WEBVTT 00:00:09.089 --> 00:00:11.369 If you have your Bibles will be in Matthew chapter 00:00:11.369 --> 00:00:16.989 5 this morning. The plan is to finish chapter 00:00:16.989 --> 00:00:21.649 5 and move on to chapter 6 next week. I would 00:00:21.649 --> 00:00:25.359 always encourage you If you have a Bible available 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.059 to grab it and follow along as we do this, pull 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:31.000 out your phone, follow as we read God's Word 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.939 together, take notes as you feel led, as the 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:37.439 Lord reveals things to you. I've found in my 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:39.420 own personal life that the more you do that, 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.280 if you do that consistently, you will soon begin 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:45.119 to understand and you will soon begin to believe 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:47.500 what the Bible says about itself, that it is 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:50.920 living and active. that as you read these passages 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:53.340 over and over again he will continue to reveal 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:56.399 things to you. So please follow along as we read 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:00.920 here in just a minute. There were once two men 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:06.180 who went to a small rural church and they got 00:01:06.180 --> 00:01:10.019 into a terrible dispute that they could not seem 00:01:10.019 --> 00:01:12.879 to resolve on their own. It just kept going on 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.420 and on and on and it was affecting their lives 00:01:15.420 --> 00:01:19.409 a great amount. So they decided to talk to who 00:01:19.409 --> 00:01:23.010 they considered was the wisest man in the church. 00:01:24.730 --> 00:01:27.329 The first man went to the old wise man's house 00:01:27.329 --> 00:01:30.829 one night, and he told his version of the story. 00:01:30.930 --> 00:01:34.269 He told everything that had happened. And when 00:01:34.269 --> 00:01:36.849 he had finished, the wise man looked at him and 00:01:36.849 --> 00:01:41.000 said, you are absolutely right. The next night, 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.219 the second man came and told his side of the 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:46.359 story about his experience with the situation. 00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:49.700 The old man responded by looking at him and saying, 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:53.400 you're absolutely right. After the second man 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:56.159 left, the old man's wife scolded her husband. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:01.359 She says, those men told you two different stories, 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:04.439 and you told them both that they were absolutely 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:08.189 right. That's impossible. You can't have two 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:10.689 different stories and they can't possibly both 00:02:10.689 --> 00:02:14.729 be absolutely right. The old man turned to his 00:02:14.729 --> 00:02:18.870 wife, looked deep in her eyes and said, you're 00:02:18.870 --> 00:02:26.789 absolutely right. That old man was wiser than 00:02:26.789 --> 00:02:31.169 maybe any of us believe. He knew that there are 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:34.569 rarely any winners when it comes to human conflict. 00:02:35.629 --> 00:02:38.750 There were probably elements of right and wrong 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:42.229 on both accounts, but neither of them would have 00:02:42.229 --> 00:02:44.490 ever been convinced of their own wrongdoing. 00:02:45.830 --> 00:02:48.590 So there's no point in entering into the fray. 00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:53.990 So why is it that we are so prone to conflict? 00:02:54.409 --> 00:02:56.830 We all deal with it in almost every area of our 00:02:56.830 --> 00:02:59.669 lives. We have conflict in our homes. We have 00:02:59.669 --> 00:03:02.229 conflict at school. We have conflict at work. 00:03:02.379 --> 00:03:07.000 We humans just seem to have a knack for not getting 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.139 along and making enemies over sometimes stupid 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:14.520 things that we just can't let go of. I mean, 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:18.300 people will argue about anything. Pick your favorite 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:22.120 reality TV show. Doesn't matter which one. And 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.599 I would be willing to bet that if you picked 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:27.879 any reality TV show... and picked any episode 00:03:27.879 --> 00:03:30.879 out of that series that you would find a segment 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:33.479 in that episode where people are just fighting 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:38.340 about stupid things. And we love it. We eat that 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:41.780 stuff up. They will argue about anything. And 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:44.439 so with that in mind, I did some research. And 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:46.840 I did a quick search about stupid things that 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:49.620 people fight over. Here's some of my favorites. 00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:53.900 The first one said that when I was 13 years old, 00:03:54.090 --> 00:03:57.270 My parents got into an hour -long shouting match 00:03:57.270 --> 00:04:01.569 and almost got divorced. The topic was whether 00:04:01.569 --> 00:04:09.550 or not the nation of Iraq had a coastline. This 00:04:09.550 --> 00:04:14.530 other one lost a friendship because they couldn't 00:04:14.530 --> 00:04:17.990 agree on how their name was supposed to be spelled. 