1 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,360 We've been spending the summer months going through the Sermon 2 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:14,800 on the Plain, which is the Gospel of Luke's account of what 3 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,800 we often call the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, and we're 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,040 going to continue to look at a section of that sermon this 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,800 morning. Before we get into it, let me 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,600 start with a continued invitation that you heard the 7 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,000 announcement for Church on the Park. 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,200 That is not just a time for us to meet as one big church family 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,160 and be together in the park and and maybe bring some friends 10 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:40,760 that wouldn't normally come to a church building. 11 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:45,840 This is also an invitation for some of you to get baptized to 12 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:51,080 give your life to Jesus in a way that is declared to all those 13 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:55,800 who would be in witness of that and even inviting you to that 14 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:01,280 makes me think of the very first person that I got to baptize as 15 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,360 a pastor. So I'll share the story with 16 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,880 you. The first mission trip and kind 17 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,000 of season and ministry that I got called to was in Amsterdam. 18 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,080 I did a summer in Amsterdam living and working with a 19 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,480 Christian hostel where people would come and we just 20 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,760 ministered to travellers. And we're actually ministering 21 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,960 to another man who worked there, just as, you know, a cleaner. 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,320 And he was not a believer. His name was Sanko, and he was 23 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:34,440 from the Sierra Leone. He'd come to to Amsterdam 24 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,600 seeking refuge, and he just started hanging out with all of 25 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:39,920 us. And so naturally, as we were 26 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,080 there to tell people about Jesus, we started inviting him 27 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,520 to prayer times and Bible studies, and we would invite him 28 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,760 to become a Christian. And his journey always stood out 29 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,720 to me because he would answer very honestly. 30 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,920 I'm only 20% Christian. When we first invited him to 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:57,720 give his life to the Lord, he said 20%. 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,040 He said, Sonko, you, you can't be 20% Christian. 33 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:02,640 And he said, OK, I'm going to keep going. 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,240 But he'd come to the prayer times in the Bible studies and 35 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,360 as the months went on, he would grow in his devotion. 36 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,360 But very honestly, we asked him again and he said, I'm 50% 37 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,400 Christian now. 50% said no, Sonko, you can't be 50% 38 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,200 Christian. And this went on until finally 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,600 he came so close to the gospel and, and accepting it that he 40 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:27,480 was ready to be 100% Christian. And in that moment he said, I 41 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,040 want to get baptized. I want to be 100% for Jesus. 42 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,400 And so we went to Vandal Park in Amsterdam and we waded into a 43 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,920 little lake and we baptized him. And that's really what the 44 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:43,560 invitation is all about to give your life fully devoted to 45 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,680 Jesus, every area of your life buried with Christ in the water, 46 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,520 resurrected with him in the newness of life when you come 47 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,880 out of the water. And so I, I mentioned that just 48 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,080 to, to stir in some of your hearts that you need to be fully 49 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,560 devoted to Jesus and you need to made that make that known. 50 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,680 I also think of it as a point of conviction for my own life. 51 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,440 Because if you follow Jesus, if you've given your life to the 52 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,560 Lord, you would know that you can't say you're 20% following 53 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:13,680 Jesus. You can't be a 40% Christian. 54 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:20,720 And yet, if we're really honest about what it means to follow 55 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,200 Jesus, to be a fully devoted disciple of Christ, and to read 56 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:30,080 his words as commands over our life, if we are really honest, 57 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,920 we would admit there's things about following Jesus that we're 58 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:34,960 not quite ready to fully commit to. 59 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,440 There are things that to follow Jesus will take you down such a 60 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:44,080 narrow gate of devotion to follow Him in spite of every 61 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,120 other invitation of the world and desire of the flesh that we 62 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:51,600 all come to places in our life, even post baptism when we're not 63 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,920 fully following Jesus. And if we were honest, we would 64 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,280 say I'm only 50% today. And I mention all of that 65 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:04,280 because that reality is not tested as much anywhere in the 66 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,200 commands of Christ than the one we'll look at today. 67 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,360 To really follow Jesus, to be a true disciple, means that you 68 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,960 are willing to go places you would normally not go. 69 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,839 You are willing to allow him to lead your life to areas you 70 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,120 normally would not be LED. It would not be a natural desire 71 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:27,600 of your heart to go there. And today's Scripture is the 72 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:33,440 most challenging scripture to obey and maybe the best test of 73 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:38,160 your devotion to Jesus. So read along with me in Luke 74 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:46,440 chapter 6, starting in verse 27. He says, But I say to you who 75 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:55,160 here love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless 76 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:01,680 those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you. 77 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,200 GK Chesterton once said Christianity has not been tried 78 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,520 and found wanting. It has been found difficult and 79 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,440 left untried. And this passage of Scripture 80 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,160 might be the best expression of that reality. 