We show respect for His person. We show respect for His presence, and we show respect for His words; when you listen to His words, take in His words, you're showing respect for His words. I'll challenge on something else now. I want you to have a think about this. On the internet you can go and you can search for messages all over the world, and there's many preachers, and there's great preachers, and they're all over the world. But there's not many are here in this house that are telling you what God's saying to us at this time, so the words are important. If you go out - and I'm not saying not look around and feed off some things, but what you've got to realise is, God talks to us as a community. He talks to us about what He's wanting US to come into. Often it's parallel with what He's saying around the world, or in certain areas, or to prophetic people; but many times it's actually quite specific and relevant to us; and so when God is speaking to us, the messages He's bringing prophetically comes to actually instruct us on what He's wanting us to grow into. It's important you get the messages, and see what God is saying, and how He wants to apply it to your life, otherwise you just have a disrespect for it; and then what happens is, you're disrespecting the one who's sent the message.
I wait every week for what God wants to say to the church. See, if I wanted to get an easier way of doing that, I'd just copy someone's message. I need to know what God is saying to us; and He's right through this year, speaking on a whole number of areas: eternal perspective; and now he's talking for us on becoming productive with the Gospel in the community. He's trying to shift the whole church, but we need to understand that if I respect Jesus, I respect what He's saying, and He can speak to you through many different ways. I'm only one of that ways. He'll speak to you through other areas of life, other ways in life but I need to be open to what God is saying; and respect his words by taking them in, thinking about them, and looking how they would apply to my life. Add to your life godliness, respect for God, and His word, and for His people.
I have found that anyone who disrespects the people of God, and the house of God, generally they're not in a good shape with God himself. They're usually in a state of deception; so just look around. Around you is Christ, in a human form. We say: I can love you Jesus, but oh, that person next to me, I don't - they give me the creeps.
Congregation: [Laughter]
Well they may well do, and there may be some junk and baggage they're carrying, but that doesn't mean you should disrespect them, or speak negatively about them, or treat them badly, or cut them out of your life by cold love, and being cold to them. That totally misrepresents Christ, who shows cold love to no one; shows rather warm, loving, acceptance to people of all kinds. That's partly why we get you up, and get you around - to get connecting; and I'm always watching where this is an overflow of the heart, that just wants to love people - people are interesting. There are all these interesting people, interesting stories and testimonies, but this is it. This is what the word's - it's all about. Notice what this leads on to.
The next one, add to godliness, brotherly kindness. Oh my! He's spelt it out. That's a shame. Now I've just put it down here as kindness to Christians. Kindness to Christians. Kindness to Christians. You want to count how many times the Bible says: love one another, forgive one another, be kind to one another, considerate, patient with one another, long-suffering with one another; oh my goodness, there's lots of one-another's, over 30 of them. Here's the good thing about that. It does require you engage with another Christian, for you to do it. You see there's no such thing in the Bible as 'solo' Christianity. It's always about community. It's always about a body of people; and within the body or family of people, that's where you work out. You see, if Jesus tells me: I want you to love one another, as I've loved you; forgive one another, as I've forgiven you; and I see someone I don't like, just turn up my nose, and go I'll go over here.