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:24.389 A woman quit her job because her boss made the 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:29.649 entire office watch a solar eclipse on TV. She 00:04:29.649 --> 00:04:31.889 claimed it was unsafe to make them do that. You 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:39.250 can't be staring directly at the sun. This last 00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:41.430 one was a couple that got into a shouting match 00:04:41.430 --> 00:04:46.990 over which friend's wedding they would attend 00:04:46.990 --> 00:04:50.230 if they both happened to be on the same day. 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:54.199 The problem was that neither couple was engaged 00:04:54.199 --> 00:05:00.800 at the time. Now each of us handles conflict 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:04.980 differently. Some take it head on, while others 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:08.480 like to put as much distance as they can. But 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:11.120 I think all of us, if we are pushed hard enough, 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:15.920 every one of us will come out swinging. The problem 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:18.939 is that's the attitude of the world coming out 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:22.259 in us. As followers of Christ, we have to remember 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:25.519 that we are not of this world, that we have a 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:29.019 higher standard that Jesus calls us to live by. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:31.519 And so today we're going to look at some of the 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:35.120 words from Jesus to understand his teachings 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:37.779 on dealing with conflict and dealing with our 00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:40.779 personal enemies. So this morning I'm going to, 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:42.620 we're going to finish chapter five by reading 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:45.480 verses 43 through 48. I'm going to invite Rachel 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:47.920 up here to come read our passage this morning. 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:51.060 I told the first service, let's see if she'll 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:54.259 do it now. Rachel's an amazing singer, if you 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:56.060 didn't know that. And I've asked her to sing 00:05:56.060 --> 00:06:01.459 the passage today. No, still not. If you would 00:06:01.459 --> 00:06:06.319 stand as we honor the Lord's word together. You 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:08.779 have heard that it was said, you shall love your 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:12.079 neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:14.759 love your enemies and pray for those who persecute 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:17.279 you, so that you may be sons of your father who 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:20.870 is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the 00:06:20.870 --> 00:06:23.889 evil and on the good and sends rain on the just 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:27.209 and on the unjust. For if you love those who 00:06:27.209 --> 00:06:30.370 love you, what reward do you have? Do not even 00:06:30.370 --> 00:06:33.670 the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet 00:06:33.670 --> 00:06:35.949 only your brothers, what more are you doing than 00:06:35.949 --> 00:06:38.889 others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 00:06:39.790 --> 00:06:42.290 You therefore must be perfect as your Heavenly 00:06:42.290 --> 00:06:45.000 Father is perfect. Amen. Let's pray. Father, 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:46.939 thank you for Rachel. Thank you for just the 00:06:46.939 --> 00:06:48.459 gifts that you've given her and how you're using 00:06:48.459 --> 00:06:50.459 her. And we just thank you for her willingness 00:06:50.459 --> 00:06:53.199 to read your word in this place. We pray right 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:55.220 now, Father, that you will send your Holy Spirit 00:06:55.220 --> 00:06:58.220 to enlighten this text to us, that we will walk 00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:00.000 out of here with a better understanding of how 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.939 we can live like you. So I pray you bless us. 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:04.879 We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:13.879 Thanks, Rachel. Now, as per usual, if we look 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:17.879 at the first verse of this passage, we see Jesus 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:22.759 recognizing what has been taught, and he's about 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:25.579 to address the issue that he's about to correct. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.560 He starts off by saying, you have heard that 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.839 it was said, you shall love your neighbor and 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:36.000 hate your enemy. So he's addressing what has 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:39.060 been taught. That's the rabbinic tradition of 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:42.790 Jesus' day. That's what the religious people, 00:07:43.129 --> 00:07:45.850 the religious leaders were teaching the people 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:49.829 of Israel. This is what they are teaching, that 00:07:49.829 --> 00:07:53.930 they encourage the people of Israel to love their 00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:58.610 neighbor and hate their enemy. But of course, 00:07:58.730 --> 00:08:02.129 their definition of neighbor was very narrow. 