Well, back in November of 1989, there was a case that had captured the attention of the nation. And it was the Tawana Brawley case. She was a 15-year-old African-American girl from Wappingers Falls, New York, who went missing for four days. And she was found in a trash bag, covered with feces, with racial slurs written all over her body. And she claimed that she was kidnapped and repeatedly raped by three police officers and a prosecutor. And her advisors were Al Sharpton and the attorneys Alton Maddox and Vernon Mason. And they were all over the news calling for the arrest and conviction of these three police officers and this prosecutor. And in the court of public opinion, they were guilty. They were guilty, and their lives were turned upside down for the worse. But the grand jury found that Tawana's case was a farce. The majority of the evidence, in fact all of the evidence, indicated there was no kidnapping at all, nor was there a rape. And it was found out that she had spent those four days at her boyfriend's house, and for fear of a beating that she believed she would take from her mother's boyfriend, she concocted the whole story. So the policeman and the prosecutor were falsely accused. Their names and pictures were plastered all over the news, and not in a good light. And it is troubling when someone falsely accuses you to others. And the Apostle Paul was troubled that he was falsely accused by these false teachers and charlatans who had entered into Thessalonica. And they accused him of doing all these things, trying to destroy the newly planted church there. They were trying to shake the faith of these young believers and get them to walk away from the faith. And these enemies of the gospel accused Paul of coming and teaching error and said that he was out to fulfill his own sexual desires and that his teaching was deceitful. And they say that he was teaching his own gospel and trying to get men to follow him and to exalt him. And that he was a man pleaser. And he would say anything he had to say to get men to praise and to glorify him. And that he used flattery as a guise to line his own pockets. So they painted a horrific picture of Paul. They falsely accused him of many things. And Paul, for the sake of the gospel and for the faith of this young church, defended himself. He defended his gospel, he defended his motives. And the way he defended himself was to call on the memory of the Thessalonians. He reminds them in verse one that his ministry was not in vain. He reminds them in verse two that he suffered greatly for preaching the gospel in Philippi, and then preached the exact same gospel to them. He reminds them in verse five that he never used flattering words nor a cloak for covetousness. He reminds them in verse nine that he didn't take a dime from them, but he worked for his food and for his lodging. And he reminds them in verse 11 how he was like a father to them. So Paul defends himself and his ministry by asking the saints to just remember how he ministered to them. And now in verses seven to nine, which we'll look at today, he reminds them of how he didn't seek glory from man nor make demands as an apostle, which he says in verse six, but was gentle among them. And as we said before that Paul's defense is actually this tremendous, excellent blueprint of how a pastor should be. So while he's defending himself for the sake of the saints, he's also showing us the way a minister should be. And with this set up in a sermon titled Cherishing the Saints, I'd like to look at two ways from these verses how a pastor should be. And they are a pastor should be gentle and a pastor should be giving. He should be gentle and he should be giving. So let's look at a pastor should be gentle in verse seven. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. And the word gentle means to be mild, to be kind. It means to be considerate, to be pleasant. The Greek word was used to describe medicine is soothing. So it's a show of love and care for others in the way you act and the way you speak. And you demonstrate the spiritual work in your life when you show gentleness. Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter two, a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all. He told him in 1 Timothy chapter six to pursue gentleness. He said in Titus chapter three verse two that the saints should speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, and be gentle. He told the saints in Colossians 3.12 to put on gentleness, wear it like a cloak. James 3.17 says, the wisdom from above is gentle. In Philippians 4.5, believers are commanded to let their gentleness be known to all men. Why? For the Lord is at hand. And the reason gentleness can be commanded is because Galatians 5.22 says that gentleness is part of the fruit of the Spirit. And the reason it's part of the fruit of the Spirit is because it is Christ-like. And Jesus was the most gentle man that ever lived. He said of himself in Matthew 11, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Why? For I am gentle and lowly, and you will find rest for your souls. Speaking of the Messiah, we read in Isaiah 40 verse 11, he will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young. And did he not deal gently with his disciples who were often seeking prominence and the best seat in the kingdom? Was he not gentle? when they had just a little faith? Was he not gentle with the Samaritan woman and the woman caught in adultery? Was he not gentle with the most despised of men, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers? Hey, listen, when he came into this world, this world was full of cruelty, right? The rich oppressed the poor. The strong crushed the weak. People were slaves to tyrants. And no one reached out to love the sick, or the lame, or the blind, or the deformed, or the insane, or the