First Corinthians, chapter 13. Charity. First Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 4. All right, let's read. Chapter 13, verse 4. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. All right, let's pray again. Father, thank you for the songs and thank you for the word of God. Please bless it. Now the hearts meet with us here and help us. You would put your hand to this and make it effectual in our lives and in our hearts and minds. In Jesus name, amen. Suffereth long, charity suffereth long and is kind. We've talked about those things, but tonight we're going to talk about charity envieth not. Now, love does not envy. Envy is a work of the flesh, and love is of God. Love is of God, 1 John chapter 4 and verse 7, we know that. Love is of God. The Bible says that plainly. Envy is not of God. So it shouldn't be a mystery to us that envy is not a work of love. Charity envieth not. Galatians chapter five, verse 19 through 21 identifies the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. Now, I would take from that that what is following is the names of the things that are works of the flesh. Adultery. Fornication, uncleanness. People don't even know what those words mean anymore, I don't think. Somebody said, I seen the other day, said if you are dating and doing things that you shouldn't be doing, that's not dating, that's fornication. People that are shacked up together, that's fornication. People that are doing that when they're not married, that's fornication. No matter what it is. It's a sin. It's a sin against your own body. It'll ruin your soul. It ruins lives. It is bad business. It may look like fun and all the world may sing about it and say it's fun, but it's gonna ruin your life and you're gonna pay for it down the road so dearly that you cannot imagine right now. Well, let me move on here. I ain't preaching on the works of the flesh. I'm supposed to be preaching on love. Uncleanness. Boy, that covers a big area too. These are all works of the flesh. You see people that live like animals and it's filthy, that's the flesh. Cleanliness is next to godliness. You'll clean up your house, you'll clean up your body, you'll clean up your soul and your heart and your mind when God moves in. He cleans house. These are works of the flesh. Idolatry. Witchcraft. It's a joke now. It's laughable now. It's good. It looked upon as same as anything else. I mean, being a witch. It's a work of the flesh. It's not a religion. It's a work of the flesh. Hatred. That's right after witchcraft. Hatred. Hating people. Variance. Emulations, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies. Boy, that's all bad stuff. And right here, the next word, in beings. Murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Those are not all of the works of the flesh. They're just some of them. Anything like that. Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now is that plain enough for everybody to understand? The Bible says that if you live in adultery, live in fornication, if you live in that, if that's what you are, then you're not going to heaven. Doesn't matter how many professions of faith you've made. It doesn't matter how many times you've been baptized, how much you've been to church, how much you've given to the church. Doesn't matter what you say you are. If that's what you are, you're not going to heaven. You don't know God. That's what the Bible says. Baptists really have a hard time with that. They get their doctrines all contradicting one another and then they can't figure it out, you know. I believe in security of the believer. I do. I just don't see how you can lose your salvation. But the deal is, you got to be saved. And that's where most people get confused. They think salvation is just a profession of faith. I mean, you say you believe in Jesus, that's all there is to it, and then you get baptized, hey, you're going to heaven, whether you like it or not, whether you want to or not, whether you change your mind on it or not, you're going to heaven. And that's a bunch of baloney. That's a bunch of... Stuff from hell is what it is. That ain't true. The Bible says real plainly that these people that do such things, and Paul says, I've told you this before, I've told it in time past, I'm telling you again, people that do this are not going to heaven. But people take it and they make a doctrine, and the way that most Baptists teach eternal security is of the devil, I'm telling you right now. And I know that's true because when the devil came to Eve in the Garden of Eden and tempted her, that's exactly what he convinced her of is that you can sin and get away with it. That's the basic message. So any doctrine that teaches you that you can sin and get away with it is of the devil. I know that voice. I read it in the Bible. We are not ignorant of His devices. So it doesn't matter who come up with the doctrine or how it's in, that won't fly. And so see, that's what has separated me from so many of the Baptists and everybody else. Because I do not believe, according to the Bible, that you can live in habitual, continual sin and be saved and go to heaven. I don't believe that. And the Bible bears it out from cover to cover. You can't find any nowhere in the Bible where it teaches that you can. But a lot of people have figured it out that you can't. They've turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. They've made it a license to sin, which is not what it is at all. And that ain't works for salvation. That's just the way salvation is. When God saves you, He cleans you up and you get out of that