WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:03.660 Hello. My name is Bob. I'm one of the pastors 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:06.620 here at Heights. And I want to start by saying 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:10.039 happy 4th of July weekend to everybody. I hope 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:13.339 you had a good 4th. And I want to welcome you 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:16.260 all. And for Pauldin and Baghdad and online, 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.600 welcome to you. And if it is your first time 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:23.260 here, thank you so much for being with us. And 00:00:23.260 --> 00:00:26.039 if you are part of the Heights family, I want 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:28.379 to start with a question to ask you. How are 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:31.219 you liking the new collection of talks, Who You 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:36.479 Are? Is this good? When John was introducing 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:41.060 the collection to us as a staff and telling us 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:42.520 we're going to go through the Gospel of Luke, 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:47.159 what he didn't do is let us pick which section 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:51.960 we want to speak on. And it's funny because I 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:55.560 think God's got a sense of humor. And I'll tell 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.750 you why I say that. I don't know if you've experienced 00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:01.890 this before, but it's happened more times than 00:01:01.890 --> 00:01:05.189 I want to admit. But there's times in my life 00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:08.769 when God gets super silent with me and I don't 00:01:08.769 --> 00:01:12.329 hear him. And that silence can be super deafening 00:01:12.329 --> 00:01:16.090 to me. And it might be really odd hearing that 00:01:16.090 --> 00:01:18.290 from a pastor, but I want to be honest about 00:01:18.290 --> 00:01:21.370 that because if you've experienced that, I want 00:01:21.370 --> 00:01:24.069 you to know that you're not alone. If you felt 00:01:24.069 --> 00:01:27.340 this too, it does happen. While I was going through 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:29.260 one of these times of silence, it was probably 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:32.079 about four or five months ago, and every morning, 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:35.040 I'm still praying, I'm still reading the Word, 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:38.500 but seeming not to see answers to my prayer, 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:44.040 and then not really hearing anything, an amazing 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.840 truth while I'm reading the Word. And I'm thinking 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.120 to myself, what is going on? Okay, is there any 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:54.329 unconfessed sin in my life? So I started looking 00:01:54.329 --> 00:01:55.810 at everything, and I'm thinking, no, I think 00:01:55.810 --> 00:01:57.769 everything's confessed. I think it's all out 00:01:57.769 --> 00:02:00.390 there. And then I'm like, well, am I just not 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:04.250 listening well? And I felt like I was. Well, 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:06.629 this went on for a few months, and I think it 00:02:06.629 --> 00:02:10.150 was like mid -May. I'm on my back porch in the 00:02:10.150 --> 00:02:12.210 morning, and I'm reading and praying like usual, 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:15.770 and I'm like, God, just say anything to me. Speak 00:02:15.770 --> 00:02:20.069 to me. Just say something to me. And two thoughts 00:02:20.069 --> 00:02:23.930 seemed to... overcome my heart and my mind. And 00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:26.069 I knew for sure that those two thoughts were 00:02:26.069 --> 00:02:29.150 from the Holy Spirit. And the two things that 00:02:29.150 --> 00:02:32.490 he said to me was, first of all, Bob, rid yourself 00:02:32.490 --> 00:02:36.370 of all bitterness. And then the second thing 00:02:36.370 --> 00:02:40.050 he said is, and it's not about you. And I'm thinking, 00:02:40.110 --> 00:02:43.689 well, you've been silent for a few months. I'm 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:47.129 super glad you're speaking to me, but couldn't 00:02:47.129 --> 00:02:50.159 you just tell me how much you love me? or that 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.900 you're pleased with something that I'm doing 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.460 right now. You know, kind of a feel good kind 00:02:56.460 --> 00:02:58.960 of thing. And then I kind of got a bad attitude 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:01.580 in my heart with what I heard. And I'm like, 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:03.520 well, first of all, I don't have bitterness towards 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.379 anybody. And secondly, I'm married and have three 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:09.680 kids, so it's never about me. And so, you know, 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:12.439 the attitude got there. And so here's, I get 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:14.719 done and now I'm running late for an appointment. 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:17.439 So I jump in my car and I'm riding to this appointment. 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:22.090 And I go in and sit down and a person sitting 00:03:22.090 --> 00:03:25.330 next to me was there that had wronged me years 00:03:25.330 --> 00:03:28.870 ago. He wronged me and my family in a bad way. 00:03:29.330 --> 00:03:32.009 And so I sit down there and I thought, well, 00:03:32.129 --> 00:03:37.110 maybe I haven't let go of all bitterness yet. 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:40.129 And I could feel it building up. So I'm sitting 00:03:40.129 --> 00:03:42.750 there and then a couple other names come to mind. 