Matthew chapter number 18. I want to read 14 verses for our text this morning, beginning in verse number 1. At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except he be converted, and become as little children, He shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it must needs be that offenses come. But woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life haught or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hellfire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones. For I say unto you that in heaven there are angels to always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray, Doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. We come in our study of the Gospel of Matthew to a new chapter, and we find one of the great discourses that our Lord gives to the disciples as He prepares them for the mission that He has called them to. You may notice that in Matthew's Gospel, it is more teaching. It gives you more discourses and sermons, more so than miracles or deeds. You have the Sermon on the Mount. In chapter 24 and chapter 25, you have the Olivet Discourse. This is one of the great sermons that the Lord gives in the Gospels. You will notice that they have come into Capernaum as they are leaving the region of Galilee. This has been his home base for the last nearly year and a half of ministry. This is his final visit to the city. It is not for a miracle. It is not for ministry. But his focus is on the 12 as he begins to draw closer to the day of the cross. And in this chapter, chapter 18, he talks about a number of subjects and then chapter 19 as well. He talks about humility. He talks about offending one another. He talks about leading others into sin. He talks about church judgment. He talks about forgiving one another. In chapter 19, he's going to talk about marriage and divorce. A lot of different subjects. But in the verses that I read to you, really, The overall theme is humility. And he teaches his disciples a lesson by bringing a little child and setting that little child on his lap and using that child as an object lesson. Now, just to get mentally prepared for this message, I took some of the Sunday school hour and I sat in one of the children's Sunday school classes with your little children. So I understand the difficulty of taking a little child setting him in your lap and trying to preach a sermon while that child is in your lap. But Jesus repeatedly talks about little ones or children in this passage. If you'll notice in verse number 2, He calls a little child unto Him. He says in verse number 3, you must become as little children. Verse 4, whosoever shall humble himself as this little child. Verse 5, whoso shall receive one such little child. He mentions in verse number 6, offending one of these little ones. In verse number 10, take heed that you despise not one of these little ones. In verse 14, last phrase, that one of these little ones should perish. And so for me, what ties the passage together is this emphasis on children, emphasis on childlike behavior. Now what prompts the conversation in verse number one is the disciples come to the Lord with a question. Here's the question. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Now they're talking about themselves. They've been debating this for some time. It is not the first time they ask the question. It will not be the last time. And it seems to be a matter of real concern for them Who is going to hold seats of prominence in the kingdom? Really, what position will I hold? How much honor do I have coming to me for leading all and following you? Now, this is a question that comes up repeatedly among the disciples. I really believe there's a reason why they ask the question at this juncture, and it has to do with Simon Peter. If you had to guess, Who would you believe would be the leader of the twelve disciples? It was Peter. Peter is the one that is the most outspoken. He is the one who is always stepping to the front. Peter is always in the lead. And I'm sure that among the twelve, it was just assumed that Peter with his personality, Peter with his abilities, that he would be given at least a prominent position in the kingdom, maybe top billing. However, in the chapter prior, Jesus had really rebuked Peter, had even said to Peter, get thee behind me, Satan. That doesn't sound like promotion talk to me. And it could be that coming off the heels of the Lord rebuking Peter, that some of the men begin to question. Maybe it's not going to be Peter. Maybe it's going to be somebody else. And maybe the Lord's rebuke to Peter opens the door up for me for a better position in the kingdom. So they question among themselves who will be the greatest. That is the epitome of pride. Who is the greatest? Who's the highest? Who's the most favored? Who gets the best position? And Jesus uses their pride to teach them a lesson on humility. He takes a little child, sets the child in his lap, and he says that the greatest in the kingdom is made up of people like this little child. I'm not looking for great men. I'm looking for little children. And so for the next 14 verses, the emphasis keeps coming back to these little children. He keeps referring to these little ones. And so for me, the theme is how the children can teach us something about Christianity. I want to just give you three or four things about it quickly as I go through the chapter, and I've literally wrestled with it for a week while I was in Alabama preaching. And I outlined it four or five different ways, and I wasn't satisfied with any of it. And so I'm really not interested in you getting a wonderful outline. I want you to get the passage, alright? So here's the first thing that I would say from verse 1 through 4 is that we humble ourselves like little children. We humble ourselves like little children. Look at verse number 3. He said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, And become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now let me stop right here, and I don't want to get into a long explanation about this. But what does Jesus mean when he mentions the kingdom of heaven? There are some, even I'm sure here, that believe that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are different, that one is spiritual and that one