business. They say, well, you're a sinless perfectionist. No, I'm not. We're all capable of sinning. God don't fix it so that we cannot sin. But that ain't gonna be the habit of your life. I went to church once in a while before I was ever saved. That don't mean I was a Christian then. And if I sin, that's what the Bible says, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. So that sinning for a Christian is the exception and not the rule of his life. His rule of life is righteousness. He's to yield his members unto righteousness, just like you yielded your members unto sin before. When you were a sinner, that's what you did. You lived for the weekend. You worked for it. You spent your money for it. That's what you lived for. was whatever your sin was. But when you get saved, you live for righteousness. And that's what your life's about. And you live for God and for the opportunity to honor God and do something for God to help his kingdom. Well, I'm off the track here, but just had to throw that in there. That makes it obvious that love can't envy. We're going to focus on that. Now, let's try to get back on the track here. What is envy? Well, here's what the dictionary says. Envy means pain, uneasiness, mortification or discontent, excited by the sight of another's superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often or usually with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person. That's envy. Put them down. Take them down a notch or two. Should have been me. I mean, why do they deserve it? And I deserve this much more than they do. That's envy. It's a work of the flesh. And it's not charity. Charity will never do that. It also means envy springs from pride or ambition, which is selfishness, mortified that another has obtained what one has a strong desire to possess. Envy is when somebody else gets promoted and you think it should have been you. Envy is when somebody else gets a new car, a new house. They get something and you think, well, I should, how come they can have it and I can't? That's envy. That's not charity. You're not having charity. That's evidence that charity is not there. Evidence that you have charity is that you don't envy other people. So how can you do it? Well, if you have charity, you're glad for them. You really are. You're glad that they got to step up, that they got something that they needed or wanted. Even if you wanted it, they got it. You know, all these yard sales and all these like Black Friday, what about that? How much charity's involved in that? They'll kill each other to get it. I mean, if that's the last one, buddy, you'll all get killed trying to get it. It's mine, I want it for me. Nobody's glad for somebody else getting anything in a deal like that, are they? People are full of envy because they're living after the flesh and walking after the flesh. It's a work of the flesh. Charity never begrudges the blessings that others have. Never. Always happy for them. I'll tell you something else too I can throw in here. Charity never rejoices in the calamities of others. Somebody you don't like, somebody that's been terrible, somebody you think deserves to get a lick or two or took down a notch or two, and then when it happens, you go, ha, ha, ha. The Bible says you better not let your heart rejoice when your enemy falleth. Because God will see it, and he'll bring it on you. He'll turn it on to you. That's not charity. Shouldn't be glad. We were talking today as we was going down there, you know, everybody's too hard on everybody else. It don't matter if somebody has a terrible mess in their family or a calamity, we ought to feel for them and we ought to pray for them and we ought to hope the best for them and not just kick them while they're down, trample them under our feet and say, haha, I knew it was coming. Hey, I had it coming. That's the reason they did it, blah, blah, blah. That ain't charity. That is carnal and flesh and very unpleasing to God. And you're fooling yourself if you think you're justified in doing such things or thinking that way or feeling that way. Charity don't do that. Charity envieth not. Charity never begrudges the blessings other people have, their possessions, their loved ones, their wife, children, or friends. their success or their position. Envy don't, I mean charity don't envy those things. Despise it. Begrudge it. The blessings and the successes and the good relationships that other people have should be an inspiration to us and should make us happy for them if we have charity. If God lives in us, love of God shed abroad in our heart, fruit of the Spirit, which comes right before the works of the flesh there in Galatians chapter 5, fruit of the Spirit is love, first thing. If it's that way, then we're going to be glad for them, happy for them. We're going to be inspired by them instead of envying them. When we begin to feel that we've been cheated while others have gotten better than they deserve, that's what envy is. Do you ever feel that way? You better guard against that because that is the devil. That is your own flesh. That's something there that you don't want influencing you. That's a cancer that'll eat right at you. If you sit around and think about it and say, boy, why do I have to bear all this? Why do I have to stay in my lowly place? And other people who are far less worthy move up and go on. That's envy. Do you understand that? That's what envy is. And charity envieth not. Love cannot envy. Can't do that. It's a work of the flesh. But I want to point something out to you. The time we live in, language is really