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:45.110 So I kind of look at God, I go, thank you. You 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:47.550 know, I know. So I'm trying to deal with the 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:50.069 whole thing. And then that week, Pastor John 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:53.949 breaks down the book of Luke and assigns us each 00:03:53.949 --> 00:03:57.550 the passage we would be speaking on. And guess 00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:01.550 which part I get? Jesus is a lover of enemies. 00:04:02.389 --> 00:04:05.930 And which, by the way, last summer when I was 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:08.150 speaking, I was given the topic of forgiveness. 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.669 So either God's trying to teach me something. 00:04:12.969 --> 00:04:15.710 or John's trying to say something to me. I'm 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:18.230 gonna go with the idea that God is trying to 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:20.649 teach me something. And I've felt this so many 00:04:20.649 --> 00:04:24.110 times. When someone up here is speaking a message 00:04:24.110 --> 00:04:26.790 that God gives them, it's usually for someone 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:29.850 that's here listening too. So if you're struggling 00:04:29.850 --> 00:04:33.110 with this area, maybe it will help you as much 00:04:33.110 --> 00:04:36.110 as it's been helping me. And I will say the passage 00:04:36.110 --> 00:04:39.550 we're gonna look at, I do think. If I'm looking 00:04:39.550 --> 00:04:42.189 at it, it's probably the most difficult teaching 00:04:42.189 --> 00:04:46.149 of Jesus. So if you want to turn in your Bibles 00:04:46.149 --> 00:04:48.750 to Luke 6, and before we jump right into the 00:04:48.750 --> 00:04:51.910 passage, I want to explain what led up to this 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:55.110 passage that we're going to look at today. So 00:04:55.110 --> 00:04:58.389 in Luke 5, there's conflicts and hate building 00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:01.790 up in the religious leaders towards Jesus. First 00:05:01.790 --> 00:05:05.269 of all, you heard last week in Pastor John spoke, 00:05:05.470 --> 00:05:09.250 Jesus touched a leper. And according to the religious 00:05:09.250 --> 00:05:11.470 leaders, you can't touch a leper because now 00:05:11.470 --> 00:05:14.649 you're unclean. And then he forgave the sins 00:05:14.649 --> 00:05:17.769 of a man lowered on a mat, which the religious 00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:20.230 leaders were like, well, that's blasphemy. Who 00:05:20.230 --> 00:05:22.870 are you to say you can forgive sins? And then 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:26.009 he had the nerve to drink and eat with sinners, 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:29.670 which was again, a big problem for them. And 00:05:29.670 --> 00:05:32.910 then they criticized him for not observing the 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:36.240 Sabbath properly. Look what it says in Luke 6, 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.920 verses 6 and 7. It says, on another Sabbath, 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:42.379 he went into the synagogue and was teaching. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:45.920 And a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 00:05:46.259 --> 00:05:48.519 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:51.759 looking for a reason to accuse Jesus. So they 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:54.879 watched him closely to see if he would heal on 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:59.379 the Sabbath. Can you feel the hate? It says they're 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:02.680 looking for a reason to accuse him. And then 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:04.740 after he did heal someone on that Sabbath day 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:08.740 in Luke 6, 11, it says this, but the Pharisees 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.360 and the teachers of the law were furious and 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:14.819 began to discuss with one another what they might 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:17.980 do to Jesus. So the hate keeps building in their 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.699 hearts and minds. And now they want to attack 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:24.139 the enemy in some way because he didn't follow 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:27.399 their rules. Little did they know this is God 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:31.279 himself. So Jesus is for sure now their enemy. 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:34.079 So Jesus wants them to see it's not about the 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:38.160 rule, but the heart behind the rule. And in the 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.959 Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus uses the 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.680 phrase a lot. You've heard it said, but I say. 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:47.579 And the same thing, it's like, it's not about 00:06:47.579 --> 00:06:50.920 the law or the rule, it's about the heart behind 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.420 it. So now Jesus is gonna uproot their entire 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:57.839 value system about what really is. important 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.860 and what matters to God. So look in verse 20, 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.060 it says this, looking at his disciples, he said, 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:09.040 blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:12.199 kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry, 00:07:12.420 --> 00:07:16.420 for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:20.579 weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:23.620 when people hate you, when they exclude you and 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:27.579 