The following sermon is by John MacArthur, pastor, author, and Bible teacher with Grace to You.

If you've never contacted Grace to you, we want to send you a free booklet by John called How to Prepare for Christ's Return.

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That's prepare at gty.org. This offer is good in North America and Europe through December 2025, and now unleashing God's

truth one verse at a time. Here is Grace to You Bible teacher John MacArthur.

To wrap up this long, long year of very special, unique messages, There is one more that I need to discharge before

the Lord from my heart to yours. And it is drawn out of a text that I want you to turn

to now. It's Matthew chapter 5 verses 43 to 48. Matthew 5, 43 to 48.

Matthew 5, 43 to 48.

I'm going to read these words to you and then introduce the direction of this text for us, and then we'll begin to it.

Our Lord speaks and says, you have heard that it was said,

you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies,

and pray for those who persecute you

so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.

For he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends reign on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same. Therefore, you are to be

perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Pretty direct point. If you want to be like God,

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