81 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,320 There are going to be moments in your devotion to Jesus by the 82 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:27,520 very nature of following him against your own desires, where 83 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,200 he's going to press you beyond where you would normally go. 84 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:38,040 And this, the most radical command of Jesus is your 85 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,160 devotion to him is tested not in how you love your friends, but 86 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,520 how you love your enemies. And so today we're going to talk 87 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,240 about what that looks like and how we could possibly overcome 88 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,880 our reluctancy to have this verse be real in our lives. 89 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:57,680 So to do that, let's start by every so often in this sermon 90 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,880 series, we've kind of cross cross referenced over to Matthew 91 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,480 to see what he said in the Sermon on the Mount. 92 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,440 Notice in Luke, he says, but I say to you, he's making a 93 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,880 contradiction to a teaching that would have been common in the 94 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:12,720 day. And in the Matthew account, we 95 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,520 get a better idea of what that teaching was. 96 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,320 Same thought, the same moment of the sermon. 97 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:21,000 But in Matthew chapter 5 verse 43, he says, you've heard that 98 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:27,160 it was said in old that you shall love your neighbor and 99 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,520 hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your 100 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,640 enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate 101 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,840 you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute 102 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:41,320 you. One of the themes of the Sermon 103 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:46,360 on the Mount is Jesus correcting bad interpretations of the word. 104 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,640 And one of them came from Leviticus chapter 19 where it 105 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,240 says you shall take no vengeance, but love your 106 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:58,000 neighbor as yourself. And so from that portion of the 107 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:03,240 law we actually find in Jesus day an add on in addition to the 108 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,840 teaching where the teachers of the day were saying love your 109 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:11,800 neighbor, hate your enemies. And just as aside, this is 110 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,520 typically how bad teaching goes. Bad teaching is usually some 111 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,480 version of the way we wish things were. 112 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,160 We we wish it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemies 113 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,160 because that comes quite naturally to our hearts. 114 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,040 That is the natural human instinct that that is something 115 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,560 that you can see way beyond the sanctuary of those devoted to 116 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,720 Jesus this morning, empowered by the Holy Spirit. 117 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,560 That is the way of the world around you, to love the people 118 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,960 that come naturally to your affection and to hate those who 119 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,400 you would want to separate your life from anyway. 120 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:52,840 So in Jesus day it looked like love your neighbor and hate the 121 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,680 tax collector. A constant reminder that our our 122 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,840 promised land is occupied by Rome and we're waiting for the 123 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,720 revival of the Kingdom of David. We hate their presence and what 124 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:06,960 they represent. Love your neighbor, hate the 125 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,840 prostitutes and the sinners. A constant reminder that one of 126 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,040 the problems with the promised land is all these people who are 127 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,040 defiling it. They're the issue. 128 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,080 They're the they're the the problem with with our land. 129 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,640 Or love your neighbor and hate the Gentiles. 130 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,560 Very common attitude in that day was to love the people of God 131 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,400 and to distrust and disassociate with those who are outside of 132 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:36,360 the covenant. And we can probably find some 133 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:41,600 modern day parallels. A 21st century version of love 134 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,800 your neighbor and hate your enemy by might sound like, you 135 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:46,600 know, love your neighbor and just hate the Democrats. 136 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,160 Everything wrong with our country is because of them. 137 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,080 Or conversely, wherever political party you stand, you 138 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:55,720 can just point the figure the other way. 139 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,840 Love your neighbor and hate the Republicans for all of their 140 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,040 corruption and greed. That's the real problem. 141 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,400 But of course it has to go deeper than that. 142 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,360 It has to hit more personal than you choosing some enemy that is 143 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,120 this far off distant category that you don't have to interact 144 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,200 with anyway. And so right now, if we could 145 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,760 take a moment to just allow the Holy Spirit to stir in your 146 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,680 heart why this verse is challenging to you. 147 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,520 I know in our sanctuary right now there are people that are on 148 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,000 the other side of a broken marriage, which means there are 149 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:34,240 ex spouses that probably had some ammunition to why the 150 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:38,160 covenant of marriage was broken. Love your neighbor, which 151 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:42,160 includes the one who betrayed you, cheated on you, lied to 152 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,280 you, stole from you. There's probably some business 153 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:47,200 partnerships that have gone awry. 154 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,720 There's probably some friendships that you can think 155 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,960 of that were once your best friends and now they would be 156 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:59,120 considered your worst enemies. And so for this sermon to be 157 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,280 effective, this sermon has to have real people. 