insult you and reject your name as evil. because 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:31.019 of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:34.279 for joy, because great is your reward in heaven, 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:38.000 for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:42.439 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already 00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:46.240 received your comfort. Woe to you who are well 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:50.980 fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:55.100 laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:57.899 you when everyone speaks well of you, for that 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:00.560 is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:05.019 There's so much here, but understand, this would 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:07.180 go against everything that the Jews believed. 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:13.899 For starters, really, rejoice. Be happy when 00:08:13.899 --> 00:08:19.240 people hate you. Why? It's a blessing. All of 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:21.959 this would have made no sense. to the Jewish 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:24.339 audience that Jesus was speaking to. Because 00:08:24.339 --> 00:08:27.300 the Jews of that day equated blessing and prosperity 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:31.180 and everything with coming from God. They assumed 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:34.779 the blessed life was free of pain, full of prosperity, 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:39.039 and everything you wanted, you got. And I do 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:40.799 think, and I'm gonna include myself in this, 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:44.159 sometimes we fall into that. We feel when things 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.220 are going really well, God must be pleased with 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:50.450 us and he must be happy. And then when things 00:08:50.450 --> 00:08:52.529 aren't going the way we want, we're like, oh, 00:08:52.590 --> 00:08:54.649 what did I do wrong? He must be mad at me. There's 00:08:54.649 --> 00:08:58.409 gotta be something wrong right now. But Jesus 00:08:58.409 --> 00:09:01.929 wanted them to see what God really values. He 00:09:01.929 --> 00:09:06.649 wanted them to see that he is the blessing. It's 00:09:06.649 --> 00:09:11.210 not about the things. God himself is the blessing. 00:09:12.009 --> 00:09:14.389 And by the way, the passage we just read, that 00:09:14.389 --> 00:09:17.350 piece of scripture, scholars refer to that as 00:09:17.350 --> 00:09:20.460 the upside down kingdom. because it's opposite 00:09:20.460 --> 00:09:23.279 of what people and culture thinks really mattered. 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:27.240 So who Jesus is goes against every natural instinct 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:30.399 and flips the world's values upside down, thus 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.419 the upside down kingdom. So now he wants them 00:09:33.419 --> 00:09:36.440 to see clearly who he is and also get a glimpse 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:40.960 of who we are in the process. So in verse 27, 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.940 it says, but to you who are listening, I say, 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:49.210 love your enemies. And we can stop right there. 00:09:50.409 --> 00:09:54.470 Wow. What thoughts, when you hear that, what 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:57.429 thoughts go through your heart and mind? Not 00:09:57.429 --> 00:10:01.350 possible. You don't know my hurts. You don't 00:10:01.350 --> 00:10:03.629 know what's been done to me. And it's a really 00:10:03.629 --> 00:10:05.789 nice thought, but really only Jesus can do that. 00:10:06.990 --> 00:10:10.289 But that's not true. Because the way Jesus says 00:10:10.289 --> 00:10:13.529 it here, it's a commandment. And Jesus wouldn't 00:10:13.529 --> 00:10:15.409 command you or I to do something if it's not 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:18.690 possible. So forgiving your enemies is possible. 00:10:19.389 --> 00:10:23.590 Maybe not easy, but for sure possible. And I 00:10:23.590 --> 00:10:25.889 want to talk through this idea of loving your 00:10:25.889 --> 00:10:28.750 enemies because Jesus is a lover of enemies. 00:10:29.409 --> 00:10:32.669 And I think it's fair to say this. You are never 00:10:32.669 --> 00:10:36.190 more like God than when you forgive your enemies. 00:10:37.330 --> 00:10:40.009 Let me word it different. You are never more 00:10:40.009 --> 00:10:45.639 like God than when you love your enemies. And 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:48.360 the reason I say that is this, because you and 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:53.179 I were at one point enemies of God. I want you 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:55.679 to look at Romans 5, 10 we'll put up there. I'm 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.139 gonna read it in the New Living Translation because 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:02.600 I think it's so clear. It says, for since our 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:05.019 friendship with God was restored by the death 00:11:05.019 --> 00:11:08.379 of his son, while we were still his enemies, 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:12.279 we will certainly be saved through the life of 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:19.080 his son. Did you catch it? We were enemies of 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:23.740 God. Think about it. At one point, you and I 00:11:23.740 --> 00:11:28.299 were enemies of God and lucky for us, Jesus is 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:30.940 a lover of enemies. And what did he do while 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:36.759 we're still enemies? He died for us. He did it 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.679 before we even turned or asked for it. Because 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:44.009 the world of enemies, was God's mission field. 