1 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:11,320 Let's go ahead and open our Bibles to Luke chapter 6, Luke 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,440 chapter 6. As you know, you guys have been 3 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:22,000 going through the Sermon on the Plain and which of course is in 4 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,680 Luke's gospel account, shortened version of the Sermon on the 5 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,000 Mount, which are obviously two different messages. 6 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:36,080 But we're going to read this morning verses 32 through 36, 7 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:41,520 chapter 6, verses 32 through 36. So follow along in your Bible as 8 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:43,200 I read. It goes like this. 9 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:48,720 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? 10 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,400 For even sinners love those who love them. 11 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:58,160 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is 12 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,200 that to you? For even sinners do the same. 13 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:06,400 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, 14 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,560 what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners 15 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:16,480 to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good 16 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,760 and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be 17 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:27,560 great, and you will be sons of the Most High, For he is kind to 18 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:32,600 the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as 19 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:37,880 your Father who is, excuse me, just as your Father also is 20 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:39,560 merciful. I'm gonna have you stop there. 21 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:44,680 Let's pray, Father, as we dig into these verses and just talk 22 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,240 about what this is all about here this morning. 23 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,040 We pray as always for your Holy Spirit to bring direction and 24 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,120 wisdom. We believe, Lord, that your 25 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,840 heart is to feed us from the Word. 26 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,000 And so we ask you to do that today. 27 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:06,760 Nourish our hearts, minister, grace, guide and direct us in 28 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,199 wisdom and truth. We ask it, Lord, in the 29 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:12,680 authority that is ours through the name of Jesus. 30 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:15,560 Amen. Amen. 31 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,520 Amen. As Tucker was saying, I I 32 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:24,320 pastored Calvary Chapel, Ontario for actually it was just shy of 33 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:29,360 35 years, but Sue and I are now living in Meridian ever since I 34 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,920 turned the fellowship over to my assistant pastor and we're 35 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:35,400 loving it here. We've got, we've had two kids 36 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,200 living in the Meridian area for years. 37 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,560 And so I knew that I wanted to come, come and live here and 38 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,600 it's just been great. We're within walking distance 39 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,760 from an Olive Garden. Wonderful. 40 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:54,440 Anyway, we were driving, we were driving from Eagle to Meridian 41 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:59,320 yesterday and we happened to pass a church that had a sign 42 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,840 that said this. It said Jesus says love one 43 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,880 another. And I and I, I thought about 44 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,320 that as we were driving by and I was thinking, you know, what a 45 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,920 simplistic message that is for, for that. 46 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,560 And you know, it's, it's not like it's untrue, but there's, 47 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,760 there's so much more that needs to be said. 48 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,120 You know, that's one of the problems, you know, with putting 49 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,800 a little quip or something on a electronic sign or whatever. 50 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,680 Jesus said so much more about loving. 51 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,640 And and if we're just going to hear him say things like, you 52 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:38,160 know, love one another, our natural tendency as he brings 53 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,080 out in this passage that we're looking at here. 54 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,480 And Luke, our natural tendency is to love those who love us or, 55 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,480 or at least who, who we find easy to love. 56 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,040 And so left to our own devices, we're really not going to get 57 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,960 the essence of of the command that Jesus has given us related 58 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,840 to loving other people, because in the passage we looked at her, 59 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:00,360 he says, no, I don't. I don't want you just to love 60 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:02,920 people that are, are are easy to love. 61 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,320 I want you to love people that are impossible to love. 62 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,440 I want you to even love your enemies, you know, and people 63 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:12,520 that that that do this and that and the other thing. 64 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:17,800 In fact, you know, Pastor Tucker went through and some earlier 65 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:22,079 verses here just a couple of weeks ago and he he covered 66 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,720 verses 27 and 28. Let me put him up on the screen 67 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,600 just to remind you of what we covered back then. 68 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,800 This is Jesus again speaking, saying, but I say to you who 69 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,520 here love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless 70 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,560 those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 71 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,560 And this is what I meant when I said Jesus said more than just 72 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,160 love each other. It gets much deeper. 