We're going to look at a subject which is always encouraging to the Church of God is we love him, Christ, because he first loved us. In times like these, I think we need to dwell upon his love because that builds our assurance. We sung that hymn, Blessed Assurance. And the word of God says, perfect love casts out all fear. I think the more the Holy Spirit reveals to us individually the love of Christ, the love of God, the more fear will go out of our lives and we'll have more trust and more confidence in God. The lack of trust is unbelief and the lack of unbelief causes us to doubt and distrust God. And that's where Satan's always trying to bring trials into our lives to get us our eyes off Christ and get them on ourselves and get them on our problems that we start doubting the faithfulness of God as we sang that song this morning, greatest faithfulness. In Romans chapter 5 verse 8 it says, But God commendeth his love toward us, that when we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And it says in verse 5, Hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to shed abroad the love of God into our hearts and to manifest Christ to us. Jesus said in his earthly ministry that the Holy Spirit would take the things of Christ and reveal them unto us. Each one of us need that in our lives. And we're going to look at some verses. The one that we're going to base our text on is 1 John 4, 19. Most of you are familiar with that. We love him because he first loved us. There is no loving God if God doesn't love us. We cannot love him. He is the one who moves upon us, sheds the love of God abroad in our hearts. Because of that blessing, then we have love to God and we turn to God. As we think about the love of God and we look at the love of God, it's not just a theological doctrine. We can see it. It's something that God has revealed to you and I. For God so loved the world, He gave. Love has to be seen in action. I can say I love someone and they can say they love me, but if it's never demonstrated in our practical life, it has no meaning. It has to be demonstrated. You know, that's the thing about it. Sacrifice. Love involves sacrificing. How do we know that as parents? How often have we had to sacrifice for our children? because we love them. We may not say it arborally and verbally all the time, but the children can see our love because of the sacrifices we make for our children. How many parents have not bought them their own personal clothing because they Times are hard and they buy clothing for their grandchildren. They buy things for their children. They sacrifice their own needs and they meet the needs of their grandchildren and the needs of their children. And the sad thing about that is sometimes our children don't see that love. They just take it for granted. But how many times as a young person we should look back, think about our parents, think about how many times they sacrificed for you and I. And this brings us down to, Jesus' prayer in John 17, verse 9. He says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich. For your sakes He became poor. What a blessing that is to think about. He gave up the glories of heaven in a sense, and left that and came to earth and became incarnated in human flesh so that He could redeem His people from their sins. That's love seen in action. That's love seen in action. How do we know that God the Father loves us? Because He gave His only begotten Son on our behalf. Peter says in 1 Peter 1.7 that the trial of your faith, and beloved, that's what we're all going through right now. Whether you're a young person, whether you're middle age, or whether you're getting up in Roger's age, in my age, and others who are older than we are, it's a trial of faith. The Christian life could be called the trial of faith. Because every one of us, there's no exemptions, as believers we'll go through the trial of faith. How do you know what you are? How do you know how strong you are? How do you know whether you're spiritual or carnal? How do you know whether you're really serious with God? The trials of our faith brings that out. When God sends a trial into our lives and it knocks us off our feet and we lay on our back and we make the wrong decision because we're not looking to God, then we realize, I'm not as spiritual as I thought I was. And every one of us can be caught in a weak moment. And we have to be so careful. That's why Paul said, let him that thinketh he stand take heed lest he fall. All of us have to be on our guard because of the depravity of our nature. He goes on to say in this verse that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perish. Though it be tried with fire, it might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." That is what we're looking for. Why should we be faithful through these trials? Because it will bring glory and honor at the coming of Jesus Christ if we're alive at His Second Coming. It brings honor and glory to God. How we go through these trials. Whom having not seen, ye love. Now this is what we're coming down to. Love is the key thought today, is love. Whom having not seen. Can we love someone we've never seen? Yes, we can. And the love is seen by what? By our commitment to Him. Our commitment. When two people get married and they make a commitment, they make