Good morning. In the book of Romans, or I should say the epistle to the Romans, written by the apostle Paul, he is given eleven chapters of wonderful and life-saving doctrine. We are sinners and we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. That summarizes every book of the Bible, every New Testament book. And then Paul praises God for who He is and what He's done. God's grace is shown in His, before time began, before a human being was ever born, God chose and elected, predestined. And Paul praises people for that in chapter 11, verses 33 to 36. Some just leave the church over it. Paul praised God. Which one are you going to be? Are we gonna praise God for what he has revealed and what he has said in spite of the fact that it may rub us wrong? Or will we decide that we know better and go find a place that tells us what we wanna hear or just leaves out what we don't wanna hear? The whole counsel of God is wonderful for our souls. And so, Paul moves from this praise in chapter 11, verses 33 to 36. He starts talking about how to apply what we know. And he says a wonderful thing, in view of the mercies of God, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Don't take an animal. In the Old Testament, they would take a lamb or even a bird, some flower even, not a flower, but some flower, some grain, and offer it to God, a sacrifice to God. for our sins, or to just worship, and both were worship. Offering a sacrifice to God is always worship unto God. But it would be dead, the animal would be dead. Paul says to take what you know and believe about Jesus and offer your entire life as a thank you. Here I am, Lord. Now, if you're like me, you look at yourself and you go, I don't really have a whole lot to give. And the world went on without me, and the world will go on without me. But we are here. We draw a breath, a God-given breath. We've been given great gifts. Our life on this earth means something when we are in Christ. When we're not in Christ, it doesn't mean much of anything. But in Christ, our very existence, even though by our own estimation it might not be much, it's enough to worship our very lives. We give ourselves to God. And that's what he's talking about. And everything that follows from Romans 1, 12, 1, and 2 into the rest of chapter 12, 13, 14, and 15 is Paul's suggestions, God's commands, better put, on worshiping God with our lives, with our very lives. Last week, we looked at the way God gives us certain charismata, or gifts. He gives us gifts from prophecy to service, to teaching, to exhortation, to giving, to leading, to showing mercy. Then he says in verse 9, let love be without hypocrisy. The English text has to add the verbs. In fact, the Greek text simply says, the love genuine. The love genuine. Some have said, well, that might be just a caption for what follows. The love genuine. You have to put the verb in, supply the verb, let love be genuine, or, better put, without hypocrisy. I believe that. There's, all throughout the Bible, verbs are sometimes implied, especially in Hebrew. But in Greek, they're also implied. And is there a greater commandment or service unto God than loving God? Now, believe me, my friends, when I look at love being without hypocrisy, that word for love is agape. That's this form of love that is volitional, meaning it chooses to love. It has nothing to do with one's emotional attachment to someone or something. It is unconditional. And let's just be honest, we don't have that love, do we? Even with our own children, there are scenarios whereby a child could do something whereby we would say, you know what, I just really can only love my child indeed because, I mean, my mother told me, I'll never forget, she said, Lance, I love you, but I don't like you. Now I was 15, mind you, I was 15. She didn't say it yesterday. I love you, but I don't like you. And I thought, man, that makes great sense. It does, especially when you become a parent. You love your kids and you're going, I can't stand these people living in my house, but I love them. And you show love, you give this volitional agape, don't we? That's the only thing that keeps us from killing them. And so it's a wonderful thing. Love is a verb in this regard, agape. And so as I look at this and I look, okay, I can't even go on. My love is full of hypocrisy. We know what hypocrisy is. It's a way of putting on an act. It's what actors do. We act a certain way. And we do that in this church. We do that, all of us. There are some people we just don't like. There are people that just we don't like, but we don't want to be mean. We don't want to act rude to them. We feign love. Or am I the only one? It's odd where you don't hear certain amens. Because apparently the amener is going, I don't really want to expose myself as being that way, but we are. And I think there's no way I can go forward. There's no way that I can ever have non-hypocritical love because there are some people I will always just not like and some in my heart of hearts I despise for certain reasons. And so the only way to treat them would be with hypocritical love. But he's not talking about people. People let us down. Spouses can let us down. They can cheat, they