is physical. Others say, no, it's one kingdom, but there are two different aspects to the one kingdom. Whichever one that you take, and it depends on who you've been reading after, it is nearly almost always agreed that it will certainly be one kingdom when the millennial reign comes, when Jesus sets up his literal, physical kingdom on earth, and I do believe that he will. I believe that it will consist of only those who have the kingdom of God in their hearts. I believe that there are a great number of scriptures to tell us that only the saved will enter into the future kingdom. For example, John chapter 3 and verse 3, Jesus said, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 19, know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? I believe the point is that sinners who have had their sins washed away will enter into the kingdom. So he says, wait a minute, those two verses mention the kingdom of God. All right? Matthew chapter 7. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Even religious people who do good don't get into the kingdom. You get there by being saved. When he comes to establish his kingdom, there are some that is going to say, I never knew you, and is going to cast him into everlasting fire. Here's the point that I want to make. You don't get into God's kingdom without being saved. And Jesus says, in verse number 3, that you have to be Converted. You have to be converted and become like little children. He's talking about the requirements of being saved. This is what it takes for someone to be in my kingdom. This is what it takes for somebody to be a child of God. For someone to be one of my own, this is what it takes. Now notice the statement in verse 3. He says, except ye be converted. That's a good Bible word. The word convert, it means to change from one form to another. If you convert your currency, you exchange it from U.S. dollars to Mexican pesos, alright? That would be appropriate today. You change it from one form to another. Sometimes you can change weight and measurements and temperatures. And the word convert is a good word. Psalm 51 and verse 13, I teach transgressors thy way, and sinners shall be converted under the Acts 3. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. I mentioned this two weeks ago, but I'll just come back and mention it again. Repentance and conversion go hand in hand. Repentance is a change of mind. It is a change of heart. It's a change of will. It's a change of desire that will. That will result in a change of behavior. I'll give you a good verse on conversion. If any man be in Christ, Behold, he is a new creature. Behold, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That sounds like a conversion. We're eliminating it from the gospel, but it is no gospel if you eliminate it, that getting saved changes a man so that he is no longer what he used to be. And Jesus says he must be converted. I was in Ardmore, Alabama this week preaching, and Brother James Knox was preaching with me, or I was preaching with him, and one night, Brother Knox preached along these lines, and just hold your finger here, go to Philippians, or Philemon, the book of Philemon, if you would, and when you get to Hebrews, back up, back up a page or two, you'll come to Philemon, just one chapter, I'm sorry, when you get to Philemon, go... Well, I used to know where Philemon was. Here it is. Find Titus, keep going. Find Hebrews, stop, go back. Here it is, Philemon. Look at Philemon, if you would. Paul's writing a letter to Philemon about a runaway slave named Onesimus. He's met him in jail. And Onesimus has gotten saved. Now he writes this letter and sends it back to Philemon by the hand of Onesimus. He says in verse number 10, 2 Philemon, Have assist thee from my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. Now watch verse number 11. Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee. And do you see a change there? Here's what Paul said. Paul said, I'm sending him back to you, but as a changed man. I'm not sending him back the way that I found him. Because he got saved. And he was unprofitable, but that was then. Now, he is profitable too. He will not treat you the way he used to. He will not cheat you the ways that he used to. He will not cause you harm like he used to. Something has changed. A lot has changed. In fact, everything has changed because conversion changes you. Back up just a page. Back up just a page to Titus. Titus chapter 3. Look at verse number 3. For we ourselves also were, were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures. Living in malice and envy. Hateful. Hating one another. That's what we were. Verse 4. But after that... I like that. After that, I tell you that if you're saved, there is an after that to your life. And this modern gospel gets a man to pray a little sinner's prayer, leave him in his sin. It is a foreign concept in the Bible. The modern gospel doesn't deal with sin, never has any Holy Ghost in it, never has any conviction, doesn't demand repentance, and therefore it doesn't affect any change. I feel like preaching just a minute. Where there is no repentance, there is no conversion. And if you got saved, your salvation changed you. Something is different. And I say it again, we have churches full of religious people who prayed a prayer when they were two, three, four, and they've never repented of their sins, and they never can get the Christian life going because they've never been converted. He says, except ye be converted. That's the first step. But then notice this, and become as little children. Now we can talk about the characteristic of a child. A child is trusting, a child is believing. But in the context, he's talking about humility. So how do you know that? Verse 4. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child." I believe it is impossible for a proud man to be saved while holding on to his pride. Because it takes humility to acknowledge your own sinfulness. It takes humility to admit your own worthlessness. It takes humility to admit that you have absolutely nothing that you can contribute to your salvation. And here's what Jesus says, that unless you are converted and go the other way, and unless you get rid of this pride and humble yourself, you're not going to be in the kingdom. Now, children got a lot of faults. I understand that. One of the biggest faults a child has is selfishness. But I tell you what a child doesn't struggle with. Doesn't struggle with pride. and done anything, and accomplished anything. Now, when you take him out to Little League and give him a little trophy for participating, now you have taught him some pride, huh? You tell them how wonderful they are all the time, and never discipline them. But that little baby has no sense of greatness. They have nothing, they've done nothing, they are nothing. And when you come to Christ, you come with no accomplishments, No achievements, no merits, no boast. He must come humbly as a little child. There's a second thought that I give you out of this passage. In verse number 5, we receive each other like children. Look at verse 5. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. It doesn't mean that we treat each other as juveniles. But we receive one another as we would receive a child. I don't know anybody who wouldn't welcome a little child. I had a couple of weeks ago, I had one of the little boys, a booth boy, I had him give me, he gave me a, he's not in here, is he? Where's the booth at? See, I had him give me a bookmark that he made just for me, and it says, Jesus loves you on it, and he painted a picture on it, and I keep that in my Bible. And here's the thing about it, it meant a lot to him, it means a lot to me. It would be unnatural to reject it. To turn a little child away, we understand that. But bring that over into the spiritual. We are to receive one another as believers just like we would receive little children. Welcoming, loving, kind, accepting, affectionate. We're not divided by class. We're not divided by wealth or anything that society considers a division. No, we're all brothers and sisters in Christ. And in this church there are no big I's and no little u's. And it's not that we treat each other as children, but we accept each other as we would accept children. And notice too what he says in verse 5, that whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Here's what Christ does. If I could get somebody to get me a glass of water, it would be good. Here's what Christ does. He puts himself in the place of the child and says that how you receive that child in my name is how you receive me. I'll say it this way. He says, I take it personally if you mistreat one of them. Now, I'm going somewhere. I understand that. You cannot mistreat my children without me taking it personally. Right? Now, you can correct them. Maybe they do something wrong and they need rebuke or something like that. I understand that. But if I see you mistreating my child, if I see you taking advantage of my children, oh, and ten times more if it's a grandchild, okay? You can get Bibles and things to give, not the grandkids. We won't have that. But if you mistreat your child, you take that personally because you can't separate how you treat my child and how you treat me. And if I'm reading it right, Jesus is saying that the same applies in our relationship to the brother. They're arguing over who's going to be the greatest, and there's not a lot of concern for their fellow man, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that they wouldn't be beyond pushing others down so that they could get the seats of prominence. And Jesus says, before you go there, you need to know, I take that personally. I take that personally. Now, that's a wonderful thought if you're a Christian. Over in the Old Testament, God calls Israel the apple of His eye. The apple of His eye is the pupil of His eye. You can't imagine somebody coming and just sticking their finger in your eye. Nothing more painful, nothing more irritating. And God basically says that when you mistreat Israel, it's like sticking your finger in my eye. You don't want to do that. And so it's a wonderful thought. God came to Saul Acts 9. Remember the Damascus Road? What was Saul doing? Saul was persecuting Christians, is that right? And a voice came from heaven and said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou the Christians? That's not what it said. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Me? You're persecuting those saints, those are my children, and I'm taking it personally, and what you do to them is what you do to me. Now, that's a great thought, but I'm going to tell you it's a great exhortation as well. That how we treat others is how we treat Christ. Now, I'll give you a verse. Some of you are looking at me like, you don't know what you're talking about. I do. So here's a good verse for you. Gentlemen, husbands, love your wives. As Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. We don't have time to get into it this morning. But you love her as Christ loves the church. So she stands in the place of the church. Am I right? Am I right? And you stand in the place of Christ. And so how Christ loves the church and gave himself for it, you get to love your wife and give yourself for her as well. Can I say it like this? You get to be, I'll just say it like this, you get to be like Christ to her. And that same dynamic plays into the relationship with the brotherhood of the believer. That how you receive them is how you receive me. The third thought I want to give you in this passage is in verse 6. And it is that we protect each other like we would children. Look at verse 6. Who shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me? It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, And they were drowned in the depth of the sea. Strong statement. Here's what the Lord says. It'd be better to die by drowning than to cause one of God's children to stumble. And I believe we're talking about spiritual children because it says one of these little ones which believe in me. We're talking about Christians here. And Jesus says you better not offend one of them. Now, that'd be a good thing to put on a visitor's card or welcome packet for new visitors. Welcome to Victory Baptist Church. Glad you're here. Better not offend me. God love to smite you dead. Never see that in a church growth book, will you? Huh? Now, we think of offense. He talks about, he says, who says, Shalom, offend. We think of offense as in getting our feelings hurt. Offense is more than hurt feelings. Because if you keep reading, the passage will bear out that offending in this situation is causing someone to sin. Look at verse number 7. Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it must indeed be that offenses come. But woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Look at verse 8. Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off. Cast them from me. It is better for thee to enter into life haught or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. If thine eye offend thee, plug it out, cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Now that's pretty drastic action if you're going to do that just to keep from getting your feelings hurt. And that's not the point of the passage. The point of the passage is that if you have to get rid of something in your life that is causing you to sin, then get rid of it. And obviously it's a proverb because cutting off your arm, cutting off your foot is not going to keep you from sinning. Plucking your eye out doesn't take care of the sin problem, because it's not an eye problem, it's a heart problem, and you understand that. But the point is, take drastic action to cut out anything that would lead you into sin. That's how serious it is to lead someone into sin. He says in verse number 7, Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it must not be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. Here's what he's saying. We expect the world. to tempt us, but we don't expect it from believers. When you put all of these verses together, it's quite clear that to offend someone is to lead them into sin. So, whoever offends a brother tempts him to sin. Jesus says, it's better to die a horrible death than that. Boy, that's strong, isn't it? That's strong. Hold your finger right here. Go to I Kings chapter 14. First Kings chapter 14. First Kings chapter 14, I'll read one verse to you. And it's verse number 16. He should give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin and who made Israel to sin. Rehoboam was the son of Solomon who was most responsible for the nation dividing into two. And when the nation divided into two, Israel, the northern tribe, selected a man named Jeroboam to be their king. Jeroboam was the son of a slave. He was not of royal blood. But he rises to power, and Jeroboam reigns for 20 years. He is the king who introduces Baal worship to the nation of Israel. There's something about Jeroboam that God says over and over, in fact, 16 times that God says this about Jeroboam. It is the phrase, He made Israel to sin. It is not so much His sin, but through His influence, He influenced Israel to sin. Now, I know that every man is responsible for his own choices. Every man is responsible for his own sins. But I tell you, there is a sin of causing others to sin. Romans 14 and verse 13, Let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge us rather. That no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. All of us have the power of influence. And how terrible to wield that influence to lead others astray. In fact, Paul even says that I will deny myself some liberties, I will deny myself some freedoms, so that I don't lead others into sin. But seriously, come back to our text in Matthew 18. He says it's a serious thing to offend one of these little ones. Had the grandbabies over the house last night, playing with the grandbabies. And they're young and innocent and don't know anything. And I could take JL in my arms and I could go over to the stove and I could turn the stove on and get it red hot. And I could tell JL, touch that. And I could have JL touch that stove in ignorance Have her burn herself. And I could really take advantage of their ignorance and their arrogance, and I could cause great harm to them. And if I did, they ought to lock me up and throw the key away. Our society recognizes we have a responsibility to protect little children, and that same principle comes over into the spiritual. One of the reasons why a young Christian needs to be in church and have Christian friends is to help them grow in the Lord. In fact, Hebrews 10 and verse 24, "...for let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works." For a hundred ways that I can plot, I've got to hurry. I'm running out of time. When you teenagers get into the car and one of you turns the music on that glorifies sin, and you allow that music to go into the ears of a young, innocent boy, I believe Jesus is talking about you in this verse. When you fathers take your family to the movie theaters and sit your children in front of the cursing and the adultery and the sodomy and the blasphemy, I believe that God is talking about you in this verse. You bear not only the weight of your sin, but theirs as well when you are the instrument that causes their sin. I'll give you a last statement from this passage. It's in verse number 10. We love each other like we would children. He says in verse 10, take heed that you despise not one of these little ones. And at first I thought, how could anybody despise a little child? I'm sure that nobody, nobody would despise a little baby. A little baby may get on your nerves at times, but you have a lot of patience with a baby because it's a baby. And it seems a little extreme. that someone would despise a baby. But then I thought that's exactly what happens every day in the abortion clinics, is despising these little ones. But just as it is unthinkable to not like a little child, in verse 10 he says, do not despise one of God's children. When you come into the family of God, there are no levels of importance to climb to. We don't look up to anybody. We don't look down on anybody. No one is of greater importance. Nobody is of lesser value. It's not about intellect. It's not about education. It's not about wealth. It's not about status. We don't have a section over here for the wealthy and the influential and another section back here and the poor ones sit in the back. We don't have that. There is an equality in the brotherhood. Now, I'll be honest with you. There are some children who get on my nerves. No, no, I'm not talking about it. I don't have a name, so don't be thinking it's my child, all right? No, I'm not talking about that. But whiny, gripey, grumbling, disobedient, get on my nerves. I'm going to be honest with you. There are some brethren. Well, there just are some brethren. Just are. But I actually treat every child the same. And I actually treat every Christian the same. Now, the Lord makes two statements, and I want to see if I can tie it into this. Look at verse 10. Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto you that in heaven there are angels. Do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Now, there's a lot of people that have taken that verse right there and ran off with the belief that every child has a personal guardian angel. And the Bible doesn't say that. That's not what the Bible says. There is no verse that I can find that you have a personal guardian angel watching over your shoulder and make sure you don't dash your foot against the stone. In Acts chapter 12, Peter is released from prison by an angel. You remember he comes and knocks on the door of the house where all the believers are at and they're praying for his release? And the little maid comes to the door and she sees Peter And she comes back to the people praying, breaks at the prayer meeting and says, hey, Peter's at the gate. And they say, no, it can't be. We're praying for him to be released. He can't be at the gate. And here's what they said. They said it must be his angel. Now, that doesn't say that Peter has a guardian angel. It says they believed that he did. It was a common belief. In fact, in Judaism, it was a common belief. All right. So the verse doesn't say that you have a personal guardian angel watching over your shoulder, making sure that you are... However, it does say that there are angels in heaven standing before God and they're waiting for Him to dispatch them in His service. And the Bible does say in a great number of places that God has sent angels to minister to the saints. In fact, Hebrews 1 and verse 14. He talks about how angels are ministering spirits unto those who are the heirs of salvation. So Jesus simply says that there are angels standing before the throne and they are ready to minister to you as the Father dispatches them. Now you say, how does this fit? I think the way that it fits for me is Jesus is showing the value of God's children. I may not have a personal guardian angel that gets in the truck with me and goes down the road, but I do have a Father who loves me and who cares for me and I am sure has sent angels to guard me and to protect me and to keep me from danger. I could not tell you how. I couldn't tell you when. I've never spoken to one. I've never seen one. And I frankly hope that I never do. But I am convinced I am valued by the Father. He's made angels minister to me. And then the Lord makes another statement in verse 11. The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. He says, How think ye? If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the nineteen and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be it, did he find it? Verily I say unto you, He rejoices more of that sheep than of the nineteen and nine, which went not astray. Even so, It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. I believe that Jesus has given a very simple example of how God loves every one of us. If a shepherd brings his flock into the fold after a day of grazing, he counts the sheep and there's ninety-nine and one is missing. He doesn't say, well, at least I've got ninety-nine. I've got ninety-nine and losing one here and there really is no big deal. No. He leaves a 99 and he goes out and he searches until he finds the one. If you sat down at dinner today and you count your children, there is Billy Bob, there is Betty Boo, and there is whatever you named your kids. And you draw up a number of those kids. Here's four, but I thought we had five. We are missing a child. You're not going to say, well, at least we've got the four left. A little cheaper on the groceries, a little less on the clothes. I hate that we miss him, but at least we've got four. You're not going to say that. No, you're going to turn the world upside down. Because there is worth, there is value in that one child. And I believe what Jesus is saying. Don't despise. Don't mistreat these little children. Don't you abuse, don't you... You love God's children, because every one of them are precious. Just like that one lost lamb, that Father's concern for everyone. We get into the Kingdom of God as little children. We treat each other as we would treat little children. We are valued in God's eyes as little children. And you know that one of the ways that we witness our faith to the world is by how we treat one another. Our love and our community and our unity together and our commitment to each other ought to be so strong that the world marvels. Where does that come from? And maybe you should meditate this week. How can I show that love to my brother? Who can I show it to? Maybe there's a Christian, a brother that I know that has a great need, and I can help my brother. Maybe there's someone that the Lord just touches my heart to be a blessing to. And you'll be a blessing to that person. Maybe. Maybe there's a brother. Piano player, come. Maybe there's a brother who has offended you. And you just keep holding on to that grudge. I'm going to tell you, you better get it right. Because the next passage talks about you. It's church judgment. It's the next passage. I tell you, it's good to be saved, isn't it? How many of you are glad you're saved, saved? How many of you are glad to be in a good church, saved? Aren't you glad that we're part of the family of God? Let's stand together. Number 23, we'll sing it. I'm glad I'm part of the family of God. Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word this morning. Thank You for the liberty to preach even over health issues. Thank You for it. Pray that You take the passage of us to apply it to our hearts. Treat one another, love one another, respect one another. Lord, show one another the love of Christ toward each other. I pray if there's somebody here that doesn't know You as their Savior, I pray they realize they've never been converted, never been changed, and like a little child that has no pride, that come in their humility and trust You as their Savior. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.