very short verse all right so for you kids definitely just get this verse memorized to get some free ice cream Next midweek service and then again if you can memorize the entire chapter word perfect to a non family member You will receive a special prize and for this month Anti pride month right we have another challenge for you guys if you can memorize Romans one word perfect You also receive a prize okay, so I think that should be a pretty easy one for all of us I think most of you guys have most of it memorized probably brush up on a few things, but go ahead and work on those They're on the next page be in prayer for our expectant mothers We have miss Carrie Shelley and her baby and also miss Sarah Gomez and her baby So just be in prayer for the mothers and the babies that everyone stays healthy Everything goes according to plan and then just right around the corner We do have some upcoming events at the end of this month June 26 We do have a soul winning marathon that's taking place in Baytown. We're calling the Baytown bash all right We have the details listed right here. It's June 26 We're gonna be meeting up at Roseland Park, and that's at 100 Roseland Drive, Baytown, Texas 775 to 0 we're gonna meet there at 9 a.m.. For breakfast breakfast will be provided We're gonna have some breakfast burritos. Okay, taco cabana breast for breakfast burritos really good So come out for some breakfast and some fellowship. We're gonna be heading out at 10 a.m.. For a round of soul winning It's gonna be from 10 to 12 And be the sort that will be the the morning slot Then we're gonna be meeting back at that same park at 1230 a lunch will be provided So we're gonna be having lunch from 1230 to 130 And then we're gonna be going back out for a second round of soul winning at 2 to tilt from 2 to 4 all right So definitely we're gonna have Breakfast and lunch provided plus all the water that we're gonna need it is getting really hot out there really humid So we're gonna have plenty of water for you guys stay hydrated for that, but definitely looking forward to that be a good time To go out there and get a lot of people saved in Baytown and then just at the end of this year We do have the fire-breathing Baptist Fellowship. That's at Steadfast Baptist Church up in Hearst, Texas That's October 6 through the 10th. Okay, so It's gonna be a great time a fellowship again They're gonna have a great lineup of preachers and a lot of events planned so definitely write that on your calendar To attend and then just lastly if you do have any prayer requests email those into the chat box email those into the church at pure words Baptist at gmail.com And we could be in prayer for everybody with whatever you need or whatever you need a special prayer about Pastor Shelley goes over all of those during that midweek service But that is the announcements for the evening if you go ahead and pull your hymnals back out We'll have brother Cameron come lead us in our third song the song of 316 316 That's funny talk about 316 salvations and then we get 316 is the him I did not plan that I promise him number 316 I have decided to follow Jesus, you know, that's what happened today out soul winning, right? Many people decided to follow him at least as in putting their faith and trust in him, right? Hopefully they'll follow him a little bit more than that, but 316 him 316 316 I Let's say To follow Jesus I have decided to follow Jesus Decided to follow Jesus Me still I will Go with me still Behind me the cross before me the world behind me the cross before me Behind me the cross before me no turning back Turning Amen short and sweet and a great hymn while the offering place being passed around turn if you would to first John chapter number four First John chapter number four brother Brandon will read that for us. We'll read that chapter as is our custom All right, well we're there in first John chapter For the Bible reads beloved believe not every spirit But try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world Hereby know you the Spirit of God every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God and This is that the spirit of Antichrist whereof you have heard that it should come and even now Already it is in the world You are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world They are not of the world therefore speak they of the world and the world heareth them We are of God and he that knoweth God here with us He that is not of God heareth not us hereby know we the spirit of truth and of spirit of error 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 love God But that he loved us and he sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another No, man has seen God at any time If we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfect in us Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he and us because he hath given us of his spirit And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he and God and we have known and believed the Son of God hath to us God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God is in him Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment Because he as he is so are we in this world there is no fear in love But perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment he that feareth is not made perfect in love We love him because he first loved us If a man say I love God and hateth his brother He is a liar for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen How can he love God whom he hath not seen and in this commandment have we from him? That he who loveth God loveth his brother also Have a word of prayer Heavenly Father we thank you for everyone here. We thank you for being coming down All right, amen. I want to start by saying thank you to Pastor Shelley for the opportunity to preach here today It was a lot of fun to be here I always have fun visiting you guys and so just thanks for having me again for the hospitality and the Fellowship yesterday and today as well. That's been a lot of fun first John chapter 4 look at verse 7 to start off It says beloved. Let us love one another For love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another No man hath seen God at any time if we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us the Bible hammers this concept Repeatedly that we should love one another This phrase love one another comes up multiple times in Scripture Especially in your new test. Let's go to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and we can see Another place in which this phrase is used love one another Jesus Christ said in John 15 This is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you. It's a common theme He set the example for this Jesus set the example of what love truly is and he's who we draw inspiration from Regarding love he is the standard First Thessalonians 4 says in verse 9 where I had you turn but as touching But as touching brotherly love You need not that I write unto you says I don't need to write to you about this particular subject Why for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another it's God who taught you to love each other God taught you to love one another Paul says this isn't even something I have to teach you myself It's already been made evident by God himself And so the title of my sermon this afternoon is love one another love one another and specifically Because this is a broad subject what I'm going to talk about is within the confines of your local New Testament Church That's what we'll be describing or talking about over the course of this sermon is Loving one another within the confines of a local new chest no New Testament Church or also Just regarding the saved regarding the saved as well is that we ought to love one another regarding the New Testament Church and The saved go to 1st John chapter 4 1st John chapter 4 if you would we're gonna go back there now the reason why I'm preaching this is