Welcome everyone to the house of the Lord. It is necessary for each of us, as we always say it, and someone was saying it at the beginning—to meet the Lord. That's why we have come to His house to meet the Lord. That's why we study His Word. That’s why we try, through what we do, to meet Him. What would happen to us if we don't meet him here in His house? It's the only thing that can transform our lives. The presence of God. Brothers, it's not the songs, it's not the things we do, it's not the simple fact of visiting the church that transforms our lives, but it is the power of the Holy Spirit. Many of us have situations in our lives, we have everything we want, but only the power of the Holy Spirit of God can transform our life; it can help us! It is the only one that transforms our mind, our heart and helps us day by day to transform our lifestyle. It is the Holy Spirit of God. Amen.

That's why in the Word we studied the Sermon on the Mount a few weeks ago. The Sermon on the Mount, right? It is a teaching that Jesus gave to his disciples and is considered the ultimate example of the standard of Christianity. It's not what we aspire to, it’s what we need to achieve, that's what Jesus was talking about to his disciples. We have also talked about prayer because the disciples asked Jesus or rather told Jesus to teach them to pray, right? These were Jewish people who spent their whole lives being in church. No, they visited the synagogue every Saturday. They always went to the temple. They were there, they knew the law of Moses.

So, there is something interesting there. Because people who are very religious and people who seem to know God are asking Jesus to teach them to do what He does! And why? Because Jesus came to uncover everything that was covered at that time because of religiosity. Everyone went to church, the world knew the law, but something was missing. Something was missing—that was what Jesus showed them at that time. He said to the Pharisees, “You do the rituals, you do all this and you do it well, but you fail in something else.” You do the rituals, you go to the church, right, you give tithes, you do things here, you make the prayers, but everything that has to do with the heart, you are failing. And that's one of the main messages of the whole Sermon on the Mount. The rituals are fine, everything that is done is fine, but let's not forget the heart, because God searches the heart. God knows the heart and the intentions with which we do things.

So, the Gospel, as we are saying, is a relationship with God, the only true God, and that is salvation. That is salvation, and as we walk in this salvation, we are learning and being transformed, amen. That's the goal. As we walk, we are being transformed. Transformed into what? What are we being transformed into? What is God transforming in our lives? Well, let's look a little in the word at the transformation that the Lord wants to do in our lives. Matthew chapter 5, verse 43. Matthew chapter 5, verse 43 onwards. Let us remember that this word Jesus is teaching to people who know about the law, about Moses, about the commandments. People who apparently fulfill all those things.

Now people who go to church, let's talk about it like this. People like us, right? Like most Christians. And then Jesus goes beyond the basics, because now Jesus is going to tell them the truth about the heart. And he's going to tell them, it's not enough, it's not the only thing, salvation is not in the rituals, salvation is not there, right - in the things we do. Because as long as the heart is damaged, as long as the heart is closed, we are probably diverted from the path.

Look at what the title says. It says, “Love Your Enemies.” "You’ve heard it said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you it says, 'Love your enemies.' What is the commandment? Love your enemies. You can find it in your Bible, if you have it there. Amen. Yes, you have to bring the Bible to the church! “Love your enemies. And pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love only those who love you, what reward will you receive? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Don't even the Gentiles do this? Be perfect, therefore, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.'”

Wow! What a passage, right? What verses! Jesus is almost concluding the sermon with one of the commandments probably—we are not going to deny—one of the most difficult things in the Word, a teaching that confronts our life. This really does confront our life, right? Because Christianity is not about going to church or about carrying the Bible under your arm. The transformation of man isn’t about how he used to walk, right? In a way, I’ve started dressing up for church on Sunday, right? We are already Christians! We have been transformed because now on Sundays instead of going to play, instead of going to do something else, I come to church and that is the transformation that God has made! But no, Jesus is going further and says, the children of God do one thing, an incredible thing. They love their enemies, they love their enemies. And that's the Gospel.

We know that there are two commandments, right? Jesus said to them, “What is the summary of the law? What are the most important commandments? You shall love your God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And as we talked on Tuesday, praying for other people is an expression of love. Pray for others, because we pray for ourselves, we pray for our requests, we pray for our needs. If we pray for others, for their requests, for their needs, we are showing love there too. But Jesus does not fall short because He knows that I pray for my daughter. He knows that I pray for my wife. He knows that I cry perhaps for my best friend. But He says, “What about the others?”