kind of, I mean, it's been slung around real loosely. And people mix up two words. They mix up envy and jealousy. And they're not the same thing at all. Oh, you're jealous of me. You're jealous because they got a new car and you didn't. That ain't jealousy. That's envy. God is a jealous God. That's not a work of the flesh. Jealousy accompanies charity. Envy does not. Jealousy is evidence of charity. Envy is evidence that it's not. What in the world? Well, you need to think about words. Words mean things. And we need to understand things properly in order to have an understanding of everything. Jealousy and envy are two separate things. Envy is obviously a sin because it's a work of the flesh and it's akin to hatred and strife and causes confusion and evil. The Bible says that where envying and strife is, there's confusion and every evil work. James chapter 3 and verse 16. You see what it accompanies? Strife and confusion and every evil work is associated with envy. Has its roots there. It starts there. People evil eyeing one another. Saul's problem with David, where did it start? The green eye of envy. The women all come into town singing, Saul's killed his thousands, but David's killed his ten thousands. And Saul said, did you hear that? Saul said, did you hear that? They ascribed to me thousands and to him ten thousands. I'm the king. They're singing about him. That's envy. That's not jealousy. That's envy. Envy's a work of the flesh. Wrong. Charity envieth not. Jealousy cannot be a sin because God is a jealous God. Bible said in Exodus chapter 20, we're getting close to there on Sunday morning. We're in 19 right now, getting close to 20. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them. He's talking about other gods. Nor serve them, for the Lord thy God, I the Lord thy God, am a jealous God. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. Bible said in Exodus chapter 34 and verse 14, for thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose name is Jealous, with a capital J, is a jealous God. God's jealous, you get it? That's what the Bible said. And Joshua said unto the people, you cannot serve the Lord. See this is in Joshua chapter 24 and verse 19. This is where Joshua said, choose ye this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. And they all said, we'll serve the Lord. And this was Joshua's response, you cannot Serve the Lord. For He is an holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. What was the next thing He told them? You've got to put away those gods that are among you. You can't have them and God. God won't have you if you won't give your heart to Him. You can't give part of yourself to Him and part of yourself to somebody else. God won't have it that way. You think that's wrong? You think that's a sinful thing? Well, of course not. God, you think it's wrong to demand exclusive rights to someone? That's love. That's what charity is. That's a trait of charity. That's what jealousy is. Jealousy demands complete. Well, let me see if I can make that a little clearer here. Jealousy means the passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love or the suspicion that he has already done it. A man's jealousy is excited by the attention of a rival to his lady. A woman's jealousy is raised by her husband's, aroused by her husband's attentions to another woman. That's jealousy. That's the definition in the Bible, or in the Bible, no, Webster's 1828 Dictionary of Jealousy. And God says, I'm a jealous God. His name is Jealous. He expects you to be His. and nobody else's. And that is right, because God is right. He is a holy God. And he won't have it any other way. There's a jealousy that goes with natural human love, though, that's not justifiable. When it becomes an obsession and begins to work cruelty to the object of its love, then it's not right and it becomes a sin. That would prove it to not be charity, but plain old carnal selfishness. Do you understand what I'm saying? I remember a story about a man, he was going through his wife's stuff there and he found some old love letters and he got to reading them and they were love letters to her from some man. And he went through them and he was just in a terrible rage and he flew off and got mad and beat on her and everything and come to find out You know who the letters were from? Him. She had saved him. And in his jealous rage, he had harmed her. Well, now that ain't love. That's not what charity does. That's not what phileo love does either. That's selfishness and possessiveness. But love is possessive because here's what the Bible says about it. There is a, let me say this first, love does take possession. And that makes jealousy a certainty when there's any real or perceived threat to that relationship. Don't you see how jealousy is a necessary part of love? It's whatever it is, however God put us into it. See, they can't put this in robots. They can't put emotions, feelings, in robots. They can imitate them, but they can't put them in there. You read on the news, robots said this, and robots, they're going to, some of them are afraid robots are going to take over the world. Robots are machines. They don't think. They're machines that men have made to imitate people in the way they act. They're getting better at it. They can make them look just like us and all of this. But they're machines. They're things. They're not creatures. Man don't create things, he imitates things. He copies things that God has made. But jealousy is a thing that makes love possessive. Listen to this, Ezekiel chapter 16 verse 