demon-possessed. No one did. No one cared for the widow. No one cared for the orphan or the homeless. But for 30-some-odd years, Jesus did. As a man, he did. He had a very gentle heart. He had a compassionate heart. And he still has a compassionate and gentle heart. You see, his heartbeat was one of care and tenderness. And people knew, they knew that Jesus was their friend. And no sin of man nor evil done to him could ever make him ungentle, not that that's a word, but they could ever make him not gentle. And the heart of Christ should beat in the hearts of his people. It should beat in our hearts. Right, the heart of Christ should beat in the hearts of his followers. So does his gentle heart beat in your heart? Does it beat in your heart? Does it beat in my heart? We should all have something of that gentleness in our heart, right? So Jesus was gentle. But don't mistake gentleness for weakness, or being a pushover, because Jesus was never any of those things. As one man said, gentleness is power under control, which perfectly describes our Lord. Well, Paul says, we were gentle among you, meaning we didn't force the gospel upon you. We didn't press you to make a decision for Christ or pray a prayer or run down an aisle or sign a card. We didn't do that. We didn't use you to gain a notch in our belts. We didn't strong-arm you into following us. And we understood how hard it would be to have your friends and your family go against you when you trusted Christ. We understood the persecution and suffering was coming your way. We knew that. And we were patient with you if you didn't get something. And then we went over it again and again until you did. And we didn't get annoyed or flustered with your difficulty to grasp gospel truths and to let go of your pagan myths and lies. And we listened to your fears and we answered your questions. Now I want you to notice two words Paul uses here, that they were gentle among you. We were gentle among you. Among you says, we were with you. We were part of you. And Paul and his gospel team were among the saints. Paul said, we knew you, we spent time with you. And as they'll say in verse eight, we imparted our very lives to you. And it's critical for pastors to be among the people and to do life with the sheep. First Peter said, shepherd the flock of God among you. So there can't be this cold distance between the pastor, or the pastors, and the people. Pastor needs to know the sheep. He needs to know the condition of the sheep, what they need, and what will help them, and how to help them. And he can't do any of those things if he's not among them. Well, Paul says, we were gentle among you, and then he gives a metaphor of just how gentle they were. But by using maybe the most gentle scenario known to man, Maybe a nursing mother. So he says, we were gentle among you, here's the analogy, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So the way a nursing mother is gentle with her child and cherishes her baby, well, that's the same way that Paul was gentle and cherished Thessalonians. And what mother is rough, or harsh, or nasty, or unkind, Right? To her child, to her nursing child. I mean, I'm looking at mothers here with little babies. Are you guys mean and nasty? I don't think so. I don't think so. Right? What mother would do that? Listen, just as an aside, just yesterday we were out at the abortion clinic in the morning, and I saw this beautiful illustration as these ladies are lined up to go in and get abortions. was Rose and then Zee showed up. But they brought number three, Kyra, with them. And there's Rose with this little baby attached all over her and wrapped up in 30 things. And I'm thinking, what a picture. She loves her baby. And we know the backdrop of that. Of course, he was born very premature and he almost didn't live and much prayer went out. But they loved him. And this picture of these ladies are gonna go in and give up their babies and have them put to death, where Rose is carrying this little baby. I loved it. Some mothers sacrifice much for the care of their children. A nursing mother often goes without sleep or wakes up every few hours to feed her child. She will deny herself many things to make sure her baby, his hunger is met. She cares primarily for his needs and she'll stop whatever she's doing to feed him. So she is a selfless person when it comes to that. And listen, she doesn't just put in eight hours and then she's done for the day. It's a 24-hour job. And she spares no discomfort or effort, nor does she consider her own well-being but that of her child. And nursing moms are not out for the praise of men. Look at me, I'm feeding my kid. Right, they're not out for that. They're not looking for glory. They're not trying to somehow gain something from their baby. There's no ulterior motive for the mom going on here. No ulterior, because without her, she knows that this child is helpless and hopeless, and she loves her child, and she cares for him, and she'll do whatever it takes. Well, Paul says she cherishes her child. And cherish means to tenderly care for. And this word is only used twice in the New Testament. It's used here and in Ephesians 5 where Paul says that Jesus cherishes the church, which is his bride. And this word literally means to keep warm. And the picture here is a picture of a bird covering her chicks in a nest with her feathers to keep them warm. That's the picture, that's the word picture. So a nursing mother picks up her helpless baby and brings him to her breast, and she's not only feeding him, but she's keeping him warm as his little body is against her body. And again, you see the intimate, beautiful picture of gentleness and tenderness. And what Paul is saying is, this is how we treated you. This is how we treated you. We exhibited the same feelings for you as a nursing mother does for her child. We