00:08:02.870 --> 00:08:06.639 It left out anybody that wasn't a Jew. And for 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:09.379 the scribes and Pharisees, it left out almost 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:13.920 all people that were just common people. So that 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.720 narrowed things down pretty small when you're 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.160 considering who your neighbor is. A neighbor 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.379 in their definition was somebody that agreed 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:27.540 with them. A neighbor was someone who acted like 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:31.060 them. Their neighbor was somebody who had the 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:34.720 same standards as they had. What's really interesting 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:37.620 about this particular text that Jesus is addressing 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:42.600 is how they perverted the Old Testament teaching 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.840 in Leviticus chapter 19. In verse 18, the Bible 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:50.159 reads that you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:08:52.059 --> 00:08:55.299 That command is repeated throughout the scripture. 00:08:55.820 --> 00:08:58.340 But look at what the scribes and the Pharisees 00:08:58.340 --> 00:09:00.840 have done. First of all, they've left something 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:06.440 out, right? That part that says as yourself That 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:10.879 must have sounded absurd to them These were the 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.860 staunchest religious people who there's no way 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:17.960 they could comprehend loving somebody else as 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:22.379 much as they love themselves They were the standard 00:09:22.379 --> 00:09:25.879 that everybody else needed to get to they had 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:29.000 this religious Supremacy, and so they couldn't 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:33.000 fathom what it meant To love somebody as much 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:35.580 as you love yourself. So they just let that little 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:40.720 part out. Let's just ignore that part. But look 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.500 what else they did. They added something. They 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:46.340 didn't just leave something off. They added something 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:48.620 to God's teaching. They added that little phrase, 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:54.399 hate your enemy. That goes against everything. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:58.440 In the heart of God, in the word of God. In Proverbs 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.860 25, it reads, if your enemy is hungry, give him 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:05.080 something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:10.059 some water to drink. Nowhere in the Bible does 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:14.539 God tell us to hate anybody, including our enemy. 00:10:15.470 --> 00:10:18.269 So the rabbis, they tinkered around with God's 00:10:18.269 --> 00:10:21.029 teaching and came up with an alternative standard 00:10:21.029 --> 00:10:23.710 that just suited them better, that made it easier 00:10:23.710 --> 00:10:26.429 to live a righteous life in their mind. They 00:10:26.429 --> 00:10:29.370 found it much easier and much more satisfying 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:32.169 to love the people they were closest to, to love 00:10:32.169 --> 00:10:34.610 the people they agreed with, to love the people 00:10:34.610 --> 00:10:37.970 that had the same standards, and hate basically 00:10:37.970 --> 00:10:41.330 everybody else. Love your neighbor, hate your 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:46.809 enemy. In the Jewish mindset, hate was easier 00:10:46.809 --> 00:10:51.029 than love. I think we can all relate to that. 00:10:51.629 --> 00:10:53.330 When we have those moments when we're in our 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:56.070 flesh, I think we can relate to that. Hating 00:10:56.070 --> 00:11:00.490 is easier. Avoiding it is easier. It just works. 00:11:01.269 --> 00:11:04.490 There was a definition of friendships and relationships 00:11:04.490 --> 00:11:07.809 that left itself wide open to conflict and problems. 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:12.600 And when you think about it, their standard of 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:14.899 relationship sounds a lot like that of the world 00:11:14.899 --> 00:11:19.000 today, does it not? Is that not the same standard 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.940 that we are taught in our world today? Love your 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:26.799 friends and hate your enemies. Love this group 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.360 of people and avoid everybody else. Love the 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.779 Republicans, hate the Democrats. Love the Democrats, 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:36.639 hate the Republicans. I mean, that's the world 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:40.799 we live in. And sadly, so many Christians have 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.320 bought into that philosophy. Just like everybody 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:48.159 else, we love as followers to make enemies. We 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.179 like to go on the attack. Why sometimes we even 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:54.320 turn on each other and attack each other in the 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:59.539 church. Fighting and making enemies over misunderstandings 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:02.059 and fighting and making enemies over selfish 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:06.740 issues. Thank goodness. that we have Jesus. Thank 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:09.240 goodness that he comes and gets into the fray 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:11.799 