I'm going to be bringing an unusual message today in the sense that it's not my standard expository message, but I trust it's one that will not only be beneficial and a blessing to you, but one that will be an encouragement as well. Now, listen carefully to the title of the message, and then I hope it will pique your curiosity. The title of the message is The Angel of Mary's Heights. Now you say, I have no earthly idea what you're talking about. Well, let me just give you a little background. After I give you a number of scriptures today, I'm going to give you a true story that will illustrate the scriptures. And I have known about this story for a good while. And some time ago, I got a new book of just individual stories that It happened, and I was rereading that book, and although I'd read this story of the angel of Mary's heights previously, there was one little fact that I had overlooked, and it stuck out in my mind, and it impressed me so. I wanted to use that as an illustration for this truth. So, look in Matthew chapter 5, and let's read verses 43 and 44. Matthew 5, verse 43. Our Lord said, You have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Now look back, if you would please, in verse 43. He said, You have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. Now verse 44, But I say unto you, Love your enemies. Those are amazing words, love your enemies. Immediately when we read those words, we have to ask ourselves, what in the world does it mean to love our enemies? Well, very obviously, it does not mean that we'd have warm, fuzzy feelings towards them. And it certainly cannot mean that I have to cherish feelings of closeness. and sentimentality toward one who is seeking to destroy my life or my family or my property. So what in the world does it mean then to love your enemies? So, Lord willing, I want to give you several scriptural truths and then illustrate this truth with the life of Richard Kirkland. Now, I hope that everyone in this room remembers that I have often taught and declared that biblical love is not feelings. It is not sentimentality. It is not some abstract thing floating around in the universe in which we cannot lay hold upon. Let me put it to you very plainly. Scripture says in Romans 13 in verse 10 that love is the fulfilling of the law. So in case you have not gotten it, let me say it again. First and foremost, love is obedience. It is obedience to God and His Word. And Scriptures are abundant in teaching this same truth. Very quickly, look in your Bibles to the book of John, chapter 14. John, chapter 14. And notice, if you would please, verse 21. John 14, verse 21. Look what our Lord says. John 14, verse 21. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. Now note what he said. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he that is not loved of Me..." What is love? Love is obedience. "...he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." Now skip down to verse 24. "...he that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings." So Christ said, if you love Me, you will obey Me. If you do not love Me, you will disobey Me. That's pretty plain. Look in your Bibles to 1 John. back toward the book of Revelation, 1 John. And you'll have 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and then Revelation. Look in 1 John 5 at verses 3 and 4. 1 John 5, verse 3, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. Verse 2 is the verse I really wanted first. He says, By this we know that we love the children of God, when? When we love God and keep His commandments. So what is love? It's keeping His commandments. For this is the love of God. What is the love of God? That we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. So love is obedience. It's obeying God's commandments. Go back to 1 John 2. And look, if you would please, at verse 3. 1 John 2 and verse 3. Here John says, And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. Now note what he says. We do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. How do I know that I know God? Well, the answer is, is my life one of obedience? Look in verse four. He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. So Let me ask this question again. What is love based upon the Word of God? Love is obedience. He said this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and those commandments are not grievous. So first and foremost then, love is obedience. Now I admit that there is always a spirit of compassion involved because we do not obey God in a vacuum. But it is our love and our regard to our Heavenly Father and His law that moves us and motivates us then to regard our enemies as He demands in His Word. Now, let me ask that you go back to Matthew 5. Matthew 5. Our text was verses 43 and 44. And let me show you the context of this passage because I'm dealing with this phrase, love your enemies. Notice Matthew chapter 5. And notice, once again, let's read verses 43 and 44. You have heard that it had been said that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you and do good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Now, I'm dealing with the phrase love your enemies. Hopefully, I've demonstrated to you from Scripture already that love is obedience to the law. Love is the fulfilling of the law. But let me tell you what our Lord is doing in Matthew chapter 5. In Matthew chapter 5, our Lord is correcting the misinterpretation and the misapplication of the law of God by the Pharisees. The scribes and the Pharisees had constantly and continually perverted the law of God. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 5, verse 27. Matthew 5, verse 27. Our Lord says, you have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. Note, thou hast heard that it was said by them of old time. Who is the them of old time? The scribes, the Pharisees, who are supposedly teaching God's law. But note if he says in verse 28, but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed an adultery with her already in his heart." Notice that you've heard it said by them, but I say unto you. In other words, here's what they teach, but here's the proper interpretation and the proper application of the law. Look, if you would, at verse 31. He said, It hath been said, verse 32, but I say unto you. In other words, here's what they taught, but now I'm telling you what the truth really is. Look in verse 33. Again, you have heard that it had been said by them of old time. Verse 34, But I say unto you. Here's what they taught. It was wrong. I'm teaching you what is right. Look in verse 38. You have heard that it had been said. Verse 39, But I say unto you. And then if you'll skip down to our text, verse 43, you have heard that it had been said. That is, this is what the scribes and the Pharisees taught. Then he said in verse 44, but I say to you, love your enemies. Now, what were the scribes and the Pharisees teaching? They were teaching it was quite acceptable and quite proper to hate your enemies. Now, nowhere in the law of God did the law demand that we hate our enemies. In fact, on the contrary, the law taught differently. Let's go back in our Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 19. And let me just show you several passages. Leviticus chapter 19. And look, if you would please, at verse 18. Leviticus 19, verse 18. Look what God says. In fact, we can read beginning there with verse 17. Leviticus 19, verse 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor and not suffer sin upon him. And the neighbor does not necessarily have to be a brother. Verse 18, Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people. But thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord. So the law did not demand that we hate our enemies. Look, if you would please, in verse 33 of the same chapter. He said, And if a stranger sojourned with thee in your land, you shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself. For you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. So once again, God's law is not teaching hatred of our enemies. Notice, if you would please, in Exodus chapter 23. Exodus chapter 23. By the way, please, I please want you to take knowledge of this simple fact. The Word of God is not demanding or declaring that we do not have any enemies. The Word of God does indeed declare that there are plenty of enemies, but God also declares our proper attitude toward those enemies. Notice, if you would, Exodus chapter 23, notice verses 4 and 5. He said, if thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. And if thou see the ass of him that hated thee lying under his burden, and wouldst forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. So here is a man meeting his enemy's ass or his enemy's ox that has gotten out. God said, you may not hide yourself, you must surely help to bring that animal back home again. And if you see your enemy's animal lying under burden, maybe trying to deliver a young, God said you can't hide yourself. You must help that animal. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 25. Proverbs 25. Here's another interesting passage. Proverbs 25. And note, if you would please, verse 21. Proverbs 25, verse 21. God said, if thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat. And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. Now I'm in Proverbs 25, verse 21. For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. Now look what he said. If your enemy hunger, give him bread to eat. If he be thirsty, give him water to drink. For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, And the Lord shall reward thee. Now look in your Bibles to Proverbs 24 at verse 17 and 18. Now here is a very interesting passage. God says, Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and ye turn away his wrath from him. Now God says when your enemy falls, there should not necessarily be A proud gloating disposition. And God said, lest. I see that pride in that gloating disposition, and I turn my way, turn away my wrath from him. So God is telling us there is certainly. An attitude that we're to have toward our enemies, he says we're to love our enemies, he's not saying we do not have enemies. But we are to love them. Now, I'm trying to explain to you what it means to love your enemies. And I think before I get through, you might really understand it. Someone is going to object and say, but Pastor, I read my Bible, too. And I remember reading in Psalm 139, especially verses 21 and 22, where David said, Do not I hate them that hate thee, O Lord? Yea, I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them my enemies. David did say that. But are you listening? There is a difference between our private enemies and public enemies. There's a difference between my private enemy and a covenantal enemy of God. In Matthew chapter 5, he is not dealing with public or covenantal enemies. He's dealing with my personal enemies. That's when he said, love your enemies. So in Matthew 5, that passage then has to do with individuals who have harmed me, individuals who are trying to injure me. It has nothing to do with those who are in rebellion and revolt against God. Yes, we could say with David there correctly, do not I hate them that hate thee, O Lord. Yea, I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. So when God says to us in Matthew 5 in verse 44, love your enemies. In fact, go back there. What in the world is He saying? Let me show you. In Matthew chapter 5 in verse 43, our Lord says it like this. You have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. In other words, that's what the Pharisees taught. That was wrong. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Now, Matthew 5 verses 43 and 44 is forbidding what you and I would call personal animosity, vindictiveness, ill will, hatred, and any other wicked motive and disposition. Now here's my question. How do we know that we're not full of ill will hatred, vindictiveness, and personal animosity toward our enemies? Well, the answer is very simple. If our hearts are not full of vindictiveness and animosity, we'll be able to pray for them. We'll be able to do good for them. We'll be able to bless them when they curse us. In other words, we're going to have a biblical attitude. Now, I want you to watch this. Turn in your Bibles. to Romans chapter 12 because Romans 12 verses 19 through 21 is a further explanation of Matthew 5, 43 and 44. So look in Romans chapter 12. And I hope that you understand that this once again is quoted from Proverbs 25. Notice Romans chapter 12 verse 19. The Apostle Paul writes, Dearly Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place in the wrath. Why? For it is written, Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay. Now note, he says, Dearly Beloved, avenge not yourselves. In other words, do not get full of vindictiveness, vengefulness, hatefulness. Why? Because vengeance belongs to the Lord. And then he says in verse 20, Therefore, if I have any hunger, do what? Feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap coals and fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, overcome evil of good." Now, the question once again comes up, how do I know that I'm not full of vindictiveness and vengeance? Well, if I'm able to feed my enemy if he's hungry, if I'm able to give him water and drink if he's thirsty, then I'm not necessarily full of vindictiveness and vengeance. And then he said, In so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. In other words, what you're doing is rewarding good for evil. And then he makes this amazing statement. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. So the way to overcome evil is by doing that which is right and biblical. If we reward evil for evil, then we're overcome with evil ourselves. Now, I told you the type of this message was the Angel of Mary's Heights. Because this is one of the clearest illustrations of Matthew 5, 43 and 44, and of Romans 12, 19 through 21, that I've ever come across. So before then, I give you the story of the Angel of Mary's Heights. I want to give you some of the background first. The events surrounding the story of the Angel of Mary's Heights took place at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia in December of 1862. The Union forces, the Yankee forces under General Ambrose E. Burnside, and by the way, that's where we get the word sideburns from because he had those huge sideburns and his name was Burnside. So it just turned around. So the Yankee general then was Ambrose E. Burnside and he planned to attack Richmond, Virginia by way of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Now the Confederates happened to arrive first. By the way, General Nathan Bedford Forrest had a say. General Forrest had as his dictum this simple truth, get there firstest with the mostest. And that's what he always tried to do. Well, it just so happened they knew Burnside was coming and the Confederates got there first. And this battle is one of the great landmarks of the entire war. And when the Confederates got there first, they carefully selected their position and fortified that position with a stone wall. The stone wall was already there. And then they built a crude road between two hilltops. And those two hilltops were known as Willis and Mary's Hills. Collectively, they were known as Mary's Heights. So Mary's Heights, then, is the place. It's where this battle took place. Now the Army of Northern Virginia, of course, was under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. He was there stationed along the Telegraph Road, which is also known as the Sunken Road. And this road was to the rear of Fredericksburg. The Union Army had to charge uphill to attack the Confederate positions. Involved in this defense were two seasoned Confederate generals, General Stonewall Jackson and General Joseph Kershaw. Now, I've already told you that General Burnside was the Yankee general. And Lincoln had placed him in charge for a specific reason. Lincoln was desperate for victory. Up until this time, most of the battles had been to the south. So the Union army was not only in disarray, the morale was sagging. Moreover, the people of the north were generally disgruntled and discouraged, and an election was coming up, and Lincoln literally demanded that Burnside do something and pressured him to win this battle. So Burnside was desirous of a quick battle, a quick victory in this battle, and what he did was he sent wave after wave of Union troops charging up this hill where the Confederates were hiding behind a stone wall. And the Confederate sharpshooters were six ranks thick, not counting the artillery. The Yankees had to charge, are you listening, not only up a hill, but over 400 yards of open field. Sergeant Kirkland, Sergeant Richard Kirkland, was one of those Confederate men behind that stone wall. Here's what would happen. Now remember, these men were six ranks thick, that is the Confederates. When the Yankees would charge up the hill, one line would deliver their devastating fire straight into the ranks of the Yankee soldiers. They would immediately step back. The second rank of Confederate soldiers would come up and empty theirs. They would step back, and they kept going, and the ones that stepped back just kept reloading. And finally you had six ranks delivering devastating fire into 400 yards of open field. Nothing for the Yankees to hide behind, not counting the artillery. Well, there was a minimum of 6,500 dead and dying Yankees lying on the field. You're