WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:05.330 Friends, let us pray. Father, may we experience 00:00:05.330 --> 00:00:09.570 today in a very special way the love you have 00:00:09.570 --> 00:00:12.929 now lavished on us through Jesus so that we can 00:00:12.929 --> 00:00:16.429 be your children. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.809 When I was at Bible College, we became good friends 00:00:22.809 --> 00:00:24.929 with a couple whose children went to the same 00:00:24.929 --> 00:00:28.309 school as our boys. They weren't at Bible College 00:00:28.309 --> 00:00:31.780 with us. but we did end up seeing a fair bit 00:00:31.780 --> 00:00:35.200 of one another during those three years and still 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:40.240 keep in touch today. He, the dad, the father 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.799 of the family, happened to be the pastor of Newtown 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:48.939 Baptist Church. They had five children, four 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:53.600 boys and a girl. Now, one of their boys, Saul, 00:00:53.840 --> 00:01:00.250 who would have been about 16 years old, which 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:02.829 is basically the main highway that goes through 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:05.150 the suburb Newtown, taking you to the centre 00:01:05.150 --> 00:01:09.349 of Sydney. And whilst in that shop, a rough -looking 00:01:09.349 --> 00:01:12.650 guy, no doubt just looking for a fight, walked 00:01:12.650 --> 00:01:15.629 past him and said, what are you looking at, mate? 00:01:15.750 --> 00:01:21.269 You got a problem? Now, their son hadn't encountered 00:01:21.269 --> 00:01:25.290 this sort of thing before. They were new at Newtown, 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:28.989 just as we were. Come to think of it, there were 00:01:28.989 --> 00:01:33.709 many things we hadn't encountered before. Until 00:01:33.709 --> 00:01:38.069 we lived in Newtown. Things most of us here would 00:01:38.069 --> 00:01:42.969 probably never encounter. Anyway, their son Saul 00:01:42.969 --> 00:01:47.430 didn't know what to really do. So carefully and 00:01:47.430 --> 00:01:50.569 quickly, after buying what he needed, he got 00:01:50.569 --> 00:01:53.230 out of that shop and started the short walk home. 00:01:55.019 --> 00:02:00.200 But so did this other character. This other character 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.579 started following him to the point where Saul 00:02:02.579 --> 00:02:06.500 started running to try and get home before this 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:11.439 guy might grab him and punch into him. Now, although 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:14.800 this was broad daylight, and King Street is a 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.080 very busy street with both people and cars, no 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:23.240 one intervened. And so Saul found himself running 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:28.689 faster, and faster. Fortunately, he made it to 00:02:28.689 --> 00:02:32.810 his home, the Baptist manse, and went through 00:02:32.810 --> 00:02:35.689 the side gate into the safety of their backyard. 00:02:36.349 --> 00:02:44.629 Wow, close one, he thought. But guess what? This 00:02:44.629 --> 00:02:46.669 guy who just wanted to pick on him for the sake 00:02:46.669 --> 00:02:51.469 of it climbed over the fence and into their backyard. 00:02:52.590 --> 00:02:57.349 and started laying into him. Fortunately, because 00:02:57.349 --> 00:03:00.909 the Baptist church hall was also formed part 00:03:00.909 --> 00:03:03.830 of their backyard, someone in the hall heard 00:03:03.830 --> 00:03:06.669 him screaming and came out of the church hall 00:03:06.669 --> 00:03:12.590 to help. And so this guy bolted. But by then, 00:03:12.689 --> 00:03:15.729 Saul had been hit quite a few times, and so it 00:03:15.729 --> 00:03:21.280 was a bit black and blue and bleeding. Just after 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:24.479 that happened, I think the very next day, I was 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.539 talking to a few mates at Bible College about 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:31.199 it all, asking them to pray for him and his family. 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:36.740 And so we all stopped and prayed for them. As 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:39.979 you hear this story for the first time, how do 00:03:39.979 --> 00:03:41.800 you think you'd respond to something like that? 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.379 If that happened to your son or a friend of yours? 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:50.419 Besides obviously reporting it to the police, 00:03:50.539 --> 00:03:53.699 which they did, and the guy was arrested, he 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:56.360 was apparently well known by the police, what 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:59.960 else would you do? Yes, how might you pray for 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:03.479 such a family? That the police would catch this 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:07.319 guy and lock him up? That Saul would quickly 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:09.699 recover from his injuries? That the Lord would 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:13.620 help this family feel safe in a place where they 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.560 already didn't feel that safe, let alone after 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:21.490 this? For example, a friend of this family told 00:04:21.490 --> 00:04:24.350 them that this was a spiritual attack on them 00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:28.509 and the work they were doing there. And also 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:31.550 told them how a previous Baptist pastor's wife, 00:04:31.709 --> 00:04:35.250 when she answered the door one day, was bashed 00:04:35.250 --> 00:04:40.050 and killed right there on the spot, on the doorstep 00:04:40.050 --> 00:04:46.750 of Newtown Baptist Church, where they were actually 00:04:46.750 --> 00:04:50.300 living. And so that friend suggested they needed 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:55.019 to pray over the actual property. Hmm. How would 00:04:55.019 --> 00:04:57.259 you respond to something like that if that happened 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:00.480 to your child in your own backyard after going 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.779 up to the local IGA store to get some milk for 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:08.699 you? It's worth asking yourself how you'd respond. 