because the Bible of course covers a multiplicity of Different topics and this is one of them it does emphasize Heavily love now that doesn't mean that this should be the only thing we ever talk about this isn't the only subject that should ever Be covered behind the pulpits of America And you guys have heard me lament the fact that most churches will only preach on love most churches will only cover The love of God or the forgiveness or long-suffering of God etc however We don't want to over correct and never focus on these things, but rather just focus on hatred or just focus on wrath We ought to be well balanced as Bible believing Christians and Enjoy both the positive and the negative aspects of the Word of God and tonight I want to focus more on the positive side or the positive aspect or the positive commandment that we see Which is that we should love one another and of course like I said specifically I'm talking about Within a local New Testament Church 1st John 4 20 says this if a man say I love God and Hated this brother He is a liar for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not Seen now your false prophet heretics will take this verse completely out of context and use it to teach that you have to love Wicked pedophile child molesters sodomites and things like that. That's not what this verse is talking about Those aren't your brothers your brothers are those who are saved and that's what this sermon is about Loving the same not just those who come to this church but loving the saved in general loving those who believe the gospel loving those who've been sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise that's what I'm focused on focusing on over the next hour here And what this is saying is that if you say that you love God if you claim to love God Verbally, but then through your behavior hate your brother then you're a liar now. That's the Bible talking. That's not my opinion That's what the Word of God says in 1st John 4 20 that if you claim to love God But you hate your brother. You are a liar and that's pretty hardcore right there Again, not my opinion. I'm not the bad guy here. This is what the Bible so clearly teaches in Ecclesiastes 3 you don't have to turn there. I'll just quote it for you It says to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven And then it also says a time to rend and a time to sow a time to keep silence and a time to speak But then it also says a time to love and a time to hate it says a time of war and a time of peace There's a time to fight there's a time for battle, but there's also a time for peace as well and make no mistake Yes, there's a time for love and that's what this sermon is gonna cover. But like I said, we want to be well balanced There's also a time for hate The time for hate would be when you're dealing with someone who hates God When an individual has made it clear that they hate God the Bible calls these people reprobates when they hate the Lord when they hate God At that point Psalm chapter 139 do not I hate them O Lord that hate thee that gives you license to then hate them And that's the truth that so many churches across America have silenced. It's a truth that they don't want to talk about It's a truth that they avoid But the flip side is that there is also a time to love and in fact, I would make the claim Tonight that that should be our default position That should be our default position Why because we ought to love the lost and what I'm talking about are the lost who are the not the reprobates But just regular unsafe folks We ought to love them And of course the best way to demonstrate our love for the lost is to do what many of you did at 2 p.m This afternoon which is to go out with the gospel of Jesus Christ get them saved when you're King James Bible That's a way in which we can demonstrate our love for the lost. But also we should love the saved We should love the brethren the Bible says love the Brotherhood and we do that in a lot of different ways I'm gonna get into more detail momentarily But yes, there is a time for hate But ultimately our default position should be love loving the lost and loving our saved brothers and sisters in Christ these two things are connected though. And that's what you have to understand if you love the lost obviously, you're gonna hate the false prophet devils who are preaching a Works-based salvation and damning people to hell. It's that obvious if you love children, you're gonna hate pedophiles It's obvious that these two things are connected and so when you decide to reject one well then You're sort of rejecting the other as well somebody who would make the claim that they hate no one Well, my response to that would be I don't think you love anyone then because they are connected and yes There was a time for both. I want to focus on Christ here for a moment. Think of Jesus Christ You know the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible says in John 13 Even though he was faced with the torture of the cross Emanately in John chapter 13. It says that he loved them unto the end He loved his disciples under the end. He loved unto the end He ministered under the end it says, you know, he served under the end He was perfectly obedient under the end the Bible says and it wasn't just lip service. Jesus Christ loved in word But he also loved indeed and in truth He loved indeed and he loved in truth as well There are people out there who only love with their tongue. They'll say they'll claim that they love you but their behavior Demonstrates the total opposite it demonstrates something completely different head over to 1st Corinthians 13 1st Corinthians chapter 13 If you would I'll quote to you from 1st John 4 as you're turning to 1st Corinthians 13 where the Bible read there And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us It says God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him hey, God is love and the reality is if you Are should say when you dwell in love you're dwelling in God That is one of his characteristics And if you want to be like Christ you dwell in him and once you do that You're gonna exhibit one of his attributes which is love which is long-suffering which is compassion for people Which is charity? 1st Corinthians 13 talks about charity. Yes. What's charity? It's a biblical love. It's a perfect love It says in 1st Corinthians 13 verse 4 charity suffereth long and his kind charity Envyeth not charity vanteth not itself is not puffed up does not behave itself unseemly Seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil Rejoiceth not an iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth This is what 1st Corinthians 13 is outlining what true charity looks like what true love? Looks like now think about this Imagine a spouse that just goes through the motions checks off all the boxes that you have for her But it's sort of doing it like a robot doesn't really have there's no emotion involved You could tell that they're kind of just checking these boxes off, but there isn't any charity there There isn't any real emotion. There isn't really any genuine love there. There's no authenticity there That would be sort of a synthetic love, wouldn't it? Well, there are a lot of Christians today again, they'll give lip service to being loving But through their behavior we see that all it is is just lip service They're not loving indeed and in truth and the purpose of the sermon as well is to show you What true charity looks like what does it actually look like in our Christian lives as well? and we see in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 that it describes some of the attributes of True charity of perfect love because you see that word is very broad. There are people out there who love sin There are people out there who you know, they might love sports or they might love food or they might love video game It doesn't matter you could love anything But