here. He laid out the teaching of the rabbis, 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:14.120 the teaching that the disciples had heard so 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.379 many times, that they have heard since they were 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:19.360 growing up as little boys, this teaching of love 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:22.779 your neighbor, hate your enemy. So he does that, 00:12:22.980 --> 00:12:25.539 but he follows it up with these four incredible 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:27.379 words as he's done several times throughout this 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:31.779 passage. But I tell you. This is what you've 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:33.500 been taught. This is what you've been taught 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:36.159 to believe. This is your understanding, but that's 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.679 wrong. So let me tell you he's telling his followers 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:43.200 to Forget what they have been taught forget how 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.279 you naturally feel when it comes to your enemies. 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:50.600 I Mean, how hard is that? You know our human 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:54.299 tendency is to base our love on the desirability 00:12:54.299 --> 00:12:59.460 of the object of our love We love beautiful people 00:12:59.450 --> 00:13:03.009 We love fun hobbies. We love sports. We love 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:06.409 pretty houses. We like sporty cars. Things that 00:13:06.409 --> 00:13:09.470 appeal to our sight, we're all for. We're all 00:13:09.470 --> 00:13:13.769 for those things. Love in our culture is so superficial. 00:13:14.090 --> 00:13:17.909 It's based merely on an attitude or a feeling. 00:13:19.570 --> 00:13:23.110 But real love isn't based on what it says or 00:13:23.110 --> 00:13:26.750 how it looks. Real love is based on what it... 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:31.019 does. Real love is based on the action that it 00:13:31.019 --> 00:13:35.639 takes. That isn't how we view love in our culture. 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.320 We use the word love for all kinds of things. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:48.019 I love my wife, and I love my dog. Very different 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:54.539 types of love. I love my children, and I love 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:59.049 a good steak. But those things are very different. 00:14:02.070 --> 00:14:06.330 That word that Jesus uses when he tells us to 00:14:06.330 --> 00:14:11.909 love our enemies is the word agape. Agape means 00:14:11.909 --> 00:14:17.409 selfless love, sacrificial love. It's not an 00:14:17.409 --> 00:14:25.730 emotion. It's not an attraction. It's not a wooing. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:32.820 It's not a recognition of beauty. It is a decision 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:38.879 that we make in obedience to the Lord. It's not 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.840 easy. Let's not pretend that it is. It is incredibly 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:46.039 hard to be kind to people who are not kind to 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:50.120 you. What Jesus is saying is for us as followers 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:54.940 of Jesus to rise to the level where God has the 00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:58.929 control of our lives that allows you to minister 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:04.629 in His name to all people. Jesus tells us to 00:15:04.629 --> 00:15:09.210 love the bad guys, to love our enemies. Love 00:15:09.210 --> 00:15:13.570 people with the same sacrificial love that God 00:15:13.570 --> 00:15:17.169 has given to you, because even your enemies, 00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:20.289 even those you don't agree with, even those who 00:15:20.289 --> 00:15:22.470 have different standards, even those who think 00:15:22.470 --> 00:15:25.429 differently than you, are still made in the image 00:15:25.429 --> 00:15:30.580 of God. Now, this is a different culture. This 00:15:30.580 --> 00:15:35.059 is a different context than what the Jews were 00:15:35.059 --> 00:15:38.059 experiencing in this moment when Jesus was teaching. 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.259 Their enemies, if you remember, were the Romans. 00:15:42.899 --> 00:15:45.759 The Romans were oppressing them. The Romans could 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.139 force them to carry all their gear for a mile. 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:50.259 That's when Jesus comes in and says, not only 00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:53.299 do you carry it a mile, you carry it two miles. 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:56.159 Not just what was required by law, but you go 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:59.559 above and beyond. That is who their enemies are. 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:01.480 That is the context in which they're living. 00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:07.220 We live in Iowa. Conditions are much different, 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:12.399 are they not? Culture is much different. And 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:15.179 so when Jesus is telling us to love our enemies, 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.539 it was much more difficult for the disciples 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:23.850 who were hearing it for the first time. So, if 00:16:23.850 --> 00:16:27.929 the expectation is on them to love their enemies 00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:32.289 in that context, in that culture, in those conditions, 00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:36.330 the same is expected of us today. But not only 00:16:36.330 --> 00:16:38.149 does he tell us to love our enemies, he tells 00:16:38.149 --> 00:16:44.149 us to pray for those who persecute us. I hope 00:16:44.149 --> 00:16:48.110 you see the genius of this command. It's hard 00:16:48.110 --> 00:16:52.860 to hate someone you're praying for. Now, understand 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:57.759 that Jesus is telling us to pray good prayers 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:02.659 for those who persecute us. He's not talking 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:06.299 about praying that God would knock someone down. 