00:05:09.779 --> 00:05:14.819 For what it's worth, what did Saul become? He 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:19.920 became a policeman. And for what it's worth, 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:26.180 is his dad still a Baptist pastor? No. He's still 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:29.540 a very committed man to the Lord, but he became 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:36.560 a policeman too. Interesting. Well, today's reading, 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:39.279 I believe, tells us how to respond to such a 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:43.699 circumstance if you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.439 If you're not yet a disciple of Jesus Christ, 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:50.379 please still listen so that you understand what 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:52.699 God expects of those who are now his children. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:58.199 Hopefully because one day you too will be. So 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:00.939 please reopen your Bibles now to Matthew 5, 43 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:04.040 to 48. If you're using one of our church -provided 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:09.519 Bibles, we're on page 1473. 1473. Or you could 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.449 just look at your bulletin. I'll read verses 00:06:12.449 --> 00:06:16.410 43 to 44 now. After reading these verses, please 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:18.629 keep your Bibles open as we'll shortly come back 00:06:18.629 --> 00:06:23.629 to the remaining verses. Jesus said to his disciples 00:06:23.629 --> 00:06:27.470 in a large crowd that had followed them, You 00:06:27.470 --> 00:06:30.569 have heard that it was said, Love your neighbour 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:35.529 and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your 00:06:35.529 --> 00:06:38.730 enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:43.699 Flowing on from the previous verses that spoke 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:48.660 about the personal abuse one might receive and 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:51.120 the response of a true disciple of Jesus Christ 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:55.699 to it, self -sacrifice, Jesus now talks about 00:06:55.699 --> 00:07:00.139 what naturally flows on from that, the much broader 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:05.300 question, therefore, of hatred and love. The 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:07.819 people had heard that it was said, love your 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:13.019 neighbour and hate your enemy. But again, like 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:15.800 the previous examples over these past weeks that 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.360 we've now looked at, they were hearing falsely. 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:23.220 Yes, the Old Testament scripture says love your 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:26.800 neighbour, as we heard in our other Bible reading 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.959 from Leviticus 19 .18. But nowhere does God actually 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:35.399 say you must hate your enemy. Now, although I 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:37.959 could show you some verses that speak about despising 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:43.740 evil people, And God does too. In certain contexts, 00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:48.779 example Psalms 5 and Psalm 15, that is not what 00:07:48.779 --> 00:07:52.160 God commands us to do. It's amazing how we like 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.579 to twist what God says to suit our circumstances. 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:59.120 We find a verse somewhere, anywhere to suit our 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:03.360 context or we find simply something more comfortable. 00:08:04.750 --> 00:08:06.810 And that's what God's people were obviously doing 00:08:06.810 --> 00:08:08.829 with the Old Testament scriptures. Hence, on 00:08:08.829 --> 00:08:12.009 these occasions, Jesus can say, you've heard 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:19.149 that it was said, but I tell you. And so, you 00:08:19.149 --> 00:08:22.050 see, some Jews took the word neighbour, where 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:25.629 God says love your neighbour, to mean only one's 00:08:25.629 --> 00:08:30.829 very own people. And if that is so, it's okay 00:08:30.829 --> 00:08:35.299 to hate those who are different from you. those 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:39.220 who you didn't regard as your neighbours. And 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:41.899 so the expression used by many back then was, 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:47.419 love the brothers, hate the outsider. And so 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:50.539 