158 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:05,840 Some of them might be part of your family. 159 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,200 Some of them might be people that you sit across the table 160 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:14,600 from or ride to church with. The idea is that Jesus wants you 161 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:19,440 to live this out in such a real way that it pushes you beyond 162 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,840 what would normally be comfortable. 163 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:24,960 And I want to point out once again, as we've done throughout 164 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:29,280 this series, what it is not saying Jesus is saying love your 165 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,440 enemies. He is not saying simply don't 166 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,920 hate them. Many of you would like to test 167 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,760 out of this sermon because the people you're thinking of that 168 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,120 have broken your heart, who actively hate you or the other 169 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,480 categories that we'll look at curse you spitefully use you. 170 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,400 You've said, well, I've overcome bitterness. 171 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,560 They, they no longer keep me up at night with thoughts of 172 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:54,840 vengeance. I no longer think of them and 173 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,800 wish I'll upon them if I see them, I'll just turn the other 174 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,800 way. And I, I, I never talk bad about 175 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,920 them. You found yourself in a 176 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,600 religious neutral. But Jesus doesn't say simply 177 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:14,320 don't hate your enemies. He actually says to actively 178 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:19,320 love them, which is one of the ways that we hope to turn this 179 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,080 command up to take us beyond where we would normally go. 180 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:25,480 So what does it mean to love them? 181 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,640 Well, we actually get very detailed commandments that are 182 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,480 associated with what Jesus means when he says love. 183 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,440 He says do good to those who hate you. 184 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,840 There is a very important Kingdom principle that we will 185 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,440 find when answering the question what does it mean to love them? 186 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,800 And finding the very next statement out of the commandment 187 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,280 is to do good to them. There is a principle that we 188 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:56,440 must have in our theology and the way that we practice our 189 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,040 following of Christ. And it is this. 190 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:03,320 We must do good things even if we don't feel like it. 191 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,400 Jesus does not tell us how to feel about our enemies. 192 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,520 He doesn't tell us what emotion we should direct their way. 193 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:17,920 He says do good, which means the principle of His Kingdom is that 194 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,400 your feelings will follow your obedience. 195 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:25,240 That as you actively do good to someone, the emotions associated 196 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:30,400 with love that we often commonly wrongfully associate as the only 197 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:35,040 marks of love will follow. And this is one of the upside 198 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:36,720 down natures of the Kingdom of God. 199 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,800 Right now. You live in a culture and you 200 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,840 are part of the human condition that wants everything to be 201 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,800 guided by your feelings. The the culture wants your 202 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:52,360 feelings to be the guiding principle of your life, which is 203 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,440 why you get mantras like if it feels good, do it. 204 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,600 If it feels good, follow that feeling and whatever action 205 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,560 needs to take place after that is yours to choose. 206 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:05,920 That's how you get the phrase follow your heart. 207 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,400 That is another way of saying what do you feel like doing? 208 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,320 What do you? What is the emotional response 209 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:14,040 you get when you think about doing something? 210 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:19,320 Follow your emotions and your actions will will line up 211 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,400 accordingly. You also get this in the 212 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,720 negative. You'll hear people say to one 213 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,480 another I no longer have feelings for you. 214 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,080 I've lost the feeling and because the feeling is gone I 215 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,280 will now separate my actions from this relationship. 216 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:39,000 But the upside down Kingdom says that your obedience leads your 217 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,920 feelings and you know this to be true. 218 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,440 In reality, if you just think about what works in your life, 219 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,120 you know this to be true. Here, I'll, I'll, I'll give you 220 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,120 a couple examples. Maybe you can relate to them. 221 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,520 I don't often feel like eating healthy. 222 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,480 In fact, I, I have to overcome the temptation to just eat 223 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,320 whatever I want all the time. I, I have the appetite of a dog, 224 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,600 I'll just eat what's in front of me and I'll gobble it down and 225 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:11,800 I'll eat whenever I can. And yet, when I discipline my 226 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:18,160 body and I allow my healthy and eating habits to lead, good 227 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,520 feelings follow it, it actually feels much better to eat healthy 228 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,440 and not overeat and have it a a nutritious diet. 229 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,560 And down the list for areas of discipline, I don't often feel 230 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,240 like working out. I often feel like hitting the 231 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,240 snooze button when it's time to get up and work out. 232 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,880 And if I let my feelings dictate when I worked out, I would never 233 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,280 ever move a muscle and down the list. 234 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,040 I wake up and I don't feel like making my bed, but every morning 235 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,440 I overcome the feeling of initial laziness to make it. 236 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,440 Because if I did it, I would eat everything. 