a covenant together to bond together for life. And I believe every person comes to the point of getting married, it should be in their mind, this is for life, a commitment for life until death do us part. You don't enter an engagement, a marriage covenant and say, well, if it don't work in six months, we'll get a divorce. It should be a commitment for life. This was God's purpose and plan from the beginning. One man and one woman until death do us part. That is God's perfect pattern. So we think about Christ and His love for you and I and the church, whom we love, though we see Him not yet we love Him. And whom though now you see Him not yet believing, you rejoice in the unspeakable joy, unspeakable and full of glory. Believing is associated with love. If you don't believe, you can't know the love of God. Believing lays hold of love. Believing trusts God. Believing is how we experience all the things in our Christian life. Believing is an evidence of what? Faith. The just shall walk by faith. Or the just shall live by faith upon God. One of the first things we see is God's love, as I read earlier. But God commended His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't look down through time and say, well, this person's a pretty good guy. I'm going to die for that person. Well, this one's a pretty good person here. I'm going to die. He said, no. He died for us while we were yet what? Sinners. Sinners. Depraved, ungodly, wicked, hell-deserving sinners. That takes away any glorying in ourselves. Any glorying in ourselves. God's love to undeserving sinners. And as we think about the love of God, As I said earlier, the Holy Spirit sheds abroad the love of God into our hearts. It says also, He maketh intercessions for us in Romans 8.26. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. And whether we want to confess it or not, we do have them. Yes, Brother Roach has many infirmities. Yes, Brother Roger. Yes, Brother Mark. Yes, Brother Bill. Brother Dave. All the men in the church will be the first. We'll leave our ladies out of it. We have many infirmities. We covet your prayers. But the great blessing here, the Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities, our weaknesses, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. Now that tells me that most of us don't even know how to pray spiritually. But the Spirit Himself maketh intercessions for us with growing which cannot be uttered. And I believe what that verse is teaching, that the Holy Spirit reveals to us and leads our minds and thoughts to pray according to the will of God. We need to confess our ignorance. Lord, I don't know how to pray. Please teach me to pray to the Holy Spirit. Reveal to me. what is thy will and what is not thy will. We don't have to pray, should I go out here and shoot someone? Because it's not the will of God, thou shalt not kill. We know what God's will is. When God commands something, we don't have to pray about it. We don't have to pray about, should I go out here and rob the First National Bank? Because why? God said, thou shalt not steal. There are certain things we can pray about and certain things we don't pray about. Like young people. The Word of God says, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. You don't have to pray about it if you're a believer, should you marry an unbeliever. God's already spoken on the subject. Now, I know we don't like to face reality. See, this is where we get in danger. But I love this individual. What's that got to do with it? God said, thou shalt not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. He didn't say, I don't care how you feel. It doesn't matter how you feel. It doesn't matter what your emotions are. If you disobey that rule, you will suffer as an unbeliever. Believe me. God is true to His Word. If you marry an unbeliever, if you marry someone who serves Satan and who loves the world and things of the world, and you love Christ, you're asking for trouble. There's so many young people could stand up or marriage people years later who could give testimony to that problem. Marrying outside of the will of God, in the sense, his revealed will. God has a revealed will, and that's what we go by. Well, I don't know what the secret will of God is. No, you never know. But you know what God's revealed will is. Be not unequally yoked together. So there's so many things the Spirit can lead us. And this is the danger of Bible studies. We read the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit convicts us. We reject that. We reject it. No. That's not for me. I'm not going to follow. I'm going to do what I want to do. And that's where Christ, the great Teacher, taught us we must deny ourselves. Isn't that difficult? It is for me. Self-denial. And that word, deny, means abandon. Totally abandon yourself. And God's will is your only will. God's guidance is your only guidance. And that is where most of us have our problem. Submitting our wills to God's will. If God be for us. That's really encouraging. Romans 8.31. What should we say to these things? If God be for us. Who can be against us? Ultimately, no one can defeat God's people. That verse is not saying that we won't be tried. That verse is not saying that Satan won't come against us, because it says in Ephesians 6, against, against, against, against, against