"The world needs Christians who look like God—Christians who love their enemies."

So, there's an obstacle here. Let's start with this. Let's go quickly. There is an obstacle because the children of God are those who love their enemies. That’s what the Bible is telling me. And look, if there is anything that this world does not need, it’s more singers, artists, Christians, and mega churches that fit a thousand people. That's not what the world needs. The world needs Christians who look like God—Christians who love their enemies. What's more, I'm going to tell you that the people outside—those of the world, those who don't know about God—have heard these verses and expect Christians to practice them.

When they hear that you are a Christian, they expect you to do that. They expect us to live like this. They expect us to, right? They expect us to respect, love, pray for the people who hurt us, even those of the world. They expect us to do that. But it’s very important that not just anyone can do this. Not just anyone can do it. Why? We have an obstacle. First, when we distort the law. We ourselves, here in the church—I'm not talking about the people outside—the Christians. The first obstacle to fulfilling the Word when we ourselves distort the law as well. We are seeing here that the Lord says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” Where have you read that in the Bible? It is not true. That does not exist. Guess who added that? The teachers of the law! The teachers of the law added it to the writings that they taught people. Not the people outside the church, but those who are inside, those who claim they know. They added that.

And church, that is no different today, because the religiosity that we have tends to justify hatred towards people. When we are fighting, when we hate someone, when we harbor resentment, we justify ourselves. How? “It's because he did this to me, it's because he did that he did that to me, it's just that you don't know what he told me, it's just that he's talking about me, it's just that he deserves it.” That is twisting the law to our benefit, to justify ourselves. They directly told people, “Hate those people.” And we don't say, “No, I don't hate, but it's better to keep our distance, right? Better this way, a little apart.” On Tuesday, we talked about love and that each person has their own concept of love. And that's why it's necessary to study the Word. Everyone has a concept in their mind of what love is, right? What can love be? Because here, Christ is telling you to love your enemies. So, I believe this is what love is, this is how we're going to love people.

So, we need to study this, and we’re going to do it quickly. We need to study these two concepts. First, enemy. Who is my enemy? And second, love. What is that love that the Lord Jesus is talking about in this passage? Because someone can say, “Well, I have no enemies. You know, I'm handsome, I'm pretty, right? I'm kind, I don't have enemies, right?” Anyone could say, “I walk through life, quietly, I have no enemies, right? I walk on my own, and I have no enemies.” So, let's clarify this situation, because when we read this, we often pass by the word, not because we do not identify with it, but because we do not understand the passage.

Do enemies exist today? I mean, someone can say, I have an enemy, right? But if I ask you, “Do you have an enemy?” I think few would raise their hands and say, “Yeah, man.” Oh, no, few people would say, "I have an enemy", right? So, are there enemies today? Yes. All over the world Christians have enemies. All over the world Christians have enemies because of the Gospel. They are being persecuted because of the Gospel. They're being put in jail. They are being killed in other countries. They have to hide. So there are real enemies, of course. Because of the Gospel, there are many people who are suffering slander, persecution of everything. It is true, the Word also says this, that until the Lord comes the Christian will suffer that, but in some countries it happens more than in others.

So if there are enemies, there is increasing enmity, right? That’s right, we can call it that. That's where discord lives, indifference, hypocrisy, pride, gossip. All this generates friction, fights, misunderstandings, and estrangement. Many people in the church can say, “I don't have enemies,” but they don't talk to half of the people. We understand that part, “I have no enemies. I don't want anything to do with this one. Don't let that one come near me. I don't have enemies, but don't talk to me.” I'm an enemy, then. All these things generate friction between us. Many say they have nothing against another person but they can't start a conversation with anyone or they don't want to. They aren't able to. Why? That's the question, why can't we? Why can't you get closer to everyone? Why can't you get into a conversation with everyone? No problem, why? What's there? What has that generated?