00:11:45.549 --> 00:11:48.549 So don't hate the enemy. Love the enemy like 00:11:48.549 --> 00:11:50.909 God did, who allowed his son to die for them. 00:11:51.610 --> 00:11:54.210 And I really do think our enemies need to be 00:11:54.210 --> 00:11:57.350 our mission field too. Because Jesus died for 00:11:57.350 --> 00:11:59.490 your enemies just as much as he did for you. 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:02.870 And I would say this to you, according to the 00:12:02.870 --> 00:12:05.169 scriptures, we're supposed to be transformed 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:07.590 to look more and more like Jesus all the time. 00:12:08.629 --> 00:12:10.970 So we should look more like him the longer we've 00:12:10.970 --> 00:12:14.169 been following him. And loving your enemies is 00:12:14.169 --> 00:12:17.509 part of that. So after he says, love your enemies, 00:12:17.690 --> 00:12:21.090 now he describes what that looks like. So he 00:12:21.090 --> 00:12:24.169 says this, but to you who are listening, I say, 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:27.389 love your enemies, do good to those who hate 00:12:27.389 --> 00:12:31.610 you, bless those who curse you, pray for those 00:12:31.610 --> 00:12:35.269 who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one 00:12:35.269 --> 00:12:39.250 cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone 00:12:39.250 --> 00:12:42.379 takes your coat, Do not withhold your shirt from 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:46.080 them. Give to everyone who asks you. And if anyone 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.539 takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:53.179 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:57.279 Now, I'm not gonna speak for you, but I'll speak 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.159 for myself. That doesn't usually come naturally 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.440 to me. And I would even say this, sometimes it's 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.759 way easier to hate than it is to love. Think 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:11.399 about that. We love to hate sometimes. I mean, 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.720 we love to hate. We're so proud to hate sometimes. 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:16.240 If you don't agree with the other political party, 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.200 ooh, hate comes real easy. And I don't know if 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.440 any of you have been downtown on a Tuesday afternoon 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:27.200 when the two political parties are cussing each 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.419 other out from one side to the other, pretty 00:13:29.419 --> 00:13:32.639 proud of their hate. And then we got the sports 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:36.379 teams. It's really easy to hate some other teams. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.360 And when I'm thinking of when it's easy to hate 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:43.220 for me, I will say, driving comes to mind sometimes. 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:48.600 I struggle sometimes. I think sometimes it's 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.279 easier for me to hate when I'm driving. It's, 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:54.120 I'm not proud to say it, but I get so mad and 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:57.299 hateful sometimes that all the cars on the 17 00:13:57.299 --> 00:14:01.379 are enemies at this point. And Pastor Ben was 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:03.980 driving with me one time and he said, you know, 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:06.799 you become agnostic when you drive. And I go, 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:09.659 what? And he goes, it's like you don't, You're 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:11.720 not sure if there's a God. And once you get behind 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:16.179 the wheel, you really don't care. And so I want 00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:17.940 to say this to you, like, I want to apologize 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:20.799 before I say this, but this happened here. If 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.299 you're in here, super sorry, but someone from 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:25.460 church gave me one of those heights crosses to 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:31.919 put on my car. No, I know that I struggle loving 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:35.799 when I drive and it's not good. I just gave it 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:40.059 to someone else. And I think I've gotten way 00:14:40.059 --> 00:14:41.960 better, but not like good enough to put a sticker 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:45.360 on or anything like that. So as I say all that, 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:47.639 I want to be really clear. I'm not coming to 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:52.179 you as the expert in loving my enemies. I'm coming 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:55.080 beside you as someone who struggles, but wants 00:14:55.080 --> 00:15:00.159 to be transformed to love like Jesus. And it's 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.019 obvious that God is continually laying this in 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:06.080 front of me. So it's something I have to deal 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:09.720 with. And as I studied the passage, God showed 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:11.980 me a few things that are helping me and might 00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:14.779 help you. And one of the things he did was remind 00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:18.399 me clearly in that to sincerely pray for the 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:21.740 person that has attacked me. And it's almost 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:25.059 impossible to hate the person that you're praying 00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:28.159 for. I really do believe that it's almost impossible 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:30.559 to hate someone when you're praying for them. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:33.620 And I think sometimes, and probably most of the 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:36.340 time, the prayer changes me. more than it does 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:39.919 them. For some, it's taken months of praying 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.980 to change my heart and mind. But I would say 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:47.820 it eventually does happen. And I have seen what 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:51.740 God does through praying for your enemies. I 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:53.940 want to tell you the story of a young man that 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:58.279 was an enemy that I prayed for. He was funny. 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:02.200 He hated Pastor Ben and me so much. And it was 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:05.039 really obvious. from the way his body language 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.120 was and the way he would stare me down. I was 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:12.500 running a men's recovery Bible study at my house. 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:15.860 And so the group would come from a local treatment 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:17.539 center and they would bring a couple of vans 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:19.360 and the guys that came didn't have a choice. 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:22.360 They have to come to this thing. So I think at 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:24.440 this point of the Bible study, there was probably 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:27.620 about 25 or 30 guys and I would make them dinner 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:31.899 and then we'd do a Bible study. The one young 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:34.360 man, I think, well, he was a hell's angel and 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:36.799 I think he just got out of prison, but he would 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:38.919 sit there when he came in and he would just like 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:41.460 this and look at me with such hate. Like if looks 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:44.000 could kill, John would be preaching here today. 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:47.120 I wouldn't be here. But you know what it said 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.620 we read earlier? Consider it pure joy when someone 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:53.460 hates you. So it was joyous occasion every Wednesday 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:57.379 at my house. So, well, at the end of each group, 00:16:57.779 --> 00:16:59.919 Pastor Ben and I would go around each guy and 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.159 go, hey, is there anything you want prayer for? 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:05.319 And so every time we would get to him, same answer, 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:07.940 I don't want you to pray anything for me. And 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:09.819 every time I'd be, well, I'm going to be praying 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:12.160 for you anyway. And he told me later, he goes, 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:13.900 I wanted to punch you in the face every time 00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.359 you said that, which was fine because I wanted 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.059 to punch him in the face too. But I really did. 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:22.619 I sincerely prayed for him with all my heart. 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:25.160 And through those prayers, both of our hearts 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:28.220 were changed. He is an amazing young man of God 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:30.980 right now. He's in full -time ministry, and he 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:33.279 is impacting for the kingdom beyond what you 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:38.779 can imagine. So I saw what praying for my enemy 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:41.880 can do, and yet praying for my enemy is still 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.200 not natural, and it's often not my first thought. 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:48.759 I can honestly say the person I said that I ran 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:51.799 into going to that appointment, I'm praying for, 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:56.549 and I know. God will change my heart and my mind 00:17:56.549 --> 00:17:59.690 on it. And understand, I'm not saying what he 00:17:59.690 --> 00:18:03.289 did to me was okay. It was nasty. It was hateful. 00:18:04.130 --> 00:18:06.470 There's no excusing it. It did hurt my family. 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:10.690 But I'm choosing to follow the example of Jesus, 00:18:10.730 --> 00:18:14.990 who is a lover of enemies. Because I want to 00:18:14.990 --> 00:18:18.849 be like that too. And again, not because they 00:18:18.849 --> 00:18:21.710 deserve it, but because I didn't deserve it. 