can betray. Children can do the same thing. Old friends can do the same thing. Someone we said we loved yesterday and we'd do anything for might do something that we, I don't like that person anymore. It's very convicting to love someone and have a deep affection for someone and then later learn what they're saying behind your back. And you realize, first of all, I guess they were never really my friends. And the move from the thought of, I thought we were in a loving friendship or relationship, and then a week later you're going, I can't stand them either. And you're thinking, how shallow my love must have been. Theirs was. Mine was too, I guess. We run into them again and we just feign niceness. We might even tell people we don't love that we love them. This passage says, no. Thankfully, I believe with all my heart, it's talking about our love towards God. He will address brotherly love as it goes on. But our love for God is to be without hypocrisy. The love for God, our love, as He loves us volitionally and unconditionally, as we get to know Him, once we come to know Him, our love for Him should be the same way. I mean, why wouldn't it? Will God ever let us down? So, put yourself in Job's shoes. If you've ever read Job, if you haven't read Job, read Job in one sitting. Sit down and read Job in one sitting. If you don't have time for that, make time. Sit and read Job in one sitting and watch this man whom God Himself calls blameless. Not sinless, but blameless. and allows this man to go through hell on earth. Loses his family, loses 10 children, loses his health, loses his wealth. He has no idea why, and he's got three boneheads, I mean, friends, telling him what he did was wrong and he should be repenting. And Job knows in his mind, being the genuine man he was, going, I know I'm not perfect, but I haven't done anything that this is what should be poured on me. His love didn't change, though. He complained. He wanted to know why. What if that happened to you? It's your love for God. Do you understand God enough through His Son, Jesus Christ, that if you lost your spouse, your children, your health, and your wealth in one day, one week, one year, what would you do? Is your love for God contingent on whether these people live or die? If you have to watch your child suffer, your cute little baby suffer and suffer and suffer until they finally die, are you that person that says, I want answers, Lord. And until I get answers, I'm not gonna love you. Or are you going to say, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gives, the Lord gave, the Lord takes away, Cursed be His name or blessed be His name. Do you love God? Because He knows all, and He can do anything. He could take our lives with one little tweak and make us the most miserable human beings on this planet. Is your love contingent on that? Or is it genuine? Anyone can love when things are going well. Oh, Lord, thank you. You've been so good to me. I don't know what to do. Thank you, Lord, thank you. Boom, we got a cancer diagnosis. Where's the Lord? Well, the Lord's still there. He doesn't leave. I lost my job. People don't love me anymore. My name's being dragged through the streets of gossip. In my chosen field of expertise, no one loves me anymore. What's the deal, God? We shake our fist at God. Is that you? Will it be you when it happens? Or is your love genuine? Because if you want to offer your life as a living sacrifice, you won't do it unless you really love God. And I mean love Him for who He is. Some people know just about that much of God. Whatever that much may be. Just enough about God that I'm comfortable with God. And they don't, quite frankly, want to know any more about God. That's why they never step into a church like this, where the knowledge of God from God's Word continues to grow. We like God, keep him in the proverbial box, that's where I'm comfortable with God. Because if I start learning all these other things, that God is somehow sovereign, that he predestines and elects, that he's this and that, what does that do to my view of God? If you've been married for any length of time, you love your spouse far more today than you did when you married. And you learn to love your spouse. We all have to learn to love our spouse. You're gonna fall out of that puppy love. That puppy love that you're in when you get married, that's a beautiful thing. It's what gets people together. But at some point, you gotta realize, I'm gonna have to love this person. And that's a far better day than your wedding day. It is. Because learning to love someone and allowing them to love you and put up with you is somewhat similar to our quest with God. To know God, the more we know, the more there is to love. Let love be genuine without hypocrisy. Don't tell God you love him, but inside knowing that if something bad happens, you're done. In the same sentence of loving, we are also to hate, abhor, means to violently loathe something. Folks, when you love the Lord God Almighty, you will by default hate what God hates. There's no middle ground here. There's no tolerance. Paul could have just said, okay, tolerate everything because, you know, the world loves nice people. Love