So, we're not talking about very serious things, are we? Those things that have happened to some people that require one to distance themselves from another person because of obvious dangers to physical safety, but when it is everything else that we have mentioned here, we live clinging to that condition of pride. “It's just that someone talked about me.” As if we don’t give them something to talk about sometimes! As if we don’t! And I'm not saying it's okay for them to talk, right? I mean, I'm not justifying the speaker, but I do give people something to talk about sometimes. Well, maybe. And someone will say, “I never give people anything to talk about. So, I don't like it when they talk because I've never given them a reason to talk.” But notice that the Word of the Lord clearly says that the Christian will suffer persecution and that people will spread lies because of the Gospel. Of course. As long as it's a lie, it doesn't matter, right? If it's a lie, what happens? It doesn't matter, right? If it's for the sake of the Gospel, why else would I be out there? That's my life, right? So, the church is full of broken, stalled relationships.

We tell ourselves that we have no enemies, but there are people we can’t pray for. And I'm not talking about saying, “Father bless them now,” as we have been learning. Pray, pray for real, just like a father praying for a sick son. Praying for each of our brothers, praying for each of the people close to us. Then we say, “I don't hate them, but if they’re far away, it’s for the better.” But let's remember something—we have a battle, this is a spiritual battle. And everyone knows or at least has heard the famous verse that is in Ecclesiastes, don't look for it because everyone knows it. In Ecclesiastes 4:12 it says that the three-strand cord is not easily broken, right? So the writer is talking about relationships. In fact, the whole chapter is talking about the relationships we have with each other. What does that mean? Well, I have a problem, and he sees it as a thread. I am a thread, a cord. And maybe something is putting pressure on me, and if I am alone I will probably break. But it says a three-strand cord; if I have someone to lean on.

And this is totally contrary to our saying. What do we say? Better alone? That's what we say. And we apply it to everything, because that one is famous among women. And I understand it, and that's fine. But many times we say it even about friends, even about family. Better alone? It is understandable in many situations, but the Word of the Lord says many times, “In unity” as the other says, “there is strength.” You are with the other person and God is there. See if this is not so important. Let's remember what we are talking about. “I have no enemies,” we say. But I have nothing to do with this one, not with this one, not with that one, not with that one. It's me alone with God. It's me alone with God. And the Gospel is not like that. Because I alone, maybe, don't get to the end.

Look at Matthew chapter 18, verse 19. Matthew 18, verse 19. Jesus is talking again about the relationships we have with other people. And in the end he says, “'Again I tell you, that if two of you on earth agree on anything you ask for, it will be granted to you by my Father who is in heaven. Because where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.'" The truth is, we all know this verse. Especially when we have a worship service and there are only three of us. Everyone says this verse. We get together at home. “Where two or three are,” we say, “the Lord is there.” And we’re content with that. But look at what Jesus is saying. Here in verse 19. “Again I tell you,” If two of you. If you get together. If you agree. If you’re in harmony. If there is harmony. That’s what the writer means: if there is harmony between you, if there is an agreement, if you share the same feelings, if you share the same thoughts, if you have the same purpose, if there is sincerity between what you are talking about, if there is nothing, if there is transparency between you, if there is no darkness between you, anything you ask will be granted to you.

So, there is a condition, as we have been learning from prayer, there is another condition in our prayer, right? That when we join in prayer with another person, there must be nothing in between, there has to be harmony. There must be an agreement in the heart. Not, “Let’s just pray for this,” that is not the agreement. The agreement is from the heart. The agreement is in the mind. There can not be any hindrances in our prayer with others, with those we meet to pray. Imagine if I gather to pray, we gather to pray with several people, and I don’t speak to half of those people.

Of those who are there, we will be in agreement, we are in harmony. Sometimes we say, “Brother, Tuesday we’ll go pray at church. We pray at home, and sometimes I don’t talk to everyone in my house.” We have those things, and the Lord says, “Ask, it will be given to you,” but you have to be in agreement.

So we have to break that barrier, and connecting it with the passage from Ecclesiastes, it's like we have a cord. A cord unites us. Relationships are like a cord that unites each person. I have one this way, I have another one that way, I have another one here, I have another one there, a cord, a cord, and a cord, towards each one. And do you know what often happens in church? Something happens, I turn around and look at someone unkindly. He came to say hello, and I didn’t say hello. Someone else tells me that he was talking about me behind my back. “Look, that guy said something, he insulted me, he did this, he did that!” And that’s how it is. Do we not do that? Right? And what does the Lord say? “When you come to Me, be in agreement, be in harmony, settle your differences.” Didn’t we read before, “You come to present an offering before the Lord, and you remember that someone has something against you. Leave the offering there, go back and settle that, ask for forgiveness, and then go and present your offering.”