this issue of understanding who in fact was one's 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:57.039 neighbour was very much misunderstood, falsely 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.600 taught. Hence Jesus at another point in his ministry 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.570 tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:05.610 10, to point out that one's neighbour is in fact 00:09:05.610 --> 00:09:12.950 anyone, friend or foe. And so Jesus says here, 00:09:13.090 --> 00:09:17.529 love not just your friends, but also your foes, 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:20.669 your enemies. And how? Well, I think here he 00:09:20.669 --> 00:09:25.110 says to pray for them. And he's talking about 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:27.730 not just people who you don't get on with or 00:09:27.730 --> 00:09:30.769 don't like, although they are obviously included. 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:35.360 He's talking about enemies with a capital E, 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:40.100 the ones who persecute you. You are to love them 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:45.740 by at least praying for them. Remembering the 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:52.389 Jews were under the Romans back then. Wow. And 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:54.830 in this context here, remembering the Beatitudes 00:09:54.830 --> 00:09:56.950 at the beginning of this chapter where Jesus 00:09:56.950 --> 00:09:59.870 mentions those who persecute you, those who seriously 00:09:59.870 --> 00:10:03.429 give you a very hard time. He means those who 00:10:03.429 --> 00:10:07.350 persecute you. And why do that? Because of righteousness. 00:10:08.389 --> 00:10:11.470 That is because of living for Jesus. Matthew 00:10:11.470 --> 00:10:17.990 5, 10 to 12. We are to love such people, such 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:25.539 enemies, by praying for them. Sue and I have 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:28.799 some enemies, and so much so that I've had to 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:32.019 stay off Facebook, something the police some 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:36.840 years ago told me to do. We've also had to block 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:38.860 certain people from communicating very awful 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:43.399 messages to us on our mobile phones. And why? 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:46.899 Simply because of righteousness. Simply because 00:10:46.899 --> 00:10:49.519 we try to remain faithful to God's word and therefore 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.639 faithful to Jesus and the righteous life that 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:56.899 he desires. And so when I read these two verses, 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:59.440 I'm reminded what I should be doing in response 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:05.120 to those who seek to personally hurt us and threaten 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:11.320 us. I am, we are to love them by at least praying 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.259 for them. Well, before we look at the main point 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.960 in these verses as to why God wants us to love 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:20.899 our enemies, I want us to consider something 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:23.679 that is so obvious that maybe we've missed it 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:26.759 so far. In this sermon series. We see it here 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:29.759 and we also see it in the previous examples. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:35.019 It is this. We see here the divine authority 00:11:35.019 --> 00:11:40.559 of Jesus. Yes, we see here the divine authority 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:43.320 of Jesus. Or in other words, the very authority 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:50.240 of God himself. In Jesus. Shown by what he actually 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.620 says. Yes, Jesus' authority is one of the most 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:57.860 dominant features in this chapter. Not only does 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:01.220 he tell us that he himself is the fulfilment 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:04.460 of everything the law required and everything 00:12:04.460 --> 00:12:08.340 the prophets had spoken about, and not only does 00:12:08.340 --> 00:12:11.700 he tell us who will be the least and who will 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:14.740 be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven to come, 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:18.340 but he also tells us at least probably eight 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:21.960 times in this chapter, what God's word really 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:28.279 and truly says. Think about it. Where do the 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:30.960 Old Testament scriptures actually get their authority 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:38.519 from? Their authority comes from God. And because 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:41.600 their authority comes from God, only one with 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:44.980 the same authority could ever interpret the scriptures 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:49.360 and define implicitly what the scriptures really 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:54.730 mean. and truly mean and that's what jesus repeatedly 00:12:54.730 --> 00:12:58.350 does he therefore is revealing his divine authority 00:12:58.350 --> 00:13:02.909 yes simply put only someone with the authority 00:13:02.909 --> 00:13:08.649 of god himself can truly say but i tell you when 00:13:08.649 --> 00:13:10.570 referring to the holy scriptures a prophet might 00:13:10.570 --> 00:13:13.009 speak the words of god and therefore say thus 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:17.990 says the lord but only someone with the f very 00:13:17.990 --> 00:13:20.289 authority of God himself, can repeatedly say, 00:13:20.389 --> 00:13:26.370 I tell you. I tell you the truth. But I tell 00:13:26.370 --> 00:13:31.370 you. It's no wonder that the great Hindu leader, 00:13:31.549 --> 00:13:35.950 Mahatma Gandhi, believed Jesus' teachings on 00:13:35.950 --> 00:13:38.029 the Sermon on the Mount to be the greatest teaching 00:13:38.029 --> 00:13:42.809 ever given on planet Earth. But sadly, I don't 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:45.809 believe Gandhi saw what Jesus was really saying. 