intensely and hate just as intently. What? What is evil? Can you identify what is evil? Or has what is evil come into your life and watered down your conscience so much to where you put up with it more than you know you should? One of the things we put up with today more than ever is foul language, the way people talk, the way beautiful women talk, the words that come in. It's one thing for a hardened man to use this language, but that women use it. in interviews, and without even going, ooh, whoops, I'm sorry. You know, they just blatantly throw out these, and apparently on whatever show they're on, it's just bleep it out, and you know exactly what they said. Or the way women and men, to some extent, dress. Ladies, we don't need to see your legs. We don't need to see what you got that you want everyone to see. We don't need that, and ladies, if you don't know this, and you want men to look at you, I'm not sure you're in a relationship with Christ. Look at yourself in the mirror. If there's skin showing down from the knees, I know, sound like an old King James-only church. But from the standpoint of a man, we notice that. We don't want to notice that, certainly not at church. Dress appropriately. It's evil. Oh, it's not that bad, Lance. It's just our styles. No, it ain't. It's you showing too much and causing a brother in Christ to stumble. That's what it is. My daughter went to a wedding the other day and she said, Dad, I just don't get it. I don't understand how these Christian girls wanna show so much of their bodies. She said, even if I had it, I wouldn't show it. I said, I know, because I'm your daddy. There ain't no way I wish some daddies around here would walk around with a blanket over their daughters or just not let them leave the house until they do. It's evil, friends, because of what it sparks in a man. That's just one of thousands upon thousands of things that are out there that's evil today. When we love God and our love with Him is genuine, we also, by default, loathe what is evil. And that strong word abhor is akin to the next one, cling to what is good. They're both very strong verbs. Abhor is to loathe something violently. To cling, think about it in terms of your fingertips just digging into something, holding on for dear life. Cling to what is good. Word for good is agatha. We name some, some girls are named Agatha. Great name. It means good. General word for all things good. Cling to it. We live in a day where the world is trying to get you to let go of what is good. Release your grip on it. Have some fun. Let your hair down, as it were. Paul says, you want to offer your body as a living sacrifice? Cling to purity. Cling to your virginity, men and women, before you're married. Cling to keeping your eyes pure and not looking at the filth that's there. Cling to it. Your old-fashioned, No, it means you're Christian. And when you're in the midst of doing this, don't forget this, when you're in the midst of hating what is evil and clinging to what is good, sometimes by the very last energy of your fingertips, know that that is a worship service. That is worship. Well, I didn't come to church to sing songs. No, you didn't. You offered your body as a living sacrifice by clinging to what is good. I tell the story of I was cleaning pools. I used to be a pool cleaner in Dallas, Texas when I was in seminary there. And there was a particular pool. I used to get to my pools early because in the summertime in Plano, Texas, people like to lay out with very few clothing items on. I don't need to see that. They didn't want to see it. And I would get to my pools early. I got to one particular one early, and I got it, and I'm ready, and I'm leaving. I'm going out the door. There's one leaf. Now, leaves fall, even after you clean them. One leaf fell in that pool. I'm walking out, and this man who had come in with his wife, hey, you, there's a leaf in this pool. Now, his wife had barely anything on, and he was challenging me. He was in my face, and he's berating me for leaving the pool with a leaf in it. His wife is in the peripheral putting suntan lotion on her body. And while his eyes are on me here, he is waiting for my eyes to glance at her. I knew it. And she's waiting for me to look. And I kept the pose. I kept it. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'll get the leaf. I'll get the leaf. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Over and over. Yes, sir. He's yelling at me like I've run over his dog. I go in. I get the leaf. I still get a little emotional about it, because I got in my car and I cried. It was so difficult. It was so difficult. Just a glance of the eye probably would have killed me. The man was waiting to hack my head off by looking at his wife and challenging me to do it. I did. I cried. I cried to my little Honda. What do we have, Cheryl? 