237 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,360 I would never move a muscle and my house would be a mess and my 238 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,640 I would feel horrible. But if you can allow your 239 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,520 obedience to lead your feelings, you actually get to experience 240 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,840 the health benefits of all of those decisions. 241 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:09,200 And the reality continues into your spiritual life there. 242 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,880 There's all sorts of spiritual disciplines that I hope that you 243 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,200 know every Sunday are the basic applications of every sermon 244 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:18,760 that you should spend time with God in his Word on a daily 245 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,600 basis. And I am a pastor of a church 246 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,040 and I can just go 1st and confess and admit what you 247 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,000 probably have all felt from time to time that you don't always 248 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,400 feel like reading your Bible. And when I wake up, sometimes I 249 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,840 feel like grabbing my phone before my Bible, and sometimes I 250 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:40,680 try to read my Bible on my phone and I'm just completely LED away 251 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,000 by my emotions to follow all the notifications that are waiting 252 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,360 for me. I don't always feel like 253 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,920 praying. And yet when I do, I get to the 254 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,120 the amazing spiritual benefit of the promise that in His presence 255 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,360 is the fullness of joy. The joy is in the presence, not 256 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,560 before it. Prayer is a discipline, and if 257 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,640 you wait till you feel like praying to do it, you're 258 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,160 probably going to have a very indiscriminate prayer life. 259 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,880 And all of this is especially true with the command that hangs 260 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:19,280 over your head as a follower of Jesus to love people just the 261 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,360 the the relationships that exist right now. 262 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,640 The most principle and basic calls on your life to be a 263 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:31,200 loving person will require discipline more than emotion. 264 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:37,040 Husbands, love your wife like Christ loved the church and lay 265 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,680 down your life for her. Do that even if you don't feel 266 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,120 like it, in fact, especially if you don't feel like it. 267 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,800 Wives, bless your husband, support them and care for them 268 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:52,480 and encourage them overcome your emotion to do so. 269 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:54,880 And down the list. Parents, discipline your 270 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,360 children and raise them up in a godly house home. 271 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,080 Pray for them, teach them to pray. 272 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,720 Teach them in the Bible, especially when you don't feel 273 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,800 like it. And if we need discipline to do 274 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,880 that in the most primary offices of our life, we are especially 275 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,920 going to need that when it comes to the great command to expand 276 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,079 the borders beyond what we're comfortable with or what we 277 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:20,079 naturally want to do, which is to do good to your enemies. 278 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,839 I love the way CS Lewis puts it. He says do not waste time 279 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,640 bothering whether you love your neighbor or in this case, your 280 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,320 enemy. So don't waste your time 281 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:34,960 wondering if you love them, act as if you did. 282 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,520 As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets to 283 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,880 life. When you are behaving as if you 284 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:46,360 loved someone, you will presently come to love them. 285 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:52,440 When your obedience to the call on your life to love your 286 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:56,480 neighbor as yourself rules your life, regardless if you feel 287 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,040 like it, the secret to life is God will allow the emotion to 288 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,520 follow. Do good to those who hate you. 289 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,200 Paul says to the church in Rome. Repay no one evil for evil. 290 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:13,880 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 291 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:21,440 Amen. This is such a great temptation 292 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:29,640 of our life to respond in kind, to allow someone's evil towards 293 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:34,360 us, to turn into a cycle of eye for an eye and tooth for a 294 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:38,240 tooth. But one of the other themes of 295 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,040 every time we gather together in our sanctuary to open the word 296 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,280 is that we are called to be holy, which means set apart, 297 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:46,920 which means the people of God look different than the people 298 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:48,640 of the world. You want to know one of the 299 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,960 great ways you can do that? Repaying evil with good. 300 00:18:55,200 --> 00:19:01,240 To be someone who is kind and good and charitable to someone 301 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,360 regardless of how they treat you. 302 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:09,560 In other words, to kill people with kindness. 1 commentator 303 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:14,000 says this isn't to say kill them like they're no longer a threat 304 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,560 to your life. It is to say kill them so that 305 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:22,480 they are no longer an enemy. Kill your enemies by making them 306 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:28,080 friends. This is a great mark of the 307 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,440 people of God living different than the people of the world. 