The Gospel, church, is not just songs, and it’s not just days of meeting together. It goes beyond that. Meetings like today help us learn what we must do in our lives. Let's remember that Jesus is talking about loving our enemies. Imagine that—loving our enemies. Sometimes it’s hard to love my brother, or my cousin, my uncle, those who are loving our enemies. So, if someone does something to me—this is a summary—if someone does something to me, Jesus taught us what? To forgive. If I did something to someone, I must apologize. I can't let it go just like that. If someone comes to me to speak ill of another person, we can’t allow that.

Many people distance themselves from a brother, from a relative, or whatever because of what someone said to them. And you know what that’s called? I'm going to tell you, because I've been studying theology for years. I have the exact term for that. I already discovered it and it's in our culture. It's called, “Mind your own business!” That's how it would be, don't you think, in theology? How many times has that happened to you? “Oh, look at the neighbor coming; look at him on the corner. Look, that guy from the corner. Look, the car came back.” Did he do something to you? Because of what he did to someone else? For what he did to another? What do all these things have to do with our relationship with God? What does all of this - the gossip, the fighting, the quarreling, the pride - have to do with our relationship with God? We can lose our communion with God for these things. Someone can say, “no I have not lost communion with God over these things”. But are you able to pray for these people - to love them? Probably not. Because there is still that thorn in your heart.

"How do we realize that we have forgiven? When we pray for the person who hurt us."

How do we realize that we have forgiven? When we pray for the person who hurt us. We really pray from the heart and ask the Lord to bless them. How difficult is it to ask the Lord to bless the person who hurt us? But then we realize that the Lord is doing something for us. So the people who’ve decided—listen to this, I need you to hear this. It’s just a phrase. Maybe it’s the only thing you’ll take away from today—people who have decided to be reserved in their lives because maybe someone hurt them, need to be healed. That is not normal. That is not the design of God. They need to be healed. Praise God that we are here in God’s hospital; where He heals the heart. But church, we must do our part.

In Greek, there are four words for love. I can tell them to you quickly. You have probably heard them several times in Greek. There are four words that define love because there are different types of love. “Filial” love, as can sometimes be in the Bible, is the affection of friendships, it is that love we feel for friends. The word “storge,” the love "storge," is the love we feel for family and close people, right? It is a family love that you feel for your father, for your mother, for your children, etc. It's different too. Love “eros,” right? That is a passion, it is love, it is something that is felt between a man and a woman, right? All this entails passion, it is totally different from the love you feel with a father or a friend. And “agape” love, right? That agape love is an unconditional, selfless, altruistic, sacrificial love; centered on the well-being of the other and expressed—look closely—expressed through the will and actions. Not of feelings. So agape love is not something you just say, “I'm sorry,” right? Of these four terms, agape love is the closest to God's love. A sacrificial love, a selfless love, that gives everything. Right?

So where does the difference lie between these loves? Why am I telling you about this? Because there is an important difference. And it is that filial love, the other, the one we feel for our parents, is something I can't avoid. Right? We love our parents, we love our children, just because. It's something you feel. It is something that is born there, for our friends. Many times we do not choose them, it is a connection that is born, it is a love that is there for our family members.

It is inevitable that when you saw a girl back in the 60s, you saw her and what a crush it was—inevitable! You began to feel butterflies in your stomach, but it was inevitable. Right? It was inevitable, those kinds of love, right? As much as you want, when you see your child, that's something that can't be avoided. But love, agape, is not like that. Because it's something of the will, it's something that is done on purpose. And that's what the Lord is saying. Because we don’t naturally love the one who hurts us. We don’t naturally love the neighbor who throws the garbage in front of the house. We don’t naturally love the one who has talked about us. It’s something that comes naturally—how am I going to love if someone is hurting me? You can't, of course you can't, that's why you can't help but love your dad, your mom, right? Here, people only have one mother, there is that love and it goes. Well you can't avoid it and the Lord is saying that this love is greater because this love we choose to give it voluntarily.

It is not like the other kind that comes from the heart, that comes from feelings. Because then, Jesus demands that a person has this love towards enemies or towards other people. Well, the reason is very simple and also very incredible. It is that only in this way that we can resemble our Heavenly Father—God is love, amen. And God said, “Let's make man in Our image, in Our likeness; let him be like Us.” And that is God. God is love. Love is the essence of God. Everything He does is driven by love. The purpose of everything has to do with love. Everything that God does is because He is the essence of love. It is one of His virtues.