five different times. Yes, there is enemies against us. But ultimately, they cannot overthrow God and destroy us. Thank God for that. Then we think of God's love for us and delivering up Christ for us. In the same chapter, Romans 8.32, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? To me, that's one of the greatest verses to encourage us to pray. If God gave His own Son and delivered Him up on our behalf, What is your daily needs compared to that? What are they? We need bread. What is bread compared to the living bread of the Lord Jesus Christ? We need water to maintain our health. What is that to the living water that Christ gives us? The liberty of up. Now this is what we need to dwell on. God's love for you and I. Now is this personal or is this just a doctrine to you? A lot of people hear this truth and it has no more effect on them than hearing about the baseball game. It's just something they hear and it has no effect on their lives personally. Some people will get more upset about a baseball game than do God because they'll get upset and moan and groan because their team lost a game. How many people get upset about God being offended? Oh, beloved. We think about Christ's love for you and I. He's interceding for us. I try to remember as many here as I can in my prayer time. It could be in the morning when I wake up laying in the bed. It could be at night. It could be during the day. But there is one who prays for us, who is the great intercessor of the church, Jesus Christ. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall ye not with him free to give us all things? And who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercessions for us. I would say if it wasn't for Christ making intercessions for us, we wouldn't make it in our Christian walk. Have you wondered why You haven't quit serving God? Some are falling by the wayside. I believe that in the last days when the test will come, the sheep and the goats will be separated. The wheat and the tares will be separated. Especially when Christ comes in His second coming. But I believe we'll see it before then. We'll see those who really are His sheep will be those who will endure to the end. We see a lot of people falling by the way, because they're professors and not possessors. They profess to be Christ, but they don't possess Jesus Christ. As He told the disciples, will you also go away? The same thing could be said to you and I. Will we go away when times get hard? When things in America become to the point where they start persecuting Christians? Putting ministers in jail because of what they preached, the word of the living God, calling it a hate book. That day could come in America that we as servants of God may be arrested and put in prison because we preach the truth of the living God. How many will stand true during that time? I say only by the grace of God, I pray that we do. Be like the Apostle Paul who didn't count his live deer unto him. Christ loved us and became our sacrifice, our Passover. 1 Corinthians 5 says, "...Purge ye therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lot, as ye are unleavened for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." You know, in the coming of the Lord, when the death angel came through Egypt, all the firstborn died if they didn't have the blood over the post. And if the blood is not over you and I, We will die in our trespasses and sins. It's the blood. It's the blood that makes atonement. You need to thank God and I need to thank God for the great sacrifice of our Passover lamb, Jesus Christ. You know, we read these things and sometimes, you know, it doesn't really get a hold of our heart. And I know sometimes we can't work it up. But we need to meditate more. I believe this is where the old writers used to meditate and talk about meditation. You meditate on something until it becomes part of you. We need to meditate on these truths until they get a hold of our heart. Pray for the Spirit to make them a real, until they draw our passion. It says, one of the verses I had on my mind this morning was also, the love of Christ constrains us. That's why this is so important to study the love of God to us. is because it constrains us. It constrains us. It's like Brother Mark and I. I wouldn't want to do anything to affect our fellowship as brothers in Christ. And we should feel that same way when it comes to the Lord. We shouldn't want to do anything that would offend our Lord and Master. We want to serve the Lord and we want to show our love to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And as the church of God, we need that today. I think one of the greatest needs in our church, I understood this out, is our real love and affection shown to each other in a practical, biblical sense. More than just, oh brother, you know, it's easy to shake somebody's hand. But we need to pray for the Holy Spirit. Lord, teach me to love Brother Mark. And I'm talking about me personally. Teach me to love Brother Roger. Teach me to love Brother Bill and to each one that's here, to love one another. I believe until the church of the living God comes to the point where they can love each other, we will never grow as a church. Never. Because love is the foundation of God's people, because the love of God is set