Alas, then, did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die? Would He revoke that sacred head for such a worm as I? At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there, by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day. Was it for crimes that I have done He groaned upon the tree Amazing pity, grace unknown And love beyond degree At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day. Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut His glories in, when Christ the Mighty Maker died, for man the creature sinned. At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day. But dross of grief can ne'er repay The debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself away, Tis all that I can do. At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy of the day. It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day. All right. Well, we'll dismiss the children to their class worship events soon this morning. And so 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. We're going to go with Mrs. Shor to the creche. And it's a topical message, all right? So Norah, open up your Bibles to right now. They're going to be texts that we come to as we go along this morning. You've heard the saying, no man is an island. No man is an island. It means that human beings do not fare well when isolated from others. They need to be part of a community in order to thrive. That's a very important part of our existence. It also means that what we do affects other people in our community, because we're not isolated. And so we have an impact on one another, and we are a part of one another. He's made communities. When you're born, you're put into a family community. And so we have the nuclear family. That is, whether by birth or adoption, you're part of a family that has mom and dad and children. That's the nuclear family. The extended family adds grandparents and aunties and uncles. The grandkids and all that extended family, cousins and such, is a part of that community of the family. What we think of as our community, or at least I do in my mind, is typically our neighborhood or the area in which we grew up is our a council area or county or village that has that special identity to us that we're a part of that community as with regarding our location within a neighborhood. When you got saved, God put you into a new community called the family gown. It's made up of all our brothers and sisters in Christ and someday there's going to be a great reunion of that community in heaven. And that relationship exists, praise God. That's why tonight when we visit this brother in Dumfries and his family, we've never met him before, but I anticipate a close friendship immediately. Why? Because we're part of the same family and we get to meet one another. God also put you into a community that we call the Body of Christ, or the word God calls the Body of Christ, and that's the local New Testament church community. And so communities are a blessing from God, especially those that aren't good communities. In other words, they're working properly as God intended them to do. But sadly, that's not always the case. It could be that a family can be broken apart and that community cannot isn't what God intends it to be because of things in our modern life. Too busy, too many devices, too much social media. We've got that idea of a dysfunctional family. That's just a family community that's not a good community. It's not working the way God intended it to be. Neighbors in that kind of community, that could also be impacted by modern life and the busyness of life. I know Pastor Don Dillman and I This past Wednesday, we're doing flyers in Livingston. As we're going through the doors, I just noticed in this community, it's a very hard community. Every door has that sign on it that says, basically, if you're going to post anything through my mail slot, get away before something bad happens or something like that. One door said, if we did not invite you here and do not know you're coming, do not ring the bell. and just not very friendly. You know, communities today are impacted by things like online shopping, you know, or commuting people, people that commute into work, and so they're not really involved in their local community, and you don't have that close community relationships that used to be there. And so those things happen. And those things can happen to a church as well. A church community can be great. It can be a really great thing that is what God intends it to be or there could be things that impact us as a community as well and not in a good way. And so the message this morning is, I believe, will help us in all of our communities. In other words, we're going to apply it to the local church community, but it impacts our family and those relationships. It impacts our relationship with our neighbors as well, but specifically dealing with this church family community that God has given. And so, what I want to preach on this morning is that you need to be a good contributor to your local New Testament church community. All right? That's the idea. We want to be good at it. And what we're going to do, the message is entitled, One Another, Part One. All right? Because this is going to be completed next Sunday. But the one another has to do with the text in the Word of God that deal with that local New Testament church community with that phrase specifically in our English translation Bible that's translated one another. Alright, it's found all through the New Testament beginning to end. It deals with this community and how we interact with one another. But we need to be a good contributor to this local New Testament church community. So how can we do that? And that's what we're going to look at this morning. And so let's pray and ask God's blessing, and then we'll get into the word of God. Father, we thank you for the privilege of studying the Bible. And Father, we're thankful for our church. And Father, I looked out at our assembly this morning and I just praised God for each entity that's here. And Father, we love them and pray that the Spirit of God would just knit our hearts together as a community. And Father, there's the potential for great blessing, and there's dangers. And so I pray that the Spirit of God would use this message, not just in this local church community, but in our family community, in our neighborhood community. Father, these principles apply to everything, but specifically to this local New Testament church body. And Father, I pray that you'd help us to be teachable this morning. Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would help us be humble to recognize that there's needs that we have in our life to be better in contributing to this community. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would guide me as I speak. Father, would you help me to declare the Word of God as you intend me to? And Father, I'm not ashamed to ask you again and again for your enablement because I acknowledge that I have no ability to speak for myself. And Father, that anything that's said right will only be said right by the grace of God. And Father, I pray for the spirit of God's enablement. I pray that you help me preach biblically. Father, help me preach practically. Father, help me preach lovingly. And I pray, Father, by grace, help me preach powerfully with the authority that you intend me to have as a declarer of the Word of God. And Father, I pray that you give us ears to hear this morning. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Alright, so we need to be a good contributor to our local New Testament church community. And this is part one, alright, because these love one another texts, again, they're all through the New Testament, and we're just dealing with the ones that have those two words together. There's sometimes where those words are spread apart, but they're still the same idea. This idea is all through our Bible. But we're going to start with the big one. The big one is this. To be a good contributor in this community, we need to love one another. Love one another. So this is the big point. I remember my mom doing an object lesson in our church. And what we did in our Sunday school openers, mom would come down front. She wouldn't stand in the pulpit. Stand out front, and she'd teach the kids. And we'd all listen in to what she'd share. And she'd share a Sunday school opener for the kids that everybody heard. But it would, a lot of times, be an object lesson. And I remember one that she did where she had three jars. One jar was empty, one jar had big rocks, and the other jar had little rocks. And she asked the kids, do you think all these rocks will fit in this one jar that's empty? And they're like, no, there's no way. And so let's try it, OK? So she pours the small rocks in, then pours the big rocks in. They're sticking out of the jar. It's not working. And kids are like, see, it doesn't work. But then if you take it, and you put it back, and you take the big rocks, and you put them in the empty jar, and then you pour the other rocks in, and you give the jar a little shake, it all fits. And it's a lesson on priorities. And the priority is, it's a big thing. What's the big thing? You put the big thing in first, and then everything else kind of fits in around it. And as we start with this idea of one another, love one another is the big thing. Everything else that we're going to consider fits in around that, as we talk about that. And so, love one another, and I'm going to divide these texts, because there's 12 of them, where it says specifically, love one another. I'm going to divide them into four subcategories, okay? Four main ideas. And so, first of all, love one another like God loved you. Or like God loves you. Have you ever been given an impossible command? You know, or instruction? My boys like to look at the supercars over by Fort Kinnear. I don't know if you've ever walked through, looked at the sticker prices on these Lamborghinis, Ferraris. and Bentleys and Porsches that are over there. You look at them and if you're dressed nicely and you walk inside, you know, you might have a salesman come up to you and they'll just say something casually, you know, this is only 50,000 pounds down, 2,000 pounds a month for the next five years with a payoff of 100,000 pounds at the end. And you look at them and you go, what I say to them, I say, do you own one of these? And of course they don't. And I say, neither can I. That's impossible. It's impossible for probably everybody here, unless you know something I don't know, to be able to afford a supercar like that. And this command that John has just given to us, or that John will give us in a lot of these texts, he's the apostle of love, he speaks a lot about love, and he's going to do that here for us. As he gives it to us, it's a little bit like, wow, I can't afford to get it like that. I don't have that capability, I don't have that resource, and yet he commands it with the example of God's love for us. And so, love one another like God loved you. First of all then, love one another like God the Father loved you. 2 John 1 5, it says, Now I beseech thee, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, But that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 1 John 3.11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Who commanded us at the beginning to love one another? God. And so, that's understood, that's a command that God has given. 