going to hear me give you various figures today because there are estimates by men who were there, but the estimate is from 6,000 to 12,000 Yankee soldiers that were dead or dying. With each charge of the Yankees, a fresh line of Confederate riflemen would step up and fire while the others were reloading. Yankees dropped like flies and they dropped to the frozen earth. Now remember this is in December of 1862 and literally the Yankees were being mowed down. General Kershaw was on horseback and he was riding behind his troops encouraging them to hold their position at any cost. This is absolutely amazing to me. There were a few Yankee soldiers. That got within a few feet of the stone wall. But not one ever reached that stone wall. Not one. Not one. They were all cut down before they reach the stolen wall. You're talking about devastating fire. Now some of you men were in the service and I remember the first time they took us out at boot camp and just showed us the field of fire. Do you remember you had a BAR on one end and a BAR on the other end and all of these men would have different varying fields of fire. And every fifth bullet was a tracer. That means every fifth bullet was a red streak. And for every red streak you saw, there were four that you didn't see. And I remember the first time I ever saw an 11-man squad lay down a field of fire like that. My thoughts were, oh Lord, have mercy. How could anyone ever live through that? Because all you saw was a solid sheet of red. And by the way, the firepower is far greater today than it was 40 years ago. But can you imagine what it must have been like with thousands and thousands of Confederate soldiers, line upon line, firing their muzzleloaders in the face of these Yankees charging up the hill. And here, the artillery over them, blasting down upon them. Every time they sent a wave of men against the Confederate position, every time they failed. And these thousands of Yankee soldiers collapsed on the field. There was no rescue attempt that could be made by the Yankees. Because there's 400 yards of open field. No truce had been called. And Ambrose, General Ambrose, was so stubborn that he would not call a truce so that he could get his wounded off the field. Well, the sun set over Fredericksburg and the temperature dropped below freezing. As the temperatures fell, snow began to fall. and fell on those dead and wounded Yankee soldiers. Let me give you just one quote. Les Carroll, in his book, On the Angel of Mary's Heights, writes this. By the way, for those of you who have ever shot muzzleloaders, and for those of you who have ever seen cannon fire, the black smoke is horrendous. Listen to what he said. The thick smoke from the day-long battle mixed with the fog to form a gray, gloomy cloud over the battlefield. A dark mood fell on the battlefield with the night. The Confederate soldiers sat or lay crammed behind the stone wall, desperate to stay warm and alert to movements of the enemy. Just yards in front of them on the frozen plain, nine or ten thousand Federal soldiers lay dead or wounded. The injured Union boys were helpless and cold, in terrible pain and unable to get back to their lives. Their fellow soldiers could not come forward to help them. Night fell and the agonizing cries for water and warmth filled the air. The dreadful cries of the wounded Union soldiers continued throughout the morning. The lingering fog and smoke kept the battlefield dark and obscure. But the cries still found their way out of the fog. Richard Kirkland listened with a heavy heart. I want to give you three eyewitness accounts, just simple one-liners almost. Lieutenant Frederick L. Hitchcock was one of the wounded. From 132nd Pennsylvania Infantry, he said, I gave my life up. The nervous strain was simply awful. The atmosphere seems surcharged with the most startling and frightful things, death, wounds, and appalling destruction everywhere. General Lafayette McLaws of Georgia said this concerning the enemy, they were repulsed with zeal and driven back with much loss on every occasion. And then finally, Alexander Hunt of the 17th Georgia said this, all that day we watched the fruitless charges with their fearful slaughter until we were sick at heart. As I watched one line get swept away by one fearful blast from Kershaw's men behind the wall, I forgot they were enemies and only remembered that they were men. And it's hard to see brave men die in cold blood. Here's a Georgia voice that we were just literally slaughtering them. Richard Kirkland was a Confederate soldier from Camden, South Carolina. He was a young man with deep Southern values and had a high regard for life. He was with the Second Carolina. He had joined the Confederate Army to defend his beloved country. While he sat behind that stone wall, shivering in the cold with his fellow Confederates, he listened all night to the anguished cries of those wounded Yankees begging for water, begging for warmth, begging for help. As the night grew colder, the cries grew more desperate. And for Richard Kirkland, all of a sudden, they weren't just Yankees. They were men. They had families. They were hurting. They needed help. Richard Kirkland just simply could not bear their cries any longer. So he left the Stonewall. And he went up to the top of Mary's Heights to the Stevens' house, where General Kershaw had his headquarters. It was there that Sergeant Kirkland made a plea with the General. With the General's permission, he would take water to the wounded Union soldiers lying out on the battlefield. Now, the General certainly was touched. And from that window, he had observed, directed the battle, what time he was not on horseback, And he watched from that position 30,000 Yankees charge up that hill and approximately 10,000 dead and or wounded lying out in front of him. At first, he refused permission