308 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,480 And So what does it look like to do good to your enemies? 309 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,480 Once again, I, I realized that in this short time that we have 310 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,040 together on Sunday, the most powerful work that will happen 311 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:50,280 through this sermon is for those of you who hear, as Jesus says 312 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,320 in the beginning of this command, for those who hear, the 313 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:59,000 Holy Spirit will bring to mind a specific person that you can 314 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:00,800 begin to practice this sermon on. 315 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,320 And I hope some specific good things that you can do for that 316 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,760 person. So without exhausting a list of 317 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:11,720 good ideas, writing them letters, sending them flowers, a 318 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,480 phone call of reconciliation, pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, 319 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,320 any good thing that you can think of, There's actually 2 320 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,280 concrete examples of doing good that Jesus is going to present 321 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,440 to us. That we can all do starting 322 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,720 today, and you won't even have to interact with them. 323 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,800 It starts with the posture of your heart and the words of your 324 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,560 mouth. He first says to do good. 325 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:41,880 You bless those who curse you. So what does it mean to bless 326 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,120 someone who curses you? I don't usually appeal to the 327 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,400 Greek because I don't speak Greek and the translations into 328 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,200 English are great, but every once in awhile we get a word 329 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,880 that in Greek we actually still have an English. 330 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,600 So see if you can recognize the root word that Jesus is is using 331 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:01,680 when he says bless. The Greek word is euloguejo and 332 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,200 it literally means to speak good words. 333 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,200 And if you've ever been to a funeral, you've heard this Greek 334 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,360 word when someone stands up to give the eulogy. 335 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,080 So you understand this concept that Jesus is getting at a 336 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:22,840 eulogy is the moment in a memorial of someone's life when 337 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,640 in remembering them, you're highlighting all of the best 338 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,120 things and you're staying clear of all of the worst things. 339 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,440 You're allowing that moment of memory to be a time to remember 340 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,400 the good things that they did as a member of the family, as a 341 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,200 friend, as a Co worker. A eulogy at a funeral is a great 342 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:48,800 way to see someone be blessed and as a reminder, you would 343 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,280 never stand up during a funeral and highlight all of people's 344 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,400 things they got wrong in in the funeral moment. 345 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,000 It is not the time to go off about how bad they were as a 346 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,840 parent, or all the bad advice they gave or the failed ventures 347 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,720 of faith that they had. The eulogy is the moment to 348 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:10,720 highlight someone's best. And so think of that when you go 349 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,560 to obey this command with the person you have on your heart 350 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,280 and your mind. What does it mean to highlight 351 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,000 their best? And as promised, I hope this 352 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,920 sermon takes us to a few dead ends where we have to cry out to 353 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:24,160 God. I don't know. 354 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,680 I don't know how to proceed in following Jesus for that person 355 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,400 because when I think of them, I think of nothing good. 356 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,520 So let's let's just get some starter, some starter blocks for 357 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,400 what it means to highlight someone's best. 358 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,720 Spend some time seeking God's perspective on anyone in your 359 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,280 life and you will find something that God values in that person. 360 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:51,240 Every enemy that exists in our minds and our hearts as we think 361 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,640 through this sermon bears the image of God. 362 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,760 Every person that we might possibly be thinking of right 363 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:04,240 now was fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together 364 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,920 in their mother's womb by a God who made them for a purpose. 365 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,400 Good works for them to walk in that He prepared beforehand. 366 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,920 He has good thoughts towards them, and the Bible says that 367 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,760 God desires none to perish. No, not one, even this person. 368 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:26,400 He desires all to come to the saving knowledge and the Amazing 369 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,680 Grace of his love and the power of His redemption. 370 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:35,760 So you begin to see this person as an object of God's design in 371 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:40,160 your life to teach you how to highlight the best in someone in 372 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:44,920 the hardest of circumstances. If you get God's perspective, 373 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:50,560 you will see something good about every person on your list. 374 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,320 And as we continue to qualify those that you may think are 375 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,800 unqualified in your heart for a message like this, let's 376 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:03,040 consider just for a moment what it means for those who are to 377 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,680 receive this blessing. It's for those who curse you. 378 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:12,200 To curse someone is to wish harm on you, to insult you, or to 379 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:17,800 speak evil over you. Very simply, to curse as an 380 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,440 opposite of a blessing where you highlight the best. 381 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:25,800 To curse is to hope for the worst, and I don't have to teach 382 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,520 you what this looks like. All of you have hearts that are 383 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:32,280 deceitfully wicked, and you've all probably had moments of 384 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:35,200 short interactions or long-suffering type 385 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,120 relationships where you've known what it's like to just feel 386 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:41,480 angst against someone else. And if you'd like practicing 387 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,960 this, just drive around Boise on I-84 during rush hour from 3:00 388 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:50,000 PM to 6:00 PM and someone will do something so stupid and an 389 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,320 idiotic that you can't help but point it out to the heavens 390 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:55,920 above. If there's nothing good about 391 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,520 the growth, it's that we all get to practice patience and 392 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,800 repentance when we drive. We know how to curse. 