1 John 3.23, this is His commandment that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandment. And then, 1 John 4.11, beloved, if God so loved us, so loved us. we are also to love one another. And if you get, if you're trying to take notes or trying to follow along this morning, it might be hard to turn very quickly to all these passages, but these passages will be online in the notes on our church website if you want to grab them later, okay? So there's a lot of text I'm looking at, but it's love one another, love one another, and then if God so loved us, we are also to love one another. Well, how did God the Father so love us? John 3.16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. I like the way that verse reads, for God so loved. You know? It isn't just God loved. God so loved the world that He sacrificially gave it. Just think about how God the Father loved. God the Father created us with a free will, knowing that man would disobey God. Knowing that, because man disobeyed God, that God would have to take His Son, His only Son, and enter Him into the creation that was made, and then live a sinless life, and die on a cross innocent. for the sins of the world. Die innocent for people that would despise them, people that would mock them, people that Isaiah 53 speaks about, that they didn't care about what Christ did. And yet He loved them anyway. And so now we go back to what John said, and John said, love like them. That's a sacrificial love for one another. That's a love that is, I'm going to invest in your life, whether or not I get anything back out of it or not, because God loved me that way. And God sacrificed for me that way. Love one another like God the Father loves you. And then love one another like God the Son loves you. And these are in the Lord's own words recorded by John, in John chapter, beginning of chapter 13. John 13.34 says a new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you that ye also love one another. John 15 verse 12, this is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you. John 15 verse 17, these things I command you that ye love one another. And so again it's the same ideas but this time it's Jesus, I command you to love one another and you're to love in the way that I love. And in the context of what Jesus was saying, love one another as I have loved you, he just said to them in John 15 verse 13, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And that is love. I mean, what an amazing thing. We think how loving if someone today, in some situation in life, stepped in front of the bullet, stepped in front of the sword, stepped in front of that death implement for the sake of somebody else that they cared about. We say that is strong love. And Jesus used that example, obviously, of his coming death on the cross. as an example to us of the way that we're supposed to love. The hymn writer said it well, speaking of that love. Everything that we have today, we have because of the grace of a loving God. We didn't deserve it. We didn't earn it. We couldn't afford it. We deserved hell. And Jesus Christ, out of compassion for us, sacrificed everything that he possessed so that we could have everything that we now possess in Christ. By the way, with Jesus, Jesus again didn't just die for those that would accept him or that were right with him. Romans 5 verse 6 says, For when we are yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us in that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. And since Jesus laid down his life a lot for us and we were so unworthy of that love, shouldn't we lay down our love for one another in this assembly? I said by the grace of God that this is a place and these are our people that I'm going to extend love to, okay? And so, love is God love. Secondly, love one another by doing right towards one another. Love one another by doing right towards one another. Nobody here this morning would say, well, I'm perfect in love. Nobody, all right? You just think about that statement and think about, do I love the way that I share it? Do I love like Christ loved? Do I love like God loved? Every single one of us in our hearts, if there's an honesty there in evaluating our love, we say, you know what, I'm perfect in love. I'm imperfect in love. Because if we were perfect in love, we would never sin towards God or towards others. That's true. You might think, well, Pastor, that's a strong statement. Did you maybe misspeak in the way that you said that? But the answer is no, from the Bible. The Bible says, if I love perfectly, Then I don't transgress against God, I don't transgress against others. Romans 13 verse 8 says, But to love one another, that's the debt that you should have to somebody else, is to love them. For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Wow, I mean that's an amazing way to put it, but that's true. If I really love as I ought to love, then I don't transgress against that person, and I don't transgress against God. You know, sin is a failure to love. I've talked before about the sins of my S1 class, alright? When I was 13 years old or so, in that class, and we weren't the best class, and we had our problems, but one time, a kid in that class, he got a stamp and a stamp pad in his cereal box, alright? And he brought it to school. And we decided, I guess, in our cleverness, to take the stamp pad and thought it would be funny to stamp each other, alright? Our shirts and things. And the principal, I think, was that great of an idea. He confronted us and we lied. And we said we stamped our own shirts. Now it's kind of a silly story, and it's a foolish thing of my youth and argument. And we look at that and say, well that's a silly story. But Pastor, did that really happen because of a lack of love? Did love fail? Is that why you transgressed in that way? But let's stop and think about it. Did we love our parents who had provided our clothing? You know, when we were stamping each other's shirts, were we considering death? Did we love one another and care about each other's property? It's kind