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:25.400 and I was given love. So I want to look at the 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:28.539 last verse we read in that passage. In verse 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:31.660 31, a lot of people call it the golden rule, 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.339 which is do to others as you would have them 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:39.400 do to you. Now our world and our natural self 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:42.539 operate by what I heard called the iron rule, 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:45.740 which is do unto others as they have done to 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:47.960 you, or I'm going to treat you like you treated 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:52.160 me. And yet here we're called treat others the 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:54.880 way you want them to treat you. And that's regardless 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:59.339 of how they treat you or I. And again, not because 00:18:59.339 --> 00:19:02.119 they deserve it, but because of who we follow. 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:05.559 And then the last part of that passage, Jesus 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:09.420 continues to show who he is. So in verse 32, 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:14.359 it says, if you love those who love you, what 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:19.119 credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:22.450 They love others. And if you do good to those 00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:25.049 who are good to you, what credit is that to you? 00:19:25.450 --> 00:19:28.670 Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those 00:19:28.670 --> 00:19:31.609 from whom you expect repayment, what credit is 00:19:31.609 --> 00:19:35.690 that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:38.829 to be repaid in full. And then he says it again, 00:19:39.109 --> 00:19:44.190 but love your enemies. Do good to them and lend 00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:46.529 to them without expecting to get anything back. 00:19:47.150 --> 00:19:49.769 Then your reward will be great. and you will 00:19:49.769 --> 00:19:52.250 be children of the Most High because he is kind 00:19:52.250 --> 00:19:57.509 to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful just 00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:02.470 as your Father is merciful. Again, this is written 00:20:02.470 --> 00:20:07.849 as a command. So it's not an option. It's a command. 00:20:08.789 --> 00:20:12.309 Jesus is saying to treat others the way our Heavenly 00:20:12.309 --> 00:20:16.039 Father treated us. And from what Jesus is saying 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:18.799 here, he's telling us to respond to those enemies 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.799 just the way God responded to us as enemies. 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:24.799 So I keep looking at that thing and I think maybe 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:29.180 the real rule should be do unto others as Jesus 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:32.740 has done for you. And that's the kind of love 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:35.980 that gets people's attention. That's what got 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:39.180 my attention when I looked at Jesus. As nasty 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:44.410 and broken as I was and sometimes still is, am. 00:20:45.170 --> 00:20:49.529 He loves me. And that kind of love to me is captivating. 00:20:49.609 --> 00:20:53.309 It really is. That's the one, one of the things 00:20:53.309 --> 00:20:55.009 that Jesus said from the cross, one of the very 00:20:55.009 --> 00:20:57.329 last things. This is why it's so remembered. 00:20:58.210 --> 00:21:02.869 With his last breaths, he says, forgive them, 00:21:02.930 --> 00:21:05.250 Father, for they don't know what they are doing. 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:12.470 That kind of love makes no sense. That kind of 00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:16.400 undeserved Love grabs your attention and it demands 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:20.380 a response. That love changed the thief that 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:24.440 was crucified next to Jesus. In one of the gospels, 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:29.079 it says both thieves were cursing Jesus and criticizing 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:32.680 him and insulting him. And then that one thief 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:38.500 watched Jesus' love in the face of hate. Because 00:21:38.500 --> 00:21:42.579 of what Jesus said, That love changed that thief, 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:44.680 and that thief is now in heaven with Jesus Christ. 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.940 My younger daughter, Malia, she is married. She 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:52.019 lives in New York City. She was telling me about 00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:55.079 a woman she met that they had been out a few 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:57.579 times, and the woman had a super bad experience 00:21:57.579 --> 00:22:01.279 with church. So Malia said, through a mutual 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:03.119 friend that was talking to this woman, she goes, 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:05.220 oh, she goes, I told her you were a Christian. 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:07.500 She said she didn't get that from your conversation 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:09.809 together. We was like, well, I don't really know 00:22:09.809 --> 00:22:12.990 what that means, but okay. And then after that, 00:22:13.130 --> 00:22:15.250 my daughter said she was at a dinner with this 00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:17.750 woman with a bunch of people. And she said the 00:22:17.750 --> 00:22:22.289 woman was pretty rude to the waiter, to some 00:22:22.289 --> 00:22:25.990 of the people at the dinner party, and even to 00:22:25.990 --> 00:22:30.269 her and her husband. And the waiter comes by. 00:22:30.329 --> 00:22:32.470 She sent everything back to the kitchen complaining. 