8. Now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love. and I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord, and thou becamest mine." Now it works different nowadays, don't it? The women uncover their nakedness to draw in the crowd, the man. God talks about how he covered it up. You girls need to remember that. A man who loves you will want to cover it up, not put it on public display. That's right. Ain't no man gonna love a woman. I can't understand these guys that want their wife to go around showing everything they got. What kind of fool are you, man? That's ridiculous. That ain't love. That's pride is what it is. That's a guy who wants to show off what he's got. But he'll lose what he's got. It's what he'll do. No, God found this one. He's talking about Israel and he covered her nakedness. First thing he did. And that'll be enough right there for everybody to understand how y'all to dress. Especially women, shouldn't it? Well, let me see here. In Malachi chapter 3 and verse 17. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts. He's talking about his people. They'll be mine. In that day when I gather my jewels, they'll be mine. But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel. Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. Isaiah chapter 43 and verse one. Thou art mine. You see how God looks at this deal? Say, God loves me and Jesus loves me. Well, if he loves you, he claims you as his. Well, what does that mean? Ain't nobody else got a right to you. You shouldn't open yourself up to the world and let the world put into you its evil and its philosophy. You should be a closed, a garden enclosed. You hear me? You should be a garden enclosed and there only ought to be one that has access. That's the way God looks at it. That's what He wants from you and from me and from everyone. That's what God wants. He don't want your lip service. He don't want you to just say, well, I believe, praise the Lord. That ain't what He's looking for. I can show you in the Bible where He said, I'm sick of that stuff. You praise me and you give me, you say you love me with your lips, but your heart is far from it. That ain't what, God don't want that kind of junk from people. He wants you. to be his and he wants you to be exclusively his. He's jealous of what's his. You know, they can mess up everything they want to in this world. They ain't going to do away with this. They ain't going to do away with this. Jealousy will get you killed faster than anything else. Yes, sir. Jealousy is the rage of a man, and he will not be satisfied. He won't give up until he's settled a score. Now, I'm paraphrasing on the last part of that, but that's what, though thou givest many gifts, you ain't gonna appease that. Nope. Is that right, guys? Yeah, you better believe it's right. We're made in the image and likeness of God. God, obviously, from the scripture, is that way. So, until love possesses its object, it cannot be jealous, but it can be envious. It's only true jealousy when love actually possesses its object. Do you see what I'm saying? It can only be jealousy when love actually possesses its object. So you see how different envy and jealousy are? Envy is something you don't possess. Jealousy is something you do possess. Envy is when you want what somebody else has got and jealousy is when you're afraid somebody's trying to take what's yours, that you love. One's promised or betrothed wife or husband. One's wife or husband. One's children or other loved one. This is where jealousy comes in. God and His children. Christ and His bride. Jesus and the Father are one. You know, don't ever believe this theology that puts Christ at odds with the Father. They're one. Don't believe this stuff that the father is up on his throne and he's angry and he's looking to get even with all these sinners and Jesus is interceding for us and pleading with him not to and Jesus talks him out of it. Don't get your idea in your mind that God the father is hard on sin but Jesus is easy on it. That's wrong philosophy. God, the Father, and God, the Son, look at everything exactly the same way. They're completely one in agreement on everything. Jesus looks at sin just like the Father in heaven looks at sin. They're not divided. They're not opposed to one another. They work together. So if God is jealous, what do you think Christ is about His bride? Jealousy brings justified anger and wrath. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 24. Remember what we talked about this morning? Moses. You better believe Moses. He said that. He said that God said that, so you better bank on it, God said it. Because Moses said he said it. You shall not go after other gods or the gods of the people, of the gods of the people which are round about you. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you. Lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted him in Massa. Deuteronomy chapter six and verse 14 and 16. What's the motive behind a lot of these killings that happen? I saw one yesterday where some man killed his wife and all the kids. It doesn't matter if you're spiritual or carnal, jealousy is there. It accompanies love, whether it's human love or whether it's divine love. Jealousy accompanies that. in the spiritual realm and with charity that is divine love, jealousy is there, but it's not madness. Don't you see what I'm saying to you? Jealousy is the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. Proverbs chapter six, verse 34 and 35. When Jesus comes to take vengeance on this world, it'll be because of what they did to his bride. It's called the great day of his wrath in Revelation chapter 6 verse 17. And that wrath is motivated by the jealous anger that the world has caused with their continual abuse and attempted seduction of his bride. Do y'all hear me? We think, well, he's got to get angry because of what they're doing to all the Christians around the world and what they're beginning to do to the Christians here in this country. Think, boy, God'll be mad because we're mad. But God also gets angry and full of wrath at people trying to seduce his bride. How you like it if somebody comes and starts flirting with your wife? That's what the world's doing. That's what the world's doing to you while you listen to its music, while you watch its entertainment, while you listen to their stupid philosophies and their wacko ideas and their opinions about everything. That's what they're doing. They're flirting with you. They're trying to seduce you and to talk you away from God and into their realm. And you got an ear for it? God's very jealous. You don't like that any more than you like it when some guy starts flirting with your wife. Or you women like it when some little floozy comes along and flaunting herself and showing her nakedness to your husband and flirting with him. Or your sons or your daughters the same way, your children. You see somebody doing that, you get mad. You get like Miss Owen told that girl come up out in the front of the house that day. chasing after her son. She run out there and said, you get out of here. What are you just acting like, an old dog in heat? He said, that's ugly. Yeah, that's ugly, but that's just how she was acting. Good for Ms. Owen. Put her on the run. She left. Exactly what she's acting like. He said, well, that's love. Charity envy is not, but it is jealous. You better stay in your own garden. You better stay out of somebody else's garden. And you better be careful messing with God's garden too. When God comes back to this earth, you know, I remember Brother Kenny preaching on that years ago. He's coming back and he's coming back mad. Well, yeah, he's coming back mad. It's the great day of his wrath. when his anger and his wrath is gonna be poured out on this world. Everybody thinks God loves us, God loves us, that's all we hear, it's Jesus loves you and God is love, and they don't understand what they're saying. They got a different idea of love than what the Bible teaches. And neither do they understand, and most people don't, that God is infinite in all directions. If he is love, God is love, that's what the Bible says. And he can love infinitely, but he can also, if his love's infinite, so is his wrath. And when you get God angry, I mean, you're gonna, man, a man can tear a wide path when he's angry, but you ain't seen nothing to what God can do. Love. Boy, it has a lot of different aspects, doesn't it? You say, boy, it looks real bad when a guy just punches some guy out real good, flirting with his wife. No, that's love. Say, man, how can you say that? I'm telling you. If God is going to do this to those that mess with His bride, then don't tell me that it's ungodly and wrong for a man to act on his jealousy towards somebody that's doing wrong, crossing the lines. Where's this idea come from that Christians are just supposed to be a bunch of pansies and a bunch of wimps and ain't got no backbone and can't stand up to nothing? Where'd that idea come from? Man, I don't see that in the Bible. I see men who were strong and they like, David, there's no man, you ain't gonna find a man anywhere more balanced than David was. David killed Goliath when he was just a boy. I mean, he was pretty tough. Before he killed Goliath, he killed a bear and he killed a lion because they come trying to get his sheep. And he killed them. I mean, then a giant comes out there and says, look at my dog, you send this little one. And he cursed David by his gods. David said, I'm fixing to take your head off. That's what I'm fixing to do and feed you to the buzzards. And that's what he did too. And it saved the day. Sure did. Now what we would do is we'd explain away Goliath's problems and say he needs some, what's that medicine that they give all the kids? What is that medicine? Ritalin, yeah. He's just too overactive and he's got a big mouth. We can calm him down, give him some drugs. Poor guy. He's probably had a bad raising income from a broken home and he's been raised over there in Philistines anyway and we ought to feel sorry for him. I mean, don't be so rough on him. I mean, eh. Come out here and defy the armies of Israel and God. David said, you ain't doing that and getting away with it. With me standing here, he said, what's the matter with everybody? All them soldiers in the trenches are trembling and when Goliath come out, they run and hid. David said, isn't there a cause? What's the matter here? Well, I'm just saying David had something in him that motivated him to action. There's no greater motivation to action than love. It's the thing that'll make you get up and do something. You don't think love would ever make you violent? If it doesn't, there's something wrong with you. If you won't protect your wife, your children, there's something wrong with you. You're a coward or you're messed up in your thinking. God expects you to protect your family and to protect your wife and stand up there and be a man. And you better. I'm telling you what, you sure better. You better know how to watch and you better know how to do something when it sticks its head up there. And you better not back down and quiver and run off. What a cowardly