73 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:53,160 It's it's much harder, much harder than than than that. 74 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,240 You know, you'll notice Jesus used some really, really hard 75 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,480 words. He used, He used words like 76 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:07,360 hate, you know, he used words like curse those who curse you. 77 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,880 And then he even used the word abuse. 78 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,480 Those are all three trigger words today in our, our, our 79 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,040 culture. Now here's the deal. 80 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,080 The passage that I showed you just a moment ago on the screen 81 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,840 of what Tucker talked about here a couple weeks ago, we read it 82 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:31,240 from the ESV and I did it on on purpose because of the ESV. 83 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,920 Although the new King James and the ESV are very close 84 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,480 translations, I felt like the wording on the ESV was a little 85 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:45,280 harder hitting when instead of instead of abuse or those that 86 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:51,160 abuse you, the new King James says those who spitefully use 87 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:52,560 you. There's nothing wrong with that 88 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,120 translation. It's just that it's not the way 89 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,960 I would talk. You know, I, I don't go around 90 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,920 saying, oh, he's spitefully used me or something like that. 91 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:07,600 I would say he abused me or he was abusive. 92 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:09,560 You know, that's a word that I would use. 93 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:12,640 So I wanted to use the word that that kind of connected with you 94 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,040 or, or even caused some emotions to rise up in you just a little 95 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,720 bit. Because the word abuse, by the 96 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:20,760 way, makes emotions rise up in people. 97 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,640 I don't know if you've noticed that you, you start talking 98 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:28,040 about abuse or being abusive and people get angry. 99 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,880 I mean, it just, it, it, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a huge 100 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:36,560 trigger, particularly in our, our culture today. 101 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,320 And, and, and, and, and obviously there's good reason 102 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,040 for that. Abuse is horrific and, and no 103 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,080 one should, should ever have to go through it. 104 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:54,720 But what's interesting here is that you'll notice that, that, 105 00:06:54,720 --> 00:07:01,560 that Jesus doesn't say love your enemies unless they abused you, 106 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:03,120 in which case you're off the hook. 107 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:07,760 Now, again, he's talking about the kind of abuse that comes our 108 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:16,160 way because we're believers, OK? And that's the context that 109 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,560 we're we're dealing with here. And, and, and incidentally, we 110 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,280 should never be surprised when we, when abuse comes our way or 111 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,120 cursing or hatred. We should never be surprised 112 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,280 when those things come our way because I mean, as believers, 113 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,600 just because we're believers, because Jesus bent over 114 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:42,640 backwards to warn us and to tell us that this is the way life is 115 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,320 going to be for us. In fact, he said, listen, if 116 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,200 they, if people end up hating you, just just remember they 117 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:54,640 hated me first, right? So he, he, and that was just one 118 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,120 statement that Jesus made over the course of his public 119 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,760 ministry that was used to prepare you and me for, for the 120 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,280 understanding that we're going to be living in a culture. 121 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,680 And as we walk with the Lord and as we do our best to live for 122 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,640 Jesus, it's going to create problems in the world. 123 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:16,320 The world is going to look at you and say I don't like you and 124 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,640 the and, and, and some of them might be able to point to a 125 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,680 reason why they don't like you, but some of them won't. 126 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,280 It's just there's something about you, You know, even Paul 127 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,280 the apostle told us, you know, that we are the we are the 128 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:34,000 fragrance of Christ. You know, to those who are 129 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,440 perishing, it doesn't smell very good. 130 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:40,559 You don't smell very good Now to those who are born again, You, 131 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,760 you, you come into a room and they're like, oh, you're my 132 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,640 brother, you're my sister. You know, they love you, but the 133 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,200 world does not love you. And, and, and try as you may, 134 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,880 you're not going to get them to love you because you belong to 135 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:54,840 Jesus. Good grief. 136 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,320 They crucified the Lord of life and he was perfect. 137 00:08:57,680 --> 00:08:59,480 What do you think they're going to do to you and me? 138 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:06,920 You know, So what what these passages tell us about is that 139 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,880 is that this is this is what we can expect and how are we going 140 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,000 to respond, you know, to these sorts of things. 