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:10.299 He's not talking about praying that God would 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:16.160 send something tragic into their lives to get 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:20.380 their attention. Jesus is talking about genuinely. 00:17:20.509 --> 00:17:24.690 going to God on behalf of the people who persecute 00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:30.930 you. Pray for those that lie about you. Pray 00:17:30.930 --> 00:17:34.150 for those that betray you. Pray for those people 00:17:34.150 --> 00:17:37.769 that hurt you. Pray for those people who make 00:17:37.769 --> 00:17:41.769 your life miserable. And I can honestly tell 00:17:41.769 --> 00:17:44.069 you that this has worked so many times in my 00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:48.460 life. I've been persecuted, I've been talked 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:52.420 about, I've been lied about, and despite my natural 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:56.059 inclination to strike back, I have prayed for 00:17:56.059 --> 00:18:00.019 the people who have persecuted me. And it has 00:18:00.019 --> 00:18:03.279 made all the difference in the world for me. 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.119 Charles Spurgeon once said that prayer is the 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:11.339 forerunner of mercy. Prayer is the forerunner 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:16.589 of mercy. And he was absolutely right. It's hard 00:18:16.589 --> 00:18:20.210 to hate when you pray for someone your prayer 00:18:20.210 --> 00:18:25.210 enables God To turn your hate into love not not 00:18:25.210 --> 00:18:27.930 worldly love not oh I can I can be in the same 00:18:27.930 --> 00:18:30.910 room as them type of love but Christian love 00:18:30.910 --> 00:18:34.130 it becomes love that does something love that 00:18:34.130 --> 00:18:37.450 lets things go a love that forgives a love that 00:18:37.450 --> 00:18:41.069 reaches back and offers an act of kindness in 00:18:41.069 --> 00:18:45.579 response to an act of hate. Love the bad guys 00:18:45.579 --> 00:18:52.559 in your life. Jesus continues in verse 45. He 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.140 says, so that you may be sons of your father 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:58.079 who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.400 the evil and on the good, and he sends rain on 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.779 the just and on the unjust. For if you love those 00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:08.099 who love you, what reward do you have? Do not 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:10.980 even the tax collectors do the same? And if you 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:14.119 greet only your brothers, What more are you doing 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:18.000 than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:24.400 same? Jesus just keeps pouring it on here. Just 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:25.880 keeps pouring it on. First we need to love our 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:29.579 enemies. Then we need to pray for our enemies. 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:32.819 And here he continues to develop this contrast 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:35.700 between the actions of a godly person and the 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:39.539 actions of an ungodly person. Anybody can hate. 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.539 Anybody can be bitter. Anybody can lash out and 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:50.440 attack. The world does that. But as sons, as 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:54.039 children of the Father, we need to remember the 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:58.640 heart of God. He loves us all. He causes the 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:03.140 sun to rise over all of us, both the good and 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:07.640 the evil. He sends rain to the righteous and 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.660 the unrighteous. God loves us without condition. 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:17.119 And he's calling us to do the same. So a life 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:21.960 of self -giving love, a life of love without 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.240 retaliation, brings honor and glory to God. It 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:28.539 sets us apart from the rest of the world. It 00:20:28.539 --> 00:20:31.440 makes a statement to the world when they see 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:34.420 how we love people and see how we handle conflict. 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:37.200 It's a statement to the world that says we follow 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:42.730 God, that we love Jesus. that God is our Father. 00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:45.809 And so our response should be, no matter how 00:20:45.809 --> 00:20:48.630 you treat me, no matter what you say about me, 00:20:48.890 --> 00:20:51.789 no matter how miserable you make me, I'm going 00:20:51.789 --> 00:20:55.549 to love you anyway. Jesus tells us in this text, 00:20:55.750 --> 00:21:01.769 he says, don't be basic. We need to exceed the 00:21:01.769 --> 00:21:04.849 expectations of the world. Now you need to understand 00:21:04.849 --> 00:21:07.319 who was listening to this. It was the disciples, 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:09.460 but the scribes and the Pharisees were there. 