cared for you the way a mother would care for her young. So Paul says we were gentle among you. I was gentle among you. And quite honestly, gentle is not really the first word you think of when you think of the apostle Paul. You might say zealous, or passionate, or driven, or determined, or strong, but not really gentle. Yet that's exactly what he says he was among the saints. And gentle is what every pastor should be with the saints. It is what every pastor should be. They need to treat the saints as precious and valuable and genuinely cherish them. And I know that gentleness is not an attribute that is hardly sought after in leadership in the world that we live in. There aren't too many gentle CEOs. I mean, I really can't think of anybody. And certainly, I don't think anybody here is gonna come up with a gentle politician. Because men admire decisiveness in leadership, strength, being a motivator, a risk taker, a no-nonsense person, and so on. But Gentile is exactly what the pastor has to be. He needs to be tender. and protective of the flock. He needs to guide them and help feed them on the pure milk of the word. He needs to sacrifice for the sake of the saints that God has put in his care. And truly all believers, all believers need to be gentle. All of us do. With one another. Because not to be gentle is to not be like Jesus. It's to not be like Jesus. And you know, you can't have gentleness in your life if you don't have a gentle heart. It starts from the heart, right? If the heart isn't gentle, you're not gonna be gentle. Mere human gentleness, whatever that would be, is not enough. We need gentleness that comes from the Spirit. And we need to be more and more yielded to Christ if we're to grow in Him. But where there is selfishness and pride and envy, there is no gentleness. You can't have that. and be selfish or proud and envy in anything else. Listen, when a pastor or a Christian man is not gentle, when he's harsh or cold or unkind, no one speaks of him as having a fine disposition. Or when a Christian woman is loud or bossy or a gossip or given to speaking bitter words, no one says, oh, she has a lovely disposition. So as one man said, no one is truly great who is not gentle. And the question is, and we have to ask ourselves, am I a gentle person? Are you a gentle person? And maybe the best way to discern that, because we would say, yeah, I'm pretty, I think I'm gentle. I think I'm a gentle guy. But what say ye? What say my wife? would say those who know me best, right? Might be the best way to discern that. So a pastor should be gentle. Secondly, a pastor should be giving. A pastor should be giving. Verses eight and nine, he says, so affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. If you remember, brethren, our labor and toil, for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preach to you the gospel of God. Well, Paul says how gentle he was among the Thessalonians, and he uses the metaphor of a mother nursing her child to show that. Now he continues the thought in verse eight by saying, so affectionately longing for you. And that means we were fond of you. We were fond of you. Like a mother is fond of her baby, Paul was fond of the saints. Speaking of Titus, he said in 2 Corinthians 7, his, Titus' affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. He told the saints in Colossians 3.15 to mortify excess or sinful affections. Put him to death. So Paul affectionately longed for the Thessalonians. He longed for them, and longed for means he greatly desired to see them. And you have to care about people that you share the gospel with, especially if God is pleased to save them. We need to see all believers as worth our time. It has to be a privilege and a delight to share with them and to teach them. And what the saints need most is the word of God if they're gonna grow. And what the lost need most is the word of God if they're gonna be saved. Therefore we should not hold back anything because it's hard or it's not popular. Well, because Paul affectionately longed for the saints at Thessalonica, and not their money or their praise, he was well-pleased to impart to them the gospel of God and his own life. And well-pleased says it was a joy. It's not a labor or a task or a burden. Nobody was twisting Paul's arm to do this. He was well-pleased. He was eager to impart these things to them. And when something is well-pleasing to you, you don't have to be coaxed into it. You know that. You do not have to be coaxed into it. You want to do it. And it ought to be well-pleasing for the Christian to do the will of God. It ought to be well-pleasing to help and to bless the saints. That ought not to be a hard thing for us. You know, there are a lot of things in life that we are well-pleased with and well-pleased to do. And may it be that we would be well-pleased to impart the gospel in our very lives to the saints, as Paul was well-pleased to impart the gospel to the Thessalonians. And impart just means to give, to share. As we read in Romans 1, he said, for I long to see you, to the Romans, I long to see you. Why? That I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established or strengthened in your faith. Not that I could hang out in Rome and eat the best of the world's food or something like that, but I could give you a spiritual blessing. I want to impart spiritual blessings upon you. and that you would grow and mature in your faith. So Paul was glad to impart to them and to share with them the gospel of God. And this is the second time out of three times he uses this phrase, gospel of God, even in this one chapter. And again, the gospel of God means this. It's God's gospel, and it's not man's gospel. That's what it means. Paul wasn't preaching his own gospel. He was bringing God's gospel, which all men need, for God is the God of all men, so we