141 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:22,440 You know, when I started in the ministry 40 plus years ago, I 142 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:28,160 have to tell you that Christians weren't really looked down upon 143 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:34,200 like they are today. In fact, I think that even we 144 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,320 were even esteemed to a degree. I don't know if you guys are 145 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,240 into old classic movies. I used to love We've got 4 grown 146 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,760 kids and and I used to play these old classic movies for my 147 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,240 kids. You know, I'd say, hey movie 148 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,240 night, you know, I'd start a movie and they'd real. 149 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,760 The thing first comes on and they realize it's in black and 150 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,640 white. They're like oh dad, it's black 151 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:55,600 and white. I guess it's OK, just just watch 152 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,040 this. You know, those were the days 153 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:03,640 when the clergy or Christians, you know, were highly esteemed, 154 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:07,680 you know. Well, those days are gone. 155 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,160 I mean, Hollywood has been abusing Christians for a long 156 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,280 time for, for, you know, decades. 157 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:20,480 And, and, and the world that we live in is becoming increasingly 158 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,400 hostile to the things that we stand for. 159 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,880 And when you express any sort of disagreement with the things 160 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:34,360 they stand for, look out. I mean, today all you have to do 161 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:38,280 is just disagree with the ideologies held by the world and 162 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,160 they're going to attack you like a junkyard dog. 163 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,840 You know, the and, and just as viciously. 164 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,240 And, and that that is, that is hard. 165 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,160 But like I said before, I'm not surprised. 166 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:57,000 And we should never be surprised when the world decides that they 167 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:02,360 don't like us very much because once again, Jesus told us that's 168 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,600 the way it was going to be. Do you want to know what saddens 169 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:10,440 me though? What saddens me is when I see 170 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:15,640 Christians attacking back at the world and I, and I do once in a 171 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,080 while, I watch YouTube videos and stuff like that. 172 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:20,960 And, and, and I, and whether they know it or not, when 173 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:31,240 Christians attack back, they're stirring up negative attitudes 174 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:33,880 in US. And I get affected by it. 175 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,040 I don't know about you, but I get affected by it. 176 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,240 It, it, it, it becomes irritate, irritating. 177 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:45,440 And then it develops into anger. And I find myself getting angry 178 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:51,640 at the world because of the dumb things they do and say, you 179 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:56,320 know? And so we as believers, we kind 180 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:00,520 of naturally begin to take on this adversarial attitude toward 181 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:02,800 the world. And it's kind of US versus them. 182 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,760 You know, it's like, man, I'm glad we're in church today so we 183 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,680 can be around people we like, you know, because you go out in 184 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:12,400 the world and there's a lot of people that are just make it 185 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,880 really, really hard to like them. 186 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,960 And you work with some of those people who some of those people 187 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:20,640 are even in your own, your family. 188 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,520 And it's hard to like them. You know, you're supposed to 189 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:28,240 love them, you know, but it's hard to like them because of the 190 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:33,040 things they say and, and, and the things they do and the 191 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:38,880 things they believe in. You know, it's, it's, it's not 192 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:45,040 hard to dislike the world. I mean, it's as simple as that. 193 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:51,840 And, and it's especially hard when you see the world 194 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:57,000 unraveling, when you see society unraveling, when you see the, 195 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,600 you know, I, I've, I've watched in, in, in my lifetime, I've 196 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,280 watched the family just fly apart. 197 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,000 And you guys know, you know, that the fat, the family is the 198 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:14,960 basis of, it's the glue of our society and, and families. 199 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,400 You know, I mean, we've seen this thing deteriorating over 200 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:27,320 over time for quite a while. And it's hard to watch and to 201 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,880 and, and, and then Jesus comes along and says, I want you to 202 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,560 love these people. Lord, you don't know what you're 203 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:38,200 asking. You know, there's a, a 204 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:44,520 particular prophecy that the Apostle Paul spoke wrote. 