1986 Honda Accord. Threw all my stuff in the back of the trunk, because that's what I could afford in my pool-cleaning days. And I didn't hear God say, thank you. Good job. But I left, though frustrated, feeling like I had worshipped. I clung to it. Oh, my red-blooded nature wanted to look at her. She was there. It was the devil just saying, look at me. But I didn't. And I have zero regrets. It's just one of thousands upon thousands of examples that any of us could say of how we cling to that which is good. That is a worship service, friends. Every one of these, hating what is evil, clinging to what is good. Note verse 10, being devoted to one another. All of these are present, the verbs that are here, they're present participles, meaning they're ongoing imperatives, ongoing challenges, ongoing commands. Do this over and over. The world we live in is constantly throwing things our way. Being devoted to one another in brotherly love. Okay, there's your brotherly love. That's how we are to be with one another. This is the word Philadelphia. Philadelphia, not agape. Our love for God is unconditional, but our devotion to one another is in brotherly love. It's the Philadelphia. brotherly love. We understand brotherly love. It's the love of a father to a son, a mother to a daughter, husband to wife, family. It's a family love. No one has to teach us to do that. We get that. But a devotion to brotherly love to people outside of our church, I'm sorry, outside of our family, inside our church, devoted to it? Are you devoted to brotherly love? As I've asked many times before, how many people around here do you even know? How many names of people do you know that you could say, I'm devoted to this friend? Maybe it's someone you know forever, and you've come to church with them. Maybe it's somebody new you've met. There's all kinds of chances to meet new people. And a devotion to brotherly love. I think a devotion to brotherly love sometimes is just simply remembering a name or praying for that person. You don't even have to tell the person you're praying for them. Sometimes we get the only gift we're gonna get by telling people we're praying for them so that they can, oh, thank you, you're such a great person. Yes, I am. Yes, I am a very great person. I prayed for you. How about not telling them and just allowing God to bless them? Maybe you'll find out in eternity. Or maybe they need to be told. But there's a devotion to brotherly love. Some come to church, they're in and they're out. They know no one and they don't want anyone to know them. Don't be that way. Our Lord died on the cross for all of those who believe in Christ. We're all one. Why would we shun anyone for whom the blood of Christ was shed? Again, it's part of our worship. Note this second part of verse 10, giving preference to one another in honor. The ESV says, outdo one another in showing honor. Honor means to go before, to go before someone. It would be like, hey, I'm going before and the person coming in my wake, take a look at them. They're fantastic. Look at this person. Don't look at me, look at them. We give preference to one another. Typically, we try to outshine one another. Well, you know, the thing about it, every one of these are the exact opposite of what we are naturally. Exact opposite. We read the Bible here and we realize, I'm a loser. This is what I am naturally, and this is what God wants me to be, giving preference to one another in honor? Think about someone you could honor and put yourself in the back, just, I'm nothing. Let me honor this person. Or someone comes to you and says, let me thank you for what you do and all you're doing. Don't look at me. Go say thank you to this person. There are so many people that work behind the scenes of this church. Yesterday we had a great work day at the church. All kinds of people showed up. Cleaning the seats, mopping the floors, in a church, in a place where people gather to worship the Lord God Almighty. But you know what who did notice? The Lord God Almighty. Watching people worship him on their Saturday Being fervent in spirit not lagging behind in diligence That's the one I meant to read there not lagging behind in diligence That's hard to find today because people do lag behind in diligence people don't want to work Let's somebody else do it a Christian shines forth as a hard worker no no lagging behind They're diligent to work. Fervent in spirit literally means to be boiling over. Boiling over. I was reading the words of the songs this morning, which I loved. All of them were beautiful, and I love our music team, and I realized I'm just reading words. I'm not boiling over here. I made a little attitude adjustment. I didn't start raising my hands or dancing or anything, but I raised, hey, those words are beautiful. The God in which they praise is beautiful. Boiling over. You ever been boiling over and somebody pours ice all over you? People have accused me of that. I came to your church. I was on fire. You just threw water all over my fire. Okay. Thank you. If the truth waters down your fire, your fire was nothing but one of those fake fires you turn in on your fireplace. And that's serving the Lord, fervent in spirit, boiling over, serving the Lord. That word for serving is different than the word for service in verse 7, and it's different than the word for service in verse 1. This one is literally being a slave to the Lord, being a slave to the Lord, fervent in your spirit, boiling over with gusto, boiling over with excitement. offering yourself as a slave