all need God's gospel. And Paul wasn't taking from the Thessalonians, as some have accused him of, but rather he was giving something to them. What was he giving to them? The gospel. God's gospel. And his commission by Christ was to bring the gospel to both Jew and Gentile, and it was to be freely given to them. Ananias, who was told by God to go where Saul of Tarsus was now laying and still blind after he had an encounter with Jesus, and he said that in Acts 9.15 that Paul was a chosen vessel of mine to do what? To bear my name. to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel." That's his job. That's his commission. In Acts 3, 6, Peter said to the crippled man who lay by the temple gate begging for money, he said, listen, silver and gold I don't have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. So to bear God's name is the gospel, to bring his truth. And what Peter has, that he gave to the man, and that was the gospel. He gave him the gospel. And Paul was driven to give men the gospel. He said in Romans 1, as we read, and I don't think we read this, I am a debtor, both to Greeks and barbarians, both to wise and unwise, so much as within me I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. That's where I wanna go. I wanna preach the gospel. He said in 1 Corinthians 9, 16, for if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. Woe is me. So Paul couldn't hold back the good news. He was moved to share the good news. Peter and John said to the Jewish leaders in Acts 4, who told them, stop preaching in Jesus' name. We forbid you to preach in Jesus' name. They said, for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. We can't hold back. Jeremiah had decided, wasn't gonna preach the gospel anymore. because quite honestly, it was very unpopular and he was taking a lot of hits for it. We read that today in Jeremiah 20, but listen to what he says in verse nine. He says, but his word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding it back. I tried to hold it back. I tried not to preach it anymore. I'm tired of being a laughing stock. I'm tired of getting beaten up. I'm tired of getting put in jail. But I couldn't stop. I had to let it out. Do you feel that way sometimes? You just gotta share it? You can't hold back? The world is spiraling into a damnation and you know the truth? Gotta let it out, right? It's gotta come out. So Jeremiah couldn't help himself. So it must be well pleasing for us to share the gospel of God with the saved and with the lost. I mean, the Christians need the gospel as much as the lost people need the gospel. They needed to be saved, we needed to grow. We need it to maintain. We need it to have joy and to be fruitful. So it must be well pleasing for us. And like Paul, we should work hard to get the gospel to them. That great gift of God, which is more valuable than all the riches of this world. But many preachers promote a different gospel, like the prosperity gospel, the social justice gospel, or a gifts-given gospel, or a feel-good gospel, when they should be giving the people the gospel of God that can save their souls and grow them up in Christ. and how careful we have to be to make sure we're bringing the gospel of God, and not a gospel that best suits us, or works for us, or brings peace for us, or eliminates trouble for us. Now understand, even though Paul loved the Thessalonians, his ministry did not depend on their response to the gospel. No, his ministry depended on his view of the gospel. It didn't depend on what the response was, but what he thought of it, what he thought of it. It was not because people were friendly to him that he was willing to give the gospel and his life to them, but rather it was the value and worth of the gospel that he was willing to give both in such a selfless way. So if we highly value the gospel, it doesn't matter what people say. It doesn't matter what people do. It doesn't matter the persecution that comes our way. It doesn't matter. Or what they think about us. We're out there yesterday, and people say some of the hardest things, and sometimes they're gonna do the hardest things to us. One point I saw some guy saying something to Phil, and I looked at Phil, and I said, so what'd you think? He goes, meaning I'm not even gonna tell you. If we highly value the gospel, then we can wholeheartedly give ourselves and the gospel to others. If we don't highly value the gospel, we're not going to want to give it out. We're just not going to want to give it out. Well, Paul says, If the gospel wasn't enough, he gave his own life to them as well. In other words, he let them into his heart. He let them into his heart. He didn't keep them at a distance from him. He opened up his heart to them. He said in 2 Corinthians 6, O Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you. Our heart is wide open. It's wide open. He told the Philippians in Philippians 2.17, I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith. I am glad and rejoice with you. I'm glad that I'm suffering for you. I am glad because you're in my heart. Speaking of Timothy he said to the Philippians for I have no one like Minded who will sincerely care for your state. That's not only me going on air It's Timothy as well and every true believer should have this kind of heart every minister of the gospel must have this kind of heart and Paul's heart And that of like-minded men are wide open to the saints. They give their lives to the saints. Yet many pastors today have hearts that are only partially opened to the saints. Well, maybe they're not opened at all. They don't have what you call a pastor's heart, one that loves and labors and it breaks for the saints. Paul said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 7, you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. We're in this together. And to die