00:22:33.430 --> 00:22:36.839 She then wanted to cheap tip the waiter. And 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:38.519 so my daughter's telling me this story and she's 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:40.819 like, dad, I'm really trying to love her, but 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:42.839 I don't know what to do. And then she said like 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:45.759 maybe three or four days later, the lady called 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.980 her up and said, hey, could we go out and get 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:51.140 coffee? And so she goes, dad, I'm gonna go out 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:53.079 there, but I don't know what to do. And I go, 00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:55.220 well, you gotta go. And I said, just keep loving 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:57.279 her. She goes, well, no, I know I'm gonna go 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.380 and I'll do that. But she goes, it just makes 00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:03.099 me super uncomfortable. Well, then the woman 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:06.680 met her for coffee and she goes. you are nicer 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.940 to me than everyone else. She goes, everyone's 00:23:09.940 --> 00:23:14.119 been rude to me and you are always nice. And 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.440 I don't know, like maybe she's never been loved 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:20.319 well before and undeserved love, I think does 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:23.519 catch attention. And I don't know if this woman 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:27.160 will ever turn to Jesus Christ, but I will tell 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:29.660 you that my daughter and I are praying for her 00:23:29.660 --> 00:23:33.799 every day because when we love the undeserving, 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:37.759 it gets attention. Like the passage we just read 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:41.299 said, anyone can love people who love them. Anyone 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:45.140 can repay good for good. Even the worst of people 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:47.640 and the worst of sinners will love those who 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:51.500 love them. It's loving when treated poorly that 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:55.500 stands out. That love draws people in to say, 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:59.480 how? How could they do that? Like looking at 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:01.700 Jesus from the cross, how can he say, forgive 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:06.400 them? And again, I'm saying, I'm speaking as 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:09.960 not an expert of a lover of enemies, but I'm 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:13.240 also not content to live in hate anymore. And 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.839 I wanna change. The last verse we read in that 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:20.539 last passage in verse 36, it says, be merciful 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:25.960 even as your father is merciful. I wanna be merciful 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:30.279 to others the way God has been to me. But really 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:33.240 get this, understand this, you can't be merciful. 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:38.579 unless you've been wronged. There has to be a 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:43.480 wrong done to you in order to extend mercy. So 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:45.140 I know for myself, and maybe we need to have 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:47.140 a change of heart and mind and say, look at the 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:52.660 enemies as opportunities. So again, it's a really 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:54.920 hard subject to talk about, but I want to encourage 00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:58.720 you with a couple things to take away to be a 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:01.519 lover of enemies. First of all, I would say this. 00:25:02.109 --> 00:25:04.150 I was reminded, and it's really gonna stay with 00:25:04.150 --> 00:25:07.650 me, to pray for my enemies. Because I really 00:25:07.650 --> 00:25:10.349 do believe that it's hard to hate the person 00:25:10.349 --> 00:25:15.289 you're praying for. And remember, you and I were 00:25:15.289 --> 00:25:20.109 both enemies of God, so do unto others as Jesus 00:25:20.109 --> 00:25:23.829 has done for you. And lastly, what stood out 00:25:23.829 --> 00:25:28.549 to me is loving your enemy is a command. You 00:25:28.549 --> 00:25:33.220 have a choice to love or hate. So choose love. 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:37.259 Don't be content or proud to stay in your hate. 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:44.519 Let me pray. Heavenly Father, I just come before 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:48.240 you and I thank you. Fathers, I joke that you 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.180 spoke to me and I'm so grateful. And Father, 00:25:51.259 --> 00:25:53.200 I think for all of us in here, we all wanna be 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:57.579 more like you. We wanna love like you. And if 00:25:57.579 --> 00:25:59.599 loving enemies was your mission field, Father, 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:03.759 help us to do the same. Father, I lift everyone 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.380 up in here and there might be certain names that 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:10.119 came to mind. I pray that you would help each 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:13.420 of us to deal with those things, to come to you 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:17.160 in prayer, lifting them up. Father, you've been 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:21.119 so gracious and so merciful to us. Help us to 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:23.259 do that and be that to others, Lord. We love 00:26:23.259 --> 00:26:26.559 you and thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.