of, again, it's a silly illustration, but, I mean, obviously we didn't value that. Did we love God, our Teacher and the Principle, as we knowingly transgressed, and then lied about it? And so even that silly illustration, I mean, you look at that and say, well, that's got no big deal. But it's a breakdown of love. And so every single time that there's a transgression that takes place, whether between us and God or between us and somebody else, there is a breakdown in this area of love. Would a gossip slander somebody if they loved them? No, they're not going to say bad things about that person if they truly love them. Would a thief steal from a person that he truly loved? No. Would a boyfriend violate someone they really loved? No. And so it's a breakdown in love. Love one another by doing right towards one another. That's how love is demonstrated, that right choice of doing what's right for the sake of consideration of the other individual. And then third, love one another by having affection for one another. And I think a lot of times when we think about this idea of love, it's this kind of love in our minds. It's an affection. And it comes or goes. It waxes or wanes. And so it's not the essence of love, but it is an expression of love. And so it is a biblical thing that there ought to be in our hearts as we think about our relationship with one another that there be in our hearts a true affection for one another. 1 Thessalonians 4 and 9 says, but as touching brotherly love, You need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." That brotherly love is that affection. It's that concern. It's like David and Jonathan. They had this great friendship that was powerful. It was just brotherly love that bound them together with a real concern, a real interest in one another. 1 Peter 1 22 says seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the spirit unto Unfeigned love of the brethren see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently, all right I mean, that's affection. I mean, that is saying to us that there ought to be an affirmancy in our affection for one another, that we are concerned about one another. We have a real genuine interest in one another. I remember my parents, when we would get in trouble as kids, My parents would have us come in and we'd have to, not just shake hands at times, but we'd have to embrace each other. That's bad, huh? Imagine hugging your sister, hugging your brother. Why is that important to us getting right? Because affection is a very real part of our relationships. There's texts that I want to share that are more one another texts that deal with affection in a more personal way. Alright? Here they are. Romans 6, 16, 16. Salute one another with a holy kiss. The children of Christ salute you. 1 Corinthians 16, 20. All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss. 2 Corinthians 13, 12. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 1 Thessalonians 5, 26. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 1 Peter 5, 14. Greet you one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. And you say, Pastor, are you instituting a new practice at Pre-Baptist Church? And I'll tell you, no, we're not in France, all right? And so we're in Scotland, and maybe not as openly affectionate, but it's not just that greeting. But greetings are important. It's that brotherly love. Pastor Dillman, he's gonna be here tonight, and he's a good brother and a warden, and I appreciate him. I spend a good amount of time with him during the year. Every Wednesday, I either go his way of doing flyers, he comes my way of doing flyers, and we spend a lot of time fellowshipping together. But we bumped into him at the mall, and some of the boys, myself, were at the mall, and he's in line there at the post office, And he said to us, hey, you kids, you want a hot chocolate? Of course they do. And so he took us Krispy Kremes, and he bought us hot drinks and a donut. You know what that was? That was a kiss of charity. That's brotherly love. That's what it is. It's us having a genuine interest in somebody else in our church and saying, hey, I'm praying for you. I encourage you. It's all right to say, I love you. All right? We might have to say in the Lord. All right? In our day and age, we've got to be careful how we express things. But I've got a pastor friend in the States. I mean, he's the guy that's got a sign on his church that says, servants that will knock your socks off. All right? He's a man. He writes a heart letter. But you know, he frequently, when he writes to the missionaries, he says, hey, I love you. That's all right. Praise God. I mean, we ought to be able to express that. Listen, parents, you ought to express that to your kids. You ought to express that to your spouse, right? I love you. And that's a good thing, that affection. And then fourth, love one another as a testimony that you're truly born again. 1 John 4, 7 says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Love is so connected to God that it's a testimony to the fact that I'm truly a born again person. And it's an evidence of that life of God that is in me. Now, think about it this way. You say, pastor, but what about an unbeliever? Can't they love? And I'll say this, they can to a degree, but they can't love like we can. They can't. Why? Because love isn't fulfilling the law. They can't because their love is imperfect. They don't have God's help. They don't have the grace of God enabling them to love as they ought to love. Titus 3.3 says, For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish in our sin before we got saved, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasure, living in mouths of envy, hateful, and hating one another. There's a lot of failure to love and the root of it is they don't have Jesus. They don't have God in their heart. John 4, 12, no man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is protected in us. Again, it's an evidence of that relationship with God. And going back to 1 John chapter 4, I read verse 7. Verse 7 was, let us love one another, for love is of God. Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Verse 8. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. That's powerful, isn't it? It's identifying, it's like those precious verses, Jesus is life, He is life. When I receive Jesus, I receive life. When you receive God in your heart, you receive the capacity to love, because God is love. Praise God. And again, love is a fulfillment of the law. It's so important to us to have that reality of God inside of us. And so love one another. I mean, that's the big rock. As we start this study, we're going to go through a lot of different ideas, but that's the big thing. Love one another. Second thing, serve one another. Serve one another. You're a good contributor to our community if you serve one another. Galatians 5.13 says, brethren, by love, serve one another. So it's an outflow of that idea of love, but by love, serve one another. Jesus modeled this before us and before his disciples. He modeled it by putting on a towel in John chapter 13. In verse 3, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into a sand, and that he had come from God and went to God, he riseth after supper, and laid aside his garments, and he took a towel, and he girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash his disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. And we understand the picture. The picture was of sanctification. You know, the fact that his men were walking through the dust, and they needed the Lord Jesus himself to wash their feet, and we do as well. And the picture is a great picture for us, getting cleansing of sin, right? But at the end, Jesus applied it physically as well, when he said in verse 14, if I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. You don't have the humility to get down and be a servant and encourage yourself as a servant. Jesus, knowing that all things were at hand, that he was going back to the Father, that he was going to be glorified again, he puts on a towel and he gets down and begins to wash his feet. That's a precious way for us, practically, to express love to the body of Christ. Just by serving, being a servant in this assembly. Men's Camp is often in my mind and with the leadership lessons that we're doing in Sunday School especially. But at Men's Camp, I've said it, one of the things that I really appreciate about Pastor Ledbetter is that he has shared his vision with his church and his men have stepped up And I mean, they learn everything. Those of you guys that have been at camp know what it is to see the guys there working and being involved. But it's not just his men. It's other men, because it's a camp on the cheap, you know? And so you've got to volunteer and get involved. And so it's time to wash the dishes. They're not being washed by staff. They're being watched by people that paid money to come to camp and participate just like everybody else sitting out there. But you know, there's some guys that just jump into that. We ought to be like those guys. We have a big black story that says, you know what, that's gonna be me. When I'm in, I'm not here to be served. I'm here to serve. Jesus came to serve, not to be served. And so should we, right? Serve one another. And so love one another, serve one another. Third, prefer one another. Prefer one another. We're a good contributor to this community if we put others first, preferring one another. Romans 12 verse 10. It says, be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love, in honor, preferring one another. In other words, again, it's an outflow of that love, isn't it? But it's saying, you first, you first. And Abraham modeled this well for us. He's traveling. He's got all his livestock and everything with him. He's a big group. Then he's got Lot and his nephew. And Lot had all those animals that he had. And it came to the point where they had grown so much that it was difficult for them to find pasture. And so Lot's, or Abraham's a senior partner. Abraham could have said, Lot, you go that way, I'm going this way. But you remember what Abraham did. Abraham said, Lot, there's not enough room for us. And so whatever way you'd like to go, you go that way, and I'll go the other way. In honor, I mean, he preferred him. That just shows us why Abraham was a quality of what he was. But he said, Lot, I'm going to put you first. You decide. You decide. God honored that. There's a lot of churches, we've all heard the stories that a church split apart, you know, because of an argument over the carpet. You know, whether it's going to be blue, whether it's going to be red. We recently read kind of something humorous in our reading from a pastor in the states saying, you know what, we just changed the light bulbs from yellow lights to white lights. It really changed the the brightness of the room. We didn't want to change the fixtures because we didn't want to cause a problem. And somebody gets upset. What are we doing with that? I think we should have a dentist. But it's sad today that you've got to be that careful in a church about what are we going to do or not do because somebody's going to get their feelings hurt, and somebody's not going to get their way, and they're going to be upset. And they might leave the church over something so foolish. as something that's not a spiritual thing. Now I'll say this, doctrine we fight for, practice we fight for, but when it comes to just preference, our preference or somebody else's preference, if we want to be a good part of this community, we would do well to say, you know what, that's fine. If that helps you, if that is better, that's fine. I don't