for Sergeant Kirkland to carry water. He told him Union sharpshooters will kill you immediately. He said if he allowed such a thing, he would be sending Sergeant Kirkland to an instant death. Kirkland replied, I cannot stand it. He said all night long the Yankee wounded had been crying for water. With your permission, sir, he said, I'll sucker them. The general explained to Sergeant Kirkland that no truce existed between the two forces. Sergeant Kirkland then requested the privilege of displaying a white handkerchief if he went over the wall to carry water to the soldiers, but the general would not allow it. He said, we cannot wave a white flag. They'll think it's either a surrender or we're demanding some type of truce. He said, no, I cannot allow that. Finally, Sergeant Kirkland said this, with your permission, sir. He said, I will cross the field unarmed and without the display of a white flag, climb over the parapet and give those wounded Yankees water. The general just simply could not resist this gracious and kind spirit of Sergeant Kirkland. General Kirkshall said, Sergeant, The enemy is yonder behind those readouts with guns ready to have you to forfeit your life. But if you will, go and may God protect you. Kirkland understood that the attempt would be entirely at his own risk. He understood that he was assuming full responsibility for his life. And that when he went over that wall, he was literally taking his wife, his life into his hands. So Kirkland then put down his weapons, gathered as many canteens as he could gather, filled them with water from the well at the Stevens' house, and he raced out to the battlefield. As he jumped over the wall and began running to those wounded Yankee soldiers, Union sharpshooters immediately opened fire. I mean, if you were a Yankee sharpshooter and you saw a Confederate running out on an open battlefield, and especially with dead and dying Yankee soldiers all around, what would you think? I can tell you what they thought. They thought, in all probability, he was there robbing the dead. And so they began to shoot at him. Thankfully, they missed. And finally, a Yankee officer saw that he was unarmed. And all that he had was canteens. And the Yankee officers shouted, cease fire. Don't shoot that man. He is too brave to die. The Union sharpshooters ceased firing as they watched Sergeant Kirkland, the lone figure on the battlefield, and they could not believe their eyes at what they were seeing. Because Kirkland would take each wounded Yankee, put his head in his lap, and pour water down his thirsting throat. Not only that, for those who had blankets, he covered them with their own blankets. Then he gently straightened out their twisted, broken, mangled limbs. He went from one Yankee to the other. When those Yankee soldiers who were wounded saw Sergeant Kirkland giving help to the other men, trembling hands rose in the air. I'm here. I'm alive, come help me. Other men cried and begged for help and for water. One dying soldier thrust a letter into Richard's hands and used his dying breath to request that that letter be sent to his home after he died. Another soldier gave Sergeant Kirkland a watch box. and asked that the watch box be returned to his girlfriend. He said, please, sir, keep the watch for yourself, but just send the watch box back to my girlfriend. Throughout the entire morning, he made trip after trip from the battlefield to the well to fill and refill those canteens and back again to give water to those thirsty, dying Yankees. When he had completed his mission, he took his place back behind the wall with his weapons in hand. At that point, both sides had literally watched in awe. At that point, both sides broke out in loud cheers and loud applause. And both sides called Sergeant Kirkland the angel of Mary's height. Here is a man who is giving water to his enemies. A few months later, Richard Kirkland was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga. The way he was killed was evidently in line with his character. For he was killed while he was defending two other Confederate soldiers and enabling them to escape from an ambush. So literally he gave his life so that his fellow compatriots might live. Before he died, another Confederate soldier took Richard Kirkland's head and laid it in his lap and his last words were these, tell Pa I died right. I died at my post. It was on September the 20th, 1863, when Richard Kirkland was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga. His body was placed under the spreading trees in the Quaker Cemetery in Camden, South Carolina. Their large headstone reads thusly, Richard Kirkland, CSA. At Fredericksburg, he risked his life to carry water to wounded and dying enemies. At the Battle of Chickamauga, he laid down his life for his country, 1843 to 1863. Part of the inscription on that tombstone reads thusly, If thine enemy thirst, give him to drink. Today in Fredericksburg, Virginia, there is a street named after Richard Kirkland. More than 110 years after the war was ended, Richard Kirkland was nominated for the highest honor available to Confederate soldiers, the Confederate Medal of Honor. This was dated August 17, 1977, and presented a month later to the governor of South Carolina, James B. Edwards. An artist once again painted a portrait of Richard Kirkland's compassion And that picture's entitled The Angel of Mary's Heights. And that picture today hangs in the Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. Now, let me tell you the amazing fact that I had overlooked. Sergeant Richard Kirkland, when he risked his life to carry water to his fallen enemies was only 19 years of age. Here's my question. Can you imagine a young man of 19 today doing such a thing? Can you imagine the compassion and the character and the devotion that indwelled that young man. Is there