together and to live together speaks of our eternal life together. And so what Paul is saying is, I would literally give up my life for you just as a nursing mother would give up her life for her baby. And Paul suffered greatly bringing the gospel to them. And he said, listen, I don't count my life dear to myself. I don't. And now the reason he was well pleased to impart the gospel and his life to them was because he said, you became dear to us. And the word dear comes from the Greek word agape, and it means to sacrificially love. So Paul loved the saints. He said in Philippians 1.8, for God is my witness how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Christ. And the saints love the saints because we're all children of God. And we love them whether they're Jews or Gentiles, whether they're from India or Indiana, whether they're filthy rich or dirt poor. So all kinds of people were dear to Paul and should be to us. And remember that Paul was a Jew, he was a Pharisee at one point, and he at one time hated the Gentiles. He hated them. Talk about racist, this is like, it hits the hundred on the chart. He hated them, he saw them as dogs, unclean, lesser human beings. But now he loves them. Now he goes through great trials to impart the gospel to them and his very life to them. And it's been said that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. You know that somebody really loves you and cares for you. Quite honestly, you're apt to give that an ear. But if you don't think they do, you're not gonna be blown away by what they know. And Paul cared about them because they were dear to him. And when someone is dear to you, you seek to do them good. You want to bless them. You go out of your way for them. And what greater blessing can we bestow on the saints than the word of God on our very lives? And certainly, the saints ought to be dear to the pastor as the pastor ought to be dear to them, right? Well, in verse 9, he reminds them of an example of how he cared for them, and that was by not taking money from them. He said, For you remember, brethren, all labor and toil, for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. We preach to you the gospel of God. And the word labor means to strike, to beat. It actually means trouble. So it's strenuous labor, it's a painful effort, to the point of fatigue. And the emphasis is on the difficulty of the work itself. Toil, closely related to labor, means hardship. And the emphasis here is on the actual doing of the work. The point is this, that Paul and his team worked secular jobs while they were ministering at Thessalonica. They didn't take any money for any support from any of the saints. They worked night and day. They worked jobs to fully supply for their own food and lodging. And we know from Acts 18 that Paul was a tent maker. We know that, and what this tells us about Paul, this highly educated man, this highly intellectual man, is that he's a very humble man. He was not unwilling or afraid to do manual labor for the sake of the gospel. See, he saw himself as nothing, and Christ as everything, and would do whatever it was necessary to advance his kingdom. Oh, I gotta put tents together, I'll do that. I gotta work 12 hours a day, I'll do that. I'll do it. Now let me tell you what Paul is not saying here, as you all think that I should go out there and become a tent maker. What Paul is not saying is he's not saying that pastors should all work a secular job. He's not saying that the church shouldn't support their pastor. In fact, he said it was the church's obligation to support those who preach to them. He said in 1 Timothy 5, verses 17 and 18, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture says, and now he's gonna go back to the Old Testament, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. And double honor just means pay him. So those who labor in the word should be paid for their labor. He said in Galatians 6.6, let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. And in 1 Corinthians 9.14, rather, he said, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. So it is biblical to support your pastor. But Paul chose not to take any support from the Thessalonians, so as to not be a stumbling block to them. Or as he says, that we might not be a burden to any of you. You see, he didn't want anyone to think that he was in it for the money. which is exactly what his accusers were accusing him of. But the Thessalonians remembered that he never took a dime from them. In fact, he worked day and night to support himself. And then he taught all the free time in between that. And he said this again to them in 2 Thessalonians 3, he said, for you yourselves know how you ought to follow us. For we were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but we worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. so I didn't take money from them. And he didn't take money from the Corinthians either, by the way, because in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, he says, did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches, not really robbed, but I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. Other people were sending me money so I could minister to you. And when I was present with you and in need, I was a burden to no one. For what I lacked, the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself from you. So Paul didn't take money from them at all. But he did take money from the church at Philippi so he could minister in Corinth, because they were a lot more mature than the believers in Corinth. So he cared more about the people having the gospel and then growing in the gospel than his right to be supported by it. Paul was a giver, not a taker. And although he could have rightfully asked for support, he refused to do it so that he could freely preach the gospel to them. He