abroad in our hearts. And this is one element. And I'll say this. Well, I won't get into that, that's the sermon I'm working on. But the thought is, if you have that true love being manifested, everything else will fall in place. And the reason we don't have all the other things is because we're not really filled with the love of God as we should. To God's first. and to each other. I'm sure Mark will be dealing with this in the future. Christ brought it before him. He said, I've done this. When did we say you were sick, Lord? Or when did we say you were in prison? When did we say you were hungry? And he said, the least of my brethren, you've done it unto me. Are we practicing that practical truth in our daily lives? Who are we helping? You can look back at this last week and say, who did I help? The week before that, who did I help? And then we say we love God. God says, I don't want to hear it. If you can't help and love your brethren, don't come saying you love me. And that's to all of us. We all have to have to receive that responsibility. It's our responsibility as Mount Zion church that we love one another. In a practical sense, not just on Sunday morning, we shake hands. We don't see each other again until next Thursday night or the next Sunday. It needs to be in a practical living sense. Are we burdened for the needs of each other? When Mark was going through a particular trial, picking on Mark this morning, I was real burdened for Mark. And I was praying for him, praying that God would provide an answer to his prayer in a certain area. And God did. Someone came along that could fix the problem. They fixed the problem. And he's at peace about it now. But that's how we should be. We should be touched with the feelings of our brothers and sisters in Christ and pray one for another. Be concerned one for another. Sister Parker's health. We should be concerned for Sister Parker when she can't breathe and she's having these problems. And Sister Sandy and others in the church who have physical problems. My mother, Sister Lorraine. We should be burdened for them. See, that's the union and fellowship we need as a church, that we're concerned, so concerned for each other. It brings out prayers in our lives. It brings out to the point we want to contact them and see what's wrong. What can we do to help? Beloved, true Christianity has to be seen. If it's not seen, one of the epistles says, don't love just in word only. And it's easy to do that, just through love and word only. I'm trying to make this more practical today as a church in Mount Zion that we realize our responsibility, not only to the members, but our visitors, like Jeremiah and his wife, and Jackson, and Jay, and Jody and his family, and Terri and her girls. We need to show love to our members and to our young people who are not members. I'll say yet. I'm praying for them too. We're praying for those and for our visitors to be part of Mount Zion. And if we didn't pray that, there'd be something wrong with us. Next thing, we see that Christ has made a curse for us. Galatians 3.13 says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. There you see Christ on Calvary between two thieves being the cursed of God. And he was. Christ was the cursed of God, not because of his sins, but because of our sins. No older than Matthew and Carl are at their young age. They have enough sins in their life already to condemn them into eternal damnation. When I was a young person, I had enough seen already in my life that we're born depraved. We're born sinners. We're born under condemnation. We don't have to commit those things to become under wrath. We are born under wrath of God. Because in Adam, we all fail and fall short of the glory of God. Now, I'll say this, that I believe we're under the wrath of God in Adam, but we're under righteousness in our head, Jesus Christ, the Lord. That seemed like a contradiction. How can he be under one and both at the same time? But we are because there's two representatives. We have a earthly race representative, which is Adam, and we have our spiritual representative, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. And who comes first? Christ does. He set up from everlasting. He is first, even before Adam ever had a being. So Christ was our curse. How many sins have we committed this week? I'm not asking you to raise your hand, but we all know. It can be thoughts. It can be just disobedience. It can be many things. As you think about your sins, bring us personally to home. That's why Christ was made a curse. My sins, my sin, I have to make it personally, is why my Savior was cursed upon the tree. He had no sins. That should make us love Him more and more. He gave Himself for us, willingly. Paul said in Ephesians 5, 2, "...and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us an offering." He gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savior. And if we love God, we're to love our brothers the same way. We're to give ourselves on the behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We're to love one another. Willing to give a sacrifice. Do you know what it costs to do anything today? How many has got 4, 5, 20, 30 hours a week to spare? Not many. Most of you, when you come home from work, you're wore out. You're ready to drop. So to go