205 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,480 We don't usually think of the Apostle Paul as a prophet and he 206 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,320 wouldn't have referred to himself that way either, but he 207 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:52,640 did. He did wax prophetic at times, 208 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:58,680 particularly when he wrote his 2nd letter to Timothy and when 209 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:01,320 he talked about what life was going to be like in these last 210 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,200 days, which I believe we're in. And I mean technically we've 211 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,520 been in the last days ever since they really the inauguration of 212 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,760 the church. But I, I believe we're in the 213 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:16,000 last days of the last days. And one of the reasons I believe 214 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,400 that is because of what Paul wrote to Timothy. 215 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,960 Let me put this on the screen for you so we can look at it 216 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,440 together. He says second Timothy 3 verses 217 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,520 one through 4. But understand this, that in the 218 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,800 last days there will come times of difficulty, for people will 219 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,680 be lovers of self. You seen that at all lovers of 220 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:44,640 money, proud, arrogant, abusive. There's that word disobedient to 221 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:51,680 their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, 222 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:56,160 slanderous, without self-control, literally meaning 223 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:00,360 they do not possess the ability to control their emotions. 224 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:10,560 Brutal, not loving, good, treacherous, reckless, swollen 225 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,600 with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 226 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,040 You know, we, we, we read that passage and we think, well, 227 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:21,400 that's, that's my neighborhood. I mean, this is my address, you 228 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,400 know, Second Timothy chapter 3. That's where I live. 229 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,640 I see it on the nightly news. I, I, I, you know, we're, we're, 230 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,400 we're living this reality right now. 231 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,560 And, and it's, it's, it's troubling. 232 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,480 I mean, I, I can retreat once in a while and watch episodes of 233 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,560 Andy Griffith, I suppose, and, and, and, and think about what 234 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,480 life used to be like back in the day, But it's not that way now. 235 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:55,480 This is not that day, and I have to confess that there are times 236 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:03,320 that I get mad. And when I got mad, it's almost 237 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:11,800 impossible to hear Jesus say to me, Paul, love your enemies. 238 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:20,000 Do good to them even when they curse you, even when they hate 239 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,600 you. I want you to do good to them. 240 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,320 And then I, you know, I, I, I, I get reminders in the word of God 241 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,560 that my anger doesn't do a whole lot of good anyway, You know, 242 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,240 there's that verse in James. Let me put it on the screen just 243 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,280 as a reminder. This always comes up, it seems 244 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,560 like when I get angry. Know this, my beloved brothers, 245 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,520 let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to 246 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,480 anger. Why? 247 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,040 For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of 248 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:52,520 God. And I have to go. 249 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:55,480 Yeah, you're right, Lord. You're right. 250 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,120 Now, I know there's such a thing as righteous anger. 251 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,840 Jesus got righteously angry at times. 252 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,240 I don't know if I've ever experienced righteous anger. 253 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,280 You know, I'm. I'm not sure I would. 254 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,440 I don't think I would give myself that kind of credit. 255 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:19,160 My anger is usually the kind that, you know, I need a good 256 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,640 rebuke over. And then there's the reminder 257 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,640 that Paul gave us in Romans chapter 12 up on the screen. 258 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,640 Do not be conformed to this world because the world is 259 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,200 angry. The world is upset, but he's, he 260 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,800 goes on to say, but be transformed by the renewal of 261 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,360 your mind. And I got to remember that I, 262 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,480 you know, I, I, I, I do, I get angry sometimes, but I got to 263 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,240 remember that it, it's really not a positive thing in my life 264 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:49,120 and that I need to respond differently from the world. 265 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:53,400 There needs to be a, a lack of conformity in my life to the 266 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,320 things of the world. And and yet sometimes I find 267 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:01,600 myself conforming to the world and and that's, you know, a, a, 268 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:06,960 a bummer. And so, you know, but you know, 269 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,320 one of my brothers, one of my Calvary Chapel brothers, came 270 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:15,160 out with a message here a couple of years ago and he said this. 271 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,160 And I, I remember when I heard it, it was so profound, I had to 272 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,360 write it down. And so I'm repeating this to 273 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,640 you. What I heard my brother say, he 274 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:29,520 said this. We must never lose the mission 275 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:34,040 of the church because of our outrage over the madness in the 276 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,040 world. Because, guys, the the world has 277 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,120 gone mad. I don't know if you've noticed 278 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:43,520 they've gone mad. It's crazy. 