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:11.759 And if they were certain of anything else in 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:13.880 the world, it was the fact that they were better 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:16.839 than anybody else they knew. They walked around 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:19.319 in an arrogance that we can only imagine. But 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:21.519 look at what Jesus tells them. He says, you are 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:24.400 no better than the tax collectors. You're no 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:26.700 better than the pagans. You're no better than 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:30.279 the sinners. They love their friends. How in 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:34.099 the world are you any different than them? Jesus 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:36.660 made sure they understood that their standards 00:21:36.660 --> 00:21:40.799 of relationships and behavior were no better 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:45.000 than those of the lowliest sinners, their worst 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.279 and most hated enemies. So what does that mean 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:55.200 to us? It means that we cannot just blend in. 00:21:56.500 --> 00:22:00.269 We have to be different. We have to stand out 00:22:00.269 --> 00:22:03.069 against the standard of the world when it comes 00:22:03.069 --> 00:22:05.809 to our relationships and when it comes to conflict 00:22:05.809 --> 00:22:09.269 as Followers of Jesus Christ. We have to love 00:22:09.269 --> 00:22:13.390 our enemies We have to pray for our enemies And 00:22:13.390 --> 00:22:16.589 show that we follow Jesus that there's something 00:22:16.589 --> 00:22:19.890 different about us That's what he expects of 00:22:19.890 --> 00:22:26.269 us That is the witness that we must have in the 00:22:26.269 --> 00:22:30.839 world Now to be basic according to my daughter 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:35.960 and probably every other teenager here Means 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:40.599 to look the same to act the same to blend in 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:45.140 to go with a majority and Jesus is telling his 00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:49.380 disciples to be different If you have conflict 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:54.259 at work rise above it and don't join in If you're 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:57.490 having difficulty in your marriage, be different. 00:22:58.170 --> 00:22:59.849 Don't throw on the towel because everybody else 00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:03.869 is. Don't just continue to live in misery like 00:23:03.869 --> 00:23:07.269 everybody else does. We are called to be different. 00:23:07.650 --> 00:23:11.250 We are called to a higher standard. We are called 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:15.089 to love our enemies. And just real honest with 00:23:15.089 --> 00:23:19.250 you, sometimes our enemies are our spouses. Sometimes 00:23:19.250 --> 00:23:21.970 our enemies are our children. Sometimes our enemies 00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:29.309 are other people in the church. But we are called 00:23:29.309 --> 00:23:32.470 to love them in those seasons and in those moments 00:23:32.470 --> 00:23:36.710 with a sacrificial selfless love. A love that 00:23:36.710 --> 00:23:41.750 doesn't expect the love to be returned. A love 00:23:41.750 --> 00:23:44.089 that just does it because that is what we are 00:23:44.089 --> 00:23:48.950 called to do. The difference between us as followers 00:23:48.950 --> 00:23:52.089 and the rest of the world is that we as followers 00:23:52.089 --> 00:23:54.130 of Christ, we have the Spirit of God living in 00:23:54.130 --> 00:23:58.450 all of us. True love only takes place in the 00:23:58.450 --> 00:24:03.470 spiritual realm. True love can only manifest 00:24:03.470 --> 00:24:06.589 itself in the spirit. Ephesians 2 tells us that 00:24:06.589 --> 00:24:11.650 we were dead in our trespasses and sins. That 00:24:11.650 --> 00:24:16.490 we were following the course of the world. But 00:24:16.490 --> 00:24:22.109 God made us alive in Christ and saved us. If 00:24:22.109 --> 00:24:26.509 you are not a Christian, If you have not surrendered 00:24:26.509 --> 00:24:31.950 your life to Him, you are spiritually dead. Your 00:24:31.950 --> 00:24:35.289 body is alive, but spiritually you are dead. 00:24:35.569 --> 00:24:38.650 And if you are spiritually dead, then you are 00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:43.490 not capable of having agape love. You may love 00:24:43.490 --> 00:24:47.430 physically, you may love emotionally and mentally, 00:24:47.430 --> 00:24:51.849 but you cannot do it spiritually. Until the Spirit 00:24:51.849 --> 00:24:55.250 of God saves you. Until the Spirit of God redeems 00:24:55.250 --> 00:24:58.390 you and makes you alive in Him, this type of 00:24:58.390 --> 00:25:01.569 love will be impossible. Because without the 00:25:01.569 --> 00:25:04.109 Lord's help, it's too difficult. It's too hard 00:25:04.109 --> 00:25:07.349 to love people we don't like. It's too hard to 00:25:07.349 --> 00:25:12.309 love our enemies. That is why Jesus challenges 00:25:12.309 --> 00:25:16.289 us in the last verse to be perfect as God is 00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:21.089 perfect. Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is 00:25:21.089 --> 00:25:24.930 perfect. This is the sum of all that Jesus teaches 00:25:24.930 --> 00:25:28.529 in the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, it is the 00:25:28.529 --> 00:25:31.490 total of all that He teaches in the Scripture. 00:25:32.589 --> 00:25:36.410 The purpose of salvation, the goal of God's gospel, 00:25:36.769 --> 00:25:40.069 the great yearning of the heart of God is that 00:25:40.069 --> 00:25:48.130 we all seek to be like Him. Where to be like 00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:57.299 the goat? Now, you can tell Adlai helped me with 00:25:57.299 --> 00:26:02.819 my notes this week. Now, when it comes to basketball, 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.700 we can argue about whether or not Michael Jordan 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:10.460 or LeBron James is the greatest of all time. 