thing to do. Well, have I mixed you up tonight? No, I just thank you. I'm always concerned about things like this because there's always somebody that ain't balanced enough to understand what we're talking about. This is not an excuse to go beating up people. It's not an excuse to go looking for a reason to have a fight. No. Man, no. Know what you're about. Know where the lines are. Have some order and structure in your life and in your thinking so you know and understand these things. That will keep you from getting in situations where this has to happen. You see? You know. I mean, you take your wife and you start going to worldly places and around these worldly guys and all that, you're going to have problems right out. They're going to be after her just like a bunch of hound dogs. So live right. Stay away from that kind of crowd. Be in places. Keep her away. I mean, watch and you won't have. to face those things. A lot of that junk's brought on yourself when you just put yourself right out there. You want me to just keep on meddling or you want me to hush and let's go home? Oh yeah, there's still time. We got lots of time. It's Sunday evening. Still daylight outside. Don't be mixed up about love. The world is. They got this gushy, fuzzy, warm idea that love is just all wonderful and good and it makes you not do anything about anything and you just put up with anything from anything and everybody and nothing's worth anything, fighting over or raising a fuss over. Real love's not that way. No, real, real love won't make you selfish and envious of other people, but real love does make you jealous of what you do love. Love takes possession, your mind, because I love you. and you love me. It's a covenant. It's a union. It makes us one and nobody else has a right to that. That's why the vows say, what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. What do you think that means? Why it means you can't divorce. I don't think that's so much of what it means is all this that I'm talking about. Relationships have to be taken care of and cared for and nurtured and guarded. Guarded! And jealousy is that thing God's put in us to make us do that. And a guard ain't no guard at all if he ain't got a gun and willing to use it. And you understand I'm speaking figuratively there. I mean, if he's not willing to act to defend what's right, then there ain't no love there. Love will make you do it. You know, that's just the way it is. God put us all together. An animal has that much natural affection. Try to mess with a bunch of little pigs with an old sow, see what she does to you. Running on to a bear out in the woods, they'll run from you unless they've got a baby. And then they'll come after you because they feel like you're a threat. God just put that in everybody, didn't he? Everything. He's got something in them that makes them protect what they love. Men ought to do that too. Amen. Let's stand. Charity will make you do that. Charity will keep you from envying what others have. And if you got charity, you're not gonna be making somebody else jealous. You see how that works? So everybody in church, there shouldn't be any of those problems, shouldn't they? Shouldn't be no jealousy in church because if everybody's got charity, nobody will be envying and looking. Elsewhere. Wanting what somebody else has got. That's not covet. What does that mean? Want what somebody else has got? And he named the things. Your neighbor's ox, his ass, his wife, his house. Don't covet those things. He named them. Nor anything that is thy neighbor's. Be glad he's got it. Be glad for him. Be happy with what you've got. Then nobody will be jealous. And they won't be killing each other for those transgressions or supposed transgressions. Amen. All right, let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Pray to help tonight. I pray you would make it clear what we tried to say. This is treacherous ground we're on here, and I want everybody to understand it right and properly. And so, Lord, I pray you'd make clear what I have trouble making clear. and make everybody's mind clear on this matter. Charity, this is what it does. It really does have these attributes because the Bible tells us so here. And I pray you bless it to our heart now. And Lord help us as we go out of here tonight. I pray that this week you'd watch over each one of us. Lord as we get out and about on the highways and everything. We never know when an accident is going to happen. And Lord, we just trust that you're watching care over us this week. Pray you would help us to be a blessing to other people. Pray you'd put people across our path that we can help some way. And pray Lord that we would help each other, be an encouragement to one another. Pray you'd remind us through the week to pray for one another and pray for the folks that come here on Sunday morning, some of them, that they would be more faithful to the house of God and that you would help them in their lives to grow and understand more about you. Lord, bless our church and help us to be fruitful, be a blessing. Lord, that we could make a difference in people's lives that live around here, that others that are listening are far away. And I pray that if you come this week, we won't appear before you empty-handed, that it would have made a difference that we were here. And Lord, I pray you just bless the word of God in our heart now and watch over each one as we go. We love you, Lord. Thank you for our church and for the service tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right. All right. Anybody got anything?