beyond the physical need and say, OK, tonight I'm going to visit my brother or sister in the Lord and encourage them. I'm tired physically, but their need is greater than my rest. And that's having a burden for those you love as Christians. Now again, it's easy to say it. It's easy to think it, but it takes sacrifice to do it. Now, anytime I think about sacrifice, it reminds me of, I know I've said this many times, but it reminds me of the pig and the chicken. There was a sign up there, ham and eggs, and the chicken said, well, that's not too bad. And the pig looked over to the chicken and said, yes, for you it's an offering, but for me it's a sacrifice. And we have to think about sacrificing sometimes. Does it cost us anything to serve God? If we're not sacrificing in our lives time in prayer, time in reading the Scriptures, time in helping our fellow believers, time in helping those around us, time in ministering to others, then we are not denying ourselves. Trouble today that we're all centered upon ourselves. Me, myself, and I. Which has become selfishness. It's what concerns me. It's what concerns myself. It's what concerns I. And the greatest hindrance to a strong relationship, even with young people who are dating and courting and thinking about the future and maybe marriage, you must realize that if you're always centering around yourself, you can never build a strong relationship. You've got to forget about yourself and love the object of your life, the one that you're going with or praying about, no matter what it is. And same thing with you and I. If I'm just thinking about what can the church do for me, Leroy, and never think what can I do for the church? I'm self-centered. I'm just thinking about myself. I need to be thinking about what can I do for my church? What do they need from me? What can I do financially? What can I do physically? What can I do in my prayer life? What can I do to contact them, to phone them, to visit? What can I do to help believers in the local congregation? That is important. And when God says, how dwelleth the love of God in you when you can't love one another? It's a big question. We should think about that. And because of His being made a curse for us, He delivered us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1.9 says, For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned from God, from idols, to serve the true and living God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come. Delivered us from the wrath of God to come. How often have you thought about that? The coming of God brings judgment. You will call Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. And He would judge this world in righteousness. And the only thing that would separate you and I from eternal wrath is Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree. Yes, it's important. Are you a believer? Are you a believer? And if you are a believer, it should be manifested in your life. And I've said this before and I'll say it again. If you are a believer, it's your responsibility as a believer to follow Jesus Christ in baptism and join the local church. That is your responsibility as believers. And the more you reject that, God will continue dealing with you. Because His children, one of the first evidences of being a child of God, is being baptized, I do believe. And having a heart to join the Lord's church. Why people think that is such a bad thing, I've never understood. It's a blessing. It's an honor. It's something that Jesus purchased. This is not our church. It's His church. I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The Lord added to His church. Added to the church. And if the Lord has burdened your heart to join the church, beloved, put Satan aside and follow the Lord. Be baptized and join the church. Quit halting between two opinions. Jesus said, the hour cometh when no man can work. Beloved, to stand before Jesus being obedient to the best of your ability, the best of your life, being obedient to Christ because you're obeying Christ, not Zion. You're obeying the Lord and Master. He says, follow Me. And we should follow Him in the waters of baptism. We should follow Him into His church. And we should serve the Lord in a local congregation. And have the Lord's Supper and the feed washing. Waiting for His coming until He appears again in His glory. Now that's a demonstration of your love to God. And if you're disobedient to that, There is no evidence that you are a child of God. I must say that. True evidence. And I'm not saying that a person can't join the church and not be born again. That has happened, too. But you must face your responsibility as a believer. What is my responsibility to God? What is my responsibility to God? Jesus is our forerunner. He's entered heaven already for us. Hallelujah for that. He obtained eternal redemption for us. Eternal redemption. As I spoke the last time, we shall never perish. Why? Because He obtained eternal redemption. Not part-time redemption. And I can remember my own life when I was struggling with... This is something that you'll have to do personal believer. This is not a family thing. Sometimes all family might be believers, but you have to do it as an individual believer. It's not something mother and dad do for you. Do you have a decision to make to