first Corinthians 13 is describing again a perfect kind of love Which it uses the word charity and it says that and it says that it doesn't envy charity Envyeth not you see the reality is envy is antithetical to charity It's totally antithetical to charity Here's what charity is when somebody gets what you want and you're genuinely happy for them You don't envy them It's when somebody gets a position that perhaps you've been striving for and you feel happy for them on their behalf you rejoice with them You rejoice with them that do rejoice True charity means that you're steaming others better than yourself It means that you check your ego at the door and you esteem others better than yourself and you lift others up and you humble yourself And you minister and you serve other people humbling yourself for the benefit of others That's what true charity looks like. Look at first Corinthians 13 verse 7 verse 7 It says beareth all things believeth all things. Hope with all things endureth all things You say I don't like so-and-so They say things that I don't like I don't agree with them most of the time well True charity endures all things doesn't it? There are gonna be some people that you meet in this church Maybe some other church out there who is saved and guess what? You're not gonna be in lockstep with them, but true charity endures all things There are gonna be certain people out there who have the Holy Spirit inside them who are saved Children of God and you're gonna have to endure some things about them that you don't necessarily Agree with I know that forgiveness was preached last week It was last week is that correct here at this church and it's an important topic to hit We have a natural tendency To be a lot less patient with other people than God is with us and that's a hypocritical attitude We have to endure there are certain people who you're not gonna agree with on everything and you just have to endure some things about Them but you know what? You gotta love them now. Look, I'm not saying you have to be everyone's friend You don't necessarily even at the like everyone, you know, you might not click with everybody but y'all to love them You ought to love them. That's for sure charity endures charity bears charity is long-suffering First Corinthians 13. The reason why I bring this up is it defines what true charity looks like But I'm also going to be using it as a frame of reference Throughout the sermon. I'm gonna use it as a frame of reference to line it up with the points I'm about to make so that you see how it aligns with the Bible's definition of charity Let's go to 1st John chapter 3 1st John chapter 3 You know the Bible tells us in 1st John 5 as you're turning to 1st John 3 it says Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and it says and everyone that loveth him that begat Loveth him also that is begotten of him. Here's the reality if you love God You know what that looks like loving his children. It looks like loving the saved loving the brethren Remember what I read for you earlier you can claim to love God all you want But if you hate your brother if you hate your sister in Christ, you are lying You lack love for God himself Loving him that begat meanings loving those that have forgotten of him the Bible claims in 1st John chapter number 5 In other words loving Christ Loving the Lord Jesus Christ means loving the saved 1st John 3 says in verse 18 my little children Let us not word and let us not love in word neither in tongue but indeed and in truth What does this mean? This word love is not a meaningless platitude like a lot of other churches have made it into it's not just You know giving lip service to something that makes people feel good But rather it should be coupled with deeds and with truth as well It's got to be coupled with deed and with truth Now the Bible exhorts us. Hey, don't just love with a bunch of vacuous statements that are made by all these liberal churches out there They're meaningless. They don't mean what they're saying They're just trying to deceive people don't just love with based on the things that come out of your mouth But also based on the things you do and also in truth as well. What I want to talk about is how to display Authentic not just a bunch of platitudes here, but authentic love for the brethren again Through the lenses of 1st Corinthians chapter 13 how to love one another Indeed and in truth and my first point is this Love one another by having compassion love one another by having compassion and of course 1st Corinthians 13 Does list this I believe you can connect it to compassion one of the attributes of charity to seeketh not our own Seeketh not our own and you're not concerned with only the things that are related to yourself But also the needs of others and that exemplifies Compassion I had you turn to 1st John 3 I believe 1st John chapter 3 It says in verse 17 But whoso hath this world's good and seeeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of Compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him So if you see a brother in Christ who's in need and you decide to shut up your bowels of Compassion against them and you don't really care you have no empathy for them. How does the love of God dwell in you? That's what the Bible is asking now. What does this look like? Perhaps somebody at church somebody who's saved maybe their car broke down. Maybe they can't get to church because of that How about you be the man or the woman who says hey, I can give you a ride to church. No problem I'm there I can help you out in a time of need Perhaps a woman has just given birth and at a church like this that happens frequently You know, it's steadfast Baptist Church. I'm not sure if they do this here if you guys do this here, but it's steadfast Baptist Church We do a meal train for women like that in which members of the church can prepare meals And then those meals are sent to her home so that she doesn't have to cook For a period of time right after giving birth if that's not an official program here, that's okay You can make it one or you could just do it out of your own volition You can go out and you can drop a meal off at a family's home who perhaps The wife had just given birth and so she's unable to cook for herself and she's sort of bedridden Recovering from giving birth. That's something that you can take initiative and do on your own if you'd like to how about this one prayer? Do you only pray for yourself or do you also pray for the needs of others? And if you have compassion if you have true compassion on your brothers and sisters in Christ and you'll consider their needs when you go to God in prayer, not just the needs of yourself and A good way to do this is just to ask people if there's something that they need prayer For right if there if there's something going on in their life where you know They need somebody to pray for them as a result Why don't you go around ask somebody and here's the thing if you claim you're gonna pray for them actually do it And I'll be the first one to admit there have been times where I've said alright I'll pray for you brother and then I never did. Okay, and that's wrong But when we when we do that, we have to make sure that we actually follow through with that and pray for them How about this one? Let's say there's someone here in this room or elsewhere Who's having trouble making ends meet? I'm gonna do an immediate caveat. I'm not talking about a lazy bum I'm not talking about somebody who doesn't have a job doesn't want to work The Bible says if a man doesn't work neither shall he eat But if somebody's working their tail to the bone to provide for their family and they're having trouble making ends meet and they're going through Financial distress, maybe they got let go from their job because the boss found out that they go to Pure Words Baptist Church And he got triggered by it because he's a liberal and liberals