have to have my way on that. You go ahead and have your way. Preferring one another. We study the verse in Proverbs just recently, Proverbs 13 verse 10. Only by pride cometh contention. Pride is, I've got to have my way. And if I don't get my way, we're not going to get along. And then you think about how this affects relationships. I'm not going to give in. I'm not going to give in. And they can't get on because nobody's giving in. If there's going to be contention in our church, let it be on the part of somebody else. Make sense? Let it be their problem. because they've got to have their way, then yield as much as you can. Don't let it be because of us saying, no, I'm not going to prefer you. That's a great contribution, and that's humbling, isn't it? It's a humbling thing to say, you know, we might have good practical reasons why we think it would be better, but it's okay to say, you know what, it's not sin, it's not a sin issue, you go ahead, and we'll do it your way. Fourth, judge not one another. And these are, by the way, these are in no order except maybe in where they fall in the Word of God, okay? And you'll see we're kind of starting at the beginning and going towards the end, except that we deal with one subject and then they're also in order. Judge not one another. You're a good contributor to our community if you don't pass judgment on one another. Romans 14 verse 12 says, so then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasioned fall in his brother's way. And what he's dealing with is at that time, There was idolatry. But the meat sold in the market, some of it was offered to idols, some of it wasn't. And in there, Paul acknowledges it's a real issue and says, don't ask questions for conscience sake. You don't just go and thank God for food. But if somebody won't eat meat and somebody will eat meat, Neither one are to stand in judgment upon the other. You eat meat. You don't eat meat. Judge not. Why? Because God is the judge. God is the judge. He's the one. Again, it's not an issue of sin. It's an issue of that heart, that person's desire to please God. And that it's not the part of a brother in Christ to stand in judgment and say, well, I judge you, you're wrong. It doesn't matter. This happened to me recently. I'm a preacher, and it was with a preacher that I just met. And this preacher, soon after we met, we were just talking about things, and I said something, and he goes, well, You know, he makes a statement, well, I just don't agree with you, or something like that. And I just looked at him and said, you know, that's between you and the Lord. That's fine. I mean, if you want to judge me, go ahead, but I mean, God's the judge anyway, so I'm not really worried about what you think about that. And I'm not your judge, you know. I mean, if you say you disagree with me, then probably I disagree with you, but I wasn't really thinking about that. You know? But who cares? It's not a sin issue. And so that little protection that is in our relationships, that we don't feel like we've got to stand in condemnation upon somebody, because they stand and fall before God. And so the Bible says, In that text, Romans 14, let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not? Let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth? For God hath received him. Who art thou that judges another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. And so if it's an issue where it's not sin, then it's an area where we don't have anything to say, because that's their decision before God. And to put it into a Biblical practical context, the Jerusalem Council, when they came together, they came together to decide whether Gentiles needed to be circumcised. You remember the ruling? No, they don't need to be circumcised. Why? Because it's not an issue of sin. It's not something they need to do. But they do need to stay away from fornication, which was part of their idolatry. They do need to be holy. That's sin. And so the ruling was based on sin, it wasn't based on, well, we think, you know, we're Jews and we think you ought to get circumcised as a sign of a covenant relationship with God, okay? And so that's the idea, if you can understand that, that when it's not an issue of sin, that we have charity one towards another and don't pass judgment. We can't anyway, God's the judge, but that we don't voice judgment against somebody else. And so judge not one another. That's a good contribution to our community. And then unite with one another. Unite with one another. We're a good contributor to this community if when God brings people into this ministry that that's something that we embrace and are excited about receiving into our community. Romans 15 verse 5. It says, now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the Lord God. Again, what a blessing in this community when God brings people from all walks of life. In our church, we're multicultural. Praise God. It's a great representation that we have. We are rejoicing that. But no matter where somebody's from, no matter what gender, no matter what intellect, no matter what there is about them, that our church will be a church where, hey, you know what? We're just thankful to receive you into this assembly just like I was received by God into God's family. That's what the Lord requires. Thomas Chalmers, as I'm reading about him, and it's a different time period, but back in the 1800s, they had, I think they were called pew subscriptions, I think they were called subscriptions, but it was pew tax, you know, where you spend so much money to help pay for the church, and you rent that pew. Well, because of that, poor people couldn't afford to come to church. You know, and Thomas Thomas, you know, did some things about that to try to deal with that. William Booth faced that. William Booth, burdened about reaching the down and outs in society, took along a troop of unclean people because they couldn't get clean. I mean, the way they lived, there was no way to cleanse them physically. You know, and they come trooping into church. Well, you got all these dirty looks. He was told by the church, don't you ever, you know, try that again. It's just not where church is. And so again, it's just a reminder to us as God brings different people into our assembly that we rejoice and say, hey, praise God, I'm so glad you're a part of this group, and that we make everybody that Christ has received just feel welcome in this assembly. And then admonish one another. admonish one another. Just because we don't pass judgment on one another, we do have a responsibility to do what the Bible says in Proverbs 27, 17. Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. There is a process whereby, as we get together, what this is, is just like you sharpen iron by striking it. Striking it, striking it. That striking just makes it sharper and sharper. There is a reality that as we come... to an assembly that there's that process that takes place of iron sharpening iron, very specifically. And so we'll break this one, this is another big one, but we'll break it apart into some smaller ideas. And so first of all, a mature community admonishes one another. If our assembly has mature believers in it, a mature assembly admonishes one another. Romans 15 verse 14 says, And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Paul acknowledged that as he wrote to the Romans, you know, guys, I get this. You've got the understanding of right and wrong, and you are fully qualified to deal with sin in a way that is pleasing to God. And that's a good thing. Hebrews 5.14, we read it this morning in Sunday school. Strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. That's a good thing that in our church we have some wise, mature believers that can identify sin and can help younger believers that God brings to our church in dealing with that sin. I asked our MSP, I could name him, I know his name, our MSP in the Delothian. I asked him after he voted for homosexual marriage, I said to him, I said, do you know what the Bible says about that? You know what he said? I don't. I'll tell you this. I don't believe in that, first of all. Alright? If he's ignorant, he shouldn't be. Okay? But let's not act like that in a church. Let's not act like, well, I don't really know what the Bible teaches about alcohol. I don't really know what the Bible teaches about modesty. I don't really know what the Bible teaches about rock music. I don't even know what the Bible teaches about that, you know, all these things that we could as a church edify each other and build each other up and say, hey, you know what? God helped me over that and God can help you too. Those are the privileged opportunities that we have, not just as a pastor, but as a church to edify each other and build each other up and say, hey brother, God gave me victory, God can give you victory. and lovingly to deal with something that is a question of is this right or is this wrong and admonish one another. Our public worship will admonish one another. Colossians 3.16 says, let the word of Christ well you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in songs, in hymns, in spiritual songs. Sing with grace in your hearts of the Lord. I bet you didn't know today that as you sat there, if you sang, and if you sang with the right heart that was rightly related to God, that by singing you are teaching and you are admonishing. That's what it's talking about. It's talking about in that worship, in that part of the worship that we have that opportunity to edify and admonish one another in the Lord as we come together and we worship the Lord in song. Just consider this text from the hymn, Am I a Soldier of the Cross? Am I a Soldier of the Cross, a follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own his cause or blush to speak his name? Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others plot to win the prize and sail through bloody seas? Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace to help me unto God? Sure, I must fight if I will reign, increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by thy word. Stop and think about that hint ass. I mean it deals with so many things You know Christianity is not a walk in the park If you think it's a walk in the park you got you got the wrong idea about what it is Christianity is a fight on the bloody battlefield is a fight for your family to fight for your your church is a fight for your community and listen if you're not what God intends you to be you're not fighting and Are there no forces? This guy is singing, isn't there somebody for me to fight for God? Is there not a cause? David said. And so what? It's admonishment that takes place when we sing that from our hearts that that is a time for us to edify each other and challenge each other and admonish one another through our public worship. And then our daily communication ought to exhort one another. Hebrews 13, or 3 verse 13, all right? By the way, we're on our final point, okay? This is one of those messages, you're like, Patrick, how long did this go? You said there's no text to look at, all right? Our daily communication ought to exhort one another. Hebrews 3, 13. Says, but exhort one another daily whilst called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. That's not for the pastor. Yeah, I participate in that. I'll do my best to, if I know something, somebody struggling with it, to encourage them and say, hey, look, God can give you victory. But you know what's great? When we have a church that is actively participating in that, say, brother, I care about you, sister, I care about you. Encouraging these kids that come to our church, encouraging them so that, what? Their