follow Christ in baptism? If I make that decision, I made that decision as a young man, as an individual decision I made because I wanted to follow Christ. Have I had my ups and downs? Yes. Have I lived a perfect life? No. But I would still make that decision again. Because it was a decision preached by the gospel is to follow Jesus Christ. Some of you may get tired of hearing this. But I believe it's the responsibility of elders to preach to believers. I'm talking to believers to follow Christ and baptism and joining the local church and following and obeying Jesus Christ until His second coming. And if we don't preach that, then we're failing to preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ. He laid down His life for us. Hereby I perceive we, the love of God, because He laid down His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. That's what I've been saying this morning. As He's laying down His life for us, we should be laying down our lives for each other. It doesn't matter how much I say I love someone. If I'm not willing to sacrifice on their behalf, my words don't mean anything. Neither does yours. So much today of Christianity is lip service. As God said, they draw nigh to Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And that includes sisters also. It costs something to do that. It costs something. He appeared in the presence of God for us. I love these verses in Hebrews 9, 24 and 7, 25. He says, For Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hand, which are the figure of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. I don't think we really grasp the completeness of that, what that's saying. Wherefore, he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him. How do we come unto God? By God, by him, by Christ. He's the mediator. There's one mediator between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus. Seeing He ever liveth to make intercessions for them. That's why we're secure. And brother, we're dealing with eternal things this morning. These are things that are everlasting. These are things that separate the sheep from the goats. These are things that those who go their whole life in never believing Christ, never following Christ, never baptized, never joined the local church, never have a love to obey God, it's an evidence that they're of the world. As a tree falleth, it says in the book of Revelation, let it lie. You die an unbeliever, you will remain an unbeliever. He comes in His second coming in glory, and you an unbeliever, you will die as an unbeliever. He's praying and making intercessions for us. Better things for us. We have a better covenant in Hebrews. We have better promises. We have a better sacrifice. We have an endearing substance because it's forever. It's eternal. We have a country which is heavenly. The city of Bill is maker is God. Better. Better. Oh, the precious times I've had in the church of God, Brother Roger. Precious times. The baptisms I've seen in this church. The people who have came into my Zion and have moved to other parts of the nation. But the love and the spiritual blessings we've seen with baptisms and crying and weeping in the house of God and people rejoicing in the goodness and love of God. Oh, what a joy that is. Unspeakable and full of glory. In conclusion, 2 Timothy 2.19 says, Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. He knows His children. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Yes, there's a responsibility being a Christian. What is it, Brother Rhodes, to depart from iniquity? If we don't hate sin and we love sin, there's something wrong with our hearts. Now, I'm not saying you won't be tested to sin. I'm not saying that you won't go through trials. I'm not saying that you may not fall. But there is something wrong if we continually love iniquity more than we love Christ. Christ should be our supreme love. He should be who we seek after our soul longingly. who gave Himself for our sins that He might redeem us from this present evil world." Presently. You know, some people want heaven, but they don't want to give up the world. They want both. They want to live like they want to in this world. Live ungodly. Live wicked. Live into this world. Love the things of the world. And then wake up in glory. Jesus said He gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from when? This present. evil world according to the will of God and our Father. So it's God's will that we are delivered from this present evil world. And sometimes people get those things mixed up. What is this evil world? It's the world of sin. It's the world of Satan. All the ungodliness and wickedness and evil that's in this world system is all under Satan. When Jesus says, love not the world, He's talking about the system of evil. He's talking about that kingdom of darkness. He's talking about that prince in power of the air who's over the children of disobedience. We are not to love that world. How can we be born again of the Spirit of God, translated into the kingdom of God, dear Son, and still maintain the same love as we did before we were born again? True. Yes, it will always be tempting us. Yes, it's always affecting us. Yes, it's always trying to draw us into sin. But, beloved, there is a love now for the Kingdom of God. There's a love for