not a huge disparity between the young people of 140 years ago and the young people of today? Where are today's Richard Kirkland? Where are our young people with compassion and character and devotion to that which is right and holy? Now, let me tell you something. To me, that is even more horrifying. Than to realize the disparity between the young people of 140 years ago and the young people today. What is even more horrifying is to imagine the disparity between the parents of 140 years ago and the parents of today. It's not just where are today's Richard Kirkland's. It's where are today's parents who teach the Richard Kirkland's. Where are the parents with the character and the compassion and devotion and the righteousness and the faith and the ability then to pass those convictions down to their children. Richard Kirkland was what he was because he was trained and taught by his parents. Let me give you another quote. One author stated concerning Sergeant Richard Kirkland, he says, it needs only to be added since the bravest or the tenderest and the loving or the daring that Sergeant Kirkland so greatly distinguished himself at Gettysburg that he was promoted for conspicuous gallantry and that he fell on the victorious field of Chickamauga bravely doing his duty. But he will be known in the annals of war as the hero of Fredericksburg. And he had but a short time before found Christ in the camp. I doubt not that he now wears a bright crown bestowed by him who promises that a cup of cold water given in the right spirit shall not lose its reward. You know what our Lord said in Matthew 10 in verse 42? He said, And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of his disciple, Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Let me make another application. Richard Kirkland risked his life to carry water to his wounded and dying enemies. That water may have quenched their thirst temporarily. But certainly not permanently. Do you remember what our Lord said in John four to the woman at the well? He said, woman, if you knew who it was that spoken to you, you would have asked of me living water. And I would have given it to you. And she said, sir, give me this water. Our Lord said this. Whosoever drinketh of this water, talking about the water of the well, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water of life that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Now here's my point. Richard Kirkland risked his life to give water to men for which they would thirst again. And we're not even willing to sacrifice to give the living water of life for which men will never thirst again. Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the water of life. Now, let me ask you. I began this message with Matthew 5 in verse 44, where our Lord says, love your enemies. How do we love our enemies? The answer is simple, by acting biblically and scripturally toward them. Let me tell you. I've said this repeatedly. I have no problem with killing an enemy when an enemy deserves to be killed. I have no problem defending my life or the life of someone else. But let me tell you, there is a vast difference between killing one's enemies, especially when that enemy is trying to take your life. There is a vast difference between killing one's enemies And just torturing someone just to torture them. You understand what I'm saying? How do we act biblically toward our enemies? How do we love them? By acting toward them the way God declares. If my wife is not in danger, I'm to do good to those that hate me. If my property, my life is not in danger, I'm to bless those who persecute me. You follow me? That doesn't mean I don't defend myself. Doesn't mean I don't defend my property. But it does mean this, that if I defend my life and if I defend my property, I do so with a clean and pure heart. One that is not full of vindictiveness and hatred and vengeance and ill will. You say, would you kill someone who's trying to take your life in a heartbeat? Because of what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches thou shalt not kill. What's the positive of the negative? The positive is thou shalt preserve life. Which means I have a duty and obligation to preserve life. Which means I have a duty and obligation to preserve my life. And if I allowed you to kill me, then I'd be guilty of self-murder at the hands of someone else. So that means I must do whatever is necessary to protect my life. But if I kill you in defending my life, I'm not going to do so in a heart of vindictiveness and anger and ill will. You follow me? I'll just kill you because you need killing. Not that I'm angry. Not that I'm upset. Now, if that is true in the broadest sense of the word, and it is, look at the petty, personal things in our lives when we let our enemies manipulate us. and control us, because we don't keep our hearts right. What does the Bible say in Proverbs 4, verse 23? Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. If I keep my heart, then my actions are going to be right. If I don't keep my heart, then my actions will always be wrong. We love our enemies. Not by being warm and fuzzy toward them, not by denying them and their existence, not by denying their wickedness and their evilness, no, but by not being overcome with their wickedness. And what we do. We do have a pure heart. And out of obedience to our heavenly father. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful today for Jesus Christ. And we're thankful, Father, for the life of Sergeant Richard Kirkland. What a tremendous testimony. A young man who put into practice the truth of thy word. If your enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, Give Him water. Help us, Lord, to never be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. Give us pure hearts, right motives, and godly lives. In Thy name we pray, Amen.