279 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:50,760 And my response to that can never be such that I lose the 280 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,880 mission, that we lose the mission, and we know what the 281 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:56,840 mission is. Jesus gave us the mission. 282 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,240 We call it the Great Commission. Let me put it on the screen. 283 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:05,000 It's for Matthew chapter 28. Therefore go and make disciples 284 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,600 of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of 285 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,440 the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And then he goes on to say this, 286 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,360 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 287 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,000 You know, there are several elements to the Great Commission 288 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,000 that are very important that we are, we are bound obligated to, 289 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,280 to, to carry out as, as believers. 290 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,240 But we're not going to be able to do any of those things if our 291 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,320 hearts are overflowing with bitterness toward the world in 292 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,760 anger and frustration. I mean, we're never going to 293 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:39,240 invite people into, to the, the, the, the, the Kingdom of God 294 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:45,280 with a clenched fist and clenched teeth, you know, and 295 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,240 that's the, and I'm, I'm preaching to myself here, you 296 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:56,000 guys, I need this reminder. I want to, I want to invite 297 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,240 people into the Kingdom and I'm not going to. 298 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,880 It's not going to happen if I'm just getting angry all the time 299 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,840 and I'm upset. Because of the cursing and the 300 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:10,320 hatred and, and, and the abuse that comes our way as you know, 301 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,760 the, the body of Christ, you know the, the, the last thing 302 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,480 that we read in the Great Commission when you saw that 303 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,120 passage on the screen, Jesus said, and I want you also to 304 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:23,480 teach them to observe all the things that I have commanded 305 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,560 you. Well, guess what? 306 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,000 He commanded us to do that. We're supposed to teach them 307 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:35,080 love your enemies. And you see, if I'm not, I'm, 308 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,040 I'm struggling sometimes to love believers, let alone I have 309 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,040 hardly gotten around to loving my enemies. 310 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,800 And, and so I'm struggling here. I, I'm, I'm challenged by this 311 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,040 call that Jesus has placed upon my life. 312 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:50,520 And, and you ought to be as well. 313 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,320 It's a challenging call that he has laid out for us. 314 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,640 And, and, and so if we're, if we're, if we're going to, you 315 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,440 know, respond with annoyance and, and, and anger, you know, 316 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,240 nobody's going to stick around to hear our message. 317 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,320 Hey, let me tell you about the love of Jesus, you jerk, or 318 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:10,720 something like that. You know, it's just not going to 319 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:20,840 work. So he gives us in these in, in 320 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,160 in this passage that we're looking at here in Luke chapter 321 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:34,440 6, some very difficult statements and and sobering 322 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,720 statements. When you look at the end of 323 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:47,520 verse 35 in your Bible here, it goes on to say that we are to be 324 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:55,000 kind because he's kind to the unthankful and the evil. 325 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,360 And So what he's basically telling you and me is he wants 326 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:03,520 us to go do the same that that he wants us to be like him. 327 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,720 He says, you know God, God is saying to you and me, I'm I'm 328 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:12,960 kind even to evil people. I want you to go do that too. 329 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,960 That's hard. And then verse 36, if you look 330 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:22,920 with verse 36 again, it says, therefore be merciful, just as 331 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,200 your Father also is merciful. Now, I probably don't have to 332 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,280 remind you that the definition of mercy is not getting what you 333 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:36,320 do deserve, right? We deserve judgment. 334 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:43,400 I deserve judgment, but we don't get judgment, we get eternal 335 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,120 life. Why? 336 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,320 Because we're good people? No. 337 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,960 Because we've done things right? No, because he's merciful, 338 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:56,120 right? So Jesus says, therefore I want 339 00:22:56,160 --> 00:23:05,080 you to be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful, so be 340 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:10,240 merciful like he's merciful. In other words, show to those 341 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:15,520 people who hate you, curse you, and despise you because you're a 342 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,560 Christian, show them mercy. Why? 343 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:24,760 Because God showed you mercy. Wow, that's, that's hard stuff. 344 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,360 You know, there's a companion passage to this section that 345 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:32,440 we're looking at here in Luke. And of course it's in Matthew's 346 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,760 Gospel and the Sermon on the Mount. 