Jesus went to the cross out of love for us—for the good and the bad. He died for those who were spitting on Him, He died for those who were torturing Him. He died for those who nailed Him to the cross. Why? Out of love—not as an act—out of love. An incredible act of love for those who did not deserve it, for those who were hurting Him. This breaks our logic, who only pray for and love those who treat us well. And those who do not treat us well, we put them aside. That is why we need to meditate on the Word of the Lord.

And I want you to understand something, church. Imagine that Jesus died on the cross for those who were doing Him an incredible amount of harm. And many times we close our hearts to people, to family, friends, whatever, over something they have done to us. What does that mean? Philippians chapter 2 says, “Your attitude must be like that of Christ, who willingly humbled Himself, becoming a servant and giving His life on the cross.” When I close my heart because I’ve been hurt, did they hurt me more than they did to Jesus on the cross? I don't think so, right? What am I saying? I'm putting myself in a bigger position—bigger than the one who is hurting me. And Paul said, “Be careful not to think of yourself more highly than you ought.” You are no better than the one who is hurting you, that's what the Word said last week.

It’s the grace of God that we are all here because we are bad, because we are wicked. There will be another wicked person hurting another wicked person. Okay, that's their wickedness and God will deal with that. I'm no better than another person. I have nothing special, nothing. To walk away, to say, “No, don't come into my life, go away,” and cut off the relationship with that person. Why? Because they hurt me. You don't know. If you could see the state of my heart.

Come to the Lord. Give it to Him. Let the Lord heal you. Do not fall into the temptation of the enemy and close the doors of your heart. Because when we steal, we steal from that brother or sister. I stole from my brother, right? But who am I sinning against? Against God. I'm sinning against God. If I lie to him. I'm sinning against God. If I close my heart to him, maybe I will open it at night so that God can enter? No. There is a barrier. We put obstacles. And we are putting barriers in our lives. We are putting obstacles with people. And that's why in the end we are tough. We're like sticks.

Feel the Lord. How am I going to feel if I have willingly closed my heart so that it doesn't hurt me? That's the devil's lie. That's the devil's lie that tells you to close your heart in order not to suffer again. It is not true, because God repairs broken hearts so we can feel again. The promise is that He is going to give us a new heart—one of flesh, one that feels, one that calls to Him, one that longs for Him. If I make it stone for people, it’s stone for the Lord too. We understand that part. If I close my heart to people, I close it to God too. So we can not allow the enemy to take advantage of that. We need to be healed, amen.

This teaching is incredible because it tells us who the children of God are, how the children of God behave and what their characteristics are. It's not that if you sing, you don’t preach. You resemble God, we look like God. Paul told the Ephesians in chapter 5, “Brothers, let's imitate God”. That's the purpose and the goal, but it's not something that can be forced. It's something that arises, it’s something natural. A son looks like his father, it's inevitable—even if you don't want to. Absolutely, there's no way around it. You know it, you look like him.

So, what is our Father like? What is God like? And what should the Church be like then? Having love. That is its essence, right? So love is essential. The Word tells us that it is the most important thing. Paul taught the church of Corinth—a church where there were gifts, where there was talent, where people spoke in tongues, where there were prophecies, where people held services, campaigns here and there, they were active. And he told them, “It’s very good what you do, but if you don't have love you are nothing. What's more you can heal the sick, you can give your own life for another, right? But if you do it without love, it is worthless. And in the end the only thing that will remain in this life is hope, faith and love—and the greatest thing about all this is love.”

What should characterize the Son of God then? Who is the Son of God? You can go somewhere else raise the hand of the children of God and you will remember if I am the Son of God do not doubt me but then you have to live in what? In love, and what is that love like? The one who invites me to coffee? Loving my mom? Loving my friend? Loving the enemy. Do we have enemies? I have no enemies but look, I have cut off all the relationships I have, I have no connection with anyone, no one can know anything about me and I don't know about anyone. Only God and me. But when you come in to pray and agree with someone here, then you will receive what you are asking for is what the Bible says. We're going to study this another day, but I'm going to give you a preview.