393 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:07,960 It's easy to curse people, and that's easy for people to curse 394 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,360 you. You've all done something to 395 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:15,240 contribute to bad driving and the sinful nature of this world. 396 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,560 But God's people are different. Where the world curses, God's 397 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,520 people bless. Where the world sees the worst 398 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,720 and hopes for the worst, we look for the best and hope for the 399 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,440 best. And let me just take a moment, 400 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:37,440 as we can often do, as Jesus teaches the expanding nature of 401 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,720 his love, it pushes off beyond where we would normally go. 402 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,960 This sermon will should give you a how much more moment if Jesus 403 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,440 wants you to bless and not curse those who hate you? 404 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:56,080 How much more should we bless and not curse those who you're 405 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,680 called into a covenant relationship with in the family 406 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:05,520 of God, in the households of God represented in the sanctuary in 407 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,960 the marriage covenant before God. 408 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,120 And I'll say we, we are living in a time where a fundamental 409 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:17,440 way we can be separate and and holy for God's name's sake is to 410 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,600 be thriving families, raising up children in the way they should 411 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:23,520 go Covenant marriages that are faithful and enduring. 412 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,200 And so those things by nature will be under attack. 413 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,000 So practice this with each other. 414 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:37,680 Husbands highlight the best. Don't think the worst wives 2 415 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,720 husbands highlight bless your husband highlight his best 416 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,240 parents to children, children to parents. 417 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,760 May we practice our piety at home. 418 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,640 How much more should we do all of these things inside the 419 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,080 family of God? So one thing you can actively do 420 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,040 is you can bless people in your heart the way you speak about 421 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,680 them. And the second thing he says you 422 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,480 can start today. Pray for those who spitefully 423 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:11,200 use you. Jesus has been very clear in all 424 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,560 of the ways that He qualifies your enemy. 425 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,840 He doesn't want anyone left off the list of how we are going to 426 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,720 love them. He wants this without exception. 427 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:24,480 If they hate you, they're included. 428 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,640 If they curse you, they're included if they spitefully use 429 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,680 you. So just to expand it even 430 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,680 farther, let me share a few definitions from other 431 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,120 translations of what it means for someone to spitefully use 432 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:41,920 you. The NIV says those who mistreat 433 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,000 you. The NLT says those who hurt you. 434 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:52,880 The ESV says those who abuse you and commentators say this 435 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,240 includes exploiting, manipulating, humiliating, 436 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,760 threatening, insulting, emotional, physical, spiritual 437 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,720 mistreatment. Without exception. 438 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:11,480 We are agents of the love of God to everyone. 439 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:19,280 And I understand that I have used some words that can 440 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:23,280 sometimes feel heavy and burdensome in the way that we're 441 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,960 called to interact with people, words like emotional, physical, 442 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,000 and spiritual abuse. We are to love them. 443 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:37,440 And I will give a disclaimer so that we can be shepherded well. 444 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:45,200 There are healthy and wise moments where spiritual counsel 445 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,760 and sometimes legal counsel will set up protective orders so that 446 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,520 people do not continually threaten your life. 447 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,840 And so I would not be shepherding you well if I didn't 448 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:01,080 encourage you at times to have good and healthy boundaries 449 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:08,320 against life threatening abuse. It is good to have protective 450 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,320 orders in place. I don't want you to go through a 451 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,440 cycle of physical harm unto death. 452 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,520 But when it comes to this command, there are no boundaries 453 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:26,520 where there are good, legal, physical and even relational and 454 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,200 social boundaries. There are no boundaries inside 455 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:34,880 your prayer closet, he says. For those who spitefully use 456 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,040 you, you are commanded to pray for them. 457 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:44,160 Every person that could be considered an enemy on the list 458 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,400 can be and should be an object of your prayers. 