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:49.620 and therefore claiming when he repeatedly says, 00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:56.580 but I tell you. So Jesus has just said, you've 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:58.399 heard that it was said, love your neighbour and 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.899 hate your enemy, but I tell you, love your enemies 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:05.919 and pray for those who persecute you. Now Jesus 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:08.879 didn't actually finish his sentence there. He 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:11.220 says a few more words to explain why we are to 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:14.580 love one's enemy. Now please have a look at why. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:20.600 Have a look at verse 45. Why? The NLV, New International 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:25.120 Version, 2011 says that you may be children of 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:31.799 your Father in heaven. That's why. I've summed 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:34.279 it up like this and the next three verses spell 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:38.539 it out in more detail. Not only do we see here 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:41.519 and... all through this chapter, the divine authority 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:45.039 of Jesus, we also see here what is expected of 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:49.259 those who belong to the Father. So basically 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:52.059 we are to love our enemies because that's how 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:54.460 a child of God, how someone who belongs to our 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:59.320 Father in heaven, should love. Love your enemies 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:01.460 and pray for those who persecute you. And why? 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:05.340 Because that's how sons and daughters of our 00:15:05.340 --> 00:15:10.279 heavenly Father are to live. Anything less than 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:13.440 that is simply not worthy of a place in the kingdom 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:18.000 of heaven where our Father is. Anything less 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.080 than that is simply not worthy of being a child 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:27.840 of God. So we therefore mustn't limit our love 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:32.740 to certain people. Yet that is what Jesus is 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:35.799 saying here. If you're a child of God, a son 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:38.879 or daughter of your Father in heaven, and you 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.820 limit your love to only those you get along with, 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:45.200 you can't expect your Father in Heaven to say, 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:52.500 good on you. No. Anyone can do that. Anyone can 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:56.340 love those who love them. Even tax collectors 00:15:56.340 --> 00:16:02.600 do that. Verse 46. I want you to love like me. 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:10.309 I want you to even love your enemies. Friends, 00:16:11.009 --> 00:16:13.450 when you look at the life of Jesus, did Jesus 00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:16.789 show us this kind of love or was he all talk? 00:16:19.070 --> 00:16:22.269 Did Jesus just show and claim divine authority 00:16:22.269 --> 00:16:27.730 in what he said? Or did he also back it up in 00:16:27.730 --> 00:16:31.750 what he did? Well, I suppose the greatest test 00:16:31.750 --> 00:16:35.669 to practice what one preaches is when one faces 00:16:35.669 --> 00:16:40.850 the greatest test. And when did Jesus face one 00:16:40.850 --> 00:16:44.509 of his greatest tests? Well, surely it would 00:16:44.509 --> 00:16:48.629 have been on the cross. Yep, on the cross, on 00:16:48.629 --> 00:16:53.429 that very first good for us, but ghastly for 00:16:53.429 --> 00:16:58.610 him, Friday. How did he respond to his enemies 00:16:58.610 --> 00:17:01.330 who had their way and whipped him to an inch 00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:04.609 of death, stripped him of his clothing, then 00:17:04.609 --> 00:17:09.359 nailed him to a cross? to further publicly humiliate 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:14.779 him, spat on him and hurled insults at him? Like, 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:16.859 how did he respond to his enemies with a capital 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:22.200 E? Well, he certainly did practise what he preached. 