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:20.259 When it comes to boy bands, we can make the argument 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:27.369 that NSYNC is the greatest of all time. When 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:31.309 it comes to fine cuisine some will argue that 00:26:31.309 --> 00:26:39.470 tofu is the greatest of all time And the reality 00:26:39.470 --> 00:26:41.390 is you and I could sit in this room for the rest 00:26:41.390 --> 00:26:42.950 of the day and argue about each and every one 00:26:42.950 --> 00:26:47.210 of those Every single one of those is debatable, 00:26:47.210 --> 00:26:52.130 but when it comes to love there is absolutely 00:26:52.130 --> 00:26:56.220 no argument God, the Father, Son, and Spirit 00:26:56.220 --> 00:27:00.579 is the greatest of all time. We are instructed 00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:04.079 to be perfect, just like our Father in heaven 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:08.319 is perfect. But that is absolutely impossible 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:12.079 in our own power. The Bible tells us in Matthew 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:18.720 19, with God, all things are possible. You see, 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:22.480 as we yield of ourselves, as we submit our will, 00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:26.680 and our desires to the will of God, He enables 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:30.099 us to be like Him. He enables us to love our 00:27:30.099 --> 00:27:32.900 enemies. He enables us to pray for those who 00:27:32.900 --> 00:27:36.220 persecute us. He enables us to live lives that 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:39.559 reflect the relationship that we have with Christ 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:43.900 and to exceed the expectations for behavior that 00:27:43.900 --> 00:27:47.779 exists in a dark and lost world. He enables us 00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:52.279 to grow and become more and more like Him. We 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:56.240 can't do it on our own. But with God, all things 00:27:56.240 --> 00:28:00.339 are possible. Surviving conflict with our fellow 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:04.119 man is never easy. We cannot do it on our own. 00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:10.220 God has given us specific instruction on how 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:13.700 we must relate to and act towards others. The 00:28:13.700 --> 00:28:19.059 question is, for all of us, will we lay ourselves 00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:25.900 and our own will down? Will we throw down our 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:30.900 weapons of retaliation and do what Jesus has 00:28:30.900 --> 00:28:37.440 taught us to do? Now in 1567 the Duke of Alba, 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:41.460 probably saying that wrong, was ruling the lower 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:46.779 part of Spain. He was a bitter enemy towards 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:50.619 Christians and he formed what became known as 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:54.079 the Council of Blood. And the Council of Blood 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:58.759 ordered the slaughter of thousands of Protestants. 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:03.400 These Protestants were accused of rebellion. 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:06.920 They were accused of heresy, of going against 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:10.960 the church and the government. Thousands and 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:15.160 thousands of Christians were slaughtered. One 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:16.920 man who was sentenced to die for his biblical 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:18.900 faith managed to escape in the dead of winter. 00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:23.259 He was being chased by a lone soldier and he 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:26.480 came to a lake that was just covered in a thin 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.700 sheet of ice. He had nowhere else to go. He somehow 00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:32.960 managed to get across, but as soon as he got 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:36.240 to the other side of the lake, he heard the soldier 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:39.799 screaming. The man had fallen through the ice 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:44.880 and was going to drown. So at the risk of being 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:48.599 captured, at the risk of being tortured or even 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:52.170 killed, or potentially even drowning himself 00:29:52.170 --> 00:29:55.930 in the cracked ice, the man went back across 00:29:55.930 --> 00:30:01.009 the lake and saved his enemy. He did it because 00:30:01.009 --> 00:30:04.569 of the love he had for Christ. He knew that as 00:30:04.569 --> 00:30:07.690 a follower of Jesus, he had no other choice if 00:30:07.690 --> 00:30:09.750 he was going to remain faithful to the Lord. 00:30:11.869 --> 00:30:13.970 Now we could go, I could tell you countless stories. 00:30:14.710 --> 00:30:17.410 Countless stories very similar to that that show 00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:22.630 what it means to really love our enemies. You 00:30:22.630 --> 00:30:25.549 and I are called to love our enemies like we 00:30:25.549 --> 00:30:30.869 love ourselves. If you were on the verge of death 00:30:30.869 --> 00:30:35.990 by falling into a lake through a thin sheet of 00:30:35.990 --> 00:30:39.089 ice, how would you have wanted that man to respond? 