are full of hate by the way And this guy got fired from his job and maybe he's in between jobs because of that or perhaps Even he does have a job and despite having a job He's still having issues providing for his family making ends meet whatever the case may be Will you be the person who says hey, let me take you out for lunch today Let me take you out you and your family out for dinner after church tonight. Will you be that person? Will you be that helping hand if you see somebody in need? Then what we ought to do as brothers and sisters in Christ is that compassion on these people lift people up be there for people When they need help Minister to people visit the afflicted that's what I think the Bible is exhorting us to do have compassion have some empathy Truly care about others and not just yourself. Don't shut up your bowels of compassion head over to 2nd Samuel 17 I want to show you this exemplified in the Word of God 2nd Samuel chapter 17 Let's see what compassion looks like in the Bible. There are going to be people you come across in your Christian life who are They need help Who are in need of help who are in need of aid and it could be because of a multiple a multiplicity of reasons It could be because they're dealing with a health ailment. Maybe they're looking for advice on how to deal with that There are many different things that can come at us in this life that knock us off our feet. Will you be that person? who lifts a brother a sister in Christ up and Helps them dust themselves off and move forward 2nd Samuel 17 says in verse 27 and it came to pass When David was come to mayhem that show be the son of Nahash of Rheba of the children of Ammon and maker the son of Amal of Lodabar and Barzillai the Gilead ight of Rogalim brought beds and basins and earthen vessels and wheat and barley and flour and parched corn and beans and lentils and Parched poles and honey and butter and sheep and cheese of kind for David and for the people that were with him to eat and for for they said the people is hungry and wary and thirsty in the wilderness now earlier Here before we get got to this point. The Council of Hushai is actually defeated by I Should say the Council of Hushai defeats the Council of Ahithophel and then he hangs himself, right? Ahithophel, of course, he betrayed David, but the point is this maker He was actually He lived with Mephibosheth the son of Saul Before David exalted him Barzillai. He blessed he was blessed by David's instruction of 1st Kings chapter 2 these men They come to David who had been hiding in the wilderness as a result of Absalom's Insurrection against him and they don't come empty-handed and neither do they come just with words They're not the James 2 guy who's just like be he warmed and filled. No, they come with actual vittles and and they come with You know food and and supplies for David they come with beds with basins You know with with vessels of wheat barley flour honey butter sheep Etc to help David to aid David in the wilderness as he's dealing with Absalom's insurrection against him as he's dealing with Absalom's rebellion against his leadership in his kingdom folks This is what charity looks like This is what it means to have compassion on your brother Compassion on your sister in Christ is to actually do something for them Don't just say be he warmed and filmed like the Bible filled like the Bible says in James chapter number 2 But actually step up and help somebody step up and give somebody Things that can help them when they're in need just like what happens here go to Matthew chapter 25 Matthew chapter 25 The Bible says in Galatians 6 as we have therefore Opportunity let us do good unto all men Especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Hey, we should do good to all men I believe that like I said earlier Let's love the lost be kind be known as somebody who's kind who's meek who's polite who's friendly I believe in all those attributes and I think that those those attributes will help you tremendously Out-souling if you're a rude nasty person when you go out door-knocking nobody's gonna want to talk to you as Ambassadors for Christ we should be kind we should be polite We should be friendly with those who are unsaved but notice what I quoted for you. It says Especially though to the household of faith. Yes, we should love the lost but you know, we should also especially There's an added emphasis there love the brethren love the Brotherhood You know think of Abram in Genesis chapter 14, he actually risked his life To help lot who had been in in trouble. His life was at risk He'd been captured by heathens and Abram risked his life to save him to get him out of that situation And yet there are some people who can't even pray for the brethren They can't even take time out of their day to pray for their brothers. Look what it says in Matthew 25 verse 37 It says then shall the righteous answer him saying Lord when saw we thee and hungered and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink when saw we thee a stranger and took the inner naked and clothed thee or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee and the king shall answer and saying to them barely I say unto you in As much as he have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me Now someone preached about this a few weeks ago. I think he's kind of sitting in this area and I'm kind of ripping him off a little bit, but that's okay, right because last I checked his sermon wasn't copyrighted So I'm taking a point You know what believers are in Christ dead and here we see that if you choose to be kind and loving and show Compassion under the under your brother or your sister in Christ. It's as if you're doing it to Jesus Christ himself That's what the Bible articulates in Matthew chapter 25. That's what it's saying When you decide to feed your brother or your sister in in Christ or clothe your brother or sister in Christ or take a brother or sister in Christ in It's as if you're doing it to Jesus it's the equivalent of doing it to the Lord Jesus Christ himself and that ought to serve as Motivation for us to be more compassionate that ought to serve as motivation for us to love our brethren that ought to serve as Motivation for us to love one another because when we do that, it's as if we're doing it to Jesus That's what the Bible says here now, obviously, there's also a flipside to this There's a flipside to this every time you're callous Towards your brother. It's as if you're being callous toward Jesus Every time you're bitter against somebody who is saved It's as if you're being bitter toward the Lord Jesus Christ every time you rail Against someone who's saved or Slander them. It's as if you're slandering or railing on Jesus Christ and you know what? I don't think there's anyone in here who would say yeah, if I saw Jesus in the flesh, I would slander him No one would ever say that no one would ever Whatever admit to wanting to do that. Absolutely not and yet Some of those people will do that to their brethren Well, it would be the equivalent of actually doing that to Jesus according to Matthew 25 and other scriptures as well Let's go to Philippians chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2 My next point is this love one another by esteeming others better than yourself 1st Corinthians 13 said Seeketh not her own. It also said that charity vanteth not itself is not puffed up is Not puffed up. It means that you know what that's talking about pride. It's not about yourself It's about a steaming others. It's about lifting other people up. It's about serving others. It's about ministering to others Philippians 2 says in verse 3 let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other Better than themselves look not every man on his own things But every man also on the things of others as steaming others means you cast out envy Esteeming others means that you that you just that