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:29.539 And much more than that, he exemplified it. He 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:32.039 said just before he took his last breath whilst 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:36.359 hanging on that rugged cross... Father, forgive 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:38.940 them for they do not know what they are doing. 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:47.059 Wow. Yes, what a magnificent author and perfecter 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:56.440 of our faith. Perhaps he was divine. As a follower, 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.579 as his follower, as a son or daughter of the 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:02.059 Father, we must not limit our love to those who 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:06.200 love us. The second example is found in verse 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:11.519 47. Please look at it with me, please. Verse 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:14.500 47, and if you greet only your own people, what 00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:17.720 are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans, 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:21.500 in our context here today, unbelievers, do that. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.680 Friends, a warm greeting or welcome can say a 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:29.759 lot, just as the absence of a warm greeting or 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:35.230 welcome can say a lot too. Who you greet, who 00:18:35.230 --> 00:18:40.289 you welcome speaks a lot. If certain people are 00:18:40.289 --> 00:18:44.289 carefully ignored and those only close to us 00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:49.309 receive our sincere good wishes, Jesus is saying 00:18:49.309 --> 00:18:51.210 here that you are no different to the rest of 00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:57.710 society because that's how they act. In other 00:18:57.710 --> 00:19:00.049 words, a son or daughter of the Heavenly Father 00:19:00.049 --> 00:19:02.849 or child of God must not... any longer stoop 00:19:02.849 --> 00:19:06.890 to the low standard of society. He or she must 00:19:06.890 --> 00:19:10.170 scale to the high standard of unworthy of the 00:19:10.170 --> 00:19:12.769 kingdom of heaven and not limit our greeting 00:19:12.769 --> 00:19:18.049 or welcome to certain people. That's what this 00:19:18.049 --> 00:19:22.430 verse is basically saying. We also mustn't limit 00:19:22.430 --> 00:19:30.940 our welcome to certain people. Crunch time! Do 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:37.960 you limit your welcome to certain people? Do 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:41.059 we limit our welcome to certain people in our 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:46.740 street? Do we limit our welcome to certain people 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:54.779 of our own colour or nation? Do we limit our 00:19:54.779 --> 00:20:01.309 welcome to certain people in our workplace? Do 00:20:01.309 --> 00:20:03.569 we limit our welcome to certain people at school 00:20:03.569 --> 00:20:09.849 or at university? Do we limit our welcome to 00:20:09.849 --> 00:20:12.289 people who are good citizens and behave themselves? 00:20:14.809 --> 00:20:20.309 Or what about this one? Do we limit our welcome 00:20:20.309 --> 00:20:27.789 and greeting to certain people at church? To 00:20:27.789 --> 00:20:32.059 those you get along with. to those in your circle, 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:36.500 to those of your age, to those who are much easier 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:45.279 to talk to. Well, what Jesus says here has implications 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:48.539 in all areas of life, including how we greet 00:20:48.539 --> 00:20:52.279 one another at church and who we greet and therefore 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:54.759 who we talk to afterwards, say over morning tea. 00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:58.140 Dare I say that if you feel that someone here 00:20:58.140 --> 00:21:02.140 almost falls in the category of an enemy for 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:04.900 you at the moment, or quite different, I want 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:06.720 to make a special effort to greet them and talk 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.160 to them afterwards. Well, in his day, Jesus once 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:12.359 again practiced what he preached in this area. 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:17.420 But I tell you, there were two groups of people 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:20.500 back then that most people in society avoided 00:21:20.500 --> 00:21:23.740 greeting or welcoming. They basically avoided 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:26.519 going anywhere near these two groups of people. 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:32.839 But Jesus said, sorry, Jesus did. He always reflected 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:36.079 his father. He truly was the father's son in 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:39.319 more ways than one. And so much so that he earned 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:43.259 a reputation of greeting and even hanging out 00:21:43.259 --> 00:21:49.240 with those that society didn't like. And the 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:55.789 writer. The writer of this gospel was one of 00:21:55.789 --> 00:22:03.609 them. From Matthew 11, 19, he welcomes tax collectors. 00:22:04.930 --> 00:22:08.170 Matthew's name was Levi. He was a tax collector. 00:22:09.150 --> 00:22:14.369 And sinners. Yes, that is what was said of Jesus. 