to the Lord. A slave is one who is sold and is owned by a master, compelled to do what they do. Is that you? It's nothing if you really love the Lord without hypocrisy. But if you don't love the Lord, you're going to look for ways to not serve. You're going to be the one that says, you know what? They got this. I'm out. I don't need that. I'll give a little here, give a little there, and I'll be happy with that." No, those who offer their bodies as a living sacrifice believe the doctrine, love the Lord God with all their might, and want to do whatever it takes to please this God. They are rejoicing in hope. Notice it doesn't say rejoicing in a wish. Some people wish and hope with a wishing kind of a hope that they get to heaven when they die. But biblical hope is really the word assurance. We rejoice in our assurance that what God has promised will come to pass. We rejoice when someone we know who was in Christ died, we know exactly where they are. And we rejoice knowing that when we die, we're going there too. And that's just all the time. What are people doing walking around depressed when you're in Christ? How about turning the thought process onto who Jesus is, what he did for us, And that's something to rejoice about. Persevering in tribulation. Tribulation means to be chased after. Persevering in tribulation. Staying put. Nothing shakes you. If you're an evangelist, if you're a teacher like me, there's all kinds of criticism. There's all kinds of tribulation. People you love will turn on you. And that's disheartening to someone like me. I mean, I make fun of myself because I say I only have, most people have feelings, I have one feeling. But it's not true. I'm actually quite emotional. I mean, as I said earlier, I wept in my car one time. I have been known to weep. I've been known to be overwhelmed with who God is and weep, but when somebody hurts, me, it hurts. I thought we were friends. I thought this, I thought that, and really the answer is, well, you thought wrong. That hurts, it's a rejection. And yet, here we are, we're persevering in tribulation. I'm gonna stay put. There was a time at this church when my best buddies, the people I loved the most on this planet, rose up against me and said, if you think that we feel the same way about you, you're crazy. And they up and left, and they took half the church with them. Nine years ago, if you don't think I wept, I remember most of my posture was laying flat on my face. I didn't know what to do with myself. I mean, I didn't know what to do. I laid prostrate. That's what it was. My neck hurt from laying prostrate. I didn't know what to do, except I'm staying put. I'm not going to let this move me because God is still on His throne. I've done nothing per se to deserve this. I ain't perfect. And I do offend people from time to time. Amens? I have. I did this past week. I hurt a family that hurt me that I did it. I am not perfect. I do and say things that I wish I had not done and said. and the perseverance that must follow the tribulation is worship. It's worship unto God, devoted to prayer. How many could say we're devoted to prayer? Most of us would say, I need to work on that one more. Okay, then get to work. Prayer is not a posture, it's an attitude. It really is an attitude. It's an attitude of God is everywhere all the time. I can speak at any time. He knows and hears all things. I'm devoted to that. And I'm not devoted to just giving him a list of all the things I want. Be devoted to worshiping him. Finding things every day to say thank you for. Thank you for. Thank you, Lord. I may be upset about this, but thank you for that. Devoted to prayer, it's worship. Contributing to the needs of the saints. You'll note that that word for the saints is saints, the holy ones. It's okay to give money to people in Africa who have no water, who have no food, that's okay, but that's not what Paul's saying. The contributing of the needs to the saints, or the contributing to the needs of God's people. Benevolence fund, as it were, within the church of Jesus Christ, whether here or another. How do you worship? Giving what you have to those who are in Christ who are in need. Because we know some of us have far more than that. It's worship. Practicing hospitality. That's a tough one. Practicing hospitality. If you're weird, I'm not sure I want you in my house. How many of you like weird people in your homes? Some of you are going, well, my whole family's weird, so they just fit right in. I mean, you don't know if you got a wife and a daughter like I do. I'm not just letting anyone come stay in my house. I can't do that. That disqualifies me from practicing hospitality. Maybe we just live in a different day, but I'll tell you this, that hasn't gone away. To practice hospitality is to be able to allow someone into your home, to give them what they need and what they lack. It's worship. Bless those who persecute you. What do we normally want to do to those who persecute us, who chase after us? I said earlier, I got it wrong when I said tribulation means to chase after. Tribulation just means to be put under fire. It's persecution that means to be chased after. Bless those who chase after. We want to curse these people. But the exact opposite is there. You wanna worship? Bless them. I'm not gonna curse you. Even though you hate me and you say terrible things about me, I'm still going to say something nice about you. Now in that sense, that's where we get back to verse nine. Isn't that feigning love? I mean, doesn't the heart of heart want to curse the one who persecutes you? Yes. But the Spirit of God in you says, don't do that. Do what is unnatural. to worship and because the Spirit of God is in you, because you love God. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. It's tough, isn't it? Someone cuts you off on the road. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? What do you normally do? You've got some choice words, either internally or externally. They either remain in you or they exit out, and they're never really nice words or thoughts. God bless you, you wonderful child of God. May the devil get you. Practice it. I mean, it gave us a laugh here. Maybe it'll make us laugh there. And the reason we get mad is because we think the road belongs to us. And it doesn't, does it? They have just as much right to it as you and I do. But it's that concept, no, I'm here. Everyone get out of the way, I'm driving. But people get in the way. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. How many of us know someone who's actually rejoicing? You know, have you noticed when somebody starts to tell us something about what they're rejoicing about? I've noticed this. I'll watch conversations and someone will start talking about, maybe it's their child. Yeah, my child graduated from A&M this past week and blah, blah, blah. Oh yeah, well my kid did last year. Yeah, yeah, my kids went to A&M, too. Yeah, we went to Texas. My kid went to the Ivy League. Before long, the person that was sharing you there rejoicing, now you have taken over because your story is better than theirs. This is a bigger problem than you think, and all of you are guilty of it. When someone is sharing a story of rejoicing, ask a follow-up question. Stop. Don't say what's on your mind. Wow, you must be so proud. Did they make a good GPA? Do they have a job lined up? I'll pray for them. Don't say anything about you. They're not asking about you. Rejoice with them who rejoice. I notice it doesn't say trump them with a better story. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. When someone's weeping, here's a good counseling 101 tip. They're not interested in what happened to you. Well, yeah, that happened to me. Yeah, my husband died too, and I went through this, this, and this. Do you think that's helping the person whose husband just died? They don't wanna hear that. In fact, they might not wanna hear anything. How about just, you remember Job's friends when they were at their best? They said nothing, nothing for seven days. If they just would've stayed that way. When someone is hurting, there is nothing better than to weep with them, to say I'm so sorry. This happened to a friend of mine, or this happened to me, or let me give you some Bible verses. We always mean well, I know, but it's that awkwardness that we don't like. Just sit in the awkwardness and weep with that person. There is no greater friend than one who will sit with you and feel your pain. It's the opposite of what we want to do, and while doing it, we are in a worship service. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty in mind, haughty or arrogant, but associate with the lowly. Now when you read that, you're thinking already there is somebody in your mind that's coming in that you think are lowly. You are arrogant pigs. We are. The moment you start thinking you're better, wealthier, better looking, better off, You have put somebody in your mind, they're lowly. They don't have what I have. No. How about this? You're the lowly one. You and I are the lowly ones. When you start thinking about what is lowly, we become lowly. Well, you think we're the popular people? Oh, we're the popular ones. They're the unpopular ones. We're the wealthy ones. They're the poor ones. We're the pretty ones. They're the ugly ones. Ah. You start thinking about who's lowly so you can treat them that way, treat them properly, just know you're the lowly one. We are to have the same mind. One person who doesn't dress so nicely, doesn't look as good as others, is no less in the sight of God than anyone else. And it's a worship service to make sure in your mind, I'm thinking the same toward them as I would a wealthy person who might give me a good gift. Don't be wise in your own estimation. Well, that's easy to be. Let me tell you about where I went to school and what my degrees are and what I know. I'm a pretty wise person. I'm pretty smart. People are sitting around in a circle. They're talking about something, and you're just waiting for your opportunity to really shine. The fact that we say anything means that we think we're wise. Well, let me contribute to this with my wisdom. Typically, the wisest people are the ones that sit there and don't say a word. Never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut. See, unfortunately, I'm a preacher, so I can't miss the opportunity to