you decide like I said, you're gonna check your ego at the door It's about other people not yourself ministering and serving them subduing your own desires to exalt other people That's what this is talking about. Think of what John the Baptist said. He said hey, he must increase I must decrease That's the kind of attitude we should have Head over to John 13 if you would John chapter 13 1st Corinthians 12 says and whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it or one member be honored all the members Rejoice with it one day if someone from this church is honored if someone in this church is Exalted into a position of leadership. Here's my question for you. How are you gonna react to that? Because you have two choices you could either say I should have been me How come pastor didn't pick me to lead parents why didn't he ordain me? Or you could honor them as well Two choices What's your response gonna be are you gonna be envious are you gonna be bitter are you gonna have that poisonous attitude? Infiltrate this church. Are you going to love your brother? And are you going to honor them? Are you gonna rejoice with them are you gonna feel genuinely happy for them on their behalf a Lot of people choose option one though, and let me tell you something that's gonna destroy your Christian life But that's the attitude you have John 13 says in verse 5 It says after that he poureth water into a base and it began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the tower Where he was girded then cometh heat to Simon Peter and Peter saith unto him Lord Thus thou wash my feet Jesus answered and sent unto him what I do thou know is not now But thou shalt know hereafter Peter saith unto him thou shalt never wash my feet Jesus answered him if I wash thee not thou has no part with me Simon Peter saith unto him Lord not my feet only But also my hands in my head Jesus saith to him he that has washed needeth not to Needeth not safe to wash his feet, but is clean every wit and ye are clean, but not all here what he's referencing Is they're not all clean in the sense that there was a Judas in the midst of them his name is Judas Iscariot and He wasn't a superstar disciple by the way, mainly Perry This is in reference to him, but you see Simon Peter. He's shocked by the fact that Jesus Christ wants to wash his feet And you know why he's shocked because in his mind. He's thinking well hold on a minute shouldn't this situation be reversed Shouldn't I be washing your feet? He's thinking Jesus God manifest in the flesh the Messiah and yet he wants to serve me He wants to get down on his knees and wash my feet You want to know why because true leadership is leadership that serves true leadership is leadership that serves leadership that ministers John 13 verse 11 For he knew who should betray him therefore said he ye are not all clean again in reference to the infiltrator Bo Ballard excuse me Judas Iscariot verse 12 so after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was set down again He said unto them know ye what I have done to you He called me master and Lord and you say well for so I am if I then your Lord and master have washed your feet He also ought to wash one another's feet for I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you So what Jesus Christ did here is give us an example of how we should treat others How we should minister and serve others and you say well hold on a minute though I'm concerned that I might wash Judas Iscariot's feet. It's not what Jesus did and here's the thing I would rather Accidentally wash Judas Iscariot's feet then omit doing that to someone who's saved Then treat a brother or sister in Christ who actually is saved Poorly because in my mind I thought they might be an infiltrator and I was wrong How about you just serve everyone and if certain people turn out to be bad then so be it So be it you still held your integrity the creator think about this the creator of this Universe who has all power all Authority all wisdom humbled himself to the point that he washed his own disciples feet and that is a model for us That's a model for us and how we should behave. It's a model of charity as well It's a model of the steaming others better than yourself. And this is the attitude we should have when we come to church How can I make this church better not what can I take from the church? How can I make this church better? I want to serve I want to make this place better than it was before I got here I want to exalt others above myself. I want to be a blessing That's the attitude we ought to have when we come to a local New Testament Church Hello to 1st Samuel chapter 25 1st Samuel chapter number 25. Here's what your thought should be. How can I contribute? How can I contribute what can I do? to aid in The spiritual warfare that this church is fighting. What can I do to help advance the cause of Christ? Here's my third point love one another by Rejecting all railing and backbiting you shut it down immediately and to me that shows that you have true love in your heart I'll get some more of that in a little bit 1st Corinthians 13 tells us again. We're looking at all these points through the lenses of what charity is how it's defined Doth not behave itself unseemly thinketh no evil People think evil of others. They lack charity. They lack charity, but not behave itself unseemly, you know Being a railer and a backbiter somebody who whispers against others That's behaving itself unseemly in my opinion. I think that's what the Bible is articulating and an individual who does that Lacks charity. They have a love problem. They have a charity problem. I don't care what they say. I don't care what they say Because they'll claim otherwise 1st Samuel 25. I only want to go here to define railing for you So it says in 1st Samuel 25 verse 9 and when David's young men came they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David and ceased and Nabal answered David's servants and said who is David and who was The son of Jesse there be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master He's railing on David here because he's accusing him. He's falsely accusing him of being a runaway servant He's falsely accusing him of being a runaway servant and that's a railing accusation skip down to verse 14 But one of the young men told Abigail Nabal's wife saying behold David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master And he railed on them. So that's why it uses that term there because in this chapter He's accusing David of being a runaway servant now who's Nabal. Of course. He's a son of Belial He railed on David falsely accused him of being a runaway Servant and that is a false accusation that is slander and unfortunately There are people who replicate this behavior in churches across America There are people who replicate they're not looking to Jesus Christ for what it means to be a member of a New Testament church But rather they look to Nabal whether they know it or not They're acting like Nabal going around railing and falsely accusing everybody backbiting every chance that they get that person lacks charity and here's what you have to understand the reason why I get passionate about this subject is because Railing and backbiting and slandering will stymie the work of the Lord if you have a church that's been poisoned by this I'm telling you it will stymie the work of the Lord This is why the Bible says in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 that railers ought to be kicked out and subject to church Discipline because when you have no unity when everyone hates each other and is devouring each other How can you go out soul winning together? How could you fellowship one one another? How could you advance the cause of Christ? So what we need to do is reject railing reject slander reject malicious lies whenever they come up And here's what I mean by that if somebody comes up to you and starts