459 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,080 So once again, we come to a moment, we say, Lord, what does 460 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,680 this look like? How am I supposed to pray for 461 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,480 someone who's been so hateful and spiteful and abusive to my 462 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,520 life? Well, let me encourage you in 463 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:06,880 just some practical ways to have a healthy prayer life. 464 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,240 One of the great things we can always be praying for is wisdom. 465 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:14,440 James says if any of you lacks wisdom, let him pray and God 466 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:16,560 will give it liberally without reproach. 467 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:20,200 And so one of your beginning prayers for anyone you feel like 468 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,080 you're at a dead end with can be the prayer for wisdom. 469 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:25,640 Lord, what does it mean to love this person? 470 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,280 How am I supposed to do good to this person? 471 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:33,360 Lord, give me wisdom that I might follow your lead on how to 472 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:38,000 even interact with this person. A prayer for wisdom Another 473 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,480 powerful prayer that you can start with is a prayer for 474 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:46,120 forgiveness. One of the biggest challenges is 475 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,760 the hurt and the pain that needs to be resolved. 476 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,280 It's a burden you should not carry. 477 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:56,200 Where there is a need for forgiveness, there is a need for 478 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,800 someone to pray that the God of forgiveness would begin to make 479 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:08,480 that work happen. Corey Temboom who is a life that 480 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:11,200 could be studied on how to love your enemies. 481 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:18,200 A woman who went through a Holocaust concentration camp and 482 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:24,720 survived to learn how to forgive the guards that tortured her 483 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,880 wrote in her book. You never so touched the ocean 484 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:34,800 of God's love as when you forgive and pray for your 485 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:38,120 enemies. You want to experience a 486 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:43,680 powerful prayer Experience the prayer of forgiveness for those 487 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,920 who have hurt you, mistreated you, spitefully used you, and 488 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,120 cursed you. And what about the prayer of 489 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,280 salvation? It is maybe the beginning prayer 490 00:31:54,280 --> 00:32:00,240 for all of us, for anyone of you who believe your relationship 491 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,760 with God. Cries starts with a cry, a 492 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:08,720 prayer to ask for forgiveness, to confess of your own life that 493 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:12,400 you were once an enemy of God, dead in your sin, in need of a 494 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,840 Savior. What a powerful moment it is in 495 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,520 your own spiritual life when you learn the prayer of salvation 496 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:25,880 and that powerful moment when necessary for those who have 497 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,800 hurt you who would be qualified enemies who don't know God. 498 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:36,000 What a powerful way to shift the hurt and the pain away from your 499 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,680 relationship and towards a relationship with God. 500 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:45,160 To pray for your enemies salvation is to see them as an 501 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:50,240 object of God's mercy and grace and power of redemption. 502 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,160 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who who lived in the same time as Corey 503 00:32:55,160 --> 00:33:00,920 Temboom World War 2, lived in Germany trying to understand how 504 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:06,720 to live with such a oppressive government, said through the 505 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:11,400 meeting of prayer we go to our enemy, stand by his side and 506 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:19,640 plead for him to know God. The power of prayer to turn 507 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:26,280 enemies into friends. And so this is where the Gospel 508 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,360 of Luke ends the command. And I find it so helpful to make 509 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:33,160 one more reference point to Jesus teaching in the Gospel of 510 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:35,800 Matthew in this very same section. 511 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:43,480 Because none of this is possible by just being a better person 512 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:47,200 and trying harder. Jesus will continue this 513 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,680 teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew by giving us a 514 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,920 vision of how all of this starts. 515 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:56,840 It doesn't start by seeing someone who went out and tried 516 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,800 it with bold faith like Corey Temboom. 517 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,160 He actually says in Matthew chapter 5 that in doing this, 518 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:05,520 you'll be sons of your Father in heaven. 519 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:13,040 For he makes his Son rise on the evil and on the good, and sends 520 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,639 rain on the just and on the unjust. 521 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:23,440 In other words, if you want to see the source of how loving 522 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:27,639 enemies and blessing those who want nothing to do with you 523 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:31,280 works, look to how God cares for his creation. 524 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:39,719 The sun rises the the rain falls on the evil and the good, on the 525 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:42,639 just and the unjust. In other words, there's not this 526 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,360 portion of creation where all the good people live and that's 527 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,840 the land that God blesses. And then there's this place of 528 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,400 creation where the bad people are and God wants nothing to do 529 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:55,880 with it and he's abandoned. Many times people ask the 530 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:59,200 question, why do good things or bad things happen to good 531 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,520 people? But what this begs the question 532 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,000 for is why do good things happen to evil people? 533 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,200 Why is God so gracious to a world that hates him? 534 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:13,640 Why does God allow the wicked to prosper? 