00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:16.490 In a sense, when it comes to loving one's enemies, 00:22:16.569 --> 00:22:19.809 to say that they are an enemy is a misnomer at 00:22:19.809 --> 00:22:23.150 one level. Sometimes they are simply people worse 00:22:23.150 --> 00:22:26.549 off than you or people who have made more obvious 00:22:26.549 --> 00:22:29.970 mistakes in life than you or just different from 00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:34.869 you. And if you think that this last point of 00:22:34.869 --> 00:22:37.349 not limiting one's welcome to certain people 00:22:37.349 --> 00:22:41.470 was crunch time for you, well, for us, baby, 00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:46.250 we just ain't seen nothing yet. Have a look at 00:22:46.250 --> 00:22:50.430 verse 48. Jesus concludes all of this by saying, 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:54.980 Be perfect. Therefore, as your heavenly Father 00:22:54.980 --> 00:23:02.240 is perfect. Easy peasy. That's what I like about 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.259 being a Christian. When you come to Jesus, it's 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:11.380 all easy peasy. Not. Friends, we see here in 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:14.299 this verse the demand to be like our Father in 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:19.569 heaven. Well, obviously to... be perfect like 00:23:19.569 --> 00:23:22.569 our Father in heaven and like Jesus, who not 00:23:22.569 --> 00:23:25.089 only spoke with divine authority but also lived 00:23:25.089 --> 00:23:27.869 divinely because he practised everything he preached, 00:23:28.109 --> 00:23:31.710 involves, you could say, more than just loving 00:23:31.710 --> 00:23:35.470 one's enemies, as spelled out in these six verses. 00:23:37.390 --> 00:23:40.910 But in saying that, I think there is a very important 00:23:40.910 --> 00:23:44.349 reason why Jesus says these words, straight after 00:23:44.349 --> 00:23:46.970 specifically talking about... loving one's enemies 00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:51.109 and therefore not hating them and what is the 00:23:51.109 --> 00:23:55.349 reason why does jesus say to be perfect straight 00:23:55.349 --> 00:23:58.069 after talking about loving loving one's enemies 00:23:58.069 --> 00:24:03.210 i think because what is central to the very character 00:24:03.210 --> 00:24:07.470 of god what is at the very core of god's being 00:24:07.470 --> 00:24:15.900 is his love for his enemies His love for us. 00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:23.880 He is so rich in love that he has poured out 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:29.779 his love on all people as demonstrated in all 00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:35.279 its fullness on the cross. This is your favourite 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:41.420 verse, Brendan. Whilst we were still his enemies, 00:24:41.539 --> 00:24:46.549 his son died for us. Romans 5 .8. That's true 00:24:46.549 --> 00:24:52.650 love. And when one pours out such love on all 00:24:52.650 --> 00:24:56.130 people, for example, in forgiveness and in welcoming, 00:24:56.349 --> 00:25:03.509 especially on people who are most undeserving 00:25:03.509 --> 00:25:06.470 of such love, such love is called what? It's 00:25:06.470 --> 00:25:12.900 called mercy. Yes, it's called mercy. When one 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:18.819 of the other gospel writers, Dr. Luke, yes, God 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:25.000 loves tax collectors and doctors. When Dr. Luke 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:27.400 records Jesus' teaching on this very matter, 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:30.319 he doesn't say, be perfect, therefore, as your 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:34.079 heavenly Father is perfect. He says, be merciful 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:41.839 as your Father is merciful, Luke 6 .36. Loving 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.940 one's enemies is all about mercy. And as God 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:50.240 is love, he is rich in mercy. Ephesians 2 .4. 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:54.960 And when we are rich in mercy, we are most like 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:58.339 our Father in heaven and therefore becoming more 00:25:58.339 --> 00:26:05.759 like him. Perfect. So who do you need to show 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:09.819 mercy to? Who do you need to be more like our 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:15.619 Father in Heaven to? You know, when our friend 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:18.039 Saul was bashed up that day and my mates and 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.099 I were praying for him and his family, one of 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:24.099 my mates prayed in a way that I'll never forget. 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:32.700 We prayed for Saul to recover. We prayed for 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:37.430 his family. We prayed... Also for justice to 00:26:37.430 --> 00:26:42.150 be delivered. We gave thanks that there were 00:26:42.150 --> 00:26:44.170 people in the hall who heard what was happening 00:26:44.170 --> 00:26:47.849 and therefore ran out to help. My wife Sue was 00:26:47.849 --> 00:26:52.589 one of them. But one of my mates prayed very 00:26:52.589 --> 00:26:56.990 differently to all of us. He prayed for the character 00:26:56.990 --> 00:27:02.470 who bashed up Saul. He prayed that the Lord would 00:27:02.470 --> 00:27:05.410 convict this guy. of the serious wrong that he's 00:27:05.410 --> 00:27:10.009 done and changed his life. He prayed that the 00:27:10.009 --> 00:27:15.730 Lord would have mercy on him. And he prayed that 00:27:15.730 --> 00:27:20.970 Saul and his family would forgive this guy. Be 00:27:20.970 --> 00:27:24.289 perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is 00:27:24.289 --> 00:27:30.089 perfect. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. 00:27:30.869 --> 00:27:31.470 Amen.