slandering another brother or sister in Christ Here's the only appropriate response in my book. I'm not interested. I don't want to hear it and You might even have to plug your ears and go la la la la I'm not listening to you I'm not interested You know put in some of those earmuffs things that people wear when they go shooting Whatever you got to do, but make it clear that you're not going to receive railing accusations against people You're not going to receive backbiting. You're not going to receive slander You're not going to receive malicious lies against somebody who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ who's saved You're not going to receive that you're not interested that Displays in my opinion true charity true love and I would hope somebody would do that for me I would hope that if somebody were railing about me or backbiting or talking crap about me behind my back that someone would say hey, I don't want to hear that and then go to me and tell me about it and Especially when it comes to our pastor You know people are real Knit picky about leadership oftentimes and they want to be the Monday morning quarterback They think they can do everything better. We saw this with kovat When kovat hit people, you know, I wouldn't have shut down my church I would have stood on the Word of God and I you know Cuz I'm so bold and I'm I would have kept my church when they're running like five people They don't know what it's like to actually have a church that runs more than five or ten where you have to deal with more complex issues Than they ever would most people lack charity You know don't nitpick leadership don't nitpick even the leadership you have locally here brother Nick You know I think he's doing a great job and don't don't nitpick him and rail about and rail against him Gossip about him behind his back don't do that for anyone but especially leadership head over to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 Backbiting what does that mean? It means speaking evil of someone who's not there basically speaking evil of someone who's not there and People have a tendency to do this even good people and it's wrong Now obviously if something's been proven to be true that's a completely different story You know and people think railing is just talking negative about anyone false wrong You know when we're ripping on Adam Fannin in in fellowship time That's not railing because he's been proven to be a Judas Iscariot devil when we're talking about the things that Bo Ballard has said And talked about how he's not saying he's a excuse me. He's a false prophet and Ripping him to shreds in fellowship time That's not railing because all those things have been proven by the things that he himself has said Or when you're talking about false prophets re comfort in his false Gospel and the doctrines that he preaches and things of that nature that wouldn't be railing because it's been proven if it's been proven Then you're fine 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 Verse 20 plus those are reprobates Anyway, which we're supposed to hate 2nd Corinthians 12 says in verse 20 for a fear lest when I come I shall not find you Such as I would and that I shall be found under you such as he would not lest there be debates Envyings rats stripes backbitings notice that word whispering swellings and tumult the Apostle Paul was afraid that if he came back to the Corinthian church that he would see these things happening and One of the things he was afraid of seeing is Backbiting everyone talking crap about everyone else behind their back and also envying and strife Etc. If there's one place that ought to have unity. It's right here Folks, there's good division. You know, I think men and women should be different right? So there should be some differences there That's one example. Obviously, we should divide from people who are trying to stop us from serving the Lord I believe in that as well, but there's a time for unity and the time for unity is right here Yes, there's a time to divide from people if they fall under the first Corinthians chapter 5 list That deserve they would constitute church discipline. Yeah, that's a time to divide no doubt about that But there's also a time for unity and backbiting Backbiting is poisonous to a church. That's trying that's striving for unity That's striving for unity and that's what Paul was worried about Folks this right here. I believe is an example one of the examples of just pure carnality Backbiting and whispering against people a bunch of people talking crap Like I said shut that down if you have true charity in your heart, you'll shut that down immediately You will not receive it. You will refuse to receive it because loving one another means standing up for each other That's why you see pastor Aaron Thompson standing up for his fellow pastors for his friends because he loves the brethren and he doesn't want people to be Slandering them and railing against them and backbiting against them. It means that you don't whisper It means that you don't backbite it means that you don't gossip It means that you don't rail if you love your brothers and sisters in Christ You will defend them you will stand up for them when they're under attack. I Don't care what pastor it is if he's saved and he's under attack from the sodomites I stand with it every single time Every single time we keep the unity That's how you exhibit true love to charity give the benefit of the doubt build people up rather than just tear them down and you know, this is why I get upset when I hear preachers get up and slander the new IFB and slander families in the new IFB claiming that they produce a bunch of raunchy kids and that the old IFB produces way better families than 99% of new IFB families calling them clowns calling them names Attacking men women and children who just want to serve the Lord at a new IFB church That is wicked railing and we ought to reject that rhetoric Every single time if you want to have love in your heart if you want to be charitable if you want to love one another Refuse don't receive those accusations don't refuse don't receive the gossip and the backbiting say I'm not interested It's that simple head over to Ephesians chapter 4. My fourth point is this Love one another by being long-suffering by being long-suffering first Corinthians 13 says that charity is not easily provoked and That it endures all things. There's there are some people out there Who are so quick to get offended it is insane and oftentimes it's because of something They might have heard from behind the pulpit so they get offended by the preacher They might get offended at perhaps Pastor Shelley rebuking them for something or correcting them for something Whatever the case may be and that's not true love True charity is someone who isn't easily provoked true charity is somebody who doesn't have a short fuse True charity is somebody who isn't just gonna turn on you at the drop of a hat because you said something that Offended them. I'll just put it to you plainly true charity is not being a little snowflake Not being a snowflake who melts immediately the second that you perceive that someone's attacking you true charity isn't just Unfriending someone on Facebook because you perceive that they don't like you anymore just because they disagree with something you're doing That sounds like someone who's easily provoked in my book Ephesians 4 talks about being long-suffering It says in verse 1 I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation Wherewith ye are called with all loneliness and meekness With long suffering for bearing one another in love skip down to verse 32 skip down to verse 32 It says and be ye kind one to another Tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Think of all the things that you've done since you've gotten saved the sins you've committed and God's forgiven you for them hasn't it? Well, then