hearts don't get hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. That's admonishing them. That's a responsibility that God has given, not, again, just to the pastor. Praise God. Though our day is not as close to community as it used to be, I'm talking neighborhood, within a church it can be. And it ought to be. And it's kind of like this. You know what? How do I have my phone? Every time I preach, I never have my phone. But I'm only a phone call away. I'm only a text away. I'm praying for you. I want to encourage you. And we have that opportunity to reach out. That becomes a very strong church that has that ability to reach out and say, hey, come over to my house. Let's have a meal together. Let's have some fellowship together. Because it's that iron sharpening iron relationship that God intends us to have. And then our consideration of one another will provoke one another to be at church, to be here. Our consideration of one another will provoke one another to be here. The text is Hebrews 10 verse 24 and 25. It says, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as a manner of some is But exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching We are 2,000 years past that day Israel is back in the land. The world is getting corrupt one world government is coming We can understand today, we are very close to the time of Christ. Do you know what we need? More than ever, we need to come together as a church. We need to be here. But we need to encourage each other to be here. And say, you know what? I miss you when you're not here. Because we need to come together to be exhorted and to be challenged by the Word of God. We're halfway. I'll finish next Sunday. But, there are many communities in which we find ourselves. And God, it's a precious thing, isn't it? Family. That could be such a good community. Neighborhood. It could be a great community. Church. Ought to be an excellent community. but it becomes the best when we all contribute in a good way to it. And so just examine your own heart this morning on these principles that we've considered. Do you love one another? How am I supposed to love? Well, I'm to love as God loved. Wow. That's what God said. How do I do that? I do what's right towards my brother. I do what's right towards my sister. Because that's how I communicate that love. I have affection for them. That means I genuinely have a care and concern for them, and I express that to them. And it's a testimony that I'm truly born again, because God is love. And this brotherly love is vital to what God said. I mean, the world needs to see a church that has just an affection for one another that they don't understand. Because they don't understand the body of Christ and who God is. How do we do that practically? Because love is a big thing. We put that in first, everything else falls out of that. Serve one another. So seek opportunities. What has your love for this assembly cost you? Did you have to get up early this morning to somehow minister to the body of Christ? Did you have to dig deep to invest in the cause of Christ, for your brothers and sisters in Christ? You know, did you have to prepare for the body of Christ? That's serving. We ought to stop and think, you know what, I want to do something for God. Prefer one another. That means that as a church, we're not going to get headlocked over, you know, the color of what, anything. If it's not a sin issue that as a church, you know, hey, go ahead, that's alright. Praise God. Do it that way, that's okay. That works, you know, if it legitimately does work and is a good thing. Let's encourage each other to have their way. Unite with one another. As people come in, that we embrace them and say, hey, I'm glad you're here, you're a part of this church, just like I'm a part of this church. I want to encourage you in the Lord. Judge not one another. That is, if it's not a sin issue, I'm not going to stand in condemnation upon you. That's your choice before God. It may not be the same as my choice, and that's okay, because it's not a sin issue. And then admonish one another. Be mature enough to know right and wrong and encourage a brother or sister in what's right or what's wrong. Sing the hymns. You know, as we sing, it's a great opportunity. Lift your voice in praise to God. Exhort each other, even as we'll sing here at the end. Send out communication. You know, just encourage somebody and seek to help somebody to do what's right. And then provoke one another to faithful attendance in the house of God. And God helped us to be the best local New Testament church community that we possibly can. And so after church, practice. This is for life, isn't it? And in our families, practice. And say, by God's grace, I want this to rubber meet the road. I want to be what God wants me to be. All right? And praise God for that. Let's pray. Father, take your truth, bind it to our hearts here this morning. Father, there's so many of these things already taking place in our church. It's just really, in many ways, it's a reminder that we don't just kind of exist to ourself. New Manson Island. I don't come to church to be myself. I come to church to be part of a community. And Father, I pray, help us to be the very best part of this community at Kennedy. And Father, maybe somebody needs some help at their workplace because of work relationships. I pray help them in that community. Help us in our families. Help us, Lord, to do our part in every situation you find yourself in, to be the best part of that community at Kennedy. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. Let's stand and sing 387, I will follow, I will follow. 387, sing from your heart, from your heart. 387. Stand up please, we'll sing. I will follow Thee, my Savior, wherever that way may go. Through the storm, or through the valley, or through great trials so low.