535 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:19,280 Why does God give sun and rain and all the same blessings of 536 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:22,240 creation to everyone, regardless of the devotion to him? 537 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:28,480 It's because God loves those who don't love him. 538 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:36,520 God gives grace and mercy to His enemies, to the just and the 539 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:42,320 unjust. And aren't we glad? 540 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:48,480 This is not a message to say that as the people of God, we 541 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:52,080 are here because we have earned our right to be here. 542 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,360 If you can think back to the moment of your salvation, you 543 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,800 can think back to the moment when you yourself were the 544 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:04,240 beneficiary of the kindness of God that led you to repentance. 545 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:11,440 The gospel begins with a message that God loves his enemies. 546 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:15,680 In just a moment, we're about to take communion. 547 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:20,600 Communion is a moment to remember how all of us got into 548 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:27,240 the Kingdom, that it was the blood of Christ in the cup, the 549 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:30,600 body of Christ broken for us that we remember in the bread. 550 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:36,680 And as he hung on the cross, we get a picture of the gospel 551 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:38,840 bringing us in by the love of God. 552 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,760 So before we take this, let me give more imagery to what we're 553 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,640 about to remember. We're in the Gospel of Luke. 554 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:50,120 As the story continues, Luke 23, we give a vivid picture of 555 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:53,960 Christ on the cross. It says in Luke chapter 23 verse 556 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,080 33 that when they come to the place of Calvary, there they 557 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:01,400 crucified him and the criminals, one on the right hand, on the 558 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:04,920 other on the left. And as he's hanging on the 559 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:12,280 cross, paying the price for the sins of the world, the gospel 560 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:16,080 gives this detail. And the people stood looking on, 561 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:22,480 but even the rulers with them sneered, saying He saved others, 562 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:26,520 let him save himself, if he is the Christ, the chosen of God. 563 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:31,520 The soldiers also mocked him, coming and offering him sour 564 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:34,560 wine and saying, if you're the king of the Jews, save yourself. 565 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:42,560 And as they mock him and as they curse him, as they hate him and 566 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:51,000 betray him, it says that Jesus said, Father forgive them, for 567 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:59,760 they don't know what they do. The gospel is that we were 568 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:05,640 enemies of God. Our sin was placed on his cross, 569 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:10,880 our sin yelled crucified. Our sin and our love for the 570 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:15,200 world are turning our back on God, mocked him and betrayed 571 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:22,840 him. And in our sin, in our prodigal 572 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:29,000 state, in our wayward living, God pled on our behalf and said, 573 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,840 Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're 574 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:38,680 doing. To receive this message that you 575 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:43,960 must love your enemies is only possible to receive the gospel 576 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:50,400 that you have been loved as an enemy, that on the cross Christ 577 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:54,280 declared enemies loved by the Father. 578 00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:58,600 And this is where the whole sermon takes us back to the very 579 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:02,720 beginning. We all want to follow Jesus as 580 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:06,480 much as we're comfortable. We all want to pick up and 581 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:09,000 follow Him, pick up our cross and follow him into the 582 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:13,880 sanctuary and get an encouraging message for our life and go live 583 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:16,760 life with the borders of our choosing, where we love our 584 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:20,960 friends and we hate our enemies. But Jesus ends this message by 585 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,840 saying if you love those who love you, what reward do you 586 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:26,400 have? Even the tax collectors do that. 587 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:34,160 To follow Jesus means you must follow Him beyond what you would 588 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:38,240 normally do. You must allow His love to 589 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:42,320 become your love. You cannot have Christianity 590 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:47,240 without Christ. You cannot choose the boundaries 591 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:52,680 of how far the love of God can flow through your life. 50%, 592 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:57,400 sixty percent, 80% of the people I know I'm going to love to 593 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:01,520 follow Christ is to love like Christ. 594 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:08,200 So we sang a song to start this sermon, and I will pray this for 595 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:15,240 all of us as we end it. May we surrender all, all of our 596 00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:21,640 lives, all of our boundaries, all of the bitterness that we 597 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:26,840 hold in our hearts for someone that has hurt us, all of the 598 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:31,280 things that we want Christianity to look like, and none of the 599 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:37,720 things that we don't want to surrender all says Lord, I want 600 00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:41,280 to know the power of your forgiveness so radically in my 601 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:45,120 own life that he who is forgiven much can love much. 602 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:49,560 And I want to know the love that you have for even my enemies. 603 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:54,560 This sermon is meant to do 2 things. 604 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:59,800 To point you to the cross. That the whole model for all of 605 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:04,960 this would be seen in Jesus love for you and 2nd to humble all 606 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:08,440 self righteousness. That none of this is possible 607 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:15,040 inside your own heart. But to receive Christ and the 608 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:20,040 power of the Holy Spirit is to receive the power to love even 609 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:24,200 the enemy. Thanks for joining us today. 610 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,240 If you would like to watch the full service, check out the link 611 00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:30,080 in the description. For next steps and to learn 612 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:32,320 more, visit calvaryboise.com.