00:30:41.329 --> 00:30:43.470 Let you sink down until all of your breath was 00:30:43.470 --> 00:30:49.160 gone? Or would you want him to rescue you? Now 00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:51.720 I don't know how that story ends. I don't know 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:55.900 if the soldier killed him anyway. But I would 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:59.500 guess that soldier had a different attitude about 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:01.960 that Christian than he did before he was chasing 00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:05.980 him. I'd be willing to bet that love changed 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:09.500 things in that situation. How do you want to 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:14.599 be treated? How do you want to be loved? How 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:18.720 do you want to be talked about? Jesus is saying, 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:25.180 whatever the answer is, do that to others. Do 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:28.000 that to others who you don't like. Do that to 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:30.180 others that have hurt your feelings. Do that 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:33.500 to others that you disagree with. We are called 00:31:33.500 --> 00:31:36.000 to live different than the rest of the world. 00:31:37.319 --> 00:31:41.400 And the hard part, the hard part for us as Christians, 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:44.680 if you're a believer here, the hard part is is 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:47.799 as Christians we know this. Like this is not 00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:51.319 an unfamiliar text to most of us, right? We know 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:56.319 this. But we don't follow the Lord's commands 00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:59.960 when it comes to doing it. We look just like 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:02.240 the rest of the world. We gossip just like everyone 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:04.819 else in the world. We don't pray like we should 00:32:04.819 --> 00:32:08.000 for those we don't like. Divorce rates aren't 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.440 any much better inside the church than they are 00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:13.549 outside the church. Conflict inside the church 00:32:13.549 --> 00:32:16.690 is handled similar many times than the same way 00:32:16.690 --> 00:32:19.769 it is outside the church. We argue over stupid 00:32:19.769 --> 00:32:21.930 things that are really not going to matter in 00:32:21.930 --> 00:32:25.109 the end. We need to be better and understand 00:32:25.109 --> 00:32:46.539 that Jesus meant what He said in this text. So 00:32:46.539 --> 00:33:00.660 how are we going to respond? I'm assuming that 00:33:00.660 --> 00:33:02.619 when we're talking about enemies, we're not... 00:33:02.619 --> 00:33:04.039 I don't think any of us are thinking about people 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:07.920 chasing us with a sword. I don't think any of 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:09.299 us are thinking about people that are making 00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:11.240 us carry their stuff around for miles at a time. 00:33:19.679 --> 00:33:21.599 Assuming that somebody's in your mind when we're 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:24.640 talking about our enemies. People that we don't 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:28.079 like. People that we disagree with. People that 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:32.700 have hurt our feelings. My encouragement to you 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:36.740 this morning is to follow the Lord's command. 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:41.720 How can you love them? Maybe spend a few minutes 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:45.160 this morning just praying for them. Not praying 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:49.930 that they get hit by a bus. but praying for God's 00:33:49.930 --> 00:33:53.750 perfect will for their life. The song about the 00:33:53.750 --> 00:33:55.130 worship team up here as they lead us in one more 00:33:55.130 --> 00:34:06.809 song. And as we close our service this morning, 00:34:07.970 --> 00:34:09.769 my prayer as always is that the Spirit of God 00:34:09.769 --> 00:34:18.210 will convict us, challenge us, save us. that 00:34:18.210 --> 00:34:24.530 will experience his closeness. Because the reality 00:34:24.530 --> 00:34:27.170 is if we got this inside the church, if we like 00:34:27.170 --> 00:34:31.670 really understood it and applied it, it would 00:34:31.670 --> 00:34:33.449 change every aspect of every relationship that 00:34:33.449 --> 00:34:39.389 we have. We truly would be a beacon of hope and 00:34:39.389 --> 00:34:41.869 light in the world around us. So that's my prayer 00:34:41.869 --> 00:34:45.550 for all of us. So as we sing, as we... you know, 00:34:45.570 --> 00:34:48.030 respond however you feel led. But my hope is 00:34:48.030 --> 00:34:51.329 that you will just pray. Pray for those who persecute 00:34:51.329 --> 00:34:54.449 you. Ask God to reveal how you can love your 00:34:54.449 --> 00:34:57.389 enemies well. That you will pursue perfection 00:34:57.389 --> 00:34:59.150 when it comes to love just like our Heavenly 00:34:59.150 --> 00:35:02.210 Father. And God will give us the ability to do 00:35:02.210 --> 00:35:04.550 that. Let's pray. Father, I pray right now that 00:35:04.550 --> 00:35:10.289 as we close our service, I pray, Father, that 00:35:10.289 --> 00:35:13.250 you will just reveal to us those that we need 00:35:13.250 --> 00:35:17.619 to pray for. those that we need to love. I pray 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:21.400 Father that you will bring conviction to our 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:28.119 life. Help us remember that we are your children 00:35:28.119 --> 00:35:34.260 and we are called to a different standard, a 00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:38.699 higher standard than those in the world around 00:35:38.699 --> 00:35:44.880 us. And so, Father, we ask that Your Spirit to 00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:47.699 just move in this place as we sing and as we 00:35:47.699 --> 00:35:54.219 declare Your name is powerful. We pray, God, 00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:55.800 that Your will be done in this place. In Jesus' 00:35:55.860 --> 00:35:57.000 name, I pray. Amen.