Paul also told the church, “You are like letters from God that have gone out." Do you know why? Because there is nothing to hide. It's like a letter, a message from God. People must see you and say, “Wow, look what God is doing!” There is nothing to hide. Nothing, absolutely nothing. And you’ll say to your friend, “But I do this and that and I feel ashamed.” That’s right, says the Word of the Lord. That's why in James it says to pray for each other and bear one another’s burdens. There is nothing to hide because we are on the same path. Amen?

A little more. Love is essential. I believe it's the most important thing. But look, Matthew 24:12. Another well-known verse. Because we've been talking about love. We have to give love to everyone. It’s not easy. And the Lord Jesus is asking people about the end of the world, and He says, “There will be so much evil that people will stop going to church, people will stop singing, people will stop preaching, their hearts will be separate because of evil. But to the one who stands firm—be careful of evil."

And many times we have seen, or we talk about, the evil that happens in the world. The children who suffer, and about everything that happens and we say of course that discourages people. People come home, watch the news and say, “Wow, everything that happens is so awful.” And people get sad. But you know what? He doesn't just talk about that evil, but the evil that exists among us. Those relationships that we are cutting off just because someone did something to us - he’s talking about this, right? That evil, that we are cutting off those relationships between us. Then the heart begins to grow cold. And I understand, I’ll say it again—it is a lie from the devil. It says, “Don't trust again because they are going to hurt you again.” The devil is a liar! It is a lie. What the devil wants is for my heart to grow cold. And then when we are here wanting to be healed, I can't even look beside me. And that's where it is very difficult for the Holy Spirit to do His work, because we’re preventing Him. Because my heart is closed. Because I am the one who has put up barriers because I don't want people to say this or that. If I expose myself, people will talk. “If they talked about Me?” Jesus said. “Look what they’re going to do to Me! Look closely at what they’re going to do to Me. I am the teacher, look closely at what they’re going to do to Me!”

So don't worry about it. Fix your eyes on the Lord and not on earthly things. Not on words, not on gossip, not on fights, not on the things that happen in your house, but on Jesus, on Him. I like what the preacher Spurgeon said, “Here is something to tremble about, just as all the water outside a ship can't do any harm until it gets inside. Thus, external persecutions cannot harm the church of God. But when evil manages to enter the church and the love of God's people grows cold, then the ship will be in great distress. The ship is surrounded by water but that's what it was made for and it sails on water. But when that water manages to enter it's doomed.” Don't let it in. Don't let enmity, don't let resentment, don't let those broken relationships remain broken, because that's like having a hole in the boat where water is slowly seeping in little by little—and it's sinking.

It's hard to come to the house of the Lord to pray with holes in our lives. The Gospel is about giving. God gave His only begotten Son. Christ gave His life for us; so we have to give of what we have received. And what we have received is forgiveness. We have received forgiveness through the grace of God. But when the heart grows cold everything grows cold and everything is done coldly. Everything if the heart is cold, everything is done coldly. Not just church matters. I'm cold in my relationships. I'm cold in what I do. I'm cold in my praise. I'm cold in my prayers. When I've severed the bonds that connect me to others, and I grow cold, that also makes me cold in what I do for God. Because the heart is in that state. Church, loving your enemies isn't natural. It isn’t natural. Therefore, we cannot do it in our strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit! Don't wait to be completely cold, church. Don't let the devil keep talking to you, don't let the devil keep lying to you. All of that is the opposite of love. And at the beginning, those songs, the Spirit of God moves. What dis the first song say? “Where the Spirit of God is there is freedom.” If the Spirit of God moves, what is there? Freedom for what? So that I can love. Yes, but no. Freedom so that I can love the one who has hurt me, because of my heart.

"...we have been made in the image and likeness of God."

The gospel is the power of God, amen. And what is more powerful than love? Love breaks down any barrier. At the beginning, we said that we were on that path. And that transformation that we pursue, church, this is what it looks like. The man or woman regenerated and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not just the man or woman who enters the church and can do things. It’s a process with God and it’s different for everyone. But don't let the devil continue to lie to you, or deceive you, or keep those broken relationships. Because that's the devil's lie.

We have been made and formed to love. We have been trained to love. That's why we came into the world. Because we have been made in the image and likeness of God. And God is love. He loves us. Therefore, as children of God, we must love our neighbor and our enemy. Something supernatural, something that only the Holy Spirit can do. Perhaps some have tried and couldn’t, but that's why the Holy Spirit has come to this place so that we can be free. Amen.