speak. Don't be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. I have this thing in my mind that if you hurt someone I love, specifically my children and my wife, I have, as some of you other men have said, we joke about this, is that I don't mind spending the rest of my life in prison having slain you for hurting my daughter. I've said that, and there's a part of me that believes that. In fact, there's a much bigger part of me that believes that than I care to admit, and it's a wretched sin. It's a sinful thought. that I am somehow going to come to the defense of the people I love because I love them so much. They need my revenge. I need to avenge myself on them. Never, never, all your translations say that, never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Never to anyone. Lance Waldie, you think you sound tough? Shut your mouth. Respect what is right in the sight of all men, if possible. So far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own vengeance, beloved, but leave room, that is, give place for the wrath of God. You go out and seek your own revenge, you are stealing from God. The revenge belongs to Him, not us. I'm preaching to myself. with fervency because this is one passage in the Bible I don't like, quite frankly. I have to admit that. I don't want that to be there. I want to take my own vengeance if it were to happen. And yet, I hear this, I read this story the other day of this man whose daughter was murdered by her boyfriend. He not only forgave him, he went to the prison every week, led this boy to Christ, and he'd kill him. Why would I read that this week? I didn't even read it in this context. Leave it to God. Don't you think he's better at this than us? Vengeance is mine, a quote from Deuteronomy 32, 35. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. What? If he's hungry, feed him. I thought we were to laugh at him. And if he's thirsty, give him a drink. No. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head." What if you go down the highway one day, and it's raining outside, and you see your enemy on the side of the road, flat tire? You can't just stop, because you never see it in time. You just come upon it. Hey, was that so-and-so? Yeah. God, I hope it lightning storms on him. No, no. If you have any conscience at all, you're looking for the next exit. We need to get around and help him. But honey, he owes you $10,000. I gotta help him. Exit, circle back around, pull out, get wet, be late, miss an appointment altogether. I'm gonna help my enemy here. And what does it do? Well, quite frankly, it destroys the enemy. You wanna destroy your enemy? That's what heaping burning coals on the head, that's what we wanna do. Hey, let me get your hair, let me get some of my charcoal briquettes out of my barbecue pit here that are gonna roast my duck and let me put it on your head and watch you just suffer. No, it's a figure of speech for destroying the enemy. You wanna destroy the enemy? Love them. Is that natural? Did we come out of mama's womb with that in mind? You want to worship the Lord God of living sacrifice? Here's your prayer list, friends. Pray. Verses 9 through 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Don't let it have you. You have it. Don't let it eat you for dinner. You eat it for dinner. Do not be overcome by evil. That's usually happening when we're angry or hungry or hangry or driven by some sensual lust or desire to smoke dope. or desire to overeat, will we just have this, I'm out of control? Don't let it have you, you have it. Let's pray. Lord God, I pray that our love for you would be genuine. I pray that we would hate what you hate. and cling for dear life to what is good. May we be devoted to our fellow brothers in Christ and brotherly love. I pray that we would give preference to them over us, never lagging behind in our diligence to do so. May we be boiling over in our spirit to serve you, letting no one put that out. May we rejoice in the hope that we have of eternal life through Jesus Christ. May we keep on keeping on through our tribulations, always being devoted to prayer, contributing to those within the church that have needs, and practicing hospitality. When people persecute us, Lord, may we bless them and not curse them. I pray that we would rejoice when those of us rejoice, when we rejoice together, may we weep together. Let us be of the same mind toward one another, whether we're wealthier than another, healthier than another, that we are all one in Christ. May we never be wise in our own eyes. May we never pay back evil to anyone, ever. That we respect all men, no matter their color, their shape, their personality. May we be at peace with all men having strived to do everything we can to bring peace, even if they don't return the favor. May we never take revenge on those that we think we owe it to, leaving your wrath to you. Lord, if you should put our enemies in our sights, may we love them as a verb, give them and help them. May evil never overcome us, but in Christ may we overcome it. We pray in the Lord Jesus Christ's name, amen. You've been listening to a sermon by Dr. Lance Walde, senior pastor of Harvest Bible Church in Cypress, Texas.