why don't you turn around and forgive your brother and sister in Christ who's slighted you? Based on your perception You see loving one another means bearing with people it means bearing with people even if they don't always do what you want Even if they don't always say what you want them to say like the things that you like Dislike the things that you dislike Look, if you're willing to just throw a brother or a sister in Christ overboard at the drop of a hat you lack charity You lack charity Ecclesiastes 7 says be not hasty and thy spirit to be angry for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. I've met people Who are just so quick to snap at you the second you say something they don't like And I don't want to be friends with people like that I don't want to have to walk on eggshells around people You know, what if God judged you as harshly as you judge some of the brethren? Something tells me he would just smite you dead right now Go to Hebrews 10 if you would Hebrews chapter 10 Let's not be quick to get offended especially at reproof or rebuke Let me let you in on a little secret if somebody repute reproves you or corrects you for something. They love you You know who hates you the flatterer. Oh You're perfect you can do no wrong That's the greatest sermon I've ever heard False they're lying and the reason why they're doing that is to draw you in emotionally to manipulate you And then stab you in the back. They hate you Your pastor who corrects you about something Publicly or privately he actually loves you. He actually cares about each and every one of you My fifth point is this love one another by provoking or exhorting each other to good works first Corinthians 13 tells us that charity rejoiceth not in iniquity And I thought about this but here's how I would apply it If you don't rejoice in iniquity, you're gonna encourage your brethren to turn away from iniquity and do that which is right Hebrews 10 says in verse 24 and let us consider one another Hebrews 10 verse 24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works What does that mean provoking each other to good works? It means that you're Encouraging it means that you're goading if you will or encouraging people to serve the Lord But you're encouraging them in a constructive way. You're not cutting them down making them feel guilty You're doing it in a constructive way It doesn't mean that if somebody misses a soul winning time you walk up to him the next week and go Why so backslidden bro? Where were you? Are you been saved? No, I'm just kidding You Man you're just going back into the world, aren't you you missed one soul winning time. What were you doing? Watching TV playing your video games Folks here's what it means if Somebody falls away and I'm not saying just one soul winning time I'm saying like it's been weeks since you've seen them and they come back Hey, it's great to see you back brother. God bless you It's great to see you at church You know, I made this mistake one time. There was a guy who missed just one service. Okay, it was just one and I walked up to him after the service was over and I'm like, where were you what's going on? And he was like look, you know, it was just personal I just couldn't make it and I kept prodding him like I was interrogating the guy I might as well had just attached some lie detector machine to him and Interrogated him like I was law enforcement or something. What do you mean personal? What does that mean? What were you what were you up to? What were you doing? And you know that pissed him off. All right, and he texted me after and he's like look I don't want to feel like I'm being interrogated by the FBI just cuz I missed a service and I had to apologize And I said look, I'm sorry, you know, this was earlier in my Christian walk and and you know I was I didn't know what I was doing as ignorant All right, and we don't want to do that to people when they come back after a long break Just praise God that they're back because here's the reality of the situation if somebody falls away they can always come back if somebody falls away if somebody goes back into the world if somebody decides that they're gonna go back to The old sins they were committing before they can always repent they could always get back in church they could always start serving God again and We should be happy when they do the prodigal son great example of this rejoice when they come back to church Rejoice when they're interested in the things of God again, don't just cut them down Provoke them in constructive ways provoke them in constructive ways. And here's what I think that looks like When somebody you notice starts to miss church, why not send them a text message and say hey Missed you on Sunday praying for you Simple as that How you doing? How's your family doing? Or maybe just ask them how they're doing. That's it. You know when I miss a service I Actually really like it when people send me these texts because it makes me feel like people actually care Like if I were to just disappear off the face of the planet I would receive a whole bunch of text messages from people asking me, you know, hey, where you been missed seeing you at church I don't think there's anything wrong with that and to me that's a constructive way of Encouraging somebody to keep coming or encouraging somebody to come on back Acts chapter 14 if you would turn over there acts chapter number 14 Send him a text. How's it been going lately miss seeing you? You know, god bless you things like that praying for you. Whatever the case may be Let's provoke people unto love and good works in a constructive way Acts 14 I think gives us an example of this In the sense of exhortation it says in verse 19 and there came there There are certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people and having stoned Paul Drew him out of the city supposing he had been dead How be it as the disciples stood round about him? he rose up and came into the city and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derby and When they had preached the gospel to that city and it taught many they returned again to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch confirming the souls of the disciples notice this and Exhorting them to continue in the faith that we must through much tribulation Enter the kingdom of God So Paul was afflicted by the Jews here Which talked about them in the morning service obviously and he returns to Lystra Iconium Antioch confirming the souls But notice it also says in verse 22 that he exhorts the disciples. He encourages the disciples that through much tribulation They're gonna have to enter the kingdom of God encouraging them and exhorting them But also reminding them that there's tribulation coming this is that there's affliction coming and he wants them to smash their way Through that he wants them to endure that he wants to see them succeed and so we exhorts them to do So be a positive influence for another believer be a positive influence for someone at this church To exhort them and encourage them to keep serving God to keep going soul-winning to keep reading their Bible to keep praying To stay involved in the spiritual warfare that we all find ourselves Involved with because at the end of the day we need more members on Christ team than possibly ever before When you look at how this world is rapidly deteriorating and the culture that's surrounding us we need to provide exhortation for people not to quit and to endure afflictions and endure tribulations Just like Paul did here in Acts chapter number 14 that in the face of opposition in the face of hatred in the face of Enemies in the face of hostility emanating from the world that they can get through it that they can endure it and they can keep serving God encourage people with those things exhort people with those things. I think that's what preachers do That's what preachers are supposed to do