didn't want anything to be a hindrance to them. He wanted them to hear the gospel without prejudice. He knew his mission was to preach it to all men, and he didn't want money issues to get in the way. He knew that it was the preaching and the receiving of the gospel that was turning the world upside down. And first and foremost, preaching the gospel is the pastor's main task. Number one, preach and teach the gospel. It is his first task. And the church is either built up through it or it tanks because of its lack of it. One man said this. It is not the business of the preacher to fill the house. It is his business to fill the pulpit. And another man said, the best way to revive a church is to build a fire in the pulpit through the Word, through the preaching of the Word. So the church needs pastors who faithfully preach the Word and are gentle with those who receive it and are willing to impart their lives to the saints so they would blossom into the beautiful image of Jesus Christ, amen? Well, in closing, let me ask you one question and leave you with one statement. And the question is this, do you impart the word of God and your life to others? I know you're not pastors, well, except for one of you, but do you impart the word of God and your life to others? Do you go out of your way to share the gospel with them? Are you well-pleased to be involved in getting the gospel to the lost? And then sharing with them if God should save them. Are you pleased to share your life with them? And listen, the only way that you can be pleased to do those things is if they become dear to you and you care about them. So then, are the saints at Grace Baptist Church dear to you? Do you live life with them? Do you share your life with them? Or is it your life, your private life? and you don't want anybody knowing anything about you or your business. Do you live as a Sunday Christian? Come to church, hugs, kisses, hellos on a day like today and then no one sees you or hears from you for a week maybe until next Sunday and then the same thing, hugs, kisses, and hellos. Listen, let us be so grateful that someone was well pleased to impart the gospel and their very lives to us, that we would be willing to impart ours to others, amen? Here's my statement. My statement is this. Praise God that Jesus was not only well pleased to impart the gospel to you, but also his very life. Praise God. Because if he didn't give you his life, he didn't give his life for you, then you would only know death and damnation. That would be it. That's it. And if he didn't give his life for you, you today would be without hope and alienated from God. And if he didn't give his life to you, there would be no gospel to save you. No gospel. And if and he did indeed give it for you and he gave it to be a sin offering for your life where God's justice which you deserve and we sang about before was suffered by him in your place and Remember no one took it from him. He gave it freely for you and So you see, he delighted to go to the cross for you. It wasn't a hard thing to go to the cross for Elder, or for Phil, or for Stephanie, or for Nick, or anyone else that are his. It wasn't, oh, I can't believe I gotta do this. Certainly there was a fear of the wrath of God that he would suffer, which is why he sweat as it were great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, because he knew the cup he had to drink. But you're his reward. you're his church, you're his bride, and he came for you, and he wasn't gonna be satisfied until he made you his. He was well pleased to give up everything for you. Why? Because you were dear to him. You see, you were a loved gift before the world began, from the Father to the Son. I give you these people, They're yours. They're the church. They're the elect. They're the ones who will be with you forevermore. They're your bride. I give my son a bride. Now go perfect them. Come into this world and perfect them. Make them holy and without blame. And he said, I'll do it. I love them. I love them because they're mine. Gave his life for us. And this ought to bring great comfort to our souls. It ought to bring exceeding joy to our souls, amen? Now let me say this, if you sit here today and you are not a Christian, you are not born again, if you are not in the kingdom of God, know that we're glad you're here. And know that you're dear to us. And because of that, we preach the gospel to you. And you need to hear the gospel, and you need to believe the gospel more than anything else in this entire world, you need to believe the gospel. Because if you leave this world without believing it, you leave forever doomed. For it is the gospel when mixed with faith that can save your soul, that can wash away your sins through the very blood of Jesus. And anyone who repents of their sins and turns away from their sins and trusts in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins, well, they will have eternal life. They will be saved. And so the question is, if you're not saved this day, what keeps you from crying out? and surrendering and coming to Christ to know life and to know it more abundantly. Amen? Let's pray. Father, thank you that you sent Christ to save sinners. Thank you for saving our souls and that he would cherish us. I pray, oh God, that as pastors, Pastor Phil and I would love and cherish the saints and be gentle with the saints and give our very lives for the saints Lord, that they would grow and I pray that we all as your people would be gentle and that we would reach out not only in word but Lord in how we live to the people around us that they would see they have a great need a tremendous dilemma that apart from Christ, they're doomed, they're damned, and yet Christ can save their soul this very day. Father, would you be pleased to draw many to him through your Son? In his name we pray, amen.