347 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,520 And just as a by way of reminder, I want to, I want to 348 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:40,760 show it to you on the screen so we can look at it together. 349 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,760 It's in Matthew chapter 5. And it goes like this. 350 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,280 You've heard that it was said you should love your neighbor 351 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,880 and hate your enemy. That was a common phrase. 352 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:54,960 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who 353 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,280 persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in 354 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,080 heaven. For He makes his Son rise on the 355 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,120 evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the 356 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,120 unjust. For feel if you love those who 357 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:10,040 love you, what reward do you have? 358 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,840 Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 359 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,640 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you 360 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,480 doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the 361 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,640 same? And then check this out. 362 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:28,560 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is 363 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:33,720 perfect. Try that one on for size. 364 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,560 You thought it was hard enough when Jesus said to you and me to 365 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:42,360 be merciful because our Father is merciful. 366 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:49,440 Now he UPS the ante a little bit more and he says you therefore 367 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,120 must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. 368 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,880 And I got to say something if if reading that verse doesn't give 369 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:57,840 you the shakes, I don't think you read it right. 370 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:05,760 It ought to give you the shakes because Jesus is saying things 371 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:12,400 to you and me that are impossible in the flesh. 372 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:15,760 In other words, when I say in the flesh, I mean they're 373 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:20,880 impossible for you and me to accomplish in and of ourselves. 374 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,760 You know, I've always felt like some of verses in the Bible 375 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,200 should come with a warning sticker. 376 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,840 You know, like when you buy something and it says be sure 377 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,080 and turn off the power before you put this thing, you know, 378 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:32,520 plug this thing in or something like that. 379 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,360 But the warning sticker that ought to go along with certain 380 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:39,200 passages of, of the Bible is warning. 381 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,600 Don't do this in the flesh or don't try to do this in the 382 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,280 flesh. And, and if you read things like 383 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,400 love your enemies and then you go out and you try to love 384 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:54,120 people that hate your guts and you try to do it in the power of 385 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:58,000 the flesh, I got news for you. You're going to fail and you're 386 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,280 going to fail colossally. I mean, it's going to be a big 387 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,560 failure. Some of you know what I mean? 388 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,720 You've been there. And that's really kind of the 389 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:13,320 whole point. When Jesus, when Jesus spoke 390 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:17,200 both the Sermon on the plane and the Sermon on the Mount, he was 391 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,000 speaking to believers. Guys, this these are not 392 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,880 messages you give to an unbeliever. 393 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,880 You don't go around telling unbelievers love your enemies. 394 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:27,960 You just don't do that. But you know why they don't? 395 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,840 They don't have the goods. They don't have the capability. 396 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,600 They are when I talk about, you know, they I'm when I'm 397 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,600 unbelievers are what Paul refers to in the Bible. 398 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,600 In his epistles, particularly First Corinthians chapter 2, he 399 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,680 talks about unbelievers as the natural man. 400 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,440 OK, that's a term that Paul uses, and he uses it to describe 401 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:00,200 people who do not have the Holy Spirit living within them. 402 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,520 In other words, their perspective, their ability, 403 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,680 their power is all comes from the natural. 404 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,280 Their their wisdom, their understanding, it all comes from 405 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,120 the natural. OK, they don't have any 406 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:18,840 supernatural element or spiritual element at all to 407 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,760 discern or to walk in the power of God it they just don't 408 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:29,240 possess it. OK, you do as AI mean. 409 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:33,320 I mean, I'm assuming here that everybody in this room is a born 410 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,960 again believer. And what that means obviously is 411 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,840 that you've come to Jesus by faith and you've accepted what 412 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:40,880 he did on the cross for your sins. 413 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,840 You've embraced him and you've received the gift of the Holy 414 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:46,680 Spirit. Wonderful. 