Titus says these things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority Let no man despise thee one of the goals of preaching is to inspire someone to inspire somebody to serve God better to inspire somebody to love God just a little bit more after the sermon Compared to before the sermon to inspire to encourage to exhort to build up. Obviously. There's a time for rebuke There's a time to rip on the fags There's a time for all those things But one of the goals of preaching ought to be to encourage people and inspire them to serve the Lord better You know when you fill the pulpit here or elsewhere. Here's my question. What's your motivation is? Is it because you want to help people and minister and serve them or is it so that after the sermon people could come Up to you and go. Oh good sermon brother. And obviously it's encouraging to hear that I'm not against that. You know, if you want to tell me good sermon after I'm done. I'll take it. Okay, that's it helps But is that your motivation though? Are you doing it for the acclaim of man or are you doing it because you have true? authentic love for the brethren and you want others to serve Jesus Christ better and you want to exhort them to serve Jesus Christ better and you want to encourage them to serve? Jesus Christ better because let me tell you something. That's why we do this There's a goal with every sermon you want to provoke people to do something It's not about you. It's about others. It's about serving Head over to 1st Corinthians 13 will be done Are you motivated when you get up to preach men? Are you motivated by love for the brethren or love for a claim? Are you motivated by love for the brethren or love for a claim? It's that easy It's a poignant question. I think Romans 12 says let love be without dissimulation. What does that mean? It means without a preconceived without a pretense without a false pretense fake Inauthentic synthetic and there are plenty of churches out there Who would display that kind of love, you know liberal churches are some of the most unfriendly Mean places I've ever been to and I've been to plenty of them before I got saved. Nobody cares. No one cares about you there They love freaks. They don't love you. Okay, they whenever they sell love is love. We love everyone Here's what they really mean. We love freaks. We don't love normal people Because you can walk into those churches. No one will ever talk to you. Nobody cares about you. Nobody cares about your family No one cares about your salvation You won't find anyone checking your salvation at those churches because they don't care about you because they don't love you They love your money. That's what they love. They don't love you as an individual Let's make pure words Baptist Church. Let's make sure rather because this is more of a preventative sermon Let's make sure that pure words Baptist Church doesn't fall into a dissimulation type of love a fake type of love with false pretenses Let's make sure that pure words Baptist Church continues to be a church where its membership loves one another with authenticity With authenticity you say how well have compassion Esteem others better than yourself don't receive railing and backbiting Be long-suffering like I talked about provoke others and exhort others to love and good works You could do it through interpersonal relationships or for the men who are on the preaching rotation Do it when you get up to preach as well. And again, I know there are other types of sermons I'm not saying every sermon has to be an Encouraging type sermon but every once in a while when you do preach that type of sermon do it because you genuinely want to serve Other people and help them out you know Jesus Christ, like I said, he set the example and He loved people He loved people despite their imperfections He loved people despite the fact that they continually messed up over and over and over again Despite their failures. He loved people despite their failures despite their sin. Here's my question Are you willing to do the same for your brothers and sisters in Christ? First Corinthians 13 where I had you turn Verse 1 is what we're gonna look It says though. I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and of not charity I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol and though I have the gift of prophecy And understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity I am nothing Say even if I have faith so much faith that I can move mountains, but I don't have charity I'm nothing think of the magnitude of that Verse 3 and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me. Nothing folks. You can have the gift of preaching you can have the gift of Knowledge you can have the grift of the gift of faith so much faith that you're capable of moving Mountains and what the Apostle Paul is saying in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 these powerful verses don't miss it Folks if you don't have charity all of it is vain all of it is meaningless You have nothing charity is so important. And yes, there are churches that overly emphasize it I believe that but we shouldn't leave it behind you don't overcorrect See without charity all of those gifts. I don't care what spiritual gift you have it profits you nothing without authentic genuine love for the lost and Authentic genuine love for your brothers and sisters in Christ it profits nothing And so I urge you I urge you this afternoon Look Consider the importance of this subject. That's all I'm talking about Consider the importance of this of this of this subject and help enable pure words Baptist Church to continue to be a place That takes heed to this to charity to love loving one another taking heed to God's commandment Which we see constantly throughout Scripture that phrase is used over and over and over again take heed to this commandment Let this be a church that continues to take heed to this commandment that we see that appears all throughout the scriptures the commandment That says this love one another don't forget about it. Don't leave it behind Don't ever think it's okay to de-emphasize this because it's not the Bible emphasizes it greatly Because at the end of the day without charity we are nothing Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer father. God. We thank you so much for our church and It's steadfast Baptist Church also pure words Baptist Church And I just pray that you would help us to continue to have charity for the brethren to lift others above ourselves and also Lord that you would just help us to Just refuse or reject all kind of railing and backbiting in this church and that we would just love one another The way that you described it for us in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 in Jesus name. I pray amen If you would grab your white hand out we're gonna do Psalm 126 Psalm 126 and your white hand out When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion Psalm 126 Let's sing 126 let's sing when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion We were like them that dream Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue was singing Then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord had done great things for us Whereof we are glad Turn again our captivity O Lord as the streams in the south They that sow in tears shall reap in joy They that sow in tears shall reap in joy They that sow in tears shall reap in joy O Lord as the streams in the south They that sow in tears shall reap in joy They that sow in tears shall reap in joy Then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord had done great things for us Whereof we are glad He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again, shall doubtless come again, with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Then saith they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them, The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.