the Father. There's a love for the Son. There's a love for the Holy Spirit. And the love of God is said and brought in our hearts. And we have a love for each other. There's a difference. We've changed. We've changed. who had delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Beloved, sin has not been totally annihilated, eradicated, but the power of it has been broken to the point that we are no longer total slaves to sin. And that's something we should rejoice about. And we've been translated to the Kingdom of His dear Son. The love of God is brought in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We're kept by the power of God. As you see in the parable of the sower of the seed, there's different seeds. But the one who had the good heart was quickened by the Holy Spirit and brought forth fruit. Some thirtyfold, sixtyfold, some a hundredfold. There's a difference. There's a difference. And in closing, as Roger mentioned this last week in his message, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. A living. God doesn't want some old dead sacrifice. He wants a living sacrifice. Holy. Set apart. acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Is it unreasonable for God to expect us to live a holy life? People say, well, I can just live like I want to and go to heaven when I die. It's not the will of God, beloved. It says, whether we live, we live unto the Lord, Or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. Believers, I'm talking to believers only, you belong to the Lord. Now get this in our minds. We belong to the Lord. Paul says in Corinthians 6, we've been bought with the price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. We've been bought by God. We've been purchased from sin. We've been bought out of the world. We're no longer our own. God is our Lord and we are to yield obedience to the Lord and not to our selfish desires. That's why Jesus said, if a man will follow me, Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Now, some people, it takes a lot to be sacrificed, to be baptized, because in some families, if you're a Jew, you're considered dead. No longer part of the family. If you're Muslim and you become a Christian and believe in Christ, they cut you off. And if they have the opportunity, they will cut your life off. You'll be destroyed. When the true Spirit of God brings in true conversion and a heart been changed, there will be a desire. There will be a desire to follow Christ and to obey Him. That's what I'm trying to say this morning. It's all because the love of God being shed or brought in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and that love will compel us to obey the Master. Obey the Master. And we as Christians who matured in Christians, we need to really remind ourselves that we're not our own, that we've been brought with the price. We need to set the example for the young believers in the church. They need to see us as an example. Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. And that's what Mark and Roger and myself and Dave and Bill, other men of the church, should be saying. Follow us as we follow Christ. We need to be a living example to these principles in the church. And we're not. And when we're not doing that, we are hindering the cause of Christ ourselves. Jesus said, Are you with me or against me? If you don't follow Christ, you're against Him. That's not my words, that's His words. So, beloved, I pray that each one of us will face our responsibility as believers. In a local church, my Zion, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? We read Paul's confession on the road to Damascus, and he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? But we never turn that around to ourselves and say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do as a believer in my Zion, in the local church? And as believers who have not followed the Lord in baptism, you should say, Lord, what will thou help me to do? Are you willing to submit yourselves to the Lord and Master? And I believe He'll lead you the right way. May we pray. Our gracious and loving Father, we thank You for the love of God. We thank You for the love of Christ which is shed and brought in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Lord, You tell us not to quench the Spirit. You teach us to follow on more and more. For we need to demonstrate our love, first of all, to you as Lord and Master. Secondly, to your body, which is the church, that we might be faithful to you and then demonstrate it in our lives to the local body of Christ. And pray that others may see this love and be drawn into the house of the living God. Lord, we thank you for your mercy upon us. We thank you for your keeping power. We do thank you for all the blessings that we have. Every good gift and perfect gift cometh down from the Father light, through no shall of turning, no variable in this. Oh, Father, we thank you that you're the unchanging God. I pray that you'll dismiss it with your love and be with us. And we thank you for your love and compassion to us. Thank you for your keeping power. We pray that You will continue to keep us this week. You shall have brought into our hearts the love of God. And Lord, may we all ask ourselves, Lord, what will Thou have me to do? In Christ's name we pray, Amen.