415 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,560 You're a Christian. But there's so much more to 416 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,440 understand because now He has empowered you. 417 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:58,360 He's literally given you the power to read through passages 418 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:04,920 like this and do them. It is now in your power because 419 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:10,000 of who lives within you, right, to fulfill these things. 420 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,040 You couldn't do that before you were a believer. 421 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,600 You would you you'd look at passages where you know Jesus 422 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,560 says you're, you must be perfect as your heavenly Father's 423 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,080 perfect. I mean, as an unbeliever, I 424 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,560 wouldn't even even know how to even understand or begin to 425 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,040 comprehend a statement like that. 426 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,600 I would just would have gone. That's the dumbest thing I've 427 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:33,600 ever heard in my life. But as a believer who is now 428 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:38,440 empowered, endued with power through the Holy Spirit, I can 429 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,160 look at verses like that and I can say, Lord, I know, I, I know 430 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:45,640 that that's not my power. That's not in Paul, but it is in 431 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,240 you. And now you are in me. 432 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:59,080 And so I can now walk in that power. 433 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,240 Boy, if that doesn't leave you with your mouth hanging open, I 434 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,320 mean, nothing will. But we forget about this all the 435 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,640 time. All the time. 436 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,040 We forget about the power of the Holy Spirit. 437 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,640 We forget the extent of that power. 438 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,360 When I, when I talk to Christians and they're, they're, 439 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,960 they're talking to me about some, you know, besetting sin in 440 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:24,000 their life or something like that, Pastor Paul, I just, 441 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,280 there's, I can't get. And all they all they are 442 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:31,360 focusing on is their weakness and and they need to they need 443 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:34,880 to build their faith by getting into the word and understand 444 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:39,440 what kind of power now lives inside of you as a believer. 445 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:45,040 It is absolutely astounding. Let me, I want to, I want to 446 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:50,880 share with you the apostle Paul actually describes the power of 447 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:52,400 the Holy Spirit living within you. 448 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,960 And in fact, he even prayed for the believers in the Ephesian 449 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,080 church that they might that their that the eyes of their 450 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,640 heart might be open to understand it. 451 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,320 And this is one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible. 452 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:06,080 And I believe that it's a prayer that all believers can lay hold 453 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:13,640 of in terms of of what Paul's desire was concerning our need 454 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:19,040 to come to terms with the this power that now is resident 455 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,360 within you and me. It's from Ephesians chapter 1. 456 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,160 And we're going to put it on the screen so you can see it 457 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:25,000 together. All right. 458 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,480 He he says, first of all, I do not cease to give thanks for 459 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,560 you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our 460 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,920 Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit 461 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:45,000 of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him having the 462 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:51,440 eyes of your hearts enlightened. Here's why, that you may know 463 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:55,280 what is first of all the hope to which He has called you. 464 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,080 What are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the 465 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:00,640 Saints? And check this out. 466 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:09,000 And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us 467 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:14,120 who believe according to the working of His great might, that 468 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,240 He worked in Christ when He raised him from the dead and 469 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,800 seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above 470 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,800 all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every 471 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,120 name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to 472 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,680 come. Guys, do you realize what Paul 473 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:34,440 said here concerning this power? That he was praying for you and 474 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:39,560 me to be open to, to begin to understand, let alone lay hold 475 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,960 of? He's he's basically saying that 476 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,840 the very same power that now lives in you through the Holy 477 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:53,360 Spirit is the power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated 478 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:55,200 him at the right hand of the glory of God. 479 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,480 Same power. Can I just say something? 480 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:08,360 If we really, truly understood the depth of what Paul said in 481 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,320 this passage, I wouldn't be able. 482 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,520 You guys wouldn't be able to stay in your seats. 483 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,880 You'd be up on your feet like you were at a football game and 484 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,800 your team just won the game with a last minute something or other 485 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,720 and you'd be cheering and going bananas. 486 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:35,200 If we really understood this power that is resident in us, he 487 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,560 says, Paul says. But I'm praying for you guys 488 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:46,440 that you might have your hearts opened to the fullness of what 489 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,440 God has done for you. First of all, the hope to what 490 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:54,800 you've been called, but then also this, this power, this 491 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:58,720 power. Power to do what? 492 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:06,560 Be merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful. 493 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:15,040 Power to forgive even as Jesus showed you that perfect example, 494 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,680 hanging on a cross, looking down upon the people who crucified 495 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,360 him and saying Father, forgive them. 496 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:28,400 They know not what they do. That ability is now living in 497 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:35,760 you because He is living in you. And whatever inability you have 498 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:42,720 noticed in yourself to forgive others or to be merciful or to 499 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:46,600 be kind when they are being particularly awful to you, 500 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:54,680 That's just all you. But the power to live and love 501 00:33:54,680 --> 00:34:00,640 that supernatural ability to go beyond who you are and be like 502 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:04,880 he is, is now living within you and just waiting. 503 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:08,440 Just waiting. I had somebody come up to me 504 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:11,239 after first service and ask the question, So why aren't we 505 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:14,520 seeing this more in our lives? Isn't that a great question? 506 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:16,679 I, I thought that was really good. 507 00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:21,679 Why, why, why am I not seeing this power to forgive this power 508 00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:24,639 to, to, to love even my, my enemies. 509 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,000 And, and I said, well, you know, there's a, there's a 510 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,880 corresponding reality that goes along with anything that the 511 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:34,159 spirit wants to do in our life. And that is to resist the power 512 00:34:34,159 --> 00:34:36,520 of what I want to do. And that's the flesh. 513 00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:39,960 You see, dying to the flesh is this is another message, by the 514 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,480 way, which I'm not going to launch into it. 515 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,520 It really is. It's a it's a whole different 516 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:47,000 message. But but whenever we talk about 517 00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:50,440 walk in the spirit, walk in the spirit, there's always that 518 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:51,800 correspond. There's the other side of that 519 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,719 coin and that is resist the flesh, because my flesh wants 520 00:34:55,719 --> 00:35:02,000 to, to punch people, right? Somebody gets in my face, I want 521 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:06,200 to punch them. That's, that's Paul, that's me. 522 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,440 So you see, why am I not seeing this power to forgive? 523 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,560 Because I've been giving in for so long to, to the power of 524 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:21,760 Paul, to, to, to walk in the flesh, to be angry, you know, 525 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:32,360 But we have to learn to resist so that we might yield to the 526 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:33,720 power of the Holy Spirit. You know, it's really 527 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:35,280 interesting. The power of the Holy Spirit is 528 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,280 such that he's, he is such a gentleman. 529 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:39,920 I've learned this over the years of walking with the Lord. 530 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,280 He is such a gentleman. Sometimes I wish he wasn't so 531 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,440 much. I mean, I need to be smacked 532 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,760 upside the head more often than the not. 533 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:56,800 But he yields to me sometimes. And that's the crazy thing about 534 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:01,000 the Holy Spirit. He will sometimes yield to me 535 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:04,120 when I am supposed to be yielding to him. 536 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,840 And so in other words, when somebody treats me badly, he'll 537 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,720 let me. He'll let me treat them badly 538 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:15,920 back, and then he'll convict me. And I feel like a worm. 539 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:21,120 You know how that goes. And then I have to go to the 540 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:25,800 person later and say, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. 541 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,240 And so my prayer then becomes, Lord, I want to release you more 542 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:40,360 in my life. I want to resist me so that I 543 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,680 might be able to yield more to you. 544 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:49,400 You told me to love my enemies. I'm not there yet, but you've 545 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,720 given me the power that I can't deny. 546 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:57,680 It's all there, right? It's all there. 547 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:00,920 I don't have to. I don't have to cry out to God. 548 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,920 Please help me love my enemies. It's there, it's done. 549 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:13,680 The Spirit lives in US. I just need to learn to yield to 550 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:18,160 Him and resist the me. Amen. 551 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,160 Thanks for joining us today. If you would like to watch the 552 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,680 full service, check out the link in the description. 553 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,920 For next steps and to learn more, visit calvaryboise com.